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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Hyperplex on July 26, 2016, 08:10:52 AM
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Old thread here: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44052.0
I think it's time to start next year's discussion, especially with the World Cup coming up. Ready, and, go.
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Old thred here: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44052.0
I think it's time to start next year's discussion, especially with the World Cup coming up. Ready, and, go.
Oh man, serious question: who is planning on watching the fake Olympics of Hockey? :lol
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I'm not sure. I remember loving the tournament in 96 when the US upset Canada, but it also didn't seem to really mean much.
I'll probably watch it if it's on when I'm looking for something to chill through, but I don't think I'll have anything vested in it.
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I'm not sure. I remember loving the tournament in 96 when the US upset Canada, but it also didn't seem to really mean much.
I'll probably watch it if it's on when I'm looking for something to chill through, but I don't think I'll have anything vested in it.
Yeah, I was kinda half-joking. I love hockey, so I'm sure I'll watch a little, but the whole thing just seems weird. Like why is there a team USA, a team Canada, and then a team North American? So weird...
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None of it makes any sense really. I was under the impression that the Canada Cup arose out of the Summit Series of the 70s, and then somewhat evolved/got bastardized into the World Cup of Hockey, especially around the time the NHL started participating in the Olympics. Now, like the All-Star game, it seems more like a gimmick aimed more at attracting more fans than at putting on quality hockey.
And Team NA is a 50/50 mix of Americans and Canadians that supposedly can give world power teams a run for their money. I don't understand it, either, and it seems, for lack of a better word, silly.
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Oh yea it's silly for sure. Do you think the NHL is using the return of this tournament as a way to not allow NHL players to participate in the Olympics moving forward? I heard a couple rumors along those lines.
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Very possible. I honestly don't know what to think of any of the NHL's strategies anymore, so I try NOT to think about it entirely. :lol
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:lol That's fair.
Just browsing the team Canada roster, holy crap look at their forwards:
Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars; Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins; Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche; Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks; Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers; Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins; Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning; John Tavares, New York Islanders; Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks; Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks
That's a stacked line up if I've ever seen one.
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The Sens finally locked down Hoffman. I'm really happy about that. Now to lock Ceci down.
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I for one can't wait. I need some good hockey to come back. :metal
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Colorado Avalanche....
(https://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e316/mario94606/NUCLEAR/nuclear-explosion.gif)
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They'll rebound. Roy wasn't the face of the team, and they'll persevere.
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Preseason starts in like 6 weeks? What coaches are even options right now?
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They'll figure something out. He threw them a hell of a curve, that's for damn sure, but it won't wreck their season.
He does have a flair for the dramatic, though.
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Paul MacLean is open, Bob Hartley is open. There's a lot of great options
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I don't think they'll bring Hartley back again, though you never know. I don't think they are in as much trouble as it seems. They are a strong franchise.
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All I've heard is that the Avs want to go outside the organization for the new coaching hire.
I'm sure they will find someone fitting.
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I'm really excited about the tourney. I love best on best tournaments, and with the NHL likely pulling out of the Olympics, this will become the new top tier hockey tournament. Initially i didn't like the under 23 team concept, but I've come around on it. It's a bit of a gimmick, but it's better than blowout games against slovakia or Germany.
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I'm really excited about the tourney. I love best on best tournaments, and with the NHL likely pulling out of the Olympics, this will become the new top tier hockey tournament. Initially i didn't like the under 23 team concept, but I've come around on it. It's a bit of a gimmick, but it's better than blowout games against slovakia or Germany.
Respectfully, I feel the exact opposite. This fake Olympics tournament was essentially made up by Gary to get an in with ESPN. What's the honor of winning a tournament like this? With weird teams like NA, I'll pass. Honestly, I was hoping some of the Pens involved would drop out. They just played over 100 games to win the cup, they could use the rest, especially with 19 of 20 skaters (from the finals) coming back, they could make another run at a cup next season. All this tournament will do is interfere with that.
I'd bet a couple months after this tournament is over, most people won't even remember who won.
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Yeah, I really don't have any interest. Other than watching hockey.
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I'm really excited about the tourney. I love best on best tournaments, and with the NHL likely pulling out of the Olympics, this will become the new top tier hockey tournament. Initially i didn't like the under 23 team concept, but I've come around on it. It's a bit of a gimmick, but it's better than blowout games against slovakia or Germany.
Respectfully, I feel the exact opposite. This fake Olympics tournament was essentially made up by Gary to get an in with ESPN. What's the honor of winning a tournament like this? With weird teams like NA, I'll pass. Honestly, I was hoping some of the Pens involved would drop out. They just played over 100 games to win the cup, they could use the rest, especially with 19 of 20 skaters (from the finals) coming back, they could make another run at a cup next season. All this tournament will do is interfere with that.
I'd bet a couple months after this tournament is over, most people won't even remember who won.
Really i just want to see a best on best tournament every 4 years. And that won't happen anymore once the NHL pulls out of the Olympics starting in Korea. The World Championships are a joke, and the Olympics will be even worse.
I'll readily admit that this tournament was spurred on by Bettman and the IIHFs desire to make money, but it'll still be great hockey. It's like watching 8 all-star teams, but the players actually care about the result.
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Oh I agree that if the NHL starts prohibiting players from the real Olympics, this will be the best tournament as far as talent. I just think watching the origins of this whole thing are hilarious and ridiculous.
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I'm still really excited for the World Cup, just because it's probably the closest we'll get to watching the best players play on a world stage anymore.
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Yeah, I really don't have any interest. Other than watching hockey.
I feel the same way.
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Alex Pietrangelo was named the new Captain for the Blues yesterday. I like that a lot. I think he's earned it and is well respected in the locker room. Not exactly a 'physical' presence like Backes was but I think he'll be a good 'C'.
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Alex Pietrangelo was named the new Captain for the Blues yesterday. I like that a lot. I think he's earned it and is well respected in the locker room. Not exactly a 'physical' presence like Backes was but I think he'll be a good 'C'.
Agreed. I think many of us figured he was in line for the 'C' if Backes bolted.
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Possible names for the new Vegas team include the Nighthawks! Kind of sounds like Blackhawks, but I still like it. It reminds me of the Omaha Nighthawks of the old UFL.
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I cannot look at Bruce Boudreau and not think of the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man. Ever.
(https://nhl.bamcontent.com/images/photos/281488272/1024x576/cut.jpg)
(https://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NEPI7dx83s5OSS_2_b.jpg)
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WORLD CUP EXHIBITION GAME!
Canada down 2-0 relatively early on though. Burns and Pietrangelo playing like hot garbage, but other defensive lines doing great. Pricey still needs some time to get in his groove I reckon, but he hasn't looked bad.
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Very exciting game that leaves me pumped for the rest of the tournament. Price played about as you'd expect not seeing the ice in almost a year, and Quick was phenomenal. Canada did play a great game though (aside from the aforementioned Burns + Pietrangelo pairing and a few other players like Seguin).
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Chris Chelios....comb your fucking hair!!!!
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Way to go Team Europe! I half-expected them not to win a game and here they are in the finals. :D I probably wouldn't even be mad if they beat Canada, that'd be a glorious underdog story.
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Way to go Team Europe! I half-expected them not to win a game and here they are in the finals. :D I probably wouldn't even be mad if they beat Canada, that'd be a glorious underdog story.
Don Cherry's head will explode.
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Clarke MacArthur knocked out of the scrimmage today with another concussion. The team really went after Sieloff after he hit him into the boards. Clarke's future is in doubt and it's just so sad
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Yeah... I understand how hitting is part of his identity and he wants to prove himself as a prospect, but that kind of hit is just not something you pull in training camp, or at all. As for MacArthur, it might honestly be best for him to hang 'em up to be honest. It's really sad to see stuff like this, but it's looking like he may have a serious problem. :-\ Obviously I'm not a doctor though.
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God, Sid has been so good in this tournament.
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Way to go Team Europe! I half-expected them not to win a game and here they are in the finals. :D I probably wouldn't even be mad if they beat Canada, that'd be a glorious underdog story.
Don Cherry's head will explode.
I actually wouldn't mind seeing Cherry's head explode on live TV. At this point in his life he's lucky to be able to string together a coherent sentence, and there's no guarantee that the sentence won't be incredibly offensive. Thank goodness for Ron McLean running damage control.
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God, Sid has been so good in this tournament.
That Crosby/Marchand/Bergeron line has mad chemistry. One of the most effective lines I've ever seen.
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God, Sid has been so good in this tournament.
That Crosby/Marchand/Bergeron line has mad chemistry. One of the most effective lines I've ever seen.
Bergeron has been playing with Crosby on the Canadian team for a while now, right?. And Bergeron and Marchand have been linemates for 5 years here.
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Pretty sure Crosby and Marchand do a lot of off-season practices and scrimmages together. They know exactly where the other is going to be.
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Pretty sure Crosby and Marchand do a lot of off-season practices and scrimmages together. They know exactly where the other is going to be.
There was even an article locally that Crosby would try and lure Marchand to Pittsburgh when he was to become a free agent after this year.
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I think I'm going to start watching hockey again. So...who's on the Devils these days...
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Taylor Hall is their newest hot acquisition. Former #1 overall draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers.
But their best player is Corey Schneider in goal.
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I'm going to miss Brodeur. Gods he was fun to watch. Do you think Schneider could be the next Brodeur?
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Maybe not Brodeur level. Schneider's not as spectacular as he was. But I think he's a top 5 goalie in the league atm and definitely a Stanley Cup caliber goalie.
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I'll have to watch some preseason games.
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"Next Brodeur" is a strong thing to say. But he is easily a top 5 goalie in the NHL at the moment.
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Preseason started already, right?
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Taylor Hall is their newest hot acquisition. Former #1 overall draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers.
But their best player is Corey Schneider in goal.
You're that high on Schneider?
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Schneider is legit. I'd definitely put him in the top 5 goalies in the league right now. Light-years away from being discussed in the same conversation as Brodeur.
Pretty sure Crosby and Marchand do a lot of off-season practices and scrimmages together. They know exactly where the other is going to be.
There was even an article locally that Crosby would try and lure Marchand to Pittsburgh when he was to become a free agent after this year.
Yes and yes. Sid and Marchand train together, have for years. Both are Nova Scotia boys and still train there together. When the Canadian team was in Pittsburgh for exhibition games at the beginning of the tournament, Sid was showing off the city giving his best sales pitch.
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Taylor Hall is their newest hot acquisition. Former #1 overall draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers.
But their best player is Corey Schneider in goal.
You're that high on Schneider?
Absolutely. I'd take him over Quick or Lundquist right now.
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Well, I do feel like both Quick and Lundquist have peaked.
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Well, I do feel like both Quick and Lundquist have peaked.
Exactly, Quick and Lundquist are on the way down and Corey is on the way up I'd say.
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Pretty sure Crosby and Marchand do a lot of off-season practices and scrimmages together. They know exactly where the other is going to be.
There was even an article locally that Crosby would try and lure Marchand to Pittsburgh when he was to become a free agent after this year.
Nice thought, but Marchand already signed long term in Boston earlier this week. He won't be going anywhere for a while
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It came out last week.
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I'd take Schneider now over Quick at any point in his career. He's very overrated. Lundqvist is a little harder. Judging from how absolutely dreadful the Rangers defense is Lundqvist's stats are very admirable. To venture into advanced stats territory, with the amount of dangerous shots they surrendered they were expected to have the highest goals against in the NHL. The average shot distance Lundqvist faces is also very low. His Goals Saved Above Average is far above that of the runner-up.
That being said, I would still take Schneider. Don't wanna bank on Lundqvist's age.
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Preseason started already, right?
Yes, preseason games kicked in the last couple of nights, albeit with most teams missing their top stars or young guns.
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I'll see what I can catch. It has been years since I followed hockey religiously. As a matter of fact, I stopped watching obsessively after the Devils won their last Stanley Cup, so 2003.
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First look at Shea Weber in a Habs jersey tonight. Still a terrible trade that makes us a worse team, but at least one plus is we have Muller back, who will no doubt make full use of Weber's powerplay potency. I'm excited. :D
EDIT: And he gets a goal. Good man. :lol
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Pens visited the White House yesterday with the cup:
https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/penguins-visit-the-white-house/c-282428886
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So Sergachev has made the team! Very rare for an 18 year old defenseman to make it. I think he will be sent back after 9 games though. He's clearly already got NHL level skill, but he still makes "junior" mistakes by overthinking plays. I love that they're giving him some games because NHL level thinking is best learned by getting games, and if he picks it up fast then he can stay. :D
Lehkonen also made the team, but that was a given. He's clearly NHL ready. If this year wasn't so full of great rookies I would think he could make a Calder case this season, but for now I'll say I can see him turning heads.
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Yakupov to the Blues for a conditional pick and a player who doesn't look like he'll ever do anything. Even the Blues fans on reddit have no idea who Zach Pochiro is. I've never seen that happen before.
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Yakupov to the Blues for a conditional pick and a player who doesn't look like he'll ever do anything. Even the Blues fans on reddit have no idea who Zach Pochiro is. I've never seen that happen before.
Whoever he is, he's better than Yak. I can guarantee that lol.
Yak requested a trade in the off season, so this was coming. I'm glad the Oil managed to squeeze a pick out of deal too.
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Yakupov to the Blues for a conditional pick and a player who doesn't look like he'll ever do anything. Even the Blues fans on reddit have no idea who Zach Pochiro is. I've never seen that happen before.
Color me F'n thrilled in this Trade :metal
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Yakupov to the Blues for a conditional pick and a player who doesn't look like he'll ever do anything. Even the Blues fans on reddit have no idea who Zach Pochiro is. I've never seen that happen before.
Color me F'n thrilled in this Trade :metal
Given your distaste for players with no "heart" "grit" or "leadership" in the past, especially in the post season, I'm going to definitely remember this post after the playoffs when the under-performing player with no playoff experience is in your shit-house. :p
That said, for what they paid, if they have the cap space it's probably worth the gamble.
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In Flyers news the downside for opening night is that Schenn and Gudas will be suspended, and Del Zotto will be injured for a month. The upside is our two first round picks in 2015 are looking spectacular, and both Konecny and Provorov will be in the lineup this season. Kinda sad we waived (and cleared) Weal today, would have rather seen him in than VandeVelde.
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I watched the Flyers/Bruins game the other night. A great game that had a regular season feel. But Gudas should be suspended. That was a nasty hit to the head.
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Gudas is a generally reckless hitter. I think this will help him learn though. He cleaned up his act a little bit last season after he was suspended for his hit on Zibanejad. Excited to see how Provorov will do, he's one of the bigger names as a Calder candidate IMO. I'd say him, Matthews, Puljujarvi, and Aho have the best shot.
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Aaaaand speak of the devil. 6 games for Gudas.
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Good. The guy is an ass. He ran a 5'9" rookie.
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Yep, good number. He has a history and toes the line an abnormal amount. 6 games isn't insane, but also isn't negligible and should send some sort of message.
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The sum of all fears for Pens fans:
https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/penguins-captain-crosby-diagnosed-with-concussion/c-282529802
The team is reporting he suffered the concussion in practice on Friday. Tons of Pittsburgh media who were at practice report seeing nothing in the way of contact or a hit to the head or anything... If it comes out (which it won't) that this is the effect of a hit he took from the WC, I and pretty much all Pens fans will be pissed beyond belief.
Here's hoping for a quick recovery. Through the playoff run last season, through the WC, Sid has been playing some of his best hockey, hopefully this doesn't slow him down for too long.
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Yakupov to the Blues for a conditional pick and a player who doesn't look like he'll ever do anything. Even the Blues fans on reddit have no idea who Zach Pochiro is. I've never seen that happen before.
Color me F'n thrilled in this Trade :metal
Given your distaste for players with no "heart" "grit" or "leadership" in the past, especially in the post season, I'm going to definitely remember this post after the playoffs when the under-performing player with no playoff experience is in your shit-house. :p
That said, for what they paid, if they have the cap space it's probably worth the gamble.
haha. He won't see a minute of ice time in the playoffs anyway. No way in hell will Hitch let him near the ice in a meaningful game. Blues fans need to think of him like Terasenko, but without the offense. So basically just some guy who speaks russian.
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The sum of all fears for Pens fans:
https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/penguins-captain-crosby-diagnosed-with-concussion/c-282529802
The team is reporting he suffered the concussion in practice on Friday. Tons of Pittsburgh media who were at practice report seeing nothing in the way of contact or a hit to the head or anything... If it comes out (which it won't) that this is the effect of a hit he took from the WC, I and pretty much all Pens fans will be pissed beyond belief.
Here's hoping for a quick recovery. Through the playoff run last season, through the WC, Sid has been playing some of his best hockey, hopefully this doesn't slow him down for too long.
The entire city of Pittsburgh noticeably cringed when this news broke.
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Yakupov to the Blues for a conditional pick and a player who doesn't look like he'll ever do anything. Even the Blues fans on reddit have no idea who Zach Pochiro is. I've never seen that happen before.
Color me F'n thrilled in this Trade :metal
Given your distaste for players with no "heart" "grit" or "leadership" in the past, especially in the post season, I'm going to definitely remember this post after the playoffs when the under-performing player with no playoff experience is in your shit-house. :p
That said, for what they paid, if they have the cap space it's probably worth the gamble.
That's the gist of it.....there really was nothing to lose and everything to gain. He could simply be a player that needs the change of scenery to jump start that 'promise' that he had which led him to be selected #1. All the pressure and what not for being that high pick is essentially gone now...he can take a breath and just try to regain some confidence and buy in to the team. If he doesn't...then so be it, see ya!
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Yep, the Yakupov acquisition is high reward, low risk.
I can't believe the season is already here.
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Take care of Condibear, Pens. :'(
And yeah, I think the Yakupov move is good for both teams. Oilers get rid of someone who wasn't working out and get an okay to decent draft pick in return, Blues take a gamble on someone who can potentially be a serviceable addition to their lineup in his new environment.
Seriously can't wait for this season to get underway though. Can't remember the last time I've been pumped for a season. :metal
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Crosby concussed, Bergeron hurt, Eichel hurt (and after watching the video, it looks pretty severe), Anders Lee hurt, Carey Price sick... These leadup days have been cursed.
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Crosby concussed, Bergeron hurt, Eichel hurt (and after watching the video, it looks pretty severe), Anders Lee hurt, Carey Price sick... These leadup days have been cursed.
World Cup baby, World Cup.
:lol
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Auston Matthews :eek
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Looking forward to a great season this year for sure!
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Auston Matthews :eek
No kidding. I sure do hate Toronto, but Matthews is about as legit a talent as they come. That 2nd goal was pretty spectacular.
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4 goals for Auston Matthews and they lose.
Chad, I'm so sorry
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Happy to have made it out of that one alive. I think it's gonna be a long season
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The Blues punk the Hawks again. :hat
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Kings v. Sharks on now. No matter who wins I'm happy.
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Auston Matthews :eek
No kidding. I sure do hate Toronto, but Matthews is about as legit a talent as they come. That 2nd goal was pretty spectacular.
So how long till Toronto ruins him or trades him?
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but Matthews is about as legit a talent as they come. That 2nd goal was pretty spectacular.
4 goals for Auston Matthews and they lose.
Chad, I'm so sorry
:lol
No kidding!
Who's Chad?
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Pens start the season off right putting the Caps away in a SO. The campaign to repeat has begun!
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These first couple days have been exciting. Nice win for the Habs.
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Yep, the Yakupov acquisition is high reward, low risk.
I can't believe the season is already here.
Goal and an assist in his second game. He's looked good thus far but my understanding is the knock on him was he didn't give full effort all the time. I think Hitchcock can address that for him.
Two solid wins by the Blues to open the season.
#isthistheyear?
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First Devils game I've watched in a long time and I remember why I stopped watching. It's so fucking intense, especially in a close game. I think Schneider did extremely well, considering he gave up the goal in OT.
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(https://cdn-s3.si.com/images/David-Backes-Boston-Bruins.jpg)
Two goals last night!
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Yep, the Yakupov acquisition is high reward, low risk.
I can't believe the season is already here.
Goal and an assist in his second game. He's looked good thus far but my understanding is the knock on him was he didn't give full effort all the time. I think Hitchcock can address that for him.
Two solid wins by the Blues to open the season.
#isthistheyear?
Woah, simmer down. :lol :biggrin: Loooong way to go, but it's always nice to start with a couple wins. :coolio
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And there's what Subban can do when you have a halfway competent coach working the powerplay. Sigh. Muller made his return too late.
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Yep, the Yakupov acquisition is high reward, low risk.
I can't believe the season is already here.
Goal and an assist in his second game. He's looked good thus far but my understanding is the knock on him was he didn't give full effort all the time. I think Hitchcock can address that for him.
Two solid wins by the Blues to open the season.
#isthistheyear?
Yakupov goals are fine by me. 15+ and that conditional pick becomes a 2nd rounder.
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McDavid is gonna pull a Crosby and get the Art Ross in his sophomore year. Calling it now. He may be 19 but he already looks like he's on a level above anyone he's on the ice with.
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Heh, and PK did a dirty thing tonight. Looks like Preds are learning right away the good and the bad of PK Subban. :lol
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LA looks like they're off to another slow start this season, 4-1 against the Flyers
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LA looks like they're off to another slow start this season, 4-1 against the Flyers
As overrated as Quick is, him being gone for the first few months is gonna hurt. We'll see how they persevere.
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LA looks like they're off to another slow start this season, 4-1 against the Flyers
As an Oilers fan this pleases me greatly. I need one of the 3 California teams to tank if there's going to be even a slim chance of the Oil making the playoffs this year.
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McDavid is gonna pull a Crosby and get the Art Ross in his sophomore year. Calling it now. He may be 19 but he already looks like he's on a level above anyone he's on the ice with.
Only problem is that, well, Crosby is playing out of his mind the last basically 8 months. If he can come back quick from this concussion and not be slowed by it, my money is on him for the Art Ross.
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Well, that was a very Montreal vs. Ottawa game.
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Bolts are looking good!!!
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Hawks played a killer 1st period over the Preds tonight. Didn't see the second half of the game but was definitely satisfied with what I saw
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LA looks like they're off to another slow start this season, 4-1 against the Flyers
As overrated as Quick is, him being gone for the first few months is gonna hurt. We'll see how they persevere.
I missed this on my first read. In what universe is Quick overrated? I'll admit he didn't have a great season last year, but he's still a top flight tender in this league. I'd take him in Edmonton over Talbot any day of the week.
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LA looks like they're off to another slow start this season, 4-1 against the Flyers
As overrated as Quick is, him being gone for the first few months is gonna hurt. We'll see how they persevere.
I missed this on my first read. In what universe is Quick overrated? I'll admit he didn't have a great season last year, but he's still a top flight tender in this league. I'd take him in Edmonton over Talbot any day of the week.
Last year was arguably the second best year of his career, so there's that. :P In his entire career he has had one elite tier season, and that was 5 years ago. Otherwise he consistently puts up just slightly above average totals while facing some of the least difficult shots in the NHL. He gets overrated because LA has a great history of limiting high danger shots, dangerous passes, and cleaning up rebounds, and also because he has the mix of bad positioning and great athleticism that makes a goaltender fun to watch, since he pretty much puts himself into a position where he has to make flashy saves.
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Radulov with the beauty last night. Crazy it's his first point, he has been our best forward. Just been snakebitten. Also I'll never get tired of watching Weber just shove over guys with ease. :lol He's a welcome presence. Was nice to see the standing O he and Radulov got in the ceremony too. :)
On another note, Yak has been impressive his short time with the Blues so far. Hope he can keep it up!
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At the Rangers vs Bruins game with my father, boy do the Rangers look disinterested after the first period. :(
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At the Rangers vs Bruins game with my father, boy do the Rangers look disinterested after the first period. :(
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Awesome. Sounds like a great night out.
Trying to watch that game, the Celtic's season opener (which my son is really into) and the WS game. My clicker is having cramps.
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As soon as I tell my father I think the Rangers won't score a goal tonight cause they look so poorly they score 3 to take the lead. Shut my negativity up real quick.
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The Oilers are a lot of fun to watch so far this season. Speed and determination, they are playing really well.
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Oilers definitely look great right now. Lots of offense, and Cam Talbot is proving how underrated he is.
Loving that Shea Weber is now 3rd in the NHL in scoring (was 2nd before McDavid happened). :lol No way he sustains anything like this pace and he's had an unholy amount of luck, but it's fun stuff. It'll be sad when he regresses and the fanbase doesn't know how to react, but I'll enjoy riding the current wave.
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Yeah I'm definitely having a good time watching the Oil so far. Still too early to get excited though, so I'll reserve my judgement for the 20 game mark. Based on what I'm hearing on Edmonton sports radio, I'd say a lot of Edmontonians are chugging the Kool-aid. Almost like playoffs are a certainty now lol. It's kinda sad and funny at the same time.
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Yeah I'm definitely having a good time watching the Oil so far. Still too early to get excited though, so I'll reserve my judgement for the 20 game mark. Based on what I'm hearing on Edmonton sports radio, I'd say a lot of Edmontonians are chugging the Kool-aid. Almost like playoffs are a certainty now lol. It's kinda sad and funny at the same time.
Yikes, they have been fun to watch so far, but it's waaaaay too soon to start thinking like that. I mean most teams are like what 7 games into a 82 game campaign? Give it some time, the teams that are truly good (which might be the Oil) will be good, the teams that are a flash in the pan at the start of the year but aren't really that good (which also might be the Oil) will settle down into their proper place.
Also - is anyone else excited by the new young talent in this league? With guys like McDavid and Matthews I'm optimistic that the NHL might have found some true potential superstars that can properly carry the torch that Sid and Ovie have been carrying for like a decade.
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Yeah I'm definitely having a good time watching the Oil so far. Still too early to get excited though, so I'll reserve my judgement for the 20 game mark. Based on what I'm hearing on Edmonton sports radio, I'd say a lot of Edmontonians are chugging the Kool-aid. Almost like playoffs are a certainty now lol. It's kinda sad and funny at the same time.
Yikes, they have been fun to watch so far, but it's waaaaay too soon to start thinking like that. I mean most teams are like what 7 games into a 82 game campaign? Give it some time, the teams that are truly good (which might be the Oil) will be good, the teams that are a flash in the pan at the start of the year but aren't really that good (which also might be the Oil) will settle down into their proper place.
Also - is anyone else excited by the new young talent in this league? With guys like McDavid and Matthews I'm optimistic that the NHL might have found some true potential superstars that can properly carry the torch that Sid and Ovie have been carrying for like a decade.
Completely agree. Great young talent makes the league far more interesting to watch. And it makes it easier to sell my season tickets for games like last night's Capitals and next month when the Leafs roll into town ;D
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Yeah I'm definitely having a good time watching the Oil so far. Still too early to get excited though, so I'll reserve my judgement for the 20 game mark. Based on what I'm hearing on Edmonton sports radio, I'd say a lot of Edmontonians are chugging the Kool-aid. Almost like playoffs are a certainty now lol. It's kinda sad and funny at the same time.
Yikes, they have been fun to watch so far, but it's waaaaay too soon to start thinking like that. I mean most teams are like what 7 games into a 82 game campaign? Give it some time, the teams that are truly good (which might be the Oil) will be good, the teams that are a flash in the pan at the start of the year but aren't really that good (which also might be the Oil) will settle down into their proper place.
Also - is anyone else excited by the new young talent in this league? With guys like McDavid and Matthews I'm optimistic that the NHL might have found some true potential superstars that can properly carry the torch that Sid and Ovie have been carrying for like a decade.
I don't think Matthews is on that level. McDavid is though. Crosby is at the very least a top 20 all time player though and Ovechkin is a top 5 pure goal scorer (#1 in my eyes). Honestly getting two players that amazing so close together is a gift.
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Yeah I'm definitely having a good time watching the Oil so far. Still too early to get excited though, so I'll reserve my judgement for the 20 game mark. Based on what I'm hearing on Edmonton sports radio, I'd say a lot of Edmontonians are chugging the Kool-aid. Almost like playoffs are a certainty now lol. It's kinda sad and funny at the same time.
Yikes, they have been fun to watch so far, but it's waaaaay too soon to start thinking like that. I mean most teams are like what 7 games into a 82 game campaign? Give it some time, the teams that are truly good (which might be the Oil) will be good, the teams that are a flash in the pan at the start of the year but aren't really that good (which also might be the Oil) will settle down into their proper place.
Also - is anyone else excited by the new young talent in this league? With guys like McDavid and Matthews I'm optimistic that the NHL might have found some true potential superstars that can properly carry the torch that Sid and Ovie have been carrying for like a decade.
I don't think Matthews is on that level. McDavid is though. Crosby is at the very least a top 20 all time player though and Ovechkin is a top 5 pure goal scorer (#1 in my eyes). Honestly getting two players that amazing so close together is a gift.
No, Matthews is not on the same level as McDavid, or Crosby, and probably not Ovie either. However, he's still a top level talent and fun to watch.
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Crosby is without question in the top 10 players of all time. I might put him top 5.
McDavid looks like he might be the next Sid, but he will need a couple years to get there. I don't think Matthews is as good, but looks promising.
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Yeah I'd put Crosby in my 10. Just set 20 as my absolute low threshold, heh. It'll be interesting to see how Sid and McDavid compare down the line. McDavid is more pure skill, while Sid is essentially the ultimate grinder.
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Yeah I'd put Crosby in my 10. Just set 20 as my absolute low threshold, heh. It'll be interesting to see how Sid and McDavid compare down the line. McDavid is more pure skill, while Sid is essentially the ultimate grinder.
Yeah I've often said Sid is the best grinder ever, it's a description that fits him well, he is also a superstar that takes a lot of pride and care in doing all the little things right. Playing 200 feet, playing strong in the defensive zone, back-checking, etc...
McDavid strikes me more as that pure points guy. I'm also curious as to how quick he comes on and cements himself as the best in the league (if that happens).
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Yeah I'd put Crosby in my 10. Just set 20 as my absolute low threshold, heh. It'll be interesting to see how Sid and McDavid compare down the line. McDavid is more pure skill, while Sid is essentially the ultimate grinder.
What the hell? I don't think you can call a player who can score 50 and 50 a grinder haha. Here's the wiki definition, and Crosby does not fit the bill:
"Grinder (ice hockey)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In ice hockey, a grinder is a player better known for his hard work and checking than his scoring.[1] A grinder is often a player who has limited offensive skills, but is valuable to a hockey team due to physical forechecking skills especially along the boards; for "grinding along the boards".[2] The grinder is not in the spotlight as would be the offensively skilled scoring stars, but they are often fan favorites due to their work effort in games.[3] Thus the grinder is often the player who, by their willingness to endure the physical abuse of going into the corners to dig out the puck, often sets up the goals (passing the puck) for the team's offensive stars. It is common belief in hockey that a good team needs a balance of scoring stars and grinders.[4]"
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Yeah I'd put Crosby in my 10. Just set 20 as my absolute low threshold, heh. It'll be interesting to see how Sid and McDavid compare down the line. McDavid is more pure skill, while Sid is essentially the ultimate grinder.
What the hell? I don't think you can call a player who can score 50 and 50 a grinder haha. Here's the wiki definition, and Crosby does not fit the bill:
"Grinder (ice hockey)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In ice hockey, a grinder is a player better known for his hard work and checking than his scoring.[1] A grinder is often a player who has limited offensive skills, but is valuable to a hockey team due to physical forechecking skills especially along the boards; for "grinding along the boards".[2] The grinder is not in the spotlight as would be the offensively skilled scoring stars, but they are often fan favorites due to their work effort in games.[3] Thus the grinder is often the player who, by their willingness to endure the physical abuse of going into the corners to dig out the puck, often sets up the goals (passing the puck) for the team's offensive stars. It is common belief in hockey that a good team needs a balance of scoring stars and grinders.[4]"
My point is that lots of Crosby's greatness comes from how strong he is. He'll outwork the opposition, and he's so strong that he's almost impossible to knock off the puck. And he's insanely good at retrieving the puck in the dirty areas. All the chippy parts of the game are parts where Crosby shines the brightest. He has all the strengths of the ultimate grinder and channels it into offensive output.
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The Blues/Wings OT is nuts!
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Habs vs. Bolts was a very fun game. Very even play, a great defensive battle. Might be boring for some but it was gorgeous hockey. Glad we came out with the W. :)
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My point is that lots of Crosby's greatness comes from how strong he is. He'll outwork the opposition, and he's so strong that he's almost impossible to knock off the puck. And he's insanely good at retrieving the puck in the dirty areas. All the chippy parts of the game are parts where Crosby shines the brightest. He has all the strengths of the ultimate grinder and channels it into offensive output.
Yup, this exactly. It's actually pretty common here in Pittsburgh for media members to refer to Sid as the greatest grinder ever, and he hates it! :lol
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So Weber is off to the greatest start of his career. Encouraging to say the least. :lol
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What an emotional victory for the Senators and Craig Anderson tonight in Edmonton
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I hate the Sens and like the Oilers, and even I was kinda pulling for them. What a win indeed. :'( Seeing Anderson celebrate Ryan's goal even was beautiful.
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So Weber is off to the greatest start of his career. Encouraging to say the least. :lol
And it kept on going last game.
Meanwhile, in Nashville...
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Always a good weekend when the Pens beat the Flyers :)
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So Weber is off to the greatest start of his career. Encouraging to say the least. :lol
And it kept on going last game.
Meanwhile, in Nashville...
Nashville will find their chemistry, and besides they have an unsustainably low SH%. They'll finish near the top of their conference if Rinne can stop being so terrible. The beginning of the season is a weird time. :lol
My gripes with the trade aside, I'm glad Weber has managed to fit like a glove so quickly into the Habs lineup.
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We'll take care of Condon for you, LieLow
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We'll take care of Condon for you, LieLow
Seems like a weird trade to me. I thought the Sens were happy with Anderson and Hammond.
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It's a weird situation in Ottawa right now.
Craig Anderson's wife was diagnosed with cancer and took a leave of absence from the team. Then Hammond got injured on Friday and we went with our other AHL goalie, Chris Dreidger. I don't think he's horrible, but not ready yet. Anderson came back on Sunday against the Oilers and posted a shutout and continues to be incredible under the circumstances. But with no timetable on Hammond coming back and Anderson leaving at any point to be with his wife, Condon offers us some assurance
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Yeah good trade for both teams. Ottawa gets some much needed help right now, and Pittsburgh gets a 5th round pick for a guy they paid nothing to acquire, and who knows, maybe theyll get lucky and that pick will turn into a roster player. And for Ottawa they will likely be able to trade Condon again once their goaltending situation is cleared up. If he plays well he could get them even more than the 5th rounder they traded him for.
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We'll take care of Condon for you, LieLow
I'm glad he can at least find work in the NHL still. :) Condon may have not been good in the season he played, but you can't blame him completely. He was thrust into a high pressure starter situation on a heavily injured and depleted team with one of the most rabid fanbases in hockey screaming at him. He definitely has the potential to be a solid backup, and I think he will be.
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Way to go Condon! :D The Canucks have now been shut out 3 times in a row, 4 times in the last 5 games. :lol
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I know it's still early in the season and a lot can change, but the Rangers look fantastic right now. If they keep playing like this, I may finally see a Stanley Cup come to New York.
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W H A T I S G O I N G O N
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Well, the Habs came back down to earth tonight in the worst way possible. 10-0. My god....
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..or the best way possible!
:neverusethis:
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Well, for me and you, the best way :lol
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Holy crap the Canadiens got their asses handed to them. How does that even happen in today's NHL? I know Carey Price wasn't playing but his backup should still be capable of not letting in every puck that comes his way.
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Holy crap the Canadiens got their asses handed to them. How does that even happen in today's NHL? I know Carey Price wasn't playing but his backup should still be capable of not letting in every puck that comes his way.
Wasn't all his fault. They were just that bad.
At least we got all our regression out of the way in one fell swoop. ;)
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I didn't know Toronto was hosting UFC tonight. :biggrin: Crazy
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Great winner by Tarasenko last night, which the Blues needed after two ugly losses this week, but in general they aren't scoring enough; 26 goals in 12 games is pretty poor. And their goal differential as a team is -7, which is 4th worst in the league right now. My expectations for this team this year are not high.
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Crosby with 8 goals in 6 games on his return from injury. God damn he's looked like he's re-entered his greatest years lately.
Also, ugly win by the Habs, but it's a start. I gotta say even though the team has been playing terrible lately Radulov just doesn't quit. He's really been crushing any and all concerns about him. Him and Galchenyuk are showing ridiculous chemistry and I can see them putting up quite a lot of points. I just hope the rest of team starts improving soon. :-\
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Crosby with 8 goals in 6 games on his return from injury. God damn he's looked like he's re-entered his greatest years lately.
I think through the latter part of last regular season, through the playoff cup run, through the world cup, Sid might have been playing the best hockey I've ever seen him play. It looks like the concussion that kept him out the first six games this year didn't slow him down.
Pens beat up on San Jose on Saturday, 5-0. They look scary good. Looking forward to seeing the Oilers come to town Tuesday. Sid vs McDavid should be fun.
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Oil@Pens has been a great watch. Wide open hockey at both ends
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Another questionable game for the Habs, but we came out with the win. First line was glorious, even with Paul Byron on it (who I do love, but interesting for the first line...). Crazy stat, every assist (8) by Radulov this season has been a primary assist. :metal
EDIT: Nevermind, Chucky stole the last one from him. :'(
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Kings beat Leafs 7-0, SJ blanks Caps 3-0. Happy birthday to me! :metal
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Oil@Pens has been a great watch. Wide open hockey at both ends
Yeah it was fun for sure!
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Related note as to the Cubbies thread and Arlington building a new bread and circuses baseball stadium
The new arena for the Red Wings will now run approx. $125 M over budget, putting the total cost at around $750 M. The organization can't pay their water bills on time for Joe Louis Arena, and now this.
Corporate welfare at its finest yet again.
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Nice quick win by the Hawks in OT over the Blues tonight. Just the way I like it! :tup
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I like the Blue's jerseys for the Winter Classic. I think they'll look good on TV
(https://l2.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/e5eBFdi6YvNBejvBYhq3pg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NzQ0O2g9NDE4/https://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/71b86354175aa926ad915b4d1284c19c)
And then Chicago at this point, with an outdoor game every year, is just starting to run out of ideas
(https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7438341/cut.jpg)
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^
When I saw the Blues, I was thinking 'throwback' for their 50th anniversary. Sure enough
https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2016/11/9/13574974/blues-blackhawks-unveil-throwback-jerseys-uniforms-2017-nhl-winter-classic
Here is a great link for the history of team uniforms that I found last night
https://www.nhluniforms.com/RedWings/RedWings.html
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Habs look back on track. Galchenyuk showing how outrageous it is he was left off team North America. Shaw shakes off some of his bad luck. Things are good! :D
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Elliot is having a brutal start to the season in Calgary (good for me though :biggrin:). Whatever skills he used to have, I'm pretty sure he forgot them back in St. Louis.
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Decision on NHL participation in the 2018 Olympics expected sometime in January
https://www.nhl.com/news/gary-bettman-on-nhl-challenge-in-2018-olympics/c-283727360
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Decision on NHL participation in the 2018 Olympics expected sometime in January
https://www.nhl.com/news/gary-bettman-on-nhl-challenge-in-2018-olympics/c-283727360
I'll be shocked if they send them to Korea. Interesting to read that they would like to maybe skip Korea and then send the players to China in 2022.
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I wasn't aware they weren't going to front the insurance money. That's a huge expense.
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Steven Stamkos is out 4 months :'( :'( :'(
https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/stamkos-to-have-surgery-could-miss-four-months/2303206
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Steven Stamkos is out 4 months :'( :'( :'(
https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/stamkos-to-have-surgery-could-miss-four-months/2303206
He is a great player, sucks that it seems like injuries have followed him around his entire career.
How do you think this effects TB's shots at coming out of the East? Before the season started, I viewed the Pens, TB, the Caps, and the Rags as the four that could make a cup run out of the East. This certainly dampens TB's chances significantly.
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Steven Stamkos is out 4 months :'( :'( :'(
https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/stamkos-to-have-surgery-could-miss-four-months/2303206
He is a great player, sucks that it seems like injuries have followed him around his entire career.
How do you think this effects TB's shots at coming out of the East? Before the season started, I viewed the Pens, TB, the Caps, and the Rags as the four that could make a cup run out of the East. This certainly dampens TB's chances significantly.
I agree it dampens our chances, but slightly. I think we can still be in contention with those other teams especially if Bishop, Hedman and Johnson stay healthy and are playing well. We played well without Stamkos, Bishop, and Strahlman last postseason. However, we need those pieces if we ever want to see the ice of a Stanley Cup Final. Everyone has to step up, and seems like the Bolts organization know this
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Now I'm happy he didn't sign with the Leafs. However, we don't need him all too much. Since that 7 - 0 loss versus the Kings, we've been pretty tight. Yeah, I know we lost versus the Penguins, but kinda hard beating the Champs when the Leafs are such a young team. I'm wondering how tomorrow's game against the Habs will go...
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https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2016/11/18/13682926/blue-jackets-matt-calvert-block-shot-face-blood-pool-gross-oh-no (https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2016/11/18/13682926/blue-jackets-matt-calvert-block-shot-face-blood-pool-gross-oh-no)
Matt Calvert takes a slapshot to the head, bleeds all over the ice, comes back and scores the game winning goal. Awesome!
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https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2016/11/18/13682926/blue-jackets-matt-calvert-block-shot-face-blood-pool-gross-oh-no (https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2016/11/18/13682926/blue-jackets-matt-calvert-block-shot-face-blood-pool-gross-oh-no)
Matt Calvert takes a slapshot to the head, bleeds all over the ice, comes back and scores the game winning goal. Awesome!
Just more proof that hockey players are tougher than any other athletes.
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Gah, Price always looks human against the Sens. It's frustrating. Oh well, was an exciting game!
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The Vegas Golden Knights.
The logo looked pretty cool. Got my t-shirt ordered already.
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Lame name, but they did nail the logo. Really cool.
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Meh, I was hoping for a better name than that. Too bad, I was hoping to like this team.
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Vegas Blackjacks would've been better
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First, I preferred the Desert Knights, but given the Golden Knights I will repeat what I heard elsewhere.
Las Vegas Golden Knights sounds good.
Vegas Knights sounds good.
Vegas Golden Knights sounds terrible.
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They will forever be the Golden Kaniggits to me. I hate the name.
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Name is meh. Excellent logo though!
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Yeah, the name is just... awkward. But the logo is honestly one of the better logos in the league, and I'm a fan of the colour scheme. At least they'll look cool!
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Weber starting to come back down to earth a little. He's still awesome, but the team is missing Subban right now. Big time. He was just so much more effective at getting the puck out of our zone and into the opponent's.
Radulov still continues to amaze though. He reminds me of Crosby in style, with the whole "ultimate grinder" thing I mentioned earlier in the thread. Obviously he's not on Crosby's level, but he's great for the same reasons and makes everyone around him better. :metal
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Weber starting to come back down to earth a little. He's still awesome, but the team is missing Subban right now. Big time. He was just so much more effective at getting the puck out of our zone and into the opponent's.
Radulov still continues to amaze though. He reminds me of Crosby in style, with the whole "ultimate grinder" thing I mentioned earlier in the thread. Obviously he's not on Crosby's level, but he's great for the same reasons and makes everyone around him better. :metal
It's really clear to me that he is out to prove people wrong about him. We all know the reputation that he made for himself in his previous NHL stints, and hopefully after this year he can continue to play to his current level because having guys like him is great for the sport. I like your comparison to Crosby, I feel like the two would be a very good match for one another on a line.
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Weber starting to come back down to earth a little. He's still awesome, but the team is missing Subban right now. Big time. He was just so much more effective at getting the puck out of our zone and into the opponent's.
Radulov still continues to amaze though. He reminds me of Crosby in style, with the whole "ultimate grinder" thing I mentioned earlier in the thread. Obviously he's not on Crosby's level, but he's great for the same reasons and makes everyone around him better. :metal
It's really clear to me that he is out to prove people wrong about him. We all know the reputation that he made for himself in his previous NHL stints, and hopefully after this year he can continue to play to his current level because having guys like him is great for the sport. I like your comparison to Crosby, I feel like the two would be a very good match for one another on a line.
Agreed. There were lots of worries about his personality, but at least thus far he's one of the most positive attitudes on the team. He's a man on a mission out there.
Radulov + Crosby would be unfair. Two of the hardest guys to knock off the puck. :lol
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Weber starting to come back down to earth a little. He's still awesome, but the team is missing Subban right now. Big time. He was just so much more effective at getting the puck out of our zone and into the opponent's.
Radulov still continues to amaze though. He reminds me of Crosby in style, with the whole "ultimate grinder" thing I mentioned earlier in the thread. Obviously he's not on Crosby's level, but he's great for the same reasons and makes everyone around him better. :metal
It's really clear to me that he is out to prove people wrong about him. We all know the reputation that he made for himself in his previous NHL stints, and hopefully after this year he can continue to play to his current level because having guys like him is great for the sport. I like your comparison to Crosby, I feel like the two would be a very good match for one another on a line.
Agreed. There were lots of worries about his personality, but at least thus far he's one of the most positive attitudes on the team. He's a man on a mission out there.
Radulov + Crosby would be unfair. Two of the hardest guys to knock off the puck. :lol
They would cycle for an entire period. :lol
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https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/18234450/vegas-golden-knights-trademark-request-denied-us-patent-office
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday denied the Vegas Golden Knights' trademark request, citing a "likelihood of confusion" with the Golden Knights of The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York.
:rollin :lol
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https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/18234450/vegas-golden-knights-trademark-request-denied-us-patent-office
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday denied the Vegas Golden Knights' trademark request, citing a "likelihood of confusion" with the Golden Knights of The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York.
:rollin :lol
:lol Only the NHL :facepalm:
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Not even the NHL, the Golden Knights management. Why the hell announce the fucking name if you don't even have the legal trademark to it yet?!
Then again, this might just be karmas way of telling them the name fucking SUCKS.
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They said up front that there might be hurdles but were confident they would get the name through. I see no reason to believe that's not the case. Good for a chuckle, but the story is a non-story most likely.
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Of course, they'll appeal and win. There are dozens of similar sports names out there. It's still funny.
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In other news, let's talk about teams who currently have 6 game win streaks. :D
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In other news, let's talk about teams who currently have 6 game win streaks. :D
Or teams that are winning their division. :biggrin:
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Or John Scott. Meant to post this yesterday, a beautiful follow up to his last piece. Enjoy retirement John.
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/john-scott-retirement/
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In other news, let's talk about teams who currently have 6 game win streaks. :D
Or teams that are winning their division. :biggrin:
Or teams that habitually rip their fans hearts out :(
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Welp, literally our entire team is injured. Please don't be a repeat of last season.
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That's the way to do it. Pure dominance. :metal I know Devils have terrible defense, but at least gives me some optimism that we can do so well despite missing so many players.
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In other news, let's talk about teams who currently have 6 7 game win streaks. :D
FTFY
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Damn the Leafs are fast.
Fucking Bruins have dominated this game and are down 2-0.
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I am pleased with the events of tonight's game.
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They got back almost all the goals against that they gained against Columbus last month
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A little bit of a bummer that Colorado managed the 1, a 10-0 game would have been beautiful. But I'll take this. :lol
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Gah. Very deserved loss. No excuse for such a sterile powerplay. Our only decent defenseman was god damn Emelin too. The D just looked lost tonight. 1st and 3rd lines were on fire though.
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Bruins have been playing well. Not scoring much though. They have now scored 2 goals or less in 21 of their 30 games.
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Pens on a 6 game win streak, averaging almost 6 goals per game on that streak = Really fun, enjoyable hockey!
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Last season and now this season I can honestly say I've toned it down quite a bit while watching the Blues play. I no longer scream 'C'MON!!' when they make bone head plays or give up weak goals....I just kind of watch the game like a normal person I guess. It's actually been quite a change for me and I like it (Playoffs are a different story...I save it all for those games)
Anyway, that being said watching the Blues utterly disappear after going up 3-0 on the Predators last night and ultimately losing 5-3 made my blood boil and I may have resorted back to some old habits......I can take watching a loss but that game was infuriating.
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Pens on a 6 game win streak, averaging almost 6 goals per game on that streak = Really fun, enjoyable hockey!
Pens/B's tonight!
Last season and now this season I can honestly say I've toned it down quite a bit while watching the Blues play. I no longer scream 'C'MON!!' when they make bone head plays or give up weak goals....I just kind of watch the game like a normal person I guess. It's actually been quite a change for me and I like it (Playoffs are a different story...I save it all for those games)
Anyway, that being said watching the Blues utterly disappear after going up 3-0 on the Predators last night and ultimately losing 5-3 made my blood boil and I may have resorted back to some old habits......I can take watching a loss but that game was infuriating.
Suckah!
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Pens on a 6 game win streak, averaging almost 6 goals per game on that streak = Really fun, enjoyable hockey!
Pens/B's tonight!
Good game last night! Rusty with a beauty in OT to win it, that's one of those games that could have gone either way.
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Good game tonight. Aside from the first 10 minutes our defensemen were rock solid. Great stuff because they've been swiss cheese recently. :metal
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Hell of a Hawks/Blues game tonight. Definitely a call and response thing goin on with each goal. I dig it!
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Bad result, though, as the bad guys won. >:(
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Bad result, though, as the bad guys won. >:(
Not from where I'm standing
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Watching the Bruins/ Panthers game tonight. Congrats to Jagr on passing Messier to become the #2 All Time Leading Scorer.
At 44 he is now ONLY 1000 points behind Gretzky!
WTF??
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Watching the Bruins/ Panthers game tonight. Congrats to Jagr on passing Messier to become the #2 All Time Leading Scorer.
At 44 he is now ONLY 1000 points behind Gretzky!
WTF??
Yup, shows you how different hockey was in Wayne's prime. Totally different game back then. Unless the NHL somehow swings back that direction (and heads out of the dead-puck era we are in now) I don't see anyone ever touching Wayne's scoring number, no matter how good the player.
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6 - 0 against the Avalanche last night :metal Hopefully the Leafs can crush Arizona tonight. Show 'em Auston Matthews is Toronto's boy now :biggrin:
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I am now 0-5 when going to see the Rangers play live. >:(
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I am now 0-5 when going to see the Rangers play live. >:(
This season, or overall? Because if that's this season then that's frankly quite impressively horrendous. :lol
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I am now 0-5 when going to see the Rangers play live. >:(
This season, or overall? Because if that's this season then that's frankly quite impressively horrendous. :lol
Overall. But still, I have a better track record seeing the Jets and Mets than I do the Yankees and Rangers.
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I am now 0-5 when going to see the Rangers play live. >:(
(https://i.imgur.com/LmaN4G1.jpg)
:biggrin:
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Watching the replay of the Blues/Haks alumni game.
The Blues alumni team is :metal
Classy move by Tkachuk wearing Demitra's jersey. But holy hell Keith! Did he eat him?
Bernie Federko looks awesome and Pierre Turgeon hasn't aged at all.
Gary Unger :metal Larry Patey :metal and Brian Sutter :hefdaddy
But who are the flotsam & jetsam playing for the Hawks? No Chelios? Amonte? Roenick? Doug Wilson? Savard? Is Larmer playing? WTF?
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Hurricanes :clap:
https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/story/carolina-hurricanes-equipment-manager-sees-action-net-010117
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Watching the replay of the Blues/Haks alumni game.
The Blues alumni team is :metal
Classy move by Tkachuk wearing Demitra's jersey. But holy hell Keith! Did he eat him?
Bernie Federko looks awesome and Pierre Turgeon hasn't aged at all.
Gary Unger :metal Larry Patey :metal and Brian Sutter :hefdaddy
But who are the flotsam & jetsam playing for the Hawks? No Chelios? Amonte? Roenick? Doug Wilson? Davard? Is Larmer playing? WTF?
yeah...that was neat to watch. And you're right about Tkachuk in both respects. Very cool to honor Demitra (I read they were very close friends) and he has easily put on 100 lbs.
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Radulov and Weber both play one of their best games of the season against their former team. God damn right. :metal
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Thanks Santa!
(https://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z246/TACPics/IMG_3214_zpsgl9cphlx.jpg) (https://s195.photobucket.com/user/TACPics/media/IMG_3214_zpsgl9cphlx.jpg.html)
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RIP Milt Schmidt... :(
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Not NHL related but it is hockey related: What a game between USA and Canada for the World Juniors Championship. This was two evenly matched teams playing at their very best, and it had to be decided in a shootout. Congratulations to the USA who FINALLY beat Canada for a hockey championship. One of the best hockey games I have ever seen, up there with Blues-Blackhawks Game 7 last year, Rangers-Capitals Game 7 two years ago, Bruins-Canucks Game 7 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, and USA-Canada for the gold medal in the 2010 Olympics.
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Not NHL related but it is hockey related: What a game between USA and Canada for the World Juniors Championship. This was two evenly matched teams playing at their very best, and it had to be decided in a shootout. Congratulations to the USA who FINALLY beat Canada for a hockey championship. One of the best hockey games I have ever seen, up there with Blues-Blackhawks Game 7 last year, Rangers-Capitals Game 7 two years ago, Bruins-Canucks Game 7 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, and USA-Canada for the gold medal in the 2010 Olympics.
Missed the game last night, good to hear the US won. Did the NHL network really air that game last night instead of the Jackets game though?
I mean I get the WJC game was huge, but it wasn't a NHL game and meanwhile they had the Jackets going for a tie of the longest winning streak in league history (an opportunity to promote their actual product) and it wasn't nationally aired? Come on NHL....
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Not NHL related but it is hockey related: What a game between USA and Canada for the World Juniors Championship. This was two evenly matched teams playing at their very best, and it had to be decided in a shootout. Congratulations to the USA who FINALLY beat Canada for a hockey championship. One of the best hockey games I have ever seen, up there with Blues-Blackhawks Game 7 last year, Rangers-Capitals Game 7 two years ago, Bruins-Canucks Game 7 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, and USA-Canada for the gold medal in the 2010 Olympics.
Agreed, it was a fantastic game. As a Canadian I would have preferred a different result, but I honestly didn't have them in the gold medal game at the start of the tournament anyway. And once it went to a shootout I knew Canada was truly pooched with how well that Terry kid was in the shootout against Russia.
Between that game and the Oil v Bruins game I had a good fill of hockey last night ;D
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I have zero expectations/hopes for the Blues making a legit run at the cup this season. One game they're outplaying and handily defeating the top teams of the league and the next game they're losing to teams with losing records and looking horrid doing it. No consistency at all.
It was a massive mistake not to let Hitchcock go and just hand the team over to Yeo right off the bat.
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Not NHL related but it is hockey related: What a game between USA and Canada for the World Juniors Championship. This was two evenly matched teams playing at their very best, and it had to be decided in a shootout. Congratulations to the USA who FINALLY beat Canada for a hockey championship. One of the best hockey games I have ever seen, up there with Blues-Blackhawks Game 7 last year, Rangers-Capitals Game 7 two years ago, Bruins-Canucks Game 7 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, and USA-Canada for the gold medal in the 2010 Olympics.
Agreed, it was a great game. Big fan of these World Junior tournaments, and I really enjoyed the previous games by the other teams too, Russia, Sweden, Swiss (who are surprisingly good). The only downside to me is having this game be decided by a shootout. I think they should go all the way with the sudden-death OT, NHL style. Canada had to know they were in trouble once it boiled down to the shootout.
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I have zero expectations/hopes for the Blues making a legit run at the cup this season. One game they're outplaying and handily defeating the top teams of the league and the next game they're losing to teams with losing records and looking horrid doing it. No consistency at all.
It was a massive mistake not to let Hitchcock go and just hand the team over to Yeo right off the bat.
Gotta have the faith, my friend.
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I have zero expectations/hopes for the Blues making a legit run at the cup this season. One game they're outplaying and handily defeating the top teams of the league and the next game they're losing to teams with losing records and looking horrid doing it. No consistency at all.
It was a massive mistake not to let Hitchcock go and just hand the team over to Yeo right off the bat.
Gotta have the faith, my friend.
this is the least inspiring team I've seen in some time. There are certainly bright spots....Tarasenko, Paryako, Schwartz....very good and fun players to watch but man it just seems like they are 'missing' something.
Being that they allowed Brauer to sign with Calgary when they knew they weren't re-signing Backes....they forfeited the whole 'size' and 'hard' game I've grown accustomed to watching them play for the past few years and started to focus on this fast and quick game. It's not nearly as consistent. Fun to watch when they are all clicking and firing on all cylinders but if you have one or two players not playing it shows and they pay the price.
