RD 1: Eastern Conference: #2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs #7 Columbus Blue Jackets

[mojo1917]

11 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

I still feel that whomever wins this Cup should have an asterisk next to their name

Did I miss where you laid out your rationale for this thinking?

 

Do you also think the Stupid Devils should have an asterisk next to their shortened season's cup? how about the Blackhawks?

Just curious is all.

[Math]

The only asterisk I'd put is next to the eventual winner that had almost no chance to qualify for the postseason before this mess, like Montréal or Chicago.

[yave1964]

14 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Fun fact...

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

Wow what a game. Believe it or not, i was telling my wife that a Maroon or Riley Nash, someone without too awful much ice time would be the one to get the GWG, she told me nah, it is going to be Brayden Point. She said she had watched him his last half a dozen shifts and he looked like the only one left with legs under him. Not kidding, she said this about two minutes before he got the goal. I told her next game i am going to turn the volume down and listen to her instead of Jody Shelley, lol.

 

  If this is any indication of what this series is gonna be, it is must see TV.

[OccamsRazor]

15 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Fun fact...

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

 

Wow and a huge one. 3 more to get. 

[OccamsRazor]

15 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

I am not as emotionally invested in these playoffs as I normally would be.

 

If you don't mind me asking...why???

 

For myself i have been on vacation since it started back and will go back to work this coming saturday and since i have been watching hockey i never ever watched over 12 hours straight of hockey for several days...never and games that meant something.

 

I mean never it has been so enjoyable turning on the TV at noon only to watch meaningful games till 1 am in the morning.

 

Unreal....i will never forget this...sure all due to the issues going on in the world...but man these teams living in a bubble and having to play these games with these circumstances has been amazing...and we may never seen hockey played like this again.

 

Oh by the way my wife was really not liking it either she would come in the room and say "Damn you still watching hockey??"

 

And then it got on her nerves because i was glued to the set for hours on  the day just watching hockey....loved it!!!!

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@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.




 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

1 hour ago, yave1964 said:

Wow what a game. Believe it or not, i was telling my wife that a Maroon or Riley Nash, someone without too awful much ice time would be the one to get the GWG, she told me nah, it is going to be Brayden Point. She said she had watched him his last half a dozen shifts and he looked like the only one left with legs under him. Not kidding, she said this about two minutes before he got the goal. I told her next game i am going to turn the volume down and listen to her instead of Jody Shelley, lol.

 

  If this is any indication of what this series is gonna be, it is must see TV.

 

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

[FD19372]

Might have 3 or 4 games go into OT in this one, because Columbus can really bear down defensively, get in your face, and play a physical game. I didn't expect that marathon Game 1, but I do expect this series to be way closer than the 5 games in itself would indicate. I think every game will be decided by 2 goals or less.  The talent of Tampa Bay wins this time around, though. No chance they take Columbus lightly whatsoever this time.

[AJgoal]

 

[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.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Bolts fast pace and persistence against a seemingly lethargic Jackets team paid off!

Kucherov gets the Lightning on the board first... 1-0 Bolts just past the 5 min mark in the first

Edited August 13, 2020 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Alex Killorn is such an intelligent player.
 

I mean, the guy basically sleepwalks through the regular season, wakes up for the playoffs, and most people don't notice the guy usually, then he is always pulling off sneaky things like chirping to the right players at the right time, quietly lifting sticks to rob the opposition of scoring chances, and good solid checks (not necessarily booming hits) to disrupt things for the opposition as well.
 

In years past, I was always thinking of ways the Lightning could trade Killorn and get some more scoring for him, but I have come to see that he IS an important part of the Lightning and provides a skillset that isn't always on the scoreboard, but in other areas that you simply don't see in a complete package on other players.
 

Go get'm Killer!

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Other than the opening period, the Jackets showing NO signs of losing a 5 OT game.

Trying to put away the Bolts, leading 3-1 with less than 4 min to go in the 3rd.

