Official 2017-2018 NHL Thread v. Break the Ice

[pg1067]

Me too. I’m American, but it just feels wrong to not have had a Canadian Cup winner since Montreal in ‘93.

I feel the same way, but I have a friend -- a fellow Kings fan -- who insists that it's karma for the Habs supposedly "cheating" their way to a win in game 2 of the 1993 SCF against the Kings.  She's a big Marty McSorley fan, and whenever the subject comes up, I remind her that it's McSorley's fault that the Kings lost game 2 (it's his fault for using an illegal stick and if that penalty isn't called, Kings take first two games on the road, and the series plays out very differently).  She, on the other hand, buys into the notion that the Habs somehow surreptitiously looked at the Kings' stick rack to find out who was using illegal sticks and then, when the opportunity presented itself, the Habs used their "illegally" obtained knowledge.  My response, among other things, is that, even if that happened (and there's no real evidence it did), it's still McSorley's fault for using the illegal stick.

Exactly.

Besides, the Kings have won the Cup twice now.  She can let the grudge go any time...

Yup.  That too.  Mostly I just enjoy poking her over this.

(hoping to go to a Cup Final game for once in my life in DC)

Currently $836 just to get in the building for home game #1 and over $1,400 for home game #3 (series games 3 and 6 since the Caps won't have home ice over either Winnipeg or Vegas) on Stubhub.  When the Kings won their first Cup in 2012, I went to all three home games (series games 3, 4 and 6).  I dropped about $2k total, and it was worth every penny (even the loss in game 4, which was the most expensive ticket)!

Please also remind her the Kings probably didn't shouldn't have even made a Game 7 vs the Leafs in the semi-final - let alone getting to the Cup Final.  Gretz had a high-stick that drew blood on Gilmour in the Game 6 OT, and didn't even get a minor penalty

Meh.  First of all, there was only one referee, and Fraser was watching the shot Gretzky had just taken, and neither of the linesmen saw what happened.  Second, after Fraser saw Gilmour bent over and holding his chin, he skated over to him and asked him what happened, and Gilmour told him that he got clippled on the follow through after the shot, which wasn't (and still isn't?) a penalty (even though it wasn't really a follow through).  We can go back through that series and find hundreds of penalties that could have been called that might have changed the outcome of any of the games (including Gilmour's head butt in game 1, and y=you could even quibble about the Glenn Anderson roughing penalty at the end of regulation in game 6).  But it's the same sort of thing.  Kings and Habs were tied 1-1 when the series went back to LA.  Kings didn't take care of business at home.  Neither did the Leafs in game 7.

[jingle.boy]

Hey... I get all the explanations and reasoning.  But if she's gonna bitch that a 2-minute illegal stick is Karma for Canada, then you can sure as shit draw an equivalency that a 5-minute major and Gretzky not being tossed should've been some big-assed Karma for the Kings - it was a more impactful event in hurting the Leafs chances than the illegal stick was in hurting the Kings'. 

iirc, didn't McSorley's stick break, and a Habs player was the one that simply picked up one of the broken ends off the ice and that's what led to them questioning Marty's curve?

[pg1067]

Hey... I get all the explanations and reasoning.  But if she's gonna bitch that a 2-minute illegal stick is Karma for Canada, then you can sure as shit draw an equivalency that a 5-minute major and Gretzky not being tossed should've been some big-assed Karma for the Kings - it was a more impactful event in hurting the Leafs chances than the illegal stick was in hurting the Kings'. 

That could be fun.  Maybe I'll try it next time the subject comes up.

iirc, didn't McSorley's stick break, and a Habs player was the one that simply picked up one of the broken ends off the ice and that's what led to them questioning Marty's curve?

I don't remember that particular explanation.  There are a couple of stories that are far more logical and plausible than the story about someone from Montreal "breaking in" to the Kings locker room and looking at the stick rack.  I've read that someone did see the stick rack when it was in a "public" hallway beneath the locker rooms.  I doubt, however, that anyone in that situation would have had time to make any sort of conclusive measurements.  The more plausible explanation is that some of the Habs players had noticed McSorley's stick in game 1 and/or in the two games that the teams played during the regular season, and reported their observations to Jacques Demers, who kept the info in his back pocket until the right time.  I've seen an interview with Luc Robitaille about how 30-40% of the Kings players (as well as players on other teams) had over-curved sticks that they used in the first two periods but changed to legal sticks in the third period or when there was a high leverage situation.  I find that a lot more plausible since top level pros presumably can spot an illegal stick pretty easily (especially someone like Guy Carbonneau), so it was just a matter of Demers having the balls to take the risk of asking for a measurement.

[TheCountOfNYC]

I wish they would go back to the original format. It makes a lot more sense that way.

