Eastern Conference: #1 Washington Capitals vs. #4 Toronto Maple Leafs

[mojo1917]

this series has been entertaining.

[Buffalo Rick]

7 hours ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

 

At one point the Capitals had a 5-on-3 last night (when the score was 3-1 Washington) and couldn't score. That was the defining moment of the game. They opened with two quick goals and were just about to bury the Leafs on the powerplay... except that it didn't happen. The Leafs once again did the "bent but not break" routine and came back. The Capitals seemed to lose their will to win after that point (or didn't know any more how to win) and Toronto took it to them for most of the game from that point on.

 

They are toast

[WordsOfWisdom]

5 hours ago, pilldoc said:

 

On the contrary....the Caps have to start playing desperate hockey.  They CANNOT go down 3-1 if they have any hopes to win this series.  Game 4 is a must win for the Caps. 

 

Leafs don't do well in situations where they are up 3-1.  

 

Still a long way to go in this series, but it has become fascinating when I otherwise thought it would be uneventful. If the Leafs win the series, the NHL Bracket Challenge might as well close up shop because there won't be any winners this year lol.

 

[ruxpin]

5 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

Leafs don't do well in situations where they are up 3-1.  

 

Still a long way to go in this series

Way to manage expectations and hedge hope. I completely respect that. 

[J0e Th0rnton]

I went leafs in 7 and I am pulling for them, although it hurts to admit it. Maybe it was a longshot, but i did not feel it was as much of a longshot as people made it out to be. Especially since I am not a fan of Trotz coaching in the playoffs. People told me "yeah, that's different the Preds were no good", but i would emphasize the perplexing on ice matchups he employed and lack of good use of final change to protect vs other teams top forwards. He also did not often shelter the bottom pairing D by putting them with the top line forwards, and as a result it often lead to missmatches.

 

This time his perplexing decisions are even more perplexing. Has anyone seen Ovechkin and Shattenkirk's TOI for last game? How is Niskanen getting nearly 25 minutes a game while Shattenkirk is getting 16? Something is up. Not sure if this kind of "motivational" tactic will work on some of those guys.

 

All I see are caps fans furious that he is not making adjustments and canny calculated strategic adjustments and I can only think "i said so didn't I?"

 

I did pick them to go to the Conference finals vs the Pens and lose there in my bracket and I did pick up Matthews in the playoff pool as my final forward.

[FD19372]

Caps really had the Leafs back on their heels, really going to the net strong in the 1st.  The alarm clock might have gone off for Washington.

[ruxpin]

I see a good hit.  I don't think this should even get two minutes except that the refs were trying to prevent a powder keg.

 

It's a classic, beautiful hip check.  Gets him mid-thigh until Ovechkin (understandably) tries to avoid.    This is classic hockey.  Washington and its fans need to quit whining.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[nossagog]

Not a fan of the hit, although I thought it was actually a legal hit.  Its one of those things where the player trying to avoid the big hit gets hurt trying to avoid.  The reason i don't like this is that although this looks like an old fashioned hip check, hip checks always expose knees.  Knees take players out and I like to see the best play the game. (And I'm not an Ovie fan at all)

 

On a side note, its always interesting to me how a team that loves to stray on the line of legal hits always takes so mush offense to a hit on their team thats on that same line.   How many times did Kadri get slashed behind the legs or speared in the game after that, at least the ref's called ONE penalty for some of them. 

[WordsOfWisdom]

32 minutes ago, nossagog said:

Not a fan of the hit, although I thought it was actually a legal hit.  Its one of those things where the player trying to avoid the big hit gets hurt trying to avoid.  The reason i don't like this is that although this looks like an old fashioned hip check, hip checks always expose knees.  Knees take players out and I like to see the best play the game. (And I'm not an Ovie fan at all)

 

On a side note, its always interesting to me how a team that loves to stray on the line of legal hits always takes so mush offense to a hit on their team thats on that same line.   How many times did Kadri get slashed behind the legs or speared in the game after that, at least the ref's called ONE penalty for some of them. 

 

Not sure what happened to hip checks in the NHL but they always result in a penalty now.

 

Kadri got slashed a few times after making that hit. He finally took a massive swan dive and the ref called a penalty, but then he got called for diving too. So basically if you touch Ovechkin, the other team has free reign to slash (Kadri) and crosscheck (Komarov) anyone they want without repercussions.

 

How many times has Ovie levelled someone in his career? 

[WordsOfWisdom]

On 4/19/2017 at 6:44 AM, J0e Th0rnton said:

I went leafs in 7 and I am pulling for them, although it hurts to admit it.

 

 

I'm covered either way in this series. If the Leafs win, yay Toronto! If the Caps win, I finally get some points in my bracket challenge.  

[nossagog]

9 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

 

Not sure what happened to hip checks in the NHL but they always result in a penalty now. For certain players.   Suban delivers them with that back side hip check all the time, and he does not seem to get called for that. 

 

Kadri got slashed a few times after making that hit. He finally took a massive swan dive and the ref called a penalty, but then he got called for diving too. So basically if you touch Ovechkin, the other team has free reign to slash (Kadri) and crosscheck (Komarov) anyone they want without repercussions.

 

How many times has Ovie levelled someone in his career? 

Words, Don't get me wrong, I'm agreeing with you and have NO pity whatsoever for Ovie.   The number of players he's hit dirty(oh I'm sorry, I need to use  the term "With Passion" with his hits as Caps fans like to call them) that have taken them out of a lineup(heck just look at the true knee on knee with Sergei Gonchar in the playoff that he got away with scott free). And has even ended a career with a check from behind. 

