Official 2018-2019 NHL Thread - v. Free agents - frenzy and feast

[gmillerdrake]

I think the difference is the Blues player knew Krug was coming where Johansson didn't see Barbashev coming.

Ehh...if anything Johansson knew Barbashev was right there. He was in close proximity. And, the clip shows even more that Barbashevs shoulder hits his chest first....head whips back due to the impact....not the hit. Point is....Krugs was more malicious if you really look at it. He was head hunting all the way down the ice wheras Barbashev was just putting a body on a guy who was making a play.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3gWv1nmr7w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c6hYp81_Zk

[King Postwhore]

I disagree. He's focused on the shot. listen, I'd rather not call either. I like that kind of play.  I'm giving you what I think how the league ruled.

[gmillerdrake]

I disagree. He's focused on the shot. listen, I'd rather not call either. I like that kind of play.  I'm giving you what I think how the league ruled.

I know. I’m just going through my pouting phase right now. It sucks for Barbashev. He’s played hard and well

[KevShmev]

Nonsense like that suspension will make it that much sweeter if/when the Blues win the Cup.

[TAC]

I fucking don't care if Barbashev is suspended or not. That's not my call. But to not see that the chin was the principal point of contact is..I don't even know the word.

The Krug hit the shoulder was the principal point of contact. I'm not saying the head got no contact, but the Krug and Barbashev hits aren't even comparable.

I think the difference is the Blues player knew Krug was coming where Johansson didn't see Barbashev coming. 

That's not even it. They're not comparable.

Nothing like missing a game for throwing a shoulder into someone’s chest.

Apparently Johansen breathes through his tits.

Uh ... yeah... that's an absolute horseshit call.  NHL has swung the pendulum too far.  Their explanation video even states that Barbashev has no history, no prior fines, and no prior suspensions.  To equate that to a 1-Game Finals suspension is beyond belief.  A 1-game regular season suspension might have been warranted, or a fine only.

The DPS needs to get their fuckin ego's in check.  Judge, Jury, and Executioner??  The NHLPA should make this a priority negotiating point, as this is getting ridiculous.  The league has become low-contact, and pretty soon people will be scared to make any kind of contact, and it will be powder-puff hockey.  I can't rant anything more than what I've ranted about in the past, but Sundqvist was bad enough; this suspension is even worse.

J Boy, you've been objective through this series so I appreciate your opinion on this. The hit was pretty nasty. Like I said, honestly, the NHL could go either way. They're trying to get rid of head shots so I understand.

I know. I’m just going through my pouting phase right now. It sucks for Barbashev. He’s played hard and well

Barbashev has been a beast.

Stop fucking pouting bro. Man. You're one win away from a Cup.

[King Postwhore]

Dammit Tim. It's too late to read a manifesto.  Lol

[jingle.boy]

The overhead camera angle makes the Barbashev hit look nastier than the normal camera angle, I'll give it that.  But no way the DPS should warrant that to a 1-game finals suspension.  Same with Sundqvist.  Those may have been regular season suspend-able hits, but they shouldn't for the finals.  Back in the day, Lemiuex got 2 games for the Draper hit.  Anyone trying to tell me that the current two suspensions were 50% as bad as Lemieux's ... well, I don't know what the word is.

DPS is going over-extending their reach (imo), and the NHLPA better try to make it a negotiating point.  Otherwise, things are just gonna get worse.  I said earlier that the players have to protect themselves, not rely on the league to do it via after-the-fact punishment.

I'll say it again, the ONLY way to completely get rid of head-shots is to make it a no-contact game.  Per Gary's earlier post (showing the pic of Krug/Thomas hit), there will ALWAYS be accidental, incidental, and unintentional head contact.  The more I see DPS stepping in, and the more I think about it, I'm beginning to realize that it's more about the image of the league to make it look like they care about head contact.  We all know that even a 'lighter' hit can cause concussion damage - eg, the one on Tarasenko in Game 4 where he ridiculously flung his head back.  THAT hit wasn't very strong, but the head was the primary point of contact, and it was avoidable - so why not review that one??  Because it didn't look all that bad.  If they REALLY want to eliminate head contact, they'd get rid of this ridiculous criteria of "primary point of contact" and judgement of "avoidable".  Get one of these fucking DPS clowns moving around at the speed these players do and see what is "avoidable" or not.

If it was really about protecting the players, the NHL would put a lot more effort in improving development programs about how to take a hit, how to deliver one, and how to not put yourself in vulnerable positions.  I now firmly believe the DPS is all about image and lawsuits, and being able to point to 'we're doing something about it'.  This is no coincidence that these suspensions are happening more frequently this year - 5 'illegal check to the head' (incl 3 in the post-season) suspensions last season; 12 this season (incl 3 in the post-season).  It's also no coincidence that there are more proportionately in the playoffs - when the national media spotlight is greater.

tl;dr ... It's all about image, lawsuits, and the appearance of doing something.

