Yumcha

I am not enough of an observer of the Pens (watching only the play-offs does not count) but if Crosby is not that heart-and-soul guy and can inspire the team with his work ethic and overall play when things get tough, then he is a poor choice for the C.


But, if I'm going strictly with what I saw in the playoffs, his meltdowns against Philly and this year against Boston? Yeah, not C-material.

wstevens

Problem is: removing the C from Crosby is difficult. This isn't Patrick Marleau we're talking about.

Yumcha

How many captains in the NHL have a rep for being a "cry-baby"...?

Is that what a team wants esp. when the going gets tough? But, to me: the biggest fix needs to be the team defense. Picking on Sid is easy but even if it was someone else as captain, it would not have saved them this series with that awful overall D.

e30cabrio

iTrader: (6)

No bashing from me. I simply said it was interesting.

You bashed every team as they were eliminated.

You were vocal as ish while they dominated and "vanished" when they were not.

You can call a turd a rose, it still stinks.

black label

It's not just Crosby that's the problem. Chara is a lead by example guy but that example is his physical conditioning and work ethic, he's not the vocal leader of the team. That vocal job is shared by Ference, Kelly, Thornton, and Bergeron. Between the second and third period of game 7 vs the leafs it was Thornton, a 4th line winger who read the team the riot act. Leadership isn't something you pay for, it's either in you or it isn't.

That's what Pitt really needs, guys who have the character to lead the team when talent alone isn't getting the job done.

Honesty, if I was shero, Torts would be my new coach. Someone his going to whip the over privileged underperforming millionaires into shape. They need a reality check to remind them they haven't accomplished anything in recent years and to stop listening to the media tell them how great they are.

Fibonacci

No question, you have to have a good mix of talent AND character. Look at how the Wings rebuilt on the fly because they had enough character in the locker room to overachieve despite sporting half a farm club.

Will be interesting to see who walk the plank in the burgh's of pitt. Coaches always walk point and take the first bullet, so it wouldn't shock me if Bylsma is the first casualty.

Shero: "we need a new voice..."

dom

How John Ferguson is still employed by an NHL team is a great mystery.

dom

Gotta love when the ref decides a series.

dom

Anyone else's feed of the game keep on freezing up every few seconds? Happening on both CBC and NBC.

Sorry Moog, very hard to repeat these days.

srika

SWEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTT



HAWWKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS


awesome to watch the 2OT game ending goal here in my hotel room in Toronto!!!!!!!!!

Yumcha

Well, Waldorf...be careful what you wish for. The no-name goalie, Crawford, out-played your name-brand Quick.

LA put up a good fight but ultimately, I think the better team won the series. 4-1 pretty much sums it up. Chicago took on LA's hitting and stifling D and still managed to score 4 times in key games...ultimately, making Quick look human.

Bring on the Bruins. Will be a great fight. I can't go against my team: so, Chicago in 7. Hawks' speed versus Bruins' muscle.

Yumcha

Sorry, 97Ack...I'm sure you are dying to see your 2 hated teams in the Finals (you've mentioned you hate the Hawks before and probably don't like the Bruins much after they dispatched your Pens so easily).

Yumcha

My scotch remains unopened.



Meanwhile, Fibs and Moog rethink their beer strategy and start considering Asahi.

Yumcha

Since Coach Q called out Kane, he woke up. But, wow...what a feed by Captain Serious to Kane for the winner.

Bickell adds to his legend by stripping Waldorf's beloved Goyrov who decided to pinch to set up that 2 on 1.






And a match-up of Original 6 teams...should be a doozy.

SLIKRIK

can we get a do over?
Nice to see Richards back, although too little too late.

srika

Chicago has a certain "Je ne sais quoi" factor going on and I'm gonna go ahead and attribute that to their victory over Boston in 6.

Yumcha

I'll be quoting his preference about taking on Crawford for awhile.

There is no slicing it, Crawford made just as many big saves needed of him in the series and ultimately was the better goalie. He didn't let in any softies...Quick let in a pretty awful one today with Keith's shot from the other side of the ocean.

e30cabrio

iTrader: (6)

Congrats Chicago!

Going to be a good series. I hope Chicago wins!

Fibonacci

I don't care who wins, just hope it goes seven games and each one goes to triple overtime.

BeezleTL85

Awesome game last night. I don't watch hockey at all, ever, but that was intense. Are all the games like this or is it like any other sports during playoffs?

Yumcha

Kelly Hrudey's prediction of an LA sweep...? Yeah, of course.

Yumcha

You're missing out, dude. While hockey may have moments of retardedness (lame Commissioner, poor officiating, some antiquated rules), the game is among the best in excitement and action.

There are some teams that will put you to sleep with their defensive schemes but when you have skating teams that go up and down the ice, hit, and make great plays, it's just amazing to watch.

And then, there are the playoffs...a whole new level. The Cup Finals should be even more exciting to watch as 2 proud franchises will lay it all on the line to lift the most difficult trophy to win in all sports...

e30cabrio

iTrader: (6)

Consider the source.

Well said!

SLIKRIK

+1

It's my wife's and 3 year old son's new favorite sport to watch live. All previous years/games were attended by only myself/bro/friends. The speed/excitement/fights/fans put this at the top of must attend sporting events.

jupitersolo

That's only because you can't reach the top of the bottle...

