SCF: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Carolina Hurricanes

[Joe S.]

I didn't play close attention to the canes but am I right to think that this is not a team of dirty players like Florida?

 

[herman]

I didn't play close attention to the canes but am I right to think that this is not a team of dirty players like Florida?

They’re like a successful version of a Dubas team if that makes any sense. Built bottom up on a foundation of puck hounding first (many years of spray and pray hockey), that added skill, instead of top down (Dubas got skill first and then tried to instill more fetch in the Leafs). They don’t do the between whistles stuff unless dragged into it.

 

[cw]

I didn't watch a second of the finals but taking a quick look at the stats - Eichel had 0 goals in the finals and 2 overall? This doesn't get any scrutiny? Well I guess that's the advantage of playing in such a hot market where no one gives a shit.

Eichel and his line were decent in the first two rounds. He started to tail off against Colorado.
Karlsson getting hurt in game 5 hurt their 2nd line in the final
They moved Stone up from the 3rd line to the first to try to help. He did help some. But the 3rd line missed Stone.

I thought Staal was a decent selection for the Conn Smythe. Sure, some others deserved consideration. But his faceoffs along with his scoring and two way play really hurt Vegas. (I missed a bunch of the game last night)

I've always liked Brind'amour. Happy for him and the Canes - they deserved it.

 

[mr grieves]

They’re like a successful version of a Dubas team if that makes any sense. Built bottom up on a foundation of puck hounding first (many years of spray and pray hockey), that added skill, instead of top down (Dubas got skill first and then tried to instill more fetch in the Leafs). They don’t do the between whistles stuff unless dragged into it.

What stands out, from where I stand as a Leafs fan, is how steadily they worked away at it, over an ownership change, couple-to-few GMs, and several disappointments. And yet that doesn’t come at the expense of managerial agility, as evidenced by how quickly they pivoted from Rantanen to everything they netted with those assets.

 

[herman]

I will continue to bang the drum for:
High slot redirections against set DZ
Counter rush offense from your own set DZ
Generate forecheck turnovers on entry

 

[herman]

What stands out, from where I stand as a Leafs fan, is how steadily they worked away at it, over an ownership change, couple-to-few GMs, and several disappointments. And yet that doesn’t come at the expense of managerial agility, as evidenced by how quickly they pivoted from Rantanen to everything they netted with those assets.

Much of it was not necessarily by design on their part as their circumstances dictated they had to do things a bit differently. Establishing a firm and consistent foundation with Rod and then layering on just really smart transactions and tweaking their play to leverage the influx of talent did the trick.

They also benefited from a very soft path through to the final, much like Vegas did, as many of the regular contenders washed out from superstars succumbing to Four Nations and Olympics fatigue. Minimal wear and tear from not having to fight through the likes of the Bruins/Lightning/Panthers goes a long way in the playoffs marathon.

 

[dappleganger]

Overall it was a very weird year for the NHL. I'm not sure we will see this type of situation where we had such of turnover of teams that went from contenders to not (and vice versa) again anytime soon.

 

[Andy007]

They also benefited from a very soft path through to the final, much like Vegas did, as many of the regular contenders washed out from superstars succumbing to Four Nations and Olympics fatigue. Minimal wear and tear from not having to fight through the likes of the Bruins/Lightning/Panthers goes a long way in the playoffs marathon.

I think this is also being overlooked- Since 2019, in the playoffs Carolina was 1-8 against Florida, 1-8 against Boston and 1-4 against Tampa. All these teams we have, comparably, fared quite a bit better against. Makes me wonder what Toronto could have done in some past playoffs had they not been subject to any of those teams, like Carolina this year.