2018-2019 NHL Season

[Don Wassall]

The Bruins won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals over St. Louis, 4-2, after trailing 0-2 early on. The Blues dominated the first period, but the Bruins were apparently a bit rusty from their long 10 day layoff and they owned the second and third periods.

It's hard to draw too many conclusions from the first game, but it was Boston's 8th straight playoff win and they remind me of the 1992 Penguins, who won their last 11 playoff games to win the Cup that year. I'm rooting for the Blues as they've never won the Stanley Cup and haven't even been in the finals since 1970, but they need to regroup and find a way to beat a Boston team that is firing on all cylinders.

 

[Shadowlight]

The toughness of NHL players never ceases to amaze me. After all these years and improved safety measures most of them still don't have their teeth it seems.

There was some snap crackle and pop hits last night. And big Bruins D Zdeno Chara was hit on the wrist from a wicked slap shot. Usually the glove protects but in this case it found his bare skin. Can you imagine how much that must hurt? Hurts just thinking about it.

But the highlight last night was Torey Krug losing his helmet but undeterred, he went flying down the ice to deliver this massive wallop. Krug just upped the toughness meter a whole notch.

The crowd went ape shite.

 

[Don Wassall]

The Blues played a very strong game tonight and won Game 2 in OT in Boston, 3-2. They looked like the team that ran through the Western Conference playoffs, negating Boston's speed and offensive zone time and ended up dominating in shots on goal and scoring chances. The Bruins have to be reeling after making it look almost easy in periods two and three of Game 1. Game 3 is in St. Louis on Saturday, I'm hoping it stays this competitive.

 

[white lightning]

After a blowout loss in Game 3 to the Boston Bruins by a score of 7-2, the St Louis Blues hope to bounce back and even up the series. This is an easy team to root for with a 11 year old girl who has
potentially life threating disease as the poster girl. She is an angel and she is their biggest fan all year long. This team came from the back of the pack to make the playoffs. Hope they can cap off a
magical season as they have never won the Stanley Cup. In fact it's been 49 years since they had been there last. Not sure about you guys but I'm rooting for the St Louis Blues!

 

[white lightning]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-blues-inspired-girl-rare-illness/1327434001/

 

[Don Wassall]

Great game to watch, the Blues reached deep and won Game 4 so now it's a best of three. Boston's power play throughout the playoffs has been phenomenal, and their penalty killing has been even more phenomenal. They also have an edge at goalie, but St. Louis is very talented and relentless and are hanging in there. The excitement level among fans at Stanley Cup games is off the charts. I'll be bummed when the hockey season is over.

 

[FootballDad]

Magnificent game 5 win last night for the Blues on Boston's home ice. Binnington was tremendous in goal for St Louis, especially in the first period when he faced 17 shots on goal.
Hopefully they can close out the series in St Louis on Sunday, it would be tough to win a game 7 in Boston.

 

[Shadowlight]

I have been rooting for Bergeron and the Bruins. And Chara played with a broken jaw last night. Tough doesn't even begin to describe him.

There was a horribly blown call last night. Blatant tripping by a Blues player right before they scored their second goal. Referee was standing right there. Lot of bitching going on in Boston.

That said the Bruins didn't deserve to win last night. They were lackluster and reminded me of the way the Penguins played in their first round. Walking dead. Surprising too but this could still go seven.

It will be a madhouse in St Louis for game 6.

 

[Don Wassall]

Magnificent game 5 win last night for the Blues on Boston's home ice. Binnington was tremendous in goal for St Louis, especially in the first period when he faced 17 shots on goal.
Hopefully they can close out the series in St Louis on Sunday, it would be tough to win a game 7 in Boston.

Binnington stepped up nicely after looking shaky for much of the series, even being pulled in Game 3. The Blues also did a nice job of containing Boston's power play, which had been clicking at a ridiculous pace of around 36%. Those were the two areas where the Bruins had an advantage (along with Boston's penalty kill), while the Blues are more physical and just as disciplined and tenacious as Boston. I like the aging core players on Boston, but I want to see the Blues win their first Cup a lot more, hopefully they win at home on Sunday as it's always much nicer to win at home. The Penguins have won all five of their Cups on the road. . .

