The Stanley Cup Playoffs 2023: First Round GDT

[Zamboni]

36 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

The only thing I will be hoping for the remainder of the playoffs is that someone knocks Makar out for a few weeks.

[CallawaySabres]

Aho on Canes getting freaking crushed nonstop 🤣

Edited April 26, 2023 by CallawaySabres

[Porous Five Hole]

37 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

Aho on Canes getting freaking crushed nonstop 🤣

How many teeth did he lose tonight? 😬

[Zamboni]

Oilers looking motivated tonight 

Korpisalo pulled 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Zamboni

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I did pick then in my bracket to win it all, and they aren't bad. Idk what it is, maybe Florida is better than I thought, but they just don't seem as in sync as they did all season to my eyes. 

Florida has a pretty aggressive forecheck so they do break up a lot of plays and have a way of causing mayhem (especially Tkachuk) but overall I'd say the Bruins are pretty much in control of this series. Leafs series will be a different story. Hate the Leafs, but they have more talent and (dare I say it) ROR. Goaltending might be the difference there. 

[nucci]

I'm going to start out that I'm a grumpy old man....when did hockey broadcasts become unwatchable? It's all talking and no play by play. 3 people just chatting during the action. Playoff hockey is great, crowds going nuts and these idiots are just talking during . Then a goal is scored and they stop and say...and it's in. Come on. They need to watch old HNIC of Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin. Also, listen to RJ once in a while.  ESPN puts too much on the screen. Pics of 5 players and the amount of ice time. Highlighting the player with the puck on the PP. Unnecessary. Ok, I'm done. 

[mjd1001]

2 hours ago, nucci said:

I'm going to start out that I'm a grumpy old man....when did hockey broadcasts become unwatchable? It's all talking and no play by play. 3 people just chatting during the action. Playoff hockey is great, crowds going nuts and these idiots are just talking during . Then a goal is scored and they stop and say...and it's in. Come on. They need to watch old HNIC of Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin. Also, listen to RJ once in a while.  ESPN puts too much on the screen. Pics of 5 players and the amount of ice time. Highlighting the player with the puck on the PP. Unnecessary. Ok, I'm done. 

I like to not think of myself as THAT old (in my 40's) but I agree with you on the above.

To 2nd that, the first round series are too long.  When the playoffs started, I was all ready to watch as many games as possible, sit back without much of a rooting interest and enjoy some hockey. And overall a lot of the games have been good. BUT, I'm already at the point of 'move this along' and 'I'm ready for the 2nd round'.

First round series should be 5 games, not 7....2nd round I could go either way. Games every other day with no exception.  Lets find a way to not drag this out until possibly the middle of June.

[Wyldnwoody44]

1 minute ago, mjd1001 said:

I like to not think of myself as THAT old (in my 40's) but I agree with you on the above.

To 2nd that, the first round series are too long.  When the playoffs started, I was all ready to watch as many games as possible, sit back without much of a rooting interest and enjoy some hockey. And overall a lot of the games have been good. BUT, I'm already at the point of 'move this along' and 'I'm ready for the 2nd round'.

First round series should be 5 games, not 7....2nd round I could go either way. Games every other day with no exception.  Lets find a way to not drag this out until possibly the middle of June.

That would mean less revenue, so no way that will happen. I think what makes the Cup so special is that it is 4 rounds of heavy, hard hitting hockey. It really is a war, gotta stay healthy and competetitive for 2 months or so. 

[Marvin]

4 hours ago, nucci said:

I'm going to start out that I'm a grumpy old man....when did hockey broadcasts become unwatchable? It's all talking and no play by play. 3 people just chatting during the action. Playoff hockey is great, crowds going nuts and these idiots are just talking during . Then a goal is scored and they stop and say...and it's in. Come on. They need to watch old HNIC of Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin. Also, listen to RJ once in a while.  ESPN puts too much on the screen. Pics of 5 players and the amount of ice time. Highlighting the player with the puck on the PP. Unnecessary. Ok, I'm done. 

Welcome back.

I am with you.  Find some old games on YouTube and marvel that the announcers are actually announcing the game.

