Buffalo Rick Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Ill stand by this prediction for now. I do not see any team being more impressive than Florida, though Tampa has come on of late. In the West Edmonton are playing well and are pretty much on fire. Vancouver has been a thorn in their side and they have the best record in the NHL last time I checked. Vegas of course cant be eliminated. And how about those Blues? When Binnington is in goal they can beat anyone. I keep waiting for a talented Toronto team to get it going and play up to their potential. As for my Sabres I still do not count them out of a come from behind playoff spot but there is little room for error from here on out. They need to beat Dallas next game to reach 500. Then they get the Blues. If they were going to fire Granato it would have happened already. I think the late surge just before the break saved him. And now it seems they have finally realized Luukenen is the starter. As he should be. I wish they would make a trade. Id trade Greenway. Size for speed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 6 hours ago, Buffalo Rick said: In the West Edmonton are playing well and are pretty much on fire. Pretty much...they've won 16 in a row. The next highest current streak is 4. I think its safe to say, they're on fire! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 15 minutes ago, flyercanuck said: Pretty much...they've won 16 in a row. The next highest current streak is 4. I think its safe to say, they're on fire! Yea, but NOT as fiery as those loaded St. Louis Blues! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Rick Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 19 minutes ago, flyercanuck said: Pretty much...they've won 16 in a row. The next highest current streak is 4. I think its safe to say, they're on fire! Perhaps the panic JR had a couple weeks in has subsided? Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 I will say this, @Buffalo Rick, it really WOULDN'T surprise me if the SC Finals were the teams you mentioned. Vancouver has been a surprise to everyone, but getting over that now that we are past the mathematical halfway point of the season, I'd say those guys really do seem built for SC contention: They are fast, play better defense than they have in years, are hard nosed, can score, and then, when all else fails, have Thatcher Demko, seemingly at his best once again, to back them up.....and Casey DeSmith not doing a shabby job either in the relief role. The Oilers and Panthers have been building towards a championship for several years now....they both have come close, or at least looked like they should have done better in recent past playoffs, but fell short in one way or another, and are now back at it.....Oilers, as you mentioned, ripping through the league right now, and Florida, looking like they've learned well from their lessons of failure before, and even righted themselves after playing rather lackluster hockey at points during this season. I do also like the Hurricanes to possibly come out of the East, and of course, Boston is always a good pick. NJ has regressed, I think Philly may make the playoffs (maybe?), but aren't SC ready yet, and I still am not sure I honestly buy into the Rangers, despite them having one of the better goalies in the game. Out West, it is NEVER a good idea to discount the defending Champion Knights, who still look like they have the roster to make another go at it. Colorado, even with their injuries as some of their 'whiny' fans will be quick to tell you , are still a dangerous team. And don't sleep on the Dallas Stars.....those guys have the ability to upset anyone...and they have been somewhat of a silent submarine so far this year. Errrrm, sorry, but the Blues are NOT part of this picture. They need either a full rebuild, or at least a soft rebuild, retool, whatever you want to call it, because right now they are too flawed to even think of Stanley Cups......no matter how loaded some fans think they might be. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post radoran Posted February 1 Popular Post Share Posted February 1 3 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: it really WOULDN'T surprise me if the SC Finals were the teams you mentioned. It would really surprise me if the playoffs started this week. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 2 minutes ago, radoran said: It would really surprise me if the playoffs started this week. Well, yes, good point. I suppose it would make me question the universe if they did. NHL lying to me about 'All Star Breaks', only to slip the playoffs in there......pffft.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 1 minute ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: Well, yes, good point. I suppose it would make me question the universe if they did. NHL lying to me about 'All Star Breaks', only to slip the playoffs in there......pffft.... I guess the point is that SO MANY things - injury, trades, etc - can and will happen between now and then that *ahem* anything can happen... Leaes trade for Saros. Bob pulls a groin. Edmonton plays defense. Weird, wild, wacky stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Rick Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: I will say this, @Buffalo Rick, it really WOULDN'T surprise me if the SC Finals were the teams you mentioned. Vancouver has been a surprise to everyone, but getting over that now that we are past the mathematical halfway point of the season, I'd say those guys really do seem built for SC contention: They are fast, play better defense than they have in years, are hard nosed, can score, and then, when all else fails, have Thatcher Demko, seemingly at his best once again, to back them up.....and Casey DeSmith not doing a shabby job either in the relief role. The Oilers and Panthers have been building towards a championship for several years now....they both have come close, or at least looked like they should have done better in recent past playoffs, but fell short in one way or another, and are now back at it.....Oilers, as you mentioned, ripping through the league right now, and Florida, looking like they've learned well from their lessons of failure before, and even righted themselves after playing rather lackluster hockey at points during this season. I do also like the Hurricanes to possibly come out of the East, and of course, Boston is always a good pick. NJ has regressed, I think Philly may make the playoffs (maybe?), but aren't SC ready yet, and I still am not sure I honestly buy into the Rangers, despite them having one of the better goalies in the game. Out West, it is NEVER a good idea to discount the defending Champion Knights, who still look like they have the roster to make another go at it. Colorado, even with their injuries as some of their 'whiny' fans will be quick to tell you , are still a dangerous team. And don't sleep on the Dallas Stars.....those guys have the ability to upset anyone...and they have been somewhat of a silent submarine so far this year. Errrrm, sorry, but the Blues are NOT part of this picture. They need either a full rebuild, or at least a soft rebuild, retool, whatever you want to call it, because right now they are too flawed to even think of Stanley Cups......no matter how loaded some fans think