2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs thread

[Beau Vine 54429]

No penalties from here on out apparently?

[VirginiaLonghorn 4781]

5 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

No penalties from here on out apparently?

Not without a coroner’s inquest.

[Hate 20145]

Nothing better than OT. I hope this one goes longer than Game 1.

[C-Man 27262]

Does Point have a chance of coming back or is he done for the playoffs?

[Beau Vine 54429]

6 minutes ago, Hate said:

Nothing better than OT. I hope this one goes longer than Game 1.

My dog doesn't.  She needs a walk.  

[Chewbacca 7785]

Fuck. Avs are playing well but can't stop hitting pipes.

[ss13 1832]

Well, that's an odd possible ending. 

[C-Man 27262]

Damn, what a goal!

[ss13 1832]

Yeah, that's most certainly in. 18 days off means shit to him. 

Edited June 23, 2022 by ss13

[Hate 20145]

Goddamnit…well, if anyone ever wants to make some money just bet against whomever I am cheering for.

[Shoxthemonkey 1983]

Wow. What a finish! Vasicfgyre wouldn’t crack until he did. 

[VirginiaLonghorn 4781]

5 on 5 in OT was played like a COL PP.  

[Beau Vine 54429]

WTF was the ref looking at?

[Chewbacca 7785]

Fuck yes. Was strange it took them so long to call it, but I'll take it.

[C-Man 27262]

5 on 5 in OT was played like a COL PP.  

Yeah, TB definitely looked outclassed in overtime.

Damn near impossible to win three Cups in a row, especially now.

[Jive Turkey 12644]

that was crazy.  Colorado would have regretted that if they let it get away.  they dominated OT.

[C-Man 27262]

WTF was the ref looking at?

He just never saw the puck because it flipped up to the top of the net. Everybody thought it was in Vasilevsky’s pads, I guess. Only Rantanen seemed to know immediately.

[markstanco 12611]

It’s like aggy playing ou. I want both to lose.

Why TF was she wearing a mask? Got damn that is so stupid.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8821]

Wow. No questions on who deserved to win. Hell of a play

[Beau Vine 54429]

43 minutes ago, C-Man said:

He just never saw the puck because it flipped up to the top of the net. Everybody thought it was in Vasilevsky’s pads, I guess. Only Rantanen seemed to know immediately.

He's supposed to blow the whistle as soon as he loses sight of the puck.  Instead, he just stood there holding his dick while he had no idea where the puck was.  

[Beau Vine 54429]

And Tampa is crying about a missed too-many-men call on the final goal, but at least they're being creative about it:

 

[C-Man 27262]

28 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

And Tampa is crying about a missed too-many-men call on the final goal, but at least they're being creative about it:

 

One of the responses to that tweet (Erik Johnson #6 is leaving the ice): 

E

[C-Man 27262]

35 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

And Tampa is crying about a missed too-many-men call on the final goal, but at least they're being creative about it:

 

I wonder who was the last player to hop on to replace Johnson, though, since nobody is really close to the bench as he reaches the wall. Nichushkin coming down the middle? I know they're usually pretty forgiving when it comes to line changes.

[Longhorn_Fan68 33899]

I mean, technically it was likely too many men, but it would have been pretty chickenshit to call it. kinda like technically there were about a dozen penalties that weren't called that would have been in the regular season

Edited June 23, 2022 by Longhorn_Fan68

[C-Man 27262]

A little more color from The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/3379510/2022/06/23/avalanche-lightning-too-many-men/

Quote

TAMPA, Fla. — If it was an illegal line change, it wasn’t the first one a team has gotten away with in the Stanley Cup playoffs. In fact, many will remember that the Tampa Bay Lightning themselves got away with one last year.

But an emotional Jon Cooper, coach of the Lightning, made Wednesday night’s possibly missed call a focal point after it came at the most consequential of moments — in overtime to help the Colorado Avalanche win 3-2 and take a 3-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final — saying his team “still should be playing” rather than digesting a damaging loss that severely affects its hopes of three-peating.

