Re: The NHL Thread
 

I don't expect it, but we'll see. Different coach, so you'd hope different culture. But last night wasn't different so.... They are like my Lions. Doesn't matter who the coach is, or who the players are. They still find a way to disappoint.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

heard that Subban mis-behaved himself last night.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

sometimes it's not the coach, and i think we're seeing that in pittsburgh too.

i have a lot of respect for Trotz, but the players ultimately have to go out and execute. The Caps (Ovie era), The Pens (post 2009) and The Sharks (early 2000's) are all the same team to me. More than enough talent, not nearly enough want to, and terrible mindsets.

Players gotta play

Re: The NHL Thread
 

dude, they will. All of Chinatown* will be Rocking the Red once again today!!!



* = between F and H Streets.

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:lol pathetic

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Dumb game last night. Same old Craps.

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I'm sure they will. They have to. We need to withstand it, keep out of the box and play as composed as we did last night.

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20 minutes of ice time for Rozsival is far too many. Some might say 20 minutes too many.

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:lol

so when NHL Network was doing their live pre-game broadcast from VZ center there was a homeless dude peddling in the frame. They cut that shot within 5 seconds.

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i bet the rangers are really scared of Taylor Chorney and Scott Harrington

daunting playoff blueline that the pens have put together

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c-a-p-s
collapse, collapse, collapse!

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That slogan literally Rocks, bro

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Yep. Nice and dumb. Painfully predictable.

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When you are agreeing with Brohan you know denial has set in......

Honestly though, that was a ridiculous game. Yeah Darling was great but I don't see how anyone can say Crawford "shit the bed." LOL. Did you see that first goal? Roszival just never ceases to amaze with his ability to hand a goal directly to the opposing team seemingly every time he is in the lineup. Q must be high as fuck to continue to trot him out there. At least Rundblad can skate a little bit.

The Preds may have had ~10 more shots but it really doesn't tell the story. They blocked a lot of the Hawks' attempts and in the end it was a pretty close game but the Hawks looked better than I expected.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Montreal was the only home team to win last night.
I'm sure that doesn't happen very often.

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Actually guessing it happens somewhat regularly in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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I hate to agree with this re: The Pens, but I do. Montreal in 2010, Philly in 2012, Boston in 2013, and the Rangers last year. Just mind boggling given the talent on those teams. Pardon me while I sound whiny and entitled for a second, but if the Crosby/Malkin era Pens can only win the one Stanley Cup, it will feel like a bit of a waste, particularly with other young and talented teams like the Hawks and Kings getting it done more than once. Those stars were brought in to win several cups. And they just aren't getting it done lately. Look at the Hawks OT goal last night: Duncan Keith from Toews and Hossa. The stars getting it done. Crosby and Malkin need to do that much more than they have recently.

/rant

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Looking forward to tonight. No way the Penguins roll over as easy as everyone expects them to. Going to be a good game tonight I think! Let's go Rangers!

Re: The NHL Thread
 

agree with every word :thumbsup

it's not even that they'll roll over, its a combination of:

1. the rangers being a flat out better team, all things being equal
2. the penguins having crippling injuries
3. the penguins not being mentally tough to dig out of holes
4. goaltending matchup is even, at best. (edge to NYR probably)
5. its the penguins
6. its the penguins
7. its the penguins

Re: The NHL Thread
 

I remember the talk of dynasty after 2009 with the Pens. Here we are 6 years later with nothing else to show for it. It was hard not to think of it with Crosby at 21 then and MAF last second save. Hawks and Kings might be the closest we get to a dynasty. Cap catches up, you shed salary and remodel after that and try to go again.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

oh, well alright.

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Great bench communication too.

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Undisciplined.Undisciplined.Undisciplined. Like crazy. I've only seen a few games of theirs and it's amazing.

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Well, it's a different story when you play 30 minutes of extra time.

The Hawks just don't have a better option. I know people like to shit on him, but he's really not THAT awful as far as 6th defensemen go. Rundblad is worse, TvR is hurt...I mean, there just aren't other people to put in there. You can't skate Keith/Seabrook/Oduya/Hjalmarsson the entire game, as much as Q would like to.

Bottom line is, though, and Bowman made this point in his presser...Hawks were tied for the least goals against this season. Obviously there's more that goes in to that than just your defensemen, but they play a huge part in that. As much as people love to get upset with the blue liners, they do a lot that the average fan just doesn't notice. 2013 I would argue that he was the best bottom pairing defensemen in the league, obviously that's not the case anymore, but he's still a very serviceable bottom pairing guy.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Have no stats to back it up, but I bet it does happen. I did a search and couldn't find it so asked the NHL on twitter. lol I mean how often do we see top teams lose in general? So wouldn't surprise be that it happens a lot. 98 and 99 the top 3 teams lose in round 1 in the East. God I love the playoffs. I was thinking last night how predictable and boring round 1 of the NBA tends to be, while I think the NHL might have the best first round.

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Clutterfuck worried me last night with this shit. Cool heads must prevail.

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well, a lot of that is Downey and i fully expect him to reel it in for the playoffs but who knows

but you're right, they take penalties at the worst times, and often it's in the offensive zone.

if they didn't have a GREAT penalty kill, the pens don't even sniff the playoffs

Re: The NHL Thread
 

It's not impossible to deal with that, though. Didn't the Hawks have to blow it up after 2010 due to the cap? It took like a year or two, but they put together another great supporting cast for their core. The Pens haven't been able to do that as well, or when they do, they misuse the players. See Iginla, Jarome.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

These are good points.

HOWEVER, I think part of the problem many fans have with Q and Bowman is that the things they say seem a little ass-backwards. Yes the Hawks gave up the fewest goals all year which obviously has something to do with the defensemen (but mostly Keith / Seabrook / Hammer who play the toughest minutes of course). However they were in the bottom third in terms of even-strength shots allowed. So really I think the majority of the credit needs to be given to Crawford who had an excellent year (particularly at even strength).

But instead we get Q pulling Crawford early (fine if it's to send a message) but being coy about who is starting Game 2 after the game....

The answer is always Crawford over some random guy who has played about 15 NHL games.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Something to be said too about the Isles locking down Ovechkin.