And Nashville. I cannot believe Arizona beat them but that goalie they have is really good. He's a PITA to get past. Fire 40+ shots at him and you're lucky to get 2 goals.
SHOCKER! Chicago beats Edmonton. Draisaitl can go golfing now. Not very far to leave the bubble! Chicago would never have been allowed to compete for the Stanley Cup if it were not for the CV19 playoff restructuring while at one point Edmonton was almost the top in their division
Tuck's winning OT goal was a no look shot. He fakes passing it and just fires without looking. https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-golden-knights-colorado-avalanche-game-recap/c-317515328
I haven't chimed in for a while. At first I found it almost dull to watch, because of the lack of a crowd. It definitely adds excitement when there's a big hit or a close play on net that gets the crowd roaring. But after a few games I'm used to it and now it's business as usual. The action/excitement will only get better as the playoffs go deeper because the players will get better.
The theory that "anything can happen" certainly adds something. Chicago would not have even qualified for the playoffs in the original format. Then they beat a team that at one point was challenging to be the best in their division. Arizona also is a surprise. I thought the Toronto come back was amazing. Several games have had empty net game tying goals. I thought the games would be really sloppy but by in large, they really don't look much different than when they stopped playing. Passes are crisp and the goalies seem pretty sharp. The only thing you could say is there's too many bad penalties. Its been entertaining but everything gets ramped up next week.
For those of you further away I bring you the Toronto Hub! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Pacioretty returns to Vegas for game one against Chicago.... He's our leading scorer and goal getter this year. Vegas gets its 4 lines back. https://www.nhl.com/news/golden-knights-max-pacioretty-to-play-in-game-1-of-first-round/c-318359480
Bummer they just couldn’t get goals out of all that work. And now TB has to replay the ****ty old CBJ team again this year. Hopefully Lightning are out for blood after the shock/sweep last year, but with Stamkos and Hedman likely out it’s going to be difficult.
Yah very disappointing after the Toronto comeback yesterday, which was one of the most amazing comebacks in history. 3 empty net goals in 4 minutes. But today they were outplayed in game 5 by Columbus. The 2nd goal was a killer. Look for Tampa to cream Columbus. One full year of REVENGE.
They were out played in 4 of the games including the lucky win we had. We showed our lack of depth. Pressure was pretty constant by 1.5 lines. With that being said the goaltending for CBJ really stood out. Credit where it is due. Good job on the goalies and defense.
I want to see the next team they play. They really shut down one of the strongest (arguable) offensive lines in the league. Was it our lack of two or three lines of offense or did CBJ really dial in the defensive game. Goalies were simply off the charts for them.
For me the thing CBJ does really well and consistently is to wear down opposing forwards with relentless physicality. Hit ratios are nuts and they follow through on every check which gets guys heads up and a half step off stride. And for whatever reason they get guys in under opposition D without a lot of effort. To me a team needs seriously physical guys at D to keep the crease clear all of the time with Columbus and it just doesn’t happen enough. Tampa didn’t have the bench to do it last year. They got some additional size in the meantime but with Hedman out it’s going to be a question mark again this playoffs. Hopefully we pull it off this year though.
If you’ve ever been to a game behind the bench with Tortorella coaching you’d know he curses like a sailor. It’s remarkable he doesn’t say more on TV than he does!
I want to wish you guys luck but I would feel a lot better if they made a deep run. This way we lost to a worthy opponent! Sorry
Boston has been sleeping on the ice. You have to wonder if some of the round robin teams didn't take it very seriously and thought they were more like exhibition games. Hard to tell but its certainly possible some round robin teams could be bumped off. But I look at Tampa and I think they have been waiting for this moment. Perhaps its the same for the Canes. They may smell blood in the water the way Boston is playing.
