NHL Playoff Thread
- Thread starter NoleMoreTears
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What a disappointing showing by the Bolts in the 3rd tonight. D was absolutely hanging Bishop out to dry. The only good thing I can say is that the Bolts have responded well after losing games and playing poorly. It will be tough in MSG but I think they can do it.
The bottom line is the Lightning still got 3 goals playing mediocre hockey, and Lundqvist had to make some other stellar saves. I'm not usually sold on this type of inconsistency but I don't think the Rangers can keep the Bolts out of the net. On the other hand, the Rangers' offense can evaporate without cause or provocation. I wouldn't worry about Bishop b being pulled or any of the other stuff. Bolts are good to go.
Ducks with a chance to beat Chicago tonight.
Ducks with a chance to beat Chicago tonight.
I'm not worried about Bishop being chased. When the game gets that out of hand u get the goaltender some extra rest. I really am expecting a good game on Friday, hopefully with the Bolts on top.
Ducks blew the chance to close as well. Should be an interesting game 7 there as well. Every time I want to think the Ducks have it, the Hawks step up. I think they just have so much experience in the playoffs and how to win.
Ducks blew the chance to close as well. Should be an interesting game 7 there as well. Every time I want to think the Ducks have it, the Hawks step up. I think they just have so much experience in the playoffs and how to win.
Bolts series is a war of skill, Ducks series is a war of will. Not sure what either West team will have in the tank...the signs of fatigue are really starting to show.
Somewhat surprised Tampa won game seven. Rangers were reportedly 7-0 all time at home in game sevens. Obviously there is a first time for everything.
Congrats Bolts fans! Been busy as hell lately but managed to finally watch only my second full game of the series tonight. TB used the strange dichotomy of Bishop playing so well up there to their advantage, Bolts really blocked shots well tonight. On to the finals, been awhile since Andreychuk hoisted the Cup!
Yup, congrats Tampa fans!!! Nothing better than winning a game 7! Nothing but classy Lightning fans here!
Bruce Boudreau coached here in Manchester for a couple of years and is a great guy to have a beer with, so hopefully it's Tampa and Anaheim for the Cup!
Bruce Boudreau coached here in Manchester for a couple of years and is a great guy to have a beer with, so hopefully it's Tampa and Anaheim for the Cup!
I think I need to go run 5 miles right now to calm down. What a win!!! Lightning own MSG. NoleMoreTears u were spot on with vanishing NYR offense. Bolts did an awesome job winning puck battles and blocking shots. When they decide they want to go, they r hard to beat. Lord Stanley needs a tan!!!
LMFAO! Lord Stanley needs a tan more than he needs a passport.
OK, as I have said, with the Bruins being out of the playoffs, it becomes a game of "who I don't want to win", and that came down to Montreal and the NYR's, so thanks to Tampa for making that happen! I have grown to like the Bolts because I tend to read a lot about them here, and the fans are pretty decent here, but.......but....
I think I have posted this before, Bruce Boudreau coached here in Manchester from 2001-05. The Monarchs had some decent teams but could never win a playoff series and he was let go. Boudreau lands in Hersey and promptly wins the Calder Cup. Boudreau often times frequented a sports bar here in Manchester and he actually brought the Calder Cup to the bar to show everyone. He was an extremely friendly guy and I had the opportunity to chat with him several times while watching a Sox game. He is just another guy watching a game.
Boudreau's teams have always lacked playoff success (he led the Caps to the Presidents Trophy in 2009-10, but the Caps promptly lose in the first round of the playoffs). Anaheim has a chance to win it all this year and it would be great to see a class guy like Bruce win the Cup, so if Anaheim wins tonight, I am going to sit back and enjoy the series and if Chicago wins tonight, GO BOLTS!!!!
This is the first game of both series that I have not watched tonight. Looks like it will be Bolts vs Hawks. Wednesday night I will be in Tampa for game 1 and all the rest as well. I am so stoked. Haven't been to a finals game since '04 in Tampa. It will be nice to have home ice though.
It's going to be great final. Two teams that can move the puck and skate. Hopefully Tampa gets the stretch pass going and overcome a very experienced team. Coach Q showed Boudreau what was up in game 7( sorry Manch, understand the local connection). Can Cooper match up?
Going to be a great final. NYR looked like they were skating in cement in Game 7. Tampa just wore them down with 3-4 lines of good skating. Can't say much more about the triplets - outstanding stuff.
Anaheim tried to wear down Chicago with hits and physical play, but it was actually Anaheim who ended up showing the most fatigue. Can Chicago handle the 1-2 of a big bruising team followed by a lot of speed?
One thing to look for: Chicago has been hiding the 3rd D pair all playoffs. The top 4 D are excellent: Keith, Seabrook, Oduya (phenomenal shot blocker), and Hjalmarsson. Their excellence has relied on shot blocking, which I think Tampa's speed negates a bit. Combine that thin D with an absolutely monster of a series with Anaheim (multiple multiple OT games and tons of hits), I like the Bolts. Chicago has enough firepower to score on a very average Tampa defense but I'm not sure they can score enough.
