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***Official Lord Stanley's Cup Playoff Thread: Getzlaf 15 charges four game 6 tickets, a limo, and five steak sandwiches to Cav's room. FBG CORNHOLE A (3 Viewers)

Who wins the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs?

  • Capitals

    Votes: 31 23.8%

  • Penguins

    Votes: 25 19.2%

  • Habitants

    Votes: 4 3.1%

  • Rangers

    Votes: 8 6.2%

  • Bruins

    Votes: 3 2.3%

  • Senators

    Votes: 2 1.5%

  • Blue Jackets

    Votes: 3 2.3%

  • Blackhawks

    Votes: 12 9.2%

  • Predators

    Votes: 14 10.8%

  • Blues

    Votes: 4 3.1%

  • Wild

    Votes: 12 9.2%

  • Flames

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Sharks

    Votes: 3 2.3%

  • Oilers

    Votes: 3 2.3%

  • Ducks

    Votes: 6 4.6%
  • Total voters
    130
Thread title updated.

Love the schedule the next two nights with one early and one late game, wish we had seen that every night. 

 
I don't think Niskanens hit was dirty at all.  Just an unfortunate play.  I would blame Ovechkin if there were blame to be handed out, but even then it's iffy.  Sad to see it happen.  Possibly takes the best player out of the series.  Not good for the sport, or the fans.

That said, the Pens still have plenty of talent to overcome that.  They already made it this far with the amount of injuries to their lineup, and without one of the best d-men in the league.  The Caps almost blew it last night.  They might be high on their win, but in the back of their minds they knew it was that close to yet another meltdown.

Some bad calls, some bad non-calls in the game.  Worse officiating game in quite some time that I have seen, on both sides.

Should be an awesome game 4.

 
Agreed, Ovechkin's was typical hockey play in around the goal, certainly deserving of a penalty but it also happens all the time, and Niskanen's crosscheck was the same.  Neither terrible on their own, but the combination added up to a crappy situation.  Hope he is able to get back on the ice this playoffs, but not looking good.  

 
Clorox said:
From Tim Benz of DK Sports Radio, down in the concourse: Just saw Crosby walking by me in the arena. Wearing a suit. Winked at an arena worker and appeared to say, ‘I’m OK.’ Walked briskly, no sign of a limp
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Funny but I heard a different reporter say that Crosby was walking with a "little limp" after the game.    I don't think you can put much stock in either.   

 
I woke my son up this morning with a hey buddy, its gameday wake up call. He jumps  out from under the covers and says he has been waiting all week. Then he makes me raise my right hand and take a pledge. I had to pledge to never not believe in the Rangers. He has them as a lock tonight for the betters. Pretty sure there is no doubt here. He can not wait for that end of school dismissal so we can go into the city. Kids are awesome when they are excited

 
AcerFC said:
I woke my son up this morning with a hey buddy, its gameday wake up call. He jumps  out from under the covers and says he has been waiting all week. Then he makes me raise my right hand and take a pledge. I had to pledge to never not believe in the Rangers. He has them as a lock tonight for the betters. Pretty sure there is no doubt here. He can not wait for that end of school dismissal so we can go into the city. Kids are awesome when they are excited
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You did good with this one.

 
Copeman said:
I don't think Niskanens hit was dirty at all.  Just an unfortunate play.  I would blame Ovechkin if there were blame to be handed out, but even then it's iffy.  Sad to see it happen.  Possibly takes the best player out of the series.  Not good for the sport, or the fans.

That said, the Pens still have plenty of talent to overcome that.  They already made it this far with the amount of injuries to their lineup, and without one of the best d-men in the league.  The Caps almost blew it last night.  They might be high on their win, but in the back of their minds they knew it was that close to yet another meltdown.

Some bad calls, some bad non-calls in the game.  Worse officiating game in quite some time that I have seen, on both sides.

Should be an awesome game 4.
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Both guys are responsible for their sticks while they are on the ice, and both guys hit Crosby in the head with them. Deliberately dirty or not, the major to Niskanen was completely justified and Ovechkin should have been in the box for at least a minor for the slash as well. The non-call of that hook on Cullen stands out as pretty terrible too, and there were others on both sides. Caps definitely ratcheted things up a notch with the chippy / physical play last night, and it obviously payed dividends -- but they need to be smart; Pens aren't going to go 0 for 5 on the PP again too often moving forward.

