Wait a minute, I'm confused.
- Thread starter LouJersey
- Start date
DominicT
Registered User
In the playoffs, all you need is a really hot goalie. A little puck luck doesn't hurt.
LouJersey
Registered User
A little off topic Lou, but you have my vote for best poster on HF Boards
Unless you stop posting that is an impossible title to have! You're like Orr's run with Norris Trophies.
I've watched most every playoff game this season, and I have honestly thought that the Bruins could have competed with every team in it and maybe even won. No one is dominant this season. If we hadn't lost half our D and had a healthy Krejci, we could easily have been lining up to play Nashville for the cup.
In fairness, I think a lot of people differentiate between roster quality and regular season finish. Nashville was a popular pick in the preseason and has a very deep defense to go along with a great goalie and some offensive stars as well.
I don't think that just because they had a disappointing regular season with that roster that it correlates to a mediocre and inferior roster who had a "better" regular season in a different conference and division. Obviously it's easy in hindsight, but I think it's clear Nashville had a roster better built to succeed in the playoffs than the Bruins. And they will next year too. As will several other teams.
WhalerTurnedBruin55
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Oates2Neely
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If Pitt hadn't lost Letang Ottawa would've been disposed of by now. Health is a major factor in the playoffs. Teams with healthy rosters & solid depth tend to fare better.
Bruins will be right in the thick of things next season. Sweeney has a few roster tweaks to make I'm confident they're a playoff team again next season
WhalerTurnedBruin55
Fading out, thanks for the times.
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I'm not as optimistic, but I like the Bruins as an underdog and something to prove.
We need some of that fire again. (and some of our picks to start hitting properly).
Wouldn't hurt if Sweeney made a couple trades that worked in our favor, too.
BB88
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Having 2 elite D's, 4 top pairing D's overall, great 1st line and a hot goalie probably has something to do with it.
Nashville wasn't your normal 8th place team, they had the talent, they just had to find the chemistry and they have.
Forsberg- Johansen- Arvidsson
Josi- Ellis
Ekholm- Subban
Rinne,
deserves to be in the finals.
Overall I think these are a bit weaker playoffs in the East, it's transition year.
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LouJersey
Registered User
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/nhl-odds-penguins-open-as-favorites-to-win-2017-stanley-cup/
They were still 8th in the conference to win the Cup.
The Bruins have a better first line and goalie.
Plus a full year development of McAvoy and another year of Carlo, with a healthy Krug and Chara I like our chances against them.
smithformeragent
Moderator
Nashville was a trendy pick going into the season.
They started slow out of the gate and play in a brutal division.
They started slow out of the gate and play in a brutal division.
missingchicklet
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Rinne has been a playoff stud, especially at home. That has a lot to do with the success of the Preds. Obviously the D is great and mobile, and fairly young. Then throw in slew of excellent young forwards and a couple very good vets like Neal and Fisher, and you have a pretty darned good team. Even with a couple key injuries the Preds were able to win. When comparing Boston to them this past season what stands out to me is that the Bs had too many injured d-men in the playoffs plus they had too much dead weight at the forward positions. Boston never showed as much relentlessness on D and plain old guts as Nashville has in the playoffs. With some much needed moves at forward and the arrival of McAvoy the Bs definitely might be in a position to have a crack at the Cup. Sweeney desperately needs to make some substantive moves in the forward dept though to give this team a chance. Underachieving vets and journeymen won't cut it.
KnightofBoston
Registered User
Hockey is incredibly a game of chance and attrition, the Bruins could make the finals next year or get bounced in the first round. If they beat Ottawa are they giving Pittsburgh a go right now?
It's the number one reason I think it's more important we cut passengers more than anything else in the next few months
It's the number one reason I think it's more important we cut passengers more than anything else in the next few months
I take Rinne over Rask. And defense wins, and Nashville's defense is worlds better than Boston. Worlds. The Bruins may not have a defenseman as good as Ellis, IMO, and he's arguably their 3rd/4th best dman. McAvoy may get there and he might do it quickly, but time will tell. Krug is close for sure, so I suppose that comes down to personal preference. But still, that leaves Subban and Josi above them all, by a good margin.
