SCF: Florida Panthers (A3) vs Edmonton Oilers (P3) - PANTHERS WIIIIN 4-2!!!

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by Whynotnow

Any fan of any team who’s saying this series is over didn’t watch what I just did. Just got home, this is gonna be a grind of a series. They are evenly matched with both having some edges over the other in certain areas. The panthers are elite at creating turnovers and regrouping quickly, they bring lots of pressure. The oilers can stretch the ice on them when they are moving their feet and supporting the puck.

I have zero clue which way this series will go.

I saw a team playing their 12th playoff series in 26 months begin to run out of gas and having a hard time keeping up with the pace of the game.

Hopefully I'm wrong, but they looked lethargic in the 3rd and the 2nd half of OT.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by InternationalVillager

McDavid - #1 overall
RNH - #1 overall
Draisaitl - #3 overall
Nurse - #7 overall
Bouchard - #10 overall
Skinner - #78 overall
Trade for Ekholm
Trade for Walman
Trade for Kulak
Trade for Henrique
Trade for Frederic
Trade for Podkolzin
Arvidsson UFA
Hyman UFA
Klingberg UFA
Perry UFA
Brown UFA
Kane UFA
Kapanen Waivers

They have used all three avenues of player acquisition pretty evenly.

6 drafted players
6 players traded
6 players UFA
1 player waivers

The only thing in that list that matters is McDavid (lottery) and Draisaitl (3rd overall).

The bulk of their roster moves since then slowed down their path to competing and were objectively terrible. We can make that list but it would be quite extensive.

That they finally hit a combination on the controller that did something 9 years into McDavid isn't some extraordinary feat of GMing excellence. McDavid and Draisaitl are good enough to carry a mostly mid roster. The current GM also punted two top young talents for nothing. Players who would've helped to sustain and extend their window.

They're winning in spite of years of incredible incompetence.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by 3rd liner

Oilers success #3 (hate to say it)- Drafting draisaitl. Right now if I had to pick a player from the oilers I'd like knocked out of the series it wouldn't even be McDiver, it'd be Leon. Draisaitl is lights out this season. Teams just can't seem to contain him, whereas some teams have had more success slowing down McDiver.

####! I remember that time . We all were so high Bennett didn't get sent down to Jr. And the Oilers sent Leon back down which he got traded from the raiders to the rockets . I remember cp treating it the same way Vancouver passed on Tkachuk. At the time we collectively pissed on pissy and said Monahan and Bennett where 100% better .. whoops.

En=no #### them

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Ok. But what does that have to do with wanting the Flames to be as competitive as their rivals are? At least you got to see them in the '80s. The Flames have never been a legit contender in my entire time watching them. Shouldn't we expect better?

Calgary won the West 2 times between 2018 and 2022. They were top 5 (outside the covid North division) . They were right in that mix but they leafed it up and couldn't get past the first round minus the Dallas series. They should have been able to do more damage. Each year they lost to the eventual cup winners.

[heep223]

Think we need a bit of a reframe here, in regards to “coming back to win the series”.

In the playoffs you’re supposed to win at home, and you’re not really in trouble til you lose at home. Panthers blew a lead yes but oilers had to grind hard and make an unlikely comeback to win game 1 at home amidst a jacked up crowd.

Really more damning on the oilers imo

[DiracSpike]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Lol you'd think their finals loss last year would instill an iota of humility.

Not with the Oilers!

Trumpet the self-felating from the roof after 1 game decided in OT.

I mean…they’re three wins away from a cup.

Hope everyone’s prepared for what’s about to happen lol

[dino7c]

I would have loved a sweep and a game 1 road win would have really helped but the reality is this was probably gonna be a 6 or 7 gamer. I have Panthers in 6.

We can say the Panthers looked tired in the 3rd but the Oilers looked tired in the 2nd. Too bad the Panthers didn't put them away but its game one one the road and they damn near got it.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by 3rd liner

Oilers success #3 (hate to say it)- Drafting draisaitl. Right now if I had to pick a player from the oilers I'd like knocked out of the series it wouldn't even be McDiver, it'd be Leon. Draisaitl is lights out this season. Teams just can't seem to contain him, whereas some teams have had more success slowing down McDiver.

Ugh, you're right.. That Oilers drafting prowess!

There was a consensus top 4 in 2014, and at 3 the Oilers were down to Draisaitl or Bennett, and they picked Draisaitl.

Incredible. They won a coin flip.

[traptor]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

The only thing in that list that matters is McDavid (lottery) and Draisaitl (3rd overall).

