TropicalFruitGirl26

Yep. As some famous boxer dude once said, "Everybody's got a game plan....till they get punched in the mouth"

Jack Eichel and his Golden Knights are looking to defend their title and go back to back as SC Champions, while the Dallas Stars, current Central Division champions, look to get that Cup they came oh-so-close to getting just 4 years ago. Both teams throughout the year have shown versatility in their playstyles, even though Dallas still seems to be more defense oriented, while Vegas usually is more balanced overall. Knights also ran into some severe ruts during the season, whereas the Stars, aside from some minor hiccups here and there, were pretty consistent. But does any of that matter in this series? Well, the consistency might....but we will see. Whose main event players show up to carry their teams forward? Whose goaltending holds up under the bright lights of the playoffs? Is Mark Stone miraculously healed now?? Will Dallas sign Mike Modano for this series....and pay him 9M since there is no salary cap now.....to offset Mark Stone??.. Vegas Golden Knights tale of the tape: Season Record: 45-29-8, 98 pts______ Home/Road Splits: 27-12-2 / 18-17-6 Offense-Defense: 267 GF, 245 GA good for a +22 differential Special Teams: PP 20.2% (20th), PK 79.3% (16th) Dallas Stars tale of the tape: Season Record: 52-21-9, 113 pts_____ Home/Road Splits: 26-11-4 / 26-10-5 Offense-Defense: 298 GF, 234 GA good for a +64 differential Special Teams: PP 24.2% (6th), PK 82.0% (8th) Knights and Stars....head to head....series talk, right here!

Revitalized Kings, still running on the vintage core of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Trevor Lewis (the remaining players from the last Kings' Cup in 2014), will look to get in the way of McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Nurse, and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers, in search of their first. To that end, over the course of the last year and a half, the Oilers have gotten some hard nosed players, some former Cup champions to add to the ever increasing experience of their own developed talent. Will it be enough? Both teams have question marks.... which Kings team shows up? The one that looked every bit the contender with guys like Fiala leading the way...... or the lethargic one lead by Pierre Luc Dubois? How about the Oilers.....does the one that went on a tear to beat out every team except Vancouver in the Pacific? Or the one that bled scoring chances and ended up on the short end on nights when they probably should have won? That is what these two will decide on the ice in Round 1! Los Angeles Kings tale of the tape: Season Record: 44-27-11, 99 pts______ Home/Road Splits: 22-12-7 / 22-15-4 Offense-Defense: 256 GF, 215 GA good for a +41 differential Special Teams: PP 22.6% (12th), PK 84.6% (2nd) Edmonton Oilers tale of the tape: Season Record: 49-27-6, 104 pts______ Home/Road Splits: 28-9-4 / 21-18-2 Offense-Defense: 294 GF, 237 GA good for a +57 differential Special Teams: PP 26.3% (4th), PK 79.5% (15th) Get your Kings and Oilers on, right here!

Two teams that surprised the holy heck out of many people this season meet in the opening round of Lord Stanley's playoffs. The Preds were supposed to be transitioning, retooling on the fly, as it were, heck, there was even talk of trading away Juuse Saros in order to speed that up. The Canucks, pretty bad (and ultra Downey soft) last year, unloaded some soft weight, added in some good pieces, got Thatcher Demko back to his old self (errrr, even though he is currently on IR), and not only played well enough to make the playoffs, but won the freakin Pacific division! But...are any of these teams 'for real'? There are doubters out there, and I can see why. Canucks ran roughshod through most of the year, until showing some cracks as the season wore on late......and they really do seem to be a different team without Demko bailing them out in net. Predators started out like the so-so team they were expected to be, then just took off like a rocket and finished about as strong as one could hope for....but did they peak too soon? Nashville Predators tale of the tape: Season Record: 47-30-5, 99 pts_______ Home/Road Splits: 23-16-2 / 24-14-3 Offense-Defense: 269 GF, 248 GA good for +21 differential Special Teams: PP 21.6% (16th), PK 76.9% (22nd) Vancouver Canucks tale of the tape: Season Record: 50-23-9, 109 pts_____ Home/Road Splits: 27-9-5 / 24-14-3 Offense-Defense: 279 GF, 223 GA good for a +56 differential Special Teams: PP 22.7% (11th), PK 79.1 (17th) Whether people believe in either of these teams or not, one of them gets to move on to Round 2. Preds, 'Nucks....series talk here!

In what was a pretty intense race for the Central Division crown all season long had come down to this..... both the Avs and Jets lost out to the Dallas Stars. And now here they are, facing each other in what could be one of the more intriguing matchups in the first round due to the very distinct contrasting styles of the teams, yet both can be considered viable to make it out of the Western Conference. The Avalanche are the classic north south, super fast, super talented team with goal scoring coming from just about every position on the squad. Meanwhile, the Jets play the tried and true "heavy" playoff style game, win games much lower scoring, and have the defense and goaltending to back that up. Who dictates their style? Or maybe we get a plot twist here.... The Avs flip the switch and play that heavy playoff style, while Winnipeg decides to open it up? Or maybe both teams constantly switch from game to game...or even shift to shift. Like I said....intriguing matchup. Colorado Avalanche tale of the tape: Season Record: 50-25-7, 107 pts________ Home/Road splits: 31-9-1 / 19-16-6 Offense-Defense: 304 GF, 254 GA good for a +50 differential Special Teams: PP 24.5% (5th), PK 79.9% (12th) Winnipeg Jets tale of the tape: Season Record: 52-24-6, 110 pts_______ Home/Road Splits: 27-11-3 / 25-13-3 Offense-Defense: 259 GF, 199 GA good for a +60 differential Special Teams: PP 18.8% (22nd), PK 77.1% (21st) All Avalanche-Jets series talk...right here!

