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corona7 in a row can definitely be a fluke. Remember when the Sens went like 20-1 at the end of the season to squeak into the playoffs from an impossible position? Then they went back to playing exactly as they had all season and were out first round. A flukey 20+ game run that put them into the playoffs when they had no business being there. On paper Montreal is a very mediocre team. Their top point getter in the regular season was 50th in the league. I'll give you Price being a star, but I certainly wouldn't put him top 3 this past season and hasn't been top 3 in a few years.
I'll absolutely take a Montreal win, but Toronto certainly has the higher ceiling and if they didn't constantly choke in the playoffs they would have a much better chance of winning against Vegas and winning the cup.
spruitmWell, after 8 years in hockey, last 3 with the Red Wings, I’m moving on, retiring from the game. I’m sure I’ll miss it, but new opportunities ahead
coronaNot even done the 2nd period in a series tied 2-2 and the Vegas crowd is booing their own team? What shitty fans. Seriously, move that team to QC and they'll be sold out for the next decade even if they come in dead last every year.
BdoobzVegas L. Let us rejoice.
BdoobzVegas L. Let us rejoice.
SurfinCowI am so glad they are done, thank god. if they made another cup final i would be so pissed
coronaNot even done the 2nd period in a series tied 2-2 and the Vegas crowd is booing their own team? What shitty fans. Seriously, move that team to QC and they'll be sold out for the next decade even if they come in dead last every year.
coronaBummed MTL had a flukey run and made it to the semis. They honestly don't stand a chance against Vegas. Leafs or Jets both would have had a better shot at making the finals, and if there's one thing hockey fans can agree on it's fuck Vegas. A team that shouldn't exist in a city that shouldn't exist.
steezboxStill a fluke?
DeebieSkeebiesMontreals regular season record, not that it matters a whole lot now, wasn't the best either which is interesting. Reminds me of STL and their cup run a few years ago when they were in last place in the middle of Janurary or something like that. Good luck and god speed. Spoil the repeat for TBL.
ColoradoDogfartOk buddy thanks for the correction mr Gretzky
and your Tampa bay losers are gonna get smoked
DingoSeanThat was a lot of saves by TB...
.frenchyfor real. and honestly tampas goals werent even impressive. that .3 goal was just lucky IMO
DingoSeanWas less luck and more of a gift
DingoSeanWell, That got crooked quickly...
steezboxStill a fluke?
coronaYup. They put together an impressive 13 game run and are now right back to where they were in the regular season and are far outclassed in the finals. They're still a mediocre team that had a good stretch at the right time. Worse teams have had longer streaks so 13 games is not unheard of.
coronaYup. They put together an impressive 13 game run and are now right back to where they were in the regular season and are far outclassed in the finals. They're still a mediocre team that had a good stretch at the right time. Worse teams have had longer streaks so 13 games is not unheard of.
DingoSeanSorry dude. You don't fluke your way into the Stanley Cup finals. Getting punched in the dick by Tampa was always the threat any team who faced them Could have saw. There is no shame losing to a team that is that talented. Getting to the cup is always going to require some luck.. but you cannot ride it for 3 rounds.
You might as well call Vegas a fluke in 2018 for getting trashed by Washington... or Nashville in 2017 when Pittsburgh just ruined them...
This reminds me of the 96 finals... when (Quebec built a fucking powerhouse only to see it stolen by) Colorado, who just came in and swept Florida - a team nobody really saw as a serious title threat - but then they beat the best two teams in their conference as well as Raymond Borque on their way to the finals...
-arc-Not even mad if Habs lose now. Fuck that was an incredible game.
Reverse sweep incoming tho, jinxed by the Mayor of Tampa.
DingoSeanIf a reverse sweep happened right now, that would be the most 2021 shit ever.
-arc-I've already put $10 on Montreal to win the next game. Figured it's worth it if they win.
DingoSeanSorry dude. You don't fluke your way into the Stanley Cup finals. Getting punched in the dick by Tampa was always the threat any team who faced them Could have saw. There is no shame losing to a team that is that talented. Getting to the cup is always going to require some luck.. but you cannot ride it for 3 rounds.
You might as well call Vegas a fluke in 2018 for getting trashed by Washington... or Nashville in 2017 when Pittsburgh just ruined them...
