OT: Around the NHL | Two Weeks Until The Draft

[TimmyD]

I don't mind Ovechkin but Caps fans are going to be pretty loathsome. They're free to "call things even" if we take a time machine back to 1991. Head to head, congratulations to Ovi and the Caps for finally doing what Crosby and the Pens did almost 10 years ago.

He hasn't been great, but I can't just blame Fleury for Vegas falling short given they've had no scoring up front, but at least the revisionist history will stop and we don't have to hear "tHe PeNs gAvE uP tHe wRoNg GoALiE!" for the time being.

Except that it won’t stop because those same people put the Capitals series on Murray’s shoulders even though the Penguins had 1 line scoring and Murray was seeing about 600 odd man rushes per game. That group of people don’t hold Fleury to the same standard as Murray. Nothing is ever Fleury’s fault but every time the puck goes by Murray he is the worst goalie on the planet in their eyes

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

I'm just happy I haven't watched a single second of playoff hockey since Pittsburgh have been out.

 

[Shwag33]

Switch Murray for Fleury this series and Vegas is still getting smoked. Caps are having their way with them, doesn’t matter who you have in net.

Likewise in the pens/caps series. Fleury wouldn't have won that series. I think murray still faced more high danger chances than fleury did against washington.


Its why people like me are rooting for the capitals so we don't have to hear about from the stupid fleury thumpers crying that we should have kept him.

 

[Shwag33]

I'm just happy I haven't watched a single second of playoff hockey since Pittsburgh have been out.

You've missed out on some good hockey. To be honest I kind of enjoyed watching some games not being too emotionally invested. The lows of the penguins loses were becoming lower than the highs.

 

[The Shovel Penguin]

Likewise in the pens/caps series. Fleury wouldn't have won that series. I think murray still faced more high danger chances than fleury did against washington.


Its why people like me are rooting for the capitals so we don't have to hear about from the stupid fleury thumpers crying that we should have kept him.

Yeah, this year's finals was the last matchup I could have possibly wanted, that or Vegas and the Flyers for all the crap we'd have to hear all year long.

When Vegas won the western conference, the meltdowns and hand wringing about Fleury and Reaves on social media were just ridiculous. Seeing an end to that will at least be one good thing about Washington winning. (Though yes, I do have to accept that some people will never let the Fleury thing go, just like we will always have idiots that will cheer for him when he makes saves every time he visits the Burgh)

 

[domaug]

i liked watching Vegas and Washington try to physically destroy each other tbh

 

[Hobodrifter]

Likewise in the pens/caps series. Fleury wouldn't have won that series. I think murray still faced more high danger chances than fleury did against washington.


Its why people like me are rooting for the capitals so we don't have to hear about from the stupid fleury thumpers crying that we should have kept him.

Where is this legion of Fleury supporters? Is it possible to avoid them or do they follow you all around? I don’t understand why Pens fans can’t be happy for Fleury and also happy we kept Murray.

 

[Fenrir009]

After plowing through the West, the clock has finally struck midnight for Vegas this series. I'd be much saltier about this result if the Pens weren't coming off back-to-back Cup wins. Honestly, congrats to Ovi and the Caps for finally breaking through that wall. I hope this makes the Pens come back hungrier in the new season along with other problems that emerged this past year being fixed. I think we still have strong window of 2-3 more years to win another Cup.

 

[pensforlife]

I blame the penguins. it seems like the caps would've won more cups if not for them lol.

we didn't do our job :/

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

You've missed out on some good hockey. To be honest I kind of enjoyed watching some games not being too emotionally invested. The lows of the penguins loses were becoming lower than the highs.

Generally once the Pens are out I could care less.

Usually when/if we're out though I'll still watch the SCF, but this year's matchup?? Bleeccch. No thanks.

 

[Bnat66]

I refuse to watch the Craps raise and skate around with the cup. They can enjoy their one cup and see how hard it is to repeat when you're on top.

 

[pensforlife]

I refuse to watch the Craps raise and skate around with the cup. They can enjoy their one cup and see how hard it is to repeat when you're on top.

what if they win 5 more times in a row beating us each time lol

 

[Bnat66]

what if they win 5 more times in a row beating us each time lol

I might have to stop watching hockey

 

[SouthGeorge]

We had them down and out. Backstrom was crying about the league being rigged. They were down bad. Game 5... 3rd period... Pens up 1... Then this happened...

 

[Randy Butternubs]

It better go 7 games.

