It's inevitable (unfortunately)

[e_prime 1,936]

JETS! JETS! JETS!

Honestly, I have no pony in this race.  I will watch nevertheless.

May the best team win.

[krsmith17 7,191]

13 minutes ago, e_prime said:

JETS! JETS! JETS!

Honestly, I have no pony in this race.  I will watch nevertheless.

May the best team win.

Unless the best team is Pittsburgh...

[kliq 3,755]

5 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

Unless the best team is Pittsburgh...

I really don't want to see LA win either. Nothing against them, but I like seeing new guys raise the cup for the first time. When its not your team, I feel there is nothing more unsatisfying then seeing a repeat of something you have already seen.

But Ill take LA over Pittsburgh all day.

[Phil Lesh 93]

3 hours ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

I think I would like to see Sharks/Caps Finals.

Who would fold first?

 

Call me an outlier but if The Wings can't win it, I don't want anyone to win it. Any other team winning will leave a foul taste in my mouth. Especially the Pens, lol.

Edited April 8, 2018 by Phil Lesh

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

Good matchup for us in the first round with Vegas. The Kings have beaten them twice this season and have the best record against them of any playoff team.

[puckbags 863]

On 4/4/2018 at 1:38 PM, ami said:

It's inevitable.

Somebody will win Stanley this year, and it won't be the Red Wings. We will learn a new champion soon enough.
I wish I could install uOrigin or update my /etc/hosts and block that knowledge forever. Unfortunately, there's no such blocker, yet.

For the second time in about 27 years, the question (for me) is: who would cause less nausea and vomiting, winning the Stanley this coming June?

In order from 'Definite NO, GOD, NO' to 'Ok, it's better then others':
* Cindy and his landlord. Disaster, I doubt believe I can survive it.
* Tampons. No Cup for the Captain outside of Detroit.
* Capitals. No Cup for Ovechkin ever. Go phuck yourself you piece of sh-i-t!
* Boston. Obvious.
* Guppies. No Cup for other pieces of the same sh-i-t, both Joes.
* Toronto. I already worry about Babs shorten vacation. Let him go to his nice lake house rather sooner. Boo to you Shanny, too!
* Minnesota. You've chosen wrongly, sisters.
* Quacks. Same as Boston.
* Dives. Same as quacks.

The rest - I don't care.

The less damage would be if Jackets win it, just for Tart - love this guy, but after game last night, it's obvious they don't have a chance.

I'm curious as to why OV is a piece of sh-i-t as you say? Plays hard, plays clean, has fun, scored lots of goals and from everything i've seen and heard he's respected by the other players on and off the ice. Care to elaborate?

I'm not sure who the Tampons, Guppies, Quacks or Dives are but as long as the Leafs don't win the cup I will be fine with anyone else. 

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

2 hours ago, kliq said:

I really don't want to see LA win either. Nothing against them, but I like seeing new guys raise the cup for the first time. When its not your team, I feel there is nothing more unsatisfying then seeing a repeat of something you have already seen.

But Ill take LA over Pittsburgh all day.

I really want to see them win the first round.

1 hour ago, Phil Lesh said:

Who would fold first?

 

Call me an outlier but if The Wings can't win it, I don't want anyone to win it. Any other team winning will leave a foul taste in my mouth. Especially the Pens, lol.

They'll alternate.

29 minutes ago, puckbags said:

I'm curious as to why OV is a piece of sh-i-t as you say? Plays hard, plays clean, has fun, scored lots of goals and from everything i've seen and heard he's respected by the other players on and off the ice. Care to elaborate?

I'm not sure who the Tampons, Guppies, Quacks or Dives are but as long as the Leafs don't win the cup I will be fine with anyone else. 

I'm guessing it's Tampa, Sharks, Ducks, and Penguins.

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

Found this article from last year, but its still timely. Really well written.

https://www.nhl.com/news/detroit-red-wings-25-year-playoff-streak-comes-to-an-end/c-288192312

Think of how much time has passed since the Red Wings last missed the playoffs.

