OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - What Happens In Vegas: A Golden Knights Story

dannibalcorpse · 04-14-2017, 06:02 PM

With the offseason slowly getting underway, GM/Coach Dan Hampton made a few moves to lock down some pending RFAs. Darnell Nurse agreed to a 3 year, $5.9M dollar extension to continue providing a physical defensive presence, while young D Samuel Girard agreed to stick around for 3 more years and $2.9M. Forward Ivan Barbashev agreed to a bridge contract to keep him around for 2 more years, at a cost of $3.45M. The team still has yet to make a decision on Malcolm Subban or Julius Honka, two players that played a big role on this past year’s team, and there’s been very little noise to suggest which way management is leaning.

Honka put aside the worries about his future for a few weeks to take part in the IIHF World Championships as a part of his native Finland, however, joining other Golden Knights players Robin Lehner(Sweden), P.K. Subban(Canada), Ondrej Palat(Czech Republic), Jordan Greenway(USA), Tyler Johnson(USA), and draft pick Keijo Weibel(Switzerland). Greenway and Johnson were instrumental in helping the USA win the tournament, with each contributing 5 points. Palau had a great time at the Worlds, scoring 5 goals and 9 points total in his 10 games played. Robin Lehner found himself backing up, only getting into one game against Denmark and stopping 11 of the 12 shots sent his way.

With June just around the corner, let’s take a look at how the playoffs have been shaking out:

Philadelphia 4, Tampa Bay 3
Steven Stamkos and Mathieu Joseph each scored 5 goals for the Lightning, but Philly was able to overcome shaky goaltending from Mike Condon to advance in 7. Claude Giroux helped put an exclamation point on the Flyers’ 6-4 Game 7 win with 4 assists.

Montreal 4, Ottawa 2
Alex Galcheynuk scored 5 goals and had 10 points in this 6 game series, propelling Montreal to the Conference Semifinal. Carey Price got lit up in Game 5, but Jakub Sedlacek picked up the slack and Price bounced back with 30 saves on 32 shots in the clincher.

New York Rangers 4, Columbus 1
Ben Bishop struggled to an unsightly 4.83 GAA in this series, but the fault lies with the Blue Jackets’ penalty kill. J.T. Miller had 11 points in the 5 game series, with 8 of them coming with the man advantage, which proved enough for the Rangers to advance.

Pittsburgh 4, New York Islanders 0
The series was closer than a sweep would seem, with two of the four games going to overtime, but Matt Murray was too hot in goal to let the Islanders steal a game. Evgeni Malkin chipped in 7 points in the 4 game series, but Sidney Crosby suffered an injury in Game 3 and may not be ready for the start of the next series.

St. Louis 4, Calgary 1
Jake Allen rebounded from a rough outing in game 4 to shut the door on the Flames with 21 saves on 22 shots in the clinching Game 5. St. Louis’ defense was too much for Calgary - Patrik Laine was held without a goal in the series.

Chicago 4, Nashville 2
In a surprising move, the Blackhawks started the series with the returning Scott Darling in net. Darling missed the entire regular season with an MCL injury, and looked sharp in winning the first 2 games of the series. But after giving up 6 goals in game 3, and 4 goals in the first period of game 4, Corey Crawford came in and shut the Predators down. Crawford is the presumptive starter in Game 1 against St. Louis.

San Jose 4, Edmonton 0
Timo Meier had 6 points in the series, and JF Berube kept the Oilers in check to make this an easy win for the Sharks. Edmonton coach Travis Green faced some criticism for leaving Antti Raanta, the goalie who dragged the Predators within a game of the Cup last year, on the bench after Cam Talbot struggled in the first 3 games of the series.

Arizona 4, Seattle 2
Chad Johnson overcame an early rough start to the series, stopping 52 of the 55 shots he faced in Games 4, 5, and 6 to send the Coyotes to the second round. Seattle came out hot in their first playoff series ever, and Keith Kinkaid acquitted himself well with a .932 SV% and 2.09 GAA, but it wasn’t enough to get past Arizona.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Montreal 4, Philadelphia 3
In a surprisingly high-scoring series, the goaltending issues in Philadelphia finally caught up with them. Jeff Skinner scored 9 points in the series and Carey Price stopped 41 of 44 shots from a desperate Philly team in Game 7 to punch the Habs’ ticket to the Conference Finals.

