Mikko was raised by the Avs and was already getting pissed about the absence of calls. He may come around yet.

But there's gonna be no replacing the sheer audacity, and we may never get over that loss.

Yes, but what would it take to replace that mustache?

Immediately antagonizing the refs from the bench after his coach tells team to stuff it? Finding each and every way to the ice as he channels McDavid's embellishment but not his skill? Being an absurd locker room human? MushSmushes?

Marchment is a man of multitudes, and I will miss the comedy.

I will miss the blue eyed ice troll for his commitment to the bit, if nothing else. They were never going to be able to the full WTF forward lineup together for budget reasons alone, and he's a reasonable fall guy given the Finn shaped upgrade.

Now about heaving Dumba into the pit of Washed Up...

I just want my highly prized purebred to show out at the big events and stop losing the group to the loveable lab. We know they never win best in show anyway.

It's amazing what happens when your goalie doesn't consistently blink first.

(He was so damn good the first two rounds, and honestly a lot of Games 2-5 is probably that horribly timed URI. But the difference in the chance-to-goal-against ratio was staggering.)

I don't know why the hockey gods hate Dallas so much against WCF goalies in particular. Even in 2020 it was like pulling teeth.

Played all of his meaningful adolescent hockey in the Stars system, from 12 until he joined the NTDP, but clearly his elementary school seasons in Denver are the only things that matter.

Happy for Dallas youth hockey legend Seth Jones (one day the hockey media will stop crediting his formative hockey years to Denver, I swear)

Also, screw the Oilers to perpetuity.

Five down. Finally.

But until they build a better defense that doesn't rely on 35 minutes a night from Esa and Cody Ceci as second pair shutdown pals, they'll be in the same boat. If you can't possess and transition, you're gonna struggle deep in the playoffs or if your goalie urps for a series.

That one's all Nill.

I don't mind the DeBoer move. He was right that Jake was part of the problem at that point, but when you scratch/pull any core guy you've got to actually debrief them about it soon afterward to maintain necessary relationships. You let that fester this long, and it's on you dude.

Per @tiffin.bsky.social this is the first part of the DeBoer quote about the pull. Comes right before the part more widely circulated to this point.

I wonder if the fact Jake was so good the first two rounds, unlike the last couple years, earned him more rope before the potential confidence torpedo.

This was clearly, for better or worse, a desperation move. Desperate doesn't usually end up being a good look, no matter how justified it is.

Agree. It's risky as hell and didn't work. But it didn't come out of nowhere and pretending it was just for momentum is ignoring the elephant in the room.

I would have been annoyed if he said "Goaltending alone dug us that hole." But that wasn't my read - just that Jake was and had been struggling.

I didn't read it as a throw under the bus, just a statement of fact. They all underperformed this series, Jake included.

(I also want Jake to be secure enough in his talent to get mad about it and play better in these moments in an "I'll show you" revenge tour.)

For me it lies all around. The goalie was out-goalied by an inferior goalie, the forwards were outsniped by a shallower but top-heavier forward group, the D was exhausted and couldnt contribute offense. I won't defend coaching as a strength here, but execution was quite poor and that's on players.

But is he wrong?

That was the reason for the pull. Jake isn't the only reason they lost this series, but he certainly wasn't helping them win it, and he does struggle against Edmonton in the playoffs (worse this year than last).

He pulled Jake. He was gonna get asked about it and say why.

He didn't say they were the better team overall, just in this series. The evidence is pretty clear with that.

But if you are paid to be your team's backbone you can't give up 2 goals on the first 2 shots no matter the quality of the chances. The very reason you're paid so much is to bail your team out in exactly that circumstance.

It's a weird island for goalies. And a very Hellebuyck performance from him.

I hope Jake takes the pull as a wake up call. He's so damn talented. He was great through two rounds, a huge reason they got there. He stole so many wins in the season.

And then he crumbled, again, in the biggest moment. He has to find a way to not go 0.851 in the WCF.

They're a top four team in for multiple years while turning over their core, even in the setting of needing a key players deeply needing sports psychologist for and trying to fill defense holes with Literally Dumba and Ceci.

It's so much more than I would have expected. It's utterly frustrating.

I'm old enough to remember the bankruptcy years, the pesky stars, losing a playoff series where you get 3 shutout wins etc. While this sucks ass, 3 straight WCF appearances and meaningful hockey lasting til the very end of May is pretty cool with a young core still intact. On to next season.

(I wouldn't have pulled Jake because DeSmith isn't a better option overall.

But they're gonna have to figure out how to get him a backup they can play in the playoffs, because the same story keeps happening.

A fun but flawed team from the back all the way out.)

He still can do that. He has all the talent in the world to win games like this 1-0 or 2-1 deep in the playoffs. He's shown that talent this year.

Game 5 will be a big tell from him. Either he gets outplayed by an untrustworthy dice roll of a goalie two years in a row or he figures it out.

Last crabby post before I go back to the babies, who deserve me more than that grumpiness.

I've said they'll go as far as Jake takes them, and I stand by that. He's drug them (this season even) kicking and screaming to wins they had no business in. He has to be able to be that guy when it matters.

The sixth floor is displeased. Wyatt Johsnton where art thou? Or any other secondary scoring?

(If you need to hold a team to 1 or 0 goals, you have to be able to. The Oilers only scored twice* and won. Their defense/goalie weathers key storms while ill timed goals continue to haunt Dallas.)

They're both problems. You have to score yes, but sometimes you gotta hold your opponent to 1-2 goals when your offense hits a slump.

I have rage and I'm sure I can find a pitchfork.