[DarthEbriate]

5 hours ago, nucci said:

I'm going to start out that I'm a grumpy old man....when did hockey broadcasts become unwatchable? It's all talking and no play by play. 3 people just chatting during the action. Playoff hockey is great, crowds going nuts and these idiots are just talking during . Then a goal is scored and they stop and say...and it's in. Come on. They need to watch old HNIC of Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin. Also, listen to RJ once in a while.  ESPN puts too much on the screen. Pics of 5 players and the amount of ice time. Highlighting the player with the puck on the PP. Unnecessary. Ok, I'm done. 

Let's rant!

Those folks had to announce for radio and tell the story on the ice. The TV production and ice-side reporters and graphics on screen that you have to speak to for the viewer is completely different than even 10 years ago. It has be constant visual stimulation now. (I love stats on the screen in between play, but despise bells and whistles during play and am especially annoyed by in-arena music spilling seconds past a faceoff and yelling goal details during play.)

The thing I find most annoying is when an announcer says "We'll let the audience take it from here on out...." Dunleavy did that fairly recently. But he said it with about 0:03 left to go. By the time he shut up, the foghorn was going off and he had to announce that the Sabres won. If you're going to let the fans tell it from here on out, do it for the entire final 45 seconds or so.

ESPN+/ESPN broadcast did something early on in their resumed broadcasts where the announcers would just stay quiet for a minute in the 1st period to hear the sounds of the game. It was really lovely. I'd pay an extra $1/year for a stream where you could get only the arena sound (not the players' mics feeds, I don't need the constant swearing while the 3rd announcer tries to talk over them.)

[French Collection]

16 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Let's rant!

Those folks had to announce for radio and tell the story on the ice. The TV production and ice-side reporters and graphics on screen that you have to speak to for the viewer is completely different than even 10 years ago. It has be constant visual stimulation now. (I love stats on the screen in between play, but despise bells and whistles during play and am especially annoyed by in-arena music spilling seconds past a faceoff and yelling goal details during play.)

The thing I find most annoying is when an announcer says "We'll let the audience take it from here on out...." Dunleavy did that fairly recently. But he said it with about 0:03 left to go. By the time he shut up, the foghorn was going off and he had to announce that the Sabres won. If you're going to let the fans tell it from here on out, do it for the entire final 45 seconds or so.

ESPN+/ESPN broadcast did something early on in their resumed broadcasts where the announcers would just stay quiet for a minute in the 1st period to hear the sounds of the game. It was really lovely. I'd pay an extra $1/year for a stream where you could get only the arena sound (not the players' mics feeds, I don't need the constant swearing while the 3rd announcer tries to talk over them.)

We were spoiled with having great play by play people in the past. This is recent but Jim Hughson was one of my favourite PxP guys. He made the HNIC broadcast sound like a national broadcast instead of a Leaf blowing convention.

I think the broadcasters are trying to appeal to a younger audience by trying visual stimulation like name tags, puck tracks (I like it for golf), stats and more stats.

It’s like I said about arenas, I am there to watch hockey, not sit in the bar or taking selfies and whatnot.

Some of the young people I know don’t want to watch a 2-3 hour game, they just want the highlights. Maybe they are not die hard fans that want to absorb every moment, or their time is better spent on other things.

I know DD is not the best but he growing on me and I am welcoming him into my Sabres fandom rather than turning the sound off.

My 2 cents.

[klos1963]

6 hours ago, nucci said:

I'm going to start out that I'm a grumpy old man....when did hockey broadcasts become unwatchable? It's all talking and no play by play. 3 people just chatting during the action. Playoff hockey is great, crowds going nuts and these idiots are just talking during . Then a goal is scored and they stop and say...and it's in. Come on. They need to watch old HNIC of Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin. Also, listen to RJ once in a while.  ESPN puts too much on the screen. Pics of 5 players and the amount of ice time. Highlighting the player with the puck on the PP. Unnecessary. Ok, I'm done. 

You stopped yelling at kids on your lawn enough to post this rant?

I can attest to the fact that he is old and grumpy. 

