nhl people: somebody give me the state of the league going into the playoffs. i only ever watch avs games and see league standings, so i have no idea who's actually good and who isn't. for example, the florida panthers are good now? what? when did that happen?
Florida is crazy good. Historic offense good, plus D corps and Goalie(s) playing well enough to beat anybody. 13 wins in a row and they’re cruising into the playoffs.
Avs are the next scary good team. If you watch them you know why. Not as complete as Florida, but they’re a beast and they have a chip on their shoulder after recent playoff failures.
Calgary is the second best team in the west, with their goaltending, defense corps and top line carrying them hard in 2022. Gaudreau has been a machine lately.
The rest of the west is a tough one to make sense of. St Louis and Minnesota have been good all year, Edmonton is surging, but relies on a 40 year old in net behind McDaddy and Drai. Kings stars and preds aren’t threats on paper, but who knows, Vegas can still sneak in but I hope they choke.
The east beneath Florida is a shit show. All the playoff teams are good. The caps are the easiest out on paper, Especially if Ovi’s injury tonight puts him out for any of the first round. Tampa is Tampa, Boston is Boston, the Canes have been taking care of business all year, but for whatever reason I don’t know if I trust them as real cup contenders. Leafs are good on paper but have some major playoff demons to try to exorcise, rangers can beat anyone if sheshterkin gets hot again, penguins are nearing the end of their winning window with their core which could be a good or bad thing for them…
It’s the most interesting lead up to playoffs there has been in years. The league’s good teams are in great shape. If only the bad teams weren’t such an absolute fucking mess.
The kraken expansion has been sad from day one, and Gary Bergman’s insistence on hockey in Arizona is getting embarrassing, with the team planning on sharing UA’s rink for the next three (or more) years, with a seating capacity somewhere around 4,000. And they just announced per game prices for potential season ticket holders and it’s a ludicrous considering they can’t even get people in to watch the games this year when they give thousands of tickets away for every game.
I’m a Leafs fan though so I’m bracing for disappointment, be it Tampa or Boston. I will now be taking whisk(e)y, bourbon, and summery beer recommendations. Just got the wall mount installed at the back of the house so I can watch games in the nice weather this year