No player in the NHL today was in the NHL then, not even Jaromir Jagr. Nine of the franchises in the NHL today weren't in the NHL, 10 if you include the Vegas Golden Knights.

Fifteen players who have appeared in a game for the Red Wings this season hadn't been born.

Now think of how much the Red Wings accomplished over the next 25 seasons, a quarter of the Centennial the NHL is celebrating this season.

They won the Stanley Cup four times, tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for most in that span, and came within a game of winning it a fifth when they lost Game 7 of the Final to the Penguins in 2009. They went to the Final six times.

They won the Presidents' Trophy six times, three times more than any other team in that span. They won 1,133 regular-season games, 104 more than any other team, and earned 2,536 points, 209 more than any other team.

They set records for wins in a season (62 in 1995-96), road wins in a season (31 in 2005-06), consecutive road wins (12 in 2005-06) and consecutive home wins (23 in 2011-12), and they tied the record for home wins in a season (36 in 1995-96).

For 21 seasons, they didn't come close to missing the playoffs. They finished in the top four in their conference 18 times and had a cushion of at least a dozen points the other three times. It wasn't until the past few seasons that they had to fight to make the playoffs.

But the Red Wings streak might have been the most impressive. It was really two streaks in one.

The foundation of the first was Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Nicklas Lidstrom, whom the Red Wings surrounded with a strong supporting cast, many of whom ended up in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and Scotty Bowman, the greatest coach in hockey history.

The foundation of the second was Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

"Right when everyone thought we were going to slip, when Sergei moves on, Stevie's getting to the end of the road, next thing you know, Pav and Z come in," Draper said. "Unbelievable. That put us on another 10-year run."

Lidstrom retired in 2012, and still the Red Wings kept making the playoffs. Babcock left in 2015, and still the Red Wings made it another season. Datsyuk left, and, well, finally, this is it.

Until now, the Red Wings were the only team to make the playoffs each season of the salary-cap era.

Can the Penguins surpass the Red Wings streak? Fifteen years from now, Sidney Crosby will be 44. Evgeni Malkin will be 45. 

"I don't know that you'll ever see this again," Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said. "I don't know that you'll ever see a team be this elite of a franchise for that many years. That's what we're striving to do, and we're not even a third of the way there, really, for the number of years that they've been able to do it."

This is why Holland doesn't get enough credit IMO.

[AtlantaHotWings 974]

21 minutes ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

 

"I don't know that you'll ever see this again," Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said. "I don't know that you'll ever see a team be this elite of a franchise for that many years. That's what we're striving to do, and we're not even a third of the way there, really, for the number of years that they've been able to do it."

This is why Holland doesn't get enough credit IMO.

and the Hawks are out this year also  with a lot of question marks surrounding them in IMHO

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

6 minutes ago, AtlantaHotWings said:

and the Hawks are out this year also  with a lot of question marks surrounding them in IMHO

Q is out. They will start shopping anyone not named Kane this summer.

[krsmith17 7,191]

6 minutes ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Q is out. They will start shopping anyone not named Kane this summer.

Huh? Quenneville is back for at least another season...

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

On 4/8/2018 at 12:36 PM, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Good matchup for us in the first round with Vegas. The Kings have beaten them twice this season and have the best record against them of any playoff team.

I stand corrected. The Wild have a better record against Vegas than the Kings.

On 4/8/2018 at 4:15 PM, krsmith17 said:

Huh? Quenneville is back for at least another season...

You are correct. I missed that one.

[amato 3,210]

On 4/8/2018 at 11:18 AM, krsmith17 said:

Jets for me.

Same, I’ve been on the Jets band wagon since Laine. Kid’s just so damn exciting to watch.. Plus they’ve got a ton of depth everywhere. 

 

But really, the winner of the probable Jets/Preds second round series is who I want to see win. 

Would also be okay with the Caps, Kings, or.... Bolts (don’t hate me, every other wings fan ever)  

[krsmith17 7,191]

26 minutes ago, amato said:

Same, I’ve been on the Jets band wagon since Laine. Kid’s just so damn exciting to watch.. Plus they’ve got a ton of depth everywhere. 

