conundrumed

Not when I have Panarin, Fox and Kreider. I hate Fox shoulda been OUR 1D, but I also can't deny that he's close to par with Makar. I guess when you're that good and the NHL has a loophole for a player to dictate it, a team will get Blockchained. It just happened to be us... He's $9.5 per, so I'd wonder how we do that with what we have going on rn.

I read his jr eligibility is done, so assumed his draft eligibility is too. Where's @cross when a guy needs an edumacation?

With very few picks this year, should we turn a keen eye on ELC's for undrafted players? David Spacek with Sherbrooke maybe? O-minded RD. The OHL guys that missed entire seasons in their draft years and are now surprising? I'll admit, I'm not clear on who goes back to the draft and who is UFA. Ryan Francis, for example, I'm thinking is now UFA? (example, obviously not a target)

It's starting to look like the the world is in perfect harmony and I've taught it how to sing.lol The only issue has been td. He keeps singing Alto when clearly he's a Soprano;)

That's a great idea RD. Peeps runs a Yahoo-based pool for forum members you should join. Nothing wrong with having 2!! Especially a live draft would be fun. Maybe Peeps can join this conversation and we can discuss a 2nd pool set up differently. They are a ton of fun. I get pretty mouthy but I only do it for fun. There used to be a "Trash Talk" section on this board that was hilarious but got a little over-the-top. So I do it in honour of that former section. Kinda like right now, where I can't stop winning. I should change my name to Charlie Sheen.lol Special thanks to @jjgallow for letting me win the Yahoo pool. Say what you may about JJ, he sparks conversation and is pretty great at taking the piss and not backing down. And he is a superstar at hockey pools. Always a threat. I like jj a lot. Where others get exasperated, I find him really entertaining. He's definitely no dummy. I love how he gets more steadfast the more one argues with him.

Rangers looking solid again. Let's see how they do in Tampa. 60 games without a back-to-back loss, wow. Times are changing.

I think NJ's on the right track. They aren't Buffalo. They've taken their time, that's a good up and coming team. Like the Wings.

I don't understand the talking heads personally. They just follow the flavours. Hell of a time to miss that the Rangers are a pretty solid roster gaining momentum. Not understanding. It's like everyone said Tampa in 4-6 and won't step back from it. I'm cheering for the Rangers but don't really care. I'm just surprised everyone decided a long time ago that the Rangers can't go all of the way. Don't understand. Great for them, I guess, perennial underdog. Struggled mightily vs Pens, tightened their game vs the Canes, still no one gives them a chance vs Tampa. Next, the Avs will destroy them I guess. I'm taking liberties, but I'm sure you get what I mean. Just like the Flames, 95% of experts just jump a bandwagon of opinion that we'd suck this year. I'm pretty anti-consensus.lol I've seen this movie too many times.

Be an interesting one tonight to see how Tampa comes back. As I showed in the fwd lines from each team before, I believe the Rangers are better than Tampa up front. Particularly lines 2-4 and especially 3. Nod to Tampa on D. Is G a wash? They're the 2 best. Always said Vas is the #1 goalie in the league, but Shesterkin is on the verge of taking that crown I believe. He was reading Kucherov very well and if he continues mitigating him, that will do it. In the regs vs Tampa , he was 3-0, 1.3 GAA & .958sv% including a 38 save shutout.

Yeah I kinda have to overlook Fox due to being a huge Panarin fan. His story is epic. Not many NHLers grew up in such dire poverty that the other kids made fun of him for his makeshift gear. Plus, he's the only Russian with the 'nads to out Putin publicly. Colorado is a beast. I'm not certain that there's a better NHLer than Makar. I don't hate them, I'm just bitter with envy. They're stacked, then they still add in great young guys like Newhook and Byram. It's unfair.lol

Ode to the Oilers.

And this is precisely what happens when you let pride get in the way. Knowing no shame in life has it's upsides.lol

Can we call this a turning pt for the Rangers? Adversity, then a pretty solid Canes series that I doubt many thought they'd win. Fun to watch at any rate. All 6 goals in game 1 were pretty sweet goals.

Whoever from the West, assuming the AVS, are going to get lit right up. You HAVE to bring a top tier goalie. Neither has one.

Lafreniere-Chytil-Kappo-Fox-Shesterkin etc? A ton of high pressure games, only not in the NHL. Beneath the weight of big expectations. They're bringing it. Their stars are being stars, it's a fun team.

I love the talking heads TBag excuses today. "They've had a long layoff, they'll be much better in game 2". What a riot. NYR lines: Kreider-Zibanijad-Vatrano Panarin-Strome-Copp Lafreniere-Chytil-Kakko Motte-Goodrow-Reaves TBay Lines: Stamkos-Cirelli-Kucherov Palat-Paul-Killorn Hagel-Colton-Perry Maroon-Bellemare-Rutta Are you guys sure that you know what you're talking about? Not seeing Tampa win these matchups much. Everyone thinking TBay would crush the Rangers due to D differences should take a hard look at these forward lines. They aren't that close. 1 game, I know...

I'm not very surprised. Perfect opportunity for a rant. Francis and Zary are the same age as Pelletier, they aren't a year younger or a year behind. ONLY when it comes to the NHL's Blockchaining ridiculous age limit cutoff for draft. It is so utterly dumb that I'm at a loss for words. This is what sent Matthews to the Swiss league for a year. You play the same birth year guys for your entire career and then at the NHL draft, "sorry, you were born between Sept 16th and Dec 31st, you aren't with your peers anymore". It's ridiculous. So if you're drafting a late birthday guy in later rounds, back your hopes off. I hate this about the NHL. It is the ONLY time you aren't with your birth year buddies. It's actually discriminatory when it comes right down to it.

There's always something that surprises every playoffs. The kid line for NYR are playing full of confidence. Chytil being lethal. Cheapest line in the league? I love this. Young guys breaking out when it matters most. Huge boost for the Rangers. Great storylines in this series, as opposed to that other series.

Ranger Danger:)

Or.... Shesterkin wants to prove a point vs Vasilevsky. I think he can. Stamkos/Kreider, Point - Zibanejad, Cirelli/Copp The main features for me. Does Fox/Hedman? Lotsa maybe maybes.

Emotions run high. Great big whatever. We lost. Move on. It wasn't me, but don't take it personally.

Someone's gotta win a faceoff.

Tampa vs NYR. This should be a good series. There's a lot to unravel. Tampa Twice Champs, goalie, size, skill, solid D. Blocking everything. Were on the ropes vs Toronto. NYR Inexperienced outside of 4-0 in elimination games this year. Goalie, skill mix with lots of it being young and ambitious, decent size (the Reaves factor), D seems shady but stepping up. I'm convincing myself this will be about 4 Russians: Vasilevsky vs Shesterkin Kucherov vs Panarin A majority of the rosters are relatively even. Thoughts?

t - 6hrs to sign him by 3pm MT. I doubt this is a lock.

Who needs goaltending? Have to wonder if these 2 teams will ever have a 3-1 score. If D wins games, what if neither team plays D? The 2 elite goalies go tonight. Much better hockey I'd wager.