Gotta be honest, I really didn't want to face the Oilers at the start of the playoffs. I thought they would give the Avs all kinds of trouble, and McDavid and Draisaitl would just hammer them.

Great series for the Avs, especially considering the injuries they've overcome.

Lord Stanley..... Let's do this....
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Yeah, that last angle had me at like 51/49 that it was okay, but angles before had me a bit more nervous.


I wasn't worried about them losing the series by any means, but something could be said for Kane coming back and who the hell knows what happens with injuries and what not.... squashing all that is pretty great.

This team has "it"... and just like the SB winning Chiefs, a big part of that "it" is one player, but also getting great contributions from others and some luck along the way.
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It's always so damn hard to know if the more offensive teams 'get it' when it comes to playoff hockey... and year after year I just wonder, do the Panthers get it this year? The Oilers? The Avalanche? The Leafs?

And of course, even if/when you do get it, it takes some luck with injuries and what not, too.

I thought the Oilers had it this year, knowing the Pacific was pretty week... didn't expect them to go as goony as they did, and it's a damn shame for them Kane resorted to that for two games, because he was having a helluva playoffs.

But, even after being up 3-1 tonight, they went straight back to game 1 Oilers when faced with Pissed Off MacKinnon.... they still have some work to do.
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Stanley Cup finals, frens! Hopefully TB-NY goes 7 so we can get some guys healthy.


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How will Colorado do against a real goalie next series?

Nashville's goalie was injured before the series. Kadri (that innocent saint) injured Binnington. The Oilers goalies are Daniel Sorensen's hockey cousins.

I suppose Vasilevskiy or Shesterkin can get injured, but if they're healthy, the next series will be fun. Colorado's offense is too good against AHL level goalies.
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I was more worried before the conference finals started, mostly because I really didn't think Kuemper could steal a game if needed, where as of course the ECF goalies absolutely can and will.

The difference now isn't so much the EC goalies, but the Avalanche played great in front of Francouz (until tonight), so I feel better about them being able to steal low scoring games.

EC-wise...
TB was terrible in front of Vasilevskiy for two games, they've just seemed out of sorts, whether it's playing with injuries (and of course Point being out), playing a million games over 3 seasons, etc. It would be a great series, but I also feel TB plays a ton better with the lead and is maybe a shred more vulnerable than their last two Cup teams.

And Shesterkin has been really damn good since those couple of stinkers in Pittsburgh weeks ago. I feel like the Avalanche would have a better time against the Rangers in terms of depth, but yeah, no 6 goal games without lots of defensive breakdowns.

But yeah, it'll look like a different sport compared to this series... TB has been playing the perfect system against this kind of game for years now and the Rangers have the goalie for it, too.
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So.... Francouz or Kuemper?

Gotta admit, Francouz totally exceeded my expectations as a backup since injury.
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If Kuemper is 100%, I'd go back to him. Love Frankie, and he's played well, but Kuemper has given us top tier goaltending earlier this year. I'd see if he can get it back.
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Man..... so, one big thing that made Francouz successful was the team basically rallying around him and playing stellar defense around their own net. So it's kind of the cheap way out, but if they play that way, it probably doesn't matter a ton.

And that's not to take anything away from him... he's quick on his skates and has made some huge saves. And then tonight and game 1... no goalie is going to ever look good.

Pffft...... I don't know. My deep-seated midwestern appreciation for the underdog wants to stick with Francouz.... and it's tough to go back to someone who wasn't going to steal a game for you when Francouz has the hot hand. :-)
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Good morning, the Colorado Avalanche are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals.




That is all.
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It's actually kind of nice not having much invested in the teams playing. Much easier to enjoy the game.

If the Chiefs aren't contending in post season (love you Patrick) I can take or leave the NFL playoff games for the most part but hockey is just so fast paced and exciting I make it a point to catch every game if I can allocate.

Pretty indifferent about all the teams in the NHL expect Pens (hate them in an Elway passion of hate), Devils (love - hate relationship, think Raiders), and the Flyers who are my 1990's Chiefs sans playoff appearances so it's easy to enjoy the games most of the time without getting heartburn or shouting at the TV.

Here's to some great hockey! :-)
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Avs have an awesome team but the Blues would have beat them had Kadri not taken out Binnington. They should have banned him for the remainder of the Postseason. Avs would still be where they are without him.
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Same here... and last postseason was so disappointing with the Canadiens and Vegas (and the NYI to a lesser extent), I've really tried to catch as many games as possible this year even when the Avalanche aren't playing.

There were several football games last postseason where I just tuned in for the 4th quarter (Raiders/Bengals, Titans/Bengals, Rams/Bucs, etc.) and felt like I didn't miss a ton, and didn't really care because it wasn't Mahomes and the Chiefs anyway.

I could kind of say that now with how MacKinnon is playing, but there's still been plenty of top end talent in every series, as opposed to watching a watching a couple brokedick QBs.
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I hear you. I'm so freaking tense during these Avs games I'm not even sure they're enjoyable. At least until they're over anyway - or we have a big lead. Literally find myself holding my breath for stretches. Almost poured a cocktail(s) last night, but it was Monday so I didn't.
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