toby91_ca

Thornton is still a pretty good player and it makes total sense too. His game has never been based on speed, so there is no reason why he couldn't operate at a fairly high level. Similar situation with Jagr. Jagr had a bit more speed, but no one would have thought of him as fast or that being an asset to his game. Lidstrom was similar in that he didn't decline dramatically, was more of a slow decline, largely because his game was less focused on speed and physicality. He was going to decline, everyone does, but it's wasn't as dramatic as you tend to see with other types of players. It will be interesting to see how Ovechkin's career goes late into his 30's since he's the type of player I'd expect to decline quicker than others if my theory holds up.

Speed was a huge factor, but at the end of the day, their depth was just too much (which is not something you would have thought at the begging of the year). The Sharks were putting all their effort into stopping Crosby's line, but then you had to worry about Malkin as well...didn't leave much left to consider their 3rd line with Kessel. Kessel was brought in to play with either Crosby or Malkin of course, but having him on the 3rd line seemed to work out nicely. Crosby and Malkin have already proven they can produce with mediocre players, it's nice to think about adding a sniper, but why not boost a 3rd line? Cullen on the 4th line was a very useful player as well...very solid player, not a lot of offense, but some, but very responsible in several other areas.

They got the Conn Smythe right. Kessel had 3 more points, but Crosby was by far the more complete and more important player. I honestly thought Kessel would win it, but didn't think he should. Sometimes you wonder if they just look to who had the most points and not pay attention to the games and watch closely. I thought Crosby was way more dominant later in the playoffs than he was early on, but the points seemed to follow the opposite. Cullen won in 2006 with Carolina

Jones is the only guy keeping it close....again.

I actually thought last night's game was more lob-sided in the Pens favour than most of the other games in the series. Jones was fantastic and has a lot of luck with posts as well. Shots were ridiculous, something like 46-23....that doesn't always tell the story, but scoring chances were even more ridiculous...based on the eye test anyway.

I certainly hope one of the biggest decisions in the off season isn't who they will hire as an assistant coach. Also, I don't see Datsyuk's decision as making a huge difference, I think what will make a big impact is whether they are able to get rid of the $7.5M cap hit or not and then be able to use the space to bring in help.

So PIT has lead for a total of 91:32 so far in the series and SJ has led for a total of 0:00. SJ hasn't lead for a single second in the series but are only down 2 games to 1 thanks to the OT goal in game 3.

Not new, but that article points to the Wings making a strong push for Stamkos as well.

I thought the OT goal was weak personally and exactly the book on Murray. He likes to stay down and leaves lots of room up top. With a puck coming around the net like that, typically you are covering all that side of the net, including the top. Not the first goal he's let in like that. The tying goal was way worse of course, no excuse for that one.

You think the '08 Wings were better than the '02 Wings?

Few things I've noticed so far in the series: - Sharks are slow - coming into the series, all I heard was that the Sharks played a fast game, similar to PIT, but haven't watched the series, they look slow compared to PIT. I've heard that they knew PIT was fast, but were unprepared for how fast they've actually been. - Crosby - he's matured big time...I've noticed it before, but really evident in this series. He's getting brutalized, especially by Thornton, but he's not even acknowledging it, just smirking and skating the other way to try and make something happen. That used to be the scouting report on him....play him as dirty as you can and it will take him off his game, he'll react, etc. - Burns - I don't tend to see a lot of San Jose games (west coast and all), but Burns is really, really good.....offensively. I've seen him play with Canada, etc., but for some reason, in this series, I see it a lot more. None of that has been surprising based on what I've seen and heard before, but what has been surprising to me is that he isn't that strong defensively, a liability at times...caught up the ice, etc. He was drafted as a forward, so perhaps not a total shock. - Danger for PIT - while they've dominated most of the first 2 games, both have been tied with less than 3 minutes to go in regulation, so they could easily be down 0-2...so if the tide starts to shift a bit, are they in trouble?

Officiating was actually decent last night I thought. PIT vs TBL was pretty bad though.

