2016 First Round of Playoffs Thread

[TrueBlueGED]

Corey Perry is one hell of a dirty player.

I hope he keels over.

[Iron Crotch]

Apparently since the Ducks lost Game 1 they decided the best way to win Game 2 is to play the dirties possible game.

[Randall Flagg]

Campbell-Petrovic is a terrifying pairing in the defensive zone. Jagr looks slow. Islanders lead that series 2 games to 1.

[Iron Crotch]

The Ducks are spending all of their time running around trying to hit, fight, cheap shot, slash... they seem to have forgotten that the objective is to score goals.  3-1 Preds after 2 periods.

[TrueBlueGED]

Campbell-Petrovic is a terrifying pairing in the defensive zone. Jagr looks slow. Islanders lead that series 2 games to 1.

 

I think he's at something like 1 goal in his last 35 playoff games. Maybe he just runs out of gas? In any event, they can't afford for him to not contribute.

[Thorner]

Man, even if I liked the challenge, I'd want there to be a way to do it that doesn't kill all momentum for one team in the wait time, and then give it all to the other team. I know that's not reasonable, but the momentum the Islanders gain from just keeping the game as it was is ridiculous. And there they score after drawing two penalties.

Like, if the ref had blown the play dead correctly at the time, no way that 5 on 3 or goal happen. It just doesn't feel right.

Good on the Panthers for rebounding. 

Reilly Smith is a beast.

  

Agreed. I get that a team is punished if the right call isn't made, but with the challenge, a team gets punished due to a referee making an incorrect call in their favour, that gets overturned. It's a net negative for that team, when in theory it should be neutral for both teams.

 

Corey Perry is one hell of a dirty player.

Yes. But James Neal got away with a hell of a dirty play, too. Jammed his stick at Gibson's eyes. Peas in a pod.

[Iron Crotch]

Goose with some huge faceoff wins in the third period.  Preds take both games in Anaheim.

[Thorner]

What a terrible play by Fowler there at the end. Kesler won a huge face off with, what was it, 30 seconds left, Fowler drifted back to the point and then proceeded to bumble it out of the zone. Inexcusable in that situation, and killed their last chance at a tie.

 

Big win for Nashville. Both higher-seed California teams look to be in some trouble. Like the Kings coming back more than the Ducks. What with their pedigree and the fact that the Sharks have the worst home record of any playoff team.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Thorny

[Norcal]

I'll tell you what I'm not looking forward to when the Sabres go back to the playoffs is all the on the ice taking shots at the stars. Good thing the Sabres have a couple around too.

[Stoner]

I'll tell you what I'm not looking forward to when the Sabres go back to the playoffs is all the ###### on the ice taking shots at the stars. Good thing the Sabres have a couple ###### around too.

I thought #########s who fight protected the stars?

[LTS]

The angst over offsides is amusing.  Late to the game on it I know.  Offsides is a definitive point on the ice so there really isn't a lot of room for debate.  The replay sucks but offsides is offsides.

There was some banter about icing and the red line being definitive.  The generally accepted practice on icing is that the point the puck leaves the stick must be the red line or beyond.  So, while a shot/pass can appear to occur behind the red line the follow through assumes the puck is still in contact with the stick (as it rolls down the blade) and so as long as the stick ends up in the air over the red line there is no icing called.

 

The difference between icing and offsides right now?  Well, offside requires the skate to be on the ice and therefore it is easy to see where it is in relation to the blue line.  Icing allows the puck to be in the air and thus creates a problem of judging location relative to the red line.  We never worried about skates on the ice before because the game was never stopped for 5 minutes to review.  Could you make icing more accurate?  Absolutely.  Add a review for that as well.  I don't think we'd go for that however.

 

Now.. as for playoff hockey.  I'm shocked Nashville is up 2-0.  It's about the only series that has me scratching my head.  The rest were all conceivable but Florida should be better than this.