If this was played a month ago I'd take Chicago but I think they're threadbare by game 5. Only a huge faceoff margin and crazy special teams will save them.
Bolts in 6.
Anaheim tried to wear down Chicago with hits and physical play, but it was actually Anaheim who ended up showing the most fatigue. Can Chicago handle the 1-2 of a big bruising team followed by a lot of speed?
One thing to look for: Chicago has been hiding the 3rd D pair all playoffs. The top 4 D are excellent: Keith, Seabrook, Oduya (phenomenal shot blocker), and Hjalmarsson. Their excellence has relied on shot blocking, which I think Tampa's speed negates a bit. Combine that thin D with an absolutely monster of a series with Anaheim (multiple multiple OT games and tons of hits), I like the Bolts. Chicago has enough firepower to score on a very average Tampa defense but I'm not sure they can score enough.
If this was played a month ago I'd take Chicago but I think they're threadbare by game 5. Only a huge faceoff margin and crazy special teams will save them.
Bolts in 6.
One other thing to watch is home ice and how Chicago tries to match up with the triplets. That appears to be a Toews line matchup but look for Chicago to mix some lines and try to get Hossa and Sharp and Saad some time with the speedy Tampa line. Saad is their second-best skating forward so he may get in there.
Chicago may work Toews and Bickell together on the Stamkos line. We'll see.
Chicago may work Toews and Bickell together on the Stamkos line. We'll see.
You could see it coming. Chicago owned the third period. We could barely get it out of the zone.
Tampa's forwards owned that game for 45-50 minutes. They did everything to frustrate Chicago. Not sure why they decided to sit so far back - the team is a good enough skating club to not have to do that. By sitting back it forced long and/or dangerous passes, opening large gaps in the neutral zone. Chicago could have had 4 goals easily.
Some positives to take away, though. The forwards still controlled most of the game, the whole team blocked shots, Sustr played decent, and Bolts' D did a nice job holding pucks in at the blue line.
Some positives to take away, though. The forwards still controlled most of the game, the whole team blocked shots, Sustr played decent, and Bolts' D did a nice job holding pucks in at the blue line.
Agree with most of this, with the exception of how much time that you say the forwards controlled. Without a doubt most of the 1st period and small portions of the 2nd, Tampa controlled the game. I thought Chicago controlled most of the 2nd and 3rd periods though. I don't think the Bolts had the puck in the offensive zone in the 3rd period for more than a couple minutes (or so it seemed). The Bolts have done a great job late in game (last 5 minutes usually) of hanging on to a lead by getting the puck to center ice, getting the change, and playing D. The problem with this game is they started doing that in the 2nd period of this game. Partly, this had to do with the sustained pressure that Chicago was putting on. The Bolts spent long shifts playing D, so instead of having a D man hold the puck, wait for the change, and then push the puck up ice, they would just get it out to get the change.
Very fun game to be a part of, just wish it had ended differently. Crowds were big, in and outside the arena. Tampa can play with the Hawks, it is just going to have to win a few more of the battles along the wall and be smarter with the puck. This will lead to more time in the offensive zone. When they can do this, they had some really good chances. I also noticed that on the PP last night, Tampa needs to move the puck a little quicker. Chicago played the PK much like Detroit did, by pressuring the puck instead of sitting back and trying to clog up a passing lane. Movement will lead to some better opportunities.
I really wish Callahan had another step on the breakaway he had. he had pressure coming behind him, so he had to shoot the puck. Crawford made the right play to come WAY out to cut down the angles, if Callahan didn't have the pressure behind him, he probably could have made a move to get Crawford moving and buried and easy shot.
Just need to play more consistent for longer periods of time. I'm not super worried yet, Bolts have lost game 1 in 2 of the 3 series so far. The must have game 2 though.
That's why Crawford moved out so much on the breakaway. He correctly read the D man, probably the thing Crawford does best. His save on Stamkos in the 3rd was more impressive and much bigger. Killorn's goal was sick - gotta love that.
You may be right about the 2nd period - I missed parts of it but Chicago still was tremendously frustrated getting shots through. Zone time is one thing, chances another. Tampa's forwards continued to clog lanes and give Bishop a chance to find the puck. So my comment is based on that but you're correct in that the tide seemed to be turning.
Absolutely no reason to panic. Tampa has shown an ability to learn from its mistakes. It would be nice to be above .500 at home, though. Chicago is tough at home.
You may be right about the 2nd period - I missed parts of it but Chicago still was tremendously frustrated getting shots through. Zone time is one thing, chances another. Tampa's forwards continued to clog lanes and give Bishop a chance to find the puck. So my comment is based on that but you're correct in that the tide seemed to be turning.
Absolutely no reason to panic. Tampa has shown an ability to learn from its mistakes. It would be nice to be above .500 at home, though. Chicago is tough at home.
