2025-26 OOTS: Playoffs Edition

[JelloPuddingPop]

Torts is looking like a genius for sitting Hill and going with Carter Hart.

I think he knew what he had in Hart from his Philly days, and now he’s getting that with Hart behind a much deeper and defensively aware team.

Hart and Marner would be the two leading names for the Conn Smythe if Vegas prevails for a Cup. I’d give it to Hart for stoning Colorado.

Quit the redemption story for Hart. I read an article last week that said Torts kept in touch with him and was very supportive throughout his ordeal.

Tell me about his "ordeal"

[UWSaint]

Tell me about his "ordeal"

This comment is the hockey board equivalent of diving and waving your arms at the ref.

[Topper]

Torts is looking like a genius for sitting Hill and going with Carter Hart.

I think he knew what he had in Hart from his Philly days, and now he’s getting that with Hart behind a much deeper and defensively aware team.

Hart and Marner would be the two leading names for the Conn Smythe if Vegas prevails for a Cup. I’d give it to Hart for stoning Colorado.

Quit the redemption story for Hart. I read an article last week that said Torts kept in touch with him and was very supportive throughout his ordeal.

Tell me about his "ordeal"

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

[Cousin Strawberry]

Tell me about his "ordeal"

Why did he go last onto the train?

[Megaterio Llamas]

Notice Kotkaniemi is just a healthy scratch now. Zero playoff games played.

Thank goodness the old geezer wasn't that dumb. Although some here were interested in him for some unknown reason...

[donlever]

Attached to Necas to get rid of Scooter was the known reason.

That's it that's all....

[Megaterio Llamas]

Attached to Necas to get rid of Scooter was the known reason.

That's it that's all....

Of course that's the only reason that makes sense.

But that would be a real dead weight to take on.

[donlever]

Dead weight for dead weight plus Necas.

Win.

Plus his contract is done post 29/30.

[Hockey Widow]

Maybe we could work out a 4 team deal. We could take dead weight of Kotkaniemi, Wright, and McTavish. All the while getting rid of Pettersson.

[donlever]

As we've talked about before.

EP straight across for Wright or McTavish in a NY minute.

[Topper]

Maybe we could work out a 4 team deal. We could take dead weight of Kotkaniemi, Wright, and McTavish. All the while getting rid of Pettersson.

Drawn and quartered

[UWSaint]

Crazy that Montreal had a chance again last night to get massively outplayed and come up with a win.

Goaltender interference was a close call; Aho appears to have clipped Dobes glove unaided by the defensemen when he was getting to the front, and it looked like Dobes was in the blue at the time, but also seemed reasonable to conclude the contact was very minor, Dobes wasn't turned, and Dobes immediately reestablished his positioning. I think it was a good goal, but can see the argument the other way. There was no way they were going to call that back.

Speaking of refs, the failure to call too many men in OT was just silly. I know refs swallow whistles as the playoffs go on and especially in overtime, but they still call delay of game, they still call high sticking, and generally they still call too many men when there's no real debate when the too many men isn't an iffy line change (like when the 6th guy plays the puck....). These penalties are not really judgment calls.

At any rate, this series is not over, but it certainly seems that Carolina is a superior team and that Montreal needs to come up with something more than reliance on the Hockey Gods and Dobes if they are going to pull it off.