And I'll bet they will have many different fanbases too

Leafs playing the Bruins in the post season. Hmmm...does this movie seem familiar to anyone else? And will it end the same? Seems all the remakes over the years have the same ending with some variance in some plot details..... Some Leaf fans are viewing this as the 'worst possible matchup' to begin the postseason, and, well, I can't say I blame them. But still, this version of the Leafs may be one of the strongest in years, and this version of the Bruins, while capable, aren't exactly the dominant team that won a Cup some years ago, or even like the one that ran through the regular season last year....albeit with a crashing thud in the playoffs.... Toronto Maple Leafs tale of the tape: Season Record: 46-26-10, 102 pts _______ Home/Road Splits: 22-15-4 / 24-11-6 Offense-Defense: 303 GF, 263 GA good for a +40 differential Special Teams: PP 24.0% (7th), PK 76.9% (23rd) Boston Bruins tale of the tape: Season Record: 47-20-15, 109 pts ______ Home/Road Splits: 24-11-6 / 23-9-9 Offense-Defense: 267 GF, 224 GA good for a +43 differential Special Teams: PP 22.2% (13th), PK 82.5% (7th) Sooo....after finally getting by the first round last season, will the Leafs go back to being one round wonders? Can they slay the bear this time? Or maybe the Bruins slice, dice, and eat up Toronto en route to completing the business they failed to finish last season. All Toronto vs Boston talk goes right here!

The New York Islanders were left for dead not that long ago, even going so far as firing their head coach. Enter Patrick Roy, the team transforms into contender once again, and they go on a tear, barreling through the rest of the non contending field, and end up face to face with what should be a Cup favorite, in the Carolina Hurricanes! Carolina has been building up to a Cup win for a few seasons now. Have they gotten the formula right? If they have, then they should dispose of an Islander team that just managed to get into the playoffs with the 2nd lowest point totals of the entire playoff field....on paper anyways. But.....games aren't played on paper are they? Nope.... NY Islanders tale of the tape: Season Record: 39-27-16, 94 pts__________ Home/Road Splits: 21-10-10 / 18-17-6 Offense-Defense: 246 GF, 263 GA good for a -17 differential Special Teams: PP 20.4% (19th), PK 71.5% (32nd) Carolina Hurricanes tale of the tap: Season Record: 52-23-7, 111 pts________ Home/Road Splits: 27-10-4 / 25-13-3 Offense-Defense: 279 GF, 216 GA good for a +63 differential Special Teams: PP 26.9% (2nd), PK 86.4% (1st) Patrick Roy or no, the Isles look to be heavy underdogs here. I wouldn't say the Canes have this 'in the bag', but shame on them if they can't take this series. Isles, Canes.....series talk right here!

This 100%! For all the terrible attendance, the horrible PR and reputation the team has if DONE RIGHT, the Phoenix/Glendale/Scottsdale are can certainly be a viable NHL destination. I think it's a bit short sighted when some people automatically assume that "no one wants hockey" in Arizona. Things are more complex than that. From a fan's viewpoint, it is hard to care for a team that is a perennial loser with nothing done by ownership to truly improve the situation on the ice. Hard to care for a team that seems to be more of a developmental squad for players who go on and play well elsewhere. Hard to care for a team that seemingly is always a dumping ground for bad contracts and a place where older players look to just pick up a check, and the younger players that are there are marginal NHL players at best. I saw much of that in my younger days with the Lightning. Bolts checked all the terrible boxes.....poor ownership, poor marketing, poor system and roster management, etc, etc. It wasn't until Jeff Vinik took hold of the team that things improved and he made the team a priority, always putting money back into the team, its facilities, and in marketing for the team. A freakin BOSTON businessman of all people....but he made the Lightning, a team that was on the verge of being relocated, into a sustained success because he is intelligent and he CARES! It is too little too late for the Coyotes as we know them now, but if the NHL wants to revisit the Arizona market once again, I think you are absolutely correct: A shrewd and caring owner CAN make it work there!