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I have zero expectations/hopes for the Blues making a legit run at the cup this season. One game they're outplaying and handily defeating the top teams of the league and the next game they're losing to teams with losing records and looking horrid doing it. No consistency at all.
It was a massive mistake not to let Hitchcock go and just hand the team over to Yeo right off the bat.
Gotta have the faith, my friend.
this is the least inspiring team I've seen in some time. There are certainly bright spots....Tarasenko, Paryako, Schwartz....very good and fun players to watch but man it just seems like they are 'missing' something.
Being that they allowed Brauer to sign with Calgary when they knew they weren't re-signing Backes....they forfeited the whole 'size' and 'hard' game I've grown accustomed to watching them play for the past few years and started to focus on this fast and quick game. It's not nearly as consistent. Fun to watch when they are all clicking and firing on all cylinders but if you have one or two players not playing it shows and they pay the price.
Sadly, I agree. Good team this year, but I'd be surprised to see them get out of the first round. I wonder if they'll do anything at the trade deadline to shake things up a bit. Trading Shattenkirk keeps sounding like a foregone conclusion.
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Good first game back from the break last night for the Pens!
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Nice tribute to David Backes in St. Louis tonight.
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Nice tribute to David Backes in St. Louis tonight.
Dang it! Missed it. Was sculpting and cutting two Pine Wood Derby cars with the kiddos for their race next week.
Looks like the Blues are taking the night off anyway.....at least Jake Allen has......again.....
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Oh, by the way, I'm carrying his illegitimate child.
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Just curious, how is Backes viewed among St.Louis fans?
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Here's how the St. Louis boys responded when he signed with the Bruins:
I never really embraced Backes fully.
Why not?
Not sure. He was just never a guy I was wowed or excited by, as a fan. I guess I just expect more from a captain than he always gave.
I understand Kevs sentiment here. I think Backes was a good captain, but the negatives to his play are infuriating. Particularly some of the bad penalties he'd take. Players take bad penalties.....but he always seems to take them at the worst possible time.
As a Captain he sticks up for his teammates and leads...but to Kevs point, there was always 'something' missing or off?
Nonetheless Boston is getting a good player.
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Just curious, how is Backes viewed among St.Louis fans?
Adored. He was here 10 years, played intense and loved his team mates.....pillar of the community with charities and especially his pet outreach. He's just a real good dude and was/is a good player. I'm glad we got his 'best' years.
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I tell you what, you don't know what you got til it's gone. St. Louis greatly misses him....or someone like him.....that style of play.
I'll stand by the remarks I made about his untimely penalties and seeming to 'miss' someThing about his game....but this season not having him it's very clear what he brought to the team isn't easily replaced.
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Okay, just curious because from afar, he seems like a player that I would get frustrated with on ice. He sounds like he was great off the ice, which is cool but on the ice he always struck me as one of those players that had the ability to be truly great but never quite got there.
I mean St. Louis had some really, really good teams with him as the C and they never got there all the way, could never close the deal and win it all. Not knocking on him, just saying.
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He is on pace for 20 goals even though he's missed like 10 games. (Concussion/ Bursar on elbow).
He has been great in front of the net, and has brought some much needed toughness to the team.
He is not fast, nor flashy, and I think people may think he is something that he is not. He was one of my Top 5 Non Bruins in the league, and I've always liked him. I don't blame him as the Captain for the Blues not getting over the hump. It's not easy and the West has been stacked.
BUT, the Bruins still suck at home, don't show up some nights, and are not ready to start some games.
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He is not fast, nor flashy, and I think people may think he is something that he is not. He was one of my Top 5 Non Bruins in the league, and I've always liked him. I don't blame him as the Captain for the Blues not getting over the hump. It's not easy and the West has been stacked.
All of this......
And this....
one of those players that had the ability to be truly great but never quite got there.
He was VERY good....but just was never able to get to that final level of GREAT
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He was VERY good....but just was never able to get to that final level of GREAT
Exactly, like I said, not trying to knock on the guy, but that's always been my opinion of him from a distant perspective.
He is on pace for 20 goals even though he's missed like 10 games. (Concussion/ Bursar on elbow).
He has been great in front of the net, and has brought some much needed toughness to the team.
He is not fast, nor flashy, and I think people may think he is something that he is not. He was one of my Top 5 Non Bruins in the league, and I've always liked him. I don't blame him as the Captain for the Blues not getting over the hump. It's not easy and the West has been stacked.
Honestly that's all well and good and sounds about right. Good but not great. Also, I'm not saying I blame him for anything during his time as Captain, but there are some players that just never win anything, and Backes is that guy.
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I don't think Backes is a great player, and never have. And if he's your best player, you're not going anywhere.
BUT, he can play on my team anyday!
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Well said.
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I don't think Michel Therrien knows how to pull goalies
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I don't think Michel Therrien knows how to pull goalies
I think he just seems to think that it sends a message to the player when you ruin his confidence and leave them in for, oh let's say, 7 or 10 goals.
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Apparently it was Price's decision to stay in the game when given the option to be pulled. I guess I understand Price's decision, but it seemed like he gave up in the third
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Very touching ceremony in Tampa for St. Louis' number retirement.
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I don't think Michel Therrien knows how to pull goalies
I think he just seems to think that it sends a message to the player when you ruin his confidence and leave them in for, oh let's say, 7 or 10 goals.
I think Carey Price will be okay. :P And no that wasn't the reason behind either.
Apparently it was Price's decision to stay in the game when given the option to be pulled. I guess I understand Price's decision, but it seemed like he gave up in the third
He gave up when the game started. He's been bad since December. Last night it was his slump combined with the team playing no defense whatsoever. It's a shame because our defense has been solid lately but the past few games they've been pretty bad. In any case, Price insisted on staying in, so whatever. I know he'll get his game back. And even though he hasn't been great, the team has for the most part played amazing in the mean time considering half of our players and our former leading scorer are currently injured.
EDIT: AND INJURED NO LONGER GALCHENYUK AND SHAW CONFIRMED IN TONIGHT WOOOOO
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Yeah, no need to worry in Montreal. Price is an all world goalie.
Here in Edmonton we've a coach in McClellan who's been riding his tender like an airport rental. Talbot is on pace for 70 games this season, and I'm concerned about fatigue down the stretch for a guy who just became a starter last season.
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Yeah. Talbot is an underrated goalie to me, but no goalie should ever play over 70. I forget where I saw the article, but I read something pretty telling about Cup-winning goalies and the number of games they play in the regular season. It really wears down on guys in the long run when they play so many games, and it reflects in the playoffs.
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Pens have lost three in a row. That hasn't happened in a long while. Hopefully they can start to tighten it up and play better away from the puck.
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Pens have lost three in a row. That hasn't happened in a long while. Hopefully they can start to tighten it up and play better away from the puck.
Some huge offense last night v. Caps. I wish I would've watched. :tup
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Pens have lost three in a row. That hasn't happened in a long while. Hopefully they can start to tighten it up and play better away from the puck.
Some huge offense last night v. Caps. I wish I would've watched. :tup
Yup, still a ton of issues defensively though. Don't get me wrong, a win is a win, but I'm starting to worry about the dcore with Letang and Dumo both out.
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When did the Blues start imploding? It's more than just goaltending
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When did the Blues start imploding? It's more than just goaltending
It's ugly. The plan is for this to be Hitchcock's last season and then Mike Yeo will take over next season, but I can't help but wonder if they will make the move soon. Not saying this is all on Hitch, but something needs to happen ASAP. Say what you want about the Blues and never winning the Cup, but for the last 35 years, more often than not the team is good enough to where you think, "Hey, they can maybe win a round or two and then who knows?" That is not the case this year. They look like a team that will either miss the playoffs or get drilled in the first round.
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Happy Birthday Mike Bossy!
(https://sportsweeksportslist.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/mike-bossy-had-back-to-back-stanley-cup-winning-goals-in-1982-and-1983.png)
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Didn't get to post yesterday due to family being over and the two conference title games, but big win for the Rangers yesterday. As soon as the puck hit Zuccarello's stick in overtime I knew it was over. He played Detroit's goalie perfectly, making him think he was shooting, getting him in position to make the save then passing it to Miller as the goalie (sorry Detroit fans but I don't know his name) goes to make the save on Zucc. This is why I thought he should have made the All Star roster. He's a severely underrated player. Also, the shutout should be good for Lundqvist's confidence, as I feel that his mind hasn't really been in it lately. This could be the victory that gets Hank back to being his elite self.
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At least one Pittsburgh team beat one Boston team yesterday! :biggrin:
Pens are rolling right now. I'm hard pressed to remember a point in which Geno and Sid were both this hot at the same time.
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Turns out the Devils just need to get a few more Flyers games on their schedule to get going again :biggrin:
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Turns out the Devils just need to get a few more Flyers games on their schedule to get going again :biggrin:
The Flyers are usually good for that. When the Rangers are in a slump I always look foward to when they play Philly so that they can start winning again.
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Turns out the Devils just need to get a few more Flyers games on their schedule to get going again :biggrin:
The Flyers are usually good for that. When the Rangers are in a slump I always look foward to when they play Philly so that they can start winning again.
I'd have to check the exact stats, but I'd be willing to bet that over the past 10 years the Flyers have won the majority of games against the Devils. That said ANYONE who plays the Flyers right now is likely to get a nice boost, with the exception it seems of the Islanders.
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Turns out the Devils just need to get a few more Flyers games on their schedule to get going again :biggrin:
The Flyers are usually good for that. When the Rangers are in a slump I always look foward to when they play Philly so that they can start winning again.
I'd have to check the exact stats, but I'd be willing to bet that over the past 10 years the Flyers have won the majority of games against the Devils. That said ANYONE who plays the Flyers right now is likely to get a nice boost, with the exception it seems of the Islanders.
Well I was just talking about the two games this year, but I did a quick search and best I can tell is the Flyers are 22-23-6 going back to the 07-08 season :P
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When did the Blues start imploding? It's more than just goaltending
It's ugly. The plan is for this to be Hitchcock's last season and then Mike Yeo will take over next season, but I can't help but wonder if they will make the move soon. Not saying this is all on Hitch, but something needs to happen ASAP. Say what you want about the Blues and never winning the Cup, but for the last 35 years, more often than not the team is good enough to where you think, "Hey, they can maybe win a round or two and then who knows?" That is not the case this year. They look like a team that will either miss the playoffs or get drilled in the first round.
yeah....it was a bone head move to start with even bringing Hitch back. Then, to already have a 'coach in waiting'...there's no way the locker room was ever going to buy in to Hitch again. Especially with him being a very tough coach to play under. He's good and all...but all accounts point to him being very hard on players and if you know that you only have to put up with him for one more year...there's no way your giving maximum effort.
They started this season with a mind set to dump size and try the 'quick' game...a system that Hitchcock isn't familiar with. It makes no sense to me why when they knew they were taking a new direction why they didn't make a clean break and start from square one at the beginning of the season. Hitch is like 3 wins shy of tying some coach for all time wins....I imagine after he ties that or goes ahead by one or two they dump him and get on with it.
Not to blame it all on him but you have to start somewhere and that's as good as place as any.
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I've been somewhat reluctant to talk about the Oilers this season due to irrational superstition. No playoffs in Edmonton since the unlikely '06 cup run, and it feels like the slightest breeze will cause their chances to tumble like a house of cards.However, after last night's beat down of the Ducks I feel much better about their chances this season. It was nice to see the Oilers beat an actual top team, as opposed to beating up on bottom dwellers. Finally a little separation between the top teams in the west and the wildcards too, which is nice too see!
On a side note, I'm happier and happier every day that the Draisaitl+4th overall for Subban never happened in the off season. Not sure how serious those talks were in the first place, but I'm sure glad Chiarelli held on to Leon.
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I've been somewhat reluctant to talk about the Oilers this season due to irrational superstition. No playoffs in Edmonton since the unlikely '06 cup run, and it feels like the slightest breeze will cause their chances to tumble like a house of cards.However, after last night's beat down of the Ducks I feel much better about their chances this season. It was nice to see the Oilers beat an actual top team, as opposed to beating up on bottom dwellers. Finally a little separation between the top teams in the west and the wildcards too, which is nice too see!
On a side note, I'm happier and happier every day that the Draisaitl+4th overall for Subban never happened in the off season. Not sure how serious those talks were in the first place, but I'm sure glad Chiarelli held on to Leon.
I think the Oilers are definitely good enough to make a run this year, it helps that the West as a whole, is not good. I could easily see them in the first or maybe even second round.
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I think the Oilers are definitely good enough to make a run this year, it helps that the West as a whole, is not good. I could easily see them in the first or maybe even second round.
Oh I still think they get smoked in the first round if they make it that far. I just can't see them beating many of the west playoff teams over the course of a series.
I don't think the west is any worse than the east this year. Sure, there's more goals being scored in the east (and more being allowed too), but in terms of wins and losses the conferences are fairly close. And in both cases the playoff cutoff right now is around 50-55 points.
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Can this season end already? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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I think the Oilers are definitely good enough to make a run this year, it helps that the West as a whole, is not good. I could easily see them in the first or maybe even second round.
Oh I still think they get smoked in the first round if they make it that far. I just can't see them beating many of the west playoff teams over the course of a series.
I don't think the west is any worse than the east this year. Sure, there's more goals being scored in the east (and more being allowed too), but in terms of wins and losses the conferences are fairly close. And in both cases the playoff cutoff right now is around 50-55 points.
I'd be surprised if they get to the second round, but that's a huge improvement for that team based on recent history, so it's something.
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Turns out the Devils just need to get a few more Flyers games on their schedule to get going again :biggrin:
The Flyers are usually good for that. When the Rangers are in a slump I always look foward to when they play Philly so that they can start winning again.
I'd have to check the exact stats, but I'd be willing to bet that over the past 10 years the Flyers have won the majority of games against the Devils. That said ANYONE who plays the Flyers right now is likely to get a nice boost, with the exception it seems of the Islanders.
Well I was just talking about the two games this year, but I did a quick search and best I can tell is the Flyers are 22-23-6 going back to the 07-08 season :P
Fine then, I stand corrected. I'd say we're just 1 game below .500 if I was as moronic as a majority of the sports analysts out there.
Can this season end already? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Heh, we certainly aren't having it as bad as you, but I'm not exactly thrilled with this season. Flyers had a 10 game win streak, sure, but didn't look overly impressive throughout it. We are built for the future, and have a ton of D prospects, so I just pray that Hextall sells some expiring D at the deadline and makes the future even brighter.
I think the Oilers are definitely good enough to make a run this year, it helps that the West as a whole, is not good. I could easily see them in the first or maybe even second round.
Oh I still think they get smoked in the first round if they make it that far. I just can't see them beating many of the west playoff teams over the course of a series.
I don't think the west is any worse than the east this year. Sure, there's more goals being scored in the east (and more being allowed too), but in terms of wins and losses the conferences are fairly close. And in both cases the playoff cutoff right now is around 50-55 points.
I'd be surprised if they get to the second round, but that's a huge improvement for that team based on recent history, so it's something.
Yeah, I don't think the Oilers get to the cup this year, but I definitely think they make it to the playoffs. They've got a good team and are fighting hard, which will get them in the game, but I don't think they have enough to win it yet. Still, the future is finally looking decent there. Ditto to Toronto who might also start to see some light.
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Barclay's Center is thinking about dropping the Isles.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-30/brooklyn-s-barclays-center-said-to-be-dumping-the-islanders
After two years and countless complaints, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center has concluded it’s no longer worth it to host the New York Islanders.
The arena, which is already home to the NBA’s Nets and one of the world’s top-grossing concert venues, would make more money without the National Hockey League team, according to people familiar with the facility’s financials.
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Barclay's Center is thinking about dropping the Isles.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-30/brooklyn-s-barclays-center-said-to-be-dumping-the-islanders
After two years and countless complaints, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center has concluded it’s no longer worth it to host the New York Islanders.
The arena, which is already home to the NBA’s Nets and one of the world’s top-grossing concert venues, would make more money without the National Hockey League team, according to people familiar with the facility’s financials.
Yeah i heard that on sportscentre last night. NYI have been complaining about the arena since day 1, so I don't think there's going to be hard feelings either way. Apparently there aren't even clear sight lines for hockey anyway, in some seats. I remember reading last year that there were seats that were all or mostly blocked by pillars, and the Barclays Center management responded by saying the fans could watch the game on their phones while they were in the arena if they can't see the ice.
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I remember when Winnipeg first moved to Phoenix, there were seats with no view of the net beneath them, so they used huge video screens on the opposite side to show those fans the view beneath them. Or something.
Wonder where they'll play if this falls out.
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I remember when Winnipeg first moved to Phoenix, there were seats with no view of the net beneath them, so they used huge video screens on the opposite side to show those fans the view beneath them. Or something.
Wonder where they'll play if this falls out.
Huge video screens? Ha! They just sold them at a discounted rate, that's about it!
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I remember when Winnipeg first moved to Phoenix, there were seats with no view of the net beneath them, so they used huge video screens on the opposite side to show those fans the view beneath them. Or something.
Wonder where they'll play if this falls out.
Back to Nassau Coliseum?
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I remember when Winnipeg first moved to Phoenix, there were seats with no view of the net beneath them, so they used huge video screens on the opposite side to show those fans the view beneath them. Or something.
Wonder where they'll play if this falls out.
Huge video screens? Ha! They just sold them at a discounted rate, that's about it!
Ah I see. I misunderstood what the announcers on TV had said; basically people in those seats just had to crane their heads up to watch replays on the screens. Never mind then. "Marketing opportunity seats"
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I remember when Winnipeg first moved to Phoenix, there were seats with no view of the net beneath them, so they used huge video screens on the opposite side to show those fans the view beneath them. Or something.
Wonder where they'll play if this falls out.
Huge video screens? Ha! They just sold them at a discounted rate, that's about it!
Ah I see. I misunderstood what the announcers on TV had said; basically people in those seats just had to crane their heads up to watch replays on the screens. Never mind then. "Marketing opportunity seats"
They aren't problematic for basketball - which is why the Suns still play there. That stadium was not designed for hockey in anyway. And the "new" stadium the coyotes got has been a cluster/disaster politically and monetarily. Last I heard, I think they are getting a new-new stadium pairing with ASU hockey. Lots of Canadians seems to like the idea of hockey in the desert and ASU has a pretty good team.
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Hitchcock out in SL?!
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Hitchcock out in SL?!
Yep
https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/02/01/breaking-blues-fire-head-coach-ken-hitchcock/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs&yptr=yahoo
They should have never signed him for this year anyway....shoulda just turned the page after last season and let that be that. Maybe this will be the spark the team needs to stop the Jekyl and Hyde routine they've had this year and secure a playoff spot.
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^Yeah hopefully, so Yeo in as HC now. How do you guys feel about him out in SL? I know when he was here in Pittsburgh as an Assistant he was held in high regard. Smart coach, good with the guys in the room.
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^Yeah hopefully, so Yeo in as HC now. How do you guys feel about him out in SL? I know when he was here in Pittsburgh as an Assistant he was held in high regard. Smart coach, good with the guys in the room.
All I know is that the talk is the players really like him....obviously he manned a pretty good Minnesota team....he seems to be a good fit? The 'coach in waiting' idea the Blues tried this year was just a horrible way to go. It's well known that Hitchcock is tough on his players and that the players 'don't like' playing for him at all. Introducing next years coach....one that is a players coach (by all accounts Yeo is?) and then expecting your team to respect and compete for a coach who is hard on players was just a dumb idea.
Add to the fact that the Blues decided to drop their 'size' and focus on more of the quick/smart game ala Penguins and other successful teams....a style that Hitchcock admitted he hasn't coached before....it even magnifies how dumb a move it was to bring him back for one year and implement the whole coach in waiting deal with Yeo.
No matter what I see this as a wasted year for them. I can't imagine that they make any type of run in the playoffs IF they make them given how off and on their play has been but who knows, hockey is a strange sport when it comes to momentum and hot streaks. They definitely have the talent to do some damage...maybe Yeo is the leader/coach to pull it all together?
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I think Yeo will be a good change of pace for two main reasons (1) if the guys in the room like him more than Hitchcock, that mid-season shift has historically shown to be a good move for some NHL clubs and (2) Yeo knows how to coach a skill, speed team.
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Any Red Wings fans in here? I don't see them getting much, if any, mention in this thread. Not that their play this year is worth mentioning, other than they've been a tire fire for much of the year. Personally, I hope the wheels continue to fall off to the point they have to fire Blashill and Holland and bring some new ideas into the organization. Tired of seeing this team ruin young skaters and lean on past-their-prime veterans.
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Long time Wings fan, admittedly haven't followed hockey in detail for many years. This is the year the rebuild starts, and I knew it was coming. I had hoped last year that Blashill might have been the shot in the arm the team needed to get back over that hump but it isn't the case. At this point, I don't think he is the issue. They need to iron a tremendous number of wrinkles out and perhaps one of them is getting a new GM. Holland has been masterful maintaining the huge run of success but I think it might be time to move on. Once the playoff streak ends, and it will this year, there will be more talk of retooling, especially with a new arena to fill. I certainly don't have the answers to what they need, though I still think Mike Green was a flawed purchase. One thing they never did was properly fill the whole left by Lidstrom. So I think a proper top tier defenseman would be a wise investment.
Like you said, this season has been a disaster, so I really think they need to go back and work on their future blueprint. The playoff streak will end and they'll have to move up from there. There hasn't really been too much else to comment on. Every hear and there a good game or a big win surfaces, but it's been mostly falling short all year. Dead last on the PP is never a recipe for success.
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Did anyone else see the outtakes to a commercial Brent Burns and Joe Thornton filmed for a commercial for the team? I thought this was hilarious and I love how they get along. Bunch of little kids :lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8BuWkpQtQc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8BuWkpQtQc)
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Red Wings: a point out of last place for a change, yet only five points out of the playoffs. So, there still is hope. Datsyuk's retirement really hurt, but they were only going to go as far as the past few seasons if he was still with the team.
Going to DC to see them against the Caps on Thursday, as part of our now annual pilgrimage (even though they are 0-7 on our visits). But, I tell ya, to be one of many thousands in a Red Wings outfit, as well as just how absolutely friendly Caps' fans have been to us at every single game, makes for such a memorable evening (win or lose). Makes me somewhat 'feel at home'.
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Caps are looking great! However it is the regular season, so nothing new there!
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I'll be rooting for the Caps and Sharks in the playoffs should we go down!
Habs have me feeling pessimistic this year. They just aren't looking good against the good teams. When they play lesser teams, they make it very clear they are on a level above, but against those good teams they just fall flat.
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Caps are looking great! However it is the regular season, so nothing new there!
And that is SO irritating to me! I really want them to get to at least the Eastern finals for a change, just because it would give me an excuse to talk hockey AND have it matter around here.
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Caps are looking great! However it is the regular season, so nothing new there!
:lol Looks like they are gunning for another Presidents trophy! They have a great team, but honestly until they make a run I doubt they have what it takes to actually make a run. I'll believe it when I see it.
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Coaching change for the Bruins. Interesting to see how it will play out.
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g
Coaching change for the Bruins. Interesting to see how it will play out.
The organization is being blasted (and justifiably in my opinion) for burying the announcement and press conference on the day of the Super Bowl parade. Could've waited to see how the season plays out but maybe this means the Bruins are sellers and will start revamping the team. I never hated Claude like most people in Boston. The guy helped make us a contender again after that dreadful season with Dave Lewis and brought us a championship as well as another appearance in the finals. Someone will snatch him up, maybe even before the season is over, and he'll help them out.
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As much as I like Claude, the team needs a shake up. They will not make the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row. What management wants which is a smaller, up tempo team (They've failed at putting the team together) doesn't mesh with Claude's philosophy of play.
Tough to watch really and I agree on the chicken shit timing of the firing. We all knew it was coming. The front office went silent.
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As much as I like Claude, the team needs a shake up. They will not make the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row. What management wants which is a smaller, up tempo team (They've failed at putting the team together) doesn't mesh with Claude's philosophy of play.
Tough to watch really and I agree on the chicken shit timing of the firing. We all knew it was coming. The front office went silent.
I hear Hitchcock may be looking for a job :lol
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As much as I like Claude, the team needs a shake up. They will not make the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row. What management wants which is a smaller, up tempo team (They've failed at putting the team together) doesn't mesh with Claude's philosophy of play.
All NHL teams want to be smaller, faster, and more skilled right now, it's the copy cat nature of the league. Gotta work with what you have though. It made sense for the Pens last year because they were already fast and skilled, so they made a couple moves to maximize what was already there. On paper, I'd say the Bs are far from that and that isn't on Claude.
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I'm not saying it is Claude's fault. I blame Neely and Sweeney for this mess but his style is not what they are trying to do and when the players do not respond this is always the outcome.
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As much as I like Claude, the team needs a shake up. They will not make the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row. What management wants which is a smaller, up tempo team (They've failed at putting the team together) doesn't mesh with Claude's philosophy of play.
Tough to watch really and I agree on the chicken shit timing of the firing. We all knew it was coming. The front office went silent.
I hear Hitchcock may be looking for a job :lol
:lol
Same mold......
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I'm not saying it is Claude's fault. I blame Neely and Sweeney for this mess but his style is not what they are trying to do and when the players do not respond this is always the outcome.
Oh yea, I was kinda agreeing with you in a weird way :lol
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:lol
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Gonna miss you, Claude. Thanks for the memories!
:hefdaddy
(https://nesncom.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/claude.jpg)
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RIP, Mike Ilitch.....seems I went to the last Red Wing game that he was alive. For all you did for the Red Wings (and Tigers, and city of Detroit).
Lost in the shuffle of all the trivial sports talk these days.
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SportCentre here in Canada did a nice piece on Ilitch in last night's broadcast. Well deserved of his spot in the HoF.
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Bleh, Habs are getting swept in the first round unless a drastic change is made. And it's becoming more and more obvious that Weber for Subban made the team worse. Now, and in the future.
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It'll be an interesting bye week for you guys. Maybe the Sens will tie for first ;)
Doubtful, but I can dream
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We need this bye week so bad. The team is downright terrible right now. If they don't regroup after the bye or make a big splash at the deadline even making the playoffs will be a giant uncertainty.
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I consider myself a Habs "supporter." I myself am a Pens fan but my whole family is Habs fans. I've gotten into many arguments with my boss and his brother who are diehard Habs fans over this, but I don't think they are a very good team outside of Price. They think they are Stanley Cup frontrunners, but I see a team built for about 50 games a year. They are small with minimal team toughness, but not fast enough or skilled enough to compete with teams like Washington or Pittsburgh. Their center depth is among the worst in the league IMO, with Desharnais and Plekanec in the top 9. I was a big advocate for Subban in the off season, again, many arguments were had, but that trade looks good right now. I'll admit, Weber has been way better than I expected, and without him I wonder if they'd even be in playoff position, but after this year and going forward it's still a bad trade.
Price has the ability to carry this team deep into the playoffs if he's on his game, which he isn't. But he'll find it. The team in front of him simply isn't good enough to be able to win the cup. Even if they made a huge splash at the deadline (Duchene, Landeskog, Shattenkirk) it's not enough to fill the gaping holes in that roster.
And Therrien is a bad coach. :lol
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I disagree very much on the Weber trade looking good right now. He was amazing for the first two months and has had flashes of great play since, but overall he's several notches below Subban, and arguably not even the best defenseman on the team (Petry is a better possession driver and far less prone to getting hemmed inside his zone, probably one of the most underrated guys in the league). His even strength production is mediocre (again if we want to compare to Petry, who is a great even strength producer), and the biggest difference when comparing Weber to Subban, when Weber is on the ice, you're defending more. Subban actually battles for loose puck recoveries and plays an aggressive game. Weber plays conservatively which leaves him less error-prone, but in today's NHL is a net negative because in doing so you give the opposition more opportunites and limit your own team's, as he less often takes initiative and actually goes for the puck. The sad part is, he CAN play an aggressive game. He has pretty high success rates doing so. But he favours a traditional style. Weber isn't really better than Subban in any worthwhile way than being a harder shot and being more "low risk" (in quotes, because what good is it when Subban has better shot suppression stats in the end).
Also, Desharnais is barely even in our lineup anymore, and Plekanec is easily a great 3rd line calibre centre (although Phillip Danault would take that spot from him if we got a good 2C). So really they aren't problems either. Anyway, things Montreal mainly needs:
1. A halfway competent coach.
2. Price to be Price.
3. A 2LW
4. A 2C
Andrew Shaw is a great 3LW when he's not taking terrible penalties, and Lehkonen has 2LW potential but is not there yet. Pacioretty - Galchenyuk - Radulov is a pretty good first line, but most of our problems come from having no good second line quality players outside of Gallagher. A good LW - A good C - Gallagher would leave us with a 3rd line like Shaw - Danault - Byron, which we've tried before and has worked wonders. 4th line would be Lehkonen - Plekanec - Mitchell would be a pretty pesky 4th line. However, the chances of us landing all this without hampering the current roster in some way is slim to none, and not something I'm holding out much hope for.
But realistically, Therrien has to go. He's an awful coach. Problem is, Bergevin is his best friend. Therrien should have been gone long ago, but it'd take a god damn miracle for him to leave this season. Missing the playoffs or getting destroyed in the first round might prompt him, but even then I'm not so sure. All I know is the window is closing, and the chances of us being able to do anything about it are very low.
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Pretty certain this Red Wings season is a wash. At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if they stay relatively quiet at the deadline and begin planning for next year. Maybe unload some cap space but I don't see any dealbreakers really coming through for a playoff push. It's about time they started a rebuild.
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OH MY GOD YES IT'S HAPPENING
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Therrien out, Boudreau in
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Therrien out, Julien in
Fixed! ;D
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:lol
Seriously though almost screamed in joy at my desk at work. I would have placed good money on this never happening ever.
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Therrien out, Julien in
Fixed! ;D
Thanks! I got my French-Canadian hockey coaches mixed up. :biggrin:
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I think this is the second time Julien has replaced Therrien, no?
An amazing turn of events for both teams this week.
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Right you are. Kind of amazed they let the Habs speak to him. Business before rivalry I suppose.
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Before 2015 they had to be compensated because of coaches contract. They waved at in 2015 that any team can hire a coach that was fired. The only difference is the Bruins are not on the hook for the rest of the contract.
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Ah I see. Thanks!
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Interesting signing. Julien's coaching style is geared more toward the big bodies, bump and grind style of play, and can't say the Habs have that kind of roster.
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Wish Andersen had gotten a shutout. But I ain't complainin' winning 7 - 1 against the Islanders.
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Gheez, Mike getting fired for having his team in first place.
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Got an email from the prudential center on purchasing discounted tickets for the Rangers Devils game next Saturday. Hell yea, they gave me a good price for tickets so I scooped up 4.
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Gheez, Mike getting fired for having his team in first place.
*First place in a bad division due to a hot start. We definitely have not been the best team in the division since December. Nowhere near it.
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Gheez, Mike getting fired for having his team in first place.
*First place in a bad division due to a hot start. We definitely have not been the best team in the division since December. Nowhere near it.
Oh I get that, but... he was in first place. What more did they want from him? Zero place? :lol
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Gheez, Mike getting fired for having his team in first place.
*First place in a bad division due to a hot start. We definitely have not been the best team in the division since December. Nowhere near it.
Oh I get that, but... he was in first place. What more did they want from him? Zero place? :lol
Being the cream of the crap isn't much to be proud of. Losing 7 of 8 will do that to a coach. And holy shit... here come the Panthers.
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Gheez, Mike getting fired for having his team in first place.
*First place in a bad division due to a hot start. We definitely have not been the best team in the division since December. Nowhere near it.
Oh I get that, but... he was in first place. What more did they want from him? Zero place? :lol
Being the cream of the crap isn't much to be proud of. Losing 7 of 8 will do that to a coach. And holy shit... here come the Panthers.
The Panthers are legit. They have a lot of talent there. When they fully tap into that talent, look out.
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Yeah, didn't they just run the table in California? If Jagr played like this in the 2013 finals, the Bruins would've had another Cup.
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Gheez, Mike getting fired for having his team in first place.
*First place in a bad division due to a hot start. We definitely have not been the best team in the division since December. Nowhere near it.
Oh I get that, but... he was in first place. What more did they want from him? Zero place? :lol
Being the cream of the crap isn't much to be proud of. Losing 7 of 8 will do that to a coach. And holy shit... here come the Panthers.
Yup, being in first place is nothing to be proud of, :lol
I'll just say the reason why this happened since no one else is... French Canadian coach for the team that loves French Canadians. That has more to do with this decision than anything else.
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MOTHER******
https://www.nhl.com/news/kings-acquire-ben-bishop-from-lightning/c-287158228
The Tampa Bay Lightning traded goaltender Ben Bishop and a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday for goaltender Peter Budaj, defenseman Erik Cernak, a seventh-round pick in 2017 and a conditional pick in this year's draft.
Bishop is in the final year of a two-year, $11.9 million contract with an average annual value of $5.95 million, according to CapFriendly.com. He is 16-12-3 with a 2.55 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 32 games this season.
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who injured his groin in the season opener on Oct. 12, returned to the lineup and made 32 saves in a 4-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
Bishop was selected in the third round (No. 85) of the 2005 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He played seven games with the Blues in the 2010-11 season before he was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 26, 2012. Bishop spent two seasons with the Senators before being traded to the Lightning on April 3, 2013.
I understand he was a liability because of his injuries (we probably had a chance against the Pens last year in the playoffs if he didn't get hurt). It just sucks to see your favorite players get traded. Hopefully Budaj does well for us, and im ok with acquiring Cernak.
Kings better not steal our Bish Please slogan...
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Fun game Saturday night at Heinz Field. Always good to see the Pens beat the Flyers!
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I really hope Jagr plays a couple more seasons and gets to 2,000 points. Scoring will never be what it was in the 80s so it'd be nice to see a second player join Gretz in that echelon. I can't see anyone getting there again in the modern era.
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I had a blast at the Rangers/Devils game on Saturday evening. Game was mostly boring until the end of the 2nd and then it was crazy and nice to see the Rangers win in OT. Also, it's always fun for Rangers fans to turn out for the Devil's home game :yarr
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I really hope Jagr plays a couple more seasons and gets to 2,000 points. Scoring will never be what it was in the 80s so it'd be nice to see a second player join Gretz in that echelon. I can't see anyone getting there again in the modern era.
Eh, I think it stinks. I love the fact that if you take away every goal 99 every scored, which was more than anybody ever, he's still the highest point scorer in NHL history on assists alone. By playing till he's 55, Jagr will take that away. Meh.
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Moves are starting to happen ahead of the deadline.
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Sounds like Shattenkirk is going to the Caps?
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Yup, now the Lightning just traded Brian Boyle to the Maple Leafs for NOBODY. A prospect pick for the 2017 draft.
A lot of people had us winning the Stanley Cup, so this is already a disappointing season. Now I feel like we're going backwards...
Sounds like Shattenkirk is going to the Caps?
I heard the Rangers, but that would be an interesting move if he went to the Caps
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When is Stamkos coming back? And isn't Callahan out too?
Seems like this year is over for TB.
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Yeah, it is. Kucherov...bless him...is trying to carry us. Bishop was out too for the majority of the season with an injury before we traded him. The more I think about that Bishop trade, more I realize he would've left as a free agent after the season since the Bolts didn't renew his contract last year but they resigned Vasey for 2 years
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A lot to like about TB going forward. A lost year. It happens.
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Sounds like Shattenkirk is going to the Caps?
Yep, it's a done deal. The Caps got him for not that much. Armstrong has really shit the bed in the last year for the Blues. :tdwn :tdwn
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Sounds like Shattenkirk is going to the Caps?
Yep, it's a done deal. The Caps got him for not that much. Armstrong has really shit the bed in the last year for the Blues. :tdwn :tdwn
If he's not fired after the Blues get trounced in the first round (assumimg they make it) I'm going to be fuming. As you eloquently stated.....he's done nothing but F up non stop for the majority of his tenure. Dude needs to go, now.
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Sounds like Shattenkirk is going to the Caps?
Yep, it's a done deal. The Caps got him for not that much. Armstrong has really shit the bed in the last year for the Blues. :tdwn :tdwn
If he's not fired after the Blues get trounced in the first round (assumimg they make it) I'm going to be fuming. As you eloquently stated.....he's done nothing but F up non stop for the majority of his tenure. Dude needs to go, now.
Most Red Wings fans would love it if you took GM Ken Holland off our hands. He's apparently the only one in Detroit who doesn't know the Wings need a rebuild.
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I think Holland is going to fire sale and dump free agents, otherwise staying quiet this year. The playoffs are out of reach, even if they aren't mathematically eliminated, so it's time to start. Funny how he was so brilliant for so long and now it's sliding downhill. Everything is cyclical, even if it takes a long to come around. Changing of the guard.
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I think Holland is going to fire sale and dump free agents, otherwise staying quiet this year. The playoffs are out of reach, even if they aren't mathematically eliminated, so it's time to start. Funny how he was so brilliant for so long and now it's sliding downhill. Everything is cyclical, even if it takes a long to come around. Changing of the guard.
Well, he did just trade Brendan Smith to the Rangers for picks, so maybe that's a sign that he's coming around.
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Sounds like Shattenkirk is going to the Caps?
I heard the Rangers, but that would be an interesting move if he went to the Caps
He'll sign with the Rangers after this season, but they weren't so much in the trade running. That was mostly Pens vs. Caps.
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Well, he did just trade Brendan Smith to the Rangers for picks, so maybe that's a sign that he's coming around.
Vanek, Ott, and Miller are likely on the block, and he'll entertain offers on others. If Vanek escapes the Expansion Draft, they may sign him again in the offseason.
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Fire sale continues: Ott to Montreal for a pick. I'll be very surprised if Vanek and Miller remain after today.
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Sounds like Shattenkirk is going to the Caps?
I heard the Rangers, but that would be an interesting move if he went to the Caps
He'll sign with the Rangers after this season, but they weren't so much in the trade running. That was mostly Pens vs. Caps.
Yup. I can tell you as a Pens fan though, I saw absolutely no need to bring Shattenkirk in here. Assuming our D gets healthy for the playoffs, the fact that he is right-handed, and a lot of his strengths are PP related - I didn't see it as a good fit for the team. It kinda reeked of assembling names rather than a team.
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And there went Vanek, just like I said. Maybe Miller stays.
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I have Becoming Wild on in the background, and Bruce Boudreau talked about being a player. I have literally NO recollection of him playing.
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v4pwH57mfVc/UZ0H-qhxt2I/AAAAAAAAEf8/7GaOy2ZS5Bg/s1600/Bruce-Boudreau.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2QXSCsUsAAr19T.jpg)
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I have Becoming Wild on in the background, and Bruce Boudreau talked about being a player. I have literally NO recollection of him playing.
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v4pwH57mfVc/UZ0H-qhxt2I/AAAAAAAAEf8/7GaOy2ZS5Bg/s1600/Bruce-Boudreau.jpg)
Neither do Maple Leaf fans.
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So I'm watching the Bruins/Canucks game and they gave an amazing stat: Henrik and Daniel Sedin have been in on TOGETHER on 700 goals.
Which puts them in 2nd place, 64 behind Gretzky/Kurri.
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Straight up playoff game going on between the Kings and Blues right now.
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Straight up playoff game going on between the Kings and Blues right now.
I'm just glad the Blues took the win. Some serious scoreboard watching to do down the stretch :corn
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Some serious scoreboard watching to do down the stretch :corn
No kidding. As cool as it would be for the Leafs to make the playoffs, I think it would build some massive character (and drive/motivation) for these kids if they fell just short.
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Some serious scoreboard watching to do down the stretch :corn
No kidding. As cool as it would be for the Leafs to make the playoffs, I think it would build some massive character (and drive/motivation) for these kids if they fell just short.
True, but I'm actually hoping they make it, I'd like to see what they could do. Either way, it seems like the Leafs are pointed in the right direction, which has to be exciting up there.
In other news, my Pens keep on keeping on despite having like 7 or 8 regulars injured. Sid and Geno are picking up that slack, as they should.
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Some serious scoreboard watching to do down the stretch :corn
No kidding. As cool as it would be for the Leafs to make the playoffs, I think it would build some massive character (and drive/motivation) for these kids if they fell just short.
True, but I'm actually hoping they make it, I'd like to see what they could do. Either way, it seems like the Leafs are pointed in the right direction, which has to be exciting up there.
In other news, my Pens keep on keeping on despite having like 7 or 8 regulars injured. Sid and Geno are picking up that slack, as they should.
Bastard Pens didn't help any last night in Calgary
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Some serious scoreboard watching to do down the stretch :corn
No kidding. As cool as it would be for the Leafs to make the playoffs, I think it would build some massive character (and drive/motivation) for these kids if they fell just short.
Big game next Monday between us.
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Straight up playoff game going on between the Kings and Blues right now.
I didn't see any of the game - I was too tired and didn't even watch the beginning for fear of getting sucked in before bed time - but that was a big win. :hat
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Straight up playoff game going on between the Kings and Blues right now.
I didn't see any of the game - I was too tired and didn't even watch the beginning for fear of getting sucked in before bed time - but that was a big win. :hat
Stayed up for the whole thing. Jake Allen looked like old school Hasek in the second period....the Kings threw everything at him and he was sharp. Even the goal the Kings scored he 'had' but Petro's leg stopped him from grabbing the puck.
Good win all around.
My wife this morning asked if they won....I said yes and she started laughing. She's like "that's what they do to you, they're gonna suck you back in only to crush your soul again in the playoffs" :lol Pretty hard to argue with her on that one. But at least with this team I have zero expectations unlike other years where I was convinced the Cup was coming to StL so if/when they are knocked out it'll be less of a heart rip out and more of an 'oh well...there's always next year'.
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'oh well...there's always next year'.
We've been saying that for 50 years here.
Big game next Monday between us.
Indeed. How they respond from their pathetic performance last night against Tampa (then the Hawks on Saturday) could lay the path in or out of the playoffs for us. Man, the race for that final wildcard spot in the East is hot - 3 teams within 1 point... and Fla/Phi with outside hopes. We also still have a shot to chase the Bruins down too.
"playoff" hockey is starting already.
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Jingle, as a Leafs fan (presumably in the TO market area?) what's your take on Kadri? I'm curious to get a fan's perspective. My view from Edmonton is that he's a dirty player, similar to Doan, who needs to be slapped around a little both on and off the ice. Just seems like he goes head hunting a lot.
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I like Kadri. Similar to Marchand a little bit.
I've also never found Doan to be dirty, but of course, I only see a couple of his games a year.
SS, looking forward to the Oilers game tomorrow.
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Jingle, as a Leafs fan (presumably in the TO market area?) what's your take on Kadri? I'm curious to get a fan's perspective. My view from Edmonton is that he's a dirty player, similar to Doan, who needs to be slapped around a little both on and off the ice. Just seems like he goes head hunting a lot.
Can't say I've ever thought too much of him to tell you the truth. Don't really recall any dirty plays that he's done - if he has, it certainly didn't get a lot of attention around here. He's got some grit, but hell... we had Darcy Tucker 10 years ago, and he was a fan fave. Bear in mind, this year is the first in at least 10 that I've paid any attention to the team - having a repeatedly shit product will do that to ya.
Perhaps it's arab terrorist look he has that gives that impression?
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Bear in mind, this year is the first in at least 10 that I've paid any attention to the team - having a repeatedly shit product will do that to ya.
#fakefan
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Bear in mind, this year is the first in at least 10 that I've paid any attention to the team - having a repeatedly shit product will do that to ya.
#fakefan
I don't have a problem people thinking/calling me that. My allegiance isn't to the team who I happen to live closest to. What I'm a fan of first and foremost, is good/exciting hockey. By default, that made me NOT a Leaf fan for the last 12-ish years. I'd always watch the playoffs, Olympics, World Championships ... but watching the Leafs just cuz I live in this market ... not so much. Never was the case.
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I like Kadri. Similar to Marchand a little bit.
I've also never found Doan to be dirty, but of course, I only see a couple of his games a year.
SS, looking forward to the Oilers game tomorrow.
Doan and Kadri both have a handful of hit to the head suspensions. I think Doan even has like 5 or 6. It's a quiet dirty, that's for sure. Not like a Chris Simon or Marty McSorely slash to the face.
And yeah, it should be a good game tomorrow night. There's always a ton of hostile fans in the building when an original six team rolls through town, so it should be a fun night at Rogers.
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I like Kadri. Similar to Marchand a little bit.
I've also never found Doan to be dirty, but of course, I only see a couple of his games a year.
SS, looking forward to the Oilers game tomorrow.
Doan and Kadri both have a handful of hit to the head suspensions. I think Doan even has like 5 or 6. It's a quiet dirty, that's for sure. Not like a Chris Simon or Marty McSorely slash to the face.
And yeah, it should be a good game tomorrow night. There's always a ton of hostile fans in the building when an original six team rolls through town, so it should be a fun night at Rogers.
Doan has 2 career suspensions. I wouldn't consider either him or Kadri as dirty players, but guys that constantly play with an edge like they do are going to have some iffy hits at some point in their careers, it comes with the territory. If either play on your team you love it, if they don't you hate it.
FWIW, I'm a Pens fan.
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Doan has 2 career suspensions. I wouldn't consider either him or Kadri as dirty players, but guys that constantly play with an edge like they do are going to have some iffy hits at some point in their careers, it comes with the territory. If either play on your team you love it, if they don't you hate it.
FWIW, I'm a Pens fan.
I had to look that up. I was surprised to only see the 2 suspensions, but he's also had a boarding fine and a couple hits to the head that went undisciplined (Horcoff/Letang for sure). Like I said, it's kind of a quiet dirty in my opinion.
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These next three games could be the make/break for the Leafs playoffs chances.
1 pt behind Tampa/NYI for the last wild card
6 pts behind Boston for 3rd in the Atlantic (with 2 games in hand)
They win both of these in regulation, things are looking up
They lose both in regulation (as Gorilla Monsoon would say), stick a fork in them, they're done.
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THAT, is how you bounce-back from an ass-whooping... by delivering one of your own. Helps that the other Canadian teams did their part too.
Optimism: restored.
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Yeah the B's playing back to back and 3 out of 4 nights were due to have a game like this. Going to be a great last few weeks.
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Canes fan here. I've had fun watching them this season, but it's obvious at this point that the team will never truly improve until they upgrade at goalkeeper. I think that they have the potential to be a playoff team in a year or two, but Ward is not going to get them there. He had a wonderful Stanley Cup run in 2006, but he's not in the same place now. I'm hoping that the team finishes strong and challenges last year's 86-point total. :metal
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Canes fan here. I've had fun watching them this season, but it's obvious at this point that the team will never truly improve until they upgrade at goalkeeper. I think that they have the potential to be a playoff team in a year or two, but Ward is not going to get them there. He had a wonderful Stanley Cup run in 2006, but he's not in the same place now. I'm hoping that the team finishes strong and challenges last year's 86-point total. :metal
Canes have a great young D core, which they should have no problem protecting in the upcoming expansion draft. They still need some pieces up front, and I'm disappointed in Teuvo, I've had him in fantasy hockey for like 5 years and thought he would take a huge step this year with more ice time, but he seems to be stuck in that same 3rd line role. It's also good to see Lindholm starting to come into his own, I was a big fan of his when they drafted him, but he's spun his tires in the big leagues up until the new year.
I agree with you, though, Canes need some goaltending, and if they had it I think they would have challenged for that 8th playoff spot even this year.
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Loved the St. Pat's uniforms for Toronto last night. Austin Matthews got robbed of a hat trick last night. That kid is amazing. Looking forward to watching him undress Big Z Monday night! ;D
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Loved the St. Pat's uniforms for Toronto last night. Austin Matthews got robbed of a hat trick last night. That kid is amazing. Looking forward to watching him undress Big Z Monday night! ;D
You ain't kidding. That one off the shaft of Crawford's paddle was such bad luck (good if your a 'Hawks fan). Mathews' rub this year has been the two streaks (13 games and 6 games) without goals. It *was* cool to see those Shamrock uni's. I knew with about 4 mins left to play that the Leafs weren't leaving with 2 points - those are the kinds of games they have so rarely won this year. Interesting stat that was thrown up comparing the rookie years of Toews/Kane against Matthews/Marner. The former did NOT make the playoffs their rookie year ... so again I say it would not be a bad thing for this team to miss the playoffs.
Mondays game is going to be telling.
And WTF is with Marchand? When did he go from the leagues #1 pest to a candidate for one (or more) of Art Ross / Hart / Rocket Richard? :omg:
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Marner is awesome too.
Chad, Marchand just keeps getting better. What you really have to watch for during the game is how he can possess the puck in traffic, and his play along the boards below the dots. It is incredible.
Their other young blooming star is David Pastrnak. The 20 y/o just hit 30 goals.
And don't forget his World Cup winning goal. The Marchand/Bergeron/Crosby lines was the best in the tournament.
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And don't forget his World Cup winning goal. The Marchand/Bergeron/Crosby lines was the best in the tournament.
Oh, indeed it was. I just never expected him to keep it up without Crosby - and as it would appear, play as good/better than Sid himself.
Pasternak is damned impressive. The B's have done a great job to turn things around - goddamned them.
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And Bergeron is still awesome!
They still need help on D. Word on the street was that Shattenkirk's family has been house hunting in Boston this year.
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ALL HAIL PAUL "WE GOT THIS GUY ON WAIVERS" BYRON
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Oh Sid, you are so good.
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These next three games could be the make/break for the Leafs playoffs chances.
1 pt behind Tampa/NYI for the last wild card
6 pts behind Boston for 3rd in the Atlantic (with 2 games in hand)
They win both of these in regulation, things are looking up
They lose both in regulation (as Gorilla Monsoon would say), stick a fork in them, they're done.
And things are looking up. 1 point back of Boston, with a game in hand. Neither of us have an easy stretch run tho:
Boston - Ott/TB/NYI this week ... the other teams right around them in the standings. The latter two will be playing desparate hockey. Then they still have to face Nash/Chi/Ott/Wash over their last 6 games.
Toronto - After CBJ tomorrow, they've got three (should be) simpler teams in Buf/NJ/Fla. Then they too have to finish out facing Nash/Wash/Pit and CBJ (again) to close the season.
(https://i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/010/100/dis%20gon%20be%20good.gif)
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Dear St. Loius fans: you're welcome. Kings are all but buried after a rough couple nights in Alberta. Blues only play 2 playoff teams down the stretch, so i think they're a lock to make it in.
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Also, I'm really looking forward to the Chicago/Pittsburgh final this year. Nobody in the west is touching the Hawks. The east has a few more dominant teams, but i can't imagine Pittsburgh losing to the jackets in a series. Ever.
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Also, I'm really looking forward to the Chicago/Pittsburgh final this year. Nobody in the west is touching the Hawks. The east has a few more dominant teams, but i can't imagine Pittsburgh losing to the jackets in a series. Ever.
At this point, this would be my prediction for the finals as well. But, the great thing about the playoffs is that anything can happen, so we will see!
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Dear St. Loius fans: you're welcome. Kings are all but buried after a rough couple nights in Alberta. Blues only play 2 playoff teams down the stretch, so i think they're a lock to make it in.
While we appreciate it, StL is playing their best hockey of the year and have positioned themselves where they are due to their play and not relying on other teams. Not claiming theyll win the cup but I would not want to play them in the first round. The D and goaltending are simply playing unreal right now and only continue to get better.
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Also, I'm really looking forward to the Chicago/Pittsburgh final this year. Nobody in the west is touching the Hawks. The east has a few more dominant teams, but i can't imagine Pittsburgh losing to the jackets in a series. Ever.
I could see Columbus or New York upsetting Pittsburgh, and could see St. Louis stealing one from Chicago.
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Stealing one from Chicago? We just beat them in the playoffs last year and always play them tough. If the Blues get matched up with them in the first round, them winning any game won't be "stealing one."
That said, I am still hopeful the Blues snag 3rd in the division and to play the Wild, who aren't play well lately, in the first round.
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Stealing one from Chicago? We just beat them in the playoffs last year and always play them tough. If the Blues get matched up with them in the first round, them winning any game won't be "stealing one."
That said, I am still hopeful the Blues snag 3rd in the division and to play the Wild, who aren't play well lately, in the first round.
Yep. Plus the whole Yeo storyline with the Wild would be cool. And I agree....Chicago is certainly playing unreal but the Blues have played them great this year and of course beat them last year. I'd bet it'd be another 7 game series decided by the slimmest of margins
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Also, I'm really looking forward to the Chicago/Pittsburgh final this year. Nobody in the west is touching the Hawks. The east has a few more dominant teams, but i can't imagine Pittsburgh losing to the jackets in a series. Ever.
I could see Columbus or New York upsetting Pittsburgh, and could see St. Louis stealing one from Chicago.
I just can't see Columbus beating any of the other top east teams. The Rangers, however, could win the east. It's just going to be tough going through the pens. I don't put much stock into the caps either, although Shattenkirk certainly improves their chances.
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I'm just looking forward to some great playoff hockey.....from all teams.
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I'm just looking forward to some great playoff hockey.....from all teams.
Yep.
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The annual Boston Bruins Playoff Position Collapse is officially under way.
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The annual Boston Bruins Playoff Position Collapse is officially under way.
Yeah... it sure would be nice to weasel our way into 3rd in the Atlantic, and not have to worry about the contention over the 8th spot.
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I think the 3rd spot is yours.
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I think the 3rd spot is yours.
So long as we beat who we're supposed to beat (Buf/Det/NJ), there's a decent chance.
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Those are three cream puffs.
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Also, I'm really looking forward to the Chicago/Pittsburgh final this year. Nobody in the west is touching the Hawks. The east has a few more dominant teams, but i can't imagine Pittsburgh losing to the jackets in a series. Ever.
I could see Columbus or New York upsetting Pittsburgh, and could see St. Louis stealing one from Chicago.
I just can't see Columbus beating any of the other top east teams. The Rangers, however, could win the east. It's just going to be tough going through the pens. I don't put much stock into the caps either, although Shattenkirk certainly improves their chances.
As a Pens fan, the jackets scare me more than the rags. The endless cheap shots have something to do with it...
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Also, I'm really looking forward to the Chicago/Pittsburgh final this year. Nobody in the west is touching the Hawks. The east has a few more dominant teams, but i can't imagine Pittsburgh losing to the jackets in a series. Ever.
I could see Columbus or New York upsetting Pittsburgh, and could see St. Louis stealing one from Chicago.
I just can't see Columbus beating any of the other top east teams. The Rangers, however, could win the east. It's just going to be tough going through the pens. I don't put much stock into the caps either, although Shattenkirk certainly improves their chances.
As a Pens fan, the jackets scare me more than the rags. The endless cheap shots have something to do with it...
Yeah I'd be a little scared about Dubinsky taking a run at Sid. Some serious hated between those two.
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Yeah I'd be a little scared about Dubinsky taking a run at Sid. Some serious hated between those two.
Yup that's pretty much it. Dubinsky seems to enjoy cross checking Sid in the back of the neck every time we play. It's great. :sad:
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Feels nice seeing that little 'x' next to the Oil in the standings. It's been a long 10 years.
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Agreed. You guys finally got your shit together. Here's hoping the boys in blue will be shortly behind you. I think both teams have a bright and long future ahead of them.
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I can't get over how ridiculously awesome McDavid is. Matthews too.
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I think now that the official hammer has come down and Detroit has been eliminated from playoff contention, we might actually see some offseason urgency or perhaps a strategic shift. This has been coming for years, so this should be a real wakeup call to management that adjustments need to be made, especially if they want to avoid a total rebuilding phase.
Still, can't help but feel some pride looking back on a quarter century of making the playoffs, 4 cups, multiple President's Trophies. I love this team and organization and I hope they can keep up the high standard they've held, especially now in Mike Ilitch's memory.
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I think now that the official hammer has come down and Detroit has been eliminated from playoff contention, we might actually see some offseason urgency or perhaps a strategic shift. This has been coming for years, so this should be a real wakeup call to management that adjustments need to be made, especially if they want to avoid a total rebuilding phase.
Still, can't help but feel some pride looking back on a quarter century of making the playoffs, 4 cups, multiple President's Trophies. I love this team and organization and I hope they can keep up the high standard they've held, especially now in Mike Ilitch's memory.
We can hope. I really, really hope someone knocks some sense into Ken Holland before the expansion draft and he decides to leave Darren Helm and Riley Sheahan exposed. Same with Jonathan Ericsson and Niklas Kronwall. Hell, I'd even leave Abdelkader exposed.
