GDT: 4/16/19 - 7:00PM EDT - #1AT Tampa Bay @ #2WC Columbus [ECQF GAME 4]

[Stammertime91]

"It's cup or bust this year."

Well, we just busted. Who gets shown the door? Cause Cooper is a lost cause. If it wasn't for Johnson and the triplets his ass wouldn't have that 2015 run going for him. Two sweeps, missed playoffs, two more ECF. Lost SIX playoff games in a row, three at home. Swept by a wild card. He needs to go asap. This is a playoff team, anybody else could have done better. Four carbon copies were played out just like last year in games 6 and 7. Unacceptable. He's a f***ing smug and inept coach.

Stamkos needs to do some soul searching. Dude is a f***ing ghost when hes needed. Kucherov had a wide open net in the 3rd and failed. Our stars failed us. This team choked worse than anything I've witnessed in the 16 years I've watched hockey. Pathetic doesn't even describe it.

 

[Sky04]

As much as you don't wanna pin anything on a rookie, that was just a monumental mistake by Joseph, those are the exact types of plays your coaches tell you growing up, don't give up on the play it took a 5 second mistake to throw away all momentum the team took 40 minutes to build up. Not to mention his coverage on the 2nd goal, brutal.

 

[LightningStrikes]

All players saying the same thing. "They had a very detailed game plan and they executed it very well.", "They have a great system.", "We didn't have any answers.".

 

[DMB06]

As much as you don't wanna pin anything on a rookie, that was just a monumental mistake by Joseph, those are the exact types of plays your coaches tell you growing up, don't give up on the play it took a 5 second mistake to throw away all momentum the team took 40 minutes to build up. Not to mention his coverage on the 2nd goal, brutal.

Yep, just a horrendous play. I get he's young but that doesn't matter, you cannot take a penalty in that situation and kill your team like that.

So many moments like that in the series, "if only", many of them on Cooper for refusing to hold his players accountable. His post game PC made me dislike him even more, he sounds like an absolute fool and I genuinely have no idea how he has had the success, at other levels of hockey, that he has. He reminds me of Raheem Morris.

 

[Sky04]

Yep, just a horrendous play. I get he's young but that doesn't matter, you cannot take a penalty in that situation and kill your team like that.

So many moments like that in the series, "if only", many of them on Cooper for refusing to hold his players accountable. His post game PC made me dislike him even more, he sounds like an absolute fool and I genuinely have no idea how he has had the success, at other levels of hockey, that he has. He reminds me of Raheem Morris.

It's not even the penalty I'm mad about, it's the loose puck that went right by him because he was too absorbed in his mistake he forgot how delayed penalties work. That loose puck let Columbus get their 6th attacker on and set up in the offensive zone and into the back breaking goal.

 

[DMB06]

It's not even the penalty I'm mad about, it's the loose puck that went right by him because he was too absorbed in his mistake he forgot how delayed penalties work. That loose puck let Columbus get their 6th attacker on and set up in the offensive zone and into the back breaking goal.

But lets be honest, it's unlikely our PK was going to stop them even if he did gain possession of the puck. Just another aspect of the team that didn't show up.

 

[c9777666]

A month ago, I thought Torts was on a hot seat ala Mike Babcock.

It's amazing what a difference a few games makes for a week that some thought might lose his job, might have been holding the team back, and was possibly toxic. And now he designed a perfect gameplan for a coach some thought had lost his touch.

 

[BeingTheThunder]

The main reason Cooper failed is that he did not teach the players how to properly clutch, grab, trip, hook, and interfere. Apparently those things are not called penalties in the playoffs. I didn't read through this entire thread of disappointment but did anyone else notice Cernak getting tripped and thrown to the ice right before CBJs scored their 4th and decisive goal? Ridiculously blatant trip.

Anyways, not knowing how to play in the playoffs, when the whistles get swallowed, is this group's biggest mistake. Players (mainly Kucherov) spent too much time complaining to the refs about penalties not being called. It's justifiable to be upset about the non-calls but you have to adjust your play.

 

[Madifer]

Coming in peace from CBJ. As an outsider there are some obvious flaws on your team guys which are quite visible. Please consider not bashing me, I mean it well.

1) your coach is a softie on many levels. I mean what did he do to adjust the game? Nearly nothing.

2) Vasi appears to have a shelf life of three months per season. 3 months of superhuman performance followed by a slump. This also happened last season btw. Last season his slump began in January. This year he started playing in December and had 3 amazing months. I would be concerned with this guy and his role as the starter for the next seasons.

3) the sense of entitlement by some of your best players. That sense doest win PO games. Hard work does.

4) inability to rise to the occasion. CBJ had goals from 12 different players including one uber rookie. Nearly everyone on CBJ was a hero. Who was Tampa's hero? Another failure by Cooper.

Peace guys!

 

[Hoek]

A month ago, I thought Torts was on a hot seat ala Mike Babcock.

