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2018-19 NHL thread

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Cosmo, Oct 2, 2018.

  1. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    Vegas is slipping ... took them 1:11 to score the first goal of the game.
     
  2. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    Sharks, outshooting Vegas 18-7, trail 2-0 after one.
     
  3. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    So, I think I'll watch the Warriors Thursday night. Or read a book. Anything but go through another Sharks playoff collapse. Send the AHL team out there ... they'll at least have an excuse for playing like this.
     
  4. Spartan Squad

    Spartan Squad Well-Known Member

    The gak job against the Kings blowing a 3-0 series lead will remain the all time worst but this year has to be top 3 for the Sharks. They aren't just losing, they've given up 18 goals in 4 games. And they won one! San Jose is just getting throttled.
     
  5. HappyCurmudgeon

    HappyCurmudgeon Well-Known Member

    The Lightning needed to be absolutely humbled and they got it and then some. That team really didn't want to put in the hard work that's necessary to win in the postseason. When it comes to pretty passes and cutesy one timers off cross-ice feeds they are all about it. But getting in front of the net, blocking shots, getting into passing levels, protecting the puck, managing the puck, fighting through checks...they are way too good to do all that fundamental shit.

    One thing great about the Cup Playoffs is that each team generally get the results they work for. The Penguins got swept, they played hard and the Isles were just a little better in each game. The Blue Jackets worked to throttle the Lightning and they did.
     
  6. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I was as wrong as anybody about Tampa. But I don't think it was a lack of effort as much as Columbus collectively playing their heads off. They played well enough to beat any team, anywhere.

    Emotion plays a huge role in playoff hockey, and it probably hurt Tampa that they had gone months without having to play with much of a sense of urgency. It's difficult to just turn that on. Columbus, on the other hand, was playing playoff games even before the playoffs started. As much as Tortorella gets a bad wrap sometimes, and I understand that he isn't wearing skates and carrying a stick, he has traditionally gotten a lot out of his teams in the playoffs; the physical style he favors can really pay off in any given playoff series.
     
  7. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    Bobrovsky actually showed up, too. That's a huge X factor. As good as he's been in the regular season, he's generally been a no-show in the loffs for CBJ. If he's on his game, the Jackets may very well be the favorite in the East. Now I wonder how they'll react to sitting out for a week while Toronto and Boston battle it out for seven games.

    Caps fans are happy that the Penguins are gone, but if you asked me, I would have rather they played Pittsburgh than the Islanders in round 2. (Provided they even get there, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.) Imagine an East semis with Columbus, the Islanders, Toronto and Carolina. Doubt anyone saw that coming at the start of the year.
     
  8. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    Doubt anyone saw that coming at the start of this month.
     
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I still have trouble wrapping my head around the Islanders. When they lost Tavares and were signing players like Matt Martin, Val Filpulla, Leo Kamarov and Tom Kuhnhackl, I thought they were going to be a team with a few decent young players -- Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Barzal are really good, Jordan Eberle, too, although he's not that young -- and then a lot of fourth line players. I saw Johnny Boychuk, Cal Clutterbuck as the faces of that team, and I thought they just wouldn't be very good.

    Josh Baily is a better player than I have ever given him credit for, and I think Anders Lee flies under the radar screen for how good he is. I also underestimated how good their defense is. And Robin Lehner's season came out of nowhere, too.
     
  10. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    I've always liked Anders Lee. Also, the coach is decent. He's won eight straight games in the playoffs, you know? If the Caps survive, that series is going to be a bunch of 3-2 or 2-1 type games.
     
  11. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    The Rangers would have gotten Tampa's first round pick, if Tampa had won the Cup. From the McDonagh / JT Miller trade last year. At least they didn't tease me all the way through the Conference finals on that one.
     
  12. HappyCurmudgeon

    HappyCurmudgeon Well-Known Member

    Oh Columbus played tremendously. They were so much better than the Lightning. And the Lightning gave a shit effort. Both happened. Game 1 is where you can point that they got caught with their pants down and didn't play the correct style of hockey you need to in the playoffs. But then they were dead as fried chicken in Game 2. They had nothing from the time the puck dropped until the end. First 35 minutes of Game 3 they had maybe two scoring chances? And the special teams sucked, .500 on the PK, also gave up a shortie and a 6-on-5 that turned out to be the game winner in Game 4.

    It was absolutely a lack of effort. You don't play the way they played for much of the series and claim that it was a good effort. They were waiting for someone to hand them something. Begging for calls in the first two games (legitimate gripes in a couple of situations but whatever). No sense of awareness on defense. They don't have to blow things up in Tampa but they have to do some things with that roster...I love those feel-good underdog stories like Yanni Gourde, and he busts his ass, but 5-9, 175 ain't getting in front of the net during the playoffs. J.T. Miller can go. He's a total waste of a good body.
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2019
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