Pittsburgh 4, New York Rangers 3
Sidney Crosby returned in Game 4 to help turn the series around - despite J.T. Miller continuing to score at will. Evgeni Malkin chipped in 8 points in the series, and Matt Murray held the Rangers to 3 goals over the final 2 games after a disastrous Game 5 that saw him allow 7 past him.

Chicago 4, St. Louis 2
The decision to stick with Corey Crawford proved immediate dividends, as the veteran goalie shut out St. Louis in Game 1. Patrick Kane had a hat trick in the same game, and scored 10 points total in the series to propel the Blackhawks to the Conference Finals.

Arizona 4, San Jose 3
Chad Johnson continued to be a man on a mission, carrying the Coyotes to the Conference Finals for the second year in a row. Johnson’s series was highlighted by a double overtime win in game 3 in which he stopped 52 of the 55 shots sent his way, and he capped it all by pitching a shutout against the Sharks in Game 7.

CONFERENCE FINAL

Montreal 4, Pittsburgh 2
Down 2-1 after Game 3, Montreal got some terrible news when they found out Shea Weber would miss the rest of the season, and possibly the beginning of the 2020-21 season, with a fractured bone in his shoulder. The team dug deep, though, and put the exclamation point on the comeback with Alex Galcheynuk’s 4 goal blitz in the clinching Game 6.

Chicago 4, Arizona 0
The Coyotes were denied once again in the Conference Finals, this time due to the stellar play of Corey Crawford and Tyler Motte. Crawford only allowed 6 goals on the 97 shots he faced in the series, while Motte chipped in 4 goals in the 4 game sweep. Arizona will once again head home and try to figure out how to get over the hump next year, while the Blackhawks go on to face the Canadiens in a Stanely Cup Final dripping with history.

