After an exciting first three rounds of the playoffs, we had an anticlimactic finish to the finals. Most people outside of Montreal knew Tampa was going to win the series. It was just a question of how many games it would take.
I’ve got a few final thoughts on each team and how I saw things play out.
Cue the champagne!!!!!!!!!! 🍾 pic.twitter.com/Oz4r6wH2b3
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) July 8, 2021
The Villains
Simply put, Tampa is currently the most hated franchise in the NHL.
A lot of people dislike seeing teams win back to back championships.
Others don’t like when it’s done by a team 17 million dollars over the cap.
Some are really rubbed the wrong way when Nikita Kucherov misses the entire regular season due to an “injury”, comes back to light it up in the playoffs, and caps it off by doing his best Khabib Nurmagomedov impersonation while calling out the Montreal fans.
I love it all.
How about the super average body Kucherov was showcasing during that press conference. Respect.
The Lightning were clearly the class of the NHL again this season and deserve full credit for winning their second championship in a row.
For everyone out there complaining that they cheated the system by having Kucherov sit out the entire regular season and icing a team that was way over the cap for the playoffs I have two words for you. Shut it.
They played within the same rules everyone else did. They just did it a little bit better.
The Price is wrong
I’m a huge Carey Price fan. I loved seeing him shut up all the naysayers as soon as the playoffs started. He proved that he is still one of the best in the world when he is on his game.
Saying all that, for the Habs to have had a chance in this series he needed to steal multiple games. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
I don’t want to say he was terrible, he just wasn’t what we were accustomed to seeing in the first three rounds. Andrei Vasilevskiy was clearly the better of the two goaltenders.
Price was dialed in for the final two games, but once you’re already down 3-0 against a team like Tampa there isn’t much you can do. Their fate was sealed.
It was a sad and disappointing end to an otherwise exciting playoff run for Price and his teammates.
Danault if I would do it
Every year there is a player or two that makes significant contributions during a lengthy playoff run and in return gets over paid on the free agent market.
I think Phillip Danault will be that player this year.
I give him full marks. He was a great shutdown centre in the postseason and came up huge in the face off circle.
I just don’t think he is worth the 5 or so million I am hearing he might get on the open market. Especially for upwards of 5 years.
He is 28 years old and has surpassed 50 points just once. Realistically he can be counted on for 35-45 points going forward.
Come playoff time everyone needs a player like him. Unfortunately, I think someone is going to overpay to get his services.
What a run
It was a hell of a ride while it lasted for the Canadiens. Truthfully, the only series I gave them much hope in was against Winnipeg. That just shows how much I know.
It’s always exciting when a Canadian team goes on a deep run, but when it’s Montreal there is just a different feel to it. This group had a little bit of everything. Gritty vets that had been there before, fresh faced rookies who will likely lose their virginity due to their new found fame, and an aging superstar that found his old form.
It’s too bad the way things ended, but it was a fun ride to be a part of for the past 2 months.