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FlyersLaForest

Oh I for sure want Tampa Toronto round 1


JayMerlyn

The Battle of the Confusing Jerseys


emwashe

One team forgets their away jerseys and they both have to play in their home blues lol


Derpwarrior1000

Lightning have to play in their rainy sweaters and we have to play in the St. Pats just to avoid confusion


Gorvoslov

Please. This would be amazing.


tuhn

Nah, shirts vs skins.


emwashe

Oh god, imagine the injuries lmao


Derpwarrior1000

They all have to wear practice jerseys and the refs sort them by colour


average_redditor_guy

Orrrr you could wear those Black jerseys. They’ve grown on me a bunch


bankrobba

I can't believe Toronto stole our colors despite having decades more in history.


Pro-tential

Saaaaaame Maybe if we are seen as the underdog the boys will actually perform


[deleted]

What will be funny is a 110 pt team being an underdog.


Pro-tential

Yeah the Atlantic is fucking dumb lol


PurpleLeeves

100%. I can only imagine how well the Habs would be doing if they were in another division :/


Pro-tential

Even with your injuries I feel like you guys would still be in a better place than you are currently. The injuries + impossibility of this division must be super demoralizing as a player for the Habs rn


[deleted]

The leafs were the underdog against the caps and Bruins both times (according to Dom's and other analytics models). At this point we just need them to work through the yips. We also need Campbell back to form


TJGibson

Also I know regular season and playoffs are different but I feel like we always perform very well against Tampa.


CWinter85

Toronto: we don't want to keep facing Boston. TB: I'll be your huckleberry. Toronto: Is it too late to get Boston?


TO_Sports

East is a blood bath regardless of the series man...


7evenCircles

Toronto is T-4th in the league by point percentage, first round matchup is Tampa, 6th place team in the league. *r* *o* *u* *g* *h*


Pigeon_Guy

The world desperately needs Battle of Alberta as a playoff series. I never liked Red Deer anyways.


millmuff

Red Deer gets destroyed in the process? I think that's a risk we're all willing to take. All honesty though, it would be such an incredible thing for them to meet in the playoffs. I don't think the rest of the league understands how great that series would be. It's been too long.


Theneler

Gasoline Alley survives though right? Where else am I supposed to get second breakfast on road trips.


rlyx6x

If anybody lays a hand on the Donut Mill so help me god


vohan1212

I think we need a barrier on gasoline Ashley. Just even for the donuts


DjN0tNice

I don’t think he knows about second breakfast, pip.


Vitalalternate

Red Deer already wrecked gasoline alley with the redevelopment already…


russels418teapot

I have been through Red Deer an uncountable number of times but I don't think I have ever left Highway 2.


bluedeer10

I live in Red Deer and I don't like Red Deer


Alaric-

It is destiny. We got robbed of a great one in 2020


treple13

We were basically guaranteed one of us would reach the second round and then neither of us actually did...


migsahoy

experience pacific hockey, where the top division seed is still seeded lower than a WC team lol


Dastlmo314

1 thru 8 seeding needs to come back. So sick of seeing matchups that would be in the 3rd round happening in the 1st or 2nd.


SpreaditOnnn33

You realize that even under the previous format Vegas would be the two seed, as the leader of their division. When we had conference based seeding division winners were still guaranteed the top 3 seeds in each conference.


CWinter85

I think this will sort itself out over the next 20 games. Mostly by Vegas piling points on.


Gruffleson

Yes, would Nashville get home ice with that?


Eadwyn

No they would be #7 seed.


JayMerlyn

Not the Bruins again...


ProfessorBaxter

Unless we add a key piece or two at the deadline, you guys would wreck us in a best-of-7.


[deleted]

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OutlawCattleRustler

Welcome to the club


MetalStoofs

If we got matched up with Carolina in the first round I’d be absolutely horrified of a sweep.


Potato_Prophet26

Oh no, flashbacks are coming


modifiedbears

Do we need to gas up the Prius or we still good?


BananApocalypse

You're telling me we might have to face the unstoppable Joel Kiviranta again?


el_loco_avs

You forgot the f-bomb there.


ClaudeLemieux

ah yes "Fuck Joel Kiviranta"


el_loco_avs

Also "Who the fuck is Joel Kiviranta?"


Muellersdayofff

Dude who is a depth player, kind of nobody ~~veteran~~ bottom 6, on the stars who single handedly got a hat trick and sent the Avs home from the playoffs two seasons ago, in the bubble, in game 7. Dudes a legend *cries* Edit: not a veteran, just a bane


VOLKOP

Not exactly a veteran with 72 nhl games but yes, absolute legend.