Pens need to not pull their usual "sleepwalk through the 1st" routine Wed night and get the pressure back on the Caps; Washington definitely almost choked the game away last night. Agree that they probably feel pretty good now, but they were one OT goal away from a probable sweep and total disaster.

Disagree that the Pens can overcome if Sid is done -- at some point the injuries will just be too much, and IMO this would be the breaking point. Lost in the Crosby news was the fact that Sheary didn't return either, and that one looked as bad or worse IMO. Hoping that both of them are on the ice for practice today and that they held Crosby out last night just as a precaution given his history, but I'm not optimistic. We'll see. I could handle losing if the Caps just outplayed us; to lose this way on an injury to the best player in the game on a combination of two sketchy illegal hits (deliberately dirty or not) would just be awful. Eff the Caps; after last night, whatever happens to Crosby I hope Washington chokes spectacularly again and they break up the team.

 
So once the outcome was decided, I quickly fast forwarded through my recording to see the key points.

-The Niskanen hit wasn't intentional...More reactionary, but unfortunate that it caught Crosby in the head.  I think he would've had the same hit/reaction to any other Pen in that situation. Agree the Ovi hit could've/should've deserved a penalty too, but Crosby was also embellishing that one.

-Two goals in the last 2 minutes...Jesus Christ.  More reason for me to question this team's mental strength right now. 

-I have...maybe...a little renewed faith that they didn't just fold after game 2's drubbing.  I want them to keep winning, but I want them to beat the Pen's WITH Crosby, not without.  I guess we'll see what happens there.

-Still probably not watching game 4 live.  I told my wife this AM after I saw how it all went down that if I was watching live, we'd probably have a hole in the wall after that tying goal in the 3rd.

 
Bill Brasky said:
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/pittsburgh-columnist-wants-ovechkin-banned-calls-trotz-loser-134313509.html

hfs.  this is amazing.  irish eyes doesn't strike me as a journalist but the evidence here is overwhelming.

:lmao:  
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I couldn't even make it through the first paragraph.  I don't know why but I found the bolded part of your post very funny.  BTW, I would not mind one bit if the NHL suspended Ovechkin for the rest of this series and maybe even for life.  Unlike the Caps fans in here who allegedly want to beat the Pens with Crosby, I just want the Pens to advance.  

 
Coeur de Lion said:
Both guys are responsible for their sticks while they are on the ice, and both guys hit Crosby in the head with them. Deliberately dirty or not, the major to Niskanen was completely justified and Ovechkin should have been in the box for at least a minor for the slash as well. The non-call of that hook on Cullen stands out as pretty terrible too, and there were others on both sides. Caps definitely ratcheted things up a notch with the chippy / physical play last night, and it obviously payed dividends -- but they need to be smart; Pens aren't going to go 0 for 5 on the PP again too often moving forward.

Pens need to not pull their usual "sleepwalk through the 1st" routine Wed night and get the pressure back on the Caps; Washington definitely almost choked the game away last night. Agree that they probably feel pretty good now, but they were one OT goal away from a probable sweep and total disaster.

Disagree that the Pens can overcome if Sid is done -- at some point the injuries will just be too much, and IMO this would be the breaking point. Lost in the Crosby news was the fact that Sheary didn't return either, and that one looked as bad or worse IMO. Hoping that both of them are on the ice for practice today and that they held Crosby out last night just as a precaution given his history, but I'm not optimistic. We'll see. I could handle losing if the Caps just outplayed us; to lose this way on an injury to the best player in the game on a combination of two sketchy illegal hits (deliberately dirty or not) would just be awful. Eff the Caps; after last night, whatever happens to Crosby I hope Washington chokes spectacularly again and they break up the team.
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So, in the playoffs, the hitting and physicality is intensified.  That's "playoff hockey."  That being said, all the stuff after the whistles is annoying.  That's not "playoff hockey."  If the officials would penalize that stuff from the outset, it would stop.  Guys aren't going to take penalties just so they can do a late face-wash on their opponents. 

