NHL 2015-16 thread!

[xenophobe]

The ones that seem super competitive on paper are usually the ones that are over in four with one team going "WTF happened?!?".

I predict: Sharks in 3!

[Codswallop1]

[atomic charvel guy]

You know, part of me is still a bit surprised the Pens made it past the Capitals. That team was stacked this year. I think the Orpik suspension really hurt them though.

ahhhhh, horse feathers, the caps are a snakebitten bunch. Nothing ever gets done in Washington, politically or in hockey

[xenophobe]

That sure was some lopsided officiating. Pens came out amazing in the first, sharks took the second, and even though the slash on Burns that lead to the game winning goal wasn't called, whoever got the lucky bounce was bound to win. Last night, that was the Pens.

[Hellbat]

The ones that seem super competitive on paper are usually the ones that are over in four with one team going "WTF happened?!?".

*cough* *ahem*

[Shawn Lutz]

Its a best of 7 series for a reason. I think we'll see San Jose get one back on Saturday.

[Razor]

Its a best of 7 series for a reason. I think we'll see San Jose get one back on Saturday.

Yeah, if the Sharks get one back Saturday they're back in it. If the Pens can steal at least one of the games at San Jose then I think it's over for the Sharks. Been an exciting series so far.

I was disappointed when I heard Couture whine about the faceoffs though. Man up and admit you lost them, don't pull a Ken Hitchcock and whine like a slobbering bitch because you flat out got beat on them. You can sure tell the Sharks played the Blues the last series because they were sounding a lot like Hitchcock's sorry whining ass. I can deal with it coming from a coach, but the players bitching and moaning after a loss makes them look terrible.

[Hellbat]

He backpedaled today and said "Everybody cheats on faceoffs."

[Razor]

Well, the Sharks were due. I watched the game from the start of the second period on, but in my opinion the Sharks had the better of the play in the second and third periods, and overtime. If Letang hadn't skated with Crosby at the end of Bonino's double minor, and Murry doesn't blow the save on Ward who knows. I was pretty sure the Pens were going to lose that game as it was theirs to lose. I was hoping Murray could steal it, but when the Sharks scored the second goal I knew it was just a matter of time.

The officiating is still terrible but IMHO is being called (or should I say not) both ways. The ice at San Jose's arena was the absolute worst sheet of ice I have ever seen a game played on.

[xenophobe]

Officiating for game 2 and 3 were much more... balanced than in that first game. Pens still seem to be getting a little more leniency with the non-icing calls, but it wouldn't have made much of a difference, SJ was just totally unprepared for the Pens in Game 1. But as lopsided as things look on the offensive side comparison... Pens are a very high shot count team... SJ is not... we're a higher dangerous chance percentage team. At this point, to me, it looks like whomever gets the lucky bounce first is gonna win a game and yeah, last change is huge for both teams.

Logan... is a whiny bitch. Him whining caught no SJ fan by surprise. He basically earned the A to stop him from whining.

Seeing the stats for Game 3, things look more like they should for SJ. The shot counter isn't much of a valid stat when the Pens end up doubling their shot block totals compared to their previous 3 series. When you add up the shots blocked + shots on goals.... or overall attempts, SJ is actually doing just fine. Lets see if the Pens can keep that blocking % up without having it wear them down. That + hits could take a toll. This is good news for SJ and we'll have to see if the Pens can keep that abnormally high stat total rolling.

Our third pairing is absolutely horrid... We all knew it was bad, but maybe not this bad. At least we've been rolling 4 lines and 3 pairs for the first 3 series... We're gonna need to roll 3 lines and try to keep that 3rd pair under 10 minutes if we want to make a real series out of this. At least the Pens 2nd pairing look like we might be able to fish them more effectively.

One interesting stat was in the first 3 series, SJ traveled over 21k miles. Pens? 7.1k.

[Hellbat]

One interesting stat was in the first 3 series, SJ traveled over 21k miles. Pens? 7.1k.

That's pretty standard for east vs west teams. Something like 70% of the east teams are within a 1 hour flight of each other. Be glad there were no Canadian teams involved for SJ or they would have racked up way more mileage.

[xenophobe]

That's pretty standard for east vs west teams. Something like 70% of the east teams are within a 1 hour flight of each other. Be glad there were no Canadian teams involved for SJ or they would have racked up way more mileage.

Yeah, I know. You should see regular season mileage. 50k miles this regular season. lol

[Shawn Lutz]

I think the Sharks are done now. They blew it last night. Going into an elimination game in Pittsburgh with the cup in the barn? It is over Minnow fans, always next year

[atomic charvel guy]

fuck next year, peel off 3 in a row and bust Cindy Crosby's ass!

[clifffclaven]

It's over man. Congrats pens, I guess, lol. Anymore the nhl is starting to lose my interest. There's more physicality in baseball anymore ever since they did away with hitting. It's so far beyond sad that the only big hit of the playoffs was in th isles-Tampa series when drouin got destroyed, and there was a 20 page thread on hfboards on whether it was gonna be a suspension. That's so fucking sad. There's no rivalry, hits, fights, bad blood, or anything. Plus the obstruction/interference is fucking ridiculous.. But they allow it now to slow the game down so no one gets hit. The only reason I was watching any of the finals is because it woulda been cool to see jumbo and marleau win one.