Trademark of a John Tortorella team.
No quit. No quarter asked. No quarter given.

[pilldoc]

I guess the 5 OT game really did not affect the Blue Jackets.... just turned on the game. 3-1 Jackets...

 

Barring a miraculous comeback game 3 should be a dandy....

 

[AJgoal]

19 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

I guess the 5 OT game really did not affect the Blue Jackets.... just turned on the game. 3-1 Jackets...

 

Barring a miraculous comeback game 3 should be a dandy....

 

 

Well, the Leafs series should give some idea of how the Jackets approach things. That game 4 collapse would have killed a lot of teams. Jackets only came out and pitched a shutout. It wasn't what you would call an exclamation point win, but it was still a pretty impressive effort. I expected them to bounce back well in this one.

[HockeyLdy]

I’ll tell u right now, the only reason Columbus won today was because of 2 factors: 1. There Goaltender and 2. My Bolts prolly we’re still tired and recuperating from the other nights big win.

 

Having said that, Game 3 WILL belong to the BOLTS!

[OccamsRazor]

1 hour ago, HockeyLdy said:

2. My Bolts prolly we’re still tired and recuperating from the other nights big win.

 

That is an unacceptable excuse......you know they other team played a 5 OT game too.

 

I think the Jackets are in their heads still from last year's sweep.

[yave1964]

Korpisalo continues his hot streak during the postseason, Tampa controlled play throughout, (although Columbus started pushing hard for that third goal late). With no disrespect to Korpi who is simply standing on his head right now, CBJ needs to come up with a way of fixing puck possession eventually puck luck will swing the other way and Tampa will dominate on the score sheet the way that they have on the ice in all other metrics.

[HockeyLdy]

51 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

That is an unacceptable excuse......you know they other team played a 5 OT game too.

 

I think the Jackets are in their heads still from last year's sweep.

Either way, 

it’s not an excuse, both teams worked hard but we had to work harder to end it and win it. Nuff said...

 

[OccamsRazor]

Goalie issues in Tampa??? Looks like it...

 

@BlueJacketsNHL

goalies over the 6 play-off games vs

@TBLightning

this year and last: .950 sv% on 242 shots. Vasilevskiy over those 6 games: .894 sv% on 189 shots. And this is not about shot quality either...

[OccamsRazor]

I have to say what a move...

 

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Bolts and Jackets continue their physical and mental slugfest with one another.

Tampa Bay takes Game 3 to retake the series lead, but honestly....this series just feels like it is going the distance.
From a TB point of view, hey, that prediction is already better than last season's fiasco sweep.... of course, as they say, if things get to a Game 7, anything can happen and the Jackets have shown they are masters of having "anything that can happen" go their way.

Bolts have to do their best to put these stubborn Jackets away as early as possible.
I would like to see it done in 5.....but maybe 6 is more realistic if they are gonna do it.

If it gets to a Game 7, the ghosts of last year's failure may set in and the Jackets may ride a huge wave of momentum into the next round.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Wow.
Jackets came out flying in this one.
Winning puck battles.....pressure in the offensive zone....and not two minutes into the game, they put a puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy....however, they were offsides, and thus score is reset to 0-0

Still though...TB best get going quickly here.
Apparently the day off John Tortorella gave his boys seems to have given them extra energy in the early going!

[lynxrattle]

Well, Bolts go forward... An excellent game, though. CBJ really made it a contest. Fun to watch. I hoped CBJ would have won the game, but it was not to be. Damn good hockey!

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

TB exorcised one demon....now they need a title win.
Whether a Stanley Cup win or a Covid Cup win.

This core should be good enough for multiple Cups. They need to start this year...such as it is.

Columbus showed lots of grit (as they always do....as John Tortorella teams always do) and Jonad Korpisalo may be a revelation in goal for them.

But glad to see the Lightning finally put to rest the "Jackets are in their heads" talk.

Edited August 19, 2020 by TropicalFruitGirl26