 

[Shady Machine]

We had them down and out. Backstrom was crying about the league being rigged. They were down bad. Game 5... 3rd period... Pens up 1... Then this happened...

Please stop showing that. I can’t take it anymore haha

 

[bigkam]

Vegas reminds me a lot of Nashville in the final last year. Came in super hot with a hot goalie, and then cooled off very suddenly. Things get tough when you come back down to earth.

 

[Deport Ogie]

Isles fire Garth Snow and Dougie Weight. Big Lou shaking it up right off the hop.

 

[Freeptop]

In retrospect, it really should have been obvious that Lou would end up making himself GM...

 

[cheesedanish87]

If i was the NYI i'd get the checkbook out and give Trotz whatever he wants.

Trotz would get that team to play defense.

 

[Andy99]

Isles fire Garth Snow and Dougie Weight. Big Lou shaking it up right off the hop.

Done in an effort to get Tavares to re-sign....

 

[SouthGeorge]

Please stop showing that. I can’t take it anymore haha

Agreed. It keeps me up at night and then I come on here and people are talking about trading a 90 point scorer. I guess it must be shown for educational purposes. Professor George.

 

[Icarium]

We had them down and out. Backstrom was crying about the league being rigged. They were down bad. Game 5... 3rd period... Pens up 1... Then this happened...

Are you ten or just a broken record? We get it, you hate Letang, stop beating the dead horse.

Why are you guys crowning the Caps already? One week ago Vegas looked unbeatable and the Caps have a long history of finding ways to lose themselves. Anything can happen. Vegas missed like a zillion glorious chances in game 4.

And for the record I totally don't want Oshie to get a career ending injury or at least a punch in the face. Not at all.

 

[vikingGoalie]

Caps are a team of destiny at this point. You put pucks through holtby, they hit the post and trickle wide. you get a wide open net with a 40G scorer having time to settle the puck before shooting it, he hits the post. Just dumbfounding. He has a puck go off his noggin and not in, etc.
Fleury has definitely regressed, though most of these goals I don't care who the goalie is they are going in most of the time. Fleury and the team defense are intrinsically linked caps are breaking the defense down badly on these goals, some of it is luck a lot of it is vegas players on the wrong side of the puck. The fleury is a choker mantra I don't think applies here, it's not like we are seeing pucks bounce right through his 5-hole, or he is taking pucks that are wide and they come back and hit his pad and go in. He is getting smoked on passes that go through the slot to the other side and put right back on net mostly. The first goal the rebound is one of those it's almost impossible for a goalie to control that, BUT it is a greasy rebound. The bigger issue is that here comes a cap player charging in for it and the vegas defender is at his back, not in front of him in proper position. The 3rd goal was the back breaker imo. If we had a puck caroom off a skate to the stick and put bar down in on a pass from the far side through the slot, if that's crosby we are like, eh that's crosby doing crosby things and what a skilled pass,etc. This is Smith Kelly doing this. A guy who's contract was bought out. How does that puck get through all those guys and put back like that? With the vegas player who is covering him following him to the net.

The caps are getting all the bounces, and Holtby has a horseshoe up his backside. But give the caps credit, they are just flat out the better team in this series and sometimes you make your own luck. Any other series vegas would have been up by 2 goals before the caps scored that first one, they came out flying but didn't put it in the net, and that wasn't through any great shakes by the caps or holtby. Then they break down defensively and fleury couldn't make a spectactular save to bail them out. I don't mind seeing Ovechkin getting his name on the cup, he has literally played with passion and commitment that we have not seen out of him hitherto. But Tom Wilson and the dirty bird, those are two I'd rather not see on the cup.

 

[Joejosh999]

Agree MAF has regressed. Don't agree that these goals go in all the time. On a low angle shot on 1st goal that rebound HAS to stay short side. 2nd one goes through him. These are goals he was not giving up, til this series.

Bottom line, Knights are facing multiple things they have not yet had to deal with. Trailing in games, trailing in the series, goaltender giving up comparitively large numbers of goals, and NOT making those extra saves, as Torts said. Make a save.

Knights look un-nerved now and are NOT finishing like they have for 3 full series. Literally missing completely empty nets, multiple times in critical situations like late G2, early G4 when the tone of the game could have been different.

At least as important, Braden Holtby apparently has horseshoes surgically implanted in his arse. Far up his arse.

Pens certainly got puck luck last year, but as a G myself, not sure I've ever seen this much ridiculous horseshoes, posts, whiffs, continually, for one goaltender for this long. Ever. It's insane. Hope Braden didn't sell his soul for this. But it sure looks like it.