That said, that streak was something to behold. They were able to keep it going across 3 lockouts, 3 different styles of play, expansion, and the implementation of the salary cap. I think they would have won at least 2 more cups if Vladimir Konstantinov hadn't been hurt in that car accident after the 1997 Cup finals, and if Jiri Fischer hadn't had his career ended by his heart issues. Truly an impressive run.
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I can't get over how ridiculously awesome McDavid is. Matthews too.
The thing that most impresses about Matthews is how good of a 2-way player he is/has become. Despite being 1/2 a step off of perfect coverage on Florida's first goal last night, more often than not, he's providing solid/excellent defensive coverage.
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I can't get over how ridiculously awesome McDavid is. Matthews too.
The thing that most impresses about Matthews is how good of a 2-way player he is/has become. Despite being 1/2 a step off of perfect coverage on Florida's first goal last night, more often than not, he's providing solid/excellent defensive coverage.
I've had the chance to watch Matthews a little more than McDavid (those west coast starts are a bit late for me these days) and I agree, Matthews 2-way play has really impressed. The kid is way more than a scorer, he's a complete player.
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I can't get over how ridiculously awesome McDavid is. Matthews too.
The thing that most impresses about Matthews is how good of a 2-way player he is/has become. Despite being 1/2 a step off of perfect coverage on Florida's first goal last night, more often than not, he's providing solid/excellent defensive coverage.
I've had the chance to watch Matthews a little more than McDavid (those west coast starts are a bit late for me these days) and I agree, Matthews 2-way play has really impressed. The kid is way more than a scorer, he's a complete player.
Agreed. Between Matthews and Laine, they're like a budget version of Crosby and Ovechkin. Laine is more of a pure goal scorer, whereas Matthews is a well rounded player. I didn't expect Matthews to put up 40 this year though. Don't get me wrong, i despise the Leafs, but it'd be nice to have a rookie score 40 so I'm rooting for the kid.
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Agreed.
I fully get that all the hype has been about McDavid, and don't get me wrong, he seems like he's going to be amazing for years to come. But Matthews has really caught my eye as well, reminds me exactly of a younger Sid.
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In Boston, we have David Pastrynak, who is still only 20. The kid is ridiculous.
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All in all, there's a healthy crop of young players in the league. Gonna be fun to watch for quite a few years.
Interesting stat... Leaf Rookies are almost 50/50 in team goals and total team points vs the non-rookies. If not for Laine, there could've been a serious possibility that the Leafs would have all three Calder finalists in Matthews (who just broke Wendel Clark's rookie goal-scoring record), Marner (who's 1 assist from breaking the Leaf rookie assist record), and Nylander (in the midst of a 12 game point streak at the moment).
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Man... everyone in the East WC hunt brought it last night - well, except for the Isles. Geez, 5-0 after 1 period. That's gotta be a good swift kick in the pills, and demoralize your hopes. And Carolina is making a nice run.
I totally had no thought that the Leafs would be able to grab 4 points from the Jackets AND the Preds. That was an added bonus, and now puts home-ice advantage for round 1 within grasp. Ottawa has a slightly softer schedule, but it's a distinct possibility now - so long as they can put down Detroit and Buffalo on the road.
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Pens struggling as of late, gotta get some injured guys back before the playoffs.
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Watching the Bruins/Blackhawks game this afternoon, and I have the same three thoughts every time the B's play the Hawks.
1. Jim Cornelison :omg: :hefdaddy
2. I can't believe Hossa is still playing at this high of a level.
3. Does Duncan Keith play the entire game??
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Habs are flying into the playoffs. Best record in the league since Feb 25th. I'm still skeptical of a lot of things but we look great right now.
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NHL not participating in the Olympics. I'm fine with this.
https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-will-not-participate-in-2018-winter-olympics/c-288385598
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NHL not participating in the Olympics. I'm fine with this.
https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-will-not-participate-in-2018-winter-olympics/c-288385598
Me too. There is no PRO for the NHL to have the players participate, and there are several tangible CONS.
I'm cool with it, and it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.
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Im not cool with it. Olympic hockey is awesome and puts the NHL in front of a bigger audience essentially. Another reason to dislike Bettman.
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Maybe, but you have to factor in the Olympic's refusal to front the costs to the NHL this year after doing so the past 5 Olympics, the compressed schedule and how that affects teams and players with regard to fatigue and injury, and the fact that the Olympic break occurs when the only other major sport in NA that isn't in its offseason is basketball. The cons far outweight the pros, regardless of the NHLPA's disappointment.
I loathe Gary Bettman, but this decision does not bother me. If anything it strengthens the NHL by not risking massive injury to stars.
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The whole "there's no other sport to watch" makes no sense... because the olympics are on. I get the injury and money stuff though, that makes sense, but as a fan, we are all missing out of a true world competition for the sport (which has been very enjoyable to watch). Oh well.
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Maybe, but you have to factor in the Olympic's refusal to front the costs to the NHL this year after doing so the past 5 Olympics, the compressed schedule and how that affects teams and players with regard to fatigue and injury, and the fact that the Olympic break occurs when the only other major sport in NA that isn't in its offseason is basketball. The cons far outweight the pros, regardless of the NHLPA's disappointment.
I loathe Gary Bettman, but this decision does not bother me. If anything it strengthens the NHL by not risking massive injury to stars.
:iagree:
While I love seeing best-on-best international hockey, Korea just doesn't have any real PRO's for the sport. There's some for the players (medals, pride) and fans (seeing best-on-best)... but for the league and owners, there is nothing gained. And the IOC sure didn't do much to show they cared about having the best players on their stage.
And I too hate Bettman with all the passion that NE football fans have for Goodell.
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The whole "there's no other sport to watch" makes no sense... because the olympics are on. I get the injury and money stuff though, that makes sense, but as a fan, we are all missing out of a true world competition for the sport (which has been very enjoyable to watch). Oh well.
Except with the Olympics happening in Korea, the time difference prevents anyone in NA from conveniently watching anything live.
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Im not cool with it. Olympic hockey is awesome and puts the NHL in front of a bigger audience essentially. Another reason to dislike Bettman.
There are a lot of reasons to dislike Bettman, this isn't one of them. The NHL has not tangibly grown in the U.S. due to their involvement in the Olympics, that's the primary market, so if it really isn't growing your primary market, don't bend over backwards for it.
Maybe, but you have to factor in the Olympic's refusal to front the costs to the NHL this year after doing so the past 5 Olympics, the compressed schedule and how that affects teams and players with regard to fatigue and injury, and the fact that the Olympic break occurs when the only other major sport in NA that isn't in its offseason is basketball. The cons far outweight the pros, regardless of the NHLPA's disappointment.
I loathe Gary Bettman, but this decision does not bother me. If anything it strengthens the NHL by not risking massive injury to stars.
Bingo.
Also - Ovie has already been quoted saying the NHL's decision "doesn't matter" and that he will still go... Will the Caps back him on that? This will be really interesting...
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The whole "there's no other sport to watch" makes no sense... because the olympics are on. I get the injury and money stuff though, that makes sense, but as a fan, we are all missing out of a true world competition for the sport (which has been very enjoyable to watch). Oh well.
Except with the Olympics happening in Korea, the time difference prevents anyone in NA from conveniently watching anything live.
Yea but it's always on at prime time on NBC and their other stations for the less popular sports. I totally get the reality of the situation, I just think it sucks overall for fans because Olympic hockey is wayyy more interesting and fun than mid season NHL.
Anyway, my father had to cancel on our plans to go to the Rangers / Penguins final game Sunday night so I'm taking the gf. I hope the teams are motivated to play the game, Im not sure there will be much reason to come Sunday night.
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Yea but it's always on at prime time on NBC and their other stations for the less popular sports. I totally get the reality of the situation, I just think it sucks overall for fans because Olympic hockey is wayyy more interesting and fun than mid season NHL.
Anyway, my father had to cancel on our plans to go to the Rangers / Penguins final game Sunday night so I'm taking the gf. I hope the teams are motivated to play the game, Im not sure there will be much reason to come Sunday night.
You are right, it's not great for fans that want to watch NHL players in the Olympics. I personally, am far, far more interested in the Pens than watching US hockey, but everyone's different. The point still is though, that for the NHL, this decision makes sense.
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Yea, I am not so much arguing from the leagues perspective, but more so from my own as a fan of hockey in general. Olympic hockey has always been one of my favorite olympic sports to watch since I was a kid. While I know they've played without the NHL players in the past, it's been longer than I can remember so it feels off to me, as a fan. I am way more interested in the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup vs. team USA winning the gold, but it's not like the NHL ends, it just pauses for a moment so you could actually still have interest in both assuming no one gets injured, which is obviously a great point on reasons not to play. Whatever, I'll just be bummed about it since there's nothing I can do.
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I disagree with the idea that there are many reasons to loathe Bettman. His influence compared to that of the owners who he represents is negligible. They are the ones telling him to go on a podium and say "we aren't going." Sure he advises them legally, that's his job, but the onus for this and the lockouts and everything lies with the owners and the players association to a certain degree.
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The problem with the pausing is that it crushes the schedule, throws many players into a wearying travel mode, especially when going to the other side of the globe, and can create susceptibility to injury that might be lessened if the original schedule had remained in place. 4 major players suffered season-ending injuries in the Sochi games. It's a risk I think the NHL is wise to avoid taking.
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The problem with the pausing is that it crushes the schedule, throws many players into a wearying travel mode, especially when going to the other side of the globe, and can create susceptibility to injury that might be lessened if the original schedule had remained in place. 4 major players suffered season-ending injuries in the Sochi games. It's a risk I think the NHL is wise to avoid taking.
Absolutely.
I disagree with the idea that there are many reasons to loathe Bettman. His influence compared to that of the owners who he represents is negligible. They are the ones telling him to go on a podium and say "we aren't going." Sure he advises them legally, that's his job, but the onus for this and the lockouts and everything lies with the owners and the players association to a certain degree.
I think there are reasons to disagree with Bettman on a lot of stuff, and I think it's reasonable to hold him accountable as such. This isn't one of those times. I think he (and the owners for that matter) are acting in the best interest of the NHL here, which is what they should do. Fine by me.
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And I too hate Bettman with all the passion that NE football fans have for Goodell.
Why? He hand delivered Matthews for you.
#fakedraftlottery
Personally I hate the NHL players in the Olympics. Always have. And then add on the Worlds Championships on top of that and...who f'n cares? I don't. I hate the Olympic break in the middle of the season.
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And I too hate Bettman with all the passion that NE football fans have for Goodell.
Why? He hand delivered Matthews for you.
Pfffft. Whatever. If that's the case, then it was only to make up for ripping McDavid out of our hands the previous draft.
Serious question though Tim, why the hate for best-on-best hockey?
Agree completely on the injury risk for the owners and league. Weren't there like 4 significant injuries during the World Cup in the fall? Benn, Seguin, Ekblad I remember.
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Serious question though Tim, why the hate for best-on-best hockey?
I don't know. Professionals playing in the Olympics doesn't interest me in the slightest. I liked the amateur format much better. I really don't have a good answer. Seems cheesy to me for some reason.
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I agree with Tim. I don't like seeing the pros in Olympic games.
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I'm a best on best guy myself, so i'd rather see the NHLers go. I already mentally prepared myself for this though. The World Cup, to me, was a clear sign that the NHL was moving toward this decision. That's the new best in best tourney.
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Olympic hockey is awesome with or without the pros, if you ask me. All of this "they have a chance to make the league bigger" talk is crazy. As much as I love hockey, it's not for everybody.
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Serious question though Tim, why the hate for best-on-best hockey?
I don't know. Professionals playing in the Olympics doesn't interest me in the slightest. I liked the amateur format much better. I really don't have a good answer. Seems cheesy to me for some reason.
I hear ya... but it's been since Lillehammer since the pros haven't been there - so I remember more Olympic Games with NHL'rs than I do without them. I'm with Schecter - there aren't that many opportunities to see best on best, so I'll take every chance to get it. Though, I do understand the appeal of amateurs/juniors.
I assume you're the same about basketball/summer Olympics?
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Oh without question. Even more so. Like Carmelo Anthony winning a Gold Medal is some awesome thing? Who gives a shit?!
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The other issue i see is that it's not like it'll go to an amateur tournament either without the NHL players . It'll still be pros from Europe and the KHL, so we basically end up with the spengler cup. And if you're asking yourself what the hell that is, then you understand the need for NHL involvement in the Olympics.
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Also - Ovie has already been quoted saying the NHL's decision "doesn't matter" and that he will still go... Will the Caps back him on that? This will be really interesting...
Leonsis has publically said that he will let Ovechkin or anyone else go no matter what the verdict is. Question is whether the league will forbid the players. If so, I could see Ovechkin or some other great Russians leaving the NHL for good.
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It's hard to compare Olympic basketball/NBA to Olympic hockey/NHL. Hockey is way more competitive around the world, well specifically in northern Europe, Russia, and NA. But still, basketball is not even close internationally to the US on a competition level compared to basketball.
At the same time, I love the dream teams of the past and watching the US just dismantle the rest of the world is somewhat fun.
If they just wanted to make all olympic games an amateur event, then so be it. But that's not the case, so I think it takes away a bit when we aren't, as fans, getting to see the best athletes in the world competing.
This is similar to the World Baseball Classic that just finished before the MLB season started. There's always lots of talk about why teams would let their players play in that, but it's for the sport and your country at the end of the day. People want to see the best players representing their countries and a lot of the players want to play for their countries.
As for Ovie, it'll be interesting if he and others opt to play anyway and how the league reacts. The NHL likely made the right decision regarding their own product (essentially protecting their investment in the players).
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If they just wanted to make all olympic games an amateur event, then so be it. But that's not the case, so I think it takes away a bit when we aren't, as fans, getting to see the best athletes in the world competing.
This. There are so many sports/teams where there is no distinction between amateur and professional or there is no such thing as a "professional". What's a "professional" sprinter? You think Bolt or Phelps were "amateur"? Those volleyball teams ... you don't think they're professionals? I think the Olympics should be a showcase for the best athletes in their discipline. Period. And Schecter nailed it - the other global leagues will likely be ok with their players participating.
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Also - Ovie has already been quoted saying the NHL's decision "doesn't matter" and that he will still go... Will the Caps back him on that? This will be really interesting...
Leonsis has publically said that he will let Ovechkin or anyone else go no matter what the verdict is. Question is whether the league will forbid the players. If so, I could see Ovechkin or some other great Russians leaving the NHL for good.
Couple of thoughts on that - (1) Leonsis can let him go if he wants, but if I was a fan or ticket holder of the Caps, that would anger me, seriously, I'd want my team's best player playing for my team. (2) The league is what I am more curious about. Even if an owner would let his player go, the league clearly will not like it, I'm not 100% sure what they could do about it though. (3) If Ovie or any other player (mostly the Russians) would leave the NHL (and the NHL pay-day) to go back to Russia over this, good riddance, good luck in Russia.
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If the Caps win the cup this year, other than contractual obligations, what more does Ovie have to "prove" in the NHL?
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If the Caps win the cup this year, other than contractual obligations, what more does Ovie have to "prove" in the NHL?
Sounds like a parallel universe.
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Pressure from the Russian Mafia?
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If the Caps win the cup this year, other than contractual obligations, what more does Ovie have to "prove" in the NHL?
Not sure he has anything to "prove". I mean he hasn't won a cup, that's the big thing. You can't assume the Caps will win it this year, basically until they do, their recent years of great regular seasons only to underachieve in the playoffs are far to telling to assume anything until they do it.
All I'm saying is that the NHL is best hockey league in the world. Players of the highest skill play in it. If Ovie and others want to leave the NHL due in part to this Olympic thing, I think that's silly but more power to them. Go for it.
Also - I think Ovie is under contract with the Caps for like another 5 seasons after this one, or something like that.
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I just didn't know if there was any basis for the comment of him going back to play in Russia for good. I don't think anyone would leave the NHL just to play in one Olympic Games - especially in Seoul. If this was the scenario 4 years ago, then I could see maybe some Russians doing that to play in Socchi.
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I just didn't know if there was any basis for the comment of him going back to play in Russia for good. I don't think anyone would leave the NHL just to play in one Olympic Games - especially in Seoul. If this was the scenario 4 years ago, then I could see maybe some Russians doing that to play in Socchi.
Basically just speculation. Depends on how much both sides (Ovie and the league) would want to dig their heels in to hold their respective positions. Like you said, if Ovie feels that strongly about playing at the Olympics and he feels like he's got nothing left to prove, maybe he'd bail to go tear up the KHL and play for mother Russia every couple years in international play.
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I just didn't know if there was any basis for the comment of him going back to play in Russia for good. I don't think anyone would leave the NHL just to play in one Olympic Games - especially in Seoul. If this was the scenario 4 years ago, then I could see maybe some Russians doing that to play in Socchi.
Olympics are a very VERY big deal to Russians. Ovi himself has said Olympic gold means more to him than a Stanley Cup. Just cultural difference.
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I just didn't know if there was any basis for the comment of him going back to play in Russia for good. I don't think anyone would leave the NHL just to play in one Olympic Games - especially in Seoul. If this was the scenario 4 years ago, then I could see maybe some Russians doing that to play in Socchi.
Olympics are a very VERY big deal to Russians. Ovi himself has said Olympic gold means more to him than a Stanley Cup. Just cultural difference.
It's so interesting because back in the 90s as the Red Wings were reaching their peak, so much was made of the myriad Russians on the team simply not caring about the Cup and really only desiring World Championships and Olympic medals, only to show that they really did care a great deal about winning the Cup. I'm surprised Ovechkin would say that given the ones that came before him.
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Dear lord, Letang out - Pens road just got a LOT harder...
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19084163/pittsburgh-penguins-kris-letang-neck-surgery-4-6-months
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Yeah I saw that earlier today.
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I truly believe Letang is the least replaceable Penguin. Not the best, but the least replaceable. If Sid goes down, you got Geno. No one else on this team can do what Letang does, that's a huge lose for us moving into the post season.
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Dear lord, Letang out - Pens road just got a LOT harder...
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19084163/pittsburgh-penguins-kris-letang-neck-surgery-4-6-months
:omg:
That is a HUGE blow.
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Dear lord, Letang out - Pens road just got a LOT harder...
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19084163/pittsburgh-penguins-kris-letang-neck-surgery-4-6-months
:omg:
That is a HUGE blow.
Sure is. I would never root for an injury, but this does help chances for my Rangers to make a run in the playoffs. (which I don't expect them to)
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Dear lord, Letang out - Pens road just got a LOT harder...
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19084163/pittsburgh-penguins-kris-letang-neck-surgery-4-6-months
:omg:
That is a HUGE blow.
Sure is. I would never root for an injury, but this does help chances for my Rangers to make a run in the playoffs. (which I don't expect them to)
The Rangers are locked into the first wildcard spot which means they play the Atlantic Division for the first two rounds instead of the much tougher Metropolitan Division. You figure that if Washington chokes in the first or second round like they always do and Columbus takes care of a Letang-less Penguins team in the first round, that means if the Rangers can get past Montreal and either Ottawa or Boston, they'll take on either Columbus or Toronto in the Eastern Conference Finals, which is much easier than Washington or Pittsburgh. The Rangers have an easier road to the Stanley Cup Finals then it looked like they would. Now here's hoping that they can capitalize on that, because the only team in the West that scares me in a seven game series is Chicago. If they get upset in any one of the first three rounds, we have a legitimate chance at a championship.
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Pittsburgh's record is actually a bit better this year without Letang than it is with him in the lineup. I wouldn't write them off simply because he's not playing. The reason he used to be so irreplaceable is because they had no other dmen that could move the puck. Now they have Schultz, Daley, and Streit to do that in Letang 's absence. The penguins play strong team defence, so of course it hurts losing him, but it's not crippling like it would have been even last year.
It's still going to be Chicago vs. Washington/Pittsburgh in the final.
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I'll agree that - this year - being the Metro WC is highly beneficial for the Rags.
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Yea, my initial thought of the Rangers getting some bad seeding, as in they have more points but won't get seeded such a way, has ended up being very beneficial. The penguins scare me the most of any team though. The capitals should scare me, but they always choke, a lot of times to the Rangers, in the playoffs.
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Two Eastern series are set:
Penguins will face Blue Jackets, Rangers to take on Canadiens in first round: https://www.nhl.com/news/two-eastern-conference-playoff-series-set/c-288480878?tid=287339198
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I *really* want to root for the Blue Jackets, as I really love their players, especially against the Pens, but I just cannot root for the biggest douchebag behind the bench to win. I suppose I'll root for them in round 1 and then switch around from there.
Really, just not sure who if anyone I'll really root for. I guess maybe Edmonton and Nashville, though I don't expect either to go deep.
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Ooo our Dell rep at work has a suite ticket for me for the Rangers game 1. It seems like I will have to sit through a 30 minute Dell presentation to get the ticket, but it also comes with free food and booze. Hopefully this happens, still waiting to see.
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EDM v SJ is basically a certainty too at this point. I don't the Oil's odds in that one.
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Oilers riding Talbot as hard as they did in the season can easily bite them these playoffs. Goalies who play as many games as he did almost never fare well in the post-season. That being said, there are question marks surrounding the Sharks as well. Should be interesting. I'm going Sharks in 6.
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I'm pinning my prediction on that series on whether or not Thornton and Couture are good to go and playing near 100%. If they are, Sharks will take it, if not, Oilers have a chance.
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Sens clinche; Leafs come out flat again. Now we need just a single point against the Pens or Jackets. Could be an anxious weekend - especially if the Habs sit Price.
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Oilers riding Talbot as hard as they did in the season can easily bite them these playoffs. Goalies who play as many games as he did almost never fare well in the post-season. That being said, there are question marks surrounding the Sharks as well. Should be interesting. I'm going Sharks in 6.
Agreed. It's been poor tender management from McLellan. And sadly, I'm also taking the sharks in 6. If they can squeeze 3 home playoff games out of this series I'll be happy. I share my season seats, and i drew home games 2 and 3, so they better get that far!
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Big win for TB tonightb to keep the pressure on in the East!
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Arturri Lehkonen is going to grow into a great two-way forward methinks. I'm excited about him. Was definitely a good use of our second rounder. :)
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If Mike Babcock doesn't win the Adams this year, there is something very wrong.
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Personally, I'd give it to Tortorella. Leafs are +26 points compared to last year, Jackets are +30 with more or less the exact same team, Leafs had the infusion of Matthews, Marner, (full season of) Nylander, healthy JVR, and an actual number one goalie. Couldn't go wrong with either Babcock or Torts, though.
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Personally, I'd give it to Tortorella. Leafs are +26 points compared to last year, Jackets are +30 with more or less the exact same team, Leafs had the infusion of Matthews, Marner, (full season of) Nylander, healthy JVR, and an actual number one goalie. Couldn't go wrong with either Babcock or Torts, though.
Agreed. Plus, the Jackets were in a way tougher division.
Edge of my seat all game. After losing Anderson, and then when Pitt went up in the third, I was convinced that the Leafs were gonna lose their way out of the playoffs. Now, if they can snatch a point tomorrow, they'll leap-frog the Bs, and avoid Washington.
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Personally, I'd give it to Tortorella. Leafs are +26 points compared to last year, Jackets are +30 with more or less the exact same team, Leafs had the infusion of Matthews, Marner, (full season of) Nylander, healthy JVR, and an actual number one goalie. Couldn't go wrong with either Babcock or Torts, though.
As much as I hate Torts, it's hard to argue against him winning the Adams trophy.
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Personally, I'd give it to Tortorella. Leafs are +26 points compared to last year, Jackets are +30 with more or less the exact same team, Leafs had the infusion of Matthews, Marner, (full season of) Nylander, healthy JVR, and an actual number one goalie. Couldn't go wrong with either Babcock or Torts, though.
Yeah, you make a great point. OK. Torts it is!
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Personally, I'd give it to Tortorella. Leafs are +26 points compared to last year, Jackets are +30 with more or less the exact same team, Leafs had the infusion of Matthews, Marner, (full season of) Nylander, healthy JVR, and an actual number one goalie. Couldn't go wrong with either Babcock or Torts, though.
More or less had this argument with a friend last night regarding Chiarelli winning executive of the year for getting the oilers to the playoffs for the first time in a decade. No, no he didn't. If anything, Bill Daly got the oil to the playoffs when he pulled that golden oilers card from that envelope in 2015.
Babcock has done well with TO, but Matthews is the reason for the turn around. He should definitely be in the running, but Torts is more deserving of the win.
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He won't win it, but Yeo should be in the conversation.
The Blues were floundering under Hitchcock at 24-21-5 and looking like they'd miss the playoffs, before he was fired and Yeo took over. Yeo then posted a 21-8-2 record (with tonight's season ender today still to go) and they finished 3rd in the Central, which is always a strong division. Him taking over was like flipping a switch.
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I didn't realize the turnaround was that dramatic.
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He won't win it, but Yeo should be in the conversation.
The Blues were floundering under Hitchcock at 24-21-5 and looking like they'd miss the playoffs, before he was fired and Yeo took over. Yeo then posted a 21-8-2 record (with tonight's season ender today still to go) and they finished 3rd in the Central, which is always a strong division. Him taking over was like flipping a switch.
Not too shabby, but when was the last time an Adams winner had less than 1/2 behind the bench of the team he won for? Serious question.
I think Sullivan has a case, given the number of games lost to injury for Pitt, to finish 2nd in the league is damned impressive - regardless of the strength of their lineup. There's a stat that suggests they lost 20 points in the standings due to their injuries. Imagine that... they'd be 13 points ahead of Washington if they were as blessed as the Caps were at being healthy - Washington was far and away the "healthiest" team this year.
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Jack Adams is just the "most improved team" award. Rarely goes to the best coach, or even really a great coach.
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Jack Adams is just the "most improved team" award. Rarely goes to the best coach, or even really a great coach.
Yeah, similar to most sports.
Lindy Ruff OUT as Stars coach.
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I didn't realize the turnaround was that dramatic.
Jake Allen is a good example. With Elliot gone, Allen looked totally in over his head as the unquestioned number 1 when Hitchcock was still coach, but once he was gone and Yeo took over, it was literally like someone flipped a switch and he became this legit great number 1 goalie.
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I didn't realize the turnaround was that dramatic.
Jake Allen is a good example. With Elliot gone, Allen looked totally in over his head as the unquestioned number 1 when Hitchcock was still coach, but once he was gone and Yeo took over, it was literally like someone flipped a switch and he became this legit great number 1 goalie.
Didn't they throw Brodeur at him, and say "make him good," too?
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I didn't realize the turnaround was that dramatic.
Jake Allen is a good example. With Elliot gone, Allen looked totally in over his head as the unquestioned number 1 when Hitchcock was still coach, but once he was gone and Yeo took over, it was literally like someone flipped a switch and he became this legit great number 1 goalie.
Didn't they throw Brodeur at him, and say "make him good," too?
He did help out Allen but the Blues players did not want to play for Hitchcock, period. It was a stuiped move on our GM's part to have a 'coach in the wings' in Yeo for next season already hired while giving Hitchcock one last shot. Hitchcocks shot was last year and it didn't happen, they should have never brought him back. His message was falling on deaf ears and it's my opinion the players tanked until he was fired. Hitchcock lost that team, or actually....never even had that teams attention. Once he was gone they turned a switch and it's been lights out. If not for a few back to back one goal losses where they played good but lost....they might be looking at only two or three losses under Yeo instead of the 8.
Yeo appears to have a great relationship with them all and has them playing very confidently. I love the underlying story of him facing the Wild in the first round.
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Well, once again the Leafs snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. I think the stat that was mentioned during the game is that they have blown 16 2-goal leads this season, losing 8 of those games. I'm picking Washington in 3. If the Leafs can't even beat depleted teams in TB and CBJ (and just scratching by the injury/rested Pens on the strength of a save-of-the-year contender against Sid), their chances against the Caps are slim to none. And Slim just left town.
Predictions for the awards finalists
Hart - McD, Sid, Marchand
Adams - Torts, Babs, Gulutzan
Calder - Matthews, Laine, Marner
Vezina - Bobrovsky, Dubnyk, Talbot
Norris - Burns, Suter, Keith
Selke - Bergeron, ??? does anyone else matter?
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Wow, Kings just cleaned house. Kinda predicrable, but damn.
Also my awards finalists
Hart: McDavid, Bobrovsky, Karlsson
Adams: Babcock, Tortorella, Trotz
Calder: Matthews, Laine, Werenski
Vezina: Bobrovsky, Holtby, Talbot
Norris: Hedman, Karlsson, Keith
Selke: Bergeron, Koivu, Kesler
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OK..
Adams: Torts, Babcock, Sullivan
Hart: McDavid, Matthews, Bobrovsky
Calder: Matthews, Laine, Marner
Norris: Burns, Hedman, Karlsson
Vezina: Holtby, Bobrovsky, Price
Selke: Duh! Bergeron recently won 25 straight faceoffs. the last 6 against Toewes and ALL of the next game against TB.
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17-0 one night, then 12-3 the next. The dude is scary good. Best ever. Better than Carboneau or Brind'Amour
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Bergeron, Gainey, Carbo are the top 3 defensive forwards of all time I'd say, no particular order. Either way Bergeron is the best defensive player in the league right now, at any position. Easily.
That being said, I think Koivu needs at least a nomination and I'd consider him the solid #2 Selke contender. I'd like to see Backlund get credit too, although I'd argue Kesler edges him out this season. Kesler's had a great season.
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OK..
Adams: Torts, Babcock, Sullivan
Hart: McDavid, Matthews, Bobrovsky
Calder: Matthews, Laine, Marner
Norris: Burns, Hedman, Karlsson
Vezina: Holtby, Bobrovsky, Price
Selke: Duh! Bergeron recently won 25 straight faceoffs. the last 6 against Toewes and ALL of the next game against TB.
Talbot deserves a mention for the Vezina as well. He tied with Holtby for most wins this year after all.
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Honestly it's Bobrovsky and then the rest IMO, he's very far ahead. Holtby and Talbot are runners up for me. Dubnyk and Price after them, their seasons overall were great but Price had a weak middle of the season and Dubnyk had a terrible late season. Dubnyk and Price had top tier peak performances though.
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Bergeron, Gainey, Carbo are the top 3 defensive forwards of all time I'd say, no particular order. Either way Bergeron is the best defensive player in the league right now, at any position. Easily.
Agree... and to clarify, I was making the comparison to B'A and Carbo solely on faceoffs. Bergeron is the best ever at faceoffs, and certainly the best defensive forward right now.
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What first round match up are you guys looking forward to the most? Couple of good ones.
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The only team I care about in the playoffs are the Sharks.
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The only team I care about in the playoffs are the Sharks.
Series could be over by next Thursday. Oil in 5, maybe 6.
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Hey Schecter. what does everyone up there think of Lucic?
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Hey Schecter. what does everyone up there think of Lucic?
It's mixed. Most fans like his play, but loathe his contract. Worst oilers contract since K-Lowe backed a dump truck full of greasy bills to Horcoff's house. I think his contract will put this team in serious cap trouble in about 2 years when Leon and McD's new deals kick in.
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Hey Schecter. what does everyone up there think of Lucic?
His size is nice for playing in the pacific.
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I'm looking forward to that Blue Jackets and Penguins matchup. Columbus's defense is excellent, and it'll be fun to see Crosby try to score on them...if he doesn't hack someone with his stick first
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I'm looking forward to that Blue Jackets and Penguins matchup. Columbus's defense is excellent, and it'll be fun to see Crosby try to score on them...if he doesn't hack someone with his stick first
Yeah cause Sid is the dirty player in that series to watch out for.... :lol
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Predictions for the Playoffs now.
Round 1
Was v Tor - Caps in 3
Mtl v NYR - Habs in 6
Pitt v CBJ - CBJ in 7
Ott v Bos - Sens in 6
Chi v Nash - Hawks in 5
Ana v Cgy - Ducks in 7
SJ v Edm - Oil in 6
Min v Stl - Blues in 7
Round 2:
Was v CBJ - Caps in 6
Mtl v Ott - Habs in 6
Chi v Stl - Hawks in 7
Ana v Edm - Oil in 7
Conference Finals
Was v Mtl - Caps in 5
Chi v Edm - Hawks in 6
Finals
Was v Chi - Caps in 6
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Was v Tor - Caps in 3
:lol
Would've been over in 2 had they played the Bruins!
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:lol
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How the hell are the B's favored against the Sens?
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Hitchcock to be named Stars coach.
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Hitchcock to be named Stars coach.
had a feeling that's where he'd end up.
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How the hell are the B's favored against the Sens?
Their D is beaten up - Karlsson isn't at full health. However, I have a feeling that Anderson will steal a game or two.
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We have 2 starting D-men out as well (Krug & Carlo) and they are starting a rookie from BU with no games played in the NHL.
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Round 1
Was v Tor
Mtl v NYR
Pitt v CBJ
Ott v Bos
Chi v Nash
Ana v Cgy
SJ v Edm
Min v Stl
Round 2
Was v Pitt
Mtl v NYR Ott
Chi v Minn
Ana v SJ
Conf Finals
Was v Mtl
Ana v Chi
Cup
Was v Ana
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Round 1
Was v Tor
Mtl v NYR
Pitt v CBJ
Ott v Bos
Chi v Nash
Ana v Cgy
SJ v Edm
Min v Stl
Round 2
Was v Pitt
Mtl v NYR
Chi v Minn
Ana v SJ
Conf Finals
Was v Mtl
Ana v Chi
Cup
Was v Ana
First... home teams going 8-0 in round 1? Edit... whoops, forgot Edm finished ahead of SJ
Second... NYR pulls off first ever Round 2 rematch?
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:lol
oh you two
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Second... NYR pulls off first ever Round 2 rematch?
:rollin
:facepalm:
Round 2
Mtl v NYR Ott
Fixed!
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Rangers, Pens, and Bruins all win/winning, ugh, what a terrible night.
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I was literally just about to post something to that effect; every team I wanted to win has lost so far (or will lose) :rollin
Columbus just looks totally outmatched by Pittsburgh... this series will be over quick.
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In a game where the Bruins don't even get a shot on net in the second period, the Sens somehow manage to lose the game :(
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Columbus just looks totally outmatched by Pittsburgh... this series will be over quick.
I only saw the 1st period, but Columbus totally outplayed them. Looks like the 2nd period was the opposite, except the Pens scored when they dominated play.
Let's Go Blues!! :metal :metal
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Columbus just looks totally outmatched by Pittsburgh... this series will be over quick.
I only saw the 1st period, but Columbus totally outplayed them. Looks like the 2nd period was the opposite, except the Pens scored when they dominated play.
Let's Go Blues!! :metal :metal
I actually missed the 1st period, go figure :lol
They didn't look very good from what I saw, aside from a nice goal off of a bad Pittsburgh turnover and a few decent chances in the last few minutes when they got desperate.
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Can't remember the last time a St. Louis goalie legitimately stole a game in the playoffs. Jake Allen did tonight.
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Damn right. I am going to be tired tomorrow, but at least they won.
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SHARKS IN OT!!! WOOOOOOOO :metal
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Rangers looked solid last night, that was a fun game to watch :yarr
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And the night ended with a full ugh. Only one match I can be happy with either team winning (Blues/Wild), and every other game went opposite of what I'd like.
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And the night ended with a full ugh. Only one match I can be happy with either team winning (Blues/Wild), and every other game went opposite of what I'd like.
..but, the Bruins.
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And the night ended with a full ugh. Only one match I can be happy with either team winning (Blues/Wild), and every other game went opposite of what I'd like.
..but, the Bruins.
Two things.
Ottawa needs the win more.
And fuck the Bruins. :p
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:lol
Nee Ner.
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SHARKS IN OT!!! WOOOOOOOO :metal
Yeah, they basically put on a clinic in the 2nd and 3rd last night.
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If Lundqvist keeps playing the way he did last night, the Rangers have a legitimate shot at making a run.
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If Lundqvist keeps playing the way he did last night, the Rangers have a legitimate shot at making a run.
They played a great game, but I see the likelihood of the Rangers lifting the cup this year about on par with the Flyers lifting it.
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If Lundqvist keeps playing the way he did last night, the Rangers have a legitimate shot at making a run.
They played a great game, but I see the likelihood of the Rangers lifting the cup this year about on par with the Flyers lifting it.
:lol
He saved them in the 1st for sure, but didn't have too many difficult stops after that. IMO, Price out-played him, just let a bit of a soft one by.
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If Lundqvist keeps playing the way he did last night, the Rangers have a legitimate shot at making a run.
They played a great game, but I see the likelihood of the Rangers lifting the cup this year about on par with the Flyers lifting it.
:lol
He saved them in the 1st for sure, but didn't have too many difficult stops after that. IMO, Price out-played him, just let a bit of a soft one by.
Yea Price played great, the Rangers had more opportunities and besides the one goal, Price was making great saves.
I will agree though that if Henrik plays great, the Rangers can go far just because that's playoff hockey.
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Mixed start last night for the Pens, we got the win, which is obviously the main thing, but they have to start games better moving forward. They were lucky to get out of the first period with no score, as they were badly outplayed.
The big upsides for me last night were - (1) Kessel scoring (he needs to get hot for the Pens to make a run) and (2) that the Pens mostly stayed disciplined when facing some rough play from the Jackets. If they can keep turning the other cheek, they just might win this series in less than 6 or 7 games.
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Washington looks dreadful early, and Toronto is taking advantage.
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And that's why they play a full game. Sucks to have it end in a softy like that. Washington got a scare tonight, and I'm sure will come out much differently on Saturday night
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Here's my innagural ref bitch.
Load of fucking shit on two calls back to back on the Blues giving the Wild a 5 on 3. I challenge anyone to watch the supposed penalties that were callled and tell me they were penalties.
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They let everything go in the B's/Senators game.
The way it should be played. The game flowed and there was up and down the ice intensity.
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Just got into Roger's Place for the game tonight. Desperately need a win. 2-0 down heading back to SJ would likely spell doom.
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They let everything go in the B's/Senators game.
The way it should be played. The game flowed and there was up and down the ice intensity.
Wouldn't bother me if it swung both ways. IMO we are owed a 5 on 3. Two of the softest calls I've seen. It's the friggin playoffs.
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(https://www.instagram.com/p/BS422QjBdI6/)
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Whoever wins this Habs vs. Rangers series is gonna be exhausted. What a series so far.
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:metal
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That game should have never even went to overtime. If the refs actually called the game fairly (like missing every time Montreal had a guy standing in the crease) then the Rangers would have taken care of business in regulation. Hopefully they can feed off of the home crowd and take both games in MSG.
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Pretty sure Macho Man Randy Savage is sitting behind me. I swear if he yells "ooooh yeah, fuck em up!!" once more I'm going to lose it.
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That game should have never even went to overtime. If the refs actually called the game fairly (like missing every time Montreal had a guy standing in the crease) then the Rangers would have taken care of business in regulation. Hopefully they can feed off of the home crowd and take both games in MSG.
Oh please. There was tons of missed stuff on both sides. Your team got away with boarding from behind in the final stretch and there was that blatant cross-check to the face in I think the second period. It really wasn't called any different from any other playoff game. They let shit slide, that's how it goes.
Also, how is standing in the crease a penalty? :lol
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Pretty sure Macho Man Randy Savage is sitting behind me. I swear if he yells "ooooh yeah, fuck em up!!" once more I'm going to lose it.
:lol
This year in Philadelphia the woooooo became popular and it was highly annoying.
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Here's my innagural ref bitch.
Load of fucking shit on two calls back to back on the Blues giving the Wild a 5 on 3. I challenge anyone to watch the supposed penalties that were callled and tell me they were penalties.
I thought the Steen call was fine. Upshall threw an elbow, but to call that when a team is already down a man is pretty lame. Refs will usually not give a team a 2-man advantage on such a marginal call.
That said, it did not matter. Blues win again!! :metal :metal
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Here's my innagural ref bitch.
Load of fucking shit on two calls back to back on the Blues giving the Wild a 5 on 3. I challenge anyone to watch the supposed penalties that were callled and tell me they were penalties.
I thought the Steen call was fine. Upshall threw an elbow, but to call that when a team is already down a man is pretty lame. Refs will usually not give a team a 2-man advantage on such a marginal call.
That said, it did not matter. Blues win again!! :metal :metal
Largest complaint about the Steen call is that if you're going to call that then call it both ways. All sorts of clutching and grabbing going on so to call that in the first place was a bit of BS. The Upshall 'elbow' was ridiculous. Same thing....both teams were being physical and the Wild were holding just as many sticks and throwing just as many elbows. Didn't seem right to call it on one team and not the other.
But like you said.....didn't matter anyway.
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Pretty sure Macho Man Randy Savage is sitting behind me. I swear if he yells "ooooh yeah, fuck em up!!" once more I'm going to lose it.
Should of gave him a slim jim!
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What was Jones doing on that EDM goal? He barely moved!
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TWO SH goals??? Seriously??? >:(
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TWO SH goals??? Seriously??? >:(
;D
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Pretty sure Macho Man Randy Savage is sitting behind me. I swear if he yells "ooooh yeah, fuck em up!!" once more I'm going to lose it.
Should of gave him a slim jim!
By the 3rd he was so blotto that he could barely manage a coherent sentence.
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That game should have never even went to overtime. If the refs actually called the game fairly (like missing every time Montreal had a guy standing in the crease) then the Rangers would have taken care of business in regulation. Hopefully they can feed off of the home crowd and take both games in MSG.
Oh please. There was tons of missed stuff on both sides. Your team got away with boarding from behind in the final stretch and there was that blatant cross-check to the face in I think the second period. It really wasn't called any different from any other playoff game. They let shit slide, that's how it goes.
Totally agree with LLM here. That post-whistle "slash" that Radulov got a penalty over in the 1st was lighter than a feather. IMO, NY got away with more than Mtl ... but not enough for it to be REALLY noticeable or unfair.
Whoever wins this Habs vs. Rangers series is gonna be exhausted. What a series so far.
Yup. Best series so far that I've witnessed - though, we're not getting Min/StL around here.
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Holy crap B's!
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That Rangers game last night was a really great game to watch, but extremely frustrating as a Rangers fan to lose. They were soooo close. :facepalm:
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Well that changed fast. Dumb move by Chara.
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That Rangers game last night was a really great game to watch, but extremely frustrating as a Rangers fan to lose. They were soooo close. :facepalm:
You can really see that these are two teams that were one point apart in the standings. Betting it goes to 7.
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How about them Predators! Guessing not many folks thought they would be up 2 on the road. If they can win 1 of 2 at home this could be interesting.
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0 goals for the Hawks after 2, and that's with their home ice advantage. Rinne has 2 assists. Rinne a more potent offensive player than the entire Blackhawks roster confirmed.
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Wow, what a sweet Game winning goal for Toronto.
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Hawks better start showin up in game 3 or we're in deep shit.
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Hawks better start showin up in game 3 or we're in deep shit.
Was only able to see about 10'minutes of the game when it was 2-0 but it looked like they were going through the motions waiting for someone else to 'make something happen'
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Toronto and Chicago are both surprising me for very different reasons. The Maple Leafs are pushing the best team in the league to their very limit and could potentially pull off the biggest upset of the playoffs. This is a testament to how good of a coach Mike Babcock is, and I believe that the Jack Adams trophy is his to lose even with the year Tortorella had with the Blue Jackets. The Blackhawks on the other hand look like they're just going through the motions against an inferior opponent, perfectly content with the fact that they've won three championships in the past seven years. Joel Quenneville needs to light a fire under every one of his players' asses because with the next two games in Nashville, they can't afford another showing like the one they had tonight. I feel that if they go down three games to none, this is going to be a first round exit for them. If there's any team in the league that can turn it around quickly and go on a tear it's Chicago but if they keep playing like the way they did tonight (and in game one for that matter), the Predators are going to make quick work of them.
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That's why they play the games folks. I can't believe how ordinary the Caps look. Toronto is definitely punching out of their weight class here. Exciting games - Anderson stole that one...especially with Polak going down. Marner might have saved the game tracking down Ovie on that breakaway. Phenomenal effort there. My only beef with the game was the number of pussy penalties the ref(s) called - on both sides. Ovie had less than 3 mins of ice time in Period 1 because of all the special teams.
And wth, Chicago!?!?! Brutal performances. Too bad the Flames couldn't have one, and made it a clean Canadian sweep in Game 2s.
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I was hoping the Flames would win so we'd stop hearing about that stupid "Flames have lost 399 games in a row at Anaheim" fact, something which has zero relevance to their current series.
Those Leafs/Caps overtimes were awesome. Great back and forth action.
I love seeing Chicago lose. :coolio :hat
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Love watching questionable calls change the momentum of a game.
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Love watching questionable calls change the momentum of a game.
....and another one.
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Love watching questionable calls change the momentum of a game.
....and another one.
You've got to be kidding me?
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See you later Minnesota. No way they come back from 3-0. If the hawks end up losing, this could be a wide open year in the west. I could easily see the Blues making the final.
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Love watching questionable calls change the momentum of a game.
....and another one.
You've got to be kidding me?
Ahh... the inaugural 'Miller meltdown' of the 2017 playoff season. Good to see you! :lol
Just a minor one ... a flesh would if you will. All's well that ends well, eh Gary?
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Both of the "favourites" from the West are shitting the bed big-time.
See you later Minnesota. No way they come back from 3-0. If the hawks end up losing, this could be a wide open year in the west. I could easily see the Blues making the final.
I'm going Preds.
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Both of the "favourites" from the West are shitting the bed big time
Well, they are also facing teams that have been playing 'playoff hockey' for the past month basically. The Blues entered the playoffs on a 15-2-2 run.....Preds were something similar so sure, the top teams aren't doing well but it's less about them 'shitting the bed' and more to the fact they're facing teams that are dialed in.
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See you later Minnesota. No way they come back from 3-0. If the hawks end up losing, this could be a wide open year in the west. I could easily see the Blues making the final.
I'm going Preds.
Preds vs. Blues second round would be insane. Very even and similar teams.
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Both of the "favourites" from the West are shitting the bed big time
Well, they are also facing teams that have been playing 'playoff hockey' for the past month basically. The Blues entered the playoffs on a 15-2-2 run.....Preds were something similar so sure, the top teams aren't doing well but it's less about them 'shitting the bed' and more to the fact they're facing teams that are dialed in.
The last five years, the Blues went into the playoffs as one of the top teams that had comfortably clinched their spot weeks earlier, as opposed to this year where they had to fight and claw to make it in, and look at how they are playing. There is something to be said about momentum heading into the postseason.
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The Rangers need to wake up. Lundqvist has been absolutely incredible so far in these playoffs and they're wasting it.
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JESUS HAS RISEN AND HIS NAME IS ALEX RADULOV
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JESUS HAS RISEN AND HIS NAME IS ALEX RADULOV
My gf was in the kitchen when that goal was scored and I immediately yelled for her to come watch the replays. Fantastic.
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JESUS HAS RISEN AND HIS NAME IS ALEX RADULOV
Dat goal.
:jawdrop:
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Pens up 3-0. It would be huge for them to get out of this series sooner rather than later and rest up.
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Pens up 3-0. It would be huge for them to get out of this series sooner rather than later and rest up.
Extremely disappointed in the Blue Jackets. I didn't expect them to win the series, but I did expect them to put up a much better fight.
Best stat of the playoffs so far?
Pekka Rinne having two more points than the entire Blackhawks team. That's just fantastic.
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Pens up 3-0. It would be huge for them to get out of this series sooner rather than later and rest up.
Extremely disappointed in the Blue Jackets. I didn't expect them to win the series, but I did expect them to put up a much better fight.
Well I'm obviously not disappointed, but I agree with you, I thought the Jackets would put up much more of a fight. I was expecting this to go 6 or 7 games. They just seem very outmatched by the Pens most shifts.
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I have faith in my Hawks, always do. But the better team shall win. If isn't meant to be, it isn't meant to be.
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I have faith in my Hawks, always do. But the better team shall win. If isn't meant to be, it isn't meant to be.
I've witnessed the Hawks come back from two down and rattle off four in a row....so i hav no doubts that series is far from over. I'd be shocked if they didn't win tonight.
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I have faith in my Hawks, always do. But the better team shall win. If isn't meant to be, it isn't meant to be.
I've witnessed the Hawks come back from two down and rattle off four in a row....so i hav no doubts that series is far from over. I'd be shocked if they didn't win tonight.
We'll see what happens.
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I'm stunned how strong/resilient/dominant the Pens have looked, along with how ordinary the Caps have looked, and how lame the Hawks have looked. I had a Caps/Hawks final predicted, and a Pens 1st round loss. :facepalm: At this moment, the Pens look like the strongest team out there. With everyone so gaga over Bobrovsky's play (some even suggested a Hart nomination), I would've expected him to be able to steal a game or two, but he has been (despite some fantastic saves) largely mediocre.
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I'm stunned how strong/resilient/dominant the Pens have looked, along with how ordinary the Caps have looked, and how lame the Hawks have looked. I had a Caps/Hawks final predicted, and a Pens 1st round loss. :facepalm: At this moment, the Pens look like the strongest team out there. With everyone so gaga over Bobrovsky's play (some even suggested a Hart nomination), I would've expected him to be able to steal a game or two, but he has been (despite some fantastic saves) largely mediocre.
Honest question - why does that stun you? Did you watch the Pens this year? I didn't expect a sweep in this first round, but I expected them to do well. They did finish 2nd in the league in points, they are a really, really good team.
Repeat champions in the NHL are rare for a reason, but this team has a shot if they keep playing well and continue to get a couple injured guys back.
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Stuns me because historically neither A) the team that led the league in goals or B) defending champions ... repeat. Pitt has both of those factors against them. Perhaps I worded it wrong... I'm not stunned they're playing this well, I'm stunned that the way they are playing is THAT much better than the Jackets.
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I'm a little surprised by the Pens simply because of the amount of injuries they have. Then again, I'm kind of an idiot when it comes to hockey, so there's probably stuff going on that's way over my head. I enjoy watching the game, but the finite details have always been a little lost on me.
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Pens v CBJ isn't the least bit surprising. Jackets had a mediocre second half, and simply don't have the power to keep up with a team that has 2 of the best players on the planet. I had this series down as a sweep. Then again, i had the hawks sweeping the preds, so what the hell do i know.
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Pretty crazy B's and Sens game.
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I was so mad at the B's I turned it off and missed the first 2 B's goals. :lol
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Stuns me because historically neither A) the team that led the league in goals or B) defending champions ... repeat. Pitt has both of those factors against them. Perhaps I worded it wrong... I'm not stunned they're playing this well, I'm stunned that the way they are playing is THAT much better than the Jackets.
Ah okay, that makes sense. I'm with you on that last part. Like I said, I picked the Pens to win the series but I thought it would take 6 or 7. I guess it still could, just not looking like it.
Pretty crazy B's and Sens game.
Yup, I'm switching between that and the Leafs and Caps game. Leafs just came back to tie it up. Toronto is freaking electric right now (the crowd that is).
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I am not looking forward to the third.
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As much as i despise the Leafs, i gotta say they've impressed me this post season. I thought they'd get pumped by the caps, but this has been one of the closest series.
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Caps are in trouble. They got outplayed by a fair margin tonight. Strange how they just can't get it together in the playoffs. Especially with Ovi, one of the best playoff producers in the NHL.
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Fudge.
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Boston got screwed on that penalty in OT, but how dumb is Chara? You are short handed, but yeah, take your sweet time getting off the ice, which results in his replacement being behind what turned out to be the game-winning play.
Great comeback by the Leafs!!
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Yeah, should have been a call on both or no call at all. But Senators won! Now I'm nervous for Wednesday....
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Great comeback by the Leafs!!
Only the 2nd game all season that they've comeback from a 2+ goal deficit. Great, exciting hockey is what these kids have produced all year. They'd have had a better record if they could've held leads (they blew a ton this year), or could salvage an extra point in SO's (1-8). It would seem all of that was character building for how they've pulled it together this series - and truthfully, 3 of the Caps goals (2 tonight / 1 on Saturday) were defensive brain-farts from the rookies, leaving someone wide open. Tack on that softie that Anderson let in for the game 1 winner, and they really have given the Caps all/more than they can handle. Now, if they can only close the deal.
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The Chicago Blackhawks are officially up Shits Creek without a paddle.
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The Chicago Blackhawks are officially up Shits Creek without a paddle.
:biggrin:
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The Chicago Blackhawks are officially up Shits Creek without a paddle.
Ain't over til it's over
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The Chicago Blackhawks are officially up Shits Creek without a paddle.
:biggrin:
If the Preds take care of business and eliminate the Hawks, the West is wide open.
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Oh Calgary. It's a 60 minute game, eh?
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The Chicago Blackhawks are officially up Shits Creek without a paddle.
:biggrin:
If the Preds take care of business and eliminate the Hawks, the West is wide open.
I think it's wide open already. The Hawks aren't the team they used to be and that's evident. If they do pull off a miracle and the Blues Finish off the Wild....it's not like they wouldn't face a tough test in the Blues? San Jose isn't the same team they used to be and they have some key injuries. Edmonton is 'green' and an unknown and Anehiem can be beat as well. The Preds are on a roll but if it's a Blues/Preds series that is basically the same team playing each other and could go either way IMO.
The West was wide open when the playoffs began.
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That Bruins OT call was terrible. The fact Tim Peel is able to ref playoff games (and Chris Lee and Francois St. Laurent for that matter) shows that the NHL simply doesn't care about the quality of refereeing. Worst 3 refs in the NHL.
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That Bruins OT call was terrible. The fact Tim Peel is able to ref playoff games (and Chris Lee and Francois St. Laurent for that matter) shows that the NHL simply doesn't care about the quality of refereeing. Worst 3 refs in the NHL.
Just looked it up, and Peel was one of the Refs in the Saturday Leafs/Caps game that was terrible officiating (as I already commented). So, yeah... he's wicked shit.
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The Caps looked totally gassed last night. Starting to think this Leafs team could definitely pull the upset.
Oh and the Blackhawks, what the heck is happening there? I haven't had the chance to watch any of that series yet, but I just love that all the "experts" were picking them to win the cup and now they might get swept in the first round. :lol
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Kings didn't make it, Bruins down, Hawks are almost out... not saying it would be this round, as it pretty much won't be, but I think anyone but Penguins fans could agree it would be nice to see them get eliminated next round and have all fresh faces in the semi-finals.
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Kings didn't make it, Bruins down, Hawks are almost out... not saying it would be this round, as it pretty much won't be, but I think anyone but Penguins fans could agree it would be nice to see them get eliminated next round and have all fresh faces in the semi-finals.
Spoken like a true Flyers fan :lol
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I have little faith in the Rangers pulling out a win to save the series tonight. They have no home ice advantage and the team looked out coached last game.
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Kings didn't make it, Bruins down, Hawks are almost out... not saying it would be this round, as it pretty much won't be, but I think anyone but Penguins fans could agree it would be nice to see them get eliminated next round and have all fresh faces in the semi-finals.
Spoken like a true Flyers fan :lol
You know there is truth to what I'm saying. :p
If I wanted to be a homer I would have said the Blue Jackets would come back and eliminate them this round.
I have a group of friends who get together once a month (or once a round in the playoffs) for a Flyers game, and only one person in the group is not a Flyers fan, and he is a Penguins fan. So we're getting together tonight for the Penguins game, and although I know they'll win the round hopefully Columbus can steal the game tonight. I'm going to troll as hard as possible and wear the Columbus Hartnell shirt Dark Castle got me a few years back.
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The Chicago Blackhawks are officially up Shits Creek without a paddle.
Ain't over til it's over
True, but the fat lady is warming up. They still didn't look like themselves last night. Hossa's effort on the OT goal was pathetic. They look like a team that just doesn't want it this year.
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The Rangers looked much better tonight. They played a faster and more intense game then they have in these playoffs and if they keep this up, they may get past Montreal.
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Emelin come back pls
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6-0 SHARKS AFTER TWO!!!! :metal :metal :metal :rollin
And a stick to the groin after being down 5-0. Way to stay classy, Edmonton! :censored
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Kings didn't make it, Bruins down, Hawks are almost out... not saying it would be this round, as it pretty much won't be, but I think anyone but Penguins fans could agree it would be nice to see them get eliminated next round and have all fresh faces in the semi-finals.
Spoken like a true Flyers fan :lol
You know there is truth to what I'm saying. :p
If I wanted to be a homer I would have said the Blue Jackets would come back and eliminate them this round.
