2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Overtime again? The WNBA must be thrilled.

 

I hate how easy it has been to be a Golden Knights fan.

 

Dallas lost both of its previous Game 1's in overtime and advanced each time. Yawn.

 

I was there when McCaw owned the team, and the grumbles were that local ownership would be so much better.

They weren’t terrible at the start, but they are now. I remember the story that late in his tenure, Gillis all of a sudden had the old man as his office neighbour.

 

Because when you make $10.5 million a season with three other elite offensive players on the roster in the Centre of the Hockey Universe that hasn't had a Stanley Cup parade on Yonge Street in more than 50 years, the expectations are unrealistic. At that point, with many people, it's Cup or failure.

Didn't say I agreed with that line of thinking, either. But there it is.

 

I guess I’m glad you didn’t say you agreed, because it’s an insane way to think.

I’ve been watching Tavares since he was barely 15. He’s not scoring 140 points like he did in junior, but I think he’s the same as he was when he got here to Toronto. And his numbers are just as good as they’ve been, in less ice time.

He also didn’t give himself that contract.

 

Cam Neely is my favourite player ever and I’ve watched him a ton. And have also watched Tavares a ton. “Not dissimilar to Cam Neely” is not something I thought I’d ever read about Tavares.

Tavares’ puck control and protection have always been great and still are. If you want to compare him to a guy like a Thornton there, sure. And he got 36 this year, pretty much as much as ever got in New York.

And I can’t stand when people point to the money he, or most anybody, makes. He didn’t sign himself.

 

Neely was the first guy I thought of because whenever I saw the Isles play it seemed Tavares was always getting possession of the puck in a scramble near the front of the net and scoring. That’s the comparison and I can’t say I saw a lot of NYI games living in Calgary. Same with Neely, he won puck battles and scored. Different methods but same result.
I admire Tavares as a player but he’s not the dominator that he was with New York but I would take him on the Flames in an instant. For whatever reason I expected him to be closer to 100 points a season.

 

It doesn't help that he's a Toronto-area native either who turned down more years from the Islanders to head home. If he helps end the Cup drought, it's an all-time feelgood story. If he doesn't, he sucks. It looks like he's going to suck. (I don't agree with that either and completely understood why he left the Island...but it's a reminder there's only one Sid the Kid. Has anyone ever had more pressure placed upon him than Crosby in the 2010 Olympics?)

 

Those last couple of minutes by the Panthers were damned impressive. They were playing 5 on 6 and had the Canes looking like they were trying to kill a power play. Great hustle and aggressiveness on defense to keep the puck in the Carolina zone for pretty much the entire final 60 or 70 seconds.

 

I've seen this before. Oh yeah ... it was when Mo was behind the Carolina Hurricanes' bench in 2002.