Lord Stanley's Pool 2023 - Final Analysis

What was supposed to be a sleeper of a Cup Final with the pool winner predetermined and everybody out of it turned into a barnburner, with an exciting finish and two long-shots surging in the final period for an incredible three-way tie.

With most picks knocked out after round one and most of the remainder after round 2, the story until the final game was the failure of Colorado and Boston in round one, the Leafs and Oilers in round 2, and gridlock in the pool standings. Over 97% of picks were out by the final round - a futility record that will be near impossible to match - yet those Vegas players made the difference in the finals with a high-scoring affair. And an empty-net goal at the end of a barnburner that meant nothing in real life meant all the difference in the pool.

Entering the final round, Marie Loop held a guaranteed three point lead over Anthony Bruno with no players left for either contestant. Vince Galante was eight points back in third, with one player; Laura Speciale 18 points back in 8th with three players; and David Schamma 27 points back in 27th place, with six players. These were not insurmountable odds, but longshots, with scoring usually dropping in the Cup finals. They closed the gap significantly over the first four games but going into Game Five - with Vegas poised to win - the odds were still against them. Vince needed three points from Eichel while Laura needed seven - and they both got exactly what they needed in an incredible 9-goal barrage from Vegas to clinch the Cup.

Looking at these teams now, it is surprising how few picks were taken from Vegas - the regular season champion in the Western Conference only received 64 picks despite being the top seed and their track record of strong playoff runs. Florida, meanwhile, squeaked into the playoffs but they were the Presidents Trophy winners just a year ago. Perhaps with this hindsight, poolies will take more chances next year (after McDavid of course).

Let's highlight our 2023 Lord Stanley's Pool Champions:

Marie Loop
Marie Loop, the champion of the 2013 Lord Stanley's Pool, took first place on April 22, after game 3 of the first round, and never relinquished it. Establishing a five point cushion over Anthony Bruno, Marie secured her position in round 2 with her Edmonton and Dallas picks and coasted essentially unchallenged the rest of the way... until the final game. One point less from Jack Eichel and Marie would have won outright; one more and she would have dropped to third (and could have been knocked off the podium by David Schamma had there been any more scoring). Congratulations to Marie on hanging on for her second pool championship!

Vince Galante
Vince Galante took Dallas and Toronto players like Marie, but opted only for McDavid from the Oilers and instead added Jack Eichel. He was the key difference maker bringing Vince into a tie with Marie in the third period of Game Five. It was briefly Vince and Marie tied with Laura one point back, and one more from Eichel (and not Stone) would have given him the outright win. Congratulations to Vince on making it back to the podium after his 2nd place finish in 2002!

Laura Speciale
Laura Speciale took players from Vegas, Edmonton, and Boston, and with the Bruins underperforming worse than the Leafs, she had a bigger hole to climb out of in the final round. But Eichel and Vegas captain Mark Stone poured it on in the Finals helping Laura close a record 18-point gap, including an incredible seven points in the final game. After Eichel helped Vince tie Marie and lift Laura to one point back, Stone nabbed the empty netter (on his second try) to lift Laura into the three-way tie with Vince and Marie. Congrats to Laura on an incredible finish and a piece of Lord Stanley's Pool history -- and a championship!

Honourable mentions: So close yet so far, these poolies rounded out the top 5.
David Schamma
Leading the no-McDavid charge, David Schamma started slow, evidenced by a round 1 rank of 235. Once McDavid was out, David went on a charge to finish fourth - he was the only one with a full nine players when everyone else had six or fewer, and had the max six players final round when few others had anyone. A six-point final game lifted David into a fourth place tie - a couple of Panthers garbage goals in the third could have vaulted him into a four-way first place tie.

Anthony Bruno
Anthony Bruno spent most of the pool on the leaderboard, in second place permanently three points back, until the shower of Game 5 goals dropped him just outside the prize. A consistent showing all the way through and a solid finish tied for fourth.