Morphinity 2.0

It's MacKinnon's turn.

He helps create that 2nd goal with the cut to the middle, taking a defender with him - just because Fox made a great play, doesn't mean Panarin shouldn't get any credit. He also cut to the middle of the ice later in the game and got a good shot off in the high slot. He's producing and he's doing the right things.

Dawg, they just had a week off lol He'll be fine

They were just warming up.

Oilers in 4. Canucks are banged up, not playing super well, and have like their janitor playing in net.

(1C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Colorado Avalanche REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS: Stars: 52-21-9, 113 points; defeated Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in the first round Avalanche: 50-25-7, 107 points; defeated Winnipeg Jets 4-1 in the first round SEASON SERIES: DAL: 1-2-1, COL: 3-1-0 GAME BREAKERS: Stars: Wyatt Johnston continues to build off an impressive second season in the NHL (65 points; 32 goals, 33 assists in 82 games). The forward plays like a veteran and comes up in big moments, including the overtime goal in a 3-2 win in Game 3 against the Golden Knights and the opening goal in Game 7. Johnston led the Stars through the first round with seven points (four goals, three assists) in seven games. Avalanche: You have to go with Nathan MacKinnon again. Though other players scored more goals in the first round, MacKinnon is still the one who opponents want and need to shut down the most. He had nine points (two goals, seven assists) against the Jets, tied for the Avalanche lead with linemate Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar, each of whom also had two goals and seven assists. GOALTENDING: Stars: Jake Oettinger was solid in a tight first-round series, going 4-3 with a 1.95 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. The Stars went 16-4 in their final 20 regular-season games, when Oettinger was 13-3-0 with a 2.26 GAA, .913 save percentage and two shutouts in 16 starts. He returned to form as the regular season ended and he's carried that over to the postseason. Avalanche: Alexandar Georgiev had a forgettable start to the playoffs, but it's how you finish, right? He rebounded from a 7-6 loss in Game 1 to win his next four, is 4-1 with a 3.03 GAA and .900 save percentage and didn't allow more than three goals in a game after the opener. Backup Justus Annunen is healthy again after missing the first two games with an illness. X FACTORS: Stars: Logan Stankoven was held to two assists in the first round but had a crucial game-tying assist in the first period of Game 5, 1:02 after Vegas took a 1-0 lead. The 21-year-old could be a key secondary scorer against the Avalanche whether he plays center or wing. Stankoven ranked second among NHL rookies who played at least 12 regular-season games with 0.58 points per game (14 in 24 games), behind Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard (0.90), and had two points (one goal, one assist) and four shots on goal in two games against Colorado. Avalanche: Artturi Lehkonen scored in all five games against the Jets and ranks second on Colorado in goals behind Valeri Nichushkin (seven). He's also tied with Mittelstadt for the fourth-most even-strength points (six) in the playoffs and is second on the Avalanche behind Rantanen (seven). Lehkonen is consistently a solid playoff performer; he had six points (three goals, three assists) in seven games last postseason and 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 20 games when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. He's a big part of the top power-play unit with high-scoring skaters MacKinnon, Rantanen, Nichushkin and Makar. WILL WIN IF: Stars: They remain stingy on defense. Outside of Game 1, when the Golden Knights scored four goals, the Stars held them to three or fewer in the next six games, not easy to do against the defending Stanley Cup champions. They're allowing 2.29 goals per game (fifth in the playoffs) and will need that same type of defense against the Avalanche, who lead the postseason with 5.60 goals per game. Avalanche: They keep the balanced scoring going. Colorado got contributions across the board and not just from their top line of Nichushkin, MacKinnon and Rantanen. Six players have at least six points. You need depth scoring at this time of year, and it paid off for the Avalanche in the first round. It's something they'll need to continue if they're going to keep advancing. MORE:

It's absolutely this. When the refs are looking to make a call, they look for the big guy and just call any contact.

The only Game 7's would be in the Western Conference in Dallas and Vancouver. Rangers play at 7, Dallas at 8, Vancouver at 10:30. There, I did it for you, NHL.

I can't quibble too much with it. As we know, the Rangers statistical profile isn't that great, and that's what this is all based on. In the end, it doesn't matter that much anyway. 66-34, 60-40, 55-45. It's all in the same ballpark.

Knies is an animal.

I think Rangers fans are underestimating the Canes. They're a great team, well-coached, and relentless. Going to be a battle and the Rangers need to be sharp defensively because the Hurricanes have more of a high-end, in Guentzel and a healthy Svechnikov, than they have in past playoffs.

So is "they played them to a draw at 5v5 and only won with special teams and goaltending". Yeah no shit. That's been the formula for the Rangers going back since Panarin got here. The Capitals series didn't teach us anything new and to expect them to dominate any team at 5v5, no matter who the opponent is, is just expecting something outside of how this team is constructed. Yeah, Igor has to be the star. Yeah, the powerplay is going to have to keep rolling against a much tougher, more aggressive opponent. Tell me something we don't know.

You can also argue they should have done better on the Kadri trade. And they should have - Barrie was a total bust for them. But they were also hamstrung by where he wanted to go. He refused a trade to Calgary after all.

