Florida Panthers 🧹
8th seed team started the playoffs by beating the president trophy Bruins. Even then they were told they don’t belong but beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. The hurricanes were too good but the Panthers just swept them despite often being outshot. Goalie Sergei bobrovsky went >7 periods without letting in a goal and Tkachuk had 3 game winning goals in this series including 2OT goals. Such a magical team to root for and fun to watch but Las Vegas has 4 deep lines and has been dominant.
I remember when the president trophy winning Red Wings lost to the Edmonton oilers with Chris Pronger in the first round in 2006. They lost in the finals to Carolina
Lately I’ve been so busy to follow anything but I’ve watched these nhl playoffs and they have been spectacular. I’m sure people that watch regularly understand this is what it’s all about but this is the best playoffs in sports. By a mile.
cheers 🍻 🥃 ❄️ 💨 🍺
The Panthers players should pull a LeBron and vaguely allude to retirement in order to change the narrative from the fact that they were swept out of the building.
The Panthers actually did the sweeping.
And while I appreciate any reason to bag on Lebron, I am not following how him mentioning possible retirement changed any narrative about getting swept by Denver.
He gave a crumb in his post-game and next thing you know Chris Haynes is tweeting about possible retirement and the conversation went from 50/50 Lakers future and Nuggs sweep to 70/20/10 Lebron Lakers Nuggs.
I love Lebron but he’s definitely a narcissist.
You're gaslighting me. LeBron was overtly alluding to retirement.
Hockey in Florida is wrong on so many levels.
I agree, but the company I work for remotely has it's HQ in Florida and everyone's kids play hockey there. Evidently it is huge. Go figure.
A lot of Northeast and Midwest transplants throughout the state.
everyone's kids play hockey there. Evidently it is huge.
This. It’s huge.
Hasn’t made it to the panhandle as of yet in my experience (Tallahassee for 4 years now).
A great way to beat the Florida heat and humidity, just go into an ice rink for 2 hours.
Hockey in Las Vegas is not that different. At least there’s water in Florida.
But I’m rooting for the Knights. Their helmet logo with the V is really good design.
I hate to break it to you, but youth hockey is just as hot or not hotter in Florida than in most parts of Michigan. Heck, there are more rinks within an hour drive of where I live here in Florida, than where I lived in western Michigan. Obviously there is more of a presence in the Detroit area, but to bag on hockey in Florida is just ignorant and uninformed. Anyone who holds the opinion you do would be genuinely stunned at the presence down here. This post will get negged like crazy, I know, but it’s not wrong.
Oh no please don’t change the narrative! Not our precious narrative!
OP: Drink quitting and go to beer.
I've woken more than once wondering what stupid thing I posted on this blog the night before...
Re: Tkachuk. That's gotta be the most clutch-playoff series by a skater ever, no? It's not just that he had two OT goals: his third game-winner was with 5(!) seconds remaining in a tied game to clinch the sweep! Absolutely unreal. I love watching him and his brother (Brady in Ottawa) play: they're big, physical, fast, and play with so much spirit and passion.
Agreed, but as much as I hated a player, Claude Lemeiux IMHO was the most clutch playoff player I remember...big hits, big goals, etc. Seemed almost average in regular season and was a beast in the playoffs.
Lemieux scored 13 goals (four game-winners) in 17 games in the '97 playoffs, when the Wings beat the Avs in the conference finals and went on to win the Cup, so that tracks. He had 13 goals in the playoffs two years earlier, too, when he won a cup with the Devils. Beyond that, no huge playoff performances goal-wise except for his '86 Cup win with the Canadiens (10 goals in 20 games).
Sorry. I'm compelled to neg any positive reference to that asshat.
that there was funny and disturbing
And Jamie Benn tries to kill a guy but only gets 2 game suspension.
Asshole Benn apologizes for using stick to break fall
Coach refuses to discuss “accident”
I’d assume since he was ejected two minutes into the game, they considered that as part of the overall suspension and gave him the additional two for a three game suspension overall.
Excuse me, but what is the penalty for attempted murder? Blunt force trauma to the head and neck with a clear intent. just 3 games?
What would the penalty be if a batter took their stick to the head of a pitcher.
How long was Tonja Harding banned for intentionally injuring a competitor.
Why can’t a sport just be a sport where, aside from boxing and UFC, you compete on talent, training, strength, and coaching.
Uh, because hockey is a contact sport while baseball and figure skating are not? Not to mention Harding injured a competitor outside of the competition. Like… these examples aren’t remotely comparable.
You took the bait to defend that hit as a “hockey play”.
Yeah, that view shows it all. He is not off balance at all, stares down at Stone, changes his grip on the stick for more leverage, and then goes in for the cheapshot.
I don't like Vegas, but am fine with them sweeping Dallas out of the playoffs. Bonus points for the fact that there is likely crossover between Cowboys fans and Stars fans.
