GDT: 4/21/18 - 3:00PM EDT - #2WC New Jersey VS #1AT Tampa Bay [ECQF GAME 5]

[The Macho King]

I think a lot of that was just the attention to D everyone played with. We weren't looking to score 5 goals to win in games 4 and 5, so I think the horses didn't quite run like normal.

 

[Hoek]

The refs were awesome yesterday. Mostly because they gave us like a million power plays in a row. More reffing like that please.

 

[Coburn and Condra]

think we're the greatest ever when we win in a SO against Arizona.

This has literally never happened. Please dismount from your royal high stallion long enough to provide proof.

 

[PaulGG]

Really happy with how we killed penalties and played defense against a desperate team. It would have been even better if we scored on the PP. We gave up only 7 goals two which were 5 on 3 in the 5 game series.

 

[Stammertime91]

Now these are the numbers I like to see.

This is pretty sweet. I'm still not sure how Stamkos has 6 points but gotta give him credit after nearly a decade in the league lol... he's gotten better at draws. Nice to see our centers step in when needed and win a draw. Gonna be even more important going forward if we play Bergeron and Krejci next round.

 

[Matt Watson]

This has literally never happened. Please dismount from your royal high stallion long enough to provide proof.

I wasn't going back to cull through the records. I could have said Buffalo, Vancouver or Montreal, it was simply an example.

 

[Coburn and Condra]

I wasn't going back to cull through the records. I could have said Buffalo, Vancouver or Montreal, it was simply an example.

I seem to remember a SO win against Montreal about a month ago and it was almost entirely negativity here afterward, so I'm not sure where you're getting this from. There aren't many NHL fans harder on their own team than Bolts fans.

 

[CupsOverCash]

First round exit!

 

[JoVel]

First round exit!

Golfing in April.

 

[DFC]

Also, only Braydon Point has a negative plus minus -2. Corey Conacher has a -1 but only played two games. That Brayden Point stat kinda surprised me.

I think it's important to keep the context in mind though. It's easy to forget that this is Brayden Point's FIRST EVER playoff series, and his first ever playoff assignment was shutting down a frontrunner for the league MVP in Taylor Hall. When you consider that, I think Point (and Palat and Johnson) did pretty well. Hall got less and less effective as the series went on, and I'd argue he was a liability in Game 5.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

I know this is the Atlantic and hence behind a paywall, but it's a great in depth analysis of Game 5 and the solid team defense our boys played. Done by a neutral party too. Joe is just recommending it.

 

[Leonardo87]

Golfing in April.

But Tampa has already been on the Golf channel.

 

[Bolt 45]

I think it's important to keep the context in mind though. It's easy to forget that this is Brayden Point's FIRST EVER playoff series, and his first ever playoff assignment was shutting down a frontrunner for the league MVP in Taylor Hall. When you consider that, I think Point (and Palat and Johnson) did pretty well. Hall got less and less effective as the series went on, and I'd argue he was a liability in Game 5.

The guys on the Jersey board sure know who Point is now. I want to say someone went so far as to call him a faster version of Bergeron, which honestly isn't an entirely ridiculous comparison. Premature perhaps, but not absurd.

 

[Hoek]

Hella premature given his faceoffs among other things but he has plenty of potential yet.

 

[Bolt 45]

Hella premature given his faceoffs among other things but he has plenty of potential yet.

Well, just so we're clear, I wasn't making the one making that comparison. But I like it. And throwing out body of work/experience, faceoffs is the only area where I'd give a clear nod to Bergeron. Point is really good defensively, and I've always felt like Bergeron was a smidge overrated offensively.

 

[Matt Watson]

I seem to remember a SO win against Montreal about a month ago and it was almost entirely negativity here afterward, so I'm not sure where you're getting this from. There aren't many NHL fans harder on their own team than Bolts fans.

What I remember is most everyone on this page giving me an extremely hard time for saying that shootout "wins" are a joke, particularly during TB's 9-0-1 streak,which included four shootout "wins". As for TB fans being harder on their team than most, respectfully, their not in the top ten. First of all, Philadelphia plus every Canadian city by a wide margin, then Boston, the NYIs, Detroit and St. Louis for sure. After than, TB might be in the conversation because the level of expectation is currently high.

