GDT: carwas | Game 5

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Yes, really. Even Williams said he expected Round 1 to be like this because round 1 series are always the most physical. The Caps are a physical team that tries to intimidate with their physicality and that's what we are seeing. I'm not suggesting they aren't crossing the line some, but it's playoff hockey.

And with respect to the "we watch a **** load of playoffs". Watching another team play in the playoffs and get hit is totally different than watching the team you root for play. The emotional attachment of seeing your team get hit is what drives the fan reaction and some of what we are seeing here. Complaining about that Ovi hit on Foegele in the twitter above is a prime example. If that was Ferland hitting Niskanen, we'd be applauding it.

The other series is seeing some of the same stuff, and even worse, just that many of them got toned down because of teams getting bounced early. Thornton, Kucherov and Kadri have all been suspended for doing things worse than we've seen in this series. And early in the series, Dougie and Fleury had plays just as chippy/dirty as the Caps.

[MOD]

Better said

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I'll just add on so people don't get the wrong idea. While I think the majority of what we've seen falls into the category of 'playoff hockey', I do recognize that the Caps play near the edge and have some players that are known to be dirty/reckless. So far, most of it has been chippy, but what I expect, and for the most part, the Canes haven't backed down. If, in game 7, they do cross that line in a big way and take a cheap shot that injures someone, I clearly won't support that.

 

[RodTheBawd]

My "really?" tone was more directed at that comment I highlighted than the rest of your point. That is the exact language that media and Caps bandwagoners have been using, it's pretty insulting.

Yes, there is some bias from that sensitivity to your own team angle, but the amount of under the radar flying elbows on extremely late hits aren't something I'm seeing elsewhere. I guess any series can turn to that, just looks a bit more egregious in this one.

[MOD]

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Yes, really. Even Williams said he expected Round 1 to be like this because round 1 series are always the most physical. The Caps are a physical team that tries to intimidate with their physicality and that's what we are seeing. I'm not suggesting they aren't crossing the line some, but it's playoff hockey.

And with respect to the "we watch a **** load of playoffs". Watching another team play in the playoffs and get hit is totally different than watching the team you root for play. The emotional attachment of seeing your team get hit is what drives the fan reaction and some of what we are seeing here. Complaining about that Ovi hit on Foegele in the twitter above is a prime example. If that was Ferland hitting Niskanen, we'd be applauding it.

The other series is seeing some of the same stuff, and even worse, just that many of them got toned down because of teams getting bounced early. Thornton, Kucherov and Kadri have all been suspended for doing things worse than we've seen in this series. And early in the series, Dougie and Fleury had plays just as chippy/dirty as the Caps.

[MOD]

Dead on.