The Syndicate

Master Radishes wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 6:06 am I hope all four Canadian teams lose, somehow.

The whole 'cheer for Canada's team' thing is stupid. I don't want anyone else to be happy whilst I remain unhappy.

Go...iunno, Florida.

Who is your team again?

Also, I love that the first three games of the NHL playoffs all went to OT. Silly Lightning ruining the streak last night.

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:17 pm

Master Radishes wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 6:06 am I hope all four Canadian teams lose, somehow.

The whole 'cheer for Canada's team' thing is stupid. I don't want anyone else to be happy whilst I remain unhappy.

Go...iunno, Florida.

Who is your team again?

Canucks.

Hence why I want everyone else to suffer - because I suffer.

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:18 pm Also, I love that the first three games of the NHL playoffs all went to OT. Silly Lightning ruining the streak last night.

And the Lightning-Panthers game was best of the bunch anyway. I hope that series goes the distance.

Master Radishes wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:32 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:17 pm

Master Radishes wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 6:06 am I hope all four Canadian teams lose, somehow.

The whole 'cheer for Canada's team' thing is stupid. I don't want anyone else to be happy whilst I remain unhappy.

Go...iunno, Florida.

Who is your team again?

Canucks.

Hence why I want everyone else to suffer - because I suffer.

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 5:18 pm Also, I love that the first three games of the NHL playoffs all went to OT. Silly Lightning ruining the streak last night.

And the Lightning-Panthers game was best of the bunch anyway. I hope that series goes the distance.

I can’t fault you for the sour Canadian grapes. I cheered for the Bruins against your Canucks when they were in the Finals. For whatever reason the Canucks and the Senators are the two Canadian teams that I can’t support for the Cup.

Watching Edmonton hang on for dear life rn in 2OT.

Syn wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 1:29 am Watching Edmonton hang on for dear life rn in 2OT.

Aaaaand swept.

McDavid really needs to demand a trade.

This Leafs-Habs series has me so torn!

Carey Price pucks the strangest times to stand on his head.

The Leafs deserve it.

To lose, that is.

I'm strongly considering not watching tonight.

I have to wonder if Montreal wins this series if Tavares didn’t get hurt.

That Scheifele hit on Evans after the empty-net goal was brutal as hell. I don’t want to sound biased since Montreal is my team, but I should think he’ll be getting a sit-down with the league and probably deserves a game suspension.

G-Man wrote: ↑Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:25 pm That Scheifele hit on Evans after the empty-net goal was brutal as hell. I don’t want to sound biased since Montreal is my team, but I should think he’ll be getting a sit-down with the league and probably deserves a game suspension.

Yeah but Parros tho

Syn wrote: ↑Wed Jun 02, 2021 11:51 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:25 pm That Scheifele hit on Evans after the empty-net goal was brutal as hell. I don’t want to sound biased since Montreal is my team, but I should think he’ll be getting a sit-down with the league and probably deserves a game suspension.

Yeah but Parros tho

Suspended for four games. Pretty harsh for a first offense, but it was a doozy of a first offense.

The Habs are up 2-0 in the series, but I’m still tempering my enthusiasm. Even if they win this series, they’ll have to play Colorado (or maaaaybe Vegas) in the next round.

Habs up 3-0 in the series. They’ve won six games in a row! I can’t help but geek out just a little tonight.

SO HOW ABOUT THEM HABS

G-Man wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 12:38 pm As much as I hate to cheer against my Habs, they limped into the playoffs and aren't capable of a deep run. Don't spoil a legit Canadian contender this year.

You were saying...?

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 11:23 pm SO HOW ABOUT THEM HABS

I know, right? I’m on such an emotional roller coaster with these playoffs, but I’m still tempering my expectations. They will play one of the two best teams in the league next series, possibly with a good bit of rest before that series starts. Rest is just one letter away from rust.

Master Radishes wrote: ↑Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:25 pm [quote=G-Man post_id=785343 time=<a href="tel:1620837503">1620837503</a> user_id=383]
As much as I hate to cheer against my Habs, they limped into the playoffs and aren't capable of a deep run. Don't spoil a legit Canadian contender this year.

