2025/2026 NHL Season Thread including Playoffs
- Thread starter IdRatherBeSkiing
- Start date
If Buffalo does not defeat Montreal, I will be cheering heavily for Carolina next round. I will root for Buffalo as they play the Canadian national anthem before all games even when a Canadian team is not involved (the Red Wings do too). And in previous series the mic gave out on the singer and the entire audience picked up the slack. With the absence of the Maple Leafs, they are a good second choice to root for. And they have gotten 0 stanley cups. I also believe they have won 0 championships of any kind (but they may have one an AFL championship at some point before they became part of the NFL).
I will never root for Montreal. I also hope that Vegas also loses next round. No team from Vegas should ever win anything.
The Marllies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs) remain alive in the playoffs. Saw game 4 tonight and it was probably the most fun game I have ever attended. We have been season ticket holders since the 2022/23 season. That year the Marlies finished first, won the division semi-final but lost the finals. The next year they squeaked into the playoffs (5th place) and lost the best of 3 play in 3 games (3rd game in OT). Last season they were also 5th and lost the play in in 2 straight games (OT and 2OT).
This year we seemed to be an average team. We wound up in 4th place (1 point out of 3rd) so we had to play the play in which we won in 3. This pitted us against against the #1 team in our division (Laval) and we took them in the best of 5 in 5 games.
This series is the division finals. We are playing the 3rd place club (Cleveland). They played Cleveland 8 times in the regular season and they had a 4-4 record. Pretty even match. The Marlies won game 1 in Cleveland and lost game 2. They came home for game 3 and 4. Game 3 Cleveland dominated and won. So tonight it was do or die. Cleveland did dominate on the shots but the Marlies persisted and were pesky and physical the whole game. Lots of skirmishes. And our goaltender was amazing. We won 5-2. If it is the final game I see, it was a good one and I am proud of this team and how they have played. If we can win one more in Cleveland on Sunday we will be on to the conference finals. We will face either Scranton Penguns or the Thunderbirds. If we play the Thunderbirds, we will have home ice advantage.
Most of the division winners have been elimated. The top 2 teams: the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Bruins have lost. So if we can win on Sunday and we get a little luck and have Scranton lose, we have a good shot at the Caulder Cup. Scranton has played us real hard so I think we have less of a chance. But we first have to win in Cleveland again.
This year we seemed to be an average team. We wound up in 4th place (1 point out of 3rd) so we had to play the play in which we won in 3. This pitted us against against the #1 team in our division (Laval) and we took them in the best of 5 in 5 games.
This series is the division finals. We are playing the 3rd place club (Cleveland). They played Cleveland 8 times in the regular season and they had a 4-4 record. Pretty even match. The Marlies won game 1 in Cleveland and lost game 2. They came home for game 3 and 4. Game 3 Cleveland dominated and won. So tonight it was do or die. Cleveland did dominate on the shots but the Marlies persisted and were pesky and physical the whole game. Lots of skirmishes. And our goaltender was amazing. We won 5-2. If it is the final game I see, it was a good one and I am proud of this team and how they have played. If we can win one more in Cleveland on Sunday we will be on to the conference finals. We will face either Scranton Penguns or the Thunderbirds. If we play the Thunderbirds, we will have home ice advantage.
Most of the division winners have been elimated. The top 2 teams: the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Bruins have lost. So if we can win on Sunday and we get a little luck and have Scranton lose, we have a good shot at the Caulder Cup. Scranton has played us real hard so I think we have less of a chance. But we first have to win in Cleveland again.
With just under 5 minutes left in this afternoon's game 5 in Cleveland, the Monsters had a 2-1 lead on the Marlies. That is when the Monsters made a horrible defensive mistake and it became tied. Not to be outdone, with 11.3 seconds remaining, they made an even bigger one and the Marlies got the go ahead goal which proved to be the game winner. The Marlies are now division champions and we will play the Wilkes-Barrie Scranton Pengins in a best of 7 for the conference finals starting on Wednesday in Scranton.
I was incorrect in my assessment in how Scranton played us. The last game in Toronto we lost 4-3. I think the score was closer than the play indicated but we did beat Scranton in Scranton in OT earlier this year. So we have a 1-1 mark against them on the season.
I was incorrect in my assessment in how Scranton played us. The last game in Toronto we lost 4-3. I think the score was closer than the play indicated but we did beat Scranton in Scranton in OT earlier this year. So we have a 1-1 mark against them on the season.
I should add I feel really bad for the Cleveland goalie. He played great all series and the goal was not his fault. But I saw the replay and he looked pretty devastated. Also for the feel bad fort rest of the team as well. It was a horrible way to lose (not that there is a good one).
The Las Vegas Knights, who provided that beautiful home arena for this year's NCAA Frozen Four, came back from 0-3 tonight to win 5-3 in a very exciting game on ESPN through Hulu. The Knights are up 3-0 against Colorado in the series