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Playoff GDT: Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 Canes v. Vegas 6/2 8:00

CanadaCanes said:
Lauzon is back so our old friend Coghlan probably draws out of the lineup.
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Same protocols apply for the Canes though. Lauzon is more rugged and can be used on the PK, but he’s still not that great a puck retriever and even less of a threat to skate the puck out of danger. He’ll be a target for the forecheck in the corners.
 
TheBigKahuna said:
I don't know if either team will be able to fully play their ideal system in the 1st two periods, at least. Maybe all game. It will be a bit sloppy maybe, and require some "feeling out", and probably some luck, or a couple of big mistakes.
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That’s generally the case in the first period of the last two rounds, but Carolina/Montreal exploded into action right away. I expect the Canes to try to jump on Vegas early and see if they can rattle their old bones. There’s absolutely nothing unique or special about what Vegas does on D other than that they execute it better than most, so the Canes can tuck in and get straight to work trying to stretch that zone and get some seams to exploit. And the beauty of Carolina’s D is that it’s always the same. It’s might take a bit to get traction, but the punch/counterpunch thing that these two are going to engage in probably starts right off the hop
 
CanadaCanes said:
Rank making the Finals is an example of everything wrong with the officiating and the decision makers that critique this stuff. Rooney and McCauley are fine, Rank should have been nowhere near an ECF series let alone the Finals.
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I was almost shocked to see Rank get the assignment in an elimination game in the ECF. He didn’t let me down, since he called yet another mysterious game and yet he gets a spot in the Finals. It’s the NHL so we shouldn’t be surprised, but even then … have SOME standards.
 
jeffbear said:
I was almost shocked to see Rank get the assignment in an elimination game in the ECF. He didn’t let me down, since he called yet another mysterious game and yet he gets a spot in the Finals. It’s the NHL so we shouldn’t be surprised, but even then … have SOME standards.
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Jean Hebert is the 4th referee assigned to the Final. So we’ll see him and Rank on Thursday.

It’s McCauley’s 12th Final, Rooney’s 9th, Hebert’s 4th and Rank’s 1st. McCauley has worked every Final since 2013 except 2021 and 2024. Rooney has worked every Final since 2028 except for 2020 and 2021. Hebert worked 2022 and the last 2.
 
Rank has been absolute garbage in these playoffs, which is a continuation of his horrible regular season officiating. The fact that he made the Final 4 over, well, just about anyone else, is just ridiculous. Granted vets like Kelly Sutherland didn't do themselves any favors with their disasterous playoff performances (ie hit yourself in the face with someone else's stick while holding it, draw a high sticking call in the process, after you have pulled that same stunt once before in a game).
 
Hey … if the price of dumping Charron and Sutherland was having Rank in the Finals, I’m OK with that tradeoff. And only one of the four is a member of the He Man Svech Haters Club (Hebert).
 
I'll be a nervous wreck for an hour or more once game starts. That's why I don't do watch parties, etc. Any year my team made the SB, I would always watch at home alone. No party. No bars. Nothing.
 
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