2013 - 2014 NHL Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Ockeghem]

I'll go with either Quick or Kopitar (and in that order). But I hope your guy wins, Scott.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I just do not see Quick winning the Smythe, Scott. He certainly does not deserve it over all the teammates I listed, as his goals against and save percentage are nowhere near what he recorded during LA's last Cup run. While he has made some big saves, he's let in a lot of goals, too. If he gets the trophy, I think it's just the voters being too lazy and making the easy pick of the goaltender.

After Williams, my 2nd choice would be Kopitar.

 

[davidmatychuk]

Drew "Mirror Image Bobby Orr" Doughty.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Drew "Mirror Image Bobby Orr" Doughty.

Another good candidate that I neglected to put on my initial list.

 

[Walter C]

After their near-death experience in the first round, and 21 brutal games against tough opposition, L.A. sure came out of the West honed like a knife.

Especially after that Game 2 against the Sharks, when Quick was at his worst, and the Kings looked like they were heading for a quick 1st round exit.

 

[davidmatychuk]

Marty's mom made two big saves tonight.

 

[Carlo_M]

I am almost as exhausted as the players. This game could've ended a dozen times before it did for either team. I've never seen so many posts and last ditch defense blocks saving open net shots in OT. Well done Rangers. Go Kings Go!

 

[Walter Kittel]

Wow! Great game 5 in Los Angeles this evening. I didn't think the game was every going to end. There were so many opportunities in overtime for both teams tonight. I think the most incredible, against all odds play was when Voynov basically robbed Rick Nash of a sure goal into a wide open net that would have extended the series for the Rangers. Looks like Scott called it for Justin Williams and the MVP award. A good choice, IMHO. Martinez had the distinction of scoring the final goal in the Western Conference finals and in the Stanley Cup. Congrats to the Kings.

- Walter.

 

[DavidJ]

Unbelievable game. What a way for the Kings to clinch the Cup.

 

[Carlo_M]

I agree with Williams. Though convincing arguments could have been made for Doughty, Kopitar, Carter and Gaborik. Kopi was the points leader, and he had to face off against the top players in the league throughout the playoffs.

 

[Jack P]

Rangers screwed twice in this series by the refs costing them both times. NHL officiating is a joke.

If that sounds bitter, so be it. I would rather have lost 10 to nothing then gone through one game like that, let alone three.

 

[Carlo_M]

There will always be refereeing errors and judgment calls that go against every team. The game moves so fast and even the refs are human. But championship teams get past it.Against the Hawks, there were several very easy "falls" by the Hawks (especially two by Toews, whom I greatly respect but he went down super easy on two calls--he looked like that Brazilian World Cup player on both of them) that immediately led to power play goals for the Hawks. But the Kings scratched and clawed and got back into the series and ultimately won it. They could have easily folded after each of those calls, but they didn't.

 

[Walter C]

Finally, the Kings are able to close it out at home. I actually stayed up late to watch the winning goal, and see the players hoist the Cup. And it has to be really tough to be the losing team (in this case, the Rangers) and have to stick around for the traditional handshake, as I can only imagine them wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. Congrats to the Los Angeles Kings for winning the Stanley Cup. Even though the series went only 5 games, those games were very close and hard-fought between the 2 teams.

 

[davidmatychuk]

Good year for Olympic/Stanley Cup champions Doughty and Carter. Also, another Cup for Willie Mitchell, a very popular player in his home province of B.C., but not deemed worthy of a new contract with the Canucks by their now-banished G.M. because of "health issues". Well, he's lifted two big heavy Stanley Cups now, and he hasn't dropped one yet.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Rangers screwed twice in this series by the refs costing them both times. NHL officiating is a joke.

If that sounds bitter, so be it. I would rather have lost 10 to nothing then gone through one game like that, let alone three.

Sorry, Jack, but complaining about the officiating in a series that only went five games is just whining. Yes, I know that three of the games went to OT, but the Kings deserved to win this series - they were easily the better team. Blaming the officiating sounds like the California Chrome owner whining after his horse failed to win the Triple Crown.

I am glad to see Justin Williams win the Conn Smythe -- it was well deserved. I was mistaken, though. He is not the first Plymouth Whaler alumnus to win a major NHL award - Bryan Berard won the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie in 1997.

Enjoy this win, Carlo. Your team showed they are a terrific hockey team by winning two Cups in three years.

 

[Jack P]

Sorry, Jack, but complaining about the officiating in a series that only went five games is just whining.

The Game 2 non-call of a goal that should have been disallowed which pulled the Kings to within one was a series momentum changer. Add to that the questionable trip call in last night's game that gave them their tying goal power play AND the garbage non-call in the Canadiens series on Brandon Proust and I think Ranger fans have every reason to give a vote of no-confidence to the state of NHL officiating. Yes, you have to overcome adversity from bad calls in any sport, and the Rangers blew their own chances to win those games as well, but it isn't going to change what I think was a case of bad officiating in numerous instances. Using the "five games only" argument to dismiss it from consideration totally ignores the context of why that particular Game 2 call was a momentum changer.

I don't begrudge the Kings. They did what they had to and I knew they were going to score that goal when I saw them handling the puck perfectly in passes that the Rangers were utterly incapable of doing most of the night, but I am never going to be convinced otherwise that the Game 2 non-call put the Rangers in an impossible situation for the rest of the series and screwed them completely.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Jack, I'm sure that Kings fans could list just as many missed calls against the Rangers, as these things tend to balance out. And if you want to complain about Prust in the previous series, I could also complain about Kreider crashing into the net and injuring Price in Game 1 of that series, which was probably what got the Rangers to the Cup Finals in the first place. The Rangers lost to the better team - just accept it and move on.

 

[Ockeghem]

Maybe I should have seen this coming, but I didn't.

http://bruins.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=30028

 

[Jack P]

Jack, I'm sure that Kings fans could list just as many missed calls against the Rangers, as these things tend to balance out. And if you want to complain about Prust in the previous series, I could also complain about Kreider crashing into the net and injuring Price in Game 1 of that series, which was probably what got the Rangers to the Cup Finals in the first place. The Rangers lost to the better team - just accept it and move on.

This was not a case of refusing to 'accept' It. I didn't denigrate the Kings superior play performance when it counted, I merely noted the moments of momentum change that were caused by other things to which the Rangers didn't respond well to. I can applaud what the Kings did while still believing as I do that the state of NHL officiating in general is not good.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Maybe I should have seen this coming, but I didn't.

http://bruins.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=30028

I thought I read quite awhile ago that the Bruins were not bringing Thornton back, so this doesn't surprise me at all.

In another non-shocker, it looks like the Habs will not be resigning Vanek. While he added scoring punch during the regular season after being acquired at the trade deadline, Vanek was the invisible man in the conference finals. He is looking for a long term deal worth $7M+ per year, which is a lot to pay for a player who disappears when needed most. Minnesota can overpay for him.