It's amazing what a difference a few games makes for a week that some thought might lose his job, might have been holding the team back, and was possibly toxic. And now he designed a perfect gameplan for a coach some thought had lost his touch.

Torts is a good coach. People just constantly crap on him because of his stint in Vancouver like Western Canada is the center of the universe or something.

 

[TmlHockeyFan]

Leafs fan coming here in peace. Completely unexpected first round loss. Was really hoping to see a good Leafs-Tampa match up in the 2nd round. Wouldve been a quick paced game.

 

[Coopers Gum]

Coming in peace from CBJ. As an outsider there are some obvious flaws on your team guys. Please consider not bashing me, I mean it well.

1) your coach is a softie in many levels. I mean what did he do to adjust the game? Nearly nothing.

2) Vasi appears to have a shelf life of three months per season. 3 months of superhuman performance followed by a slump. This also happened last season btw. Last season his slump began in January. This year he started playing in December and had 3 amazing months. I would be concerned with this guy and his role as the starter for the next seasons.

3) the sense of entitlement by some of your best players. That sense doest win PO games. Hard work does.

4) inability to rise to the occasion. CBJ had goals from 12 different players including one uber rookie. Nearly everyone on CBJ was a hero. Who was Tampa's hero? Another failure by Cooper.

Peace guys!

We agree with you on basically all of these.

 

[raymond23]

I feel for you guys. Wanted to see you make a run... really love some skilled hockey.

Think this series showed just how good and important Hedman is.

Hang in there boys, you'll be back no doubt.

 

[BeingTheThunder]

I feel for you guys. Wanted to see you make a run... really love some skilled hockey.

Think this series showed just how good and important Hedman is.

Hang in there boys, you'll be back no doubt.

The problem is that the playoffs do not really highlight or require skilled hockey. They're more about grit, heart, determination, and hustle. Things we were totally lacking in. The CBJs forecheck totally overwhelmed us for the most part and we were unable to consistently break their trap game.

 

[Brie]

I decided that it wasn't worth staying up last night and I'm glad I didn't. This whole thing doesn't even make me mad anymore, I just feel sad and empty. It sucks to feel like we wasted such a great regular season and knowing that many guys won't be here next season makes you wish that we could have gotten more this year.

Someone wrote on twitter "hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard" feels like that sums things up pretty well, not that CBJ doesn't have talent but they all worked hard for 4 games while we only had a handfull of players that showed up and non of them were our top guys.

 

[Stammertime91]

Man the grin and embrace from Kucherov with Panarin and Bobrovsky doesn't sit well with me. Like hugging two buddies and not really caring you got swept after the year you just had. Pretty weak.

 

[Coopers Gum]

Man the grin and embrace from Kucherov with Panarin and Bobrovsky doesn't sit well with me. Like hugging two buddies and not really caring you got swept after the year you just had. Pretty weak.

I didn't particularly care for the post-game interviews either. Seemed pretty "matter-of-fact" to me, and no particular emotion (sad, angry) showed through. I was f***ing devastated, it didn't seem like the people who actually lost the game cared all that much. Just another rough day at the office, seemingly.

 

[SRQKiter]

The Tampa Bay Lightning are now officially the hockey version of the Harlem Globetrotters. Highly skilled and entertaining to watch but not a real team.

 

[Tak7]

The morning after, and it's still hard to believe that actually happened.

Truthfully, as much as it stings, the core in Tampa is still outstanding, and I would hope that patience is the order of the off-season.

A silly, knee-jerk decision isn't the way to go here IMO

 

[The Macho King]

The morning after, and it's still hard to believe that actually happened.

Truthfully, as much as it stings, the core in Tampa is still outstanding, and I would hope that patience is the order of the off-season.

A silly, knee-jerk decision isn't the way to go here IMO

f*** that. Too many passengers on this team.

 

[Tak7]

**** that. Too many passengers on this team.

A 62-win team doesn't have passengers.

I know the immediacy of last night's result is fresh, but rather than big wide-sweeping changes, I think Tampa only needs some tweaks to move into next season.

Remember - it took Washington several years to finally figure it out in the post season

 

[The Macho King]

A 62-win team doesn't have passengers.

I know the immediacy of last night's result is fresh, but rather than big wide-sweeping changes, I think Tampa only needs some tweaks to move into next season.

Remember - it took Washington several years to finally figure it out in the post season

We're not a 62 win team. We're a zero win team.

 

[Tak7]

We're not a 62 win team. We're a zero win team.

Take the emotion out of it - making knee-jerk reactions now, based on a bad 8 days in spring, only undoes the hard work management has done for the past several years

 

[JFleegs]

Start with finding coopers replacement. Add new blood and keep core together. Hedman stamkos kuch=core

 

[The Macho King]

Start with finding coopers replacement. Add new blood and keep core together. Hedman stamkos kuch=core

Why the hell are we so dead set on keeping Stamkos? First thing I'd do is ask him to waive.

Hedman is core. Kucherov is core. Then we have a bunch of meh.