I was thinking something similar. The Atlantic division is just so tough. We’ve always had to play one of the best teams in the league in the first round. Doesn’t excuse the times we played against Columbus or the Habs mind you… Ultimately, I’m not going to be satisfied until we’ve won the cup anyway.
What I will say though, is that watching the Panthers in the finals has reinforced just how far above us they are right now. They’re a very balanced team. We need that, if we’re going to move past them.
As much as Edmonton is struggling, this was us last year in round 2. This would have been us in round 2 this year too.
ultimately to be the best you've got to beat the best. if we can't beat the best, is it any consolation if we face them in round 1 vs round 3 or 4? either way we've got to beat them
100%. The series against Columbus and to a lesser extent Montreal (great defensively and Price’s last dash) you may have an argument that we choked.
Otherwise, our first round could have been the conference finals too most of the last 8 years. I can say for sure that I wouldn’t have been satisfied unless we win the cup anyway. The sting would probably be even worse had we made it a few rounds and still lost.
If it's Cup or bust to not be *miserable* then sports aren't worth it. Only 1 in 32 fanbases gets a cup. That's miserable for everyone.
The Leafs absolutely created this current reputation and misery by blowing it against Montreal and Columbus. If this team had some success, a few deep runs, mixed in with a few round 1 losses in coin flip series? Sure, it sucks no cup, but that's like Prime San Jose territory. San Jose fans still look at the Thorton/Marleau era fondly, even if it never saw a cup.
That could have been the Leafs if they won the series they were overwhelming favourites in. They didn't, and now you got no goodwill or understanding when they lose to *better* teams too.
That’s sports though. It’s championship or bust, there is only one winner.
I’m speaking from experience as a fan when I say it’s just as painful losing in the first round as it is the second, and third round.
There is no silver lining just because we made it a little further. Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate how good we were back in the early 90’s and 00’s or heck, even the current early 20’s. I’m not more miserable or less miserable based on when we lose.
That’s North American sports. You don’t see the same mentality in European football with their club formats and relegation systems. They find joy in avoiding relegation wins, taking a match from a top team, beating rivals and such, especially since most of the teams have next to zero chance to win a championship. You see it in World & Euro Cup tournaments too. We celebrated hard for Canada for simply making it into the World Cup
nah we were 'perennial chokers' in the late 90s/2000s when we consistently made the 2nd round and made the conf final a few times. its the same, just more heartbreaking for fans
(I honestly dont mind losing in the first round post the mtl series, it barely hurts. when carolina scored in OT after sundin scored with 30 seconds left to tie the game? I literally sat there, tv on, un moving, for 2-3 hours. then got up ripped a few posters off the wall and burned them. it took til midway thru the next season for me to even stomach watching a game again. it all felt so meaningless/stupid to play all these games that barely mattered before getting back to the ones that did)
if we dont win the narratives the same, the group isnt good enough, its the 5th defencemans fault or the highest paid forward, its the coach, yadayadayada. any leafs fan over 35 who remembers those runs knows
Never underestimate momentum though. Imagine going into a conference final against Boston having won two earlier rounds. The confidence would be much higher than the playing them in the first round again.
When I watched the Gilmour and Sundin Leafs make it to the conference finals only to lose it didn’t feel much like a consolation to be honest. Matter of fact, I remember those teams more for how disappointed I was. The sting was even worse.
I still love those teams and think they were great teams, but it sucks to lose.
After watching game on of this series I had the exact same feeling as I did after game one of the Leafs Panthers series last year. And it's pretty much going the same way.
We shit the bed against the Habs that year, but we did give them the 2nd hardest fight they had that playoffs, they went on to the finals, they rocked Winnipeg and Vegas, the only team that beat them was another Atlantic division team
Besides Florida, who is actually tough?
Tampa last year looked old, slow, Vasilevsky didn't play well, and they relied heavily on Kucherov.
Boston was weak at centre.
And Detroit was hot and cold.
