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Post by bookboy007 on Apr 5, 2024 14:14:40 GMT
Last year's team was better, but this year's team is playing better down the stretch. Good news for us fans. LFG! Good to see Swayman step up. I think we are going to see a time share in net for the playoffs if both are playing well going in. Heinen continues to impress. I've always been in his camp, but generally want to see him in the bottom six, but he's done great where ever they've put him. Such an under-rated guy all around. Noticed a play last night (in the second?) where there was a loose puck in front of our goalie and Peeke picked his guy and went body all the way and took him out of the play and behind the net. Love to see that. Need to teach Carlo and Lindholm the same. Carlo is huge, but he plays with his stick first, and you just never see him manhandle anybody like Peeke did there. We need MORE of that! Pasta's goal was filthy coming from the corner and picking that short side top corner. Just rediculous. I think that's a good way to put it. Last year, the roster was so deep they could play sleepy hockey and win. They just seemed to always find a goal when they needed it, but you could tell they weren't on in the last few weeks. Some of the sloppiness that came back to bite them against Florida was already there. And even then, if Bergeron's healthy, and Ullmark, I think they weather the Panthers and probably make the Finals - maybe even do better against Bruce than the Panthers. But they were complacent. This year's team is nowhere near as good on paper, but that was never going to happen. They're just...solid all around. The kind of team that's a handful in the playoffs and they have a few difference makers that distinguish them from other teams that play solid team D and play with size - Pastrnak's always a threat even if he sleeps through most of a game. Marchand doesn't need much to make a difference, and McAvoy can be an offensive difference maker when he "activates" and you see him attack the net and shoot more. But they have to be on to be a real threat, and that might actually be a good thing in this case.
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Post by 50belowzero on Apr 5, 2024 14:28:02 GMT
Sure, but they could get knocked out in the 1st round, it certainly wouldn't surprise me, Freddie isn't the guy. For sure anyone can get knocked out in the first round but when I’m making my picks in playoff pools I’ll certainly consider players from the Canes ahead of those from most of the other teams…. And I’m sure not too many had Adin Hill as being the guy last year…. Freddie has a history of not delivering when it counts, Hill had no history. I look at last years ECF and they got swept, not exactly awe inspiring. As far as pools go i get in a few as well and Canes players might be worth a pick or two, depends what type of pool it is.
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Post by thanx4memORRies on Apr 5, 2024 14:38:15 GMT
For sure anyone can get knocked out in the first round but when I’m making my picks in playoff pools I’ll certainly consider players from the Canes ahead of those from most of the other teams…. And I’m sure not too many had Adin Hill as being the guy last year…. Freddie has a history of not delivering when it counts, Hill had no history. I look at last years ECF and they got swept, not exactly awe inspiring. As far as pools go i get in a few as well and Canes players might be worth a pick or two, depends what type of pool it is. Candy Canes lacked offence last year and guys like Guentzel and Kuznetsov and a healthy Svechnikov should make a difference this season….
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Post by 50belowzero on Apr 5, 2024 14:44:37 GMT
Freddie has a history of not delivering when it counts, Hill had no history. I look at last years ECF and they got swept, not exactly awe inspiring. As far as pools go i get in a few as well and Canes players might be worth a pick or two, depends what type of pool it is. Candy Canes lacked offence last year and guys like Guentzel and Kuznetsov and a healthy Svechnikov should make a difference this season…. That's why this time of year is so much fun, every team looks good until they're not. Hockey pools are hard, upsets, injuries and players not known for offence getting hot at the right time. Then of course there are the teams that squeak in and go on a run.
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Post by bookboy007 on Apr 5, 2024 14:55:50 GMT
Sure, but they could get knocked out in the 1st round, it certainly wouldn't surprise me, Freddie isn't the guy. For sure anyone can get knocked out in the first round but when I’m making my picks in playoff pools I’ll certainly consider players from the Canes ahead of those from most of the other teams…. And I’m sure not too many had Adin Hill as being the guy last year…. I don't think anyone whose last name isn't Hill did. Including Bruce Cassidy.
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Post by bookboy007 on Apr 5, 2024 15:09:07 GMT
Freddie has a history of not delivering when it counts, Hill had no history. I look at last years ECF and they got swept, not exactly awe inspiring. As far as pools go i get in a few as well and Canes players might be worth a pick or two, depends what type of pool it is. Candy Canes lacked offence last year and guys like Guentzel and Kuznetsov and a healthy Svechnikov should make a difference this season…. We'll see. But imagine you're a 'Canes fan, or imagine that we're talking about the Bruins when I say the following: Three playoffs ago, in the stupid division season, you were the top team in the East, but after beating Nashville in round one, you got absolutely trounced by eventual Cup winner Tampa Bay. You got 9 goals in a 5 game series and were shutout in the deciding game. Two playoffs ago, you won the division and were second best in the East in the regular season, and it took you 7 games to knock out wildcard Boston before getting held to 13 goals in 7 games by the Rangers and going home. You lost one game at home in two series and it was game 7 to the Rangers when they put 6 behind your goalie (5 more in game 6). But you didn't win a single road game in the playoffs. Last year, only a historic season by the Bruins kept you from the Pres Trophy. You took out the Isles in 6, the upstart Devils in 5, but then scored just 6 goals in 4 games and got swept by the Panthers. In every case, you've lost to a team that was inferior in the regular season. You've struggled to win on the road in general, and when you've lost, you've had major trouble scoring and either an opponent has come in with a gameplan you haven't been able to counter, or they've figured you out over the course of the series and are pumping pucks past your goalies by the end. Guentzel and maybe Kuz will help with some part of that, but I think you have a problem in that the way your team is wired to play demands a lot of energy and intensity all year long. I think the Canes hit a wall every year, and they haven't found a way to get through it.
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