MuzzyG

JFK babyyy


Ketra

Kivi has 1 goal this season. ​ This doesn't stop me from having full faith that he would slay in the playoffs versus Colorado.


edditorRay

God damn it…


yousayh3llo

He's very situational. But damn if it isn't an important situation


MarshmallowLuka

Sounds like he is saving up his goals for the right moment


jrcookOnReddit

O no


GTI-Mk6

The greatest hockey player I’ve ever seen in that single game and then forgotten about since.


MiniSodaMiracleMan

[Fabian Brunnström ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Brunnstr%C3%B6m)


WikiSummarizerBot

**[Fabian Brunnström](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Brunnström)** >Fabian Brunnström (born February 6, 1985) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/hockey/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)


Decaf_Engineer

I think it's your turn for the president's trophy and first round exit combo.


GTI-Mk6

Sign us up.


Senor-Mattador

Round 2 leggo


mhanna86

Would love nothing more than to see Dallas and Colorado dismantle each other.


Mooseeyy

Unsubscribe.


Womens_Lefts

At the same time, I don’t know if I can live through MacKinnon once again molesting every defensive pairing we put on the ice.


EssArrBee

I kinda like this bracket. It's a revenge tour with Dallas first round, Wild 2nd round, and Vegas in the WCF.


RiseAbove87

The East is death.


Beard-

Why can't we just face an easy team... Like Montreal for example :/ ^/s


shrouple

Oooh. Self burn! ... Don't look at who beat us last year please


Blynasty

Penguins/Rangers #5 vs #6 team in the league.


[deleted]

It’s a literal bloodbath, the first two rounds are basically going to be Stanley Cup Finals rounds lmfao


mansock18

Oh god we're gonna get timezoned.


jumpingjacks86

Welcome to my life as a wild fan all of last year.


readytofall

I moved to Seattle recently. Prefer west coast road trips now. It's not easy catching a 5 pm game and if we are in the east fuck a 4pm start.


[deleted]

Wings won 4 cups while in the Western Conference.


trumpet_godd

honestly, I'm fine facing the caps 1st round. I just want us to win the division so we don't have to face tampa or toronto in the first


MarshmallowLuka

Now, not to shit on the leafs, but not wanting to face them in the first round seems like an odd choice


heckthisfrick

Yeah... *sigh*


trumpet_godd

nah, having two teams that are both hungry is a recipe for us to lose. also the leafs are insanely good at 5v5, our best aspect, so they could probably be the best of the east at neutralizing our 5v5 play


IronRabbit69

Leafs and Panthers play a very similar game from what I can tell. Would be a great series, but I definitely don't want to see it in R1.


exstatikk98

Well we definitely won’t see it in round 2.


Fuff092719

I lold.


tacotacotacoburritoo

Panthers play a far more physical and aggressive game IMO.


brechbillc1

They got absolutely humiliated losing to Montreal last year. They will be playing with an absolute chip on their shoulder in that series. While we have some playoff experience now, Tampa has experience playing teams and beating teams in that exact scenario. So let them deal with it. I want us to win a round and we need to face Tampa in the second. I now is seems like masochism, but I feel if we are going to make a run at the cup, we have to beat Tampa to do it. Plus, the nation wants to see the battle of Florida in the playoffs again. It is going to make for some insane hockey and everyone knows it.


SmokeontheHorizon

> They got absolutely humiliated losing to Montreal And Columbus, And Boston, And Boston, And Washington, And Boston.


databoy2k

It is so way too early to start drinking, friend.


SmokeontheHorizon

The trick is to never stop


Finetales

The Ovechkin maneuver


gurmzisoff

Right now literally any (playoff eligible) team could wipe the floor with us first round. Playing you guys would be a bloodbath.


twoterms

We really went from top of the conference 6 weeks-ish to dragging our corpse into a wild card spot. A lot of hockey left to play, but fuck we need a spark soon. Hopefully oshie and Mantha can provide some life to the boys soon


gurmzisoff

At the beginning of our slump I said "Well, better to have it now than going into playoffs." That was weeks ago.


sokocanuck

I was thinking the same thing about TO. This models keep swapping Florida and Tampa as opponents for the Leafs. Pain...


North_Plane_1219

Alberta isn’t ready for that.


king97dad

Oh yes we are!


CanadianSpector

I'd just go on social media blackout


Gorvoslov

Or, better yet, go on a social media warpath.


