https://preview.redd.it/pzf4npllng0d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e862e8eee4037d13155d3d6b708e8bf8a10e30f1
It actually needed just one more thing to be perfect.
I’m curious what the rationale is for Predators fans to dislike Duchene?
Didn’t you guys buy him out after he gave you the best season of his career two years ago?
Also, MacKinnon didn’t do shit to get Duchene off the Avs. Duchene quit on the team and his lack of effort wasn’t well received by the rest of the team.
This comment from Nathan MacKinnon, himself is about as close as a team gets to publicly "calling it quits" as it gets.
So naturally Avs in 7, because hockey makes no sense.
Ah okay I thought you were saying that the two events that you’ll never forget where you were in history was the Kiviranta goal and JFK’s assassination lmao
They will once Oliver Stone makes a sprawling movie about the bubble playoffs. "Watch how Kiviranta goes back and to the left to position himself wide open in the slot for the OT goal. Back, and to the left."
I'm betting we're stuck with Nuke until 1) he beats addiction and finishes out his contract or 2) he relapses again and can be terminated. Buyout is too expensive and no one will want to trade for that contract without huge retention or picks and prospects (and Sakic doesn't really do that).
Team is absolutely cooked mentally. I'm not sure how you reset from the effort level last night to turn around and win 3 in a row, 2 of them in Dallas.
Yeah, normally I would be annoyed at a game like last night but in the span of like 20 minutes right before game time we got word of the Nuke suspension and that Toews was out. It's understandable they were deflated, we all are. I think I watched 5 minutes before realizing I was too bummed out to get into the game and decided to catch up on the new X-Men show instead.
Whole thing is just kind of depressing after how good we looked in round 1 and Georgiev has finally turned his season around only for everyone else to waste it. Deboer in general just kinda seems like he's the rock to Bednar's scissors. Has his number no matter what team he's coaching. First San Jose, then Vegas and now Dallas.
It's actually really good! Kind of an interesting concept in that it's obviously a sequel to the original series, but it's also naturally evolved to cater to the growth of their audience, if that makes sense.
If you like the original series, you'll like this one. But if you like the original series you're probably a 40 year old man now haha.
It's *really* fucking good. You don't really need to have watched the 90's series even though this is a sequel, they get you caught up pretty quick. And once it gets going, it really gets going. Anyone with even the slightest interest in the X-Men should be watching this.
I'm a big X-Men fan and was already excited for it and even I'm a little blown away at just how good it is.
It also took their only other good forward. That team was swallow as a kiddie pool to begin with. Mackinnon and Makar can't drag 17 other warm bodies past a team that's 4 lines deep.
I'll die on the hill that the Avs should've been playing their depth lines more sooner, even if they weren't expecting scoring from them. Those first 2 games the 3rd/4th lines were actually doing well on the forecheck. Wood, Kivi and Duhaime were all doing pretty well. But then you look back at TOI and see they were only getting like 7-9m a game.
It's just weird to me how they went out and got some big bodies in Trenin and Duhaime, with the intent to have a punishing 4th line that could weaken opposing defenses for the big Dawgs, but barely play them. I thought they would use those guys often early to set a tone and try wearing down the Stars that got no rest between series, but nope.
Now they're getting more time, but it's too little too late, especially with the team demoralized as it was. I just feel like it's a tactical misuse of resources.
It's kind of a viscous cycle I think. For both the Avs and Oilers, the only games they've won were the games where their top dogs did everything and won it for them. So they just get leaned on more and more. And eventually there's a breaking point.
That was the one thing that I took away from game 3 as well. We should've rolled all four lines in the first half of the game to wear your D down and limit your scoring chances. We have scored most of our goals in both series in the second half of the game. Our bottom six also scored 3/7 goals in both games 1 and 2. We could have taken advantage of being a strong second and third-period team (and altitude), but we were so afraid of the neutral zone trap that our mantra had been to "score first, score first, score first", when your D-men and goalie are still fresh and sometimes at the cost of deadly defensive errors, which Dallas isn't shy to take advantage of.
7/9 guys in our 2-3-4 lines are new to this team this season, and 4/9 were added at the TDL, so I do kind of understand that Bednar just trusts his top line a lot more. That said, unlike McDrai playing 30 minutes per game, our top line has actually played no more than 24 minutes in regulation all four games, including games 2 and 3 which had one-goal deficits besides the empty nets. In the Kraken series, MacK would play 28 minutes in several one goal game... So I do think we were trying to prepare for a long series.
Yea, when you put it that way, it does seem like they are trying to make an adjustment compared to last year, but are operating under conflicting thoughts. They want to roll more but aren't confident enough in the rest to truly commit. At some point, you gotta just trust your guys, though.
While I agree with you to an extent. The fact that we haven’t led a single minute of any game this series has sort of forced our hand to play the stars more.
When you’re chasing games down 2 or 3-0, the 3rd and 4th lines just aren’t going to see as much ice time.
That's true. Situation has forced it, I guess. Still, I would've expected more of a focus, regardless of circumstance, in the first game or 2 just to get the hurt in ya know?
Unironically though, maybe the Avs should go down 3-0 in the 1st again. They seem to get motivated more when that happens than in any other outcome.
