2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Discussion Thread

[Hen Kolland]

Pretty dangerous hit on Marleau into the corner glass at the end of the bench to start the sequence. As far as I'm concerned, Kadri and DeBrusk deserve each other.

I love watching tough physical hockey, but players never should try to injure each other. Those types of players don't belong in the league.

I think there’s just some players who mentally can’t distinguish the difference in standing up for yourself or your team, and being a danger to the well-being of your fellow person. Witkowski is that way for me. I love the element he brings, but he isn’t the type to engage in calculated moments or manners, he gets real “bull in a china shop” when he gets unhinged.

I think there’s a solid chance that Kadri’s season is done, and DeBrusk might not get any discipline for the way he played tonight. That’s where I have an issue with everything. You have a game played by very prideful players, built on a foundation of physicality and handling shit, but you aren’t allowing the players to handle their business when another player makes a dangerous hit on them...it’s difficult. The precedent set will be “it’s okay to make dangerous runs at players if you attempt to disguise it, but not if you respond to one”

 

[Gniwder]

The Leafs got absolutely bent over that entire game. Every single Bruin was taking the body and it worked. Kadri had his typical hot head moment and completely took the wind out of any comeback chance they had (it was slim anyways). I really dont know why CHara didnt just go off on him at that point in the game. That was an awesome game to watch though, refs just swallowed the whistles

Toronto has no one to hold him to account. The Leafs might actually be he softest team in NHL history no exaggeration, especially before hte Muzzin trade. Marchand has played worse than Debrusk for years on Boston and hes been fine. If Debrusk is even half as tough as his Dad he will be able to hold his own

This is why you still need some size to your team. Hopefully Raz fills out his frame and Mantha adds more bulk.

There was some discussion that Tom Wilson isn't worth his $5M contract, crap like this shows that he is. Plus he's becoming a decent player.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

Playoff hockey is amazing and I can't wait until we make it back in

I'm not a big fan of the new playoff format, but these intra-division series have been mean, nasty and very entertaining to watch.

Like you, I repeatedly find myself missing the nerves, emotions and intensity of having our team involved in such meaningful games - Hopefully we have a team that can make some post season noise soon.

 

[newfy]

This is why you still need some size to your team. Hopefully Raz fills out his frame and Mantha adds more bulk.

There was some discussion that Tom Wilson isn't worth his $5M contract, crap like this shows that he is. Plus he's becoming a decent player.

You dont even need a guy as tough as Wilson. Having Bertuzzi, Mantha, McIsaac, Bowey, Abdelkader, Rasmussen even Hronek and a few other guys around is pretty much tough enough in todays NHL to not worry about a guy like Debrusk running around against the team. Muzzin got beat up by Jensen this year, Kadri is literally the only guy on the Leafs that plays a somewhat gritty game. Cant win in the playoffs that soft

Edit.. might as well throw Svechnikov into that group as well, he definitely isnt soft and does pretty well when he fights which is a couple times a season

 

[Gniwder]

You dont even need a guy as tough as Wilson. Having Bertuzzi, Mantha, McIsaac, Bowey, Abdelkader, Rasmussen even Hronek and a few other guys around is pretty much tough enough in todays NHL to not worry about a guy like Debrusk running around against the team. Muzzin got beat up by Jensen this year, Kadri is literally the only guy on the Leafs that plays a somewhat gritty game. Cant win in the playoffs that soft

Edit.. might as well throw Svechnikov into that group as well, he definitely isnt soft and does pretty well when he fights which is a couple times a season

Well it's nice to have him even if you don't need a guy that tough. He plays hockey well enough.

Also, lol at TJ Brodie. I though he was gonna try to tackle Nieto, couldn't catch up to him and couldn't trip him without a stick.

 

[Gniwder]

They just showed the replay, TJ Brodie tried to dive at Nieto's feet.

