Board 8 > NHL Discussion Topic 3: The Finals... almost

(+) Yeah! (+)

Metal_DK posted...

SmartMuffin posted...

Better goalie wins.

Except when it's Pittsburgh because Pittsburgh always wins.

All Nashville has to do is show up and they get the cup easily, so who wants to bet they don't.

they said that about San Jose last year

Who said this about SJ last year? Pittsburgh was a ludicrously heavy favourite as I recall. (They're the favourite again this year; B8 is the only place I've seen which is so down on the Penguins.)

Metal_DK posted...

They clearly are the two signature franchises of the post lockout era. I like to see the giants go at each other at least once. Who compares? Kings? Bruins? Capslol? Red Wings?

Despite the lol I think the Caps are probably the next most "signature" franchise of this era for sure; Ovechkin and all those stellar regular seasons. Red Wings deserve some note for being such a great team in the early years of the post-lockout though of course.

But yeah it's clearly Hawks and Penguins for the top two.
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NeoElfboy posted...

Who said this about SJ last year? Pittsburgh was a ludicrously heavy favourite as I recall. (They're the favourite again this year; B8 is the only place I've seen which is so down on the Penguins.)

Nah, most said San Jose, at least among the media personalities. Here is just one article i remember reading
https://www.nhl.com/news/stanley-cup-final-expert-picks/c-280834534

NeoElfboy posted...

Despite the lol I think the Caps are probably the next most "signature" franchise of this era for sure; Ovechkin and all those stellar regular seasons. Red Wings deserve some note for being such a great team in the early years of the post-lockout though of course.

But yeah it's clearly Hawks and Penguins for the top two.

And i added the lol to the Caps solely because thats what they are known as. Regular season champs. The rivalry reminds me of another pittsburgh sports rivalry, Patriots/Steelers. Only the Penguins are the Patriots and the Caps are the Steelers. The Steelers never beat the Pats in a meaningful game, and the Caps never beat the Pens in the same situation...
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My dick is still hard.
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Pokewars posted...

Shittiest team goes to the finals again.

Get swept by Preds, ffs.

There hasn't been a team with this much generational talent on it since, I don't know, the pre-cap era Red Wings.
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they have three superstars and a bunch of injured nobodies

thats not a team, its what happens when a teenager tries daily fantasy sports for the first time
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SmartMuffin posted...

they have three superstars and a bunch of injured nobodies

thats not a team, its what happens when a teenager tries daily fantasy sports for the first time

Crosby is the best player in the world and up until McDavid joined the league, Malkin was the 2nd best.

Kessel is a superstar in his own rights.

Letang is one of the most offensively-gifted defensemen in the league (admittedly he has been cursed for a few seasons now).

Fleury is a veteran netminder and Murray will be this generation's Price, mark my words.

Idk what more you want in the Cap era. I'll take 5 or 6 players worth half a salary cap and a bunch of under-valued depth over a dozen mid-carders and some dead weight you try not to give too much ice time.

I mean christ, even Kunitz has three cups and a gold medal. For a while when Kessel was on the 3rd and Kunitz was on the 4th we legitimately had an Olympiad on every line.

Does any other team have an Olympiad on every line?

Has any other team ever?
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And Guentzel has 9 goals as a rookie (league leading despite having none in seven games) and has the most in his first ten games since Maurice fucking Rocket Richard.

I guess that's nothing too right? He's not legitimately an amazing find that will have years of success moving forward.

Nope it's just Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel. They're the whole team.
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It's almost like a 10 game sample size is totally fucking irrelevant from a statistical perspective.
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Keep trying to convince yourself the Penguins aren't a meticulously assembled super team, Muffin.

We'll just keep winning I suppose.
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Not sure what more you can ask for in the salary cap era....They have superstars to run the point, some wingers who take advantage of this, some young guys with speed and some older vets. I mean its pretty much how every team in a sport with a salary cap should be built
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He's just salty that everything his team has tried has resulted in failure, including trying to buy our leftovers (Orpik, Niskanen)
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Lol I love how Extha can go from "my team sucks everyone sucks Crosby and malkin suck" to "we're a super team with the two best players in the world" in the span of one goal
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ExThaNemesis posted...

He's just salty that everything his team has tried has resulted in failure, including trying to buy our leftovers (Orpik, Niskanen)

Both of which are significantly better than the random nobodies who played D for you when half your team was injured.

If I can be serious for a moment, the Pens, as constructed, when fully healthy, are a good team. The team they have put on the ice for most of the playoffs, are not that. In some games against the Caps and early against the Sens they weren't even close to that.

THOSE are the games those two teams needed to win (and failed to do so).
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I like serious for a moment SMuffin.

All in favor of making Smuffin be serious for all of his moments?
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I don't want him to be Lance Storm
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JetJaguar posted...

Lol I love how Extha can go from "my team sucks everyone sucks Crosby and malkin suck" to "we're a super team with the two best players in the world" in the span of one goal

well I'm hard on my team when I expect them to win. It's a bit different than you who is like "LOL THE RANGERS ARE THE BEST" even after they've been eliminated for almost two weeks.
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Pens are heavy favorites in vegas BTW

(although the Caps were heavy favorites too so yeah)
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ExThaNemesis posted...

JetJaguar posted...

Lol I love how Extha can go from "my team sucks everyone sucks Crosby and malkin suck" to "we're a super team with the two best players in the world" in the span of one goal

well I'm hard on my team when I expect them to win. It's a bit different than you who is like "LOL THE RANGERS ARE THE BEST" even after they've been eliminated for almost two weeks.

