Now that the dust has settled and I've stopped crying here are my thoughts on TBs post season performance.
TDLR: Not bad. Any TB fan coulda told you going into this series we didn't expect to take a game let a lone 2. Our post all star performance was mediocre at best and abysmal at worst.
First the elephant. Vasy. Did he play at his best? Probably not. But he also faced some insane shots. I'd probably say he had about 3 or 4 goals that shouldn't have gone in. However compared to Samy, who I'd say probably had 1 MAYBE 2 he should've gotten. I'd say Samy was the better tender this series by a decent margin.
Defense. Losing Chernak stings. Who's to say how it would've gone with him. His strength is in front of the net, boxing guys out and the PK. I think Perbix and Raddysh played amazing but definitely showed their rookie cards quite a bit in the series. I do look forward to seeing how they develop over the next season or 2. Sergechev has yet to prove his huge contract and hopefully he can develop to where he needs to be. The guy has skill for sure but just makes some of the most boneheaded plays.
Skating. Our top line didn't perform near the levels of Toronoto's. This was the biggest surprise to me. We actually won game off our depth. One thing I'd love to see here is Cereli on the top with Point and Kuch. Hagel works too, but honestly Cirelli needs to be on the top with Stammer on the second taking face offs. Killer and Cirelli were probably the best skaters on the ice this series and loved seeing them do well.
Toronto. Their top line is nuts. AM is so versatile its almost ridiculous. It could probably be said that other then Samsonov, AM and Marner put this series on their back on took it home. Not to mention they're just a much better playoff team with the addition of RoR, Acari and Schen. Also Knies kinda has the potential to be that wildcard win condition in each game they play. Finally broke the first stage of the curse, can they go all the way? I certainly wouldn't bet against it.