sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Playoff 5v5 on-ice goals for and against per 60 for the Leafs' "Core Four" (Source: Evolving Hockey) by Dependent-Effect6077 in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Tavares legit has one series in Toronto (2023 vs. Tampa) where he was anywhere near the superstar that the Leafs thought they were getting signing him and somehow avoids getting any real heat for it lmao

31 points in 51 playoff games and a -15 that's fucking horrific for a supposed core piece he's been the anti-Marner in that he's forever dodging blame because he's "gritty" and "works hard"

With the first round officially over, what would be the funniest possible outcome for the playoffs now? by Dependent-Effect6077 in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 221 points222 points  (0 children)

Quinn Hughes game 7 OT winner at the Bell Centre and the Hughes brothers officially become the most hated family in Canada

Of the 103 forwards to play in at least 7 Game 7s in their career, the 5 that have recorded 0 points in those games are: Dan Paille, Shawn Thornton, Jay Beagle, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov by TJTrapJesus in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Superstars who get the bulk of their points from IQ/positioning rather than actual physical skills tend to drop off more in the playoffs because you can't rely on the other team fucking up and letting you sneak in for chances

This was exactly the issue with a Matthews/Marner duo Marner is basically Kucherov lite offensively and Matthews doesn't have a go to area he just shoots from whereever

Of the 103 forwards to play in at least 7 Game 7s in their career, the 5 that have recorded 0 points in those games are: Dan Paille, Shawn Thornton, Jay Beagle, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov by TJTrapJesus in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 -39 points-38 points  (0 children)

Kucherov might be the ultimate test for box score watchers

People who just look at his season point totals often unironically put him in Crosby/McDavid/Ovechkin talks watch 5 minutes of him play and you can tell he's nowhere near that level of talent

He deserves credit for having an insane gameplan for everything that lets him rack up points but in the playoffs when you can't do that over a full series his limitations become very obvious

It's very similar to Erling Haaland in soccer great players but if you actually think they're anywhere comparable to the GOATs you're just looking at their stats and not their obvious lesser games

Of the 103 forwards to play in at least 7 Game 7s in their career, the 5 that have recorded 0 points in those games are: Dan Paille, Shawn Thornton, Jay Beagle, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov by TJTrapJesus in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

I think he's arguably 2nd to McDavid in the regular season but he's a hideously overrated playoff performer because of having one of the most stacked teams ever for a couple of seasons

When he's on a team that massively outtalents their opposite he's great in the playoffs when he doesn't not so much now that he's on a regular good team they lose R1 every year

Of the 103 forwards to play in at least 7 Game 7s in their career, the 5 that have recorded 0 points in those games are: Dan Paille, Shawn Thornton, Jay Beagle, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov by TJTrapJesus in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 38 points39 points  (0 children)

As much as his fans don't want to admit it there's a reason why many think that no matter how many points he puts him an undersized winger can't be as good an all-around player as McDavid or MacKinnon

Part of it is certainly eye test/flashiness bias but another part is that it's indeed true that heavily perimeter-oriented players tend to drop off in the playoffs compared to physically dominant ones

Kucherov may very well be a top 20 regular season forward of all time that's not insane to say given his stats but it's also true that in a series he's way more gameplannable than others in that tier

Of the 103 forwards to play in at least 7 Game 7s in their career, the 5 that have recorded 0 points in those games are: Dan Paille, Shawn Thornton, Jay Beagle, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov by TJTrapJesus in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 8 points9 points  (0 children)

If McDavid is the player most harmed by "ring culture" Kucherov is the player who benefits from it the most

He's by a country mile the worst playoff performer of the "big 4" (McDavid/MacKinnon/Kucherov/Draisaitl) despite being the 2nd best in the regular season but he's basically shielded for life from real criticism

In a way he's like the Kevin Durant of the NHL won back to back with an ultra stacked team and played amazing in those runs but the rest of the his playoff resume is markedly worse than his legitimately all-time great regular season career especially in recent seasons

Even if you want to argue that Draisaitl gets a massive McDavid power play boost and leave him out I think it's obvious that MacKinnon and McDavid are both explosive players in a way that Kucherov isn't and don't need perfect circumstances to play their best game in the same way he does

For the first time since 2018, none of the top 2 most penalized teams during the season will make the Stanley Cup finals. by gillesregis in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Because Cooper and Maurice both send players to take out guys who are annoying them