As for 1st line, I'm not sure "lines" matter much, though I think you could make the case the offenses are fairly equivalent. Forsberg and Johannsen are high end, but if Krejci is healthy (huge, huge if) the Bruins would seem to have at least as many stars and maybe one more on offense. Obviously the 3rd/4th line probably favors Nashville. Overall I'd take our forwards over theirs, but it's not a big difference IMO. The defense is a massive difference.
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LouJersey
Registered User
Preds fans were telling us Sauros was their 1B and it shouldn't be long until he takes over after he beat us. Rinne has been pedestrian three of the past four years. He did have the potential to have one of these type runs though just like our guy.
Nashville I believe was middle of the pack in the conference to win the Cup. I don't remember anyone saying they would win. I mean they finally made it past the second round for the first time in their history.
While their defense is clearly better than Boston at this point, I don't see a hugely inferior roster overall.
With some tweaks I think Boston can be right there with basically any of these play-off teams.
BB88
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Nashville has the best top4 in the league and Rinne 3x Vezina finalist has found his form again.
It's going to take a lot to get Bruins D-group at the same level.
When healthy especially they can play with a speed that would destroy a defense of Chara, McQuaid/K.Miller.
You are vastly underrating them.
DANOZ28
Registered User
wildfans 2 cents. smashville has a top 5 maybe even top 3 D core , plus a top 10 goalie. only shock is their still winning without big gun scoring.
LouJersey
Registered User
Yeah today. What about play-offs 17-18? Also, I didn't put it in the original post but you have a team in Ottawa who is two games from the Cup in the East.
There is no more "four to five years to compete" thing anymore that I read all season. Parity. It's alive and well and one move here or there, one injury and that changes everything.
LouJersey
Registered User
And it's been how many years we have said that? Goes back to Shea Weber and Suter, no? Rinne has been around a while as well, yet here they are, the first time EVER they have made it past round 2.
They were 25 to 1 to win the cup when the play-offs started. It's not like they were favorites.
BB88
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You can't expect (without any trades) Bostons defense to improve that much in 1 year.
All of their top4 guys would likely be best D-men in Boston today, and they actually have 2 elite D's, while Boston has 0.
Their defense is extremely mobile, excellent defensively and elite offensively.
When you are best at something it's going to improve your chances by quite a lot.
Your 17-18' Boston reminds more of the Rangers.
So we need to hope Sweeney trades both McQuaid& Kevan away this summer.
You can't just watch stats blindly. You knew they had potential to do damage.
roflstomper
Barzal/Connor/Konecny
This same kind of coping went on after last season too. "O well IF we'd have gotten in we could've made a run.""None of those teams were that good""blah blah blah". We barely made the playoffs this year and got bounced easily in the first round. That's the reality.
if the Bruins didnt lose half the D before the playoffs, I believed they couldve made the finals.
They were 18-8 under cassidy. They were probably the hottest team going in before all the injuries.
Gotta be healthy to win the Cup. and have a consistent goalie. First round is usually the hardest, then teams pick up momentum and confidence.
They were 18-8 under cassidy. They were probably the hottest team going in before all the injuries.
Gotta be healthy to win the Cup. and have a consistent goalie. First round is usually the hardest, then teams pick up momentum and confidence.
LouJersey
Registered User
They may never get to the "level". They have also had the same stud defense forever and never got here before. Takes awhile to gel. Bruins are doing something similar it would seem, building a defense through the draft.
I think a top five defense of Chara, McAvoy, Krug, Carlo and Killer would do ok. Would be nice to get a top LHD.
I'm not sure I'm underrating Nashville. I think they are terrific. Fact is, they still barely qualified with a pretty healthy team all year and got hot at the right time They have always had a good team, but finally starting to gel as a team. Could happen to anyone.
