NHL

posted by like_that

How the hell did the NHL allow an expansion team make it to the Stanley Cup Finals?

I think that might be one of the more legitimately bizarre sports stories in a long time. Kind of if you took Loyola's NCAA tournament run, but:

1. They played the same opposition that all the power conference teams played and were still one of the top teams in the nation.

2. They beat Michigan to make the finals.

3. All their NCAA wins were in best-of series instead of one game win-and-go-homes.

It was insane enough that they had such a good regular season, but I figured they'd be taken out quickly in the playoffs with them being a team that busted ass every single night to get where they were and going against a team that could afford to coast from time to time, but who would be going 100% in the postseason, but they just keep advancing and looking like the superior team in every series. Just seems mind-boggling that an expansion team mainly composed of guys whom other teams were willing to dump off could have a season remotely like this.

posted by like_that

How the hell did the NHL allow an expansion team make it to the Stanley Cup Finals?

I actually think the NHL is loving this....likely getting more viewers as a result of this extremely rare incident of an expansion team performing at this type of level.

posted by slingshot4ever

I actually think the NHL is loving this....likely getting more viewers as a result of this extremely rare incident of an expansion team performing at this type of level.

Hell, they even have ESPN giving it a good amount of attention and they usually try to pretend hockey barely exists as a sport because they don't have the TV rights.

The league changed the expansion draft rules for Vegas. Wasn’t a guarantee that they would do well, but it wasn’t the same as Columbus and last teams. Teams could protect basically half as many players as they could in the past. 

Still crazy to me that a bunch of guys who have never played together before could gel like this as a team....very impressive

posted by slingshot4ever

Still crazy to me that a bunch of guys who have never played together before could gel like this as a team....very impressive

Oh, absolutely. They were 500-1 odds to win it all after the draft. 

posted by wildcats20

The league changed the expansion draft rules for Vegas. Wasn’t a guarantee that they would do well, but it wasn’t the same as Columbus and last teams. Teams could protect basically half as many players as they could in the past. 

True, but still, I figured they'd be (at best) more along the lines of NFL's Carolina, where they were around a .500 team out of the gates and then were in the playoffs the next year. Even if they got higher-caliber players than the average expansion team, it's just hard to believe you could throw however many guys together and get a good, let alone great, team out of it immediately.

posted by QuakerOats

 

Always ..........as in the full 8 months of their existence?   :)

Maybe I'm off here but I think you're missing the sarcasm. Kind of like all of the "life long" Seahawks fans who have no idea who Shaun Alexander or Steve Largent are.

Gotcha ..........they only know Steve Largent as a politician.

Yeah, Vegas really lucked out with what the NHL allowed but their guys still had to come together and that isn't always easy.

MAF really helped solidify the most important position on the ice.  Was sad to see him leave Pittsburgh but they just couldn't protect him with what they have on the roster.

Looking forward to the finals after this game 7.   Game 7 in hockey is still the best spectacle in sports.

What a save by Holtby with 2 min left. Wow 

posted by SportsAndLady

What a save by Holtby with 2 min left. Wow 

no idea how he even got his stick on it...crazy!

posted by SportsAndLady

What a save by Holtby with 2 min left. Wow 

I still can’t believe he saved that lol I know it’s a cool story bro but holtby and beagle are the reason I became a Caps fan. When I lived in Hershey I would go to the Bears games here and there and Holtby was dating a friend of my girlfriend at the time so we hung out a bunch. He’s a really cool dude and beagle used to come drinking with us lol 

Penguins go down 0-1 to the Islanders; lose a tough one in OT, 4-3.  Game 2 in NY Friday night.

Columbus Blue Jackets shock Tampa Bay 4-3 after being down 3-0 after one period.

Go CBJ!!

posted by cat_lover

Columbus Blue Jackets shock Tampa Bay 4-3 after being down 3-0 after one period.

Go CBJ!!

Unreal game. Bob looked absolutely awful in the 1st. After that, he was amazingly good. 

Total domination for the Jackets tonight. Going home up 2-0 against one of the best teams in NHL history. 

posted by wildcats20

Total domination for the Jackets tonight. Going home up 2-0 against one of the best teams in NHL history. 

Almost too good. This is the first adversity they've faced all season and they failed the test miserably.

Pens pretty much done in this series and need to some changes in the offseason.

Always considered CBJ my second team, more so when they were in the west though.   Classic example of a team who was in playoff mode for weeks and a TB team who didnt have the sense of urgency toward the end and just now cannot flip that switch.

Still think CBJ have to win game 4 and get the sweep.  If they dont sweep, the series goes seven and who knows what happens.

Kid from college who was called up to the Avs yesterday just scored a goal tonight

And ovechkin might have killed a guy