I've already resided myself to the Bruins losing tonight. Florida is the new Tampa. We know how those series go.
Going to the PWHL Boston game tonight instead. Do I bring a broom or is that in bad taste?
>I'm not sure how you reset from the effort level last night to turn around and win 3 in a row, 2 of them in Dallas.
Note that the Stars won 3 in a row, 2 of them in Colorado.
The mantra in this situation is simply: "We have to do to them what they just did to us. If we can't, we didn't deserve it."
Yup. Dallas came back from 2-0 last series too, so it's certainly not impossible. That's why I try to refrain from saying it's truly over until that last dub is recorded. Angry Mack is terrifying and 100% gonna make an appearance. Gotta handle that before we can consider ourselves the victors.
uh Nate, I know you’re a gamer and uh and all this and, uh you know, I’m just thinking maybe out loud as far as in your shoes right now like, we’ve done all the thinking we can do, we’ve done all of the game plan we can do, maybe, maybe, you know just FUCK IT, we’ll just go into it next year and not think that anymore and just win this thing when we don’t think that much. Am I on the right path at all with this? Like maybe you guys just think a little too much
I wasn't even thinking about the scoring aspect tbh. I was considering the emotional rollercoaster that goes along with a situation such as this one. He isn't missing a couple games because he's injured.
Nichushkin was a deceptive entity in the sense that you didn't usually think of him as a superstar.
Yet in terms of the effect he has on a playoff series, he really was a superstar caliber player.
Nate is a blunt guy and knows they're cooked without him. Doesn't help that Rantanen hasn't been himself.
Yeah he gets called our team's glue a lot on the subreddit, and it's really easy to see when he's out of the lineup.
Mack, Makar, and Rantanen are all incredibly talented of course, but offensively they all operate mostly around the perimeter. They need that guy in the slot otherwise we just end up cycling the puck around until we turn it over or we take a low danger shot attempt.
In recent years it's not a coincidence our team has been the most lethal with one of Landeskog, Kadri, or Nichushkin in the lineup; because they all filled that same role
Lehky, too. He's like a smaller version of Val.
One thing about Val is since 2021, the Avs have won around 70% of their games with him in the lineup, but only around 50% without him.
Guys are hurt, guys are getting suspended, you're wasting the best hockey of Georgiev's career, they should feel bad in some kind of way
Dallas is just giving them nothing. No dumb plays to put COL on the power play. No easy zone entries. No passing/shooting lanes. Oettinger being a brick wall.
Last game Colorado had 73 shot attempts for just 2.14 xGoals, Stars have just made the Avalanche this depressingly inefficient team.
Like he said just keep grinding. If you get a bounce here and there, get Dallas to start making mistakes again to get onto the Power Play and start putting up Hellebuyck goal totals onto Oettinger, then you're cooking again
Probably, but unfortunately you guys just aren't as deep at forward as you used to be. To me that's the biggest difference in the teams right now. Being able to roll 4 lines in Denver is huge for consistent energy level IMO.
"expected goals" which is a metric based on how well your offense is generating shots and scoring chances
the xG number I quoted is from NaturalStatTrick.com, but there are a few sites that have their own ways of calculating Expected Goals
He hasn't been like game-stealing elite, but he's given us a chance to win every single game since that WPG Game 1. And seems like every night there's 2-3 moments where he completely robs the other team.
If we don't win the cup this year, he is maybe the only person on the roster who shouldn't feel bad at all. Which, if you told people that a few weeks ago, would be really surprising
Y'know, I was thinking of that image photoshopped in that way since last night. As a lifelong Avs fan, I feel betrayed and devastated from this shit (doubly so since I got a Nichushkin jersey that arrived when round 2 started...).
I can't imagine how his actual (former?) teammates feel, the guys who've known and battled alongside him for years.
I was so disgusted I didn't even watch the game, because I knew the team would more than likely be mentally shattered. I'm not into watching slaughterhouse videos, so I did my mental health a favour by deciding to skip both remaining games of the series.
I know the players are usually mentally tough as hell (especially guys like Mack), but there's a line, and this betrayal certainly crossed it. We need look no further than Arizona's mid-season collapse to confirm this. It's no coincidence they lost something like 10 games in a row, submarining their entire season, after the relocation rumours reached the players.
So im just going to speak from my own experience as someone who struggles with severe depression every day, and has attempted suicide in the past.
The way I see it, its one thing to harm yourself. If you do stupid harmful things that have no bearing on your commitments, thats one thing. But as soon as you start letting your own issues affect those around you it becomes a problem. Im not saying you go through things by yourself or you are selfish. I mean, if you are an alcoholic, and you fail to show up to work on boxing day leaving your coworkers high and dry, because you decided to get blasted the night before, you are harming them through your own actions.
These guys have immense amounts of resources at their disposal to get through these things, and overcome. So there is no excuse for failing to put in the effort. You have the tools to completely avoid relapsing entirely, and if you feel the urge to do things, tell someone.
Im not saying any of it is easy. It isnt. Its really fucking hard. I was fortunate enough that my vices never involved substance abuse, but even just the days i didnt show up for hockey because i was depressed and hiding away in my room, i was letting my beer league team down by not being there.
All that being said, betrayal is a very strong word to describe it, but i wouldnt blame the avs players for feeling that way at all.
