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OT: Stanley Cup Finals

Yeah, on the Smith-Pelley goal, Theodore made a terrible play for Las Vegas.

Everyone concentrated on what Smith-Pelley did, but the truth is that was a horrific mistake by the Vegas defenseman.

Theodore has been a very good defenseman for Vegas this entire playoffs. However, he had a very rough night last night.
 
The Caps are really keeping the Vegas top lines on the perimeter. Much like they did to Tampa and the Pens in the latter part of our series with them. Doing a great job. Trotz is a great coach.

The Caps biggest problem the past few years is they had to play coinflip series against the Pens.
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
The Caps are really keeping the Vegas top lines on the perimeter. Much like they did to Tampa and the Pens in the latter part of our series with them. Doing a great job. Trotz is a great coach.

The Caps biggest problem the past few years is they had to play coinflip series against the Pens.
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Agree totally. Additionally, I think the caps have done the best job in these playoffs playing as a unit of 5. The gap between their defense and forwards has been tight all over the ice enabling them to play as the unit of 5, and their defensive concept and coverage has greatly improved because of it. If Vegas squeaks out a win tonight, I think we get a great series, but would still favor the caps. If caps win, its over!
 
It’s funny but I don’t agree with the general consensus here. Washington is going to take it 3–1 series lead. However, I am not convinced it is over.

I think tonight’s game has been very even territorially and honestly I think Vegas has outplayed Washington.

I understand that sounds silly in a 4-0 game, but it’s just been one of those nights where one team has gotten every possible bounce to go its way. Those types of things happen in hockey.

I don’t want to take to anything away from Washington. They have worked their asses off and they deserve to be in this position. However, they sure have gotten a number of good hops in this series and I think it has fooled people into thinking that it’s been a lot more one-sided than it has been.

Vegas should not lose confidence. They need to maintain their poise and their structure. They could definitely still win this series. It’s obviously going to be extraordinarily difficult. However, it’s eminently possible.
 
I guess maybe it is not just all Matt Murray's fault. Perhaps part of the reason is the West was filled with pop gun offenses. Except for Winnipeg.
 
Washington is an extremely tough team this year. That was evident when they were relentless against is. You have to win 4 but man this is a good team.
 
If Vegas can win the next one, I say they take the cup. Washington will be extremely tight in game 6 if you ask me. We’ve seen them blow 3-1’s with much better teams.
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
I guess maybe it is not just all Matt Murray's fault. Perhaps part of the reason is the West was filled with pop gun offenses. Except for Winnipeg.
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Most definitely not all Murray's fault but if he could've stopped Kuznetsov on either of those two breakaways maybe it goes the Pens way. In retrospect, the calls in Game 2 may have been more critical as well, and the non tripping call on the game winner in Game 3. An awful lot has gone right for Washington this postseason but they are playing well.
 
maxxwell said:
Most definitely not all Murray's fault but if he could've stopped Kuznetsov on either of those two breakaways maybe it goes the Pens way. In retrospect, the calls in Game 2 may have been more critical as well, and the non tripping call on the game winner in Game 3. An awful lot has gone right for Washington this postseason but they are playing well.
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I am just saying Washington is good and is full of snipers and guys who can make plays. I like to hear Goalieman, this is obviously not MAF's fault, but I see bits of his game from years past that we didn't see the first 3 rounds of going down early and over pursuing and finishing outside of the posts which causes him having to overreact on rebounds.

MAF's numbers are still great. 0.929 save percentage. 2.15 GAA 4 Shutouts in 19 games. But MM's last playoffs were 0.937 save percentage, 1.70 GAA and 3 shutouts in 11 games. And that goes into the tone of my posts this year, that the MAFers, never gave Murray his due for being really, really good in the playoffs.

That being said, it is obvious Washington is on a mission, and their high end players are showing up while Vegas's lack of high end players......I mean even the Real Deal James Neal, not only did he hit the post, he hit the far post on the wide open end. He's a sniper, there is definitely some nerves now with Vegas that they realize where they are.

I hope Vegas wins this next one......
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
I am just saying Washington is good and is full of snipers and guys who can make plays. I like to hear Goalieman, this is obviously not MAF's fault, but I see bits of his game from years past that we didn't see the first 3 rounds of going down early and over pursuing and finishing outside of the posts which causes him having to overreact on rebounds.

MAF's numbers are still great. 0.929 save percentage. 2.15 GAA 4 Shutouts in 19 games. But MM's last playoffs were 0.937 save percentage, 1.70 GAA and 3 shutouts in 11 games. And that goes into the tone of my posts this year, that the MAFers, never gave Murray his due for being really, really good in the playoffs.

