We must win the division if we want to make a run.

[Spirit of 67]

2 days later and I still can't believe how dumb this take is.

 

[BlueBaron]

Winnipeg is a concern, no one else is scary. It should be between us two to get out of the North. If the Oilers get a goalie that could change.

I want to win the division because it shows we are the best not because I care who we play. The guys are either going to finally figure it out or they won't. It would probably be best for HF is we swept the Oil in four and then fought the Jets

 

[Gary Nylund]

Winnipeg is a concern, no one else is scary. It should be between us two to get out of the North. If the Oilers get a goalie that could change.

I want to win the division because it shows we are the best not because I care who we play. The guys are either going to finally figure it out or they won't. It would probably be best for HF is we swept the Oil in four and then fought the Jets

Yeah I kind of like this attitude. Win because 1st place is where we belong, simple.

I want to play MTL though. I don't care much which round but I've been waiting over 40 years for revenge and TBH, I think I'd even prefer to finish 2nd instead of 1st if it meant that we got to play MTL, that's how bad I want revenge.

 

[BlueBaron]

Yeah I kind of like this attitude. Win because 1st place is where we belong, simple.

I want to play MTL though. I don't care much which round but I've been waiting over 40 years for revenge and TBH, I think I'd even prefer to finish 2nd instead of 1st if it meant that we got to play MTL, that's how bad I want revenge.

Yeah you're right, we should dust the Habs first and then take out the Jets/Oil, much better story. They are our only rival that will be in the North Playoffs, it would be rude to ignore them.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Yeah you're right, we should dust the Habs first and then take out the Jets/Oil, much better story. They are our only rival that will be in the North Playoffs, it would be rude to ignore them.

Exactly. Win, but do it with style and class.

 

[TML1967]

Whoever we play is probably still easier than Boston. Having said that, Oilers and Jets have shown they are a tier above the remaining teams imo so 1st place definitely has some incentive.

It really depends if either team adds at the TDL, and if so who.
Winnipeg getting Ekholm would honestly make me think in a 7 game series its a toss up.

Having one of the top 2 or 3 goalies and adding a legit top 3 d man to a team whos d core puts them as the 'scariest in a series' team for me.

Edmonton has 2 legit top 5 NHLers right now, but the rest of the lineup, the D core and their goaltending is average at best.
After McD, Drai and Nuge, they dont have any forwards at even .5ppg.
If they add a good 3C or even a good 2W, they get a good amount scarier. But they still have atrocious goaltending. (No Smith isnt a going to keep up a .922)
If Klefboom wasnt hurt, their D core would actually be pretty intimidating as well with Larsson looking decent again, Nurse taking a step and Barrie finding his offensive mojo again.

I would put Cgy and Edm in roughly the same level.
Markstrom is good enough that if he gets in a grove, he is a top 5 goalie.
They have the size and drive to be really annoying when penalties are few and far between.
They are dickish enough to takes runs at the stars in game 1-4, and to try and soften up the d y using reckless aggression.

 

[Tairy Greene]

It really depends if either team adds at the TDL, and if so who.
Winnipeg getting Ekholm would honestly make me think in a 7 game series its a toss up.

Having one of the top 2 or 3 goalies and adding a legit top 3 d man to a team whos d core puts them as the 'scariest in a series' team for me.

Edmonton has 2 legit top 5 NHLers right now, but the rest of the lineup, the D core and their goaltending is average at best.
After McD, Drai and Nuge, they dont have any forwards at even .5ppg.
If they add a good 3C or even a good 2W, they get a good amount scarier. But they still have atrocious goaltending. (No Smith isnt a going to keep up a .922)
If Klefboom wasnt hurt, their D core would actually be pretty intimidating as well with Larsson looking decent again, Nurse taking a step and Barrie finding his offensive mojo again.

I would put Cgy and Edm in roughly the same level.
Markstrom is good enough that if he gets in a grove, he is a top 5 goalie.
They have the size and drive to be really annoying when penalties are few and far between.
They are dickish enough to takes runs at the stars in game 1-4, and to try and soften up the d y using reckless aggression.

I agree. Winnipeg is scary because they will have the better goaltending without a doubt and we've seen how that plays out. Oilers we should beat provided we outplay them.

 

[sxvnert]

I want round one to be against the Habs, no one else. This fan base has been denied this matchup far too many times over the last few decades.

 

[Menzinger]

While I expect them to win it, I don't think it's a do or die situation.

They'll probably have to play the Jets anyways. I'm not particularly scared of the Oilers, I think the Leafs line up very well against them

 

[zeke]

Leafs vs.

WPG (.625): 2-2-0, 3.00gfa/3.25gaa
EDM (.618): 5-1-1, 3.57gfa/1.86gaa
MTL (.597): 3-1-0, 3.75gfa/2.75gaa
VAN (.486): 3-2-0, 3.60gfa/2.40gaa
CGY (.485): 4-2-0, 2.33gfa/2.17gaa
OTT (.386): 3-2-1, 3.83gfa/3.50gaa

The only opponent where we've failed offensively is vs CGY (thx rittich).


But the real piss off this year are the two teams that have scored too much on us - WPG the only team we don't have a winning record against and even worse OTT who we've wasted way too many points against.

And that's all Fred - he played all 4 vs WPG (.882) and 4 of 6 against OTT (.874).

Obvious we're undefeated in the 2 remaining games there that Freddy didn't play.

And man how annoying....

Vs Top-3: 10-4-1, 115pt pace
Vs Bot-3: 10-6-1, 101pt pace