GDT: 5/15/18 - 8:00PM EDT - #1A Tampa Bay @ #1M Washington [ECF GAME 3]

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These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
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Was pretty interesting listening to Eddie O and Pierre so openly questioning Coop's use of Sergachev as only D man on ice up by 2 on the PP late.

No better time to teach him than now and no better time to learn than the playoffs if you're Sergachev. I applaud Cooper for getting him out there when he did for every reason Eddie and Pierre argued against. If you're not gonna put him out there with the game out of reach then when exactly is he supposed to be out there? They'll gush over McAvoy playing in every situation with Chara but this is where they draw the line? Sergachev is young but he cannot be sheltered forever. Right now the focus is just on easing him in and Cooper gave him just the right use at just the right times. Next year I'm sure we'll see more responsibility given to Sergachev. I hate to say it but I don't think it's much of a secret that we are grooming him to one day be Robin to Hedman's Batman. It's a shame but the talking heads will never see the big picture that Lightning fans will of what Cooper was trying to do there.
 
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Antiramie

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Mar 25, 2011
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McDonagh has by far been our worst D-man this series.

Miller has been MIA too.

Johnson and Killorn just look completely lost to me.

Palat didn’t have a great game, but I like his presence on the 1st line.

All the other forwards and D-men stepped it way up tonight.

Sergachev looks like a friggin veteran sometimes out there. He’s going to be a damn monster in a few years.
 
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pursuit81

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Apr 12, 2018
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Agreed but it might take that at times though. He didn't really "steal" this game but he damn sure won it plain and simple. We were much better than the first two but still.gave up the blue line and allowed too many cross ice passes and chances to result from it. We grabbed this game by the horns and held on. We controlled it. If they would clean up their defensive side of the game it would be nice to see.

McDonagh was better tonight bit he still made some terrible plays at times tonight. I thought every other defenseman played great. Stralman can't be hurt the way he played tonight, guy was everywhere. Hedman was a 10. Coburn and Serge held it down. Danny G with his 2MPH skating abilities played well too.
Stralman was good after a really shaky start. Of course we can say the same about Kuch who almost gave the game away all by himself in the first 5 minutes or so but then returned to form. Gourde and Miller still struggling but PK had a solid night for the most part. Kunitz still a net positive fourth-liner but man has he slowed down. Getting to the end for him. Anyway, just rambling. It's hockey. Nothing consistent about it.
 
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Bolt 45

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No better time to teach him than now and no better time to learn than the playoffs if you're Sergachev. I applaud Cooper for getting him out there when he did for every reason Eddie and Pierre argued against. If you're not gonna put him out there with the game out of reach then when exactly is he supposed to be out there? They'll gush over McAvoy playing in every situation with Chara but this is where they draw the line? Sergachev is young but he cannot be sheltered forever. Right now the focus is just on easing him in and Cooper gave him just the right use at just the right times. Next year I'm sure we'll see more responsibility given to Sergachev. I hate to say it but I don't think it's much of a secret that we are grooming him to one day be Robin to Hedman's Batman. It's a shame but the talking heads will never see the big picture that Lightning fans will of what Cooper was trying to do there.
Sergachev was one of the only bright spots through the first two games. He was begging for extra minutes. Coop used him the way any sane coach would have tonight. Thought Cirelli had a great game too.
 
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pursuit81

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Sergachev was one of the only bright spots through the first two games. He was begging for extra minutes. Coop used him the way any sane coach would have tonight. Thought Cirelli had a great game too.
Agree. Cirelli continues to impress and man can Sergie skate. Future looks bright for those two.
 
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Bolt 45

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Stralman was good after a really shaky start. Of course we can say the same about Kuch who almost gave the game away all by himself in the first 5 minutes or so but then returned to form. Gourde and Miller still struggling but PK had a solid night for the most part. Kunitz still a net positive fourth-liner but man has he slowed down. Getting to the end for him. Anyway, just rambling. It's hockey. Nothing consistent about it.
I've felt that way about Kunitz too, but this might have been the best game I've seen him play in a Bolts jersey. He was all over the place tonight, hitting everything, causing turnovers, and setting up scoring chances. Really an unsung hero tonight, along with Cally and Paquette.
 
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FinnLightning26

Death and no taxes
Sep 16, 2007
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I've felt that way about Kunitz too, but this might have been the best game I've seen him play in a Bolts jersey. He was all over the place tonight, hitting everything, causing turnovers, and setting up scoring chances. Really an unsung hero tonight, along with Cally and Paquette.
If only those three could pot a goal here and there.
 

pursuit81

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Apr 12, 2018
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I've felt that way about Kunitz too, but this might have been the best game I've seen him play in a Bolts jersey. He was all over the place tonight, hitting everything, causing turnovers, and setting up scoring chances. Really an unsung hero tonight, along with Cally and Paquette.
Totally agree, just the loss of speed is pretty stark. To his credit, and as you would expect, he's using his experience to compensate. Especially against Caps given where he came from.
 
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BoltsOfAnarchy

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May 12, 2018
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Yeah. I don't think I've bothered with the main board since before the Game 1. Felt impossible to get into any kind of good-natured back and forth with them about hockey. Some of their fans are just uncomfortably rabid.

