I think Hintz is a very good hockey player, but Dallas played a more desperate game without Hintz in the lineup. Dadnov got more minutes and Seguin and Benn were playing together. No fault of Hintz, but once he was put back in the lineup the combinations went back to where they were beforehand, and I think some of the players were looking for Hintz to lead a bit more.
I think Crosby Pens were expected to be where they were though. I don't think the Oilers will end up in the SCF potentially. If teams really learn to wrangle their PP then I dont see them ever getting this far again. But hey maybe im wrong.
There was a stretch in the second half of the Canucks series and first half of the Dallas series where their PP went cold. Yes, you won’t completely stop it but it can be contained somewhat. The key to me is the Panthers countering with their own PP goals. The Oilers PK is what has gotten them this far, I think.
The younger guys have come into their own and provided grit. Previously they just stuffed the cheapest vet talent in the bottom 6 and hoped for the best. I still think their defensive corp is extremely suspect, except for Ekholm.
IMO the problem is a lack of winning. I don’t really care at the end of the day who is there and what they make as long as they win a lot more than they lose.
And Bouchard is the highest graded player in the entire playoffs by a pretty significant margin.
I blocked most of the guys that do that.
Did these guys get you a job? If not, who cares whether some other fan “respects” them or doesn’t?
This is a stupid argument and you know it.
I spend my entertainment dollars on the team, that’s my skin in the game. It’s about the crest on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back. That’s the bottom line logic of any sports fan. You are making excuses to think it is about some immaterial feelings instead.
It's interesting because the league would like to be able to market its best player and they finally have him in the SCF. It would seem like him winning would be great for the NHL but, at the end of the day, he plays in Edmonton so it doesn't really mean shit to a US audience and it isn't going to make Edmonton any more/less a hockey town. Also, McDavid is a complete and utter bore off the ice so marketing him is rough.
And is about to play game 1 in the Stanley Cup. Holland was looking pretty clueless a few years ago but he seems to have an idea on how to build a winner. The Red Wings had one of the most successful eras in NHL history under his watch. He did a lot of it with Chris Osgood and now Skinner.
Some say the same about DL.