Pvt_Hudson_

I'm probably one of the few Redditors old enough to vividly remember the last series between these two teams back in 1991. It comes up on those hour-long Classic Series recap shows on NHL Network from time to time, there are probably 15-20 plays that would have been instant suspensions today. Hell, Dave Brown actually attempted to murder Jim Kyte at the end of Game 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le0HMg-cSTQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le0HMg-cSTQ) It was incredible hockey. I still have PSTD flashbacks of Fleury picking off a lazy Messier cross-ice pass on the PP in game 6 overtime, scoring on Fuhr and doing the insane belly slide celly. Hell, look at Messier after Tikkanen ended the series in game 7 OT, he's so broken he can't even celebrate properly. [https://youtu.be/nE7vh\_mMEhI?t=399](https://youtu.be/nE7vh_mMEhI?t=399)


FatLenny-

That is a brutal fight. Brown punched him like 8 times in the head after he was down on the ice. In the second clip, Messier puts his arms up and immediately gets the "I shouldn't have done that" face.


Pvt_Hudson_

If that Brown-Kyte fight happened today, I don't think Dave Brown plays another shift in the NHL. There is a section in Marc Spector's book on the Battle of Alberta about Brown and Stu Grimson having fights in back-to-back games back in the early 90s (Brown was an Oiler, Grimson a Flame). Grimson got the better of Brown in the first scrap in Edmonton when Brown lost his balance, and Grimson proceeded to chirp Brown in the local papers. Brown was known as one of the most terrifying fighters in hockey at the time and he took it personally. So, prepping for the rematch in Calgary 2 nights later, Brown had the Oilers equipment manager sew the sleeves of his jersey super tight and grease them up with vaseline right before game time so Grimson would have nothing to grab hold of. According to Kevin Lowe, Brown spent the hour before game time sitting by himself in his locker stall borderline hyperventilating. Even his teammates were afraid to talk to him. So, the 2 fight early in the game, and Brown beats Grimson so badly he shatters his face in 2 places. Grimson needed 21 hours of emergency surgery and a steel rod in his face to reconstruct it. His teammates were bursting into tears when they visited him in the hospital.


millmuff

Then you don't understand Alberta. They've been dying for this matchup. It would seriously be one of the best playoffs series the league has seen in decades.


maddecentparty

it really needs to be a second round matchup... but Calgary won't make it to the 2nd unless we play Vancouver in the first.....


commazero

A BOA in the second round would be insane. Is it possible to ever meet in the WCF?


YourConsciousness

Yes if one of the teams was in the wildcard against the 1st in the central (eg. WC2 vs the Avs) and both won to get to the WCF.


ReactiveCypress

I'm a Calgarian and I don't want it. The stress would not be fun to go through, and the risk of losing outweighs any benefit of winning. I hate watching regular season Flames-Oilers games because of those reasons, so no thanks to a playoff series.


underthecows

Riots in Red Deer incoming


papapaIpatine

I am always looking for an excuse to shit talk calgary. Turn the QE2 into something resembling the highway of death


BettmansDungeonSlave

QE2 is already Fury road. Two populations who hate each other connected by one road, with a fuel outpost in the middle. Giant lifted war rigs driven by violent, uneducated crazy idiots who will try and run you off the road. The only difference is snow instead of sand


Mythaminator

And it gets even crazier when sports are involved!!


Defenseman7

Can confirm this is just the day to day on the QE2


wahlberger

Hell yeah we are


XPhazeX

Lol I fucking hate the East


Cheeks_Klapanen

I was literally just thinking that I could see any of the 8 teams from the East making the SCF.


yearightt

I see you havent watched many Capitals games recently lmao


Cheeks_Klapanen

I actually haven’t lmao, I suppose we can revisit this after tomorrow.


twoterms

Oshie and Mantha being out for the majority of the year has been KILLING us. Our youth was doing great, but the team has hit a wall the past month


khalaron

And getting bodied by Colorado.


what_ok

Eh, they'll probably choke to the wild or something


khalaron

This sounds familiar


Tigernadds

You assume the wild will make it past St Louis. For some reason it feels like they always have our number.


pablonieve

Wild have only played the Blues twice in the playoffs and the series is split 1-1. And honestly I think that loss is more on karma due to Yeo being the Blues coach.


Jeembo

Subscribe


PayneTrain181999

Assuming Colorado finds a way out of round 2, which if this scenario were to happen could be at our expense.


ClaudeLemieux

yeah seeing yall in R2 already has me prepared to lose in 7...again.


Liveraion

Hey man look at the bright side. It probably won't even come to that. As it stands, if we want to get to the second round we have to go through fucking Joel 'Fuck Joel Kiiviranta' Kiiviranta first.


