TropicalFruitGirl26

You quoted me for 'hating on you'?? Erm, oook. As for Yave, from a fan's point of view, all he is saying is he hates the Knights....for whatever reason, it is his and he has that right. I hate the Bruins, and the Pens....sometimes irrationally so! But I am ok with that. Yave hurled no insult to you personally..... just that he hates the Knights and cited his reason. Was it particularly professional? Who knows. Was it 'fan fueled' (he has admitted elsewhere to being a currently disgruntled, yet still loyal Red Wings fan), absolutely, and as long as nothing personal towards anyone in particular was fired, then that is all good too. We pride ourselves in respecting fans of all teams here (our feelings of the actual teams aside), but a little side jabbing at the teams and just general commentary is STILL part of the pro sports forum world. Why, Yave even once called my Lightning a bunch of "soft, whiny, never win anything group of players"....and that Florida fans were also fair weather fans who wouldn't show up for games had it not been for the team not currently contending. And that was right before a playoff series between the Wings and Bolts. My feelings were hurt so bad that day, that I thoroughly enjoyed not only the series, but continuing to post here, and Yave and I are on good forum terms...always have been. That's how devastated I was at his vicious attack on my team, Florida fans in general, yet not a bad word towards me personally Tis all good man! The Vegas-San Jose series should be a good one! Sit back, relax, let others have their opinions of your "vile" team (as long as you aren't personally attacked).....and for the love of puck, for future reference, PLEASE quote the right person..... otherwise, you could end up with tartar sauce on your fish sandwich when you clearly wanted it plain, or vice versa!

Time for Minnesota fans to break out the clichés....because right now, it's all they have. --It's not over till the other team wins 4 --Take it one game at a time --All hands on deck, for there may not be a next game --Win one, take back the momentum --Hardest game to win is the one to close out the other team Just a handful...there are probably a ton more. I will concede that the Jets simply seem like the bigger, faster, and just better overall team even before this series started. Losing Ryan Suter and then Zach Parise, while not changing that a whole lot, certainly didn't help. Still though, if the Wild have any pride in their game whatsoever, they will come out and play this game like it is Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I mean, leave it ALL out there....even though it still may not be enough. If they lose, then they can take solace in the fact that they did all they could, but sometimes it's not enough. There should be NO whimpering into the night for this group. If Minnesota can steal Game 5 on the road, then we can pile on even MORE clichés for them to work with! Let's see if Minny can't delay that seemingly inevitable Winnipeg-Nashville divisional finals in Round 2, shall we? Go Wild!

Meh...not like that matters. No way was Mason gonna get in a game as long as Hellebuyck is playing like he is and the Jets are 1 win away from advancing. In fact, I would have called Paul Maurice insane if he even entertained the idea of putting in Mason against the Wild tonight.

@Vegas Always Wins Well, I think I came up with more than just Brent Burns.....if you had read my entire post you would have seen that. And sure, Burns didn't have as good a season as he did his previous ones, but to call him a "disappointment" this year is extremely short sighted. I compared his numbers to the nominated Norris candidates (Hedman, Subban, Doughty) and while his numbers this season lag a bit on the defensive side, its not something that I would consider "disappointing", and offensively he still matches up real well with the nominees. A bad Burns year is still a good year for many other defensemen in the league. And you are right...Vegas does NOT have a single D-man like him. They do things as a team. I understand that and again, mentioned it in my post as one of the main reasons they are where they are today. But what I DIDN'T mention in my post was that while Vegas did a good job against the Kings in keeping them to 4 goals in 4 games, the Knights themselves didn't score too much more, though obviously it was enough to beat LA. I think that will have to change against the Sharks, as the Knights may not be able to get away with just a goal or two. I do believe the Knights CAN do more on offense than they did in the LA series (remember, Quick and his defense were pretty good too!), but they will have to show it against the Sharks, who, in cased you missed it, DO play a good defensive game in addition to being a bit more capable on offense than the Kings were. To me, the big wildcard here is Martin Jones. If the Martin Jones that faltered at times during the season shows up, then Vegas could have this series pretty handily. But if the Jones that shows up is the #1 guy San Jose knows they have, and the same one that shut down a pretty good Anaheim offense, then the Knights will MORE than have their hands full. As for "thuggery"...I made no mention of that. Being and playing physical doesn't automatically mean "thuggery". Anyone who knows playoff hockey knows that the physical play (clean physical play, and yea, some not so much), is ramped up. And San Jose is well equipped to play that style of game....maybe even a bit better than the Knights as a team. And just in case you tend to cherry pick your way through a post, I will point out that I DO have the Knights winning this in 7 (they are gonna have to work for it if they win), but still would not be surprised at a San Jose victory in the same amount of games. Sharkies still have lots of guys who feel there is unfinished business and that could be motivation enough for them to match the large chip on the Vegas players' collective shoulders.