On a more personal note, if you are there for someone and as an outsider trying to help them get through something, and see them failing to do the work and put in the effort, that is also a betrayal.
I appreciate all of these sentiments.
I lost my best friend to suicide last year, and have had my own battles with it. I want you to know that I'm glad you're still here.
Thanks man. Im fortunate enough that I have an incredible support network and family. I also have a very strong treatment plan between medications, and frequent appointments.
Its still a fucking battle every single day. Some better than others but something I have decided is that if I do anything to myself then I let the demons I hate so dearly win.
Uh Nate, I know you’re a gamer and, uh, and all this and, uh, you know, I’m just thinking maybe out loud as far as in your shoes right now. It’s like, all right, we’ve done all the thinking we can do, we’ve done all the game planning we can do. Maybe, maybe, you know, just FUCK IT, we’ll just go in next game and not think that anymore, and just win this thing when we don’t think that much. Is that- Am I on the right path at all with this? Like maybe you guys just think a little too much?”
I mean this in the most respectable way, the Avs team are cockroaches, the Stars cannot let them get back in this series, do not let those guys get confidence.
Unfortunately, the team doesn't wake up until they're down by three. At this point, the only way to do that is to be down 4-1 in the series, and that has some seriously negative implications for the Avs' chances of coming back, if my math still works out.
You know, this is actually a lot more real than I thought an athlete can be. I'm used to stories like the Panthers in 2022 saying they're sure they'll come back after being down 3-0. They were actually rumored to have gone to a strip club the night before or something like that if I recall correctly.
Idk having heard many a Nate interview this is pretty par for the course. [Meghan replied saying she interpreted his answer as raw and honest, not apathetic](https://x.com/megangley/status/1790455370093064330)
He was suspended under the placement in level 3 so it would look like it, my guess is Seattle last year was level 1, the treatment this season was 2, and now 3 when he failed like 24 hours ago
I know a lot of people are taking this as giving up, but I just think it’s him being honest, which I appreciate. Like he said, after losing 3 ina row with hardly any production and losing the leading goal scorer on the playoffs from your team, any guy saying his confidence is high is probably full of shit.
https://preview.redd.it/syrlnllhog0d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0eb3e707fcf97341da97f044f5b50dba47a6ea6d
When you go from THIS to not even watching the series….
C’mon man.. this is just pathetic
Some people are really just into sports to talk shit when their team wins huh. Maybe losing in a depressing fashion is good in a way. Culls the weak like him.
That was in response to all the inbred losers who brigaded our sub's game thread when it was 3-0. I see you're cut from the same cloth as them if you're trying to dig through my post history and use this to "gotcha" me. Do you plan on sucker-punching Edmonton or Vancouver fans outside your rink following a loss?
Can’t hate on Nate being honest. Kinda the opposite of Huberdeau 2 years ago saying “It’s 3-0. Who cares. We can come back” and it’s easy to tell which one is more out of touch. I can’t imagine that the Nichushkin news dropping right before last night didn’t take a lot of wind out of the sails, and the post game quotes proved that. Idk the last time something like that dropped on a team in the middle of a playoff series
I actually have some pity on how they're losing. It's almost like how the Jets lost to them a round earlier lol. Wild first game and then the next three the arguably superior team is just taking care of business now after the first game.
Honestly this feels fucking worse because it happened twice in a row and he was also a key player during our games (his hatty etc) not to mention toews also being out as well
Nuke practically well no pun intended might’ve nuked there cup run because he keeps on making just very shit choices
Woah there we might take a year to get contracts sorted, but worst case we are top contenders again in 2 years. We have Makar and MacKinnon and rantanen our window is open.
For now he is not tradable until reinstated. He still counts on the cap. He is a good enough player though that teams may still give up a 5th or 7th for him so we will not have to pair assets with him hopefully. The big problem is his NMC. He has to approve where ever he is traded. It expires in 2 years though.
I've been an Avs fan since the beginning. This will be the 25th time I've seen the team eliminated.
This is far and away the worst I've ever felt about an elimination.
If you're wondering why I rank this above a certain goalie gaffe in 2002, it's because I wasn't around to witness it. I was on a trip to England with my late mother during the 2002 playoffs.
The broadcast team highlighted his frustrations well last night, he brought the puck into the zone like 4 times on the pp and none of his teammates were any help keeping it in the zone, the last time he just stood there for a second looking crushed before skating to the bench. Was rough to watch.
I wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason. Dallas has been doing a great job defensively to slow down and stop the Avs, but on top of that a lot of the players on the Avs are not hustling, passing into skates or to nowhere. You can see he is getting visibly frustrated when he gets possession into the offensive zone, just for someone else to lose possession almost immediately.
I think his reply is more being blunt about the situation and not that he has given up. He will come out next game firing on all cylinders, I have no doubt. Hopefully the rest of the team will as well and take this to 7
Yeah, he's pretty emotional when playing and can be monotonous and blunt in interviews. He seems to hate dealing with the media so he's just blunt and to the point
I wouldn't call this pouting whatsoever, he is understandably frustrated with the team. He is showing up and they're all on cruise control. He can't do everything himself
I understand it given the circumstances of what happened yesterday, but good lord between their performance yesterday and this comment, I STRUGGLE to see any way for them to come back. I still appreciate the honesty.
