Wow, had Binnington been 100% we'd be talking about the Blues right now. Thanks Kadri!

If we sweep or only lose one to TB then you guys could make a case for 2nd best team in the league.

Then they could skate around the Enterprise Center with a homemade 2nd Place trophy.

HERE WE GO AVS FANS, THE DAY IS HERE!! Who else is already drunk?!?

Just kidding, haven't started yet. Took a little break from the markets during the midday lull and flipped on NHL Network just in time to see a replay of Avs/Oilers game 4. You could see the writing on the wall as soon as Edmonton fans inexplicably started doing The Wave when they led 4-2 about midway through the 3rd. I know America's Hat is a little backwards, but The Wave? Seriously?!? Did they think it was 1987 and Wayne Gretzky still played for them? I know they ended up tying it at the end of regulation and sending it to O/T, but that game was over the second they embarrassingly thought it would be fresh to bust out The Wave.

NOW LET'S GO GET A CUP!

Actually just saw that was replaying last night and set it to record... really wish I had done that originally, it was a long week! Seems like they've been on break far more than playing hockey, but that's also a good thing this time of year.

I'm surprised I didn't see more people mocking the wave that night. I mean, I'm not one to judge what fans want to do for fun during a game.... but that was either "lovable loser" Cubs territory where they really don't care what's happening on the ice (seems doubtful in Canada) or highly naive with so much time left and Mike freakin' Smith. You may very well not be seeing your team live again even if they win, so yeah party it up... but damn, that really aged like milk.

Really excited for this series to start... there's no bigger test, especially when Point is back (iffy tonight, probable for game 2). They know how to shut it down when they have the lead and they're pretty damn clutch when they don't.

And can't wait to see Angry MacKinnon again, he's REALLY turned it on at times and you can tell he took his comments to heart last postseason (haven't won shit).

I opened a bottle of Distillery 291 bourbon (Colorado Springs) for game 4 OT last week and plan on enjoying just a little tonight.

Oh piss off and give Elway another standing ovation

Lighten up, Francis. It was a joke

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Just ignore him, literally everyone else does.

The funny thing is that PAChiefs guy made some low effort comments during the Preds and Blues series IIRC and could have been PGM Jr, but after his 2 or 3 posts were widely ignored, he just went away as there was clearly zero ROI.

This guy OTOH has been showing up for years with the hilarious "CONSUMIING CP SOULS" thing and is pretty easily the most ineffective and most ignored troll in the history of this site.

It's the equivalent of a little yappy dog I walk by every morning that I can't even hear with my ear buds in.... trying so hard for attention and then actually thinks it wins because I just leave, while I barely even notice its existence.

Thanks, doesn’t bother me a bit. Can’t troll others in jest and not expect return fire. Makes it more fun. Learned that from Chiefs-haters the last few years.

At the end of the day, they’re just games. Entertainment. Like Chiefs Planet. Some people take things that don’t really matter waaay too seriously. I may be really into games when I’m watching, and the anticipation for this series is giving me butterflies, but it doesn’t impact my life or mood for more than 10 minutes after it ends. Except for championships, those are cool.

Avs have got their work cut out for them against TB though. Finals experience, a lock-down D, and the best goalie in the league over the last few years is a huge hurdle. Just glad I don’t have a no-drinking-on-Wednesday-late-afternoons policy.

Avs in 7 :toast: :popcorn:

Heh, yeah... just like I envision punting that yappy little dog, it's fun to return serve and laugh sometimes.

Yeah, I'm far better at letting losses go immediately, outside of the refs giving the Bucs the SB a couple years ago (on top of the Chiefs' own issues)... 20 years ago I'd lose sleep over that shit, but now it's "you idiots..." and move on. If I had to do it again, I'd still go to the Avalanche/Blues game 5 and the Chiefs/Bengals 10 times out of 10 despite the outcome.