Gee, Yave... don't hold back.... tell us how you REALLY feel!

Well, with regards to 'new blood' in the NHL coaching ranks, I agree it is nice to see different faces behind various NHL benches....but then again, that could also be happening out of necessity. Let's face it...even if NHL owners WANTED to stay with the "good ol boy" network, fact is, those guys that have been recycled for years are just plain getting old or ARE old! No doubt some of them were truly great minds but how far do you think your team will go having a guy 70+ years old behind the bench with the mindset of 80's, 90's, or early 2000's hockey? Probably not very far. The NHL has changed the last decade or so with roster make ups and philosophies changing as well....so naturally, new coaches with different outlooks are the way to go...... or rather, the ONLY way to go. Don't be surprised if the current crop of coaches produces a few guys who "get recycled" the next few years as well due to their track records. It's just the nature of pro sports that you try to stick to what you know works well and usually wins. Then, in about another 20 years or so, maybe our current crop gets phased out in favor of a new group of up n coming coaches, and the process begins all over again.

Very nice family and scenery shots @yave1964 , and continue to enjoy that vacation!

@Vegas Always Wins First off, welcome to the forums. Second, while the screen name is nice (and appropriate it seems for this year), you may find it dated faster than you probably thought when you were making it.... ... but I digress, as right now it is hard to argue with the Knights' success. As for what 'advantages' the Sharks may have in the series, again, hard to argue against what the Knights are bringing to the table, but that isn't to say the Sharks bring nothing. San Jose has been a contender for quite some time now, and while many may look at the team and think "Well, their window is closed or closing", fact is, they STILL have some very good players on the team....and those guys are VERY hungry to win after being so close on many occasions, and that DOES count for something in a 7-game series. It'd be a different thing if the Sharks were a bunch of has-beens on serious decline still trying to hold on, but that isn't the case yet for those guys. Another thing that could be advantageous for San Jose is Brent Burns. While the Kings are a big and strong team (just like San Jose), Brent Burns is a different animal altogether with a complete package of size, speed, offense, decent defense, and a mean streak when he decides to put it to use. LA had some solid guys on defense, but no one quite like Burns, and while some may say he took a 'step back' this year compared to the previous year, he is still one dynamic, hard to contain player. Vegas DID win the season series against the Sharks and that is a nice feather in the Knights' armored cap. However, personally, I put very little stock in that. I won't dismiss it completely, but the playoffs are a different atmosphere, a different mindset...and again, one that the Sharks, as a team, know very well. We've all seen teams beat up on another, then see them in the post season and it's a different story. As compared to the Kings, the Sharks do offer a bit more offense for the Knights to have to deal with. San Jose plays a very tough defensive style (just like LA), but have a deeper lineup up front to produce a bit more. That said, Jonathan Quick played out of his mind and the Knights were able to still do just enough to get by him......Martin Jones will HAVE to be equal to that task to deal with the complete team game that I know Vegas will bring. All the while, Marc Andre Fleury is playing about as well as one could hope for......so I will give Vegas a definite advantage in goal for right now. Your Vegas Knights are the favorites now coming into this series, and it is well deserved. They cast off that expansion label very quickly and based on their roster, they certainly have talent there and it is much more than just luck or teams "not expecting much from them". On top of that, Girard Gallant is very good coach who fully understands the compete team concept, has preached that to his group, and most importantly, they bought in. I've seen what Gallant did with the Panthers as far as getting the most from the guys he has, so not surprised he is doing the same in Vegas with arguably, better talent up n down the lineup comprised of guys who simply needed a real shot to play mixed in with solid savvy vets who still can play like winners. So to recap, I'd say the edge in PLAYOFF experience would go to San Jose as well as the intangible factor of being a "hungry" squad who probably wanna win so bad they can taste it. I'd also give a slight edge in physicality to San Jose, as I believe they have a good combination of size, speed, and offense that puts them ahead of the previous Vegas opponent, the LA Kings. And finally, San Jose's other advantage... Brent Burns. Just an animal of a man who should offer Vegas, in a playoff atmosphere, the kind of challenge they had yet to see from anyone on the LA roster's defensive corps. Everything else....goaltending, top to bottom team play, top six overall speed, transition attack, and guys playing with HUGE chips on their shoulders (due to being 'cast off' as expansion players) favors the Knights. I expect this series to go long and I would think the Knights can win this in about 6 or 7, however, I would not be surprised at all if the Sharks manage to edge out the Knights (and if that happens, you may need to contact us about a screen name change ), but overall, this should be a fun and interesting series regardless.

