Dabura

CAPS BEAT THE BOLTS IN REGULATION BLUES BEAT THE ISLES IN REGULATION NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU, PITTSBURGH RANGERS THRASHED THE DEVILS IN REGULATION WE EATIN' GOOD TONIGHT BOYS LET'S GOOOOOOOOO WAIT SORRY THE BLUES-ISLES GAME ISN'T OVERRRRRRRRR

I almost want the Leafs to make it out of the 1st round again just so we get to be the ones to kick their asses.

I actually don't care all that much about shots in and of themselves (which is why I hate the fancy stats arguments). It's more that we play very loosely on the defensive side of the puck. That's OK if you've got great goaltending and great scoring depth, which we do. I just hope those things hold up. Because they have to. As for everyone having flaws, I agree. I said so in my post. (Well, OK, I said bubble teams. But yeah.) Tronna is hugely flawed. But they know how to get that 2nd/3rd seed. Matthews scoring 100 goals a night helps. tl;dr We're on the same page, but I get why some people - even (or maybe especially) Wings fans - would have reservations re: how good we really are.

I mean, I'm a pretty big believer in this team, but I don't really disagree with @Scott R Lucidi. It's not that we aren't good...it's just that we're living in the age of parity and all it takes is a run of bad games to knock you out of a race like this. We saw it last season. Granted, we're a better team this season. But we've still got flaws, just like any other bubble team. Like, I D-E-S-P-I-S-E the fancy stats arguments for why we aren't a good team - but, in fairness, the arguments aren't totally unreasonable. For one thing, we're fundamentally incapable of locking down our half of the ice. Every night we write a blank check for 33+ shots against us and we hand it to the other team and they cash the check. Maybe most of those shots aren't "high-danger," but it's playing with fire. It was killing us before Lyon stepped in and stepped up. Fortunately, we can flat-out score. Which means we have two engines: scoring and Lyon. Either one can falter a bit and it won't necessarily be catastrophic, provided the other one holds up. The concern is that both Lyon and our shooters are probably overachieving a bit and are probably due for some regression. If that regression hits on both fronts at the same time, that could be the season right there. But I'm optimistic. The 2nd wild card spot is ours to lose. The Devils haven't shown that they're any better than us. Nor have the Isles. The Pens are fading. The Caps refuse to die, but we'll see. As far as I'm concerned, that's our competition right now. Those four Metro teams. We're not catching the Leafs. (Watch me eat those words.) F*** them and everything they stand for - but if there's one thing they know how to do, it's finish 2nd or 3rd in the division (and implode in the 1st round). Finishing above the Bolts is more realistic, but they're a veteran team that you expect to get serious when things get serious, and things are getting pretty serious for them. The funny thing in all this is that I really like our chances against the Bruins or Rangers in a best-of-seven. (I want no part of the Panthers, but I'll embrace it if that's how it's gotta be.) I like our chances so much that I almost feel like going toe-to-toe with one of them would be easier than this race we're in now.

I'm just being a little s***.

A GM isn't gonna badmouth a player he's trying to trade.

Gonna be honest, I lost any interest I had in Tanev when I saw Larkin box him out in Markstrom's kitchen on this goal:

I'm not sure we can call Berggren a prospect at this point. He seems to be more like an NHLer who Yzerman simply isn't all that high on (anymore), if only because we have a pretty deep forward group and he's become kinda redundant. Maybe that's a misread on my part. But I do feel like the shine has faded, at least in Yzerman's eyes. Chychrun's a very good point-producing defenseman. If we could get him for a 1st + Berggren + Wallinder, I'd do it in a heartbeat. He'd immediately become our second-best defenseman. My one concern with him, long-term, is that he's always hurt. But, point is, I'd take my chances if the package is largely centered on Berggren.

Isles beat the Pens in OT. Not ideal, but whatevz.

Caps thrashed the Devils.

Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios Chelios (Chelios, Chelios) Chelios Chelios Chelios Lebda Chelios Chelios (Chelios) Chelios (Chelios)

Good deal for both sides.

I guess I'm just kinda wondering what the plan is here. Larkin right now is probably the best he's going to be. Seider and Raymond have become leaders and this is the last time you'll have them on ELCs. Lyon feels a bit like lightning in a bottle; he could fall off next season and then we'd be boned in net. If we're waiting for the next wave of prospects to establish themselves as impact players, we're probably gonna be waiting another two or three or more years. Edvinsson's probably gonna be RealGud at some point, but I dunno that he's a serious impact NHLer now or even next season. I'm happy that Kasper's playing better of late, but I dunno that he's an impact NHLer next season or even the season after that. Danielson probably spends at least a year in the AHL. ASP's got a long way to go, I fear. Soderblom's starting to feel like a 7th-round pick. Berggren seems to be on his way out. Mazur...is pretty good...in the AHL...when he's not hurt...? So...what's the score? Where we at? Are we waiting for Seider to learn how to play 50 minutes a night? Are we waiting on a big fish in free agency? I'm not even asking for any blockbuster moves. I just want winning to be rewarded. If we're still in a wildcard spot at the end of the month, I think the worst thing you could do to this team is tell them: "Well, this was never really gonna be a big push year for us anyway, because we've got prospects coming and that means we have to wait a bit longer, because what we're working towards is having a team that's got some depth to it. And the D group I put together was really more just kind of a treading water kinda thing, because we've got some prospects coming." Don't mortgage the future. But if it really does look like we're headed for a best-of-seven with Boston/Florida/NYR, let's invest in ruining that franchise's season.

Fair.

Real talk tho. If we keep winning, it'd take some pretty big balls on Yzermanager to stand pat.

I tweeted a video clip @ him. It was the UK hockey player murdering that other UK hockey player, because all the hockey journos were going out of their way to say it was a tragic accident, even though it very clearly, very unequivocally was not an accident. On a completely unrelated note, how do you survive in Seattle?

He blocked me on Twitter. Badge of honor.

Inshallah!

Sens beat the Bolts in regulation.

But they're Canadian. No amount of winning can save their eternal souls.

Can't wait to see moneypuck slash our playoff odds by 15% because we're playing the Avs on Thursday and the Sens are really heating up.

Fixed it! (Tho the old guy seems moderately based tbf.)

BEN CHIAROT SAID "CLIMATE PLEDGE DEEZ NUTS LMAO"