Pre-Game Talk: Round 1 - Canes vs Preds

[A Star is Burns]

If everyone really does end up ready to play, there are some interesting lineup decisions. And there's going to be incentive to bring it every night, cause some guys showed they can fill in rather well this year. I would expect most or all of the vets to get first crack, but they better bring it every game.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

does end up ready to play

HOPE SO, OUR GRINDERS MAY NOT PLAY THE MOST MINUTES, BUT THEIR GAMEPLAN IS RATHER RISKY AND TAXING. BEST HAVE THEM ALL READY.

 

[Svechhammer]

The post was a complaint about the fact that fans don't care. Saying "well, the fans don't care" does not rebut the point in the slightest. The original argument boils down to "fans don't care but they should". In context, you are attempting to argue that fans shouldn't care because fans don't care- which is not even close to a valid argument.

Everybody involved knows that fans don't care. That's the basis of the discussion.

No no no

see, nobody cares, which means that people shouldn't care as they already don't care. Don't bother arguing against that because they already don't care so our care level should never be ever addressed again. Don't you understand!?

 

[Derailed75]

Being the most dominant team in the league over the course of an entire regular season is a much, much more meaningful thing than hitting for the cycle. It's like comparing hitting for the cycle to winning a batting title.

Betting titles happen every year cycles do not. No hitters happen multiple times a year and are more important.

Listen I get where you and Svech are going but its just not important to anyone but a very small amount of people. You guys stand on your hill and scream it at the top of your lungs. Not gonna change the fact that the cup is more important and fans will remember who wins and loses the cup long after they forgot who had the most wins during the regular season.

 

[Roboturner913]

apparently we only have superstars and no depth

 

[Roboturner913]

Well hate to tell you but unless your team wins it most fans don't remember or care who wins the Presidents trophy. I get that its hard to win but really even hard core fans really don't care about it.

I guarantee you fans of the team that won the President's Trophy will remember it. If you are a diehard fan of a team you don't forget stuff like that.

I wanted us to win the President's Trophy because it is absolutely a major accomplishment. How often do you get to say your team finished first in the entire league, regular season or not, shortened season or not, I don't care. It's a significant achievement.

I wish we had gone for it. 2 points is the likely difference.

 

[2Minutes4Surging]

I just want to weigh in on the President's Trophy convo.. I personally think it would have been awesome if we won it, mostly because we never have. I think it would have further validated all of the improvement we have seen in the past three years. It would really put us in the media spotlight as a true contender. Plus, there could be other residual affects like garnering more interest from potential UFA's. I see winning it as a great accomplishment in proving that you are the most prepared team for the post season. That doesn't guarantee post season success, but it validates all the hard work you put in throughout the season.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

A Lorentz/Paquette rotation is a good bet. I'm interested in seeing if Geekie has earned enough trust to push out a semi-healthy Martinook at times. His playmaking around the net was terrific the past few weeks. There will be a few moments in a long playoff run in which the 4th line will need to score a goal to change a game, which could perhaps turn a series. Geekie is capable of creating that.

 

[Svechhammer]

apparently we only have superstars and no depth

There have been some scalding hot takes in that thread, I'll tell you what.

 

[The Faulker 27]

apparently we only have superstars and no depth

Damn that sucks.

 

[chaz4hockey]

A Lorentz/Paquette rotation is a good bet. I'm interested in seeing if Geekie has earned enough trust to push out a semi-healthy Martinook at times. His playmaking around the net was terrific the past few weeks. There will be a few moments in a long playoff run in which the 4th line will need to score a goal to change a game, which could perhaps turn a series. Geekie is capable of creating that.

Geekie is a terrific playmaker. My only gripe is that his skating is not good enough.

 

[Stickpucker]

Well hate to tell you but unless your team wins it most fans don't remember or care who wins the Presidents trophy. I get that its hard to win but really even hard core fans really don't care about it.

Champion of 82 game tourney sounds harder than champion of 28 game tourney.

 

[Stickpucker]

Aint never seen anybody skate a presidents cup...just sayn

6/19/2006 Watching Roddy skate that cup in the RBC center was one of the coolest things I have ever been a part of.

I want to do that again.

You do get a fancy banner in the rafters though.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Geekie is a terrific playmaker. My only gripe is that his skating is not good enough.

Martinook is coming off of an LBI. That may diminish the difference between the two in that area.

