2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

[alaskanpiper]

Hell yeah, awesome win by the blues. Can't believe they endured how hard boston rallied in the first. Incredible work by Binnigton tonight, and a great job by the blues capitalizing on their opportunities. Always stoked to see a team win the cup for the first time. How Binnington doesn't end up with MVP though, I have no idea. Superb goaltending by a rookie, not to mention most playoff wins alltime by one. Bettman sucks ass.

 

[chilllucky]

O'Reilly didn't allow 4-5 goals in a coupla games this series. Binnington did. A fantastic effort tonight from him, but the Smythe is for _series_ MVP.
I only lived in St Louis for 3 years starting about a decade ago. I ended up not being able to stay, but it's a terrific city and the attitude of it's fan base made a hockey fan of me. Validated now, I'm really proud of and very happy for all the folks down there who've been waiting for this.

 

[mso489]

Good to see honors going to the Midwest, and to Missouri in particular (my wife's home place and where I went to college, among others). Little old Raleigh won the Stanley Cup years ago, and it was a blast. I like that the Blues started the season as an unlikely choice. In terms of personnel, Canada wins the cup most years.

 

[bnichols23]

Superb goaltending by a rookie, not to mention most playoff wins alltime by one

Especially since he got benched in the finals. He's a wunderkind, that's for certain. Boston simply barreged him in the 1st period, no other word for it. I was surprised to. see it be a shut-out. Even though I was for the Bruins, StL definitely earned the Cup, absolutely no question. I'm really happy for them. NOW, Bolts, about next season.... -laugh-
Bill

 

[yaddy306]

Lots of Blues fans here in Saskatchewan.
Tyler Bozak, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz all hail from Saskatchewan, so there are a lot of proud family members here right now.

 

[ssjones]

The great thing about Binnington is that he's been in the minors since 2011. Talk about maximizing your opportunity!
This is a classy move by the Blues, and made me smile last night. I also chuckled at the Blues dropping the F-bomb repeatedly when hoisting the cup, then the network finally caught on, killed the mic and apologized. Seeing a winning players hoist that cup is the most glorious moment in professional sports.

 

[kylef]

Ugh, as a Boston-area fan, that was brutal. That was probably the easiest playoff route to the cup that they'll ever have ("easiest" being a relative term, as it's never easy), and they lost a series they should have won.
While I think the Bruins had a more talented line-up, the Blues had a plan to shut down the Bruins best forwards, and they pretty much executed it through the series. Virtually no five-on five-production from the Bruins top two lines, and that was the series.

 

[alaskanpiper]

but the Smythe is for _series_ MVP.

This is not correct. Unlike other sports, the Conn Smythe trophy is awarded to the MVP of the entire post season, not just the finals series. Ryan O'Reilly is the obvious second choice, IMO, and a well deserving player, but a rookie goaltender setting a post season win record and maintaining a save percentage above 90 against the offensive powerhouse teams they faced is pretty incredible. And personally I think there is something to be said for bouncing back from adversity (aka, a bad game, which all goalies will have over the course of 4 series). Especially for a rookie.
Goaltenders almost always get overlooked for the Conn Smythe anyway, just like the Heisman, offense is always the darling.

 

[bnichols23]

Goaltenders almost always get overlooked for the Conn Smythe anyway,

Sadly, yeah. I guess people think because they have the Vezina they don't need to be considered for anything else.

 

[chilllucky]

Alaska, my mistake. Thanks for the correction.

 

[cigrmaster]

Congrats to the St Louis Blues, they have been waiting a long time for this one. I knew I shouldn't have posted on this thread earlier as I jinxed my Bruins.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Alaska, my mistake. Thanks for the correction.

No worries! Not trying to be a dick, just pointing it out. You are certainly not wrong about O'Reilly or Binnington, your opinion on that point is completely valid (and a good one)! It just happens to differ slightly from mine :D
I am a little biased though to be honest. Having played both center and goaltender, I found one of those positions to be decidedly harder, both mentally and physically, hahaha.

 

[alaskanpiper]

This is a classy move by the Blues, and made me smile last night.

Very cool indeed. The gentleman holding the cup for Laila in this photo, Colton Parayko, played college hockey for the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Go Nanooks!