2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Don Wassall

Don Wassall

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The Penguins finally played with passion in Game 3 in Columbus and overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to win 4-3. They outshot the Blue Jackets 41 to 20. They were outworked in the first two games at home and were lucky to get a split. The hard-core fans detest the team's perennial country club attitude and head coach Dan Byslma and have all but written them off this playoff year, but maybe this game will spark them. Maybe being the key word. . .
 
They were trailing 3-1 when I stopped watching so it was a surprise to find out that the Pens won it. Given the circumstances, being outplayed earlier in the game, great Columbus goaltending, and conceding an early 3rd period goal, they must have dug down deep.

BTW good to see hockey taking off in Columbus. It's been slow going but they seem to have a built a hockey market in the area.
 
Tampa swept and deserved to be. Outplayed entire series.

Kinda annoyed by hockeys fans conniption fits when about the timing of calls like the one at the end of this game. Paquette tripped a guy intentionally to prevent him from getting to a puck. Thats the right call, don't care that its 2 minutes from OT and the score is tied.
 
Great comeback from Columbus as they scored four unanswered goals to tie up the series with Pittsburgh.

Poor Marc-Andre Fleury! We talked about him here last year during the series against the Islanders.

I should point out that Umberger was heroic setting up the OT goal right after blocking a wicked shot that almost hit him in the face.
 
Not sure whats going on with the Penguins.

Usually when they lose, you can tell its because Crosby and Malkin are getting picked on, which puts the entire team in disarray. This one, they're just getting out worked.
 
Matra2 said:
Great comeback from Columbus as they scored four unanswered goals to tie up the series with Pittsburgh.

Poor Marc-Andre Fleury! We talked about him here last year during the series against the Islanders.

I should point out that Umberger was heroic setting up the OT goal right after blocking a wicked shot that almost hit him in the face.
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Fleury had been atrociously bad in four straight playoff years, ever since the Penguins won the Cup in 2009. Against Columbus he had been playing pretty well and it even looked like he would steal Game 4 for them, as the Penguins immediately went into their lazy, entitled mode of play after jumping off to a 3-0 midway through the first period, but then Fleury made an idiotic failed attempt to clear the puck with 22 seconds left which resulted in Columbus tying the game, then quickly let in a softie in overtime. Fleury's been pampered his entire career because of his fragile mental state; he's almost like the White Kordell Stewart in that respect.

The Penguins lack hunger and they have a terrible system, which is ill-suited to the playoffs. Knowledgeable fans have been pointing this out for years, but the ownership is content to have good (and very profitable) regular seasons even though the team is no longer a serious Cup challenger. The country club attitude that goes back to Mario's playing days (Mario wouldn't let Scotty Bowman, the greatest hockey coach ever, even attend the team's practices) is worse than ever. It's especially annoying because hockey is supposed to be the sport where White dominance also corresponds with the White work ethic, but large salaries combined with an entitled attitude can create gutless teams, as has happened with the Penguins.

Crosby has looked terrible; no goals in 8 straight playoff games going back to last season's sweep by Boston, and appears disinterested. He is exercising no leadership either. Malkin is trying hard but has two soft linemates (Neal and Jokinen) which leads to him having few scoring opportunities.
 
Anaheim's comeback last night - two goals with a pulled goalie then an overtime winner - mean there have been ten come from behind victories in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. And we are still in the first round!
 
The Penguins prevailed over the Blue Jackets by finally deciding to put forth the sustained effort needed in Games 5 and 6 to win in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but Columbus gave them all they could handle. Columbus is only short a few more offensive playmakers and defensive depth to become a real threat.

Marc-Andre Fleury bounced back well from his gaffes at the end of Game 4 and is playing solid overall for the first time since the team's Cup run in 2009. He may not steal many games but it doesn't look like he'll be giving many away either. Next up for Pittsburgh is either the Rangers or Flyers, both long-time arch-rivals.
 
Ducks get it together and knock out the Stars after letting them take two in a row. Now here's to hoping the Kings can knock out the Sharks to set up a first-time-ever Ducks vs. Kings playoff series.
 
Don Wassall said:
The Penguins prevailed over the Blue Jackets by finally deciding to put forth the sustained effort needed in Games 5 and 6 to win in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but Columbus gave them all they could handle. Columbus is only short a few more offensive playmakers and defensive depth to become a real threat.

Marc-Andre Fleury bounced back well from his gaffes at the end of Game 4 and is playing solid overall for the first time since the team's Cup run in 2009. He may not steal many games but it doesn't look like he'll be giving many away either. Next up for Pittsburgh is either the Rangers or Flyers, both long-time arch-rivals.
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I watched the end of the last game. The Pens were up 4-1 with like 8 minutes left, then it was 4-2, then 4-3, I bet Don and a lot of other Pittsburgh fans were sweating it. But they were able to hold on--barely. They don't seem mentally tough enough to win it all but they do have some talent.
 
jaxvid said:
I watched the end of the last game. The Pens were up 4-1 with like 8 minutes left, then it was 4-2, then 4-3, I bet Don and a lot of other Pittsburgh fans were sweating it. But they were able to hold on--barely. They don't seem mentally tough enough to win it all but they do have some talent.
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The Penguins were up 4-0 with 10 minutes left. They totally dominated the first 50 minutes, then when they got a power play instead of attacking as they had all game, they started with their "prevent defense" which is even more ineffective in hockey than it is in football, and which had caused them to lose two previous games against Columbus in the series when they had 3 goal leads. The Blue Jackets scored a short-handed goal and then followed it up with two more quick goals and all of a sudden it was 4-3 with five minutes left, and yeah that was the longest five minutes of hockey I've ever watched as Pittsburgh barely hung on to win.

