Stanley Cup Final: Colorado Avalanche vs Tampa Bay Lightning

[2014olympicgold]

This is antiquated, old school dinosaur thinking. I don't even agree with the logic that it necessarily incites the other team... it can cut both ways. Sometimes when you destroy a team you steal their soul for the rest of the series. Also good confidence building for your 2nd and 3rd liners who don't get as much ice time.

Most importantly no lead is safe - we've seen some crazy runs this post season (especially in the EDM series) - why let your foot off the gas and open that window.

Anyway, we knew TB would respond. I don't think anyone figured they'd roll over and get swept in the finals. We got ourselves a series.

This is the first Finals I've actually watched and been engaged in for a long long time. Usually I stop watching after the first round (when the Leafs are eliminated).

Oh I'm not saying Avs did anything wrong. You don't just dump a puck into the corner if you're on a breakaway up 6-0. But I'm fully in belief getting lit up if you're a good team (not used to getting lit up) is embarrassing and it knocks you into the "we gotta try on every single play and respond" thoughts.

It's more the team getting lit up, than the team doing the lighting.

[J0e Th0rnton]

The Avs are 13-3 in the playoffs with 2.75gaa and 0.892sv% from Kuemper and 2.81gaa and .906sv% from Francouz.

I'd hazard a guess that Sakic looks at that and thinks that this team just needs league average goaltending and opts to acquire a cheap option via trade like Driedger, Vanacek, or Georgiev. Going cheap on a starter would for example enable them to re-sign Manson and possibly Kadri so the trade-off might be worth it.

Bear in mind that Sakic showed an unwillingness to re-sign Varlamov at $5m AAV, and wouldn't go above $5m for Grubauer. He initially signed Grubauer to a $3.33m AAV deal, followed by acquiring Kuemper at $3.5m AAV ($1m retained). That $3.5m-$5m range seems to be the maximum he's comfortable operating at.

Adding Francouz in both my keeper 5 leagues may have not been the best play this year as it ate a spot for a backup goalie, but its looking more and more like gold next year. Kuemper just had a 37-12-4 season with a good GAA and SV% and is 32 years old looking for his first big payday. No way does he accept a lowball on his last chance for a fat contract after being a career backup goalie everywhere but Arizona.

When Kuemper walks, my goalie keeper suddenly looks a hell of a lot better after Lehner shat the bed this year.

McDavid, Zibanejad, Kucherov, are locks
Crosby, Scheifele, GIbson, Lehner and Francouz will make 2 of the final cuts.

Crosby is still amazing. But his age....like 10 players in history had superstar seasons after the age of 36.
Scheifele looked like pounded poop at the start of this season.....but somehow finished over a PPG so something clicked later.
Gibson is a stellar goalie on a crap team, but that crap team is young and moving up. Getzlaf is retiring and its Zegras' team now. unlikely but an option.
Lehner looked like crap this season. So did the entire Vegas team, but they played hurt and missing so many top stars most of the year.

Francouz im hoping turns from Backup to solid gold. Whoever stars for the Avs by default has an amazing fantasy season. This would be a case of me trying to pull a rabbit out of my hat and getting a gorilla instead

[doulos]

If Don Cherry was still on the air he'd be saying "that's why you don't run the score up" in regards to Game 2. I hated Cherry's takes near the end, but that's one that will always be true. It's a scary thought when you run the score up on a vet, talented team like Tampa. And it's not like Colorado was trying to run the score up, it just happened.

Don Cherry said a lot of stuff that fell in the zone of "old wive's tales"

[forumname]

If Don Cherry was still on the air he'd be saying "that's why you don't run the score up" in regards to Game 2. I hated Cherry's takes near the end, but that's one that will always be true. It's a scary thought when you run the score up on a vet, talented team like Tampa. And it's not like Colorado was trying to run the score up, it just happened.

Don Cherry has the type of brain where he notices the instances where a team takes a beating and then comes back out and wins the next one, but ignores all the times where a team takes a beating and then comes out and simply takes a beating again.

I would love for someone with a better brain than Don Cherry to actually look at the data and see the effect "running the score up" has. I would suspect a large gap in score would actually favor the winning team in the next game, contrary to what Cherry would say (because they're obviously doing something right to cause such a disparity).

[2014olympicgold]

Tampa Bay in the Playoffs:
Round 1
Leafs beat them 5-0, TBL wins the next game 5-3
Leafs beat them 5-2, TBL wins the next game 7-3, Leafs then win the next game 4-3
The rest of the series was 1 goal games

Round 2
TBL wins 4-1, TBL wins the next game 2-1
TBL wins 5-1, TBL wins the next game 2-0

Round 3
NYR win 6-2, NYR win 3-2 the next game
TBL wins 4-1, TBL wins 3-1 the next game

Round 4
COL wins 7-0, TBL wins the next game 6-2

Some aren't exactly blowouts (4-1) but thought I'd include them because I did include 5-2, so keep the data pretty similar. So it's happened more where a teams comes back after a blowout loss and wins the next game for Tampa than it has worked against them.

But ya I get what the group is saying. And like I mentioned, I am not a DC fan, hated him for years actually.

[kovalchuk17]

Looks like theyre going back with Kuemper which is likely the right decision

It also looks like Nazem Kadri is rrreeeeaaaallll close to being ready

[saucelife90]

Looks like theyre going back with Kuemper which is likely the right decision

It also looks like Nazem Kadri is rrreeeeaaaallll close to being ready

He skated on the 2nd PP unit during practice this morning, so my guess is he's a go tonight.

[pmorrow]

SCF OT. This is what it's all about.

[saucelife90]

Nazem does it. Unreal.

[The Comish]

Tough spot for the champs to be in. Not too confident that TB can get that three-peat, down 3 games to 1 against a great Avs team. Game 5 should be fun.

[pmorrow]

Hockey Reference
@hockey_ref
Darcy Kuemper is the first goalie ever to assist on an overtime goal in the #StanleyCup Final.

@Avalanche | #GoAvsGo

[pmorrow]

https://twitter.com/faiello_mari/sta...22540683616256

Mari Faiello
@faiello_mari
Looks like six #GoAvsGo players are on the ice for the game-winning goal vs. #GoBolts

FV6McKuXEAQO-hV.jpeg


Just like the Makar onside/offside controversy, I feel like this is unfortunately the main part of the game people will be focusing on tomorrow...

[saucelife90]

Lightning had 7 players on the ice at the same time, Cooper should wipe his tears so he can see the whole picture.

[townghost]

I'm so happy for Artturi Lehkonen.

[hockeyrobot]

Lightning had 7 players on the ice at the same time, Cooper should wipe his tears so he can see the whole picture.

I mean the Tampa players were very clearly close to the bench and they weren't the team in possession.