Probably a stupid question; but does someone want to tell me how the Blues make the Cup finals? What stupid thread.
Why is this stupid? The Blues were a realistic favorite last year. I think people would have bet the Rangers vs the Blues long before the Kings vs Devils.
LA was knocking everybody off last year. That, and Brian Elliott was a swirly machine in that series. And no he was not to blame for that series. Even if he was better the Kings still win in 5.
With Halak in net, and maybe a little more scoring I think they could be a favorite.
Probably a stupid question; but does someone want to tell me how the Blues make the Cup finals? What stupid thread.
They're better than people give them credit for. Other than being a little thin at center and still not having an ideal partner for Pietrangelo, they have a really good team. They are absolutely stacked at wing. I saw a lot of projected lineups made by Blues fans that have Tarasenko on the third line! Also, they have a pretty good group of defenseman (even though it's a bit right-side heavy.) Lastly their goalie tandem won the jennings last year. These are all the positives that are on paper, they are also coached by Jack Adams winner Ken Hitchcock.
Like pretty much every player in the NHL does. I have seen plenty of Blues games and never saw Oshie stand out as anything other than average. His 54 points in 80 games last season were f***ing awesome. And that was his career high.
You're right. Every player in the NHL can knock Rick Nash and Dustin Penner completely on their *****. You seriously have something against the Blues. It's a little ridiculous.
Why is this stupid? The Blues were a realistic favorite last year. I think people would have bet the Rangers vs the Blues long before the Kings vs Devils.
LA was knocking everybody off last year. That, and Brian Elliott was a swirly machine in that series. And no he was not to blame for that series. Even if he was better the Kings still win in 5.
With Halak in net, and maybe a little more scoring I think they could be a favorite.
Obviously the Blues were picked before the Kings. But not before the Canucks, Wings and potentially other clubs - even Chicago. This thread is fantasy and belongs in said forum.
Obviously the Blues were picked before the Kings. But not before the Canucks, Wings and potentially other clubs - even Chicago. This thread is fantasy and belongs in said forum.
Debatable... all three are good teams. St. Louis had some difficulty with Chicago during the year. Can't say I recall offhand how they did against the Wings.
I'd hesitate to choose St. Louis over Detroit or Chicago in a playoff series.
At the same time, I think it's pretty ignorant to blankly assume the Blues can't make the Finals as one poster on this page did. Did he miss how good they looked last season? I guess he must have.
You're right. Every player in the NHL can knock Rick Nash and Dustin Penner completely on their *****. You seriously have something against the Blues. It's a little ridiculous.
Every player could if they tried or caught them unaware.
Debatable... all three are good teams. St. Louis had some difficulty with Chicago during the year. Can't say I recall offhand how they did against the Wings.
I'd hesitate to choose St. Louis over Detroit or Chicago in a playoff series.
At the same time, I think it's pretty ignorant to blankly assume the Blues can't make the Finals as one poster on this page did. Did he miss how good they looked last season? I guess he must have.
I'm just saying it's waaaaay premature to assume the Blues will make the Cup finals. This entire thread is stupid.
Like pretty much every player in the NHL does. I have seen plenty of Blues games and never saw Oshie stand out as anything other than average. His 54 points in 80 games last season were f***ing awesome. And that was his career high.
I'm just saying it's waaaaay premature to assume the Blues will make the Cup finals. This entire thread is stupid.
It's just a thread talking about a hypothetical matchup. Nobody's guaranteeing the Blues or Rangers make it all the way.
If we we avoided talking about things because they were premature, we'd have nothing to talk about right now except for the lockout. Not like there's any NHL hockey to discuss.
That'd be pretty miserable indeed.
I'm just saying it's waaaaay premature to assume the Blues will make the Cup finals. This entire thread is stupid.
A very fair point.
As such I shall go ahead and mark off LA from appearing there as well since typically teams do not repeat final appearances...particularly immediately after the first run.
Every other team in the NHL too really...no idea who is going to show up for the playoffs next year.
Chicago is a Cup contender, but need an upgrade from Crawford in net. They'd probably be good enough with even Niemi who is no world beater, but they won't have to score 4-5 goals a game hopefully.
Until then I think St Louis and Vancouver are the favorites in the West, and maybe even the Kings with the long offseason.
Just realized I never gave my take on the series itself.
Hm. Close one. I think the Rangers' extra firepower would help them win out in the end. St. Louis doesn't have that dynamic offensive presence to come through for them when they badly need a goal. They have great depth, but I don't think that'd be quite enough to get them past NY.
Not that the Rangers are a scoring powerhouse by any means, but they have the three best offensive players between the two teams and I think that puts them over the top here. Rangers in 7.
Just realized I never gave my take on the series itself.
Hm. Close one. I think the Rangers' extra firepower would help them win out in the end. St. Louis doesn't have that dynamic offensive presence to come through for them when they badly need a goal. They have great depth, but I don't think that'd be quite enough to get them past NY.
Not that the Rangers are a scoring powerhouse by any means, but they have the three best offensive players between the two teams and I think that puts them over the top here. Rangers in 7.
Come on, now. Completely unproven in the NHL and even with that aside it is highly unlikely he'll be on (or even all that close to) the level of Richards, Gaborik, or Nash in his rookie year.
Come on, now. Completely unproven in the NHL and even with that aside it is highly unlikely he'll be on (or even all that close to) the level of Richards, Gaborik, or Nash in his rookie year.
It depends upon which version of Nash, but I more than certainly agree on the likelihood of Tarasenko not being on the level of any of the above for at least his rookie season. McDonald might be able to play the Gaborik role (including being oft-injured...) since he seems to come alive during the playoffs.
The real difference is the lack of first line center to compete with Richards...unfortunate but I do not see an alternative coming any time soon.
And that was his career high.
