Sam Navarro-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/4f4ead59-a3fb-4cf1-93c0-a50170d2364a.jpeg] Sam Navarro-Imagn Images 1. Ex-Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers] coaching prospect Kris Knoblauch did well steering his Oilers into a second-straight Stanley Cup Final but he was out-coached again by Florida's Paul Maurice. 2. A key factor that nobody seems to want to talk about – except The Maven – is whether Knoblauch was REALLY coaching the Oilers or was Sometimes-Superman Connor McDavid really running the team? 3. Exhibit A was Edmonton's totally dumb-and-dumber behavior at home in Game Five. In what then was the Final Round's most decisive game, the Oilers looked like a team playing "Ring-A-Leevio" on a Brooklyn sidestreet. 4. Another (wooden) Maven "Dumb and Dumber" award goes to Edmonton's GM Stan Bowman who actually stuck with a pair of back-up goalies all season. (Sorry, pal, but wishing won't make it so.) 5. Bowman had plenty of time to pick up someone more reliable than either Stu (Semi-Sieve) Skinner or Calvin (I've Run Out Of Miracles) Pickard. 6. At the other end, Florida's amazingly adroit Sergei Bobrovsky was so solid and reliable that – by contrast – the Edmonton pair resembled the first act of "Beer Leaguers On Parade." 7. We all – every side, including the Maple Leafs – applaud the artistry of McDavid and Leon. That much is irrefutable. But it also cannot be denied that team play beats the Oilers' few individual stars. No club epitomizes team play better than Florida. New York Rangers News and Community [https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/deweb-519a7.appspot.com/o/images%2FNHLNYR?alt=media&1715629055889&1715629055889] New York Rangers News and Community New York Rangers news, video, analysis and community on The Hockey News Follow all Rangers news at https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers] 8. Quick Quiz: Which is worse – the Oilers' defense or the Rangers? (Answer: Photo Finish – a tie!) 9. Longer Quiz: Why can't the Rangers be as good as the Panthers? They can but we'd need two-and-a-half years and a couple of beers for The Maven to explain. 10. And if I were to tell you the most important lesson I learned from this Final round, it easily can be explained in five little words: NEVER BET AGAINST THE CHAMPS!