There's a lot to be optimistic about...
...Avalanche have been crazy consistent, they were really only out of sorts in game 2 vs the Blues, were dominated for the 3rd period of game 5, and of course got away from playing defense in a couple wins against the Oilers.
...MacKinnon has been insane, and of course Makar... everyone is locked in.
...They have played really well after long breaks the past couple postseasons and TB hasn't exactly done the same.
...people are saying TB is at their best in 3 years, but they haven't been a model of consistency. Getting the lead first is always important in hockey, but I think TB plays a LOT better with the lead, so jump on them early.
...TB didn't have a GREAT offense this year in terms of scoring depth, but of course their top lines are elite.

But of course...
....lots of backup goalies and Mike Smith
...Point is back tonight or Saturday and I won't believe Kadri or Cogliano will be back until they're on the bench.
...TB is of course far and away the best playoff team in the league at getting a lead and shutting it down.
...I'll pretty much always lean towards goaltending and defense in the playoffs... can Kuemper steal a 2-1 game? Can the Avalanche put up 40+ shots and really make Vasy work for it while not sacrificing odd man rushes against their top lines?



And then you throw all that out the window and play the random and fickle game of hockey. :D

Go Ass. Hail satan. :)

Watched the 3rd period and OT of game 4 Oilers.

I've been waiting over a year for this match up, thought there was a decent chance of it happening last year outside of having to play Vegas in the 2nd round. PBJ

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It's like a typical game 1 with choppy play, icings, lots of whistles.... yet it's on steroids. So much speed on the ice, yet everyone is everywhere so there isn't much space.

This series is going to be amazing.

TB might be a little shaky in game 1s... check.

Looking good! Like that they weren't overwhelmed by the moment, came out and just played their game, and except for a soft one they dominated that 1st. Cooper is a great coach and I'm sure they'll make adjustments. TB is a great team - but so are the Avs. Going to be an epic finals.

https://i.imgur.com/v7c1kEZ.gif

Kuemper has odd positioning mistakes... why are you halfway out of the crease there?!

This is ****ing fantastic. So much speed, yet so little room out there (a little more in-zone setup this period so far).

TB will definitely want to clog the neutral zone. They were really good at closing in and not giving up much space or time when the Avalanche were in their offensive zone, but gave up the blue line far too easily.... I was surprised by that.

Saw some complaining about the tripping on Makar, but Cirelli just swung around and swung his stick into Makar's legs... even if Makar could have skated out of it (no idea if he could have), it was clearly a careless play.

Makar tripping totally legit. Refs missed a high stick on Manson. TB locking down the middle much better so far this period. This is more how I expected the games to look.

Already mixing my 3rd marg. Usually do 2 per game. :eek:

Heh.. have been slowly sipping some bourbon.

That was a freakin' beautiful 2nd goal by TB, followed by another one that was kind of 'uh, Kuemper?' ...think he was pretty well screened though.

The series is everything I thought it would be so far... unfortunately that also includes the question on whether Kuemper can steal one later in the series.

It's going to be epic. Such a great matchup. Gonna be people all across N America picking sides, even extremely casual fans. Good for the game of hockey. I stand by Avs in 7 in one of the greatest Stanley Cup finals in history. Two really, really good teams.

I can't decide who I'm rooting for.

It’s the young team loaded with talent making their first finals vs the older team that’s been there, done that. If any team is capable of knocking off the champs it the Avs.

Root for Corey Perry losing in the Finals 3 straight years with 3 different teams... and losing to TB twice before losing with TB.

He's a douchebag.

Here we go. Earn your bacon time.

lets go Bolts

If Manning was still in Denver there would be no question. But since we've beat the donkeys like 100 straight games my focus is more on Tampa having Brady. I've made up my mind.

Quite the fortunate power play.


OT, perfect for this game... I might need more bourbon.

This is why I love living in this time zone. I can enjoy this game without having to sacrifice sleep to do so.

Yeah, seeing a lot of "need to go to bed"/"work at 6am" on reddit from Lightning fans... no idea how east coast sports fans do it.

Haha. Awesome play. You can dump your bourbon out Bearcat.

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Felt like there was some pressure to win this one only because they scored 3 on Vasy in regulation and that may not happen every game.... he was off his game a bit and wanted to take advantage.


What a start to the series, doesn't get any better.

https://i.gifer.com/A09z.gif

Game 1 in the books!

It's even better here. 8:15pm 4 margaritas and an epic win.