Nazem Kadri dramatically capped his accelerated return from thumb surgery on the disputed play, floating a beauty past Andrei Vasilevskiy 12 minutes, 2 seconds into OT, at the end of an 11-second shift that Cooper insinuated the Avalanche should have been whistled for, with too many men on the ice.

The permissible five skaters were on the ice when Kadri scored, but replays show that the Avs capitalized on, at minimum, a generous line change, and perhaps an illegal line change at maximum.

Kadri was on the ice for four seconds and had possession of the puck along the blue line by the time the man he changed for — an idling Nathan MacKinnon — finally got to the bench. It appears on replay that Kadri thought he was changing for Valeri Nichushkin, who ended up staying on the ice and engaged in the play. MacKinnon was still on the ice at the bench along the blue line when Kadri skated into the offensive zone with the puck.

Kadri’s goal put the Avalanche one win from their third Stanley Cup title and first since 2001, with Game 5 in Denver on Friday night.

“I love this league,” Cooper said in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that he’d eventually cut short before leaving the podium. “It’s the greatest league in the world. The people that run it are amazing. Everything about it. It’s like a dream come true for me, especially being a Canadian kid, growing up and everything that’s gone on. … You know, I’ve been part of some heartbreaking losses and defeats to the teams that took us out and been with a group that just fights, fights and fights. And they fought their way to a third Stanley Cup Final in a row. And in a cap era … when it’s so damn hard and the rules are put against you because the league wants parity.

“And I love that about the league. And that’s what makes it tougher. And just watch this team, what they’ve gone through and the battling that’s gone on. And we’re all in this together: players, coaches, everybody. But this one is going to sting much more than others, just because it was taking on … it was potentially … I don’t know. It’s hard for me. It’s going to be hard for me to speak. I’m going to have to speak. … You’re going to see what I mean when you see the winning goal. And my heart breaks for the players. Because we probably still should be playing. I’ll be available (Thursday).”

The NHL was aware of the controversy after the game and talked to the four on-ice officials. Any of the four are allowed to make the call. In a statement provided to The Athletic, the league said “a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty is a judgment call.”

“Following the game, Hockey Operations met with the four officials as is their normal protocol,” the league said. “In discussing the winning goal, each of the four officials advised that they did not see a too-many-men-on-the-ice situation on the play. This call is not subject to video review either by Hockey Ops or the on-ice officials.”

According to the NHL Rule Book, players may be changed at any time during play, provided that they are within five feet of the bench and not in the play when the change is made. “At the discretion of the on-ice officials, should a substituting player come onto the ice before his teammate is within the five foot limit of the players’ bench (and therefore clearly causing his team to have too many players), then a bench minor penalty may be assessed. When a player is retiring from the ice surface and is within the five foot limit of his players’ bench, and his substitute is on the ice, then the retiring player shall be considered off the ice. If in the course of making a substitution, either the player entering the game or the player retiring plays the puck or who checks or makes any physical contact with an opposing player while both players involved in the substitution are on the ice, then the infraction of ‘too many men on the ice’ will be called.”

Two former NHL referees contacted by The Athletic who examined the video said that in their opinion this play wasn’t too many men. One former linesman said that while it’s close, loose line changes happen all the time and very few officials would have blown a play like this dead in overtime. He also noted that the Lightning had seven players on the ice, including two players at the bench, like MacKinnon, with the players who came on for them also engaged in the play.

To add to the confusion after the game, the initial game sheet had six Avalanche skaters on the ice for the winning goal, with the sixth being defenseman Erik Johnson. Replays show, however, that it was actually an honest and coincidental mistake because Johnson was never on the ice before or during the winning goal.

Ironically, last postseason, the Lightning’s Ondrej Palat scored a goal in Game 2 of Tampa Bay’s playoff series against the New York Islanders with seven players in the play. The officials missed it, and the goal counted.

While the end of Wednesday’s Game 4 was controversial, the reality is the Avalanche rallied from two one-goal deficits, on goals by MacKinnon and Andrew Cogliano, and were by far the better team in overtime. They outshot Tampa Bay 10-3 in overtime, and that doesn’t include a hit post by Artturi Lehkonen and a hit crossbar by Bowen Byram.