 

[Marvin]

28 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

You stopped yelling at kids on your lawn enough to post this rant?

I can attest to the fact that he is old and grumpy. 

 

I was grumpy before I got old.  Does that help?

[PerreaultForever]

4 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

That would mean less revenue, so no way that will happen. I think what makes the Cup so special is that it is 4 rounds of heavy, hard hitting hockey. It really is a war, gotta stay healthy and competetitive for 2 months or so. 

Exactly. It's a war, and depth, endurance and wearing down the opposition is part of it. In part, survival is how you move on. They're not wrong when they say it's the hardest team trophy to win in pro sports. With the number of teams the league has (and maybe more coming) I wouldn't shorten the playoffs in any way. imo if someone is already "tired of round one" they're either not that big of a hockey fan or just jealous that their Sabres aren't involved. 

Personally I'd prefer mixing things up more and a 1-16 seeding league wide. Team rivalries are good and all that but variation in the match ups is more fun too. Maybe the wildcards should be league wide too. idk, I just love hockey playoffs. Even with the crap refs. (Makar 2 min Foligno 5 min bs and more)

 

[PerreaultForever]

7 hours ago, nucci said:

I'm going to start out that I'm a grumpy old man....when did hockey broadcasts become unwatchable? It's all talking and no play by play. 3 people just chatting during the action. Playoff hockey is great, crowds going nuts and these idiots are just talking during . Then a goal is scored and they stop and say...and it's in. Come on. They need to watch old HNIC of Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin. Also, listen to RJ once in a while.  ESPN puts too much on the screen. Pics of 5 players and the amount of ice time. Highlighting the player with the puck on the PP. Unnecessary. Ok, I'm done. 

I agree that ESPN puts too much crap on screen but here's something I do sometimes you can give a try. Get set up for the game, turn the sound OFF and put some of your favourite tunes on. Sit back and watch the game. Thing is you really have to focus and watch the game. You don't get to look out the window or around the house/apartment you have to pay attention and watch everything. It actually makes for a very intense and immersed experience, and your music is going to make you happier than their voices. 

[Marvin]

39 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Exactly. It's a war, and depth, endurance and wearing down the opposition is part of it. In part, survival is how you move on. They're not wrong when they say it's the hardest team trophy to win in pro sports. With the number of teams the league has (and maybe more coming) I wouldn't shorten the playoffs in any way. imo if someone is already "tired of round one" they're either not that big of a hockey fan or just jealous that their Sabres aren't involved. 

Personally I'd prefer mixing things up more and a 1-16 seeding league wide. Team rivalries are good and all that but variation in the match ups is more fun too. Maybe the wildcards should be league wide too. idk, I just love hockey playoffs. Even with the crap refs. (Makar 2 min Foligno 5 min bs and more)

 

I personally would prefer 1-8 in the conference, whence they should play a balanced conference schedule of 4 games per team -- unlikely because of travel in the west.

For those of us who remember playing Vancouver in round 1, I am not for league-wide playoff seeding.  Game 4 from 1980 is on YouTube.  Anyone else remember being red-eyed the next morning?

Edited April 26, 2023 by Marvin
Found game.

[Taro T]

55 minutes ago, Marvin said:

I personally would prefer 1-8 in the conference, whence they should play a balanced conference schedule of 4 games per team -- unlikely because of travel in the west.

For those of us who remember playing Vancouver in round 1, I am not for league-wide playoff seeding.  Game 4 from 1980 is on YouTube.  Anyone else remember being red-eyed the next morning?

Still say that the proper way to run the playoffs is a modification of what they did shortly after the Sabres came into the league.  Have the top 4 in each division make the playoffs, 5-8 can go golfing early.  1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3.

After that, play within conference with the higher remaining seed from each division hosting the lower seed from the other division.

Round 3, do the same, but now you're having the top remaining seed from each conference hosting the lower seed from the other conference.

Finals.  The 2 remaining teams battle it out.  If they both had the same seed from their division way back when this all started, then the team with more RS points gets games 1, 2, and 5 and 7 if necessary.  If they had different seeds (1 v 3, 2, 4, 3, v 4, etc.) the higher seed gets the home ice advantage regardless of RS points.