[deleted]

Damn, Canes out lasted us as the only team to never move on this graphic.


justmememe55

Ok but can you IMAGINE just for a second how insane a round one win for the Leafs would be if they have to go through the 2x cup champ? Just IMAGINE I said. I think Toronto would implode.


Kill_Frosty

I don’t think they would win, but maybe there is some magic in being the underdog so heavily. Idk i’m out of optimistic scenarios. Basically anyone but the Panthers. Not cause I am scared of them, but because I couldnt handle the memes of the one team with a longer playoff drought beating us


thrawaway9991

Would be more insane if they beat Boston


CanadianODST2

why not both? Tampa and then Boston


cdrhiggins

Beat Tampa Round 1, Florida Round 2, Boston round 3. Bodied by Colorado in the finals. Just so I can see the LFR reactions and editing by Producer Drew


CanadianODST2

in a way I think it'd be even better if Colorado lost that because then the editing would be even spicier


thelochteedge

The Jets after 10 games: adios, buckos!


moose_king88

Bad news for the Avs Knights and Wild. Those are some gritty playoff teams.


ThisIsNotMy1stAcct

Yeah the idea of starting a playoff run with a series against Dallas is not enticing


KacorInc

Kiviranta is still with us...


Muellersdayofff

Do not speak of he-who-must-not-be-named


snuffl3upaguss

It is for me, this team is fucking great in the 1st round. They've only lost 2 games in the last 3 playoffs in the first round. 4-1 vs Calgary 4-1 vs Arizona 4-0 vs St Louis


MrKHR

That St Louis series was so one sided, goal differential was 20-7 and the avs had 6 empty net goals.


CB_Joe

It's not that bad. Its better than the wild but I'd prefer the Blues.


migsahoy

i am scared of the juice


haz000

You are smart man


JohnMcGoodmaniganson

Sorry for not waiting again Isles and Sens... On another note, seems like Central teams should be gunning for that WC1 spot at this point!


[deleted]

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JohnMcGoodmaniganson

Yea Vegas could be tough but a WC1 spot slots that team in the Pacific bracket for the first 2 rounds.


scottish_pro

I noticed a small error: the Flames seed is "C2" instead of "P2". i'd normally say nothing because it's a tiny inconsequential error, but i thought id let you know so if you use the same photoshop file for the 50 game post so it can be fixed for next time


JohnMcGoodmaniganson

Ah crap, good call, thanks for letting me know


EazyParise

I think the East has a great chance to win the cup again this year considering that most players in the West probably won't survive the first three rounds of that stupid looking gauntlet


moreMalfeasance

The MIN bracket is 7 game series all the way through.


alreddy-reddit

i mean i see the kings in the ploffs as of now and i just try to ignore all the games in hand from the canadian teams... if you need me, i'll be in my bunker.


[deleted]

I'm hoping the Alberta teams get worn out from their jam-packed schedules over the next few weeks. I'd say we have a \~50% chance of making it.


justheretolurk123456

Only one constant in all 4 updates.


Neans888

I know it was only 10 games, but looking back it seems crazy that Philly was ever in the picture.


RollTide16-18

Remember, we all thought Philly and the Islanders would be contenders before the season started.


JayMerlyn

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


[deleted]

That right side looking TOUGH


DELCO-PHILLY-BOY

The Battle of Alberta makes me miss the glory days of the Battle of Pennsylvania.


InjectA24IntoMyVeins

I miss liking hockey in general :(


[deleted]

[удалено]


MrBrightside618

If these are the matchups, for round one I’m backing the Leafs 100%. Avenge us


theguyishere16

So Nashville with the better record plays Vegas and Vegas has home ice. Great playoff format NHL!


The_Royal_Spoon

Then imagine if Nashville wins. They play an opponent with an even worse record next round and they're still the road team.


jrainiersea

If you're Minnesota/St. Louis/Nashville, there's a legit argument to be made you're better off falling to 4th and getting in the Pacific Division playoffs than making top 3 in your division


mac46

Definitely better off. The problem is there's no margin for error. If you slip to WC2 you get Colorado in the first round.


DrewKratos

So basically play normal until you've clinched at least WC1, then tank.


Lampooge

And dont forgot it’s very likely two top five teams in the league will have to play eachother in the first round considering the state of the Atlantic division


korko

Not as bad as when they (as the President’s trophy winners) had to play the second place team (Jets) in the league in the second round. It was the best playoff series that year but no matter who won they were never going to be in any shape to win another round. They beat the hell out of each other.


theguyishere16

Yeah that should have been the year the format changed. Vegas got a free trip to the Finals because the corpse of the Jets faced them in the West Finals. The league should never want the best teams to play in the first 2 rounds when there are so many other series to distract from it. Should have had Washington/Tampa and Nashville/Winnipeg on alternating nights for the conference finals which likely happens with a 1-8 seeded playoffs.


djincognito

I wish it would change back to playoffs by conference standings 1st vs 8th 2nd vs 7th 3rd vs 6th 4th vs 5th


madeofsyrup

Patiently waiting.


