2025-2026 NHL Offseason

Fifthelement

nautical_disaster said:

I'm no hockey expert, but I don't know how you can call that a "no goal"

Bieksa on the CBC broadcast agreed with the “no goal” based on how the player fell.  He stated that a natural fall would see the players skates side-by-side, whereas Coleman”s skates were definitely not, the the foot that directed the goal had to go out of its natural way to push the puck into the goal, which makes it a “kicking” motion. Made sense to me. That is probably what Toronto was making it’s judgement on.

This series was bittersweet for me. I’ve called both those cities home and have cheered for their success.  Gutted for Calgary, but stoked that Edmonton is going to the next round. 

eeriepadave

I hate the Rangers but they played one hell of a game winning on the road for Game 7.

dankind

eeriepadave said:

I hate the Rangers but they played one hell of a game winning on the road for Game 7.

I was telling my buddy that I almost feel bad for the Rangers now. 

mrussel1

dankind said:

eeriepadave said:

I hate the Rangers but they played one hell of a game winning on the road for Game 7.

I was telling my buddy that I almost feel bad for the Rangers now. 

TB and NY are almost mirror images of each other.  I think the series can go either way.  Comes down to whether Igor can outplay Andrei.  

Regarding the west, they are not even bothering to play defense out there.  I know they are both explosive, but the D are so deep in the O zone, no one cuts off the shooting lanes and everything is spread so wide.  I simply cannot believe that either team would put up 4+ goals consistently against NY or TB.  Maybe I'm wrong. 

Gern Blansten

I'm not sure why I despise TB but I do. I really want the Rangers to win.

mrussel1

Gern Blansten said:

I'm not sure why I despise TB but I do. I really want the Rangers to win.

Hsssss.....

Vitalogensia

I don't want Tampa to win simply because I have that sports-identity-ego thing where if they do a three-peat that makes my Penguins' back-to-back less impressive.  It's one of the sillier parts about being a diehard, but me and my beer are working through it.

It's hard to argue how impressive of a team Tampa is, but there are three other legit contenders it seems this year.

mrussel1

Vitalogensia said:

I don't want Tampa to win simply because I have that sports-identity-ego thing where if they do a three-peat that makes my Penguins' back-to-back less impressive.  It's one of the sillier parts about being a diehard, but me and my beer are working through it.

It's hard to argue how impressive of a team Tampa is, but there are three other legit contenders it seems this year.

I understand.  If they get it done, they become the only team to three-peat in the salary cap era and pass Pitt by having 4 titles in the era.  That would be rarified air. 

All remaining teams are good.  There's no "how did they get here" sort of deal, so yeah it will be tough.  The Lightning are playing with house money though and don't have the pressure that the Avs have, for example.  I don't think the Rangers quite have the pressure yet since this team is totally different than the 2015 team that lost in the ECF. 

mpedone

mrussel1 said:

Vitalogensia said:

I don't want Tampa to win simply because I have that sports-identity-ego thing where if they do a three-peat that makes my Penguins' back-to-back less impressive.  It's one of the sillier parts about being a diehard, but me and my beer are working through it.

It's hard to argue how impressive of a team Tampa is, but there are three other legit contenders it seems this year.

I understand.  If they get it done, they become the only team to three-peat in the salary cap era and pass Pitt by having 4 titles in the era.  That would be rarified air. 

All remaining teams are good.  There's no "how did they get here" sort of deal, so yeah it will be tough.  The Lightning are playing with house money though and don't have the pressure that the Avs have, for example.  I don't think the Rangers quite have the pressure yet since this team is totally different than the 2015 team that lost in the ECF. 

I think the Rangers have a bit of pressure in general, since they haven't won since the "Now I can die happy" Cup in '94. Yeah, it ended a 54-year drought, but they're halfway back there. That said, they do feel like the young upstarts of the four Conference finalists. I'd say both Edmonton and Colorado have a ton of pressure on them, as they are both teams who have been expected to have deep runs for years, and just haven't.

I'm honestly torn this year. I have no feelings on the Rangers, honestly, but there are various reasons I'd love to see any of the other three teams win. I think I'm still rooting for Tampa foremost, though, as the three-peat (and a personal 4-peat) would be amazing to see, and can only happen this year. The Oilers or the Avs can win next year, and it'll still be special.

Get_Right

Not a huge hockey fan during the regular season but the playoffs are amazing to watch.  Go Rangers!   I cannot get behind a hockey team in Florida. Something feels wrong with that.

nautical_disaster

Holy smokes the rangers looked good last night. That long sequence in the Tampa zone that culminated in the 4-2 goal - man that crowd was pumped!

mpedone

nautical_disaster said:

Holy smokes the rangers looked good last night. That long sequence in the Tampa zone that culminated in the 4-2 goal - man that crowd was pumped!

I am hoping that was some rust on Tampa's part, otherwise... eek.

mrussel1

mpedone said:

nautical_disaster said:

Holy smokes the rangers looked good last night. That long sequence in the Tampa zone that culminated in the 4-2 goal - man that crowd was pumped!

I am hoping that was some rust on Tampa's part, otherwise... eek.

I would think it's rust.  I had Rangers winning last night, coming off the high of the seven game series.  Lightning were lax in their zone coverage.  This was similar to the Leafs game 1.  It will be a long series, I would think. 

nautical_disaster

mrussel1 said:

mpedone said:

nautical_disaster said:

Holy smokes the rangers looked good last night. That long sequence in the Tampa zone that culminated in the 4-2 goal - man that crowd was pumped!

I am hoping that was some rust on Tampa's part, otherwise... eek.

I would think it's rust.  I had Rangers winning last night, coming off the high of the seven game series.  Lightning were lax in their zone coverage.  This was similar to the Leafs game 1.  It will be a long series, I would think. 

Yeah I would agree with ya. At this point it would be silly to doubt Tampa's abilities lol.

MayDay10

I was listening to one of those stupid gambling radio shows yesterday and one of the guys on there said there is a lot of data to show that an NHL playoff team comes in flat off a layoff vs a team who has continued with the grind.  He said that he would give the greatest probability for a Rangers' victory in Game 1.  A lot of that stuff is bullshit, but he seemed to have a point that looks better in hindsight

nautical_disaster

Yeah I would absolutely agree with that - you can't fake being in "game mode" no matter how many practices you run. It reminds me of the last time I played competitively in my city league a few years ago (not the level of talent of course, just the concept haha). If you missed a week or two it felt like you had missed a month when you came back. 

igotid88

Wish Hank had this Rangers offense in any of his playoff runs

mpedone

Rangers are starting to get that "Team of Destiny" vibe. Already came back from 2 different 3-2 series deficits, handed Carolina their first home loss this postseason, their first-ever Game 7 loss (since the move), and have handed Tampa Bay and Vasi their first back-to-back losses since 2019.

dankind

mpedone said:

Rangers are starting to get that "Team of Destiny" vibe. Already came back from 2 different 3-2 series deficits, handed Carolina their first home loss this postseason, their first-ever Game 7 loss (since the move), and have handed Tampa Bay and Vasi their first back-to-back losses since 2019.

I thought at the tail end of last season that they would make some noise this postseason. I didn’t expect it to be so much noise, though. 

Hell, as posted earlier, I thought they’d be out in the first round when I saw that they drew the Penguins. 

It still feels like the wheels could fall off, too. Fox and Mika have been so solid. And the kid line has been skating circles around every defensive line they put against them. 

I think with the Bolts going home and having time to regroup and watch some video is going to make a big difference, and other Rangers’ lines/players are going to have to step up (Breadman, Strome, etc.). 

mrussel1

Yes, getting nervous.