2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs thread

Florida has dominated them. Igor is ridiculous.

 

Sorry Ragu. But this is a great series and deserves to continue to at least six, if not seven.

 

Thx. My tension has definetly ratched up watching these games. I went from feeling no sense of anxiety against Washington, to almost not caring against Carolina, to a ball of tension in the last few games. Florida has the puck in the Rangers end way too easily, and the Rangers can't clear it. Florida has owned the third periods.

The Rangers didn't deserve to win last night, and there are only so many games you can steal. They need to dig down and find something in themselves on Saturday. Igor has been amazing, Lafreniere has shown up to play and has taken the next step in his career, Goodrow has come out of nowhere and Trocheck is playing well. Fox is injured and trying to hide it, but he's trying.

Trouba has killed them with his play in spots. K'Andre Miller has had a tough time of it in this series, making mistakes. The big guns -- Zibanejad and Panarin, in particular -- have been anemic. They need them to have some big games if they want to move on. Panarin is back to feeding the narrative that he disappears in tough playoff series, and he is getting pushed off the puck really easily. I think Florida has him intimidated. And Zibanejad has looked terrible. To the point that I wonder if he is hurt. The OT goal was on him.

 

Yeah. I really admire that team, even though I want the Rangers to beat them. They have a nasty streak. After every goal, every whistle, there is a little extra shove or hit. The one guy I don't like is Sam Bennett, although I am pretty sure I would want him on my team. Oh, and Evan Rodrigues who is the same punk he was on Pittsburgh. Him, I wouldn't want to have to root for on my team. Verhaeghe is just a hockey player. He has been relentless, and obviously Sam Reinhart had a great year, and Tkachuk is himself. Great moment last night when Kreider and him were jawing after a whistle, and Kreider grabbed that mouth guard that is always dangling from Tkachuk's mouth and threw it into the stands.

I always knew Barkov is ridiculously good, but he is somehow even more of a beast that I realized. He's so big and strong and skilled. He may be the best player in the NHL in terms of all-around, game-controlling ability. Zibanejad doesn't look this overmatched against many teams. He's pretty big and fast himself, even though he plays with no nastiness. They are manhandling him, and last night he was playing timidly. It's so disappointing as a fan.

 

Ut-oh. Another two-goal lead for Edmonton.