 

[Rschmitz]

Bergeron is super underrated

 

[DFC]

Well, just so we're clear, I wasn't making the one making that comparison. But I like it. And throwing out body of work/experience, faceoffs is the only area where I'd give a clear nod to Bergeron. Point is really good defensively, and I've always felt like Bergeron was a smidge overrated offensively.

I've always gone with an even bigger comparison: Yzerman. Not so much for accomplishments, obviously, but Point skates, moves, and thinks the game very similar to Yzerman in his 30s. Strange mix of grit, finesse, and responsibility.

 

[Bolt 45]

I've always gone with an even bigger comparison: Yzerman. Not so much for accomplishments, obviously, but Point skates, moves, and thinks the game very similar to Yzerman in his 30s. Strange mix of grit, finesse, and responsibility.

Hmm. That's pretty high praise, too. I guess I'm not as familiar with our GMs game as I probably should be. Either way, I think we're getting at the same general thing, which is that we've got a special kind of 200-ft player in our "2" C.

 

[DFC]

Hmm. That's pretty high praise, too. I guess I'm not as familiar with our GMs game as I probably should be. Either way, I think we're getting at the same general thing, which is that we've got a special kind of 200-ft player in our "2" C.

It's not an accomplishment thing so much as just the way Point plays the game, and the way he looks. He's just always in control, and then kind of darts around on offense, weighing his options.

Whenever I see #21 with the puck, I feel something almost like relief, because you know he's going to make the right play, whatever that is.

 

[Coburn and Condra]

What I remember is most everyone on this page giving me an extremely hard time for saying that shootout "wins" are a joke, particularly during TB's 9-0-1 streak,which included four shootout "wins". As for TB fans being harder on their team than most, respectfully, their not in the top ten. First of all, Philadelphia plus every Canadian city by a wide margin, then Boston, the NYIs, Detroit and St. Louis for sure. After than, TB might be in the conversation because the level of expectation is currently high.

Sure, make a top ten for something that can't be measured lol. Philly fans are some of the most vile, homery fans in all of sports, so I basically stopped reading when you said "First of all, Philadelphia". Also, it's probably a good idea to make sure your paragraph isn't ripe with grammatical errors before you basically accuse everyone else of being less intelligent than you. I don't know which team you even root for, but please just let us enjoy another great season. Thanks.

 

[Bolt 45]

What I remember is most everyone on this page giving me an extremely hard time for saying that shootout "wins" are a joke, particularly during TB's 9-0-1 streak,which included four shootout "wins". As for TB fans being harder on their team than most, respectfully, their not in the top ten. First of all, Philadelphia plus every Canadian city by a wide margin, then Boston, the NYIs, Detroit and St. Louis for sure. After than, TB might be in the conversation because the level of expectation is currently high.

To be fair, some of us were expressing our confidence at the time that the team had another gear for the playoffs that they simply weren't showing. Were we wrong? I mean, we've only played Jersey, but at no point was the series ever really in question, and we wrapped up our first test more quickly than our peers at the top of the conference. The team you thought you were seeing at the end of the season would have at least struggled against the Devils, right?

This is the best part of the ride. Enjoy it! Or at least try to... personally, I've never been able to enjoy the waning minutes of a close playoff game, but what can you do, right?

 

[Matt Watson]

Sure, make a top ten for something that can't be measured lol. Philly fans are some of the most vile, homery fans in all of sports, so I basically stopped reading when you said "First of all, Philadelphia". Also, it's probably a good idea to make sure your paragraph isn't ripe with grammatical errors before you basically accuse everyone else of being less intelligent than you. I don't know which team you even root for, but please just let us enjoy another great season. Thanks.

Most "top tens" are things that can't be measured, they're opinions based on experience and/or bias and in that way mirror pretty much every post on this board. As for grammatical errors, I don't know what you are referring to. Btw, the phrase is "rife with", not "ripe with". Have a great day.

 

[The Macho King]

Oh my God stop responding to this mouthbreather already.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Guys did you know he reffed at a high level? That's how he can measure fan expectations, he's been there in the trenches with these guys, he's seen high level fanning first hand. Any of you bozos have Tim Peel on speed dial? Didn't think so, your opinions are worthless while mine is the only one that matters.