That being said, it is obvious Washington is on a mission, and their high end players are showing up while Vegas's lack of high end players......I mean even the Real Deal James Neal, not only did he hit the post, he hit the far post on the wide open end. He's a sniper, there is definitely some nerves now with Vegas that they realize where they are.

I hope Vegas wins this next one......
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http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...-final-Matt-Murray-fault/stories/201806050063
 
Dr. von Yinzer said:
Yeah, on the Smith-Pelley goal, Theodore made a terrible play for Las Vegas.

Everyone concentrated on what Smith-Pelley did, but the truth is that was a horrific mistake by the Vegas defenseman.

Theodore has been a very good defenseman for Vegas this entire playoffs. However, he had a very rough night last night.
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Recruits, Murray was simply one of several Pens who were off their game when they were needed most. Some were likely injured, but that does not matter in the end. But make no mistake, Murray's play is one reason (among many) why the Caps are still playing and Pens exited in the second round. At the end of the day, I don't imagine the overall result would've been different had MAF been goaltending for the Pens this postseason. Maybe I'm being petty but it'll suck if/when the Caps win the Cup.
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
Let's face it, a bounce here and there, maybe the Caps won these last 2 Cups and it is the Pens still playing because the Caps suffered from the same fatigue that the Pens had this year after playing all of those games.
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This may indeed be true, but we'll never know (thank God).
 
maxxwell said:
Recruits, Murray was simply one of several Pens who were off their game when they were needed most. Some were likely injured, but that does not matter in the end. But make no mistake, Murray's play is one reason (among many) why the Caps are still playing and Pens exited in the second round. At the end of the day, I don't imagine the overall result would've been different had MAF been goaltending for the Pens this postseason. Maybe I'm being petty but it'll suck if/when the Caps win the Cup.
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I am not so broken up over the Caps winning. We got 5 in the last 30 years. That is best in the sport. Ovy and Washington have been a good organization, they have had alot of good teams that were mostly derailed by the Penguins. I am fine with them getting this. Now if that was the Flyers......
 
The Pens defensive pinching did them in and it was no more evident in Game 5 when it was 3-3 with 4 minutes left. That’s not second guessing either. You never ever pinch with less than 5 minutes left in a playoff game with a tie score. After that play they were done in and to top it off Maatta missed a wide open net minutes later. As cliche as it sounds it is very much the way the puck bounces sometimes.
 
Caps were way overdue. That said, they have had about ten seasons worth of luck and bounces go their way this playoffs.

The Pens were right there every game but couldn't seal the deal. I think of Murray putting in a Matt Niskanen shot from the blue line that was going wide in the third period of game 4 I think. I also think of Tommy Khunackl hitting the post early in OT in game 6. These are only a few examples of the bounces they got to go their way.

Vegas outplayed them badly in the last game, and the game before was also competitive, but Vegas hit a total of 8 goal posts in the last two games. That is living right.

Caps will win this thing because of the firepower and something I thought I would never say about them, they are better defensively.

As for the Pens, I am still upset at Mike Sullivan. He deserved credit when things were going right, but deserves some criticism for what happened this year.

I hated that Ian Cole got in his dog house and he got rid of him. A player like him could have helped massively in the Caps series.

I also hate that he made a decision early on that Ryan Reaves would not fit in. He has played a regular shift in the playoffs for Vegas and hasn't looked out of place at all, has been a great net front presence, and would have been a much needed physical presence in the Caps series.

I think his stubborness and overconfidence, have led to him making some decisions that were not best for the team.
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
I am just saying Washington is good and is full of snipers and guys who can make plays. I like to hear Goalieman, this is obviously not MAF's fault, but I see bits of his game from years past that we didn't see the first 3 rounds of going down early and over pursuing and finishing outside of the posts which causes him having to overreact on rebounds.

MAF's numbers are still great. 0.929 save percentage. 2.15 GAA 4 Shutouts in 19 games. But MM's last playoffs were 0.937 save percentage, 1.70 GAA and 3 shutouts in 11 games. And that goes into the tone of my posts this year, that the MAFers, never gave Murray his due for being really, really good in the playoffs.

That being said, it is obvious Washington is on a mission, and their high end players are showing up while Vegas's lack of high end players......I mean even the Real Deal James Neal, not only did he hit the post, he hit the far post on the wide open end. He's a sniper, there is definitely some nerves now with Vegas that they realize where they are.