This finals is going to be great for the game of hockey. Incredible teams, rabid fan bases, perfect even match-up, great story-line, everything you need.

Avs win round 1 of the 7 round fight.

I'd be pretty surprised if it doesn't go at least 6... but after tonight's perfect OT ending, it's feeling even more so that it's destined for 7.

That was stressful. But fun.

Need to quote this for a Chargers thread.:clap:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2022 Playoffs<br><br>Game 1<br>1-3, 3.99 GAA, .884 Save %<br><br>Game 2 - 7<br>11-3, 1.90 GAA, .939 Save %</p>&mdash; Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNstats/status/1537275805176307713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He'll almost certainly steal a game or two. But the corsi chart gives me a lot of optimism. The Avs pretty much dominated possession tonight, which is basically how it's been the entire playoffs.

http://www.naturalstattrick.com/game...1&view=limited

Always love these bar reactions
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The stress before��*��<br>The noise after��️<br><br>Here&#39;s the DNVR Bar the moment the Avs won Game 1 of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StanleyCupFinal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StanleyCupFinal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoAvsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoAvsGo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DNVR_Avalanche?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DNVR_Avalanche</a> <a href="https://t.co/Dl7En3DSfo">pic.twitter.com/Dl7En3DSfo</a></p>&mdash; DNVR Sports (@DNVR_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/DNVR_Sports/status/1537278341119549440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Yeah, even with "only" 30 SOG, they dominated the 1st beyond just the goals and shut them down in the 3rd for the most part.

TB wanted to skate with them in the first and must have realized that was a bad idea.... and TB is plenty fast, but of course not when you're skating backwards through the neutral zone.

PK was impressive. It'll give me heart palpitations just with all the talent on the ice.

Kuemper makes me a little nervous... 'good not great' with some more weird positioning issues. Of course, he had quite the break between live action, too.

It's kind of fascinating finally getting to live through a legit cup run after living through a few Super Bowl runs. (Yes, I'm an Avs fan, but I didn't start following the team until I moved to Denver in 2007.) The experience is just completely different.

First off, I feel like everyone (at least out here) is really just...savoring...the whole thing. The NFL playoffs are a month of nonstop stress with incredible highs (or incredible lows if it all falls apart). NHL playoffs go on FOREVER - it's basically an every other night deal for 2.5 months. The individual games are stressful, to be sure, but most teams win at least a game or two in a series, and with a day or two off in between games, you get a chance to enjoy all of the discussion and content along the way.

And the city is going nuts. For games 3 and 4, I know of at least 3 different watch parties where there will be a minimum of 1k people in attendance. Tons of people I know who barely follow sports are getting into it. It's just a ton of fun. (And I don't feel any need to gatekeep bandwagon fans - the more the merrier to me.)

Anyway, not a lot of point to this other than to say that this has really been a fun experience. I'll always consider the Chiefs to be my favorite team, and there's no question that the Super Bowl run was insanely fun. This is just a more mellow, long-term level of fun, which is interesting to live through.

Hopefully the Avs continue to dominate. But either way, it's been a fun year.

Just Lose Baby!

Given that you're on the Lightning side this series, I'm glad you feel that way. ;)

(I'll admit that the schaudenfraude of obnoxious Blues fans has added a lot to the experience as well. Most of you guys are cool with me, but you have to admit that the butthurt is pretty funny.)

I feel like it's similar to the Royals' runs in '14/'15... of course, this playoff run isn't completely unexpected, but I assume given 20 years between WCF appearances, there are a lot of new hockey fans this postseason, too.

And by all accounts, Ball Arena* was absolutely rocking the other night... the general reaction to $1000 tickets is they price out the die hard/stand all game/be loud fans, but that didn't seem to be the case at all in game 1.

Great to hear the city has really embraced it, and this is the type of series that creates new fans for life. And I have no idea what happens tonight... conventional wisdom says there will be a storm to weather and Vasy will be back to his brick wall self. However, the Avalanche haven't really sat back this postseason at all and just let that happen. Usually you would say this is a 2-1 type game similar to game 2 against the Preds, but the Avalanche kind of throw the rule book out the window.