You were saying...?
[/quote]

I hope to eat my words, because they will be delicious.

With Boston eliminated, I can now be content at worst with any of the remaining teams winning the Cup. My order of preference being:

1) Montreal
2) Tampa Bay
3) Colorado
4) Vegas
5) New York

The Islanders are at the bottom of my list too.

1. Colorado
2. VGK
3. Habs
4. Tampa
5. Islanders

God damnit

Me: With the Leafs eliminated in humiliating fashion once again, I will turn my sights on my second team, the Avalanche.

<Avalanche immediately proceed to collapse just like the Leafs did>

Ah, well, nevertheless

at least it was fun hockey I guess, unlike the Leafs-Habs series

Which player critical to Vegas’s success will get hurt/suspended Game 1 tonight, thereby allowing the Habs to win the series?

As one of the top teams in the league this season, Vegas showed that they have an extra gear in them that Montreal lacks. The Habs tried to compensate for this by plays high-tempo hockey, but they were too undisciplined and spent too much time in the box. They can still make it a series with a few adjustments, but I won’t be surprised if they lose in four or five if they repeat last night’s game plan.

Glad they got the win tonight, but my goodness! For the last 10 minutes of the game Montreal looked like a flag hanging on for dear life in the middle of a hurricane.

Whether the Habs win or lose this series, Cole Caufield has made a name for himself these playoffs.

The refs need to own missing the high sticking call in OT. There should have had a 4-minute power play. I don’t normally gripe too much about missed calls, but Perry’s face was a mess!

I jinxed myself last night before the third period by telling my wife that I would have no choice but to become a little excited if the Habs went up 3-1 in the series.

So how 'bout them Habs

Syn wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 11:08 pm So how 'bout them Habs

As with every series so far, I am not expecting victory, but I am open to the improbable. Montreal started clicking at the right time. I've seen plenty of teams do this before and fall apart in the Cup Finals, so I'm not making any 'team of destiny' claims.

The thing is, I like the Lightning, so even if the Habs lose, it's not like I will be angry with the result. That's kind of nice. It's stressful when a Cup Finals comes down to a team I like and a team I dislike.

I'm happy it wasn't the Islanders. I find their team unlikable.

I'm rooting for the Habs to win. Got called a fake fan in /r/leafs because of it.

STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #1:
Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup last year. The last time Montreal won the Cup was in 1993. The 1992-93 season was also the inaugural season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Coincidence or fate?

STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #2:
Tampa’s 5-1 victory in last night’s game may have been one-sided, but it wasn’t the biggest Game 1 blowout of all time. Here are the five most lopsided Game 1 results in Stanley Cup history:

#5- 2001: 5-0, Colorado Avalanche over the New Jersey Devils

#3 (tie)- 1924: 6-1, Montreal Canadiens over the Calgary Tigers

#3 (tie)- 1970: 6-1, Boston Bruins over the St. Louis Blues

#2- 1947: 6-0, Toronto Maple Leafs over the Montreal Canadiens

#1- 1919: 7-0, Seattle Metropolitans over the Montreal Canadiens

STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #3:
Due to the temporary NHL divisional realignment because of COVID travel restrictions, the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals between Montreal and Tampa is the eastern-most matchup since the spring of 1980, when the New York Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers. The Campbell (later Western) Conference was created for the 1980-81 season.

The eastern-most pairing of teams in the NHL era (since 1917) happened in 1929 and 1972 when the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers battled for the Cup (Boston won both years).

The eastern-most pairing in Stanley Cup history, however, took place in 1913. The Quebec Bulldogs accepted a challenge from the Sydney Millionaires (from Nova Scotia). Quebec retained the Cup handily and it was the last time the city of Quebec celebrated a Cup victory.

STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #4:
Montreal is now the 5th Canadian team to try to reclaim the Cup for Canada since the Habs won it in 1993. Of the seven Canadian teams in the league right now, can you guess which two haven’t made the Cup Finals since ‘93?