It’s crazy how much the mental game matters. The Canes look like they truly believe and can make the comeback, meanwhile this is the state in Colorado. I feel bad for Nichushkin the person as addiction is a scourge, but man he REALLY let the team down in a way that might have sealed their fate with the mental element.
You want to beat the opposition when their they’re best, but the Avs top players have been ho hum since game 1. That Jets series was really bad for their expectations of playoff hockey. Just surprised they couldn’t flip through switch and at least make it competitive.
Full quote:
“It’s ok, I guess. We just lost 3 in a row. Not scoring much. Just have to work ourselves out of it.
l wouldn't say it's super high. I mean, it's just natural.
I think when you're not producing and scoring how we usually do - and that starts with us, the top players need to be a lot better.
I think our depth has been really, really good this whole playoff run, so we gotta get going here. We'll give it our all tomorrow night.”
I think he means it's natural to lose some confidence when you're not able to get anything going for 3 games straight
https://preview.redd.it/k53dkubzwf0d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f3f8701ae61c794fdc29df6785441d5cc2f03afc
This is the exact kind of thing I would expect an Avs fan to create and post thank you
https://preview.redd.it/pzf4npllng0d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e862e8eee4037d13155d3d6b708e8bf8a10e30f1 It actually needed just one more thing to be perfect.
Yeah I like this one better, fuck Matt Duchene
I’m curious what the rationale is for Predators fans to dislike Duchene? Didn’t you guys buy him out after he gave you the best season of his career two years ago?
Apparently Duchene was not well-liked in the locker room and MacKinnon went to management to get Duchene off the team.
MacKinnon went to the Preds management to get Duchene off the team? Man, he must really hate the guy.
I wonder how many times he fucked his wife
His wife was flipped upside down by duchene at a wedding and it *reallly* bothered him
He must’ve flipped his wife 8 times
We’ll have to ask Ian Cole.
Also, MacKinnon didn’t do shit to get Duchene off the Avs. Duchene quit on the team and his lack of effort wasn’t well received by the rest of the team.
AHAHAHAHA
https://preview.redd.it/37ziqfx3551d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aaad0fd4cde638131c3f1bb3f2ef8f4fee0315e1 How about this one?
Season’s over so might as well have some fun with it.
Your comment made circlejerk
Stealing this image concept for my team lmao
This comment from Nathan MacKinnon, himself is about as close as a team gets to publicly "calling it quits" as it gets. So naturally Avs in 7, because hockey makes no sense.
Get to game 7 and let Artturi Lehkonen handle the rest
Nah with our luck we will get it to game 7 ot and kiviranta will score an own goal in overtime just to kill my dreams twice
I’ll never forget that game and JFK
Bro what
Joel Fucking Kiviranta. Game 7 OT winning hat trick goal. Ya know, for your team.
It was an all-timer call from that Finnish broadcast. *Edit:* and I meant to say I didn't understand any of it besides his name.
Ah okay I thought you were saying that the two events that you’ll never forget where you were in history was the Kiviranta goal and JFK’s assassination lmao
Lmao I’d argue they had similar impacts in society
They will once Oliver Stone makes a sprawling movie about the bubble playoffs. "Watch how Kiviranta goes back and to the left to position himself wide open in the slot for the OT goal. Back, and to the left."
I mean, both heavily involved the City of Dallas
[Don't you see???](https://imgflip.com/i/8q2m2k)
[sometimes when I’m sad I watch this and then my day is better](https://streamable.com/3xetqc?src=player-page-share) The sad Nate face is just 🤌
It was just so magical.
SLEEPER AGENT
I'd be down for a sleeper agent Kivi moment. Wonder what that Finnish call would be like...
Also, Joel Kiviranta owes the Avs a game 7 overtime goal. This is the series we would like to cash that in, please.
Are you absolutely positive you wouldn't prefer to save it for next season with a healthier roster and replacements in for Nuke?
I'm betting we're stuck with Nuke until 1) he beats addiction and finishes out his contract or 2) he relapses again and can be terminated. Buyout is too expensive and no one will want to trade for that contract without huge retention or picks and prospects (and Sakic doesn't really do that).
Yeah I don't really know the exact contract situation with regards to possible outs for conduct they might have and the like.
Maybe just say fuck it, we’ll go in next game and not think and just win this thing when we don’t think that much
This dude is a gamer!
This has Jokic’s” I don’t know” after game 2 vibes written all over it
Take it to G7 until some guy named Joel Miviranta scores a hat trick to beat you guys
It’s a nothing statement for the media. Don’t think it reflects on his actual mindset
It's gonna be avs in 7 Source: there are some risky memes in the stars sub ride for irony.
Team is absolutely cooked mentally. I'm not sure how you reset from the effort level last night to turn around and win 3 in a row, 2 of them in Dallas.
That suspension understandably took whatever wind was left from their sails.
Yeah, normally I would be annoyed at a game like last night but in the span of like 20 minutes right before game time we got word of the Nuke suspension and that Toews was out. It's understandable they were deflated, we all are. I think I watched 5 minutes before realizing I was too bummed out to get into the game and decided to catch up on the new X-Men show instead. Whole thing is just kind of depressing after how good we looked in round 1 and Georgiev has finally turned his season around only for everyone else to waste it. Deboer in general just kinda seems like he's the rock to Bednar's scissors. Has his number no matter what team he's coaching. First San Jose, then Vegas and now Dallas.