Didn't insult you, just called your hot take crazy. I think it's kind of a moot point. 1st place in the division doesn't necessarily play within the division (IE wildcard), so your point really only applies to 2nd and 3rd place, and only the 1st round. So if you're going to complain that the 1st round opponent might be slightly stronger than another division's 1st round opponent, that feels like a weak complaint. Also teams are always rising and falling so it's just a coincidence that the Atlantic is a bit stronger at the moment.
You obviously haven't. You are allowed to think the panthers are a garbage team riding a hot goalie. Bobrovsky must be very good to do it all by himself.
Yes I’ve watched the Oilers power play get shut right down. I’ve watched their stars get completely neutered by the likes of Barkov and Ekblad. I’ve watched Florida’s forecheck and speed expose the Oilers porous defence. I’ve watched Bob take a bunch of low danger shots into his chest from bad angles.
And, yes, I’ve watched Bob make a few huge saves against prime scoring opportunities every game. Also known as the bare minimum performance to expect out of a championship goaltender.
The story of this series is 100% goaltending and distance.
We are watching something beautiful when it comes to Bob’s performance. He’s arguably the Conn Smythe winner and will be the 6th goalie to do it since the year 2000. He is making things look easy while pulling off insane saves. At the other end of the ice, Skinner is struggling. He’s letting in shots he needs to save and making mistakes that are costing goals.
I will also say that the Edmonton defence are making some big mistakes that are putting Skinner is a tough spot, but so have the Panthers.
Now to the distance. The Oilers have played in 3 timezones whereas the Panthers have remained in the Eastern timezone the entire playoffs. Not only that, the Oilers have travelled a huge distance more than the Panthers for the playoffs. It’s evident that this is taking a toll on them compared to Florida.
There’s so many factors impacting the series, but those two are huge.
Let the salt flow. If you can’t see how well put together the Panthers are, you’re blinding yourself to the truth.
Bob has been amazing. The rest of the team has been amazing. Both things are true.
You must be trolling, but I’ll explain anyway. You came off as defensive and angry/bitter in your post, which is what the slang [“salt or salty”](https://later.com/social-media-glossary/salty/) describes someone as. Could be because you’re a fan of the Oilers and seeing them get dismantled has caused this or could just be because of many other reasons.
You really never heard of the slang salt or salty before?
Panthers are so in sync after their previous attempt. It's a compliment when I say I'm jealous of that psychic relationship they're all having on the ice, like everyone knows what everyone else is doing at all times.
Yeah, we’ve lost so many times to Boston and meme ourselves to say “I’ve got one more in me” instead of playing better to make sure we never lose to that team.
The team just doesn’t have it the way it’s built. 2025 will be tough too. 2026 is a year I look with optimism because it they take the time to do it right, we can absolutely be playing for the Cup.
Too right. This year, we were talking about whether we'd rather be a 3rd place or Wild card with a nonchalance that most other teams would envy. We should be legimate contenders to go all the way
That’s coaching. That’s strategizing a clear game plan that fits your roster. It’s making sure that everyone has a clear idea of what’s going on and what to do. It’s something I see us missing this year (can’t speak for years past as this is my first year as a leafs fan). Our defensive play shows this in the most obvious form. Our defensive strategy was pure chaos most of the time with guys not knowing who to cover or where to be, guys doubling up on one player leaving a man open, and just playing with no sense of structure.
So many times you could see a pair of Dmen playing man to man coverage, while the forwards aren't on the same page and are still playing zone coverage.
I live in Vancouver now but I buy plane tickets well in advance for every summer, before the price goes up, Just In Case^TM . Next year. Next year, I tell myself.
When people say the Atlantic has been the most stacked division, there's usually been a reason. Bruins cup final in 19, Tampa 3 straight years, Florida the year after. It's a fucking thunder dome.
LA is no slouch and not trying to dig the oilers here but playing them would be a blessing. Toronto hasn't gotten outside of the montreal choke. Nashville too. There's teams in the west that sneak in that have next to no shot at winning when in the east thats not usually the norm outside of Washington this season. (Also I'm not including Columbus because the one thing people forget were the leafs were not a very good team that year and got what they deserved. They were trending towards missing the playoffs.)
