GDT: Around the NHL - Playoff Edition

[eXile3]

Sometimes Kotkaniemi makes plays and I see why teams thought he was going to be more.

 

[Al Smith]

LOL. All that work by the Canes evaporates in 30 seconds.

 

[eXile3]

Tkachuk is chewing his mouth guard frantically while scoring a tip in goal.

ERod ties it up.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

ERod waits until the stakes are high to score his playoff goals.

 

[Al Smith]

3-2. Would be nice to see the Canes actually get some shots other than unscreened blue line shots on their PP. But their passing is pretty.

 

[Gold Diamond]

2 goal lead turns into a 1 goal deficit in 4 minutes. Yikes.

 

[JakeNBake59]

puke

its gonna be a rematch
dont want to see florida repeat but also dont want to see the oilers get a cup

 

[Darren McCord]

Orlov showing everyone what a mistake his next contract is going to be

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Really is starting to feel like '09.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Go Panthers, I guess. I like McDavid and Draisaitl but not as much as I enjoy watching Edmonton lose.

Wonder if this is Brind'Amour's final game as the Canes' coach. At some point you just gotta say "alright this guy can't get it done when it really matters", right?

 

[Andy99]

Florida is such a smart team…3 consecutive SCFs is impressive…I don’t think Carolina or Brind’Amour can do anything to change things…Florida is just a better team

 

[Turin]

The Panthers are already more impressive than the Lightning run whether they win or not.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I'm not a guy who has ever really been that impressed with Brind'Amour but I do think it's the same old shit with the Canes; no gamebreaking talent just kinda f***s 'em over.

They're a good team but the Panthers rolled 'em and I think Tkachuk's probably running at like 30%. Dude's probably gonna have some serious surgery as soon as the season's over, hasn't looked himself since the 4 Nations when he got injured.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Rod gets a lot from the sum of the parts

But his system blows deep in playoffs. They can’t beat good teams in 7.

Roster isn’t good enough. Need an entirely new 2nd line anchored by a difference maker. To their credit, they got one and he left after a few games.

They’re simultaneously close and far. Idk what you do. Gotta imagine playing that hard for a demanding coach and getting very little in return for their efforts is eventually going to lead to players tuning Rod out?

 

[Malkinstheman]

The Canes seem like a low-key team that might go hard after Marner. They have like 28m in cap space this summer and clearly see the need to get a star forward.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Lirl Canes….

Fade back into irrelevancy, you losers

 

[Harvey Birdman]

I feel for Jordan, he went to Carolina to play with his brother and try to pull it off. Has been left on an island of just can’t get it done again. Unless he cup hunts he is just stuck.

 

[66-30-33]

The Canes seem like a low-key team that might go hard after Marner. They have like 28m in cap space this summer and clearly see the need to get a star forward.

Marner and a retained Karlsson? we can take back Kotkaneimi or something to help the cap space.

 

[Malkinstheman]

Marner and a retained Karlsson? we can take back Kotkaneimi or something to help the cap space.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Orlov probably moves on and Burns retires. They barely got any production from their back end this year so I'm sure they'll look at that + try and get a top line forward. Kotka would be their first cap dump but 5 more years at that cap hit is a bit rough so I'm not sure.

 

[66-30-33]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Orlov probably moves on and Burns retires. They barely got any production from their back end this year so I'm sure they'll look at that + try and get a top line forward. Kotka would be their first cap dump but 5 more years at that cap hit is a bit rough so I'm not sure.

We aint doing anything anymore so it doesn't matter IMO. He also has a cheap buy out so we could always buy him out in 3-4 years. Canes would have to give us something good tot ake on him plus a retained Karlsson.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

When you see the physicality that teams like Florida and Edmonton play with, I miss the days when the Pens actually built gritty teams. Apart from a whole list of OTHER issues I have with the Pens under Sullivan the past 6 or 7 years is the fact we're also one of the more non-physical clubs in the league.

It's like we got so high on our own farts that we fixated on "small and speedy" after the 2016 Cup to build these random average teams with no size or physicality, and ignored the fact the league seemed to be trending back to teams who can skate, yes, but who also could pound you into sand.

It's like this franchise didn't remember that big parts of our Cup wins were the heart and soul physical guys who'd pound the opposition every chance they got. We replaced the Hornqvists, Kunitz, Cookes, Talbots of the world with these random 6'0 vanilla players who do nothing but play a "safe and placid" game.

 

[plaidchuck]

Remember when back to back cup wins were a rare thing?

Time for the NHL to change things up. You have the same teams sucking up all of the oxygen the last six years and have about two playoff series per year that are remotely competitive and interesting (and they’re all in the first or second rounds)

 

[eXile3]

It feels like under the new format there haven’t been competitive conference finals.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I feel for Jordan, he went to Carolina to play with his brother and try to pull it off. Has been left on an island of just can’t get it done again. Unless he cup hunts he is just stuck.

5 points in the last 26 playoff games, averaging 16:50
Scoring's not everything, but he's more part of the problem than a victim.