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2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs thread


MadDog2020

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I still don't think the Rangers have what it takes. Not when there's Bostons or Detroits or Pittsburghs in the mix, and we're not even talking about any of the powerhouse Western Conference teams in the Final.

 

I thought the Rangers' year to win it was 2012. They had a Lundqvist right smack in the middle of his prime, they had the star players, they had the good grinder players (Prust, Dubinsky, Boyle was playing better that season, etc.), and for the first time in a long time, they had an identity and a frustrating system that could beat any team, really; they really seemed like a "team" the way the Rangers hadn't in the longest time. I really thought that would've been their year until we ruined it for them.

 

If the Rangers are out again this year, that's it, it's all downhill from here. Lundqvist's play will only slowly dip from here on out, as will everyone's who's not McDonaugh, Kreider, or Zuccarello.

 

The Rangers are way better this year than in 2012.  Lundqvist doesn't seem to be any worse or better.  They dumped Del Zotto which was a big plus.  They have Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis and ditched Anisimov, Callahan, and Dubinsky to make that happen, that's an upgrade for sure.

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Rags are better this year than they were in 2012 (where they would've lost in the finals to LA just like us) but not way better.

 

Lundqvist is not the goalie he was in 2012 either. His save percentage dipped down a bit last year and this year as well

 

St. Louis had a good first playoff game for the Rags...still has 1 goal in 20 games with them. That's pretty alarming for someone about to turn 39.

 

Rags are faster now, but they lost a lot of toughness from 2012. A team like Boston would beat them pillar to post. They're not winning the cup this year

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Rags are better this year than they were in 2012 (where they would've lost in the finals to LA just like us) but not way better.

 

Lundqvist is not the goalie he was in 2012 either. His save percentage dipped down a bit last year and this year as well

 

St. Louis had a good first playoff game for the Rags...still has 1 goal in 20 games with them. That's pretty alarming for someone about to turn 39.

 

Rags are faster now, but they lost a lot of toughness from 2012. A team like Boston would beat them pillar to post. They're not winning the cup this year

 

Just because the Rangers are better than the 2012 team doesn't mean that elevates them from a Conference Finals team to a Cup team. That Rangers team probably should have lost to Ottawa in the 1st round and struggled to defeat that pretty crummy Dale Hunter led Caps team. It just means they are probably one of the better teams in the East.

 

There wasn't a team like Boston in the East in 2012.

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Just because the Rangers are better than the 2012 team doesn't mean that elevates them from a Conference Finals team to a Cup team. That Rangers team probably should have lost to Ottawa in the 1st round and struggled to defeat that pretty crummy Dale Hunter led Caps team. It just means they are probably one of the better teams in the East.

 

There wasn't a team like Boston in the East in 2012.

 

They'll also have a better bracket to contend with after this round.  The Rangers would have had the dumbest draw alive if they had won the Cup in '12...beating an #8, then a #7, then a #6, then another #8.  That said I doubt they would have had anything left against LA even if they had gotten past us, with the way they had to fight fifteen-round wars just to win every series by the skin of their teeth.  At some point it was going to catch up to them, certainly caught up to Lundqvist the last three games of our series.

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I'd say this Rags team is better than the 2012 Rags team based solely on Vigneault being the coach. Whereas Torts had a system built around a grinding, shot-blocking defensive system, Vigneault has really focused a lot more on speed and offense. That's definitely a plus if the Rags are going to go far.

Edited by CarpathianForest
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The rangers sucked in 2012. Well that's a little strong but they weren't as good as they were made out to be. 10-10 in the playoffs in 2012. Nothing more than an average team who was just asking for it with the way they play. As maxpower frequently said, the coin flip started going the other way.

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Am I the only person who watches valeri nichushkin and thinks "I wonder what this devils team would be like if we just drafted him in the 8 spot instead of trading it." Going into last years draft I wanted monahan, nichushkin or lazar. And so far monahan and nichushkin look to be bright spots in calgary and dallas's future.

The schneider trade is probably a better decision, without a doubt. But its just fun to watch the russian and think, he could easily become a 30 goal scorer.

Edited by Bartholomew Hunt
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We wouldn't have drafted Nichuskin anyway, Conte was quoted in an interview after the draft saying the Devils had someone else in mind if they used the pick.

Who did he say he wanted to draft, and where is the link to the quote? The devils always say they will draft the best available player, and nichushkin was it when our pick came around. It was a bit of a shock he fell that low at the time.

I wanted shinkaruk too. But it really was a surprise nichushkin fell so low. Most drafts had him going top 5, I doubt the devils would have passed him up.

Edited by Bartholomew Hunt
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Who did he say he wanted to draft, and where is the link to the quote? The devils always say they will draft the best available player, and nichushkin was it when our pick came around. It was a bit of a shock he fell that low at the time.

I wanted shinkaruk too. But it really was a surprise nichushkin fell so low. Most drafts had him going top 5, I doubt the devils would have passed him up.

The quote/article is out there somewhere, I remember reading it and not being surprised. Considering what happened with Kovy, I think the Devils were hesitant to draft a Russian with a high pick. I remember people over at HF were speculating that our guy would've been Domi because he's a more 'Devils' type of player.
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The quote/article is out there somewhere, I remember reading it and not being surprised. Considering what happened with Kovy, I think the Devils were hesitant to draft a Russian with a high pick. I remember people over at HF were speculating that our guy would've been Domi because he's a more 'Devils' type of player.

i still believe that the whole kovalchuk thing was a mutual agreement.. unfortunently we will never know because lou would never leak such information.
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Don't forget the Rags lose their first rounder this year if they make the conference finals.  They're already losing next year's.  I have a bad feeling about them this year.  They're getting all the good matchups and Boston might be gone by the time they get to the third round.  I don't trust the west either.

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If they beat Pittsburgh, an Original Six team to be named later and a West behemoth more power to them.  I just would not make them the favorite against the Pens, Bruins or Habs.  Probably against the Wings but only because the Wings would be gassed at that point having to beat Boston and Montreal just to get to the Rangers.

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We wouldn't have drafted Nichuskin anyway, Conte was quoted in an interview after the draft saying the Devils had someone else in mind if they used the pick.

Devils couldn't really considertaking him, especially since there was some question if he was even gonna come to the NHL. On the heels of Kovy, does anyone think the Devils could risk taking him? I do think he was probably the best player in the draft, BEFORE seeing all those picks play this season. He is still right there in the conversation.

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