But really, the winner of the probable Jets/Preds second round series is who I want to see win. 

Would also be okay with the Caps, Kings, or.... Bolts (don’t hate me, every other wings fan ever)  

I've always been a fan of the Western Canadian teams, and became a big Jets fan the moment they came back to the NHL. It also helped that we had their farm team here for a couple years. I just really like the way that team is built. I'm a huge fan of a lot of their players. Scheifele, Wheeler, Connor, Ehlers and Laine, Byfuglien, Trouba and Morrissey, Hellebuyck looks like he could be the real deal. They have the elite talent and the depth. Stastny was a huge addition as well. I think (hope) they're going to go on a long run.

Same. I realty like the way Poile has built that Preds team as well. If it's not the Jets, I'm hoping it's the Preds or Bolts.

[CupCrazy22 6]

Predators or Bolts for me. I do like the Jets alot as well.

[barabbas16 499]

Would like to see win: Columbus, Nashville, Winnipeg...Washington or Tampa wouldn't be too bad either

Would hate to see win:  Pittsburgh, Toronto, Boston, Vegas (only because of the pick).

All other teams: meh.

 

[Gordie Howe hat trick 110]

I prefer the Caps, or the Jets. Vegas would be something. Just never the Pens, Hawks, or especially the Aves ever again,

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

1 hour ago, barabbas16 said:

Would like to see win: Columbus, Nashville, Winnipeg...Washington or Tampa wouldn't be too bad either

Would hate to see win:  Pittsburgh, Toronto, Boston, Vegas (only because of the pick).

All other teams: meh.

 

Vegas won their division. Doesn't that mean the pick is pretty much locked in?

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

I want to see Vegas in the Finals, just to see what their ice conditions will be like.  I've been to Vegas before in June, and it's very HOT.  

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

A Winnipeg or Nashville vs. Columbus or Tampa Bay series would be horrible for the ratings. As much as the league wants "parity", it wants viewership more. 

[barabbas16 499]

1 hour ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Vegas won their division. Doesn't that mean the pick is pretty much locked in?

So, I was thinking the Cup winner picks last... is that not the case?

32 minutes ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

A Winnipeg or Nashville vs. Columbus or Tampa Bay series would be horrible for the ratings. As much as the league wants "parity", it wants viewership more. 

Couldn't care less what the league wants.

[amato 3,210]

3 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Vegas won their division. Doesn't that mean the pick is pretty much locked in?

Division winners can pick no better than 24. So it’ll be between 24 & 31 depending on how their playoff run goes.

 

 

Quote

 

1. The teams that won their divisions in the previous season but did not play in the Conference Finals (potentially picks 24–27)
2. The teams that lose in Conference Finals (picks 28 and 29)
3. The team that was the runner-up in the Stanley Cup Finals (pick 30)
4. The team that won the Stanley Cup in the previous season (pick 31)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHL_Entry_Draft

Edited April 10, 2018 by amato

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

1 minute ago, amato said:

Division winners can pick no better than 24. So it’ll be between 24 & 31 depending on how their playoff run goes. 

Thanks for clarifying. Vegas capped at 24.

[marcaractac 3,961]

2 hours ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

A Winnipeg or Nashville vs. Columbus or Tampa Bay series would be horrible for the ratings. As much as the league wants "parity", it wants viewership more. 

Well, the league doesn't play the games, and Tampa vs Nashville has a high probability of happening

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

6 hours ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

A Winnipeg or Nashville vs. Columbus or Tampa Bay series would be horrible for the ratings. As much as the league wants "parity", it wants viewership more. 

Outside of Chicago, the league doesn't have any big market teams playing in the Western Conference.  LA may be the second biggest city in the US, but do they really generate big TV ratings for the league if they're making a deep playoff run?  The Western Conference has always had that issue except when the Red Wings or Blackhawks were making the Finals in the last 20 years.