Around the NHL 2023-2024

[jura]

Go Cats!

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

barkov is a monster!

 

[Xerloris]

I like Monty and I like Maroon but f*** it feels so good watching Boston get f***ed.

 

[BlueDream]

I like Monty and I like Maroon but f*** it feels so good watching Boston get f***ed.

Especially seeing all their tears over what Bennett did to Marchand.

Marchand has done shit like that his entire career, so I have zero sympathy for them. It’s beautiful to see them cry.

 

[BlueOil]

bennett pushing coyle reminded me of maroon pushing lindell to score the game winner

greasy goal but love that it counts after review

 

[Eldon Reid]

I'm curious on the goalie interference if they think even with the push/cross check that Swayman wouldn't have saved it. That's my question on it.

Reminds me of the Allen play with Boston 6-7 years ago. Claim Allen wasn't going to save it after being what happen or he didn't try.

 

[Mike Liut]

My winter home is in Naples. Can I claim the Panthers as my 2nd home team?

 

[Ranksu]

New angle. Bennett hits Marchand. Rat get served.

 

[Spektre]

New angle. Bennett hits Marchand. Rat get served.

I’m sticking with it’s a hockey play

McDavid got lumber to the mouth

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I'm curious on the goalie interference if they think even with the push/cross check that Swayman wouldn't have saved it. That's my question on it.

Reminds me of the Allen play with Boston 6-7 years ago. Claim Allen wasn't going to save it after being what happen or he didn't try.

Even in real time it bugged me that Allen didn't even make any effort to fight through the contact and try to make the save. Yes, it should have been goalie interference. But I kind of wasn't surprised they didn't call it because of the tone set by his lackadaisical response.

 

[BlueOil]

I like Monty and I like Maroon but f*** it feels so good watching Boston get f***ed.

kind of surprised how poorly monty is handling this series and feels like he's setting the wrong tone for their team

he's had a masterclass from chief on how to respond to adversity and officiating in the playoffs and seems to prefer to act like an irate toddler rather than a head coach

 

[PocketNines]

"They took our dream from us"

 

[Xerloris]

Even in real time it bugged me that Allen didn't even make any effort to fight through the contact and try to make the save. Yes, it should have been goalie interference. But I kind of wasn't surprised they didn't call it because of the tone set by his lackadaisical response.

I mean what's he suppose to do? Flail his arms around? 2 players pushed him out of the crease.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I mean what's he suppose to do? Flail his arms around? 2 players pushed him out of the crease.

Pretty much yeah, try to shove a guy out of the way and swim back to the crease. I think if the optics were like that, he’d have gotten the call.

 

[Brian39]

I have really, really enjoyed the 2nd round so far. The 1st round was relatively boring with al the pretenders being easily dispatched, but the resulting best-on-best round 2 has been fantastic.

I've been glued to all 3 Dallas/Colorado games. Two great teams with two very different styles. I'm rooting for Dallas, but I want to see this one go to game 7.

Vancouver/Edmonton hasn't been what I expected, but I've enjoyed it a ton. I think Edmonton has been carrying the play by a pretty wide margin and I'm not sure if Vancouver can win the series without turning that around. Or maybe Skinner falls all the way apart and we once again see a supremely talented Oilers team undone by their goalie. Either way, it's very fun as a neutral observer.

Boston/Florida has been wild, although I don't expect it to continue much longer. Say what you will about discipline, distraction, whatever. Florida is a much better team than Boston. Fun while it is lasting though.

I think that Rangers/Canes has been closer than the 3-1 series status suggests, but holy cow has Shesterkin been good. I'm hoping the Canes can win tonight to at least keep this one going. I don't really want to see the Rangers sit for a week.

 

[TheDizee]

hope berube does not go to toronto. he will ruin his legacy by coaching that group of crybaby chokers

 

[ezcreepin]

hope berube does not go to toronto. he will ruin his legacy by coaching that group of crybaby chokers

If Berube was coaching that team when they acquired ROR, Acciari, and also got Barbashev and Edmundson, they might've actually won lmao

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

My winter home is in Naples. Can I claim the Panthers as my 2nd home team?

