Eastern Conference Playoffs - Round 2: Habs vs Lightning (Bolts win 4-2)

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'll be honest. I felt a little guilt there when the Flames went all those games in the regular season without committing a single penalty. Sure they were playing disciplined but you can't tell me they didn't commit any forms of obstruction. Combine that with the insane amount of shot blocking and goaltenders continuing to get bigger and better and I don't see any cure for this outside of going back to 06 officiating. Personally I would like the see goaltender pads, trappers and blockers reduced in size as the original reason for pads was to protect goaltenders but over the past 25 years they have gone from protection to increasing the amount of surface area to take away from shooters.

Agree 100% with this.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

And IMO, the reason is blatantly obvious.

Go back to 05/06, post lockout, and how hard the NHL worked to get obstruction out of the game. If you even stepped in front of a guy (with no contact) it was a penalty.

For a few years, they tried to be consistent about it. But for the last 3 or 4 years, it has been seeping back into the game.

And then this year, it just exploded again. Watch a game from this year and watch a game form 06 or 07. Guys are back to grabbing onto wingers as they attempt to enter the zone to fore-check. Blatant picks aren't just in the way, they are making contact.

In front of the net, defensemen weren't allowed to touch the forward for a few years. Now they are back to tackling them.

Honestly, when they started calling all the penalties in 06 and wouldn't allow defensemen to touch anyone, I didn't like it (being a defenseman).

But now that we have gone full circle, I MUCH prefer them not allowing any obstruction at all. Let the talented players play.

Honestly, in this regard I'm somewhere in the middle.

I want the talented players to play, but I also like a little bit of the obstruction to slow the players down entering the offensive zone and I also like the more physical game.

What I dont want is a penalty being called on every tiny little infraction and the entire game being played by special teams, I like the game best at even strength not the BS gamesmanship of teams building their entire system around the powerplay.

I think the year that really polarized it for me was 2011 when the Canucks went all the way riding the system of drawing penalties and having a dominant powerplay and then the Bruins ragdolled them.

So thats where I'm at, I agree with you, I want them to play, let them play, dont call every little ticky-tack little thing, call the big stuff, the stuff you cant ignore and the obvious stuff but other than that let the players play.

[ScorchyScorch]

I'm so surprised by the Rangers and Wild. Did not expect them to be in such holes after 3-4 games. The Habs since last season have been an anomaly in the standings because their goaltending covers up a lot of warts. I've never fully bought into their team being a contender, regardless of how high they've finished in the standings. The east has 1-2 legitimate contenders, as opposed to the west which has a handful with that potential, so even good but not great teams can get into a high seed over there. Of course this was a tough year for LA and St. Louis but them along with the Ducks and Hawks are true juggernauts in the west. The Habs are like the 06-09 Flames but with a couple more young pieces. A bubble caliber team that places higher due to elite goaltending. It hasn't been as sharp this series and the team has suffered as a result. It's too bad though, I was kind of pulling for them, for Canada's sake.

there can only be one true hope for Canada though, and they reside in the west.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Locke

Honestly, in this regard I'm somewhere in the middle.

I want the talented players to play, but I also like a little bit of the obstruction to slow the players down entering the offensive zone and I also like the more physical game.

What I dont want is a penalty being called on every tiny little infraction and the entire game being played by special teams, I like the game best at even strength not the BS gamesmanship of teams building their entire system around the powerplay.

I think the year that really polarized it for me was 2011 when the Canucks went all the way riding the system of drawing penalties and having a dominant powerplay and then the Bruins ragdolled them.

So thats where I'm at, I agree with you, I want them to play, let them play, dont call every little ticky-tack little thing, call the big stuff, the stuff you cant ignore and the obvious stuff but other than that let the players play.

With the crackdown on diving I'm willing to bet the way the Canucks played in 2011 would result in a lot more unsportsmanlike penalties today. They were awful then with the embellishing from diving to snapping their heads back any time a stick came close to their shoulders. I think the league has wised up some to this today.

[CroFlames]

I'm happy with the level of obstruction nowadays. It's certainly not like pre-lockout where you could hook a guy and lean back like your reeling in a huge tuna or something...

But it's also not like the basically 2007 to 2012 where if you basically tapped a guy with your stick above the knees, or if you even touched him with one hand you'd be called for some type of obstruction penalty.

The way the playoffs are being called now is the sweetspot for obstruction in my opinion, and this is how it should be called all year.

[hwy19man]

Pregame links.
http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2014030214
http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/hockey/nhl/game/1540845/preview/

After one period, the Habs have a surprising 2-0 lead. Markov scored the first goal with Pacioretty getting the assist. The second goal was scored by Pacioretty. The Habs have a 9-8 edge in shots.

[EldrickOnIce]

3-0 Habs.
Too little, too late?
I think so

[Gaskal]

Well that escalated quickly

[jg13]

5-0 habs

[hwy19man]

A pair of goals in fifteen seconds, 5-0 Habs. Bishop was pulled after the third goal. Anybody have Vasilevskiy in their pool?

[hwy19man]

Could a miracle be starting? The Lightning score on the power play, 5-1 now.

[CroFlames]

I hate cliches, but that last game is literally the hardest one to win.

[trublmaker]

and the comeback begins

[RougeUnderoos]

And another one, just as Hughson (swoon, love that guy) is saying that a lot of people have already left.

Just for the sake of spiting those people, I want to see a comeback. You don't leave a playoff game in the second period!

[hockey.modern]

Hmm, I doubt they complete a "Calgary Flame Comeback Win"

[trublmaker]

cancel the comeback

[Derek Sutton]

The whole thing with Tampa not selling tickets outside of Florida area codes really bugs me.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

The whole thing with Tampa not selling tickets outside of Florida area codes really bugs me.

Why?

The tickets are theirs to sell to whomever they like. And they are selling out so it isn't a revenue issue for the league.

And by keeping out the 'foreign' fans, it (arguably) creates a better atmosphere for the local fans

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

The whole thing with Tampa not selling tickets outside of Florida area codes really bugs me.

I wish the Flames had done that during the Vancouver series.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Why?

The tickets are theirs to sell to whomever they like. And they are selling out so it isn't a revenue issue for the league.

And by keeping out the 'foreign' fans, it (arguably) creates a better atmosphere for the local fans

Not that it is any of my business but there are Montreal fans who would've paid a lot of money to go to those games, but that is their loss. To forbid them from entering your stadium, is very petty. It also seems anti francophone at the moment, like "we won't sell to the French". Didn't the whole Indiana pizza shop incident tell us that discrimination is not okay.