2015 Stanley Cup playoffs

It hasn't been as fun for me as a fan, as I'd like. I mean, I love the fact that they step up with their backs against the wall. Brassard and Nash, with JT Miller a part of the top line now, FINALLY stepped up yesterday.

What worries me is that you can't expect to be able to pull rabbits out of your hat every time this way. It would have been better if they hadn't put themselves into win-or-go-home situations in the last two series. Sometimes you lose those games even if you outplay your opponent.

Tampa is really impressive, but they are not as deep as the Rangers. Victor Hedman is better than any single defenseman the Rangers have. The Triplets line is crazy good, and has played better than any line the Rangers have. They are speedy, keep coming at you and their passing is so crisp. They work the puck in deep, manage to get the defense to collapse on them, and then ALWAYS find an open man in the slot. The Stamkos line has been really good too -- I have a lot of respect for Stamkos. He has played this whole series like he really wants it. He was the one guy who stood out for Tampa in that mess yesterday. Maybe Ryan Callahan, too, but he hasn't been on the whole series. Beyond that, though, Tampa has a lot of filler.

The Rangers, on the other hand, are really deep. JT Miller has spent parts of these playoffs as a fourth line player, and yesterday he was a huge part of their first line. When I look up and down their lineup, there are only a few players I would choose to upgrade from -- Marty St. Louis has not been good at all these playoffs. Dan Boyle bugs me. He sets up a lot of offense, but he is responsible for way too many 2 on 1s and breakaways for the other teams. The fourth line is weak -- with James Sheppard in the line up because Zuccarello is out and Tanner Glass. Dom Moore is amazing, though. He is the only one on the team who consistently wins face offs, and he has been a relentless forechecker. Even with the step down in actual talent, though, that line has played its butts off and has been a real annoyance for Tampa -- and Sheppard even got a goal crashing the net yesterday. ... It was almost Tanner Glass' goal, which made me laugh.

Yeah, it has been entertaining. Agree with you guys. But damn, why can't they just win without the dramatics?

 

The series out west has been insanely good -- you are right, a much better series. That is no indictment of the Rangers-Lightning, though. Too many laughers for both teams in the Rangers-Lightning series, but it still has been a pretty good series, because the momentum shifted dramatically a few times and now we are looking at another elimination game. I can see being way more into this series as a fan of one of the teams, than if you have no rooting interest. But still, one thing that has made the series stand out a bit is that each team has had moments of looking way, way, way better than the other. ... to the other team adjusting and taking over. It has been more pronounced than most series, even.

 

I can see that. They are my team, so I am way biased. Besides that, I just find them an incredibly likable group of players.

I watched a lot of their regular season games. I found their play all season long way more entertaining than it has been so far in the playoffs. They were a ton of fun to root for this year. But the playoffs so far? They were not wowing anyone during the Pittsburgh series, and as great as the goaltending was in the Washington series, aside from Lundqvist, no one on the Rangers really stood out in that series. This series, Tampa has had better story lines. If I wasn't a fan rooting against Tampa, I'd have to say that the Johnson-Kucherov-Palat line has been way more entertaining from shift to shift than anything the Rangers have thrown out there.