Laviolette might be able to get Kuznetsov and their offense going. They’d be pretty competitive if that happens.

They have some gas left but its running out quick. They will make the playoffs but they will lose in the first round. Youre counting on everything going right for them to move past that, and even if everything does go right i doubt they get to the second round. The canucks are the better team and were the better team. Just because a team was ahead of you in the standings doesnt mean theyre better than you, it means they were better than you. Everyone was high on the blues because of their cup run but theyre not that good and beat better teams to get that cup. You dont beat teams that are better than you every time.

Its not just this year. Also playoff hockey is very different from regular season hockey. The last 2 years the caps won the metro but lost in the first round. During the playoffs they rely too much on their stars to carry them and they just cant anymore. Oshie isnt who he was and kuznetsov has to get going. Also their defense isnt very good. Carlson will put up a ton of points but his +/- is in the negatives. Dont get me wrong hes an elite player but hes not so good defensively.