G-Man wrote: ↑Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:13 pm STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #4:
Montreal is now the 5th Canadian team to try to reclaim the Cup for Canada since the Habs won it in 1993. Of the seven Canadian teams in the league right now, can you guess which two haven’t made the Cup Finals since ‘93?

>: (

STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #5:
If Tampa wins the Cup this year, they will become the 11th existing NHL franchise to win a third Stanley Cup. If you include defunct NHL teams and the pre-NHL Challenge Cup era, Tampa could become the 19th team to win for a third time.

G-Man wrote: ↑Fri Jul 02, 2021 8:32 pm STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #5:
If Tampa wins the Cup this year, they will become the 11th existing NHL franchise to win a third Stanley Cup. If you include defunct NHL teams and the pre-NHL Challenge Cup era, Tampa could become the 19th team to win for a third time.

Sad fact:
The Canucks are not one of the 10 franchises that have at least 3 cups.

STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #6:
This is the 28th time in Stanley Cup Finals history that the same team has won each of the first three games of a best-of-seven Finals series. Of the previous 27 times, 20 ended in a four-game sweep. Only one team was successful at completing a comeback from being down 0-3 in a finals series to win the Stanley Cup. The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off the first 0-3 comeback in sports history in 1942, stunning the Detroit Red Wings and the sports world in the process.


STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #7:
History repeating itself? Canadian teams are 0-3 in Stanley Cup Finals against warm-weather markets.

2004: Tampa Bay defeated Calgary
2006: Carolina defeated Edmonton
2007: Anaheim defeated Ottawa



STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #8:
Since the NHL expanded the Stanley Cup playoffs to 16 teams, Montreal is just the second team ranked 16th in the playoffs to make the Cup Final. The only other team to do so was the Nashville Predators in 2017. The Predators lost that year to the Pittsburgh Penguins.



STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #9:
The streak continues! There has not been a four-game sweep in the Stanley Cup Finals since the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Washington Capitals in 1998.

I saw on Twitter today that the police fired tear gas at the Montreal fans after the OT win. Absurd.

STANLEY CUP FINALS FUN FACT #10:
In best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals series, the home team has won 65.6% of Game 5’s (40 of 61). Bad news for Montreal? Maybe not. The away team has won Game 5 the last three years in a row, and five times in the last six years.

I hope Seattle picks Price. It'd be funny.

Well, it would be a kind of justice to him if it happened. How many years did Montreal fail to put a good team in front of Price? They wasted most of his career to front-office failure. They got lucky this year to even make the playoffs and finally the pieces clicked and the blind squirrel found a nut.

If Price gets snatched up, it could be great for him and just deserts for the Habs’ front office when it looks like they might finally have all the pieces in place.

Price leaving town would be compared to Roy leaving town for a very long time (despite different circumstances).

Boooo the Kraken went with the boring choices

Leafs fandom discourse has been super toxic since losing to the Habs. I'm seriously considering unfollowing all of the personalities in that space. Their takes have been... unique.

Syn wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:32 pm Leafs fandom discourse has been super toxic since losing to the Habs. I'm seriously considering unfollowing all of the personalities in that space. Their takes have been... unique.

Having picked the Habs haphazardly in my teens, I knew little of their rivalries with teams like Toronto and Boston. That separation helps me not care about those rivalries at all, which allows me to avoid the toxicity.

Also, as with being a Miami Dolphins for 25 years, living through Montreal’s famine years has helped me grow into more of a fan of the sport in general.

Is it just me or do Seattle’s expansion draft picks seem underwhelming? I only recognized a few names.

Yeah it was a boring day. Some of their picks were particularly odd, like Columbus's.

I saw a rumour that a bunch of trades would happen after the freeze gets lifted, but I just saw this:

apparently seattle made no trades, so all those weird, bad picks are just... weird, bad picks

That Flyers-Sabres trade is AWFUL.