*I know people used to call it The Can when it was the Pepsi Center... and just the other day I saw "The Sack" LMAO

The "less attractive Slayer" thing was funny, I'll admit that. LMAO

I do get a kick out of calling it the Ball Sack. ROFL

:)

LGA!

The Sack will be ****ing rockin' tonight.

Damn, Cogliano is back... read earlier he was probable, but didn't believe it, heh.

PBJ PBJ PBJ PBJ

Somebody should remind tampa the game started.

Feels a lot like last game. Hopefully we can prevent the sudden rushes.

Well, this is unexpected.

Didn't think it would be the typical "weather the storm", but figured it would be pretty similar to game one where both teams were flying.

The early power plays don't help of course, but damn, TB isn't trying to force the issue at all.

I don't want to get cocky, but they look too slow for us. We'll see if they can come up with a way around it.

Complete domination of the 1st period. Playing fast, and getting some good looks.

Just don't come out flat 2nd period like last time, and lose the momentum.

Go Avs!

Yeah, 1st period of game 1 they made the same mistake as every other team and wanted to skate with them. And TB looked fast, but when the Avalanche are consistently sending everyone to the net, they're a bitch to handle.

TB adjusted after that and had much more time in their own zone as opposed to trying to get breaks and odd man rushes.

That last period though... that was just bad for them.

And the one thing I've been thinking this postseason is TB looks SSSSOOO much better with a lead, where they can just lock down and rely on Vasy.

And it's 4-0... holy crap.

Hello, police? I'd like to report a murder.

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As impressive as the Avs have been on offense I would say they have been even more impressive defensively. Tampa is getting dominated and can’t get any decent shots on goal. If they don’t figure something out quickly this series won’t be any different in Tampa. I don’t believe elevation is the cause of this beat down.

Guys like O'Connor don't score much, but he's a huge pest. TB doesn't know what to do with him.

All the best teams have a guy like that. They provide those intangibles that don’t show up on a score sheet but are critical to a team’s success.

Shorty goal. LMAO.... stick a fork in em.....

They've been pounding Vasilevskiy on the left side of the goal all night, and he's completely powerless to stop it.

What’s crazy about that goal is that it came off a two on one. Colorado was a man down and still had a two on one. This is embarrassing if you are a Tampa fan.

High blocker was the big narrative during the Rangers series... until the Rangers stopped scoring.

Yeah, and they just had a puck sitting on the goal line that Makar had to swipe away... and looked like the Avalanche were just going to dump it down and it's a 2 on 1 with one of your best goal scorers.

This game is insane... and he scores again.

Lol. When do they pull Vasilevsky? At what point does the value of keeping him in not outweigh the value of pulling him?

Definitely seems odd at this point.

I'd like to know Cooper's thoughts on that... I was surprised they didn't do it at 4-0 or maybe 5-0.... at this point, just take the rest of the night off and avoid injury, if nothing else.

Cooper needs to do something. His star goalie is getting humiliated.

I bet Vasilevskiy sleeps well tonight.

:evil:

At a party but it doesn’t get any better than that boys. Just a dominating performance!! 2 wins away!!

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Anything can happen, but TB has a shit ton of stuff to figure out before next game.

The 7th game of the Stanley Cup is one of the greatest things to ever watch. We can all wish for a game 7 right? Am I right?:toast:

No thanks.

Yeah, I've been assuming it'll go at least 6, if not 7, but wanting it is a different story at this point, especially up 2 games to none.

As much as I want to watch this team as long as possible, I want them to finish this even more.

The longer the series goes, the more it will favor the Lightning. The Avs need to finish them off as quickly as possible.

Haha. I guessed not. I wouldn't either if I had skin in the game.

Really? They looked like shit against the Rangers in the first 2 games. Lethargic, slow etc. Got their ass's kicked and embarrassed. And then they clicked.

Like Daface, I started following when I moved down here. Still don't understand hockey like football. I know what a "B" gap is how to block or exploit it. No clue on hockey's minutiae.

The old timers down here say its a pattern. Look like shit and then turn it on later. Stamkos looks old to me this year. A lot slower. We will see.