[JJFIVEOH]

Both the Panthers and Islanders were completely out of gas in that overtime. I've can't remember seeing two teams drag their a*s*s*e*s like they did. They were going full tilt for 8 periods in 4 days, it was bound to happen. They were ways around 3 games in 4 nights, poor scheduling again on the league's part.

Edited April 18, 2016 by JJFIVEOH

[Eleven]

Both the Panthers and Islanders were completely out of gas in that overtime. I've can't remember seeing two teams drag their a*s*s*e*s like they did. They were going full tilt for 8 periods in 4 days, it was bound to happen. They were ways around 3 games in 4 nights, poor scheduling again on the league's part.

 

Didn't we hit this last week?  There was a concert at BB&T and there is boxing at Barclay's.

[JJFIVEOH]

Didn't we hit this last week?  There was a concert at BB&T and there is boxing at Barclay's.

 

We did, the question was whether or not there was something going on at BB&T. You proved me wrong that there was a concert. We didn't come to a conclusion on alternate scheduling though. Both places were wide open after boxing. That would have put a game 7 on April 28. 

[Eleven]

We did, the question was whether or not there was something going on at BB&T. You proved me wrong that there was a concert. We didn't come to a conclusion on alternate scheduling though. Both places were wide open after boxing. That would have put a game 7 on April 28. 

 

 

Actually, I think someone else proved us both wrong with respect to the concert.

 

I don't think waiting until Wednesday for Game 3 would have been a good choice.

[JJFIVEOH]

Actually, I think someone else proved us both wrong with respect to the concert.

 

I don't think waiting until Wednesday for Game 3 would have been a good choice.

 

Personally I'd like to see the first round spread out a little more so that there are less games each night. Let these guys get some rest and hit em hard as playoffs progress. Those guys were beat last night, the players have their say, the league has their say.......................we both know who wins. 

[MattPie]

Personally I'd like to see the first round spread out a little more so that there are less games each night. Let these guys get some rest and hit em hard as playoffs progress. Those guys were beat last night, the players have their say, the league has their say.......................we both know who wins. 

 

I'd rather not have hockey in July, FWIW.

[That Aud Smell]

really interesting read here on the significance of the "hits" stat.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25558926/why-you-shouldnt-care-about-outhitting-teams-in-the-nhl-playoffs

 

spoiler alert: out-hitting the opponent does not predict wins. in fact, it might be a predictor of losing.

[JJFIVEOH]

I'd rather not have hockey in July, FWIW.

I really don't mind it. It makes the off-season seem shorter. But I can understand where you're coming from, as well as other northerners. The weather's just too nice to be inside watching TV. Down here that's the worst part of the year, when most spend as much time inside as possible.

[Taro T]

really interesting read here on the significance of the "hits" stat.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25558926/why-you-shouldnt-care-about-outhitting-teams-in-the-nhl-playoffs

 

spoiler alert: out-hitting the opponent does not predict wins. in fact, it might be a predictor of losing.

Well, considering that teams that have the puck don't (in large part) throw checks, it makes sense that, in as much as puck possession is a good proxy for winning teams in general, that hits would correlate w/ poorer teams. As there is extreme variability in what is considered a hit & also in whether teams (& players) choose a hitting strategy or not, it makes sense that hitting only has a loose correlation w/ losing.

[Wyldnwoody44]

Some Serious energy in this Philly game, I hope it goes all to the caps

 

Caggulia getting courted by Philly, barf....

[DarthEbriate]

Oh. No. Caggiula at the Flyers game. Sabrespace, explode!

[drnkirishone]

brooks orpik looks scary bad right now

[DarthEbriate]

brooks orpik looks scary bad right now

You said it. Yikes. Hard to say, but clavicle or rib? He skated another stride and then just dropped. Didn't grab anything.

 

That's why you trade for D depth. Enter Weber.

[LGR4GM]

Oh. No. Caggiula at the Flyers game. Sabrespace, explode!

 

You said it. Yikes. Hard to say, but clavicle or rib? He skated another stride and then just dropped. Didn't grab anything.

 

That's why you trade for D depth. Enter Weber.

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by LGR4GM