2026 NHL Playoffs Thread

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Gophers1992 said:
I’ll admit to being one of those people who wasn’t too excited about this finals matchup but holy crap what a first couple of games. Please give us 7 games of this.
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Yeah, I am just going to root for whichever team is trailing.
 

TRF Guy said:
This was tough to watch last night

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Fuck.

Definitely not a coincidence to give up two PP goals after Vegas' best PK guy and top line defenseman goes to the hospital. Anxious to see what we hear today on the injury.

The only thing I was worried about for this series was Vegas 3rd pairing defensemen. Through injuries and subpar play in the playoffs, they'd rotated Lauzon, Korczak, Hutton and Coghlan (who played all year in the AHL). First game, Lauzon returns from being out a few weeks but that 3rd pair goes (-2) even in the win.

Last night, with McNabb going out and Torts protecting Coghlan, they rolled with largely 4 defensemen. You knew they were going to wear down eventually. If McNabb can't come back, that's not good for the VGK.

Still surprised they are using Coghlan over Korczak on that 3rd pair. Coghlan is a shoot-first blue-liner and Korczak is less experienced, but a better skater and a little more sound defensively.
 


Ope3 said:
Torts effed up.
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Border Gopher said:
What a stupid challenge haha
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TRF Guy said:
Yes it was
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Kind of an interesting thing I dislike about the way it was called by the refs, but if disallowed for interference, would be nice to know if they would've overturned it if they felt no interference, or if there was intent to blow the whistle because ref though puck was frozen. If so, there is no way to overturn the call. On the other hand, if it is solely that it was interference, when the stick makes contact, you can see the puck loose and puck goes under the body and into the net (tbh I don’t think Vegas hits the puck or drives it in, I think it’s the Carolina player falling on him as that’s where you see it continue going through).

Agree felt like almost no chance it was going to be overturned and probably not worth it at that spot in the game if it's the former case, but if that's all it is, I really dislike the way the NHL goes and reviews plays (like it really should not take a challenge on a scoring play imo if all goals in the playoffs are reviewed in Toronto).
 
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It was a stupid challenge because Torts needs to know that the NHL refuses to overturn calls on the ice, especially in the playoffs, but that should have been a goal unless they had evidence of an early whistle, which they don't seem to.
 

Winnipegopher said:
It was a stupid challenge because Torts needs to know that the NHL refuses to overturn calls on the ice, especially in the playoffs, but that should have been a goal unless they had evidence of an early whistle, which they don't seem to.
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Challenge was definitely risky. Not sure how much Torts is aware of this but historically, the folks with VGK that are responsible for this kind of thing during the game are exceptional at deciding on a challenge; almost always when they challenge they win, they're just almost never wrong. I know the final decision was with Torts, but not doubt he had people advising him to challenge.

I would imagine factoring into the decision (maybe?) was how lethal the VGK PK had been through the playoffs.... HOWEVER, if that's your thinking, you better be also considering that you had no Brayden McNabb on your PK.

Whatever. Spilled milk now. A split on the road and you go back home, although I don't think for either of these teams the home/road disparity is much at all.

 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Challenge was definitely risky. Not sure how much Torts is aware of this but historically, the folks with VGK that are responsible for this kind of thing during the game are exceptional at deciding on a challenge; almost always when they challenge they win, they're just almost never wrong. I know the final decision was with Torts, but not doubt he had people advising him to challenge.

I would imagine factoring into the decision (maybe?) was how lethal the VGK PK had been through the playoffs.... HOWEVER, if that's your thinking, you better be also considering that you had no Brayden McNabb on your PK.

Whatever. Spilled milk now. A split on the road and you go back home, although I don't think for either of these teams the home/road disparity is much at all.

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Agree with everything in the chiclets take. My feeling is they should’ve said no interference and then said intent to blow the whistle and no penalty but no goal. I could live with that call even if it’s because the ref is out of position. Their reasoning is terrible
 



Gotta love hockey players. And the Stanley Cup Final

 
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Oh my. I had given up on this one. Canes didn't.

Is the rink down hill left to right on the TV screen?
 

This is silliness. Three goals in 40 second. lol.
 



Still hate the puck out of play call

Also none of these refs have any idea if it was or was not directly out for sure
 



A whole new ball game. Next goal wins.

Unless it is overturned.
 


Free hockey.
 


I turned this off when it was 4-0....Wtf
 

Nax5 said:
I turned this off when it was 4-0....Wtf
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tenor.gif
 

FinnGopher said:
Two locations where the majority of people can't even spell hockey let alone know the game.
I am now in full baseball mode with a bit of Lynx basketball on the side.
Until northern teams win the cup, hockey is of no concern to me.
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Dumbass move on your part.

Thrilling Cup so far.
 


Ope3 said:
Dumbass move on your part.

Thrilling Cup so far.
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This is one of the dumbest and most lazy takes out there for hockey.

The notion that neither southern NV or the Carolinas aren't filled with people who grew up in northern climates and grew up loving the game continues to be one of the most idiotic we still continue to see.

Fucking stupid. Like super stupid.

Before I moved to LV, I lived within 20 miles of the US Hockey Hall of Fame and the US's largest hockey stick in Eveleth, MN.

But sure, nobody living in southern NV knows anything about hockey. Just absolutely stupid and fucking lazy take.
 

Pretty good take here from a Canes fan on the series up to this point, if you read the whole post

Of course I don't want it to go 7 games, but holy shit, what would the ratings be for a Game 7 of this series? Ridiculous numbers I have to think

 

this series has been one of the more bizarre ones i've ever seen. long periods of what you'd expect with lockdown defense, low shot total, low chance total, etc., then both teams having complete and total meltdowns (what did Vegas have, like 10 breakaways last night?!) coupled with some really ugly goaltending at times and some, we'll say interesting, officiating situations (both the goals called off last night were clear and obvious ones, think only curiosity i'd have is why there was no penalty for hitting the goalie which, to me, is 100% a penalty given he's in the crease and catches a forearm to the head). we switch over into crack hockey mode on the drop of a hat at times with both teams being essentially their anti-selves

Per moneypuck, xG in the series is 9.28-8.25 Carolina (natural stat trick is 10.3-9.9 Vegas) with Carolina leading every game but by thin margins. Would be really interesting to see how general fans would feel about the series if the games had been a couple goals lower scoring more in line with the xG. Kinda crazy as I'm sure if asked either of these fans if they'd average 4 goals/game, they'd expect they're up 3-0 in the series.

In any regard, the NHL has been given a massive gift in marketing the game because the games have been incredibly good viewing experience wise with tons of drama. The ESPN broadcast is still so-so at best, but man the league needs to capitalize on this and grow the game further. TV numbers are up over tons of sports (turns out if you can't go to games, money is tight, etc, watching a game on TV at home is pretty god damn cheap over the course of the year). Dismissing any location in the NHL or any fanbase is just dumb, but it's also what turned people away from the game for a long time.
 


Okay, this made me laugh (at least I hope this one is okay to laugh at...)

 

Another crazy first period. Canes 3-1 and Vegas thought they had goal number 2 but time had just expired
 

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