PIT absolutely dominating, I think the shots are close to 30-10....but only up 2-1, been that way most of the series though. Crosby looks to be dominating as well, probably the best he's played so far this playoffs, but no points to show for it. Now they are counting on their rookie goalie for another 20 minutes. The goal he gave up was pretty soft too....I imagine he'd want to be more active than his been so far this game....I think that's what most goalies would say anyway.

Echolaia....I get everything your saying, which would give me no issues if he chose to leave after his last contract, or chose to only sign for 1 year or 2 years and then leave. But that's not what happened. He signed for 3 years and is now choosing to leave after 2 years. If it was because his body was too worn down and he couldn't play anymore, fine, but again, that's not the case, he's going to play in another league. That said, the KHL is way, way, way, way less physical. Anyway, I actually have a huge problem with it to be honest, but nothing to do with the player or wanting him to stay, but more on principal. The team couldn't just decide not to honor the contract....why is the player allowed such luxury? Due to retirement....fine....but that's not the case.

The "Datsyuk" jersey doesn't even appear to have "Datsyuk" on the back. You can't make it out clearly, but it definitely looks like a different name.

I can't think of any logical reason why Holland would have pushed for 2 years when Pavel only wanted 1, that would never happen (it would be the other way around, 100% of the time). Unless there is certain other variables at play (not in Datsyuk's case) where they get to UFA quicker and cash in, etc., the player is going to want term. The trade off to get that term is to take slightly less on a per year basis.

I'm not going to lie, some of all this is leaving a bad taste in my mouth, which is tough to admit. At this point in his career, I don't think the team's on-ice performance will suffer because Datsyuk is not there, so I'm not dreaming of him coming back or anything, it just doesn't sit well with me that he isn't playing out the contract he signed. If he didn't think he'd stay, he shouldn't have signed a 2 year deal, or whatever it was. Those finding excuses, suggesting his ankle injury, etc. holds no value to me when you consider he went straight to the world championships after the season and will likely play in the KHL next season. The biggest issue for me is the dead cap space for now, not missing the player (other than nostalgia). I probably won't hold it against him too much, but for now, it does sting.

Honestly, if Bishop was in net, PIT may have already won the series....their back up has been that good. Who knows though, Bishop could have been even better, but hard to imagine.

I actually think Fleury has been good in the playoffs other than 2 years....which were dreadful. With them going back to Murray, I wonder what that does to Fleury's confidence? Game 5 of the conference finals was a tough spot to be starting your first game in a couple months, so perhaps they discussed this and whether they stuck with it or not wasn't a big deal as he needs to shake off the rust. On the Murray side, perhaps they thought he just needed a break as he never started that many games in a row before + high pressure games. I also don't think it was just 1 bad game, he wasn't great for a few in a row. I think they are in trouble now...obviously being down 3-2, but it's never good to have a question mark in goal at this time of year. They'd probably argue the issue is deciding between 2 very capable goalies, which is probably true, but the whole mess they've made of it can't be a confidence booster.

Stamkos plays more like a winger though anyway, so if the Leafs were to trade for him, I'd still go with Centre. I also don't think it makes a lot of sense to have a guy like Stamkos and a guy like Ovechkin (Laine) on the same team....too similar (would be good to have one on line 1 and one on line 2 though.....). Laine seemed to make a few slick passes in the tourney as well.

I honestly think PIT was looking for an excuse to get Fleury in there and game 4 was a perfect scenario...down big, get him some in game experience without risking much of anything. HBK at game 5 to see the HBK line.

Watching a bit of RUS/FIN game and they mentioned this is Ovechkin's 12 world championships....man, that's a real reminder at his NHL playoff failures.

So I guess we shouldn't even compare Crosby and Ovechkin anymore either because, you know, Ovechkin hasn't won anything in the playoffs, Olympics, etc? Fact is, comparing Kane to Crosby or Ovechkin to Crosby doesn't make sense anyway, you really can't compare wingers and centremen. Centremen are far more important and that fact will always cause me to give the edge to the centreman if its otherwise close.

I was going to say the opposite on "taste", most of the house is totally not my style, but especially the two "statues" at the front steps

I can understand writing a nice article about how the Finns have been improving over the years, but the article as a whole is a complete joke. Barely even mentions Canada, who are clearly superior, even if you are considering total populations, which seems to be a big focus.