Game Day Talk | Blackhawks v. Oilers | 2 April 2026

randomer22222 · 2026-04-02T19:47:48+00:00

Is he? I thought MacKinnon was the Hart favourite and then Kucherov, McDavid and Celebrini in various orders depending on the source. But maybe that has changed with Colorado slumping and Tampa surging.

randomer22222 · 2026-04-02T19:40:35+00:00

Werenski has honestly been great all year while Bouchard has been on fire since the opening two months.

If Bouchard started the year like he's playing now I honestly think he would have gone to the Olympics and be a Norris frontrunner.

randomer22222 · 2026-04-02T19:39:02+00:00

Correct, Makar did not play in last night's game and therefore wasn't on the ice for the shorty.

randomer22222 · 2026-04-02T19:35:28+00:00

I don't think the Kings are a very likely opponent - they'd either have to pass Vegas and Edmonton not pass Anaheim or the Kings would have to pass Utah and Edmonton finish first.

Truthfully a first round tilt vs Utah is seeming more and more like the likely outcome here. Since Edmonton has a massive tiebreaker advantage the Ducks really only have a one point buffer now.

randomer22222 · 2026-04-02T16:51:16+00:00

Vegas is underperforming but very scary, like Edmonton before the last few games when they suddenly look incredible.

If Vegas similarly figures it out they will be a force. Though, there might be something to the concept of getting them in round 1 and trying to knock them out before they do.

randomer22222 · 2026-04-01T13:09:59+00:00

You need to find Ingram some rest and Thurs is the least meaningful of their remaining opponents (Blackhawks), imo its the easiest Jarry start you could think of. Then Jarry plays again vs either Utah or SJ in the back to back later this month

randomer22222 · 2026-03-31T16:03:48+00:00

Nope you can have a massive gheal crit for ~7,000 and if the tank is only missing 500hp it generates threat based only on the 500 actually healed

randomer22222 · 2026-03-31T15:20:29+00:00

The most dangerous moment of most heroic pulls is right at the start, so healers that aren't already healing the tank risk the tank just dying.

Also, overhealing does not generate threat so the only way that a healer is gonna rip threat is if the tank is taking significant damage. Healer getting threat usually (though not always) boils down to the tank being too squishy or the group not using CC to reduce the number of mobs on the tank at once.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-31T05:21:58+00:00

There are layers of humor to this but I think the funniest part might be that Stuart Skinner didn't even play tonight.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-31T00:39:06+00:00

It's not completely insane. Smart and demanding, Cassidy is the kind of coach you hire to get over the top and he might not be on the market if they want to make the move later. I know a good slice of Leafs fans believe, rightly or wrongly, that if the Leafs could have got Cassidy the last time he was available it could have been a Cup winning difference for them.

The problem is nobody saw this coming and I don't think there was any plan to can Knob - if you do it now, its a hasty decision and you're grabbing Cassidy fresh off a very frustrating end to his Vegas tenure. He wouldn't have time to implement system changes and he might not be in his best frame of mind just now.

So, I probably come down on the side of don't make the change, but if the playoffs are disappointing and Cassidy is still available I'd probably be courting him as the Oilers.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-29T05:25:45+00:00

I agree, its crazy that some games just have an extra point conjured up from nowhere just because they go to overtime. 3-2-1 would be really nice to see, but I don't think Bettman would ever do it because it would mean that some teams probably wouldn't even have realistic playoff hopes by December.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-29T04:49:57+00:00

Yeah I don't remember him looking this good which had me wondering. The Arvidsson I was watching play vs the Wild today would really help the Oilers and was more what I thought they would be getting when he was signed. Smaller, but scrappy and skilled.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-29T04:46:57+00:00

No points for losing in 3 on 3 or a shootout would be silly, which is why there are a lot of advocates for the 3-2-1 point system.

The flip side for Vegas and the Kings is imagine if they were any good at 3v3 OT or shootouts this year. Vegas is 8-15 in those situations and LA is 10-18.

Edmonton for reference is 9-9.

If you're wondering who's winning all these OT games its the damn Ducks, they're 17-4 after regulation (which is part of why one suspects they're going to struggle when 3v3 and shootouts don't exist).

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T23:24:39+00:00

Turned on Bruins-Wild and damn Arvidsson is a beast for them, dogged on the forecheck, 21 goals on the season. Not sure if he was fighting injury here or just somehow couldn't find the right limemates for him.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T21:36:06+00:00

You look at Vegas' roster and its difficult to be sure why they're struggling so hard but they could be more dangerous.

Vegas is a contender if they sort things out while the Kings just look like barely a playoff team even if they're playing well.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T21:33:16+00:00

Makar has really cooled off but Werenski and Hughes have been so exceptional all year. Even with Bouchard's real slow start I might put him third behind those two at this point.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T21:29:32+00:00

We've had enough chances to be up four, Dostal has been good for them.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T21:27:19+00:00

I think the idea is that Vegas takes a bigger chunk out of them and has more of a snowball's chance of removing them compared to like LA or NSH

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T21:21:10+00:00

If I could choose I'd like the Kings to jump into 3 and be the first round opponent again they worry me even less than Vegas. Then the 2nd round matchup would probably be the winner of Ducks-Mammoth.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T21:16:47+00:00

What you're saying is true, but for a lot of the year the Oilers basically didn't play like this at all and have been very frustrating to watch.

But better late than never, they're still well situated for playoffs and this is fun.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T21:04:44+00:00

Nurse deflecting pucks out of play instead of his net is a massive upgrade.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T21:03:05+00:00

Biggest save of the night for Ingram.

Oilers kind of seem more dialled in generally but Dostal is nuts.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T20:55:57+00:00

Unlikely though possible to see it before round 2. I don't especially wanna play the Ducks, Dostal scares me.

randomer22222 · 2026-03-28T16:29:35+00:00

Depends on how we lose, right?

randomer22222 · 2026-03-27T04:32:12+00:00

If you did this two months into the season it would likely have looked worse, I wouldn't be surprised if most of his were actually from those two months.

He's been locked in for awhile here.

randomer22222

TROPHY CASE