 

[Don Wassall]

Game 7 in Boston on Wednesday, it seemed destined that way from the beginning. It doesn't get better than that, can't wait to watch it!

 

[FootballDad]

Game 7 on now, Blues up 2-0 with 6 minutes to go in the 2nd period. Action is intense, teams are playing like it's the Super Bowl or something

Surprised that we don't have the same sort of commentary considering that all of these guys slapping pucks and crashing glass are ultra-athletic white men.

 

[Don Wassall]

The NHL forum has been a ghost town pretty much the entire season unfortunately.

The Bruins utterly dominated the first period, holding St. Louis to four shots but two of them went in. The Blues were the better team in the second period and now we'll see if they can hold Boston off in the third period. The Blues' arena is packed with over 18,000 fans and there's another 25,000 at the baseball stadium watching their team play in Boston. Should be a great celebration if they finally win their first Stanley Cup.

 

[FootballDad]

Third period started, it's going to be a dogfight. Considering how many shots the Bruins have put on goal and are continuing to, I will be surprised if St Louis can survive it. Binnington has been in a zone tonight though.

 

[FootballDad]

Both teams with great scoring chances. Goaltending is outstanding the last period and a half.

 

[Don Wassall]

Binnington was great in Game 5 but he's been downright sensational in this one.

 

[FootballDad]

Little over 9 minutes to go, Bruins have put 900 shots on goal this period so far to no avail.

Maybe the reason that the NHL thread is so slow is that there is no "boogieman" to root against. Every team is overwhelmingly white, putting any NFL team to shame, so who do you root for/against? I like the game, so I watch it and appreciate the amazing skill of the players.

 

[FootballDad]

St Louis finally gets down the ice and puts another one in. 3-0 with 7 minutes and change to go.

 

[FootballDad]

Brilliant Perron to Sanford pass for another St Louis goal, up 4-0 with 4:05 to go. TV shots of the crowds at Busch Stadium and the Blues arena are unreal. Looks like it's going to be a party in St Louis tonight! Wish I was there, had to go to L.A. this week.

 

[FootballDad]

Always strange to see an empty net in an NHL game. Bruins score with 2:10 to go, it would be the most epic comeback in the history of any sport if they overcame a 4-0 lead with less than 3 minutes to go.

 

[FootballDad]

BLUES WIN!!! Final 4-1. Y'all missed a good one.

 

[FootballDad]

I love the traditional team handshakes after the final where the two teams shake hands and compliments as they skate by each other in a line. A throwback to the days of civility and sportsmanship. Beautiful to see. Such a contrast to what we see in other sports.

 

[Don Wassall]

The hockey handshake line is one of the great traditions in sports.

Has to be gutwrenching for the Bruins to play so well and so hard and fall just short like that. But glad to see the Blues and their fans win it for the first time, following the triumph last year by another hard-luck franchise that had never won a championship before.

 

[FootballDad]

I love the Conn-Smythe trophy and Stanley Cup presentations. So less contrived than the theatrics for the Super Bowl and NBA championships. Good news for the NHL, I watched the whole game and represent roughly 1,000 or so viewers. I raised the ratings single-handedly!

 

[FootballDad]

The hockey handshake line is one of the great traditions in sports.

Has to be gutwrenching for the Bruins to play so well and so hard and fall just short like that. But glad to see the Blues and their fans win it for the first time, following the triumph last year by another hard-luck franchise that had never won a championship before.

Can you imagine the handshake line in any other sports with the pouting negroes and others? Kinda fun to think about it.

 

[Freethinker]

I watched a good amount of the game but missed the ending. Was excited when I checked the score this morning. It’s nice to see a franchise that has been around so long finally bring home the trophy for their fan base. These Blues players are immortalized now in St. Louis sports history now. Must be pretty cool.