And away we go NHL thread!!!!

[Shawn Lutz]

elimin8 lol

I think Montreal saw that Ovechkin was trying too hard to do it all himself. They knew he'd try to do it all alone and when he was out there they just had to focus on OV as it was obvious after a while that he aint gonna pass it off to the open man.

[6string40]

You know...this is the same shit I deal with year after year with the Caps. Over the years, I've endured nothing but blown 3-1 leads in the playoffs, most of which have been at the hands of the Pens. As much as I love hockey and love the Caps, I just can never get excited about them come playoff time. They used to be defensive minded teams that couldn't score, now they're the polar opposite. And not that you can really blame the losses on the goaltending--they really didn't play that poorly--but the 2 best goalies they own are in Hershey right now in Neuvirth and Holtby.

I think Bruce is a great coach and I don't think he deserves to be fired for this--sure, he made mistakes during the playoffs, but he didn't go out on the ice night after night and lay eggs like Semin and Green. Green failed this year just as he did last year come playoff time. He didn't get selected for the Olympics, because he's not a 2-way player. Either trade him for some defensive minded players or move him to a wing. He could still play the point during the power play, but he doesn't deserve to be designated as a D-man. There was at least one goal per game that was directly his fault and he added next to nothing in points for his own team. They should have benched Green and double shifted Carlson, the rookie.

The way the teams are playing right now, I wouldn't be surprised to see a classic original six Bruins-Red Wings final.

[atomic charvel guy]

the Canadians were giving up their bodies last night and the Caps weren't, you can't blame Ovechkin for trying to do it
himself, the Caps in general may very well have never respected the Canadians at all, thus the first round exit, and lack of scoring.
Then again, did the Caps truly tank? They outshot the hell out of them, just couldn't score. With all of those canadian players collapsing on Ovechkin,
and semin, somebody had to be open, again, they did not lack in shots, but the difference maker outside of the goaltending was the amount
of blocked shots, it was staggering to say the least.

[6string40]

same as last year...the Rangers did the same thing to them in round 1...shot blocking was key in that series as well. they just happened to win game 7 that time.

[Rupe]

the Canadians were giving up their bodies last night and the Caps weren't, you can't blame Ovechkin for trying to do it
himself, the Caps in general may very well have never respected the Canadians at all, thus the first round exit, and lack of scoring.
Then again, did the Caps truly tank? They outshot the hell out of them, just couldn't score. With all of those canadian players collapsing on Ovechkin,
and semin, somebody had to be open, again, they did not lack in shots, but the difference maker outside of the goaltending was the amount
of blocked shots, it was staggering to say the least.

That's BS Tommy, you have to place some blame with OV. When you have a team blocking shots like the Habs were (or the Sens were against the Pens), quality of shots becomes much more important than quantity. Pittsburgh prevailed because they played team hockey and found the open man (game winners by Letang and Dupuis), unlike the Caps who, as Shawn mentioned, had OV who looked to do it all himself instead of passing to the open man.

OV reminds me a bit of Jagr when Mario wasn't around...come playoff time he tried to do it all and the Pens continually fell short in the end.

[goodwood]

You've had OV blinders on for a couple of years now. He's an awesome player but he continually FAILS in the big game, whether it be two first round playoff ousters in the past three years (and a second round exit after a 2 game lead last year) or a failure to show up in the Olympics. I agree with you about hockey being a team sport...OV seems to lose sight of that when the going gets tough and tries to do it all on his own. I love watching the guy...nobody works harder, but there are others who play much smarter than him.

I would agree with you IF you were right BUT you aren't. I don't have blinders on about them. I have never picked them to win but I have hoped that they'd win.

If Ovechkin didn't have a bunch of people hanging around to see if they might get the puck and a few more people who would get to the net (just like the goal that was waved-off) then you'd see more results. Who was he going to pass to...Semin? Backstrom? They weren't getting it done so that's when he fired himself up to try to get it done by himself for the team.

They do need to move Green off of D. When it comes to defensive responsibility he just didn't get it done against players that he should have been able to defend against. That's not the same as Ovechkin who still fired shots and rushed to the net but was beaten by a goalie who wasn't letting anything in.

