OT: NHL playoffs schadenfreude
Yes, those of us who are Wings fans are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. The long winter has come. And it bites.
And therefore in the world of living vicariously I would have loved to see Stevie Y's TB brainchild live up to its promise rather than falling on its face. Alas....
But at least Cyndy C and her Pens just got blown out (swept!) in the first round of another year in #87's waning prime.
(Petty, you say? About as petty as us M fans not getting over The Spot in '16 ... some pain lives forever.)
April 16th, 2019 at 10:47 PM ^
I hate cindy and the pens almost as much as i hate ohio state.
April 16th, 2019 at 10:56 PM ^
Unbelievable outcome. Truly.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:06 PM ^
Seems, this year, may be the year that the momentum carried by mass of youth finally becomes "critical" to playoff success.
April 17th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
Hopefully this is just a blip. The Kings have at least 5 players with massive contracts running into their late 30's.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:09 PM ^
The NHL playoffs are different than the playoffs in any other sport. Teams that get hot at the right time of the season, like Columbus, can beat a team that just rolled through the regular season and were everyone's consensus Stanley Cup favorites. You can also see a hot goaltender steal a series.
The goaltender aspect is what really sets the sport aside from any other.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:28 PM ^
J.S. Giguere of the Ducks is the perfect example.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:31 PM ^
Yep! Roy in 93, as well!
April 16th, 2019 at 11:44 PM ^
Quick in 12
Potvin in NHL 94.
Fleury in 18...
April 17th, 2019 at 11:17 PM ^
Hasek in .... all seasons I guess
I see what you did there.
Vernon in '97. What a great run that was!
I thought that was such a bad decision to start Vernon in the 97 playoffs. Especially after the Wings went down 1-0 in the first round vs St. Louis. It turns out Scotty Bowman knows more than 12 year old me.
Scotty Bowman knew more than most people including those well versed in hockey. What an incredible coach
April 16th, 2019 at 11:21 PM ^
Seeing the Pens lose is always good. Same can be said about the Avs.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:24 PM ^
It’s wild to me that this board cares about a team and a player that they split Championship runs with a decade ago. Maybe not the whole board but enough that there’s a theme. Maybe I’m missing something but how are they even relevant to the the Red Wings anymore? And someone even put them and OSU in the same sentence?
But yes, it was unexpected that the Pens and Lightning both just got whooped on.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:43 PM ^
Crosby was like 22 or 23 when that happened. Would love to see how the people that hate him so much would act under the same circumstances at that age. He’s the best player in the NHL and he doesn’t do stupid s*** anymore. This wings fan likes Crosby, but totally admits to hating his guts about 6 years ago.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:50 PM ^
I think this is exactly it. He’s shut up over the past few years and is fun to watch. LeBron cries. Brady bitches. They’re competitive and hate when shit doesn’t go their way but god damn do they make the game better when they’re on.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:49 PM ^
They aren't relevant to the Wings anymore. Maybe more accurately (sadly) the Wings aren't relevant to almost anyone else anymore.
The Stanley Cup is so incredibly difficult to win. When the league instructs the refs to blatantly rip it away from you in order to market its then-whiney golden boy (and I'd agree that he's grown up a lot since), it can leave a mark.
If Bo was alive, I bet he might have similar choice words for a certain FG that was disallowed....
April 16th, 2019 at 11:52 PM ^
I genuinely don’t remember that refs part of it but I didn’t follow as closely then as I do now or maybe was just young and naive. I can see how that’d sour someone’s opinion but that’s about the league and not the player.
The calls were pretty ridiculous all series. But the most blatant act to support the Pens was after game 2. Malkin started a fight with Zetterberg and got an instigator penalty. League rules state that if you are given an instigator penalty with less than 5 minutes in the game you get an automatic suspension for the next game. Wings were ahead 2-0 heading back to Pittsburgh. League office washed out the suspension so Malkin could play and he had 3 assists in their game 3 victory. The league did everything they could to give Crosby a cup and legitimize him as the savior.
Forgot about that one. I sure do remember the 21 seconds of 6 skaters that the Pens got away with followed by their own power play goal about a minute later.
and I'd agree that he's grown up a lot since
He hasn't.
He's still the chicken shit punk diving all over the ice and starting fights from behind the security of the refs.
I don't like to complain about refs, but that series was so one sided it was clear as day, and the wings almost pulled it off anyway.
I was more pissed about the commissioner as opposed to the refs. The basically sped up the start date of the finals and played Games 1 and 2 on back-to-back days to give the younger Pens a competitive advantage. The commish was trying everything possible to get Crosby a title.
Plus Bettman interfering and NOT suspending Malkin one game for his late instigator penalty.