Absolutely. You know, not only would Miller have shut out the Sharks every game, but he ALSO would have upped the goal totals for the Ducks. I mean, without Miller in the lineup, Anaheim only mustered a measely 4 goals in 4 games......

NJ Devils feeling change is in order....... Cory Schneider re-inserted as the starter. He will either prevent the Bolts from putting a stranglehold on the series, or TB will do to him what they have been doing to Keith Kinkaid... put up 5 goals a game. Skaters are gonna have to help out Schneider though. Minimizing turnovers and capitalizing on chances the Lightning give them will be keys for NJ. For the most part, TB has managed to contain Taylor Hall and his line. With the Devils now having home ice, Coach Hynes may be able to get the match ups he wants more often than not, and thus, more chances for Hall and his group to break out and do what they do. That said, the Lightning have been doing well with all four lines, so even with last change, the Devils may be hard pressed to find an "easy" match up for their team to exploit. Puck drop in about 5 minutes from The Rock...

Game 2 about to start. I want to see if the Lightning fully realized how well they played and they go out and execute with the same seriousness and intensity. If they can, then this series is moving to 2-0 for TB. That said, despite the loss, Taylor Hall was, well, Taylor Hall. He was involved in the Devils scoring and the Bolts did manage to contain him somewhat...but he is ALWAYS a threat to hang a 3 or 4 pt night on any team.....and if he become too much of a problem and then TB is forced to allocate more defensive resources to keeping him in check, that will definitely free up the ice for some other capable NJ scorers. Bottom line: Execution, intensity and containing Hall are the mission for the Bolts today.

Lightning played a pretty complete game, their defense was reasonably robust, and Vasilevskiy was sharp. For the meantime, the Bolts have re-asserted themselves and showed why they are the East's #1 team. Stamkos, Kucherov (EN goal aside), and Hedman weren't real big factors on offense and that could be a source of worry for the Devils because the 2nd and 3rd lines played up to par. Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn...two guys Bolts fans give lots of guff to (admittedly, their regular seasons are less than impressive), are guys who show up in the post season. They have the track record in that regard to back that up. They showed up tonight once again. Nice win for the Bolts....looking for more of the same on Saturday.

Well, we are not quite as big as hfboards, but I like to think we have good quality and more substance with our members. Glad to have you onboard here. As for your Leafs, only Game 1. I think this series is a toss up between the Bruins and Leafs. Some people are overrating Boston, but they are far from a lock to win anything. Leafs just need to do what they do best...win games with high intensity on the forward ranks and let Anderson make the big saves.

@MadDevil Well, hard to argue with your reasoning there. At the end of the day, the head coach knows his goalies and has his hand on the pulse of the team (one would think anyways), so any decisions he makes should be based on what he knows and not what us fans THINK we know. Trotz could come out of this looking like a genius starting Grubauer over Holtby....but if the Jackets rip the back up goalie, oh boy.... Then like you said, Holtby better have his white horse ready to charge in...