Next season I'd wait until Semin had about 20 goals and trade him at the deadline for a good D-man and a prospect.

Coaching-wise? They need to put in a system that puts getting to the net at the top of the priority list. That's what works in the playoffs.

[Rupe]

I would agree with you IF you were right BUT you aren't. I don't have blinders on about them. I have never picked them to win but I have hoped that they'd win.

If Ovechkin didn't have a bunch of people hanging around to see if they might get the puck and a few more people who would get to the net (just like the goal that was waved-off) then you'd see more results. Who was he going to pass to...Semin? Backstrom? They weren't getting it done so that's when he fired himself up to try to get it done by himself for the team.

They do need to move Green off of D. When it comes to defensive responsibility he just didn't get it done against players that he should have been able to defend against. That's not the same as Ovechkin who still fired shots and rushed to the net but was beaten by a goalie who wasn't letting anything in.

Next season I'd wait until Semin had about 20 goals and trade him at the deadline for a good D-man and a prospect.

Coaching-wise? They need to put in a system that puts getting to the net at the top of the priority list. That's what works in the playoffs.

You should be a politician...you're great at the spin. You talk about hockey being a team sport and then justify OV not playing team hockey? And you say I'm not right yet all the evidence shows that OV simply doesn't rise to the occassion, whereas Sid does. Love him or hate him, Crosby is hands down the most complete player in the NHL.

The second half of your post is spot on.

[Spivonious]

The Caps just need to swap teams with Hershey. The Bears are rolling over everyone they play. Just finished up a sweep of Albany.

[Shawn Lutz]

Wings came out a bit flat, got behind the eightball but battled back nicely. Johan Franzen got a 2 minute tripping for taking a high stick to the face that required 9 stitches to close. San Jose gets awarded a 5 on 3 power play as a result of the 9 stitches to score the game winner instead of getting a double-minor for high sticking. This has to be one of the worst call playoff in recent history. Regardless of tha, Jimmy Howard has to stop that soft 5 hole game winner....any netminder in any league at any level has to make that save.

[Rupe]

Detroit looked like the better team to me...I think they'll bounce back. That was easily the worst playoff call I can remember in quite some time.

[atomic charvel guy]

i think the series will go 7. and the red wings will prevail.

rupert me boy, the Pens did play team hockey, I picked them to go to the cup before the playoffs started.
They are a much more gritty team than the caps, but i didn't see anyone else trying to get it done on the
Caps the last 3 games outside of ovi and semin. of course one guy doesn't make a team, but when backstrom, knuble, green, fleischman etc.
all disappear, what is the guy supposed to do? i think he tried to put them on his back as he has done in the past and it didn't
work out once again in the end. what i am scratching my head about is this, the canadians had the perfect game plan in game one, they shut ovi down
completely, then the caps made adjustments and jackroll them 3 in a row, and then it all came to a halt. i guess the habs are just a better coached team, with
a better goalie, proof that at playoff time that is more important than any type of high scoring attack. i can't blame ovi when everyone else was tanking too.

[clifffclaven]

Wings came out a bit flat, got behind the eightball but battled back nicely. Johan Franzen got a 2 minute tripping for taking a high stick to the face that required 9 stitches to close. San Jose gets awarded a 5 on 3 power play as a result of the 9 stitches to score the game winner instead of getting a double-minor for high sticking. This has to be one of the worst call playoff in recent history. Regardless of tha, Jimmy Howard has to stop that soft 5 hole game winner....any netminder in any league at any level has to make that save.

Thats twice the wings have been screwed on high sticks. Double minors even. I guess that evens out zets pushing the net off the other night.

How do four refs miss someone getting smacked in the face with a high stick?!

[Rupe]

I see what you're saying, and there's no doubt that coaching played a major role. Still, it's inexcusable for a team with the Cap's talent to drop 3 in a row to the Habs and OV's playing style was a major contributor...when he wasn't getting it done on his own he failed to adjust and just kept pressing.

[Tekky]

Wouldn't it be amazing if all 4 Original 6 teams were in the conference finals??

[Hellbat]

No!

I want Vancouver to sweep Montreal in the final so I can lord it over my smug hab-loving brother in law for the rest of his life.