State of Florida rivals meet once again. Now a true rivalry, the Lightning have had the better of things in the playoffs, but is it time for the Panthers to turn things around? If they can, they'd be doing it at the expense of one of the more successful postseason franchises of the last few years and should wipe away ANY sentiments of them being 'Cinderellas' after last year's Cup Finals run where they fell to the Vegas Knights. Panthers did take the season series 2-1, so if that has any merit, they have that they can lean on. Tampa Bay Lightning tale of the tape: Season Record: 45-29-8, 98 pts_______ Home/Road Splits: 25-11-5 / 20-18-3 Offense/Defense: 291 GF, 268 GA good for a +23 differential Special Teams: PP 28.6% (1st), PK 83.3% (5th) Florida Panthers tale of the tape: Season Record: 52-24-6, 110 pts____ Home/Road Splits: 26-13-2 / 26-11-4 Offense/Defense: 268 GF, 200 GA good for a +68 differential Special Teams: PP 23.5% (8th), PK 82.5% (6th) Wanna talk Bolts n Cats? This is the thread to do it in!

Alex Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals, despite looking a bit like sellers at the deadline, have beaten out some very disappointed teams to secure their meeting in Round 1 against the President's Trophy winning, and Metro Division champions, the New York Rangers. Teams split their season series 2-2, and it seems the scores severely favored the winning team, suggesting that whomever dictates their gameplan, likely dominates the other here. NY Rangers tale of the tape: Season Record: 55-23-4, 114 pts________ Home/Rd Splits: 30-11-0 / 25-12-4 Offense, Defense: 282 GF, 239 GA good for a +53 differential Special Teams: PP 26.4% (3rd), PK 84.5% (3rd) Washington Capitals tale of the tape: Season Record: 40-31-11, 91 pts_______ Home/Rd Splits: 22-12-7 / 18-19-4 Offense, Defense: 220 GF, 257 GA good for a -37 differential Special Teams: PP 20.6% (17th), PK 79.0% (18th) All discussion of the Caps n Rangers go right here!

Some have suggested just leaving the Coyotes name, due to Utah being a habitat for actual yotes. But, I also thought I read that whomever is selling the team is KEEPING the Coyotes name, so maybe that really isn't an option. Utah WinniJets? LOL...

Those are even smaller...

NHL has a formula for it, shown here. Whether or not one agrees with it is another matter, but this is what it is. Caps basically get them on regulation wins (RW), 32-27, even though the Wings have more overall wins, they did it through other means aside from RW.

Welcome to the boards. Very nice insight on the dinosaur thing, but Utahraptors seems a bit unwieldy. Doesn't exactly roll off, ya know? Now...Utah Raptors or even Salt Lake Raptors sounds MUCH better! Although, I thought I read somewhere the hockey team was supposed to be going for a whole state name and not just the one city, so any name would have to begin with Utah? Maybe. Utah Ice Jazz? Hahaha.....small NBA joke...VERY small...

This truly IS greatness in the form of a forum thread, OR! I mean, look at me....not a Flyers fan, but even I contributed heavily to it! This thread is really....that...damned....good!

Kinda makes you glad its a free trial, eh? LOL. Some good writers on there, for sure, but, also lots of clowns who think they are journalists too

@SaucyJack Tellin ya....despite those percentages, things are simply going to come down to who can win the most right up to Game 82! Obviously, the closer we get to 82, the larger each and every point becomes, but with 2-3 games left for most teams, their mantra HAS to be: Just win! Teams at the top of the list have odds in their favor, sure..... but teams at the bottom have a shot too....should the upper ones stumble, maybe even just ONCE. Like I said: should make for an exciting finish, and your Caps still can get in to face those Rangers in Round 1!

Salt Lake Mountaineers Is Mountaineers a viable hockey name? Or is that overused and/or taken by some prominent other teams in other leagues?

Is that your suggestion, or is there actual scuttlebutt that might be the name? Not bad actually....

Caps definitely letting some opportunities slip, but still....3 games left for most of the teams there (Philly on has two left!!), and they are all within a point of the Pens who hold the final spot. NYI did themselves a favor by creating some breathing room. Still could be any one of those teams in that final wild card spot. Gonna go down to the final game, methinks.

Exactly this. Iffin a GM isn't taking FULL advantage of everything made available to him in running his team, and grabbing hardware along the way, then he ain't doing his job. And the Vegas GM knows how to do his job. Nice signing for the Knights too. Although, Hanifin has been somewhat of a "meh" player for all the hype that has followed him around the league. Perhaps playing on a team like Vegas who is willing to go for it, and provide him ample opportunity to elevate his game will do the trick. Carolina when he was there didn't have it.... Calgary seemed to be trending downward when he was there. If he can't cut it in Vegas, then Hanifin has been a bust all along.....but I think he does well there and I expect some career years out of him.

"My Time Playing Under John Tortorella (But Seriously... Eff That)"

Is Mormon brown too dull?

That is a GOOD thing. I get it. Torts has a shelf life. Eventually players will tire of his iron hand ways....but that time is not yet here. This team simply is in NO position to piss n moan about coaching or how tough the rules are, etc. When they become a galvanized unit....when they become competitive game in, game out... When they become a team that knows what needs to be done to win games and win series in the playoffs, THEN they earn the right to complain a bit about how the coach might be a bit too 'hands on'. And it is Torts' job to get them there, as he usually does, and he will obviously need more time to keep pushing these guys in the right direction...or driving guys OUT who don't pack the gear to play on the Flyers in a manner they need to in order to win.