P.S.  Tim/Joe... I seem to recall you guys thinking McIvoy's suspension was a crap call 2 rounds ago (which it was). 

[TAC]

I don’t think I did. I thought it was inadvertent and I’m pretty sure I didn’t protest the call.

Maybe you’ll prove me wrong.

[King Postwhore]

I resigned myself to the suspension.   I didn't like it but I figured it would be a game.

[TAC]

Here’s the only comment I could find...

Not a smart play by McAvoy. Bruins dodged a huge bullet.

[TAC]

And this one.

I'd rather him miss game 1 against Carolina than Game 7 against Columbus. the B's better win.

[KevShmev]

Great point about the head hit on Tarasenko in Game 4.  The Boston player actually got penalized for an illegal hit to the head!!  Where was the suspension for that?? 

Note: I do not think there is some conspiracy or that the league wants to Boston to win, but when two Blues get dinged with bogus suspensions, while the Bruins get away with stuff like that, it is a bit maddening, and should explain why some of us get aggravated about such stuff. 

And that is why this outrage from the media about Game 5 is ridiculous.  They all want to act like Boston was robbed, while they ignore the crap that happened earlier in the series.  Even if the Blues hadn't overcame the Bruins goal with six men on the ice in Game 2, I doubt the media would have cared.  The selective outrage is absurd.

[dparrott]

My motto is ABC:

Anyone But Canada

So funny how that's worked out.  Beaten at your own game.

[Anguyen92]

And that is why this outrage from the media about Game 5 is ridiculous.  They all want to act like Boston was robbed, while they ignore the crap that happened earlier in the series.  Even if the Blues hadn't overcame the Bruins goal with six men on the ice in Game 2, I doubt the media would have cared.  The selective outrage is absurd.

I think it's clear at this point.  The media wants Boston to win.  They are the more well-known team in the more well-known city, which brings in ratings, and they can tie it together over Boston's dominance in sports in the last year and can bring people that hates Boston (the city) in general to want to watch them lose.  Personally, I would have loved them to push more for St. Louis story.  Never won a cup in the 50+ years of the Franchise.  Never won a game in the Cup Finals.  Team was in the crapper for the last few years.  Reached a low point back in January and somehow rallied hard to make it to this point. 

Would have been a better feelgood story if the media would present it this way rather than push for Boston's dominance in sports and think that every thing that happened against the Bruins is a travesty while overlook any potential wrongdoing that the Bruins did.  Oh well, just play solid hockey in Game 6 hope all goes well and the media can go suck it in the end.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Eh if St. Louis wins it all, the announcers will play up the feel good story anyway.

[TAC]

And that is why this outrage from the media about Game 5 is ridiculous.  They all want to act like Boston was robbed, while they ignore the crap that happened earlier in the series.  Even if the Blues hadn't overcame the Bruins goal with six men on the ice in Game 2, I doubt the media would have cared.  The selective outrage is absurd.

I think it's clear at this point.  The media wants Boston to win.  They are the more well-known team in the more well-known city, which brings in ratings, and they can tie it together over Boston's dominance in sports in the last year and can bring people that hates Boston (the city) in general to want to watch them lose.  Personally, I would have loved them to push more for St. Louis story.  Never won a cup in the 50+ years of the Franchise.  Never won a game in the Cup Finals.  Team was in the crapper for the last few years.  Reached a low point back in January and somehow rallied hard to make it to this point. 

Would have been a better feelgood story if the media would present it this way rather than push for Boston's dominance in sports and think that every thing that happened against the Bruins is a travesty while overlook any potential wrongdoing that the Bruins did.  Oh well, just play solid hockey in Game 6 hope all goes well and the media can go suck it in the end.

What media are we talking about? The two neutral sites I frequent are TSN.NHL and ESPN.NHL. Not seeing any bias there.

I know Bellows and Rupp still have the Bruins on NHL Network. Jameson Coyle is a Boston guy so I’ll give you him.

In fact, while Rupp is picking the Bruins, he’s always been pretty critical towards them.

[TAC]

This thread has more propaganda than the KHL Thread.

[Dittomist]

If the Stanley Cup were decided on which arena had better music in between plays, Boston would win in a landslide. Their DJ plays so much metal, and he picks the most perfect time to play Stone Cold Steve Austin's theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-DHfb2z7Dk

[King Postwhore]

[TAC]

 

[TAC]

I think it's clear at this point.  The media wants Boston to win.

