Re: The NHL Thread
 

Ovie's play was reckless, but it's not suspension worthy. The argument can be made that he was going for the puck, which was in Letang's feet. I'll agree it was a bad play, but I think calling for a suspension is a bit of a stretch

Re: The NHL Thread
 

And you're right, the boarding call was ticky tacky. But since it happened, probably the one thing you shouldn't do is commit a blatant and stupid penalty when it's a tie game with less than 5 minutes left. Can't blame the refs for Letang being stupid

Re: The NHL Thread
 

shut your mouth, penis cannon.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

the argument cannot be made that he was going for the puck

i've been watching hockey for 20+ years and have never seen someone "go for the puck" by 2-hand, baseball swinging their stick at a guy's ankles, no matter where the puck is

it's a fucking garage league, and it always will be as long as plays like Ovie's are not punished. it's kind of embarrassing.

and don't get me wrong, i know Ovie isn't the only guy that does this, and i know the penguins are guilty from time to time as well, its just the most recent incident which is why im highlighting it.

the NHL is a terrible product right now

Re: The NHL Thread
 

i already addressed the bolded....but again, the result is not the issue here, i'm not complaining about the loss...

if we wanna go there though, we can. IMO, the penguins might be one of a handful of teams that gets that boarding call against them with 5 mins left in a tie game

it was a hard hit right into the chest and it basically gave the Caps the game. Sure, the Pens should kill the penalty, but in most games, the whistles get swallowed there

Re: The NHL Thread
 

The pens get the obligatory powerplay with five minutes left in the game.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

The Capitals got a 2 man advantage with 5 minutes left, not the Penguins

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Yeah, I'll concede. It's a reckless play that looks bad. Two handed baseball bat swing is a correct description of the play

Whether the boarding call was soft or not (it was) the fact remains the Pens exacerbated their own problem by taking a dumb and blatant slashing call right afterwards to make it 5 on 3. 5 on 4s are much easier to kill, obviously. I would say THAT is what gave the Caps the game, not the boarding call. That part is on them, not on the guys blowing the whistle

Of course, I don't believe one single play determines the outcome of any game ever, and really the biggest reason the Caps won is Braden Holtby

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Also, let's not pretend like the Pens didn't get a power play of their own at the end of the game. They did.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

The Caps won because they were better on special teams, and props to them for that

what i'm really mad about is there was a great 2 periods of hockey being played between division rivals, and then the 3rd period turned into a circus for a number of reasons, starting with the slash. IMO, if the refs see it, and call it, or teams are able to challenge and call for a review, the ensuing bullshit can be avoided.

this all goes back to the good old canadian boys running the league who don't want it to change. its hurting the product

Re: The NHL Thread
 

yea, they did...but again, i couldn't care less about the result. the loss is whatever, its the product that keeps suffering

Re: The NHL Thread
 

I know, but didn't the Pens get a powerplay after that too?

Re: The NHL Thread
 

yea with 2 mins left

damage was already done though

Re: The NHL Thread
 

H2P, you're making a lot of good points. It does seem as if the league is almost encouraging this circus nonsense that happens basically every time two rivals play one another. It's a joke and it holds hockey back amongst the big 4 sports in this country

Re: The NHL Thread
 

also, i might add, i really miss Brooks Orpik :(

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Saw the Ovechkin replay. That's an obvious slash. :lol

Re: The NHL Thread
 

yea no 2 ways around that one

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Of course it was a slash, but suspension worthy? Still think that's a stretch

Re: The NHL Thread
 

It's been an absolute pleasure watching him this year, I don't care what the fancy stats say

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Orpik's the type of player whose contributions often can't be measured by stats.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Exactly. Yet the fancy stat advocates will tell you he's been the Caps worst player all season. It's hogwash.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Anytime Corsi is brought up as a principal point of discussion around a player's abilities, my eyes glaze over. Not that it's not an interesting stat and can provide some insight into players and teams, but it seems to be the en vogue thing for hockey writers to base a lot of their arguments on. It feels like an excuse to not actually watch them play and just look at their stats.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Bingo. Especially when we're talking about a stay at home defenseman. Corsi and Fenwick don't do those kinds of players justice

Re: The NHL Thread
 

I actually turned the game off when it started going the circus route in the third period. The Pens just simply lost it. My nickel's worth is that Ovie's play was ugly whether or not he was going for the puck as he claims. There wasn't a tree in the way, so he did not need to take a two-handed swing like that.

But I also agree that the Pens are easily rattled. They were playing well that game, and Fleury was again standing on his head. And then they totally lost their cool. The best revenge would have been to win the game and put more distance between them and the Caps in the standings. But no, they had to keep trying to "make a statement" and putting themselves on the short end of a 5-3 in the process.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Nah not suspension-worthy but should have been a penalty.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

I notice this a lot when I watch the Pens. Very easily rattled hockey team

Absolutely

Re: The NHL Thread
 

i completely disagree

the Pens didn't need that win, the regular season is a time to work things out for the penguins. i'll take a loss coupled with a response of standing up for Letang any night

Bylsma's penguins would've melted and crawled into a shell instead of standing up for themselves

Re: The NHL Thread
 

I really don't see the 'rattled' this season. Someone took a penalty with minutes left. Every team does stuff like that. Its not like Letang went crazy and swung his stick at the dude. Also, that pens penalty at the end was so clearly an even up call.

Also, I loved what Kunitz and Perron, then Lapierre did after the incident. This game could be a catalyst for the rest of the season.

The PP is so bad, that last one was really a microcosm for how it has been. Too much perimeter passing

Re: The NHL Thread
 

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2...rd-day-to-day/

big blow to the Jets.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

yep i loved their response. forget the 2 points, send a message

and don't even get me started on the PP...Crosby needs to shoot the damn puck when he has an open look...PP should look like this:

Crosby: down low/goal line
Malkin: half wall/right circle
Perron: net front
Letang: left point/left circle
Pouliot/Martin: Right point

i'm tired of the tinkering, Tocchet needs to step it up