they might be. Can’t argue with your take, I believe the Sabres could have snuck in had they not lost Quinn. Killer injury. Adams needs to make a trade based on this alone. They were finally starting to come on and some of the lower seeds they could catch. If they had Quinn. His absence was a killer early. This is a bad injury. I’m sure Adams will do nothing. Can’t stand him. I think your Tampa is playing well and can’t be ruled out either. I’ll take them over Carolina . Boston and Leafs can’t be ruled out. I know what you’re saying about the Blues and realistically Seattle May have a better shot of being a dark horse than them, but with Binnington in goal they are tough. Schenn, Thomas, Parayko, and even Sammy Blaise. The Kracken are tough to beat in their building and I like them. They are now my third favorite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 (edited) I mentioned this in the chatbox, but will comment on it here, re: the Canucks. There is such a profound misunderstanding of what is happening in Vancouver from a lot of people who watch and even report on hockey. There's a really easy way to measure what is, in extreme case, a sign of immense skill, but when the games pile up is basically puck luck: PDO. It's very simple, and is just shooting percentage + save percentage. There is a strong tendency for this number to be around 100, and almost all the time, most of the teams right around that number. The Canucks have spent most of the season at around 105. For an idea of how high that is, here are the highest sustained PDOs in history: 1. 80s Oilers: 104.2 2. 70s Isles: 104.0 3. 70s Habs: 104.0 And, of course at #4: 2023-24 Vancouver Canucks, 103.9 It’s unlikely for an individual team to maintain a PDO that is this high above the norm. However, it is very likely that a team or two will have a high PDO and another team or two that will have a low PDO when we look at the league as a whole. The high PDO team and their fans always try to justify how the unsustainably high PDO is "really sustainable this time" due to factors x, y and z. Sometimes the PDO stays high for the year but invariably over the long term it regresses. The whole argument every year boils down to "trust me bro, it's different this time". I don't want to hear about they're going to the dirty areas or committing to team defense. They give up more scoring chances than they create, and a team that wins doing that is getting by, not dominating. The only way it's different this time is if these Canucks are one of the greatest hockey teams of all time, and I just dare anybody to say that. Edited February 2 by JR Ewing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Rick Posted February 5 Author Share Posted February 5 On 2/1/2024 at 7:51 PM, JR Ewing said: I mentioned this in the chatbox, but will comment on it here, re: the Canucks. There is such a profound misunderstanding of what is happening in Vancouver from a lot of people who watch and even report on hockey. There's a really easy way to measure what is, in extreme case, a sign of immense skill, but when the games pile up is basically puck luck: PDO. It's very simple, and is just shooting percentage + save percentage. There is a strong tendency for this number to be around 100, and almost all the time, most of the teams right around that number. The Canucks have spent most of the season at around 105. For an idea of how high that is, here are the highest sustained PDOs in history: 1. 80s Oilers: 104.2 2. 70s Isles: 104.0 3. 70s Habs: 104.0 And, of course at #4: 2023-24 Vancouver Canucks, 103.9 It’s unlikely for an individual team to maintain a PDO that is this high above the norm. However, it is very likely that a team or two will have a high PDO and another team or two that will have a low PDO when we look at the league as a whole. The high PDO team and their fans always try to justify how the unsustainably high PDO is "really sustainable this time" due to factors x, y and z. Sometimes the PDO stays high for the year but invariably over the long term it regresses. The whole argument every year boils down to "trust me bro, it's different this time". I don't want to hear about they're going to the dirty areas or committing to team defense. They give up more scoring chances than they create, and a team that wins doing that is getting by, not dominating. The only way it's different this time is if these Canucks are one of the greatest hockey teams of all time, and I just dare anybody to say that. I’ve never seen the likes of them! Lol! Just Kidding. The final should be Edmonton and Florida but Tampa could have a say as well as Boston or Toronto in East. But Florida is playing lights out Remember the disgust you had the first month of the season? Well your boys are well on their way now and the biggest fear is always injuries. I’m so disgusted about us losing Quinn. He and Paterka are very good together and we’re playing with Cousins. I think we are dead without him unless that useless Adams who belongs with the Adams family, makes a trade. My Eichel jersey, brand new, wrapped in plastic somewhere in my closet. As for Edmonton, I’ll cheer against them as they have enough hardware from the days of The Great One , in those classic wars vs the Islanders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Rick Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 (edited) Did I mention Toronto? Disregard. Such a bunch of under achievers they are. Austin Matthews! They’re version of McDavid or Eichel. And don’t they have Taveres? Mitch Marner! WTF? PS. Never sell the Blues short when they have Binnington in net and Schenn! Edited February 6 by Buffalo Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Rick Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 You know, perhaps the sleeper in all of this are Winnipeg? Look at their record. Could sneak up on some teams in playoffs? Might have the better goalie of the contenders in West? Except for Binnington of course If Blues sneak in . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegx.ca Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 On 2/8/2024 at 1:15 AM, Buffalo Rick said: You know, perhaps the sleeper in all of this are Winnipeg? Look at their record. Could sneak up on some teams in playoffs? Might have the better goalie of the contenders in West? Except for Binnington of course If Blues sneak in . Yeah Winnipeg is bigger threat than Dallas I say...but Blues without Berube as coach ain't going anywhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Rick Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 On 2/20/2024 at 7:27 AM, thegx.ca said: Yeah Winnipeg is bigger threat than Dallas I say...but Blues without Berube as coach ain't going anywhere... What happened to Berube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegx.ca Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 8 hours ago, Buffalo Rick said: What happened to Berube? Got fired sadly while ago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaucyJack Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 On 2/8/2024 at 2:15 AM, Buffalo Rick said: perhaps the sleeper in all of this are Winnipeg About time for the club named after Bobby Hull to finally win this Stanley Cup thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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