I have a group of friends who get together once a month (or once a round in the playoffs) for a Flyers game, and only one person in the group is not a Flyers fan, and he is a Penguins fan. So we're getting together tonight for the Penguins game, and although I know they'll win the round hopefully Columbus can steal the game tonight. I'm going to troll as hard as possible and wear the Columbus Hartnell shirt Dark Castle got me a few years back.
:lol Well the Jackets stole one!
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6-0 SHARKS AFTER TWO!!!! :metal :metal :metal :rollin
And a stick to the groin after being down 5-0. Way to stay classy, Edmonton! :censored
Yeah, i would hope that McLellan would sit him if this were the regular season. Straight bush league move.
On the positive side, since the game was already long over in the 2nd i got to bed at a decent time lol.
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Can I get someone with some Photoshop skills to make me a funny picture of Brian Elliott and Curtis Lazar coming into the lineup for Calgary tonight please
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Selke: Bergeron, Koivu, Kesler
Got the finalists right. :metal Bergeron has to win it, but the other two have been fantastic too.
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One more win. I'm really looking forward to Friday
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Hell of a game for a 1-0 loss.
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Different coach and different captain, but this Blues team has the same problem last year's did: no killer instinct when they have their foot on someone's throat. They came out looking scared to play tonight, while the Wild look ready to keep their season going. Ugh.
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Different coach and different captain, but this Blues team has the same problem last year's did: no killer instinct when they have their foot on someone's throat. They came out looking scared to play tonight, while the Wild look ready to keep their season going. Ugh.
They've picked it up in the second period. Until the recent bout of retarded penalty calls. This is the playoffs, right?
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Hell of a game for a 1-0 loss.
I don't know how much I can take :lol
I get those butterflies in my stomach and I can't eat when watching the games. That was a fun game
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Different coach and different captain, but this Blues team has the same problem last year's did: no killer instinct when they have their foot on someone's throat. They came out looking scared to play tonight, while the Wild look ready to keep their season going. Ugh.
They've picked it up in the second period. Until the recent bout of retarded penalty calls. This is the playoffs, right?
Well, it'd have been nice to get the sweep. Can't play 40 minutes in a playoff game and expect to win.
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Super pumped for the big game 5 tonight in Montreal. The Rangers need to play like they did in games 1 and 2 (should have won game 2 >:( ). It's going to be wild in Montreal.
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Hopefully the Pens can close this thing out tonight at home!
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Different coach and different captain, but this Blues team has the same problem last year's did: no killer instinct when they have their foot on someone's throat. They came out looking scared to play tonight, while the Wild look ready to keep their season going. Ugh.
They've picked it up in the second period. Until the recent bout of retarded penalty calls. This is the playoffs, right?
Well, it'd have been nice to get the sweep. Can't play 40 minutes in a playoff game and expect to win.
Nope. The Blues were pretty fortunate to be up 3-0 in the series prior to last night, so the Wild probably deserved a better fate than a sweep anyway.
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Different coach and different captain, but this Blues team has the same problem last year's did: no killer instinct when they have their foot on someone's throat. They came out looking scared to play tonight, while the Wild look ready to keep their season going. Ugh.
They've picked it up in the second period. Until the recent bout of retarded penalty calls. This is the playoffs, right?
Well, it'd have been nice to get the sweep. Can't play 40 minutes in a playoff game and expect to win.
Nope. The Blues were pretty fortunate to be up 3-0 in the series prior to last night, so the Wild probably deserved a better fate than a sweep anyway.
Very true. And, I fully expect the Blues to get throttled in Minnesota on Saturday then come home and win the series here.
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Montreal got severely outplayed in that OT.
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Montreal got severely outplayed in that OT.
Yeah. It was one chance after another for NY
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Watched that game too. Now watching the Nashville/Chicago game. Is it possible Chicago goes out 4 straight? WOW!!
EDIT:
Oh shit, 3-0!!
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It's great to see Chicago go down like this, but if they get by the Wild and don't play a lot better, the Blues will get pummeled by them, too.
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It's great to see Chicago go down like this, but if they get by the Wild and don't play a lot better, the Blues will get pummeled by them, too.
Blues vs Preds is a 7 game series. I get what you're saying but if the Blues can fend off the Wild....the Preds series will be ok. The Blues are just as hot as they are. It's no sweep but they're still playing good team hockey.
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Hawks didn't want it this year, that was plain and clear. At least it was quick 🙁
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HUGE overtime win for the Rangers tonight. Having the chance to win a series at home is always a good thing, and with them being the best road team in the league and already having two road victories in this series, having to play a possible Game 7 in Montreal isn't intimidating at all. This series is far from over with these teams being pretty evenly matched, but I'm happy with what I have seen from the Rangers in these last two games, and if they keep playing like this, they should come out of this series on top. Credit to Montreal though, they're giving us a fight and it has been a thoroughly entertaining and at times frustrating series.
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The Rags/Habs series has been the second closest one imo. So evenly matched. Bit of a lucky play in that Kreiser's shot turned into a perfect pass for that OT winner - but good teams sometimes make their lucky bounces.
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Pens put the Jackets away last night. Great work all around to get out of this first round quick. Now the boys can rest up, hopefully get a couple guys back and wait to see who they will play next.
Also - saw an amazing stat on the local Pittsburgh feed of the game last night. Last night's game was the first time the Pens have been able to put the exact same lineup on the ice for 5 games in a row, since last June when they won the cup. It's just incredible what this team has been able to accomplish this year with the amount of injuries they have faced.
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:iagree:
Sullivan deserves the third nomination for the Adams
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Well, the satisfaction of watching the Hawks get swept didn't last very long for me. My brother in law lives in Nashville and is a Preds fan and he's sending me texts that read #Smashville non stop now.
Along with chiding me for the Blues not sweeping the Wild. If the Blues advance and play the Preds and lose.....i will literally never hear the end of it.
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Great win for the Rangers, needed that badly because we probably have a better shot of winning game 7 on the road than game 6 at home.
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Well, the satisfaction of watching the Hawks get swept didn't last very long for me. My brother in law lives in Nashville and is a Preds fan and he's sending me texts that read #Smashville non stop now.
Along with chiding me for the Blues not sweeping the Wild. If the Blues advance and play the Preds and lose.....i will literally never hear the end of it.
Sounds like Chi-Nash is a lose-lose series for you.
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Well, the satisfaction of watching the Hawks get swept didn't last very long for me. My brother in law lives in Nashville and is a Preds fan and he's sending me texts that read #Smashville non stop now.
Along with chiding me for the Blues not sweeping the Wild. If the Blues advance and play the Preds and lose.....i will literally never hear the end of it.
Sounds like Chi-Nash is a lose-lose series for you.
I would have much rather faced Chicago. Not only because of the brother in law aspect but because I consider Peca Rinne one of the part owners of the Blues. He's single handedly won a good dozen or so games against the Blues the past few years....and he's friggin as hot as any goalie can be right now.
Like any other team in the playoffs....I'm confident if the Blues play their game they could take the Preds in a seven game series, but it wouldn't be a surprise in the least of the Preds won that series. That's if the Blues get their crap together and end the series with the Wild.
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Dang. Was hoping the Leafs could pull it off.
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I am glad I didn't have to make that call on the Bruins non-goal in OT. I could have seen it going either way.
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B's just got screwed. That was a goal. The only reason Anderson got touched is because he kick saved. He wasn't ran into, he initiated contact.
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Well, he was in the crease, which is where you can't touch the goalie, but when you are on a rush like that, it is nearly impossible to not end up in the crease and make some contact. Tough call either way.
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They just got screwed again because the d man just covered the puck with his glove in the crease.
Of course all this means is that the Sens will win.
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Well, he was in the crease, which is where you can't touch the goalie, but when you are on a rush like that, it is nearly impossible to not end up in the crease and make some contact. Tough call either way.
True. But, again....the only reason he touched him was due to the kick save. He was cruising past until then.
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They just got screwed again because the d man just covered the puck with his glove in the crease.
Of course all this means is that the Sens will win.
Yep. Clear as day.
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He even tried out avoid the goalie.
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The Trooper :metal
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I heard that and thought of you Tim! :metal
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I heard that and thought of you Tim! :metal
:2metal:
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Dammit. Well, more alcohol.
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:yarr
Cheers!
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Glad for ya King!
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YEEEESSSSS!!!!!!
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Glad for ya King!
Thanks Gary. Bedtime! Lol
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Hockey Gods like to torture Bs fans. The deserved that win. I think the two reviews could've gone either way.
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Ottawa blew a 2-goal lead, and then got every break imaginable.
They got two PPs at the end of the 3rd period.
They got lucky with two plays in the first OT (the non-goal and then the guy putting his hand on the puck on the crease).
And they still lost.
Crushing.
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This is utter fuc%ing bullshit that any time we touch a Wild player a penalty is called. Fuc%ing horseshit.
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Horse shit.
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The officiating should be ashamed of themselves. Or at least send the Blues and apology card.
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Ottawa blew a 2-goal lead, and then got every break imaginable.
They got two PPs at the end of the 3rd period.
They got lucky with two plays in the first OT (the non-goal and then the guy putting his hand on the puck on the crease).
And they still lost.
Crushing.
I'm still tired from staying up watching the game.
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The officiating should be ashamed of themselves. Or at least send the Blues and apology card.
The Blues should be ashamed of themselves for blowing a 2-goal lead twice. You get the sense that if they don't win this in OT, the Wild will take the last two and complete the comeback. I am almost expecting it.
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The officiating should be ashamed of themselves. Or at least send the Blues and apology card.
The Blues should be ashamed of themselves for blowing a 2-goal lead twice. You get the sense that if they don't win this in OT, the Wild will take the last two and complete the comeback. I am almost expecting it.
If not for a couple questionable/weak callls against them in the third the Wild don't get that momentum. Perron is tackled at center ice with no call then twenty seconds later Boumeister is called for tripping a guy when they were jockeying for position in front of the net.
The refs didn't give up the goals but they threw two gallons of gas on a near burnt out ember. It's horse shit.
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Lookey what happens when the refs put the whistles away
:metal
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Whew. Now I can breathe. :lol :lol
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Oh Magnus, how your oilers jersey just collects dust in my closet. Glad the Blues got it done. If the oil make the conference final they'll have home ice now ;D
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Fuck yeah!!! :metal They didn't make it easy but it feels so good to advance to the next round. Up next: either Boston or Ottawa.
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YESSSSS!
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What really blows is if Boston wins tomorrow, Game 7 of that series wouldn't be till Wednesday, meaning if Washington closes out Toronto tomorrow, we'd have no hockey on Monday or Tuesday.
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Sharks are dead. Wow. Well, so long hockey, I'll see you in October.
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What really blows is if Boston wins tomorrow, Game 7 of that series wouldn't be till Wednesday, meaning if Washington closes out Toronto tomorrow, we'd have no hockey on Monday or Tuesday.
#withdrawalshakes
That's some odd scheduling to possibly go 2 days without so soon in the playoffs.
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They just got screwed again because the d man just covered the puck with his glove in the crease.
Of course all this means is that the Sens will win.
Yep. Clear as day.
No, not at all. The goalie interference could go either way. Personally I think the call on the ice would stand either way, but if there was no call I would have gone goal.
But the D-man pushed the puck with his glove, which is different from covering it. Big difference, and a correct non-call.
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What really blows is if Boston wins tomorrow, Game 7 of that series wouldn't be till Wednesday, meaning if Washington closes out Toronto tomorrow, we'd have no hockey on Monday or Tuesday.
#withdrawalshakes
That's some odd scheduling to possibly go 2 days without so soon in the playoffs.
Kinda pulling for Ottawa and Washington just so we can proceed to round two. :lol
Stat I hope to hear today if it looks like that's a possibility... when is the last time in NHL playoffs the first round went by without a single game 7?
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They just got screwed again because the d man just covered the puck with his glove in the crease.
Of course all this means is that the Sens will win.
Yep. Clear as day.
Blah blah blah Bruins suck. Bluh blah blah I hate the Bruins.
Let's go Bruins duh duh duhduhduh
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What really blows is if Boston wins tomorrow, Game 7 of that series wouldn't be till Wednesday, meaning if Washington closes out Toronto tomorrow, we'd have no hockey on Monday or Tuesday.
#withdrawalshakes
That's some odd scheduling to possibly go 2 days without so soon in the playoffs.
That happened TWICE with the Blues and Wild in the first round.
Game 3 was last Sunday.
Game 4 was Wednesday.
Game 5 was yesterday.
Dumb.
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They just got screwed again because the d man just covered the puck with his glove in the crease.
Of course all this means is that the Sens will win.
Yep. Clear as day.
Blah blah blah Bruins suck. Bluh blah blah I hate the Bruins.
Let's go Bruins duh duh duhduhduh
I mean, I gave the Bruins credit on the non-goal, but keep hearing as you wish homer. :p
Not a fantastic start for Ottawa. They got gifted with power play after power play and end up with one against right after those.
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Between periods, I'll probably flip over to the Flyers game. Oh wait...
:P :P :P :P :P
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Between periods, I'll probably flip over to the Flyers game. Oh wait...
:P :P :P :P :P
Your smack game is strong, but your case for a penalty in that scrum still isn't. :p
Bruins will win just as many cups as the Flyers this year. Not exactly sure who will win it this year, but the Bruins aren't even in the running.
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Between periods, I'll probably flip over to the Flyers game. Oh wait...
:P :P :P :P :P
(https://www.reactiongifs.com/r/2013/02/incredulous.gif)
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The Bruins have done everything they can so far to meet the Flyers for golf tomorrow.
3 DoG penalties, and ANOTHER 1 on 1 breakaway. :facepalm:
I figure the B's will win today and we will have to wait another three days to be eliminated. Too painful.
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The Bruins have done everything they can so far to meet the Flyers for golf tomorrow.
3 DoG penalties, and ANOTHER 1 on 1 breakaway. :facepalm:
I figure the B's will win today and we will have to wait another three days to be eliminated. Too painful.
Yeah, not exactly a stellar start but at the end of the day they are up 1-0. Against Ottawa I honestly wouldn't be totally shocked if they came back and won the series. Since they get the Rangers next I can even see them winning that series. They will not however move past the conference final.
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The Bruins have generally matched up pretty well with NY. Pittsburgh too for some reason. The only team they have no shot at beating is Washington.
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Not going to matter anyway..
Kyle Turris is a Bruins killer and he's been very quiet this series. Only a matter of time...
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2 quick goals by Ottawa. Ugh.
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Well, penalties loses games and series. Game over for the B's.
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So when Pastrnak tackles a guy (McCarthur should've been called for interference, he set the pick), and the Sens's guy dives at the B's guy's legs and takes him out, it's not called??
Oh well. The refs aren't the reason the B's lost.
Good series. As expected. A close as you can get.
Go Celtics!!
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At least now we'll either get a Game 7 on Tuesday or the first round ends tonight.
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Brouwer and Backes......out of the playoffs in the first round. Folks in StL whined pretty good when we let them go. And Elliot....average at best and was pulled in a game for the Flames. Folks were hot StL traded him and handed the future to Allen.
Doesn't look so bad now, huh?
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Should be no surprise to you guys, but I hope Backes does some major work this off season. At times, you could see exactly why they got him, but he really was invisible on far too many nights.
Exactly what you guys had said.
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Should be no surprise to you guys, but I hope Backes does some major work this off season. At times, you could see exactly why they got him, but he really was invisible on far too many nights.
Exactly what you guys had said.
I don't know how much 'better' he's gonna get. Great team mate, great leader....but he's logged a ton of hard hours. I think you've seen what you're going to get. As you said, there are stretches where he's 'on'.....like last year in the playoffs for us. But when he's 'off' he truly is invisible.
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I'd still have his baby though.
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I'd still have his baby though.
That's a given.
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I'd still have his baby though.
That's a given.
:metal
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Fun series, I'm glad it's over. Boston proved to be exactly what I thought they would be--tough. They weren't gonna go away quietly.
Onto the Rangers. That's gonna be another fun one
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Good luck there. Big and tough team.
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At this point, I'm just happy to get four more games at least. If you told me at the start of the OTT/BOS series that Ottawa would have won, I wouldn't have believed you, so this is great.
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First round is done.
STL/NASH
ANA/EDM
WAS/PIT
OTT/NYR
Should be a good second round.
I am hearing there are issues with concerts here in St. Louis and Nashville the next two weeks, so the schedule for that is probably going to be a mess. :lol :lol
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Well damn. Anderson damn near stole that one, but a fluke and weak defensive play let him down.
But to tell you the truth, this team made huge strides this year, and the D played well beyond their means for the last 6 games. They outshot the Caps for the entire series, and killed - KILLED - them on faceoffs. I think last night it was something like 65%. Goes to show how strong the Caps are when 2/3 times, they are chasing the puck.
The future is already bright, and if they can get some upgrades on the blue-line, I can see them being as dominant as the big-4 in the Metro division were this year.
Predictions:
StL
Ana
Was
NY
All should be really good series'. I'll be watching StL/Nash and Pitt/Caps. Thankfully, those two series' are on alternating nights.
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Oh, good. Boston is out.
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Time to see if the Caps can finally exorcise those demons.
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Due to my superstition, I can't make a prediction on NYR-OTT, but I'm going to predict the other three series.
Pittsburgh over Washington
Edmonton over Anaheim
Nashville over St. Louis (sorry Gary and Kev)
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Nashville over St. Louis (sorry Gary and Kev)
I agree. As much as I'd love the Blues to win, the Preds have looked great. I think the Blues can certainly beat them....but they would need to get their top players to step it up. Sounds like an obvious thing to say but it's true.
I do think each game will be close though. I can't see a 'blow out' game unless one team just craps the bed one game.
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Due to my superstition, I can't make a prediction on NYR-OTT, but I'm going to predict the other three series.
Pittsburgh over Washington
Edmonton over Anaheim
Nashville over St. Louis (sorry Gary and Kev)
I'm going to agree with your picks and also take the Rags over the Sens.
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Pittsburgh over Washington
New York over Ottawa
Anaheim over Edmonton
St. Louis over Nashville
The only picks that I am really confident about are NY and Anaheim. The others are really tough to pick and could easily go either way. I'm really hoping that Washington can take care of Pittsburgh once and for all this year, but their play wasn't exactly inspiring in the first round.
I can't wait for the second round to start though, I wish we didn't have to wait until Wednesday :facepalm:
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The only picks that I am really confident about are NY and Anaheim. The others are really tough to pick and could easily go either way. I'm really hoping that Washington can take care of Pittsburgh once and for all this year, but their play wasn't exactly inspiring in the first round.
As a life long Pens fan, I can honestly say that this Caps team is better than the Pens on paper going into this series. I just can't pick the Caps to win it though. It's got nothing to do with me being a Pens fan, it's honestly just the fact that this Caps team with Ovie has never made it past the second round, so I'm kinda in "I'll believe it when I see it" territory with them.
That being said, I'd have to think, with the Blackhawks and the Wild already gone in the West, that the winner of the Caps/Pens series probably will win the cup.
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The only picks that I am really confident about are NY and Anaheim. The others are really tough to pick and could easily go either way. I'm really hoping that Washington can take care of Pittsburgh once and for all this year, but their play wasn't exactly inspiring in the first round.
As a life long Pens fan, I can honestly say that this Caps team is better than the Pens on paper going into this series. I just can't pick the Caps to win it though. It's got nothing to do with me being a Pens fan, it's honestly just the fact that this Caps team with Ovie has never made it past the second round, so I'm kinda in "I'll believe it when I see it" territory with them.
That being said, I'd have to think, with the Blackhawks and the Wild already gone in the West, that the winner of the Caps/Pens series probably will win the cup.
I'm on the same page as you, I just can't pick the Capitals in a series against a loaded Penguins team, especially because of their history in the playoffs. I don't mean to hate on the Penguins, I just want some new to win this year. My team was trash again this year :facepalm: (Colorado), so I don't really have a dog in the fight.
As for the West, something tells me Anaheim is the team no one in the East would want to face, and could give a team like the Penguins fits if they played. We'll see though, I am really looking forward to seeing how everything will unfold.
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^I feel you the Ducks are good... missing Letang in this series might be too much for the Pens. In the Caps/Pens series last year he averaged like 31 minutes per game across the series and it was all quality time. Hard to replace that. They also basically tapped Letang over the boards anytime Ovie was on the ice, so we will have to see how the Pens d-core can handle things.
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I believe the Caps will realize they've got to pick things up. They got their scare with the Leafs, but know they can't take a single shift off with the Pens. It'll likely go 6 or 7, but I think they'll pull it off.
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I believe the Caps will realize they've got to pick things up. They got their scare with the Leafs, but know they can't take a single shift off with the Pens. It'll likely go 6 or 7, but I think they'll pull it off.
That's one way it could go, or the Caps could come out and play at the same level they did against the Leafs, which in that case, I'd pick the Pens to win in 6.
Either way, it's going to be a good series that will probably go 6 or 7 regardless of the winner.
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I actually think Edmonton can, and will, beat the Ducks. If healthy, the Ducks really only have the advantage on D, but Lindholm, Vatanen, and Fowler are all injured. Sure they may suit up for game 1 tonight, but i think the SJ series just showed that you can't beat Edmonton with a depleted roster. And the Ducks SHOULD have swept Calgary. Even the Oil never lost to them this season.
Win or lose though, i feel like I'm playing with house money. At the start of the season I had my beloved oilers finishing about where LA and Winnepeg did.
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Well, the satisfaction of watching the Hawks get swept didn't last very long for me. My brother in law lives in Nashville and is a Preds fan and he's sending me texts that read #Smashville non stop now.
Along with chiding me for the Blues not sweeping the Wild. If the Blues advance and play the Preds and lose.....i will literally never hear the end of it.
Are you and the brother in law betting anything on the series? It should be a good series.
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Well, the satisfaction of watching the Hawks get swept didn't last very long for me. My brother in law lives in Nashville and is a Preds fan and he's sending me texts that read #Smashville non stop now.
Along with chiding me for the Blues not sweeping the Wild. If the Blues advance and play the Preds and lose.....i will literally never hear the end of it.
Are you and the brother in law betting anything on the series? It should be a good series.
Nothing as of yet. I thought about texting him some sort of bet....just can't think up a good one yet.
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EVERYTHING SUCKS
GO CAPS GO
GO OILERS GO
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Well, this Blues game has been interesting. Maybe the Blues should stay out of the box
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Well, this Blues game has been interesting. Maybe the Blues should stay out of the box
Nah. They should go :censored themselves so they know how those 19000 fans feel watching a bunch of :censored sissies skate around instead of a team that has an interest in winning a hockey game.
Sure, Nashville is playing good but it's not friggin overwhelming great. Nothing to write home about anyway.
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Nah. They should go :censored themselves so they know how those 19000 fans feel watching a bunch of :censored sissies skate around instead of a team that has an interest in winning a hockey game.
Sure, Nashville is playing good but it's not friggin overwhelming great. Nothing to write home about anyway.
I see this series going to 7, so it'll be a good one no matter what
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Nah. They should go :censored themselves so they know how those 19000 fans feel watching a bunch of :censored sissies skate around instead of a team that has an interest in winning a hockey game.
Sure, Nashville is playing good but it's not friggin overwhelming great. Nothing to write home about anyway.
I see this series going to 7, so it'll be a good one no matter what
I thought maybe 7 was in the cards but If thats the effort youre bringing to game 1 then they'll be lucky to win 2 games.
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How long have we been together on DTF? Every year Gary says..
(https://metsmerizedonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/al-pacino.png?c4e8ae)
Suckah! :lol
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:rollin
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I see J-Boy lurking.
Chad..Austin Mathews is a special player. The future of the NHL is alive and well with a McDavid/Mathews rivalry. I predict a Leafs/Oilers finals within three years. Holy f'n Canada, Batman.
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How long have we been together on DTF? Every year Gary says..
(https://metsmerizedonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/al-pacino.png?c4e8ae)
Suckah! :lol
Can't argue that. Only this year I'm unloading the fury via text to Chad.
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Just remember, you are 4 losses away from the llama! :lol
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Don't forget about Eichel.. :lol
When you google Sabres GM or Sabres Coach, he pops up
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How long have we been together on DTF? Every year Gary says..
(https://metsmerizedonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/al-pacino.png?c4e8ae)
Suckah! :lol
Can't argue that. Only this year I'm unloading the fury via text to Chad.
^ this I can verify. I'm absorbing his rage for you DTF.
@ Tim ... Auston Matthews / Connor McDavid could be this generation's version of Sid v Ovie. Connor is more of a playmaker; Auston more of the goal scorer. But yeah... The future is VERY bright for both franchises.
Riches is great, but not in the same league as McDavid/Matthews. They are in a class of their own. There are a ton of under-21 year olds that are going to keep the league exciting for many years.
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Eichel is wasted in Buffalo. The kid is a stud.
Maybe if he played on a line with Gilbert Perrault......
(#11=TAC's second favorite player of all time!)
Though true, he's not in McDavid's or Matthew's class.
And Chad, Ovechkin hasn't won jack shit. He doesn't deserve to be in the same conversation as Crosby. McDavid and Matthews will BOTH win Cups before Ovechkin sniffs one. That is, if he doesn't get there this year, he ain't getting there.
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Agreed re Ovie. I was just talking about talent and individual capabilities. I certainly hope Matthews can bring a cup here.
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IMO, Eichel is not very far beneath those two. If we are talking "tiers" then it's McDavid in one, and Eichel-Matthews in the next. If Eichel played with a Nylander/Draisaitl he would put up great numbers. Make no mistake though, all 3 are phenomenal players, and with the amount of under 23 studs in the NHL, the league is in great shape to transition from the Sid-Ovi-Toews era.
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He is ridiculous.
Not sure if anyone saw any Bruins/Sens games, but the Bruins brought in Charlie McAvoy after 2 years at BU. He was fantastic in the series and really looked like a young Ray Bourque.
I mentioned Perreault and Bourque. Who is everyone's favorite players?
For me:
Mike Bossy
Gilbert Perreault
Ray Bourque
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There ya go gmillerdrake. Right back in it
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There ya go gmillerdrake. Right back in it
It's amazing what you can do when you stay out of the box.
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@Jar ... Isn't that the point tho? McDavid makes draisaitl a better player, as does Matthews with Nylander. To be a truly GREAT player, you need a figurative wingman - Gretz/Mess; Mario/Jagr; Sid/Malkin; Kane/Toews; the list goes on. The best have someone a) they make better and B) spreads the defensive coverage.
Fave players:
Hextall
Jagr
Oates
Neely
Yzerman
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Chad, I can appreciate the Neely pick. he was a beast when he played.
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Yeah.... sucks his career was cut short. He would've been as good / better than Bossy.
Blues have as many goals as the Hawks did all series.
Yikes... another softie.
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What have you done for me lately Jake Allen?
Answer: Given up three soft ass goals to lose Game 1....that's what
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@Jar ... Isn't that the point tho? McDavid makes draisaitl a better player, as does Matthews with Nylander. To be a truly GREAT player, you need a figurative wingman - Gretz/Mess; Mario/Jagr; Sid/Malkin; Kane/Toews; the list goes on. The best have someone a) they make better and B) spreads the defensive coverage.
I hear ya, and agree with you, and not totally sure if you're for or against Eichel :lol but, again IMO, Draisaitl and Nylander are young studs in their own right who are also capable of making those they play with better too (not knocking on McD or Matthews at all), whereas no other forward on Buffalo comes even close to that level.
My favorite players:
Crosby
Lemieux
Brodeur
Lindros
Pronger
And I'll put Lidstrom in their to make what would have been a terrifying line to play against :lol
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@Jar ... Isn't that the point tho? McDavid makes draisaitl a better player, as does Matthews with Nylander. To be a truly GREAT player, you need a figurative wingman - Gretz/Mess; Mario/Jagr; Sid/Malkin; Kane/Toews; the list goes on. The best have someone a) they make better and B) spreads the defensive coverage.
I hear ya, and agree with you, and not totally sure if you're for or against Eichel :lol but, again IMO, Draisaitl and Nylander are young studs in their own right who are also capable of making those they play with better too (not knocking on McD or Matthews at all), whereas no other forward on Buffalo comes even close to that level.
I'm 'for' him, but I just don't see him in the same tier as McDavid and Matthews. He's definitely Top 5 of the under 20-ish year old crop, and if Buffalo can build something around him, they could be a playoff team in a few years. His situation reminds me of the Oilers at the start of the decade - despite having the #1 pick three years in a row, they couldn't do jack shit with them. Buffalo still has a long way to go, even with Eichel.
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As a Devils fan, I thankfully grew up witnessing my favorite team during their best years. That was the golden era of hockey for me (1990-2005), the height of my interest in the NHL. I sadly only casually watch now, but there will never be anything better than the Stanley Cup playoffs, the absolute best thing in sports. Really looking forward to seeing how these NSH/STL and PIT/WSH series play out!
Favorite players:
Brodeur
Stevens (Scott)
Probert
Sakic
Clark (Wendell)
Roberts (Gary)
And of the newer guys, probably Kane...
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I went to the game with my cousin tonight. 8 rows from the ice and all-inclusive, which meant free food and drinks! Score!
I hated to see the Blues lose on a goal like that, but we still had a blast, and that 3rd period was some of the most exciting Blues hockey I've ever witnessed live. The Predators were really lucky to survive that blitz.
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Not sure if anyone saw any Bruins/Sens games, but the Bruins brought in Charlie McAvoy after 2 years at BU. He was fantastic in the series and really looked like a young Ray Bourque.
Missed this. I've been high on McAvoy for awhile now, and while I'm not old enough to really remember Bourque, I see lots of similarities between McAvoy and Doughty. He's going to be a heck of a player.
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I went to the game with my cousin tonight. 8 rows from the ice and all-inclusive, which meant free food and drinks! Score!
I hated to see the Blues lose on a goal like that, but we still had a blast, and that 3rd period was some of the most exciting Blues hockey I've ever witnessed live. The Predators were really lucky to survive that blitz.
Glad you had a good time Kev....you're much more even keeled than I am. I'd be pi$$ed. Sure, the third period was inspiring and fun and all but where was that intensity and urgency all game? Same story...different series. And, three of the four goals were soft as :censored As I said..what have you done for me lately Jake? Any 'aura' he had from the first round is gone. He looked horrid.
Anytime you score three goals off of Pecca Rinne you should win, period. That doesn't happen often. That game was there for the taking and the Blues coughed it up.
Scott Upshaw and Jori Lehtera should not see the ice ever again. Upshaw continued his stretch of taking another retarded penalty and Lehtera...well...he just flat ass sucks. Put one of the rookies in there that are playing with passion instead of that European washout who lucked into a $4million dollar contract....man I hope Vegas takes that waste of space.
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And Chad, Ovechkin hasn't won jack shit. He doesn't deserve to be in the same conversation as Crosby.
TAC I like you more each day.
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I went to the game with my cousin tonight. 8 rows from the ice and all-inclusive, which meant free food and drinks! Score!
I hated to see the Blues lose on a goal like that, but we still had a blast, and that 3rd period was some of the most exciting Blues hockey I've ever witnessed live. The Predators were really lucky to survive that blitz.
Glad you had a good time Kev....you're much more even keeled than I am. I'd be pi$$ed. Sure, the third period was inspiring and fun and all but where was that intensity and urgency all game? Same story...different series. And, three of the four goals were soft as :censored As I said..what have you done for me lately Jake? Any 'aura' he had from the first round is gone. He looked horrid.
Anytime you score three goals off of Pecca Rinne you should win, period. That doesn't happen often. That game was there for the taking and the Blues coughed it up.
Scott Upshaw and Jori Lehtera should not see the ice ever again. Upshaw continued his stretch of taking another retarded penalty and Lehtera...well...he just flat ass sucks. Put one of the rookies in there that are playing with passion instead of that European washout who lucked into a $4million dollar contract....man I hope Vegas takes that waste of space.
My cousin and I were talking about that after the game. We actually are hoping Vegas takes Lehtera and that contract off our hands.
Allen didn't play great, but I think he'll bounce back.
Parayko and Schwartz are both incredible to watch live. Parayko is already so damn good, and is just gonna get better. :coolio
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Not sure if anyone saw any Bruins/Sens games, but the Bruins brought in Charlie McAvoy after 2 years at BU. He was fantastic in the series and really looked like a young Ray Bourque.
Missed this. I've been high on McAvoy for awhile now, and while I'm not old enough to really remember Bourque, I see lots of similarities between McAvoy and Doughty. He's going to be a heck of a player.
Definitely looks like Doughty out there.
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I didn't watch enough of the Bruins/Sens series to get a good watch of McAvoy, but there sure was a lot of buzz about him.
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Come on Ottawa, 3 more wins!
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Well when you take dumb penalties and don't play good defense in front of your goalie, you usually don't win games. Regroup and beat them in game 2.
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Good start by the Pens last night. My thought before the series was that they would need to steal one of the first two in DC in order to win this series. Consider one game in DC stolen.
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That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night. Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline. Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way. SO frustrating. Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything. This could be a long series.
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Late to the favourite player thread:
Ovechkin
Kovalev
Price
Souray
Joe Thornton
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That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night. Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline. Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way. SO frustrating. Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything. This could be a long series.
That's how the Sens and their trap works. Boring way to play but it works.
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That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night. Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline. Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way. SO frustrating. Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything. This could be a long series.
That's how the Sens and their trap works. Boring way to play but it works.
1995 New Jersey all over again?
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That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night. Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline. Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way. SO frustrating. Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything. This could be a long series.
That's how the Sens and their trap works. Boring way to play but it works.
1995 New Jersey all over again?
Please don't remind me of 15 years of bad memories in hockey :lol
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Crosby is so damn good. Two goals last night in under a minute. :hefdaddy :hefdaddy
That winner by the Sens was crazy. A million to one shot and it went in.
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Tarasenko ties it up after a very dirty hit on Parayko. Parayko better be okay or I'm cracking some skulls. :hat
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Tarasenko ties it up after a very dirty hit on Parayko. Parayko better be okay or I'm cracking some skulls. :hat
Cheap ass hit. It's the Blues. Parayko will have a blown out knee, you know that.
Although i thought i saw him say 'I'm fine'
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The Blues PP stinks.
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The Blues PP stinks.
Yeah. Gonna cost them. 9 minutes of Power play time and 1 goal. Pretty bad.
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Gonna find my Dad tomorrow and slap him for making me a Blues fan.
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Gonna find my Dad tomorrow and slap him for making me a Blues fan.
Hold off on the slapping! We've got a game here :lol
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That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night. Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline. Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way. SO frustrating. Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything. This could be a long series.
Gonna be a fun series! For me at least, I always enjoy watching the Sens play
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Gonna find my Dad tomorrow and slap him for making me a Blues fan.
Hold off on the slapping! We've got a game here :lol
:lol still gonna get him.
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Tarasenko is awesome :metal I'm happy for the Blues, I'm pulling for them in the West.
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That was awesome. Tarasenko is so good. Fun series so far.
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I'm gonna have to take Chads advice and switch to decaf before I watch a game. Those last few minutes of holding off the Preds had my heart a pumpin.
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Good thing Talbot brought his A-game tonight. The 1st was a shooting gallery.
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I'm gonna have to take Chads advice and switch to decaf before I watch a game. Those last few minutes of holding off the Preds had my heart a pumpin.
(https://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/George-Costanza-Winking.gif)
Holy hell did the Preds bring it. I'm always in awe that a team can do that after coasting for so much of a game. Allen returned to form, and he/Vladi put the team on their backs and carried that victory. Fantastic game.
Edmonton looks like the real deal. Hope they can continue this at home.
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Glad the oil won last night, but if they keep playing like that the rest of the series they'll lose the next 4. Talbot stole that game.
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I'm gonna have to take Chads advice and switch to decaf before I watch a game. Those last few minutes of holding off the Preds had my heart a pumpin.
I counted 48 new gray hairs. :biggrin: :lol
Allen returned to form, and he/Vladi put the team on their backs and carried that victory. Fantastic game.
Tarasenko came up big last night. The two goals were obviously huge, and his sliding defensive play near the end was the kind of sacrifice you love to see the stars make in the playoffs. :coolio
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Allen returned to form, and he/Vladi put the team on their backs and carried that victory. Fantastic game.
Tarasenko came up big last night. The two goals were obviously huge, and his sliding defensive play near the end was the kind of sacrifice you love to see the stars make in the playoffs. :coolio
Interesting quote from Edmundson in the paper about Tarasenko's second goal. I thought it looked like a bit of fortune when the puck went from his skate over to Vladi...but...it was intentional:
Joel Edmundson can’t recall how Blues teammate Vladimir Tarasenko called for the puck. But he knew it was the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer begging for it with time running down in a tie game Friday between the Blues and Nashville Predators.
“I know his voice,” Edmundson said.
The defenseman was planning to stop a pass from Jaden Schwartz with his skate and move the puck to his stick, but upon hearing the Russian inflection, Edmundson instead steered it with his foot to Tarasenko, who put his second goal of the night past Nashville’s Pekka Rinne for the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over the Predators.
Reminds me of the goal he scored with seconds to go in regulation two years ago against Chicago in the playoffs when Petriangelo said he didn't know what Tarasenko was screaming to him....that it was all in Russian....but he figured he really wanted the puck :lol
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What is going on in this Rangers/Sens game lol? Wide open hockey at both ends
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What is going on in this Rangers/Sens game lol? Wide open hockey at both ends
Yea I'm loving it, so much more enjoyable to watch this game than game 1 (besides the score)
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Wow. Ottawa coming back to tie it in the last couple minutes.
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I may break something
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My heart can't take this game. My god....
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I may break something
:rollin So comforting to know I'm not the only one.
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I may break something
:rollin So comforting to know I'm not the only one.
I'm like that too.
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I may break something
:rollin So comforting to know I'm not the only one.
I'm like that too.
I'm not sure the range of emotions a die hard fan goes through during a playoff game is healthy for a human to endure.
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This is wearing on me and I'm only very casually rooting for Ottowa :lol
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YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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FUCK!!!!! Honestly, the Rangers are done. They didn't look like a team that wanted to win at various points throughout the game. I don't have the faith in them to turn this series around and it will stay that way unless they show me something different in Game 3.
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:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:
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I'm not sure the range of emotions a die hard fan goes through during a playoff game is healthy for a human to endure.
Amen to that. As rough as some of these games have been for us Blues fans, Rangers fans probably were looking for a noose today. :lol :lol
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PAGEAU PAGEAU PAGEAU PAGEAU
suck it Rags
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So cool to hear the arena chanting his name
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I'm not sure the range of emotions a die hard fan goes through during a playoff game is healthy for a human to endure.
Amen to that. As rough as some of these games have been for us Blues fans, Rangers fans probably were looking for a noose today. :lol :lol
I'm also a die hard Jets fan as far as football goes. At this point in my life, death seems like a better option than dealing with heartbreak twice a year.
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Pitt is Wachington's kryptonite. The simply have the yips against the Pens. And Shattenkirk has looked like a liability so far. He was mediocre against the Leafs, and the cause for 2 of Pitt's goals last night.
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Pitt is Wachington's kryptonite. The simply have the yips against the Pens. And Shattenkirk has looked like a liability so far. He was mediocre against the Leafs, and the cause for 2 of Pitt's goals last night.
In Game 1, missed the first period, and I literally thought he was out of the game because I did not hear his name called in periods 2 and 3. Same for last night. Where was he?
And fuck Brooks Orpik too.
Wow, Holtby, who I think is awesome, totally sucked last night.
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I'm not sure the range of emotions a die hard fan goes through during a playoff game is healthy for a human to endure.
Amen to that. As rough as some of these games have been for us Blues fans, Rangers fans probably were looking for a noose today. :lol :lol
I'm also a die hard Jets fan as far as football goes. At this point in my life, death seems like a better option than dealing with heartbreak twice a year.
At least you have the Mets and the Knicks...oh wait. :P :biggrin:
Pitt is Wachington's kryptonite. The simply have the yips against the Pens. And Shattenkirk has looked like a liability so far. He was mediocre against the Leafs, and the cause for 2 of Pitt's goals last night.
Blues fans are probably the only ones not surprised. Shattenkirk is dynamite on the PP, but a major liability on defense.
Wow, Holtby, who I think is awesome, totally sucked last night.
On the one hand, it's not his fault that the team in front of him allowed the Pens to have THREE odd man rushes in the 2nd period.
On the other hand, to win big playoff games, your goalie has to step up in those situations and make big saves. Holtby did not.
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Pitt is Wachington's kryptonite. The simply have the yips against the Pens. And Shattenkirk has looked like a liability so far. He was mediocre against the Leafs, and the cause for 2 of Pitt's goals last night.
Blues fans are probably the only ones not surprised. Shattenkirk is dynamite on the PP, but a major liability on defense.
Yep. I think the Blues made out great with that trade. Sanford is already showing promise....and once that kid puts on about 10 lbs of muscle he'll be even better. Like Kev mentioned, Shattenkirk is an asset on the PP but you have to weigh that with the fact that he's really just an 'average' defensive D=man. Personally, I've been thrilled not having to watch him cough up the puck three or four times a game that leads to a direct prime scoring chance for the other team. I can live with the hit to the PP because that is fixable.
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That's why I never understood why Washington went out and got him. They have Carlson, who if not an elite puck mover, isn't very far off. Shattenkirk will look good on NYR, he's just the kind of player they need.
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I LOVE John Carlson. Love him.
The only player I truly despise in this series is Orpik.
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It's one or the other. You're letting them play or not. Can't ignore cross checks and rough play on both sides then call a BS penalty
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Thanks Refs. :tup Effin' horseshit.
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It's one or the other. You're letting them play or not. Can't ignore cross checks and rough play on both sides then call a BS penalty
The officiating in this game is horrific. I'm contemplating just not watching it's that bad.
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The lethargic effort by the Blues is more of a reason to turn it off. I still don't get this team sometimes.
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The lethargic effort by the Blues is more of a reason to turn it off. I still don't get this team sometimes.
It's confusing for sure.
Honestly if it weren't for the 'brother in law' factor with this series I wouldn't care when/if they lose this series. I just can't have them lose this for that reason. It will suck.
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The "brother-in-law" factor is a contributing reason to why I always smile when Washington loses.
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:censored >:( :censored >:(
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On my way to Rogers Place to, hopefully, watch the Oil put a choke hold on this series!
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When you trade away your star defenseman in his prime for a markedly worse player with a bad contract who will only continue to get worse and he leads his new team to a 6-1 record to start the playoffs while playing injured. :)
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When you trade away your star defenseman in his prime for a markedly worse player with a bad contract who will only continue to get worse and he leads his new team to a 6-1 record to start the playoffs while playing injured. :)
Subban? We have different opinions of 'leading' then
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The crowd here singing the American anthem due to a mic malfunction was surreal.
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^That was super cool!
When you trade away your star defenseman in his prime for a markedly worse player with a bad contract who will only continue to get worse and he leads his new team to a 6-1 record to start the playoffs while playing injured. :)
Subban? We have different opinions of 'leading' then
Exaggerating with the leading comment, but he's been incredible.
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The crowd here singing the American anthem due to a mic malfunction was surreal.
Wow, that was awesome. Just figured they always did that.
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^That was super cool!
When you trade away your star defenseman in his prime for a markedly worse player with a bad contract who will only continue to get worse and he leads his new team to a 6-1 record to start the playoffs while playing injured. :)
Subban? We have different opinions of 'leading' then
Exaggerating with the leading comment, but he's been incredible.
Nashvilles D men are the only reason they're where they're at right now.
Although....I'm over Subbans 'antics'. I'm sure it's neat when he's your player but he's utterly annoying at this point.
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Although....I'm over Subbans 'antics'. I'm sure it's neat when he's your player but he's utterly annoying at this point.
Welcome to our world. Though he's not half of the ass hat he was when he was with Montreal.
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Subban is the classic player you hate if he's not on your team, but love him if he is. There is no denying the guy is a heckuva player, regardless.
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The crowd here singing the American anthem due to a mic malfunction was surreal.
Wow, that was awesome. Just figured they always did that.
No. We usually do it with our anthem, but that was a first.
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Although....I'm over Subbans 'antics'. I'm sure it's neat when he's your player but he's utterly annoying at this point.
Welcome to our world. Though he's not half of the ass hat he was when he was with Montreal.
gotta hate it when a guy's exuberance for the sport shows through in his personality
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^That was super cool!
When you trade away your star defenseman in his prime for a markedly worse player with a bad contract who will only continue to get worse and he leads his new team to a 6-1 record to start the playoffs while playing injured. :)
Subban? We have different opinions of 'leading' then
Exaggerating with the leading comment, but he's been incredible.
Nashvilles D men are the only reason they're where they're at right now.
Although....I'm over Subbans 'antics'. I'm sure it's neat when he's your player but he's utterly annoying at this point.
Nashville has the best top 4 defense in the league by far. It's pretty insane.
And yeah, Subban can definitely be hateable if he isn't on your team. One of my favourite players but I won't deny he tends to dive and can be a dirty player.
Although....I'm over Subbans 'antics'. I'm sure it's neat when he's your player but he's utterly annoying at this point.
Welcome to our world. Though he's not half of the ass hat he was when he was with Montreal.
He's the same as ever. It just isn't as in-your-face because he's on a less publicized team. I love him regardless though. :D
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Subban is the classic player you hate if he's not on your team, but love him if he is. There is no denying the guy is a heckuva player, regardless.
Totally. Would love to have him but we don't so I 'hate' him.
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Subban is a top-shelf person. The stuff he does for Children's charities and hospitals off the ice is phenomenal.
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Subban is a top-shelf person. The stuff he does for Children's charities and hospitals off the ice is phenomenal.
No need for this type of talk Chad. Can't you just let me be angry and take my frustrations about the Blues dickimg the dog and playing like crap out on a superstar player who I'd love to have on my team but don't. Jeez....
Subban big bad man.
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I'm beyond pumped the Pens were able to go into Washington and take the first two.... Not counting the Caps out yet, but I was simply hoping for a split of the first two games.
Sid is playing other worldly right now. Two goals in the first game, and he was the primary assist on two in the second game. The shift where he goes down in front of a puck to block it, shovels it ahead to Jake for the goal, awesome stuff.
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Recapping the last few days:
NUMBER TWO PICK, FUCK YES!
Non-Flyers fans might not recall, but we got fucked over by the lottery years ago, missing out on Patrick Kane. We did get an amazing player in James Van Riemsdyk at #2, but in one of the worst 1 for 1 trades in the history of the franchise we later sent him to Toronto for Luke Schenn. Fuck you very much on that one Chad.
On the Rangers, what a collapse by them the other night. Kinda felt like even if they got that last goal and won they would still feel down in the series. I really do think the teams are evenly matched, and it could still go either way, but if Ottawa can come out in game 3, and push the Rangers hard, maybe get them down two goals in the first period then that series will be over.
I'll be watching the Pens game tonight with my Pens fan friend, so if Washington could win that would be excellent. Frankly the series doesn't look too good. It's not that I think the Caps haven't played well, they have, but even playing their best might not be enough at this point. You can marginally outplay your opponent from here on out, but even if you do that doesn't mean you'll win 4 of 5 games. And the *really* shitty part (as a Flyers fan) is that if the Caps don't beat the Penguins, I don't think the Senators are going to do it if they move on.
Out West, lots of fun games, especially when you're less invested in the teams. I've expected Nashville to go deeper in other playoffs and they've faltered, and now this year I wasn't expecting too much from them and they are clearly blowing everyone away with their play. I still like the Blues team, and I like Yeo, but I still can't get over the fact that they were in the playoffs and traded a player away at the deadline. Just not a move from a team who thinks they are going to win. If Nashville keeps playing the way they have so far I don't think the Blues can step up big enough to take it away, so Nashville is in control of their destiny.
Oilers are fun and scary to root for. Everyone thought they were going in the right direction this year, but not to the cup. They've looked like a team that could go, and then they're the only teams to lose a game by 7 goals, or probably 6 or 5 goals I would think.
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NUMBER TWO PICK, FUCK YES!
Thought of you, Nick while watching the Draft Lottery.
We did get an amazing player in James Van Riemsdyk at #2, but in one of the worst 1 for 1 trades in the history of the franchise we later sent him to Toronto for Luke Schenn.
Such a bad trade. I remember asking you WTF when it happened.
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NUMBER TWO PICK, FUCK YES!
Thought of you, Nick while watching the Draft Lottery.
Moi aussi
We did get an amazing player in James Van Riemsdyk at #2, but in one of the worst 1 for 1 trades in the history of the franchise we later sent him to Toronto for Luke Schenn.
Such a bad trade. I remember asking you WTF when it happened.
What was the problem again? Holmgren did the charitable and humanitarian thing reuniting the Schenn brothers.
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Moi aussi
Not sure what Brent or Kade would be doing in the hockey thread, but..ok.
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Moi aussi
Not sure what Brent or Kade would be doing in the hockey thread, but..ok.
FRANÇAIS MOTHER FUCKER. PARLEZ-VOUS??
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Moi aussi
Not sure what Brent or Kade would be doing in the hockey thread, but..ok.
FRANÇAIS MOTHER FUCKER. PARLEZ-VOUS??
Les chances sont pire. Seulement nous Canadiens peut parlez en francais ici.
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C'est pas vrai, je suis americain et je parle francais. Ma femme est francaise et j'ai habité en France pendant 2 ans. :P
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Yeah, um, so anyway.. ;D
I actually took 3 years of French in high school.
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I hope Crosby is OK.
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What a fucking comeback. I love playoff hockey.
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I'm going to refrain from posting a lot of the angry thoughts I have about that game and choose to focus on the positives.
Even after their captain went down, this Pens team was still able to battle back and force OT. They still have a one game lead, and still have a good team even without Sid. They are by no means out of it, this just makes things a little harder.
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I hope Crosby is OK.
Been watching this replay over and over....I know there is bad blood and all between those two teams but I honestly don't think that looked like an intentional shot to the head. If you watch it at real time it was just a culmination of factors and timing that ended in a horrible situation. They were going to collide and it looked like the Caps player was bracing for it....Crosby was falling....it just was a bang bang play.
I'm going to refrain from posting a lot of the angry thoughts I have about that game and choose to focus on the positives.
You're a better man than I....
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I hope Crosby is OK.
Been watching this replay over and over....I know there is bad blood and all between those two teams but I honestly don't think that looked like an intentional shot to the head. If you watch it at real time it was just a culmination of factors and timing that ended in a horrible situation. They were going to collide and it looked like the Caps player was bracing for it....Crosby was falling....it just was a bang bang play.
I'm going to refrain from posting a lot of the angry thoughts I have about that game and choose to focus on the positives.
You're a better man than I....
There's just so much that I could say... :lol
My main issues can be summed up as such (1) Nisky and this Caps team were essentially building up to this. Matt was going at Sid all series long, last night was the unfortunate culmination. (2) I hate to sound like a moaning fan, but the league has to start calling games tighter or it's going to eventually die. I'm not asking for radical rule changes, I'm just asking them to call the rules on the book, every time, regardless of score and situation. Simply doing that would open up the game, generate more scoring (which is what people want to see) and protect the stars of the league (which is also what people pay to come see).
That hit can't be looked at in a vacuum because I watched the Caps push toward those dirty hits more and more throughout the first two games and when they realized they could get away with them, things escalated. It's just disheartening as a Pens fan to watch the best player in the world get tripped/hooked start to fall, get cross-checked in the head horribly, and then for the coach of that team to call it "a hockey play" in post-game. I get you can't throw your guys under the bus, but you perpetuate the problem by normalizing those plays and hits.
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I actually took 3 years of French in high school.
Ha! Two more years than I did. :lol
As for the Niskinen hit... I agree with Gary, looked like he was ready to give Sid a shot, and then Ovie's double slash (you see the torque on Ovie's stick!) caused Sid to slip, and unfortunately Niskinen's stick was right at Sid's head. Niskinen never separates his hands like you would often see if someone was planning on throwing a bit of a cross-check. It blows - I always want to watch the best players, but I don't think it deserved a match penalty, and hope it doesn't result in a suspension.
Man, if the Caps lost that one, they're confidence would be blown for certain - up 2 with 2 to play, and then lose to go down 3-0? That would've been the end of a lot of people in Washington. Amazing the difference one goal can make.
It's just a shame it had to come from the stick of The Shat.
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As for the Niskinen hit... I agree with Gary, looked like he was ready to give Sid a shot, and then Ovie's double slash (you see the torque on Ovie's stick!) caused Sid to slip, and unfortunately Niskinen's stick was right at Sid's head. Niskinen never separates his hands like you would often see if someone was planning on throwing a bit of a cross-check. It blows - I always want to watch the best players, but I don't think it deserved a match penalty, and hope it doesn't result in a suspension.
Man, if the Caps lost that one, they're confidence would be blown for certain - up 2 with 2 to play, and then lose to go down 3-0? That would've been the end of a lot of people in Washington. Amazing the difference one goal can make.
It's just a shame it had to come from the stick of The Shat.
I believe a cross check to the head that results in injury is an automatic major.
Agreed on the Shat scoring the OT winner though, true shame.
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As a Pens fan, Niskanen probably deserved the match penalty because it no doubt looks bad at high speed, but because of how injured Crosby appeared to be. No suspension needed Or deserved, perhaps the league should give a phone hearing for the purpose of warning everyone that they are Watching, but that's it.
To me, the hit is a bang-bang hockey play. Of course Niskanen is trying to hit him, that's his job, especially on a star player, but he can't foresee the Ovechkin slash coming, or their skates colliding causing Crosby to begin to fall. The Ovechkin slash was high, and also deserved a penalty, but I can just imagine there are idiots saying "can't call Ovechkin, Sid chopped Methot's finger off!!!!" (Both slashes should be penalties every time, both had crappy outcomes, Ovechkin's is "worse" because you don't see dozens of slashes to guys' shoulders every game like you do to a guy's stick and hands area).
All that said, I'm going to bitch and moan a little. Everyone who still somehow hates Crosby sees that hit last night and not only (rightfully) believes that it wasn't dirty, but that he somehow deserves it because of his late season stick work and any number of other reasons. I read hundreds of tweets saying "fuck Crosby, glad he's hurt," and that's just disgusting. People want to make Crosby out as the guy at fault because he got hit, and say things like "oh because its Crosby Niskanen gets that penalty." I bet all those people were also ready to crucify Wideman last year when he's not paying attention and also brings his stick out in front of him as a reaction to protect himself.
I do wish the NHL would tell the refs to actually ref. Every year more things are allowed again, and sooner or later we will be right back to the clutch and grab hockey that was so boring to watch.
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As a Pens fan, Niskanen probably deserved the match penalty because it no doubt looks bad at high speed, but because of how injured Crosby appeared to be. No suspension needed Or deserved, perhaps the league should give a phone hearing for the purpose of warning everyone that they are Watching, but that's it.
To me, the hit is a bang-bang hockey play. Of course Niskanen is trying to hit him, that's his job, especially on a star player, but he can't foresee the Ovechkin slash coming, or their skates colliding causing Crosby to begin to fall. The Ovechkin slash was high, and also deserved a penalty, but I can just imagine there are idiots saying "can't call Ovechkin, Sid chopped Methot's finger off!!!!" (Both slashes should be penalties every time, both had crappy outcomes, Ovechkin's is "worse" because you don't see dozens of slashes to guys' shoulders every game like you do to a guy's stick and hands area).
All that said, I'm going to bitch and moan a little. Everyone who still somehow hates Crosby sees that hit last night and not only (rightfully) believes that it wasn't dirty, but that he somehow deserves it because of his late season stick work and any number of other reasons. I read hundreds of tweets saying "fuck Crosby, glad he's hurt," and that's just disgusting. People want to make Crosby out as the guy at fault because he got hit, and say things like "oh because its Crosby Niskanen gets that penalty." I bet all those people were also ready to crucify Wideman last year when he's not paying attention and also brings his stick out in front of him as a reaction to protect himself.
I do wish the NHL would tell the refs to actually ref. Every year more things are allowed again, and sooner or later we will be right back to the clutch and grab hockey that was so boring to watch.
Amen. Totally agreed.
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So, since legally it's all we'll be able to talk about for awhile, my take:
A couple of things on penalties in general, one of which I know I've gotten into lengthy discussion on before. Pre-season, regular season, post-season, regular time, overtime, ANY time the game should be called the same. The criteria for a call should be uniform throughout the league whenever there is play, period.
More importantly, an injury should never effect if a call is made or the severity of it. Just because one slash injured someone and an identical slash didn't doesn't make the act of the slash any better or worse. And in general you can have severe injuries on clean plays and nothing happen on cheap shots, you don't referee the outcome.
