Your Tuesday Evening Open Thread & Final Remaining NHL Second Round Preview

NFL Noise:

• I guess it’s not tampering if you’re a player – Patrick Mahomes wants to see Aaron Rodgers in the AFC West.
  • “To have that challenge … two times a year, every single year would be a great, great opportunity.”
  • But given that the Packers are intent on calling his bluff, it’s likely a no-go until after the 2022 season, when they can get a lot more for him than they can right now.
    • And besides – Rodgers couldn’t even protect Miles Teller from getting jumped, so maybe he can’t see the whole field anymore.

• In an effort to get more gritty, the Houston Texans – who I’m led to believe are a professional football team in Texas – signed former Patriots RB Rex Burkhead.
  • He will apparently be playing both as a third-string running back and on special teams.

• Stefon Diggs did the Bills a solid & turned most of his 2021 salary into a signing bonus.
  • By converting more than $11.7 million of his base salary into a signing bonus, it saves the team roughly $8 million of salary-cap space.
    • Diggs was slated to make roughly $12.7 million in base salary in 2021; it’s now $990,000.
    • Buffalo now has $11,084,995 in cap space.
  • This is the same shit Brady would do for the Patriots each year just before his salary became vested.
    • So they could “make room” to buy another piece for Belichick’s puzzle.

And as an appetizer to the all-Canadian NHL discussion below, allow me to introduce you to the Edmonton Elks.

As we all know, the ex-Eskimos – although their website is still esks.com – changed their name after coming to the stunning realization that their name might have been considered derogatory by a not-insignificant percentage of the population. It certainly helped allay most of the die-hards/bigots that the [Redacteds] changed their’s first.

Anyway, I’m actually glad they kept the team’s classic look. I don’t need colours becoming the new “Two Roughriders?” joke about the CFL.

Before I start, just a few more from last night.

This one’s in memory of tWBS, who would have approved of the song choice,

https://twitter.com/MrBooth_7/status/1399540889631051776?s=20

Anyway, now that that’s over with, on to business.

North Division Finals: Winnipeg Jets (3) vs. Montreal Canadiens (4)

The series no one predicted is now the car crash people won’t be able to turn away from. The Jets took down the Oilers in four games, exposing them as frauds and exposing a portion of their fanbase as some of the worst online racists outside of the recent Gaza bombings. The Habs, meanwhile, just spent seven games destroying the Canadian sports media’s narrative of the Leafs being a team of destiny rather than a collection of overpaid frauds with no team coherence. Perversely, this might have been the result Gary Bettman wanted most, because it guarantees the Northern team gets quickly dispatched in the semifinals, and that he doesn’t have to listen to the demands of Canadian fans who want the Nordiques back.

Still, we must soldier on.

The Jets showed they have the necessary grit to hang with a better team. Blake Wheeler is still the big dog, but the component parts of the team all fit nicely into a three-line grouping that produced regular scoring & tight checking when required. The Habs, meanwhile, seemed to be making it up as they went along, with different heroes every night. If there was one consistent emerging narrative from their lineup, it’s the emergence of millenials Nick Suzuki, Cole Caulfield, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. All three are under 22, and play like they don’t care about tomorrow. A team led by guys who think they’re bulletproof will start thinking they all are, which as we know is different that thinking & playing like they’re entitled to something they didn’t earn.

But we all know this series will come down to goaltending. Connor Hellebuyck didn’t win the 2020 Vezina trophy out of nowhere. He’s been steadily improving every season he’s been in the league, and he’s been responsible more than anything or anyone else for the Jets’ rise to prominence. He’s that type of goalie who loves facing 35-40 shots a night, because it keeps him focused throughout the game, and that consistency has further helped develop his skills. He’s not Dominik Hasek, but he’s sure starting to look like him. On the other side, you have Carey Price, who has been doing the Connor Hellebuyck thing a decade longer for arguably a worse team. When Ken Dryden was the Habs goalie, he had guys like Lafleur & Robinson in front of him, and that got him six rings. Patrick Roy didn’t have as many advantages, but he still had a young Chris Chelois and the remnants of Denis Savard & Kirk Muller around him, so that’s how he got his first two. Carey Price has had literally no one on his team who could help drag them deep into the playoffs. Nearing the possible end of his career in Montreal, he must have thought he would never see the playoffs again, let alone advance past the first round. But competent forwards and a speedy defence allowed his usual playoff expertise to be rewarded for once.

Long story short: whichever goalie breaks first determines the winner. Be prepared – each game is going to be 2-1 or 1-0. Maybe keep a book handy.

Prediction: Jets in six.

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Tampa Bay at Carolina – 7:30pm | NBCSN / Sportsnet
• NBA:
  • Celtics at Brooklyn – 7:30pm | TNT / TSN
    • Game 5 – Nets up 3-1
  • Trail Blazers at Nuggets – 9:00pm | NBATV / TSN4
    • Game 5 – series tied 2-2
  • Lakers at Suns – 10:00pm | TNT / TSN
    • Game 5 – series tied 2-2
• MLB:
  • White Sox at Cleveland – 7:00pm | FS1
  • Miami at Toronto – 7:00pm | Sportsnet1

Another solid night of hot playoff action. Get thee to the comments!