An Islander - Habs final is inevitable

[Gurglesons]

You mean like Kris Letang trying to hold guys as they pressure Brian Doumulin for the puck or Brandon Tanev trying to scum guys after the whistle in front of the net? Which shall we crack down on if it comes to that.

Yes. I do.

The hockey in the East Division is terrible.

 

[miscs75]

Yes. I do.

I can even go as far as Crosby with the consistent slew foot that happens 2-3x a game that he seems to magically get away with. The issue is that the refs will let certain teams/players get away with it the same way they let Lebron flop more then Kucherov does when someone looks at him the wrong way. If they crack down on that, they need to crack down on embellishment that they fail to do so. There’s a fine line that they need to toe before it turns into the first year post lockout and anything with a stick over the ankles was called as an obstruction.

 

[Gurglesons]

I can even go as far as Crosby with the consistent slew foot that happens 2-3x a game that he seems to magically get away with. The issue is that the refs will let certain teams/players get away with it the same way they let Lebron flop more then Kucherov does when someone looks at him the wrong way. If they crack down on that, they need to crack down on embellishment that they fail to do so. There’s a fine line that they need to toe before it turns into the first year post lockout and anything with a stick over the ankles was called as an obstruction.

Meh. I loved 06-10 hockey. It was cool to see the best players able to be the best players.

Also, yes. Crosby slew foots players every second he is on the ice.

 

[BlueMed]

Carey Price and Matthew Barzal aren't superstars? Okay.

 

[Gurglesons]

Carey Price and Matthew Barzal aren't superstars? Okay.

I definitely would not consider Matthew Barzal a superstar. But maybe that’s the state of the league. 70 pt centers are now “superstars”.

Cue the “well it’s the system argument”. Which is my exact f***ing point…

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Is no superstars, four lines of hustle the new recipe?

christ i hope not

ESPN must be sweating bullets right now

 

[BlueMed]

I definitely would not consider Matthew Barzal a superstar. But maybe that’s the state of the league. 70 pt centers are now “superstars”.

Cue the “well it’s the system argument”. Which is my exact f***ing point…

Even if you only consider him a star and not a "superstar," the original post was naive. We've seen lots of teams win cups without the top 5 best players in the league...this isn't something new.

 

[Bood12]

all these jinx and reverse jinx threads means Covid is probably going to come back hard and they are going to have to cancel the finals

 

[MattMartin]

The only thing that I find to be "inevitable" is the moronic threads on the playoff boards.

 

[MattMartin]

Yes. I do.

The hockey in the East Division is terrible.

The Penguins got bounced and the end of the road is near......

 

[SaintsThomas]

Jesus f***ing christ. How many of these "an x final is inevitable" or "X team is finished" do we need?!

Can't we just enjoy one goddam f***ing series at a time? Jesus Christ.

 

[CupHolders]

Call penalties more regularly in regards to holding and hooking, take one person in scrums, further crack down on subtle interference.

The East in general has some of the most exciting players in the league yet every top team is playing the Trotz playbook. It is terrible.

The Lightning were the most penalized team in the regular season, the Isles third least.

The narrative that the Isles succeed with clutch, grab and trapping is false. If the NHL was consistent as you suggest, the Isles in“likelihood” should be receiving more PowerPlays than Tampa in this series

 

[Isles Junkie]

Call penalties more regularly in regards to holding and hooking, take one person in scrums, further crack down on subtle interference.

The East in general has some of the most exciting players in the league yet every top team is playing the Trotz playbook. It is terrible.

the league absolutely has cracked down on holding and hooking.

I remember in the 90s when the rule was you can hook them but as long as the person doing the hooking kept moving his feet then it was legal.

I don't have the evidence, but I'd guess and say there are more hooking and holding calls now than there have ever been.

As for "Trotz playbook." What does that even mean? Teams rolling 4 lines and trying to keep the opposition to the outside perimeter? What NHL coach doesn't want that?

People think the Trotz system is some sort of neutral zone trap that forces teams to dump and chase. But it just isn't. Teams skate freely into the NYI zone all the damn time. Teams keep the puck in the zone against the NYI all the time. It's one of the reasons why the Isles are routinely outshot by so much. They spend a lot of time in their own zone.

I just don't get how anyone can watch the NYI series' the last 2 years and think it's boring.

 

[CupsOverCash]

No doubt...

 

[MXD]

No.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

How should the NHL "Cater" to teams with star players while simultaneously keeping the product genuine and legitimate?

What about the current system is unfair to any team no longer playing? What exactly is the league doing to keep teams like the Canadiens and Islanders playing?

Actually calling all the penalties. I see all the time "If the refs called every infraction against McDavid the Oilers would be on the PP 40 minutes a game"

Good. Eventually teams will. learn to play cleaner. Less hooking, slashing, cross checking, and interference will benefit the league's stars and hurt the bottom 6/bottom pair guys who don't have the talent to keep up.

Allowing this anything goes style of hockey majorly works in favor of the gritty less talented, deep teams (Habs, Islanders, and even Vegas to some degree) and hurts the teams with huge portions of their cap dedicated to star players who get their offense stifled in the playoffs

 

[Puckstop40]

Colorado vs Carolina is inevitable… in 2022

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

 

[Axel574]

I definitely would not consider Matthew Barzal a superstar. But maybe that’s the state of the league. 70 pt centers are now “superstars”.

Cue the “well it’s the system argument”. Which is my exact f***ing point…

You are such sour grapes... Reading your bile has been very entertaining. Thanks.

 

[Reggiet2]

Call penalties more regularly in regards to holding and hooking, take one person in scrums, further crack down on subtle interference.

The East in general has some of the most exciting players in the league yet every top team is playing the Trotz playbook. It is terrible.

Wow, this guy is a true moron! So you want hard working teams to constantly lose! What a dumbass!!!

 

[Reggiet2]

This poor sour LOSER, actually thinks that handing the league to only superstars is exciting, thats called the Fix! I'm sure people would watch fixed games!!!

 

[Reggiet2]

Oh BTW, Crosby, Malkin, & Latang are not superstars anymore so you would be considered one of the bad teams!! The Penguin's are now the Islanders Bitch!!!

 

[summer tooth]

Montreal has a superstar goalie and they make great efforts up front. Isles have tremendous talent in their top 3 centremen, and they have several players who can get the puck deep.

 

[Isles Junkie]

Actually calling all the penalties. I see all the time "If the refs called every infraction against McDavid the Oilers would be on the PP 40 minutes a game"

Good. Eventually teams will. learn to play cleaner. Less hooking, slashing, cross checking, and interference will benefit the league's stars and hurt the bottom 6/bottom pair guys who don't have the talent to keep up.

Allowing this anything goes style of hockey majorly works in favor of the gritty less talented, deep teams (Habs, Islanders, and even Vegas to some degree) and hurts the teams with huge portions of their cap dedicated to star players who get their offense stifled in the playoffs

Absolutely preposterous. The notion that guys like McDavid don't get calls is just pure nonsense.

The problem is, when you have guys who are as other worldly as McDavid go down, people think it must be only because something illegal happened. Guys like McDavid get calls go their way all the damn time.

This notion that the league is in favor of an "anything goes style of hockey" is absurd.

MAYBE, just MAYBE building your roster "with huge portions of their cap dedicated to star players" is the wrong way to go about building a team because it takes more than just a few players to win a championship.

 

[Reggiet2]

Montreal has a superstar goalie and they make great efforts up front. Isles have tremendous talent in their top 3 centremen, and they have several players who can get the puck deep.

Don't bother this guy is clueless and SOUR Pens fan!