For that particular situation I would have liked to see two minor penalties called, one on Ovi for the slash and one on Niskanen for the high stick or cross check. Why not the major? Because I don't feel like it was in any way intentional. The replays show Niskanen focused on the puck and the play away from him as Crosby was coming at him. He had a player coming at him and was shielding/pushing him away and did it in a stupid fashion. It was a penalty but not a major.
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A couple of things on penalties in general, one of which I know I've gotten into lengthy discussion on before. Pre-season, regular season, post-season, regular time, overtime, ANY time the game should be called the same. The criteria for a call should be uniform throughout the league whenever there is play, period.
The officiating IS way too inconsistent. Laughable at times.
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Agreed on the consistency issue, a penalty should be a penalty no matter score or situation.
More importantly, an injury should never effect if a call is made or the severity of it. Just because one slash injured someone and an identical slash didn't doesn't make the act of the slash any better or worse. And in general you can have severe injuries on clean plays and nothing happen on cheap shots, you don't referee the outcome.
That's not the way the NHL (supposedly) does things though, is it? Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure for example if someone boards a player and that player suffers a head injury, that guy gets a game misconduct automatically. So that's a situation where whether the guy gets injured or not is affecting the penalty called on the ice. Like I said, I might be wrong on that, but that was my understanding.
For that particular situation I would have liked to see two minor penalties called, one on Ovi for the slash and one on Niskanen for the high stick or cross check. Why not the major? Because I don't feel like it was in any way intentional. The replays show Niskanen focused on the puck and the play away from him as Crosby was coming at him. He had a player coming at him and was shielding/pushing him away and did it in a stupid fashion. It was a penalty but not a major.
Is intent required for a major penalty to be called? Of course not, because most of the time it would be impossible to determine. Often times majors are due to extremely reckless play or more dangerous versions of minor penalties. I have no issue with the major being called.
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....And Crosby has a concussion.... :sad: >:(
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Agreed on the consistency issue, a penalty should be a penalty no matter score or situation.
More importantly, an injury should never effect if a call is made or the severity of it. Just because one slash injured someone and an identical slash didn't doesn't make the act of the slash any better or worse. And in general you can have severe injuries on clean plays and nothing happen on cheap shots, you don't referee the outcome.
That's not the way the NHL (supposedly) does things though, is it? Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure for example if someone boards a player and that player suffers a head injury, that guy gets a game misconduct automatically. So that's a situation where whether the guy gets injured or not is affecting the penalty called on the ice. Like I said, I might be wrong on that, but that was my understanding.
For that particular situation I would have liked to see two minor penalties called, one on Ovi for the slash and one on Niskanen for the high stick or cross check. Why not the major? Because I don't feel like it was in any way intentional. The replays show Niskanen focused on the puck and the play away from him as Crosby was coming at him. He had a player coming at him and was shielding/pushing him away and did it in a stupid fashion. It was a penalty but not a major.
Is intent required for a major penalty to be called? Of course not, because most of the time it would be impossible to determine. Often times majors are due to extremely reckless play or more dangerous versions of minor penalties. I have no issue with the major being called.
You are correct in that not being how the league does it. One of my biggest issues with the Dep. of Player Safety.
You are also correct in the criteria for a major penalty. You certainly do not need bad intent for it to be called. For that play I just didn't see it as reckless enough to warrant it either. Had Crosby not been falling head first he would have just been shoving him off to the side using his shoulder. It's unlike a boarding call where you're actively checking a guy. It was an instinct thing in a net front positional situation that will happen all the time. It's extremely unfortunate how it ended up, but I don't think Niskanen did anything extraordinary to deserve a big penalty.
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There's absolutely no way it should have been a major IMO. Shame he's concussed though. Sheary too, yikes.
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Heh, just came across this tweet: https://twitter.com/davelozo/status/859434745817702403
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Yeah, and to be fair, I wouldn't have been that upset with two minors being dished out as you posted. Whether or not the official called a minor or a major on Nisky wasn't my big issue. My main issues were that the league basically enabled this situation by not calling penalties throughout the series, or throughout any playoff series for that matter.
The NHL needs to understand that grit and toughness are great, but the skill and talent of stars sell tickets and generate TV money. In order for them to grow the popularity of the sport and make the league more successful, they need to start enforcing rules.
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Heh, just came across this tweet: https://twitter.com/davelozo/status/859434745817702403
The Internet wins 1-0 in OT.
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I agreed with the 5-minute major and game misconduct. It was, after all, a cross check to the head. However, I do not think it was premeditated or anything like that. Like has been said, it was a bang-bang play, and it was just bad timing for Crosby that he fell right at that exact moment.
Also, if the league started protecting players more by giving stiffer penalties, Crosby would pay as well. Remember that he jacked an opponent between his legs with his stick near the end of the season. And no, this is not a "he deserved it" post, but I am not going to feel too terribly sorry for Crosby for suffering a bad hit when he does stuff like that.
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I hope he's okay though. He's gonna have to start considering his life after hockey soon. Concussions ruin lives. Not saying he should retire but he'll have to start weighing that.
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I agreed with the 5-minute major and game misconduct. It was, after all, a cross check to the head. However, I do not think it was premeditated or anything like that. Like has been said, it was a bang-bang play, and it was just bad timing for Crosby that he fell right at that exact moment.
Also, if the league started protecting players more by giving stiffer penalties, Crosby would pay as well. Remember that he jacked an opponent between his legs with his stick near the end of the season. And no, this is not a "he deserved it" post, but I am not going to feel too terribly sorry for Crosby for suffering a bad hit when he does stuff like that.
Man, I was with you till the last part. :lol
It was bad timing. The league should protect the players more. That includes when Sid commits a penalty, totally agree. But let's not pretend like Sid is some dirty player. If you truly believe that, you haven't actually watched him play much at all. He's one of the classiest players out there, on and off the ice, he's just held under a bigger microscope than any other player. So when he does commit and penalty or get away with committing a penalty you just hear about it more, that's all.
Man, I'm really starting to sound like a Pen's fanboy here, sorry that's not my intention.
I hope he's okay though. He's gonna have to start considering his life after hockey soon. Concussions ruin lives. Not saying he should retire but he'll have to start weighing that.
Well he's had what, four or five recorded ones in the NHL? Not a terrible amount, but definitely should be a cause for pause.
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I'm starting to feel he's gonna end up with a shortened career - like he's this generation's version of Lindros.
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I'm starting to feel he's gonna end up with a shortened career - like he's this generation's version of Lindros.
Same with Mario.
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I'm starting to feel he's gonna end up with a shortened career - like he's this generation's version of Lindros.
Same with Mario.
This is not a "he deserved it" post, but I am not going to feel too terribly sorry for Mario for suffering a bad hit when he jumped on so many heads himself.
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I'm starting to feel he's gonna end up with a shortened career - like he's this generation's version of Lindros.
Same with Mario.
Yeah, but Mario wasn't concussion related.
Geez Nick... who pissed in your corn flakes this morning?? You probably thought Pelle Lindbergh had it coming too!
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I'm starting to feel he's gonna end up with a shortened career - like he's this generation's version of Lindros.
Same with Mario.
Yeah, but Mario wasn't concussion related.
Geez Nick... who pissed in your corn flakes this morning?? You probably thought Pelle Lindbergh had it coming too!
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a1gpyjPdZqM/hqdefault.jpg)
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@ me...
(https://media.giphy.com/media/YbAR0h76BJyJG/giphy.gif)
I was never a big NES player.
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It's very unfortunate for the Pens. There should have been a penalty to Oveshkin with that stick on the back of Crosby. It is not accidental and is quite a big shot. Then he falls and got the cross check to his head. Not intentional though you are always responsible of your hockey stick. I hate to see talented players getting taken out like that. Crosby is an amazing player and still the best of the league. He is always there at soon 30 years old. He plays hard and gets a lot of bad treatment but he is strong. Obviously, when you go without no limit on a star player or a great goalie, you eventually get a good chance of taking the key player out. It happens to Montreal's Carey Price a few years ago when New-York's Kreider went flying on him. If it is what it takes to win, the NHL are doing ok with it. The big picture of that is that suspensions are ridiculous in that league. It is a joke through the season and we all know that referees are blind during the playoffs.
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It's very unfortunate for the Pens. There should have been a penalty to Oveshkin with that stick on the back of Crosby. It is not accidental and is quite a big shot. Then he falls and got the cross check to his head. Not intentional though you are always responsible of your hockey stick. I hate to see talented players getting taken out like that. Crosby is an amazing player and still the best of the league. He is always there at soon 30 years old. He plays hard and gets a lot of bad treatment but he is strong. Obviously, when you go without no limit on a star player or a great goalie, you eventually get a good chance of taking the key player out. It happens to Montreal's Carey Price a few years ago when New-York's Kreider went flying on him. If it is what it takes to win, the NHL are doing ok with it. The big picture of that is that suspensions are ridiculous in that league. It is a joke through the season and we all know that referees are blind during the playoffs.
The NHL is the worst league at protecting its star players. I'm not really sure what goes through their heads.
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:lol Just gonna start laughing at these friggin calls.
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:lol Just gonna start laughing at these friggin calls.
What do you mean? Looked like Subban had an oweee! ;D
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:lol Just gonna start laughing at these friggin calls.
What do you mean? Looked like Subban had an oweee! ;D
Exactly. That 'slash' is done by every player every shift. It was on Subban so they called it because he held his hand.
The Preds are the new Hawks when it comes to getting touched and whining about it....AND getting the calls.
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This is fucking reached bullshit levels as far as officiating.
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This is fucking reached bullshit levels as far as officiating.
Yeah, I just watched them push Allen out of the way as Neal shot a no look spinning shot from the blue line. :p
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This is fucking reached bullshit levels as far as officiating.
Yeah, I just watched them push Allen out of the way as Neal shot a no look spinning shot from the blue line. :p
I get your teasing but they fucked the Blues with the Power Play call when everyone was scrumming but somehow the Blues get the extra penalty.
Or not calling the hit on Boumeister when the guy left his skates
Or not calling the high stick to Petrangelos face
But calling a baby tap to Subban
Sure officiating doesn't win or lose the game but they can dictate momentum.
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I didn't see the game tonight (was at a concert), and from the sound of things, I'm glad I didn't. :lol :lol
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The Rangers looked much better tonight than they did in the first two games. They made some adjustments and AV switched up the lines a little bit and the difference was night and day. I still have my doubts about them making it out of this series as I believe that the Senators are legit, but I feel like if they keep playing like this, they have a chance.
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I'm starting to feel he's gonna end up with a shortened career - like he's this generation's version of Lindros.
Same with Mario.
This is not a "he deserved it" post, but I am not going to feel too terribly sorry for Mario for suffering a bad hit when he jumped on so many heads himself.
Bro, Mario got cancer.... What the heck?
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I'm starting to feel he's gonna end up with a shortened career - like he's this generation's version of Lindros.
Same with Mario.
This is not a "he deserved it" post, but I am not going to feel too terribly sorry for Mario for suffering a bad hit when he jumped on so many heads himself.
Bro, Mario got cancer.... What the heck?
Um... again... :lol
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a1gpyjPdZqM/hqdefault.jpg)
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:lol
Sorry completely missed that post!
Carry on...
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Looks like the Oscar is going to Bonino this year.
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Wow. Bonino had the series ending goal last year and the acting job to put the finish on the game this year.
Caps played the better game, but came up short. And as I said earlier, they can continue to play the better game, but chances are the Pens will get another win through the next four and be advancing.
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Yeah, the refs aren't going to be too impressed being punk'd like that. Wouldn't be surprised if Bonnino doesn't get any leeway next game - either a cheap penalty called against him, or the Caps could hack the shit out of him for free.
Terrible review in Edm - that 1st Ducks goal looked pretty clear to me that Perry bumped Talbot's blocker, preventing him from attempting the save.
Edit - and now the 2nd goal cannot be offside-challenged because they lost their timeout. :zeltar:
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Yeah, the refs aren't going to be too impressed being punk'd like that. Wouldn't be surprised if Bonnino doesn't get any leeway next game - either a cheap penalty called against him, or the Caps could hack the shit out of him for free.
Terrible review in Edm - that 1st Ducks goal looked pretty clear to me that Perry bumped Talbot's blocker, preventing him from attempting the save.
Edit - and now the 2nd goal cannot be offside-challenged because they lost their timeout. :zeltar:
Yeah, I'd be pretty angry if I were an Oilers fan right now.
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Wow, this Pens team. Crosby out. Sheary out. Letang out. Murray out.
Up 3-1 on the President's Trophy winners. Unreal.
Also - hearing some rumors around Pittsburgh that initial signs are looking good for Sid, it'll be up in the air still cause it is a concussion, and historically he has had set backs but the thinking seems to be this might be a short one.
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Marc Andre Fluery is playing out of his mind. Good for him.
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Marc Andre Fluery is playing out of his mind. Good for him.
Just as Murray "stole" the starting job from him last year, it's Fleury's turn. At this pace, he's the Conn Smythe winner.
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Marc Andre Fluery is playing out of his mind. Good for him.
Just as Murray "stole" the starting job from him last year, it's Fleury's turn. At this pace, he's the Conn Smythe winner.
Agreed, and unless Flower falls apart in these playoffs, it'll be interesting to see what the Pens do with the goalie situation moving forward. Any other off season, they would just keep both guys and let it figure itself out, but with the expansion draft, it would be challenging to keep both. Frankly, I'm not completely sold on Murry yet. I know he's younger, cheaper and potentially has more upside, I'm just not sold on his durability and consistency over a 82 game season and playoffs.
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Marc Andre Fluery is playing out of his mind. Good for him.
Just as Murray "stole" the starting job from him last year, it's Fleury's turn. At this pace, he's the Conn Smythe winner.
Ehh....I'd say Pecca Rinne has a pretty good claim as well
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Marc Andre Fluery is playing out of his mind. Good for him.
Just as Murray "stole" the starting job from him last year, it's Fleury's turn. At this pace, he's the Conn Smythe winner.
Ehh....I'd say Pecca Rinne has a pretty good claim as well
True - but the Preds didn't lose their #1 D-man before the playoffs, or have the other injuries (as already mentioned) that the Pens have.
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Marc Andre Fluery is playing out of his mind. Good for him.
Just as Murray "stole" the starting job from him last year, it's Fleury's turn. At this pace, he's the Conn Smythe winner.
Ehh....I'd say Pecca Rinne has a pretty good claim as well
True - but the Preds didn't lose their #1 D-man before the playoffs, or have the other injuries (as already mentioned) that the Pens have.
...but....the Preds aren't the defending Cup Champs. They are a Wild Card team. I think being the goalie for a Wild Card team that is playing lights out is a bit tougher than being the Goalie for a Cup Championship team, no matter the injury report.
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In most cases I'd agree with you, but because of the way the NHL does the playoff format, the defending champs have actually had the hardest road thus far, playing 2 teams that finished in the top 4 in the league during the regular season with the Pens being one of the other top four teams.
If the Pens got into the playoffs as a wildcard team the level of competition would have actually been easier for them.
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In most cases I'd agree with you, but because of the way the NHL does the playoff format, the defending champs have actually had the hardest road thus far, playing 2 teams that finished in the top 4 in the league during the regular season with the Pens being one of the other top four teams.
The Preds have played the #1 then #3 team.
You have a good point about the retarded playoff format the NHL is using...but, all things being equal Rinne has lost 1 game....with a 1.33 GA and .953 save percentage. Fleury GA is 2.40 and a .935 save percentage. Statistically it's not even close on the GA and the level of competition they've faced is for all intents and purposes 'even'.
I just think if there's a clear cut favorite to be touting right now Rinne would be it for me.
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In most cases I'd agree with you, but because of the way the NHL does the playoff format, the defending champs have actually had the hardest road thus far, playing 2 teams that finished in the top 4 in the league during the regular season with the Pens being one of the other top four teams.
The Preds have played the #1 then #3 team.
You have a good point about the retarded playoff format the NHL is using...but, all things being equal Rinne has lost 1 game....with a 1.33 GA and .953 save percentage. Fleury GA is 2.40 and a .935 save percentage. Statistically it's not even close on the GA and the level of competition they've faced is for all intents and purposes 'even'.
I just think if there's a clear cut favorite to be touting right now Rinne would be it for me.
Well if you look at most points in the league during the regular season. The Caps were first overall and the Jackets were fourth overall, so I'm not even talking about Eastern Conference seeding, I'm talking about most points league wide in the regular season. Basically, the Metro had three teams in the top four.
All that being said, Rinne has been awesome, so I'd buy what you are selling.
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I'm still blown away by how Rinne allowed just 3 goals in 4 games against the Blackhawks. I'm totally with Gmiller on Rinne being the clear favorite right now.
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I agree that Rinne is the clear cut Conn Smythe winner thus far.
Also, the Pens winning last night just shows what a team sport hockey is, especially compared to other team sports. Take away the best player from a football or basketball team in the playoffs and it would be a disaster.
Speaking of which, I forgot to reply to this:
I agreed with the 5-minute major and game misconduct. It was, after all, a cross check to the head. However, I do not think it was premeditated or anything like that. Like has been said, it was a bang-bang play, and it was just bad timing for Crosby that he fell right at that exact moment.
Also, if the league started protecting players more by giving stiffer penalties, Crosby would pay as well. Remember that he jacked an opponent between his legs with his stick near the end of the season. And no, this is not a "he deserved it" post, but I am not going to feel too terribly sorry for Crosby for suffering a bad hit when he does stuff like that.
Man, I was with you till the last part. :lol
It was bad timing. The league should protect the players more. That includes when Sid commits a penalty, totally agree. But let's not pretend like Sid is some dirty player. If you truly believe that, you haven't actually watched him play much at all. He's one of the classiest players out there, on and off the ice, he's just held under a bigger microscope than any other player. So when he does commit and penalty or get away with committing a penalty you just hear about it more, that's all.
Man, I'm really starting to sound like a Pen's fanboy here, sorry that's not my intention.
I never said Crosby was a dirty player; I correctly pointed out that he was the perpetrator of a very dirty hit at the end of the season.
One of the classiest players out there? Uh, sure. :lol :lol First off, there is no way to quantify that, but has Crosby ever won the Lady Byng?
Lastly, Crosby is a fantastic player, one who is awesome to watch. No need to get silly by acting like he's the epitome of class and grace.
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I agree that Rinne is the clear cut Conn Smythe winner thus far.
I literally cannot believe I'm typing this, but Eric Karlsson has to be in the conversation.
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I agree that Rinne is the clear cut Conn Smythe winner thus far.
I literally cannot believe I'm typing this, but Eric Karlsson has to be in the conversation.
Certainly in the conversation. I just think Rinne is the front runner at the moment.
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No issue there. Rinne's had a great bounce back year.
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And just like that the Rangers are back in it. Towards the end of the game the Ottawa players were getting chippy, almost as if they knew the series momentum was shifting away from them. The series still is far from over, but this Rangers team feels different than they did in the first two games against the Senators.
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Yea the end of that Rangers game you could tell that there was a lot of frustration on Ottawa's bench. I love it. Rangers dominated the last two games and have a lot of momentum. They need to escape Ottawa with a win Saturday to keep that flowing.
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Rangers are in control, and they were the favored team to begin with. It's only tied, but it's their series to lose.
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The Blues PP sucks.
The end.
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The Blues PP sucks.
The end.
Yeah. That was pathetic. Why in the :censored isnt Paryako ou there on that 5-3? He's about the only Blues player this series that actually looks like he's trying and wants to win, slick hands and great shot but they have Petrangelo out there who may hit the net 2-10 times he shoots.
They still have a chance to take advantage of the PP to start the period but I'm not holding my breath. I was hoping to see them come out with some fire but all it'll take is the Preds to score first and they'll crumble.
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That moment you realize your team just....well....sucks.
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Don't worry. You could be a Senators fan
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Eh, I do not agree that the team has no fire. Then have had the better of the play, special teams notwithstanding. It's just hard for either team to get good scoring chances right now, given how well both teams are playing defensively.
I do agree about Parayko. Petrangelo CANNOT QB a PP.
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Don't worry. You could be a Senators fan
There's no way it's worse than being a Blues fan. They're an alcoholic abuse boyfriend that repeatedly beats us....then apologizes with some flowers and a few weeks of great sex to win us back then rinse and repeat.
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Eh, I do not agree that the team has no fire. Then have had the better of the play, special teams notwithstanding. It's just hard for either team to get good scoring chances right now, given how well both teams are playing defensively.
I do agree about Parayko. Petrangelo CANNOT QB a PP.
Well thus far in the series Nashville has wanted it more plain and simple. Good to get the first goal here tonight though....we'll see how it goes.
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I agree that Rinne is the clear cut Conn Smythe winner thus far.
Also, the Pens winning last night just shows what a team sport hockey is, especially compared to other team sports. Take away the best player from a football or basketball team in the playoffs and it would be a disaster.
Speaking of which, I forgot to reply to this:
I agreed with the 5-minute major and game misconduct. It was, after all, a cross check to the head. However, I do not think it was premeditated or anything like that. Like has been said, it was a bang-bang play, and it was just bad timing for Crosby that he fell right at that exact moment.
Also, if the league started protecting players more by giving stiffer penalties, Crosby would pay as well. Remember that he jacked an opponent between his legs with his stick near the end of the season. And no, this is not a "he deserved it" post, but I am not going to feel too terribly sorry for Crosby for suffering a bad hit when he does stuff like that.
Man, I was with you till the last part. :lol
It was bad timing. The league should protect the players more. That includes when Sid commits a penalty, totally agree. But let's not pretend like Sid is some dirty player. If you truly believe that, you haven't actually watched him play much at all. He's one of the classiest players out there, on and off the ice, he's just held under a bigger microscope than any other player. So when he does commit and penalty or get away with committing a penalty you just hear about it more, that's all.
Man, I'm really starting to sound like a Pen's fanboy here, sorry that's not my intention.
I never said Crosby was a dirty player; I correctly pointed out that he was the perpetrator of a very dirty hit at the end of the season.
One of the classiest players out there? Uh, sure. :lol :lol First off, there is no way to quantify that, but has Crosby ever won the Lady Byng?
Lastly, Crosby is a fantastic player, one who is awesome to watch. No need to get silly by acting like he's the epitome of class and grace.
:lol Okay Kev
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You have no retort; I get it. :tup :tup
As for the Blues, never in doubt tonight. :lol :lol
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You have no retort; I get it. :tup :tup
As for the Blues, never in doubt tonight. :lol :lol
Gutsy win. More than capable of taking The road game Sunday. If we keep it 5 on 5 Nashville can't beat us. Their hot PP is what has them the series lead.
One game at a time though.
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Wow. No two ways about it. Edmonton choked that game away. Being up 3-0 with three minutes left in the game and a chance to take a 3-2 series lead into your home stadium and then losing the game 4-3 in overtime is the very definition of heartbreaking. Anaheim is a great team but come on. Championship caliber teams close out these type of games (and I am saying that as a fan of a Rangers team that blew a two goal lead against the Senators with two minutes left two play in Game 2 of this round).
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I think that was more of a great comeback than a choke, but there is always an element of both when these things happen, I suppose. I dozed off early last night, so I didn't see the end until this morning. Still kind of in shock over seeing that. What a comeback!
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After Edmonton's win in game 2, a game in which Talbot stole the win, i told some friends that we'll lose the next 4 straight of we keep playing like that night. That's exactly what's happening. The Ducks are good, but that 3rd period last night was pathetic from the Oil. I don't expect a game 7.
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Agreed about the Oilers. Caught the last half of the third period and saw they were up 3-0 late in the game. Thought they pretty much had it in the bag. But when the Ducks scored that first goal, and especially the second very soon after, you just got a feeling that Edmonton was going to let it slip away. And sure enough... I'm not expecting a game seven either in this series. The Ducks have all the momentum right now. It's too bad since I've been cheering for any Canadian team in the playoffs now to take the Cup. Hard to believe it's been nearly a quarter century since it's been won by a Canadian club.
And on another note for the Oilers, is it just me, or does it seem Darnell Nurse been on the ice every time Edmonton gives up a big goal? I've watched that guy give up more pucks, lose his man, and allow more goals this series than nearly anybody else I've seen. He looks very uncomfortable handling the puck in his own end.
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I wouldn't worry about momentum too much; that can change in an instance in hockey.
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Oilers why... :(
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You have no retort; I get it. :tup :tup
As for the Blues, never in doubt tonight. :lol :lol
Ah, I do but I'm not sure it's worth the time. All was trying to say was that Sid was a classy player, but if you don't think we can make statements about players that aren't quantifiable I guess there's a lot taken off the discussion table, such as two things you just mentioned in the thread - momentum and guts. . :lol
Anywho, what about them Ducks, that was crazy fun playoff hockey!
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And on another note for the Oilers, is it just me, or does it seem Darnell Nurse been on the ice every time Edmonton gives up a big goal? I've watched that guy give up more pucks, lose his man, and allow more goals this series than nearly anybody else I've seen. He looks very uncomfortable handling the puck in his own end.
Yeah, i wanted Darnell to spend this season in the AHL. One more year to get used to the pro game would have done him wonders. They over achieved this year anyway, so there was no need to rush him along.
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That Ottawa goal shouldn't have counted due to being offsides. Oh well. The Rangers will just have to respond in game 6.
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That Ottawa goal shouldn't have counted due to being offsides. Oh well. The Rangers will just have to respond in game 6.
I admire how calmly you handled that. I can safely say i would have had a more creative and hostile post had my team been shafted like that.
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That Ottawa goal shouldn't have counted due to being offsides. Oh well. The Rangers will just have to respond in game 6.
I admire how calmly you handled that. I can safely say i would have had a more creative and hostile post had my team been shafted like that.
I had already gotten it out of my system before I posted here. I was in no mood to get banned lol.
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If you have full control of the puck it doesn't matter. You can skate in backwards and it's still considered onside.
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If you have full control of the puck it doesn't matter. You can skate in backwards and it's still considered onside.
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/18274932_1469349876465017_1905132863342265957_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=0ad640d76d49f615358efe46ed81752c&oe=59782162)
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/fr/cp0/e15/q65/18278277_1469352836464721_4920023770058630527_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=6aa7a4e1e0ec01bf1464b54dbb96471c&oe=59BEC808)
Yup. Sure looks like full control of the puck to me. :\
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??? He's stick handling. That's having full control of the puck. That will be correctly called onside 100% of the time.
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Yeah Count, you just made the case against yourself - that 1st screen shot is misleading ... Turris already had touched the puck and was stickhandling at this point - HE brought the puck over the line, which is legal. If it was the pass that crossed the blue line like that, THEN it would've been offsides.
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Just can't kill those Senators!
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Pens had a rough third period last night, coming back to Pittsburgh to try to close this out Monday!
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Going to be a great game Monday. No way the Pens want to go back to Washington.
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I love how both the game announcers and studio jugheads are spending most of the time taking about what Nashville is doing wrong, rather than giving the Blues credit for how well they are playing so far. Is Nashville a new darling of the media??
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I didn't really notice. I know they talked about the icing and how the Blues put their 1st against Nashville's 4th. I guess I'm not listening close enough.
Keith Jones isn't a jughead. Milbury? well...
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It's I love how both the game announcers and studio jugheads are spending most of the time taking about what Nashville is doing wrong, rather than giving the Blues credit for how well they are playing so far. Is Nashville a new darling of the media??
Yep. Been like that all series. It's the same old same old. That's why it's gonna be awesome when they beat them in 7.
What I love is how Nashville can continue to run that pick/intereference play without it getting called. And get away with holding Tarasenkos stick.
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What a surprise. An Incidental stick to a player who was already falling called against the Blues.
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It's I love how both the game announcers and studio jugheads are spending most of the time taking about what Nashville is doing wrong, rather than giving the Blues credit for how well they are playing so far. Is Nashville a new darling of the media??
Yep. Been like that all series. It's the same old same old. That's why it's gonna be awesome when they beat them in 7.
When talking about how bad Nashville's PP has been today, Millbury literally just said, "Maybe you can give a little credit to St. Louis." Heaven forbid.
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It's I love how both the game announcers and studio jugheads are spending most of the time taking about what Nashville is doing wrong, rather than giving the Blues credit for how well they are playing so far. Is Nashville a new darling of the media??
Yep. Been like that all series. It's the same old same old. That's why it's gonna be awesome when they beat them in 7.
When talking about how bad Nashville's PP has been today, Millbury literally just said, "Maybe you can give a little credit to St. Louis." Heaven forbid.
I would just like them to call just one of the pick plays. Just one. If you're gonna call little BS penalties you can't tell me BOTH teams aren't committing them.
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I would just like them to call just one of the pick plays. Just one. If you're gonna call little BS penalties you can't tell me BOTH teams aren't committing them.
Agreed. Not like the Blues are doing anything on the PP anyway, but a little consistency would be nice. I remember a clear hold on Parayko in the 1st period (right before the big hit on Reaves, when he was praised for not retaliating) and....no call.
Also, every penalty the Blues have been called for today was a legit call.
Lastly, Perron sucks. Yeo has done a tremendous job since taking over for Hitch, but that clown getting any ice time is mind-boggling.
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I would just like them to call just one of the pick plays. Just one. If you're gonna call little BS penalties you can't tell me BOTH teams aren't committing them.
Agreed. Not like the Blues are doing anything on the PP anyway, but a little consistency would be nice. I remember a clear hold on Parayko in the 1st period (right before the big hit on Reaves, when he was praised for not retaliating) and....no call.
Also, every penalty the Blues have been called for today was a legit call.
Lastly, Perron sucks. Yeo has done a tremendous job since taking over for Hitch, but that clown getting any ice time is mind-boggling.
Agreed they were penalties but they were pretty 'soft' calls.
And if there's a game 7 I can't see Perron getting to play in it. He's been atrocious the last 4 games.
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Perfect example there. Nashville interferes/pics right in front of their net...because they can cuz it hasn't been callled thus far....no call....then twenty seconds later they score a goal that should have never happened.
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Ridiculous save by Allen on the breakaway.
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All I can say is I hope Nashville gets whipped in the next round but if the favorable officiating follows them there then good luck to Anehiem or the Oilers. You can't combat momentum changing BS calls.
That being said some Blues fans would say this team did good considering where they were in January...yadda yadda yadda.....that's a load of crap. You play to win the Stanley Cup. If you don't win it it's not a successful season. Period.
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This team did good considering where they were in January.
:P :biggrin:
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This team did good considering where they were in January.
:P :biggrin:
It'll be nice to see them with a full season under Yeo. They'll be in the hunt again I'm sure. That being said:
Berglund disappeared in the playoffs after being a strong playoff player he last few years. That's why he got the extension they gave him
Lehtera is useless. I mean USELESS. I'd pay him not to ever play again that's how useless he is.
Perron....played great all season then vanished in the playoffs only to reappear to take a bad penalty
Not having Fabbri killed us. He's too dynamic to overcome that absence
Anyway. I'm so utterly mad right now. It's infuriating to watch your team lose when you know they never played their best game. Sure, credit Nashville a bit on that but lets be honest....it's the Blues, they've been choking for years....just add this to that series to the list.
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(https://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo26/joshuarowland/images4CWP96CM_zpszsiqiets.jpg)
;D
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I wouldn't worry about momentum too much; that can change in an instance in hockey.
:corn
Anyway. I'm so utterly mad right now. It's infuriating to watch your team lose when you know they never played their best game. Sure, credit Nashville a bit on that but lets be honest....it's the Blues, they've been choking for years....just add this to that series to the list.
Eh, I wouldn't call this a choke. They just got beat by a team playing lights out right now.
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Holy hell Edmonton.
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Holy hell Edmonton.
I'm glad they're making me eat my words from yesterday. Did NOT see this coming as well as the Ducks have generally played the last four games.
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The Blues scored five goals in games 3-6 combined.
The Oilers scored five goals in the 1st period tonight.
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Oilers came to win. Ducks came already looking forward to game 7. What a showing by the Oilers for having 2 of their best defensemen out.
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Holy hell Edmonton.
I'm glad they're making me eat my words from yesterday. Did NOT see this coming as well as the Ducks have generally played the last four games.
Well...had Edmonton not been victim to some St. Louis Blues type officiating luck this series is already over with them winning it 4 games to 1. Ducks have played good sure but they've also been kept in the series due to some fortunate calls.
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Anyway. I'm so utterly mad right now. It's infuriating to watch your team lose when you know they never played their best game. Sure, credit Nashville a bit on that but lets be honest....it's the Blues, they've been choking for years....just add this to that series to the list.
Eh, I wouldn't call this a choke. They just got beat by a team playing lights out right now.
Ehh...you're definition of 'lights out' isn't the same as mine. Nashville was the recipient of some very fortunate and timely penalty calls against the Blues. Game 1 which they won you literally couldn't touch a Predator without a penalty being called and they scored (2) PP goals and beat us by one goal.
Game 4 in Nashville St. Louis had been playing a perfect road game and had a pretty good head of steam as momentum until that ridiculous penalty call on Reeves when all 10 players on the ice had each other in headlocks and what not and St. Louis ends up with the only penalty? Subsequently leading to Nashville getting a goal and shifting the momentum of the entire game and series.
Certainly the play of Rinne was great and you're not going to win many games only scoring 1 goal...the Blues needed to crank it up and they didn't. But it's tough to combat not only a team that is playing well but what was an awful lot of fortunate, timely Power Play time that both stymied the momentum the Blues had and immediately shifted it to the Preds.
It'd have been an entirely different series had the games been officiated even keel...but they weren't and that sucks. The series wasn't won/lost due to how bad the officiating was but it certainly didn't help at all.
Now just have to tolerate the three or four days of the Blues and the media trying to convince the fans that this season was 'just fine' and it was 'good' which is a load of :censored Stanley Cup or bust because that's what you play to win...anything less is failure.
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What a 1st period!
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The Oilers better save some goals for Game 7.
I'll give them credit. Most teams don't come back from losing a 2OT game after coughing up the tying goal with 16 seconds left.
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Well, i certainly didn't expect that win from Edmonton last night. They still have an uphill battle to win game 7 in Anaheim, but it's nice to know they can win games without McJesus firing on all cylinders. Could be a terrifying team to play against if he gets going too.
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Just read that Tarasenko needs surgery on an injury he played with during the playoffs. They didn't specify what or where but if i were a betting man I'd say it's somewhere around his hands/wrists due to the 7,000 uncallled slashes he takes each game.
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I thought it was only 6,000. :P :lol (I'm keeping it light-hearted following the ouster)
As for the Oilers, unless you are a fan of one of the other teams still alive, how are you not rooting for them? They are fun as hell to watch. When they get flying, it's like the whole team was shot out of a cannon.
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I agree, Kev.
I'm sick of Pierre Maguire. Just saying. He talks way too much. I don't give a fuck what pee wee team a guys plays on.
(https://shop.spreadshirt.com/image-server/v1/designs/1007586957,width=178,height=178/shut-up-pierre-men-s-t-shirt-3xl-plus-sizes.png)
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Pens are lucky it's only 3-0. Absolute domination by the Capitals tonight. Pens were a chunk into the third period before even getting 10 shots.
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I actually thought I was watching a Bruins/Capitals game!
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So relieving to see the Caps play like this with their backs against the wall. Cannot wait for game 7.
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Caps dominated the game, gave Fluery the shakes, have all the momentum in the series, and are heading back home.
Why can't I stop the feeling I'll be dealing with watching the Penguins next round? :lol
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Caps dominated the game, gave Fluery the shakes, have all the momentum in the series, and are heading back home.
Why can't I stop the feeling I'll be dealing with watching the Penguins next round? :lol
I think game 7 is a toss up. The Pens played really, really bad last night. I don't think they will play that bad twice in a row, but we will see.
Game 7 should be nerve-racking if nothing else.
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Let's see some Justin Williams game 7 magic! :metal :metal
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Let's see some Justin Williams game 7 magic! :metal :metal
Yes please. I'd like to see Washington get the Penguins monkey off their backs.
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Let's see some Justin Williams game 7 magic! :metal :metal
Yes please. I'd like to see Washington get the Penguins monkey off their backs.
:iagree:
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I agree as well
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My sole remaining desire for this years playoffs is that the Predators don't win the Cup. I'd be fine with any other remaining team winning it. Just CANT be the Preds.
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My sole remaining desire for this years playoffs is that the Rangers don't win the Cup. I'd be fine with any other remaining team winning it. Just CANT be the Rags.
Yup, agreed.
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Only the Caps, Oilers, and Preds would I be happy with winning.
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Only the Caps, Oilers, and Preds would I be happy with winning.
Caps and Oilers for me. I'm hating on the Preds vicariously through Gary.
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Only the Caps, Oilers, and Preds would I be happy with winning.
Caps and Oilers for me. I'm hating on the Preds vicariously through Gary.
Even if the Preds get eliminated next round that won't make Gary happy, because the refs still go on to the finals. :p
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Even if the Preds get eliminated next round that won't make Gary happy, because the refs still go on to the finals. :p
:lol Don't even get me started - I'm starting to lose interest in hockey when blatant, dirty penalties are not only not getting called, but then getting praised by NHL-employed broadcasters after the fact. They really just don't get it.
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Only the Caps, Oilers, and Preds would I be happy with winning.
Caps and Oilers for me. I'm hating on the Preds vicariously through Gary.
Even if the Preds get eliminated next round that won't make Gary happy, because the refs still go on to the finals. :p
:lol I'm so used to being a spoiled sport and crybaby when it comes to the Blues and Hockey I'm not even sure that IF/when they ever win the Cup I still won't find something to bitch about.
But im certain that If the Preds win it all the Refs will have their names inscribed on the cup as well.
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Only the Caps, Oilers, and Preds would I be happy with winning.
Caps and Oilers for me. I'm hating on the Preds vicariously through Gary.
Even if the Preds get eliminated next round that won't make Gary happy, because the refs still go on to the finals. :p
:lol I'm so used to being a spoiled sport and crybaby when it comes to the Blues and Hockey I'm not even sure that IF/when they ever win the Cup I still won't find something to bitch about.
But im certain that If the Preds win it all the Refs will have their names inscribed on the cup as well.
"You call that leading Pietrangelo? Look, his arms are not even fully extended, that's NOT how you raise the cup. When it comes to stuff like this the team just has no heart, and that falls right on the example the captain sets."
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If the Rangers don't win (which they most likely won't), I'll be ok with anyone but the Penguins and the Senators if they eliminate us.
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I'm really hoping Washington takes game 7 because I have a good feeling they'll go on to win the cup if they can get past Pittsburgh. I'm not a Caps fan, but I really want to see Ovechkin win the cup and I think they're one of the most exciting teams to watch.
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Yeah I'm otherwise not a Caps fan really but Ovi is my favourite player of all time. He needs a cup to shut up all the people who try to use the fact he doesn't have one to discredit him.
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Tonight's going to be a tough one as a Rangers fan. I don't have a good feeling.
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My sole remaining desire for this years playoffs is that the Predators don't win the Cup. I'd be fine with any other remaining team winning it. Just CANT be the Preds.
I would root for them over Washington. Seeing two more ex-Blues (Oshie and Shattenkirk) hoist the Cup on another team is not something I really want to see.
Yeah I'm otherwise not a Caps fan really but Ovi is my favourite player of all time. He needs a cup to shut up all the people who try to use the fact he doesn't have one to discredit him.
It's not always fair, but truly great players usually need that championship on their resume to cement their all-time great status. I imagine guys like Marino, Barkley and Joe Thornton would be much more highly-regarded if they had won just one title.
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My sole remaining desire for this years playoffs is that the Predators don't win the Cup. I'd be fine with any other remaining team winning it. Just CANT be the Preds.
I would root for them over Washington. Seeing two more ex-Blues (Oshie and Shattenkirk) hoist the Cup on another team is not something I really want to see
Totally get it and if not for 'the brother in law' factor I'd be rooting for them as well. They're a good, fun team to watch and easy to root for. I've considered them my second favorite team for years.
I just can't have them win a Cup before the Blues do. I'm not sure I can adequately explain what a nightmare that would be for me given how big a D Bag my brother in law will be about it if that happens.
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We're just two games away from seeing the most refreshing conference final in a long time.
Pulling hard for Preds v Oilers and Caps v Sens.
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If you told me in October that the Senators would be going to the Eastern Conference Finals, I would have called you crazy. But here we are and I'm loving it
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Well this sucks...
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If you told me in October that the Senators would be going to the Eastern Conference Finals, I would have called you crazy. But here we are and I'm loving it
Agreed. No sane fan would've seen this coming. Still likely to be fodder against the other bracket, but it's exciting nonetheless.
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Not too surprising IMO. Boucher is a very good coach who excels in playoff situations, and with a guy like Karlsson anything is possible. Plus they had one of the easier roads to the conference finals before them.
That being said, I thought they'd be out in the first round as Bruins seemed like a team geared for the playoffs, but I guess I was wrong. :biggrin:
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i hate everything
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I only got to see the 3rd period, but man was that a pathetic performance by the Caps. What a disappointment :facepalm:
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Capitlols!
WTF happened?
Hats off to Fluery. He was magnificent save for a period in Gs 5 & 6.
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I am eagerly looking forward to the "I'm a true fan of this team no matter what" posts from my sister-in-law's husband while he mourns the Crapitals. His blind inability to see any shortcoming in his team even when defeated is entertaining.
And yes, that was a pitiful game 7 performance by Washington.
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Gonna feel bad for the Oilers and their fans if they lose considering they got dicked and screwed out of two wins.
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It's sad how many empty seats there are in Anaheim. If you can't fill your building for a home playoff game, a game 7 no less, then you shouldn't have a professional sports team.
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It's Los Angeles. Unless it's the Lakers, they don't care about sports all that much.
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It's sad how many empty seats there are in Anaheim. If you can't fill your building for a home playoff game, a game 7 no less, then you shouldn't have a professional sports team.
Tell that to Bettman. There are a bunch of american cities that doesn't deserve an NHL franchise but he will do anything for them.
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It's sad how many empty seats there are in Anaheim. If you can't fill your building for a home playoff game, a game 7 no less, then you shouldn't have a professional sports team.
Tell that to Bettman. There are a bunch of american cities that doesn't deserve an NHL franchise but he will do anything for them.
Yup. Vegas will be joining that list too.
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Gonna feel bad for the Oilers and their fans if they lose considering they got dicked and screwed out of two wins.
Dang. I'd be livid. This was a great game but it's a game that should have never happened.
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Dammit.
Sens took one series that the Rangers gave away to them, but I don't think the Penguins will make the same mistakes. I would prefer the Preds win in the West, but at this point I don't care which team wins as long as they go on to beat the damn Penguins.
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WHY DO I CONTINUE TO WATCH THIS CRUEL SPORT WHICH BRINGS ONLY PAIN AND MISERY
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Well I guess I'm rooting for Nashville to win it all now since I hate the Penguins, can't root for the Senators because they eliminated the Rangers, and don't particularly like the Ducks. Pittsburgh will probably repeat regardless.
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It's Los Angeles. Unless it's the Lakers, they don't care about sports all that much.
That's a myth. Dodgers lead MLB in average attendance.
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I guess I'm going from rooting for my nation's capital to Canada's capital. Go Senators! Anyone but Pittsburgh.
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Great, great series win by the Pens! Fantastic team performance, Flower was unreal and all four lines rolled well! :metal
Couple quick observations -
Ovie was bad last night. Like, bad. Interested to see what the Caps do moving forward, if they can't win with this group what's left to do but blow up their core big time?
Pens actually played a trap last night for good stretches of the game, pretty uncharacteristic for this team. It was an aggressive 1-2-2 trap that enabled a quick break the other way when the opportunity presented itself.
Murray is healthy again, and backed up Flower last night. Obviously, with the way Marc is playing you start him next round, but how long of a leash does he get? At this point, I'd say his performance through the first two series earn him a pretty long leash.
Based on the last several posts I get there are a lot of Pens haters here, but as a lifelong fan who remembers watching Mario with his dad as a kid, to see this team come through these really difficult matchups through the first two rounds has been awesome.
My best guess from here would be a Pens - Preds final.
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Great, great series win by the Pens! Fantastic team performance, Flower was unreal and all four lines rolled well! :metal
Couple quick observations -
Ovie was bad last night. Like, bad. Interested to see what the Caps do moving forward, if they can't win with this group what's left to do but blow up their core big time?
Pens actually played a trap last night for good stretches of the game, pretty uncharacteristic for this team. It was an aggressive 1-2-2 trap that enabled a quick break the other way when the opportunity presented itself.
Murray is healthy again, and backed up Flower last night. Obviously, with the way Marc is playing you start him next round, but how long of a leash does he get? At this point, I'd say his performance through the first two series earn him a pretty long leash.
Based on the last several posts I get there are a lot of Pens haters here, but as a lifelong fan who remembers watching Mario with his dad as a kid, to see this team come through these really difficult matchups through the first two rounds has been awesome.
My best guess from here would be a Pens - Preds final.
Hating on the champs and the team that owns the Caps when it matters most. I do respect the hell out of the team though.
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Hating on the champs and the team that owns the Caps when it matters most. I do respect the hell out of the team though.
Oh I know and I get everyone roots for their team and whoever the reigning champ is, pretty much everyone (but that team's fan base) roots against them. It's all good. I actually have a ton of respect for the Caps, they played a great series, it just didn't fall their way. That game 7 was a toss up. If the Caps had a couple bounces go their way, we would be having a different conversation today.
I'll be interested to see what the Caps do in the off season. How similar will their roster be next year with all those free agents they have to deal with this off season. How different will there coaching and management staff be?
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It's Los Angeles. Unless it's the Lakers, they don't care about sports all that much.
That's a myth. Dodgers lead MLB in average attendance.
Only for innings 4-6....
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Ugh... worst possible outcomes last night. Re: Anaheim fans... I heard more "Let's Go Oilers" chants than I heard "Go Ducks Go". And holy irony that the seats at the Honda Centre are orange. :lolpalm:
The only good thing about last night is that I won't be pulling anymore 1am nights/mornings. I'll casually watch the WCF, and hope like hell that Ottawa can keep some of this magic going against the Pens.
It's definitely time to blow up the Caps.... they went for broke this year, and have too many UFA's and cap problems to continue the course. Didn't their owner or GM say last year that they were going to go 'all-in' for it last year and this year, and if it didn't pan out, then there'd be some serious adjustments?
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Well I guess I'm rooting for Nashville to win it all now since I hate the Penguins, can't root for the Senators because they eliminated the Rangers, and don't particularly like the Ducks. Pittsburgh will probably repeat regardless.
I live in the Nashville area and have only been to one game since they came to town. I will need to study up on the rules of the game and maybe go to some more games. I have a co worker that works events in Bridgestone Arena and she enjoys the crowd.
Are any of the 4 remaining teams a favorite or is it basically a toss up? I see there has only been one team in the last 20 years to win back to back championships(Detroit).
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It's Los Angeles. Unless it's the Lakers, they don't care about sports all that much.
That's a myth. Dodgers lead MLB in average attendance.
Only for innings 4-6....
Yup, the 3rd through the 7th.
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Are any of the 4 remaining teams a favorite or is it basically a toss up? I see there has only been one team in the last 20 years to win back to back championships(Detroit).
Speaking from a bias perspective, I'd think the Pens would be favorites at this point.
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Are any of the 4 remaining teams a favorite or is it basically a toss up? I see there has only been one team in the last 20 years to win back to back championships(Detroit).
Speaking from a bias perspective, I'd think the Pens would be favorites at this point.
There is no worry about bias there.
Penguins have beaten the biggest competition in the East, now have their top forwards all healthy AND both goalies back, and are of course the defending champs.
It's their repeat to lose.
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It's their repeat to lose.
It really is, but man, I'm still real hesitant to confidently call them favorites just because recent history in the NHL has shown how hard it is to repeat.
For example, the amount of hockey Crosy has played over the last couple years is insane. At some point they are going to hit the fatigue wall, it'll just be a matter of when. If they have already positioned themselves within a series well enough, they might be okay, or maybe it won't hit till the off season. Who knows.
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Pens are easily the favourite of the remaining 4. Nashville has abeen a nice surprise, but Pittsburg is just too good. Anaheim might give them a little trouble if they knock off the Preds, but i agree that it's the Pens Cup to lose.
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I picked Preds to go to the SCF, so I wouldn't agree with them being a surprise. :biggrin:
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I picked Preds to go to the SCF, so I wouldn't agree with them being a surprise. :biggrin:
You're telling me you picked them to take out Chicago in the 1st round? You may have been the only person outside the Nashville dressing room to do so.
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if the predators werent such a dirty team i would root for them. they got away with murder every game in the blues series. hard to win a series when the refs are literally calling everything against st louis.
i guess im fine with the ducks or the senators winning. fuck the penguins
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if the predators werent such a dirty team i would root for them. they got away with murder every game in the blues series. hard to win a series when the refs are literally calling everything against st louis.
yeah. That was an infuriating series to watch. The Blues couldn't breath on a Predator in Game 1 without getting a penalty called on them....Preds score (2) PP goals and beat them by one goal.
But the largest travesty against the Blues came in Game 4 when they were playing a textbook perfect road game. Had sustained pressure for half the game, had Nashville looking all sorts of lost and the only reason they were even in the game was because of Pecca Rinne....then that utterly horrid BS call against Ryan Reeves when all (10)players on the ice locked up in a scrum and he (the Blues player) is the only one called for a penalty? Despite the fact it was a Nashville player who 'started' the scrum? Nashville gets the power play...PP goal...and gained momentum which they could not get any of at even strength.
Not saying the Blues were a shoe in for a game 4 victory....but that BS call changed that game and the series.
But whatever. You have to score more than a goal a game to win and the Blues just didn't score enough. That was a very 'winnable' series....it's not like Nashville blew them out of the water. They just got a handful of very fortunate momentum changing calls and a few good bounces. You need that to happen to win a Cup.
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Gary... there's no need to create a duplicate account just so you can agree with yourself! :rollin
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Been an Ottawa fan for 2 days. You can say it's getting serious :natalieportman:
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Gary... there's no need to create a duplicate account just so you can agree with yourself! :rollin
:lol I have to admit...it was so glorious to see that post. I couldn't contain myself :lol
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:lol
It all comes back to inconsistency issues. I get that it's a fast game and there's no way that the refs are going to catch everything, but that's not what is happening. There are refs watching penalties happen and choosing not to call them for whatever reason. Because of the score, because of the time left, because of what month it is, because that team has got the last two called against them so the next one has to even it up, etc... Whatever the reason, the game just doesn't get called right and I for one think that it hurts the product on the ice a great deal.
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:lol
It all comes back to inconsistency issues. I get that it's a fast game and there's no way that the refs are going to catch everything, but that's not what is happening. There are refs watching penalties happen and choosing not to call them for whatever reason. Because of the score, because of the time left, because of what month it is, because that team has got the last two called against them so the next one has to even it up, etc... Whatever the reason, the game just doesn't get called right and I for one think that it hurts the product on the ice a great deal.
I've been saying this for years. Also, there's too many rules that are up to ref discrestion. For example: In overtime of Game 5 of the Rangers-Senators series, Ottawa scored the game winning goal on a play that could have been called offsides. Now it wasn't offsides although I have seen similar plays get called but the fact that a rule can change from one referee to another is a huge problem. It makes for inconsistent officiating and takes away from the game. Rules should be as black and white as possible to take away ref discrestion.
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Stars sign Bishop to 6 yr, $29 million deal. Saw that one coming a mile away.
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Stars sign Bishop to 6 yr, $29 million deal. Saw that one coming a mile away.
Yeah, you could see it in the stars.
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Stars sign Bishop to 6 yr, $29 million deal. Saw that one coming a mile away.
6 years? Gheez, that deal is going to suck for them in a couple years...
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That's how I've always felt about the Dubnyk deal. I don't see him sustaining in a few years, but maybe I'll be wrong. But the Wild have two other bad contracts, so Dubnyk isn't as bad in comparison
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The freaking Predators are gonna play for the Cup, and could win it to boot. This sucks.
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They got hot at just the right time.
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The freaking Predators are gonna play for the Cup, and could win it to boot. This sucks.
Why does it suck? They've ran a great program since they entered the league. I'm actually rooting for them. They seem to have great support from their community, and I'm not sure what there is to dislike about them.
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The freaking Predators are gonna play for the Cup, and could win it to boot. This sucks.
Why does it suck? They've ran a great program since they entered the league. I'm actually rooting for them. They seem to have great support from their community, and I'm not sure what there is to dislike about them.
I agree. I consider them my second favorite team. But what I'm referring to is the 'brother in law' factor. He lives in Nashville and recently (last couple years) hopped on the Preds bandwagon and if they win a Cup before the Blues do I will NEVER hear the end of it. I already have to tolerate listening to him try to talk about hockey.....he knows nothing about it other than the trash talking.
And, I'm actually a little put off at how the Nashville fans/crowd act. It's one thing to be enthusiastic and haze the other team....but they take it to a level beyond annoying and enter the outright ignorant category.
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The next time he trash talks you, ask him to name the players on their team. Heck, ask him to name someone who was on their team five years ago.
I am generally not a fan of shaming someone when it comes to sports, but if someone is gonna talk shit when they know nothing, I am all in favor of shaming them. This annoying lady I worked with years ago was talking about kinds of smack once about the Steelers, and it was obvious that she knew squat, so I asked to her to name their coach prior to Mike Tomlin. She had this blank look, so I said, "It was Bill Cowher, right?" And she said, "No, he was their QB before Ben." :eek :eek :eek :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin She never talked shit again after that.
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They got hot at just the right time.
They, and the Blues....have been playing lights out hockey for some time. Both teams were jockeying for the third spot the last month and I forgot the exact records but they both only lost a handful of games the last month of the season.
They just managed to get 'hotter' and stronger......and are taking advantage of every break they get.
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But what I'm referring to is the 'brother in law' factor.
Eh,..fuck him! :lol
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Wa-fucking-hoo. I hope this is the kind of series we get, and this one wasn't just an anomaly. It would be great if the Sens could just suffocate the Pens.
I missed the first period, but from what I saw, Anderson looked rock-solid and just might have the ability to steal a victory or two.
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from what I saw, Anderson looked rock-solid and just might have the ability to steal a victory or two.
Anderson was awesome. He made some great saves, even on misdirections.
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What I find strange is that while there are quite a few great goalies in the league right now, there is no one even close to becoming an all-time great as of right now. I mean, for about a 20-year period or so, we got to watch arguably the three best goalies ever (Roy, Hasek and Brodeur), yet there isn't a single goalie out there right now who is even close to being in the same conversation with any of those three.
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Without looking, how do Rinne's stats stack up? Lundqvist?
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It's never as simple as looking at stats (especially since they vary from era to era). Rinne has never won the Vezina, and Lundqvist has only won it once. Both are really good and have their moments of pure greatness, but I never see either dominating like the aforementioned three.
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Well, those were just the first two that popped into my head.
I agree on your main point. Other than Lundqvist, are there any other HOF goalies playing. What about Quick?
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Rough game last night from the Pens. I'm worried about this series. After the overly emotional Jackets and Caps series, I don't know how much the Pens have left in the tank. That plays right into how the Sens want to play.
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I LOVE the "Every Letter Is Earned" campaign.
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I LOVE the "Every Letter Is Earned" campaign.
Yeah... that was an awesome commercial
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The thought of an Ottawa/Nashville Final is quite interesting. You'd never see this kind of thing in the NBA.
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Well, those were just the first two that popped into my head.
I agree on your main point. Other than Lundqvist, are there any other HOF goalies playing. What about Quick?
Nah. Quick has has two rings and a Conn Smythe, but has never consistently been considered a top goalie.
It's interesting to note that when the NHL recently did their top 100 players in the history of the league thing, they had 15 goalies on there, none of whom are currently active.
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I picked Preds to go to the SCF, so I wouldn't agree with them being a surprise. :biggrin:
You're telling me you picked them to take out Chicago in the 1st round? You may have been the only person outside the Nashville dressing room to do so.
Yep, although I picked it going to 7. Their final placement for the season was misleading. They are a much better team than it let on and I think they have a decent chance of taking the Cup (although I'd still place the odds in Pitt's favour).
Also for above, Quick might not even be one of the top 10 goalies in the NHL today. Outside of 2012 and an impressive 2013 playoffs he's never been one of the top goaltenders. Gotta be the most overrated player in the league IMO.
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I picked Preds to go to the SCF, so I wouldn't agree with them being a surprise. :biggrin:
You're telling me you picked them to take out Chicago in the 1st round? You may have been the only person outside the Nashville dressing room to do so.
