2017 NHL Playoffs

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Wed May 10, 2017 11:59 pm

sancarlos wrote:So, Edmonton won a series that included a 7-0 loss, then lost a series that included a 7-1 win. Weird.

They got hosed at the end of game 5, but they are very very young. They're in the finals 2 years tops.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Thu May 11, 2017 6:06 am

brian wrote:If it's Anaheim-Pittsburgh I'm not watching.

All in on the Preds for me. (Which means they get swept by the Ducks)

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu May 11, 2017 9:25 am

degenerasian wrote:Man.

Where can the Capitals go from here?

If you have been following my every post avidly over the years (ha!), I have said often that Ovechkin is a terrible Captain. Back when the gave him the C, I said it should've been given to Laich. His short-comings showed last night. Taking ridiculous shots from way above the circles and acting like he was unlucky afterwards when they were easily saved by Fleury is kind of indicative of his relatively immature approach to the game. He's trying to stick handle into the offensive zone when that ability has long since left him. But more than that, it was his demeanor on the bench, starting about midway through the 2nd. It's 1-0 and you could tell by the slumped shoulders and the panic on the ice, this game was over.

I had a work event last night, so I had to DVR the fiasco. Once they scored, I gave the Caps 5 minutes and could just tell. I fast-forwarded through to the end. Glad not to have watched that shitshow live.

They have a good core of younger players. They have some very tough choices on UFAs and a few RFAs.

Most fans really want Oshie back. Most fans see getting rid of Alzner as inevitable. Today I'm seeing ppl wanting OV gone... I just don't know who can absorb that contract hit. I guess if he's willing to restructure AND take more of a Kessel role, he might land somewhere else.

sigh

Very hard to stay committed to this franchise at this point. 4 game 7 losses since 2012. Brutal.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu May 11, 2017 9:27 am

If your front office is smart, there's probably a chance to make your own version of the Weber for Subban deal.

(Also, Oshie is the reverse "wait, he's only 25???" player that usually happens in hockey. Doesn't feel 30 already.)

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Thu May 11, 2017 9:30 am

I'll give you Callahan for him.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu May 11, 2017 9:36 am

I think it's going to come down to Leonsis being willing to let emotions and attachment issues fall to the wayside. This pattern will just keep repeating with Ovechkin. It's just in their heads at this point.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu May 11, 2017 9:36 am

Might be time to pull the "C" away from Ovechkin. Funny thing, the Sharks have yanked the captaincy away from both Marleau and Thornton. When the two of them formed a line with current captain Pavelski, they called it "The Captains line".

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu May 11, 2017 9:55 am

That worked.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu May 11, 2017 10:14 am

For mister d and any past or future comments on MAF.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu May 11, 2017 10:34 am

yeah, that was right after Ovechkin's one-timer that was headed for the upper corner hit that part of his stick.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu May 11, 2017 11:00 am

Nonlinear FC wrote:
degenerasian wrote:Man.

Where can the Capitals go from here?

If you have been following my every post avidly over the years (ha!), I have said often that Ovechkin is a terrible Captain. Back when the gave him the C, I said it should've been given to Laich. His short-comings showed last night. Taking ridiculous shots from way above the circles and acting like he was unlucky afterwards when they were easily saved by Fleury is kind of indicative of his relatively immature approach to the game. He's trying to stick handle into the offensive zone when that ability has long since left him. But more than that, it was his demeanor on the bench, starting about midway through the 2nd. It's 1-0 and you could tell by the slumped shoulders and the panic on the ice, this game was over.

I had a work event last night, so I had to DVR the fiasco. Once they scored, I gave the Caps 5 minutes and could just tell. I fast-forwarded through to the end. Glad not to have watched that shitshow live.

They have a good core of younger players. They have some very tough choices on UFAs and a few RFAs.

Most fans really want Oshie back. Most fans see getting rid of Alzner as inevitable. Today I'm seeing ppl wanting OV gone... I just don't know who can absorb that contract hit. I guess if he's willing to restructure AND take more of a Kessel role, he might land somewhere else.

sigh

Very hard to stay committed to this franchise at this point. 4 game 7 losses since 2012. Brutal.

At least they are in the fight year in and year out....and not owned by Dan Snyder

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu May 11, 2017 11:00 am

Yup. Which makes it 1-1 and changes the game and who knows, but I guess it's not just about this one series for #8 at this point, so...

