NHL 2017 -Official Discussion Thread

[SilverEagle]

Smitty I know you were not expecting the Leafs to beat the Caps but they did a hell of a job. They took the Caps to OT 4 out of the 6 games and one of those was double OT. I think your club has a bright future for sure. That being said I think my Pens will take care of the Caps for you.

Future is bright, but they still have quite a ways to go yet, only have to look at Martin Marincin being on the ice in overtime missing the asignment on the game winning goal, or rather just playing soft and letting the guy get to crease unmolested, to see how thin the Leafs are on the back end, the Leafs may actually have to take a step back before they go forward again, because defensively, they're a bag of squeaky toys. Also couldn't score because they couldn't, or just wouldn't, get to the front of the net; except for Matthews, none of them play a heavy game.

The Leafs were what we thought they were, they need to get heavier, they need to learn to defend, when Matthews scored last night my wife says "you're not excited", I says "Leafs are going to lose", she says "you're just being pessimistic", I says "seen it all year long, Leafs can't defend, it's gonna be 2-1 Washington in overtime" she says "you don't know that" and I says "yes I do"

How do you see the Pens/Caps series going Smitty?

[Smitty-48]

How do you see the Pens/Caps series going Smitty?

Hard to say, because Washington is Jekyll and Hyde, there's a Stanley Cup contender there, if they all play right, but for long stretches against the Leafs, they just sat back and let Leafs run amok, if they do that against the Pens, they're going to get smoked, because unlike the Leafs, Pitt can play heavy and they will get to the net, Holtby is beatable, if he has traffic in front of him, the Leafs made him look good, by not putting any traffic in the crease, except for Matthews, but you could see, when Matthews got to the front of the net, the Caps were having big trouble containing him, enter Sidney Crosby, and it gets even more dangerous than Matthews, so their defense is good, but not great, and against Crosby, you need great.

If the Pens come out like the Leafs on steroids, just flying with the same kind of speed, but also getting to the front of the net, the Caps are probably going to be in trouble.

I think it will be a possesion series, whoever has the puck all the time and takes it to the front of the net, is going to win, Washington could do it, but Pittsburg is more consistent about it, Crosby, as a centre, can control the play and maintain possession, Ovechkin, as a winger, not so much, so it's really more about Crosby v. Backstrom and Malkin v. Kuznetsov, and in that case, you'd take Crosby and Malkin all day.

Pittsburg doesn't have Letang, and that could still come back to haunt them, but Washington doesn't have a Letang, so against the Caps, Pittsburg can probably get away with it, by just, as I say, not letting Washington have the puck in the first place.

[StCapps]

All analysis means nothing if Marc Andre Fleury pulls a Marc Andre Fleury without Matt Murray to bail him out.

[Smitty-48]

Brayden Holtby can pull a Brayden Holtby, because he's not that good, Brayden Holtby didn't beat the Leafs, the Leafs beat themselves, Freddie Andersen, who I consider to be mediocre, actually outplayed Holtby in the series.

If Brayden Holtby was all that, the Leafs would have got swept, but because he ain't all that, the Leafs were able to hang around, it was only the Leafs timidity about going to the front of the net, that prevented Holtby from being exposed and the Caps from being upset.

Whenever Auston Matthews was on the ice and playing heavy down low, it felt like it was just a matter of time until he got to Holtby, the problem for the Leafs was that Matthews was the only guy doing it.

[StCapps]

I'd take Braden Holtby over Marc Andre Fleury any day of the week, and twice in the playoffs. Fleury is cup contender sabotaging machine.

[Smitty-48]

I don't think it will be a factor, I expect Crosby and Malkin to just run amok on the Caps D, they'll get to Holtby, they'll outscore their deficiencies on the back end, in a way that the Leafs couldn't, but actually almost did.

The Leafs exposed the Caps D as being suspect, the Leafs were just too young and inexperienced to take advantage of it, they didn't have the killer instinct, but Crosby and Malkin won't have that problem.

Other than Colorado, I consider the Leafs to be the worst defensive team in the league, and yet they were giving Washington fits all over the ice, by just getting the puck out quickly, an then going on the attack, I figure Pittsburg can do that, on steroids, same thing the Leafs did, but just with the killer instinct to get to the front of the net, and instead of having just one Matthews type, Pittsburg has two of them.

Montreal is proving, year after year, that it's not actually about the Tendies anymore, the league has changed since the 90's, the goalie ain't that big of a deal, it's all about the puck moving D now, and getting to the front of the net.

[StCapps]

I don't think it will be a factor, I expect Crosby and Malkin to just run amok on the Caps D, they'll get to Holtby, they'll outscore their deficiencies on the back end, in a way that the Leafs couldn't, but actually almost did.

The Leafs exposed the Caps D as being suspect, the Leafs were just too young and inexperienced to take advantage of it, they didn't have the killer instinct, but Crosby and Malkin won't have that problem.

You're probably right but this wouldn't be the first time that Crosby and Malkin couldn't cover for Marc Andre Fleury choking and hanging them out to dry, in a series the Pens easily should have won if it wasn't for him playing fucking god awful in the playoffs. During some of those runs they had a healthy Letang too, and that didn't save them.

Without Matt Murray, the Pens choke factor is through the roof, if the Pens do choke against the Caps it won't be surprising in the slightest, so don't sleep on it.

[Fife]

Who is coming out of the West?

[Smitty-48]

I have a lot of faith in Captain Canada, he's at the top of his game right now, I don't think Washington can stop him, I think Crosby will be the deciding factor.

[Smitty-48]

Who is coming out of the West?

I'd say Anahiem beats Edmonton, and barring a Jake Allen meltdown, St.Louis beats Nashville, and then it's a coin flip. If Anahiem gets Vatanen and Fowler back, this could be their big chance... to lose to Pittsburg in the finals.

With no juggernauts in their path, and barring the Cappsian Fleury meltdown, it's actually looking pretty good, for a repeat, even without Letang. If Pittsburg can just defend by commitee, Crosby should be able to put them over the top.

It's not just Crosby, it's Crosby at the very top of his game right now, best player in the world, at the top of their game, can actually take you all the way, Crosby can throw this team on his back, and just will them to the Cup.