2023 Stanley Cup Finals: Florida vs Vegas

[Thorner]

13 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

The most amusing bit of evidence I encouter against the tank nowadays is how ridiculous guys like sneaky Joe or jeremy sound having to explicitly add to every discussion on the topic a disclaimer of how objectively correct they were to support it and how they definitely do not regret that part of the strategy, just every other possible facet of the rebuild that can in theory be judged

 

And the fact that this insistence is increasing in its tone of quiet desperation and faux certainty over time. Because we all know that the nature of real Truth is that over time, it needs to be MORE forcefully asserted, and its opposition more isolated/mocked/expunged from reasonable debate, made into caricatures to be derided, lest it be lost forever.  Definitely how truth works, rather than the exact opposite of the truth

Truth definitely doesn't entrench with time, settle calmly into what is obvious to any good faith observer, it needs frantic and fervent zealots to police discourse on the topic to make sure we all know that the tank was good actually 

No this pattern definitely doesn't mirror to other contentious topics

Ya man. The hoop-jumping you see must get hella tiring, like in seriousness. How can that be worth it

I thought the tank was a good decision. I was way, way f*ckin wrong. The end

..it’s really not that hard 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Thorny

[Eleven]

5 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Florida had won 8 straight on the road heading in

telling ya, Vegas is a different animal. Suspected Vegas vs Edmonton was the Cup for real and that may indeed be playing out 

I'm not counting the rats out based on one game.  Especially with the better goaltender.

[Thorner]

Just now, Eleven said:

I'm not counting the rats out based on one game.  Especially with the better goaltender.

I wouldn’t if I were you, either

But i picked Vegas in 5 so obv will stick with that. Could Florida win? As far as I know I’ve never been wrong 

f*ckin wrong, sure. But..

[Eleven]

54 minutes ago, Thorny said:

As far as I know I’ve never been wrong 

Just this.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Game 1 gitters got the best of the Panthers in the 3rd.  Vegas will discount them at their peril.

I strongly feel that whichever team wins game 2 will win the series.  I am inclined to think it will be the Panthers.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Sabres Fan in NS

[nfreeman]

25 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Game 1 gitters got the best of the Panthers in the 3rd.  Vegas will discount them at their peril.

I strongly feel that whichever team wins game 2 will win the series.  I am inclined to think it will be the Panthers.

Good to see ya, friend!

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, Marvin said:

 

IMHO, this is old thinking from back when home ice meant something.  In this era, both teams should assume that each splits in the other's barn and plan for 2-2 heading into game 5.

And the Game 5 winner is the strongest indicator of the series winner, iirc

[Marvin]

45 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Game 1 gitters got the best of the Panthers in the 3rd.  Vegas will discount them at their peril.

I strongly feel that whichever team wins game 2 will win the series.  I am inclined to think it will be the Panthers.

Once upon a time, I did an analysis of teams who won a best-of-7 series on spite of losing game 1 and in the 2-2-1-1-1 format.  The team with home ice advantage won the series about 75% of the time, while the team without home ice won the series a bit over 50% of the time.

1. The numbers go up for teams who win game 3 of a 1-1 series.  They are higher still for the teams who win game 5 of a 2-2 series.

2. It is amazing how many teams with home ice advantage who lose game 1 but win a series do it with LWWLWW or LWWLWLW, but other combinations are far less common.

3. For obvious reasons, the teams who win the series after losing game 1 are typically the team with home ice.  For the team without home ice, they usually go LWWWLW or LWWLWW.

[Taro T]

34 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Once upon a time, I did an analysis of teams who won a best-of-7 series on spite of losing game 1 and in the 2-2-1-1-1 format.  The team with home ice advantage won the series about 75% of the time, while the team without home ice won the series a bit over 50% of the time.

1. The numbers go up for teams who win game 3 of a 1-1 series.  They are higher still for the teams who win game 5 of a 2-2 series.

2. It is amazing how many teams with home ice advantage who lose game 1 but win a series do it with LWWLWW or LWWLWLW, but other combinations are far less common.

3. For obvious reasons, the teams who win the series after losing game 1 are typically the team with home ice.  For the team without home ice, they usually go LWWWLW or LWWLWW.

Yeah, game 2 is important (and sometimes you don't even get to game 5) but game 5 sure seems to typically be the most critical 1.

[Eleven]

Here you go, folks:  http://www.whowins.com

This site hasn't been redesigned since the Web as an infant, but it does have the stats.

 

[Marvin]

2 hours ago, Eleven said:

Here you go, folks:  http://www.whowins.com

This site hasn't been redesigned since the Web as an infant, but it does have the stats.

 

Thanks.  This is way better than the data I had to work with back when the Sabres were in the Aud.

[PerreaultForever]

12 hours ago, Marvin said:

As with back-diving contracts, the rules will change when a team like Buffalo does it.

Oh, wait!  The league already fabricated different rules for the Sabres in 2007 for the Tim Connolly situation.  So, like "No Goal" and "The Hole in the Goal," it is a case of situational ethics.

