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2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs thread


MadDog2020

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Okay, good news is, if the rags olay the way did in the third tonight, next game, they will lose. Also, the flower looked good after the first. Bad news, no way in hell the rags play that bad, Crosby is just as invisible as Ryder, Malkin was skating in quicksand, and they have steve downie on the team.

Edited by Louismydad
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ehhhhh. lets hold our horses here. it was a slash, absolutely. Subban would have been just fine had he not brought the stick up in the air and strike Stone. Stone, who, took a complete dive btw (don't try telling me flying through the air and throwing both gloves in the air was necessary). In fact, the diagnosis was a "micro fracture," and it is important to note two things: Stone came back to play in that game, and players have definitely played on a broken wrist before (I think Giroux just did it last year).

I hate the Habs, I do, just playing devils advocate here. but don't be surprised when there's no suspension.

Do you play?

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I had a lot of faith in Pittsburgh for some reason. They couldn't make the simplest of plays even when they weren't under pressure. Watching that AHL defense even try to carry the puck was rough, I feel like I haven't seen all around stick handling skills that bad at this level. Took 3 strides and the puck was bouncing off of their sticks like a tennis ball. The only chance they have is dump and chase

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I'm gonna go ahead and give the Penguins more credit than anyone else here seems to be giving them. I think they have a chance this series. They handed the Rangers the first period. Their defense came out sleep-walking, they committed 4 penalties in the 1st, they did everything you shouldn't do in the first game of a playoff series, whether you're playing the last seed or the best team in the league. I find it very hard to believe they are capable of being that awful moving forward.

 

They then proceeded to keep the game very tight, tighter than I think was apparent through the shots count. They're playing the Rangers with the '14 Kings/'12 Devils playbook: their forechecking in the 2nd and parts of the 3rd was phenomenal, they did a good job at slowing down the quick Rangers. Nash had maybe one good/decent opportunity, Kreider was neutered.

 

I thought Malkin was terrific. How many pucks did he win back on the forecheck? A lot, from the game I was watching, he was a madman out there. Obviously, he needs some help. Crosby, on the other hand, was a no-show. He was handing out turnovers like Michael Ryder, never thought I'd see him have a NEGATIVE impact on the game. And yet, that bodes well for the Penguins. If they could keep the game this tight while one of the best players in the world was a no-show, what can they do once he shows up? And what happens if/when Ehrhoff and Pouliot join the show?

 

I'm not saying they're going to win the series. I'm just saying I see signs that they can put up a bigger fight than most of us would've given them credit for. This game reminded me of game 1, ECF 2012, when the Rangers won 3-0 at MSG. On the surface, what everyone took away from the game and the scoreline was that the Rangers would surely win the series 4-0 or 4-1. But if you took a good look at the game, you could see signs that the Devils would put up a fight once they got adjusted. I'm predicting the Penguins to win tomorrow's game.

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By the way guys, I have Pittsburgh in 6. Maybe I'm seeing it with blinders, but I see a 4-2 Penguins win in game 2 and then a sweep in Pittsburgh. I think Crosby wakes up and explodes.

I think Crosby is the most overhyped player in the league. Sure the guy is amazing and I defend him when rags fans say "he sucks." He is truly the best skilled player in the world but he is a terrible leader. Like someone had said earlier, I take Toews any day of the week
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I think Crosby is the most overhyped player in the league. Sure the guy is amazing and I defend him when rags fans say "he sucks." He is truly the best skilled player in the world but he is a terrible leader. Like someone had said earlier, I take Toews any day of the week

lol this is ridiculous how do you any knowledge of what kind of leader he is? Oh wait he was only named captain of team canada over toews himself, but you would know better right?

My only takeaway is that there is no way Steve Downie should be in uniform tomorrow. He kills them with his PIM. When the pens were at even strength they were fine but they need to stay out if the box.

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How do you have faith in Pittsburgh before this series. They were terrible the last month of the season and backed in. I'd rather have Boston in there.

Regardless of how they've been playing, they're still Pittsburgh. If they wake up, they do serious damage. They still have the best player of the generation, they have an elite talent right behind him with a few other complimentary scorers anyone would kill to have on their top line. If Pittsburgh decides they want to beat the rangers, they probably could. I just don't think they want to.

After last night, it looks like the last penguins team that was this bad had their bags packed for Kansas city.

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It's not about waking up. They just aren't good. They have 2 great players and a bunch OK players. McD and the Rangers can handle that. 

 

Yeah Pittsburgh's players don't want to win. They are like "we can, but fvck it, who wants to win?"

 

Are you serious?

You're intentionally oversimplifying my argument. Don't act like an idiot. You need a certain amount of heart and drive to win in the playoffs, and I don't see it thus far in the Penguins. This team that "just isn't good" was in the Presidents' Trophy conversation until mid-February. They're a team that played at a high level for an extended period of time this season. I'm not saying they're the best team in the league, and I'm not saying they're better than the Rangers. I'm saying they've shown this season that they can compete at a high level. Crosby and Malkin playing at a high level can take them a long way, and on top of Fleury playing some of his best hockey, they are a good team that can play with the Rangers if they're firing on all cylinders. Hornqvist is better than an OK player. Kunitz can be better than an OK player. They played about as poorly as possible on the road and lost by a goal.

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lol this is ridiculous how do you any knowledge of what kind of leader he is? Oh wait he was only named captain of team canada over toews himself, but you would know better right?

My only takeaway is that there is no way Steve Downie should be in uniform tomorrow. He kills them with his PIM. When the pens were at even strength they were fine but they need to stay out if the box.

Toews is never invisible like Crosby was last night. A leader and especially one who is supposed to be the best in the world, doesnt let that happen.
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Toews is never invisible like Crosby was last night. A leader and especially one who is supposed to be the best in the world, doesnt let that happen.

you are certainly entitled to your opinion as long as you realize Crosby has a 1.2 ppg career in the playoffs and toews is .86. This while toews has been on some clearly better teams.

And to be clear, I'm not saying one is clearly more clutch or a "better leader" than the other, but to claim Crosby is "invisible" is silly.

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It's not about waking up. They just aren't good. They have 2 great players and a bunch OK players. McD and the Rangers can handle that. 

 

Yeah Pittsburgh's players don't want to win. They are like "we can, but fvck it, who wants to win?"

 

Are you serious?

 

It kinda seemed that way when they were flying and Downie took that unnecessary penalty after a perfect/clean hit on Zuccarello. Self-sabotage of the likes that they do every year (usually against Philly though)...

 

But yeah, I'm not saying they're losing on purpose lol... But it's almost like they can't be on an upward trajectory, they seem to need to throw the game into turmoil once things are going well, I don't really understand it.

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you are certainly entitled to your opinion as long as you realize Crosby has a 1.2 ppg career in the playoffs and toews is .86. This while toews has been on some clearly better teams.

And to be clear, I'm not saying one is clearly more clutch or a "better leader" than the other, but to claim Crosby is "invisible" is silly.

Are you saying he wasnt invisible last night? Because the only time I noticed him was when Hayes danced around him. Edited by Louismydad
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