When are you hosting the state-of-the-forum meet-up next February?

 

[joe galiba]

I have really, really enjoyed the 2nd round so far. The 1st round was relatively boring with al the pretenders being easily dispatched, but the resulting best-on-best round 2 has been fantastic.

I've been glued to all 3 Dallas/Colorado games. Two great teams with two very different styles. I'm rooting for Dallas, but I want to see this one go to game 7.

Vancouver/Edmonton hasn't been what I expected, but I've enjoyed it a ton. I think Edmonton has been carrying the play by a pretty wide margin and I'm not sure if Vancouver can win the series without turning that around. Or maybe Skinner falls all the way apart and we once again see a supremely talented Oilers team undone by their goalie. Either way, it's very fun as a neutral observer.

Boston/Florida has been wild, although I don't expect it to continue much longer. Say what you will about discipline, distraction, whatever. Florida is a much better team than Boston. Fun while it is lasting though.

I think that Rangers/Canes has been closer than the 3-1 series status suggests, but holy cow has Shesterkin been good. I'm hoping the Canes can win tonight to at least keep this one going. I don't really want to see the Rangers sit for a week.

Vancouver & Edmonton is interesting to me
both teams have two fantastic centers and a very good offensive defenseman and one high scoring winger and then a whole lot of meh
the Oilers two centers are better than the Canucks two centers and the Canucks offensive dman is better than the Oilers, the rest of the Oilers forwards are a bit better than the Canucks, but the Oilers goaltending is once again terrible
honestly cannot see either team beating Dallas or the Avs

 

[The Note]

I can’t imagine Skinner gets the start for Edmonton in their next game. While Pickard probably won’t be anything special at least you have to hope he isn’t bleeding goals back there. Maybe he catches fire or maybe he just buys Skinner a mental reset and they can go back to him later in the series, but it seems unthinkable to give him the start right now.

Boston’s totally unglued from the GM on down. Florida’s a much better team, no doubt, but Boston seems more focused on complaining about missed calls than anything else. They’ve gotten the short end of the stick in some regards but they’re also taking their fair share of absolutely mind numbing penalties. I’ll be surprised if that series isn’t wrapped up in Florida tomorrow night.

 

[LogosBlue]

hope berube does not go to toronto. he will ruin his legacy by coaching that group of crybaby chokers

I'd be willing to bet he ends up there. So many coaching turnovers this year though....

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

I've thoroughly enjoyed the second round matchups. Definitely makes up for what was one of the most boring first rounds in recent memory.

- If Dallas can put together another strong road game like they did in Game 3, you have to imagine they can pretty much punch their ticket to the WCF, and I don't see them getting much resistance on the way to the SCF from either of the Pacific teams. There's a couple teams in the NHL that I'm truly jealous of, and the Stars are one of those team. Strong and balanced from top to bottom. This has been my favorite series of the playoffs so far.

- Hurricanes have gotten goalied. That series could easily be 3-1 in their favor if Shesterkin wasn't a brick wall in the first three games. It'll be interesting to see what happens tonight. If the Hurricanes can stay out of the box, I like their chances to extend this thing. Don't sleep on Carolina taking this to seven. Two Cup Finals-worthy hockey teams here.

- The other series have been downright nasty. Florida is a nightmare to play against in a playoff series and Boston is completely overmatched as I expected them to be. They don't have the horses to compete like they used to. Oilers have outplayed the Canucks but their unaddressed goaltending issues are going to keep them from advancing any farther if they're able to bounce back v. Vancouver. Skinner has been atrocious. Canucks fans continue to prove themselves as perhaps the ugliest fanbase in the NHL on the socials.

I'm addicted to playoff hockey and I'm glad we're seeing some good battles after that snoozer of a first round.

