The Stanley Cup Playoffs 2023: First Round GDT

[PromoTheRobot]

10 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

The worst part about Buffalo missing the playoffs is we still have to wait at least one more year to figure out what they  even look like in the playoffs. It would’ve been nice to have that out-of-the-way this year and make the proper adjustments this summer.

We would have been killed. The Sabres were battered from the end of season push. Panthers are still pretty much the same Presidents Trophy winning team from last year. They just underachieved.

Good for Florida, good for Sam and Brandon, and good for us getting Levi. We all win.

[Pimlach]

45 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I am okay with anyone but Vegas or Toronto.  If it was these two teams in the finals, I don’t think I would watch a single minute. 

Agree.   Anything but that.  That would be hockey torture for me.   

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Pimlach

[Pimlach]

8 hours ago, Billznut said:

Third time in the last 10 seasons the Bruins were the President’s trophy winners. And NO Stanley Cups to show for their efforts. Gotta love that.  

Also admire the consistent high level of play.  The Prez is not the prize. 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

Boston fans are fine because they know the NFL will be back and Brady, Gronk And Belicheck will lead them to another..........oh wait

2 minutes after the loss they switch to Celtics mode. 

[Claude Balls]

21 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Not good Claude.  Don't drag her in to it.  

I was counting on the Bruins to beat Toronto.   

It was all in fun. She gives me crap about my teams and I give her the same back. We always laugh about it. I have 3 daughter's and she's the youngest at 20 years old. The middle one is somewhat into sports (Boston teams as well, although she does like Josh Allen) and the oldest could give two shits about sports. It's all good. 

[Pimlach]

11 hours ago, Doohickie said:

• As a rookie he was third on the team in points behind ROR and Eich
• In 2016-17:  3rd in points
• 2017-18:  3rd
• 2018-19:  2nd
• 2019-20:  2nd
• 2020-21:  1st

The only Sabres to score more points than Reino in his Sabres tenure in any given season were ROR and Eichel.  He wasn't "great"?  What's your definition of great?  He was a solid hockey player, rarely injured, very dependable.

 @nfreeman said he wasn't a great player and I agree and it sounds like you do too.   

Great would be like having the season that Thompson just had, when your are playing so dominant that teams game plan just for you.  But great really means that you do that every year for a long time.  

Reinhart has improved from good in Buffalo (~23 goals and ~55 points) to very good in Florida (~32 goals and ~75 points).  Part of it was playing with the better team and part of it is maturity.  He is up to 193 pounds now.  When he started he was physically overmatched a lot.  Not anymore.  

At least he did not publicly say bad things about the organization, although he could have and would have not been wrong.  

Edited May 1, 2023 by Pimlach

[CallawaySabres]

56 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

We would have been killed. The Sabres were battered from the end of season push. Panthers are still pretty much the same Presidents Trophy winning team from last year. They just underachieved.

Good for Florida, good for Sam and Brandon, and good for us getting Levi. We all win.

I would not have cared if we got killed, my point was that  I wanted to see how far away we are from being a playoff ready team. Now we have to wait another year at least.

[Thwomp!]

Both the NBA and NHL playoffs show why you go all out just to make the playoffs.  Anything can happen.  Hope Sabres brass is paying attention.  Both leagues' overall #1 seeds out in the first round and some other big upsets as well.

[SDS]

20 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

I would not have cared if we got killed, my point was that  I wanted to see how far away we are from being a playoff ready team. Now we have to wait another year at least.

There’s a logical fallacy in there somewhere.

[...]

26 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

I would not have cared if we got killed, my point was that  I wanted to see how far away we are from being a playoff ready team. Now we have to wait another year at least.

Among several other things, I think it doesn't take much to conclude that our second line, while skilled and full of heart, simply wouldn't have been physically ready to handle a series with Boston. As mentioned upstream, I also think one of the qualities the Panthers have in their favour is a disciplined game. The Sabres couldn't play a disciplined game with  consistency and their free-wheeling style would have opened them up to many hits by Boston.

I think these deficiencies will work themselves out over the course of the next season.

Edited May 1, 2023 by ...

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

We would have been killed. The Sabres were battered from the end of season push. Panthers are still pretty much the same Presidents Trophy winning team from last year. They just underachieved.

Good for Florida, good for Sam and Brandon, and good for us getting Levi. We all win.

