Resetti

I posted this in the series thread, but it bears repeating here since this seems to be the thread memorializing Ovechkin's fall from grace... If anybody is curious about Ovechkin's take on the Capitals collapse... it wasn't his fault! Source Over the course of this series and this season, I've lost a lot of respect for Ovechkin. Someone needs to dramatically rip the C off of his sweater.

If anybody is curious about Ovechkin's take on it... it wasn't his fault! Source Over the course of this series and this season, I've lost a lot of respect for Ovechkin. Someone needs to dramatically rip the C off of his sweater.

That GIF is the best thing that came out of this series. Well, along with this picture: ETA: Couldn't find the source image, but this was the one that appeared on NHL.com after the game.

I'm thinking the Rangers are going to take this one in 6. Boston has not looked good in the latter half of the year and were taken to the limit by the Leafs. Although the Rangers went the distance with Washington, too, they cooled off one of the hottest teams (and players) entering the playoffs. Lundqvist has been too good to pick against. But who knows? Boston should win, if they would play to their potential. They're built to win at this time of year.

I decided to look it up and I was a little mistaken on their history: they've actually won three Game 7s in their history (franchise record 3-9), in 2012 against Boston, in 2009 against New York, and 1988 against Philadelphia.

The Washington Capitals history of not showing up for Game 7 continues. I think they've won exactly one Game 7 in the last 24 years now, and it seems that it's always by dropping a lead in the series beforehand. What a disappointment Ovechkin and the Caps are this year, despite the exciting surge to end the season.

Unbelievable. I mean, nobody was really giving them a chance to win this series, but with a two goal lead and under two minutes to play... losing is inexcusable.

Honestly Ovechkin looks more interested in making the big hit than the smart play. I understand he's a physical force and that hitting is part of his game, but not when it takes you out of the play. What a weird guy.

Oh what I would give to be a fly on the wall in the Toronto locker room during this intermission...

Holy cow. Did not see that coming.

What has been wrong with Boston? They've not looked like themselves since somewhere around the halfway or two-third way mark of this season. Not to take away from what Toronto is doing, including getting some spectacular goaltending from Reimer, but... this team was supposedly built for the playoffs.

I don't think I'd describe Montreal as one of the better offensive teams in the league if you watched how they played to close the season: they were the #2 seed but they fell in ass-backwards. By the same token, the Islanders were probably the fastest team in the playoffs, and that clearly created a matchup problem. It's always about matchups. Just because a team has a low seed doesn't mean they won't have some advantages.

I don't think the loss is in the morning skate, it's not waking up in your own bed and being able to start the day as you normally would. Travel days always suck. You just don't feel right. Not to make an excuse for them. If they want an excuse, a good starting point would be somewhere in the second half of the regular season. They haven't looked right to me in a long time. Honestly, wouldn't mind seeing Toronto pull off the come back.

Statement from Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli: Could this become a factor for Game 7 tomorrow night? Hockey players are creatures of habit, so having a wrench thrown into their routine like this has to be frustrating.

Anyone notice the clock stop for about five seconds? It looks like someone thought there was a whistle and got confused. ETA: Looks like they noticed.

Wow, this thread features way, way, way too much overrating Crosby and way, way, way too much underrating Crosby. There's some places it's just not even worth having a discussion about him... which is a shame because, honestly, if you cut away all the undue hatred and the undue media hype that surrounds him, there's a pretty unique player that deserves a fair shake.

The last five games have been decided by 1 goal, and every home team has won. This will be an interesting finish tomorrow night... Ovechkin has been ice cold. Will this series be a microcosm of the regular season with a fiery finish? I have a tough time seeing it... Lundqvist has been too good.

What's remarkable about the Islanders is how much salary cap room they have. The key players are locked up, and they've got a LOT of room to bring in some talent. I think they earned a ton of respect around the league with this playoff performance, and they should actually be a landing spot free agents would be excited for. Kudos to them.

Although the Penguins didn't look very good against the Islanders, it'd be a disservice to actual analysis to not give credit to New York's speed. Every series presents a different matchup, and Pittsburgh was playing against arguably the fastest team in the playoffs, with a ton of young burners. That fast transition game gave Pittsburgh nightmares. Is Ottawa that fast? I'm not sure... but they're definitely not as fast as New York. There seems to be this rock-paper-scissors simplicity to analysis on the Internet. Just because a team is listed as a low seed doesn't automatically mean that they don't present a tough matchup, or that every seed ranked higher than them are "better" in every way. Pittsburgh's biggest weakness is still in net. I'm curious whether Bylsma starts Fleury this series... managing confidence is always tricky, but I think he'd be pretty dumb not to play Vokoun. My gut says the Penguins beat Ottawa in 5 games, but Anderson and a solid Senator defense can level the playing field. I just don't think they have the offense and speed to hem the Penguins in their zone to exploit what is not a very good defense.

Ovechkin may be the worst Captain in the league. I haven't done an exhaustive check through the NHL but I can't imagine that there's anyone as uninspired as a leader. Is he talented? Is he exciting? Does he put up points? The answer to all of these things is a resounding yes, but none of that qualifies him as a captain. There are many good ways to be a leader but none of them include standing idly by and watching your teammates do all the work. With some of his performances this year, including one of the most ridiculous dives I've ever seen, I've lost a ton of respect for Ovechkin. I've always enjoyed watching him play because he flies like a train off its tracks but, lately, he reminds me more of just a train wreck.

That's your captain? Everybody in that organization should be embarrassed watching that play. That kind of laziness isn't OK in the regular season. It's downright pathetic in the playoffs. But at least it yielded an awesome GIF.

It looked like he skated through his right arm. Didn't see any contact with the head but I only saw the replay once. The difference between watching Fleury and Vokoun is clear: confidence. Vokoun looks comfortable against the Islanders.

I dunno, after giving up 40 goals in the last 10 playoff games (and that includes at least two good starts from him, with a shutout in Game 1 and one of the games in the Philadelphia series), I think there's no way they couldn't make this change. If they get by the Islanders, I wouldn't be surprised to see Fleury start the next series though.

In what has to be some of the least surprising news of the day, Bylsma announces today that Vokoun will start Game 5. Will be very interesting to see what the score is with swiss-cheese Fleury out of the picture.

I don't have a problem with Crosby yanking that Islander out of the scrum. He's protecting a teammate, and I didn't see him give the guy anything extra after wrestling him off the pile. I do have a problem with the late hit by Iginla, the facewash by Malkin, and the punching by Hamonic. During the game none of this would bother me. After the final horn sounds, it's a problem.