Around the League playoff edition

[KINGS17]

I thought Radulov was outstanding tonight. He made things happen out there.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I can't believe Dallas is 3 games away from the Stanley Cup.

Dallas going to the cup finals, and possibly winning it, is more far-fetched than the Kings making the playoffs next season.

There's so much parity in this league now that's it generated a lot of randomness. Luck is a bigger factor than ever. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

After their 1-7-1 start to the year, they did have the 4th best record in the league since Oct 19th. #1 in GA.

Not that at least getting to the Final without the most overly impressive looking roster is weird for the NHL. That was pretty normal even before the cap. Look at the last 3 years before the cap. Calgary, Anaheim, and Carolina were hardly great. Sometimes it just clicks though. Minnesota in 1991. Vancouver in 1994. They had Bure, and a couple other former top 10 picks, but they finished 14th out of 26 teams. Barely .500, and that was real .500 back then. Down 3-1 in the 1st round to Calgary. But there they were, forcing Game 7 in the Final after being down 3-1 again.

Although, because you can't load up on a roster due to the cap, it does feel like luck is a bigger factor now. I'm not sure I'm completely sold that it is, but a lot of that perception, rightly or wrongly, is because of what the Kings did in 12. Not your typical 8th seed, only a couple points from being a division winner, etc, etc, but that perception hasn't gone away, even 8 years and another Cup later. It's still, well even an 8th seed can win it.

Because a salary cap is so anathema to what a free market is supposed to be, there is a feeling that results are lesser than before, but hockey itself is much more random than other sports. In 1989, while they didn't make the Final, a 27-41-12 Chicago team got to the 3rd round. Granted, the division winning Red Wings were only 34-34-12, so it wasn't the best division in a division based playoff format, but still. In 1999, Buffalo really had no business being 2 wins from a Cup with the roster they had, but there they were. Dixon Ward was tied for the team lead in playoff goals that year. The same Dixon Ward that the Kings traded a finished Jimmy Carson for.

In a weird year, I can't tell if what the Stars are doing makes sense or not. Historically, or just in this one season. The answer is sometimes yes, and sometimes no.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I don't think you can just get lucky for four rounds, though. And Dallas got results in the regular season as you pointed out. And on paper, they're actually a pretty monstrous team outside goaltending, the 'problem' is they're loaded up on vets so HF thinks they're a bunch of old fat zombies running around when really they're just a bunch of smart, hungry, big dudes who can play a system. And of course that's supplemented by stellar youth and a somehow-underrated d-core with the best young two-way d-man since Drew Doughty currently snuffing out anyone while scoring over PPG, Lindell complementing him, Klingberg is Voynov on steroids, Oleksiak has been underrated his whole career, and so on. The 'luck' they are getting is some depth popping in goals--Dwight King, anyone?--and their goaltending, supplemented by team defense, going nuclear--also sounds familiar, right?

I see a lot of similarities between the perceptions vs. reality of this Dallas Stars team vs. the 2012 Kings right down to everyone poo pooing their chances the whole way to the SCF. Even before game 1, the Lightning were supposed to have an easy series.

Even with the randommness of hockey and the parity of the cap era, NHL squads have to earn it more than any other sport. 7-game series all the way thru lend themselves to that. You don't have the shortened opening series' of baseball where a couple of killer pitching performances can wreck a high seed (imagine having to face Degrom in a 3 gamer) and are ripe for spoiler performances, the imbalance of top-vs-bottom seeds in basketball, or the one-game-take-all of the NFL.

 

[King'sPawn]

Let's also not ignore these teams had an unusual break due to COVID and equal travel (staying in a hub). Not to take away from Dallas, success, but no conclusions should be reached when compared to a regular season.

 

[bouncesonly]

Point and Kucherov with a -3 and -2. On one of the goals against they end up watching Oleksiak get his own rebound for a goal. How do you let a defenseman get his own rebound? Tampa gonna need to step up their defense.

 

[Telos]

The season will be debated over and have an invisible asterisk next to it, but they still played the full postseason and more for qualifiers. In the end, it is still a Cup win. While you can argue any which way of what should have been, they still played all the games, and the fanbase and players that win it are still going to celebrate it as such.

