April NHL game thread (regular season)
- Thread starter Ale Xander
- Start date
Sabres are dead. 6-2 in the Swamps of Jersey.
Carolina beat the Red Wings 4-1. The Metro will come down to the last day.
Carolina beat the Red Wings 4-1. The Metro will come down to the last day.
They haven't won a game that they needed to since like 2018. Everybody is acting like it's some big shock, but it's what they do.
Seeding is TBD but Florida clinched a spot tonight. Isles need a point tomorrow against Montreal to eliminate Pittsburgh.
Pens can't catch Florida now. They've placed their entire playoff hopes on Montreal winning in regulation tomorrow. LOL.
Panthers might be getting the Canes' full lineup on Thursday then. I figure Carolina was going to use it as a playoff tuneup anyhow.
Hard to imagine a more brutal regular season loss than what the Pens just suffered. Unless the Isles decide to top that.
They had to do the shirts off their back thing after the game too. YIKES.
The best outcome is the Islanders losing in regulation tomorrow to Montreal then Pittsburgh losing to Columbus on Thursday.
This raises a good point: I might not mind losing to Montreal in OT on Thursday just to knock them a little more out of the running for Bedard.
Underway in Belmont Park. Teams have had to contend with JG Pageau’s free skate blade in the Habs zone.
And then Montreal spits the bit. Fasching loops one over Montembeault off a hard Pageau feed, 2-1 after 1
He’s the greasiest looking dude in the league. Like, how can anyone devote major hate to Marchand when Gallagher exists?
So, do we want the Hurricanes to win tomorrow night? I know the Panthers are an xG nightmare waiting to strike, but I’d rather look at a Bobrovskiy or Lyon at the other end than a Sorokin, who the Bruins haven’t seen all year.
Personally I want the cats. Islanders can just goalie them. Cats can score but their goaltending isn't scary at all
No matter who you play in the playoffs, it’s going to be a good team. All the easy outs (like this year’s Pittsburgh team) don’t make the cut.
Let us be respectful to the NHL marketing department which is now in mourning... this year's playoffs have neither Crosby nor Ovechkin. It's a tough time for them, having to actually write new copy for the dozens of other great players and teams in the league. I hope they pull through.
As for the Bruins' potential opponent: I think I'm a little more worried about Florida. They did beat the Bruins twice, once in regulation and in an overtime game where they tied the game 6v5. They have great possession numbers and their glaring weakness, penalty killing, will probably be sheltered by the whistle-swallowing policy of playoff refereeing. Bobrovsky's been okay, but I'm worried that Lyon is the sort of mystical journeyman goalie who still has a couple weeks left of playing out of his mind for a month before immediately getting shellacked in the following round.
The Islanders will be super annoying with Sorokin in net and will probably be doing a bunch of stretch pass sneakaway BS, but they're a bad team overall—5th worst in the league in giving up high-danger chances and underwater on expected goals generally.
I'd like to see some payback for 2021 personally.
Edit: also the overall ice quality of a Boston-Florida series may be the worst ever in recent playoff history.
As for the Bruins' potential opponent: I think I'm a little more worried about Florida. They did beat the Bruins twice, once in regulation and in an overtime game where they tied the game 6v5. They have great possession numbers and their glaring weakness, penalty killing, will probably be sheltered by the whistle-swallowing policy of playoff refereeing. Bobrovsky's been okay, but I'm worried that Lyon is the sort of mystical journeyman goalie who still has a couple weeks left of playing out of his mind for a month before immediately getting shellacked in the following round.
The Islanders will be super annoying with Sorokin in net and will probably be doing a bunch of stretch pass sneakaway BS, but they're a bad team overall—5th worst in the league in giving up high-danger chances and underwater on expected goals generally.
I'd like to see some payback for 2021 personally.
Edit: also the overall ice quality of a Boston-Florida series may be the worst ever in recent playoff history.
I have no expectations that the Islanders would beat either team, unless Barzal comes back and spreads pixie dust on a powerplay that is as bad as any I’ve ever seen. Isles playing the Bruins would at least be entertaining, while Carolina would smother them with speed and probably score the only seven goals in a sweep. Either way, I get to enjoy the misery of Penguins fans tonight.
Any Penguins fan that's miserable tonight is an idiot. Maybe they'll make real, necessary changes this offseason instead of keeping a meaningless streak alive just to get skullfucked by the Bruins.
The Penguins streak of making the playoffs ends at 16 consecutive seasons.
The new streak is now shared by 2 teams...
Boston and Toronto - 7 seasons
The new streak is now shared by 2 teams...
Boston and Toronto - 7 seasons
Only reason I wouldn't want to face NYI is they are a much heavier team than FL and could have an impact on the next series or two. They also may or may not be seeking retribution for the Barzal injury that while not a dirty play still lead to their leading offensive player to miss a month plus. If the series were to get away from them I wouldn't be surprised for them to start targeting Pasta and company. Just too many goons on that team for my liking. I'd rather take my chances with a team that is going to try to beat you playing hockey not grinding you into dust because they can't really play hockey.
Florida is a much better hockey team than the Islanders. The Islanders are basically the definition of mediocre. They'd be nowhere near the playoff picture without Sorokin. Florida at least has more high-end talent to worry about like Tkachuk, Barkov and Ekblad plus better complementary dudes like Verhaeghe, Reinhart, Bennett (currently injured). Much better than Horvat, Lee, Bailey, Nelson and the rest (even add Barzal if he plays). The Panthers also can score like an elite team, are 2nd in the league in 5x5 xGF/60 which could be problematic. The Panthers are a bit loose defensively but so are the Islanders. I'd worry a bit about Florida's ability to put the puck in the net. They did score 15 goals in 4 games against the Bruins this year.
The only area where the Islanders are better than the Panthers is in net. The Isles have Sorokin who, and don't tell Jack, is a legitimate Vezina candidate. Florida is currently rolling with Alex Lyon in net, a 30-year old AHL journeyman who prior to a month or two ago had 24 total NHL appearances over 4 years.
Ultimately the Bruins should be able to beat either team. I don't really care but I think I'd take the Isles if I had a choice. 'm not really worried about the heavy stuff, they are a bit better suited to handle it now with the additions of Orlov and Hathaway. And Florida has dinks too, and perhaps the baddest of them all in Matthew Tkachuk.
The only area where the Islanders are better than the Panthers is in net. The Isles have Sorokin who, and don't tell Jack, is a legitimate Vezina candidate. Florida is currently rolling with Alex Lyon in net, a 30-year old AHL journeyman who prior to a month or two ago had 24 total NHL appearances over 4 years.
Ultimately the Bruins should be able to beat either team. I don't really care but I think I'd take the Isles if I had a choice. 'm not really worried about the heavy stuff, they are a bit better suited to handle it now with the additions of Orlov and Hathaway. And Florida has dinks too, and perhaps the baddest of them all in Matthew Tkachuk.
Pens gave up another tying goal in the last 5 minutes and lost in OT. If games were 55 minutes they'd have about 15 more points
I declare that whichever Sebastian Aho loses in the Canes-Isles series has to legally change his name.
View: https://twitter.com/lakings/status/1646729361163431938?s=46
Adrian Kempe has the Kings' first 40-goal season since Luc Robitaille in 1993-94.
Adrian Kempe has the Kings' first 40-goal season since Luc Robitaille in 1993-94.
Yeah, that's fucking awful. There was a time about a decade ago when Toews would have been one of the few, if not the only, player I would have moved Bergy for. I've been wrong about a lot of things.