 

[avssuc]

Anyone been watching the Jets and Blues? How has Trouba looked? If the Jets get bounced, I wonder if he will be more soured on staying there.

 

[Shaman464]

Kadri really should get a playoffs+1 suspension.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Kadri really should get a playoffs+1 suspension.

meh. Kadri is a dirty POS but DeBrusk also played dead until Kadri got tossed, then miraculously sprung to his feet.

That game was horribly managed by officials. I'm surprised it didn't get even more out of hand.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

My point is that Mrazek is a better goalie, that's all I said. What is your point?

Start out saying that Mrazek won't be an NHL goalie and now you concede he's going to get a raise and term. You can't even hold a consistent argument....

Mrazek isn’t a better goalie though. His “true colors” will show eventually. His style is not consistent and he’s not someone that a good or even average team should hitch their wagon to

 

[Gniwder]

Mrazek isn’t a better goalie though. His “true colors” will show eventually. His style is not consistent and he’s not someone that a good or even average team should hitch their wagon to

LOL, as if Bernier is any good. At least Mrazek can steal games. They're both really inconsistent but the numbers speak for themselves.

If you had to pick either one as your number one starter, which one would you pick? If you tell me Bernier, we really have nothing to discuss because I can't respect you enough to discuss hockey with you.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Man this Columbus-Tampa series is giving me 2003 flashbacks.

I think Tampa wins game 3 for what it's worth, I think they rally behind losing Kucherov for a game.

God, I'd love love love love for the Islanders to bounce the Penguins. I'm absolutely rooting for them.

Calgary is extremely exciting to watch. Ditto San Jose, it's a shame they're stuck with Jones and Dell.

 

[lomekian]

Mrazek is on a one-year "prove it" deal looking for an opportunity to be a starter. Probably his last chance in his career to make a dent in the NHL. Carolina was the best spot for him. He's going to get a significant raise and term this offseason. I'm not sure what your point is. Both Bernier and Mrazek are average goalies.

The point is Bernier has proven what he is and is overpaid for what he is. Mrazek has shown wildly variable levels of play so we aren't as sure what he is, and he, this year costs half of what Bernier does. I don't think anyone is saying that we should have qualified Mrazek, just that Mrazek at present is better value for money than Bernier.

From my perspective, with the team as it is, I'd prefer Mrazek to Bernier because we'd have more blowouts in tanktastic action, but also more random stolen wins. Bernier is solid but seldom excellent. Mrazek can oft be excellent but is seldom solid. You wouldn't want either if you were a real contender, but if you were a gambler with a good defensive set up, you'd take Mrazek because for all his inconsistency, he's a lot more likely to steal you a playoff series with random lights out play. If you have lots of goalscorers, you'd probably want Bernier as his efforts are a lot more predictable, and his career numbers are unremarkable but very stable.

 

[NickH8]

There was no way DeBrusk could have avoided that knee on knee contact. If anything Kadri made it worse by trying to lunge out of the way. DeBrusk couldn't dodge it without allowing himself to get leveled.
His hit on Marleau was shoulder to shoulder, perfectly clean.

 

[Hen Kolland]

There was no way DeBrusk could have avoided that knee on knee contact. If anything Kadri made it worse by trying to lunge out of the way. DeBrusk couldn't dodge it without allowing himself to get leveled.
His hit on Marleau was shoulder to shoulder, perfectly clean.

No. He led with the knee, knowing that whether or not he made shoulder contact, he was going to without fail drive his knee directly into Kadri’s knee from a vulnerable angle. I love how the excuse is “well the player tried to get out of the way and made it worse” like players are supposed to just allow themselves to get destroyed by open ice hits. Of course Kadri moved, it should be expected, which is why the fact that the knee was still in position to make contact makes it even more obvious that it was done intentionally under disguise of an attempted shoulder to shoulder hit.