Yep, although I picked it going to 7. Their final placement for the season was misleading. They are a much better team than it let on and I think they have a decent chance of taking the Cup (although I'd still place the odds in Pitt's favour).
Also for above, Quick might not even be one of the top 10 goalies in the NHL today. Outside of 2012 and an impressive 2013 playoffs he's never been one of the top goaltenders. Gotta be the most overrated player in the league IMO.
Agreed.... Quick was scary good back then, but nowadays, he's middle of the pack at best.
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Laughing at the Pens fans from last night complaining about how boring the game was last night. I was having fun.
I'm just kidding about Pens fans complaining, but some of the comments were funny
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It was kinda boring, but that's the way Ottawa needs to play to be successful. If they opened it up, Pittsburgh would likely walk all over them.
I expected a bit of a let down after the game 7 win, and I think PIT had the majority of the good chances (but I could be wrong, admittedly I was watching at a pub with many beers). Anderson was fantastic, but I expect this to be 1-1 heading to Ottawa.
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I agree, it was a boring game. And you are right, as a Sens fan I'd be loving it too.
The Sens have got to keep that 1-3-1 going strong or else they might get in some trouble. The Pens can help themselves out a lot by having cleaner breakouts and better passing through the neutral zone. Hopefully they get to that tonight.
The thought of an Ottawa/Nashville Final is quite interesting. You'd never see this kind of thing in the NBA.
For better or worse, there's a good reason for that...
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I dunno about "good" reason, but there's certainly a few reasons. And we NHL fans know what they are. And I'll take those reasons (and the NHL) over every other major professional sport.
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I dunno about "good" reason, but there's certainly a few reasons. And we NHL fans know what they are. And I'll take those reasons (and the NHL) over every other major professional sport.
Not sure if it's because you are in Canada and I'm in the states, but I can honestly say hockey is my favorite of the major NA sports but the NHL is my least favorite league.
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The NHL surely has its issues, but if there is one thing they've done very well, it's that they've provided parity throughout the league. The salary cap and some other smaller measures help in that big time. Quite frankly any other major sporting league without a salary cap (and floor) is just a joke.
In 2013 the Yankees had an opening day payroll of 228m, while the Astros sat at 22m.
In basketball you have such blatant tanking that large chunks of the season for many teams is pointless.
In NASCAR you have a quarter pound of pressure being added to the right rear instead of left front.
Okay, maybe I don't know how this effects stock car racing at all.
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Yeah the cap is a good thing.
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Yeah the cap is a good thing.
Yeah, and while the regular season has been good to most teams, the playoffs still let the big dogs come through on a little too much of a regular basis for my tastes. Keep in mind that the Flyers always spend to the cap, so this isn't helping me, but going off of last years numbers I'd love to see a bit more revenue sharing that would allow the floor to raise substantially with little impact to the ceiling.
It was 73 / 54 for 2016, and is expected to come back around 75 for the high end in 2017. I know the ratio is already set and this is pointless, but instead of 15-20 teams all getting that extra 2 million to spend I'd much rather see the floor raise 58 or 60.
In any case that 73 / 54 split is such a world better than a lot of other leagues.
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Nick, to clarify, I'm with you. Pretty much none of my issues with the league have anything to do with the cap.
As for last night - the Pens were able to tie up the series and man what a series this is going to be... Speaking of issues I have with the league this series encompasses a lot of them.
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Nashville fans are cute. They throw shit on the ice because the ref had the audacity to call a penalty on the Preds for constant goalie interference. I guess when you haven't had hockey that long, you tend to be clueless about the actual rules.
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Nashville fans are cute. They throw shit on the ice because the ref had the audacity to call a penalty on the Preds for constant goalie interference. I guess when you haven't had hockey that long, you tend to be clueless about the actual rules.
Those fans are annoying. The cuss word chants and what not....classless.
I'm amazed their getting calls against them. They have to be shocked after the soft treatment they've been getting. They're still getting away with that defensive zone pick/interference though.
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Figures.
Nashville gets a 'fortunate' power play in the last three minutes of a tied home game. It's really getting annoying
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Figures.
Nashville gets a 'fortunate' power play in the last three minutes of a tied home game. It's really getting annoying
Wait wait wait... it was an inarguable high stick.
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Nashville simply overwhelmed Anaheim in that 3rd period. Few teams could have withstood that kind of onslaught.
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In NASCAR you have a quarter pound of pressure being added to the right rear instead of left front.
Okay, maybe I don't know how this effects stock car racing at all.
On an oval track that would loosen/free up a car in the turns basically making it turn easier. Sorry, I'm a life-long auto racing fan. I couldn't resist. :biggrin:
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Figures.
Nashville gets a 'fortunate' power play in the last three minutes of a tied home game. It's really getting annoying
Wait wait wait... it was an inarguable high stick.
I'm not saying it wasn't unarguable. Just saying that 'fortune' found them again. It's getting old to me. I'm finding myself being less and less of a fan of Nashville given just how many breaks and what not they've gotten this playoff season. It's annoying....it's like when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker. Every hand he was dealt was Ace/King or better....OF COURSE he should have won!
That's what this feels like to me for Nashville. Anytime they 'need' something to happen it happens. Some of it from working for it but most of it is 'fortune'. OF COURSE they're steamrolling everyone....they should given the repeated breaks.
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Figures.
Nashville gets a 'fortunate' power play in the last three minutes of a tied home game. It's really getting annoying
Wait wait wait... it was an inarguable high stick.
I'm not saying it wasn't unarguable. Just saying that 'fortune' found them again. It's getting old to me. I'm finding myself being less and less of a fan of Nashville given just how many breaks and what not they've gotten this playoff season. It's annoying....it's like when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker. Every hand he was dealt was Ace/King or better....OF COURSE he should have won!
That's what this feels like to me for Nashville. Anytime they 'need' something to happen it happens. Some of it from working for it but most of it is 'fortune'. OF COURSE they're steamrolling everyone....they should given the repeated breaks.
It doesn't hurt that they've played like the better team every series so far as well.
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Agree with Nick. It isn't so much about the 'fortunate'-ness of the PP that Nashville got, but that they took advantage of it. Anaheim got a "fortunate" call with the 2nd disallowed goal + PP. I don't disagree with that call, I think it was 100% interference and deserved a no-goal + PP. However, I have seen similar plays called the other way. So, in the last 10 minutes, both teams got a "fortunate" call in their favour. The difference is Nashville made something with it.
The Ducks were taking a standing 8-count all period.
And Gibson better do a better job of finding the puck. This is two games in a row he's had no idea where the puck was resulting a wide open cage for Nashville.
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It doesn't hurt that they've played like the better team every series so far as well.
Ehh...I guess. That series with the Blues was very 'winnable' for the Blues. Nashville didn't steamroll them by any means. They just cashed in on every chance they had and were the recipients of a couple questionable calls that changed momentum.
Anyway....whatever. Just personally sick of Nashville at the moment.
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And you have every right to be.
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At this point I have to pull for Nashville. Frankly I see them having a better chance to steamroll in the series and get the extra rest for the finals, and I will root for whatever team has the better chance of doing that and beating Pittsburgh.
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Quick start by the Boring Senators
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Man, Ottawa is BORING tonight
Boring game
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WOW!!
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I left at 1-0 to walk to the store next door and get milk. Came back a few minutes later and it was 4-0. :eek :eek :eek
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What'd you do, milk a cow?
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Milk this, bitch. :biggrin:
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You must be speaking to some udder guy.
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:lol :lol
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Looks like Pittsburgh is out of gas. The puck flip out of the zone doesn't work against the trap, and the remaining dmen just aren't good enough with the puck to make good passes or fast enough to skate it out.
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Gotta hand it to the Sens, I thought this was where they would crumble. They look damn fine.
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Man, I hope the Sens are this boring every game for the rest of the playoffs :loser:
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Do they go with Murray for Game 4?
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If I'm Pittsburgh, I'd still play Fleury for game 4. If it turns out like this again then you go with Murray the rest of the way.
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Do they go with Murray for Game 4?
This is the last thing Sullivan needed.
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It's the last thing the team needed :lol
I gotta imagine there might be a split in the locker room after this game
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It's the last thing the team needed :lol
I gotta imagine there might be a split in the locker room after this game
Nah. You go with Fleury for game 4, no question. He has gotten you this far and has played great. They lose game 4 and he doesn't look good then I'm with Rattlehead, your back is against the wall and you need a change, that's the earliest you start Murray.
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I agree, and I gotta imagine that Fleury is gonna come back hungry on Friday. Looking forward to it.
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Gotta hand it to the Sens, I thought this was where they would crumble. They look damn fine.
My post eight above said "pens tired," but I agree with this as well. They know how to play within their system.
If I'm Pittsburgh, I'd still play Fleury for game 4. If it turns out like this again then you go with Murray the rest of the way.
Exactly. They're here because of fleury, you have to give him more than one bad start before going to Murray. I would be extremely disappointed if they benched Fleury.
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Gotta hand it to the Sens, I thought this was where they would crumble. They look damn fine.
My post eight above said "pens tired," but I agree with this as well. They know how to play within their system.
If I'm Pittsburgh, I'd still play Fleury for game 4. If it turns out like this again then you go with Murray the rest of the way.
Exactly. They're here because of fleury, you have to give him more than one bad start before going to Murray. I would be extremely disappointed if they benched Fleury.
QFT. Sens played great, Pens might be hitting that wall I talked about in this thread before. These dudes have played a lot of hockey over the last two years.
Also, Flower is this team's playoff MVP so far, you have to go back to him for the next game. If Sullivan doesn't that will be the first major decision I disagree with him on since he took the job.
Also - I know all the "whoa boring Sens, look at them now" posts are jokes, but you guys understand that they were really boring in the first couple games and came out tonight and played completely different? So, yeah they were boring, but they weren't last night because they played differently, they actually tried to generate scoring plays.
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they actually tried to generate scoring plays.
They didn't just try. :biggrin:
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they actually tried to generate scoring plays.
They didn't just try. :biggrin:
:lol For sure, don't get me wrong, when my team gets beat I have no problem admitting it. I just don't get the "boring" comments, I'm seeing it other places too. It would make sense if the Sens played exactly the same way in game 3 that they did in games 1 and 2. That would prove that what they were doing wasn't boring. But they didn't. They came out and played totally different.
Anyway, it was a rough night for the Pens, and I'm starting to wonder if this is it for them this year. Combination of tired bodies, injuries, two very emotional rounds, poor execution, and a Sens team that seems to be peaking at the right time. At this point, nothing in this series would surprise me. It wouldn't surprise me if the Sens won. It wouldn't surprise me if the Pens won.
I'm just curious to see how it plays out, it'll be interesting.
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they actually tried to generate scoring plays.
They didn't just try. :biggrin:
:lol For sure, don't get me wrong, when my team gets beat I have no problem admitting it. I just don't get the "boring" comments, I'm seeing it other places too. It would make sense if the Sens played exactly the same way in game 3 that they did in games 1 and 2. That would prove that what they were doing wasn't boring. But they didn't. They came out and played totally different.
Anyway, it was a rough night for the Pens, and I'm starting to wonder if this is it for them this year. Combination of tired bodies, injuries, two very emotional rounds, poor execution, and a Sens team that seems to be peaking at the right time. At this point, nothing in this series would surprise me. It wouldn't surprise me if the Sens won. It wouldn't surprise me if the Pens won.
I'm just curious to see how it plays out, it'll be interesting.
I still remain positive the Penguins have the ability to take control and win this series, no problem. Their offense has to play the precise and high intensity style they are known for to keep the Sens pinned like they did in game 2. I know it can be frustrating, but if they grind it out they can take control and win the series.
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I still remain positive the Penguins have the ability to take control and win this series, no problem. Their offense has to play the precise and high intensity style they are known for to keep the Sens pinned like they did in game 2. I know it can be frustrating, but if they grind it out they can take control and win the series.
That's exactly what they need to do, I'm just honestly starting to question whether they have enough healthy guys left or enough guys with gas still in the tank to do that.
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God I hope Pittsburgh can turn it around. Ottawa is so boring to watch and the fact that I'm actually rooting for the Penguins (my least favorite team in the league) shows how against the Senators winning the Cup I am.
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Perfectly natural to root against the team that beat your guys.
Go anyteamfromCanada!
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This series is officially a farce now. The Ducks just got totally screwed. Nice job.
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The Ducks overcome the noise and the refs to win. :tup :tup
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Yeah... I'm now starting to buy what Gary's been selling for a while. Nashville was the recipient of some generous calls - both against the Ducks, and non-calls on what could've just as easily been penalties to them.
So glad the Duck's got the W. Now let's hope their fans can actually get some butts in seats.
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Yeah... I'm now starting to buy what Gary's been selling for a while. Nashville was the recipient of some generous calls - both against the Ducks, and non-calls on what could've just as easily been penalties to them.
Didn't get a chance to watch the game (went and saw Alien:Covenant) but judging from this comment and Kevs it was more of the same as far as momentum shifting calls/non calls in the favor of the Preds.
Good to see they still lost.
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Did anyone catch the first episode of this NHL Game Changers thing? Basically a round table discussion including Wayne, Orr, Mario, Sid, and Towes. Doc hosts it, first episode was on NBCSN Wednesday night, it was pretty cool. I watched it on demand last night, there was some good dialogue between the guys, with opportunity for a lot more moving forward I think, not sure how many episodes are planned.
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...And Murray will start in goal tonight over Flower. Wow, I am honestly surprised. Marc has easily, without question been the MVP of this team so far in the post-season.
Sullivan hasn't led this team wrong yet...We shall see.
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...And Murray will start in goal tonight over Flower. Wow, I am honestly surprised. Marc has easily, without question been the MVP of this team so far in the post-season.
Sullivan hasn't led this team wrong yet...We shall see.
Shocked by this. The only thing I can think of is perhaps management got involved. They are ready to deal Fleury out and want to be doubly sure on Murray before they do.
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...And Murray will start in goal tonight over Flower. Wow, I am honestly surprised. Marc has easily, without question been the MVP of this team so far in the post-season.
Sullivan hasn't led this team wrong yet...We shall see.
Shocked by this. The only thing I can think of is perhaps management got involved. They are ready to deal Fleury out and want to be doubly sure on Murray before they do.
Yeah I thought that as well, but Rutherford, the GM, has been pretty vocal about wanting have both guys around, I guess you never know behind closed doors though.
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Wow, RyJo. Preds might be in trouble now.
Also, random Matt Murray fact, I got my own mug at a bar I frequent today, it's bigger than a regular mug and you pay regular price to drink out of it every time you come for a year and the mugs are numbered 1 through 100. Matt Murray has #30. :biggrin: The owner is his cousin, and he brought the cup to the place when he won it last year.
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Yeah, that's a HUGE blow to the Preds. Thankfully they acted on the injury before anything unrepairable happened to his leg.
Man, what a game last night. The Sens looked dreadful in the 2nd period, and that PP is about as bad as it can get. But, they made a game of it, and I'll be the Pens are relieved to have evened the series - especially after losing ANOTHER blue-liner.
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Dear Pens, huge win last night, way to get out front and then hold on.
Dear NHL, please stop allowing dangerous, blatant headshots in your game. Another Pen goes down with a concussion, and the Pens get penalized on the play for retaliation after the hit, it's a joke.
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After the latest injury to Johansen, a writer here in Nashville is giving them no chance of winning - 'It would take a Disney Script'.
The captain Fisher also left the game with an undisclosed injury.
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After the latest injury to Johansen, a writer here in Nashville is giving them no chance of winning - 'It would take a Disney Script'.
The captain Fisher also left the game with an undisclosed injury.
I don't think it's that far fetched for them to beat the Ducks. That said it certainly makes things tougher, especially if they do make it to the finals.
Dear Pens, huge win last night, way to get out front and then hold on.
Dear NHL, please stop allowing dangerous, blatant headshots in your game. Another Pen goes down with a concussion, and the Pens get penalized on the play for retaliation after the hit, it's a joke.
The retaliation after the play being called a penalty should have been called, but the charge should have been as well. I do think you need to reconsider what a blatant headshot is though, as it has to be blatant, and target the head. Again, Ryan charged him, but the player was extended, reaching for the puck, and Ryan kept his arms down.
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Agree with Nick. It was an unfortunate hard hit that resulted in an injury. Frankly, I don't even think the hit deserved a penalty. Scott Stevens would be proud.
The high-stick before hand, that was penalty-worthy.
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I didn't see a lot of the game, so I cannot comment on the hit, but if there is one thing I have learned in my many years of message board chatter, it's that Pittsburgh sports fans a) never think their guys do anything wrong, and B) most things done to their players are unfair or cheap, so that tells me that this hit was probably clean and legit. :lol :lol
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I'm just of the opinion that headshots need taken out of the game. The NFL is trying to do this by cracking down on headshots, I feel the NHL should as well.
Agree with Nick. It was an unfortunate hard hit that resulted in an injury. Frankly, I don't even think the hit deserved a penalty. Scott Stevens would be proud.
The high-stick before hand, that was penalty-worthy.
I do think it was unfortunate and I think it was a total accident because of the position Chad was in, but to me, a headshot should still be penalized, intent shouldn't matter. If you want less headshots in the game, you have to start penalizing them every time they happen. No gray area, no room for, oh well it didn't look like he meant to do it...
But if you don't even think that was a penalty I guess trying to protect guys from head trauma and concussions isn't important to you.
I didn't see a lot of the game, so I cannot comment on the hit, but if there is one thing I have learned in my many years of message board chatter, it's that Pittsburgh sports fans a) never think their guys do anything wrong, and B) most things done to their players are unfair or cheap, so that tells me that this hit was probably clean and legit. :lol :lol
First off that's a) insulting and rude, and b) not what I'm going on about. Last nights hit is the latest example of how the NHL continues to drop the ball in this area, and continues to put out a worse product because of it.
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I didn't see a lot of the game, so I cannot comment on the hit, but if there is one thing I have learned in my many years of message board chatter, it's that Pittsburgh sports fans a) never think their guys do anything wrong, and B) most things done to their players are unfair or cheap, so that tells me that this hit was probably clean and legit. :lol :lol
Said the St. Louis fan :lol
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If you want less headshots in the game, you have to start penalizing them every time they happen. No gray area, no room for, oh well it didn't look like he meant to do it...
But if you don't even think that was a penalty I guess trying to protect guys from head trauma and concussions isn't important to you.
C'mon man, it's not black and white. And painting me into a corner where if I don't agree with you means I'm all for head trauma? Geez. Where do you stand on slashes that sever fingers? :biggrin:
The reality is the NHL is a fast moving, aggressive and 'violent' game. From what I remember of the hit (can't seem to find a replay of it), Ruhwedel leaned in towards the puck a split second before (who was it, Ryan? Smith?) clocked him. So, the 'hitting' player should be penalized because the 'hi't player put himself in a vulnerable position? FFS, why have contact at all then if the only thing you can aim for is essentially a strike-zone (because hitting below the thigh is definitely a no-no as well - which I agree with)?
The NFL is trying to take away helmet/shoulder to head contact. With the speed of the two sports, there is no way to fairly penalize any/all headshots, because it is just as often the result of the recipient's movement that causes the headshot. Shall the NHL create a new penalty 'leaving yourself vulnerable'?
It's unfortunate - and yes, the league (both leagues) should take reasonable steps to minimize head injuries. I don't think that penalizing every headshot like it's mandatory isn't the answer.
Edit - found video https://www.thescore.com/news/1304441; NBCsports has it in full speed. In slow motion, it looks bad. In realtime, tell me how Ryan is supposed to alter the hit he's going to throw - which would have been perfectly legal if Ruhwedel remained upright.
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Well said. :tup :tup
Seeing a playoff game a few weeks ago 10 rows from the ice reminded me of how fast the game moves and how difficult it has to be to officiate. Even with two refs and two linesman, things are going to get missed sometimes.
I didn't see a lot of the game, so I cannot comment on the hit, but if there is one thing I have learned in my many years of message board chatter, it's that Pittsburgh sports fans a) never think their guys do anything wrong, and B) most things done to their players are unfair or cheap, so that tells me that this hit was probably clean and legit. :lol :lol
Said the St. Louis fan :lol
Hey now, I am the first to call out a player on a team of mine if they did something I do not agree with. For example, I am a Broncos fan and frequently call out Aquib Talib for his dirty play.
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If you want less headshots in the game, you have to start penalizing them every time they happen. No gray area, no room for, oh well it didn't look like he meant to do it...
But if you don't even think that was a penalty I guess trying to protect guys from head trauma and concussions isn't important to you.
C'mon man, it's not black and white. And painting me into a corner where if I don't agree with you means I'm all for head trauma? Geez. Where do you stand on slashes that sever fingers? :biggrin:
The reality is the NHL is a fast moving, aggressive and 'violent' game. From what I remember of the hit (can't seem to find a replay of it), Ruhwedel leaned in towards the puck a split second before (who was it, Ryan? Smith?) clocked him. So, the 'hitting' player should be penalized because the 'hi't player put himself in a vulnerable position? FFS, why have contact at all then if the only thing you can aim for is essentially a strike-zone (because hitting below the thigh is definitely a no-no as well - which I agree with)?
The NFL is trying to take away helmet/shoulder to head contact. With the speed of the two sports, there is no way to fairly penalize any/all headshots, because it is just as often the result of the recipient's movement that causes the headshot. Shall the NHL create a new penalty 'leaving yourself vulnerable'?
It's unfortunate - and yes, the league (both leagues) should take reasonable steps to minimize head injuries. I don't think that penalizing every headshot like it's mandatory isn't the answer.
Edit - found video https://www.thescore.com/news/1304441; NBCsports has it in full speed. In slow motion, it looks bad. In realtime, tell me how Ryan is supposed to alter the hit he's going to throw - which would have been perfectly legal if Ruhwedel remained upright.
I am totally okay with slashes that sever fingers, obviously because I'm a Pittsburgh sports fan and have been informed that I can't have a fair balanced opinion without being a homer.
Of course I'm not okay with that, I think Sid should have got penalized for that, just like Ryan should have gotten a penalty last night.
Respectfully, the rest of your post is excuses. All I'm saying is cracking down on headshots. I don't care if the player who got hit seems to be in a vulnerable position, it should still be a penalty. With your logic a slash shouldn't be a penalty I guess if the guy with the puck sticks his arms out in a vulnerable way. Couldn't help but slash those arms, must not be a penalty. Oh and it's a fast game, so no biggie.
Or we could use the NFL analogy again, WR that gets put in a vulnerable position coming across the middle, led into a hit by his QB. If he gets absolutely blasted in the head the NFL is at least pretending to seem like they care. Doesn't matter if people think he's vulnerable or not.
That all being said, I agree it is a fast game and stuff will get missed. First off, this situation shouldn't have been missed because there was a ref right there watching it. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he blinked and missed it. Understood. So I'll await the department of player safety to call Ryan to address the hit. It's a hit to the head that concussed a player. Period.
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Well said. :tup :tup
Seeing a playoff game a few weeks ago 10 rows from the ice reminded me of how fast the game moves and how difficult it has to be to officiate. Even with two refs and two linesman, things are going to get missed sometimes.
I didn't see a lot of the game, so I cannot comment on the hit, but if there is one thing I have learned in my many years of message board chatter, it's that Pittsburgh sports fans a) never think their guys do anything wrong, and B) most things done to their players are unfair or cheap, so that tells me that this hit was probably clean and legit. :lol :lol
Said the St. Louis fan :lol
Hey now, I am the first to call out a player on a team of mine if they did something I do not agree with. For example, I am a Broncos fan and frequently call out Aquib Talib for his dirty play.
:lol just poking fun at the St. Louis fans here who seem to have a similar mentality, though I love the passion for the game and I get a good chuckle out of it because almost every hardcore fan talks like this to some degree.
I'm with you though, I believe myself to be very fair when judging against and for my team. Like already said, the Sid slash, while gruesome, should have been a penalty and no more. If I had it my way, almost all stickwork would be eliminated from the game, but some people seem to think that slash was an excerpt from the Texas chainsaw massacre. The Rust hit, while a headshot yes, is just something that happens in a fast paced contact sport. Speaking from the perspective of someone who has had 8-10 concussions, I wish there was an easy way to eliminate them entirely without affecting the one ice product, but unfortunately I don't know how that is possible. I never saw the Ruhwedel hit, but since it wasn't all over Twitter or anything, I'll assume it was a similar kind of play.
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@ Mikey, we'll have to agree to disagree as we aren't going to agree with our respective points of view. What you call "excuses", I call the realities of the game. Also, I was just teasing and being facetious about Sid's slash on Methot in the regular season. It was gruesome, but a freak thing.
As for Ryan getting a call from Quintal, I haven't heard anything that suggests that is in the works.
@ Jarlaxe... the link I had showed a quick twitter .gif. Here it is in full-speed https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/05/19/video-bobby-ryan-crunches-chad-ruhwedel-who-didnt-return-for-start-of-second-period/
I wish there was an easy way to eliminate them entirely without affecting the one ice product, but unfortunately I don't know how that is possible.
Bingo!
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Seeing it now, I wouldn't complain if there had been a 2 minute penalty, wouldn't complain of there was no call either. Unfortunate play, but again, I don't know how to eliminate those hits.
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:lol just poking fun at the St. Louis fans here who seem to have a similar mentality,
yeah....so annoying them always whining about the refs and unevenly officiated games...... ::)
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@jingle - it's all good man, I totally understand where you are coming from, I just think you and I (like you said) probably will just continue to disagree.
Seeing it now, I wouldn't complain if there had been a 2 minute penalty, wouldn't complain of there was no call either. Unfortunate play, but again, I don't know how to eliminate those hits.
I don't really know how to either, and that's part of the reason why it upsets me to a degree, I'm not sure how the NHL would eliminate those things totally, but here comes the cliche- a good start would be to actually call the rule book as written.
:lol just poking fun at the St. Louis fans here who seem to have a similar mentality,
yeah....so annoying them always whining about the refs and unevenly officiated games...... ::)
Ah, lets be real, no fan base is better or worse at this than others. Different people just develop different ideas about how they choose to view certain fan groups, that's all. Besides I love reading your posts here, joyful posts and frustrated posts, it's all a part of being a fan of any team. :tup
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So mutha :censored sick of the mutha :censored Nashville Predators. Just really can't stand them any longer and it's safe to say that the affection I had for them as kind of my 'second' team is now completely eroded and I pretty much just hate them now.
Their celebrations make me rage
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I don't know, bro. The Ducks are acting like assholes now.
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I don't know, bro. The Ducks are acting like assholes now.
Are they? I turned the channel after the latest bout of fortune blessed the Preds with a broken stick on a simple pass attempt leading to the empty netter.
I don't see how anyone's going to beat them when they get the majority of the 'breaks'. Sure they lost Johansson but that's more or less 'expected' to happen in a deep playoff run .....losing someone.... it the little crap like broken sticks, bounces, momentum shifting calls etc. just continue to pile up in their favor. It's officially permanently embedded underneath my skin....the distain I have for that Franchise now.
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(https://s2.quickmeme.com/img/45/45bc0b26aa9ff1cb4ce40685dd2e7c56233a2fe4a8ecee7215747a2070221f8c.jpg)
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(https://s2.quickmeme.com/img/45/45bc0b26aa9ff1cb4ce40685dd2e7c56233a2fe4a8ecee7215747a2070221f8c.jpg)
:rollin
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;D
I feel the same way about Ottawa as you do about the Preds (I bet you even hate when people call them the "Preds" :lol)
Sens/Preds final?? That doesn't even make sense! :lol
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Gutsy win by them, and yeah.... very fortunate to have Silfverberg's stick snap like a matchstick. Nothing bugs me more than the broken stick issue. Never - NEVER - with wooden sticks did you see this many breaks. Easily a couple every period - and last night there was two in a single shift. Seriously, you'd think these fucking stick companies could figure this shit out.
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Wonder if Perry gets in trouble for the sucker punch and forceful tug away from the ref.
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Gutsy win by them, and yeah.... very fortunate to have Silfverberg's stick snap like a matchstick. Nothing bugs me more than the broken stick issue. Never - NEVER - with wooden sticks did you see this many breaks. Easily a couple every period - and last night there was two in a single shift. Seriously, you'd think these fucking stick companies could figure this shit out.
I actually saw a pitch on Dragon's Den last night for a company called Colt that makes a nearly indestructible stick. Not sure if it'll catch on, but interesting nonetheless.
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It's a reverse of Game 3 in Pittsburgh right now. Instead of Pittsburgh being tired and sloppy, we're tired and sloppy. Jesus Christ
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It's a reverse of Game 3 in Pittsburgh right now. Instead of Pittsburgh being tired and sloppy, we're tired and sloppy. Jesus Christ
I was thinking the same thing, it was the polar opposite of game 3. It's been a weird series.
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I was thinking the same thing, it was the polar opposite of game 3. It's been a weird series.
God, I must feel how you felt last week. I just wanted it to be over :lol
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That was ugly... I stopped watching after the 1st period. Looks like I'm gonna have to pull for Nashville soon.
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Now who does Ottawa go with next? :lol
I'm one of the weirdos that likes Condon's game and Anderson has been shaky recently. But he got us this far....
Shitty birthday for Anderson
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Wow. It's amazing what happens when a team plays their game instead of trying to play Ottawa's game. The Penguins are the far superior team, and they proved it this afternoon.
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I would fully expect Pittsburgh to win a game 7 at home if it comes to that, but frankly there are no excuses for them losing game 6. If they somehow lose this series now it's a monumental failure.
And on that note, STOP FUCKING GETTING INJURED WESTERN TEAMS.
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God, I must feel how you felt last week. I just wanted it to be over :lol
Pretty much, like I said, it's been a weird series.
Now who does Ottawa go with next? :lol
I'm one of the weirdos that likes Condon's game and Anderson has been shaky recently. But he got us this far....
I'd think you'd have to go back to Anderson, he's got you this far.
Wow. It's amazing what happens when a team plays their game instead of trying to play Ottawa's game. The Penguins are the far superior team, and they proved it this afternoon.
Exactly. This is the game the Pens have been trying to have against the Sens all series. This was a Penguins style hockey game. Give credit to the Sens defense and strong structure for holding back the Pens speed and scoring up until yesterday.
I would fully expect Pittsburgh to win a game 7 at home if it comes to that, but frankly there are no excuses for them losing game 6. If they somehow lose this series now it's a monumental failure.
I hesitate to say monumental failure, but I'd certainly call it a disappointing upset if that happened.
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I expect Ottawa to bounce back tomorrow, just as Anaheim did after their shellacking at the hands of the Oilers last round, and when the Oilers did the same vs the Sharks. And then... anything can happen in a Game 7.
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I expect Ottawa to bounce back tomorrow, just as Anaheim did after their shellacking at the hands of the Oilers last round, and when the Oilers did the same vs the Sharks. And then... anything can happen in a Game 7.
Yup, I expect a much tighter game tomorrow. I'm just hoping the Pens can get a couple goals again. They are catching on to a couple things in terms of transitions against the Sens that has helped them the last couple games. I'll be curious to see if the Sens recognize that and adjust tomorrow.
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Preds!!! :metal :metal :metal :metal
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What a great third period, even if you ignore the empty netters. Still hate the Ducks from when the Wings were in the west. That shot of Perry with his head down was freaking sweet. Sweet, sweet tears of pain.
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Colton Sissons playing like a beast in RyJo's stead. Hopefully he can keep it up. :biggrin:
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Good for the Predators. Good for PK Subban and good for Mike Fisher
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And the Cinderella run continues. The fucking Nashville Predators are going to the Stanely Cup Finals.
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How gross.
I am sure they will win just to bug me, but I hope the Preds get torn to shreds by whoever comes out of the East.
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I wouldn't mind seeing Nashville win it just so PK can drive back and forth in front of Bergevin's house with the cup when he undoubtedly visits all the Montreal hospitals he's donated tons of money to.
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I wouldn't mind seeing Nashville win it just so PK can drive back and forth in front of Bergevin's house with the cup when he undoubtedly visits all the Montreal hospitals he's donated tons of money to.
:lol I wish I could upvote this or something.
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How gross.
I am sure they will win just to bug me, but I hope the Preds get torn to shreds by whoever comes out of the East.
Totally this.
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I wouldn't mind seeing Nashville win it just so PK can drive back and forth in front of Bergevin's house with the cup when he undoubtedly visits all the Montreal hospitals he's donated tons of money to.
:lol I wish I could upvote this or something.
I would love to see this as well. If I remember right, Larry Murphy did something similar after winning the Cup in 1997 with the Red Wings. He had been traded from the Maple Leafs to the Red Wings at the deadline that year, and was taking a lot of the blame for how the Leafs' season had gone to that point. On his day with the Cup that summer, he drove around downtown Toronto in a convertible with the Cup very much visible for Maple Leafs fans to see it.
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Kessel brought it back last year. Took it to Toronto Sick Kids Hospital. Total dick move.
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I would love to see the Finals officiated in such a way where timely/untimely calls don't affect the outcome of a game. That's Nashvilles kryptonite.....
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I would love to see the Finals officiated in such a way where timely/untimely calls don't affect the outcome of a game. That's Nashvilles kryptonite.....
Yeah... fortunate non-call of the 2nd puck-over-glass play that would've put them down 5-on-3. And then magically a couple minutes later, GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL!
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Buddy of mine is a season ticket holder of the Preds. Sent me a pic this morning of I guess the conference champ trophy on the ice...and said no one on the team touched it. They want the REAL cup. Awesome statement by the team. Also sent me a pic of downtown after the win -- place was packed.
I fully admit I do not follow hockey like I used to (I am an Islanders fan). But I'll be tuning into the Stanley Cup Finals.
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I would love to see the Finals officiated in such a way where timely/untimely calls don't affect the outcome of a game. That's Nashvilles kryptonite.....
Yeah... fortunate non-call of the 2nd puck-over-glass play that would've put them down 5-on-3. And then magically a couple minutes later, GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL!
It's been that way for them all post season. its uncanny.
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It hit the top of the glass on the way out. It was called by the rules. :P
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It hit the top of the glass on the way out. It was called by the rules. :P
Did it?
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Buddy of mine is a season ticket holder of the Preds. Sent me a pic this morning of I guess the conference champ trophy on the ice...and said no one on the team touched it. They want the REAL cup. Awesome statement by the team.
I would guess 90% Or more of teams do this. The Penguins touched theirs last year because they did not touch it in '08 and lost, then touched it in '09 and won, so they touched it last year again on supersition.
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Buddy of mine is a season ticket holder of the Preds. Sent me a pic this morning of I guess the conference champ trophy on the ice...and said no one on the team touched it. They want the REAL cup. Awesome statement by the team.
I would guess 90% Or more of teams do this. The Penguins touched theirs last year because they did not touch it in '08 and lost, then touched it in '09 and won, so they touched it last year again on supersition.
Yup, it's pretty common for this to happen, definitely not some big statement by the Preds.
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It hit the top of the glass on the way out. It was called by the rules. :P
Did it?
Yep. Don't have a replay handy but there was one angle where it was pretty clear.
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It hit the top of the glass on the way out. It was called by the rules. :P
Did it?
Yep. Don't have a replay handy but there was one angle where it was pretty clear.
But what you didn't see was that the puck has a magnet in it, and as the puck was just about to clear the top of the class the linesman activated the electromagnic in his pocket for a brief moment to draw the puck down just enough to glaze off the top of the glass. It's all part of the leagues plot for the Preds.
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It hit the top of the glass on the way out. It was called by the rules. :P
Did it?
Yep. Don't have a replay handy but there was one angle where it was pretty clear.
But what you didn't see was that the puck has a magnet in it, and as the puck was just about to clear the top of the class the linesman activated the electromagnic in his pocket for a brief moment to draw the puck down just enough to glaze off the top of the glass. It's all part of the leagues plot for the Preds.
Finally!!! someone else gets it!!!!
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It hit the top of the glass on the way out. It was called by the rules. :P
Did it?
Yep. Don't have a replay handy but there was one angle where it was pretty clear.
Fair enough... I didn't see that replay.
I believe I heard that Calgary in 2004 was the last team to touch the Clarence Campbell bowl. Seems 'not touching' is more the tradition for the West.
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It hit the top of the glass on the way out. It was called by the rules. :P
Did it?
Yep. Don't have a replay handy but there was one angle where it was pretty clear.
Fair enough... I didn't see that replay.
I believe I heard that Calgary in 2004 was the last team to touch the Clarence Campbell bowl. Seems 'not touching' is more the tradition for the West.
You were probably watching the CBC replays? IIRC they didn't really show the defining angle. I found the replay from NBC that showed the good angle, but I don't have it anymore.
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Not ready to quit yet
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Damn straight. Gut-check win after giving up the first goal. Helluva shot by Hoffman.
Game 7... anything can happen!
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I have one Wish, for the NHL to figure out what goalie interference is and apply it consistently. In a bubble, I'm on the fence about the Daley goal/no goal, but the NHL is not a bubble and they set the precedent by allowing that Kesler goal against Edmonton, and then flipped the script here. As I said, I'm fine if Daley's isn't a goal, I wouldn't argue for a second, but come on NHL, figure it out, it's been s controversy for how many years now.
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I have one Wish, for the NHL to figure out what goalie interference is and apply it consistently. In a bubble, I'm on the fence about the Daley goal/no goal, but the NHL is not a bubble and they set the precedent by allowing that Kesler goal against Edmonton, and then flipped the script here. As I said, I'm fine if Daley's isn't a goal, I wouldn't argue for a second, but come on NHL, figure it out, it's been s controversy for how many years now.
To be fair, it's been much harder to define since Tomas Holmstrom retired. I believe the old rule was, "if player is positioned within 5 feet of the crease with his back to the goalie, and he wears number 96 for the Detroit Red Wings, the opposing goalie is allowed to fall suddenly like he has been shot by a high velocity sniper rifle and draw a 2 minute minor for goaltender interference. Also, opposing team's defence men are allowed to push, trip or otherwise cajole player into goalie to draw a 2 minute minor for goaltender interference." It is possible my rule book is an older version though.
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I have one Wish, for the NHL to figure out what goalie interference is and apply it consistently. In a bubble, I'm on the fence about the Daley goal/no goal, but the NHL is not a bubble and they set the precedent by allowing that Kesler goal against Edmonton, and then flipped the script here. As I said, I'm fine if Daley's isn't a goal, I wouldn't argue for a second, but come on NHL, figure it out, it's been s controversy for how many years now.
Thank you for posting this so I didn't have to, I feel the same. I'm fine with the NHL calling that no goal, if they would be consistent with those calls all the time. But they aren't and that's the problem. As with most important things in this league, goalie interference calls are inconsistent and allow too much room for subjectivity.
Now that being said - the Pens lost that game, I'm not blaming the NHL or the refs or anyone else. Those guys needed to play better last night and they didn't, period. This game was like a flashback to some of the first couple games in this series, the Sens trap was back to really frustrating the Pens, which surprises me since the last couple games, the Pens had been solving the NZ trap really well. Like I said before, this has been a weird series, that was not the type of game I was expecting last night.
Anderson stood freaking tall, I'll be curious to see if he can do it again in the final game of this series. Game 7s are a coin flip, and especially in this case, I have no clue how this game will shake out.
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I'm not sure how goalie interference calls CAN'T be subjective. Unless we go back to the 90s and the 'toe-in-the-crease' bullshit (boy, Buffalo/Hasek sure have fond memories of that), there's always going to have to be some 'interpretation' by a human on what goalie interference is. I don't recall seeing the Kessler one that is referenced, but to me, the call last night was correct - Anderson was shoved, and it impeded his ability to stop the puck (kinda hard to do it when your butt is in the back of the net itself!).
I hope tomorrow is gonna be good - should be, despite both of them coming out limp in the 1st period last night. Periods 2 and 3 were fantastic.
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I'm not sure how goalie interference calls CAN'T be subjective. Unless we go back to the 90s and the 'toe-in-the-crease' bullshit (boy, Buffalo/Hasek sure have fond memories of that), there's always going to have to be some 'interpretation' by a human on what goalie interference is. I don't recall seeing the Kessler one that is referenced, but to me, the call last night was correct - Anderson was shoved, and it impeded his ability to stop the puck (kinda hard to do it when your butt is in the back of the net itself!).
I hope tomorrow is gonna be good - should be, despite both of them coming out limp in the 1st period last night. Periods 2 and 3 were fantastic.
I think the best way would be to have 1 or 2 guys make ALL the goalie interference challenge calls from Toronto. That way you know there's only 2 opinions on goalie interference, and they can coordinate a little better as opposed to how many different refs opinions.
I have one Wish, for the NHL to figure out what goalie interference is and apply it consistently. In a bubble, I'm on the fence about the Daley goal/no goal, but the NHL is not a bubble and they set the precedent by allowing that Kesler goal against Edmonton, and then flipped the script here. As I said, I'm fine if Daley's isn't a goal, I wouldn't argue for a second, but come on NHL, figure it out, it's been s controversy for how many years now.
Thank you for posting this so I didn't have to, I feel the same. I'm fine with the NHL calling that no goal, if they would be consistent with those calls all the time. But they aren't and that's the problem. As with most important things in this league, goalie interference calls are inconsistent and allow too much room for subjectivity.
Now that being said - the Pens lost that game, I'm not blaming the NHL or the refs or anyone else. Those guys needed to play better last night and they didn't, period. This game was like a flashback to some of the first couple games in this series, the Sens trap was back to really frustrating the Pens, which surprises me since the last couple games, the Pens had been solving the NZ trap really well. Like I said before, this has been a weird series, that was not the type of game I was expecting last night.
Anderson stood freaking tall, I'll be curious to see if he can do it again in the final game of this series. Game 7s are a coin flip, and especially in this case, I have no clue how this game will shake out.
I think the Pens dominated for large stretches, but couldn't get one passed Anderson, who was brilliant.
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I'm not sure how goalie interference calls CAN'T be subjective. Unless we go back to the 90s and the 'toe-in-the-crease' bullshit (boy, Buffalo/Hasek sure have fond memories of that), there's always going to have to be some 'interpretation' by a human on what goalie interference is. I don't recall seeing the Kessler one that is referenced, but to me, the call last night was correct - Anderson was shoved, and it impeded his ability to stop the puck (kinda hard to do it when your butt is in the back of the net itself!).
I hope tomorrow is gonna be good - should be, despite both of them coming out limp in the 1st period last night. Periods 2 and 3 were fantastic.
There will always be some subjectivity obviously, but the problem is the end result, the decision. It's not called consistently. Once again, I'll stress that I understand how they could make that call, but it was called a goal on the ice, and that type of contact happens very frequently and the goal is allowed. So I think you lessen the subjectivity by calling things more consistently. Like Jarlaxle suggested, putting those specific decisions into the hands of the same couple guys in Toronto would probably help a ton.
This is the problem I keep going back to with the NHL, if that is the standard, okay, got it. That's the standard, stick to it. The problem is that the standard for that call and so, so many others continues to be a moving target.
I expect that every scramble in front of the net, with a loose puck and tons of traffic, that results in some form of body contact with the goalie and the puck goes in gets called this way moving forward. There's no way it happens :lol
I think the Pens dominated for large stretches, but couldn't get one passed Anderson, who was brilliant.
He was, and I agree that the Pens carried the majority of the play. My issue was with the quality of chances. I feel the Sens reestablished a big thing they were doing in the first couple games, and that is sealing off the middle and clearing out the front of the net. That helped Anderson A TON last night, his D were forcing perimeter shots and giving him clear sight lines. The Pens did break that several times once they got behind but the bounces weren't there.
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I think the best way would be to have 1 or 2 guys make ALL the goalie interference challenge calls from Toronto. That way you know there's only 2 opinions on goalie interference, and they can coordinate a little better as opposed to how many different refs opinions.
31 teams; 82 game season = 1,271 games for 1 or 2 guys to monitor? That ought to work out if you're willing to accept 2-hour reviews.
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Have a team dedicated to doing it.
I'm a bit confused, are you arguing the NHL does a great job at this sort of thing? Or are you just arguing that was the right call last night?
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I think the best way would be to have 1 or 2 guys make ALL the goalie interference challenge calls from Toronto. That way you know there's only 2 opinions on goalie interference, and they can coordinate a little better as opposed to how many different refs opinions.
31 teams; 82 game season = 1,271 games for 1 or 2 guys to monitor? That ought to work out if you're willing to accept 2-hour reviews.
I'm not talking about those 2 guys watching all the games, but just doing the reviews from coaches challenges, instead of the refs doing it on an iPad. How many goalie interference challenges were there last season? I tried googling it but couldn't find nothing. I'd be willing to bet it would be easily manageable by a small group of people rather than the refs, and would be more consistent then.
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Boston guy here reporting that the Bruins got fucked on goalie interference calls all year.
Ok, carry on..
;D
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An aside from what is being talked about, but...
How the hell do the Senators not sell out a conference finals game 6 elimination game?
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Traffic in and out of the venue is horrible from what I've heard. Like, brutal - 2+hours to get out of the area.
I'm a bit confused, are you arguing the NHL does a great job at this sort of thing?
No, I'm not arguing that point.
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An aside from what is being talked about, but...
How the hell do the Senators not sell out a conference finals game 6 elimination game?
Well, they pretty much did. I think it was a few hundred tickets short and they were in the upper bowl. Ottawa has had this problem for quite a few games this season. Jingle is right about the arena, it's like 20 minutes out of the city and is horrible to get to and leave.
On another note, Pittsburgh isn't sold out yet either
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An aside from what is being talked about, but...
How the hell do the Senators not sell out a conference finals game 6 elimination game?
Well, they pretty much did. I think it was a few hundred tickets short and they were in the upper bowl. Ottawa has had this problem for quite a few games this season. Jingle is right about the arena, it's like 20 minutes out of the city and is horrible to get to and leave.
On another note, Pittsburgh isn't sold out yet either
Is no one else going to state the obvious? The team isn't presenting a fun, exciting product on the ice. Even when winning people still aren't showing up. Traffic is a problem everywhere, if the one-ice product was a higher quality, exciting product they wouldn't have as hard a time selling tickets.
The fact that they couldn't sell out a conference final game is crazy, what is even crazier is how cheap the tickets were. Even if those cheap prices, they couldn't sell out?
I'm not sure if the Pens are sold out as of this post yet or not, but I'd guarantee by game time tonight it will be a sell out. The Pens have a sell out streak of like almost 500 games in a row, they will sell out a game 7 at the conference finals. Suggesting otherwise is silly. I get that there's lots to hate on the Pens for, lack of selling tickets certainly isn't one of them :lol
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Anaheim had a shit-ton of empty seats ... every f'n game.
There's lots of factors certainly, but the fact that was the first conference finals in Canada since 1993 that wasn't sold out does indicate something. Just not sure what exactly.
Product?
Venue?
Economy?
Fanbase?
Some/all of the above?
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Anaheim had a shit-ton of empty seats ... every f'n game.
There's lots of factors certainly, but the fact that was the first conference finals in Canada since 1993 that wasn't sold out does indicate something. Just not sure what exactly.
Product?
Venue?
Economy?
Fanbase?
Some/all of the above?
That's a good point, I forgot about Anaheim, but you're right. This sort of thing is never just one problem. I just feel like if I was the NHL I'd be trying to figure out the factors that have been playing into this issue. They should be selling out conference final games, without question. The fact that they aren't should be a red flag that they hunt down, but I'm not sure if they will, you know they are busy expanding the league. :lol
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Awful call. Yes, that was interference, but Kessler embellished it like crazy. Should've been matching minors.
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And Pittsburgh scores a PP off of it. What a joke that will be if that call ends up deciding the series.
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Ottawa ties it up.
Hey dipshit refs, let the freaking players decide this game 7, please.
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Hell of a dive by Kessel before, glad to see the Sens tie it up. I dislike the Penguins so much that I'm practically rooting for Ottawa like they're my team right now.
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That terrible interference call (or lack of matching minors) makes up for the crappy slashing call the Sens got in the first. I'm already on the verge of a heart attack, overtime is going to be too much.
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Hell of a dive by Kessel before, glad to see the Sens tie it up. I dislike the Penguins so much that I'm practically rooting for Ottawa like they're my team right now.
I don't dislike the Pens that much, but I'm definitely rooting for the Sens
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I hate the Sens more than the Pens, but I'm cheering for the Sens anyway because it'd be a more interesting final. This game is super exciting. :metal
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You just can't kill the Senators!
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My hatred for the Pens is approaching my hatred for Noter Damn. Pens fans are just fucking awful, whiny bitches. It was worse when the Pens were a really dirty team a few years ago.
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My hatred for the Pens is approaching my hatred for Noter Damn. Pens fans are just fucking awful, whiny bitches. It was worse when the Pens were a really dirty team a few years ago.
Yup that was when they had Matt Cooke, he's up there on my list of most hated professional athletes.
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And now those trashball fans at the rink are being asshats. If there is anything that resembles a hockey god, it will make the Pens lose in the most painful way possible.
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And now those trashball fans at the rink are being asshats. If there is anything that resembles a hockey god, it will make the Pens lose in the most painful way possible.
There is a hockey god, and he's smited the Penguins several times in this game already. There have been a couple notable times, but nothing says there is a higher power not wanting you to win than having a goalie sprawling on the ground, facing away from the action, and having the puck come in and deflect right into his glove.
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YAY THE SENS LOST
BOO THE PENS WON
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Wow, can't believe that's the goal that ends it.
Obviously not happy with the outcome, but frankly I'm just thankful the Senators grinded the Pens for 5 or 8 periods more than they ever should have.
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If the Pens win the cup and I have to be in Western PA when it happens, it may just drive me to suicide.
Go Preds
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Helluva season. Ottawa was never supposed to make it this far, and they were a bubble playoff team. They took the defending Stanley Cup champs to 7 games and double overtime. They deserved to be there. And with all of the off ice heartaches the team endured this season--Anderson's wife's cancer, Bryan Murray's cancer, Bobby Ryan's mother's death--The team seems to be such a family. They are so fun to watch and follow. It's been a fun season.
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My hatred for the Pens is approaching my hatred for Noter Damn. Pens fans are just fucking awful, whiny bitches. It was worse when the Pens were a really dirty team a few years ago.
Yup that was when they had Matt Cooke, he's up there on my list of most hated professional athletes.
And as we know around here, he ended Marc Savard's career.
I have no issue with the Penguins. They seem like a bunch of nobodys (besides Crosby/Malkin) who play hard, especially on Defense. Love Mike Sullivan too.
The person in the series I was rooting the hardest for is Anderson. He played great in the playoffs. I actually felt bad for him.
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Lots of great stories with the Sens this year -Anderson and MacArthur topping the list. But so ends the Cinderella run this spring.
I just want to watch great hockey in the finals. I'm kinda schizo though, as I have to root against the Preds for Gary's sake, and I've had enough of the Pens.
I don't really care who takes the cup this year.... having the Sens in the final would've alleviated that ambivalence.
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Great team win last night. Can't say enough good stuff about this group.
My hatred for the Pens is approaching my hatred for Noter Damn. Pens fans are just fucking awful, whiny bitches. It was worse when the Pens were a really dirty team a few years ago.
:lol Pens fans are just like every pro sports team fanbase, there are a lot of jerks and a lot who aren't.
And now those trashball fans at the rink are being asshats. If there is anything that resembles a hockey god, it will make the Pens lose in the most painful way possible.
....and those would be the jerks. Believe me, don't let those jerks make you think that's how all Pens fans are, we aren't. They should never have done that, I would never throw something on to the ice in that situation. That being said, in arena, they showed an angle of that Kessel shot that totally looked like a goal, they failed to show the overhead view that showed it was on top the net.
Helluva season. Ottawa was never supposed to make it this far, and they were a bubble playoff team. They took the defending Stanley Cup champs to 7 games and double overtime. They deserved to be there. And with all of the off ice heartaches the team endured this season--Anderson's wife's cancer, Bryan Murray's cancer, Bobby Ryan's mother's death--The team seems to be such a family. They are so fun to watch and follow. It's been a fun season.
Truth, much respect. I'm not a fan of the style and strategy of the Sens, but they played really well. Congrats to them for a great season.
I have no issue with the Penguins. They seem like a bunch of nobodys (besides Crosby/Malkin) who play hard, especially on Defense. Love Mike Sullivan too.
They have a lot of role players that have been put in positions to succeed on the front end. On the back end, they are really getting the most out of an average group of Dmen with Letang out. Mike Sullivan has been a god send to this team. Above all else, he came in and gave this team an identity and taught them to play to their strengths.
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Pens vs. Preds? Eww.
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As a Sens season ticket holder for the past ten years I didn't read much in here that resembled "understanding" of why there were empty seats.
The arena is not out of the way
The tickets were not cheap
The owner is a bit of a goof that gouges fans and will lose his team entirely when he moves them downtown (easily the most assinine-unthoughtout business plan I've ever witnessed) Yet to be approved, so we can hope it gets squashed.
Traffic is terribly managed and has been forever. But when you have to pay for your onramps and offramps to federal highways, you tend to cheap on them. Not a word of a lie, game 6 2-1 Sens, 4 minutes to go and on the power play. Hundreds begin to leave-to beat the traffic.
Great season.
Unfortunate ending.
But there has to be a winner and a loser.
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As a Sens season ticket holder for the past ten years I didn't read much in here that resembled "understanding" of why there were empty seats.
The arena is not out of the way
The tickets were not cheap
The owner is a bit of a goof that gouges fans and will lose his team entirely when he moves them downtown (easily the most assinine-unthoughtout business plan I've ever witnessed) Yet to be approved, so we can hope it gets squashed.
Traffic is terribly managed and has been forever. But when you have to pay for your onramps and offramps to federal highways, you tend to cheap on them. Not a word of a lie, game 6 2-1 Sens, 4 minutes to go and on the power play. Hundreds begin to leave-to beat the traffic.
Great season.
Unfortunate ending.
But there has to be a winner and a loser.
Great post, and great insight on the situation thank you!
Pens vs. Preds? Eww.
It should be fun hockey both teams are loaded with skill and speed. Obviously I'm saying that as a Pen's fan so I get my perspective is different, but it should be fun, exciting hockey.
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It will be a fun series. Pens have the best forwards in the NHL, Preds have the best defensemen in the NHL, goaltending is a toss-up between the two teams at this point. I give Pitt the edge but I'm pulling for the Preds!
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I have to deal with Pens fans who are my friends. Pens fans are more annoyingly obtuse and suffer from tunnel vision worse than fans of other teams. A guy breathes on Crosby "THAT'S A PENALTY! HOW DID THEY MISS THAT!" Every time a Pen falls on the ice "WHY DIDN'T THEY CALL THAT!". A Pen commits an obvious penalty "OH SURE, CALL THAT!" It's old. When they had shitburgers like Cooke on the team, they look the other way. They bitch and moan about Fleury. True, Murray had better numbers, but Fleury won you two cups and is probably the best #2 in the league and he gets treated like a bum by their own fans. As a Steelers and Pirates fan, I don't see the same dumbassery other than the typical football fan who knows jack about the game but thinks they are an expert, but football just seems to do that to idiots everywhere.
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It will be a fun series. Pens have the best forwards in the NHL, Preds have the best defensemen in the NHL, goaltending is a toss-up between the two teams at this point. I give Pitt the edge but I'm pulling for the Preds!
The Preds D matching up with the Pens forwards will be something to watch for early on, match ups will be key.
I have to deal with Pens fans who are my friends. Pens fans are more annoyingly obtuse and suffer from tunnel vision worse than fans of other teams. A guy breathes on Crosby "THAT'S A PENALTY! HOW DID THEY MISS THAT!" Every time a Pen falls on the ice "WHY DIDN'T THEY CALL THAT!". A Pen commits an obvious penalty "OH SURE, CALL THAT!" It's old. When they had shitburgers like Cooke on the team, they look the other way. They bitch and moan about Fleury. True, Murray had better numbers, but Fleury won you two cups and is probably the best #2 in the league and he gets treated like a bum by their own fans. As a Steelers and Pirates fan, I don't see the same dumbassery other than the typical football fan who knows jack about the game but thinks they are an expert, but football just seems to do that to idiots everywhere.
:lol ....Thanks..? Sounds like you have some friends that annoy you with this stuff, but once again, there are sectors of every fan base like this. Do you live in the Pittsburgh area? I only ask because Steelers fans around western PA tend to be far, far more homerish than Pens fans. And Pirate fans....well half the time they don't even admit they are fans. :lol
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Well now that the Penguins got rid of the Senators once and for all, I can go back to hating them again. It felt so weird to root for my least favorite team in the league, but I felt from game one of this series that they were the better team not to mention the more exciting team to watch. I will be rooting heavily for the Predators from here on out though as they're one of my favorite teams going against my favorite team's current biggest rival. It should be a fun series with two very talented teams.
