GDT: 5/21/18 - 8:00PM EDT - #1A Tampa Bay @ #1M Washington [ECF GAME 6]

[Coopers Gum]

IF

Molon Labe!

 

[DFC]

How does one even fix that? On paper, this is the best team in the league, I'd say. Easily the most talented roster we've ever iced.

I think we ran into a defensive structure that just completely has our number. And we've had no answer for it, outside of a moment or two.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

If this plays out like 2016 I will be thoroughly pissed. We have to win I will sacrifice my first born for a win and then my second born for a cup.

 

[Antiramie]

Well, I guess we should fill our team with Ryan Callahans then. Never takes a shift off.

Minus his contract, I’m all for it. I’ll gladly take guys with less talent that lead with unrelenting hustle and perseverance than prima donnas like Kuch, who people like you make excuses for because you can’t admit that a guy who by all means should be a leader on this team looks like a pouty brat.

That’s why I think Vegas would beat our skulls in.

 

[FinnLightning26]

This is going eerily similar to 2016 ECF. Vasy keeping us in it, have a 3-2 series lead... I just hope the game 7 result is different.

 

[Bolt 45]

I think we're going to find out something's off with Kucherov. His shot is still there, but he doesn't seem to have much agility or speed. At least not what we're used to.

It's partially an ego thing, and it's been going on all year. He thinks he's arrived, and doesn't play like he has something to prove anymore.

That being said, he wasn't any worse than 90% of the rest of the team tonight.

 

[DFC]

Quit making freaking excuses for the guy, everyone including the commentators can see what is going on and he is not giving it his all. He is a poor example of a your supposedly best player leading by example and I am not talking just about scoring.

...I'm saying he's had two bad series. But there are people in this thread saying we should get rid of him.

Yes, he's bad right now, but we've made 3 ECFs in the last 4 years, and two of those don't happen without Nikita Kucherov. So let's not be so emotional and reactionary over a bad loss and think we'd be better off without one of the ten best players in the league.

 

[DFC]

Minus his contract, I’m all for it. I’ll gladly take guys with less talent that lead with unrelenting hustle and perseverance than prima donnas like Kuch, who people like you make excuses for because you can’t admit that a guy who by all means should be a leader on this team looks like a pouty brat.

That’s why I think Vegas would beat our skulls in.

Yeah, because James Neal is such a perfect example of gamesmanship.

You're talking about Kucherov the way people often talk about Ovechkin, who was a key part of Washington's win tonight. And Kucherov has been a key part of every playoff success we've had in the Cooper era except for this one.

It's recency bias. You just watched the guy have a string of bad games, so you're forgetting those times he put the team on his back.

 

[Flat Ronnie]

Quit making freaking excuses for the guy, everyone including the commentators can see what is going on and he is not giving it his all. He is a poor example of a your supposedly best player leading by example and I am not talking just about scoring.

I love how on this board the players that are liked get a million excuses but the scapegoat players are not allowed such leeway.

 

[Antiramie]

...I'm saying he's had two bad series. But there are people in this thread saying we should get rid of him.

Yes, he's bad right now, but we've made 3 ECFs in the last 4 years, and two of those don't happen without Nikita Kucherov. So let's not be so emotional and reactionary over a bad loss and think we'd be better off without one of the ten best players in the league.

No ones saying he’s not an asset. But IMO he’s not worth top 10 money going forward.

 

[DFC]

I love how on this board the players that are liked get a million excuses but the scapegoat players are not allowed such leeway.

Because some of them have a big, long track record of coming up big in the playoffs.

 

[DMB06]

Game 7 is simple, if we show up and play like scared little children like we did in game 6, we lose. If we show up and play like we actually care about winning anything of worth, we win. We'll find out Wednesday.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

This is going eerily similar to 2016 ECF. Vasy keeping us in it, have a 3-2 series lead... I just hope the game 7 result is different.

Honestly I feel worse now than I did heading into 2016 Game 7. I was actually somewhat confident in heading into Game 7 2015.

 

[Flat Ronnie]

I think we ran into a defensive structure that just completely has our number. And we've had no answer for it, outside of a moment or two.

So that's three playoffs in a row where we've run into a team that's been night and day better than us.

Is that not unusual? We're not just getting beat, we're getting THOROUGHLY beat.

 

[Game suspension]

My take was the big 3 were pretty horrible. Hedman was a mess and I find the Bolts game revolves around him. When he is not good the Bolts are not going to be good.

Anyone else notice that long range replay where Pointe just lets Smith-Pelly go up the ice and score a goal? That was really ugly.

 

[gg720fla]

It would have been nice to play a good game even though you lost to build on going to a game 7, but this one feels totally demoralizing the way we played to give us and the players confidence.

 

[Flat Ronnie]

Because some of them have a big, long track record of coming up big in the playoffs.

Come on....

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

Every year this happens it feels like I am having apart of my soul ripped out.

 

[Antiramie]

Yeah, because James Neal is such a perfect example of gamesmanship.

You're talking about Kucherov the way people often talk about Ovechkin, who was a key part of Washington's win tonight. And Kucherov has been a key part of every playoff success we've had in the Cooper era except for this one.

It's recency bias. You just watched the guy have a string of bad games, so you're forgetting those times he put the team on his back.

So Kucherov never took off games before this series? The entire board was in an uproar for half the season because the guy looked like a head case. But yea keep making excuses.

 

[Master P]

Lmao i'll never get over "the sky is falling" mentality of some fans.

Gotta learn to put the bad games behind you and move on. I'm ready for a game 7.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

Lmao i'll never get over "the sky is falling" mentality of some fans.

Gotta learn to put the bad games behind you and move on. I'm ready for a game 7.

Except recent history has some of us worried and with good reason, We have seen this playout before.

 

[Flat Ronnie]

Every year this happens it feels like I am having apart of my soul ripped out.

Like I said, it's not that we are just losing, it's that we are getting convincingly beat by another team throughout the series.

 

[SF91]

If we lose on Wednesday that will be 3x playoffs in a row where we were eliminated by a team that was DECISIVELY better than us. Not evenly matched series, but beat by a team that was EASILY better.

That seems to be a problem.

I dont agree with Hawks or Caps being Decisively better than us-especially the former

 

[Goober]

I'll admit it - I'm the biggest negative, sky is falling fan. Fire Cooper. Kucherov sucks. Stamkos is invisible. Hedman was terrible. I'm as pissed as anyone about tonight's effort.

But I say just step off the ledge and take a deep breath.

I just have this feeling that Wednesday night we will all be singing a different tune. I just feel it.


Who's with me?

 

[Flat Ronnie]

I dont agree with Hawks or Caps being Decisively better than us-especially the former

No offense, but I just don't think we are watching the same series.