 

[Brockon]

Vancouver & Edmonton is interesting to me
both teams have two fantastic centers and a very good offensive defenseman and one high scoring winger and then a whole lot of meh
the Oilers two centers are better than the Canucks two centers and the Canucks offensive dman is better than the Oilers, the rest of the Oilers forwards are a bit better than the Canucks, but the Oilers goaltending is once again terrible
honestly cannot see either team beating Dallas or the Avs

Respectfully disagree here... Just look at the ice time splits from game 3 (finished in regulation) - Edmonton is riding their top line and top pairing to a ridiculous degree, Vancouver is spreading out the ice time better and is far more likely to at least challenge the Central team that moves on rather than flop like a wet noodle against a contender.

Do I value Vancouver's chances against Dallas or Colorado, no. I'd say they've got maybe a 30/70 shot at moving on, especially if Demko returns and plays better than Silovs (expected to be available for game 6/7 if needed). But, Silovs has been damn good for the Canucks.

I'd think Edmonton has at best 10/90 odds to make it to a final, their depth just isn't adequate to tread water for the 30-35 mins their top guys aren't on the ice.

Edmonton TOI leaders
Bouchard 31:24
McDavid 29:42
Draisaitl 29:04
Hyman 26:12
Ekholm 23:46

Vancouver
Myers 22:56
Hughes 21:14
Miller 21:50
Boeser 20:52
Lindholm 20:22

I get that you shorten your bench when you're down and you roll 4 lines when you're up, but when Karlsson making his NHL playoffs debut plays 9:48 which is more than 5 Oilers forwards skated... You've got a problem.

Oh yeah, and Nils Aman also made his NHL playoff debut, skating 10:52 - playing more than the Oilers 6D Vinny Desharnais' 10:45.

I can't concede the Oilers have better depth when a team barely plays their bottom 6 or bottom pairing. Their top line is incredible, but the Oilers barely have anything behind that to worry about.

 

[Brockon]

Even when you look at the Canucks ice time splits in Game 1, when they were down 1-4 until they scored with 2:59 left in the 2nd period, then scored 3 more in the 3rd...

Oilers 1/1 on PP. Canucks 0/3. Yes, that skews the deployment, but god damn - even chasing the lead Vancouver had 1 skater play more in game 1 than the #5 guy in TOI for the Oilers skates today, while trying to dig out of a deficit for a huge part of the game.

I'd argue as poorly constructed as the Leafs are, their team is better constructed than the Oilers by a fair margin.

Edmonton top 6 TOI
Bouchard 25:42
McDavid 24:03
Ekholm 23:42
Hyman 21:50
RNH 19:48
Nurse 18:53

Bonus(Draisaitl 16:43 he was injured if memory serves and missed part of the 2nd - unless that was game 2)

Vancouver top 6 TOI
Hughes 25:30
Miller 22:51
Boeser 21:52
Hronek 20:50
Myers 19:52
Pettersson 19:09

 

[Brian39]

Vancouver & Edmonton is interesting to me
both teams have two fantastic centers and a very good offensive defenseman and one high scoring winger and then a whole lot of meh
the Oilers two centers are better than the Canucks two centers and the Canucks offensive dman is better than the Oilers, the rest of the Oilers forwards are a bit better than the Canucks, but the Oilers goaltending is once again terrible
honestly cannot see either team beating Dallas or the Avs

I think you're selling Vancouver a bit short.

Elias Lindholm is miles better than your average 3C. He finished top 10 in Selke voting last year and was the runner up the year before. He's been a legit 1C in this league and is a no-doubt top 6 center. I don't think there is a better '3rd line center' left in the playoffs. Vancouver's wingers don't look great on paper, but the massive center depth is allowing them to run 3 really effective lines.

And then they also have elite goaltending. Demko is a Vezina finalist and Silovs has been playing like an elite guy in a short sample. The odds of him providing elite goaltending for several more weeks are slim, but Demko resumed skating last week and will be back eventually. The goaltending combined with the Tochett's system/structure goes a long way to helping the non-top-pair part of the blueline.

I'll be picking the winner of Dallas/Colorado over the winner of Edmonton/Vancouver, but I don't think that the Pacific team will be massive underdogs.