The 2018/19 NHL Thread!

[Ruki]

Another higher seeded team has been knocked out. What the hell. Almost all the big, marketable teams are out (which isn't a bad thing).

[gunnar hendershow]

These playoffs are wild. 3 game 7's on tap, thus far only 1 higher-seed has advanced, lot of the smaller markets still in it. And so many games have been thrillers. The Carolina-Washington game last night was a blast.

NHL on a national level in the US is in such a weird place where people by and large don't watch once their local team has been eliminated. So as a result it gets argued a lot that for the growth of the sport here they need as many Carolina's and Columbus's and Dallas's making deep runs every year as possible. This year might really test that theory out.

[Ruki]

I just want Carolina to do well because of how much fun they are having out there. 

[SeanDMan]

I am still all in on the blue jackets.

[Ruki]

25 minutes ago, SeanDMan said:

I am still all in on the blue jackets.

If the Leafs lose tonight, I want the Blue Jackets to go all the way. 

[gunnar hendershow]

8 hours ago, Ruki said:

I just want Carolina to do well because of how much fun they are having out there. 

Every game they win weakens Don Cherry just a bit more.

[Ruki]

Hockey is pretty lame tbh.

[Ruki]

I'm totally ok with the Leafs getting an entirely new coaching staff.

[gunnar hendershow]

Perhaps Mike Babcock was never a good coach?

[The Buscher]

Good night Tavares.  Don’t forget to put your jammies on.

[KJE]

This Vegas/ Sharks 3rd period is something.

[RoHitman Reigns]

While I'm sad that Vegas lost as I was pulling for them, I also have to laugh cause at work we had started pulling Vegas jerseys once they were up 3 to 1 and now they all gotta be put back to stock. Dont even know if we have San Jose or not to pull today and stuff.

[Maxx]

15 hours ago, Ruki said:

Hockey is pretty lame tbh.

It's pretty glorious.  Nighty night pajama boy.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

I hate Boston so much. 

[Gabriel]

So, I didn't get a chance to watch the game, because I was hosting a Mortal Kombat tournament yesterday, but I did see the penalized hit from the third period of the Vegas/San Jose game.

Wow, is really the only reaction I have. I mean, a five minute major for that, in the third period of a game seven. I'm not even a Knights fan, and I can completely understand why they're so outraged. The ref's took that game away from them.

[Maxx]

I mean, you could argue that they took it away from themselves giving up 4 goals in 4 minutes.

[Gabriel]

3 minutes ago, Maxx said:

I mean, you could argue that they took it away from themselves giving up 4 goals in 4 minutes.

I'm fully on board with that. It's the same stance I took with the Flames. Sure, there were a lot of non-calls that shouldn't have been, and there were some penalties called in our series that were weak compared to what had been let go, taken at inopportune moments... but at the end of the day, you take the luck you're given, the hand you're dealt, and you find a way to overcome, or you lose. It's as simple as that.

Should the Vegas penalty have been a five minute major? Absolutely not. Horrible call by the officials in a season that has been filled with inconsistency on their end, at a very awful moment... but Vegas' penalty kill failed them. Four goals allowed on a five minute major is almost unheard of. The call shouldn't have been made, but it was, and they fell apart instead of pushing through.

It's just unfortunate that their season came down to that. If it was penalized as a minor, or even a double minor, they don't give up four goals on the power play and it's a completely different game. Gerard Gallant was pissed though, and rightfully so. He called out the refs after the game, saying that they penalized the end result of something that they didn't see, and he was right about it. They fucked it up, but it doesn't excuse the awful penalty kill that his team would go out and play. That's on him and his players.

[gunnar hendershow]

That penalty wasn't a major. But, that said, countless teams throughout history have been assessed 5-minute penalties before and have given up 0, 1, or 2 goals. All of those results would have still meant Vegas won. Instead they capitulated. No one to blame but themselves.

This also means Joe Thornton still has a chance at getting his name on the Cup so I'm on the San Jose train from here on out.*

*Columbus would also be neat, as would the Bunch of Jerks

[Ruki]

Those bunch of jerks move on.

[Plubby]

All 4 wildcard teams move on