I hope Vegas wins this next one......
Click to expand...

Instead of a long post analyzing every goal (all 6) against Fleury in Game #4, I'd like to summarize some thoughts .....

- 3 of the 6 goals were on power plays.

- The defensive positioning/coverage by Las Vegas low in their own zone was horrible on basically every goal .... I know coverage is harder when you are short handed but it was even bad for that situation (Dr. von Yinzer alluded to this in a post on one of the goals) ...... every goal came on a high danger shot ..... no really soft goals given up by Fleury.

- Fleury was not quite as precise in his initial positioning on some plays but wasn't bad ...... one goal he was slightly outside the post but even if he was in perfect position , he wouldn't have been able to get across in time on the pass across to make the save ... one goal he was a little deep but was screened ( I think it was on a 5 on 3) .... Goal # 4 which was a PP goal was the only one of the 6 goals that he had a great chance to stop and didn't ...... he slid across in time to stop the one timer on the pass across but slid a little too far and the shot got by him to the far side.

- Basically the team hung Fleury out to dry.

- If Las Vegas wants to win tonight, they are going to have to quit taking penalties ..... their defensive coverage in their own zone, especially low down, has got to improve dramatically in order to limit the high danger shots ..... Fleury will have to stay aggressive in his positioning but be more precise so as to be in the best position at all times ..... Las Vegas has to convert on their chances as they missed several golden opportunities to score in the 1st period of the last game ..... also, the Golden Knights have had some problem at times getting out of their end and through the neutral zone against the Caps with the speed they have shown against other opponents and the Caps physical play has contributed IMO..

- Like "recruits" said, the Caps are really good ..... very good talent, depth, speed, physicality, and goaltending ...... they are getting significant contributions from all 4 lines and will be tough to beat .... we'll see what happens tonight.
 
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goalieman said:
Instead of a long post analyzing every goal (all 6) against Fleury in Game #4, I'd like to summarize some thoughts .....

- 3 of the 6 goals were on power plays.

- The defensive positioning/coverage by Las Vegas low in their own zone was horrible on basically every goal .... I know coverage is harder when you are short handed but it was even bad for that situation (Dr. von Yinzer alluded to this in a post on one of the goals) ...... every goal came on a high danger shot ..... no really soft goals given up by Fleury.

- Fleury was not quite as precise in his initial positioning on some plays but wasn't bad ...... one goal he was slightly outside the post but even if he was in perfect position , he wouldn't have been able to get across in time on the pass across to make the save ... one goal he was a little deep but was screened ( I think it was on a 5 on 3) .... Goal # 4 which was a PP goal was the only one of the 6 goals that he had a great chance to stop and didn't ...... he slid across in time to stop the one timer on the pass across but slid a little too far and the shot got by him to the far side.

- Basically the team hung Fleury out to dry.

- If Las Vegas wants to win tonight, they are going to have to quit taking penalties ..... their defensive coverage in their own zone, especially low down, has got to improve dramatically in order to limit the high danger shots ..... Fleury will have to stay aggressive in his positioning but be more precise so as to be in the best position at all times ..... Las Vegas has to convert on their chances as they missed several golden opportunities to score in the 1st period of the last game ..... also, the Golden Knights have had some problem at times getting out of their end and through the neutral zone against the Caps with the speed they have shown against other opponents and the Caps physical play has contributed IMO..

- Like "recruits" said, the Caps are really good ..... very good talent, depth, speed, physicality, and goaltending ...... they are getting significant contributions from all 4 lines and will be tough to beat .... we'll see what happens tonight.
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Gman, I didn't mean to infer this is Fleury's fault at all and he has played bad. What I have seen the Caps do to him and he Knights is what I have seen the Pens do to Rinne, Jones, Holtby, Vasilevsky, Andersen, etc.....over the past few years, they all were playing great but eventually not just the quality of chances but also the quality of talent just would eventually overwhelm them. Washington's chances, most of them, just friggin glorious chances, many by guys who can bury it. Contrast that with Vegas and not burying theirs. But in doing this, I think MAF who was just uber, uber confident now is a bit shellshocked. Again, not his fault.

Edit note...though MAF just made a great stop on Ovy from the slot.
 
Man, you can on Vegas, but man if I could take one guy off their roster and put it on the Pens I think I might take Colin Miller.
 
I really don't mind if the Caps win. But I just figured out the biggest downside to them winning. You just know the NHL will have the Pens open up in DC as they raise the banner
 
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This has been one fantastic hockey game. Just fantastic. A blast to watch without the angst of the last two years.
 
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