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Studio 46 - Non-TPiR Discussion => Out In Left Field => Topic started by: mellongraig on April 14, 2023, 11:32:34 PM
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It's that time of year again where the NHL Playoffs happen, and the 2023 edition is no exception. Can the Boston Bruins continue their huge regular season success into the postseason? Will the Toronto Maple Leafs finally break the playoff series drought and win the first round? How will the Seattle Kraken do in their first playoff appearance as the newest franchise, and what will the playoffs be like without Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin at the helm? All that and more as the first round matchups are set.
Eastern Conference:
(A1) Boston Bruins vs. Florida Panthers (WC2)
(A2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (A3)
(M1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders (WC1)
(M2) New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers (M3)
Western Conference:
(C1) Colorado Avalanche vs. Seattle Kraken (WC1)
(C2) Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild (C3)
(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. Winnipeg Jets (WC2)
(P2) Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings (P3)
Playoffs begin Monday, April 17th and will be split among the ESPN/Turner networks, as well as being on local regional sports networks for the first round. In Canada it will be on the Sportsnet networks, CBC, City, and TVA Sports.
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Here are my first round & Stanley Cup Final predictions:
Boston over Florida in 6
Carolina over NY Islanders in 6
New Jersey over NY Rangers in 6
Tampa Bay over Toronto in 7
Vegas over Winnipeg in 7
Colorado over Seattle in 5
Edmonton over Los Angeles in 6
Dallas over Minnesota in 6
Stanley Cup Final: New Jersey over Edmonton
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I hope and pray that Toronto FINALLY gets out of the first round of the playoffs!
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I hope and pray that Toronto FINALLY gets out of the first round of the playoffs!
Same here. I've got a good feeling about it.
Also, I'm picking Florida to eliminate Boston, possibly in 6 games.
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After getting crushed on Tuesday, the Leafs crush the Lightning right back with a 7-2 victory in game 2 to even their series at 1 apiece heading back to Tampa on Saturday. John Tavares picked up a hat trick
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Meanwhile for the other Canadian teams, the Oilers after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in Game 1, rebounded in Game 2 with a 4-2 win over the Kings, while the Jets after a 5-1 win in Game 1, fell 5-2 to the Golden Knights in Game 2. Those series like the Leafs-Lightning, are also tied at 1 game apiece as the Oilers head to Los Angeles while the Jets will come home to Winnipeg.
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Canadian teams update on Game 3, all in overtime:
*Winnipeg lost a heartbreaker to Vegas 5-4
*Edmonton lost to LA 3-2 on Friday
Morgan Rielly was the hero of Game 3 in Tampa, scoring the overtime winner to help the Leafs win 4-3 over the Lightning and take a 2-1 series lead
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And for a moment I thought the Winnipeg Jets were going to complete the comeback in Game 3 after tying it up at 4-4 with three goals in the third period including one with 21.9 seconds left... the crowd certainly was very loud both inside the arena and outside at various whiteout parties. Despite the heartbreaking double OT loss, hopefully the loudness will carry on to Game 4 on Monday and that they can have a better start to tie the series up at 2 apiece.
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I find it unnecessarily confusing that Winnipeg had the white-out, but Vegas wore the white jerseys.
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LEAFS DO IT AGAIN!!!! After being down 4-1, they score 3 goals in the 3rd period and score another in overtime for a 5-4 victory in Game 4! They take a 3-1 series lead headed back to Toronto for a chance to FINALLY get out of the first round for the first time in a long time
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I don't know how the Toronto Maple Leafs pull off a miracle once again but winning two games in a row in Tampa let alone on the road and in overtime is huge.
The Winnipeg Jets are however on the brink of elimination after falling 4-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights last night and without Josh Morrissey who is out for the series after a Game 3 injury.
And the Edmonton Oilers-Los Angeles Kings series is tied at 2 apiece after an Oilers rally of their own on Sunday to win it in overtime by a 5-4 score. Game 5 goes tonight.
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Tampa stays alive with a 4-2 win, but at least it was a close game. Leafs still lead the series 3-2 heading back to Tampa where they are 2-0 at Amalie Arena (both games won in overtime)
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Meanwhile we have our first advancement to the second round - the Vegas Golden Knights eliminate the Winnipeg Jets in 5 games with a 4-1 win in Game 5 and will face the winner of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series, in which Edmonton is leading the series 3-2.
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Boston and Florida are going the distance after a 7-5 Panthers victory
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So are Colorado and Seattle after the Avalanche won Game 6, 4-1 to force a Game 7. The Hurricanes and Stars won Game 6 on the road, and the series 4-2.