This has several advantages over the current format.  The biggest: if the Bruins and the Sabres are the 2 best teams in the league, they aren't forced to play each other in the 2nd round; that can wait until the Finals.  Shouldn't the 2 best teams play each other in the Finals?

2.  You will definitely start to get some matchups you don't normally see in the 2nd and 3rd rounds as the teams go out of their division and conference sooner than with the current system (neglecting that in the current system the WCs could find themselves within either in conference division).  It increases travel SLIGHTLY over the current format, but not significantly as at most you are adding 2 extra cross conference series and about 50% of the time you'll only be adding 1 extra cross conference series.

3.  You have the possibility of seeing a true battle of teams that TRULY hate each other in the Finals.  Wouldn't Boston Buffalo or Buffalo Otterland be fun?  How about Boston Moe-ray-all, a "Subway Series," the battle of Pennsyltucky, or the battle of Alberta.  Any of those would have the intensity ramped up to an 11 automatically.

The only thing that is doesn't work ideally with is March Madness style playoff brackets where you know for sure which pair of potential opponents the team your team will face will come from long before the games are played.  To that, the NFL doesn't know which team will play which in the Divisional round as that is totally dependent upon which teams win in the Wild Card round; and it doesn't seem to affect interest there.  So, wgaf?

And again, shouldn't we want to see the 2 best teams in the Finals?  IMHO, the answer is a resounding yes.  And this format is the only one that insures that should those 2 best teams have been at least one of the best 2 in their own division through the RS that they can in fact meet in the Finals.  No other format does that.  And this insures against 1 division having their top teams with skewed results from the RS due to either having (relatively) very good teams at the bottom of the division or several truly awful teams at the bottom getting rewarded or punished for the other teams in their division.  All the teams in the division will have their results skewed in a like manner, and seeding in the 3rd and 4th rounds goes by divisional seeding 1st and then RS points so a team doesn't get automatically get rewarded for being from a bad division or automatically punished for being from a good one.

My 2 cents.

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Taro T

[thewookie1]

I’d be happy with 1-8 conference like they had before. Give Division leaders 1,2 and the rest are a free for all in the East or West respectively. Rivalries will still occur plenty often but playoff seeding won’t be decided by November.

[Zamboni]

I would be a fan of a little bit more straightforward seeding the way it used to be.

 

although it would take money out of the pockets… Unless the price of tickets went up of course… But I would be a fan of the first round being the best of three, the second round being the best of the five, and the third and final round being the best of seven. 
so chalk that up to… Things that will never happen 😂

[Eleven]

53 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

seeding the way it used to be.

They have used every system imaginable, including a straight 1-16, so which system do you mean?

Personally, I liked one team coming out of each division, even though it wasn't great for us here in Sabreland.

[Pimlach]

Boston has a way of playing that doesn’t ever change much from coach to coach. 

How much of their success attributable to expectations and culture?  

Talent wise, are they as good as their record? 

[Claude Balls]

Ray Ferraro is clueless. Said that goal from Bennett was deflected. It wasn't touched by anyone. Totally clean wrister that beat Ullmark. 

He may be married to Donnies sister, but he is a horrible announcer. Not to mention, he has the worst Canadian accent on Earth. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Claude Balls

[Claude Balls]

Wow, Emily Kaplan just asked the Toucan what they should do after Florida gets scrappy after the whistle. His response was worldwide *****. He says, we've never responded or played to that all year. We are always in control. If Marchand was Pinocchio, his big ass nose would easily reach to Provincetown. And he says it with a straight face. Gotta admit, dude has a great interview game. 

[Slack_in_MA]

53 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Boston has a way of playing that doesn’t ever change much from coach to coach. 

How much of their success attributable to expectations and culture?  

Talent wise, are they as good as their record? 

They’re just pretty solid up and down the lineup, they have an identity, defensive structure, very good goaltending, and players who don’t get pushed around (and push back). And a culture of winning.

[PromoTheRobot]

Samson scores on Linus. Sabre-on-Sabre violence.