Math

You got the game changer. Flames' goaltending has been atrocious. The first 2 games were all Flames, but things turned during the game #3 where Stars offense started to become interesting, though they were scoreless. The next 3 games were dominated by the Stars when they decided to totally ignore Bowness's strategy by finding an unexpected offensive force. I was surprised to see the Flames imploding that way going from 3-0 to 3-7. The loss of Tkatcuk hurt them a lot. Bottom point, the tenure of Benn-Seguin-Radulov, by far the least dangerous line of the team.

The style opposition will be interesting. Avs are scary and are way more talented, but the Stars found a way to remain unbeaten against them in the regular season (4-0). If the Stars 4th line (Benn-Seguin-Radulov) remain unable to produce at the level of their albratross contracts, depth might be the series-deciding aspect. I'm looking forward to see the Heiskanen-Makar duel, and to a lesser extent the McKinnon-Gurianov one.

Thank you Flyers ! I like TVA Sports panelists way better once they take out their Habs-biased glasses.

I remember that one. I don't recall, was Niskanen suspended for this? There were some wild discussions between those who claimed it was Crosby's fault because he ran into him (btw, nice slashing by Ovie prior to this) and Niskanen's haters.

Not to mention the traditional whining about Niskanen's suspension. Hearing Damphousse, Carbonneau & co. almost thriving for the death penalty was a pain in the a$$ to hear and quite disappointing from former 1000+ NHL games and SC champs. This and the fact that they are so unlucky to hit so many times the post or the crossbar. I'm surprised they haven't used the "tired" excuse yet. Please send them back to their studies tonight.

Gallagher's fault. Like any other small players, he should put a grid.

The usual rule for suspensions during playoffs: Is the player dead ? No >> 0 games Yes >> 1 game

Though I'm living in QC City and that would be fine to have NHL games back there, I don't think it does make sense for the League to have a team back here for several reasons. Franchise market The NHL would not only have the smallest market in the League, but a french one which is a serious drawback when it comes to market the franchise. The amount of revenue would quickly reach the ceiling with little to no room for improvement. I know the Jets also have a small market but they have a more centered location with passionate fans. In Québec we are not only isolated on the side of the taiga, the mentality is quite different. If the team isn't immediately competitive, the interest will quickly fade in a population that has already turned into Canadiens or Bruins fans, especially for the new generation. Politics There is no other franchise in the NHL that is more glued to politics as a potential one in QC city. I t was already the case back in 1995 when the government was directly asked to fund a giant project that would have kept the Nordiques in Québec (for how long? Not much IMO) but the deal fell apart. I'm not comfortable with the idea of taxpayers saving their pro sports team at 100%. Now the boss of Québécor (the owner of the new arena and the eventual franchise) is a pro Québec sovereignty, ran for prime minister and is the direct concurrent of TVA and Rogers, who have the broadcasting rights of all NHL games. Like Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola. Not an ideal situation. And the least thing that the League wants is political involvement. Rivalry The return of the Habs-Nordiques rivalry was often mentioned at a time when the NHL wants to build as much rivalries as possible, but both teams have only met for 16 years. The true natural rivalries are Habs-Leafs and Habs-Bruins as part of the original 6 teams. Again, these games would only draw attention in the QC province and not elsewhere, which again means less money in the League's pockets. Marketing When The Golden Knights and more recently the Kraken were announced. The amount of merchandising efforts and items are generating millions of dollars. Seattle won't play before 2021-2022 but they are already selling a lot of stuff. Would it be the same for an eventual Nordiques 2.0? I doubt it. Outside of the Québec province, they won't draw much of attention and enthusiasm except for some nerds and nostalgic hockey fans. And the objective of the League is, for and foremost, make as much money as possible. Buttman & Co. of course didn't say it that way, but it was obvious from the very beginning of the expansion process that they were cold as ice with the idea for having QC City back in the League, and for a lot of good reasons. I think they correctly did their homework on that folder. Unless an extraordinary set-up of circumstances beyond any logic, QC City won't have the NHL back. With Seattle, all four divisions will be perfectly balanced and from now on, any potential move will be avoided as much as possible.

10:30pm EST while only two games are scheduled on that day. Nice job, numbnutz ! (Sorry for polluting the current thread)

Ok this is really humiliating hockey porn. It is possible to walk over in the middle of a game ?

The good ol' 80s where teams had cigarette names.

I totally subscribe to this. That aspect was also highlighted by some panelists and former players on TVA and RDS network.

Consequently, with the hope that Thursday Stars' game won't be scheduled on a decent time on the Papua-New Guinea timezone.

Devante Smith-Pelly. The Caps didn't bring him back in the roster, that's the only reason why they are about to be swept. The one and unique reason.

The last period of yesterday's game may be the dagger of this series. Leading 2-0, the Canes were crushed by the Bruins and totally unable to respond. Rask is not there anymore, maybe this won't be a factor.

I could have added they also had a negative against the Devils while often getting to OT/SO with other bottom feeders like the Ducks and the Senators. They had two 8-game and one 5-game losing streak, so it reflects a bit the strength of this team. Montréal is now like a limited laptop trying to run 43 programs simultaneously. They have no RAM left, memory tops its limits, the fan is blowing at maximum capacity, the machine is about either to fly or burn. On the other side, Philly has many options down with IT guys still searching on how to turn them on.

My gut feeling: the more this round last, the higher chances the Flyers have. Montréal has zero depth and have no defense. They only rely on Price to keep the team afloat. They are playing relentless in all out attack mode right now because they have no other options. Like other bottom teams, Habs often cause some surprise in the first part of the season before fading and falling apart in the last rush of the season. It's a team that finished winless against the Dead Wings, and all of a sudden they have been rewarded another chance and have nothing to lose. For them, it's like a brand new season, a fresh start directly in playoffs. I'm confident the Flyers will switch on the playoffs mode at some point and pass through this crab basket.

Game #4 is turning ugly for the Coyotes. Curious to see if this can be considered as the real Avs cruise speed.

I actually hate those stats for Benn.

Could have been worse, like "who did the shopping, the laundry, diapers changing and getting up 4 times last night? Mummy again... Hope your little vacation goes well..." Like, what my girlfriend would have written to me

Thompson was traded to the Flyers prior to this game, right ?

The Stars are dead last in the league in shooting percentage and scoring chances success, even behind the Dead Wings. If they continue to be unable to capitalize on the very few real scoring chances they have and play with zero urgency, this series might be ended on Sunday. The only players capable to bring some speed and skill have famelic TOI, the scoring leader is the least used forward. I know that in the playoffs it's defense first, but if you are not able to score goals and take the lead, there's no way you can go through it.

I forgot that one: Goalies: Defense: Offense: Special teams (PP/PK): Coaching: Mental: Experience: Robustness: Depth:

Goalies: Defense: Offense: Special teams (PP/PK): Coaching: Mental: Experience: Robustness: Depth:

Goalies: Defense: Offense: Special teams (PP/PK): Coaching: Mental: Experience: Robustness: Depth: