GDT: 4/22/23 - 7:00PM EDT - #2 Toronto vs #3 Tampa Bay [ECQF GAME 3]

[The Gongshow]

Wont agree, on first one, i think he reacted ok, but the shot was well placed...
On RoR goal he should reacted better, on last one, its 50 50 for me, need more camera angles to see how much traffic was in front of him.

I think he's gonna rebound in next game.

We all said/thought he'd rebounds after the stinker in game 2.....he did not rebound and put the team in the hole they are in now

 

[CupsOverCash]

If we keep playing like we did last game I like our chances. I kno vasi isn't right but I can see him having a lights out game next game. He usually bounces back pretty well after a bad game. At least use to.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

If we keep playing like we did last game I like our chances. I kno vasi isn't right but I can see him having a lights out game next game. He usually bounces back pretty well after a bad game. At least use to.

I don't think Toronto is going to suck that much in game 4

 

[LightningStrikes]

The game was ours to win and we didn’t. That’s what makes it so frustrating.

 

[DarrylshutzSydor]

I said during a replay they would've seen it was "clearly loose", which it objectively was. It obviously wasn't clear during live action which is why the official erroneously blew his whistle.

And, no, I wouldn't be okay with it coming back if it was against us. As a fan who wants us to win, sure, but not because it would've been the proper call because it wouldn't have been. Just as it wasn't last night.

And one other note, the whistle had no effect on the goalie and how he played it. He was in freeze mode because HE also didn't know where the puck was. He didn't relax or change position because of the whistle thinking it was now safe, he sat there, frozen, hoping he had possession. He did not, and never did, and a replay (as I previously stated which you got wrong) would've CLEARLY shown that.

It was a goal, plain and simple. Against us or for us, that's a legitimate goal 100 percent of the time. An official literally resorting to guessing, as he did, and guessing wrongly, doesn't change that fact. It just means guessing should be removed from the game so that earned goals aren't erased in a playoff game. Like I said, either use replay or remove it from consideration. For a league to have it and still get the call wrong is inexcusable.

Agreed. Official dropped the ball because they weren't in proper position to not prematurely blow the whistle. Guy should be fined.

 

[T REX]

Yep. If you look at all the elite goalies, they all have off years. Very rarely (Lundqvist) do you see a goalie keep up elite numbers over a long stretch of time. I have faith in Vasy long-term but not right now.

The problem is the team window is open for maybe another year or 2 max. There is zero help coming. None. It is a shame that it is vasy going at this point in time.. he is the great equalizer. We can play bad for 50/60 and still win when he keeps us in it. This version sucks.

 

[Stammertime91]

Clean shot
Tip
Rebound
Clean shot

Sucks.

 

[Stammertime91]

The problem is the team window is open for maybe another year or 2 max. There is zero help coming. None. It is a shame that it is vasy going at this point in time.. he is the great equalizer. We can play bad for 50/60 and still win when he keeps us in it. This version sucks.

Disagree. Bringing in Hagel, Raddysh and Perbix has filled in a lot of holes and they fit the age group of Cirelli, Serg, Cernak. As long as Kuch, Point and Hedman are healthy, we have a chance. Just have to hope Vasy works through this but he's trending in the wrong direction. This team should have another 3-5 years of knocking. If Chicago could seal a 3rd with playing 3 defenseman and Pittsburgh icing the defense they did, we can do it. Just have to work with what we have.

The biggest deficiencies are 91 and 88. We pay 91 to score and when the going gets tough he's had one "good" playoff run where he came up with important goals. He's looked like shit 3 games so far. Enough said about Vasy. If those two weren't such duds these first 3 games, we'd be up this series. Toronto has shown me nothing that they have championship DNA. If they advance, they get obliterated next round.

 

[CupsOverCash]

I don't think Toronto is going to suck that much in game 4

I agree they will be better but I expect vasi to better when we need it. Hes done it in the past. Give me conn Smyth vasi to come back and be unbeatable after a loss..

 

[Rschmitz]

Disagree. Bringing in Hagel, Raddysh and Perbix has filled in a lot of holes and they fit the age group of Cirelli, Serg, Cernak. As long as Kuch, Point and Hedman are healthy, we have a chance. Just have to hope Vasy works through this but he's trending in the wrong direction. This team should have another 3-5 years of knocking. If Chicago could seal a 3rd with playing 3 defenseman and Pittsburgh icing the defense they did, we can do it. Just have to work with what we have.

The biggest deficiencies are 91 and 88. We pay 91 to score and when the going gets tough he's had one "good" playoff run where he came up with important goals. He's looked like shit 3 games so far. Enough said about Vasy. If those two weren't such duds these first 3 games, we'd be up this series. Toronto has shown me nothing that they have championship DNA. If they advance, they get obliterated next round.

We need an injection of cheap talent, Hagel isn't going to sign a bargain deal and while Perbix and Raddysh are nice the young/affordable star talent that opened up our window is all but spent.

I don't think our window is closed by any stretch, but the days of us having a talent pool that is heads and shoulders above the competition is over.

 

[Stammertime91]

We need an injection of cheap talent, Hagel isn't going to sign a bargain deal and while Perbix and Raddysh are nice the young/affordable star talent that opened up our window is all but spent.

I don't think our window is closed by any stretch, but the days of us having a talent pool that is heads and shoulders above the competition is over.

I agree but no doubt there's going to be some departures in the next year or two. It wouldn't surprise me if Cernak is expendable by the end of next year. He has had it rough without McDonagh.

Way too early to speculate about roster structuring but overall, I think we have another 5 years of contending.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Crazy that the game was on Raddyshs stick and he missed, man....

 

[DFC]

We just have to keep playing like tonight, if Vasy is just a tad better we win this one 99 out of 100. It's frustrating to lose when so many other things were positive, but it is what it is, next one is a must win for sure. Ideally we need two wins in a row now.

Go Bolts!

Agreed. I think part of the frustration is how well the team has played, and how they've exceeded expectations. But we are just doomed if we cant get a save once in a while.

Whatever is going on, I dont believe it's physical. The shots getting through him dont require a lot of athleticism to stop.

 

[OffBy1]

Clean shot
Tip
Rebound
Clean shot

Sucks.

If you watch the replays of Goals #1 and #3 and have nothing more to say than Vasy sucks, you must not know what defensemen are supposed to be doing out on the ice.

 

[zeykshade]

Watched a Marchand goal today that made me angry.

 

[Stammertime91]

If you watch the replays of Goals #1 and #3 and have nothing more to say than Vasy sucks, you must not know what defensemen are supposed to be doing out on the ice.

I've already addressed each of them. Seems you're triggered by how poorly he's playing. Blaming the defense on two of them when two should've never happened is ignoring the elephant in the room. Matthews got his stick free for half a second, good goal. The game tying rebound goal was awful for Cole but you're going to defend Vasy on that too? He closed nothing down into his body. Nevermind the goal #2, and the game winner.

Don't give me the whole "you don't know hockey" nonsense.

 

[Zwui21]

The problem is the team window is open for maybe another year or 2 max. There is zero help coming. None. It is a shame that it is vasy going at this point in time.. he is the great equalizer. We can play bad for 50/60 and still win when he keeps us in it. This version sucks.

This seems like a recurring motto, just like the "Tampa is gonna be royally fcked by the salary cap next year" that we hear every season. And yet we keep going. Zero help coming and we still have 2 rookies on D, doing a pretty damn good job.
There is zero help coming, yet Huuhtanen and Groshev will be here in 1-2 seasons.

Tampa Bay find-a-ways baby, let'sgooooo

 

[DFC]

I've already addressed each of them. Seems you're triggered by how poorly he's playing. Blaming the defense on two of them when two should've never happened is ignoring the elephant in the room. Matthews got his stick free for half a second, good goal. The game tying rebound goal was awful for Cole but you're going to defend Vasy on that too? He closed nothing down into his body. Nevermind the goal #2, and the game winner.

Don't give me the whole "you don't know hockey" nonsense.

How absurd that you believe our $9.5m goalie should come up with the occasional save when the journeyman defenseman lets him down.

 

[zeykshade]

By comparison:
2018-19: .922
2019-20: .924
2020-21: .925
2021-22: .914

This series is close in both ways because Samsonov is almost as bad. If Vasy were remotely himself, we'd be walking to the 2nd round.

Goaltending isn't all about sv% of course and in the playoffs, it's about the timely saves a lot of the time. He's not dependable at this point for the team like he was in the past. He's often the difference in the other direction. The number of softies or softish goals he lets in per game is glaringly worse than it has been in the past.

I long for .914 sv% at this point though.

 

[OffBy1]

I've already addressed each of them. Seems you're triggered by how poorly he's playing. Blaming the defense on two of them when two should've never happened is ignoring the elephant in the room. Matthews got his stick free for half a second, good goal. The game tying rebound goal was awful for Cole but you're going to defend Vasy on that too? He closed nothing down into his body. Nevermind the goal #2, and the game winner.

Don't give me the whole "you don't know hockey" nonsense.

Is that what you go to when someone doesn't agree with you - they must be triggered? Maybe calm down just a little bit.

I've addressed multiple times that Vasy is playing poorly this offseason, as that's the obvious part. And it's also the only part many posts on this thread address.

I stand by what I actually said in my reply to you, not distorted quote you came up with - If you think Vasy's the only problem after watching the replays of the game 3 goals against, then you don't understand what defensemen are supposed to do. If you were earlier giving our defensemen some of the credit they deserved in the outcome, then good for you. It wasn't clear in your post I replied to - and I don't have all 37 pages of this thread committed to memory. However, you apparently missed the times I've said Vasy's playing poorly as well - and that I did it without triggering myself!

 

[DFC]

Is that what you go to when someone doesn't agree with you - they must be triggered? Maybe calm down just a little bit.

I've addressed multiple times that Vasy is playing poorly this offseason, as that's the obvious part. And it's also the only part many posts on this thread address.

I stand by what I actually said in my reply to you, not distorted quote you came up with - If you think Vasy's the only problem after watching the replays of the game 3 goals against, then you don't understand what defensemen are supposed to do. If you were earlier giving our defensemen some of the credit they deserved in the outcome, then good for you. It wasn't clear in your post I replied to - and I don't have all 37 pages of this thread committed to memory. However, you apparently missed the times I've said Vasy's playing poorly as well - and that I did it without triggering myself!

If defenses played perfectly every game, we wouldn't need goalies. I mean, is he the only problem? ...Well, kind of. Our defense hasn't been perfect, but it's easily been good enough that we should be beating up on the Leafs. It's been a lot better than theirs.

We are winning just about every facet of the game except goaltending, so I'm not sure how to conclude anything other than that being the issue.

 

[zeykshade]

Pointing out the glaring shortcomings of the goalie isn't the same as claiming that the goalie is the only problem. That's a strawman.

Vasy has, in the past, been the eraser. He no longer is.

 

[OffBy1]

If defenses played perfectly every game, we wouldn't need goalies. I mean, is he the only problem? ...Well, kind of. Our defense hasn't been perfect, but it's easily been good enough that we should be beating up on the Leafs. It's been a lot better than theirs.

We are winning just about every facet of the game except goaltending, so I'm not sure how to conclude anything other than that being the issue.

Watch Cole in the replays of goal #1 and #3 and explain to me how that is good NHL defense. That's miles away from "not perfect defense".

 

[zeykshade]

Watch Cole in the replays of goal #1 and #3 and explain to me how that is good NHL defense. That's miles away from "not perfect defense".

Watch past Vasy performances in years past. The comparison is jarring. He's not reading the game nearly as well as he has in the past and he's not seeing pucks well at all. Consistent .920+ down to .853...Sub .900 is literally not NHL quality. I don't care what D you have in front of you.

 

[OffBy1]

Pointing out the glaring shortcomings of the goalie isn't the same as claiming that the goalie is the only problem. That's a strawman.

Vasy has, in the past, been the eraser. He no longer is.

Pointing out the glaring shortcomings of the defense on some of the goals isn't the same as claiming the goalie has been playing well.