Jump to content

2021 Stanley Cup Finals : Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning (TBL Win 4-1)


And the NHL Stanley Cup Champion is................?  

13 members have voted

  1. 1. And the NHL Stanley Cup Champion is................?

    • Canadiens Roll Through the Lightning in 4
    • Canadiens Show They Are a Team of Destiny in 5
      0
    • Canadiens Scratch, Claw, and Pummel Their Way to Victory in 6
    • Canadiens Take the Bolts to the Distance and Beat Them in 7
      0
    • Lightning Strike Down the Canadiens Easily in 4
    • Lightning Have 1 Miscue, but Sail Through in 5
    • Lightning Take What the Canadiens Dish Out...Still Beat Them in 6
    • Lightning Refuse to Give Up Their Title, Go All The Way and Win, in 7


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Personally, I hope they stay stuck in their hotel rooms, focus on nothing but beating the Canadiens to a pulp, get a bit stir crazy, come out to the ice on Monday, and execute their sinister plan by taking it out on Les Habitans.

Plenty of time to celebrate...whether in Montreal or wherever....when ALL is said n done!

I agree . Tampa should be more focused on a last possible game of this regular as well as playoffs season of 2020-2021. No questions, that Lightning team's level is higher, the team's chemistry  practically is not changed as well as roster since last season and team wants to confirm that they  are a real Stanley Cup winner in front of their fans. Actually, these finals reminding me finals of the last year, when they played against Stars, which surprisingly reached to the finals too by the help of outstandingly played Khudobin. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Tomdog said:

You may want to check your stats. Americans are 2nd on the list of players having as many as everyone else besides Canada. 
Hockey is Canada’s game, but the NHL is watched by more Americans. 

 

But that's a product of overall population, not of general interest. The US has a bigger population than all of the other hockey playing nations combined.

 

Hockey has always been powered by Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia primarily. The US does contribute players but until recently it was a small percentage. 

 

The metric I look at is where does hockey rank in each country.  In Canada, hockey is clearly the #1 sport. (Although someday it'll probably be soccer as our culture is being replaced.) In Finland and Sweden, I'm guessing hockey is right up there. In Russia it's tennis, chess, hockey, who knows? I don't follow Russia much but hockey is certainly important to Russians. In the US, hockey is clearly not #1. The NFL is #1. MLB is #2. The NBA is #3. Then you get into golf, tennis, NASCAR, etc....... and somewhere way down at the bottom of the list is hockey. 

 

So when someone says that the presence of a Canadian team in the final will hurt viewership in the US, my first reaction is: What viewership in the US? My second reaction is: Why does it matter? Why do American viewers take issue with Canadian teams? The game is bigger than the US. Much bigger. Hockey is an international sport. What's the viewership like around the world? What's the viewership like in the countries that put hockey first? 

 

I think the NHL missed an opportunity decades ago to expand into Europe. When the first European players started entering the NHL and being successful, there was an opportunity to have teams in major European cities. There could have been a European division or European conference. Then it would make sense to have 32 teams if only 16 of them were in North America. The others would be in Stockholm, Helsinki, Moscow, Berlin, London, Paris, etc.... 

 

:) 

Edited by WordsOfWisdom
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

 

But that's a product of overall population, not of general interest. The US has a bigger population than all of the other hockey playing nations combined.

 

Hockey has always been powered by Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia primarily. The US does contribute players but until recently it was a small percentage. 

 

The metric I look at is where does hockey rank in each country.  In Canada, hockey is clearly the #1 sport. (Although someday it'll probably be soccer as our culture is being replaced.) In Finland and Sweden, I'm guessing hockey is right up there. In Russia it's tennis, chess, hockey, who knows? I don't follow Russia much but hockey is certainly important to Russians. In the US, hockey is clearly not #1. The NFL is #1. MLB is #2. The NBA is #3. Then you get into golf, tennis, NASCAR, etc....... and somewhere way down at the bottom of the list is hockey. 

 

So when someone says that the presence of a Canadian team in the final will hurt viewership in the US, my first reaction is: What viewership in the US? My second reaction is: Why does it matter? Why do American viewers take issue with Canadian teams? The game is bigger than the US. Much bigger. Hockey is an international sport. What's the viewership like around the world? What's the viewership like in the countries that put hockey first? 