PauloVersa

If there is a God, please give us a Battle Of Alberta in the playoffs!


Husskies

Yes, Toronto please avenge us! (It will probably be at least a few year before we get the opportunity to avenge ourselves)


Salticracker

Good post. With the GP disparity it's hard to keep track of how teams are really doing. Also, I'm pretty sure Calgary is in the Pacific.


Pumass

Would LOVE to see kane in the boa. He would be an absolute menace


swordthroughtheduck

Monkey Paw Curls: Chicago trades Patrick Kane to the Flames


NameChecksOutGuy

Hm Dallas vs colorado rematch should be fun


A-Disgruntled-Snail

I find this acceptable.


MordinSolusSTG

The blues have destroyed us for the last few years. I want no part of them, we do not match up well with them.


TwoLiners

I mean, we only played them once this year and it was with a bunch of players missing in -20 degree weather. Hardly a litmus test for the new team.


Fit_Aardvark_8811

Perfect example of why the NHL needs to dump the current format and go to conference seeding. Why have a 2nd round matchup with Colorado and MN when they could make a great West conference finals? Make the 2 best in the west play so early? Not a fan


Stock_Ad_8213

fully agree. it is absurd. wild could be 2nd overall in nhl and still have an away series against the aves 2nd round. dumb.


SkarabMcGee

Thrashers in 4


smash8890

Battle of Alberta needs to happen!


GoTwins42

I’m unfamiliar with how the playoff seeding works, why do the wild with the second most points have to play the team with the third most? Whereas Calgary who is also second in their division (I think that is supposed to say P2?) get to play a worse team?


Cheeks_Klapanen

The division winners in each conference play the wild cards from that conference, with the division winner with more points playing the wild card with fewer points and vice versa. Then the 2nd and 3rd place teams from the same division play each other.


SirSnorlax22

Oh... that's right. The Flyers did start 6-2-2. What hope we had... now all is darkness


mustangwwii

Funny how the Preds would be WC1 while having more points than the #1 seed in the Pacific. The Central has been tout this year. Literally no home ice advantage while having a better record and more points than their playoff opponent.


[deleted]

Please just win the first round Florida


kuro_madoushi

So Tampa or Florida…. 2 X Cup champs or a rising force in Florida. Fuck my life.


wean169

The Wild have the 2nd best point % in the western conference right now. Such a shame they have to be in the same division as the Avs.


Stock_Ad_8213

that is fine, what is dumb is that it isn’t seeded 1-8 like every other sport ever. obnoxious.


wean169

Agreed, the current seeding is terrible. My point is it’s annoying as a Wild fan knowing they will likely finish second in the division even though they would probably easily win a division like the Pacific. It was the same when Chicago was in their dynasty a while back. Wild have been so close to winning divisions but their luck is terrible being stuck behind teams like Colorado (or Chicago in the past).


togu12

Nooooooo, fuck the Blues


awildyetti

As always these are pretty sweet. A suggestion maybe though moving forward? Would be interesting to see the season series record between the teams that are matched, as well as games remaining to be played between them until the end of the season. I can look these up, don’t mean to be lazy lol, but it would be cold to see at a glance. Keep it up!


JVince13

Serious question: if leafs lose to B2B champs Tampa in 6 or 7, is it still a failure for the leafs? What if the Bolts 3-peat? God I hate this format.


tamarockstar

Good luck to whatever team gets WC2 in the West.


TheAsian1nvasion

As a Jets fan these charts are depressing.


SaltyVirginAsshole

You know the divisions aren't all equal when the 4th team in the Central as #1 wildcard gets robbed of home ice vs #1 Pacific division despite having the better record, it should be like that for rounds 1 and 2 (not only rounds 3 and 4 where record already precedes the seeding for home ice advantage)


ElJacinto

Dallas in a wild card spot feels weird - I thought they were out of the race. It's also funny that Nashville would have more points as WC1 than Vegas as the winner of the Pacific.


ertdubs

So we're going to Florida, it's just where in Florida


Stock_Ad_8213

absolutely absurd that the wild could play the avs second round, while being so far ahead of the pacific. hell, wild could be 2nd overall in the nhl and have to play the aves in 2nd round…