NHL Playoffs

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The Western semis could be set tonight.  San Jose and Las Vegas are already through and Winnipeg and Nashville can close out their 1st Round series tonight.

The East is still developing, with Tampa, Boston and Pittsburgh all with 3-1 series leads.  Washington put Braden Holtby back in the net after Philip Grubauer lost the first two at home.  Pretty sure they'll stick with Holtby for Game 5 in DC after levelling things up in Columbus.  

Enjoy the games this weekend.

Can't believe we won two in a row, should be able to finish them off now. Holtby no doubt.

Been watching the pens kicking the living shit out of Philly, and of course also watching the Lightning. Lightning vs. Vegas will be like speed metal on ice. Lightning take the cup, again

Great Game 5 win for the Caps.  Holtby held off a barrage of shots in the 3rd period, then the Caps dominated the OT and got the win.  Now they need to step on the Blue Jackets throats in Game 6.

Flyers and Avalanche are on home-ice today with a chance to force a Game 7 in their series.  Should be some good action.

Looks like the Caps are clicking.  Ovie scores twice, Holtby stays solid in the nets, and they get the clincher in Columbus without having to go to OT.

Now they draw their old nemesis, the Penguins in the Conference Semis.  Caps have the home ice.  Should be a hell of a series.

Bring on the fkn Pens for fk sake, not the Pens.. 

 

Will this be the year?

Pretty good 1st Round Original 6 match-up between the Bruins and the Leafs going right now.   The Leafs win was even more dramatic with the events in Toronto yesterday.  Game 7 tomorrow night in Bah-ston.

Anybody but Pittsburgh

The Sharks need to pick it up.   I've avoided the Vegas hype and want them to fall.

Tampa played a good game tonight to even things up wth the Bruins.  That will be a good series.

Caps/Penguins is heating up.  The league made a good call not to suspend Tom Wilson for his hit on Brian Dumoulin, but the Penguins will probably trying to avenge that one in Game 3, and should be getting Malkin back.   These teams have a lot of history with each other, and this series should only add to that legacy.  I'm looking at Crosby and Ovechkin to come out firing in Game 3.

Nice work last night by the Caps.

Caps have really shut down the pens power play, and ovarall too. Pens no where as crisp as they were that first series, old time hockey.

Lightning appear to have shaken off that first game let down. Up 3-1 early in the second tonight

Glad to see the Sharks get the win last night.  

The Caps will have to play without Wilson for the next three games after his hit on Zach Aston-Reese left him with a broken jaw and a concussion.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers are bringing Meek Mill to Boston.

Advantage: Hockey

I think the pens find their power play tonight and tie up the series

Gotta give Malkin credit for bulldogging the puck past Holtby for the tie-breaker.  Amazing that neither Crosby or Ovie had a shot on goal.  House will be rockin' tonight for Game 5 in DC. 

Bruins are on the ropes.  Lightning are rolling.

Sharks need to show up or go home now.

( The Rookie )

 

This needs to end tonight, enough of this pens torture.

Like to see Winnipeg and Washington wrap this up tonight.

Unbelievable, interesting ten years exactly from our last conference finals.

 

Go Caps !

The Caps did a great job finishing of the champs.  Nice symbolism of. Ovie passing it foward to Kuznetzov for the OT clincher.  Now we get Wilson back from his suspension and hopefully Backstrom and Oshie from whatever kept them out of Game 6.  The Lightning have home ice, and were the best team in the regular season.  Should be a rocking Conference Finals.  Bring it on.

Game 7 of the Jets/Predators tonight should be good.  Don't have a dog in this fight, just hope the winner can take out Vegas.

Caps last Confrence championship run was twenty years ago, Fog.

lets get it on!!! go bolts!!!

Rooting for a Winnipeg - Tampa Bay final.

Watch the rookie Point putting in work for tampa. A star in the making. Riverwalk will be rockin tonight

Lightning got lit up, but it's not over yet

They got lit up in the first game against Boston as well.

Hopefully they'll bounce back this time too.

The Lightning had to bench their Russian goalie and Ovechkin got a goal and an assist.

 

What is it about Washington and Russians?

Caps are playing good hockey. 

Caps playing some strong hockey

Surprised how flat the Lightning have played.  They'll be playing for their lives in Game 3, should be a war.

Want to see the Jets get the win tonight.

The lightning have looked pathetic. 

Figured the Lightning would show up.  Now we have a series.

First team to win at home wins it?

 

Fuck, I cannot believe I spaced out last nights game and was watching nba and rachel maddow. When Hedman started playing with the lightning it was like Herman Munster moving around, now he is like frankenstien. The guy has to be like 7 ft tall on ice and the reach with those long arms shuts down one side of the opponents offensive zone. The guy has developed into an allstar player and can put the puck in the net too

I'm in, lets go boltz

caps are dONE!!