What an Awful-Look game for the Stars:
- Captain tossed two minutes in for the above.
- Oettinger falls apart in the next six minutes.
- Rest of the team plays completely neutered.
- Fans throw trash on the ice in the second period.
- They get shutout.
I have some cousins in Dallas, so I was absolutely rooting for them over Vegas, but after that they're going to have to really work hard to engender some respect going forward for a casual playoffs fan like me (when the Red Wings aren't in it) to root for their success, and the Benn press conference the next morning was not a good start.
DoPS is a joke. The league is a joke because it doesn't police anything, and then WOOPS something terrible like this happens.
That said, Benn is a dirty player and a complete moron. How can you be CAPTAIN OF YOUR TEAM and pull this shit two shifts into the game when your team is down 2-0 in the series and 1-0 in the game. This stunt cost them the game and likely the series. Then he decides to not even face the press and let his coach and teammates talk about it after the game.
Finally, yesterday he talks and says this joke of a quote "Obviously, didn't want to take a five-minute penalty, but when the game happens fast, emotions are high. Obviously I would've liked to not fall on him and I guess use my stick as the landing point,"
Yes, with a straight face, he said that. As if it was an accident. Bruh. BRUH.
And DoPS looked at all that and said "eh, two games".
Excellent post. George Parros sucks.
The similarity to Benn’s attack on Larkin is striking to Wings fans. Fuck that guy.
How can he do this as the captain? Remember, he's the guy that fractured Larkin's neck with a crosscheck with zero penalty for it.
The top 10 dirty NHL players of the 21st Century. If Benn isn't on the list, he's pretty damn close.
Marchand, Todd Bertuzzi, Chris Simon, Bryan Marchment, Tom Wilson, Raffi Torres, Corey Perry, Matt Cooke, Steve Ott, Steve Downey. That's 10, anyone else?
(Claude played into the 21st Century but he's really more of a 1990s guy. Marty McSorley's assault was absurd but was also only 6 weeks into this Century. I intentionally excluded Sean Avery - he's an asshole but that's different than dirty)
Kinda crazy that Florida was in the group of teams jockeying to get that last spot in the playoffs and now theyre here. Might say something about a 'hot' team coming into the playoffs because they've just been rolling for weeks now
This is just the latest reminder that the NHL regular season is meaningless and not worth paying much attention to. When the best regular season team ever loses in the first round to the 8th seed, you know that. And it's not like this is the first time, or even rare. #1 seeds lose early all the time in the league, and #8 seeds advance far all the time as well. Compared to the other major sports, the NHL season doesn't reflect nearly the same sense of who the best teams are. For example, the Miami Heat are by far the exception in the the NBA, advancing as an 8th seed.
The Red Wings lost as the #2 seed in 2003 to Anaheim, and the #1 seed in 2004 to Calgary and 2006 to Edmonton. All three had goalies play out of their minds in Giguerre, Kiprusoff, and Roloson and all three ended up making the finals, but losing.
Bringing back some bad memories. Especially 2006, sigh...
It’s not meaningless necessarily, but it’s definitely indicative that some of the lower seeded teams have essentially been in playoff mode for the weeks leading up to the actual playoffs because they’re still fighting to get in. Meanwhile, the top seeds can sort of go on cruise control because they know they’re already in and may have already locked up a top seed.
If you’re already on that playoff mindset and have been for weeks, that’s a big advantage for you coming in.
Just goes to show, 19 didn't need to sell. Losing bertuzzi was not a good idea.
wasn't the issue that bert wanted a long-term big $ contract which, with his injury history and the added cap space of losing him, made it a reasonable move on stevie-y's part?
Basically, yes.
Florida isn't your typical 8 seed. They were good enough to win the Presidents' Trophy a year ago, and underachieved all season until late. Detroit would not have been able to manage what Florida has had they bought at the deadline and, somehow, snuck into the playoffs. Selling was the smart move. They traded players they were unlikely to re-sign and got a bunch of assets in return.
Nothing screams Stanley Cup hockey finals like Florida vs Vegas. When I think hockey, I think of swamps and deserts...
Still more fun to watch than late 90s/early 2000s Jersey.
As a New Yorker, I agree.
speaking of swamps...
Awash in Hockey tradition…
would love the original six finals on but Itll have to wait, maybe a long time.
I know what your point is from an “all time” hockey history perspective, but arguably the Panthers have more hockey tradition of late than most of the Original Six. Only the Wings and Hawks have made more Finals than the Panthers in the last 30(!) years!
clarence, please don't interfere with my yelling at clouds.
sometimes a goalie getting hot at the right time turns the whole seeding and underdog vs favorite on its head.
'94 sharks Irbe
'03 ducks Guguere
'06 oilers Roloson
'10 habs Halak
and i'm sure there are plenty more
Don't forget 2012 Quick with L.A.