Question for tonight is will Toronto finally close it out in Game 6 against Tampa Bay in Tampa and will Edmonton close it out in Los Angeles? We shall see, but if Toronto does and Boston loses on Sunday, Toronto would host Florida in the second round.
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It's interesting to note that in every game of the Toronto-Tampa series but one, the victory went to the road team - Game 2 being the only exception. If the pattern holds, I can see Toronto closing it out tonight
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AND THERE IT IS!!!
Leafs win 2-1 in overtime and eliminate the Lightning in 6 games, advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004! They now await the winner of Game 7 between Boston and Florida
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Finally, the demons have been exercised for the Leafs! There's still a chance the Leafs could get home ice advantage in the second round if the Panthers pull off the huge upset tomorrow night. If the Bruins win Game 7, the Leafs will travel to Boston.
That's also three overtime wins, all on the road for the Leafs. Now we'll see if the Oilers can advance to the second round against the Kings in Game 6 (that game is currently in progress).
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The Devils and Rangers will go to a game 7 in New Jersey with the Rangers winning 5-2 tonight.
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”I am free.”
- Toronto Maple Leafs
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And the Edmonton Oilers get the job done in Game 6 to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings by a 5-4 score, though they nearly blew the lead along with a broken goalie stick that happened during the game. They will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, who although the Golden Knights have home ice advantage, point separation between the two teams are very close.
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Round 2 that we know so far:
Toronto vs. Boston/Florida
Carolina vs. New Jersey/NY Rangers
Edmonton vs. Las Vegas
Dallas vs. Colorado/Seattle
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It has happened - the Florida Panthers upset the #1 seeded Boston Bruins in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 7! They will go on to face the Maple Leafs in round 2
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If any of you know a Boston Bruins fan, hug them.
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That was amazing, and further proof that what happens in the regular season means nothing in the playoffs.
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That's for sure... especially with a 65-12-5 record, it means nothing now for the Bruins and it may have been the last game as a Boston Bruins captain and possibly ever for Patrice Bergeron.
Also, there will be a new Stanley Cup champion this year - the Seattle Kraken have knocked off the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 2-1 in Game 7 to win that series 4-3, and will face the Dallas Stars in round 2.
Plus, a lot of playoff brackets have been busted with Colorado and Boston out in the first round (and very few expected Seattle and Florida to have a shot).
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And the first round is in the books with New Jersey blanking the Rangers 4-0 in Game 7 of their series. The second round matchups are as follows (higher seed listed first):
Eastern Conference
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Edmonton Oilers
Dallas Stars vs. Seattle Kraken
Game 1 of both Florida-Toronto and Seattle-Dallas go tomorrow, with Game 1 of New Jersey-Carolina and Edmonton-Vegas going Wednesday
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Second round predictions:
New Jersey over Carolina in 6
Florida over Toronto in 6
Edmonton over Vegas in 7
Dallas over Seattle in 5
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are down 2 games to 0 after two quick goals from the Florida Panthers in the second period made the difference in Game 2 with Florida taking it 3-2. Game 3 goes Sunday and it's very possible that the Florida Panthers could be the Cinderella team to watch.
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The playoff road winning streak for the Toronto Maple Leafs is over as they fall 3-2 to the Florida Panthers in Game 3 last night, with Game 4 going on Wednesday night in a must-win game to keep the series alive.
In other games yesterday, the New Jersey Devils win 8-4 over the Carolina Hurricanes to cut Carolina's series lead to 2-1, while the Seattle Kraken win 7-2 over the Dallas Stars to lead that series 2-1.
The Edmonton Oilers play Game 3 at home against the Vegas Golden Knights tonight, and that series is tied up at 1.
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The Leafs are still alive after a 2-1 victory in Game 4
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And the Oilers tie the series up at 2 after a 4-1 victory over the Golden Knights at home in Game 4.
With the Leafs still alive, that means no second round sweeps and Game 5 for both Canadian teams will happen on Friday - for the Leafs back in Toronto and the Oilers in Las Vegas respectively.
In other series so far, Carolina leads 3-1, and Dallas-Seattle is tied at 2.
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Carolina advances to the Eastern Conference final with a 3-2 overtime win over New Jersey. They now await the winner of the Toronto-Florida series
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The Toronto Maple Leafs season is over after losing 3-2 to the Florida Panthers in overtime in Game 5, including a goal that was taken back. At least they got further in the playoffs this season... but it will be the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers in the conference final.
Meanwhile the Edmonton Oilers season is on the line after losing 4-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5. Game 6 goes on Sunday.
Also, the officiating has been pretty bad so far this playoff season for a number of games, including the Panthers-Leafs Game 5.
