"HOW 'BAHT DEM PENS!" Topic

2017 Stanley Cup Champs! Way to go, Pittsburgh!

They played well but in my opinion Murrey should've been awarded the Conn Smythe trophy and not Crosby. Of course the ref with the quick whistle should've gotten an honorable mention.

Of course the ref with the quick whistle should've gotten an

Preds had the better part of two periods to score after that.

They did and Nashville played well. However, had the goal been allowed (and Pittsburgh still scored their goal in the third) Nashville would not have pulled their goalie at the end of the third and the game and the game would have gone into overtime. Nobody knows for sure what would've happened and Pittsburgh played very well with aggressiveness and passion so they would've probably won even if the ref had seen what 90% of the stadium saw, that the puck was still loose. This entire post season was marred by what I believe to be sub-par officiating. To me, while the games were some of the most exciting games in a long time, the NHL needs to provide even more training and development to their officiating staff.

Full disclosure; I am a die-hard Red Wings fan. My daughter -in-law is a Pittsburgh fan and my sister and mother are Nashville fans. I didn't care who won, I just like a good game which for the most part it was.

Glad y'all enjoyed it. Not a NHL fan, myself, not even
in '06 when the locals (Carolina Hurricanes) won the
Cup.

Been a short trip to mediocrity for them ever since.

Great game, and a solid win for the Penguins. Good series, too.

But the "I can't see the puck so I'll stop play" rule is ridiculous.
Or at least it should be overruled by the official that could clearly see it, especially as the puck went in as the whistle blew, with the stick movement to strike the puck by the player clearly starting before it blew.

(On a side note, why the heck isn't the puck just fitted with a chip or tag that triggers a sensor in the ice if the puck crosses the line into the net? If you're gonna do video review, step up the tech to the current day.)

But I will fault the Preds for continuously turning our power play times into games of "pass the puck" rather than, I dunno, actually attacking the goal?!? The Preds were way more aggressive in their striking during even play; had they kept that fire up in the power plays rather than 'sticking around', they might well have scored two or three goals. What do you lose by taking the shot???

Pleased to see a lot more clean play and ref willingness to call penalties for gross violations in this game. The previous game, which prominently featured a white player grinding a black player's head into the ice while a white referee watched and did nothing, was not a good look for the NHL.

But the "I can't see the puck so I'll stop play" rule is ridiculous.

Since nobody can accuse me of sour grapes (Huge Pens fan) I'll take the time to share my feelings on this.

I think there is no place in any sport where a replay stops the flow of the game. There were 2 goals in the series called back for off sides after a coaches challenge. One for each team. I didn't think this added anything to the game. In both cases, the call was so close that nobody would be the wiser if it were off sides or not.

The short whistle was not such a huge deal. The Preds had 38 minutes to win the game after that. If the goal counted, it simply changes the complexion of the game. The fact that the whistle sounded kind of makes the players let up. Maybe Murray saves the goal anyway. Or, since he was partially in the crease, there was plenty of contact with him. Maybe there is interference. The questions that all would never be answered.

Finally, there was the shot that Murray seemed to have saved with a phenomenal kick save. Pens get the puck and have moved to about center ice when the horn sounds many seconds later. Everyone, including the fans in Nashville, are mystified. This is probably the biggest offender. It breaks the flow of the game. It looked just plain stupid.

I don't like video reviews. There is just no need for it in Hockey.

The previous game, which prominently featured a white player grinding a black player's head into the ice while a white referee watched and did nothing, was not a good look for the NHL.

Actually, the thought never really crossed my mind. I have nothing but respect for P.K. Subban. he had been busting Crosby's chops in the first 4 games including a couple of punches to the face. So, when Crosby decides to give a little back you pull the race card? Even the commentators thought that he was just screwing with Subban. They were just some taunting hits.

Congrats, but the refs in the last two games missed and made some questionable calls that were momentum changers in Pittsburgh's favor. I also agree that Matt Murray had more of an impact than Sidney Crosby.

Murray is one heck of a rookie and I really think he is why the Penguins took the cup. Nashville played with a lot of heart but not with the same skill as Pittsburgh.

