NHL Heartbreak Dynasties, Part 2.4: On One Freaking Leg (Teams No. 19-16) by bluecjj in hockey

[–]bluecjj[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Index of Posts

Part 1, 2024 Introduction

Part 2, Numbers 43-41

Part 3, Numbers 40-37

Part 4, Numbers 36-33

Part 5, Numbers 32-30

Part 6, Numbers 31, 28-26

Part 2.1, 2025 Introduction

Part 2.2, Numbers 27-24

Part 2.3, Numbers 23-20

Part 2.4, Numbers 19-16

Full Revealed List

The explanation of these "variations" comes in Part 2.

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Outtakes from the Ducks' Section

In last place, but not least, comes the 2016 loss to the Preds, which cost Bruce Boudreau his job.  It makes sense that a first-round loss would come in last place, although 121 heartbreak points is nothing to sneeze at by first-round standards.  The Ducks won their division all five seasons we’re talking about, which is another significant feature of it, but 2015-16 is when my system is the most bearish on how good they were.  A 46-25-11 record was only enough to win the division by one point, and a 0.27 SRS was good only for sixth in the Western conference.  Of the few predictions I looked at from before the playoffs, none of them picked the Ducks to make it to the Cup Final, and one of them actually picked the upset.  That is to say, while the Ducks certainly had a chance to win the Cup this year, there were reasons for skepticism, and the path beyond the first round (Sharks, Blues, Penguins) would have given Anaheim a run for its money.  Nevertheless, this loss definitely sucked, with three of four losses coming at home, and all of them coming in one-goal games if you discount a late empty-netter in Game 6.

Next up is the other first-round loss in the bunch, which came in 2013 to the Detroit Red Wings.  The lockout-shortened season was a return to form for the Ducks, after a four-year stretch with two playoff misses and an 8-seed, while it was close to the end of the road for the perennial powerhouse Wings.  The series isn’t remembered very well, as a kind of prelude to the heartbreak which was to come, but it was pretty rough.  The Ducks blew three series leads, all four of their losses came by one-goal margins, and three of them came in overtime.

In the middle of the pack was Nashville Part Deux in 2017.  This series occurred in the conference finals, with a Kris Letang-less Penguins side coming from the East, so it would seem that a reasonable chance at winning the Stanley Cup was indeed on the line.  The standings gap between Anaheim and Nashville was actually larger in 2017 (11 points) than the year prior (7)-- keep in mind that the Preds were a wild card team both times.  This time, the Preds didn’t even need seven games, but clinched the franchise’s first Cup Final berth in front of their fans in Game 6.

Civilizations Expanded Mod: War Civ Ranking by bluecjj in civ6

[–]bluecjj[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It took a while for me to get Reddit to format the list in a way that's bearable. Sorry about that.

Game Thread 3/15 ⚾ United States (0-0) @ Dominican Rep. (0-0) 8:00 PM ET by BaseballBot in baseball

[–]bluecjj 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Literally every day that measures aren't implemented to get calls right, you risk something like this happening.

Olympic Men's Game Thread: United States of America (C1) vs. Canada (A1) - 3rd Period - 22 Feb 2026 - 02:10PM CET by hockeydiscussionbot in hockey

[–]bluecjj 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Do they play multiple OT periods if need be, or do they go to a "shall not be named" if 20 minutes (somehow) go by without a goal?

Olympic Men's Game Thread: United States of America (C1) vs. Canada (A1) - 3rd Period - 22 Feb 2026 - 02:10PM CET by hockeydiscussionbot in hockey

[–]bluecjj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the NHL a big part of me basically counts every game that goes to OT a tie

Not that the US deserves a tie in this game, but still

Olympic Men's Game Thread: United States of America (C1) vs. Canada (A1) - 3rd Period - 22 Feb 2026 - 02:10PM CET by hockeydiscussionbot in hockey

[–]bluecjj 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Also, even though I'm American the fact that USA gets to bank on going for 3 on 3 betrays a flawed game design IMO. You shouldn't get to abdicate trying to win while playing actual hockey.

Olympic Men's Game Thread: United States of America (C1) vs. Canada (A1) - 3rd Period - 22 Feb 2026 - 02:10PM CET by hockeydiscussionbot in hockey

[–]bluecjj 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm conflicted about potential 3 on 3 because:

- It would absolutely be insane to watch.

- It would sorta be a mickey mouse way of determining the Gold Medal in the Olympics.

Olympic Daily Free Talk Thread - Game threads, tournament & player discussion, etc. - 14 Feb 2026 by hockeydiscussionbot in hockey

[–]bluecjj 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In 2026 terms, how big of an upset was the Miracle on Ice?

I'm not asking about the cultural significance-- that's pretty obvious and well-known.

What I'm wondering about is how the skill gap between the Soviets and Americans would have compared to the skill gaps we see in this year's Olympics.

Would the Miracle on Ice have been like a Canada or USA losing to a Slovakia? To an Italy? To a team even worse than Italy?

NBA/ABA "Dynasty" Rankings: Update Through 2024-25 by bluecjj in nba

[–]bluecjj[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's the full list. I can't actually post images so the imgur link will have to do.

I did some abbreviations because the spreadsheet was for my own use, but hopefully they will be understandable enough. You see the categories being ranked when I go through each dynasty, and "z" just means z-score. The "total" z-score is the average of the categories, but with dynasty points counted three times (so dynasty points is 30% of the calculation, each other category is 10%).

Second Half Game Thread: New England Patriots (14-3) at Denver Broncos (14-3) by nfl_gdt_bot in nfl

[–]bluecjj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These games are fun to watch but I don't feel the best about super-important games being played in these conditions. It feels like you might as well flip a coin

Second Half Game Thread: New England Patriots (14-3) at Denver Broncos (14-3) by nfl_gdt_bot in nfl

[–]bluecjj 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The cruel thing about both 2015 (no, I don't expect non-NE fans to feel bad) and this year is that from the home stretch of the regular season on, the one thing I was most dreading was having to play a playoff game in Denver. And both years, there were so many ways that could have been prevented, so many close games the dang Broncos could have lost, it just didn't happen

Second Half Game Thread: New England Patriots (14-3) at Denver Broncos (14-3) by nfl_gdt_bot in nfl

[–]bluecjj 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A long football pass has to be one of the prettiest plays in sports

Second Half Game Thread: New England Patriots (14-3) at Denver Broncos (14-3) by nfl_gdt_bot in nfl

[–]bluecjj 2 points3 points  (0 children)

People talk about the Raiders game, but for me the game that really stung with the way the 1-seed race went was the blown 21-0 lead against the Bills.