[PST] Second Round: Washington (1st Metropolitan) vs Pittsburgh (2nd Metropolitan)

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by driveway

I am of the opinion that superstars should be treated differently.

They shouldn't be able to get away with more, but they should get 'superstar' penalty calls. It should also be widely known that the book will be thrown at players who inure them.

This will give superstars more time and space on the ice, resulting in more awesome highlights.

Originally Posted by 2macinnis2

So then is a great player great or are they only great because the league/refs are helping them be great?

Who decides who should get preferential treatment? Do you give it to Kane? tarasenko? Stone?

I try to be open minded to thoughts people post, sometimes out of the box, but this idea is 'bananas' foolish...

The idea of it happening isn't bananas foolish as driveway is pretty much describing the NBA, currently, but I seriously question why anyone who cheers for a specific team, aka has a vested interest in the games would want that.

The NBA caters to stars so much that they're actually playing by a different standard. You can see examples on a weekly basis of scrubs getting called for travelling (3 steps without dribbling) while stars can be seen taking five steps with no call.

The NBA goes even further and all but crafts their bracket to the championship each year, selling a story line season with exciting super teams who dominate. This is kind of what driveway is pulling for and it already exists.

Oddly enough, this is the most successful the NBA has been in a long time and many speculate that it's the casual fans that are eating up the crafted, unfair play because the product itself is more fun to watch. Where as real fans that don't happen to be cheering for a "star" team feel really cheated and feel like they're not watching a legitimate sport, and they're kind of right.

I would stop watching the NHL if they went this route. When you start creating different standards for different players, it's no longer sport, it's theatre. As the NBA shows, theatre still sells, but I stopped watching the Raptors for that reason and I'd stop with the NHL, too.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Pointman

Chris "30 goals scorer" Clarke disagrees.

As does Troy "Top 6 Forward" Brouwer

[jayswin]

There was a story the other day of Lebron James basically entertaining fans by going into the stands and drinking a beer DURING a playoff game against the Raptors, who have no chance of competing against a superstar team despite building a very good basketball team over the years and going as all in as they could this season.

Let's keep the crafted, theatre bull**** for the Americans and try to keep the team inspired integrity of the game of hockey.

[Tsawwassen]

2 at 4


Pittsburgh leads the series 3-2.
http://scores.nbcsports.com/nhl/recap.asp?g=2017050623&home=23&vis=16&final=true
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/capitals-penguins-recap-game-5-1.4103395
http://sportsstats.cbc.ca/hockey/nhl-boxscores.aspx?page=/data/nhl/results/2016-2017/recap113869.html

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by jayswin

The idea of it happening isn't bananas foolish as driveway is pretty much describing the NBA, currently, but I seriously question why anyone who cheers for a specific team, aka has a vested interest in the games would want that.

The NBA caters to stars so much that they're actually playing by a different standard. You can see examples on a weekly basis of scrubs getting called for travelling (3 steps without dribbling) while stars can be seen taking five steps with no call.

The NBA goes even further and all but crafts their bracket to the championship each year, selling a story line season with exciting super teams who dominate. This is kind of what driveway is pulling for and it already exists.

Oddly enough, this is the most successful the NBA has been in a long time and many speculate that it's the casual fans that are eating up the crafted, unfair play because the product itself is more fun to watch. Where as real fans that don't happen to be cheering for a "star" team feel really cheated and feel like they're not watching a legitimate sport, and they're kind of right.

I would stop watching the NHL if they went this route. When you start creating different standards for different players, it's no longer sport, it's theatre. As the NBA shows, theatre still sells, but I stopped watching the Raptors for that reason and I'd stop with the NHL, too.

If you listen to the CBS radio 960 plays on weekends and other US sports stations even non-hockey fans comment on how the NHL playoffs are the best and that they can't turn away once they tune into a game. The NBA channels the WWE storylines to create drama because the parity is generally poor in the league compared to the NHL and NFL and the majority of teams have no shot of winning anything so the storylines keep the sport in the spotlight since you generally know that 2 or 3 teams are all matter. The NHL can never compete on a star level because it rolls four lines and the big stars aren't on the ice nearly as much as they are in the NBA. Also you are never going to see Kobe Bryant vs Shaq and all the off court stuff the NBA uses to create drama and sell tickets.