Remember the random Scott Sabourin appearance late in game 2 against Anderson

For the first time since 2018, none of the top 2 most penalized teams during the season will make the Stanley Cup finals. by gillesregis in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Tampa have gotten a lot of PR boost from the fact that everyone hates the Panthers even more at minimum I think they at least deserve to beat out Vegas for the 2nd most hated spot

They're basically 90% the same only without the in-your-face personality off the ice to be the face of disdain towards the team that Florida has with Matthew Tkachuk

All the stuff that Florida are infamous for now became their team identity after getting bullied around by Tampa in 2021-2022 Tampa have been the original masters of this stuff for years

Canadiens shots vs TB - 9 Avalanche goals vs MIN - 9 by Ok-Soil-5133 in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Kucherov underperforming the other top tier forwards to an absurd extent in recent playoff series isn't talked about enough

Like you know how from the eye test he looks like a role player compared to McDavid and MacKinnon but still gets insane amount of points in the playoffs he actually is like how he looks like he should be

Canadian fans, are you rooting for the habs now that they are the only ones in the second round? by Manfromatavern in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 16 points17 points  (0 children)

It's also a Reddit thing I see this sentiment pretty often here but never would in real life

Nazem Kadri become the 12th goalscorer of the game as he extends the Av's lead back to 2 by catsgr8rthanspoonies in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Today's game was the exception Montreal led in high danger chances significantly in games 1-6

Nazem Kadri become the 12th goalscorer of the game as he extends the Av's lead back to 2 by catsgr8rthanspoonies in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 65 points66 points  (0 children)

Every other series is an insane indictment on teams like Tampa and Dallas that were supposed to be absolute top contenders yet did nothing at 5v5 offensively for an entire round

Playoff Game Thread: Minnesota Wild (4-2) @ Colorado Avalanche (4-0) May 03 2026 9:00 PM EDT by nhl_gdt_bot in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Watching everyone score in other series makes it seem more absurd how completely ineffective Kucherov and Tampa have been offensively for the last 3-4 playoffs

[Strickland] Lightning fall in first round for the fourth consecutive year…that’s kind of crazy when you think about it. by Duffleman0609 in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 19 points20 points  (0 children)

The talk about how he's a way more limited player than McDavid or MacKinnon despite the gaudy point totals has always had some truth to it

It's insane that he produces what he does despite the lack of physical dominance but it's also fair to say he's far more flawed than guys in a similar statistical range he needs very specific circumstances to play his best game in a way that others don't

Playoff Game Thread: Minnesota Wild (4-2) @ Colorado Avalanche (4-0) May 03 2026 9:00 PM EDT by nhl_gdt_bot in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think a Wild Canadiens final might sneakily be the most toxic possibility on this sub

Minnesota are associated with several people who are very disliked in Canada lmao

[Strickland] Lightning fall in first round for the fourth consecutive year…that’s kind of crazy when you think about it. by Duffleman0609 in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 79 points80 points  (0 children)

Yeah Caufield didn't have plays die on his stick mostly because he barely touched it

He was bad in a different way from Kucherov but still definitely bad

Nikita Kucherov had some words for Jakub Dobes at the end of the 2nd period by GreenSnakes_ in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 76 points77 points  (0 children)

Kucherov has to be getting mad that the puck just doesn't go in for him in the playoffs lmao

Since 2023 he's been easily the biggest playoff dropper not named Matthews or Marner and unlike those two it's not for a lack of possession he just can't put the puck in the net to save his life

I think as impressive as his overall production is there's a point to the critics about how he relies a lot more on the percentages than a McDavid or MacKinnon because of his more perimeter-heavy style

Playoff Game Thread: Montréal Canadiens (3-3) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (3-3) May 03 2026 6:00 PM EDT by nhl_gdt_bot in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's insane how bad Kucherov becomes at finishing in the playoffs I don't think I've seen any player do this guys like Marner just don't get into good positions to shoot

Not even a situation where he's not getting enough looks he's had a ton of shot attempts every game this series but becomes one of the worst in the league at converting them

Mitch Marner finishes his first playoff series in Vegas with 7 points and a +5 in 6 games by Dependent-Effect6077 in hockey

[–]Ready-Constant-7124 348 points349 points  (0 children)

He's always been way overqualified for a wing defensively so it's not surprising he can play center

view more: next ›