"Original format"

You mean Smythe/Norris/Patrick/Adams 1 v. Smythe/Norris/Patrick/Adams 4 and Smythe/Norris/Patrick/Adams 2 v. Smythe/Norris/Patrick/Adams 3, with the winners of the Smythe and Norris Divisions playing in the Campbell Conference Finals and the winners of the Patrick and Adams Divisions playing in the Wales Conference Finals?  I agree...I'd love to go back to that, although it's pretty darn close to what we have now!  Or did you mean the 1-16 format that was in place before that, and after the NHL expanded the playoffs from 12 to 16 teams?

I meant before the most recent realignment. It would be so easy to adjust to having four divisions as well. The two division winners would be the 1 and 2 seed while seeds 3-8 would go to wildcard teams. The highest remaining seed would always play the lowest remaining seed that way. It’s ridiculous that the President’s Trophy winning team had to play the second best team in their conference in the second round. Nashville-Winnipeg shouldn’t have happened until the Conference Finals and in the old playoff format that would have been the case.

[Accelerando]

Didn’t watch the game and couldn’t check on the score from a highly sensitive commercial shoot where my phone was placed in a ziplock bag before entering set. And thats all I can say about it.

However, Tampa Bay are now 2-6 when hosting Game 1’s under Jon Cooper. As worrisome as that should be, that clearly doesn’t bother this Bolts team. We’ll bounce back like we did against Boston and put up a better fight.

[TAC]

The Caps are not Boston.

[Rattlehead]

The Caps haven't exactly dominated anyone to this point, I would be shocked if Tampa didn't bounce back and make this a great series. I have a feeling this will go to 7 games.

[jingle.boy]

The Caps haven't exactly dominated anyone to this point, I would be shocked if Tampa didn't bounce back and make this a great series. I have a feeling this will go to 7 games.

Exactamundo

[TAC]

Settling in for the Jets/Knights 

[jingle.boy]

Only caught the 3rd period.  The Jets completely blanketed them.  Excellent start to the series.

[jingle.boy]

The Caps haven't exactly dominated anyone to this point, I would be shocked if Tampa didn't bounce back and make this a great series. I have a feeling this will go to 7 games.

Colour me shocked. Tampa was outclassed tonight.

[Accelerando]

Ever get the feeling every time you watch your team play, they don't play well?

Mine is the opposite. When I don't watch the Lightning play, they lose 6-2 to the fucking Caps. And I got 12 hr days on set every damn day this week 

[romdrums]

Man, now that the Caps have conquered their El Guapo, they are just rolling.  I don't see how the Bolts come back from this.  Washington looks like a team of destiny.

[jingle.boy]

Man, now that the Caps have conquered their El Guapo, they are just rolling.  I don't see how the Bolts come back from this.  Washington looks like a team of destiny.

Well, the Caps came back from 2 opening home-ice losses.  I wouldn't count the bolts out yet.  If they go down 3-0... then thats a death sentence.

[YtseBitsySpider]

Man, now that the Caps have conquered their El Guapo, they are just rolling.  I don't see how the Bolts come back from this.  Washington looks like a team of destiny.

Well, the Caps came back from 2 opening home-ice losses.  I wouldn't count the bolts out yet.  If they go down 3-0... then thats a death sentence.

To quote the great Megatron from the best Transformers movie of them all.............."It's OVER Prime"

[KevShmev]

Man, now that the Caps have conquered their El Guapo, they are just rolling.  I don't see how the Bolts come back from this.  Washington looks like a team of destiny.

Agreed.  I thought Washington would beat TB, but didn't expect them to steamroll the Lightning in the first two games.  A hockey series is never over till it's over, though.  In the NBA or MLB, if you lose the first two games at home, you are done 99% of the time, but not in the NHL.

[Rattlehead]

The Caps haven't exactly dominated anyone to this point, I would be shocked if Tampa didn't bounce back and make this a great series. I have a feeling this will go to 7 games.

Colour me shocked. Tampa was outclassed tonight.

Yup, same here... very impressed with the way the Caps have played so far. It's not too late for Tampa to make this a series, but obviously very few teams can overcome losing the first 2 games of a series at home. Especially when they're outplayed like that...

[Accelerando]

Go Bolts 

[Accelerando]

GO BOLTS!!! 

[TheCountOfNYC]

Vegas is now two wins away from a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. No matter what happens, this season can’t be considered anything else but a success. Nobody had Vegas even making the playoffs, but winning their division and making a run to the Conference Finals was completely unthinkable at the start of the season.

[jingle.boy]

Flower stole that game.  Hellebuyck's giveaway was nasty.  And ffs, the Jets have now given up what ... 3 or 4 goals when they don't get the puck deep and d-men start (or go fully) to change. 

I'm so, SOOOOO, over this Vegas Cinderella storyline.  How the fuck did teams leave some of these players unprotected in the draft.  Pitt must be kicking themselves; Florida certainly is.