“I’m not quite sure what he’s thinking, why it shouldn’t have counted,” Kadri said when told of Cooper’s comments. “That kind of confuses me a little bit. The puck hit the back of the net, end of story. I’m not sure why he’d say that.”

The reality is, there have been far more egregious too-many-men situations that teams have gotten away with. And it’s not like Kadri scored on a breakaway. He skated into the Lightning zone at one-on-three.

Regardless, the Lightning had better forget about this fast and put the dubious nature of Game 4’s ending behind them, because Cooper was acting like the series ended Wednesday.

If they don’t move past it, the series will end Friday and the Avs will be hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup.

 

[cactusflinthead 27602]

3 minutes ago, C-Man said:

also noted that the Lightning had seven players on the ice, including two players at the bench, like MacKinnon, with the players who came on for them also engaged in the play.

Cooper can bitch if he wants to. He lives in a glass house.

[topochico 1049]

Avs were swarming all over the TB zone in OT. Kadri scored 1 on 3. Both teams had too many men on the ice and none of it affected the play. Take the loss, pussy. 

[Chewbacca 7785]

Cooper can bitch if he wants to. He lives in a glass house.

TB scored in a similar fashion in last year's playoffs, too. He's just a little bitch who can't fathom his team is gonna lose the Cup.

[cactusflinthead 27602]

57 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

1 hour ago, cactusflinthead said:

Cooper can bitch if he wants to. He lives in a glass house.

TB scored in a similar fashion in last year's playoffs, too. He's just a little bitch who can't fathom his team is gonna lose the Cup.

Producer Drew is a known Avs homer, but he's not wrong. I'm glad Cooper lives to love the game. The game has loved him right back. Pushing the cap, getting non calls at the right time. You don't have a Stanley cup without some luck. 

[ss13 1832]

Another softy allowed by Kuemper. 

[Chewbacca 7785]

Another softy allowed by Kuemper. 

Yep, that was bad

[ss13 1832]

Avs tie it up. 

[ss13 1832]

And Tampa promptly retakes the lead. 

[cactusflinthead 27602]

1 minute ago, ss13 said:

Avs tie it up. 

2-1 TB Kucherov

[Hate 20145]

Another really good game. And once again, I think ESPN has done a great job with their coverage. They get ripped all the time and rightly so, but their NHL coverage is top notch. Messier and Chelios are really good as well.

[ss13 1832]

Avs tie it again, early 3rd. 

Edited June 25, 2022 by ss13
Damn, that was fluke-y.

[ss13 1832]

And Tampa retakes again, 6 left. 

Edited June 25, 2022 by ss13
Soft, soft, soft.

[cactusflinthead 27602]

10 ply soft

[Hate 20145]

Lots of time left. This still has another OT feel to it.

[cactusflinthead 27602]

Fuck off refs. This is over. 

[ss13 1832]

Playing 6. 

[Hate 20145]

Hell yes!! More hockey to bridge the gap until football starts.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4781]

Just now, ss13 said:

Playing 6. 

👍

[Longhorn_Fan68 33899]

this is fucking dope

 

[C-Man 27262]

14 hours ago, Hate said:

Another really good game. And once again, I think ESPN has done a great job with their coverage. They get ripped all the time and rightly so, but their NHL coverage is top notch. Messier and Chelios are really good as well.

Gary Thorne/Bill Clement were the best PBP/color hockey guys I've ever heard. Would love to have them back calling Cup games.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4781]

25 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Gary Thorne/Bill Clement were the best PBP/color hockey guys I've ever heard. Would love to have them back calling Cup games.

Agree.  Thorne could make Tiddlywinks from Taiwan entertaining.

He’s very good calling baseball, too.  He and Jim Palmer were great doing Orioles games for several years .. until, I suspect, the cheap ass ownership decided to cut another corner.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4781]

1 hour ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

this is fucking dope

 

Who says technology couldn’t help determine too many man on the ice?

[cactusflinthead 27602]

 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33899]

1 hour ago, cactusflinthead said:

 

'splain? I musta missed something

[Longhorn_Fan68 33899]

lol. @VirginiaLonghorn check this shit out