2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs (predictions and discussions)

He gave up 3.83 goals per game and had an .882 save percentage in that final. He was awful.

The Blackhawks bailed him out by winning games 6-5, 7-4 and 4-3.

 

Geez, that Philly goaltending seems so long ago but it's not. Even pre-Bryz era. ;D

 

That's more a historical thing in San Jose. They've always been a little soft and have never had a true goon.

Coaching? Sutter took them to a couple of conference finals. Wilson I was never totally sold on, but YMMV.

 

With regards to the Sharks, *somebody's* got to lose a lot. There aren't enough Cups given out for any one good team to be guaranteed of winning one.

 

Craig Coxe and Kevin Evans disagree. ;D

Oh, Link Gaetz doesn't want to be forgotten.

 

I was going to cite the Linkster, but then I'd have to say their last great goaltender was Arturs Irbe ...

 

I don't know what the Sharks can do, perhaps change coaches and use the Boyle $$ to upgrade the defense. Maybe there would be a taker for Burns but at his age, would the return really be worth it? Same goes for Marleau....it seems as though Hertl, Couture and Neito and to a lesser extent Pavelski are the next wave, so can they really blow it up?

Good news for San Jose is the last team that blew a 3-0 lead won the Cup the next year.

 

Ben Eager made a fool of himself in the 11 playoffs.

 

He did, but like any roster piece, it's about bringing in the right individual.

 

Yeah, but it's been 10 full years now of playoff shortcomings with that talent-loaded roster. Something isn't working right. The parts may be great, but they aren't working so great together. Most underachieving team in the league. Maybe Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Vlasic, Boyle, et. al will find their karma someplace else. Ditto for the coaches and GM. Something's obviously not working and this has to be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

San Jose has a very loyal, devoted fan base. But even their patience has limits and this really pushes it.

 

If this were the odd occurrence, you could argue for keeping the core of the team together, change coaches and hope for better results next go-around. But it's not the odd example. We go through this every single year with this underachieving team. It's been 7 times in the past 10 playoffs that they've lost to a team seeded lower. Over and over and over again. It can't be all coincidence.

2004: Lost three home games in conference final to Calgary

2006: Blew 2-0 lead to lose to Edmonton in conference semis

2007: Lost 4-2 to Detroit in conference semis

2008: Fell behind 3-0 before losing in six games to Dallas in conference semis

2009: Won Presidents' Trophy; upset by #8 Anaheim in first round

2010: Swept in conference final by Chicago

2011: Nearly blow 3-0 series lead to Detroit before winning Game 7; lost to Vancouver in conference final

2012: Lost meekly to St. Louis in five games in first round

2013: Lost in Game 7 to Los Angeles in second round

2014: Blow 3-0 series lead, lose to LA in first round

Maybe one time in 10 years have they met or exceeded expectations in the playoffs.

 

On a much more positive note, what an awesome performance by the Minnesota Wild to win Game 7 on the road in Colorado. The Wild had twice blown leads in the final minute of regulation and lost in overtime earlier in the series. On Wednesday, they trailed on four different occasions before tying the game in the last three minutes and winning on Nino Niederreiter's goal in OT.

Along the way, they lost goaltender Darcy Kuemper to an injury, meaning Ilya Bryzgalov had to come in cold and play the final 15 minutes.

It's the Wild's first playoff series win since 2003 (when they also won at Colorado in OT of Game 7 and then beat Vancouver on the road in 7 to reach the conference final).