Hard on my team when I expect them to win is exactly what I am, what are you talking about. We had no business losing to an average Sens team when we had the lead for 98% of the series pre-game 6. The difference is that I'm yelling at turds like Marc Staal for being terrible, and you're literally yelling at your team to trade two of the three best players in the world.
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Yeah the Rangers are a pretty big fail. At least the Bruins and the Pens were injured as hell when going up against Ottawa. WTF was the Rangers excuse???
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the trade Malkin thing is an ExTha-meme I've been doing for like seven years at this point and I've never said to trade Crosby I was saying that he needed to step up and deliver in Game Seven, and look at that he got the game winning assist.

It's like all he needed was a little ExTha motivation.
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Jesus you even neg Crosby.
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Metal_DK posted...

Nah, most said San Jose, at least among the media personalities. Here is just one article i remember reading
https://www.nhl.com/news/stanley-cup-final-expert-picks/c-280834534

Really? Wow, that's crazy. I have no idea how you'd get that hyped up on a Sharks team which had never won anything and only managed 98 points in a dog**** Pacific Division but I guess the way they took care of the Blues was impressive. I always chalked that up to the Blues just falling apart though.

Penguins were definitely the favourite according to people who put money on the series, I remember that much. Hard to dig up figures for that now, but here's the first thing Google turned up on the subject (does feature a media type picking the Sharks despite the odds, though, so I guess that partly proves your point!)

https://news.sportsinteraction.com/sports/nhl-hockey/pittsburgh-penguins-vs-san-jose-sharks-odds-2016-stanley-cup-final-97628/

I have more faith in the Preds than I do in the Sharks personally (they're better than their regular season suggests IMO) though anyone who thinks they're the favourite is kidding themselves.
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I guess people weren't impressed that it took us 7 games to put away Tampa minus Bishop or something. That does seem so weird to me that San Jose was favored.
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Read the article elf just posted. They weren't. Pittsburgh was a fairly comfortable favorite. They are slightly MORE favored this time (but not by much)
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I've seen models that put us with Letang in the lineup as much as a 70% favorite which is unheard of in modern hockey.

What a shame if we lose.
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SmartMuffin posted...

Read the article elf just posted. They weren't. Pittsburgh was a fairly comfortable favorite. They are slightly MORE favored this time (but not by much)

That article was pretty mixed. It said Sharks in 7 for the prediction even if the Pens were the Vegas favorite. Plenty of people were picking the Sharks. Pens having home ice was a big reason why they were picked by the ones who picked em.
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There is no word to describe how great it is that Nashville uses Bobby Roode's theme at games....

oh wait yes there is!

GLORIOUS

I sent emails to the Sens about ditching Song 2 by Blur this year for it to no avail, but the Preds have firmly claimed it at this point so good on them.

I did enjoy having Adam Rose's theme as the Sens goal song in 15/16 though
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Metal_DK posted...

SmartMuffin posted...

Read the article elf just posted. They weren't. Pittsburgh was a fairly comfortable favorite. They are slightly MORE favored this time (but not by much)

That article was pretty mixed. It said Sharks in 7 for the prediction even if the Pens were the Vegas favorite. Plenty of people were picking the Sharks. Pens having home ice was a big reason why they were picked by the ones who picked em.

"people picking" means nothing

vegas is what matters
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SmartMuffin posted...

"people picking" means nothing

vegas is what matters

Overall i agree, but when you talk about what the chatter is on social media, NHLN, etc, its more than just Vegas
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xfd

toronto comes to the rescue already

"no goal because 40 seconds prior to the goal a guys skate was 1mm off the ice as the puck went in the zone"

surely that was worth spending 10 minutes on
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That shouldn't have been overturned. Way too close to call.
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Refs score!
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xfd Preds have no chance

Refs now leading by 2 goals
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awful officiating so far
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I'm done. This shit is rigged. No point in watching.
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XFDsharks


Oh wait, that was last year's jobber.
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Why is it that in the NHL, a bandwagon (such as everyone backing the Sens, and now the Preds) also turns into a jinx?
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OK, one more Nashville goal and I'll regret my post.
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yeahhhh
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Most bandwagons are for underdogs so it's not so much a jinx as the expected result kicking in.

Also wow, another 3-goal comeback; these playoffs are crazy. I love it.

Re the offside call on the goal, the rules regarding offsides are stupid but it was the right call given them.
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Haha what a dumb game
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I'm never allowed to turn on the TV during a Pens game. They always seem to score.
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5 goals on 12 shots.

How are we not talking about this shit more?
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Because nobody here wants the Pens to win.
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Not Dave posted...

Haha what a dumb game

yeah pretty much

i don't know how the hell we won, but i'm just gonna shrug, accept it, and move on
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Crossfiyah posted...

5 goals on 12 shots.

How are we not talking about this shit more?

Because we already saw it happen 5 times against Washington?
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Peridiam posted...

Because nobody here wants the Pens to win.

I do!

Although I'd be fine with the Preds too. Rinne might want to try stopping a shot next game though if that's going to happen.
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SmartMuffin posted...

Crossfiyah posted...

5 goals on 12 shots.

How are we not talking about this shit more?

Because we already saw it happen 5 times against Washington?

Not like this man. 5 on 12 is unheard of. 37 mins and no shots and you still win? Bonkers.
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its almost like luck and goaltending decides everything eh
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I mean if hockey were all luck we'd probably have more than 5 Champs in the last ten years don't you think?

It kinda seems like the best teams regularly win.
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