Playoffs Positivity Thread

[salbutera]

New Jersey is definitely in danger of actually missing the playoffs now.

Columbus is 4 pts back with 2 games in hand. NYR 6 pts back with 2 games in hand.

New Jersey does hold the RW tie breaker over Columbus & the ROW tie breaker over Rangers.

New Jersey has 2 games left against Columbus, and games against Ottawa, Detroit & NYR.

In fact, their last game of the season is against Detroit.

FWIW, Habs are 7pts back of NJD w 2 games in hand

 

[red devil]

Blackhawks tie it early in the 3rd

 

[Sorinth]

all part of the process. And I think it shows the team is learning resilience and consistency by not throwing in the towel and TWICE having hot runs to get them back in the mix. I think it is a sign that our rebuild is moving forward and we're not going to be stuck in perpetual suckage.

Obviously Demidov coming over and Laine being healthier will be big plusses, but here's a few underrated factors going into next season:
-Montembault is what he is at this point, but if Dobes makes an improvement (even a modest one), he can be the 1A goalie and further reduce the net issues, which would surely lead to alot more Ws and OT/SO points.
-Slafkovsky is going to be one year older, and in terms of physical development that could be huge in terms of him asserting himself. He's showing he's starting to understand the mental side of being a power forward, but knowing he has room to grow into his body every coming season is exciting to see what progress he makes and how it might help him dominate.
-Newhook is going to play in the bottom six where he belongs
-All our D prospects will be 1 year older so I think it will bode well for our depth and our options
-Evans-Anderson will return as a PK duo
-Hutson gets an off-season to train....can't wait

It's pretty much what Hughes was saying, the experience of playing meaningful games is valuable regardless of the outcome of those games.

And yeah lots of reasons to be pretty optimistic for next season, like every year there will players who surprise postively and there will be guys who struggle unexpectedly. But overall we have already shown a consistent year over year improvement, and adding Demidov+ should have a pretty big impact.

 

[red devil]

Ovie ties it half way through the 3rd

 

[red devil]

Hawks and Sens are going to OT

Caps and Rangers tied at 3 with 6 minutes to go

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Sens score.

 

[red devil]

Stutzle scores it is under review

Good goal

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Well, not really unexpected. Sens were playing Chicago.

They temporarily move into WC2. NYR just need a point to take it back.

Detroit falls to 10th.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Blackhawks are so bad man. Bedard did nothing with the puck in OT, then they give it away on a line change. They had Pat Maroon taking offensive zone faceoffs with 5 mins left in the 3rd. You can't make this stuff up.

 

[red devil]

The only good news is the Sens won in OT so they are still at 23 RW

 

[the valiant effort]

Every relevant game down the stretch will be a 3-pointer

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Rangers go into OT. I was wrong about them only needing a tie to take back WC2. They need a win. Sens have played one less game.

 

[red devil]

Capitals win in OT

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Caps win. Wilson in OT.

 

[Rapala]

Blackhawks are so bad man. Bedard did nothing with the puck in OT, then they give it away on a line change. They had Pat Maroon taking offensive zone faceoffs with 5 mins left in the 3rd. You can't make this stuff up.

I look at Bedard and I see why many people believe Celebrini is going to be the better player.
I've never thought Bedard had great skating and I can't say that my mind has changed much in that regard.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Montreal 2 points out now, essentially 3 since both Ottawa and NYR hold the RW tie breaker.

Detroit is home to Utah tomorrow at 7 pm. It's possible by mid-game against Edmonton they'll be 3 points out if Detroit wins. Not ideal, but I imagined worse.

The Wings are @ Washington on Friday, while Ottawa & NYR play each other on Saturday (12:30 PM).

Then the Blue Jackets are @ Rangers on Sunday, and Wings are @ Sens on Monday.

Crazy!! We need regulation wins in all these head-to-head games. No 3 pointers!

 

[SwiftyHab]

The way the Devils are trending with injuries, i see ourselves fighting for 1 of 3 possible playoff spots

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

What have we won now ? 5 straight? Feels like the crash is coming

 

[habbubba]

all part of the process. And I think it shows the team is learning resilience and consistency by not throwing in the towel and TWICE having hot runs to get them back in the mix. I think it is a sign that our rebuild is moving forward and we're not going to be stuck in perpetual suckage.

Obviously Demidov coming over and Laine being healthier will be big plusses, but here's a few underrated factors going into next season:
-Montembault is what he is at this point, but if Dobes makes an improvement (even a modest one), he can be the 1A goalie and further reduce the net issues, which would surely lead to alot more Ws and OT/SO points.
-Slafkovsky is going to be one year older, and in terms of physical development that could be huge in terms of him asserting himself. He's showing he's starting to understand the mental side of being a power forward, but knowing he has room to grow into his body every coming season is exciting to see what progress he makes and how it might help him dominate.
-Newhook is going to play in the bottom six where he belongs
-All our D prospects will be 1 year older so I think it will bode well for our depth and our options
-Evans-Anderson will return as a PK duo
-Hutson gets an off-season to train....can't wait

It took me a while to process what you wrote. There is that word again, process. If you think about it, everything is a process isn't? kind of, sort of a pretty vague term.
It was actually intended to be a rhetorical comment to bring light of the situation Montreal currently finds themselves in and indirectly speaks to the state of the league. The league the way it is now, there are many teams close and just a handful that are superior and a few rebuilding and doesn't take all that much to get ahead or to fall behind. The onus is on what ownership and management want to do that the public is not privy to. Montreal has a lot of need for improvement overall going forward. Many options for Montreal to choose and it will known in the very near future and beyond how they proceed. The moves or lack thereof so far can also suggest that ownership and management are not particularly concerned how the team performs this season. That said, things can change in a blink of an eye and suddenly there is a lot of activity and movement. Some teams have already began making moves.
Some of the guys in my oldtimers league like using ifs ands or buts to describe the plight of how some teams are doing and why they are where they are. As for Montreal, if they had not been struck with injury and poor, underachieving performance collectively, and had the management made upgrades at some point during the season, but they didn't, then they possibly would be in a more desirable position than they are.