Rumsfeld wrote:Nobody would be criticizing the Sedins if they had one "tough series".
They've had five "tough series" out of their last six. Sure, more scoring depth would be nice, but good playoff players will perform well whether there's a stacked second line or not. The Sedins were basically ineffective three out of four series when we had the highest scoring team in the NHL.
Huh? The San Jose series sure...yet the line still led the team in offense.
The Kings series...Henrik was the ONLY offense. Daniel was concussed.
Boston series...yep tough series. Chara is a beast as Crosby and Malkin are finding out.
San Jose series...Henrik was dominant. Daniel less so but still led the offense with Henrik.
Nashville series... Henrik could barely skate...yet he had a 3 point game and was a major reason for that win.
Chicago series...Look at the numbers. They led the team in offense. Daniel had 5 goals in that series. Should he have scored at a 90 goal pace instead of 60?
The fact of the matter is, with the exception of the Nashville series where Kesler actually did something offensively, if they aren't far and away the BULK of the offense the team loses. Hell they can be the bulk of the offense and still lose, because with such a soft offense behind them it allows a team to focus. The anomally isn't the Sedins effort or points in a series or two, the anomally is that in the Nashville series someone actually stepped up to the plate.
So by your logic the Sedins can suck forever in the playoffs but that's OK because once in a while other top players get shut down as well and we can always just blame it on depth.
Make all the excuses for them you want, the Sedins are terrible in the playoffs and the entire league knows it. At least when other top players aren't scoring they're contributing in other ways.
Has nothing to do with logic. It has to do with fact. During the cup run:
first round 7 games: Henrik 5 points, Daniel 7 points. Good production.
second round 5 games: Henrik 4 points, Daniel 3 points. Not great production
third round 5 games: Henrik 12 points Daniel 6 points. Excellent and good production
fourth round 7 games: Henrik 1 point, Daniel 4 points. Not as expected to be sure and it was a bad series. No doubt especially for Henrik.
Kings series: Henrik 5 points (in 5 games), Daniel 2 points (in 2 games). neither one was even remotely an issue.
Sharks series (4 games): 3 points a piece. 5-on-5 play was good. Special teams all around sucked and they don't play the PK which was a huge issue (again).
those aren't the numbers of terrible playoff performers. Those are the numbers of good players with consistent production. Just because they don't hit doesn't mean they don't bring something to the table when they aren't scoring. They bring tremendous puck possession and do wear guys down. There is just very little behind them to capitalize on the work they do. again not saying they haven't had some tough times but it certainly isn't unusual. hell are we not witnessing the last few years with Toews and Kane? hell Krejci doesn't hit yet leads the NHl in playoff scoring. why? because of Lucic and Horton giving him room. For goodness sakes the Kings leading playoff scorer this year is Jeff Carter....who is on a sizzling 55 point pace. Kopitar has a mere 2 goals and 7 points in 16 games. What's the difference between teams like the Kings/hawks and canucks? It's not star players exceeding expectations (most are not even close to meeting those expectations this playoff year btw) but rather those other guys stepping up to grab the wins. If the twins don't dominate a game the canucks don't win in the playoffs. They have dominated plenty of playoff games yet beyond kesler for 3 or 4 playoff games no one else has done so in 5 years.
No, I can say that because they're 200+ pounds and they can't skate but they still play with zero grit and won't take the body at all.
They play in the corners and boards all game and win far more puck battles than they lose. Geez. Oh no they don't throw a body check! They must be soft! give me a break. You won't find many players that are grittier than they are. They take an absolute beating every shift.