I don't know. The Canes are chuckers, yes, but they're also elite forecheckers and cyclers. And the Rangers are not the best when the other team has established a zone presence - they tend to lose track of other players on the ice. Plus, once you get their D turned around on the forecheck, they get exposed more than other teams. They should do a lot of what they did in 2021 - a lot of flipping the puck out of the defensive zone into the neutral zone to set up a jump ball situation. It's the quickest and easiest way to break out against a team that's so good at sealing off all usual breakout routes.

In a vacuum Tavares was fine. His contract was signed with the assumption the cap was going to increase by $4M or so ever year, which was a healthy assumption. No one foresaw a flat cap for 4 years due to a pandemic shutting down the season. Even Marner and Matthews were signed before all of that, under the same assumption. As Phil said, not trading one of them to give them some breathing room is what has fucked them.

That's outrageous to me. What was he expected to do there?

There's no way he "woke up stiff" and is missing two games. There's something super fishy going on here, and I suspect "stiffness" is a part of it, so to speak.

Wasn't even close last night - obviously from the score, but the Bruins were just better in every way.

I used to. Lived in the DMV for 5 years. Got out of there as soon as I could.

(2P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3P) Los Angeles Kings REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS: Oilers: 49-27-6, 104 points Kings: 44-27-11, 99 points SEASON SERIES: EDM: 3-1-0, LAK: 1-2-1 GAME BREAKERS: Oilers: Connor McDavid has accomplished practically everything left to accomplish in the regular season and is on the quest for playoff success. The five-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL's leading scorer and three-time Hart Trophy winner as League MVP had another outstanding season with 132 points (32 goals, 100 assists) in 76 games. McDavid became the fourth player to have at least 100 assists in a season. What has eluded the NHL's most dynamic player is the Stanley Cup. Kings: Anze Kopitar is the heart and soul of the Kings and has plenty of game left. The 36-year-old had another strong season with 70 points (26 goals, 44 assists) in 81 games. Playing in his 18th NHL season, the two-time Stanley Cup champion (2012, 2014) knows how to win and will be crucial to Los Angeles' success in the series. Kopitar is the Kings top center and will likely get a heavy dose of McDavid in the series, particularly in games at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Kopitar can still hold his own with the best in the NHL and if he has a big series, could help Los Angeles get past Edmonton. GOALTENDING: Oilers: Stuart Skinner was given the responsibly to be the undisputed starter this season when Jack Campbell was assigned to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Nov. 7, and has made the most of the opportunity. In his second full season, Skinner has gone 36-16-5 with a 2.62 goals against average and .905 save percentage in 59 games (57 starts). Skinner started every playoff game for the Oilers last season and is looking to build on that experience. Backup Calvin Pickard was 12-7-1 with a 2.45 GAA and .909 save percentage in 23 regular-season games (20 starts). Kings: Cam Talbot rejuvenated his career in Los Angeles and is heading back into the playoffs as a starter. In his first season with the Kings, Talbot played in the NHL All-Star Game and was 27-20-6 with a 2.50 GAA and .913 save percentage in 54 games (52 starts). The Kings will need Talbot to have a strong series against his former team and if he falters, they will turn to David Rittich, who also had a strong season as the backup, going 13-6-3 with a 2.15 GAA and .921 save percentage in 24 games (22 starts). X FACTORS: Oilers: Corey Perry was brought in by Edmonton in large part because of his playoff experience. Perry is a Stanley Cup winner with the Anaheim Ducks (2007) and went to three consecutive finals with three different teams (Dallas Stars, 2020; Montreal Canadiens, 2021; Tampa Bay Lightning, 2022). Perry had 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 38 games with the Oilers after he had his contract terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks, and was his typical agitating self toward opponents. The Oilers hope the 38-year-old forward can be a factor in a long playoff run this postseason. Kings: Quinton Byfield was selected by Los Angeles with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Byfield had a breakout season with 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) in 80 games. The 21-year-old forward is immensely talented and can dominate with his strength and speed. Edmonton had difficulty containing Byfield this season. He had six points (two goals, four assists) in four games against the Oilers and is expected to be a handful again in the playoffs. WILL WIN IF: Oilers: They can play a patient game and not get frustrated by the Kings and their trapping system. The success Edmonton has had against Los Angeles this season and in the previous two playoffs comes from its ability to take care of the puck and not turn it over in the neutral zone trying to circumvent the trap. Getting the puck in behind the Kings defense and cycling it in the corner will be key to the Oilers success. If they can do the little things well, take care of the puck and stay out of the penalty box, they should be able to get past the Kings for a third consecutive time in the first round. Kings: They can grind the game down to a slog and stifle Edmonton's speed through the neutral zone. The Kings make opponents work for every inch of space on their own side of the ice and expect to do the same against the Oilers. Los Angeles will get its chances off the rush through turnovers in the neutral zone and needs to make the most of them. Talbot will need to be very good, and the penalty kill needs to continue its success into the playoffs. Los Angeles cannot afford to spend too much time in the penalty box; Edmonton's power play features two of the best offensive players in the game in McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, along with a 54-goal scorer in Zach Hyman. MORE:

Avs eventually win this I think because they have the better forward/defense core. But there's a massive discrepancy in goal here. Hellebuyck will be a Vezina finalist and Georgiev almost lost his net to Justus Annunnen.