 

[BringTheReign]

Dallas may have players who have underperformed their contracts, but saying they have a weak roster for a contender is wrong. Klingberg and Heiskanen were both top 15 defensemen this year. Lindell is a #2 on most teams. Dobby and Bishop are both top 30 goalies (in their system, anyways). Benn and Seguin have lost some shine, but they've both been bonafide all stars, as has Pavelski. Gurianov and Hintz are future legit top 6 producers.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Think this is the Stars year.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I think people also forget Dallas was in double OT with the Cup champs last year and were this close to moving on



The Blues scored about a minute later

 

[Bandit]

It would be fitting for Dallas to win it this year. They can be the first team two have two cups with an asterisk next to both.

 

[cyclones22]

Dallas defense is elite and the goaltending has been stellar all season long. The offense has been just enough to win games. In the Playoffs they're a -3 shot differential per game and a +1 goal differential overall . Hell it was only +3 during the regular season. The absolute personification of scraping by. The defense hasn't been as stout in the postseason, but the offense has been timely so far to get them 3 games away from a Cup. If you hang your hat on defense and goaltending and your underperforming offense can wake up, you can get places. It's not like the roster doesn't have offensive talent. It does and now it's awake enough to compliment the defense and goaltending. I'm rooting for them, but this series is just starting.

 

[Jericho111091]

I've heard from a very reliable source that Maroon sucks at hockey.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Hate to do this to a fellow Kings fan, but I had to bring it up due to the hilarity.

The cap hit is the only factor. Age is not. Kopitar is still an elite defensive center. If his offensive game can produce 50-60 points at a minimum, you're looking at the best #2 center in the NHL (arguably with Malkin) for at least 3-4 more years. Edmonton could be a contender within 2-3 years. I'd be shocked if Kopitar wasn't still better than Draisaitl overall in 3-4 years.

Posting this because Leon Draisaitl won the Hart and Lindsay Trophy three years after this was posted

 

[kingsholygrail]

I like that Drew Doughty can still mine salt despite being completely out of the Norris picture.

 

[Bandit]

Hate to do this to a fellow Kings fan, but I had to bring it up due to the hilarity.


Posting this because Leon Draisaitl won the Hart and Lindsay Trophy three years after this was posted

ZERO cups!

 

[KINGS17]

Hate to do this to a fellow Kings fan, but I had to bring it up due to the hilarity.


Posting this because Leon Draisaitl won the Hart and Lindsay Trophy three years after this was posted

Inenvitable.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Might be a good idea to stay out of the box against Tampa Bay.

 

[Jericho111091]

Undisciplined 1st period by Dallas so far

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

ZERO cups!

Not that I expect the Oilers to win the Cup given the current makeup of their roster, but you’d imagine a team with McDavid and Draisaitl would at some point contend for a Cup. It’s just like having Crosby and Malkin, except if you surrounded them with a pile of crap and shitty goaltending.

 

[Brodeur]

A few years back, Mark Yannetti was doing a podcast and the host asked if it he could divulge any "near draft misses" that the Kings had over the years. Yannetti thought about it for a moment (seemingly didn't want to disclose anything too juicy) and said that they had been targeting Hellebuyck in the 5th round in 2012. Winnipeg took him ~20 picks before the Kings pick.

Now I can also bug my coworker (Pens fan who doesn't really follow anybody else) who insisted in 2017 that they could get a ton from Winnipeg for Marc-Andre Fleury. When I told him they already had Hellebuyck, he responded with a dismissive "Who?" [/coolstorybro]

 

[KINGS17]

Stay onside Youngblood.

 

[Telos]

Damn, Klingberg is going to regret that fan.

 

[KINGS17]

Not that I expect the Oilers to win the Cup given the current makeup of their roster, but you’d imagine a team with McDavid and Draisaitl would at some point contend for a Cup. It’s just like having Crosby and Malkin, except if you surrounded them with a pile of crap and shitty goaltending.

There isn't anyone here who wouldn't trade Kopitar for Draisaitl straight up and add from the Kings side of the deal.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

There isn't anyone here who wouldn't trade Kopitar for Draisaitl straight up and add from the Kings side of the deal.

You'd be surprised by the answers here three years ago when the idea was brought up, haha. I suggested that there’s no way Edmonton would do that swap well before Draisaitl broke out, and some Kings fans thought otherwise.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Reminder that Sergei Bobrovsky somehow has two Vezinas.