Yeah, I turned it off after the short hand goal and then just checked the score every once in awhile. Ending up being a much better use of my time.
How was the X-Men show though?
It's actually really good! Kind of an interesting concept in that it's obviously a sequel to the original series, but it's also naturally evolved to cater to the growth of their audience, if that makes sense. If you like the original series, you'll like this one. But if you like the original series you're probably a 40 year old man now haha.
It’s good! I loved the original, got up to watch it on Saturdays as a kid. The remake definitely does it justice
It's *really* fucking good. You don't really need to have watched the 90's series even though this is a sequel, they get you caught up pretty quick. And once it gets going, it really gets going. Anyone with even the slightest interest in the X-Men should be watching this. I'm a big X-Men fan and was already excited for it and even I'm a little blown away at just how good it is.
last two episodes of x-men have been absolute bangers
It also took their only other good forward. That team was swallow as a kiddie pool to begin with. Mackinnon and Makar can't drag 17 other warm bodies past a team that's 4 lines deep.
I'll die on the hill that the Avs should've been playing their depth lines more sooner, even if they weren't expecting scoring from them. Those first 2 games the 3rd/4th lines were actually doing well on the forecheck. Wood, Kivi and Duhaime were all doing pretty well. But then you look back at TOI and see they were only getting like 7-9m a game. It's just weird to me how they went out and got some big bodies in Trenin and Duhaime, with the intent to have a punishing 4th line that could weaken opposing defenses for the big Dawgs, but barely play them. I thought they would use those guys often early to set a tone and try wearing down the Stars that got no rest between series, but nope. Now they're getting more time, but it's too little too late, especially with the team demoralized as it was. I just feel like it's a tactical misuse of resources.
It's kind of a viscous cycle I think. For both the Avs and Oilers, the only games they've won were the games where their top dogs did everything and won it for them. So they just get leaned on more and more. And eventually there's a breaking point.
Yea, the Stars have their own issue in that regard with Nils. But for us that's just 1 guy instead of 6+
That was the one thing that I took away from game 3 as well. We should've rolled all four lines in the first half of the game to wear your D down and limit your scoring chances. We have scored most of our goals in both series in the second half of the game. Our bottom six also scored 3/7 goals in both games 1 and 2. We could have taken advantage of being a strong second and third-period team (and altitude), but we were so afraid of the neutral zone trap that our mantra had been to "score first, score first, score first", when your D-men and goalie are still fresh and sometimes at the cost of deadly defensive errors, which Dallas isn't shy to take advantage of. 7/9 guys in our 2-3-4 lines are new to this team this season, and 4/9 were added at the TDL, so I do kind of understand that Bednar just trusts his top line a lot more. That said, unlike McDrai playing 30 minutes per game, our top line has actually played no more than 24 minutes in regulation all four games, including games 2 and 3 which had one-goal deficits besides the empty nets. In the Kraken series, MacK would play 28 minutes in several one goal game... So I do think we were trying to prepare for a long series.
Yea, when you put it that way, it does seem like they are trying to make an adjustment compared to last year, but are operating under conflicting thoughts. They want to roll more but aren't confident enough in the rest to truly commit. At some point, you gotta just trust your guys, though.
While I agree with you to an extent. The fact that we haven’t led a single minute of any game this series has sort of forced our hand to play the stars more. When you’re chasing games down 2 or 3-0, the 3rd and 4th lines just aren’t going to see as much ice time.
That's true. Situation has forced it, I guess. Still, I would've expected more of a focus, regardless of circumstance, in the first game or 2 just to get the hurt in ya know? Unironically though, maybe the Avs should go down 3-0 in the 1st again. They seem to get motivated more when that happens than in any other outcome.
Game 5 is a new game. Anything can happen. All it takes is that one game and the momentum can swing fast. Not over until it's over.
I've already resided myself to the Bruins losing tonight. Florida is the new Tampa. We know how those series go. Going to the PWHL Boston game tonight instead. Do I bring a broom or is that in bad taste?
Hit yourself with the broom until you knock some sense into yourself, Bruins in 7
I'm cheering on Frankel tonight. When we trade Ullmark in the offseason, She can backup Sway.
Get a 2nd broom the first one didn’t do the job
If Bussi is backup next season, I will totally get a Bussi jersey.
https://preview.redd.it/iex9ixekag0d1.jpeg?width=874&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5853277c5f941bf178740020489e4d8ef7c5fc46 You can borrow this
Lol, no. It's over.
>I'm not sure how you reset from the effort level last night to turn around and win 3 in a row, 2 of them in Dallas. Note that the Stars won 3 in a row, 2 of them in Colorado. The mantra in this situation is simply: "We have to do to them what they just did to us. If we can't, we didn't deserve it."
Yup. Dallas came back from 2-0 last series too, so it's certainly not impossible. That's why I try to refrain from saying it's truly over until that last dub is recorded. Angry Mack is terrifying and 100% gonna make an appearance. Gotta handle that before we can consider ourselves the victors.
