Board 8 > NHL Discussion Topic - Playoff Edition

(+) Yeah! (+)

SmartMuffin posted...

Remember when you implied he was worse than Grubauer?

I did no such thing. I was making fun of the goalie stats thing you were doing!

(He did play like garbage in the first two games though)
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Subban blatantly punched MacKinnon in the side of the head. Fucking goon
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And San Jose's doing all this without Joe Thornton...that's a frightening thought (or Anaheim is just playing that bad? I haven't seen any of the games)

I remember the last time the Kings were down 0-3 in a series.

It was also the last time the Sharks were up 3-0 in a series!

MysteriousStan posted...

I remember the last time the Kings were down 0-3 in a series.

It was also the last time the Sharks were up 3-0 in a series!

Neither one of those is happening this time.
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MartinFF7 posted...

And San Jose's doing all this without Joe Thornton...that's a frightening thought (or Anaheim is just playing that bad? I haven't seen any of the games)

Thornton is old and almost irrelevant. An average second-liner at best.
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SmartMuffin posted...

MartinFF7 posted...

And San Jose's doing all this without Joe Thornton...that's a frightening thought (or Anaheim is just playing that bad? I haven't seen any of the games)

Thornton is old and almost irrelevant. An average second-liner at best.

nah, he's still an important player
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Well yeah, your second line center is definitely still "important." But it's not nearly as big of an impact as the Wild missing Suter, or the Avs missing Varlamov...
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Nice to start the game with DSP being wide open at point blank range and Bobrovsky making the save, because of course he does.
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xfd @ not calling that blatant check to the head in the middle of the ice on Staal

thats literally one of the worst no calls I've ever seen

dude is probably getting several games for that, Id hope
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SmartMuffin posted...

Man, this Sharks/Ducks game has been fun as hell.

Despite being an afterthought, because the teams are kinda weak and unlikely to go on to win the cup, I definitely feel like the Pacific has produced the most entertaining hockey so far.

Sharks have like the best chance in the West.
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and now, CBJ has the Caps right where they want them...
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well, this will be a fun new way for the Caps to lose
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ridiculously soft goal by Holtby, because of course it is
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Excellent teamwork by Panarin and Atkinson
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I feel bad for the Wild. They've really fought hard, despite being significantly outmanned. I feel like had they been fully healthy, this series could have been a 7-game classic.
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XFD @ calling that but NOT the blatant high stick to Oshie's face
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I love everyone's hot take of "Columbus got so much better by trading for Panarin!"

Last time I checked, they were a 3-seed last year, and they're a 3-seed this year. Doing better in the first round, sure, but MAYBE that has something to do with facing the choking dogs with weak-ass goaltending Capitals rather than the clutch as hell inexplicably good goaltending of the Penguins.
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a beautifully ugly goal

i'll take it
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Milbury: Grubauer wasn't that bad.

Of the 17 goalies who played 2+ games in the playoffs before tonight, he was 16th of 17 in save percentage, with .837. (only Keith Kinkaid was worse)

That's pretty fucking bad, dude.
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SmartMuffin posted...

I love everyone's hot take of "Columbus got so much better by trading for Panarin!"

Last time I checked, they were a 3-seed last year, and they're a 3-seed this year. Doing better in the first round, sure, but MAYBE that has something to do with facing the choking dogs with weak-ass goaltending Capitals rather than the clutch as hell inexplicably good goaltending of the Penguins.

Both of your statements are true.

Panarin > Saad
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Not in any way that actually made them any better, though.

Chicago did get worse, so I guess that's something!
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Let's agree to disagree
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How though? They finished third in the Metro last year, they finished third in the Metro this year... in a year in which the Capitals got a lot worse and the Penguins got a little worse.
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I don't think the fact that Columbus finished in the same spot as last year correlates to Panarin being the same player as Saad.

I mean, there must be a different metric we can use to differentiate two players.
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I think we all actually forgot that Columbus was a Wild Card team this year, not a 3 seed, so I guess Panarin actively made them a worse team.
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davidponte posted...

I think we all actually forgot that Columbus was a Wild Card team this year, not a 3 seed, so I guess Panarin actively made them a worse team.

oh shit yeah thats true!

Caps just so bad it's hard to acknowledge them as a 1-seed!
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I'm not trying to say that they are a better team than last year because of Panarin instead of Saad.

It's true that they might actually be worse than last year.

But I still think Panarin is a better player than Saad. Both of my last two statements can be true.
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I mean yeah, they CAN. But what's your explanation then?

Did the competition get better? (no, not really)
Did they lose some other key players from last year? (no, not really)
Did other players on their team not improve at all? (no, not really)

I guess Bobrovsky regressed a little. That might be it?
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How does Smuffin continually come up with dumber arguments.
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"A player didn't make a team better if the team actually got worse despite no other major changes" is dumb?
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Like really... I don't think Panarin is bad or Saad is great or anything. I just think that you shouldn't say "this trade made them better" if they actually got worse unless you have a REALLY good explanation as to what else also happened to make them worse (which nobody has offered)
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To be honest, I don't really have an explanation. I'm inclined to say that the non-Metro teams got generally better so that accounts for it, but I don't have anything to back that up.

In a vacuum, I just believe that Panarin is a better player than Saad. If you're asking me who I want on my team, I'd say Panarin. (I know you're not asking that)
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I probably would too. I've always thought that almost all of the non-Kane and Toews players on Chicago were massively overrated. Freaking Kris Versteeg looked great when he was playing with those guys.
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You mean Leafs legend Kris Versteeg.

The Capitals were (obviously) done with a loss there, but I think that win changes the series and they come back to take it.
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Let's just hope all of the teams who won game 3 after going down 2-0 make great comebacks.
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davidponte posted...

You mean Leafs legend Kris Versteeg.

The Capitals were (obviously) done with a loss there, but I think that win changes the series and they come back to take it.

Does it even matter?

They come back to win this, feel great about themselves, everyone says THIS PROVES THEY HAVE THE TOUGHNESS! THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT!

And then they lose to Pittsburgh in six.

Columbus has already proven the general point that this Capitals team ISN'T any different from what they always were. They are going nowhere. This series is irrelevant - whoever wins is getting crushed by Pittsburgh.
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jesus nice scar Toffoli
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Wish the Kings could just refuse a power play sometimes...

Are the Kings going to get swept in a series where nobody ever had more than a 1-goal lead? Is that a thing that has ever happened?
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The Kings have disappointed me more than any other team in the first round.
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SmartMuffin posted...

Are the Kings going to get swept in a series where nobody ever had more than a 1-goal lead? Is that a thing that has ever happened?

Vegas had a 3-1 lead in game three.
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SmartMuffin posted...

Are the Kings going to get swept in a series where nobody ever had more than a 1-goal lead? Is that a thing that has ever happened?

Kings were down two in game 3.

SmartMuffin posted...

jesus nice scar Toffoli

Must have gotten it in practice, haven't seen Toffoli in a game for months.

Eh, Panarin doesn't make the Blackhawks any less toast this season. Unless his presence miraculously heals Crawford?
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Lolkings
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Go Vegas then. Don't fucking choke to the Sharks please.
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Man, I live for SMuffin's yearly Capitals angst.
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Whoo Vegas!
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SmartMuffin posted...

"A player didn't make a team better if the team actually got worse despite no other major changes" is dumb?

Yes because it ignores an insane number of other variables to arrive at a conclusion you already decided was true.

Which honestly is kind of how you view every other topic so I'm not really surprised.
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