Stick a fork in em

Bam, back to advantage bolts

Really good game last night.

Totally enjoyable to watch.

I don't have a horse in this race, they're both good teams.

Can't bring myself to root for Vegas.

Good team, been playing well all season, just don't want to see an expansion team win it.

3 in a row, there is room for you cb on the tampa bus, jump on we are cup bound

Not a fan of Vegas, but I have to tip my hat to Theo Fleury, who has a shot at a 3rd straight Cup.  What were the Penguins thinking?

Tough Game 5 loss, but the Caps were swarming Vasilevskiy at the end, and controlled most of the last 2 periods.  Looking for them to sustain that play in Game 6 and bring this series back to Tampa for a decisive Game 7.  It's time to win or go home.

The Caps just dominated that 3rd period.   Even when Backstrom got the 2 minutes for tripping, they were putting pressure on Vasilevskiy. 

See you Wednesday.

>>> Even when Backstrom got the 2 minutes for tripping, they were putting pressure on Vasilevskiy.

The only 2 shots in the power play came from the Caps, if I'm not mistaken.

Dave, Theo Fleury was an old Calgary Flames player. Think he played for the rangers too.

I remember because he played for our Salt Lake Golden Eagles for a quick spell before being called up to Calgary. 

Due to that connect, I checked last week and Marc-Andre has no connection to Theo. No relation at all.  

But yeah, I bet he's enjoying being there while the Pens ar playing golf. Can't blame the Pens though with Murray there. Business. 

That game last night was intense! One of the best of the season. Hoping the Caps can do it.

The Stanley Cup should not be in a place that doesn't have ice!   LOL  

Too bad ol' Zoner Earl from TB hasn't checked in. Thought of him last night. Hope you're enjoying this, Earl.

Yeah Slickrock, I got the wrong Fleury.  Damned Canuck hockey names!  That Marc-Andre is having a hell of a run, regardless.  Suppose as a kid he dreamed he'd be going for a 3rd Cup in Vegas?

The Golden Knights will have a ten day lay-off before the Finals start on Monday.  We'll see if they can keep their form.

 

 

We need to get past tampa before we start thinking about who has ice.

FFS they are an expansion team that just happens to be lucky enough to have the pens old goalie. Won't be easy if we get there. WTF an expansion team.

 

GO CAPS.. on to game 7.

The Vegas team is made up of some pissed off hockey players who feel their old teams gave up on them. They have something to prove and they are dangerous. 

Maybe no "Ovechkin-level" stars, but a lot of decent players who as a congregate have kicked some butt all year long.  

But yes Fog, GO CAPS!     

Have to say those Winnipeg fans showed some real class the other night after their Jets lost, cheering the way they did, seemingly for both teams.  

A better quality player was available in this past expansion draft than in previous years 

 

good Luck herbal and fog it will be a good one tonight, the bay will be rockin

Ovechkin is calling it the biggest game of his career.  It's gonna be a doozy.

Enjoy Joe, it's been a good series.  Hopefully, it's the best team winning, and whoever wins kicks Vegas ass!

Nothing like a game seven.

Caps are bringing their A-game.

Paquette's check on Orpik was brutal, but they got right back on it and got the 3rd goal.  Have to keep the pressure on the Bolts, they aren't going to give it up that easily.   This 3rd Period should be intense.

Let's go Caps!

Oh hell yeah!

Braden Holtby is a badass!

>>>Hopefully, it's the best team winning, and whoever wins kicks Vegas ass! 

I think the best team did win. Shutout for 2/3's of game 5 and all of games 6 & 7? Holtby was insane. The Caps deserved this.

And yes, on to Vegas to kick some butt. Hoping for a great Final.

Hmmm. 6 hours away. 

From the end of game five til the final minute the bolts played scared and were manhandled by a better team, now go get the cup caps, congrats guys

Congratulations Caps fans.

Ovechkin has been a great player for a lot of years, glad he's getting a shot at the Cup. 

What a crazy series.  From thinking we had it in the bag after Game 2, to being on the ropes after Game 5.  Lots of momentum shifts.  Condolences to the Bolts fans.  You better believe that Caps fans know how you're feeling.  You all have a great team and will be a force to reckon with down the road.

The Finals make me think of our dear friend Louie Lardo, and how happy he was when the Penguins got their first Cup.  When Louie got a chance to hang out with the Cup was a great moment.  

It's still sinking in.  We're back in the Finals!

Yeah, beside Louie, I was missing seeing Lites' posts in the NHL threads.