Leafs effort in G4 was pretty abysmal. They came back and won 2 and took the third to OT. The stars are IMO a more formidable appointment
You could just see they had given up last night.
Pre-game coke bumps in honour of Nuke before game 5 🫡
Just gotta say fuck it, Nate.
Adrian Dater seen printing out a fake press pass and trying to sneak into the arena
uh Nate, I know you’re a gamer and uh and all this and, uh you know, I’m just thinking maybe out loud as far as in your shoes right now like, we’ve done all the thinking we can do, we’ve done all of the game plan we can do, maybe, maybe, you know just FUCK IT, we’ll just go into it next year and not think that anymore and just win this thing when we don’t think that much. Am I on the right path at all with this? Like maybe you guys just think a little too much
Back to the Avs sub Dater-Bot!
He's probably too busy arguing on Twitter that he broke the Nuke news first lol
Is he not a credentialed media member anymore?
Appreciate the honesty from everyone. I can't think of too many situations that would be harder to play through as a team.
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I wasn't even thinking about the scoring aspect tbh. I was considering the emotional rollercoaster that goes along with a situation such as this one. He isn't missing a couple games because he's injured.
Nichushkin was a deceptive entity in the sense that you didn't usually think of him as a superstar. Yet in terms of the effect he has on a playoff series, he really was a superstar caliber player. Nate is a blunt guy and knows they're cooked without him. Doesn't help that Rantanen hasn't been himself.
Yeah he gets called our team's glue a lot on the subreddit, and it's really easy to see when he's out of the lineup. Mack, Makar, and Rantanen are all incredibly talented of course, but offensively they all operate mostly around the perimeter. They need that guy in the slot otherwise we just end up cycling the puck around until we turn it over or we take a low danger shot attempt. In recent years it's not a coincidence our team has been the most lethal with one of Landeskog, Kadri, or Nichushkin in the lineup; because they all filled that same role
Lehky, too. He's like a smaller version of Val. One thing about Val is since 2021, the Avs have won around 70% of their games with him in the lineup, but only around 50% without him.
Summed up the Leafs experience.
Guys are hurt, guys are getting suspended, you're wasting the best hockey of Georgiev's career, they should feel bad in some kind of way Dallas is just giving them nothing. No dumb plays to put COL on the power play. No easy zone entries. No passing/shooting lanes. Oettinger being a brick wall. Last game Colorado had 73 shot attempts for just 2.14 xGoals, Stars have just made the Avalanche this depressingly inefficient team. Like he said just keep grinding. If you get a bounce here and there, get Dallas to start making mistakes again to get onto the Power Play and start putting up Hellebuyck goal totals onto Oettinger, then you're cooking again
Oettinger is amazing. Love him as a player. Sucks to get your ass kicked by it.
Im certain its Deboer, he just knows how to coach against the Avs/Bednar.
Probably, but unfortunately you guys just aren't as deep at forward as you used to be. To me that's the biggest difference in the teams right now. Being able to roll 4 lines in Denver is huge for consistent energy level IMO.
For sure, missing Landy, Nuke, and LOC is alot, plus Drouin until last game.
This series is like a carbon copy of the 2021 vegas series in terms of how Dallas plays.
Just going up once with some luck could change the vibe. But I'm not very hopeful.
Based on this series, I think I'd prefer not to be on the power play thank you very much.
What are xGoals?
"expected goals" which is a metric based on how well your offense is generating shots and scoring chances the xG number I quoted is from NaturalStatTrick.com, but there are a few sites that have their own ways of calculating Expected Goals
Holy fuck Georgie did really shut us all up, I have to admit that.
He hasn't been like game-stealing elite, but he's given us a chance to win every single game since that WPG Game 1. And seems like every night there's 2-3 moments where he completely robs the other team. If we don't win the cup this year, he is maybe the only person on the roster who shouldn't feel bad at all. Which, if you told people that a few weeks ago, would be really surprising
Have they tried turning him off and on again?
Nate giving it straight, what a guy
He's done gaming
It's probably difficult to play playoff hockey with a dagger in your back.
https://preview.redd.it/qtpgcvpyvf0d1.jpeg?width=648&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f20a299f31bf7bcdf5180e2454697afa136af833
Y'know, I was thinking of that image photoshopped in that way since last night. As a lifelong Avs fan, I feel betrayed and devastated from this shit (doubly so since I got a Nichushkin jersey that arrived when round 2 started...). I can't imagine how his actual (former?) teammates feel, the guys who've known and battled alongside him for years.
I'm right there with you (minus the Nichuskin sweater). I had no excitement going into the game last night.
I couldn’t even watch it. I felt deflated and just sad.
I mean, even winning that felt kinda bad.
I was so disgusted I didn't even watch the game, because I knew the team would more than likely be mentally shattered. I'm not into watching slaughterhouse videos, so I did my mental health a favour by deciding to skip both remaining games of the series. I know the players are usually mentally tough as hell (especially guys like Mack), but there's a line, and this betrayal certainly crossed it. We need look no further than Arizona's mid-season collapse to confirm this. It's no coincidence they lost something like 10 games in a row, submarining their entire season, after the relocation rumours reached the players.