 

I think the NHL missed an opportunity decades ago to expand into Europe. When the first European players started entering the NHL and being successful, there was an opportunity to have teams in major European cities. There could have been a European division or European conference. Then it would make sense to have 32 teams if only 16 of them were in North America. The others would be in Stockholm, Helsinki, Moscow, Berlin, London, Paris, etc.... 

 

:) 

NHL will probably never go to Europe because the Owner’s are too short sighted to overlook the travel cost. 
And to be clear I don’t really think viewers as a whole dismiss Canada teams as much as you think. 
All I care about is a quality game. 

Edited by Tomdog
Added text
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tomdog said:

NHL will probably never go to Europe because the Owner’s are too short sighted to overlook the travel cost. 

 

I think for the NHL to work in Europe, there would need to be a conference over there and no "interleague" play if you will. Teams over there play each other and teams over here play each other. Only in the Stanley Cup final would the NA team meet the EURO team. 

 

With 16 teams here, the top 8 could make the playoffs. That would give 3 rounds of playoffs before the NA vs EURO Stanley Cup final.  :)

 

1 hour ago, Tomdog said:

And to be clear I don’t really think viewers as a whole dismiss Canada teams as much as you think. 

 

I would certainly hope not.  I know it happens to the Blue Jays in baseball though.  Even the lowest of the low expansion team in the US draws more views than the Jays do when the Jays come to town. I'd have to look up the numbers but somewhere they have attendance for each team.... in the visiting team's city. So Toronto might draw 4 million+ fans at home in Toronto but only draw 1 million fans on the road.  

 

1 hour ago, Tomdog said:

All I care about is a quality game.

 

Agreed.  To me, Montreal has exposed a weakness of the NHL playoff format. By allowing so many teams in, the NHL allows for the possibility that a weak team can fluke their way into a deep playoff run and then get exposed (eventually) and lead to a lame Final that nobody wants to see.  If sub .500 teams like Montreal are never let in, then you're guaranteed a top team in the Final. A real top team that is proven over the whole regular season, not just a team that gets hot at the right time or gets puck luck, or whatever. 

 

Even though they were both eliminated in round one, everyone wanted to see Toronto vs Edmonton in these playoffs. That was the marquee matchup for the North. The NHL should take steps to ensure that every playoff team has at least a strong winning record to qualify for the playoffs. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Apologies for killing time in this thread but it appears it'll be over with tonight.  I predicted 5 games, but it may well be 4.  Can't say I'm surprised either way.  😐 

 

This definitely lowers Toronto's stock because it shows how far the gap is between the Leafs and the soon-to-be-repeat-champs Lightning, a first round matchup we got cheated out of last season due to covid. I know I wanted to see TML vs TBL last season (the ultimate high scoring series) and not TML vs CBJ.

 

@TropicalFruitGirl26  :) 

 

Edited by WordsOfWisdom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Part of the problem this year was the unbalanced schedule. 
It’s hard to compare 2 teams with 30 wins each, when they never played the same opponents. 
A balanced schedule, each team plays the rest of the league once at home once away, in each half of the season. 
That way you don’t end up with what happened to the wild this year. 
the wild played most of their games with st.Louis at the end of the year when st.Louis was healthy. 
an even schedule would remove that. 
then seed them #1 against #16  and down the line. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whispers of Montreal re-inserting players such as Tomas Tatar into the forward ranks, and Alex Romanov and Brett Kulak on defense in an effort to try and jump start the Canadiens with their playoffs on the line tomorrow night.
And that silliness of replacing Price with Jake Allen is just that: silliness, and Coach Ducharme WAS asked about this, and he shot that down immediately. 
As he should.

I am not too sure why Tatar hasn't been in the lineup as a regular already as he was one of their better forwards throughout the year.
Brett Kulak was a so-so defender, but, in his favor, he does like shooting the puck and hits a fair amount.
Alex Romanov, being the most junior of the defenders, is likely not being used for just that reason.