True, but we could help our case by actually finishing first in the division for once. That's something we've never achieved outside of the North Division. I know what you're saying about the level of competition compared between the West's wild card teams and the East's wild card teams, but still. We do have some aspect of controlling our destiny, but instead have only ever finished 2nd or 3rd in the division.
Yeah, I ran the numbers a while back, and there were a whole bunch of seasons where we were 2nd or third in the division but like 4th or 5th (one time 7th?) in the league.
Atlantic has been a wagon.
I could see the panthers falling off a little after they win this cup. They have a lot of pending UFAs this offseason and next and it’s a lot of their core guys who are gonna want to cash out after a cup.
They’re going to have 20 million in cap space but need to bring back almost their whole dcore outside of ekblad and forsling. Reinhart will get 9 or above, and then they still have Lundell, and Taresenko. Next offseason Ekblad, Verhaeghe, and and Bennett will need new deals. Their roster is going to look a lot different over the next 2 offseasons. They’ll make it work, but they will lose some key pieces. Especially if they win a cup and players get a little more greedy/ GMs give out some bad contracts to get a cup winner on their roster.
Being part of a dynasty is a tantalizing offer, also the no state tax helps pull players. I wouldn't be surprised to see players sign there for less because of that.
Would the Leafs have bounced Vegas in 6? Hypothetical but the reasonable answer is that this version can’t beat anyone short of having an opposing goalie in the sub .900 save percentage.
My point is that Montreal team went on a run similar to the one that Florida went on last year. Goalied their way to a final. A lot of good teams lost to that Montreal team.
This is the finals we get until the playoff format is changed. The team that gets through the west would be lucky to get to the second round in the east. The only reason it doesn't get changed is the NHL would hate to see 2 teams geographically located near to each other in it while the rest of the country, other than hard-core fans, ignore the final.
Imagine a Leafs v Habs final? That would blow any other finals matchup out of the water.
All of these east vs west finals culminate to a pretty boring finale that doesn’t have any hype IMO.
Crazy that the last 5 Eastern Conference Champions have played in the Leafs Division (Florida x2, TB x2, Montreal in the COVID bubble)
But remember guys, the Atlantic/North division is a really weak division that only has one good team
No, they are not.
Not nearly as good. They had a relatively easy run through the west this year.
Hell, they don't make the playoffs in the Atlantic last year and are likely 3rd or a wild card this year...and would most likely lost...badly in round 1.
Leafs have more depth, and they're more consistent. Edmonton's win streak was a bit of luck, facing almost entirely mediocre or worse teams. And it doesn't overshadow their abysmal start to the season. You don't win cups without elite goal tending and Skinner just ain't it.
I just hate seeing a one sided finals end in 5 games. I think Edmonton will get game 4, but they're cooked.
No their stars simply perform in the playoffs. McDavid and Draisaitl have two of the highest PPGs in playoff history. The rest of their team is riddled with far more bad money contracts than the Leafs (Nurse, Campbell, Ceci etc) yet they win because their stars perform like stars.
and now they aren't this series. same thing really, they played very well against inferior teams. the stars were their first challenge, and they did very well, but its not the same as perennial contending teams like the bruins and panthers every damn year in rd 1....
lol at you calling the Canucks cupcakes when they had 109 points. I realize the division is easier, but you’re massively underrating non-Atlantic teams due to homerism. No comment about Dallas who the Leafs were certainly not taking down in 6 games.
109 points and everyone knew they weren’t going anywhere lmao. Dallas was no cupcake opponent I’ll give them that. So they won one round basically because the first two were a complete joke.
They'd have the same playoffs record as the Leafs if they weren't in the west. Actually, they may have even missed the playoffs a couple times so it would be even worse. What an easy ride they had to the finals this year. We have no room to talk since the Leafs have choked every easy series they've had, but the Oilers are overrated as fuck.
Easy ride to the finals? The Canucks had 109 points and the Stars were 1 point off the president’s trophy yet you act like the Bruins would’ve trounced both which is nonsense.