Do you honestly think the league has an anti Buffalo bias? That's some massively over inflated sense of importance for the franchise. I personally don't think the league cares much about Buffalo one way or the other. 

[PerreaultForever]

Eichel praised for his great defense. Will the nightmare never end............

https://www.nhl.com/news/jack-eichel-has-been-complete-package-for-vegas-golden-knights/c-344729990?tid=344544256

(in fairness, it's what Cassidy does. Hall got similar praise in Boston under Cassidy when he arrived)

[Marvin]

24 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Do you honestly think the league has an anti Buffalo bias? That's some massively over inflated sense of importance for the franchise. I personally don't think the league cares much about Buffalo one way or the other. 

In the case of back-diving contracts, it's not Buffalo, per se.  I don't think it's a coincidence that the league only decided against back-diving contracts once the Sabres signed Ehrhoff.  Once Comcast saw one of the little boys do a big boy thing, they, with the American hockey broadcast contract as a hammer, started lobbying for their elimination.  (Philly's GM was the first to complain.)  IMHO, if Ottawa, St. Louis, or any of other smaller market teams had done it, the result would have been the same.

On the other hand, allowing a team to allegedly stash players on IR until the playoffs is something they clearly allowed for Tampa Bay and Las Vegas, but specifically not Buffalo.  In 2007, the Sabres Tim Connolly on IR for almost the entire season and then 2 other players got hurt shortly before the trade deadline.  Darcy Regier said on WGR that the league told him and Golisano that any of the 3 players who did not play by game 82 would be barred from team facilities and contact with their teammates for the entire official first round.  When asked, Lindy Ruff bit his tongue on his radio show; he was clearly annoyed because, if nothing else, the Sabres and NHL medical staffs had no idea when Connolly would be fully healthy to play, if ever.  In this case, I absolutely will claim an anti-Buffalo bias with the league's inconsistent rules on player availability.  To claim otherwise is factually incorrect and demonstrably false.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Marvin

[bob_sauve28]

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Eichel praised for his great defense. Will the nightmare never end............

https://www.nhl.com/news/jack-eichel-has-been-complete-package-for-vegas-golden-knights/c-344729990?tid=344544256

(in fairness, it's what Cassidy does. Hall got similar praise in Boston under Cassidy when he arrived)

That trade is looking more and more like a win win for both teams. Wish Jack well, but glad we made the trade 

[sabremike]

On 6/4/2023 at 1:30 AM, Randall Flagg said:

The most amusing bit of evidence I encouter against the tank nowadays is how ridiculous guys like sneaky Joe or jeremy sound having to explicitly add to every discussion on the topic a disclaimer of how objectively correct they were to support it and how they definitely do not regret that part of the strategy, just every other possible facet of the rebuild that can in theory be judged

 

And the fact that this insistence is increasing in its tone of quiet desperation and faux certainty over time. Because we all know that the nature of real Truth is that over time, it needs to be MORE forcefully asserted, and its opposition more isolated/mocked/expunged from reasonable debate, made into caricatures to be derided, lest it be lost forever.  Definitely how truth works, rather than the exact opposite of the truth

Truth definitely doesn't entrench with time, settle calmly into what is obvious to any good faith observer, it needs frantic and fervent zealots to police discourse on the topic to make sure we all know that the tank was good actually 

No this pattern definitely doesn't mirror to other contentious topics

IMO the grandaddy of all the mistakes made by PSE was hiring a nasty piece of work like Tim Murray. The man was a perfect blend of arrogant and stupid, convinced he was always the smartest man in the room when in fact the exact opposite was true. Virtually everyone in the sport reveled in his complete and utter failure as he was one of the most obnoxious and least likeable people you could ever possibly imagine.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, sabremike said:

IMO the grandaddy of all the mistakes made by PSE was hiring a nasty piece of work like Tim Murray. The man was a perfect blend of arrogant and stupid, convinced he was always the smartest man in the room when in fact the exact opposite was true. Virtually everyone in the sport reveled in his complete and utter failure as he was one of the most obnoxious and least likeable people you could ever possibly imagine.

Didn't LaFontaine bring him on board?

[Zamboni]

Suck a bag of ***** Vegas. And simply red can lead the team.

[Marvin]

26 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Didn't LaFontaine bring him on board?

Yes.

[Randall Flagg]

8 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

Suck a bag of ***** Vegas. And simply red can lead the team.

First full period of hockey i've watched in a while. It looks like Florida is the team that sucks bags of ***** 

[rickshaw]

On 6/3/2023 at 7:55 PM, Wyldnwoody44 said:

F U and your back Stone. 

Everything about Vegas annoys me, including the city itself. 

I love the city but yeah, the league needs to do something about this over the Cap playoff hockey. I imagine Stone was ready a month before the playoffs and because they were fine in the standings they let him sit. This loophole needs closing. 

[Randall Flagg]

What a quick momentum shift 

[bunomatic]

Vegas is fortunate they don’t have the snake charmer in net.

[JohninMinn.]

Most dangerous lead in sports.

[Randall Flagg]

That check on Tkachuk probably should have put florida on the PP