 

He's run around all series hitting people with or without the puck with impunity. And as I mentioned, when something happens to him or god forbid someone hit him hard, he sees it as a get out of jail free card to go even further. 

 

As for hip checks in the NHL, the reason I cringe when I see them now is the fact that the game is going as such a fast pace these days. Players are that much faster, and if you mistime a hip check, straight on, bad things can happen.   

[ruxpin]

53 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

 

Not sure what happened to hip checks in the NHL but they always result in a penalty now.

 

Kadri got slashed a few times after making that hit. He finally took a massive swan dive and the ref called a penalty, but then he got called for diving too. So basically if you touch Ovechkin, the other team has free reign to slash (Kadri) and crosscheck (Komarov) anyone they want without repercussions.

 

How many times has Ovie levelled someone in his career? 

 

I forget who it was against this year, but Gudas laid out an absolutely gorgeous hip check on someone coming into the left faceoff circle with the puck.  I mean gorgeous.   I think he actually got the gate for it.  It was definitely penalized, but now that I'm typing I'm not sure -- going to say he got tossed.

 

It can be dangerous if not done right.  And in this case, the only negative is that Kadri is moving at a pretty good pace with it.   You kind of like to see stationary or a drift into the other player so that the opponent's momentum actually produces the collision.  Outside of a reduction of a couple tenths of a point on the technical score, I thought this one was pretty good.

[ruxpin]

Speaking of Kadri, his dive last night was pathetic.   I mean that was utterly embarrassing.   He got the call, too, which is even more pathetic.   I think call both of them there.  One for the infraction, one for embellishment  ("Flopping" is not yet a call, I don't think)

[WordsOfWisdom]

10 hours ago, ruxpin said:

Speaking of Kadri, his dive last night was pathetic.   I mean that was utterly embarrassing.   He got the call, too, which is even more pathetic.   I think call both of them there.  One for the infraction, one for embellishment  ("Flopping" is not yet a call, I don't think)

 

But the swan dive was only because he had been slashed about three times and the ref didn't call any of the previous ones. They were letting Ovie get his shots in for free.

 

 

 

[WordsOfWisdom]

 

Some further comments...

 

1. They still didn't penalize Ovechkin for slashing Kadri.

 

2. As you can see from the highlight, the vicious slash by Ovechkin caused a sudden muscle spasm in Kadri, vaulting him into the air and causing him to lose control of his legs.

 

 

EDIT: He actually gets slashed by TWO Capitals players at the same time. Should have been a 5-on-3 for Toronto.  

[OccamsRazor]

On 4/22/2017 at 10:44 AM, ruxpin said:

I forget who it was against this year, but Gudas laid out an absolutely gorgeous hip check on someone coming into the left faceoff circle with the puck.  I mean gorgeous.   I think he actually got the gate for it

 

 

 

This one?

[OccamsRazor]

This one was called on Radko i thought unfair last year....

 

 

 

The AO however i can see going both way because it seemed to contact the knee mostly. But like others have stated hard to feel sorry for AO with as many cheap shots he has laid out.

[ruxpin]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

 

This one?

 

Yes.  That one exactly.  Great job!    I still have no idea what the refs were doing there.  With Gudas or with Simmonds.   But I'll keep this to Gudas since we're talking hip checks:  That is a beautiful hockey play and the refs have no clue what the hell they're looking at.   Same with the hit on the Russian Powderpuff.

[ruxpin]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

This one was called on Radko i thought unfair last year....

 

 

 

The AO however i can see going both way because it seemed to contact the knee mostly. But like others have stated hard to feel sorry for AO with as many cheap shots he has laid out.

 

I honestly don't think there's really knee contact with the AO thing.  No more than this one (this call was horse crap too).     Did you see the thing from AO where he was sitting drinking coke and watching TV in the locker room, did no stretches, no medical attention, no nothing and finally came back out?  AO is a complete faker and a fraud.   The hip check against him was beautiful and his knee was perfectly fine.  His leg bent backward some but no more than any of ours do.  

 

Add this to the reasons I really hate the Caps and their Johnny Come Lately fans.  

[Samifan]

Been cheering for the underdog Leafs in this series. However the fact they just showed that douche bag Justin Bieber sitting in a suite wearing a Leaf sweater may just change my opinion........

[ruxpin]

35 minutes ago, Samifan said:

Been cheering for the underdog Leafs in this series. However the fact they just showed that douche bag Justin Bieber sitting in a suite wearing a Leaf sweater may just change my opinion........

Was thinking EXACTLY the same thing

[Samifan]

3 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

Was thinking EXACTLY the same thing

Great minds.....

[Poulin20]

On 4/12/2017 at 10:24 AM, Poulin20 said:

I picked Caps in 6 but I dont think it will be as easy for them as everyone thinks.  Caps led by Ovie are perennial playoff chokers...each year everyone thinks they finally have their crap together and will finally win it and they fall flat...I do think they will win this series but young Leafs may make it entertaining.  Go Leafs Go!  Screw the Crapitals!

Wow I should have played the lottery after this prediction!

[pilldoc]

8 hours ago, Poulin20 said:

Wow I should have played the lottery after this prediction!

 

agree!  You are not the only one who should have played the lottery..... too bad the rest of my picks sucked!

 

 

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 8:36 PM, pilldoc said:

Took Caps in 6.  Caps will make their fans suffer ans sweat a bit and lose 2 games they should win...but in the end Holtby will find a way and the Caps move on.  However....beware of this up and coming Leafs team.