Yup, and that played a toll...the Wings wore out as the series went along, despite winning games 1 and 2. Fuck Bettman. There's never a time when two NHL playoff games should be played on back-to-back nights.
April 16th, 2019 at 11:41 PM ^
Lets go caps
Fuck the Capitals.
And fuck Tom Wilson.
(Ovi is alright in my book though)
April 16th, 2019 at 11:45 PM ^
No cheeseburger Phil anymore
April 16th, 2019 at 11:53 PM ^
I hate Chicago more than Pittsburg. Fuck Chicago
Agreed. Especially bad for the many of us Wings fans living in Chicago. Thankfully their time is done.
April 17th, 2019 at 12:02 AM ^
I would kill for an Islanders-Predators SCF.
April 17th, 2019 at 12:05 AM ^
Ugh, don't say that! Anyone but the Islanders!
Agree with Nashville though.
It's not schadenfreude, it's a freaking celebration. The Pens got swept. Cindy cannot dive and cry his way to another Cup for at least another year.
Bettman is naked and curled in a fetal position in his bath tub right now.
While I hope Stevie comes home as much as the next guy, his team eerily resembled the Wings playoff flops in the early to mid 90s.
Tons of skill, little grit. Fold like a tent when someone physically challenges them.
April 17th, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
Little grit??
Darren Mccarty, Joe Kocur, Pat Verbeek , Kris Draper , Vladmir Konstantinov , shawn burr, dino ciccarelli ,bob errey , stu grimson, Martin Lapointe ,Brendan Shanahan , Chris Chelios ...
These were some of the players who were on the roster and went to the playoffs starting in 94-95 . Those teams might have had more talent , than grit, but dont act like they werent capable of fighting back.
They were just held back by the clutching and grabbing playoff era that made lesser teams competitive . Especially in the playoffs where that stuff was allowed more .
I miss red wings playoff hockey. Seeing the penguins get swept is always a good thing. Not sure who I want to lose the Boston/Toronto series, I can't stand either team.
I would go for a Carolina-Nashville SCF. Would be good for hockey in the south.
Winning the president’s cup is no guarentee of success. The Wings were a machine in the mid-90’s and mid-00’s, winning the president’s cup in 94, 95, 04, and 06 and then losing in the playoffs. In 1994, they set the record for most points in a season (131) and got swept by the Devils in the finals, and in 2006 they had 124 points and lost to Edmonton in the first round. I feel for the TB fans, but I’m not surprised. The playoffs aren’t the regular season.
The '94 Devils ushered in one of the worst things ever about hockey - the neutral zone trap. It took the game away from playmakers and put it squarely in the hands of talentless players (relatively speaking). That Bettman allowed it - even supported it - showed me right then and there that he was bad for hockey. He was nothing more than an NBA cap accountant when the NHL hired him to bring the cap to hockey.
A perhaps stupid question: how could the NHL legislate the neutral zone trap?
April 17th, 2019 at 10:00 AM ^
Getting rid of red line offsides was an attempt.
April 17th, 2019 at 12:13 PM ^
Not stupid... The clutching and grabbing that goes hand-in-hand with neutral zone traps could have been called per the existing rulebook (interference). Each year, the league office puts some new emphasis on officiating parts of the game. But they never put any thought into stopping the away from the puck grabbing that clearly impedes the flow of the game. It allows marginal 3rd and 4th line players to completely interrupt a teams offensive flow and normalizes the games better players.
April 18th, 2019 at 10:57 AM ^
Got it. Agree completely regarding interference and clutching/grabbing. Makes sense. I assumed you wanted the NHL to outlaw a game strategy, which would be difficult. But you're more interested in regulating the on-ice behavior associated with said strategy.
I was always frustrated when those high-flying 90's Wings teams were constantly slowed by off-puck interference, especially when whistles were swallowed during playoff games.
I don't care if Stevie Y's creation in Tampa just got swept. I want him back home at the Joe, er, the LCA, next season. I want him to make Detroit be what it was - a mirror image of Tampa, only with grit and toughness (Fred Jackson'd).
I'd rather Detroit lose a playoff series as a top seed than not make the playoffs in a reprise role of the Dead Things...
Totally off-topic but why did someone delete the attack each day host discussion? Seemed like legit discussion was taking place. Is it because it was critical? We criticize college athletes on here all day with impunity but a paid public figure is out of bounds? Interesting...
April 17th, 2019 at 12:59 PM ^
I didn't read it after the first posts because I felt like it could fall into the recesses of discrimination, given Ira Weintraub. Personal attacks that could devolve are liable to be deleted by the mods. I have no problem with Ira's work or the deletion of the thread.
Did you start the thread?
I do have fundamental issues with thread hijacking, however.