2012 NHL Playoffs (LA Kings: Stanley Cup Champs)

[Arkon]

Can anyone tell me why the hell Matt Cooke got ejected last night?  From what I could see, he held Kubina's stick, then got crosschecked twice, went to get up, got crosschecked again, tried getting up again and got crosschecked yet again, then somehow gets tossed.

Matt Cooke is not exactly Miss Innocent, so they were just preventing a potential rage mode.

This year he is. He's been, by and large, above reproach when it comes to anything other than the usual 2-minute hockey stuff (and even that's much declined).

I agree totally, but the refs also know the history, and they made it very clear they were in charge.

They did make it very clear that they were in charge, and if Cooke had done anything even borderline, I would have looked right past but really...This is why he got tossed?

[El-Producto]

Some guys get the benefit of the doubt that you won't go insane, but when you have a history like Cooke.. no matter how much you've reformed.. you don't get that benefit.

[Arkon]

How in the world did Zac Rinaldo not get at least a one game suspension for this ridiculous behavior?

[leo8877]

Devil you're winning.

[Devil]

I cheated and watched.

They should have been closing this fucker out tonight, not tied 2-2!

Maybe this is one of those things like the Bruins and Canucks first round last year that they just have to go through to have a decent run...or more likely: Panthers in 6.

[leo8877]

Holy shit CHI tied it late again.

[leo8877]

God dammit the Sharks fucking suck.

[Clanwolfer]

HOLY HELL. Holtbeast.

Braden Holtby, I don't know how he does it. That was a LOT of shots coming his way, and an extra 5.3 seconds on the game because the timekeeper messed up. New series, back to Boston!

I will for sure be in the Verizon Center on Sunday, and I will for sure leave my voice there!

[Jimmy the Fish]

God dammit the Sharks fucking suck.

Are you surprised though? They look exactly like the same slow, unskilled, poorly schemed team that coughed and wheezed their way into the playoffs. Plus they had to play the one team that practically owned them during the season. The window of opportunity with the current roster has finally closed, in my opinion. It's time to start an overhaul. I'd even argue that management needs to be cleaned out because there isn't much in the minors to give us hope. There isn't enough emphasis organizationally on speed and offensive skills. Doug Wilson needs to reinvent the team in a hurry, assuming ownership thinks they need to start fresh at the top.

[Gratch]

Barring any crazy flight delays, I'll be at the Nashville/Detroit game tonight.  Will be the first NHL game I've been to in nearly 20 years, and my first playoff game ever.  Can't wait!

[leo8877]

God dammit the Sharks fucking suck.

Are you surprised though? They look exactly like the same slow, unskilled, poorly schemed team that coughed and wheezed their way into the playoffs. Plus they had to play the one team that practically owned them during the season. The window of opportunity with the current roster has finally closed, in my opinion. It's time to start an overhaul. I'd even argue that management needs to be cleaned out because there isn't much in the minors to give us hope. There isn't enough emphasis organizationally on speed and offensive skills. Doug Wilson needs to reinvent the team in a hurry, assuming ownership thinks they need to start fresh at the top.

You're right of course. I'm just bitter in coming to he realization that this team won't win squat.

[Kagath]

Barring any crazy flight delays, I'll be at the Nashville/Detroit game tonight.  Will be the first NHL game I've been to in nearly 20 years, and my first playoff game ever.  Can't wait!

Unfortunately you'll have to wait until maybe next year to see another Wings playoff game after tonight.

[Gratch]

Barring any crazy flight delays, I'll be at the Nashville/Detroit game tonight.  Will be the first NHL game I've been to in nearly 20 years, and my first playoff game ever.  Can't wait!

Unfortunately you'll have to wait until maybe next year to see another Wings playoff game after tonight.

The Preds are my adopted team for this playoff year, since my brother lives there and a good friend from HS is their strength & conditioning coach.  The fact that they could be eliminating Detroit is just an added bonus. 

[gellar]

My new favorite thing about these playoffs thus far (NSFW text, I guess?):

http://bigmouthbarry.com/2012/04/19/the-classy-women-of-vancouver/

[Jimmy the Fish]

LOL at Canadian estrogen rage.

[leo8877]

Uh oh Pete.  Pens are ahead. 

[Kagath]

Well, I hope by now the Wings have seen they need to make some changes to keep up with the times. Good luck preds.

[ScubaV]

The better team definitely won that series.  Detroit looked mostly uninterested.  Even in an elimination game they didn't play with much, if any, fire.  Losing Helm hurt a lot I think.  Lidstrom obviously was not 100% and I don't think Datsyuk was either.  It's hard to believe Detroit is the first team eliminated though.  We certainly need some offseason changes.  This team has been relatively unchanged the last few years, and our playoff performance does not reflect well on the group.

[Jimmy the Fish]

That's almost a carbon copy description of the Sharks. We'll be joining you very soon. 

[Gratch]

While the game was just so-so, the atmosphere in Nashville tonight was awesome.  Had an absolute blast, and I'm amazed how different it is watching a game live vs TV.

[Clanwolfer]

Got my tickets to Caps-Bruins game 6 on Sunday. Just hoping they can hold it together tomorrow and be fighting to advance on Sunday, not just to stay alive.

On the one hand, I'm shocked to see Detroit out in 5 - on the other hand, Nashville is just structured to make a run this year.

[pr0ner]

The Norfolk Admirals are at 29 in a row now after winning their opening playoff game.