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu May 11, 2017 11:57 am

We agree there are tremendous parallels b/w playoff Ovechkin and playoff A-Rod, right? Not quite as good, which still makes him better than most, but almost exclusively blamed for failure in a sport that one player can't win/lose alone.

Rams Fanny · Post by **Rams Fanny** » Sat May 13, 2017 7:52 pm

News flash: the NHL no longer plays to when the whistle is blown, it now plays to when the ref is 'in the act of blowing the whistle'.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sat May 13, 2017 8:40 pm

Rams Fanny wrote:News flash: the NHL no longer plays to when the whistle is blown, it now plays to when the ref is 'in the act of blowing the whistle'.

it's even before that! it's 'intent to blow!'

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sat May 13, 2017 10:53 pm

I mean ... that's an incredibly good rule from a logic standpoint. Eyes recognize an offense before the body can react.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sat May 13, 2017 11:01 pm

mister d wrote:I mean ... that's an incredibly good rule from a logic standpoint. Eyes recognize an offense before the body can react.

Except it's also an easy copout. Refs missing something can always use it after the fact.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sun May 14, 2017 9:37 am

And if they're ending up making the right call isn't that still more good than bad?

Rams Fanny · Post by **Rams Fanny** » Sun May 14, 2017 1:24 pm

The issue is that the puck was over the line when the whistle blew. I understand it was the right call per the rule and the puck certainly disappeared before it went in. It would be great if similar to most MLB umps who verbally tell the players ball/strike before we see the signal if refs had a way to indicate play over so at least on replay it would be clear.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:56 pm

Not that Pageau shouldn't have blocked that first shot attempt by Phil, but I bet Anderson would have had a better chance at stopping it than he did at grabbing the second.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue May 16, 2017 10:19 am

I thought there was no way the Pens win that game. Had to have 10-12 completely legit scoring opportunities before that. It was the kind of game that you're dominating on the ice and then the puck takes a stupid bounce and you lose. Thankfully the stupid bounce went their way.

My friend keeps telling me this guy Anderson isn't that good, but I don't see it.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue May 16, 2017 3:31 pm

Jerloma wrote:I thought there was no way the Pens win that game. Had to have 10-12 completely legit scoring opportunities before that. It was the kind of game that you're dominating on the ice and then the puck takes a stupid bounce and you lose. Thankfully the stupid bounce went their way.

My friend keeps telling me this guy Anderson isn't that good, but I don't see it.

Anderson is a streaky goalie who can get hot. He carried the Avalanche by himself awhile back.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Tue May 16, 2017 3:38 pm

Jerloma wrote:I thought there was no way the Pens win that game. Had to have 10-12 completely legit scoring opportunities before that. It was the kind of game that you're dominating on the ice and then the puck takes a stupid bounce and you lose. Thankfully the stupid bounce went their way.

My friend keeps telling me this guy Anderson isn't that good, but I don't see it.

This is the kind of game the Pens always lose would have been true if the Senator weren't playing for penalties.

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed May 17, 2017 8:01 pm

For those of you paying attention, I meant fuck here.

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed May 17, 2017 8:02 pm

And reaching the point in a game where my wife says there is plenty of time left isn't good.

Post by **brian** » Wed May 17, 2017 8:23 pm

Thought you were worried about losing MAF to VGK after this game for a minute.

That said - Nashville/Ottawa is the SCF this continent demands.

Post by **Sabo** » Wed May 17, 2017 8:47 pm

Butt. Whoopin'.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu May 18, 2017 5:58 am

I was ar a bar in ththe heart of pens country last night for second two thirds of that game. Like a crypt.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Thu May 18, 2017 11:39 am

Methinks these injuries are starting to catch up with them. That was horrible.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu May 18, 2017 11:44 am

If we've learned anything in these playoffs, it's that teams are quite able to come back from a shellacking and win the very next game.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Thu May 18, 2017 11:29 pm

so i have a serious question here...

Kevin Pillar's "faggot" towards a player. self-shunning post-game, Jays issue a statement completely disappointed in him, 2 game suspension.

Ryan Getzlaf clearly screams "cocksucker" at the ref late in the game tonight, camera straight on him on the bench.

what's the difference?

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu May 18, 2017 11:40 pm

I'd bet Getzlaf gets fined.

Post by **brian** » Fri May 19, 2017 1:06 am

This is one mans opinion but I don't think "cocksucker" is a gay-bashing slur.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Fri May 19, 2017 2:00 pm

Murray gets the start tonight.

