Huberdeau doesn't create offence, he contributes offence. I don't know how he's going to bounce back if he has no one out there creating something he can contribute to.
He set a record for assists my a LW. He can create plays. He tried to a bunch this year. The other players were so coached to just skate to and down the ice and pin the other team down relentlessly they had no idea how handle actual plays. How many times did I see Huberdeau make a nice play that resulted in a pass to the slot... With nobody there.
Anyways, good to see an underdog win. A little painful as it shows just how wide open these playoffs are. If the flames could've performed at an average level in OT, they'd be in the thick of the battle.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to blankall For This Useful Post:
Sure they could, but I think the odds suggest otherwise.
What odds? His production fell off a cliff this season. I think it's one of the easier best in all of hockey that Huberdeau will improve on those numbers. I would be beyond stunned if he somehow got worse next season, it ain't happening.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to KootenayFlamesFan For This Useful Post:
Incredible presser by Paul Maurice. The highlights:
"proud to be associated with the players" referred to himself as a glorified line caller and gate opener in the series.
Praise again for Tkachuk and Bennett on the winner, saying those are just good hockey plays from guys that know how to win
Montour's game has gone from purely talented to a focused game where he knows what he can do and has built confidence on that
Referred to Reinhart as one of the smartest guys in the game that will likely go on to become a head coach, but more likely a G.M. Said he understands the game and the players (especially on the other team) better than anyone else.
Last but not least: Said that this win will serve this team's success for the next 5 years because of the level of the opponent and just how much they needed to bring to beat them.
Pretty incredible...never thought much of him until now.
__________________
"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Cali Panthers Fan For This Useful Post:
Huberdeau doesn't create offence, he contributes offence. I don't know how he's going to bounce back if he has no one out there creating something he can contribute to.
You don't have multiple seasons in a row over a point a game by not being able to create offense
__________________
Just trying to do my best
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Hockey_Ninja For This Useful Post:
A result that further defines what the NHL is today and the inherent random nature of the game/league.
Same league where an expansion team made it to the Finals year 1.
A year later a team in last place halfway through the season wins the championship.
As previous posters suggested, Boston’s season was littered with good fortune. They were far from the best regular season team ever… I actually don’t think they were all that different than the team a year ago. The Flames were kind of on the other end of the ledger… had they made the playoffs, under Sutter and without much pressure they would have been very dangerous.
As I write this, it’s looking like the other expansion team is about to take out the defending champs.
Between the Bucks, Bruins, and now Avalanche, it's more clear than ever that having a great regular season means diddly squat once the postseason gets started. In any pro sport.
I'm actually fairly convinced that this Panthers team (and especially Chucky) took inspiration from seeing Jimmy Butler own the Bucks...
Between the Bucks, Bruins, and now Avalanche, it's more clear than ever that having a great regular season means diddly squat once the postseason gets started. In any pro sport.
I'm actually fairly convinced that this Panthers team (and especially Chucky) took inspiration from seeing Jimmy Butler own the Bucks...
Has anyone asked Marchand if this season was a failure?
Tkachuk likely would have signed an 8 year contract if the money was right some years back.
Query why Bennett wasn’t given a good opportunity.
Almost 0% chance he'd sign 8 years. There were tons of prominent RFAs that year, and NONE of them signed 8 years. Pretty sure Kyle Connor was the only to sign for 7 (at a bargain) - everyone else was 2, 3, 5, or 6.
Interesting to wonder how things look with Tkachuk finishing year 4 of 6, but obviously a ton of things would be different with his higher AAV
You don't have multiple seasons in a row over a point a game by not being able to create offense
I don't know. When I watch him play, I don's see a guy creating offence. I see a guy making good (even smart) offensive plays, but he isn't doing anything to create any offence.
I'm obviously not explaining it properly, but I just see a huge difference between a guy like Gaudreau who can create offence all by himself... either on his own or by adapting his play to utilize his linemates... vs a guy like Huberdeau who just makes high probability plays regardless if anyone's there to capitalize on them or not.
Even Sutter pointed out early in the season that Huberdeau makes "smart plays" to put the puck in an open area of the ice, and that the rest of the team needs to figure out where that is and start getting there to capitalize. That's what I mean by participatory offence vs creative offence.
The Following User Says Thank You to FanIn80 For This Useful Post:
What odds? His production fell off a cliff this season. I think it's one of the easier best in all of hockey that Huberdeau will improve on those numbers. I would be beyond stunned if he somehow got worse next season, it ain't happening.
Improve, yes.
But do you want to pay a guy $10.5MM to score 56 points?
When people say he will improve, they are talking about star numbers.
He set a record for assists my a LW. He can create plays. He tried to a bunch this year.
Barkov has five points in six games (1+4) in the playoffs but has been a non factor offensively the whole series. He is great defensively and rarely makes the wrong play and is a great player otherwise, but looking at assists specifically doesn't really mean much.
From Montgomery when asked about on balance across the series what it was that made the difference:
Quote:
I thought that Bennett line was pretty dominant, you know. Tkachuk's an outstanding hockey player, and we didn't contain him, you know. I thought they always changed the momentum back to them every time they were on the ice pretty much. I thought, if I'm looking at the series, that was the biggest difference. Cause, Statistically, our powerplay was better, that means our penalty kill was better than theirs, you know, there's a lot of things but in the end, that line kept making plays, and they're on the ice again, winning the battle behind the net. They score.
__________________
"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to JohnnyB For This Useful Post:
The refs tried their best to give the Bruins the game and the better team still won. It's how it should be.
The Bruins were frauds and never as good as their record. Didn't the Flames completely out play them and put 50 shots on them but the Bruins still won? I watched a lot of their games this year and it wasn't like they were some amazing team. Their PDO was through the roof for a reason.
The Flames put up 50 **** shots on every team in the league and lost.
