TropicalFruitGirl26

After that uber marathon of a game that was equivalent to two and a half games, the Bolts and Jackets are at it again. Surprisingly, and maybe this is just the first period, the Lightning look quite fresh out there...maybe just a bit more so than Columbus. Could be the Jackets just pacing themselves better, however, so we will see. The Lightning were making full use of all four of their lines in the last game (Ceddy Paquette and his line was seeing LOTS of prime situation ice time last game out), and according to the broadcasters, the Bolts were using more lines than Columbus was. We will see if that plays a part in stamina today.

The battle for the Trotz Cup is on.... and the Isles have been playing the Caps tough, but Washington's skill has seen them through. 2-0 score as the 2nd period nears its end. Jordan Eberle, however, gives NY some life with a late goal. Down 2-1 looks much better for the Islanders than being down 2-0. Shame for NY if all their grittiness is going to waste as Washington seemed to be inching away from them on the scoreboard.

And the crazy thing is, something like that would fall right in line with how everything has gone this year.

Patrice! He wins it for the B's.

2nd OT for the Canes and Bruins.... Only three more to go to match Bolts-Jackets.

Have been watching a bit of this on and off today... Reasonably exciting...then again, I am listening to John Forslund on the play by play, and he has a propensity to make ANY teams he announces for (lucky him, he gets his home network Canes!) sound very exciting. Love listening to his calls. Anyways, looks like the Bruins and Canes, not happy bout being bumped by the Lightning and Jackets, will try to do a multi OT of their own. Boston and Carolina: "...What??? TB and CBJ with an epic quintuple overtime???? Hold our beers...."

Yave....listening to your wife and NOT Jody Shelley should be a NO BRAINER!

@OccamsRazor It just doesn't have the same "feel" to it. No teams playing in front of their home fans, thus no genuine excitement from a crowd that isn't there (technology provides some nice virtual crowds however), the whole hastily slapped together playoff format....any momentum built up from before all this mess started and any slumping by any teams at the wrong times....completely erased.....no real sense that teams are putting the finishing touches on a grueling, grind of a season to win team sport's ultimate prize. And like you said, with all the other things going on OUTSIDE of hockey, well, that just contributes to the flat feeling of watching hockey in August. Social situations, family situations, schooling, jobs, people acting like $##@holes when they should be pulling together during this pandemic.... it all contributes in some way to the overall feel of what is going on, and for me, unfortunately, it has spilled over to my enjoyment of pro sports....even my affinity for the Major Leagues is diminished by all this. Trying to enjoy stuff.....I am here posting after all...I am watching games, and I will keep any negatives I have to a minimum because I certainly don't want to diminish enjoyment of hockey for anyone else.... but for me, right now, its all just...sorta there. TB win over the Jackets did put a smile on my face. Not gonna lie. But I can tell you....had everything been normal, and TB, after playing 82 games, faces down the Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs....and pull off a win like they did last night, I probably would have needed several valiums to get me down from the excitement! @mojo1917 See my post above...plus, I will add, these playoffs are its own thing. They feel like they aren't particularly related to the season that was ended abruptly. What it will come down to is this: Whomever can come out of suspended season hot, whomever can just play over the next two months the best they can (they don't have to be great, they don't even have to be good as an organization once seasons fall back to normal), whomever can take advantage of whatever lethargy the other team may have due to the pause in the season....they will win the Cup. For the players, good for them...I expect nothing less than players giving their all.....let the media and us fans talk all we want about who deserves what....players will play to win, I get that...which is why I find the whole "tanking" thing a ridiculous thing to level at any group of players in the NHL....owners? Maybe...players? Not a chance...too much pride and they have their bodies and livelihoods on the line every time out for them to seriously partake in that nonsense. But yea, I'd put an asterisk next to the 95 Devils...and those Blackhawks that won in a lock out shortened season. Difference is, and this came over time, both those teams for the next several years, and before those wins, proved they truly were "legit". Winner of the Covid Cup can probably do the same. If someone wins, and they suck for the next five years after that, well, we will know the asterisk is well deserved. If they win, but continue on and are a contender for a few seasons afterwards, a case can be made, like the Devils and Blackhawks, that although there is an asterisk, they proved they still deserved to win, as proven by their track record after that. Bottom line: These playoffs feel more like an Olympics or World Cup type setup. Winner doesn't have to be the best marathon runner....just the best sprinter. If fans like it just as much, then more power to them. Like I said to Occams, I am trying to enjoy things as much as I can, but simply find my enthusiasm for it all is just not the same as it normally would be.

Fun fact... This is the FIRST victory for the TB Lightning over the Blue Jackets in the playoffs...ever...

FINALLY!! The Point has come back....to win the game....

Bolts PP... Here is their chance to finally put this thing away....a cheap delay of game penalty, but hey, you take it if you are TB..

So much WOW, that the Bruins/Canes game that was supposed to be played was moved to tomorrow morning!! Bolts n Jackets hogging up all the ice....