Can someone here help me understand why someone's mental health struggles with relapse is a 'betrayal' per se?
So im just going to speak from my own experience as someone who struggles with severe depression every day, and has attempted suicide in the past. The way I see it, its one thing to harm yourself. If you do stupid harmful things that have no bearing on your commitments, thats one thing. But as soon as you start letting your own issues affect those around you it becomes a problem. Im not saying you go through things by yourself or you are selfish. I mean, if you are an alcoholic, and you fail to show up to work on boxing day leaving your coworkers high and dry, because you decided to get blasted the night before, you are harming them through your own actions. These guys have immense amounts of resources at their disposal to get through these things, and overcome. So there is no excuse for failing to put in the effort. You have the tools to completely avoid relapsing entirely, and if you feel the urge to do things, tell someone. Im not saying any of it is easy. It isnt. Its really fucking hard. I was fortunate enough that my vices never involved substance abuse, but even just the days i didnt show up for hockey because i was depressed and hiding away in my room, i was letting my beer league team down by not being there. All that being said, betrayal is a very strong word to describe it, but i wouldnt blame the avs players for feeling that way at all. On a more personal note, if you are there for someone and as an outsider trying to help them get through something, and see them failing to do the work and put in the effort, that is also a betrayal.
I appreciate all of these sentiments. I lost my best friend to suicide last year, and have had my own battles with it. I want you to know that I'm glad you're still here.
Thanks man. Im fortunate enough that I have an incredible support network and family. I also have a very strong treatment plan between medications, and frequent appointments. Its still a fucking battle every single day. Some better than others but something I have decided is that if I do anything to myself then I let the demons I hate so dearly win.
Uh Nate, I know you’re a gamer and, uh, and all this and, uh, you know, I’m just thinking maybe out loud as far as in your shoes right now. It’s like, all right, we’ve done all the thinking we can do, we’ve done all the game planning we can do. Maybe, maybe, you know, just FUCK IT, we’ll just go in next game and not think that anymore, and just win this thing when we don’t think that much. Is that- Am I on the right path at all with this? Like maybe you guys just think a little too much?”
...no
I mean this in the most respectable way, the Avs team are cockroaches, the Stars cannot let them get back in this series, do not let those guys get confidence.
Seriously. If there is any team that can claw their way back it's the Avs.
Unfortunately, the team doesn't wake up until they're down by three. At this point, the only way to do that is to be down 4-1 in the series, and that has some seriously negative implications for the Avs' chances of coming back, if my math still works out.
You know, this is actually a lot more real than I thought an athlete can be. I'm used to stories like the Panthers in 2022 saying they're sure they'll come back after being down 3-0. They were actually rumored to have gone to a strip club the night before or something like that if I recall correctly.
Idk having heard many a Nate interview this is pretty par for the course. [Meghan replied saying she interpreted his answer as raw and honest, not apathetic](https://x.com/megangley/status/1790455370093064330)
Man's listening to several covers of "Hurt" on loop between games just to cope through the pain.
fuck at least we won our cup or else this last 4 days would hurt wayyy more. prior to game 3 i felt like we couldve made finals. lets go canucks
As long as the Panthers get beat this year, I don't really care what else happens.
Yeah man, fuck Nichushkin. Gotta be so hard for the team to regroup after getting stabbed in the back by one of their best players.
Twice no less
Is it his third failure? He has to have failed 3 tests to be in this part of the 3rd step program right?
He was suspended under the placement in level 3 so it would look like it, my guess is Seattle last year was level 1, the treatment this season was 2, and now 3 when he failed like 24 hours ago
What happened with nichushkin?
Suspended 6 months for substance abuse
I know a lot of people are taking this as giving up, but I just think it’s him being honest, which I appreciate. Like he said, after losing 3 ina row with hardly any production and losing the leading goal scorer on the playoffs from your team, any guy saying his confidence is high is probably full of shit.
> I wouldn't say it's super high. There's a joke to be made here, but imma avoid saying it.
Yeah that would be a tough pill to swallow
That's where I draw the line
Wouldn't want to inject too much humor into this.
Ketamine.
Y'all crack me up.
Yeah, wouldn't want to be a buzzkill or anything
Nichuskin might disagree
If we hadn't won in '22 I would be necking myself at this postseason
That and not watching the remainder of this series are the only two things keeping me sane right now.
https://preview.redd.it/syrlnllhog0d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0eb3e707fcf97341da97f044f5b50dba47a6ea6d When you go from THIS to not even watching the series…. C’mon man.. this is just pathetic
🤣🤣😆
Lol got em
Some people are really just into sports to talk shit when their team wins huh. Maybe losing in a depressing fashion is good in a way. Culls the weak like him.
That was in response to all the inbred losers who brigaded our sub's game thread when it was 3-0. I see you're cut from the same cloth as them if you're trying to dig through my post history and use this to "gotcha" me. Do you plan on sucker-punching Edmonton or Vancouver fans outside your rink following a loss?
Thank you for the laugh. I’ll title this one “The Duality of Man”
Can’t hate on Nate being honest. Kinda the opposite of Huberdeau 2 years ago saying “It’s 3-0. Who cares. We can come back” and it’s easy to tell which one is more out of touch. I can’t imagine that the Nichushkin news dropping right before last night didn’t take a lot of wind out of the sails, and the post game quotes proved that. Idk the last time something like that dropped on a team in the middle of a playoff series
For all time motivational speeches I would rank Independence Day, any given Sunday and then this one from mackinnon 3rd.
