OffThePost.org

Someone compared Mike Smith to Tim Thomas, and I can kinda see the resemblance. Smith right now is using a LOT of movement to get the job done, and for the most part, it's working. The only time he looked kinda "bad" was on J.T. Compher's goal where he gave up the rebound and then flopped on his back, kicking his pads straight into the air in a desperate attempt to block Compher's shot. It didn't work. I honestly think the Flames will bring him back, unless they think Gillies is ready.

One more quick derailment of this thread since Jay mentioned Fenway. Went there and sat in the right field seats that don't directly face home plate (WTF???). People around us were super cool the whole time, until one asked my wife where we're from. As soon as she said NY, a bunch of people we'd gotten along well with for 7 innings turned on us. Yankees Suck chants started all around, etc... Red Sox weren't even playing the Yankees! It was Tampa. So my wife stands up out of NOWHERE and yells "the next Tampa batter is gonna hit a home run!" I looked at her like "WTF are you doing?" She shrugged. People started yelling all kinds of insults at her.... Next pitch - CRACK! The ball landed 4 rights in front of us- for a home run. Tampa then trailed like 4-1, but nobody said another word to us. I quietly said to her "do you know what they do to witches in Massachusetts???"

Oh- and that was the same game where some woman got up/down like 20 times, to the point that I finally asked "do you have the runs??? Why the hell do you keep getting up?" Shut that shit right down.


Sorry. Now- GO FLAMES!!!

_________________
Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Nice floater by Barrie from the point to make it 1-0. Smith coulda had that.

*Radioactive Man voice*

"The regular season, it means nothing!"

_________________

Means less than it ever has. Bettman's parity.

Not impressed with anyone last night....not even Mike Smith. Hey thanks for attempting to show up for one game Johnny!.....still better than Monahan's showing.

Last night was so bad I went to bed before the game was over.

At least its over and no TVs were harmed with this early exit.

I don't even know where to begin with this slop that was the Flames effort. I guess....yes you extend Mike Smith (1 year only please). He's the only one that showed up the majority of the time.

I used to be a big Sam Bennett (Jamie Lundmark 2.0) fan but after watching him this season i am ok cutting bait.....Neal (buy that guy out immediately). TJ Brodie can also hit the road after next year.

This is a soft team that needs to find heart and grit for next year.....for the love of pete it feels like I've been saying that for 20 years.

On the coaching side...yeah Bill Peters had a great year....but Bednar took him to school during the playoffs. I get sticking to what got you there rolling the lines but, bloody hell, mixing it up was too little too late. In the end I guess he was stuck with what he had and players have to show up and play (even if things aren't going their way). I still think the game plan should have been obvious...shut down MacKinnon....bodies in front of Grubauer but I guess that was easier said than done and didn't really match up with Flames style of play this year. Will be interesting to see how far the Avs can go against teams that have a little more bite (they learned a lot from Nashville last year).

_________________
No AI has been used in the making of this post

Whoa - I was completely off base about last night's showing by the Flames. They always seem a half step behind and unable to mount a sustained forecheck or attack - like ever all game. Johnny was way too in his head and looked completely deflated. He had zero answers so just resigned. Smith was average, Monahan was good at getting rid of rid of the puck as soon as it was on his stick -- you have to think the Flames all knew they had no response to the Avs speed. They have some holes to fill in the middle of the lineup and on D. Would be interested to see some underlying numbers on the 107 point season. Was it an illusion?

Will be interesting to see how the Avs fare against, err, Vegas? If they keep running on all cylinders like they are, hard to see how they can be stopped. Groob seems to be settling into his role as #1 and Makar is a total gamer. Bright future for the Avs. I am jealous, but only slightly.

Avs have shown they're very capable of playing great hockey...they've also proven they're capable of playing bad hockey. Luckily for four games out of five against an opponent who flat-out toyed with them during the regular season, they played the best hockey I've ever seen them play under Jared Bednar. Hell, this is far and away the best hockey I've seen this team play since their days as contenders, which is coming up on some 20 years ago!