[Tsawwassen]

5 at 2


The series is tied 3-3.
http://scores.nbcsports.com/nhl/recap.asp?g=2017050816&home=16&vis=23&final=true
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/washington-capitals-pittsburgh-penguins-game-6-1.4105643
http://sportsstats.cbc.ca/hockey/nhl-boxscores.aspx?page=/data/nhl/results/2016-2017/recap113870.html

[VladtheImpaler]

If the Caps can only win the next game, they win the whole thing, right?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

If the Caps can only win the next game, they win the whole thing, right?

Ha ha I'm not so sure as the Capitals struggled even with the Leafs and a few overtime bounces the other way and they may not have got out of the first round. I would like their chances against the Senators for sure because they play a loose style of hockey but the Rangers can play that suffocating low scoring style of playoff hockey that gives the Capitals fits so I guess it may depend on the outcome of that series.

It sucks to say but I still feel the Oilers have some sort of destiny thing going on where nothing really adds up or makes sense but they are going to get to the Cup finals and it's hard to beat teams like that.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

If the Caps can only win the next game, they win the whole thing, right?

I'd bet money that whoever wins game 7 wins the Cup.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Ha ha I'm not so sure as the Capitals struggled even with the Leafs and a few overtime bounces the other way and they may not have got out of the first round. I would like their chances against the Senators for sure because they play a loose style of hockey but the Rangers can play that suffocating low scoring style of playoff hockey that gives the Capitals fits so I guess it may depend on the outcome of that series.

I appreciate that, but I cannot help but feel that if they slay their dragon, they will relax and just roll from there...

[Travis Munroe]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I appreciate that, but I cannot help but feel that if they slay their dragon, they will relax and just roll from there...

Agreed.... they also finally are looking like the regular season caps in the last 2 games. It looks natural where the first few games against the pens and the entire leafs series looked like they were trying to hard to be the powerhouse.

[Weitz]

I was pretty shocked and appalled that Crosby was left in the game after that head first fall into the boards.

Terrible look for the Penguins and NHL.

[Backlunds_socks]

Crosby left last nights game?

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I was pretty shocked and appalled that Crosby was left in the game after that head first fall into the boards.

Terrible look for the Penguins and NHL.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...sby/101460354/

According to the NHL, the boards don't cause concussions.....

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I was pretty shocked and appalled that Crosby was left in the game after that head first fall into the boards.

Terrible look for the Penguins and NHL.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly explained to USA Today’s Kevin Allen why Crosby was allowed to remain in the game:

“Depending on the mechanism of injury, ‘slow to get up’ does not trigger mandatory removal. The protocol has to be interpreted literally to mandate a removal. ‘Ice’ as compared to ‘boards’ is in there for a reason. It’s the result of a study on our actual experiences over a number of years. ‘Ice’ has been found to be a predictor of concussions — ‘boards’ has not been.”

And yet Kris Russell was pulled from the game by concussion spotters when he was drilled into the boards by Nick Ritchie of Anaheim - Somebody has some explain' to do.

[Weitz]

Yah I was reading the protocol and it seems very weak and ineffective.

Guy falls and hits chin on ice, gets pulled from game. Crosby goes barreling into the boards head first after being diagnosed with a concussion last week and he doesn't get pulled?

Crazy.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I appreciate that, but I cannot help but feel that if they slay their dragon, they will relax and just roll from there...

I would like to see it for sure as I feel it's good to have the top regular season team in the finals and it would be a good story for AO to get his name engraved on the cup. That game seven hurdle is going to be big for them. Hopefully they just go out and play their game as it seems they tighten up in these big games.

[MikeN]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I'd bet money that whoever wins game 7 wins the Cup.

ID agree there, As a Pens fan not having Tanger is really showing the last few games. But its a shame, it should have been a sweet if not for the refs calling a BS holding call that was not holding in game 3.

But last nights game was one of the worst showings I have ever seen from an NHL team, like come on they played 2min of hockey. IF they play like that tomorrow night they are going to be golfing with the Oilers Thursday.

[CroFlames]

The day is finally here. Can't wait to watch this one tonight. Should be a dandy.

[Weitz]

I think the Caps beat the Pens handily tonight. Pens look gassed and injured.

4-2 or 5-2.