A good friend of mine, and NYR fan, told me before this series started that caps fans were a “hockey dumb “ fan base lol. I wasn’t sure what he meant but I’m finding out now. Some of those jokers are just clueless...

But I still despise Boston and Montreal fans the most
 
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Antiramie

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Mar 25, 2011
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Totally agree, just the loss of speed is pretty stark. To his credit, and as you would expect, he's using his experience to compensate. Especially against Caps given where he came from.

He still looks faster than Concrete Skates Killorn.
 

Bolt 45

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Oct 19, 2015
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A good friend of mine, and NYR fan, told me before this series started that caps fans were a “hockey dumb “ fan base lol. I wasn’t sure what he meant but I’m finding out now. Some of those jokers are just clueless...

But I still despise Boston and Montreal fans the most
Lol, that sounds about right. I came away with the impression that a number of them were more Ovie, Kuz or Wilson fanboys than Caps fans proper.

For me it's always been Toronto. But Washington's giving it a good go!
 

Bolt 45

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Oct 19, 2015
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McDonagh has by far been our worst D-man this series.

Miller has been MIA too.

Johnson and Killorn just look completely lost to me.

Palat didn’t have a great game, but I like his presence on the 1st line.

All the other forwards and D-men stepped it way up tonight.

Sergachev looks like a friggin veteran sometimes out there. He’s going to be a damn monster in a few years.
I thought McD played pretty well tonight. He was streetfighting people along the boards. All our D were kind of struggling to get the puck out of the zone at times. The Caps are good. It'll be more about damage control than domination.
 

Sky04

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Jan 8, 2009
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Caps are more dangerous than Boston and NJ were combined, they enter our zone so easily and with a lot of speed. First series in awhile where you're legitimately scared everytime they break the zone. Our D was gambling hard this game by covering Ovechkin and giving that right side a clear shot on net, Kuznetsov and bunch had so many clean looks on net but Vasi stepped up, not sure if that's a winning gameplan going forward though.

Their offense looks pretty hard to stop, you just have to play them hard. Our guys just have to cut the cute passes and weak clears.
 
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Antiramie

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Mar 25, 2011
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Caps are more dangerous than Boston and NJ were combined, they enter our zone so easily and with a lot of speed. First series in awhile where you're legitimately scared everytime they break the zone. Our D was gambling hard this game by covering Ovechkin and giving that right side a clear shot on net, Kuznetsov and bunch had so many clean looks on net but Vasi stepped up, not sure if that's a winning gameplan going forward though.

Their offense looks pretty hard to stop, you just have to play them hard. Our guys just have to cut the cute passes and weak clears.

Yea, aside from the 2 PP goals this game felt pretty close. I think we were the better team, but the Caps still looked really dangerous at times.
 

DFC

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Weird feeling after this. Felt like we showed a ton of heart to get the win over a better team, but, yeah, "a better team." I'm ecstatic about the win but wish we'd been able create a little more pressure at ES to make me feel good about Game 4. Tonight felt a little like Vasy outplaying Holtby and our PP heating up a bit.

One really good sign though: Our four goals were scored by our four best players.
 

Todd1a

Kucherov or prospect
Jun 19, 2014
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Weird feeling after this. Felt like we showed a ton of heart to get the win over a better team, but, yeah, "a better team." I'm ecstatic about the win but wish we'd been able create a little more pressure at ES to make me feel good about Game 4. Tonight felt a little like Vasy outplaying Holtby and our PP heating up a bit.

One really good sign though: Our four goals were scored by our four best players.
Also the odd man rushes were cut down by a mile and how we gave then out like buy one get one free
 

Master P

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Mar 31, 2016
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The key to this series is gonna be who scores first. Once the caps started taking chances and being more aggressive things opened up a ton. Their forwards were getting caught down low on their forecheck and they weren't able to get back in time to form their 1-1-3 trap. Allowed are guys to use their speed. I also think that we need to start flipping pucks out of the zone almost immediately. Most of their pressure comes from mistakes by our guys and an inability to get the puck out.

On a side note, I can't begin to express the amazement at how well our faceoffs have gotten as a team. Its been remarkable how much they have improved in that area.
 

Master P

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Do you guys think that if Erne is good to go he should replace Cirelli? I like the kid a ton but it just seems like he's been a non-factor as of late. Maybe its just me.
 

DFC

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Sep 26, 2013
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Also the odd man rushes were cut down by a mile and how we gave then out like buy one get one free

I think a lot of that is because we were ahead the entire game. We tend to cut down on rush chances when we're ahead, but we give up a ton of perimeter shots.
 

Master P

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Mar 31, 2016
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Do you guys think that if Erne is good to go he should replace Cirelli? I like the kid a ton but it just seems like he's been a non-factor as of late. Maybe its just me.
Actually I take it back, he's been a pretty good faceoff guy.
 

Master P

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Mar 31, 2016
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Just checking out the stats and we had 18 blocked shots to their 7. Seems like we are doing a better job of taking away their point shots.
 

Bolt 45

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Oct 19, 2015
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This one felt a bit to me like we were actively countering the stuff they'd been doing to us through the first two. Their breakouts in particular weren't as clinical. Even when we were less aggressive on the forecheck their D were circling back quite a bit, presumably because we weren't giving them the look they need to see to spring their more dangerous zone entries. Bodes well.
 
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