Yumcha

Maybe I put it somewhere high so my little kid doesn't drink it. Thought of that?!?

black label

How about when he shows up to training camp, there's no "C" on his sweater. If he whines about it, it shows why he isn't captain material

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

As stated, I went to bed Friday night after they lost, only to wake up to comments at 7 am about how I was nowhere to be found. Unlike you, I actually GO to the games, and don't sit on the internet posting play by play on every goal only to disappear for a week once my team loses. I post 99% of the time when I'm at work, I don't live on the internet. I'm not going to defend or debate my fanhood with you so you can quit trying to call me out. As you are celebrating a division opponents loss in the Pens losing, I celebrated other opposing teams losses in the earlier rounds, that's what being a hockey fan is all about. You're just all to happy to jump on whatever other bandwagon comes along, but I guess I shouldn't expect any less from a yankee fan.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Completely agree that adding 2 captains to the mix at the deadline was not the best approach. Like I said, we took a team with great chemistry clicking on all cylinders that had just won 15 straight and threw them into a blender. As good as the moves looked at the time, I always worried about how the team would be affected overall, plain and simple, we got older and slower. Shit happens, and I'm glad that Shero made the moves rather than not, but sadly it did more harm than good. I love Bylsma and expect to see him get another shot next year, however I did not like his handling of the forwards and the lines. That said, he did everything to not breakup Sid's linemates, so that says something right there. Sid is definitely a lead by example guy, and as great as his work ethic is, he definitely gets chippy when guys take liberties on him and I do see other players follow that model. The further they get away from Therrien, the less discipline I see this team play with.

I don't hate the hawks, and they're right where I expected them to be. Given the choices in the West, I have nothing but respect for what the Hawks accomplished this year, they're a great team.

Moog-Type-S

To the Victor go the spoils.....

Say what you will of refs handing the hawks the lead goal with a non-call, but the Kings never say die resilience showed and they came back to tie it.

Other than one game, it was a very tight series that could have gone either way.
In the end it was the Hawks that had more in the tank than the Kings.

Kings were too banged up, too injured.
Richards is an absolute stud, no wonder he is the absolute best in the playoffs.....gets his bell rung, and comes back to play and is a warrior. Richards should wear the "C".

In other news:
Stoll played with lingering concussion symptoms

Dustin Brown tore his PCL in his knee in Game 6 against the Sharks. Played through it.

Justin Williams says he played with a slight shoulder separation ever since Stuart crunched him during the Sharks round.

Drew Doughty had been playing on a bad ankle, since the San Jose series.

It all comes out in the wash.

Surprisingly Kopitar says no injuries other than playing with his knee brace the entire season from his European injury from the lock-out.

Kings now have to back up the money truck for Voynov....kid is gonna get paid handsomely.

Yumcha

^ You forgot about how your name-brand -goalie got outplayed by Chicago's no-name goalie.

And how you wished it was Crawford versus Howard.

But, it's okay. I'm here all year.

black label

Those first posts don't spud like the words of someone who thought it was a bad idea.

As a consolation prize, at least you got swept in 4 like you wanted

dom

Holy excuses Batman!

Yumcha

I'm waiting for the injury report on Quick: where he left his head in the prior series and gave up a few soft goals. I would call up his record and numbers against Chicago overall in his career but no point since he was always injured in those games. Poor guy.

There's also the injury report on all those players who had broken wrists/hands when they broke in alone on Crawford and could not score.





Clearly, Chicago was very lucky to face such a short-handed team in LA.

Yumcha

The wake-up calls for both finalists: Boston's scare against Toronto in Round 1 and Chicago's comeback from 3-1 in the series against Detroit in Round 2. Boston goes 8-1 and Chicago 7-1 after their wake-up shots.


So, I suppose if Boston wins, a nice bouquet of roses should go to the Leafs for waking them up. And for Hamilton, Seguin, and Rask.

If Chicago wins, a case of Asahi to the Pink Things and a Toonie to Toronto for Stalberg.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Funny, all I said was they were good additions for depth, no one could know how they would work out until we tried it.
As shown here, I was living in the moment and enjoying the success they were having as a team BEFORE the additions

On the surface they looked like they were adding depth and veteran leadership, but again.
hindsight is 20/20, but this is still my opinion

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Definitely lit flames under both their arses, Pittsburgh got their wakeup call, but it was too little too late

Yumcha

More than any pro sport, winning hockey's Cup is often more than an awe-inspiring roster.

I won't pretend to be an expert but from recent memory, to win the Cup takes a ton of luck and favorable match-ups to go all the way. My slap-sticking aside about LA's ouster (at Moog's expense because of what he said before), I fully appreciate the Hawks' and Kings' differing paths to get to the Conference Finals.

Chicago clearly had the more favorable route with Minny as the first round versus the slug-fest that was the Kings/Blues. The second round, while more physical against Detroit, was again favorable in the sense that it was not against a SJ team that to me, was way more physically tough.

So, match-ups. While I have no line of sight to Chicago's list of ailments and etc., we know LA was banged up having two super-physical series prior to Chicago. So, did it have a factor in their ability to keep up with the Hawks' speed? I should think so.

Luck? Well, they say good teams make their own luck but still, you need to have it with bounces and "puck luck". I can clearly relate because when Chicago fell 3-1 against Detroit, I can say that the Hawks had zero puck luck with posts and weird bounces that favored the Wings.

Chicago was also extremely lucky to have two huge OT games where a late call and score could have swung the series completely: Game 7's no-goal call against Detroit and Game 5's GTG by Richards with 9 seconds left could have deflated a team completely. Well, Chicago had the "luck" to score in both...if they didn't...well, Chicago would be out and not playing LA and/or, LA would be forcing a Game 6 at home which I think would've been a Hawks loss leading to a coin-flip Game 7.






But, to go back to slap-stick: No-name goalie won; name-brands all lost so far against Chicago.

Yumcha

But, anyhow...the gist of what I'm saying above is that Pittsburgh didn't have any favorable match-ups and also, no luck.

Combine that with poor planning against Boston and etc., sweep. Let's see what they do and how they learn from this...because, truly, they were the prohibit favorites going into the playoffs.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)