All four division winners gone. The final four from last season gone. 5 lower seeds won. 3 games 7's. What a round 1. Isles must be the happiest group of players today. What a break for them. I cannot see the Canes beating them. Some really good 2nd round series. CBJ/Boston is a tossup. Stars/Blues is a tossup. Sharks favorites, but the Avs are dangerous and can make that a series for sure. CBJ/Isles Stars/Sharks And BTW - the critics are gone due to winning the cup last season, but man OV has an awful playoff record outside of that one run, that luckily for him will enable him to avoid getting ripped. Outside of that one run his career is littered with playoff collapses. For them to lose that series up 2-0 and 3-2, and 2-0 and 3-1 in game 7 at home is a joke.
Islanders don't match up well vs the Canes for playoff hockey. Pitt's defenseman as a group are not talented. Canes are and they are young. Playing 7 games isn't going to have much of an effect on them. Canes also have no issues playing grinding hockey like the Isles do. They did it all year. Their best two players are also young where as Pitt's are quickly moving towards the relic stage. People are selling the Canes short here. They were one of the top teams down the stretch. Faceoff wise they were the same as the Islanders as a team for the most part so NY will have no advantage there.
Islanders have no offense. Going against the shitty defenseman the Penguins have is nothing compared to what they will face in Carolina. Slavin is miles better than any defenseman the Islanders have. Canes in 6 but I would not be surprised to see them wrap it up in 5. Canes defense was projected to be great for years. They are finally arriving.
Malkin 32, Crosby 31, Kessel 31. They are old farts now. Nobody is talking about that. Aho 21. Tervainen 24. Big difference. There isn't a defenseman near 30 on the Canes blueline.
Like I said, joke of a call - I don't want to hear Vegas whine after they blew a 3-1 lead in the series, and a 3-0 lead with 10 minutes left in game 7, but it was a ridiculous call. And those refs are done for the playoffs as a result. The National Hockey League has apologized to the Vegas Golden Knights for an incorrect major penalty call that opened the door for a four-goal San Jose Sharks rally and eventual victory in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series. "The league did reach out and apologize," general manager George McPhee said Thursday in Las Vegas.
Vegas fans should be more upset with Eakin making a stupid decision to blatantly crosscheck up 3-0 with 10 min left and the pk than even the call itself.
I totally disagree with that. We see that type of play after the puck is dropped on many faceoff battles. And even if it was a penalty, call the 2 minutes and move on. I don't buy the we lost because of that BS as mentioned, but it was yet another awful call by the refs. That is why the NHL apologized, and why those refs are now done for the playoffs.
One game, but the Canes looked solid, especially in goal. I'd love to see them beat the Isles. This ensures at least a 6 game series I'd think. Let's see which teams rebound in game 2. Teams that go up 2-0 in the NHL playoffs win the series over 80% of the time. Big games for all the teams trailing 1-0. Go Stars. Hopefully Bishop raises his game back to round 1 levels.
As I said. The Islanders didn't score goals during the regular season and the Canes have one of the best, young, defenseman core in the league. They also can play dirty hockey. Arrogant Islanders fans thought they might as well just skip this series it would be so easy.
Isles now down 2-0. Even though the %'s are overwhelmingly in the Canes favor, I think the Isles still have some fight left. They played well today and could have/should have won. The Canes injuries are also mounting. I hope the Canes get it done, but I don't think the Isles will go down easy. Big game tomorrow night in Dallas. If the Stars can win that game it will be big for them to put some pressure on he Blues to win down in the series. Go Stars Go.
Avery is as dumb as Boomer on the kicking the puck rule. Players score all the time from behind the net by banking off a goalie. It's a shot on goal as well. So kicking the puck from behind the net, off the goalie is not a goal. Morons.
I haven't seen many arguing with the call, Trotz even said it was the right call. I do see people questioning the rule. I don't know where I stand on that one. I can see maybe allowing kicking, but it also could be dangerous. Do you differentiate between kicking from below the goal line? Not sure if that works. Interesting discussion, but clearly the right call yesterday per the rule. Didn't appear many were upset because it was a pretty black and white call.
I'll tell you this much, Bishop is a difference maker in the Stars/Blues series, in a terrible way for the Stars. He let in a couple of terrible goals in game 1. And last night goal # 2 goes through him, and leaves a slam dunk for the Blues. Goal # 3 he gets beat by a wrister from a tough angle way out. Goal # 4 he gets beat between his arm and body by a guy coming from behind the net. They always say if a puck goes through you that is real bad as a goalie. He has really hurt the Stars, and unless he steps it up that will be a 5 game series.
Good to see the Stars rebound last night and keep hope alive for a 3rd first round pick for us. Game 5 is going to be a tough one. Hopefully the Stars can keep up the momentum from game 4. And I'm shocked the Isles are down 3-0 (you were on this one kreider). Happy, but shocked. Also good for us since the Jets pick moves up a spot if the Canes win. Good stuff.
Not shocked at all about the Islanders. Their coach has an enormous history of his teams choking in the playoffs. One year doesn't change that. The team is also not very talented. Their defenseman are marginal and they depend on a 4th line to win games. I pretty much predicted how this series was going to go. Same shit as the Devils last year. Played over their heads in the regular season.
Still pretty impressive they were able to do what they did with that roster. Got lucky at times, sure. But, to lose your most talented player for nothing and make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs is not easy.