[gmillerdrake]

Flower stole that game.  Hellebuyck's giveaway was nasty.  And ffs, the Jets have now given up what ... 3 or 4 goals when they don't get the puck deep and d-men start (or go fully) to change. 

I'm so, SOOOOO, over this Vegas Cinderella storyline.  How the fuck did teams leave some of these players unprotected in the draft.  Pitt must be kicking themselves; Florida certainly is.

Right there with ya. The Jets ‘could’ have had two or three goals in the third but Fleury flat out robbed them.

[mikeyd23]

I'm so, SOOOOO, over this Vegas Cinderella storyline.  How the fuck did teams leave some of these players unprotected in the draft. Pitt must be kicking themselves; Florida certainly is.

I don't even want to talk about it 

Honestly though, I'm happy for Flower, great dude. And even looking back on it, the Pens couldn't have done anything differently.

[pg1067]

I'm so, SOOOOO, over this Vegas Cinderella storyline.  How the fuck did teams leave some of these players unprotected in the draft.  Pitt must be kicking themselves; Florida certainly is.

I'm over it too.  HOWEVER, look at this list -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NHL_Expansion_Draft#Draft_results -- and tell me that, a year ago, you could have predicted that this group of players would form the nucleus of a top 5 team that would be up 2 games to 1 in the conference finals.  That's what drives me crazy about Vegas and is the reason their GM and coach will be getting trophies in a month or so.  That said, Florida choosing to leave Marchessault unprotected so that they could protect guys like Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk seems inexplicable.

[Nick]

I'm so, SOOOOO, over this Vegas Cinderella storyline.  How the fuck did teams leave some of these players unprotected in the draft.  Pitt must be kicking themselves; Florida certainly is.

I'm over it too.  HOWEVER, look at this list -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NHL_Expansion_Draft#Draft_results -- and tell me that, a year ago, you could have predicted that this group of players would form the nucleus of a top 5 team that would be up 2 games to 1 in the conference finals.  That's what drives me crazy about Vegas and is the reason their GM and coach will be getting trophies in a month or so.  That said, Florida choosing to leave Marchessault unprotected so that they could protect guys like Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk seems inexplicable.

I mentioned this pages ago, along with the fact that they also fired the coach that has glued the Vegas team together.

[KevShmev]

Man, now that the Caps have conquered their El Guapo, they are just rolling.  I don't see how the Bolts come back from this.  Washington looks like a team of destiny.

Agreed.  I thought Washington would beat TB, but didn't expect them to steamroll the Lightning in the first two games.  A hockey series is never over till it's over, though.  In the NBA or MLB, if you lose the first two games at home, you are done 99% of the time, but not in the NHL.

This is one of those rare times where I feel really smart.

[jingle.boy]

Man, now that the Caps have conquered their El Guapo, they are just rolling.  I don't see how the Bolts come back from this.  Washington looks like a team of destiny.

Agreed.  I thought Washington would beat TB, but didn't expect them to steamroll the Lightning in the first two games.  A hockey series is never over till it's over, though.  In the NBA or MLB, if you lose the first two games at home, you are done 99% of the time, but not in the NHL.

This is one of those rare times where I feel really smart.

RARE?

[KevShmev]

Haha, okay "slightly rare."

I am sure my next sports prediction or whatever that was above will be totally off and all will be back to normal.

[mikeyd23]

Crunch time now for the Caps. Sure the series is tied, but based on this team's history in recent years and their rep for crumbling and not being mentally tough - the next game in this series seems like a must win for them.

[jingle.boy]

Crunch time now for the Caps. Sure the series is tied, but based on this team's history in recent years and their rep for crumbling and not being mentally tough - the next game in this series seems like a must win for them.

I would agree.  Frankly, any team dropping 3 straight at any point of a 7-game series has to give ya the yips.

[mikeyd23]

Crunch time now for the Caps. Sure the series is tied, but based on this team's history in recent years and their rep for crumbling and not being mentally tough - the next game in this series seems like a must win for them.

I would agree.  Frankly, any team dropping 3 straight at any point of a 7-game series has to give ya the yips.

Oh for sure, but I think with the Caps it's even more than that. They have had this narrative for the last several years that they aren't mentally tough enough to win a Cup (at least that's been the narrative in Pittsburgh for several years  ). I think that stuff does creep into players heads a bit, even though they would never admit it.

On another note - I'm hearing a lot of talk about where Tavares is going to land... Any thoughts?

[jingle.boy]

re Tavares... I have no idea who has the cap space and need for a guy like him  Sabres?  Ducks?  Canadiens?

[mikeyd23]

I've heard Buffalo, but who knows. I don't think Jack would take it well if he got bumped down to second line center if Tavares lands there. I also think the Tavares is the type of player that teams will make room for if needed.

[Accelerando]

Was able to watch the game today! Our defense looked really good, and Vasy was sharp. One more game!!!

[gmillerdrake]

Gotta hand it to Vegas. They are just flat on a mission it seems. Unreal.