2018-19 NHL thread

In my junior hockey days a kid on our team, whose team is still in the playoffs, was being chirped at during warmup by a goon on the other team. My guy, one of the top players in junior hockey, skates by him and says, "if you are ever on the ice at the same time as me, I will fight you." Ovie would take the same approach with this guy.

 

Meanwhile out west, Colorado played it's best game of the series in blanking San Jose. Down to best of three heading back to the Tank.

 

Boston and Columbus seem headed for seven. Maybe Carolina doesn't want to sweep ... all that time off didn't do the Islanders any favors.

 

But it didn't hurt Columbus.

 

Good point.

 

The Islanders played well in the first two games. The Canes were lucky as hell to get out of there 2-0. Luck plays such a factor.

 

Trotz complained about too much time off.
DeBoer complained about too many games/OTs.
It's hell being a pro player.

 

As many players as the Whalercanes have nicked up - or worse - time off should help. You think Brind'Amour is going to let them get soft?

Except for TVR, this team could benefit a lot from a bit of a break in the health department.

 

Agreed, though not sure "lucky as hell" is quite where I would go with it. The funny bounce off the boards helped set up the winning goal in Game 1. Whalercanes did little right in Game 2 except keep working and actually winning the game.

Thing is, that has largely been what this team has been all about since the holidays. But since we're in the playoff stretch, it's a story throughout North America rather than a fourth-page story in the Triangle behind Duke's freshmen, what has made Chapel Hill thrive and why NCSU can't be more like the blue schools.

 

When you are thoroughly outplayed and you win that game, you are lucky to win it.

Here’s a quote from a Hurricane player calling it a horseshoe up the ass game.
Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Hurricanes rally to stun Isles

 

Carolina hockey is like the Olympics. Everyone there cares about it for four weeks. Then the playoffs end and they return to obscurity and being outcheered by opposing fans in many of their own games.

 

The key will be getting to the postseason more than once every few seasons.

Now that the team has been in Raleigh for 20 seasons, there are roots. Young people have grown up with the team there. There is too much laundry of the opposing colors during regular-season games, but it could take another generation or more until that phases out.

The one issue that cannot be ignored that the marketing bunch with the organization has worked to perfection: It might be a college market, but there's only one NHL team in the area. They've managed to take people who literally live and die with college affiliations and unite more of them into pulling for the sole hockey team.

Strange stat: With one more win against the Islanders, this would be an organization that has reached the playoffs four times in the last 18 seasons ... and will have reached the conference finals each time.