✨🔩2024 Stanley Cup Finals: Edmonton vs Florida: Panthers Stanley Cup Champions 🔩✨ (FLA Wins 4-3)

[Jimtown guy]

[NHL HHOF]

 

[NHL HHOF]

 

[JR Ewing]

-Narratives are a funny thing. One that we keep hearing about is the brilliance of Sasha Barkov (and he *is* terrific) and that he's completely shut down Connor McDavid. As can be the case so often with narrative, it's not always indicative of what really happens.

 

McDavid Scoring Chances/60 Minutes, 2024 playoffs

First 3 rounds - 33.7

vs Florida - 33.9

 

McDavid isn't being shut down by Sasha Barkov; he's being goalied by Bob.

 

 

-Yes, he's injured, but Darnell Nurse has been beyond awful. He's now cruised his way to the all-time worst single playoff +/- mark of -16. He's an absolute horse of an athlete. Huge, mean, strong skater, but one of the lowest Hockey IQs I've seen from a guy in his position who still makes rookie mistakes. He's not a player with 10 years of experience, but a player with one year of experience 10 times.

 

-If Cody Ceci plays another game in an Oilers uniform, I'll turn a table over.

 

-Think of how useful $14.5M in salary which is being spent on Nurse and Jack Campbell would be if it could be used elsewhere on the roster. A lot of Nurse's contract is the responsibility of Peter Chiarelli, who saw fit to sign such stalwarts as Zack Kassian and Kris Russell to long term deals while he twice bridged his young defenseman.

 

-The bad start is probably part of what's coming back to haunt the team in the Finals. With Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson implementing such poor coaching decisions, about 16% of the season was burned off before the team brought in what has clearly been a good hand in Kris Knoblauch. That meant that when McDavid was hurt early on, they couldn't rest him because they needed him so badly. He's as fast a skater as he ever was, but he lost 12 mph off his shot this year, so shoulder or wrist is the likely culprit. Evander Kane has been playing through a hernia since December and after almost getting his hand chopped off in Tampa Bay, he still can't feel anything in his left arm from the elbow-down. They couldn't rest him because they needed him so badly, and now when they need him the most, they were forced to shut him down.

 

-I called for Phillip Broberg to be inserted into the lineup and that, even as a lefty, he could easily cover Cody Ceci's minutes, and he has. Though playing with Darnell Nurse, he's +2 and the Oilers get the majority of the scoring chances when he's on the ice. His reach gives him the ability to defend entries and his legs give him the ability to retrieve pucks. I was hoping that his habit of defending with his stick actually being on the ice might rub off on Nurse, but I was guess that was too much to ask.

[Tomdog]

If I was the Edmonton GM I would start working on my resume, because I think his days may be numbered. 

[NHL HHOF]

 

[SaucyJack]

On 6/13/2024 at 10:23 PM, SaucyJack said:

That would be 1998..my Capitals the last club to be swept.  (By Detroit.). Alas…maybe Edmonton takes that place in a few nights?

Unless I’m conjuring the Jinx of the Year right now, with Edmonton up 5-1 midway through Game Four, the Caps will continue wearing the…cap (why not?) denoting last team swept in the Finals.  So…26 straight years with no sweep.  

 

What a contrast with the prior 3 decades.  The record book shows 13 Finals sweeps in the 31 Stanley Cup finals between 1968 thru 1998.  (And when the Caps last felt the Broom, it was the 4th straight sweep since 1995!)

[JR Ewing]

That assist ties Connor with Gretzky for most assists in a playoff year.

 

[GratefulFlyers]

Well I hate seeing Bobrovsky get dinged but very happy the Oilers are reaping some rewards finally.  And very happy they won't get swept.

 

If this is what I think it is...the Oilers only win in this series... it'll be even sweeter for FL if they hoist the Cup at home.

[SaucyJack]

32 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

it'll be even sweeter for FL if they hoist the Cup at home.

Funny how nobody picked Florida winning at home in 5, but half of us picked them to win in 6, on Edmonton ice.

 

Maybe we’re all morons?

[radoran]

1 hour ago, SaucyJack said:

Maybe we’re all morons?

 

[Brewin Flames]

 

[NHL HHOF]

Did Florida just let Edmonton win this game so Florida could win the Stanley Cup in Florida?

[flyercanuck]

18 minutes ago, NHL HHOF said:

Did Florida just let Edmonton win this game so Florida could win the Stanley Cup in Florida?

 

Nobody does that...it's just asking for trouble. 

 

That was a classic case of overconfidence by the Panthers team. 

Edited June 16 by flyercanuck

[Buffalo Rick]

Can they pull this off JR?

[JR Ewing]

7 minutes ago, Buffalo Rick said:

Can they pull this off JR?

 

I would obviously love it if it could happen, but no. In all of the playoff rounds in all of the years in the history of the National Hockey League, a reverse sweep has only been done four times, and only one of those was in the Finals. It's been about 30 years since there was a sweep in the Finals, so even the losing teams rarely lose four in a row.

 

Bobrovski stole game one from the Oilers and the Oilers stole game three from themselves, so it could easily be two games a piece now, but "should" isn't how any of this works, and I can live with that.