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Bettman hates us Canadians. And with a major media market out of the playoffs, good luck on getting ratings for the Eastern final
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Orrrrrr maybe your team just sucks. :lol:
/it's always a great day when the Leafs lose
//of course it's not like the Wings were anywhere close to the playoffs
///it's also a great day when any Boston team loses, so...go Panthers?
////don't let my wife see that third remark
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Not cool, cu. But hey, at least the Leafs made it out of the first round for once!
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People aren't thrilled that the Golden Knights-Oilers Game 6 is at 10:00 pm Eastern tonight on ESPN and Sportsnet/CBC but this can all be blamed on the NBA playoffs and Sunday Night Baseball. I think from the NHL's and ESPN's eyes that the Edmonton Oilers will win at home and force a Game 7 to keep Canada's Stanley Cup chances alive like the Seattle Kraken did last night. But with playoffs, you never know...
I don't know why they didn't start it at an earlier time and on TNT/TBS, or ESPN2... then again it's the third straight game for this series with a late start time.
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30 years and counting without a Stanley Cup in Canada as the drought continues... the Edmonton Oilers despite more shots on goal in Game 6, fall 5-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights as Vegas wins the series 4-2. They will face against the winner of the Kraken-Stars series and will have home-ice advantage for the conference final.
At least two teams are still in the hunt for their first ever Stanley Cup title - the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers. The Seattle Kraken could make it three still in the running if they win Game 7 against the Dallas Stars on the road.
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People aren't thrilled that the Golden Knights-Oilers Game 6 is at 10:00 pm Eastern tonight on ESPN and Sportsnet/CBC but this can all be blamed on the NBA playoffs and Sunday Night Baseball. I think from the NHL's and ESPN's eyes that the Edmonton Oilers will win at home and force a Game 7 to keep Canada's Stanley Cup chances alive like the Seattle Kraken did last night. But with playoffs, you never know...
I don't know why they didn't start it at an earlier time and on TNT/TBS, or ESPN2... then again it's the third straight game for this series with a late start time.
ESPN doesn't care about hockey and it shows...they aired the start of the game on a split screen during what ended up being a blowout Sunday Night Baseball game, meaning those who wanted to watch the baseball game had hockey commentary.
Meanwhile ESPN2 was airing a women's college softball show, which could have aired on ESPNU...followed by cornhole.
When cornhole gets priority over the NHL, that's a problem. So much for ESPN caring about hockey upon getting the contract back...
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The conference finals are now set!
Eastern Conference: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers
Western Conference: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Dallas Stars
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What a run for the Seattle Kraken though - to get this far and push it to seven games against the Avalanche and the Stars, and to come up short against the Stars after a late 3rd period goal but couldn't get the equalizer to send it to overtime, is remarkable for the newest franchise that's only in their second season. I expect a bright future for this team...
The final four is a southern geographical region for both the west and the east, which doesn't happen too often and one we didn't think it was going to happen.
Hopefully during the offseason the NHL should look at for future Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning in 2024 when it comes to playoff games and games 5, 6, and 7 if necessary to decide which days the national broadcasters of TNT and ESPN (as well as their sister networks) should be assigned to.
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Conference Finals & revised Stanley Cup Final predictions:
Florida over Carolina in 6
Dallas over Vegas in 6
Stanley Cup Final: Dallas over Florida
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You know, it's a whole lot of fun watching a quad OT game when you have no stake in the game, when you have no rooting interest, and when you respect both teams in the game
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And the quadruple OT almost didn't happen as the goal in the first OT was called back due to goaltender interference. Still the Florida Panthers were able to win Game 1 late in the 4th OT.
Kyle Dubas will not return as Toronto Maple Leafs GM next season once his contract with the team expires on June 30.
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Vegas and Florida are up 3 games to 0 in their respective series in the conference finals and I will say with regards to the Vegas-Dallas game last night - Jamie Benn for the Dallas Stars got a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct (it was upheld after review as all major penalties are reviewed just to be sure).
That wasn't very smart of him to do that and as the captain of the team, it looks like he will be suspended for Game 4 and possibly games 5, 6, 7, Stanley Cup Finals if they come all the way back from a 3-0 deficit, next season, or if games 5, 6, 7, and the Stanley Cup Finals don't occur for Dallas, also carry to next season as well if it's more than a one-game suspension.
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The dragon slayers of the East have done it again! Florida sweeps the Hurricanes out of town with a 4-3 victory in game 4 to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup final
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I'm rooting for Vegas (assuming they make the finals) but I feel like Florida is going to win the Cup.