04-14-2017, 06:02 PM	#34
dannibalcorpse Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 168	With the offseason slowly getting underway, GM/Coach Dan Hampton made a few moves to lock down some pending RFAs. Darnell Nurse agreed to a 3 year, $5.9M dollar extension to continue providing a physical defensive presence, while young D Samuel Girard agreed to stick around for 3 more years and $2.9M. Forward Ivan Barbashev agreed to a bridge contract to keep him around for 2 more years, at a cost of $3.45M. The team still has yet to make a decision on Malcolm Subban or Julius Honka, two players that played a big role on this past year’s team, and there’s been very little noise to suggest which way management is leaning. Honka put aside the worries about his future for a few weeks to take part in the IIHF World Championships as a part of his native Finland, however, joining other Golden Knights players Robin Lehner(Sweden), P.K. Subban(Canada), Ondrej Palat(Czech Republic), Jordan Greenway(USA), Tyler Johnson(USA), and draft pick Keijo Weibel(Switzerland). Greenway and Johnson were instrumental in helping the USA win the tournament, with each contributing 5 points. Palau had a great time at the Worlds, scoring 5 goals and 9 points total in his 10 games played. Robin Lehner found himself backing up, only getting into one game against Denmark and stopping 11 of the 12 shots sent his way. With June just around the corner, let’s take a look at how the playoffs have been shaking out: Philadelphia 4, Tampa Bay 3 Steven Stamkos and Mathieu Joseph each scored 5 goals for the Lightning, but Philly was able to overcome shaky goaltending from Mike Condon to advance in 7. Claude Giroux helped put an exclamation point on the Flyers’ 6-4 Game 7 win with 4 assists. Montreal 4, Ottawa 2 Alex Galcheynuk scored 5 goals and had 10 points in this 6 game series, propelling Montreal to the Conference Semifinal. Carey Price got lit up in Game 5, but Jakub Sedlacek picked up the slack and Price bounced back with 30 saves on 32 shots in the clincher. New York Rangers 4, Columbus 1 Ben Bishop struggled to an unsightly 4.83 GAA in this series, but the fault lies with the Blue Jackets’ penalty kill. J.T. Miller had 11 points in the 5 game series, with 8 of them coming with the man advantage, which proved enough for the Rangers to advance. Pittsburgh 4, New York Islanders 0 The series was closer than a sweep would seem, with two of the four games going to overtime, but Matt Murray was too hot in goal to let the Islanders steal a game. Evgeni Malkin chipped in 7 points in the 4 game series, but Sidney Crosby suffered an injury in Game 3 and may not be ready for the start of the next series. St. Louis 4, Calgary 1 Jake Allen rebounded from a rough outing in game 4 to shut the door on the Flames with 21 saves on 22 shots in the clinching Game 5. St. Louis’ defense was too much for Calgary - Patrik Laine was held without a goal in the series. Chicago 4, Nashville 2 In a surprising move, the Blackhawks started the series with the returning Scott Darling in net. Darling missed the entire regular season with an MCL injury, and looked sharp in winning the first 2 games of the series. But after giving up 6 goals in game 3, and 4 goals in the first period of game 4, Corey Crawford came in and shut the Predators down. Crawford is the presumptive starter in Game 1 against St. Louis. San Jose 4, Edmonton 0 Timo Meier had 6 points in the series, and JF Berube kept the Oilers in check to make this an easy win for the Sharks. Edmonton coach Travis Green faced some criticism for leaving Antti Raanta, the goalie who dragged the Predators within a game of the Cup last year, on the bench after Cam Talbot struggled in the first 3 games of the series. Arizona 4, Seattle 2 Chad Johnson overcame an early rough start to the series, stopping 52 of the 55 shots he faced in Games 4, 5, and 6 to send the Coyotes to the second round. Seattle came out hot in their first playoff series ever, and Keith Kinkaid acquitted himself well with a .932 SV% and 2.09 GAA, but it wasn’t enough to get past Arizona. CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Montreal 4, Philadelphia 3 In a surprisingly high-scoring series, the goaltending issues in Philadelphia finally caught up with them. Jeff Skinner scored 9 points in the series and Carey Price stopped 41 of 44 shots from a desperate Philly team in Game 7 to punch the Habs’ ticket to the Conference Finals. Pittsburgh 4, New York Rangers 3 Sidney Crosby returned in Game 4 to help turn the series around - despite J.T. Miller continuing to score at will. Evgeni Malkin chipped in 8 points in the series, and Matt Murray held the Rangers to 3 goals over the final 2 games after a disastrous Game 5 that saw him allow 7 past him. Chicago 4, St. Louis 2 The decision to stick with Corey Crawford proved immediate dividends, as the veteran goalie shut out St. Louis in Game 1. Patrick Kane had a hat trick in the same game, and scored 10 points total in the series to propel the Blackhawks to the Conference Finals. Arizona 4, San Jose 3 Chad Johnson continued to be a man on a mission, carrying the Coyotes to the Conference Finals for the second year in a row. Johnson’s series was highlighted by a double overtime win in game 3 in which he stopped 52 of the 55 shots sent his way, and he capped it all by pitching a shutout against the Sharks in Game 7. CONFERENCE FINAL Montreal 4, Pittsburgh 2 Down 2-1 after Game 3, Montreal got some terrible news when they found out Shea Weber would miss the rest of the season, and possibly the beginning of the 2020-21 season, with a fractured bone in his shoulder. The team dug deep, though, and put the exclamation point on the comeback with Alex Galcheynuk’s 4 goal blitz in the clinching Game 6. Chicago 4, Arizona 0 The Coyotes were denied once again in the Conference Finals, this time due to the stellar play of Corey Crawford and Tyler Motte. Crawford only allowed 6 goals on the 97 shots he faced in the series, while Motte chipped in 4 goals in the 4 game sweep. Arizona will once again head home and try to figure out how to get over the hump next year, while the Blackhawks go on to face the Canadiens in a Stanely Cup Final dripping with history.