Around the League Thread | The Conference Finals Begin!

[Vector]

 

[JT Milker]

The rich get richer.

 

[HairyKneel]

The rich get richer.

The blind leading the blind.

DeBoer should be fired and shouldn’t get another hc position for a long time. Completely unprofessional and unacceptable behavior.

That was pretty gross. The guy is a f***ing gear box. He basically killed Janik Hansen's career. He submarined him. I remember Hansen being so jacked to play in the bay. Jumbo picked him up at the airport (dude is the bee's knees) and he stsrted out well. DeBumb shitcanned our squeaky voiced Dane because he's just a shitty human. He is like Babs. Just a rotten piece of shit.

 

[thecupismine]

Panthers in game 7 OT for maximum Oilers heartbreak…is what my heart says.

My brain says the Oilers are going to do this like the 09 Penguins did despite having a weaker roster than last year (which again is similar to the 09 Penguins).

Still crazy how bad they fumbled the bag this past offseason and it hasn’t mattered one bit yet.

 

[supercanuck]

I think you can agitate McBaby get him off his game. I think Garland/Soucy/Miler/Zad/etc. did a great job on him in our series last year. Bennett/Marchand/Tkachuk would hopefully be able to do the same. Loss of Hyman will be huge in terms of their secondary scoring against the Panthers.

 

[Jyrki]

Saw a bit more of the usual weaknesses from Skinner in this game, the second Robertson goal was weak and extremely familiar. I just think Bob is a superior goalie to Skinner, and I dont know if the Oilers will be able to keep up their defence which has a big chance to expose Skinner. And their forechecking might not work because the Panthers also have a very strong forecheck. The Oilers might not get to work the body as they did against Dallas.

I was convinced the Stars had the better depth and the better goalie, look how that turned out...

The Oilers have a bunch of guys who should be washed, but they've held up so far. They'll be up against a fairly binary system and they have the tools to beat it. McDrai are the playoffs top scorers but have shot below average. So I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

That was pretty gross. The guy is a f***ing gear box. He basically killed Janik Hansen's career. He submarined him. I remember Hansen being so jacked to play in the bay. Jumbo picked him up at the airport (dude is the bee's knees) and he stsrted out well. DeBumb shitcanned our squeaky voiced Dane because he's just a shitty human. He is like Babs. Just a rotten piece of shit.

Fortunately he never won a Cup. I remember the 2016 SCF's where he elected to overplay Joe Thornton in key situations when it was evident he was gassed and couldn't keep up with the pace. He should have been playing Couture 25+ minutes in that series...

It's insane to me that Cody Ceci played all 5 games for Dallas in the WCF. Even f***ing Matt Dumba would have been a better option.

 

[timw33]

Embarrassing scheduling for the Finals. Four separate two-day breaks and a six-day break between the conference finals and the finals. And then they are going to wonder why no one is watching the SCF featuring two of the games biggest stars?

Just grinding momentum to a halt and throwing off the whole cadence.

 

[StreetHawk]

Concerts and other events being booked probably.

Here is the event schedule for Florida's arena. Only events in June are the hockey playoffs. Nothing in July.
Oilers have a concert on June 10. The other events in June are at their Fan Park, not Rogers Place.

This schedule is on the NHL and their TV partners.

Events | Amerant Bank Arena

www.amerantbankarena.com

Event Calendar | Rogers Place

A calendar of upcoming events at Rogers Place. Oilers and Oil Kings games, concerts, shows, and special events.

www.rogersplace.com

Even Rogers Arena is only hosting 3 events in June.

 

[vancityluongo]

Embarrassing scheduling for the Finals. Four separate two-day breaks and a six-day break between the conference finals and the finals. And then they are going to wonder why no one is watching the SCF featuring two of the games biggest stars?

Just grinding momentum to a halt and throwing off the whole cadence.

just noticed the nba is doing the same thing

at least the window between the conference finals and the finals isn't as insane, but gotta think this is tv driven, at least on the nhl side - two days in between fills up the airwaves until the draft/free agency.

just brutal. the product for both leagues would be so, so much better with a shorter regular season and a fully wrapped up playoff schedule by the end of may.

 

[StreetHawk]

Knicks beat the Pacers last night. So, they play game 6 of the ECF on Sat May 31. Game 7 if needed is on Monday June 2.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Unfortunately, I see little chance Edmonton doesn't win this series. They are hungry as f*** right now, mostly healthy and about to get their best defenceman back. Florida has played a ton of hockey in the last three years and are starting to show signs of getting physically worn down.

f***ing LA had them on the ropes. It's their fault we're here again.

 

[vancityluongo]

Knicks beat the Pacers last night. So, they play game 6 of the ECF on Sat May 31. Game 7 if needed is on Monday June 2.

yes, but they have five separate two day breaks as well. it's dragging things on for no clear reason. the nhl could make the excuse for when there's travel between edmonton and miami, but okc to indianapolis is a <2 hour flight.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

just noticed the nba is doing the same thing

View attachment 1044239

at least the window between the conference finals and the finals isn't as insane, but gotta think this is tv driven, at least on the nhl side - two days in between fills up the airwaves until the draft/free agency.

just brutal. the product for both leagues would be so, so much better with a shorter regular season and a fully wrapped up playoff schedule by the end of may.