The bulk of their roster moves since then slowed down their path to competing and were objectively terrible. We can make that list but it would be quite extensive.

That they finally hit a combination on the controller that did something 9 years into McDavid isn't some extraordinary feat of GMing excellence. McDavid and Draisaitl are good enough to carry a mostly mid roster. The current GM also punted two top young talents for nothing. Players who would've helped to sustain and extend their window.

They're winning in spite of years of incredible incompetence.

I would love for the flames to incompetently flop into back to back finals.

Whatever we have been doing has gotten us nowhere.

Somehow their incompetence gets them two of the top players in the NHL.
Our management's incompetence lost us our two best players at the same time and our highest draft pick ever was traded for x2 2nds and is in back to back cup finals playing at an MVP caliber.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Ugh, you're right.. That Oilers drafting prowess!

There was a consensus top 4 in 2014, and at 3 the Oilers were down to Draisaitl or Bennett, and they picked Draisaitl.

Incredible. They won a coin flip.

Based on size, especially after the pullup thing I think Drai was always gonna be #3 there. I was pretty certain Bennett would be #4 leading up to the draft.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by traptor

I would love for the flames to incompetently flop into back to back finals.

Whatever we have been doing has gotten us nowhere.

Somehow their incompetence gets them two of the top players in the NHL.
Our management's incompetence lost us our two best players at the same time and our highest draft pick ever was traded for x2 2nds and is in back to back cup finals playing at an MVP caliber.

So your buddy wins the lottery, is that your new financial plan? Not to mention under current rules they wouldn't get McDavid in that spot.

Flames are also operating very differently the last couple seasons if you haven't noticed. The management you speak of is in Toronto losing Marner for nothing.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Based on size, especially after the pullup thing I think Drai was always gonna be #3 there. I was pretty certain Bennett would be #4 leading up to the draft.

Yeah, they pretty much let the major scouting magazines decide for them.

As was the running joke during those years.

[traptor]

Originally Posted by dino7c

So your buddy wins the lottery, is that your new financial plan? Not to mention under current rules they wouldn't get McDavid in that spot.

Flames are also operating very differently the last couple seasons if you haven't noticed. The management you speak of is in Toronto losing Marner for nothing.

I dont care how they do it.
I just want a serious year-over-year contender one day.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by traptor

I dont care how they do it.
I just want a serious year-over-year contender one day.

Okay well the way they did it can't happen anymore under the draft rules so its kinda irrelevant to use them as some kind of example

[InternationalVillager]

I was talking to my wife today and we walked down to a bar to catch the 3rd period. She never watches hockey, knows nothing about it but was getting a little too cheery for “Alberta’s Team” which is mostly just to annoy me. I did say to her that the Oilers sucked for more than a decade and ended up with a lottery win. What she said is the prevailing sentiment I am getting from a lot of people—— “in the present, they’re in back to back Cup finals. The past is in the past. Look at how much fun their fans must be having. You would do anything for this to be the Flames.”

You know what? If I had to live in a decade of missed playoffs to enjoy players like McDavid and Draisaitl for 20 years? Sign me up. I’m down for it.

You can even rip on Leafs fans all you want but atleast they’ve got to watch Matthews, Marner, Nylander on a nightly basis.

I just want the Flames to have bonafide, elite talent on their roster. You only get that at the top of the draft. You know how fun it was to watch Celebrini this year and it was his rookie year and Sharks sucked? It was a lot of fun.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

MOD EDIT: Over the line.

[dino7c]

I'm going to go ahead and assume Wolf brining the Flames to 96 points was more fun to watch than Celebrini powering the Sharks to 52 points

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I'm going to go ahead and assume Wolf brining the Flames to 96 points was more fun to watch than Celebrini powering the Sharks to 52 points

Especially when they apparently would have been 40+ points worse without him.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

You seem to have forgotten that E=NG
Always and forever.

It's a rivalry dude. Don't expect fans to give their most hated team credit.
Particularly with how they built their team.

I was a fan during the peak of the rivalry in the 80s, and I don’t recall anyone back then claiming the Oilers weren’t a great team. The whole point of getting excited about beating the Oilers was beating the best team in the league.

Maybe the whole the Oilers aren’t even very good thing is a legacy of so few meaningful games played between the two teams over the last 25 years. Or maybe it’s just easier to express something so clearly untrue online than it is to speak it out loud in front of other people IRL.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I'm going to go ahead and assume Wolf brining the Flames to 96 points was more fun to watch than Celebrini powering the Sharks to 52 points

And fully irrelevant . No one will even care or remember the teams record next year