I wasn't "pulling the race card." I never said there was any racial bias, and I don't have a reason to think there was. What I said was that it was "not a good look for the NHL." Because it's not. This series was a huge opportunity for the NHL to expand their fan base deeply into the South and across an existing racial divide in the sport. That divide is largely merely a circumstance of geography, population and demographics, but in the current social climate the image the incident provided is a horrible "optic" as the buzzword is today, regardless of what set it up. I don't blame it for the loss in that game or the series, and don't bring it up out of sour grapes or to rag on the Penguins, or Crosby or Subban, but to say that it's long past time the NHL put a stop to this semi-staged WWE crap that permeates hockey, no matter who is involved or why they're ostensibly "justified" in doing it. And that, in that one particular instance, it was problematic, and I do suspect that in many black viewers it probably did evoke images of racial brutality (think Jackie Robinson and the hell he went through), even if the bias actually is not there and it's just two punks slugging each other and the ref doing nothing because the NHL thinks that fights on the ice sell more tickets. (I dunno, maybe they do.)

I concur on the skill difference. The Predators are amazing on defense, and their teamwork is strong, but passing and puck control on offense were obvious weaknesses. Way too many offsides, way too many wild passes and air passes (well, I think they were meant to to be passes) that got knocked down by Penguins.

The Penguins deserved the win, in the end.

"Just wait till next year!"

I wasn't "pulling the race card." I never said there was any racial bias, and I don't have a reason to think there was. What I said was that it was "not a good look for the NHL." Because it's not. This series was a huge opportunity for the NHL to expand their fan base deeply into the South and across an existing racial divide in the sport. That divide is largely merely a circumstance of geography, population and demographics, but in the current social climate the image the incident provided is a horrible "optic" as the buzzword is today, regardless of what set it up. I don't blame it for the loss in that game or the series, and don't bring it up out of sour grapes or to rag on the Penguins, or Crosby or Subban, but to say that it's long past time the NHL put a stop to this semi-staged WWE crap that permeates hockey, no matter who is involved or why they're ostensibly "justified" in doing it. And that, in that one particular instance, it was problematic, and I do suspect that in many black viewers it probably did evoke images of racial brutality (think Jackie Robinson and the hell he went through), even if the bias actually is not there and it's just two punks slugging each other and the ref doing nothing because the NHL thinks that fights on the ice sell more tickets. (I dunno, maybe they do.)

It's Hockey. It's a rough sport where "fighting" is part of the culture. If you go out on the ice, no matter where you are from, expect to get roughed up.

Expect to get your head ground into the ice? No, that's got nothing to do with hockey. Body checks, pushing, shoving, a stick going through your legs at the puck, sure. I'll even blink at a punch or two thrown, though that's not at all part of the actual game, and ought to carry immediate penalties and be immediately broken up by the refs. But what Crosby did crossed a line, and the ref ignoring it until he could penalize both players also crossed a line. But I've never liked that aspect of the NHL, and to me it detracts from the sport, just as it does from any sport. Play the game, and let me watch that, thank you very much. (You're lousy boxers anyway.)

Yeah. Hmmm….I guess we all see what we want to see. YouTube link

Not exactly violent…on either side.

Parzival, that should have been called as a 5 minute misconduct penality since the stick was being used with intent to the face. There are rules against using the stick on another player's face. However, if you pan the footage out you'll see that the ref was facing away from Crosby and Subban and was focused on the play at the puck. His attention wasn't drawn to the scrum until they started to rise up and Subban could try to strike back. In my humble opinion, it was another example of sub-par officiating in the form of poor situational awareness and not a flaw in the game of hockey itself.

In my humble opinion, it was another example of sub-par officiating in the form of poor situational awareness and not a flaw in the game of hockey itself.

That much is certain.

Congrats to the Penguins and Who asked this joker.

By birth, I must categorically hate all Pittsburgh teams as I grew up slightly closer to Cincinnati.

But whatever my feelings, they won, good on them. Also, WRT "if", I am recalled my fave dadism from my dad … "If the dog hadn't have stopped to …"

Congrats to the Penguins and Who asked this joker.

Why thanks! No Barons in Cleveland since 1980. No hockey in Cinci at all. I guess it's the Columbus Blue Jackets for you then?

(On a side note, why the heck isn't the puck just fitted with a chip or tag that triggers a sensor in the ice if the puck crosses the line into the net? If you're gonna do video review, step up the tech to the current day.)

That's a good idea. I wonder if the chip would survive the beating it takes in the game? Plus the pucks are frozen before the game to reduce bouncing and that may be a factor. But I like this.