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NHL 2013 post season thread!

#261
Well, it was no surprise that the Habs lost.

No Eller
No Price
No Prust
No Emelin
No Gionta
Pacioretty playing very much injured (EDIT : confirmed that it was a separated shoulder which is why he was next to useless out there)
Desharnais & Ryder were entirely invisible

They had not a chance in hell of winning the series though they had a bunch of chances of winning this game. They got 3 posts including one on a breakaway and one goal for the Senators should've been waved off (AGAIN!). A high-paced game was being entirely dictated by the Habs but the Sens have been opportunistic as they have been all series long. Bad bad luck all around.

There are some good things that came out of that, though. The rookies got a taste of the Playoffs and by and large played the best hockey out of anybody on the club. It's also painfully obvious that they need size to be competitive in the Springtime so hopefully, management will "get it" and (either by trade or UFA) acquire some extra size upfront.
 
#262
The Penguins played well. Wonder if Nabakov is tired. Sure looked like it.

I'm still not counting the Islanders out. They've been going toe-to-toe with the Pens for much of the series. Tavares showed some nifty moves, too... as did Okposo.
 
#264
Strat-Mangler said:
I watch a LOT of hockey and make sure to see the long highlights of every game. Reimer regularly let's in soft goals. Not so with Crawford. He's not a household name but he's quietly had a stellar season. Of course, it helps to have the Hawks in front of you, but nevertheless, soft goals aren't a regular occurrence with him, unlike Reimer and Fleury.

It's the classic symptom of being a Leafs fan to be blinded to their shortcomings or overrate the team. I'm glad they made the Playoffs because it's one more Canadian team, but they're not scaring me due to their execution. Reimer belongs in that group. He has to do a lot of work to prevent those softies from going in. If he can do that, I'll be glad to eat crow, but I don't personally see that happening soon. Hopefully, they buy Grabovski out in the summer. I lost all (whatever) respect I had for him this season. What an underachieving bum. And he costs $5 million/year, too! Ouch. Every team has its dead wood and we'll hope to see the amnesty buyout being used for him. Bad contract.
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Riemer was a little nervous in the first game but he has played better in every game afterward. He plays well positionally but I'd say that he gives up more juicy rebounds than Rask does and that is a bigger problem than the softies. Reimer just turned 25, he has time to get better.

That said, it is the direction of the team that is important and Montreal (and of course Boston tonight) should not underestimate the Leafs because of history - otherwise we could end up like the 2004 Yankees figuring that the Sox will fall short because for 78 years the Sox did fall short.
 
#265
Tavares, Crosby, and Ovie are the finalists for the Hart.

My vote goes to Ovi. If not for him, the Caps don't turn it around. Leading the league in goals doesn't hurt either.

Penguins were stacked - and they won 15 games in a row, without Sid. To me that shows that they did not need him as much as the Caps needed Ovi.

Tavares is a good player, but they needed a 3rd candidate. He won't get many votes.
 
#268
The Blue Jackets didn't make the Playoffs. If they had, he would've been there.

I don't think anybody on the Hawks can claim to be Hart material. It's a star-studded team. Kane didn't put up a point last night, but Toews got 2. The previous 2 games (IIRC), it was the opposite.

My vote would be for Ovechkin. The Capitals were the worst team in the NHL at some point and he went in "crazy" mode and dominated enough to come all the way from behind to eventually win the Maurice Richard. Not an easy feat. Reminded me of the Lemieux/LaFontaine race that year that Mario came back from cancer... and won!
 
#271
I am inclined to want Tavares to win the Hart for a lot of obvious reasons: Islanders making the playoffs, his great season, my lack of desire to see Crosby or Ovechkin win anything anymore, etc...

But let us not forget, that this season really doesn't even count anyway, at least in my mind. I still harbor some hostility towards the NHL and the NHLPA for how the lockout was mishandled and although I ended up still getting really into this season, it left a sour taste in my mouth. I've never watched so much football in my life as I did this fall haha

Bring on the 2013-2014 Hockey Season!
 
#272
From the 3 nominated, I would pick Tavares. If I could nominate someone myself, I'd pick Bobrovsky. Ridiculously good season, arguably from out of no where, and he was basically the sole reason his team contended for a playoff spot.

I still think the whole idea behind the award is kind of silly. Most valuable to your team? Crosby was easily the best player in the NHL this year, but the team didn't suffer when he was out. Does that mean he should suffer because his team is better than the Caps minus Ovi, or the Islanders minus Tavares? Should Bobrovsky not get serious consideration because the Blue Jackets didn't make the playoffs, despite him playing out of his mind?

Meh, doesn't really matter anyways. I'm only concerned with one trophy at the moment, and my team has to win a few more games to get it ;)
 
#275
Lazarus.Bird said:
Based on the fact that he plays piss poor defense, doesn't always put forth a good effort and didn't exist for half the season. I just don't feel like he earned the award.

As team captain, it shouldn't take two guys ripping you apart on national tv to make you stop playing like dog ****.
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Although I think he is the best of the 3, I can definitely get with you on this statement. Makes alot of sense.
 
#276
Fair enough. Truth be told, however, he's not paid to make defensive plays. He's paid to put the puck in the net. He started out with 5 goals in 16 games which is atrocious and rallied to take the Caps out of the basement, win their Division, and he won his 3rd Maurice Richard trophy in the process.

Pretty impressive for somebody many thought (including me) had lost his mojo.

It can be easily argued that without Ovechkin in the lineup, there's no way the team would've been able to gain access to the Playoffs.

All of that doesn't change how there was no back-checking effort whatsoever on the goal that NYR Stepan goal. Yikes.
 

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