Mhm well guess they got to put on a show before the end comes

But hey they should be happy they at least didnt get swept

VGK just to good

Anyways game 5 and the cup is upon us as FLA are 0-8 in T-Mobile Arena

Tkachuck aint 100% nor is Duclair FLA in trouble

I was at the game tonight. I asked a cop on my way out if what he saw at the end of the game was the worst thing ever… he said no, he saw worse when Boston and their fans came to town. No joke.

If Eichel gets Conn Smythe fine.

But Mark Stone is my pick.

Targeted physically directly after having had surgery, didn’t respond like a jackass, instead put up points and 2 way play. Often looked in pain on the bench and truly played through it.

Point per game, involved in a number of close score goals throughout playoffs.

The captain of the winning team.

I don’t think Eichel’s resume is close at all. I don’t think you can find 3 bullet points stronger than those for Stone. But Eichel and Petro are also playing great so if they win good for them.

I’d actually give it to Marchessault, he’s been on another level these playoffs, especially during the finals so far, he might not have the name value but he’s my pick

My conn smythe picks

Vegas
1. Jonathan Marchessault
2. Mark Stone
3. Jack Eichel

Florida
1. Sergei Bobrovsky
2. Matthew Tkachuk
3. Aleksander Barkov

In my opinion there are only forwards who are eligible to hoist it this year. Prior to the series, Florida had a couple players who could have shot of the ranks and had a chance at it. Tkachuk is their only option as of now. But since Florida is almost finished, Tkachuk would need to put up several more points and Florida would have to make these next 3 games really tough. It's not that I don't think they couldn't come back from 3-1 again, it just doesn't happen in the finals and Vegas is too seasoned to let this slip. But I don't think Chuker will get it.

Vegas has 5 player I think you could make an argument for. Marchessault, Eichel, Stone, Stephenson, Karlsson.

I'll get Karlsson out of the way first cause he won't win it, but you can't gloss over the fact that he has been outstanding defensively and has 11 goals these playoffs.

Stephenson doesn't have the credibility to win it, if he was way ahead in scoring it would be a different case. He has been outstanding defensively and has 10 goals and 19 points.

Stone, Eichel and Marchessault are in a three way race I think.

Stone is the captain and for all the reasons you mentioned, he's has a fair chance at it.

Eichel hasn't been flashy but he has posted excellent numbers and been great in his own end.

Marchessault is my pick personally. While he hasn't been as noticeable in his own end as the other 4 guys I have listed, his numbers are insane. He only has one more point than Jack, but he has shown TF out when the lights are on. 12 goals in 12 games or whatever it is. Basically scored in every game when the games are the hardest they are all year (conference finals and finals).

Stone is a good storyline cause of captaincy. Eichel because of his first playoffs. Marchessault because of his somewhat "underdog" story and his loyalty/tenure with the franchise.

I think Marchessault's clutch goals are too much to deny. But who knows, we could have 3 games left.

To me it's absolutely insane to consider that for these cup finalist teams, they had to pay a grand total of one 4th round pick and one 5th round pick for all of Jonathan Marchessault, Carter Verhaeghe, Chandler Stephenson and Reilly Smith.

VGK paid a 4th round pick to get Reilly Smith's 5x5 contract as well as an opportunity to take Marchessault from Florida in the expansion draft.

Carter Verhaeghe was a free signing after TB did not submit a qualifying offer for him.

VGK traded a 5th round pick to WSH for Chandler Stephenson.

I still wince knowing the Tampa had Marchessault and Verhaeghe first and we let them walk

2 cups makes the pain easier to deal with.

Tkachuk must be dealing with something incredibly serous for him to miss this game

not enough people taking about how Vegas is 10 mil over the cap

Stone u didnt have to do FLA like that wow

They aren’t 10mil over the cap though, Lehner is hurt, Patrick is hurt, so is Broissoit, that’s 8.5-ish of legitimate LTIR they’d have currently

Yep. Now if they kept Weber u could have went well but they got rid of him for some Mayo

Like its not as bad as it would have been last year

That seems like a good goal to me

Vegas is just built so well like when u dont got a clear Conn Smythe winner u know u built different

Bruce Cassidy was the final piece after all and man FU to Boston almost complete lul

And u wouldnt think that with some of the moves they have made

This Florida team playing in the finals should not be a playoff team. That defense is absolute trash. There's only one good D-man in there - Montour. Forsling is mid, Ekblad is stupid (very low hockey IQ), Gudas is slow, Mahura is fringe NHL-er and Staal should've retired 5 years ago.

Just goes to show how much momentum matters. They got huge amount of momentum after Boston choked royally, and that momentum was able to carry them over Toronto and Carolina without losing but a one game.

That 10 day break killed the momentum though, and now they're back to the team that made it to the playoffs by dumb luck after Pens lost to freaking Blackhawks.

friendly reminder for @oilersguy that evan bouchard STILL leads all defensemen in playoff points

Tip for Zito on how to save US$7.5MIL & shed 215 lbs?
Send Ekblad packing!
He's been brutal all series long...

very cool fact, can't wait to see what he does next season. crazy to think that there were people worried the Oilers PP would regress without Barrie

FLA were the latest Cinderella run. Everything went right but then the big bad super team came and slapped them away

It was Tampa twice now we got a new guy on the block

VGK is scary and yet when u look at what they have done u got to ask yourself sometimes WHY

As they went with the 0 loyalty spend big at every chance approach and its worked

Like the team turnover they have went through and the names they have dumped is insanity

Tuch, MAF, Pacioretty, Dadonov, Schmidt, and spent (3 big first rounders draft picks Suzuki, Glass, Brannstrom)

Eichel, Pietrangelo, Lehner (till hurt), Barbashev, etc

Now yeah you could argue some luck and stuff (FLA being dumb and giving them March and Smith) but the 0 loyalty approach may be a formula a lot of teams go for in the future as its almost a copy cat league these days

Instead of making it 8 paragraph long, you could wrap it up by saying that Vegas and McCrimmon has had balls to make tough decisions. Whether it's big ass trading, big ass signings, shrewd cap gymnastics, coaching changes and choosing which guys are the ones to trust to in the long run - he has had the balls to do all of these, and pull the trigger in the scenarios where the more conservative guy would've hesitated to do so.

Kudos to Vegas. They've done great job, evidently shown by the cup they get to lift in two hours time.

I was gonna make a gambling joke in my summary but was afraid Kane would raise the hand

Lmao as soon as I roasted Ekblad

He’s got a NMC this upcoming season… more likely to be moved next offseason when it becomes a modified NTC.