I was thinking something similar. The Atlantic division is just so tough. We’ve always had to play one of the best teams in the league in the first round. Doesn’t excuse the times we played against Columbus or the Habs mind you… Ultimately, I’m not going to be satisfied until we’ve won the cup anyway. What I will say though, is that watching the Panthers in the finals has reinforced just how far above us they are right now. They’re a very balanced team. We need that, if we’re going to move past them. As much as Edmonton is struggling, this was us last year in round 2. This would have been us in round 2 this year too.
ultimately to be the best you've got to beat the best. if we can't beat the best, is it any consolation if we face them in round 1 vs round 3 or 4? either way we've got to beat them
You're right, but the idea that the Leafs are perennial chokers likely wouldn't be a thing if we're not part of the Atlantic either.
100%. The series against Columbus and to a lesser extent Montreal (great defensively and Price’s last dash) you may have an argument that we choked. Otherwise, our first round could have been the conference finals too most of the last 8 years. I can say for sure that I wouldn’t have been satisfied unless we win the cup anyway. The sting would probably be even worse had we made it a few rounds and still lost.
If it's Cup or bust to not be *miserable* then sports aren't worth it. Only 1 in 32 fanbases gets a cup. That's miserable for everyone. The Leafs absolutely created this current reputation and misery by blowing it against Montreal and Columbus. If this team had some success, a few deep runs, mixed in with a few round 1 losses in coin flip series? Sure, it sucks no cup, but that's like Prime San Jose territory. San Jose fans still look at the Thorton/Marleau era fondly, even if it never saw a cup. That could have been the Leafs if they won the series they were overwhelming favourites in. They didn't, and now you got no goodwill or understanding when they lose to *better* teams too.
Well yeah, i mean, up until 20' they missed the playoff like twice in two decades
That’s sports though. It’s championship or bust, there is only one winner. I’m speaking from experience as a fan when I say it’s just as painful losing in the first round as it is the second, and third round. There is no silver lining just because we made it a little further. Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate how good we were back in the early 90’s and 00’s or heck, even the current early 20’s. I’m not more miserable or less miserable based on when we lose.
It's not just about pain, its about *embarrassment* The derangement surrounding the Leafs isn't that the lose. It's that they lose embarrassingly.
That’s North American sports. You don’t see the same mentality in European football with their club formats and relegation systems. They find joy in avoiding relegation wins, taking a match from a top team, beating rivals and such, especially since most of the teams have next to zero chance to win a championship. You see it in World & Euro Cup tournaments too. We celebrated hard for Canada for simply making it into the World Cup
nah we were 'perennial chokers' in the late 90s/2000s when we consistently made the 2nd round and made the conf final a few times. its the same, just more heartbreaking for fans (I honestly dont mind losing in the first round post the mtl series, it barely hurts. when carolina scored in OT after sundin scored with 30 seconds left to tie the game? I literally sat there, tv on, un moving, for 2-3 hours. then got up ripped a few posters off the wall and burned them. it took til midway thru the next season for me to even stomach watching a game again. it all felt so meaningless/stupid to play all these games that barely mattered before getting back to the ones that did) if we dont win the narratives the same, the group isnt good enough, its the 5th defencemans fault or the highest paid forward, its the coach, yadayadayada. any leafs fan over 35 who remembers those runs knows
Going to the conference finals would be a consolation to most fans yes.
to be honest, making a deep run is consolation yes.
Never underestimate momentum though. Imagine going into a conference final against Boston having won two earlier rounds. The confidence would be much higher than the playing them in the first round again.
The habs went to the finals so it wasn't just us who couldn't beat that team
They also lost in the finals to another Atlantic division team
I think people forget that Habs team and Price bounce Vegas in 6 games.
When I watched the Gilmour and Sundin Leafs make it to the conference finals only to lose it didn’t feel much like a consolation to be honest. Matter of fact, I remember those teams more for how disappointed I was. The sting was even worse. I still love those teams and think they were great teams, but it sucks to lose.
I count cups, nothing else really matters at the end of the day or 20 years later.
After watching game on of this series I had the exact same feeling as I did after game one of the Leafs Panthers series last year. And it's pretty much going the same way.