 

[hockeynjune]

You do get a fancy banner in the rafters though.

True That, and trust me had we won it I would be the first one oozing hubris . Had we not lost the first of the last two games the attitude with which the team went into the second would have been much different. But we didn't win it and that's ok. Missing the top spot by a couple of points doesn't make us any less than the team that wins it and I'm pretty sure we are about to demonstrate that to the hockey world. I'm fine with how it shook out because we will go into the Cup run tanned, rested and ready to do battle.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Fully healthy, here's my preferred lineup:

Svech - Aho - TT
Nino - Tro - Necas
Foegele - Staal - Fast
McGinn - Lorentz - Paquette

Slavin - Hamilton
Skjei - Pesce
Bean - Jani

Ned
Petr


Fully expecting Lorentz to be scratched for Martinook and Petr to start though. Gardiner had a chance to earn the first dibs at that bottom pair spot but he fell flat on his face, would be shocked if Bean is scratched for him to start the playoffs. Can't really go wrong on the 4th line either, swapping any of those guys out for Martinook or Geekie, but I think Lorentz has earned his spot and McGinn is probably the best of the bunch and a Rod favorite, then I'd pick Paq for his physicality.

 

[Roboturner913]

There have been some scalding hot takes in that thread, I'll tell you what.

It's almost like we live in a world with people so dumb they pump gas into a plastic Walmart bag

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

The cup is the first priority and everything else is secondary including the presidents trophy. Look at how many potentially competing teams let up at the end of the regular season every year (some) compared to the amount of teams that let up in the playoffs (none).

The presidents trophy is neat and all but it is nothing compared to the cup in the eyes of the players and coaches

 

[Roboturner913]

The cup is the first priority and everything else is secondary including the presidents trophy. Look at how many potentially competing teams let up at the end of the regular season every year (some) compared to the amount of teams that let up in the playoffs (none).

The presidents trophy is neat and all but it is nothing compared to the cup in the eyes of the players and coaches

Why are people treating it like it's some mutually exclusive thing though? Clearly everybody knows it's not as important as the grand prize but that's not the point.

It'd be like going on The Price Is Right and taking a dive at Plinko or whatever because you wanted to win the showcase showdown instead

 

[hblueridgegal]

Being the most dominant team in the league over the course of an entire regular season is a much, much more meaningful thing than hitting for the cycle. It's like comparing hitting for the cycle to winning a batting title.

From my perspective, validated success is nothing to be scoffed at with regards to how it affects our team's confidence or affects an opponent's POV. Particularly, if it creates angst and intimidation and rattles the cages of the competition. Success breeds success.

Watching the Vegas Colorado game this week made me a tad envious. Both teams seem so locked in with their eyes on the prize.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

The cup is the first priority and everything else is secondary including the presidents trophy. Look at how many potentially competing teams let up at the end of the regular season every year (some) compared to the amount of teams that let up in the playoffs (none).

The presidents trophy is neat and all but it is nothing compared to the cup in the eyes of the players and coaches

 

[3CanesInTheBox]

apparently we only have superstars and no depth

Right. The thing Caniacs always complain about with this team

On a more serious note: What are we thinking about the goaltending situation?

The rational part of me feels like we will debate this into the ground only for Petr to definitely get the first start. But I'm still curious. Maybe/hopefully he'll be a lot sharper in the practice days leading up.

 

[Bunch of Jurcos]

I read Dom's article and it's been talked about here but how do we fix the 5 on 5 scoring? With everything else the same that's all that stops us from being cup favorites every year much less this one.

If you would have told me during the dark ages that we would one day have more actual NHL players than we could dress and 3 competent or above goaltenders...

We are not Avengers here.

Speak for yourself.
*Gets into Falcon and Winter Solder Captain America outfit and flies off*

 

[geehaad]

News for you. The sport, all sports are played for the fans. If the fans don't care then its not important. Doesn't matter how good a product is if it doesn't sell its useless.

You couldn't be any more wrong. Like laugh-you-right-out-of-this-forum wrong.

This sport, and all sports, are played for the players. I wrote a lot more but deleted it because suffice it to say that the sport is played because of the internal motivations the players derive from playing it.

The fans are probably tertiary at best.

 

[Stickpucker]

The 5v5 scoring thing is weird b/c iirc in Rod's first year we were one of the best 5v5 teams in the league and our special teams were mediocre.

Is there someone we lost who was an amazing driver of 5v5 scoring?