Then again, how can the Canadiens really expect a player like Romanov to develop without getting some prime playing time such as that in the playoffs.
Besides....can Kulak and Romanov really be considered a 'downgrade' over the elite bottom pairing of Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson??
I think Kulak and Romanov may be a HUGE improvement...but what do I know? I'm just a blonde on a message board. :biggrin: 

Perhaps some changes such as those being bandied about above will help, but then again, unless the Bolts decide to take "a night off" (shame on The Champs if they do!), it may not really make a difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@WordsOfWisdom

 

I was rooting for a Vegas-Tampa Bay Final because I thought it would have been the more competitive Final than the one we are seeing now.
Plus, Vegas has been in the Lightning's shoes (I.E. coming very close but not winning) and I thought a team like that vs one like Tampa Bay who HAD gotten "over the hump" in the Finals would have been cool to watch as well.

Of course, going back further on the Canadiens' playoff timeline, the Habs eliminating the Maple Leafs potentially robbed us of the Lightning vs the Maple Leafs as I feel the Leafs likely get by the Jets to make the Final Four.

If I am recalling correctly, if all would have gone as is, with the Leafs getting through instead of Montreal, the Final Four would have been TBL vs TOR, and VGK vs NYI after the re-seed.

Yes, yes, lots of woulda, couldas, but I feel the two division rival Blue n White teams need to face off in a playoff series at some point.
Perhaps next season with teams going back to their normal divisions?

I at least got to see TB vs FLA, something that needed to happen, and it was an exciting series and made the media and league manufactured rivalry between the clubs REAL......finally.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

If I am recalling correctly, if all would have gone as is, with the Leafs getting through instead of Montreal, the Final Four would have been TBL vs TOR, and VGK vs NYI after the re-seed.

 

That would have been an amazing final four.  The only change I'd make is I'd rather have Colorado than Vegas.  :) 

 

Then the potential Finals could have been Kadri on the Av's vs the Leafs, TOR vs NY (two big hockey markets), TBL vs NY, TBL vs COL (which I think would have been very entertaining).  Not sure if the seeding would have worked out that way however.

 

I think Montreal and Vegas getting through were the weak links here because expansion franchises don't draw well in other cities until they've been in the league a long time, and Montreal was a sub .500 team playing over their heads. The main attractions (in terms of star power) from the North division were the Leafs (with Matthews, Marner, and co.) and the Oilers (with McDavid & co.).  I think there would be so much more hype and excitement right now if the Leafs were trying to end the drought than what we got but oh well. 

 

The Habs are underdogs in this series, but with 20+ Stanley Cups in their history, there are a lot of people who wouldn't want them to win just because they're the Yankees of the NHL.  I always call the Leafs the Yankees of the NHL because financially it fits, but the track record of success makes the Habs the Yankees of the NHL. It's hard to root for an underdog that really isn't an underdog historically.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some family members, particularly of the Lightning, are a bit put off by not being allowed to cross the border to be at the Bell Center for the potential Cup clincher.
I can certainly understand their viewpoint, but, it is what it is, and everyone knew this would be the case with the Canadian border not being fully opened.

While that does suck that Bolts could possibly win their second consecutive title NOT in front of their fans, friends and family, people need to look at the bright side (from TB's viewpoint anyways), that they ARE in the position to win consecutive titles.

The only other alternative would be for the Bolts to "throw" this game, so as to have a Game 6 in Tampa, FL.... which, of course, would be BEYOND silly.
I think any fanbase would agree: If you have a chance to get rid of an opponent in a series, no matter where it is, you do it.

I'd love for the Lightning to clinch a Cup at Amalie, but if they are to repeat, and it needs to happen in Montreal, so be it.

As I've posted before.... any and all celebrations can happen afterwards.
Not quite the same as celebrating at that moment in front of your own fanbase with family, but a Cup win is a Cup win, and ANY NHL franchise in the position the Lightning are in would agree with that.

Edited by TropicalFruitGirl26
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Some family members, particularly of the Lightning, are a bit put off by not being allowed to cross the border to be at the Bell Center for the potential Cup clincher.
I can certainly understand their viewpoint, but, it is what it is, and everyone knew this would be the case with the Canadian border not being fully opened.

 

Imagine if they couldn't get the Stanley Cup across the border into the US!  lol  The Lightning celebrate their win at home but have no Cup to raise due to border restrictions lol. ;) 

 

5 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

While that does suck that Bolts could possibly win their second consecutive title NOT in front of their fans, friends and family, people need to look at the bright side (from TB's viewpoint anyways), that they ARE in the position to win consecutive titles.