As far as Niskanen goes, he said after the game “I wasn’t even trying to cross-check him with a serious amount of force."  So, he WAS going to cross-check him, just not that hard.  That's BS.  He was trying to cross-check him, which is an illegal play.  You don't get to say, "I was trying to break the rules, but just a little bit."

If I get a speeding ticket for doing 85 in a 55 zone, is me saying "I was only trying to do 75" a legitimate excuse? 

He was trying to hit him, illegally, and he ended up hurting him. He's been taking cheap shots at him all series (and last year's series, as well).  He can say whatever he wants, but the fact is he was trying to hurt him.

With that said, if Sid is out (and I can't see how he comes back this series; he collapsed back to the ice after trying to get up; I honestly hope it was a knee and not a head issue, for his sake-this would be his 4th concussion, I think), I don't think the Pens can win the series.  When they tied it at the end of the 3rd, I was thinking they had a shot.  If they had pulled out that win to go up 3-0, I don't think the Caps would have come back.  As it is now, the Pens are beat up; 2 of their 3 best players are out (and likely not coming back), and unless Malkin comes on big, they don't seem to have much chance.

I hope I'm wrong, because although I used to root for Ovechkin to get a Cup, now I hope he never gets one, at least not as long as he is part of the Caps.  I don't want to see teams that resort to that kind of BS be successful.  That being said, I expect them to pull out this series, then I don't see which of the other remaining teams will be able to beat them.  That cheap hit might have bought them a cup, and the only punishment Niskanen gets is 1 missed game.  All that will do is prompt this kind of behavior by teams/players in the future.  If you can't beat a team, try to take out their best players.  You probably won't get much punishment, and even if you do, if you aren't as important to your team as the other player is to his, your team wins.  And Niskanen is not, and never will be, as good of a player as Crosby. 

 
Bayhawks said:
As it is now, the Pens are beat up; 2 of their 3 best players are out (and likely not coming back), and unless Malkin comes on big, they don't seem to have much chance.
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Last year, there were a lot of guys not named Letang, Malkin or Crosby who stepped up big time and helped the team win a cup.  They can absolutely win the series without Crosby (especially given that they're actually leading the series right now).  Fleury playing great also helps matters.  This is still a pretty good team.  

 
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Russo (on the radio) just stated that behind the scenes the NHL is considering pulling this Rob Rossi guy's irish eye's credentials for the series

:lmao:  

 
fred_1_15301 said:
I couldn't even make it through the first paragraph.  I don't know why but I found the bolded part of your post very funny.  BTW, I would not mind one bit if the NHL suspended Ovechkin for the rest of this series and maybe even for life.  Unlike the Caps fans in here who allegedly want to beat the Pens with Crosby, I just want the Pens to advance.  
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:shrug: -  Why the emphasis on "allegedly?"  I don't get why any Caps fan wouldn't rather beat the Pens WITH Crosby than without him.  In order of preference:

Option #1 - Beat the Pens with Crosby

Option #2 - Beat the Pens without Crosby

Option #3 - Lose to the Pens

I think that's pretty straight forward.  You can't really take solace in beating Usain Bolt in a foot race if Bolt has a broken leg at the time.

 
fred_1_15301 said:
Last year, there were a lot of guys not named Letang, Malkin or Crosby who stepped up big time and helped the team win a cup.  They can absolutely win the series without Crosby (especially given that they're actually leading the series right now).  Fleury playing great also helps matters.  This is still a pretty good team.  
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Hope you are right, but not feeling too good about it right now. Murray, Letang, Crosby, Sheary, Kunitz, and looks like maybe Hagelin and Hornqvist too now is quite a bit to overcome, 2 -1 lead or not.

