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Western Conference Final: Game 1: Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Dallas Stars (3)

CarltonTheBear

CarltonTheBear

Administrator
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Sunday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m.: Stars vs. Golden Knights | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 8 p.m.: Stars vs. Golden Knights | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Thursday, Sept. 10, 8 p.m.: Golden Knights vs. Stars | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Saturday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m.: Golden Knights vs. Stars | NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS
*Monday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m.: Stars vs. Golden Knights | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
*Wednesday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m.: Golden Knights vs. Stars | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
*Friday, Sept. 18, 9 p.m. Stars vs. Golden Knights | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Sunday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m.: Stars vs. Golden Knights | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 8 p.m.: Stars vs. Golden Knights | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Thursday, Sept. 10, 8 p.m.: Golden Knights vs. Stars | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Saturday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m.: Golden Knights vs. Stars | NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS
*Monday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m.: Stars vs. Golden Knights | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
*Wednesday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m.: Golden Knights vs. Stars | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
*Friday, Sept. 18, 9 p.m. Stars vs. Golden Knights | NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
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Well... game 1 sucked.

Sent from my SM-G986W using Tapatalk

 
Reaves' entire job is to try and injure actual hockey players within the boundaries of the rules.

It's hard to get behind a team that would value that.
 
Frycer14 said:
Reaves' entire job is to try and injure actual hockey players within the boundaries of the rules.

It's hard to get behind a team that would value that.
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Dallas Stars, your Western Conference champion... thought no one.
 
I've seen some suggest that the Leafs record finishing out the season suggests they aren't good enough to advance far into the playoffs. They had 12 wins in their last 25 games.

Dallas had 11.

edit: geeze the Islanders had 8...
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Should have started Fleury... Lehner shouldn't get a contract higher than $3mil this offseason, $4mil tops.
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Don't think that would have made a difference. They didn't lose because of Lehner. It will be interesting to see what Vegas does with him going forward. 
 
Guilt Trip said:
CarltonTheBear said:
Should have started Fleury... Lehner shouldn't get a contract higher than $3mil this offseason, $4mil tops.
Click to expand...
Don't think that would have made a difference. They didn't lose because of Lehner. It will be interesting to see what Vegas does with him going forward. 
Click to expand...

Allan Walsh took control of my account for a second there.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Guilt Trip said:
CarltonTheBear said:
Should have started Fleury... Lehner shouldn't get a contract higher than $3mil this offseason, $4mil tops.
Click to expand...
Don't think that would have made a difference. They didn't lose because of Lehner. It will be interesting to see what Vegas does with him going forward. 
Click to expand...

Allan Walsh took control of my account for a second there.
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Haha, good one! Does Vegas keep both for next year? Going to be hard to unload Fleury and his contract.... 7AAV..6.5 and 6 mill in actual dollars over next 2 years.
 
Dallas making it to the finals just shows the randomness of hockey.  I'm not sure there's many people who predicted Dallas making a run this year.  They were only 1 point better than the Leafs during the regular season.  Get hot goaltending at the right time and look what happens.
 
Zee said:
Dallas making it to the finals just shows the randomness of hockey.  I'm not sure there's many people who predicted Dallas making a run this year.  They were only 1 point better than the Leafs during the regular season.  Get hot goaltending at the right time and look what happens.
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Over their last 25 games Bowness and the Stars had the 8th highest xGF% in the league. They went 11-10-4 in that stretch because their shooting percentage was 31st in the league.

Oddly enough, the Leafs had the 9th highest xGF% in the league over every teams last 25 games. They went 12-10-3 in that stretch because their save percentage was... 31st in the league.
 
Zee said:
Dallas making it to the finals just shows the randomness of hockey.  I'm not sure there's many people who predicted Dallas making a run this year.  They were only 1 point better than the Leafs during the regular season.  Get hot goaltending at the right time and look what happens.
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That's very true. If JT scores instead of hitting the post....different game, maybe different outcome. Leafs aren't as good as people think and not as bad as others think. They need to improve like 30 other teams.
Funny thing. Under normal playoff rules, the top 2 teams in each division make it. Dallas was 3rd in Central. Edmonton was 2nd in the Pacific. Without this format, Dallas wouldn't have been in the round robin and with their record in the round robin/play-ins, they might not have made it. They lost something like 8 in a row including the regular season. It's a funny game sometimes. Give them credit though. They score when they need it and won the last 2 series in OT.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Zee said:
Dallas making it to the finals just shows the randomness of hockey.  I'm not sure there's many people who predicted Dallas making a run this year.  They were only 1 point better than the Leafs during the regular season.  Get hot goaltending at the right time and look what happens.
Click to expand...

Over their last 25 games Bowness and the Stars had the 8th highest xGF% in the league. They went 11-10-4 in that stretch because their shooting percentage was 31st in the league.

Oddly enough, the Leafs had the 9th highest xGF% in the league over every teams last 25 games. They went 12-10-3 in that stretch because their save percentage was... 31st in the league.
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Well that explains their record then doesn't it. Just think if Seguin gets going.
 
JT and JS sign as UFAs with Toronto to get a better shot at the Cup.
NYI gets to ECF. DAL gets to SCF.
tenor.gif
 
herman said:
JT and JS sign as UFAs with Toronto to get a better shot at the Cup.
NYI gets to ECF. DAL gets to SCF.
Click to expand...

I think Spezza leaving Dallas was a mutual decision, but yeah that would be a little sad for him. Tampa probably has this one though.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
herman said:
JT and JS sign as UFAs with Toronto to get a better shot at the Cup.
NYI gets to ECF. DAL gets to SCF.
Click to expand...

I think Spezza leaving Dallas was a mutual decision, but yeah that would be a little sad for him. Tampa probably has this one though.
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Either way that series goes, most NHL teams are definitely going to copycat the extremely trappy 'forechecks' CBJ, DAL, TBL, NYI use. Beating expensive teams with boring try-not-to-lose obstruction strategies because referees are allergic to calling penalties in the playoffs gets mythologized as 'defense wins championships'.

 
herman said:
Either way that series goes, most NHL teams are definitely going to copycat the extremely trappy 'forechecks' CBJ, DAL, TBL, NYI use. Beating expensive teams with boring try-not-to-lose obstruction strategies because referees are allergic to calling penalties in the playoffs gets mythologized as 'defense wins championships'.
Click to expand...

I mean... maybe they should? I'm not saying that the Leafs need to abandon an offensive style of play (and Tampa and the Islanders are both averaging over 3 goals for per game these playoffs, Dallas and Vegas just a tiny shade under... so these aren't teams that are grinding games out 2-1 every night) but I think the Leafs do maybe need to come to the realization that the game is called differently in the playoffs.
 
Yeah, I mean, Herman is right that the way the playoffs get called is a constant issue that speaks to how broken the NHL is but there's no getting around the fact that it's still the reality the Leafs are in. Building a team to win in the playoffs isn't just analytically averse hockey hokum, it's a real consideration.
 
That?s why year after year the ?best? team is the one that gets lucky good goaltending for a couple of weeks and establishes a very high baseline of minor infractions that the referees just cannot and will not be whistled.

Tampa has blended this beautifully with hyper-aggressively applied conservative defense, creative offensive flow, and complete disregard for the health and well-being of opponents.
 
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