 

I think on the bright side, there are more TBL fans in Montreal than there are in Tampa (lol). So technically, they'll be playing in front of their fans in Montreal much like the Leafs have fans in Montreal.  You're a TBL fan and you live in Minnesota, so you see my point!   ;) 

 

(Sorry, I'm just roasting everything today. My bad.)    

 

5 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

The only other alternative would be for the Bolts to "throw" this game, so as to have a Game 6 in Tampa, FL.... which, of course, would be BEYOND silly.
I think any fanbase would agree: If you have a chance to get rid of an opponent in a series, no matter where it is, you do it.

 

I think they'll try to win tonight (obviously), but if they don't, they won't lose any sleep over it and will quickly wrap things up in 5 at home.  :)

 

Edited by WordsOfWisdom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

I really love the fact that the Stanley Cup is always in Toronto. Even if the Leafs haven't been close to it, the fans always are.  :) 

 

HOF.png.ab547325ada9571a7f53cd1532486acf.png

 

Kind of cruel twist of fate for the Leafs, no?

Cup is there, but THEY can never claim it! :bigteeth:

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

I really love the fact that the Stanley Cup is always in Toronto. Even if the Leafs haven't been close to it, the fans always are.  :) 

 

HOF.png.ab547325ada9571a7f53cd1532486acf.png

That must be the reason for the drought. The hockey gods obviously think that it's all about the possession of the Cup. Send the Cup to Tampa for keeping and the Leafs will start winning again and TBL will stop winning 👍

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/3/2021 at 10:41 AM, WordsOfWisdom said:

 

For the sake of the game of hockey, who cares?  This sport isn't about the US. This is an international sport powered by Canadian, European, Russian, and American players, with American players being 3rd or 4th on that priority list / pecking order.

 

The Canadian teams shouldn't be a novelty in the NHL, they should be the NORM.  The NHL should have no more than 10 teams in the US and the rest of the teams should be in Canada and Europe. That's where the fans are, and that's where the teams should be.

 

If it offends a US fan to watch a CDN team in a CDN sport then they need to go watch a different sport.  

 

/rant

What you say is ridiculous on a reality scale and you know it.  The USA has the MONEY AND THE NUMBERS OF FANS to blow Canada out of the water.  Canada cannot compete in a financial market with the United States.  Toronto and Montreal and Vancouver and lets say Calgary and Edmonton and Winnipeg combined are about 4 large markets.   Must I list the US cities that are far more populated and can put up a far more financial backing to a team?  Los Angeles and NY for starters.  Dallas, Chicago, Miami, Seattle, Raleigh, Nashville, St Louis, Philadelphia, Buffalo (small market that can still put 17 K in the stands), Minneapolis, Detroit (sorry I listed Motown so low), AND THE LIST GOES ON.   The USA is a necessity for the NHL to exist.  Montreal is the first team to make the finals in a long time. Pure luck also if you ask me.  The Leafs were the only team good enough to be mentioned. Yes Canada made the sport famous  and it is THEIR SPORT FIRST.   I give them total credit for that. But do not kid yourself into thinking you could ever see an all Canadian NHL.  They are no longer the NORM AS YOU PUT IT.   Maybe, an big maybe, the Leafs make the right moves and get it done next year?  Or maybe a surprise like Edmonton or Vancouver?  I doubt it.  But we are two countries united as we are with England.  And my Buffalo is like a Canadian city.  They are the only American city to play the Canadian anthem at every game.  In case someone jumps in here and says they do not belong on the list. Notice I did not include Tampa?  The team that will  win the Cup tonight?  Because their fan base is made up of transplanted northerns who escaped the cold weather. Phony fans as are the ones that show up in Miami.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

What you say is ridiculous on a reality scale and you know it.

 

What part of it is ridiculous?  😐 

 

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

The USA has the MONEY AND THE NUMBERS OF FANS to blow Canada out of the water.

 

Agree on the first part, not so much on the second. 

 

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

Canada cannot compete in a financial market with the United States.

 

And yet hockey's richest teams are Toronto, Montreal, and New York (Rangers)... in that order***.

 

***Forbes likes to stick the Rangers first but they're not first because the value of Madison Square Gardens doesn't count as value towards the New York Rangers hockey team. The venue is a general purpose facility that is separate from the team, even if both are owned by the same ownership group. Otherwise, if the Leafs were owned by Exxon Mobil, I could lump Exxon's entire oil business in with the value of the Maple Leafs and say the Leafs are hockey's richest franchise because they're worth over $1 trillion dollars. For an apples to apples comparison in a world of corporate bundling (where every company owns every other company), it has to be team versus team.

