Let's go Pens!
Joined: Mar. 2017
Posts: 1,788
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Playoffs this season is full of surprises to me.
The most impressive, in my opinion, is VGK (Again!!!). Who you guys bet they would leading the series 3x0 against an experience and tough team like Kings?? I'm sure almost anyone put a 4x0 or even a 4x1 win for the Knights over Kings. Probably most ones put Kings winning the series (I'm one of those guys), because of their experience and because they have guys like Doughty, Kopitar and Quick, a goalie who raises in playoffs. Ok, all the 3 games are pretty much equal, decided by just one goal. Fleury has been fantastic again in playoffs defending 96 of 99 shots, putting behind his bad numbers in playoffs till last season. He's the X-Factor for Vegas. But the fact is most of us was wrong about VGK (Again!!!) and they continue to make history.
Another surprise to me is Sharks leading their series agains Ducks 3x0 either. In my bracket I put Sharks over Ducks, but in a pretty much balanced series. 4x3 win to be more specific. And after an embarassing defeat in game 3 in San Jose, it's probable that Sharks sweep the series. And I'm sure that almost anyone put a 4x0 or even a 4x1 win to any of both in this series. The X-Factor in Sharks favour to me was Evander Kane acquisition. Sharks have been a much better team offensively since he comes to their team. They already were a very good team defensively and now they are very good offensively either. I consider them a contender, specially because Jones has been so damn good since late in regular season.
The last big surprise (the less one, in my opinion) is Jackets leading the series against Capitals after 2 games in Washington. It won't be a surprise if Jackets win this series, because they're one of the hottest teams since trade deadline. Jackets acquisitions made them a much better team bringing more depth to a team that had a lack of that. The X-Factor in playoffs to them, in my opinion, is their superstar goalie, Bobrovski. If he's capable to keep his hockey level high, Jackets can be considered as a contender. They aren't a stellar like Pens, Capitals and Lightining, but they don't have any great weakness. So, they're a tough team to beat and I think it's very unlikely that Capitals rally in this series against them, specially because Capitals have serious mental issues in playoffs. Every single season they have a talented team, but they don't have mental toughness enough to reach Stanley Cup or Conference Finals. Seriously, I'm so thankful to not be a Caps fan. They suffer more than ANY other fan in ANY other league. You can think about Browns fans in NFL, but they never have a competitive team, so their expectations are always pretty damn low. That's surely not Capitals case. Idk if Ovechkin will hang on again after another tough series lost in playoffs, if that be confirmed as it seems to. I wouldn't be surprise if he decides to come back to Russia this time. Looks like another tough winter is coming for the Washington fans...(yes, I'm a GoT fan).