I'm holding up pretty well actually. I am not as emotionally invested in these playoffs as I normally would be. That said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't care whether the Bolts exorcised a big demon and beat the Jackets. I still feel that whomever wins this Cup should have an asterisk next to their name, but at the very least, I would like it if the Bolts, even if they lose at some point later, wouldn't go into the short break before a season restart STILL stewing over the Blue Jackets.

5th OT Shots 87-61 in favor of the Lightning.... Insane...

Rooting Flyers. They are one of the Covid Cup's biggest surprises looking mighty damned unstoppable so far. While I don't quite think the Fly are as good (yet) as they have shown in these half baked playoffs, I still like them as a team on the rise, and I do believe Carter Hart is the real deal. Contrast this with the Montreal Canadiens who were rightly out of the playoff picture when all this mess started, and I gotta say the series is the Flyers' to lose.

Vancouver Canucks have absolutely NOTHING to lose here. All pressure is on the Blues (if there IS any actual pressure in these Covid Cup playoffs), and overall, the Blues ARE the more complete team. But I like these Canucks. Young up n comers, have some real nice players on board....and they did the Minnesota Wild a big favor by removing them from the equation (Wild can now plan ahead for '20-'21 with a shot at a better draft pick). Rooting Vancouver as they are playing with house money, although I think the Blues take this. Probably in 6.

I was never impressed with Jonas Korpasalo (or CorpseASalo as I sometimes called him), but I have to give him props.... If it weren't for him, the Bolts would have won Game 1 long ago. Game is still in progress....about to go into a FOURTH overtime as I type this, but man, has Korpasalo been excellent. If he plays like this when the seasons go back to somewhat normal, then Columbus fans can say "Bobrovsky Who?"...of course referring to the big name goalie that left and many assumed (myself included) that the Jackets simply did NOT have a proper replacement for him. Korpa just may be that guy.

Can't say I'm surprised by this result. Van wins 3-1 in the set. Not that the Canucks are world beaters, but they are an up n coming team, and the Minnesota, well, at least they ended up where they were when all this craziness began...out of the playoffs.

Nice going NHL... The "no business being there" Habs take out the Penguins who were in. But then, this sort of thing is to be expected, right?

Probably. But then again, think of all the "drinking angles" they could market as well...

Well, yours looks fuzzy....nothing a good shaver couldn't fix though...

Seattle Kraken. I am actually fine with that. I was voting for that name on threads elsewhere. We've got enough big cats, birds, fish types, equidae and ursids throughout sports world.......but not a whole lot of cephalopods, so that is unique. Color scheme, I thought they would work in some brown or tan, but admittedly, that would make it hard to sell sweaters, as brown isn't terribly popular in that regard. Color scheme is fine. As others mentioned, hard to come up with something unique given the amount of teams in the league and that there are just so many colors to go around. I still won't be giving much of a damn with the half baked "playoffs" coming up, but glad to finally have Seattle officially in the NHL fold.....it is a remnant of what I was considering "normal" in the hockey, nay....SPORTS, world. Nothing is normal anymore. Now...if they can only get Liam Neeson as the PA announcer introducing the team as they take the ice....

I've mentioned on other threads I've always liked the classic side view Senators logo better than the one they've been using. Glad it is coming back.

I'm tellin ya... All they need to do is CALL ME....and I have the entire thing with names, uniforms, even entrance themes and goal horns all worked out for them! Seattle Kraken....have a green n tan motif with a hint of gold on the uniforms..... Tridents a-plenty.... Have the players enter the arena beneath a giant squid-like creature (ala the San Jose Sharks), as Liam Neeson says over the PA "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!" Goal horn can be somewhat muffled but eerie foghorn followed by a crash of waves and splintering of wood (to simulate a kraken attack on an old sailor's ship), followed by some deep bass music that will pump up the home goal scorers....and irritate the opposition (though I admit, topping Chicago's goal music and Nashville's "you suck" theme will be difficult in terms of pure annoyance).... See that? I slapped that together in just a few minutes. Not sure what kind of screwing around is happening over in Seattle, but they need to get their tentacles out of their rear beak holes and come up with a name and aesthetics while the REAL issues of Covid and all the impact that is still having, are still being dealt with...

I don't care what anyone in the media or who works for teams or the NHL itself says....there SHOULD be an asterisk (and there WILL be in the minds of many hockey fans), regardless of who wins this...."tournament". Seems its a hastily slapped together thing that is extremely short sighted and they are doing it just to be able to say "we crowned a champion in 2020"......for all the asterisks that is worth. So any team from the "no business being there Wild" to the "might have won again Blues", any one of them, simply cannot be viewed in the same light as past SC champions who actually went through a straight 82-game season and a proper meat grinder 4-rounds of playoffs to get the ultimate prize. My biggest concern in all this is the status of the proper 2020-21 season. How will that be affected? Will there be more significant injuries due to this forced 24-team playoffs followed by a short turnaround for the start of the next season? Or will we see lackluster play at the END of next season (in time for those playoffs), due to players simply being worn down more than usual? I guess we will see. And Covid 19 may not even be done wreaking havoc in the sports world either. But for this upcoming playoffs, I find it very hard to get excited about it. Feels like one giant exhibition season before the real season starts in October again.