 
Fat Nick said:
:shrug: -  Why the emphasis on "allegedly?"  I don't get why any Caps fan wouldn't rather beat the Pens WITH Crosby than without him.  In order of preference:

Option #1 - Beat the Pens with Crosby

Option #2 - Beat the Pens without Crosby

Option #3 - Lose to the Pens

I think that's pretty straight forward.  You can't really take solace in beating Usain Bolt in a foot race if Bolt has a broken leg at the time.
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It was partially made in jest but it seemed like some Caps fans were pretending to be disappointed that they wouldn't be able to face Crosby.  Of course you would take more solace in beating the Pens with Crosby in the lineup.  However, I'm guessing the first reaction for most Caps fans when they saw Crosby laying on the ice like that was     :excited:     

 
fred_1_15301 said:
Last year, there were a lot of guys not named Letang, Malkin or Crosby who stepped up big time and helped the team win a cup.  They can absolutely win the series without Crosby (especially given that they're actually leading the series right now).  Fleury playing great also helps matters.  This is still a pretty good team.  
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Yeah, but last year those guys stepped up to help LETANG, MALKIN, and CROSBY win the cup.  It's not the same as trying to replace them.

 
Bayhawks said:
Yeah, but last year those guys stepped up to help LETANG, MALKIN, and CROSBY win the cup.  It's not the same as trying to replace them.
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Without Crosby and Letang this team was down 2-0 in the closing minutes of the game and they sent it to overtime.  They're up 2-1 in the series with at least 2 more home games.  They've beaten the Caps 493 straight playoff series.  I think they have a pretty decent shot still. :shrug:  

 
fred_1_15301 said:
It was partially made in jest but it seemed like some Caps fans were pretending to be disappointed that they wouldn't be able to face Crosby.  Of course you would take more solace in beating the Pens with Crosby in the lineup.  However, I'm guessing the first reaction for most Caps fans when they saw Crosby laying on the ice like that was     :excited:     
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I see what you're saying I guess...If it was a clean, hard check that, say...hurt his shoulder, that'd be one thing.  I'd be happy the Caps odds of winning went up.  It's a different set of feelings when it's an iffy hit...to the head...of a guy with a concussion history...who happens to be a marquee player.  Yeah, it hurts the Pens, but it also diminishes the quality of the series, and the quality of a win by the Caps.

 
fred_1_15301 said:
Without Crosby and Letang this team was down 2-0 in the closing minutes of the game and they sent it to overtime.  They're up 2-1 in the series with at least 2 more home games.  They've beaten the Caps 493 straight playoff series.  I think they have a pretty decent shot still. :shrug:  
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...The Pens still have every shot in the world at beating the Caps...even without Crosby. 

 
fred_1_15301 said:
Without Crosby and Letang this team was down 2-0 in the closing minutes of the game and they sent it to overtime.  They're up 2-1 in the series with at least 2 more home games.  They've beaten the Caps 493 straight playoff series.  I think they have a pretty decent shot still. :shrug:  
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You foresee them playing a lot of 6-on-5 the rest of the series?  Because that's how they scored both their goals.  I'm not sure using 2 goals scored with an extra attacker is a valid way to project forward.

I'll give you the series last year, although the teams are both different from last year, but the other "492" playoff series are irrelevant.  They have nothing to do with these teams, or this series.

They're up 2-1 in the series, but those 2 wins came with Sidney Crosby playing at a level that very few players in the world can match.  Malkin is one of them, but if he steps up, then you have to replace his production.  Any way you slice it, their team is much weaker without Crosby in the lineup.  They barely won game 1 with Crosby playing great, they barely lost game 3 without Crosby in the lineup.  I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt we see Crosby again in this series, so I give the edge to the Caps.  

The 1 thing Pitt has going for them is Fleury.  He stole one game (if not both of the first two) & almost did so last night as well.  If he keeps playing so superbly, the Pens could win the series; but if I had to bet today whether the Pens would win 2 of the next 4 or the Caps would win 3 of the next 4, I'd have to put my money on the Caps.

 
Billy Bats said:
I love the irony of Pens fans complaining about after the whistle stuff. That's good schtick. :lol:  
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If you're talking about me, I'm a hockey fan, and I don't care which team is doing the after the whistle crap.  If the officials don't let it happen, it stops.  They allow it, so the players keep doing it, and they keep pushing the envelope a little further each time.  Play the game the way it's supposed to be, from whistle to whistle.  Don't shove your gloves under someone's visor to try to get them to throw a punch.  Don't take a cheap shot after the whistle, hoping to get retaliation that gets a penalty.  Play the game the right way.

 
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