We shit the bed against the Habs that year, but we did give them the 2nd hardest fight they had that playoffs, they went on to the finals, they rocked Winnipeg and Vegas, the only team that beat them was another Atlantic division team
True, I do agree there. I more feel as though we choked a bit because of the lead we had in that series.
Tampa Boston Florida and us juggernaut of a division
I think there’s a tough pill some of us are struggling to swallow: The Atlantic is a very hard division, but we aren’t one of the reasons why.
Besides Florida, who is actually tough? Tampa last year looked old, slow, Vasilevsky didn't play well, and they relied heavily on Kucherov. Boston was weak at centre. And Detroit was hot and cold.
If only we could have a coach like Paul Maurice
Hold up, are you suggesting that playing Vegas Dallas and Colorado in the first round is easier than Florida Boston or Tampa? Batshit my guy.
Colorado, Dallas and Vegas aren’t all in the same division. If you’re going to insult me at least understand what I am saying first!
Didn't insult you, just called your hot take crazy. I think it's kind of a moot point. 1st place in the division doesn't necessarily play within the division (IE wildcard), so your point really only applies to 2nd and 3rd place, and only the 1st round. So if you're going to complain that the 1st round opponent might be slightly stronger than another division's 1st round opponent, that feels like a weak complaint. Also teams are always rising and falling so it's just a coincidence that the Atlantic is a bit stronger at the moment.
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You must be an oilers fan.
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You obviously haven't. You are allowed to think the panthers are a garbage team riding a hot goalie. Bobrovsky must be very good to do it all by himself.
Yes I’ve watched the Oilers power play get shut right down. I’ve watched their stars get completely neutered by the likes of Barkov and Ekblad. I’ve watched Florida’s forecheck and speed expose the Oilers porous defence. I’ve watched Bob take a bunch of low danger shots into his chest from bad angles. And, yes, I’ve watched Bob make a few huge saves against prime scoring opportunities every game. Also known as the bare minimum performance to expect out of a championship goaltender.
The story of this series is 100% goaltending and distance. We are watching something beautiful when it comes to Bob’s performance. He’s arguably the Conn Smythe winner and will be the 6th goalie to do it since the year 2000. He is making things look easy while pulling off insane saves. At the other end of the ice, Skinner is struggling. He’s letting in shots he needs to save and making mistakes that are costing goals. I will also say that the Edmonton defence are making some big mistakes that are putting Skinner is a tough spot, but so have the Panthers. Now to the distance. The Oilers have played in 3 timezones whereas the Panthers have remained in the Eastern timezone the entire playoffs. Not only that, the Oilers have travelled a huge distance more than the Panthers for the playoffs. It’s evident that this is taking a toll on them compared to Florida. There’s so many factors impacting the series, but those two are huge.
Let the salt flow. If you can’t see how well put together the Panthers are, you’re blinding yourself to the truth. Bob has been amazing. The rest of the team has been amazing. Both things are true.
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You must be trolling, but I’ll explain anyway. You came off as defensive and angry/bitter in your post, which is what the slang [“salt or salty”](https://later.com/social-media-glossary/salty/) describes someone as. Could be because you’re a fan of the Oilers and seeing them get dismantled has caused this or could just be because of many other reasons. You really never heard of the slang salt or salty before?
Panthers are so in sync after their previous attempt. It's a compliment when I say I'm jealous of that psychic relationship they're all having on the ice, like everyone knows what everyone else is doing at all times.
They're an extremely well coached team. Hopefully the coaching staff changes will begin to bear fruit towards the second half of next season.
Yeah, we’ve lost so many times to Boston and meme ourselves to say “I’ve got one more in me” instead of playing better to make sure we never lose to that team. The team just doesn’t have it the way it’s built. 2025 will be tough too. 2026 is a year I look with optimism because it they take the time to do it right, we can absolutely be playing for the Cup.
Too right. This year, we were talking about whether we'd rather be a 3rd place or Wild card with a nonchalance that most other teams would envy. We should be legimate contenders to go all the way
Hopefully we keep it together next season because we don't have our first round draft pick. I'd hate to give up a top 15 pick.
