Add Tortorella to the list that rips Pens, Malkin & Crosby

[ruxpin]

LMAO. Unlike certain people (Ted.....cough cough....Zep....cough) I will rarely pin a loss on a single solitary play that happened with a period and a half left in the game. Still had a 3-1 lead well into the 3rd. 3 players had a chance to prevent to goal in OT (Letang whiffed on the puck, Fleury missed a chance to cover and Staal...no idea...must have been looking at all the bear costumes in the stands). Terrible call? Absolutely. Briere was in the luxury boxes when the puck crossed the line. The goal started a "trickle" of momentum in favor of the Flyers but in no way did that cost the Pens the game.

That said, it's another arrow in my take-your-bias-and-shove-it quiver for whoever needs smacked around on that topic again.

So many thoughts, so I'm going to ramble a bit.

First, even watching it live, I was saying out loud to the TV as Briere was taking the puck "how was he onside?!" It really didn't even look close live. I don't know how a linesman misses that unless he wasn't on the line there and gave the "benefit of the doubt" thing you mention in the non-icing call.

The missed icing call was fairly clear, I thought, but not as crystal, "no doubt about it," clear as the missed offsides. I don't know if the offsides was "worse" or not. I will say, though, that there is a difference between a fought-for puck in the corner eventually coming out and having to go through a team that is supposed to be defending and a blown offsides call that sends a sniper 60 feet in alone on a goalie who was probably thinking, "what the ****?"

No, one goal does not make a game when a team is up 0-3 with a period and a half to play. But you are very right that it does change the feel and the momentum. On the Flyers' side of things, psychologically 1-3 feels a lot better than 0-3. It at least gives you the sense that you're chipping away. It also came in a game when Fleury, until then, had stoned the Flyers on some pretty good opportunities and they had to at least have it creep into their minds that "well, it's one of those games where we're just going to run into a goalie who's going to will it." That goal broke that feeling, and they were able to get to work.

On the Pens' side of things, there's no real excuse for blowing a 3-0 lead like that. I have to imagine at least some players had the unshakeable feeling "hey, we got screwed!" That has to be hard to shake off. When you add that to the fact that we're talking about a team that has had some issues clamping down and especially considering they were playing against a team that HAD come back on them a few times, there had to be that feeling of "here we go again. Circle the wagons!"

It's a shame for Pitt, but obviously I'll take it. It was a nerve-wracking, fun game to watch, but it's a shame it took a play that even the blind woman in the nosebleed section could see was wrong to change the tilt of the game.

Well, 6 more games to go.

[ruxpin]

the simmonds play on fleury was a clever little shot.

17 kind of dragged his skate through the crease , just kind of where fleury was standing and he sort of let his skate "bump" fleury... kind of like a an almost slew foot except it was from the side... it was definitely a sneaky dirty play, but i didn't see simmonds go after his knee. but hey maybe bylsma should have thought of that before he put him out there...

now if kennedy had done that to Bryz. he should be shot.

Yeah, I haven't seen the play since the game. I saw it live and the one, maybe two replays. I didn't get the sense it was a knee and also thought "kind of like a slew foot." I thought it was more of a flop than what the hit was, but that's not a Pitt thing. That's a goalie thing (to try to draw the ref's attention for a call). I think that's an ingrained goalie move they teach in peewee.

For Simmonds' part, it was definitely sneaky and probably fairly called dirty. But smart, too. It's something Kennedy (or Talbot) would do. And yeah, some on here would be yelling about it.

(For the record, B21, I know you're not yelling about it. You only happened to mention it.).

[aziz]

I thought it was more of a flop than what the hit was, but that's not a Pitt thing. That's a goalie thing (to try to draw the ref's attention for a call). I think that's an ingrained goalie move they teach in peewee.

not for nothing, but that was a wearing-perfectly-flat-blades-and-have-30-pounds-of-stuff-on-his-legs thing. a goalie will go down really easy if someone hits his legs when he isn't looking. with no rocker at all, goalie skates are not made for shifting your weight around, and the pads/heavy skates move the center of gravity really low. if a goalie skate starts to go out from under you, it's going to go out from under you.

just saying.

and i couldn't believe that wasn't called. that was a gimme for a ref looking to help the penguins out.

[ruxpin]

and i couldn't believe that wasn't called. that was a gimme for a ref looking to help the penguins out.

Completely agree.

As for the "defense of the goalie" thing, you made me laugh because I was specifically thinking of you ("aziz is going to have an aneurysm reading this") when I wrote it.

[aziz]

@ruxpin

lol

STOP HOLDING MY PEOPLE DOWN

was it you i had that arguement about price a few years ago?

[doom88]

@B21

Way to be a good sport about it. I couldn't believe they blew that offsides, though I thought the Fleury thing was a quasi-slew foot that ends up as incidental contact in the scope of the game overall. The call on Giroux was soft as could be, same for Rinaldo in the scope of the game. Tons of obstruction went by just fine, and I loved it. It's still a contact sport after all eh?

I'm not sure about your quiver thing though, what are you, cupid?

[ruxpin]

was it you i had that arguement about price a few years ago?

I don't think so. I don't recall, anyway. What about Price was it about?

[canoli]

sorry rux, nothing personal, l Heart Hockey Fights too...seeing it run once is pretty cool. Constantly blinking while I'm trying to read the damn thread ...not so much. (!)

Flash movies (.swf) you can stop/start with a simple right-click but yours is a .gif and there are no play/stop controls in the context-menu.

Just thought you should know you're bugging me...!

[aziz]

@ruxpin

this, i think:

[ruxpin]

@aziz

I don't remember. Did I think then, too, that Downie didn't even touch him?

[ruxpin]

Just thought you should know you're bugging me...!

Mission Accomplished.

[aziz]

I don't remember. Did I think then, too, that Downie didn't even touch him?

pretty much. i thought you were quoting yourself when you made that fleury post above.

[B21]

@ruxpin

RE: #201. We'll said. Seems like we are on the same page.

[B21]

@doom88

<< Way to be a good sport about it. I couldn't believe they blew that offsides, though I thought the Fleury thing was a quasi-slew foot that ends up as incidental contact in the scope of the game overall. The call on Giroux was soft as could be, same for Rinaldo in the scope of the game. Tons of obstruction went by just fine, and I loved it. It's still a contact sport after all eh? >>

Always a good sport, no?

That first period was almost surreal in the sense that both teams were hitting (more by the Pens) and it was all good, solid, clean, elbows in, stick down hitting. Honestly, I don't recall seeing anything that could have been called (other than Simmonds on Fleury) unless the officials wanted to be really...and I mean REALLY....ticky tack.

<< I'm not sure about your quiver thing though, what are you, cupid? >>

Just trying to wax poetical. In my years here and Silly.com I have come to the conclusion that a small number of...we'll call them hockey fans...seem to keep a list of things that they feel a certain team named after a flightless bird "gets away with". In the interest of being able to compete with that I've taken to maintaining a mental database of my own....hence - "arrow in my quiver".

I usually only break those out in extreme cases. Check out #115 and #164 in this thread. Haven't seen him back since but he's been over on Silly.com acting like a raving lunatic to anyone who will listen...usually only Kuato.