I won't sit here and say I think the Flames played their best game and the Avs just played better. I don't know if some guys were hurt--Monahan sure seemed like he was as he was a complete and utter non-factor out there. But the Avs had injuries too, including to Mikko Rantanen who may not be 100% but went on an absolute tear with five goals and nine points inf five games. What was absolutely startling to me was that every time the Flames tried to bust the Avs in the mouth or try to out-muscle them or stymie their breakout, sometimes it actually worked for a while, but then the Avs just found a way around it. Before the Flames could bully them around during the regular season, the Avs didn't let it get to them in this series though. They just kept moving the puck well and utilizing their speed. The Flames did everything they could to throw the Avs' off their game. Nothing worked. And here's the shocking part--past success for this club always seemed so dependent on shooting percentage/goaltending-boosted runs that eventually fell short once the luck ran out. Not this time. The Avs dominated on the scoresheet and on the fancy stats spreadsheet. Mike Smith played his heart out and kept it as close as he possibly could. The Flames fans remaining until the end rightfully cheered his name in the game's final minutes.

The Flames could NOT deal with the Avs' speed and puck movement at all, and that might be their fatal flaw. The Flames actually do have some speedy wingers and their defenders can easily keep up with most guys. But it's their centers who actually looked quite slow in the postseason. The Avs actually have two very fast centers (MacKinnon--duh--and Compher) and two really slow centers (Soderberg and Jost). But even as slow as a Wilson-Soderberg-Rantanen line had the potential of being, they never looked slow. Sometimes speed is more about deft puck movement than actually north-to-south skating ability.

It wasn't perfect, and against the likely 2nd round opponent, the Vegas Golden Knights, they will be very stingy defensively while also more able to keep up with the Avs. Also...Mark Stone. Yikes.

One sequence kinda indicative of this series, with the game winding down, Elias Lindholm tried laying a huge check on the diminutive Alexander Kerfoot in open ice. Not only did he fail to knock Kerfoot down, he ended up hurting himself.

Whatever happens from this point on is the tastiest gravy we Avs fans have had in a long, long time. After a rollercoaster season that just barely had them making the playoffs again they blew the fucking doors off even the most optimistic fan's expectations.

This is equal parts funny and disturbing. A Coyotes fan who happened to be rooting for the Flames (because, if you decide to watch, he makes it kinda clear he doesn't really care much for the Avalanche...or "Assalanche" as he refers to them) who wants them to rot in "eternal fucking hell." Oooookay dude.

Shocking part is that he admits he got banned from Twitter. Ya don't say!?

I love it. He says the Avalanche robbed the Quebec Nordiques of a team, but fails to mention that the Coyotes robbed Winnipeg of a team.

Yes this guy is a little more than disturbed.

_________________

It is a well known fact that if Boston fans gather in groups of more than 3 then an impromptu Yankees Suck chant can occur at any time. It could be on the moon or at a funeral and it wouldn't matter.

I can't see that video. Do you have a link?

_________________
No AI has been used in the making of this post

Yah dude, here it is. Keep the volume down as it's NSFW language.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m5xaD0M4Fw

The longer this drags on the more it is a disadvantage for the Avs. They came out very rusty for game 1 of this series, then woke up.

Oh well, no matter what we will know who the next opponent is on Tuesday.

I really don't know who I'd rather see Colorado face off against. A lot of people think the Avs would skate circles around the Sharks, but the Sharks are taking a very fast and talented team in Vegas all the way to the brink. Also, the Shark Tank is the toughest place in the world for them to play--they NEVER win there.

That said, I think, at the very least, a Vegas/Colorado matchup would be fun to watch.

Don't look now, but some former Avs players are having a hell of a run in the playoffs: Duchene, O'Reilly, Stastny.

_________________
Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

Eghad! What's wrong with that guy? I wish he could direct this type of passion towards universal healthcare and our government! We definitely have a mental health issue in this country.

_________________
No AI has been used in the making of this post

Just FYI, here's what a James Neal buyout would look like:

https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-calc ... 2019-06-15

Treliving should at least be given credit for refusing to sign one of those bonus-laden deals that makes a buyout impossible.

That said, $1.91 million over the next eight years is digestible, but not by any means ideal. Probably best trying to tough it out 1-2 more years and see if you can get something out of him. Or, see if there's someone out there willing to take it.

Ha! Old man brain!

_________________
No AI has been used in the making of this post

Oh shit, I just picked up on that...