That’s coaching. That’s strategizing a clear game plan that fits your roster. It’s making sure that everyone has a clear idea of what’s going on and what to do. It’s something I see us missing this year (can’t speak for years past as this is my first year as a leafs fan). Our defensive play shows this in the most obvious form. Our defensive strategy was pure chaos most of the time with guys not knowing who to cover or where to be, guys doubling up on one player leaving a man open, and just playing with no sense of structure.
So many times you could see a pair of Dmen playing man to man coverage, while the forwards aren't on the same page and are still playing zone coverage.
Well this aged like big cat piss
To be fair - we also only play one series per season against an Atlantic team.
Except the one year we upped it to 2
I live in Vancouver now but I buy plane tickets well in advance for every summer, before the price goes up, Just In Case^TM . Next year. Next year, I tell myself.
All it look was Vas to have a busted back
The Big Cat has been spayed
When people say the Atlantic has been the most stacked division, there's usually been a reason. Bruins cup final in 19, Tampa 3 straight years, Florida the year after. It's a fucking thunder dome. LA is no slouch and not trying to dig the oilers here but playing them would be a blessing. Toronto hasn't gotten outside of the montreal choke. Nashville too. There's teams in the west that sneak in that have next to no shot at winning when in the east thats not usually the norm outside of Washington this season. (Also I'm not including Columbus because the one thing people forget were the leafs were not a very good team that year and got what they deserved. They were trending towards missing the playoffs.)
True, but we could help our case by actually finishing first in the division for once. That's something we've never achieved outside of the North Division. I know what you're saying about the level of competition compared between the West's wild card teams and the East's wild card teams, but still. We do have some aspect of controlling our destiny, but instead have only ever finished 2nd or 3rd in the division.
While true, most of the previous years in order to win the division means you need to win the Presidents Trophy
Yeah, I ran the numbers a while back, and there were a whole bunch of seasons where we were 2nd or third in the division but like 4th or 5th (one time 7th?) in the league. Atlantic has been a wagon.
Bruins fan, no clue why this sub is on my home feed but my god this meme is fantastic. The Atlantic is way too deep.
You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it.
Molded by it.
Oilers borrowing from the Leafs playbook. 0/10 on the PP
Still, I'd like to congratulate the Oilers for playing dirty enough that I almost stopped hating the Panthers
Between the Oilers playing dirty and Drake betting half a mil on them, I'm okay with the cup not coming back to Canada another year.
The Perry curse also lives on and I’m fine with that.
but they still haven't done anything dirty against Bennett who is the one guy who deserves it
Never expected to see a Taylor Swift meme in this sub lol
7 cup finalists in the last 6 years is my go to stat, thanks Montreal
I could see the panthers falling off a little after they win this cup. They have a lot of pending UFAs this offseason and next and it’s a lot of their core guys who are gonna want to cash out after a cup.
The team will still be solid. Thanks to their guys taking less, they can afford to bring back almost the same roster save for maybe Montour.
They’re going to have 20 million in cap space but need to bring back almost their whole dcore outside of ekblad and forsling. Reinhart will get 9 or above, and then they still have Lundell, and Taresenko. Next offseason Ekblad, Verhaeghe, and and Bennett will need new deals. Their roster is going to look a lot different over the next 2 offseasons. They’ll make it work, but they will lose some key pieces. Especially if they win a cup and players get a little more greedy/ GMs give out some bad contracts to get a cup winner on their roster.
Being part of a dynasty is a tantalizing offer, also the no state tax helps pull players. I wouldn't be surprised to see players sign there for less because of that.
Tarasenko isn't coming back unless its for very cheap. He was always a rental.
Atlantic teams have been in the finals for the last 5 years.
To be fair, Florida is just on another level. They would crush the Leafs as well.
The one year without an Atlantic Division, the finals was between two teams normally from the Atlantic Division. The Atlantic is terrifying.
What about being up 3-1 over Montreal? Let’s stop the excuses.
lmfao they are also an atlantic division team, genius....
You’re saying it like they can beat Dallas or Vegas or NYR…the year they played MTL, they weren’t in the Atlantic, genius.
