Lightning (A1) vs. Bruins (A2)

[louisstamos]

So yeah what a stanley cup contender the Bruins were.  And the Leafs couldn't even beat in basically a gimme game 7.

I was tweeting earlier that the Leafs and Lightning are built so similar at forward and in goal - the difference is Tampa Bay having a championship-esque blueline.  1-6, there aren't very many other teams I'd take over Tampa.

 

[Guilt Trip]

So yeah what a stanley cup contender the Bruins were.  And the Leafs couldn't even beat in basically a gimme game 7.

I was tweeting earlier that the Leafs and Lightning are built so similar at forward and in goal - the difference is Tampa Bay having a championship-esque blueline.  1-6, there aren't very many other teams I'd take over Tampa.

And that's a huge difference. Tampa is going to be hard to beat.

 

[Bender]

So yeah what a stanley cup contender the Bruins were.  And the Leafs couldn't even beat in basically a gimme game 7.

Tampa beating Boston doesn't make the Leafs any worse of a team, and Tampa having a good series doesn't mean Boston wasn't a contender. The Leafs were probably 7th best in the league and probably still are if things break their way. Boston is still maybe 3rd. Tampa was basically the top team in the league almost all year long, faced a weak 1st Rd opponent and had time to figure Boston out.

 

[Kin]

Tampa beating Boston doesn't make the Leafs any worse of a team, and Tampa having a good series doesn't mean Boston wasn't a contender. The Leafs were probably 7th best in the league and probably still are if things break their way. Boston is still maybe 3rd.

I don't know if saying that really means anything though. First off, I don't know if it's true(I don't think we can say with any degree of certainty if the Leafs were better than teams like Minnesota, Pittsburgh or San Jose) but even if we accept that they were somewhere in the back half of the top 10 teams in the league I don't think that has some sort of fixed value based on there having to be a certain number of contenders per year.

I think it's been pretty clear watching this second round that regardless of how things got seeded there's a pretty good chance the Leafs would have gotten smoked by whoever they played. And then again in a hypothetical conference finals. And definitely again in a hypothetical SCF. Once that's true, when you're an underdog to get out of the first round and then a huge underdog to go any further than that then I'm not sure there's a meaningful difference between wherever we might think the Leafs would rank and just making it into the playoffs.

 

[Bender]

Tampa beating Boston doesn't make the Leafs any worse of a team, and Tampa having a good series doesn't mean Boston wasn't a contender. The Leafs were probably 7th best in the league and probably still are if things break their way. Boston is still maybe 3rd.

I don't know if saying that really means anything though. First off, I don't know if it's true(I don't think we can say with any degree of certainty if the Leafs were better than teams like Minnesota, Pittsburgh or San Jose) but even if we accept that they were somewhere in the back half of the top 10 teams in the league I don't think that has some sort of fixed value based on there having to be a certain number of contenders per year.

I think it's been pretty clear watching this second round that regardless of how things got seeded there's a pretty good chance the Leafs would have gotten smoked by whoever they played. And then again in a hypothetical conference finals. And definitely again in a hypothetical SCF. Once that's true, when you're an underdog to get out of the first round and then a huge underdog to go any further than that then I'm not sure there's a meaningful difference between wherever we might think the Leafs would rank and just making it into the playoffs.

Yeah I hear you. I do agree the Leafs have a ways to go, but I don't think Boston losing to Tampa in 5 sets the benchmark that much lower, or they should be spoken about as pejorative "contenders" like they were a crappy team. I didn't watch the series but I think we can all agree TBay was the favourite almost all season long to make it through to the SCF from the east. Boston had a good run leading up to the end of the regular season and maybe they ran out of gas or were outcoached or whatever. I don't think that means they weren't a contender.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Thank goodness no one has to hear of the name Marchand anymore for the rest of the playoffs. 

Well done, Tampa!

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/FlutoShinzawa/status/994202930868834304

I'm a little surprised/not actually surprised that nobody is really calling Marchand a bad teammate or a distraction in the locker room for all this [expletive]. Especially since they lost.

I mean half of the hockey world lost their minds when a player said another player told him he had bad breath last year. But this is fine.

 

[Bates]

I have read a few saying just that.  Some have thought him being a distraction was bad for the Bruins, some talked about Chara having an adult conversation with Marchand.  And I believe PK pushed that issue last year by showing up with mouthwash for next game but hey continue on with your it must be racism line if it makes you feel better.

https://twitter.com/FlutoShinzawa/status/994202930868834304

I'm a little surprised/not actually surprised that nobody is really calling Marchand a bad teammate or a distraction in the locker room for all this [expletive]. Especially since they lost.

I mean half of the hockey world lost their minds when a player said another player told him he had bad breath last year. But this is fine.

 

[Kin]

I'm a little surprised/not actually surprised that nobody is really calling Marchand a bad teammate or a distraction in the locker room for all this [expletive]. Especially since they lost.

In sort of a re-working of the quote in my sig, if a guy has a ring he could probably punch his coach and be described by the media as "fiery".

 

[cabber24]

https://twitter.com/FlutoShinzawa/status/994202930868834304

I'm a little surprised/not actually surprised that nobody is really calling Marchand a bad teammate or a distraction in the locker room for all this [expletive]. Especially since they lost.

I mean half of the hockey world lost their minds when a player said another player told him he had bad breath last year. But this is fine.

Outside of the BS, he's one of the best players in the league. Over the past three seasons he is 6th for points per game. Some see in antics as a strength. It's literally impossible to not want to punch him at all times. It throw guys off their game.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/theScoreNHL/status/994287102924767232

I was gonna say, as if a player would ever look for a chance to not win and live in a crappy place but then I remembered that some players willingly sign in Arizona.

 

[Zee]

https://twitter.com/theScoreNHL/status/994287102924767232

I was gonna say, as if a player would ever look for a chance to not win and live in a crappy place but then I remembered that some players willingly sign in Arizona.

That would be an awesome dose of reality from a player.

"Obviously I don't care about winning, that's No. 1, as long as I get the most money possible"
"No. 2 is a good place to live, although really that's not very important either since with enough money my family can live anywhere and I'll see them from time to time until I'm retired"

 

[Guilt Trip]

https://twitter.com/FlutoShinzawa/status/994202930868834304

I'm a little surprised/not actually surprised that nobody is really calling Marchand a bad teammate or a distraction in the locker room for all this [expletive]. Especially since they lost.

I mean half of the hockey world lost their minds when a player said another player told him he had bad breath last year. But this is fine.

Outside of the BS, he's one of the best players in the league. Over the past three seasons he is 6th for points per game. Some see in antics as a strength. It's literally impossible to not want to punch him at all times. It throw guys off their game.

Absolutely he is a star talent wise. I don't have an issue with his agitating, minus the over the top licking/kissing stuff. I don't like his dirty hits tho, but I wouldn't like that from any player.