Thomas should have got a game misconduct for the first one. The second is just kind of funny. A bit stupid defensively, but that's his choice. Maybe it's also because it was vs. the leafs :D

Even being a Canucks fan, that's funny!

I can really only see tomorrow night going one way, and that's Vancouver's. It's all been about home ice in this series. The 1st game in Boston was a blowout. The second was bad, but better than the first. Last night was still a tiny improvement. Vancouver played well last night - it all comes down to the fact that Luongo is clearly spooked in that building, for some reason. At home he's fine. And I think tomorrow night he'll be fine, and if he is, it'll be a Vancouver win. They know how to beat Thomas, just not more than once or twice a game. It'll be the same as the others, a one, maybe two goal game. 1-0 would be nice to see.

Seems to me this issue is discussed ad nauseum every season. Who is diving, who is thugging, good call bad call. We all have our loyalties, blinders , colored lenses and perspectives. And yes we are all guilty of being Homers now and then. But many of you guys have played this sport. It gets hot out there.It gets tangled up too. I really do think that the goon thug stuff is less frequent than the emotional stuff. Remember guys like Derek Sanderson? Pie face McKenzie? Those were purposeful goons.

I'm on record here as saying I consider guys like Marchand and LaPierre apes. But if TT gets hot and hits the man with the puck its not a penalty IMO. Stupid yes penalty no. A man finishes his check and someone gets hurt doesn't make it a penalty unless its an illegal hit. Some of you Van fans said Horton should have protected himself, looked around, been aware. The same could be said for Raymond. He should have protected himself.

My point is we see this stuff through our own perspective.
So game 7! Here we go!!
But I do think its all Bettman's fault!!!

Triple OT!!

The hit on Raymond last night looked pretty clean to me, even though none of the camera angles were great. Looked more like an unfortunate accident than anything else.

The issue I have with Thomas and the hit on Kostitsyn is that is was well after the whistle. Anyone should be tossed for a cheap shot after the whistle, goalie or other.

Vancouver's diving has got to the point of ridiculousness. Reminds me of Hasek. Jim Hughson made a good point about it last night, that when there should be a call they're not getting it, because the refs now look at them with suspicion. It's the whole boy-who-cried-wolf thing.

I'm hoping you'll eventually understand.
Um those examples are over a year old. Do you want to pull out a report from when he was sent to the principal's office in grade school? EVERYONE commits penalties from time to time. If you aren't caught cheating once in a while you aren't trying hard enough.
Oh wow! That's just beautiful! I may change my avatar now.

Hey Turbo

I agree with ya on that point. For better or for worse from game 3 onwards, this has been more of a 'street fight' than a hockey series. It also seems somewhat absurd to me the fact it is less than a week away from the summer solstice & we're still watching hockey. Don't get me wrong, I love the game, but sitting inside on a warm sunny day for a 5:00 pm (PDT) start....I dunno. One thing that should make it interesting, it is one game for all the marbles. May it be a good game (no more thuggery &/or horse$h1t being passed off as hockey) & may the best team (Canucks, naturally) win!

Cheers
JB

Are you willing to use the Bruin avatar I posted for 30 days if they lose? (See post #455)

Breaking headlines: Tony and Joe agree!
 

OK boys and girls. Mark this one down on your calendar. Joe agrees with Tony! TT should have had his chain jerked for that one. He is like Eddie Belfour. When he gets his temper up, LOOK OUT. I remember one game where he was mad at a player that crashed the crease so the next time he was in front TT stepped out one or two steps to cross check him. The bad part was while he was doing it, the puck went into the net! Timmy has a temper and he has to control it.

The thing that makes a 7 game series so different from the regular season is its like eating food with curry. It cumulates and each bite makes it hotter than before. After 2-3 games there are grudges. After 4-5 games there are vendettas. By games 6 and 7 it all out war. Win one for Horty...Look how Rome got the shaft...His cheap shot...His dive...We're not going to let that goalie do us this way... C'est la guerre!!!

Hey flatbutt

I must remonstrate. Boychuk was bent over the top of Raymond during the contact or play, (his stick also appeared to be between Raymond's legs), hence Raymond hitting the boards backside first. Now whether it was Boychuk's intent to make the 'hard play' or not, I believe if you look very closely at the re-plays (out here on west coast, it has had a good bit of 'air-time'); both players' momentum was such & coupled with the fact Boychuk had a good hold/position on him, Raymond was in a very vulnerable situation. He'll be out a few months & may miss the openings months of next season due to a fractured vertebra or vertebrae. The puck was also quite a distance away from the play & maybe Boychuk could have let up but as we all know, in a fast paced contact sport; $h1t can & does happen; but I must reiterate, Raymond went in awkwardly (with some help from Boychuk) & was hardly in a position to protect himself.

Cheers
JB

Well the truce didn't last long.
 

As I tried to explain the last time I posted that commerical, the NHL is a big boy sport. It is rough. People get hurt and (as you stated a minute ago) sometime the check is clean but bad stuff happens. Not every hit or injury is dirty play. That said, do the B's dish out some less than legal stuff? Yes. Everyone does. Its part of the game. Go look at Eddie Belfour tapes. He was a terror. Look at Terrible Ted, Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Ron Hextall, Bobby Clarke... There are more that I can't think of right away. Do I need to keep going? Of course, I was upset when Matt Cooke took out Mark Savard's career with a dirty hit. There is a difference between a cheap shot and an intent to injure. We penalize the cheap shots that get caught. We wink and smile when our team gets away with one. We all stand in unison against the players that disrespect the game and intentionallyand repeatedly take out players with dirty hits. Some players have a reputation and if its even close, they get called: Avery, Cooke, Kaleta... (reputations for diving are also gotten).

Hey Joe

+1
We used to say, "that's when the name on the back determines the call, not the name on the front"

Cheers
JB

It wasn't my intent to literally mean he could have protected himself. Apologies for poor communication on my part. My point was that in the heat of such a pitched contest these guys get tangled up and bad stuff happens. We frequently hear a defense of the alleged perp going along the lines of the "victim should have defended himself". But as you say **** happens even unintentionally.

Some things we can all agree on:
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One of my fav commericals is the Verizon "Hockey fans aren't like regular fans" with two guys in an elevator.
Reminds me of Tony and myself...

That's sweet, poetry in motion.

In search of the Holy Grail
 

oh man I'm dyin' here. Still 5 hours to drop. ARRRRRRG!!!

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oooooh thats why the Sedin "sisters". ;):D

my fav!!!
 

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