This reminds me of the 96 finals... when (Quebec built a fucking powerhouse only to see it stolen by) Colorado, who just came in and swept Florida - a team nobody really saw as a serious title threat - but then they beat the best two teams in their conference as well as Raymond Borque on their way to the finals...
coronaMy issue with this argument is if they're such an amazing team, why were they barely mediocre during the regular season? It's not like they turned it around halfway through the season and starting playing amazing after a shit start (like Columbus), they were just consistently not that great.
If they come out as a dominant team through the regular season next year, then sure, they managed to get all the gears working at the exact right time and miraculously turned into a great team. If they go back to being in the middle/bottom of the pack then absolutely this was 100% a fluke run. Honestly a dozen good games in a row isn't unheard of. Remember the Sens not that long ago? By no means a good team and no chance in hell at making the playoffs but they put together 20+ excellent games in a row and squeaked in. It happens. It's hockey.
DingoSeanWell first of all, since when does the regular season mean jack-fuck-all once the playoffs start. It means nothing.
Not to mention, the season was shorter than normal, so the season means even less this year - but it did serve as a viable means of teams to jockey for position and to weed out the weaker squads.. whos to know if Montreal bumps up a few positions if you gave them an extra 26 games where they got to play outside of canada like on a normal year. I mean, combine January and March... they lost only 3 games in regulation during those two months combined. They had a shit April... but that was just one particularly bad month. They also had a TON of overtime losses... about half of which were with the backup goalie and some of those being shootouts that dont exist in playoff hockey.
They dont even need to be a top-regular season performer to make the playoffs again next year, much less be successful once there. Say they come back next year and get like a 6th or 7th seed and go out in the 1st or 2nd round... that still doesnt mean that they were a fluke this season. Might as well say that every team who makes the finals and then fails to win their division next year is a fluke... thats fuckin stupid. The Kings won 2 cups and went to the Conference finals over 3 years as an 8 seed a 5 seed, and a 6th seed and then didnt even qualify the next year. I guess they are a fluke because they failed to do particularly well during the season?
Winning a bunch of games during the regular season is one thing... any team can pull off a two week stretch when they are playing different teams most every night and everyone is traveling and just trying to stay healthy and rotating goaltenders and defensive pairings and shit... but to do it during the playoffs when you cant hold back for a second? When teams have figured out who they are as a team and bonded for months? when players are that much more hungry, the penalties are that much more crucial, and every shift means so much more? yeah its a big big difference man.
I mean just look... Vegas was tied for the league-most points, were coming off a series win against a presidents trophy winning Colorado who was half of everyones pick to win the cup... where they swept the last 4 games and were seen as a total shoe-in for the cup finals, and then Montreal went in and spanked them. They had no real answers for their PK units, or their defense as a whole, and they couldn't contain Montreal's playmakers. The fact that Montreal handed it so hard to Vegas in that series is all you need to know its not a fluke... not to mention coming back from 3-1 down against Toronto and then sweeping the Jets - which even if the Jets are just ok, is hard to do against anyone in the playoffs.
If the regular season meant anything at all, then Id be able to claim some shit as a Sharks fan... but I cant. Nor will I. If anything its a way to claim that your team is robust and stayed healthy, or has adequate depth, but none of that really helps you in the playoffs when you have to go to fucking WAR.
This series could easily be tied 2-2 at this point and we are talking about a whole other thing due to just one game. Montreal probably should have won game 2 with how they played and how much rubber they delivered to the net. Additionally, they outshot Tampa in games 2 and 3. Teams that are flukes don't usually find ways to outshoot their opponents during the playoffs. Also, did I mention Tampa is the defending champion and they are KINDA REALLY GOOD?
Im by no means a Habs fan. If anything I kinda dislike them overall as a franchise.. but they absolutely by all accounts deserve to be there, and are not just some team who went on a hot streak and then regressed to the mean all of a sudden. There has been no period during these playoffs where the clock totally struck midnight and they turned into a pumpkin like many other teams who got hot through a round or 2 and then fizzled hard once another team made the necessary adjustments.
Butterytips69First of all it's called "The Cup"
Second, Tampa Bay all the way
CalumSKIyikes
that's a hot take, but the avs are gonna take it lol
ColoradoDogfartOk buddy thanks for the correction mr Gretzky
and your Tampa bay losers are gonna get smoked
Butterytips69With all due respect, suck my nuts
BiffbarfWelp. There goes the 2nd season in a row the bracket I made at the start of the playoffs is nearly 100% wrong.
Here's to (hopefully) a real season and a better series next year!
