tony d
New poll series coming from me on June 3
Officiating is the big 1 for me. I wonder how different things would have been had the officating hadn't been so ? during the playoffs.
I counted maybe 4 penalties that could have been called. A slash late in the game, tripping penalty on Macavoy, couple iffy interference calls (that usually don't get called but should get called in the playoffs anyways), and a tit-for-tat glove punch roughing penalties. Rest of the game was really quite clean I feel.Both teams got away with stuff last night, but I'm fine with the refs being consistent and not calling anything last night.
I counted maybe 4 penalties that could have been called. A slash late in the game, tripping penalty on Macavoy, couple iffy interference calls (that usually don't get called but should get called in the playoffs anyways), and a tit-for-tat glove punch roughing penalties. Rest of the game was really quite clean I feel.
I mean the ones I saw were mostly pace of play stuff. The three that I can think of are Maroon being interfered with by Krug, Dunn high stick, and Steen being hooked by someone.
As long as it wasn't boarding or goalie interference(which there weren't any of those last night), I had no problems.
Lightning getting swept will probably be the most memorable storyline for me if they don't manage to win a Cup with that loaded team.
It could be a changing of the guard in the Central. STL, Dallas, Colorado look much better prepared for the next 3 years than WPG, Chi, Nashville.The arrival of Cale Makar
Haven't seen anybody mention JacksNYB storyline. Kinda cool that some players on the worst team in the league go to a bar in Philly and end up with a new fanbase and a locker room song that kicks off an 11 game winning streak.
As long as the forwards and goaltending stay healthy Chicago could be back in the playoffsI think in a few years we'll look back at this playoff as the emergence or breakthrough of some teams that will be at or around the top of the league for a while to come.
Dallas, Colorado, Calgary, NYI, Carolina, and of course, St. Louis should all be set up to continue their excellent play into the future. Possibly Columbus as well, but we'll have to see about their FA situation. With some of the 'traditional' franchises of the past decade (Pitt, Wash, SJ, Bos, Chi, LAK) starting to get up there in age that crop of teams could be the ones that carry this team through the next stage of the league.