[fitguy67]

nhl playoffs are the toughest war of attrition in team sports...

stanley cup is not won by the year's best team...but by the best of what's left of these teams after four terribly-draining best-of seven series, with grueling scheduling throughout (not pussified like NBA with no b2b's ever ) and precious few days off...every man on every team now is playing injured to a degree that in other sports would have them out of action...

i really think they should start the frackin' playoffs with just 8 teams, meaning just three rounds scheduled into the exact same calendar period, meaning more days off for the poor bastids to lick their wounds...would make sense if the purpose of organized sports was to promote quality competition...but never happen cuz the purpose is not that...it's to generate revenue...so we're stuck with two bands of "walking wounded" in the final...

Ana has drawn a good schedule (helped a lot by Calgary defeating your Canucks) and is BY FAR the least banged-up of all the teams still in the hunt...and Tampa the second-least...seems Chicago third in this department (but solidly first in the all important "eye of the tiger" character department)...Washington quite possibly killed the Ranger's chances to win the Cup this year

at this stage, the less banged-up team right now may easily beat the better team (as measured pre-playoffs) if the better team is considerably more banged up from earlier action

i see the NHL's (revenue-nightmare final) sunbelt dogs both with a clear advantage in the "less banged-up" department...we don't know how much these guys are suffering...probably far more than you imagine...

hockey playoffs are like having 4 team-MMA events scheduled a week for six solid weeks...the winner will be the survivor of the "truest grit" competition in all of sports

[DOM_Toretto]

"Stanley Cup is NOT won by the year's best team"... Which is why the best team gets a separate trophy - the President's trophy for most wins in regular season. NHL has much more parity than NBA

[fitguy67]

"Stanley Cup is NOT won by the year's best team"... Which is why the best team gets a separate trophy - the President's trophy for most wins in regular season. NHL has much more parity than NBA

agree 100%

6 or 7 game series in hockey almost guarantees some nail-biting barn-burners...in NBA it very often is two teams exchanging blowouts at random until one team just happens to reach 4...

[GzaTheGenius]

Anaheim hasn't had to fight much in the post season I agree, but to me that makes them more vulnerable, ifthey lose tonight Blackhawks gain home ice advantage the rest of the series and very well may win it in 6. The Rangers are by far the most resilient team left in the playoffs, a lot of people on here seem to be over reacting to last night's 6-2 loss.

Look, yes it was their worst loss of the post season and frankly they looked as bad as they have all year. Yesterday's game was a fluke however, the amount of penalties called on both teams was absurd, Tampa capitalized more on the power play. even in one of the worst games of the Rangers season they were only down 3-2 in the 3rd when they had a great chance to tie the game on a shorthanded Nash breakaway and a missed opportunity by fast on the rebound. Shortly after Tampa scored and never looked back. Rangers won't have 7 penalties next game I can tell you that. Tyler Johnson won't have another hat trick, Lundquist won't give up 6 goals, and god willing we won't see any more terrible plays like st Louis god awful turn over that led to Johnsons shorthanded goal. There was another similar play later in the game that led to a TB goal I forget who it was at the moment.

I think they will split in Tampa as well and we will have ourselves another 7 game series, and you know what happens in game 7 in the playoffs at the garden.

[jjgold]

I don't see a lot of Cindarella teams winning the Stanley Cup

[physed]

Stanley Cup is won by the team with the hottest goalie-Tampa Bay

[GzaTheGenius]

Stanley Cup is won by the team with the hottest goalie-Tampa Bay

Didn't work out too well for Holtby

Lundquist>

[fitguy67]

nvm

[fitguy67]

Stanley Cup is won by the team with the hottest goalie-Tampa Bay

yeah, the hot goalie is easily as big a factor as the "banged-uppedness" of the skaters...the two factors line up when you consider that this position is the least affected by injuries, so when you've got a zoned in goalie you're more likely to be able to keep using him the whole series...unlike the skaters where you could easily
lose your two/three best players for the rest of the series in just one unfortunate stretch of one game...

if you're lucky enough to have one, you're very likely able to keep a hot goalie in action till the cup decided, but not so easy with any other key hot player (who's, furthermore likely to have a "target" on his back)

[matt1216]

Who ever thinks The Rangers end up winning this series, give your head a shake.... The Rangers are Tired, from two tough series previous, and a cup run last year. Over reacting to a Tampa win? No, it's the right team to react to. I think people don't want to admit that Tampa is perhaps the 2nd best team left in the playoffs. The Rangers were lucky to win game 1.... They looked exhausted the past 10 mins of game one.... Lundquist held the Fort. THE Rangers may put a better forth effort next game, but unless Nash wakes up, and the entire team does some blood doping, they are cooked.