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Congratulations to the Penguins... they managed to barely squeak by in a series with a team that is vastly inferior to them /golfclap. Go Predators.
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I just want to watch great hockey in the finals. I'm kinda schizo though, as I have to root against the Preds for Gary's sake, and I've had enough of the Pens.
Thanks for the support Chad....I appreciate it :lol But at this point I think it's the Preds Cup to lose. They are just firing on all cylinders...they play every shift 'hungry'....they have the goaltending and 'moxi' going for them as well.
The Pens are certainly 'capable' of winning it all but judging from what I've seen thus far in the playoffs there hasn't been a team out there that has had the spark and fight as consistently as the Preds have. Quite simply....they look like they're on a mission and it doesn't look like they're going to allow anyone to stop them.
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The thing with the Preds is after RyJo their centre depth kinda crumbles, and RyJo won't be playing. Not sure they can weather that, even with their stacked defense. They'll have to rely on Colton Sissons to keep overachieving, or for Jarnkrok and Fisher to start playing better as they've both had a terrible playoffs.
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The thing with the Preds is after RyJo their centre depth kinda crumbles, and RyJo won't be playing. Not sure they can weather that, even with their stacked defense.
Very True. I think they weathered it pretty good against the Ducks but then again the Ducks really shouldn't have been there ***cough cough*** goalie interference ****cough cough****beat a dead horse****
I think the Oilers would have given the Preds fits and it's very possible that the Pens will exploit the depleted D corps of the Preds. I'm just saying the Preds friggin work...and work and work....it's non stop and no question is the reason they are 'getting' these favorable calls and bounces. They simply have outworked every team so far.
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The thing with the Preds is after RyJo their centre depth kinda crumbles, and RyJo won't be playing. Not sure they can weather that, even with their stacked defense.
Very True. I think they weathered it pretty good against the Ducks but then again the Ducks really shouldn't have been there ***cough cough*** goalie interference ****cough cough****beat a dead horse****
I think the Oilers would have given the Preds fits and it's very possible that the Pens will exploit the depleted D corps of the Preds. I'm just saying the Preds friggin work...and work and work....it's non stop and no question is the reason they are 'getting' these favorable calls and bounces. They simply have outworked every team so far.
I'll be interesting to see how the Preds utilize all 6 d men. They have had a tendency to run their top 4 almost exclusively in the playoffs. Sullivan will shift Sid out there when he has last change against the Preds bottoms pair.
I agree about center depth, the Pens have the advantage there, but in fairness to the Preds the Pens have that edge against probably every team in the league.
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Man I know we complain about NHL officiating, but in the Memorial Cup one of the most blatant kicks at the puck you'll ever see was just called as a good goal for Erie. At least Windsor got it back quickly, heh...
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It will be a fun series. Pens have the best forwards in the NHL, Preds have the best defensemen in the NHL, goaltending is a toss-up between the two teams at this point. I give Pitt the edge but I'm pulling for the Preds!
The Preds D matching up with the Pens forwards will be something to watch for early on, match ups will be key.
I have to deal with Pens fans who are my friends. Pens fans are more annoyingly obtuse and suffer from tunnel vision worse than fans of other teams. A guy breathes on Crosby "THAT'S A PENALTY! HOW DID THEY MISS THAT!" Every time a Pen falls on the ice "WHY DIDN'T THEY CALL THAT!". A Pen commits an obvious penalty "OH SURE, CALL THAT!" It's old. When they had shitburgers like Cooke on the team, they look the other way. They bitch and moan about Fleury. True, Murray had better numbers, but Fleury won you two cups and is probably the best #2 in the league and he gets treated like a bum by their own fans. As a Steelers and Pirates fan, I don't see the same dumbassery other than the typical football fan who knows jack about the game but thinks they are an expert, but football just seems to do that to idiots everywhere.
:lol ....Thanks..? Sounds like you have some friends that annoy you with this stuff, but once again, there are sectors of every fan base like this. Do you live in the Pittsburgh area? I only ask because Steelers fans around western PA tend to be far, far more homerish than Pens fans. And Pirate fans....well half the time they don't even admit they are fans. :lol
As someone who lived in Western PA for about 25 years, I will say that Steelers fans are by far the most homerish, obnoxious Pittsburgh sports fans. It's not close.
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As someone who lived in Western PA for about 25 years, I will say that Steelers fans are by far the most homerish, obnoxious Pittsburgh sports fans. It's not close.
:lol no doubt!
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Baby Habs win the Memorial Cup. :metal I'm soooo excited for Sergachev.
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Baby Habs win the Memorial Cup. :metal I'm soooo excited for Sergachev.
Didn't watch the game, or any junior hockey all season, but I have Sergachev in my fantasy league. What's your opinion of him, and how well he'll translate to the NHL?
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Baby Habs win the Memorial Cup. :metal I'm soooo excited for Sergachev.
Didn't watch the game, or any junior hockey all season, but I have Sergachev in my fantasy league. What's your opinion of him, and how well he'll translate to the NHL?
He's definitely got the skillset to be a great NHLer. Very talented and can play a smart defensive game too (which was on full display tonight). I think his biggest obstacle will be the speed of his decision making. Sometimes he takes a second to make his move and he won't have that in the NHL. Otherwise I think he was the best defenseman in his draft year, and I think he'll be a great pick. He's just gotta learn the NHL game, and depending on what happens in the off-season he could be in the lineup for the upcoming season.
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The sidebar to this series is to see how Gary and his brother in law interact with each other as the series progresses. :D
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(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/18274932_1469349876465017_1905132863342265957_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=0ad640d76d49f615358efe46ed81752c&oe=59782162)
(https://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/jets10893/FullSizeRender_zpshdr5pyqb.jpg) (https://s1291.photobucket.com/user/jets10893/media/FullSizeRender_zpshdr5pyqb.jpg.html)
Two pictures of similar plays from the same Stanley Cup Playoffs. One picture is from Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Rangers and Senators. The other is from tonight's game. The Ottawa goal was allowed. The Nashville goal was overturned due to being offsides. This isn't to start an argument over what constitutes offsides because that doesn't matter here. The problem is that two plays that look almost identical to each other can be called differently from game to game and from ref to ref. This is the biggest problem in the league today. Too many games are decided because of refs instead of being decided because of the players on the ice and the coaches on the benches. The league needs to take as much referee discretion out of the game as possible. Make every rule black and white so we can complain about missed calls instead of poorly interpreted calls. It's ridiculous that this is even an issue in the league today and it needs to end before it further ruins the product.
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The problem with this post is that you don't quite know the exact rule. As discussed in this thread earlier, that Turris goal is NOT offside because he had full possession of the puck. If you control the puck you can skate in backwards and it doesn't make it offside. The Nashville goal is close. Personally I think it's offside, and since he was in the act of receiving a pass he does not have full control of the puck. I wad still a bit surprised that it was overturned though, it's really quite close.
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The sidebar to this series is to see how Gary and his brother in law interact with each other as the series progresses. :D
All was quiet this game. I was preoccupied with knocking out the last four Episodes of Breaking Bad so didn't watch the game and I didn't hear a peep from him.
Had they won....I'm sure I'd have gotten the #smashville text I've seen a hundred times already. But tonight was quite.
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The problem with this post is that you don't quite know the exact rule. As discussed in this thread earlier, that Turris goal is NOT offside because he had full possession of the puck. If you control the puck you can skate in backwards and it doesn't make it offside. The Nashville goal is close. Personally I think it's offside, and since he was in the act of receiving a pass he does not have full control of the puck. I wad still a bit surprised that it was overturned though, it's really quite close.
Oh Turris definitely wasn't offsides. I was just making the point that far too often this stuff is left up to referee discretion which should not be the case. Games should be decided by the players and coaches. Not the referees.
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The problem is that two plays that look almost identical to each other can be called differently from game to game and from ref to ref.
Here's where you went off the rails. The two pictures are almost identical, but the two plays were not - similar, but certainly not identical. With Turris, HE carried the puck to the position that you've screen-capped; with Forsberg, it was a pass that got the puck to the picture here. My bigger beef is how the linesmen could definitively determine that his right skate was off the ice. It certainly looks like it, but the resolution in the videos (imo) doesn't definitively show it.
Either way, Pitt got luck last night. Rinne let a softie in (Malkin), then the bad luck with the puck going off Elkholm with 16.5 seconds left. Then, they don't get a shot for 37 fucking minutes!?!?! WTH? Seriously, that is the worst effort I've ever seen any playoff team put forth. They played decently enough defensively to stifle the Preds, but man... that was pathetic.
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That was the worst game I've seen the Pens play in these playoffs and still get the win. At the end of the day, that's all that matters, but they have to be better.
Couple lucky breaks for sure. I couldn't believe they overturned the goal on the challenge, I'm guessing the refs and Toronto had a different shot than the NBC crew because I didn't see anything conclusive enough to overturn the call on the ice. It definitely could have been onsides or offsides, I just couldn't tell.
Obviously, the Pens have to generate more scoring chances and SOG, but yikes, Rinne has to be better than that. His team played incredible in front of him and the result was the Pens scoring on like 45% of their shots. Sure the one off his man and the ENG aren't on him (clearly) but a couple other ones were weak, Geno and the one on Jake in particular.
I liked some of the matchups the Pens were getting in the first. Sully was doing exactly what I thought he would do, double shifting Sid with the first and fourth lines to get him out there vs the Preds bottom pair. It worked in the first and then absolutely nothing worked for the Pens. :lol
Weird game, looking forward to game two to see if things develop differently, I'd assume they would.
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That was a very odd game. Disallowed goal, own goal, Pens went like 1 1/3 period without a shot. Very weird one.
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That was a very odd game. Disallowed goal, own goal, Pens went like 1 1/3 period without a shot. Very weird one.
Yup, those three things you mentioned right there are not things I would have predicted ahead of time.
Oh and I forgot to mention, the refs - I actually thought they did a good job in the early parts of the game calling things tight then at some point they just stopped and started to let the usual stuff go. I think this went both ways last night.
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That was a very odd game. Disallowed goal, own goal, Pens went like 1 1/3 period without a shot. Very weird one.
No, they went 37 minutes without a shot - 3rd goal to 4th goal. Never seen anything like it.
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That was a very odd game. Disallowed goal, own goal, Pens went like 1 1/3 period without a shot. Very weird one.
No, they went 37 minutes without a shot - 3rd goal to 4th goal. Never seen anything like it.
God damn. :lol
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That was a very odd game. Disallowed goal, own goal, Pens went like 1 1/3 period without a shot. Very weird one.
No, they went 37 minutes without a shot - 3rd goal to 4th goal. Never seen anything like it.
I can't remember the last time I've seen this Pens team struggle to generate shots like that. I thing I find more odd is that outside of their PP time and one long shift at the end of the second, I never felt like the Preds were really, totally dominating.
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That was a very odd game. Disallowed goal, own goal, Pens went like 1 1/3 period without a shot. Very weird one.
No, they went 37 minutes without a shot - 3rd goal to 4th goal. Never seen anything like it.
I can't remember the last time I've seen this Pens team struggle to generate shots like that. I thing I find more odd is that outside of their PP time and one long shift at the end of the second, I never felt like the Preds were really, totally dominating.
Agreed. Dunno if it was a case of the Pens were so strong defensively, or if Nashville was simply playing 'good'. They only had 20-something shots on net themselves, so it's not like Murray had to "steal" this one. Outside of the couple of bad breaks for the Preds, it was their game to lose. Really, only Sheary's and Guentzal's goals were 'good' goals.
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Agreed. Dunno if it was a case of the Pens were so strong defensively, or if Nashville was simply playing 'good'. They only had 20-something shots on net themselves, so it's not like Murray had to "steal" this one. Outside of the couple of bad breaks for the Preds, it was their game to lose. Really, only Sheary's and Guentzal's goals were 'good' goals.
Yup, I agree. Because the Pens had so few chances, the fact that the Preds didn't actually generate a ton is getting over looked a bit.
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Agreed. Dunno if it was a case of the Pens were so strong defensively, or if Nashville was simply playing 'good'. They only had 20-something shots on net themselves, so it's not like Murray had to "steal" this one. Outside of the couple of bad breaks for the Preds, it was their game to lose. Really, only Sheary's and Guentzal's goals were 'good' goals.
Yup, I agree. Because the Pens had so few chances, the fact that the Preds didn't actually generate a ton is getting over looked a bit.
That was a brutal win but I'll take it. Sheesh did the Pens look bad, I mean......5 goals on 12 shots? :facepalm:
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The problem with this post is that you don't quite know the exact rule. As discussed in this thread earlier, that Turris goal is NOT offside because he had full possession of the puck. If you control the puck you can skate in backwards and it doesn't make it offside. The Nashville goal is close. Personally I think it's offside, and since he was in the act of receiving a pass he does not have full control of the puck. I wad still a bit surprised that it was overturned though, it's really quite close.
Oh Turris definitely wasn't offsides. I was just making the point that far too often this stuff is left up to referee discretion which should not be the case. Games should be decided by the players and coaches. Not the referees.
Fair enough, I misinterpreted your first post. The thing with the offside challenge is how could the league not see it being used for barely missed calls, and not the "Duchene offside" that it was put in for? Those kinds of offside slip past the refs one time in a million, and then they made a rule for it. If they tweaked the rule to as long as a skate is on top of the blue line, whether on the ice or not, is onside, then it would eliminate this controversial moments.
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The problem with this post is that you don't quite know the exact rule. As discussed in this thread earlier, that Turris goal is NOT offside because he had full possession of the puck. If you control the puck you can skate in backwards and it doesn't make it offside. The Nashville goal is close. Personally I think it's offside, and since he was in the act of receiving a pass he does not have full control of the puck. I wad still a bit surprised that it was overturned though, it's really quite close.
Oh Turris definitely wasn't offsides. I was just making the point that far too often this stuff is left up to referee discretion which should not be the case. Games should be decided by the players and coaches. Not the referees.
Fair enough, I misinterpreted your first post. The thing with the offside challenge is how could the league not see it being used for barely missed calls, and not the "Duchene offside" that it was put in for? Those kinds of offside slip past the refs one time in a million, and then they made a rule for it. If they tweaked the rule to as long as a skate is on top of the blue line, whether on the ice or not, is onside, then it would eliminate this controversial moments.
And that's what should be done. Tweak the rules to make things more black and white. It will only make the game better. For all of the NFL's faults, one thing it does right is that it has very few rules that can be left up to ref interpretation. Almost all of their rules are very specifically spelled out and while you still get missed calls in every game, there are far fewer instances of referees making a head-scratching interpretation of a rule.
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^ Yup, I mentioned this very thing earlier in this thread about the NHL.
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I agree about the ridiculousness of the offsides challenge. It's evolved the way NFL replays have, where if a toenail is on the line, the player is out of bounds. Three things to fix it (imo)
1) Make it a vertical measurement as well - as has just been mentioned. Like a football crossing the goal line... foot doesn't need to be on the ice. This is a no-brainer.
On top of that, one of these would also help
2a) 2 minute review maximum. If it's that close that the linesmen can't tell in 2 minutes, then the call should stand. As was mentioned, the rule was put in place for egregious (Duchene) errors, not nit-picking things like what we see get challenged.
2b) Delay of game penalty for upheld calls. That'll make coaches think HARD about challenging it. Losing a timeout isn't much, and so many of the challenges are 'let's chance it and see if we win'. DoG penalty is fitting, and real punishment.
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2b) Delay of game penalty for upheld calls.
I like that!
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2b) Delay of game penalty for upheld calls.
I like that!
Agreed. They could make it just like incorrectly calling an illegal stick on the other team.
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I agree about the ridiculousness of the offsides challenge. It's evolved the way NFL replays have, where if a toenail is on the line, the player is out of bounds. Three things to fix it (imo)
1) Make it a vertical measurement as well - as has just been mentioned. Like a football crossing the goal line... foot doesn't need to be on the ice. This is a no-brainer.
On top of that, one of these would also help
2a) 2 minute review maximum. If it's that close that the linesmen can't tell in 2 minutes, then the call should stand. As was mentioned, the rule was put in place for egregious (Duchene) errors, not nit-picking things like what we see get challenged.
2b) Delay of game penalty for upheld calls. That'll make coaches think HARD about challenging it. Losing a timeout isn't much, and so many of the challenges are 'let's chance it and see if we win'. DoG penalty is fitting, and real punishment.
Can't argue with any of that.
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Nick Bonino can play on my team anytime!
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Preds y
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I am enjoying this. Eat a ****, Predators. :tup :tup
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I am enjoying this. Eat a ****, Predators. :tup :tup
Yep.
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Dear Pekke:
(https://s2.quickmeme.com/img/bc/bc81b9aa24c657376c9535c9d1b0c0864fcea2921330247b3bd3b00d5346755d.jpg)
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Come on Nashville. Get your shit together.
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Pretty crap game again last night. Whatever magic Pekke had in the first three rounds is gone. And what's with the Pens looking so dull for such long stretches??
I'm not even sure I care to watch on Saturday. These 2 games have been pretty lame.
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Pretty crap game again last night. Whatever magic Pekke had in the first three rounds is gone. And what's with the Pens looking so dull for such long stretches??
I'm not even sure I care to watch on Saturday. These 2 games have been pretty lame.
I agree with Keith Jones after the game yesterday though. I really believe this comes back to Pittsburgh 2-2. You have a Preds team that has had the better of play, coming home, and with a goalie that has to step up after his two worst games of the playoffs. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if game 3 is 4-1 or 5-1 Preds.
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Pretty crap game again last night. Whatever magic Pekke had in the first three rounds is gone. And what's with the Pens looking so dull for such long stretches??
I'm not even sure I care to watch on Saturday. These 2 games have been pretty lame.
I agree with Keith Jones after the game yesterday though. I really believe this comes back to Pittsburgh 2-2. You have a Preds team that has had the better of play, coming home, and with a goalie that has to step up after his two worst games of the playoffs. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if game 3 is 4-1 or 5-1 Preds.
On the flip side, Pitt has not played their best hockey yet. So, which will it be? Will Pekke bounce back and return to form and shut them down, or will Pitt finally get their heads out of their asses? Plus, hopefully the Preds can make it through a game without an own-goal.
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2-0. Two more to go.
At this point, I've stopped caring how this team wins and just want them to win. Throughout this entire playoff run they have found different ways to win, they have had to, this group isn't as good as the group last year.
Pretty crap game again last night. Whatever magic Pekke had in the first three rounds is gone. And what's with the Pens looking so dull for such long stretches??
I'm not even sure I care to watch on Saturday. These 2 games have been pretty lame.
I agree with Keith Jones after the game yesterday though. I really believe this comes back to Pittsburgh 2-2. You have a Preds team that has had the better of play, coming home, and with a goalie that has to step up after his two worst games of the playoffs. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if game 3 is 4-1 or 5-1 Preds.
Eh, couldn't you just as easily say - the Pens played mostly like crap in the first two games, the Preds played pretty well, yet the Pens won both games. The Preds MVP through the first 3 rounds has been horrible, and at some point, the Pens are actually going to start playing better. Based on that, I'm not sure how the Preds can expect to win the series?
Don't get me wrong, I'm 2 wins away from counting the Preds out, it ain't over till it's over, but to my eye, the Preds are playing as well as they can play, the Pens aren't and the result is a 2-0 Pens led. Not sure how you look at that and say "ah the Preds got this, those catfish in Nashville will help this team" or whatever :lol
Oh and also - not saying this as a Pens fan at all, this went both ways last night - the refs were horrible. I'm saying that as a fan of hockey.
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the refs were horrible. I'm saying that as a fan of hockey.
I know it's beating a dead horse....but this really has to get fixed. Just don't know how they do it? There has to be consistency...a level playing field. All to often a missed call here or a BS call there shifts the momentum of a game and it's brutal.
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the refs were horrible. I'm saying that as a fan of hockey.
I know it's beating a dead horse....but this really has to get fixed. Just don't know how they do it? There has to be consistency...a level playing field. All to often a missed call here or a BS call there shifts the momentum of a game and it's brutal.
I'm totally okay beating the crap out of this dead horse if you are... You're right it has to be fixed.
The refs are going to miss stuff, it's a quick game, I get that, behind the play stuff or away from the puck stuff - it'll get missed in the course of the game.
I think they need to focus on actually calling the penalties that are in front of them. Period. That's it. Sounds simple right? I guess it's not, I could point to several specific instances last night where a ref was looking directly at a play/player that committed a clear, obvious penalty and chose not to call it. I'm using the word chose, because it's the only thing I can say, the ref is looking right at the infraction. This went both ways last night, so once again, I'm not coming at this as a Pens fan. The refs seem to honestly ref the score and situation, they chose to call or not call based on the score, how much time is left, who got the last penalty called, etc... The only way I know to stop this is for the league to hold the refs accountable. So after a game, if there were big mistakes made by a ref, the league needs to address the issue with the ref, tell him to fix it (call the game better) or they have to let him go. Simple as that.
That's where it needs to start. I've seen a bunch of people online proposing major changes, changing rules, whatever. Maybe some of those ideas are good, but honestly, I don't trust the league to do any of that until they can start calling the game right as it stands now. That has to be the first step, it probably won't happen but maybe someday the NHL will realize the majority of their market is in the US and if they called the rule book as written, they'd probably attract fans and grow the game because the on ice-product would be better.
I want to bring up star player treatment in the NHL right now (whole different issue), but honestly I'm afraid it'll get dismissed as me being a Crosby fanboy.... so I'll refrain. :lol
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Bad calls are magnified in hockey because, unlike football and basketball, scoring is very limited, so a bad call could influence 33% of the scoring in a 2-1 game for example.
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Bad calls are magnified in hockey because, unlike football and basketball, scoring is very limited, so a bad call could influence 33% of the scoring in a 2-1 game for example.
Yup, all the more reason to try to fix the issue!
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Pretty crap game again last night. Whatever magic Pekke had in the first three rounds is gone. And what's with the Pens looking so dull for such long stretches??
I'm not even sure I care to watch on Saturday. These 2 games have been pretty lame.
I agree with Keith Jones after the game yesterday though. I really believe this comes back to Pittsburgh 2-2. You have a Preds team that has had the better of play, coming home, and with a goalie that has to step up after his two worst games of the playoffs. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if game 3 is 4-1 or 5-1 Preds.
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You so smaht!!!
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The Nashville fans :metal
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The Nashville fans :metal
Ummmm....not.
I was waiting for you to finish the sentence with "are annoying, self entitled jerks" That would be more accurate than the head banging emoji.
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Awesome game. I love watching shittsburgh getting their asses kicked.
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I find it bizarre that in sports, a fan base is sometimes considered great just because they are loud. And more often than not, the loudest crowds are manufactured/manipulated (pumped in noise, for example).
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I find it bizarre that in sports, a fan base is sometimes considered great just because they are loud. And more often than not, the loudest crowds are manufactured/manipulated (pumped in noise, for example).
Indy *Cough*
I was there in 2007 and man the sound was ear piercing.
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I was just amazed at how much energy they had.
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I was just amazed at how much energy they had.
Exactly. I don't care if it would be the worst ratings in history, I'd love to see a Columbus v. Nashville final.
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The Nashville fans :metal
Ummmm....not.
I was waiting for you to finish the sentence with "are annoying, self entitled jerks" That would be more accurate than the head banging emoji.
I find it bizarre that in sports, a fan base is sometimes considered great just because they are loud. And more often than not, the loudest crowds are manufactured/manipulated (pumped in noise, for example).
Crowd was great. Y'all are salty. Could have done without the throwing towels at Penguins players but there are a few assholes in every passionate crowd.
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The Nashville fans :metal
Ummmm....not.
I was waiting for you to finish the sentence with "are annoying, self entitled jerks" That would be more accurate than the head banging emoji.
I find it bizarre that in sports, a fan base is sometimes considered great just because they are loud. And more often than not, the loudest crowds are manufactured/manipulated (pumped in noise, for example).
Crowd was great. Y'all are salty. Could have done without the throwing towels at Penguins players but there are a few assholes in every passionate crowd.
it it were only a few I would agree. But the incessant chanting about such and such player or team 'sucks'....the manner in which the crowd lambasts the opposing team/players is far more ignorant Than the typical reciting of the goalies name over and over. The Preds fans take it to a much more ignorant level. There's no hiding that fact.
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Replace 'ignorant' with annoying or 'over-the-top', and I'll grant you that. But, that's the kinda shit that passionate fans do. J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS is annoying as fuck to non-Jets fans.
If the 'sixth man' can help the opposition get off their game, then they've done their job.
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Replace 'ignorant' with annoying or 'over-the-top', and I'll grant you that. But, that's the kinda shit that passionate fans do. J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS is annoying as fuck to non-Jets fans.
If the 'sixth man' can help the opposition get off their game, then they've done their job.
I can do that. The 'ignorant' is probably fueled by the series the Blues had against them. I went from considering Nashville my 'second' team to now detesting them greatly.....this includes every fan in their arena.
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Well, at least their market can fill an arena - unlike Anaheim and Ottawa. Man that pissed me off
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Haven't been able to watch the first few games, hope the Preds can continue extending this series!
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Traveling from Balto up to various points in Michigan for two weeks. Leaving on Thursday and staying in Pittsburgh for the night. Volquez will be pitching for the Marlins vs. Pirates that night. If the weather's nice, we're going to attend....unless the Pens are up 3-1. Even though I'm a Wings' fan, it would be something special to be there for a possible clincher.
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I guess I'll have to be the one who says it. The crowd in Nashville had nothing to do with them winning the game. That's one of those silly sports intangible things that talking heads on TV like to go on and on about, but really the fact of the matter is that the Preds came out and executed at a higher level than the Pens. Period. That's it. :lol
Skill, talent, execution, etc... wins games. Crowd energy, heart, passion, etc... doesn't. Those intangible things are just often assigned after the fact of winning.
Anyway, I half expected a game 3 loss after the first two games in Pittsburgh. Tonight will tell me a lot about this series, if the Pens win tonight and get the split in Nashville, I think they win the series. If the Preds win tonight, I think they might win the series. Game 4 is huge.
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Jesus, Guentzal is having a helluva time putting the biscuit in the basket. Helluva sequence on that quasi-breakaway by Sid. How did they NOT score there!?!?!?
Very nicely paced game so far.
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Yeah, I can't believe he didn't score there. With two yellow teams, I keep mixing up who is who.
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:heart Preds :heart
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And just like that it's 2-2. Now hopefully Nashville can steal one in Pittsburgh and go back home with a 3-2 series lead.
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Next game is, obviously, huge. I think this game was huge for Rinne. Yeah, he only let in the same number of goals in game 3, and that was a huge bounce back game, but he made some exceptional saves in game 3 that should help calm him down the stretch.
If the Penguins win the next game I certainly will be uneasy, but frankly if the Preds keep playing as they have been, I have every confidence they win this series.
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And just like that it's 2-2. Now hopefully Nashville can steal one in Pittsburgh and go back home with a 3-2 series lead.
Better still, hopefully the Penguins win the next two games, meaning the Nashville fans have to witness their team losing the series on home ice. :tup :tup
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Next game is, obviously, huge. I think this game was huge for Rinne. Yeah, he only let in the same number of goals in game 3, and that was a huge bounce back game, but he made some exceptional saves in game 3 that should help calm him down the stretch.
If the Penguins win the next game I certainly will be uneasy, but frankly if the Preds keep playing as they have been, I have every confidence they win this series.
Rinne came up huge the last two games for the Preds, but honestly, he still looks really shakey. His positioning is off, he's stabbing at the puck, there were several shots last night he didn't even track. The opportunities are there for the Pens, they just aren't cashing in.
At this point, stating the obvious, this series is a total toss up. I really have no predictions from here.
Better still, hopefully the Penguins win the next two games, meaning the Nashville fans have to witness their team losing the series on home ice. :tup :tup
Sounds good to me :tup
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Pitt will be lucky to win one more game. The Preds have outworked them the entire series...the first two games in Pitt could have easily gone to the Preds.
I'm already practicing my fake smile and fake congratulatory sentence I'll have to give to my brother in law when he comes into town on July 4th....because the Preds are going to win the Cup.
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:lol
I think I said this during both the Caps series and the Sens series....The Pens might have hit that fatigue wall. They look exhausted and were making unforced giveaways in the neutral zone last night, all night. Definitely not an excuse, just an observation.
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I think I said this during both the Caps series and the Sens series....The Pens might have hit that fatigue wall. They look exhausted and were making unforced giveaways in the neutral zone last night, all night. Definitely not an excuse, just an observation.
I agree with that. I had the same thought, that the Pens looked a little tired.
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It's most evident in their transition game, especially their zone exits/entries. I think the forwards need to start coming back deeper to help the Dmen when trying to exit the zone. Our D are clearly tired, and the Preds see it and are pressing hard, usually with two forwards. God, I miss Letang.
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CBC showed the stat that the Pens have played 225 games in the last 2 seasons - pre-season + regular + playoffs. Sid has been in 212 of those; Geno in 170-something. That doesn't include the World Cup.
Having Bonnino out last night hurt them down the middle. Cullen logged more ice-time than Geno, while Rowney had 6.5 minutes.
They should be tired as shit.
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The Pens dmen may be tired, but they also have concrete hands and haven't made a breakout pass on the tape since November.
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CBC showed the stat that the Pens have played 225 games in the last 2 seasons - pre-season + regular + playoffs. Sid has been in 212 of those; Geno in 170-something. That doesn't include the World Cup.
Having Bonnino out last night hurt them down the middle. Cullen logged more ice-time than Geno, while Rowney had 6.5 minutes.
They should be tired as shit.
Agreed on all points. Bones is a big part of this team in the playoffs. Faceoffs, PK, blocking shots, 200 foot play, big goals at opportune times, etc...
The Pens dmen may be tired, but they also have concrete hands and haven't made a breakout pass on the tape since November.
Totally, that's why I pointed out being tired isn't an excuse. But it is a reason for poor play sometimes along with stone hands :lol
Seriously though, watching this team in the playoffs has been so frustrating because they haven't been able to really figure out how to adjust with Letang out. So many breakout issues, transition issues, entry/exit issues are solved just by that freak of nature logging 30 minutes a night.
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Agreed on all points. Bones is a big part of this team in the playoffs. Faceoffs, PK, blocking shots, 200 foot play, big goals at opportune times, etc...
By etc I assume you mean his world class acting ability. :p
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Agreed on all points. Bones is a big part of this team in the playoffs. Faceoffs, PK, blocking shots, 200 foot play, big goals at opportune times, etc...
By etc I assume you mean his world class acting ability. :p
:lol Of course!
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The last 2 games have been awesome... I really hope the Preds can continue to ride the momentum.
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Pitt will be lucky to win one more game. The Preds have outworked them the entire series...the first two games in Pitt could have easily gone to the Preds.
I'm already practicing my fake smile and fake congratulatory sentence I'll have to give to my brother in law when he comes into town on July 4th....because the Preds are going to win the Cup.
Play ignorant instead.
"What, they won the Cup? Really?"
"Nashville has a team? Since when?"
Keep that shtick going the whole time.
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I want Nashville to win, simply cuz I won't want Pittsburgh to get 2 in a row.
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I live outside of Nashville, but take the bus downtown to work. The combination of the CMA festival downtown and the Hockey watch party downtown will make for some crazy traffic tomorrow night. A co worker of mine works as an usher at Bridgestone arena where the hockey games are held and she said the traffic was a gridlock downtown before and after the last home game. A big part of the problem is the road closures for the CMA festival on Broadway. Bridgestone is charging season ticket holders 5 dollars for the watch party admission and non season ticket holders 15 dollars. I think they should let season ticket holders in free to the watch party. They will make a killing on concessions.
If Nashville wins tomorrow night, Sunday will be extra crazy downtown with a chance to win the cup at home.
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I live outside of Nashville, but take the bus downtown to work. The combination of the CMA festival downtown and the Hockey watch party downtown will make for some crazy traffic tomorrow night. A co worker of mine works as an usher at Bridgestone arena where the hockey games are held and she said the traffic was a gridlock downtown before and after the last home game. A big part of the problem is the road closures for the CMA festival on Broadway. Bridgestone is charging season ticket holders 5 dollars for the watch party admission and non season ticket holders 15 dollars. I think they should let season ticket holders in free to the watch party. They will make a killing on concessions.
If Nashville wins tomorrow night, Sunday will be extra crazy downtown with a chance to win the cup at home.
The watch party is similar to what they did here in Edmonton for ours. Season ticket holders got first right of refusal to go, then it went to the public. All tickets $5. All proceeds to the Oilers Community Foundation charity.
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I live outside of Nashville, but take the bus downtown to work. The combination of the CMA festival downtown and the Hockey watch party downtown will make for some crazy traffic tomorrow night. A co worker of mine works as an usher at Bridgestone arena where the hockey games are held and she said the traffic was a gridlock downtown before and after the last home game. A big part of the problem is the road closures for the CMA festival on Broadway. Bridgestone is charging season ticket holders 5 dollars for the watch party admission and non season ticket holders 15 dollars. I think they should let season ticket holders in free to the watch party. They will make a killing on concessions.
If Nashville wins tomorrow night, Sunday will be extra crazy downtown with a chance to win the cup at home.
The watch party is similar to what they did here in Edmonton for ours. Season ticket holders got first right of refusal to go, then it went to the public. All tickets $5. All proceeds to the Oilers Community Foundation charity.
Just read where proceeds will go to Predators Foundation charity. Good to know.
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Pitt will be lucky to win one more game. The Preds have outworked them the entire series...the first two games in Pitt could have easily gone to the Preds.
Where's the 'foot in mouth' emoji?
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Preds should have just pulled the goalie and play with 6 men every game in Pitt. Would have been prettier.
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Better still, hopefully the Penguins win the next two games, meaning the Nashville fans have to witness their team losing the series on home ice. :tup :tup
Half way there! :tup
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Better still, hopefully the Penguins win the next two games, meaning the Nashville fans have to witness their team losing the series on home ice. :tup :tup
Half way there! :tup
I think we'll get a game 7, but what little I saw of tonight's game was most enjoyable. :tup :tup
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Better still, hopefully the Penguins win the next two games, meaning the Nashville fans have to witness their team losing the series on home ice. :tup :tup
Half way there! :tup
I think we'll get a game 7, but what little I saw of tonight's game was most enjoyable. :tup :tup
Tonight's game was shit. With no horse in the race or any allegiance at all, I just want good entertaining hockey. Tonight was not that whatsoever.
Still more entertaining than the NBA though.
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Tonight's game was shit. With no horse in the race or any allegiance at all, I just want good entertaining hockey. Tonight was not that whatsoever.
I agree, for the most part, but the part of me that wants Nashville to lose thinks, "To hell with good games; let those bastards lose, and lose badly." :biggrin:
Still more entertaining than the NBA though.
True, but that's a pretty low bar to clear these days. :biggrin:
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This has been a pretty lame series... aside from game 1, every game has been a blowout and both teams have looked like crap on the road :facepalm:
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Tonight's game was shit. With no horse in the race or any allegiance at all, I just want good entertaining hockey. Tonight was not that whatsoever.
I agree, for the most part, but the part of me that wants Nashville to lose thinks, "To hell with good games; let those bastards lose, and lose badly." :biggrin:
I hear ya. The only people that enjoyed last night's game are Pittsburgh fans, or those that loathe Nashville ;) :D
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This has been a pretty lame series... aside from game 1, every game has been a blowout and both teams have looked like crap on the road :facepalm:
Umm, what? Nashville's goalies have not been good on the road, but in games 1 and 2 the Preds skaters were far superior in both games.
Game 3 was the Preds chance to steal one with momentum on their side and instead got absolutely steamrolled. This was the risk when two games you should have won get away from you. I think they have overall still played like the better team in the series, but now that their on the brink, only have one home game, and the Pens have figured some things out... not looking good. Ugh.
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I'd call that a very entertaining game :biggrin:
Thoughts -
-Sid was unbelievable, literally set the tone from the first shift and never let up, one of the best games I've seen him play considering what was at stake.
-Good bounce back for both Murray and the D men. Both the goalie and the defense-men handled the puck well and managed the game.
-Phil and Geno had it going and it was fun to watch.
-Pens are 10-0 in playoff games when Rust scores, here's hoping he scores next game.
Couple things that (as a Pens fan) made me laugh. People complaining they should have called a major on Sid for the tangle up with PK. They should have, but here's the thing, they haven't been. Crosby has taken more abuse this playoff run than I can remember another player ever taking. What he did to PK amounts to a fraction of a percent of the crap he has had to deal with, most of the time completely un-penalized. Does that make what Sid did not a major? Nope probably not. But Preds fans can't love it when PK tackles Sid behind a play and punches him in the face with a right hook and then cry when Sid gives PK the stinky glove. Fair is fair. If the refs and the league aren't going to call the game right, then it goes both ways.
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when PK tackles Sid behind a play and punches him in the face with a right hook
He did the same thing to Steen....tackled him....sat on top of him while jamming his forearm into his head about ten times.....with the Ref literally seven feet away watching......Steen finally got out from underneath him then hit him with a small little slash and the ref then calls them both for roughing????
And that was one instance of him getting away with murder. If I thought it'd be constructive I could probably take the time to list off just the times he got away with penalties against the Blues but I think we all get the point. He's been allowed pretty much free range in these playoffs...so when he 'gets his' it's especially sweet to see.
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I will conceded that Sid has been playing like the best player on the planet that he is.
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when PK tackles Sid behind a play and punches him in the face with a right hook
He did the same thing to Steen....tackled him....sat on top of him while jamming his forearm into his head about ten times.....with the Ref literally seven feet away watching......Steen finally got out from underneath him then hit him with a small little slash and the ref then calls them both for roughing????
And that was one instance of him getting away with murder. If I thought it'd be constructive I could probably take the time to list off just the times he got away with penalties against the Blues but I think we all get the point. He's been allowed pretty much free range in these playoffs...so when he 'gets his' it's especially sweet to see.
Yup, you and I are pretty much on the same page. Ideally, I want to see no one get away with it, but the league is letting it happen a lot. So if they are going to let him (PK) dish it out, Preds fans can't complain too much when he gets a taste of his own meds, right?
I will conceded that Sid has been playing like the best player on the planet that he is.
Ah, no need to try to resist admitting it. He has been outstanding thus far.
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I love all the talking heads that are saying "Crosby cross checked Subban into the ice. I didn't see one single crosscheck. I saw a battle between 2 guys where Sid was on top and was giving him the business, but the head contact amounted to about as hard as getting slapped in the helmet. Should it habe been a penalty? Sure. But so should the exact same thing when Methot did it to Sid 3 times last series.
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I love all the talking heads that are saying "Crosby cross checked Subban into the ice. I didn't see one single crosscheck. I saw a battle between 2 guys where Sid was on top and was giving him the business, but the head contact amounted to about as hard as getting slapped in the helmet. Should it habe been a penalty? Sure. But so should the exact same thing when Methot did it to Sid 3 times last series.
Agreed.
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This has been a pretty lame series... aside from game 1, every game has been a blowout and both teams have looked like crap on the road :facepalm:
Umm, what? Nashville's goalies have not been good on the road, but in games 1 and 2 the Preds skaters were far superior in both games.
Game 3 was the Preds chance to steal one with momentum on their side and instead got absolutely steamrolled. This was the risk when two games you should have won get away from you. I think they have overall still played like the better team in the series, but now that their on the brink, only have one home game, and the Pens have figured some things out... not looking good. Ugh.
I was referring mostly to games 2 and 5 for the Preds, and I would not say the Preds skaters were "far superior" in any games other than 3 and 4. It is a shame that the Preds couldn't steal just one of the first two games.
My prediction is that the Preds win game 6 and lose in game 7. Either way I'll just shut my TV off before I have to see the Penguins win the cup. Much like the Patriots, they're such a frustrating team to root against because they always end up disappointing you because they're so damn good. Major props to the Penguins for such a dominant performance last night. I didn't watch any of it, but I know they were great and deserve a lot of credit :lol
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Look at those 'great' fans. :lol Suck it! :metal :metal
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NOOOOO
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Love seeing the Predators lose the Cup on home ice. Suck it, Smashville. :tup :tup
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Love seeing the Predators lose the Cup on home ice. Suck it, Smashville. :tup :tup
Yep. It's all worth it now.
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Fucking classless fans. I have nothing but respect for the Predators but the fans can suck it. Pelting the ice with shit when the team is defeated, screaming Penguins Suck and booing as they celebrate...fans with class respect what happened and at least applaud their team instead of denigrating the other.
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Love seeing the Predators lose the Cup on home ice. Suck it, Smashville. :tup :tup
Yep. It's all worth it now.
A very small saving grace for us Blues fans. :lol :lol
Fucking classless fans. I have nothing but respect for the Predators but the fans can suck it. Pelting the ice with shit when the team is defeated, screaming Penguins Suck and booing as they celebrate...fans with class respect what happened and at least applaud their team instead of denigrating the other.
Cut them slack. They didn't even know they had a team until this year. They don't know how to act yet.
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:rollin Kev, that's great!
Fucking classless fans. I have nothing but respect for the Predators but the fans can suck it. Pelting the ice with shit when the team is defeated, screaming Penguins Suck and booing as they celebrate...fans with class respect what happened and at least applaud their team instead of denigrating the other.
True colors shining through.
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Hey, that's what fans get like when their team has some modicum of success. :P
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Hey, that's what fans get like when their team has some modicum of success. :P
:lol
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https://www.theonion.com/graphic/phil-kessel-rapidly-decomposes-after-wrongly-sippi-56220?utm_content=SP&utm_campaign=SF&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing
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Chances are in overtime or in game 7 the Penguins would have ended up winning, but it's a damn shame that's not how this was decided and it was instead finished on a clearly terrible job by the ref on the no goal.
Despite the awful ending, it was a great playoffs, with lots of fun hockey to watch. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks as teams position to either trade with Vegas, or with other teams to position for the expansion draft. And then of course the expansion draft itself.
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Nick...are you saying the GW goal by Pitt was a 'no goal'? Don't see how one could think that. There was a sliver of light contact that was initiated by Rinne.
I'll admit i only watched the last 10 minutes of the game so if there was another disputed goal I didn't see it.
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Nick...are you saying the GW goal by Pitt was a 'no goal'? Don't see how one could think that. There was a sliver of light contact that was initiated by Rinne.
I'll admit i only watched the last 10 minutes of the game so if there was another disputed goal I didn't see it.
Even watching only the last 10 minutes I don't know how you didn't hear about what I'm talking about.
In the first period Murray made a save but left a rebound that a Predator immediately put in the back of the net. Ref was in the corner and blew the whistle pretty much the moment after it hit Murray and so it was ruled no goal.
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Nick...are you saying the GW goal by Pitt was a 'no goal'? Don't see how one could think that. There was a sliver of light contact that was initiated by Rinne.
I'll admit i only watched the last 10 minutes of the game so if there was another disputed goal I didn't see it.
Even watching only the last 10 minutes I don't know how you didn't hear about what I'm talking about.
In the first period Murray made a save but left a rebound that a Predator immediately put in the back of the net. Ref was in the corner and blew the whistle pretty much the moment after it hit Murray and so it was ruled no goal.
It was a pretty bullshit call. The puck was never frozen and was clear in the crease but because Murray was directly between the ref and the puck, line of sight was obstructed and the ref blew the whistle absurdly quickly, nullifying the very obvious goal. Review upheld the whistle blew prior to the puck going in, ergo no goal. I, too, hate it when huge games have a huge moment directly affected by the refs. Should the Preds have been able to recover? Sure, especially on that 5-on-3, but it did cause a huge shift in the game.
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Congratz Pens!!! They really battled through some tough injuries and really earned this one. I think Sid looked great the entire playoffs. Fleury and Murray both won this one! Refs could have been better but you gotta score on the 5 on 3 and the breakaway.
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Nick...are you saying the GW goal by Pitt was a 'no goal'? Don't see how one could think that. There was a sliver of light contact that was initiated by Rinne.
I'll admit i only watched the last 10 minutes of the game so if there was another disputed goal I didn't see it.
Even watching only the last 10 minutes I don't know how you didn't hear about what I'm talking about.
In the first period Murray made a save but left a rebound that a Predator immediately put in the back of the net. Ref was in the corner and blew the whistle pretty much the moment after it hit Murray and so it was ruled no goal.
Honestly didn't hear about it but that explains the hostility of the fans at the end.
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Eh, the ref lost sight of the puck, technically he did the right thing. They are supposed to blow it dead in that instance per the rules. Bad break for the Preds, but once again, technically, the ref did the exact right thing he was supposed to do.
As a life long Pens fan, I feel like I'm dreaming! Back to back champs!!
This team struggled through so much adversity with injuries and just the amount of hockey they have played over the last two years. Incredible team effort. Makes me proud to be a Pens fan.
Sid with 3 cups and 2 CSs... The legacy and list of accomplishments is just huge. At this point there is no question he is in the top 5 players ever. Period.
Go Pens!!!!
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Eh, the ref lost sight of the puck, technically he did the right thing.
No, they didn't. I've had multiple Pens fans admit that the ref blew the whistle way too quick.
And I love how the linesman skated right up to him afterwards and I can only assume said, "You done did fuck up big on that one". But a whistle is a whistle and there is nothing to be done at that point.
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Eh, the ref lost sight of the puck, technically he did the right thing.
No, they didn't. I've had multiple Pens fans admit that the ref blew the whistle way too quick.
My understanding of the rule was if the ref lost sight of the puck, he was supposed to blow it dead, maybe I'm wrong. In that situation the ref was in a bad position (the opposite side of Murray) to see the puck, he lost track of it and blew it dead.
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At this point there is no question he is in the top 5 players ever. Period.
Really? Gretz, Howe, Mess, Orr, then Sid? You'd put him over Mess, Jagr, Brodeur, Lidstrom, Roy.... and that's just some of the modern era guys.
I'm not even sure he makes the Top 10.
And as for the non-goal goal.... I do think the ref was overly quick to blow the whistle. They often give saves a second or so to ensure they are indeed covered before blowing the whistle. I guarantee every single one of us has seen many plays where we thought - what the fuck is he waiting for, blow the whistle. You don't honestly think they blow the play every instant they lose sight of the puck? There's some leeway a lot of the time, and unfortunately, this one wasn't one of those times, and a brutal error. Who knows if it changed the outcome of the game, or the series. My gut tells me Pitt was gonna take this one in the end anyway.
Congrats to the Pens though... very impressive playoff run - AGAIN. Especially without Letang.
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Really? Gretz, Howe, Mess, Orr, then Sid? You'd put him over Mess, Jagr, Brodeur, Lidstrom, Roy.... and that's just some of the modern era guys.
I'm not even sure he makes the Top 10.
Without question Crosby is top 5 all time IMO. To me, the top 3 is pretty untouchable. In no order: Gretz, Orr, and Mario (how did you not list him?!).
Howe was great, but I'd easily put Sid before him, same with Mess, and Jagr. Brodeur and Roy are tough because goalies are almost a separate category in my mind, just because evaluating them is so different.
I can't believe I need to convince you he's top 10, top 5 I understand that I might need to make an argument for, but top 10? Easily in the top 10 without question.
And as for the non-goal goal.... I do think the ref was overly quick to blow the whistle. They often give saves a second or so to ensure they are indeed covered before blowing the whistle. I guarantee every single one of us has seen many plays where we thought - what the fuck is he waiting for, blow the whistle. You don't honestly think they blow the play every instant they lose sight of the puck? There's some leeway a lot of the time, and unfortunately, this one wasn't one of those times, and a brutal error. Who knows if it changed the outcome of the game, or the series. My gut tells me Pitt was gonna take this one in the end anyway.
I don't really disagree with any of that. I do think that refs don't follow that rule often, but then again NHL refs are not consistent to call any rule, not a one, so I guess they were just being consistently inconsistent. I'll take it. The Pens played well last night, I feel they would have won that game or game 7 either way.
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My bad... I meant "Mario" the first time I said "Mess" above. The fact you would "easily" put Sid above Howe invalidates your argument - BOTH Gretzky and Lemieux consider Howe the GOAT (https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/gordie-howe-100-greatest-nhl-1.3956575). I would think their opinion should carry some weight.
Gretz, Howe, Lemieux and Orr are the Mount Rushmore. The other five I listed easily have careers greater than Sid's (so far). Sure, comparing forwards, defence, and goalies against one another is tough. If we're only talking greatest forwards of all-time, then ok, I'll give Sid top 10, maybe top 5. Otherwise, the nine players I listed go above Sid without hesitation. Sid is barely 30 years old, he still has time to end up "better" than some of them, but right now ... no way.
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I would put Sid top 5, but i honestly don't consider thre pre 80's era stats very legitimate. I mean c'mon, look at the vintage footage? And the stand-up goalies? My div 4 beer league team would be 1st team all-stars in the 40s, 50s and 60s when Howe was scoring 800 goals. Defense was a joke back then too. Gretzky benefited from part of that era as well. No way he scores 200pts in the 90s or later. The game is just too different now and the athletes too good.
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My bad... I meant "Mario" the first time I said "Mess" above. The fact you would "easily" put Sid above Howe invalidates your argument - BOTH Gretzky and Lemieux consider Howe the GOAT (https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/gordie-howe-100-greatest-nhl-1.3956575). I would think their opinion should carry some weight.
Gretz, Howe, Lemieux and Orr are the Mount Rushmore. The other five I listed easily have careers greater than Sid's (so far). Sure, comparing forwards, defence, and goalies against one another is tough. If we're only talking greatest forwards of all-time, then ok, I'll give Sid top 10, maybe top 5. Otherwise, the nine players I listed go above Sid without hesitation. Sid is barely 30 years old, he still has time to end up "better" than some of them, but right now ... no way.
Greater careers how? Stat-wise? Hard to compare with hockey have such dramatically different eras where the game has changed so much. I'll give you Howe. If Mario and Gretz say that, I'll take their word. My top five in some random order would still probably be Gretz, Mario, Orr, Howe, and Sid. So my point about him being top 5 of all time still stands for me.
I mean Sid isn't 30 yet and this is what he has done:
782 games
382 goals
645 assists
1,027 points
148 playoff games
57 goals
107 assists
164 points
3 Stanley Cups
2 Conn Smythes
2 Olympic Golds
World Cup Winner and MVP
2 Hart Trophies
2 Art Ross Trophies
3 Ted Lindsay Awards
2 Rocket Richard Trophies
..... In the dead puck era of the NHL. It's unreal.
I would put Sid top 5, but i honestly don't consider thre pre 80's era stats very legitimate. I mean c'mon, look at the vintage footage? And the stand-up goalies? My div 4 beer league team would be 1st team all-stars in the 40s, 50s and 60s when Howe was scoring 800 goals. Defense was a joke back then too. Gretzky benefited from part of that era as well. No way he scores 200pts in the 90s or later. The game is just too different now and the athletes too good.
This guy gets it.
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Sorry for the double post. This is awesome:
https://twitter.com/MAlvarezFOX17/status/874116848161370112
"Excuse me, excuse me.... YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
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but i honestly don't consider thre pre 80's era stats very legitimate. I mean c'mon, look at the vintage footage? And the stand-up goalies? My div 4 beer league team would be 1st team all-stars in the 40s, 50s and 60s when Howe was scoring 800 goals. Defense was a joke back then too. Gretzky benefited from part of that era as well. No way he scores 200pts in the 90s or later. The game is just too different now and the athletes too good.
There are no words for how much of a fail these statements are. To the bolded point, then how can you say Sid is Top 5 of any era other than his own? Certain liberties need to be taken when having any GOAT discussion. Sure, you put someone of Sid's (absolute/current) talent on a team 80 years ago, and he'd blow them away. Similarly, take someone of Howe's (relative at the time) talent, and he'd likely skate circles around Sid. Glenn Hall - 500 straight games. No goalie can even do 25 straight games nowadays. You're absolutely right, it's a fallacy to try and make a like-to-like comparison across eras.
To Mikey, I'll just throw a few sample stats from some of the non-mount rushmore guys I listed.
Lidstrom - 7 Norris trophies; one Conn Smythe; 10 time 1st team all-star; 4 Stanley Cups; 20 straight years in the playoffs (#2 all time playoff games played); 2nd in Calder to some guy named Bure
Roy - 3 Conn Smythe; 4 Stanley Cups (5 appearances); 3 Vezina; 5 Jennings; #3 all time playoff games played; #2 regular season games played (goalie)
Brodeur - Calder; 3 Stanley Cups (5 appearances); 4 Vezina; 5 Jennings; #1 all time games played (goalie); 125 career shutouts
Messier - 6 Cups; 2 Hart; 1 Conn Smythe; 2nd all-time games played; #4 all time playoffs games played
Jagr - 2 Cups; 5 Art Ross; 1 Hart
It's an embarrassment that anyone should have to make a case as to why Messier and Jagr rank ahead of Sid in a GOAT discussion.
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There are no words for how much of a fail these statements are. To the bolded point, then how can you say Sid is Top 5 of any era other than his own? Certain liberties need to be taken when having any GOAT discussion. Sure, you put someone of Sid's (absolute/current) talent on a team 80 years ago, and he'd blow them away. Similarly, take someone of Howe's (relative at the time) talent, and he'd likely skate circles around Sid. Glenn Hall - 500 straight games. No goalie can even do 25 straight games nowadays. You're absolutely right, it's a fallacy to try and make a like-to-like comparison across eras.
To the same point, how can you say he isn't?
It's an embarrassment that anyone should have to make a case as to why Messier and Jagr rank ahead of Sid in a GOAT discussion.
Based on that hostile comment, I'll back away from this conversation and simply enjoy the Pens winning back to back championships!
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It's an embarrassment that anyone should have to make a case as to why Messier and Jagr rank ahead of Sid in a GOAT discussion.
Bottom line is they were probably too young to witness those guys in their prime. Seems like a pretty ridiculous thing to argue if that is the case.
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It's an embarrassment that anyone should have to make a case as to why Messier and Jagr rank ahead of Sid in a GOAT discussion.
Bottom line is they were probably too young to witness those guys in their prime. Seems like a pretty ridiculous thing to argue if that is the case.
Yup, that must be it. No NHL players former or current, no professional hockey journalists or anyone close to the sport is saying this stuff about Sid. Just me, just some guy on DTF. I'm the only one :lol
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I have a particularly strong love of this article today: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/2017/6/12/15780034/nothing-new-happened-in-the-hockey-world-just-this-video-of-claude-giroux-and-his-dogs
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I have a particularly strong love of this article today: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/2017/6/12/15780034/nothing-new-happened-in-the-hockey-world-just-this-video-of-claude-giroux-and-his-dogs
:lol
Personally, this one is working for me today:
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19611090/2017-stanley-cup-finals-sidney-crosby-best-all
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I have a particularly strong love of this article today: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/2017/6/12/15780034/nothing-new-happened-in-the-hockey-world-just-this-video-of-claude-giroux-and-his-dogs
:lol
Personally, this one is working for me today:
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19611090/2017-stanley-cup-finals-sidney-crosby-best-all
Sorry, link seems to be dead for me. :p
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:biggrin:
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It's an embarrassment that anyone should have to make a case as to why Messier and Jagr rank ahead of Sid in a GOAT discussion.
Bottom line is they were probably too young to witness those guys in their prime. Seems like a pretty ridiculous thing to argue if that is the case.
Yup, that must be it. No NHL players former or current, no professional hockey journalists or anyone close to the sport is saying this stuff about Sid. Just me, just some guy on DTF. I'm the only one :lol
Just out of curiosity, did you watch those players in their prime? Or are you just basing this off of other people's opinions?
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Just out of curiosity, did you watch those players in their prime? Or are you just basing this off of other people's opinions?
Which players? Howe? Nope! JJ? Yup!
How is that relevant though? Are you saying I can't say guy A is better than guy B if I didn't see guy B play in his prime? So watching old footage, reading articles and opinions, listening to players, coaches, analysts, etc... doesn't mean anything because I'm not old enough to have seen Gordie play?
I guess I'll bow out of the conversation (for real this time) didn't know that was a requirement. I wonder why this discussion exists across generations in every major sport then. Obviously people have been doing it wrong.
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It's an embarrassment that anyone should have to make a case as to why Messier and Jagr rank ahead of Sid in a GOAT discussion.
Based on that hostile comment, I'll back away from this conversation and simply enjoy the Pens winning back to back championships!