 

I'll just have a harder time listening to the morons talking about how McDavid needs a Cup to cement his place in the history of the NHL, as if it's still the days of the Original Six, and almost everybody got one if they hung around long enough. He'd be a Hall of Famer if he hung them up tomorrow, so those fools can pound sand.

 

Edited June 16 by JR Ewing

[JR Ewing]

16 hours ago, NHL HHOF said:

Did Florida just let Edmonton win this game so Florida could win the Stanley Cup in Florida?

 

The Panthers didn't fly up all the player's families over 4,000 km to Edmonton so they could lose and win it in Florida...

 

[SaucyJack]

I’m thinking a partial replay of ‘87 with the Flyers heading to GretzkyLand down 3-1 then surprising the sh!te out of the Civilized World with the likes of Hextall and Tocchet and Gordie’s kid ruining the celebration party.

 

Only difference being that unlike that Flyers bunch who forced a game 7 before finally succumbing in the return to Alberta, these ‘24 Oilers will return home with huge hopes, only to see Florida regain their form and clinch in the Northlands.

 

Then the half of us who said Cats in Six will be lauded as geniuses or seers.  Of course we saw it evolving like this so keenly and clearly.

Edited June 17 by SaucyJack

[Tomdog]

22 hours ago, Buffalo Rick said:

Can they pull this off JR?

I think they can, but only if 2021-22 Connor McDavid shows up. 

Otherwise no.

[Buffalo Rick]

6 minutes ago, Tomdog said:

I think they can, but only if 2021-22 Connor McDavid shows up. 

Otherwise no.

When a team loses 8-1 that leads series 3-0, it tells you they quit and just had the mindset to win it at home.   Maybe same thing with the Boston/Dallas NBA series?   

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Yea, that whole idea of losing on purpose just to win at home doesn't fly at all.

For one, that is  VERY chancy thing to do...throw games, thinking you are guaranteed to win at home.
Secondly...Paul Maurice. Not exactly the type of coach who would foster that type of mindset.

I think to a man, every NHL team who has made it to this point (hell, teams that didn't even make the playoffs!), understand how hard wins can be to come by in this league, and thus, they win AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY they can!

Oh yea....and suggesting the Panthers 'lost on purpose' completely diminishes the work, effort, and emotion the Oilers came up with to get that Game 4 win.
I am pretty sure, despite being down 0-3, the Oilers have no designs on going away quietly into the night.
In fact, in their minds, this series is still very winnable and if there is any player on Edmonton who DOESN'T think that way, well, then, they don't deserve to be on an NHL roster.

And technically, those Oilers players thinking "we can still win this" aren't wrong. Series isn't over.
The odds aren't in their favor, sure, but series is still going on.

I expect the Oilers to be just as desperate, determined, homicidal....whatever you want to classify them as...when the series shifts back to Florida.
And if the Panthers do end up closing things out, it will simply be because they finally got things together enough to overcome Edmonton and get that 4th win.....not because of some 'master plan' to win in front of the home crowd.

[NHL HHOF]

 

[Buffalo Rick]

3 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Yea, that whole idea of losing on purpose just to win at home doesn't fly at all.

For one, that is  VERY chancy thing to do...throw games, thinking you are guaranteed to win at home.
Secondly...Paul Maurice. Not exactly the type of coach who would foster that type of mindset.

I think to a man, every NHL team who has made it to this point (hell, teams that didn't even make the playoffs!), understand how hard wins can be to come by in this league, and thus, they win AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY they can!

Oh yea....and suggesting the Panthers 'lost on purpose' completely diminishes the work, effort, and emotion the Oilers came up with to get that Game 4 win.
I am pretty sure, despite being down 0-3, the Oilers have no designs on going away quietly into the night.
In fact, in their minds, this series is still very winnable and if there is any player on Edmonton who DOESN'T think that way, well, then, they don't deserve to be on an NHL roster.

And technically, those Oilers players thinking "we can still win this" aren't wrong. Series isn't over.
The odds aren't in their favor, sure, but series is still going on.

I expect the Oilers to be just as desperate, determined, homicidal....whatever you want to classify them as...when the series shifts back to Florida.
And if the Panthers do end up closing things out, it will simply be because they finally got things together enough to overcome Edmonton and get that 4th win.....not because of some 'master plan' to win in front of the home crowd.

Im saying it was more subconscious and once the game was out of reach, they did not cre if it got way out of reach because they know they are up 3-0, and they would prefer to win at home.  No doubt.  And with legal gambling in full swing you dont think there are players  out there on the take?  Maybe not on the level of the 19 White Sox, or black Sox but I am pretty sure some have bitten at offers.  Maybe Bob let a few in?  LOL

Oh, Baby face?  Ha

Edited June 17 by Buffalo Rick

[Buffalo Rick]

Edmonton had better bring their scuba gear as Ft Lauderdale is flooded.  Id still rather be in S Florida than no mans land, Edmonton .  I wonder if their glory teams of the 80s were snorting as much coke as they were accused of?  I bet on baseball the most these days.  But Ill toss Florida in a parlay as the overeaction from that 8-1 self inflicted to a degree massacre, should be reflected on the money line.  i might lay the goal and a half as any Panthers lead of course will empty Edmonton's net.  Maybe its been empty all season.

[OccamsRazor]

32 assist for Mcdavid in 22 games is insane.