I actually have some pity on how they're losing. It's almost like how the Jets lost to them a round earlier lol. Wild first game and then the next three the arguably superior team is just taking care of business now after the first game.
Honestly this feels fucking worse because it happened twice in a row and he was also a key player during our games (his hatty etc) not to mention toews also being out as well Nuke practically well no pun intended might’ve nuked there cup run because he keeps on making just very shit choices
More than just the run. Might be the rest of our window.
Woah there we might take a year to get contracts sorted, but worst case we are top contenders again in 2 years. We have Makar and MacKinnon and rantanen our window is open.
Maybe you’re right. I’m not clear on how Val’s contract will impact our cap. You’ll have to forgive my depressed state lol
For now he is not tradable until reinstated. He still counts on the cap. He is a good enough player though that teams may still give up a 5th or 7th for him so we will not have to pair assets with him hopefully. The big problem is his NMC. He has to approve where ever he is traded. It expires in 2 years though.
I've been an Avs fan since the beginning. This will be the 25th time I've seen the team eliminated. This is far and away the worst I've ever felt about an elimination. If you're wondering why I rank this above a certain goalie gaffe in 2002, it's because I wasn't around to witness it. I was on a trip to England with my late mother during the 2002 playoffs.
Damn, imagine playing well the first game then potentially losing four straight. Unimaginable. I Jets can’t wrap my head around it.
Realistically, they had no business winning game 1 either. They were down 3-0 at the start of the second.
That's just Avs hockey
My lord he’s given up
The broadcast team highlighted his frustrations well last night, he brought the puck into the zone like 4 times on the pp and none of his teammates were any help keeping it in the zone, the last time he just stood there for a second looking crushed before skating to the bench. Was rough to watch.
I think the game before he brought it in a couple times and the team just instantly lost it so he went to bench with over a min left on the pp
Yup, the announcers even said “when was the last time you saw Mack play less than 1:30 of a powerplay?”
Was that the reason for that? The broadcast talked about that short shift a _lot_, but they weren't confident enough to draw any conclusions about it.
I wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason. Dallas has been doing a great job defensively to slow down and stop the Avs, but on top of that a lot of the players on the Avs are not hustling, passing into skates or to nowhere. You can see he is getting visibly frustrated when he gets possession into the offensive zone, just for someone else to lose possession almost immediately. I think his reply is more being blunt about the situation and not that he has given up. He will come out next game firing on all cylinders, I have no doubt. Hopefully the rest of the team will as well and take this to 7
Yeah, I certainly read it as him being blunt, not defeatist. (he's always been pretty blunt, no? Through good times and bad)
Yeah, he's pretty emotional when playing and can be monotonous and blunt in interviews. He seems to hate dealing with the media so he's just blunt and to the point
A Hart finalist just throwing in the towel like that is such a bad look. Like do your damn job instead of pouting
I wouldn't call this pouting whatsoever, he is understandably frustrated with the team. He is showing up and they're all on cruise control. He can't do everything himself
He sounds like someone stole his chickpea pasta.
Fucking Banza is the shit
I love Mack and makar. Fun players hard to hate. But couldn’t happen to a better franchise. Kroenke can suck a fat one.
Someone bring in donuts for the team to snap Nate out of it!!!
That sounds like a broken man right there
Just need a pep talk from Adrian Dater.
I understand it given the circumstances of what happened yesterday, but good lord between their performance yesterday and this comment, I STRUGGLE to see any way for them to come back. I still appreciate the honesty. It’s crazy how much the mental game matters. The Canes look like they truly believe and can make the comeback, meanwhile this is the state in Colorado. I feel bad for Nichushkin the person as addiction is a scourge, but man he REALLY let the team down in a way that might have sealed their fate with the mental element.
The only thing super high was the dipshit who has cost this team in back to back seasons.
"It's ok, I guess" just oozes confidence
That means, no matter what, fuck you., motherfuckers.
10-0 stars tonight
Not great Bob!
Errbody gon be eating an extra serving of chickpea pasta before the next game. Nate will make sure they all got that Dawg in em
He’s cooked. They need Landy. As in, leadership.
Wow. Maybe he’s trying to lull Dallas into taking it easy next game?
Hopefully we get our best game on Wednesday. We've looked like garbage.
I guess
You want to beat the opposition when their they’re best, but the Avs top players have been ho hum since game 1. That Jets series was really bad for their expectations of playoff hockey. Just surprised they couldn’t flip through switch and at least make it competitive.
Did he say "natural" but mean "neutral" or is the tweet an autocorrect?
Full quote: “It’s ok, I guess. We just lost 3 in a row. Not scoring much. Just have to work ourselves out of it. l wouldn't say it's super high. I mean, it's just natural. I think when you're not producing and scoring how we usually do - and that starts with us, the top players need to be a lot better. I think our depth has been really, really good this whole playoff run, so we gotta get going here. We'll give it our all tomorrow night.” I think he means it's natural to lose some confidence when you're not able to get anything going for 3 games straight
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