#23 — Brown Goes Down

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This is the twenty-third post of Deke Dangle RPF Anon, a community for all your ice hockey anon meme needs.

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Comments

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/brett-hull-like-play-offence-ken-hitchcock/

When I read articles like this about Ken Hitchcock I understand why even when it feels like the team's got magic, they're winning games in spite of their strategy not because of it.

“Every guy, at some point, is mad at him. He’s relentless. He wants it his way, and if it’s not his way, you’re going to hear about it. He knows what he wants.”

30 second shifts for everyone! Turtle harder than the ninja turtles and if it doesn't work it's because you're not ninja enough!

Argh, I am convincing myself and half-convinced already that it's different verse same as the first. All the people hopping on the bandwagon make me nervous. We're all gonna crash and burn, friends!

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

Please crash and burn starting on Tuesday, thanks. Love, a Stars fan.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

It's not like the Stars are wildly consistent though. I like them, but sometimes it seems like they got this far with weird luck+Jamie Benn bell cow-ing it up.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

I feel like the Stars and Blues are evenly matched in their ability to completely fuck things up. Actually, this seems to be the year of the fuck up teams fucking up less than usual. Which makes me happy, but it's so weird.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

This is why this is a good hockey matchup. It's a coin flip! Both these teams can fuck it up.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

I hope Stars fans don't take this the wrong way, but before I've even started worrying about the other team beating us my worry about the Blues Blues-ing it up has already gotten ahead of me. They're their own greatest enemy, like 7 out of 10 times at least.

There's been a lot of weird luck going on with the Blues too! For example, Elliott heating up down the stretch and staying hot is also definitely a huge part of the Blues getting this far. And, um, David Backes' shooting percentage in the playoffs is currently 30% and he's scored 2 very timely OT winners. (This one wasn't a matter of luck, but that Blackhawks one...)

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

I've always thought that winning the cup comes down at least 50% to puck luck so if the Blues are #blessed with crazy puck luck this year they might go far :)

but with the Stars sometimes it seems like not even luck. It's like when they win or do well it surprises even them because they're all just waiting for the wheels to come off at any second. The Blues and Stars do seem well matched that way, lol.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, they've gotten lucky at some key points this year, and Ells and Jake were also both fabulous when they needed to be during the season, and bailed the team out a few times when they were intent on doing their usual Blues thing. It's weird, though--I feel like all the injuries this year worked to our advantage, since Hitch's system is pretty grueling and half the players are usually gassed by the time they hit the playoffs, but most of them had at least some time off because of injury, so... yay injuries? I could also be totally off-base here, but this is what I want to believe.

Game 1 and the third period of this game were really horrible, but I think some of the not-good-streaks they've managed to break (Game 7 win, got out of the 1st round, beat the Hawks at the UC in the playoffs twice, won their first Round 2 game in 14 years, and so on) this year might be good for their confidence and the mental side of things, at least. I'm trying to stay cautiously optimistic. But yes, the fear is always there, lurking.

That being said, I think that this will be a really fun series, regardless of how it ends, since I really like watching both teams play.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

The narrative the team seems to want to push about horrible injury luck this season is that it's made the club gel more, bond, and be totally clingy bros - which I do believe to an extent. The adversity and the idea that '[they]'ve been through it all this year, it seems' as per Ells in the post-game interview definitely prepared them for playoffs pressure in a way even being bounced out in previous playoffs didn't.

Also it seems awful but I am somewhat 'yay injuries!' as well since the team at least seems entirely healthy recently and few teams in the playoffs can say that.

My cautious optimism wars with my cynic nature and on days without games it even wins! No expectations, but certain daydreams have crept up on me. It's a lovely feeling having hope in May.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I was very "NO WHY, PLEASE BE OKAY" as the injuries were happening, but in hindsight it's kind of like, well, maybe it's not all terrible? Not that I'd ever want any of the guys to be hurt, but if things work out okay in the end, yay? I'm just going to keep believing the narrative and that it's some weird advantage toward overcoming adversity, lol.

And only sort of related, but I'm so glad Bergy finally got surgery on his shoulder last summer since a) it had to have been bothering him for awhile and b) he's been fantastic since he got back. I actually thought he was good in the playoffs last year, too, and that he gets some undeserved flak in general, but after seeing his regular season play, I have to wonder if his shoulder wasn't holding him back. Either way, Bergy doing well makes me really happy.

I feel you there, too. The cautious optimism is so much easier on non-game days.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

This got so long, whoops.

The Bergy hate I see has a lot to do with him not panning out exactly as expected/his upside not being fully realized, which is a weird grudge to hold.

There are a lot of factors that go into that. Look at his development - in his early years he was on a stinker Blues team that only barely made it to the playoffs when he was a rookie and didn't manage to return for two years after that. Him and his contemporaries also played a very different game than what the Hitch system demands. He's the one that managed to stick and I guess there's a lot of mixed feelings about that group. Most fans seemed to have written them off entirely, even Oshie sucks to them haha. That he has adjusted as he has, become a solid two-way guy for us isn't a bad thing at all.

He has cold streaks at times and his contract stings a bit then, but he's been one of the few Blues players who has consistently shown he has a playoff gear. So. I just enjoy him this time of year.

It also seems only people like Tank and Schwartzy get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to injuries affecting their play. They need to 'prove themselves' before they can be viewed fairly. it sucks.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

Also I know Vova/Vladi doesn't like being called Tank but that just slipped out.

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, the people who are down on that whole group (including Oshie... yeah, what a scrub) don't seem to be taking any of those factors into account. These are the same people who like to complain about Gunny, too. And a fair number of them used to bag on Ells before this year, too. Which, Bergy and Gunny and even Ells have all had their ups and downs, but they're all very good players, and any player is going to have injuries and cold streaks or sometimes make mistakes.

A lot of them also seem really hung up on Bergy not hitting enough for their liking/being more physical. But these are also the kinds of people I've seen saying that they wish Parayko would develop a mean streak, so I'm okay with writing them off as idiots. I still get annoyed and overprotective, though, lol.

You're definitely right that only players like Vladi (I have so much trouble not slipping up and calling him Frank/Tank, too), Schwartzy, and probably also Steener consistently get the benefit of the doubt. Which really does suck. :/

Re: What's Up With Your Team? - Playoffs Round 2

[(Anonymous)]

They remind me of Liverpool circa 2013-2014, no defense but absolutely magic forwards dragging the team onwards. It still makes me cry lol so I hope for Stars fans sake it doesn't end the same way GODDAMIT ;~~;