Schultz, Rust, Hornquist, and Kuenachl all still out.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri May 19, 2017 2:17 pm

brian wrote:This is one mans opinion but I don't think "cocksucker" is a gay-bashing slur.

if it's said to another man it has to be.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Fri May 19, 2017 2:20 pm

What the cameras didn't catch after Getzlaf's transgression was "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri May 19, 2017 3:06 pm

degenerasian wrote:
brian wrote:This is one mans opinion but I don't think "cocksucker" is a gay-bashing slur.
if it's said to another man it has to be.

They are both slurs, but faggot is pretty much on par with the n-word, while cocksucker is more towards... you know what... It's just lower on the scale.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Fri May 19, 2017 3:16 pm

it's crazy how often "fag/-got" was thrown around when we were kids/teenagers. not a thought about it or what it meant. and we/i never used it towards gay people either (or so we thought, perhaps), just towards each other. like calling your buddy a jerk or whatever, it was just a term to us....fully embarrassing to think about. good to think about how relatively quickly society changes in some ways.

yeah, faggot has some serious historical implications (my wife and i were explaining it to our 11yr old last night) whereas i suppose "cocksucker"...eh you're right, it's just low on the scale. the implications are there tho and they're negatively-intended. anyways it just all got me thinking last night - i'm happy w the Pillar ban and I do think he meant it in the immature (obviously) way he blurted it out, but it means it's in his lexicon/vernacular which i suppose is the point of exposing it etc. to hopefully flush it out of society. right? (i don't think he needs to be vilified for it tho)

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri May 19, 2017 3:48 pm

I have two experiences that are a) embarrassing, b) helped cure me of using the damn word. I would just echo Max in that when we were young we definitely called things "gay" and it had little to nothing to do with homosexuality. Saying something was gay was the rough equivalent of saying something was stupid. With that said, you called someone gay to their face and that was asking for hands to be thrown. So... It's not like there wasn't a pretty significant amount of homophobia going around.

So, the first item, I'm working as an intern at a democratic think tank.. There are about 7 or 8 interns, all of us just out of college... this is '92. We were out drinking and I called somebody in our group a fag (jokingly). I honestly don't even really remember saying it. Next day a guy that was out with us pulled me aside and told me he was gay. I was at first thinking, "cool, this guy trusts me enough to confide." Then he told me that even though he knew (or thought he knew) I wasn't a bad guy and probably didn't mean anything, calling people fags or gay as a pejoritive wasn't cool. I was fucking mortified. Not just because of being called out, but also for realizing how my self-image as being this enlightened guy was a bunch of bullshit.

(It also really drove home how fucked up my gay-dar was... I had no idea this guy was gay. Looking back on it? Man I was a clueless suburban kid.)

Second item happened almost a decade later at a US - Honduras qualifier at RFK. The game is infamous for how crazy the atmosphere was, with the lower bowl about a 60-40 split of US vs. Hondos and the upper bowl was probably 80=20 the other way. It was hostile. The game was nuts. At one point i took exception to a Honduran dive and called the guy a "fucking faggot."

The second it came out of my mouth, I was shocked. Buddy of mine, whose father came out of the closet in his 40s, looked at me in shock. "Not cool dude." "I know. I'm so sorry. WTF is wrong with me."

That's top 5 most embarrassing/horrible things for me. But that cured me of using that word. I just needed shock therapy to completely get it out of my lexicon.

=-=-=-=-=

The next word like that I'm having huge issues erasing is retard. My kids are helping me on that one. Their generation is doing really good stuff on that front. We had special education kids at our high school, but not a lot of interaction. Now, they have Best Buddies and other programs and it is amazing how much better integrated the special needs kids are and almost as amazing how much more accepting the rest of the kids are towards them.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Sun May 21, 2017 1:35 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote:The next word like that I'm having huge issues erasing is retard. My kids are helping me on that one. Their generation is doing really good stuff on that front. We had special education kids at our high school, but not a lot of interaction. Now, they have Best Buddies and other programs and it is amazing how much better integrated the special needs kids are and almost as amazing how much more accepting the rest of the kids are towards them.

I kicked that one about 5 years ago and it was probably my favorite word. Honestly, I think I can defend it easily, it's just not a battle I care that much about. At the end of the day, I don't get to pick what offends other people.