Regarding the hit on Marleau, it’s something we see a lot, but it doesn’t make it any less of shithead play. He came from Marleau’s blind spot, hit was shoulder on shoulder sure, but he continued to run him along the boards into the “turnbuckle” and clipped him with an elbow on his way out. I don’t think it’s necessarily a penalty, but it’s a hit that the players will identify as being fairly classless every single time. He deserved a Leaf having words with him, and the fact that it was Kadri compounded the issue.

Honestly I think DeBrusk more than deserves what he got, but with a virtual guarantee that Kadri won’t see the ice for the rest of this series (totally deserves the suspension) and the fact that nobody else on the Leafs has the balls to so much as attempt to lay a hit on anyone, DeBrusk will sleep easy.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

Anyone been watching the Jets and Blues? How has Trouba looked? If the Jets get bounced, I wonder if he will be more soured on staying there.

The last quarter of the season Trouba (with Buff and Morrissey injured) is not the same Trouba I've seen in the playoffs. I thought he was particularly bad in game 2.

Maybe he thrives more in the bigger role, because with Buff and Moz out I thought he looked like a legit 1st pair and 1st pp d-man.

I'd have to add that no Wpg dman has looked very good this series.

 

[Hen Kolland]

How big of a legacy cementer is it if Trotz is able to win in Washington, get booted to the curb, join the Islanders, lose his best player and captain, and yet still win another cup in back to back years?

 

[jkutswings]

The last quarter of the season Trouba (with Buff and Morrissey injured) is not the same Trouba I've seen in the playoffs. I thought he was particularly bad in game 2.

Maybe he thrives more in the bigger role, because with Buff and Moz out I thought he looked like a legit 1st pair and 1st pp d-man.

I'd have to add that no Wpg dman has looked very good this series.

I'm not too concerned about Trouba looking meh in the playoffs. Crazy things can happen with a small sample size, especially in a bad matchup.

Shoot, Hedman looks awful against Columbus. Now that might be at least partly due to injury, but the point is I'm not downgrading how I view Hedman because of this series, and there's still reason to consider Trouba.

 

[Winger98]

The Isles/Pens is a snoozer today.

 

[Konnan511]

The Isles/Pens is a snoozer today.

I dunno, I enjoy seeing the Pens lose and their home crowd turn on them.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

I'm not too concerned about Trouba looking meh in the playoffs. Crazy things can happen with a small sample size, especially in a bad matchup.

Shoot, Hedman looks awful against Columbus. Now that might be at least partly due to injury, but the point is I'm not downgrading how I view Hedman because of this series, and there's still reason to consider Trouba.

I agree with you. Trouba has won me over with his play at the end of the season. He was one of the few bright spots on that team as they closed out the season so disappointingly.

 

[raymond23]

I really hope the Islanders aren't another Ottawa. Boring ass hockey lol. Good for them and their fans though, they deserve some success.

 

[TheRatPoisoner]

How big of a legacy cementer is it if Trotz is able to win in Washington, get booted to the curb, join the Islanders, lose his best player and captain, and yet still win another cup in back to back years?

Didn't think he was booted to the curb -- thought he left because Caps weren't willing to pay him what he was asking for.

Nonetheless, yeah, it'd be pretty impressive

 

[Gniwder]

I really hope the Islanders aren't another Ottawa. Boring ass hockey lol. Good for them and their fans though, they deserve some success.

Islanders have fans? They do need some success because they have the lowest attendance in the league, lower than Florida or Arizona.

NJ won 3 cups with boring ass hockey. Islanders aren't quite as boring but if it works....

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Didn't think he was booted to the curb -- thought he left because Caps weren't willing to pay him what he was asking for.

Nonetheless, yeah, it'd be pretty impressive

that's my understanding as well. But still, when you bring the team their first Cup in franchise history, you'd think maybe they'd open their wallet instead of saying "nah, we've got guys here that can do it without your help."

He's done an amazing job with the Islanders. They're obviously defensive minded but it's not like it's old school NJ trap trap trap hockey.