Plus Tkachuk.

[French Collection]

40 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

I would not have cared if we got killed, my point was that  I wanted to see how far away we are from being a playoff ready team. Now we have to wait another year at least.

You never what kind of performance Levi would have put up.

[BuffalOhio]

It's pretty glorious reading over here on this forum:  https://bruinsnation.proboards.com/thread/3630/playoffs-round-bruins-panthers-series?page=16

Love it!

[Pimlach]

46 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

I would not have cared if we got killed, my point was that  I wanted to see how far away we are from being a playoff ready team. Now we have to wait another year at least.

I too really wanted to see the team get playoff experience this year.  It would reinforce the moves they need to make in the off season and the players would have gotten a huge lift from a tangible accomplishment.  

However, I would have definitely cared if they got killed.  Losing is one thing, but my expectation was to go out and win some games.   Florida has a bigger, more physical, and more veteran team so they matched up better than we would have, but we could have won few games and got some much needed experience.  

 

[SDS]

9 minutes ago, BuffalOhio said:

It's pretty glorious reading over here on this forum:  https://bruinsnation.proboards.com/thread/3630/playoffs-round-bruins-panthers-series?page=16

Love it!

“Who would have thought goaltending by Ulmark would take the Bruins out in round one.”

[rickshaw]

For all the talk of how great a leader Bergeron is, he led them to one Cup, which the Canucks choked away. And as great a guy he may be, he tagged along with many pricks along the way and watched his top rated team not win anything after 2011. 
 

He can have his Selke trophies. He should’ve led this team to multiple Cups. Historically this group, this core, ultimately choked many times. I for one, love it!

[Pimlach]

4 minutes ago, rickshaw said:

For all the talk of how great a leader Bergeron is, he led them to one Cup, which the Canucks choked away. And as great a guy he may be, he tagged along with many pricks along the way and watched his top rated team not win anything after 2011. 
 

He can have his Selke trophies. He should’ve led this team to multiple Cups. Historically this group, this core, ultimately choked many times. I for one, love it!

I actually think they overachieved to win that much for that long.  

Bergeron (0.8 PPG) and Marchand (0.9 PPG) are not the the dominant scorers that past multi-cup winning teams have had.   Chara was big part of it as was great goaltending (Thomas/Rask).   

Other than that they have a endless stream of hard working grinders.  

Pasta and McAvoy are their future to build on.  

[Kristian]

Right.
 

Been spending the last hour reading through comments ln various Youtube highligts of the Bruins choking their season away, and I have to say - with a severe risk of sounding petty - Good GRIEF, seeing their suffering and whining makes an already awesome result even more fabulous! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, ... said:

I think these deficiencies will work themselves out over the course of the next season.

Suddenly the Greenway acquisition makes sense...

[Flashsabre]

I’m confused. Is Bob Essensa only a genius goaltending coach in the regular season and a terrible one in the playoffs?

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, BuffalOhio said:

It's pretty glorious reading over here on this forum:  https://bruinsnation.proboards.com/thread/3630/playoffs-round-bruins-panthers-series?page=16

Love it!

Actually seems like pretty level-headed analysis in the wake of a loss.  I saw very little wailing and gnashing of teeth.

[Doohicksie]

50 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Other than that they have a endless stream of hard working grinders.  

Pasta and McAvoy are their future to build on.  

In the Bruins thread @BuffalOhio linked, they stated Pasta and McAvoy are not hard working grinders ("warriors" was the term they used but I took it to mean the same thing).

[Taro T]

14 hours ago, Thorny said:

Modo must be livid 

Maybe.

But expect he's still pretty happy today with his hometown team rejoining the SHL after several years in the lower tier.  And he's probably getting some satisifaction from the series losing game being on Swayman and not his boy Ullmark.

[French Collection]

26 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I’m confused. Is Bob Essensa only a genius goaltending coach in the regular season and a terrible one in the playoffs?

Montgomery may get the Adams, Bergeron may get the Selke and Ullmark may get the Vezina. The team won the President’s Trophy but it is still feels like a failed season.

[French Collection]

Panthers/Leafs tickets going on sale, Panthers restrict sale to US residents only.

Good for them to try and get Cat fans only.

Leafs fans will pay anything on the secondary market for tickets, so expect some Leaf blowers.