I also want to give the Panthers kudos for not believing in silly superstition and taking the Conference Trophy with them back to the dressing room.
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Wow - for a moment it looked like it was going to overtime but the Panthers getting on the power-play at the last minute and scoring with 4.9 seconds left after there was no goalie interference upon video review sealed the deal for them.
Also, Jamie Benn (the Dallas Stars captain) is suspended for two games as a result of the cross-checking major penalty. Should Game 4 go to the Vegas Golden Knights, that suspension will carry over to next season.
I guess we can call the Florida Panthers the Cinderella team of the NHL this postseason...
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Knights can't sweep as Dallas lives to see Saturday at least.
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And the Dallas Stars finally break the overtime woes in a game they needed to win, and did it without their captain.
The NHL has sent out a memo for when the Stanley Cup Finals will begin, and there are two scenarios:
-If the Vegas Golden Knights win Game 5 on Saturday night, it will start on May 31st
-If the series goes longer than five games, the Stanley Cup Finals will start on June 3rd
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That's great news re: the Stanley Cup finals start date. I think it's something they've done in the past. Nothing wrong with having a backup plan in case both series end early as opposed to standing pat on one date regardless. I've always admired the NHL for in-season changes such as rules & scheduling unlike the other leagues that hardly-to-never adjust
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Dallas has forced game 6 with a 4-2 win over Vegas
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So that means the Stanley Cup Finals will start on June 3rd, giving the Florida Panthers more time to wait to play another game let alone who their opponent will be, and more time to practice if necessary. Whether if the extended rest helps the Panthers or not remains to be seen.
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The Stars have fallen. It'll be the Golden Knights and the Panthers on Wednesday.
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Let's go Knights...although I think the teams are pretty evenly matched.
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History will be made as one of these two teams will win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. And actually the Panthers and Golden Knights will start the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday, June 3rd since the Golden Knights-Stars series went to six games.
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Stanley Cup Final prediction:
Vegas over Florida in 6
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Yeah, despite Florida's awesome run, I agree here; I think it ends at the hands of Vegas in 6. Pretty much the same exact prediction from another Sunshine State professional team in another sport. Again, a great series would be nice with yours truly being okay with the eventual winner of the Stanley Cup
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Game 1 goes to Vegas, 5-2 final
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That stick save by Adin Hill... wow - this has to be the save of the playoffs let alone Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. If that had not occurred, the outcome could have been different.
We'll have to see what Game 2 brings and how this series will play out, and whether if Florida has a chance to win the series, or even Games 3 and 4 when Florida plays at home.
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Vegas takes a 2-0 series lead, winning an ugly Game 2 with a score of 7-2.
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Game 3 in Florida next, have to wonder if Florida can bring out a win on home ice, but teams taking a 2-0 series lead on home ice are 38-3 (92.7% of the time actually winning the series) in the Stanley Cup Finals in terms of series wins and losses and winning the series 90.6% of the time (48-5) when having a 2-0 series lead regardless of being home or away for first 2 games.
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Well, Florida survives with an OT goal. No sweep this year, and the Panthers cut Vegas' series lead in half (2-1)
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That also means the series is going at least 5 games but I'm sure Florida would like to win Game 4 at home and tie the series up at 2-2 on Saturday night to send it back to square one.
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Vegas holds off Florida 3-2 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead. They now have the chance to clinch the Cup at home on Tuesday night
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There were multiple scrums and fights that happened at the end of the game after the final whistle, and the rats rained down during the process while Florida was trying to equalize it to again send it to overtime. But they were unable to get it done despite being 6 on 4 late in the game. Calls haven't been great in Game 4 either... Vegas got lucky especially when they had no penalty minutes until the delay of game.
We'll have to see if any infractions/suspensions may occur for end of game incidents... my gut feeling is probably not but you never know.
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In their 6th season as a franchise, Vegas finally hits the jackpot! They defeat Florida 9-3 to win the series in 5 games and take their first Stanley Cup
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Viva Las Vegas! And to do it at home after the Denver Nuggets won their first NBA title last night at home is surreal for the players, coaches, other personnel, and their fans.
But what a run for the Florida Panthers - if we thought they were going to make it past the first round back then I think we would have said you're crazy (at the time).
For Vegas it's a sweet relief after losing the Stanley Cup final back in 2018 to win the Stanley Cup this year.
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Hats off to Las Vegas. Despite who they faced, they achieved something that's very, very difficult to earn. Not much, if anything, beats being part of the Stanley Cup winners.
Happy for Phil Kessel. There wasn't much optimism if any for the guy during the Toronto era, and after Phil moved on from there, he's now won 3 cups. Way to go!