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl

Top story
Blues Conn Smythe candidates
Maroon
Chara
Berube
Thomas
Chara



https://www.espn.com/nhl/
Top Story-St. Louis

then..
Lottery playing Blues fan
Neutral Cup update
Chara
Quest For The Cup
Barclay the Dog??


https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/

Pretty neutral homepage

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nhl

Not much here either way. Lots of pictures of Blues' players though..


https://www.nbcsports.com/

Only hockey story on top of homepage is about Binnington

Drilling down:
https://www.nbcsports.com/nhl

Binnington article
Chara
Blues
Tarasenko
Blues
Chara/Dunn


So that's 5 national sports outlets.


Please link support for your statement because frankly I think it's a fallacy.

[Anguyen92]

All right, I got nothing.  I'm a moron.  I don't know.  It could be that me wanting to see Boston not win another championship in the last year clouding my brain that I'm just throwing random statements out of nowhere.

Also, it could very well be that I think NBC having a relative east-coast bias or hard on when covering hockey is getting to me as well.  This one is what I think without providing any facts or articles or statements about it and maybe that part is untrue as well.  I don't know, that's how I am perceiving it.

[TAC]

All right, I got nothing.  I'm a moron.  I don't know.  It could be that me wanting to see Boston not win another championship in the last year clouding my brain that I'm just throwing random statements out of nowhere.

Also, it could very well be that I think NBC having a relative east-coast bias or hard on when covering hockey is getting to me as well.  This one is what I think without providing any facts or articles or statements about it and maybe that part is untrue as well.  I don't know, that's how I am perceiving it.

You're not a moron!

Rooting against Boston doesn't make you a moron. Heck. there's plenty of morons rooting for Boston.


I linked the NHL on NBC schedule the other day. I think the teams that had the most games were the Pens, Caps, and Blackhawks. I didn't count every team.

The Bruins had 5 national games and the Blues had 4.


I think NBC wants to have as many TV's on in the country as they can. Every network caters to the New York. In the NBC boardrooms, I'm sure if they could hand pick the two NHL markets they desire the most for viewership, they would. But I don't think anyone is actively rooting for one side or the other.

[gmillerdrake]

My issue and the ‘bias’ I speak towards when I mention it is the announcing/commentators. They don’t even hide their pro Boston slant. Which is fine by now, used to it and it’s actually fun now listening to them make excuse after excuse rather than give credit where credit is due.

[TAC]

Which announcers because Olzcyk definitely doesn't have a Boston slant.

Emrick has roots way back with the Maine Mariners, but I don't get a "Boston" slant from him either.
Let me rephrase that. He has a LOT of roots here. In his heart of hearts, he might be rooting for the Bruins, but I'm just not hearing that on the broadcasts.

If it's those two you're talking about, then I am definitely missing it completely.




The world does not hate St. Louis.

[gmillerdrake]

Yeah.....Tim, we will never agree on this. It is what it is. There’s just too much history of disrespect and dismissal of the St. Louis Blues over the years that frankly you, Joe ...Chad....none of you can relate.

Perhaps there is a level of paranoia and sensitivity that Kev and I have developed due to this that causes us to maybe see/interpret things differently.....but that is due to years of ‘abuse’.

So...for the sake of driving each other mad I’ll just drop it all from here on out.

[TAC]

There’s just too much history of disrespect and dismissal of the St. Louis Blues over the years 

That's interesting. What are some of the things that have happened?


I can tell you that personally, I would be rooting for the Blues over any team BUT the Bruins. I goof around with my Backes love, but for years, he was my favorite Non Bruin player in the league.

[TAC]

Fun Fact:

I was born in Missouri.

[Anguyen92]

My issue and the ‘bias’ I speak towards when I mention it is the announcing/commentators. They don’t even hide their pro Boston slant. Which is fine by now, used to it and it’s actually fun now listening to them make excuse after excuse rather than give credit where credit is due.

Well, Jeremy Roenick used to play for the Blackhawks for a lengthy period of time so in his case, there might be some residue that could look more like anti-Blues than pro-Bruins.

[TAC]

My issue and the ‘bias’ I speak towards when I mention it is the announcing/commentators. They don’t even hide their pro Boston slant. Which is fine by now, used to it and it’s actually fun now listening to them make excuse after excuse rather than give credit where credit is due.

Well, Jeremy Roenick used to play for the Blackhawks for a lengthy period of time so in his case, there might be some residue that could look more like anti-Blues than pro-Bruins.

Plus he grew up 25 miles south of Boston.


I don't count him anyway. He's a jack ass.


But he was filthy when he played in Chicago.

[jingle.boy]

I liked him as a player, but he's a terrible TV personality.

[TAC]

Good morning on what is likely the last day of the hockey season.

[King Postwhore]

You shut it.

[KevShmev]

Robert Thomas will be playing tonight for the first time since Game 1.

[TAC]

The Backes t shirt is being benched and the Bergeron will be making it's playoff debut tonight.