I would actually be quite furious if I were an Edmonton fan. Florida has looked completely spent in some of their post-season games as their core has had a lot milage over 3 yrs. Does this stupid schedule allow them ample opportunity to catch their breath between games? Seems like Edmonton seems fresh and ready to go.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

I would actually be quite furious if I were an Edmonton fan. Florida has looked completely spent in some of their post-season games as their core has had a lot milage over 3 yrs. Does this stupid schedule allow them ample opportunity to catch their breath between games? Seems like Edmonton seems fresh and ready to go.

It does give them time to get Ekholm back, but Florida has Reinhart out and numerous others clearly playing through injuries. Definitely favors the Panthers as Edmonton is a very momentum based team, and the break could throw that for a loop.

 

[LordBacon]

Panthers in game 7 OT for maximum Oilers heartbreak…is what my heart says.

My brain says the Oilers are going to do this like the 09 Penguins did despite having a weaker roster than last year (which again is similar to the 09 Penguins).

Still crazy how bad they fumbled the bag this past offseason and it hasn’t mattered one bit yet.

They have two future HOFers leading the way,
even by HOFer standards they’re still two of the best by trajectory. That’s how good they are.

Literally game breaking talent.
It’s ridiculous.

 

[Nick Lang]

Morrow and Nikishin (who will probably be great players) here are the reason to be skeptical about trading Hronek and running both Willander and Mancini in the top 6 next season. Maybe one day, but definitely not now if you're planning on making significant headway (like we absolutely need to).

Barkov with one hell of a play on the 4-3 goal. Might be underrated once more after the Panthers added 4-5 top 6 wingers in less than 3 years. Might be a little optimistic to hope Pettersson can get there, but conditioning could make a huge difference for him.

A lot of EDM, FLA, TB, VGK, DAL, CAR in the conference finals recently... parity might be worse than the early 2010s where you only needed to find an east coast team to get blown out by CHI/LA.

Good points and I agree 100% on not going with two unproven rookies in your line-up. Recipe for disaster if you have any plans on making the playoffs.

As far as the parity I think that will correct itself in the years to come. With the flat cap only the handful of teams with a shot had any reason to make bold moves to get better. The rest just stood pat and the smart ones, unlike ourselves, gathered assets for the future and plodded along. Now, as the cap increases we should see more of these teams emerge as contenders after making moves to compete with the top teams.

 

[Nick Lang]

That's garbage. Part of the playoffs is the grind and the momentum. And if one team can close out a series faster, they should be rewarded with more rest. But if either or, there's 1 week break in between anyway, what's the point. Might do more harm than good.

As a fan and practical person I'd like to get these going asap too. However, I do get the point of waiting at least several days to try and get everyone healthy so you have the best on best. Like in the NFL they have an extra week layoff to make the game as fair and entertaining as possible. Although that's just one game and hockey has 4-7. I googled the NFL reasoning and it seems it's mostly for promotion and building hype, which I guess makes sense.

Anyways in my mind 4 days would be pretty adequate so hopefully it's only 6 days and we're good to go on Wednesday. I guess it is set for Wednesday, June 4th but possibly four, 2 day rest periods in-between games 3,4,6, and 7. How lame of the NHL. Is this due to scheduling conflicts? I hope so. Still they gotta get these finals done sooner imo. I guess hockey is better than no hockey though.

 

[racerjoe]

I know it can't happen... but I like the idea of games every other day for the playoffs... so you get no extra days off unless you win your series early.

Totally get why that can't happen... just saying I always like that idea.

 

[Nick Lang]

Unfortunately, I see little chance Edmonton doesn't win this series. They are hungry as f*** right now, mostly healthy and about to get their best defenceman back. Florida has played a ton of hockey in the last three years and are starting to show signs of getting physically worn down.

f***ing LA had them on the ropes. It's their fault we're here again.

You're letting these guys live rent free in your head. Who cares if they win? Someone has to and it's not even close to being us.

yes, but they have five separate two day breaks as well. it's dragging things on for no clear reason. the nhl could make the excuse for when there's travel between edmonton and miami, but okc to indianapolis is a <2 hour flight.

It appears they are doing this on purpose. I guess it keeps them relevant longer, and is probably geared towards maximizing viewership. Staggered with basketball so no head to head competition there either. In the infamous words of McCann, "it is what it is".

 

[God]

fml why do i have to be alive for an edmonton stanley cup win

 

[Breakers]

The league still doesn’t grasp that this same gap starting the finals is sooooo bad for viewership

I honestly don’t think they’ll ever get it.

They outlined it on TSN
7 days last year
5 this year

Should be 3 days MAX

Like everybody lays into them for this.
It’s not a popular league to begin with and you throw all momentum out the window

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

f*** DeBore. Kevin Spacey lookin head ass.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

fml why do i have to be alive for an edmonton stanley cup win

Not to worry. We will probably be alive for the Canucks Stanley Cup win.

Yep, The Houston Canucks.

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]