 

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

Must I list the US cities that are far more populated and can put up a far more financial backing to a team?

 

Far more populated yes, but they do not put forth more of a financial backing to their respective hockey teams.

 

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

The USA is a necessity for the NHL to exist.

 

There were hockey leagues already going on exclusively in Canada prior to the NHL, so I disagree.  However, I will agree that for the NHL to be one of the "big four" NA sports, it needs a presence in the US. However, the NHL could also survive as a league with half of its teams in Canada and the other half in Europe, even if it meant having fewer teams and less revenue. It could be more international like soccer and have a presence in more than just two countries. I doubt the US would create a rival hockey league on its own to compete with the NHL if the NHL never entered the US to begin with.  Their would be no desire/appetite for it. Hockey viewership in the US would be 0.

 

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

But do not kid yourself into thinking you could ever see an all Canadian NHL.

 

We've already had all-Canadian hockey leagues that predate the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens predate the NHL. The NHL was created out of those leagues.  Humble beginnings but that's where it all started.  :) 

 

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

And my Buffalo is like a Canadian city.  They are the only American city to play the Canadian anthem at every game.

 

😃👍

 

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

Notice I did not include Tampa?  The team that will  win the Cup tonight?  Because their fan base is made up of transplanted northerns who escaped the cold weather. Phony fans as are the ones that show up in Miami.

 

I'm convinced the only reason Tampa and (Panthers) got a team was because there are so many Ontario snowbirds spending winter in Florida that they constitute enough of a fanbase to make a go of it. When Toronto comes to town, that hypothesis is proven by the number of Leafs jerseys in the stands....... AND another hypothesis) is may be why Tampa changed their team colors to blue and white...... so that you can't spot the Leafs fans in the crowd when Toronto plays them!

 

I may be reaching on that one.... but I may also be bang on. :) 

 

TFG is the only Lightning fan here in the forum, and she lives in Minnesota. There's no TBL fan here that lives in Tampa lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Montreal Canadiens scratch Jesperi Kotkaniemi; Tampa Bay Lightning's Alex Killorn iffy (espn.com)

 

Changes for the Habs in their lineup for tonight:

Alex Romanov (finally!!) and Brett Kulak will be replacing Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson on defense.
Jeperi Kotkaniemi will be replaced by Jake Evans.

I don't know how much difference this will make for the Canadiens (as a Bolts fan, I am hoping not much....save for at least making the game interesting!), but I have long been a proponent of allowing Romanov to develop.
What little I've seen of him, it appears that young Russian blueliner has some very good NHL potential with a good shot, good skating, appears to have good offensive instincts in general and even has a bit of a mean streak as he really does seem to like to finish his checks.... ala the FORMER Habs blueliner, Mikhail Sergachev.

Decision making and overall defensive coverage may be a question, but those things can come with experience....experience he will NEVER get sitting in the pressbox.
I mean....if the Habs don't really think much of him, I am SURE the Bolts can come up with a forward or two from their cupboard they could send to Montreal for the young Russian defenseman.... hmmm, feels like I've seen that movie before... :shifty:

As for the Lightning, basically the same lineup from the last two games, unless Alex Killorn is ready to play, in which case he draws back in, and Mathieu Joseph draws back out.

Just looking for the Bolts to put this to rest tonight!
Get it done, pick up your second consecutive Stanley Cup, celebrate, and things that need to be sorted and dealt with in the off season will commence at a later time.


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Just looking for the Bolts to put this to rest tonight!

 

:beer:

 

"What we would like is for the Lightning to take it a little bit easy, to give the Canadiens just the smallest break, allow them to win one at home, and then bring it back to the Amalie Arena for the final and the winning of the Stanley Cup," Castor said Sunday. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. But they are playing some amazing, amazing hockey."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

:beer:

 

"What we would like is for the Lightning to take it a little bit easy, to give the Canadiens just the smallest break, allow them to win one at home, and then bring it back to the Amalie Arena for the final and the winning of the Stanley Cup," Castor said Sunday. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. But they are playing some amazing, amazing hockey."

 

Yea, that stupid quote by the Tampa mayor.
You can tell SHE never played sports...haha

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...