I am surprised at how good the Bolts are looking right now but for now I'd be concerned about that big bear in front of you.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1304518573.jpg
Hopefully the officiating will step up a notch. I usually don't whine about it but this year has had some of the worst calls.

Seriously, some of the non-calls are worse than the ones being made. How many times has Lacavalier been popped in the mouth?

How did Tampa not even make it to the playoffs until late? The Pens had a good season without their two stars and had high hopes going into the playoffs, but they also had serious flaws. The last 3 games showed how they couldn't score. The Bolts have such incredible skill, all it takes is one misstep and the pucks in the net. I like their coach too. How did he get that hideous scar? Man, its a doozy. Enjoying the playoffs no matter who is playing this year.

Are you sure its not St Louis? I think he has had at least 3-4 high sticks with no call.s

No goalie for half the year. New coach this year. You can't just switch to the 1-3-1 and start winning. It takes time.

More like six. It's not good to be 5'6" in the NHL.

Lecavalier got it once last night.

The most annoying part is that linesmen can call high sticking penalties. So four guys have missed every call on St. Louis. How?

I think they were all Anglo's ;)

my bad yes, thanks for the correction.

I want to see St louis skate between Chara's legs and score.

It could happen. Chara hasn't been skating all that well this series.

It appears to be much the same in the Western Conference playoffs with some rather suspect & inconsistent officiating. I didn't care much for the seemingly pro-Blackhawks calls & non-calls in the previous series. Granted, this may be a biased perception given the fact I am a Canuck fan. I also know I am hardly in a position to b1tch as the Canucks were the beneficiaries of a rather 'iffy' call on the Preds Shea Weber in game 3 OT which resulted in the Canucks scoring the game winner. The announcers alluded to inconsistencies in the officiating & postulated the call on the Preds was a so-called 'even-things-up' penalty as moments before there was a 'non-call' when Kevin Bieksa was 'wall-papered' by an opposition forward. The hit was from behind (right on the numbers) & under normal circumstances could have been called as a 5 minute boarding major. I think all of us as fans realize blown calls & mistakes will be made. As fans we also hope, none of the aforementioned will ultimately determine the outcome of the game. Having said that, I think we are all in agreement, we are watching some great hockey.

Cheers
JB

wow Boucher is making real junior league goalie mistakes. I coach kids and have the hardest time keeping goalies on their feet, but theyre kids. how many five hole goals does a keeper have to give up before they learn the lesson?

As I've said before, the goalie makes the difference in the playoffs. The Flyers are a better team than their goal-tending. I guess the Flyers decided to try last year's strategy and they have Boston "right where they want them"... :rolleyes:

Did anyone see when Thomas caught the puck, stood up, and is standing there waiting a good 10-15 seconds for the referee to finally blow the whistle with Hartnell in front of him? Hartnell realized the whistle hadn't blown and went to get it out of the mit (and of course Boston took exception to it). I have a theory that the NHL has pressured the refs to not blow the whistle as fast so that the game will go quicker. We know that they are looking for ways to speed up the game so that they can do more video reviews. I honestly believe that the Rangers lost a couple games because Lundquist covered the puck and 10 seconds later the Caps are still hacking and whacking at it until it went in. I remember at least once where that was a momentum shift that cost NY the game. That said, over all, this year has had some of the finest playoff performances in spite of the pitiful non-calls and soft penalties.

I thought that to be the case Joe but wasn't sure of the time elapsed. But in so doing they are also endangering the keepers and just BEGGING for a defenseman to come in and cream the forward doing the hacking. The Flyers in general and a guy like JVR in particular deserve better net minding.

How about those Caps? Way to waste the #1 seasonal record. TB played well certainly but jeez the Caps were undisciplined and lacklustre.

Last year, the Caps inherited the reputation of choking in the playoffs. I believe it is because they relied on talent instead of teamwork. They started to change that this past October and this year was a learning year. If management can hold the team together they should be better next year.

Ovechkin lost the World Juniors (to Crosby). He lost in the Olympics (destroyed by several teams). He has gone out first round three years straight (all to a lower seeded team).

Starting to see a trend? He did not disappear completely this year, but he sure didn't lead his team to victory. Great players are leaders. he's just a scorer. And not always that.

Damn! I believe you're on to something - at least from what I've seen. Ove is still arguably one of the most exciting players in hockey if & when he decides to 'giddyup & go'.

Cheers
JB

As much as I hate to say it, my Flyers look unprepared for these games. They played well in game two but they did not even show for last nights game. I believed they have been well coached most of the season but they don't appear that way now.

Joe, I Believe I will be wearing a Bruins B shortly.

1990: I think we are basically saying the same thing.

trader: its not so much the team as a whole but the lack of quality goal-tending (except in game three which was a disaster). I am optimistic but in light of 2010 I'll feel better after one more win. Besides, you'd be styling in black and gold...

Agree. And when they got down two goals they played worse. They were never in the game. They got hit, they got outworked, and outplayed. Boys against men last night. No excuse for that. None.