I think this statement of mine came across harsher in print than it would have in person. It's all good man - OPINIONS!!!. I'm just utterly flabbergasted (and flabbergasted is putting it lightly) that anyone could "easily" call him top 5. I don't even remember Brian Boucher (looking it up.... a sub .500 career winning percentage who played for 7 teams in a 14 year career - ok, his opinion must be reckoned with), so I'm not even going to put much credence on his commentary.
Is Sid ONE OF the GOAT's? Absolutely. When we use that term "of all time", we have to make some kind of comparison across all era's, all positions, and every NHL player. So, anyone in the Top 10 "of all time" is god-tier. Which Sid is. But, there are more than 4 'god-tier' players ahead of him... "of all time".
If we're still here in 10 years, and he's got a few more awards under his belt, keeps up his 1.3 ppg pace, and has some more deep playoff runs, then you can waive that in my face. Until then, he ain't #5.
I'd call you a homer, but here I am arguing with you FOR Jagr!!! :lol
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Just out of curiosity, did you watch those players in their prime? Or are you just basing this off of other people's opinions?
Which players? Howe? Nope! JJ? Yup!
How is that relevant though? Are you saying I can't say guy A is better than guy B if I didn't see guy B play in his prime? So watching old footage, reading articles and opinions, listening to players, coaches, analysts, etc... doesn't mean anything because I'm not old enough to have seen Gordie play?
I guess I'll bow out of the conversation (for real this time) didn't know that was a requirement. I wonder why this discussion exists across generations in every major sport then. Obviously people have been doing it wrong.
You're just as welcome here as any of us. I just think the top 5 is so tight that it's ridiculous to suggest that Crosby is "without question" better than guys like Jagr and Messier. I would have him in the top 10, but I agree with Jingle that there are more than 4 other players ahead of him at this time. I never said that you can't say one player is better than another if you've never watched them. It just seems crazy to me if you've watched both Jagr and Messier in their prime, and you still think it's not even a question that Crosby is better than them.
We can just agree to disagree and you can go back to enjoying your team's championship :tup
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We can just agree to disagree and you can go back to enjoying your team's championship :tup
This completely. Mikey... No need to take your toys and go home just because we strongly disagree with you on this topic. And I'm not even disagreeing that Sid is ONE OF the GOAT's.
It's tantamount to the NFL discussion around Terrell Davis. In 1999, if people had been claiming him to be a Top 5 RB of all time, there were be a lot of disagreement. Statistically, he'd just come off a 2000 yard season, been MVP, SuperBowl MVP, and had 2 rings. Pretty good for his first four years - and had he kept it up for another 6-10 years, he would've been a Top 5 of all time. Alas, injury struck and he was never the same.
Sid is only 1/2 thru his career. Impressive as hell at 30 years old, but what he's accomplished so far does not warrant Top 5 GOAT. Perhaps he's on that trajectory, but so far, it's not a career that I think is comparable to Mess, Lidstrom, Roy, or Jagr .... YET. When Mess was 12 years into the league, he'd had 6 cups in 7 appearances, never missed the playoffs, and had a Conn Smythe and Hart trophy - while playing 2nd fiddle to Gretz for 8 of those years. Jagr's first 11 years - 2 Cups, 1 Hart, 5 Art Ross, never missed the playoffs - while playing 2nd fiddle to Mario.
But, neither of us is going to change one another's opinion on this matter - and I'm not trying to change your mind... simply stating the reasons for my position.
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Ah, just more proof that Pittsburgh fans overrate their players more than any other fan base.
Is Crobsy awesome? Absolutely.
Is he an all-time great? Absolutely.
Is he a top 5 all-time player? Uh, no.
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I would put Sid top 5, but i honestly don't consider thre pre 80's era stats very legitimate. I mean c'mon, look at the vintage footage? And the stand-up goalies? My div 4 beer league team would be 1st team all-stars in the 40s, 50s and 60s when Howe was scoring 800 goals. Defense was a joke back then too. Gretzky benefited from part of that era as well. No way he scores 200pts in the 90s or later. The game is just too different now and the athletes too good.
This guy gets it.
I know it's the age old 'generational' debate....it's in every sport. There's no way Babe Ruth is hitting over 10 Home Runs a year off of today's pitching....he just couldn't do it....heck, even Hank Aaron would have a tough time hitting 20+ off of this generation.
Same goes with Hockey. If you Youtube Gretzky's highlight reel of goals near half of them never leave the ice surface....especially in his first few years. The goaltending was atrocious back then. But he was a special player 'in that time' because no one else was doing it or could do it. But I consider what Brett Hull was doing back in the day when he was scoring 80 and 90 goals a year WAY more difficult to do than when Gretzky was doing it....considering the fact that Brett Hull has NEVER scored an empty net goal. He REFUSED to. If he was on the ice with an empty net he assisted the goal...he's been quoted as saying he never wanted to score that type of 'cheap' goal.
Anyway...I totally get the sentiment that Shredder and Mikey are lamenting because for as great as #99 was I personally think the majority of his stats are 'soft' considering if you'd put college players of today in that era they'd have done the same thing. I'm team Mario all the way as far as who I think the 'greatest' thus far has been.
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Lidstrom - 7 Norris trophies; one Conn Smythe; 10 time 1st team all-star; 4 Stanley Cups; 20 straight years in the playoffs (#2 all time playoff games played); 2nd in Calder to some guy named Bure
Roy - 3 Conn Smythe; 4 Stanley Cups (5 appearances); 3 Vezina; 5 Jennings; #3 all time playoff games played; #2 regular season games played (goalie)
Brodeur - Calder; 3 Stanley Cups (5 appearances); 4 Vezina; 5 Jennings; #1 all time games played (goalie); 125 career shutouts
Messier - 6 Cups; 2 Hart; 1 Conn Smythe; 2nd all-time games played; #4 all time playoffs games played
Jagr - 2 Cups; 5 Art Ross; 1 Hart
It's an embarrassment that anyone should have to make a case as to why Messier and Jagr rank ahead of Sid in a GOAT discussion.
I suppose it's splitting hairs. Sid was/is the best player of his generation. None of the guys you listed can say that. They are all great players. What were those guys' stats at Sid's age?
Let's wait and see how the next few years turn out, but if he continues his current path, he has to be considered better.
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Lidstrom - 7 Norris trophies; one Conn Smythe; 10 time 1st team all-star; 4 Stanley Cups; 20 straight years in the playoffs (#2 all time playoff games played); 2nd in Calder to some guy named Bure
Roy - 3 Conn Smythe; 4 Stanley Cups (5 appearances); 3 Vezina; 5 Jennings; #3 all time playoff games played; #2 regular season games played (goalie)
Brodeur - Calder; 3 Stanley Cups (5 appearances); 4 Vezina; 5 Jennings; #1 all time games played (goalie); 125 career shutouts
Messier - 6 Cups; 2 Hart; 1 Conn Smythe; 2nd all-time games played; #4 all time playoffs games played
Jagr - 2 Cups; 5 Art Ross; 1 Hart
It's an embarrassment that anyone should have to make a case as to why Messier and Jagr rank ahead of Sid in a GOAT discussion.
I suppose it's splitting hairs. Sid was/is the best player of his generation. None of the guys you listed can say that. They are all great players. What were those guys' stats at Sid's age?
Let's wait and see how the next few years turn out, but if he continues his current path, he has to be considered better.
Lidstrom by far was the greatest D of his generation. Blasphemy to a B's fan, but better than Borque.
Roy/Brodeur are 1a and 1b - the only reason they aren't the greatest of their generation (and the two greatest goalies of all time, imo) is because of the other.
Mess and Jagr - the only reason they aren't is because of Gretz/Mario
Yes, I suppose it is splitting hairs. I already answered what Mess and Jagr had done at Sid's age; and agree with your last statement.
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Lidstrom by far was the greatest D of his generation. Blasphemy to a B's fan, but better than Borque.
Wow, you sure know how to go at a guy.
Lidstrom was NOT better than Bourgue. No way!
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Lidstrom by far was the greatest D of his generation. Blasphemy to a B's fan, but better than Borque.
Wow, you sure know how to go at a guy.
Lidstrom was NOT better than Bourgue. No way!
It's close, but given the accomplishments, I give the edge to Lidstrom
Norris - 7 to 5 Lidstrom
Cups - 4 to 1 Lidstrom
Appearances - 6 to 3 Lidstrom
Calder - 1 to 0 Bourque
All-star - 19-12 Bourque
Playoffs missed - 1-0 Bourque (this is one you don't want to have the advantage)
Games Played - they are #10/#11 ... edge to Borque (only because Lidstrom lost the '05 lockout season)
Points - 1579 to 1142 Bourque
+/- - 528 to 450 Bourque
As an individual player, I could concede Bourque was better. But, overall career accomplishments go to Lidstrom.
Plus, there's this highlight reel gem - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR6ITTkmDqQ ;D
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That's impressive. I really tried to key in on Lidstrom when the watched the Wings. I just always felt he was overrated. He just never "wowed" me. He was steady, and NEVER seemed to make a mistake. But I just never found him to be a dynamic player. I wonder how their TOI compares. I'm frankly surprised how many points Lidstrom had.
I saw Ray Bourque play and he did amazing things on the ice. Every game, he would have a WTF amazing moment. I guess if someone saw Lidstrom play every night, thay'd feel the same way.
Ray Bourque is a sacred cow here though.
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Looks like the NHL didn't track TOI until '99, so a comparison isn't going to help much. Bourque career avg - 27:37; Lidstrom - 26:54. Only 5 years of stats for Bourque though - and his last 5 years. I'm sure he was logging a lot more earlier in his career.
My Mount Rushmore of D-men would be Bourque, Coffey, Lidstrom and Chelios (I'm excluding Orr, since he's already on the all-time Mt Rushmore).
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My Mount Rushmore of D-men would be Bourque, Coffey, Lidstrom and Chelios (I'm excluding Orr, since he's already on the all-time Mt Rushmore).
Hmm, I'd have to think about that.
Witnessing Ray Bourque up close was a privilege. He would knock you on your ass AND take the puck. And score!
Excluding Gretzky, I feel like he was the greatest hockey player that I personally witnessed. I know that sounds ridiculous, but he was amazing.
At first thought, my non Orr Mt Rushmore of Defensemen would be Bourque, Potvin, Stevens, Robinson.
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^ All good choices. I was a little too young to remember Potvin and Robinson in their hey-day. There was NO ONE more punishing than Stevens. It's just a shame his hits ended the careers of Kariya and Lindros. I always have the image of him shouting "you're next" to someone on the Detroit bench after that BRUTAL hit one of the finals against Detroit.
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It's close, but given the accomplishments, I give the edge to Lidstrom
Norris - 7 to 5 Lidstrom
Cups - 4 to 1 Lidstrom
Appearances - 6 to 3 Lidstrom
Calder - 1 to 0 Bourque
All-star - 19-12 Bourque
Playoffs missed - 1-0 Bourque (this is one you don't want to have the advantage)
Games Played - they are #10/#11 ... edge to Borque (only because Lidstrom lost the '05 lockout season)
Points - 1579 to 1142 Bourque
+/- - 528 to 450 Bourque
As an individual player, I could concede Bourque was better. But, overall career accomplishments go to Lidstrom.
I might agree, but more accomplished does not always mean better. Put Bourque on teams as loaded as those Red Wings teams were and he might have won 5+ Cups.
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I always have the image of him shouting "you're next" to someone on the Detroit bench after that BRUTAL hit one of the finals against Detroit.
One of the best clean open ice hits I've ever seen. Stevens absolutely laying out Slava Kozlov. Then when Dino Ciccarelli started jawing at Stevens in the pesty manner he was known for, Scott gives him a stare, points a gloved finger at him, and says, "You're next!" Loved it, especially watching that live on TV as a young Devils fan. They just don't hit like that anymore in today's game...
Non Orr Defensemen Rushmore of Hockey? Stevens, Bourque, Robinson, and... Lidstrom, I guess? Honorable mentions to Paul Coffey and Scott Niedermeyer (homer pick, admittedly).
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Yeah. It was awesome how the Blues got completely dicked over by the League to lose Scott Stevens. Just one of the countless other reasons it's brutal to be a Blues fan.
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Care to fill me in? I knew he was a Capital and a Blue before being a Devil, but apparently there's a story on how he shipped to NJ?
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I would personally name Lidstrom as the best dman to ever play not named Bobby Orr. He was the Roger Federer of defensemen. Incredible to watch. My Orr-less Mt. Rushmore is Lidstrom, Niedermayer, Bourque, and probably controversial, but Pronger, I absolutely love the way he played. If he continues on as he is, Karlsson will be added to these 4, he's Orr 2.0.
And on the Crosby-top 5 debate....to me, if he's not already 5th, he's 6th. We can't compare stats between players face up, we have to take into consideration just how God damned hard it is to score today, and realise that Sid is STILL 5th all time. Teams aren't relying on 2 or 3 guys to score, they now have 4 lines that are expected to contribute, thus spreading the points around even further. Goalies and coaches are SO GOOD. There is a salary cap designed to make as many teams competitive as possible and the Pens have still won 3 cups in 8 years, and are set up to compete for probably 4 or 5 years more yet. He lost 2 years in the very prime of his career, And to me he is playing the best hockey of his career the last two years.
When all is said and done, it's going to be the holy trifecta of Gretzky, Bobby, and Sid sitting atop the pantheon of hockey.
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Care to fill me in? I knew he was a Capital and a Blue before being a Devil, but apparently there's a story on how he shipped to NJ?
He was 'awarded' to NJ for the Blues signing Brendon Shanahan. Again, the Blues Captain and Star player next to Brett Hull was taken from them for compensation for signing a free agent. It was deemed by an arbitrator a 'fair' deal. Which everyone at the time and now knows was utter BS. He was stolen, plain and simple.
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You're just as welcome here as any of us. I just think the top 5 is so tight that it's ridiculous to suggest that Crosby is "without question" better than guys like Jagr and Messier. I would have him in the top 10, but I agree with Jingle that there are more than 4 other players ahead of him at this time. I never said that you can't say one player is better than another if you've never watched them. It just seems crazy to me if you've watched both Jagr and Messier in their prime, and you still think it's not even a question that Crosby is better than them.
We can just agree to disagree and you can go back to enjoying your team's championship :tup
I know, some comments have just seemed dismissive, I apologize if mine comments were as well. Here's why I put Sid above JJ and Mess, I think shift in and shift out Sid is impacting games more. I know that's loosey goosey sounding and slightly intangible, but that's where I am at. I mean no disrespect to JJ or Mess or Howe for that matter. I'm just getting to the point where I think Sid's there in the debate with those guys falling in that tier of players. The dude is a serial winner.
This completely. Mikey... No need to take your toys and go home just because we strongly disagree with you on this topic. And I'm not even disagreeing that Sid is ONE OF the GOAT's.
It's tantamount to the NFL discussion around Terrell Davis. In 1999, if people had been claiming him to be a Top 5 RB of all time, there were be a lot of disagreement. Statistically, he'd just come off a 2000 yard season, been MVP, SuperBowl MVP, and had 2 rings. Pretty good for his first four years - and had he kept it up for another 6-10 years, he would've been a Top 5 of all time. Alas, injury struck and he was never the same.
Sid is only 1/2 thru his career. Impressive as hell at 30 years old, but what he's accomplished so far does not warrant Top 5 GOAT. Perhaps he's on that trajectory, but so far, it's not a career that I think is comparable to Mess, Lidstrom, Roy, or Jagr .... YET. When Mess was 12 years into the league, he'd had 6 cups in 7 appearances, never missed the playoffs, and had a Conn Smythe and Hart trophy - while playing 2nd fiddle to Gretz for 8 of those years. Jagr's first 11 years - 2 Cups, 1 Hart, 5 Art Ross, never missed the playoffs - while playing 2nd fiddle to Mario.
But, neither of us is going to change one another's opinion on this matter - and I'm not trying to change your mind... simply stating the reasons for my position.
I'm not taking my ball and going home. I just got frustrated yesterday, that's all, I apologize. I get what you are saying, but at the same time I don't...
For Mess, saying that he had 6 cups is an amazing, incredible stat... But no one is going to do that in the salary cap era. Jesus Christ on skates might win 3 in his career in the current system. The salary cap changed that, just as no one is going to touch Gretz points because the game has literally been completely changed by a long list of factors. Sid has 3 cups, and might win more. Sid already has 2 Conn Smythes and 2 Hart's compared to Mess's.
For JJ, is hard for me. I'm a Pens fan that still loves him dearly. He holds a special place in my heart, I used to watch him and Mario play together with my Dad when I was a kid. But in my mind, his skill set and style kinda reminds me more of Ovie than Sid. Winger, offensive minded guy, etc... I'd sit through the argument that Sid is a better slot to slot guy. But like I said, that one is tough for me because JJ carries a lot of sentimental value for me personally.
Good post though man, I see where you are coming from.
Ah, just more proof that Pittsburgh fans overrate their players more than any other fan base.
Is Crobsy awesome? Absolutely.
Is he an all-time great? Absolutely.
Is he a top 5 all-time player? Uh, no.
:facepalm: Great analysis Kev :lol
And on the Crosby-top 5 debate....to me, if he's not already 5th, he's 6th. We can't compare stats between players face up, we have to take into consideration just how God damned hard it is to score today, and realise that Sid is STILL 5th all time. Teams aren't relying on 2 or 3 guys to score, they now have 4 lines that are expected to contribute, thus spreading the points around even further. Goalies and coaches are SO GOOD. There is a salary cap designed to make as many teams competitive as possible and the Pens have still won 3 cups in 8 years, and are set up to compete for probably 4 or 5 years more yet. He lost 2 years in the very prime of his career, And to me he is playing the best hockey of his career the last two years.
When all is said and done, it's going to be the holy trifecta of Gretzky, Bobby, and Sid sitting atop the pantheon of hockey.
Great post. :tup
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Care to fill me in? I knew he was a Capital and a Blue before being a Devil, but apparently there's a story on how he shipped to NJ?
He was 'awarded' to NJ for the Blues signing Brendon Shanahan. Again, the Blues Captain and Star player next to Brett Hull was taken from them for compensation for signing a free agent. It was deemed by an arbitrator a 'fair' deal. Which everyone at the time and now knows was utter BS. He was stolen, plain and simple.
Yeah, those free agent rules back then were atrocious. "Free" my ass - and the Blues had lost 5 first round picks to sign Stevens just the year before.
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Care to fill me in? I knew he was a Capital and a Blue before being a Devil, but apparently there's a story on how he shipped to NJ?
He was 'awarded' to NJ for the Blues signing Brendon Shanahan. Again, the Blues Captain and Star player next to Brett Hull was taken from them for compensation for signing a free agent. It was deemed by an arbitrator a 'fair' deal. Which everyone at the time and now knows was utter BS. He was stolen, plain and simple.
Yeah, those free agent rules back then were atrocious. "Free" my ass - and the Blues had lost 5 first round picks to sign Stevens just the year before.
Yeah, I understand the vitriol, then. I'd be pissed too, but since he brought the Devils three cups, I cant complain. But yeah, that's pretty shitty otherwise... :/
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Yeah. It was awesome how the Blues got completely dicked over by the League to lose Scott Stevens. Just one of the countless other reasons it's brutal to be a Blues fan.
You do not disappoint, man. I KNEW this post was coming as soon as I typed Stevens.
:lol
I agree though.
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That's impressive. I really tried to key in on Lidstrom when the watched the Wings. I just always felt he was overrated. He just never "wowed" me. He was steady, and NEVER seemed to make a mistake. But I just never found him to be a dynamic player. I wonder how their TOI compares. I'm frankly surprised how many points Lidstrom had.
I saw Ray Bourque play and he did amazing things on the ice. Every game, he would have a WTF amazing moment. I guess if someone saw Lidstrom play every night, thay'd feel the same way.
Ray Bourque is a sacred cow here though.
Lidstrom's game was mostly mental. He was all about positioning and knowing where to be, how to cut down angles, where to pass, etc. He was never about big hits or flashy plays, because he never had to make those plays. What made him so great was his consistency and his smarts. He very rarely ever made a mistake, hence his nickname The Perfect Human.
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Yeah. It was awesome how the Blues got completely dicked over by the League to lose Scott Stevens. Just one of the countless other reasons it's brutal to be a Blues fan.
You do not disappoint, man. I KNEW this post was coming as soon as I typed Stevens.
:lol
I agree though.
It really sucked. I mean, think of your team....think of your Captain....then think about him being given to the team of the player you just signed as a free agent? That's NUTS! I'm glad I was young when it happened or I might have had a friggin' heart attack with the rageness that would have ensued :lol But I do remember my Dad being livid about it.
At least Scott Stevens got to win 3 Stanley Cups....that'd have never happened had he stayed a Blue.
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That's impressive. I really tried to key in on Lidstrom when the watched the Wings. I just always felt he was overrated. He just never "wowed" me. He was steady, and NEVER seemed to make a mistake. But I just never found him to be a dynamic player. I wonder how their TOI compares. I'm frankly surprised how many points Lidstrom had.
I saw Ray Bourque play and he did amazing things on the ice. Every game, he would have a WTF amazing moment. I guess if someone saw Lidstrom play every night, thay'd feel the same way.
Ray Bourque is a sacred cow here though.
Lidstrom's game was mostly mental. He was all about positioning and knowing where to be, how to cut down angles, where to pass, etc. He was never about big hits or flashy plays, because he never had to make those plays. What made him so great was his consistency and his smarts. He very rarely ever made a mistake, hence his nickname The Perfect Human.
Agreed. Lidstrom was the best defenseman I've seen play hockey, and is absolutely an all time great at that position.
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For Mess, saying that he had 6 cups is an amazing, incredible stat... But no one is going to do that in the salary cap era. Jesus Christ on skates might win 3 in his career in the current system. The salary cap changed that, just as no one is going to touch Gretz points because the game has literally been completely changed by a long list of factors. Sid has 3 cups, and might win more. Sid already has 2 Conn Smythes and 2 Hart's compared to Mess's.
For JJ, is hard for me. I'm a Pens fan that still loves him dearly. He holds a special place in my heart, I used to watch him and Mario play together with my Dad when I was a kid. But in my mind, his skill set and style kinda reminds me more of Ovie than Sid. Winger, offensive minded guy, etc... I'd sit through the argument that Sid is a better slot to slot guy. But like I said, that one is tough for me because JJ carries a lot of sentimental value for me personally.
Good post though man, I see where you are coming from.
This too has a lot of valid points, and you make a good case that I could almost buy. However, he's sill only about 1/2 way thru his career. No way anyone would've said Mess or Jagr were Top 5 GOAT with what they had accomplished at the 12 year mark of their career, and I simply think it's far too early to say that with Sid. You said it yourself... "might win more". If he doesn't make another cup final (let alone win any more), take home another Art Ross or Hart, will he be Top 5 when all is said and done with his career?
And on the Crosby-top 5 debate....to me, if he's not already 5th, he's 6th. We can't compare stats between players face up, we have to take into consideration just how God damned hard it is to score today, and realise that Sid is STILL 5th all time. Teams aren't relying on 2 or 3 guys to score, they now have 4 lines that are expected to contribute, thus spreading the points around even further. Goalies and coaches are SO GOOD. There is a salary cap designed to make as many teams competitive as possible and the Pens have still won 3 cups in 8 years, and are set up to compete for probably 4 or 5 years more yet. He lost 2 years in the very prime of his career, And to me he is playing the best hockey of his career the last two years.
When all is said and done, it's going to be the holy trifecta of Gretzky, Bobby, and Sid sitting atop the pantheon of hockey.
I'm not sure I can ever get on board with Howe not being part of the hockey holy trifecta. Sid would have to do a shit-ton in the next 10 years... a few more Hart and/or Art Ross's, along with handful of deep Cup runs/wins/Conn Smythe's. Given the up-and-comers in McDavid, Matthews, Eichel, Laine, etc... I'm not sure how many more Art Ross/Rocket Richard's there are in his future.
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This too has a lot of valid points, and you make a good case that I could almost buy. However, he's sill only about 1/2 way thru his career. No way anyone would've said Mess or Jagr were Top 5 GOAT with what they had accomplished at the 12 year mark of their career, and I simply think it's far too early to say that with Sid. You said it yourself... "might win more". If he doesn't make another cup final (let alone win any more), take home another Art Ross or Hart, will he be Top 5 when all is said and done with his career?
That's a good question. And you might be right, maybe it is too early in his career. If he never wins another cup or another individual trophy, he'd still easily be in my top 10, maybe not top 5. I'm projecting that won't be the case, but even just with what he has accomplished up until now, in this era, it's freaking incredible.
I'm not sure I can ever get on board with Howe not being part of the hockey holy trifecta. Sid would have to do a shit-ton in the next 10 years... a few more Hart and/or Art Ross's, along with handful of deep Cup runs/wins/Conn Smythe's. Given the up-and-comers in McDavid, Matthews, Eichel, Laine, etc... I'm not sure how many more Art Ross/Rocket Richard's there are in his future.
You have a good point about the young talent in the league, it's arguably the best group of young talent since Sid, Ovie, Geno, etc... My rebuttal to that would be this: I would argue Sid is currently playing the best hockey of his career and I see his prime window open (barring injury) for several more years to come. Over the last 12 months Crosby has won 2 cups, 2 Conn Smythes, the RR Trophy, the world cup, world cup MVP, am I forgetting anything? :lol My point is, I honestly believe this is the best I've ever seen him play.
The only thing I can see slowing him down majorly over the next couple years is injury, which unfortunately with Sid, is a possibility.
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If he never wins another cup or another individual trophy, he'd still easily be in my top 10, maybe not top 5. I'm projecting that won't be the case, but even just with what he has accomplished up until now, in this era, it's freaking incredible.
Precisely - on both counts
If he never wins another cup You have a good point about the young talent in the league, it's arguably the best group of young talent since Sid, Ovie, Geno, etc...
I think it goes back even further than that... to the early 90s. I still remember the top 5 from 1990 entry draft - Nolan, Nedved, Primeau, Ricci, Jagr. Further down the line you've got Darien Hatcher, Keith Tkachuk, Brodeur, Smolinski, Doug Weight, Slava Kozlov, Bondra, Zubov... jesus, there were 15 players that year with over 1000 NHL games (and another three with over 900). Add in Lindross, Niedermeyer and Forsberg in '91 + Sundin, Bure, Federov and Lidstrom in '89... holy shit there was some killer talent in the early '90s.
If he never wins another cup
I would argue Sid is currently playing the best hockey of his career and I see his prime window open (barring injury) for several more years to come. Over the last 12 months Crosby has won 2 cups, 2 Conn Smythes, the RR Trophy, the world cup, world cup MVP, am I forgetting anything? :lol My point is, I honestly believe this is the best I've ever seen him play.
No argument here, but most hockey players peak somewhere between 26-30. I wouldn't be surprised if this was his peak - but I also wouldn't be surprised if he keeps playing at this level for a couple more years.
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Ah, seems we can find some common ground jingle! :tup
Mario jumping into Sid's pool to celebrate the win with the team!
https://twitter.com/M_Shel6/status/874613748669063168
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Hard to believe it's already been twenty years since this happened:
https://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2017/06/celebration_to_devastation_red.html
Vladdy was an amazing defenceman. I wonder how many more Cups the Wings would have won if his career hadn't been ended by that limousine crash.
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Hard to believe it's already been twenty years since this happened:
https://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2017/06/celebration_to_devastation_red.html
Vladdy was an amazing defenceman. I wonder how many more Cups the Wings would have won if his career hadn't been ended by that limousine crash.
Man, I'd forgotten about that, but as soon as you posted, immediately remembered Stevie handing the cup to him the next year.
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Hard to believe it's already been twenty years since this happened:
https://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2017/06/celebration_to_devastation_red.html
Vladdy was an amazing defenceman. I wonder how many more Cups the Wings would have won if his career hadn't been ended by that limousine crash.
Man, I'd forgotten about that, but as soon as you posted, immediately remembered Stevie handing the cup to him the next year.
That was probably my favorite moment as a Red Wings fan, watching Stevie hand the Cup to Konstantinov and skating as a team around the ice with Vladdy in his wheelchair. Definitely a lot of misty eyes in the room that night!
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Crazy parade in Pittsburgh yesterday, a reported 650,000 showed up to celebrate!
(https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QFV5Zmc5pGfJNpS7PqL39NZLc2A=/11x0:4414x2935/920x613/filters:focal(11x0:4414x2935):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55267761/usa-today-10110815.0.jpg)
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Interesting trade for Montreal. They give up a top end D prospect for a questionable offensive player. And then sign him long term. I'm no Habs fan, but i don't think that worked out well for their depth chart moving forward. Also, they'll need to protect Drouin in the expansion draft whereas Sergachev is ineligible. What do the MTL fans (ok, maybe just fan) here think?
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Closet Habs fan here....I don't mind the trade. Drouin was on a 60 pt/82 games pace last year, and has all the assets to go 70+, so he's immediately the best offensive player on the team. I expect Galchenyuk is dished for a legit top line center or dman, and then Montreal would end up with an upgraded piece on forward (Drouin from Galchenyuk) and plug a hole with center or a dman. With Price, the Habs have to be in win mow mode, And this deal (and subsequent deals) are setting themselves up for that since Sergachev is at least 2 years away from being an impact player.
That being said, I've also read that this means Radulov likely isn't coming back, who was the best player last year, and the Habs still don't have a team nearly good enough to be a legit Cup threat at the moment.
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Oh on the Drouin trade. He might help the Habs a bit in the front of the contract, but man that's a long and expensive contract for a player like that. I feel like that will be one of those deals that will be totally overpaying Drouin in the backend of that deal. But I get it, they need someone like him...maybe he'll prove me wrong.
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Oh on the Drouin trade. He might help the Habs a bit in the front of the contract, but man that's a long and expensive contract for a player like that. I feel like that will be one of those deals that will be totally overpaying Drouin in the backend of that deal. But I get it, they need someone like him...maybe he'll prove me wrong.
He's only 22. By the time he's 28 he should be right in the of his prime. Expect two or three 70-point seasons over the course of the contract.
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Oh on the Drouin trade. He might help the Habs a bit in the front of the contract, but man that's a long and expensive contract for a player like that. I feel like that will be one of those deals that will be totally overpaying Drouin in the backend of that deal. But I get it, they need someone like him...maybe he'll prove me wrong.
He's only 22. By the time he's 28 he should be right in the of his prime. Expect two or three 70-point seasons over the course of the contract.
Yup, he's young, I'm just not sold he's going to be that good for that long, that's all. Maybe he will be.
What's everyone think of the protected/exposed lists the teams released for the expansion draft? Couple of surprises in there. I'll tell you what, if Vegas plays their cards right, they might be better than 6 or 7 other teams their first year. Looks like they could put together a cast that includes James Neal, Michael Grabner, Marc Methot, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jack Johnson, etc...
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I still think Vegas will be terrible. Maybe not as bad as the last expansion, but i don't expect them to top 60pts. And they play in a pretty tough pacific division.
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I still think Vegas will be terrible. Maybe not as bad as the last expansion, but i don't expect them to top 60pts. And they play in a pretty tough pacific division.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think they will be great, but depending on how they pick and structure I could easily see them being better than the Canucks, Coyotes, Avs, etc... possibly, at least.
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We all knew Fleury would be there, and I'd be shocked if Vegas didn't take him... though, with the Pens protecting 4 D, they've left a lot of quality forwards out there. The Sens left a few hanging out there - Methot (over Ceci), Ryan, MacArthur, Burrows. On quick glance, some other notables include Neal (Preds), Brown (Kings), Sharp (Stars), Plekanec (Habs), Stajan (Flames). Speaking of Flames, I must've missed the news on the Johnsons-Smith trade. Not sure what I think about them protecting Smith over Elliott. Consistency?
Unsurprisingly, a handful of decent forwards available from the Preds, since they protected their top 4 D. Kings, Devils, Panthers, Isles, Coyotes in that boat too - though, not a lot of depth up front for many those to be overly worried.
Handful of crafty veterans available too... I noticed Boyle (Leafs) and Fisher (Preds). I have to assume their age+contract value is a deterrent.
I still think Vegas will be terrible. Maybe not as bad as the last expansion, but i don't expect them to top 60pts. And they play in a pretty tough pacific division.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think they will be great, but depending on how they pick and structure I could easily see them being better than the Canucks, Coyotes, Avs, etc... possibly, at least.
Can't say I disagree here. My guess is for them to finish 22nd at best, 28th at worst. Theoretically, they can get a Top 10 guy from each team. No other team has a roster filled with Top 10 guys. At worst, they'll be a very balanced (if unspectacular) team.
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We all knew Fleury would be there, and I'd be shocked if Vegas didn't take him... though, with the Pens protecting 4 D, they've left a lot of quality forwards out there. The Sens left a few hanging out there - Methot (over Ceci), Ryan, MacArthur, Burrows. On quick glance, some other notables include Neal (Preds), Brown (Kings), Sharp (Stars), Plekanec (Habs), Stajan (Flames). Speaking of Flames, I must've missed the news on the Johnsons-Smith trade. Not sure what I think about them protecting Smith over Elliott. Consistency?
Unsurprisingly, a handful of decent forwards available from the Preds, since they protected their top 4 D. Kings, Devils, Panthers, Isles, Coyotes in that boat too - though, not a lot of depth up front for many those to be overly worried.
Handful of crafty veterans available too... I noticed Boyle (Leafs) and Fisher (Preds). I have to assume their age+contract value is a deterrent.
Yeah, at this point I'm like 99% sure Fleury will be there, I'm assuming Rutherford discussed picking Flower with Vegas and that's why he felt comfortable exposing a couple quality forwards, won't matter if/when they take Flower.
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They'll be fine in net, and maybe on d. I don't think they'll be able to score enough to win. Aside from Neal and Ryan, it's basically going to be a team full of 3rd liners. Also, it'll be all new coaches and a bunch of players that have never really played together. SJ had 39pts in their expansion season and so did the Thrashers. I think 60pts is me being generous.
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^ That's fair, I hear you. It'll be interesting to see how it goes for them.
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They'll be fine in net, and maybe on d. I don't think they'll be able to score enough to win. Aside from Neal and Ryan, it's basically going to be a team full of 3rd liners. Also, it'll be all new coaches and a bunch of players that have never really played together. SJ had 39pts in their expansion season and so did the Thrashers. I think 60pts is me being generous.
True... but San Jose was in an era without the prevalence of OT points, and their expansion draft had that cluster fuck with the North Stars franchise. The Thrashers were coming off a year right after the Preds expansion picks... so it was a depleted inventory. The Preds had 63 points in their expansion year.
I also think there is more depth in the league nowadays. 60ish points for the Knights is not out of the question
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They'll be fine in net, and maybe on d. I don't think they'll be able to score enough to win. Aside from Neal and Ryan, it's basically going to be a team full of 3rd liners. Also, it'll be all new coaches and a bunch of players that have never really played together. SJ had 39pts in their expansion season and so did the Thrashers. I think 60pts is me being generous.
True... but San Jose was in an era without the prevalence of OT points, and their expansion draft had that cluster fuck with the North Stars franchise. The Thrashers were coming off a year right after the Preds expansion picks... so it was a depleted inventory. The Preds had 63 points in their expansion year.
I also think there is more depth in the league nowadays. 60ish points for the Knights is not out of the question
True, the preds are probably a better comparison. Still tough going for a few years, and the NFL moving in could potentially cripple the franchise right out of the gate.
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I didn't expect a Flyers defenseman (MacDonald) or goalie to be taken, and with 6 no-brainer choices on forward I'm completely baffled as to why we protected Laughton and exposed Raffl. If I'm Vegas that's an easy choice from us.
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Interesting trade for Montreal. They give up a top end D prospect for a questionable offensive player. And then sign him long term. I'm no Habs fan, but i don't think that worked out well for their depth chart moving forward. Also, they'll need to protect Drouin in the expansion draft whereas Sergachev is ineligible. What do the MTL fans (ok, maybe just fan) here think?
I think it's great. I have seen Drouin played a few times as a junior and in the NHL. Very ofensive gifted player. Had great playoffs in '16 and a pretty good last season. It's about time the management move forward and stop thinking about their non efficient boring defensive 2 to 1 win game style. And wishing every year that the goalie will make miracles and carry the team to the finals. It does not work. Good enough to make the playoffs but not enough offense, no power play goals, Drouin has been welcomed as a great trade by most people. And Drouin likes the pressure, is not afraid of it and considering his new contract (6 years, 5.5 millions per season) it's gonna be a steal. Sergachev will be good. Great skating ability but he is soft and loose. His speed catches back a lot of mistakes he makes in the junior. I saw him play a few games with Montreal before they send him back to his junior team and was always behind the plays. Way not ready. If he becomes good, well good for Tampa. But we got Drouin and I believe it's great. Unless they try to change him in a Lady Bing trophee contender, he will have so much icetime, at 22 years old he is very promissing.
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Closet Habs fan here....I don't mind the trade. Drouin was on a 60 pt/82 games pace last year, and has all the assets to go 70+, so he's immediately the best offensive player on the team. I expect Galchenyuk is dished for a legit top line center or dman, and then Montreal would end up with an upgraded piece on forward (Drouin from Galchenyuk) and plug a hole with center or a dman. With Price, the Habs have to be in win mow mode, And this deal (and subsequent deals) are setting themselves up for that since Sergachev is at least 2 years away from being an impact player.
That being said, I've also read that this means Radulov likely isn't coming back, who was the best player last year, and the Habs still don't have a team nearly good enough to be a legit Cup threat at the moment.
I honestly would like to keep Galchenyuk and Radulov. We need offence. Hopefully, Vegas will pick Plekanec and the Habs will sign Joe Thornton for 2 years. If chucky goes, it's like Drouin for him, it's quite the same. And Radulov has to stay, he looked so passionate last season. I thought it was the legendary Maurice Rocket Richard from time to time.
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Closet Habs fan here....I don't mind the trade. Drouin was on a 60 pt/82 games pace last year, and has all the assets to go 70+, so he's immediately the best offensive player on the team. I expect Galchenyuk is dished for a legit top line center or dman, and then Montreal would end up with an upgraded piece on forward (Drouin from Galchenyuk) and plug a hole with center or a dman. With Price, the Habs have to be in win mow mode, And this deal (and subsequent deals) are setting themselves up for that since Sergachev is at least 2 years away from being an impact player.
That being said, I've also read that this means Radulov likely isn't coming back, who was the best player last year, and the Habs still don't have a team nearly good enough to be a legit Cup threat at the moment.
I honestly would like to keep Galchenyuk and Radulov. We need offence. Hopefully, Vegas will pick Plekanec and the Habs will sign Joe Thornton for 2 years. If chucky goes, it's like Drouin for him, it's quite the same. And Radulov has to stay, he looked so passionate last season. I thought it was the legendary Maurice Rocket Richard from time to time.
The very real concern is to repeat Carolina's mistake with Semin. Got a 1 year deal, played well, cashed in and completely tanked. I'm hearing the Canadians don't want to go more than 3 years, and they're smart in that.
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Love the Golden Knight's unis. Curious to see who they end up taking in the expansion draft. Tempting to become a fan of a team on day one.
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Love the Golden Knight's unis. Curious to see who they end up taking in the expansion draft. Tempting to become a fan of a team on day one.
I did that with the Sharks back in '91. Then they had to go and make their first meaningful playoff run through Toronto. :zeltar:
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Between the NHL and NBA this week, it's speculation heaven. Can't wait to watch the Awards/Reveal tonight.
And Hossa :omg: WTF??
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Between the NHL and NBA this week, it's speculation heaven. Can't wait to watch the Awards/Reveal tonight.
And Hossa :omg: WTF??
Yeah, the Hossa thing is a sad story. Even as Chicago was running through the Flyers for their first cup Hossa was a guy I was happy for, have always liked him. Given his age and already committing to not playing a full season you can basically see the Pronger writing on the wall that he's played his last NHL game.
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Between the NHL and NBA this week, it's speculation heaven. Can't wait to watch the Awards/Reveal tonight.
And Hossa :omg: WTF??
Yeah, the Hossa thing is a sad story. Even as Chicago was running through the Flyers for their first cup Hossa was a guy I was happy for, have always liked him. Given his age and already committing to not playing a full season you can basically see the Pronger writing on the wall that he's played his last NHL game.
Totally agree, I wish Hossa all the best, sounds like a scary thing to go through.
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Sad thing to hear. We'll see how it turns out.
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When does the schedule come out? Hoping for the Devils to give me an excuse to spend a couple days in Vegas :hat
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I can't believe there's no leaks over any potential deals.
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When does the schedule come out? Hoping for the Devils to give me an excuse to spend a couple days in Vegas :hat
I saw information about season openers and home openers coming out on twitter in the past hour or so, not sure when full schedule is/was released.
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I can't believe there's no leaks over any potential deals.
What? We have pretty good information on at least 6-8 Vegas deals already.
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We do??
I have TSN on my computer and they don't have anything reported. Unless I missed it, but I've been following it. I know the Isles gave them a #1 pick but that's all I know. They have picked up extra first round picks in this draft, but not hearing where they came from.
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When does the schedule come out? Hoping for the Devils to give me an excuse to spend a couple days in Vegas :hat
I'm pretty sure that every team visits every city at least once a season.
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When does the schedule come out? Hoping for the Devils to give me an excuse to spend a couple days in Vegas :hat
I'm pretty sure that every team visits every city at least once a season.
OK, I wasn't positive if that was the case with teams in the opposite conference given I know they play within the division and conference multiple times each season.
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Pretty cool article written by Tarasenko
https://theplayerstribune.com/vladimir-tarasenko-st-louis-blues-nhl/
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I can't believe there's no leaks over any potential deals.
What? We have pretty good information on at least 6-8 Vegas deals already.
There are some whispers of Vegas' picks trickling out this afternoon.
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Pretty cool article written by Tarasenko
https://theplayerstribune.com/vladimir-tarasenko-st-louis-blues-nhl/
Read that, awesome!
When does the schedule come out? Hoping for the Devils to give me an excuse to spend a couple days in Vegas :hat
I'm pretty sure that every team visits every city at least once a season.
Yes, that was about the one and only good thing about the last realignment.
We do??
I have TSN on my computer and they don't have anything reported. Unless I missed it, but I've been following it. I know the Isles gave them a #1 pick but that's all I know. They have picked up extra first round picks in this draft, but not hearing where they came from.
I'd have to actually look around to get the full list, but we know a bunch of guys who have been "protected" by sending assets to Vegas. And 1 or 2 (like Trevor Van Reimsdyk) that were left exposed in exchange for taking a bad contract.
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Decided to do about a minute of internet sleuthing :lol schedule will be out about 24 hours from now.
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So glad Chiarelli did not win GM of the year. Fuck him!
David Poile is a fantastic pick. But leaving James Neal exposed??
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So glad Chiarelli did not win GM of the year. Fuck him!
David Poile is a fantastic pick. But leaving James Neal exposed??
I agree. That Lucic contact will haunt the oil in about 2 years.
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I can't even list the ways he fucked up the Bruins. He won a Cup with Mike O'Connell's picks (Lucic included), put them in cap hell. Couldn't f'n draft to save his life. His first round picks are laughable.
That Bruins team that won the Cup in 2011 had a core that should've had them contending for years to come.
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Marc Andre Fluery...total class!
:clap:
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Yeah. ....now I really don't think vegas will be able to score any goals. That's a pretty sad group up front. The D look good though. I'm hoping to see some good trade action at the draft!
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Vegas isn't looking too bad. Their defence will probably struggle for a while, but there are good players there, and their forward corps is a solid build. Marchessault, Perron, and Neal should produce a decent amount of offence across a couple lines and Karlsson will be great in the defensive zone.
I'm sad Schlemko was picked from my Sharks, he's a stats darling. Was hoping the Knights would take Dillon and his contract off the books tbh
edit: i mean don't get me wrong, they're going to suck, but I'm trying to be an optimist here...
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Let's all pump the brakes and see what todays trades bring.
I think the awards were pretty much spot on. Though, Burns should've lost the Norris for that man-bun alone. FFS, when can that fad end? No real surprise that Matthews was the most lopsided winner of the night. :fistpump:
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My issue with the awards are who the fuck are these actors and shit that they bring out? I've never heard of them.
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My issue with the awards are who the fuck are these actors and shit that they bring out? I've never heard of them.
See, you're problem is in watching. Just catch the highlights/acceptance speeches at the end of the night.
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Let's all pump the brakes and see what todays trades bring.
I think the awards were pretty much spot on. Though, Burns should've lost the Norris for that man-bun alone. FFS, when can that fad end? No real surprise that Matthews was the most lopsided winner of the night. :fistpump:
:lol
I agree about the trades, gotta wait till the dust settles to really judge LV, but at least as they stand now, I think there biggest weakness is Center. They won't be good down the middle. They have a couple wingers that can score, who knows if they will score, but they can score. D isn't bad, goal tending should be solid.
Marc Andre Fluery...total class!
:clap:
Yup, sad to see Flower leave Pittsburgh. He was really the start of the rebuilding here. Everyone remembers when the Pens got Sid or Geno, but a couple years before all that fell in place, they drafted Marc first overall in 2003 and he was a gigantic part of the Penguins success over the last 10 or so years. Also, I know it sounds cliche, but he's also a great guy, went above and beyond in terms of charity and community work and was a class act every single second over the last 14 or so years.
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Granted, i don't see much of Ryan Strome, but i don't know what the fuck Chiarelli was thinking. Eberle for Strome straight up? :facepalm:
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Wow
TRADE:
To #Blackhawks:
F Brandon Saad
G Anton Forsberg
2018 5th RD pick
To #BlueJackets:
F Artemi Panarin
F Tyler Motte
2017 6th RD pick
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Gheez, I'd take Panarin any day of the week, but that's just me.
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Wow
TRADE:
To #Blackhawks:
F Brandon Saad
G Anton Forsberg
2018 5th RD pick
To #BlueJackets:
F Artemi Panarin
F Tyler Motte
2017 6th RD pick
Still wrapping my head around it. And Hjalmarsson going to Arizona(?)
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Wow
TRADE:
To #Blackhawks:
F Brandon Saad
G Anton Forsberg
2018 5th RD pick
To #BlueJackets:
F Artemi Panarin
F Tyler Motte
2017 6th RD pick
Still wrapping my head around it. And Hjalmarsson going to Arizona(?)
Maybe they have it on good authority that Panarin will go to the KHL after this contract is up? Otherwise, yeah, this is questionable.
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Gheez, I'd take Panarin any day of the week, but that's just me.
Yeah. Me too. It came out that Tarasenko lobbied hard to Blues leadership to get Panarin two years ago but they passed. That'd have been awesome to have he and Tarasenko on a line.
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Kane/Panarin was an outstanding chemistry. Definitely gonna miss that.
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Wow. I'm heartbroken right now. Thank you Stepan for being the true captain of the Rangers after Callahan was traded (sorry MacDonagh) and for helping me become the die-hard fan I am today. I hope you do well in Arizona (except for the two games that we play against them).
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I loved Stepan.
Can't believe the Hawks traded Panarin.
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Can't believe the Hawks traded Panarin.
Kane/Panarin was an outstanding chemistry. Definitely gonna miss that.
there HAS to be more to the story. I just don't get it. Panarin is a stud, plain and simple. He's a 25+ goal scorer for the foreseeable future...wicked shot....slick hands.....this one is a head scratcher. Maybe he was shagging the owners daughter or something?
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Wow.
Blues move Lehtera and the 27th pick this year and 2018 conditional pick to the Flyers for Brayden Schenn AND send Ryan Reaves to Pittsburg for 23 year old Oskar Sundquist. I love the Lehtera deal but am questioning the Reaves deal. Tarasenko it's now open season on Tarasenko....speaking of which....former Blues player and tough guy Kelly Chase tweeted:
"Warning to the Eastern Conference The BS with running Crosby every shift has ended" Which I have to agree. Not many as tough as Reaves left in the league.
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Reaves is an absolute beast.
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Can't believe the Hawks traded Panarin.
Kane/Panarin was an outstanding chemistry. Definitely gonna miss that.
there HAS to be more to the story. I just don't get it. Panarin is a stud, plain and simple. He's a 25+ goal scorer for the foreseeable future...wicked shot....slick hands.....this one is a head scratcher. Maybe he was shagging the owners daughter or something?
Im gonn get down to the bottom of this lol
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Certainly seems on the surface that Bowman may have over-reacted to the 1st round sweep. Not sure bringing back Saad is the 'answer' to getting them deeper into the playoffs. And even if he felt that he had enough goal-scoring talent, he could've/should've got more for Panarin.
Really surprised that the Caps re-signed Oshie.... especially for 8 years.
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An 8 year contract is stupid in any sport.
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Wow.
Blues move Lehtera and the 27th pick this year and 2018 conditional pick to the Flyers for Brayden Schenn AND send Ryan Reaves to Pittsburg for 23 year old Oskar Sundquist. I love the Lehtera deal but am questioning the Reaves deal. Tarasenko it's now open season on Tarasenko....speaking of which....former Blues player and tough guy Kelly Chase tweeted:
"Warning to the Eastern Conference The BS with running Crosby every shift has ended" Which I have to agree. Not many as tough as Reaves left in the league.
Players like Reaves are becoming obsolete. Thanks to the instigator rule, you can't make someone fight for you if they take a run at one of your stars. Team toughness nowadays is far more valuable than having a designated enforcer.
I love the trade for Schenn. We unload Lehtera and his worthless contact, and add a top line center who will make the PP great again.
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Wow.
Blues move Lehtera and the 27th pick this year and 2018 conditional pick to the Flyers for Brayden Schenn AND send Ryan Reaves to Pittsburg for 23 year old Oskar Sundquist. I love the Lehtera deal but am questioning the Reaves deal. Tarasenko it's now open season on Tarasenko....speaking of which....former Blues player and tough guy Kelly Chase tweeted:
"Warning to the Eastern Conference The BS with running Crosby every shift has ended" Which I have to agree. Not many as tough as Reaves left in the league.
Players like Reaves are becoming obsolete. Thanks to the instigator rule, you can't make someone fight for you if they take a run at one of your stars. Team toughness nowadays is far more valuable than having a designated enforcer.
I love the trade for Schenn. We unload Lehtera and his worthless contact, and add a top line center who will make the PP great again.
Generally speaking I tend to agree, but I like this deal for the Pens. After the abuse our stars took in the playoffs, Rutherford basically publically said this is what he felt he needed to get for the Pens. A tough guy to stand up to the other team when they take liberties but who can also skate and play. Reaves seems to be that, I think he'll be a fan favorite here the first time he stands up and goes out of his way to make a point.
Gary is spot on - that's the exact message that management is trying to send to the conference and specifically some key troublemakers in the Metro.
On Oskar (or Sunny as we usually call him), you guys are getting a solid, young center. He has a very strong defensive game, great positioning and responsibility awareness in the defensive zone. He can kill penalties and he's fairly quick. He needs to work on his offense a bit, but I feel he has the hands to do that successfully. He's a solid 4th line NHL center, with the potential to be 3rd liner some day.
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Players like Reaves are becoming obsolete. Thanks to the instigator rule, you can't make someone fight for you if they take a run at one of your stars. Team toughness nowadays is far more valuable than having a designated enforcer.
I love the trade for Schenn. We unload Lehtera and his worthless contact, and add a top line center who will make the PP great again.
I'm still shocked that any team would take Lehtera. His concussion history, $4.75 mil a year and the fact that my 9 year old can knock him off the puck led me to believe the Blues were stuck with him. And to get Schenn for him....seems a bit lopsided to me. But I'm not gonna argue about it. Judging from the things I read last night the Blues have had the hots for Schenn for some time and let the Flyers know that quite often.
As far as Reaves....I see some folks flipping out on twitter and what not like Armstrong just traded Gretzky or something. I like(d) Reaves...everything you hear about him is that he's a great guy in the locker room....he's tough as nails and what he did last summer to change his game to stay relevant was great dedication. But the Blues need(ed) depth in Center and so with a couple swift moves Armstrong made that happen. I think Reaves was a win, win scenario
I think he'll be a fan favorite here the first time he stands up and goes out of his way to make a point.
Oh...he will absolutely become a fan favorite. The thing the Blues are going to miss the most about him is that he has and can single handedly change the momentum of a game in one shift...either from convincing someone to fight him (which is becoming a task in itself) but mostly from a shift where he literally nails every player out there with a massive check.
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Good picks for the HHOF - at least on the NHL player side. It's amazing that it can take so long for some of these players to get in - Recchi (4 years) Kariya (5 years); Andreychuck (9 years) - just goes to show that the HHOF isn't just a rubber stamp.
Still some pretty big names out there though.
Alfredsson - my guess is it'll take him a while. I always thought of him as a B-list superstar
Roenick - he'll likely never make it... no cups; no individual awards
Mogilny - someday maybe... he's got a cup, and a lot of int'l wins, and is a > point/per game
Fleury - ditto
Osgood - 3 cups... but I never thought of him as a Tier 1 goalie
Joseph - #4 all-time in wins... but I'd be surprised if he makes it - like JR, no cups, and no Vezina
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If the Red Wings had won the Cup in 2009 like they were supposed to, Chris Osgood was the favorite for the Conn Smythe trophy. Had they pulled it off, I think that would have erased any questions about his HHOF candidacy. As it is, I still think he should get in.
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As far as Reaves....I see some folks flipping out on twitter and what not like Armstrong just traded Gretzky or something. I like(d) Reaves...everything you hear about him is that he's a great guy in the locker room....he's tough as nails and what he did last summer to change his game to stay relevant was great dedication. But the Blues need(ed) depth in Center and so with a couple swift moves Armstrong made that happen. I think Reaves was a win, win scenario
Agreed. :tup :tup
If the Red Wings had won the Cup in 2009 like they were supposed to, Chris Osgood was the favorite for the Conn Smythe trophy. Had they pulled it off, I think that would have erased any questions about his HHOF candidacy. As it is, I still think he should get in.
I disagree. Osgood was a good goalie on one of the most loaded teams of all time. Sure, he won 2 Cups as the playoff starter, but his job was basically, "Don't screw it up." He was great at times, but was never a great goalie. He was never considered one of the best goalies in the NHL.
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The Sens lock up Condon for three more years. Looking like they want him to be the starter in year 2 if Anderson doesn't resign after next season and starter in year 3. He was good for us, mixed reaction from some I follow on Twitter, but I like Condon and we wouldn't have been in the playoffs without him
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Osgood was solid for most of his career and did win two Cups as a starter, almost a third...and don't forget it was Babcock's decision to pull Hasek after a abysmal first 4 games in 08 that set Osgood up for a great playoff run. That said, let's also not forget how the Wings repeated in 98 despite Osgood letting in 3 horribly soft goals through the first three rounds: blueliner from Roenick in Phoenix that tied the game, center ice blast from MacInnis in St. Louis that tied the game, and another center ice shot from Langenbrunner in Dallas that ended Game 5. I'm hard-pressed to name another goaltender who so consistently let in softies yet still won the Cup. It got to the point that every hard-around or entry shot made Wings fans hold their collective breath. It all hearkened back to the Sharks series in 94.
Now don't get me wrong, Osgood earned those Cups and his place in Detroit lore, but I am kind of in agreement that despite his wins, he isn't really HoF material. On almost any other set of teams, Osgood would have been the scapegoat, but those Wings teams of the late 90s were something to behold. In reality, other than the years they had Hasek, I don't think Detroit has had a HoF goaltender since Vernon, and calling him HoF might be pushing it. They paid for Cujo, and I don't really feel he ever lived up to the hype. Same with Ranford. Osgood was a mostly consistent mule, but not much more. And this is coming from a Red Wing fan.
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I disagree. Osgood was a good goalie on one of the most loaded teams of all time. Sure, he won 2 Cups as the playoff starter, but his job was basically, "Don't screw it up." He was great at times, but was never a great goalie. He was never considered one of the best goalies in the NHL.
Precisely what I was trying to say. I don't remember him consistently being a difference maker in the fortunes of the Red Wings. He certainly made/makes some great saves, but can't really say he was a great goalie. Reminds me of the role that Corey Crawford played in Chicago's cup wins.
Osgood doesn't even crack the top 10 in all-time wins, and not even top 25 in shutouts (27th), GAA (37th) or save% (56th). Given his career spanned two different 'goal-scoring' eras (90s = high; 00s = low), you'd think if he was "elite", he'd be higher. Both Brodeur and Hasek (who played in the 90s and 00s as well) are far ahead of him in all-time GAA.
Good insight by Drew... and yeah, they jumped on Ranford and Cujo for the downslope of their respective careers - Hasek too to be honest... but even the twilight of his career was better than the prime of most goalies.