Agree to disagree on that Dis. Outside of the Isles being the NY which means they get crazy to play the Rangers, I think the Pens are much better from top to bottom. And in the playoffs we'd be on the same emotional level as them. BUT with that said I don't think it will matter. Right now barring something crazy I think it is us and the Pens round 1 again...home ice TBD. Hopefully Malkin is still out. I would have felt better if they scored on the PP. Killing that and losing AGAIN in the last minute is a kick in the nuts. A least a SO L would have kept an ROW away from the Pens.
The next three games are teams out of the playoffs in Carolina, Buffalo and Columbus. They should be able to take care of business against those teams and lock up the second seed.
Does not matter who they play in the first round. I have a feeling this year's team will get bounced in the first round.
Yeah...I think 2 will be close. We still have the edge after getting a point, and having 4 of 6 at home with 3 against non playoff teams, and the 3 games against playoff potential teams are all at home.
You guys WAY overrate the Isles. I get it because they play well against us since every Ranger game is their SCF, but they are not as good or talented as Pitt, and their goalie is who the F knows. I much rather play the Isles, but again it looks like the Pens almost for sure after tonight.
I think the Pens are better as well but the games are not played on paper. I also think the Isles play the Rangers especially well and a 7 game series vs the Isles will be a lot worse than a 7 game series vs the Pens. I know you can only focus on 1 round at a time but I just think coming out of that series the Rangers would be totally drained. Neither match up is easy even if the Isles series looks easier on paper which I agree it does. I don't want to play them dude.
If the Isles have their backup in the 1st then i'd certainly lean towards them but all things equal i'd rather avoid them. Pitt wouldn't be any walk in the park however.
I'm negative on this team but stating Pitt is better probably was one of the dumbest comments I've heard on this board in a while. Pitt is an example of a team that is completely not built for the playoffs. They are tiny up front. They have 5 forwards under 6 feet. Only two forwards over 6'3. One is out in Malkin. Another stinks in Fehr. Their best player Crosby has turned into a lousy playoff performer who is easily taken off his game because he's got a temper and he whines constantly. I would love for the Rangers to play Pitt in the first round because they are one of the few teams I don't consider any threat. They are also incredibly dumb with their discipline the first time anything doesn't go right. People in the media raving about Hagelin. Please. Same story as always with him. You hit him hard a couple of times, he vanishes. Just like Nash does. I'm starting to buy in just a little bit that the Rangers are completely bored. Should be interesting to see what they do in the playoffs. I have no idea. They have not been impressive all season but as I have said for weeks now. If Staal and Nash step up, they are a different team. I've given up on Nash for the most part. That guy is a flat out pussy. Maybe Staal will be a playoff beast. I wonder if our dense fans have started to realize that whatever line Fast plays on, the line starts scoring. I look for him to take big step up next year and possibly approach 45-50 points. People forget he was a heck of a scorer in Europe. He got side-tracked with a bad ankle injury which set him back 2 years.
I hear you Dis, I just think the high end talent the Pens have (especially if Malkin comes back), combined with the Rangers "struggles" in their own end, combined with the Pens being due against us (we have knocked them out the past two seasons), combined with the Isles goalie being a HUGE question mark makes me feel I "rather" play the Isles, but we cannot control that so let the chips fall where they may. I think we are better than either team from A to Z, but I think the gap is larger against the Isles. And if the Isles were the Quebec Isles or Kansas City Isles we wouldn't even be having this discussion IMO. This is a NY thing, and the Isles get up for games against us and would sell their soles to beat us. On paper the Pens are better for sure. On paper we are better than both though...so let's hope paper holds true.... I just know the Pens have very good high end talent AND losing to the same team 3 straight playoffs is rare.
I don't agree with Mr. Negative often, but I actually agree with Step on the role Hags has played with the Pens. He was a big add for them. Not sure if he can do it in the playoffs, but his speed has really changed the dynamic in Pitt. His PK ability has as well. Hags and Kessel on the same line is a lot of speed. If Malkin comes back to complete that line combined with Hornqvist/Crosby/Kunitz those are two really good lines. I also like their top 4 on D with Daley, Maatta, Letang, and Dumoulin...and Schultz on the 3rd pair is solid as well. Their 3rd and 4th lines I don't love at all, but if Cullen and the kids play solid hockey, and MAF continues to play well, that is a dangerous team. AGAIN...we are better from A to Z and we are certainly deeper, but when you have high end top talent like the Pens do it is never a given in a 7 game series. Hopefully Malkin will miss the 1st round, but 6 weeks is late in round 1...so you never know. Would be a fun and dangerous series.
People crediting Hagelin in the media for the second goal are morons. He had nothing to do with it. Lundqvist had all day to clear the puck around the bounds. He fanned on it. Period.
Lundqvist just never has been and never will be a good puck handler. In that spot you have to reverse and go the other way with the puck away from the other team's forward. He went ahead with his first thought and it ended up being a disaster. I cringe when I see him come out for the puck and always have.
I agree and disagree dump. It was a bad decision/play by Hank...period. Without that there is no goal. BUT it was caused by Hags speed forcing Hank into a quick decision that he made the wrong choice on. So yeah if Hank makes the right play there is no goal and Hags doesn't get any credit. BUT Hags flying down there is what caused Hank to have to quickly make a decision...which was the wrong one. So from that POV Hags does deserve credit. I will also add, for anyone who watched the game, it was clear Kessel and Hags caused us major issues last night. Those guys were all over the ice. Their speed game really caused problems.
We'll beat the isles or pens in the first round. I'd rather play the pens even though they might be a tad better than the isles because the isle have 2 many cheap shot artists and with av leaving dylan glued to the bench that will be a brutal 6 or 7 game series physically that will take its till down the line. Brass is a good player for us but for gods sake can he stop taking the all the stick penalties. The one with a second left in regulation at the other half of the ice where he just takes a wild 1 hand swing that connected with the pens head for an OT PP was just ridiculous. Hank's needed to be better handling the puck forever but at this point he's just going to suck at it and should just stay in his net.
I would favor us in round 1 also mel...although I do think the Pens series would be pretty close to a coin flip series. I figure 1 of 2 on the road. 3 of 4 at home. That gives us 8 points, and an 11 point lead over the Pens. That would mean the Pens would need 11 of their final 14 points to get the 2 spot in the Met. Unlikely given their schedule (4 of their last 5 on the road), but the Caps won't need game 81 for sure AND the Flyers may not need game 82, so who knows.