always remember as well fellas, the books had a perfect senecio with the Blackhawks winning in 4 games vs the Wild.... This team is unstoppable..... Hmmmm kinda reminds me of tennis.... You rarely get two superb matches in a row... Ducks in 6

[swordsandtequila]

Anaheim hasn't had to fight much in the post season I agree, but to me that makes them more vulnerable, ifthey lose tonight Blackhawks gain home ice advantage the rest of the series and very well may win it in 6. The Rangers are by far the most resilient team left in the playoffs, a lot of people on here seem to be over reacting to last night's 6-2 loss.

Look, yes it was their worst loss of the post season and frankly they looked as bad as they have all year. Yesterday's game was a fluke however, the amount of penalties called on both teams was absurd, Tampa capitalized more on the power play. even in one of the worst games of the Rangers season they were only down 3-2 in the 3rd when they had a great chance to tie the game on a shorthanded Nash breakaway and a missed opportunity by fast on the rebound. Shortly after Tampa scored and never looked back. Rangers won't have 7 penalties next game I can tell you that. Tyler Johnson won't have another hat trick, Lundquist won't give up 6 goals, and god willing we won't see any more terrible plays like st Louis god awful turn over that led to Johnsons shorthanded goal. There was another similar play later in the game that led to a TB goal I forget who it was at the moment.

I think they will split in Tampa as well and we will have ourselves another 7 game series, and you know what happens in game 7 in the playoffs at the garden.

Was it really a fluke? Perhaps. We probably won't see 6 goals again, but don't count on shutouts. Lundqvist gave up 5 or more goals in only 5 games this year. Three were against the Lightning (out of 5 played to date). All in NY. Everybody, including the national media, wants to discount the Lightning; NY lost because they weren't ready, focused, etc. etc. instead of giving the Bolts credit. Maybe, just maybe those penalties and turnovers were the product of the other teams effort. Rangers by far the most resilient team left in the playoffs? Lightning the only team to not lose 3 in a row all year; best home record in the league; highest scoring team in the league. Their second line rivals most teams first in terms of productivity. Coming into the series Lundqvist's goals against was .2 better than Bishop's. I'm a Bolts homer all the way, but I'm also objective. Hot goalies carry teams to Stanley Cups. The remaining teams have excellent goaltending. The Rangers get the edge defensively, but defense alone won't win if you can't score. And the Lightning can score. Guess we'll know soon enough.

[Bigbill365]

Lundquest the best goalie by far left in the playoffs.Goalies and defense win the cup.The best team left i think is Anaheim.I think Rangers knock off Tampa and play Anaheim.Chicago is the best Offensive team left but there goalie blows bad.

[Bigbill365]

But to go along with the original topic i agree i dont think the Best hockey team wins the cup i think its the team thats able to stay healthy and the team thats put the Diet and extreme conditioning it tkes to play long into the season which is not an easy task.Thats why the best player like Ovie,crosby dont win many cups is because the guys there surrounded with dont put in the work like a real "team" does.

[goduke]

Stanley cup champs get remembered. Everyone else doesn't so that's all that matters

[matt1216]

Lundquest the best goalie by far left in the playoffs.Goalies and defense win the cup.The best team left i think is Anaheim.I think Rangers knock off Tampa and play Anaheim.Chicago is the best Offensive team left but there goalie blows bad.

Omg, Bishop is better than Lundqvist.... Look at that Tampa team, they couldn't win one game last year in the playoffs with lineback... Now look at them. The guy is money when it matters.

[fitguy67]

Lundquest the best goalie by far left in the playoffs.Goalies and defense win the cup.The best team left i think is Anaheim.I think Rangers knock off Tampa and play Anaheim.Chicago is the best Offensive team left but there goalie blows bad.

Crawford was good enough to win the Cup for them 2 years ago, no?

That was a great final series, until the last 2 mins of g6 reg'n in Boston where the poor Bruins went from surely forcing a 7th game to losing the final. Come to think of it, Boston was SO banged up in that series...they were playing whole games with just 3 defencemen...and tons of heart. Crawford didn't have to be that great cuz the Bruins played so much of that series damn near hobbled.

[DrunkHorseplayer]

I don't see a lot of Cindarella teams winning the Stanley Cup

Check out the Kings' regular season record during their two championship years.