Around The NHL: Part IX - Blues: Mission Accomplished, Dallas: TBD

[ReggieDunlop68]

Solid, solid playoffs for NYR so far. Yeah obviously TB winning would have been great but they still would have had to win the cup to get their 1st which would've been a ridiculously late pick anyway. Every Ranger fan should be tuning in to the DAL/STL series. 3 first round picks, one of them being 2OA and the other moving up a few spots with WPG being eliminated would easily be the best offseason in NYR history

See Rangerstown is new to building, but this is what building feels like.

Think of it as keeping a level head on your 401k while your neighbor pulls his out to put in a tacky pool that caves in the following year.

"Hmm...I guess it was not worth it...".

 

[eco's bones]

Take two on this post. (As an aside, how many sponsors do we need to get this site to not crash during key times, or go overboard on the ads?)

This year’s playoffs remind me of why I’ve been pushing back these last few years against getting too wrapped up in pure skill.

Yes, you need high-end skill to win. You need players who are capable of making magic with the puck.

But you also need balance, and grit, and practical skills that are transferable to in-game scenarios — especially in tighter games and in playoff competition.

Yes, having a stacked offense is nice, and it’s quite entertaining. Yes, you can usually get away with that in the regular season.

But you start to see why sometimes you end up trading a 65 point forward for a 50 point forward and a no-frills defenseman.

Those deals often don’t look great on paper, or the regular season stat sheet. However, it’s not about assembling the best team on paper.

There are plenty of people that understand what you're saying here and there are plenty that don't. Having top end skill players is very important but you need all kinds of elements to win. You need players buying in and accepting roles that sometimes aren't very glamorous. You also need depth--to be able to play 4 lines and 3 sets of D + a few extras. Playoffs are a big grind--you're playing nothing but the better teams and unless you knock out someone early there isn't a lot of time to rest between one series and the next--that is if you survive. Guys play hurt all the time in the playoffs. It's faster and nastier and if you don't have some grit guys you're not going to last. And you're not going to last if you don't have size either--and especially if you don't have much size on your D. You need great goaltending, you need lucky breaks and bounces, it helps a lot if the on ice officials don't take a disliking to you, you need to stay as relatively healthy as possible, it helps a lot to have good special teams and injuries can derail a team at any time.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Dal/Stl is our Stanley Cup Final this year.

Well they do call Dallas the Bronx of the South.

 

[Maximus]

Fleury seems like he's in god mode tonight seemingly wanting to make up for that BS flukish goal he gave up in OT in Game 6

 

[Zibanejbread]

VGK 2-0!

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Ginggererrrrrrr!!!

 

[TheBloodyNine]

NEEDED that. VGK doesn't deserve to be winning this game but I'm not gonna complain right now!

 

[Machinehead]

Karlsson on for another one.

I love the guy, but goals against follow him around like a parasite.

 

[Zibanejbread]

Goal might come back for high stick

 

[Maximus]

Huge goal there for Vegas. That's a goal boys....it was under the cross bar

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

Any chance we re-sign one of Zucc/Hayes this offseason? Condition on Dallas resigning Zucc kinda leads me to believe we want him back

 

[TheBloodyNine]

ohhhh could be coming back

 

[bl02]

My goodness is EK on for every goal against

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Huge goal there for Vegas. That's a goal boys....it was under the cross bar

These days they seem to call it how they want.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

Any chance we re-sign one of Zucc/Hayes this offseason? Condition on Dallas resigning Zucc kinda leads me to believe we want him back

Answer to both is no, and all signs point to him re-signing there at this point.

 

[Bob Richards]

Brian Leetch was on the last Toronto team to win a playoff series.

 

[Machinehead]

Shouldn't count

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Pretty unsurprising set of game 7s

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Any chance we re-sign one of Zucc/Hayes this offseason? Condition on Dallas resigning Zucc kinda leads me to believe we want him back

I hope not.

 

[Zibanejbread]

Goal counts!

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

My goodness is EK on for every goal against

Keith Yandle is as good a pure defensemen as EK.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

Ok good goal lets go!

 

[Leonardo87]

Viva Las Vegas!!!!

 

[JRinNYC]

Hmm..that looked like a was deflected off a high stick.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Good goal!

 

[Zibanejbread]

Flower is dialed in halfway through.