That is true. Bishop was seeing puck really well through clear lanes. That is until he got screened and never even saw the puck until it was past him. Our forwards have a knack for getting in Bishop's way instead of pushing their man out of the front of the net. D-men do a good job of staying away from that area, as they should, but Filppula had no idea that he was hindering Bishop.
Tough loss at home despite Killorn's beautiful goal. Not to worry this one's going seven and the Bolts should hold their own up there. Decent ratings on NBC, 5.5 million viewers, very respectable considering Tampa's a smallish market without a real strong hockey tradition.
Tonight is huge though. Tampa needs to get up off the mat after a strong right hook from the champ. They must stand up and answer tonight, IMO.
Is that what really happened? Didn't see any verifiable information on him leaving last night, this morning a few reports listed an injury, but no details. Anyhoo, glad they could withstand the goalie change, score a power play goal and win the game. Now if they could win a occasional faceoff....
The first time he came off the ice, he stayed on the bench IIRC. If he had a poop alert, wouldn't make sense. More likely he tweaked a knee.
I know we were at a sports restaurant for game two and the place was packed with the game on all over the place. Same for the place across the street that also had the game on.
I think I read this correctly that game two's rating in Chicago translated to one million viewers.
Victor Hedman is a beast and Tampa should pay him what he wants to keep him when it comes time to talk contracts.
I remember arguing with one of the regulars in the beginning of the season NHL thread about whether Hedman was, or could be, a top notch defenseman. I felt pretty strongly that he was on the verge of becoming a star. He's really has been fantastic throughout the playoffs - quite possibly their playoff MVP.
Yes, he stood out to me in the Montreal series and was sharp last night, helping neutralize Chicago's number 1 line. Supersized with good wheels, nice combination. All their big gunners are having difficulty getting in a groove. He's been a secret down in Tampa, I believe the cat's out of the bag now!
There were thousands outside the arena that were not going to game. Everywhere downtown was standing room only. When we got out of game, everyone was still around.
Bishop is hurt. I'm betting either groin or meniscus. He can get down into butterfly, but struggles getting up. Really gutty performance to win tonight. Another critical injury right now is Tyler Johnson. I am guessing right wrist. He has taken exactly 1 faceoff in 2 games. On the 5 in 3 he had a clear lane to the goal and passes up top instead of going to net.
Bishop is hurt. I'm betting either groin or meniscus. He can get down into butterfly, but struggles getting up. Really gutty performance to win tonight. Another critical injury right now is Tyler Johnson. I am guessing right wrist. He has taken exactly 1 faceoff in 2 games. On the 5 in 3 he had a clear lane to the goal and passes up top instead of going to net.
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I believe that is NoleMoreTears. He has never been really hot on him as a D-man, but likes him as a player. I think even he would agree that Hedman is coming around and really learning and excelling at playing the D portion of the game. The thing I have always really liked about Hedman is that if he got the D portion of his game figured out, then he would be such a two-way threat. That is exactly what he is doing now. He is so big and so mobile that he is really excelling on the defensive end, but can also jump up in the play and make things happen, which he did last night, especially on the pass to Paquette.
The dude looks like a transformer in open ice: large, fast, precise puck handling and passing, unstoppable.
I think you're right that it was NMT. Whoever it was, I remember that they were complimentary of his skills & some of his game, just not on his defensive play. IIRC he thought he'd be excellent on the wing.
Bishop certainly looks hurt; he's struggling to move to his left, and when getting back up he looks like a 10 month old, learning to walk & looking for a coffee table to pull himself up.
The offensive skill set was never in doubt and stated many times over by me. Skating is top 5 in the league of all players in all positions. He has done a wonderful job putting pressure on the rush but bear in mind that's only useful when the forwards are responsible. He has great aggressive passing but lacks the touch and saucers are really not even attempted. Being a "star" is all about points to the average fan and announcers.
Defensive reads continue to be a major issue. Chicago has gone directly after this and cashed in with many scoring chances. You can see they often try give and go and make him make a choice. It's extremely apparent if you watch closely. I saw 1.5 periods last night and at least 3 of those instances. I can point to other instances from Detroit and NYR series if you like. It might help you understand a perspective that is shared by many.
He has gotten better but has a very long way to go in feeling the defensive part of the game. Needs improvement on the timing and technique of lifting sticks and clearing guys in front.
The other attributes are excellent but there is a reason he got passed over for players like Oduya and Ekman-Larsson for the Swedish teams. You've got a 6-6 guy with excellent skating on Olympic sheets not getting picked? Hmmm....Don't buy Mike Milbury's love-fest. He got fired from GM and most people in hockey despise him for a reason.
If Hedman were to reach out to Ray Borque and learn the nuances of front of net coverage and elimination, he could be a top 5-6 D. If the light ever comes on he could be a large version of Scott Niedermayer....Possible - he sure works hard.
I would not take the time to type all this if not for a genuine interest of helping y'all see another side of how the game is evaluated.
Tampa should be up 3-0...keep it up guys!
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