Maybe the arrogance of entitlement of the old boy's club in Edmonton has finally departed. That combined with the maturation process of their prospects finally reaching a level of maturity that is allowing them to give up their own selfish wants and desires and instead buy into a coach's philosophy and game plan. No longer do Conner McDavid and Leon Draisaitl play a selfish, highlight real - look at me game, having bought into the coach's plan and other players are now also following suit.Maybe I'm jealous, but I cannot give Edmonton any credit with all the #1 draft picks they were handed in the draft lottery over the last 10+ years
..they should've won a Stanley Cup by now with all those picks
Probably. Most Americans who aren't hockey fans don't even know where Edmonton is or that Florida has pro hockey teams. Rangers-Stars would have had much better tv ratings but oh well.FLA-EDM is a nightmare in terms of buzz/national interest. Will this be the lowest rated cup final in a long time?
Edmonton can win the special teams battle. They are also a fast team with a deep roster that can score. Florida will win if their forecheck and system are successful like it was the last three series they played.The only thing that will keep Edmonton in the series is refs.
What's a shame is that it will be a good showcase of the best player in the world and a really strong Panthers team as well.Probably. Most Americans who aren't hockey fans don't even know where Edmonton is or that Florida has pro hockey teams. Rangers-Stars would have had much better tv ratings but oh well.
Personally I think the NHL should start their regular season a month earlier, and the Final could be at this time in May instead of competing with the NBA Finals during the same weeks.
The real question is- when the hell is Toronto happy?Toronto won't be happy if Edmonton wins.
The Oilers ball washing has already started in full force here in Canada, with the "Edmonton could be the 1st team in 30 years to win the Stanley Cup" slogan......yuck
..and I just found out that my youngest son who's been a Flyers fan forever, has jumped onto the Oilers bandwagon
I'm almost tempted to root for Florida now
...almost
Didn't look that way to me.
This isn't soccer, you can't get a goal 10 minutes into the game and then just defend. Oilers were outshot 12-3 in the first period. Without the power plays they were dominated start to finish.
I agree that the Oilers were definitely outplayed in G6, although I'd say that there was no incentive for them to try and increase their offense after the first period once they had a 2-0 lead they could sit on. But regardless, that's only one game, and the rest of the series was back and forth as to which team was on top. Edmonton had moments when they dominated and were generating a lot of shots, and vice versa.
Can they get enough going their way against the Panthers? Maybe, going to be hard going but they have the speed and the talent. Whether they have the legs left, we'll have to see. But I don't think their last game was representative of their general level across the playoffs.
Agreed.
It is an indicator of the last game they played. But I don't ever recall seeing a team win an NHL playoff game with only 10 shots on goal.
Exactly. Of course airfare is going to be brutal this series. Maybe we should just tell Bettman to crown the Panthers now and put the savings to the Cap.Everyone was ready to crown Florida last year after sweeping Carolina. We saw how that turned out.
Exactly. Of course airfare is going to be brutal this series. Maybe we should just tell Bettman to crown the Panthers now and put the savings to the Cap.
man it's crazy how these totally bullshit "fancy stats" like expected goals keep correlating so heavily to team success. pretty wild coincidence that this keeps happening.
anyway, can't wait to add some big tough guys this summer who consistently have a negative expected goal share
Yes and noIsn't it natural that all of Canada (probably except the die hard fans of other teams) or at least the Canadian media is getting behind the one team that finally has a chance to bring the Cup back north? To be it just seems self-evident that it would be that way.
Edmonton's logged a lot of miles this postseason. Went to LA and bac once and Dallas and back twice (roughly 2,000 miles each leg), and Vancouver in between was closer geographically but went the full seven so that alone was 6 flights in a 2-week period.The travel in particular for Florida is rather interesting. It could be a greater factor than upon first glance.
Edmonton's logged a lot of miles this postseason. Went to LA and bac once and Dallas and back twice (roughly 2,000 miles each leg), and Vancouver in between was closer geographically but went the full seven so that alone was 6 flights in a 2-week period.
Florida by contrast played Tampa, right down the road, and then the Bruins and Rangers which are less than two-hour jaunts down the east coast.
So one of two things will happen: A. The wear and tear from cumulative travel will catch up with the Oil or B. They find themselves well accustomed to it and won't be as jetlagged as Florida is when they touch down in Edmonton for games 3 and 4.
They beat LA (Game 4, I think?) 1-0 in the first round, with 13 total shots. That’s the lowest total in my memory, until last night’s game.Agreed.
It is an indicator of the last game they played. But I don't ever recall seeing a team win an NHL playoff game with only 10 shots on goal.
Yes and no
It's natural to promote and advertise a Canadian team's successful journey to the Stanley Cup Finals, but every time a Canadian team makes it to the Finals, every damn sports network in the country (local, provincial and national) make such a big deal about it, and are so repetitive, that it tunes me out. Even if I was an Oiler fan, I'd get tired of the constant coverage.
If the Oilers do win the Cup, the coverage will be unbearable....so as much as I hate the panthers, a part of me is hoping they beat the Oilers, just so the constant ball washing and around the clock coverage will stop