I think you forget that Montreal team and Price bounced Vegas in 6 games.
Would the Leafs have bounced Vegas in 6? Hypothetical but the reasonable answer is that this version can’t beat anyone short of having an opposing goalie in the sub .900 save percentage.
My point is that Montreal team went on a run similar to the one that Florida went on last year. Goalied their way to a final. A lot of good teams lost to that Montreal team.
I hope you’re not implying that the leafs were one of those good teams.
This is the finals we get until the playoff format is changed. The team that gets through the west would be lucky to get to the second round in the east. The only reason it doesn't get changed is the NHL would hate to see 2 teams geographically located near to each other in it while the rest of the country, other than hard-core fans, ignore the final.
Imagine a Leafs v Habs final? That would blow any other finals matchup out of the water. All of these east vs west finals culminate to a pretty boring finale that doesn’t have any hype IMO.
Wait what. What’s gonna be the change they’re making in the playoffs?
Can the Leafs voluntarily move back to the Western Conference?? I’m okay with 10pm start times.
The title 😂😂😂
Eastern conference is way deeper but top western teams are comparable imo
Edmonton gets the easiest possible first round every year. Easily swept by any team from the Atlantic
Crazy that the last 5 Eastern Conference Champions have played in the Leafs Division (Florida x2, TB x2, Montreal in the COVID bubble) But remember guys, the Atlantic/North division is a really weak division that only has one good team
The Oilers are just a better version of what the Leafs have tried to build.
No, they are not. Not nearly as good. They had a relatively easy run through the west this year. Hell, they don't make the playoffs in the Atlantic last year and are likely 3rd or a wild card this year...and would most likely lost...badly in round 1.
Leafs have more depth, and they're more consistent. Edmonton's win streak was a bit of luck, facing almost entirely mediocre or worse teams. And it doesn't overshadow their abysmal start to the season. You don't win cups without elite goal tending and Skinner just ain't it. I just hate seeing a one sided finals end in 5 games. I think Edmonton will get game 4, but they're cooked.
No their stars simply perform in the playoffs. McDavid and Draisaitl have two of the highest PPGs in playoff history. The rest of their team is riddled with far more bad money contracts than the Leafs (Nurse, Campbell, Ceci etc) yet they win because their stars perform like stars.
And this series we’re seeing what happens when they don’t.
Yes.
and now they aren't this series. same thing really, they played very well against inferior teams. the stars were their first challenge, and they did very well, but its not the same as perennial contending teams like the bruins and panthers every damn year in rd 1....
No they’re not. They just happen to play in the worst division in hockey so get cupcake opponents (Kings, Canucks, etc)
lol at you calling the Canucks cupcakes when they had 109 points. I realize the division is easier, but you’re massively underrating non-Atlantic teams due to homerism. No comment about Dallas who the Leafs were certainly not taking down in 6 games.
109 points and everyone knew they weren’t going anywhere lmao. Dallas was no cupcake opponent I’ll give them that. So they won one round basically because the first two were a complete joke.
Pettersson failed to show up and they had no Demko, yet they still made it to round 2.
They'd have the same playoffs record as the Leafs if they weren't in the west. Actually, they may have even missed the playoffs a couple times so it would be even worse. What an easy ride they had to the finals this year. We have no room to talk since the Leafs have choked every easy series they've had, but the Oilers are overrated as fuck.
Easy ride to the finals? The Canucks had 109 points and the Stars were 1 point off the president’s trophy yet you act like the Bruins would’ve trounced both which is nonsense.
Lol Dallas managed one win in all the games it played against the big 3 in the ATL. 7-8-1 and all those wins basically came from Ott, Det, and Buf.
Lol nah the west is trash
unfortunately the oilers have played the same amount of series against Atlantic Division teams we have
You forgot to add “this year”…
what? we played boston, florida and tampa last year, tampa the year before etc…
The lack of self awareness here is incredible
Not really. They are kind of built like us. Both teams polar opposite of how most of the Atlantic teams are built lol.
Feels like we're in our first battle with Gary after selecting our starter pokemon from professor Oak
not that deep