Great guy, even if he was a rangers fan. I wonder if Mrs. Lites has been lurking a little. If so, "Hey".

GO CAPS.

Tickets at $700-800 a pop for upper deck will not get me traveling to Vegas.

Maybe no "Ovechkin-level" stars, but a lot of decent players who as a congregate have kicked some butt all year long.  

But yes Fog, GO CAPS!    >>>>>>>>>>

Thanks, they have the Pens old goalie, i'd bet they regret letting him go. Fleury is a reason for concern here.

 

Lites is always missed and so is Hail Skins.

 

Bring on game one.  Go Caps.

Caught the last ten minutes.  Looked like non-stop back and forth action.  With all those goals, it must have been an entertaining game to watch.   That was just a brutal miss of a wide-open net by Lars Eller with a couple of minutes left.  Instead of a tie and OT, we still have never won a Stanley Cup Finals game, and Vegas, an expansion team has.  Arggggh!  

This looks like it's going to be a pretty even match-up.  Hope the Caps can get it done in Game 2.

I know from my buddy that has lightning season tickets that the prices were (face) $87 first round, same as regular season, 187 for the second round and it would of been 307 for the cup. 

It WAS an entertaining game. And that's what sports is supposed to be - entertainment.

The Caps did better than I thought they would and for much of the game carried the action. That Eller's miss was excruciating.

Looks like a fun series ahead. Somehow I don't see a 10 goal second game - but what the hell do I know?

That crosscheck before that fifth goal for Vegas was BS. How did the ref miss that?

GO CAPS!

Braden Holtby was crazy good tonight.  They threw everything at him the last 5 minutes and he stoned them.  That stop on Tuch was just sick.  

The Caps got the Stanley Cup Finals monkey off their back.  

This is going to be an epic series!

 

Yes. Another great game. Holtby was amazing as was Eller.

Nice to see all those Caps fans outside after the game. I noticed quite a bit of cheering after a Caps goal and wondered. 

 

Hope Kuznetsov isn't too banged up.

Nice win tonight.  Great to see Kuznetsov back on the ice.

They're getting excited in D.C.  Go Caps!

Missed Saturday's game, went to a music festival. But came home and checked out the NHL network right away.

Washington seems to be getting stronger and more confident. I don't see Vegas beating these CAPS 3 of out of 4.

But it's hockey and anything can happen. Just takes one injury. Or a goalie having a bad game. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Great to see the folks in DC having a great time. What a blast. GO CAPS! 

596D256D-0380-4328-9BD5-D860FB6FE1DE.jpegWorking in DC this week. Ran into these two dogs and their owner walking down the street today. 

Im rooting for Vegas to lose because there is no way in hell an expansion team fan-base should get to win anything year one. 

 

The only question now is will Vegas win another game? 

Always like to see the winners parade the cup in front of the home fans, but the CAPS won't ease up a bit. Get it while you can. 

Maybe I should check as some Vegas fans may want to sell.  Only six hours away.

Hmm, tix on craigslist for $400. May drop more, or even less outside the arena.

Great story of Oshie taking the metro into DC from northern va during rush hour before mondays game. Love it.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/06/caps-t-j-oshie-takes-train-to-stanley-c...

Bucky, if you have any questions about the city or whatever let me know. During the week is tough for me getting out but a happy hour somewhere is possible.

D.C. must be getting pretty pumped.  The Caps are playing some great hockey.  Hope they can finish the Knights off.  It's been 27 years since D.C. won a championship in the major sports.

Time to erase all the memories of years of futility.  Go Caps!

Since I was not able to make it down, I hope I don't miss the cup being skated, Las Vegas gives their fans one last thrill, and THE CAPS win it at home for their fans.

Let's make the home town fans happy! 

Hoping for a tight game won on a fluke goal so Vegas doesn't grab a bunch of confidence and THE CAPS leave pissed and determined.

 

image_1063.jpg

 

I'm still in shock.  We just got a Cup.  Holy shit!!!  

I remember the 1977 team, and all those mis-steps inbetween.

Doesn't matter now.  

We are the NHL Champs!

Great series. Great hockey. And get to hear my favorite team of announcers. Doc, Ed and Pierre.

Congratulation to CAPS fans everywhere!  Happy to see them win, for the team and the city.

Thanks !

This should be declared a national holiday. Slick, it was best to end it last night, we will have a badass parade and celebrate.

What a game. Finally we get a monster playoff performance from Ovi and an incredible supporting cast.

Playoff agony year after year after year after year after year after year after year, FINALLY. Really proud of my city for not rioting also.

Soak it in Ovi and the Washington Capitals, you deserve it.

Congrats to the Caps and their fans.

Definitely did not want to see an expansion team win it.