[theohall]

Are you surprised though? They look exactly like the same slow, unskilled, poorly schemed team that coughed and wheezed their way into the playoffs. Plus they had to play the one team that practically owned them during the season. The window of opportunity with the current roster has finally closed, in my opinion. It's time to start an overhaul. I'd even argue that management needs to be cleaned out because there isn't much in the minors to give us hope. There isn't enough emphasis organizationally on speed and offensive skills. Doug Wilson needs to reinvent the team in a hurry, assuming ownership thinks they need to start fresh at the top.

So being 4-0 against a team is only "practically" owning them?    I'd say the Blues completely owned them considering the Sharks were outscored 11-3 in those 4 games and were shutout twice.

The issues for the Sharks in the playoffs - PK sucks and they are losing the offensive and defensive zone faceoffs way too often.  Through the 1st two periods in game 3, the Blues were winning 80+% of offensive and defensive zone draws.  Sharks are winning the neutral ice faceoffs, but those are not nearly as important.  Yes, that number dropped, because Thornton finally started winning draws in the 3rd period, but that was too little, too late.  Heck, if Elliott doesn't mis-handle that puck at the end of the 3rd period, the Sharks likely would have been shutout again.

[theohall]

Can anyone tell me why the hell Matt Cooke got ejected last night?  From what I could see, he held Kubina's stick, then got crosschecked twice, went to get up, got crosschecked again, tried getting up again and got crosschecked yet again, then somehow gets tossed.

Matt Cooke is not exactly Miss Innocent, so they were just preventing a potential rage mode.

This year he is. He's been, by and large, above reproach when it comes to anything other than the usual 2-minute hockey stuff (and even that's much declined).

I agree totally, but the refs also know the history, and they made it very clear they were in charge.

They did make it very clear that they were in charge, and if Cooke had done anything even borderline, I would have looked right past but really...This is why he got tossed?

Yeah, the refs were clearly in charge of throwing a guy out for getting beat on.  Idiocy.  That's the kind of officiating that keeps refs from doing future playoff series.  History matters when a guy actually does something. 

[PeteRock]

Uh oh Pete.  Pens are ahead. 

Was at our team's Friday softball double-header but caught the score on a friend's phone.

At first the series looked like it was going to be a quick one, but those who predicted a 6 to 7 game fight were pretty spot on. 

I've been a Philadelphia fan for too long to feel like the series is ours.  The Pens are now playing Pittsburgh hockey, Fleury put the goal on lockdown last game, and despite being in Philadelphia I'm still apprehensive about Sunday.

But we still don't like Crosby.

[gellar]

25 games for Torres being Torres:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=629019&navid=DL|NHL|home

[Clanwolfer]

25 games for Torres being Torres:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=629019&navid=DL|NHL|home

Good. With one game served, that's the whole playoffs if the Yotes go 7 games in all the series, and if they don't, then he misses all of the preseason plus regular season games next season.

For anyone who doesn't watch videos - he swiped at the puck on another player's stick on the way in, so he knew the puck wasn't there. Hit broke 3 NHL rules (interference, charging, check to the head). He's had 5 disciplinary findings in the past, including 2 this year, for similar conduct. And Hossa was significantly injured on the play. Basically a perfect storm of doing bad things.

For context - the two longest suspensions in NHL history were both to Chris Simon, 30 games and 25 games, so this is tied with his. Dale Hunter's bit of insanity against Turgeon earned him 21 games. Wisniewski got 13 games, including preseason games, earlier this year.

[gellar]

The better part of the video was the 'Raffi's Greatest Illegal Hits' show at the end.  You can't argue with any amount of suspension after that shit show.

[Jimmy the Fish]

The better part of the video was the 'Raffi's Greatest Illegal Hits' show at the end.  You can't argue with any amount of suspension after that shit show.

That greatest hits montage is pretty revealing. In every case, Torres either launches himself off his feet, goes for the head, or both. The ridiculous thing is that the video only shows the hits he was disciplined for. He's had. countless other dirty/questionable hits that he got away with, like the hit to head in the playoffs a while ago when Milan Michalek was on the Sharks.

[Isgrimnur]

My tourney scoring is up for the Nashville series and a new post on the main page.

[Clanwolfer]

DAMMIT! Caps get the first multiple-goal lead of the series - and give the whole thing up in 28 seconds. Dennis Wideman has been unspeakably awful this series - on-ice for all 7 Bruins ES goals.

[leo8877]

DAMMIT! Caps get the first multiple-goal lead of the series - and give the whole thing up in 28 seconds. Dennis Wideman has been unspeakably awful this series - on-ice for all 7 Bruins ES goals.

That was a crazy turn of events there.

[Clanwolfer]

I don't -think- I'm crazy - but the three of us watching the game on TV here totally and entirely thought it was Semin that scored that game-winner, not Brouwer. That was the best shot I've ever seen him take, bar none.

Off to the Verizon Center tomorrow - what a crazy series! Going to drown out the timekeeper again!

[Devil]

Ha Ha Ha!

Just hoping the Bruins and Rangers get bounced too.

[leo8877]

Ha Ha Ha!

Just hoping the Bruins and Rangers get bounced too.

Canucks!  We want the Canucks bounced!!

[gellar]

LOL Niemi.

[leo8877]

I don't even want to be a Sharks fan anymore.

[gellar]

The Norfolk Admirals are at 29 in a row now after winning their opening playoff game.

MONARCHS.

[leo8877]

Well if LA doesn't fuck things up and wins a 4th, I'll consider these playoffs a success still.

[leo8877]

Wouldn't the white out work better if the team they are backing was also wearing white??