I don't think it's lack of mental toughness so much as laziness and lack of discipline after coasting through the regular season. It's difficult for a team that plays with an entitled attitude to switch into the 60 minute battle mode that the playoffs require, but the Pens improved their intensity considerably in games 5 and 6. They had to decide whether they wanted to pay the price and they pretty much did, but who knows whether it will carry over into the next series against a tougher opponent.

Three Game Sevens Wednesday night, should be a feast for hard-core NHL fans.
 
Don Wassall said:
Three Game Sevens Wednesday night.. hard-core NHL fans.
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Lundqvist had a killer 3rd period against Philly (faced 11 shots, and ended the game with near 97% save.) Rangers hold on for the game 7 win..

I've noticed thru the playoffs, Lundqvist has a cool Advil endorsement. A rhino runs @ him in net, and when it comes into contact w/Lundqvist it shatters into a pile of pucks. It's kinda unique, & good to see my man with an endorsement.
 
Average American said:
Lundqvist had a killer 3rd period against Philly (faced 11 shots, and ended the game with near 97% save.) Rangers hold on for the game 7 win..

I've noticed thru the playoffs, Lundqvist has a cool Advil endorsement. A rhino runs @ him in net, and when it comes into contact w/Lundqvist it shatters into a pile of pucks. It's kinda unique, & good to see my man with an endorsement.
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That was a good game! While Lundqvist played well, Steve Mason also had a good game in the net for the Flyers as well. Despite allowing the two goals, he kept Philly in the game with a chance to tie it at the end.

Still two good games left going on right now with Minnesota Colorado and LA Kings and Sharks. I'm hoping to see the Kings win; I think it would be cool to see an all-LA series in the playoffs.

On a side note, Go Pens!! It's a bit late, but I'm glad we finally stepped up in the last two games to finish off the Blue Jackets. I hope Pittsburgh can keep that intensity up against the Rangers.
 
PamelaOC said:
Ducks get it together and knock out the Stars after letting them take two in a row. Now here's to hoping the Kings can knock out the Sharks to set up a first-time-ever Ducks vs. Kings playoff series.
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You got your wish, Pamela. The Kings become just the fourth NHL team to overcome an 0-3 deficit and knock off the highly skilled Sharks. Very, very impressive, these may have been the two best teams in the playoffs. LA is big and has great fundamentals and is playing stifling defense. And Jonathan Quick is back in beast mode. Wouldn't surprise me at all now if the Kings repeat their unexpected but thoroughly dominant march through the playoffs two years ago and regain the Cup.
 
Good night as a Capitals fan.

Got to watch Varlamov choke once again in a Game 7 and got to watch Sharks choke with the result hopefully being good players on the market and McLellan on the market so he can come to Sharks East.
 
Bunch of white kids who listen to rap and voted for Obama got mad and called Subban the n-word on Twitter.

Cry me a river.
 
Here we go again.:afro:

The big story on Canadian sports radio today: Did Boston fans boo PK Subban because they are racists?

I used to live in Toronto so I often listen to a sports radio station from there over the internet. Now it seems every time I turn it on they are discussing either racism or homophobia.

Anyway, tonight it is the Rangers @Pittsburgh and Minnesota@Chicago.
 
3-1 curse lives on.

Unfortunate Boston won. People will look at shots and make some stupid comment about deserve to win.

You deserve to win by putting the puck in the net, not getting ridiculous deflections off opposing into their own net.
 
Fleury, pitches back-to-back shut-outs, not bad.
I watched the game last nite, and Fleury was busy as Hell.. he faced 35 shots. Penguins are showing more heart than I was anticipating.
 
Yep, the Penguins played hard all 60 minutes the past two games and the results were impressive. The Rangers may be worn down from playing six games in nine days, but that's what good teams are supposed to do, beat their opponent when they're down. Certainly the MSG crowd didn't expect the Rangers to win; that's the quietest I've ever heard a crowd there as they made little noise and booed the home team at the end of the game.
 
John Gibson (Anaheim), becomes the youngest keeper to pitch a shutout in a playoff debut..

The kid is 20 years old, brought up from the Norfolk Admirals, and played lights-out last nite. The entire Anaheim defense looked motivated.. Interesting series, at 2-2, all four wins have come on the road.
How u guys see this one ending (?)
 
After taking a commanding 3-1 series lead against a dispirited Rangers team the Penguins are now choking big time.
 
Average American said:
John Gibson (Anaheim), becomes the youngest keeper to pitch a shutout in a playoff debut..

The kid is 20 years old, brought up from the Norfolk Admirals, and played lights-out last nite. The entire Anaheim defense looked motivated.. Interesting series, at 2-2, all four wins have come on the road.
How u guys see this one ending (?)
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After dropping the first two the Ducks have taken three in a row, including the first home win of the series. I think they can close it out in Game 6.

I'm very happy with the excitement this series has created for the city. It's nice to see people getting passionate about white athletes for a change instead of LeBron this or LeSean that.
 
I hope the Kings and Wild are able to force game 7's. Not sure if its ever happened where all 4 series' in the 2nd went to 7 games.
 
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