Hockey Talk: NHL Thread and stuff

Tools    





Bobrovsky might be the best goalie in the playoffs left after that Oettinger showing



Follow up your first round win in 19 years with a second round sweep. The Leafs are the gift that keeps on giving.

When I spoke of the curse of Harold Ballard I was hardly joking. His toxic and cheapskate managerial style saddled one of the most scrutinized sports franchises in the world with nearly two decades of legitimately horrible teams. It set a multi generational attitude towards this team that they were the absolute worst because they actually were. If not for the glimmer of the Gilmore years, we might even be talking about thirty years of fan frustration.


But at some point we need to recognize this just isn't about the failure of the team anymore. On paper, our team is as good as any in the league. We have the longest streak of making the playoffs of any team in the league. We have players who get scoring titles and we have a team, that even though definitely inconsistent, is basically a winning team. And yet the media in this city never stops beating up on them. They can win multiple games in a row, and if they have a poor showing in one, they pounce and start screaming everyone should be traded. And we, as fans, follow suit.


Because of the hockey climate in Toronto they have become a team repeatedly beaten down by press and fans, frequently when it isn't even remotely deserving. And like anyone who gets micromanaged at their job, it wears them down. And at the point, anything short of not only winning a Stanley Cup, but winning one handily, is considered an abject failure. It's an impossible city to play hockey in. At this point I think you could assemble any team you want, with whatever high quality coaching you can find, and they are still going to underperform.


And they have underperformed. No question. Especially in playoffs. And a lot of that is of course directly on them, as they are professionals and are definitely paid well to put up with this kind of pressure.


But it's also on us. And the media. Regardless of how understandable the culture of failure here has made us, we take it way too far. At this point, being a Leaf fan really means just waiting for the moments we can hate them, and making sure the team knows how much they deserve it. Even when they dont.


As for whether they get swept, I'm going to say very likely. But I also am one of those fans who believes they are entirely capable of clawing their way back. And while I'm not expecting that to happen, because it almost never does, they are still a good enough team to believe in that glimmer of hope. Otherwise, of course the prophecies of doom that permeate this city all season long are always going to be the only victoriously ones here



VGK deserves some respect after that beatdown...but they probably wont get it



How is Florida an underdog in game 4 tonight



Is Toronto still the favorite to win the Cup?
Toronto actually has better odds than Seattle right now....weird

Will see how that changes after tonight which feels like a 50/50 game to me



Carolina is the first to advance to the Conference Finals. Though NJ fans may be angry tonight, all in all this has been an excellent season for them and an important building block.



I have to give credit to Carolina, I really didnt expect them to dispose of NY and NJ so easily

I have a bad feeling tonight (and the rest of the series) as a VGK fan given the suspensions...EDM may come out with a mean streak



I have to give credit to Carolina, I really didnt expect them to dispose of NY and NJ so easily
Especially considering how difficult the end of the regular season was for them and having half of their top six injured. Still, maybe I'm just missing something about NJ but I didn't consider them just as tough opponents for Carolina as either of the NY teams.

I have a bad feeling tonight (and the rest of the series) as a VGK fan given the suspensions...EDM may come out with a mean streak
That slashing should have been at least three games, in my opinion. As blatant attempt to injure as I've seen this year.



Florida still not getting enough respect...Dallas has better odds to win the Cup than the Panthers do at this moment

What a game last night! I didnt expect VGK to storm the 2nd period with 3 goals to go up 2, and then only give up one goal to EDM during a 5-minute major. It will be an odd outcome to me if VGK wins this series while being pretty bad on the power play, while simultaneously EDM losing the series who are so powerful on theirs.



Just like that, Florida now has better odds than Dallas (as they should). Florida is probably the bigger surprise, but its certainly a bit shocking how well Seattle has played these playoffs



Perhaps Toronto should move on from Keefe. Or does that first round win over Tampa buy him some grace?

I'm probably no great judge of coaches, but I feel Keefe is probably the best one they've had since Pat Burns. Burns was a legend and probably the only great coach the Leafs have had in my lifetime.


Every year this team gets better under Keefe. Traditionally they have been a terrible playoff team, but this is the first year where they weren't. Yes, they under performed and had a couple of bad games. Probably didn't even have very many solid games from start to finish. But they were leagues better than they've been for a long time.


The team has the talent. The team has the coaching. The team even has the general management, even though he gets a lot of heat. Unforunately they are also saddled with twenty years of playoff disasters, and because of that, its easy to lump what happened this year in with all the other embarrassing years.



But the reality is, even when under performing, they could have won any one of those games against the Panthers. A slightly less hot goaltender and they could have easily been moving on.


This isn't a team that needs much reconfiguring.. They had their best year as a franchise in twenty years. No, they didn't get as close as they deserve to the Stanley Cup, but that isn't the only measure of success.


Or at least I hope, or what have I done with my life?



I'm probably no great judge of coaches, but I feel Keefe is probably the best one they've had since Pat Burns. Burns was a legend and probably the only great coach the Leafs have had in my lifetime.
What did you think of Pat Quinn?