The first game 7 of the Eastern Conference NHL play-offs is starting in a couple of minutes.
It has been a great series but someone will be leaving sad tonight.
Let’s go some team….
Open Thread
by David Anderson| 103 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads, Sports
The first game 7 of the Eastern Conference NHL play-offs is starting in a couple of minutes.
It has been a great series but someone will be leaving sad tonight.
Let’s go some team….
Open Thread
Comments are closed.
Betty Cracker
Go BOLTS!
PaulWartenberg2016
GO BOLTS!
I hear a rumor Stamkos will play tonight.
LAO
No Pens fans, other than the illustrious Mr. Cole?
JPL
You mean it’s game night. Twitter tells me you could turn on Fox and instead watch Greta tour the Trump penthouse.
Michael Bersin
Those cheap bastards at Roy Blunt’s (r) senate campaign stole my photo:
Cheap partisan thieves masquerading as a professional campaign
raven
I fished from sunrise till 9am and then we hit the road. I’m waxed but it was great.
Bitter Scribe
Tampa Bay looks really aggressive tonight. They’re getting to most of the loose pucks and not allowing the Pens to use their speed rushes.
redshirt
I’ve come to the realization that baseball is the best sport, since there is almost always action. Even if it’s slow action. And the umps can’t screw with the game too much. Compared to football/basketball.
Also, Jackie Bradley Jr. needs a hit. 3 outs so far, two of them LOUD!
Bitter Scribe
That Russian kid in the TB goal just made a fantastic save on a point-blank forehand.
smintheus
@efgoldman: St. Louis was incredibly tame in the last 2 games of the series, after the heavy game worked so well for them. I thought the Bruins had cornered the market in the Jeckyll/Hyde style, but no.
philpm
LETS GO PENS!!! I really want a Pens-Sharks finals. That way, I’m happy no matter who wins.
smintheus
@Bitter Scribe: As usual in the playoffs, it’s probably going to come down to whose Russians are going to let them down.
Bitter Scribe
@redshirt: Sure, if by “action” you mean “nine guys standing around waiting for something to happen.”
Bitter Scribe
Tampa Bay kept Pittsburgh bottled up in its own end for a lot of the first period. It’s been the other way around up to now.
redshirt
@Bitter Scribe: It’s part of the game. Compared to football, which I’ve read is clocked at 12 minutes of action for 3 hours of time,
Bitter Scribe
@efgoldman: The Pens’ coach is probably yelling at them in the locker room right now that they have to hit back.
Bitter Scribe
Pens just scored after catching TB in a change. That’s one way to break containment.
Bitter Scribe
The TB goalie made three great saves in a row during a 4 on 4.
Bitter Scribe
@redshirt: OK, I grant you football. But basketball and hockey are just about nonstop action.
My problem with baseball is that the defense (i.e. the pitcher) has a huge advantage.
redshirt
@Bitter Scribe: I’m just talking as an audience member and you can count on a baseball game. You can’t count on any other sport.
smintheus
What a brilliant goal.
Bitter Scribe
Drouin just scored for TB. Terrific stick-handling.
LAO
?
Bitter Scribe
Aaaaand Pens get it back in less than a minute. Second goal by Rust.
smintheus
Yup, as I said, whose Russian is going to let them down. Vasilevskiy blew that.
Bitter Scribe
That poor TB goalie must be fuming. That puck just ticked off the back of the net past his glove and onto Rust’s stick.
Bitter Scribe
@redshirt: What I like about baseball is that you can read during the game and not miss anything.
Oh, and the Cubs’ start.
Bitter Scribe
`I wonder what those guys are saying when they start shoving each other after the whistle.
Bitter Scribe
Fun fact: Pens have lost last four Game Sevens at home.
geg6
@LAO:
Yes, but I can’t multitask during a playoff game 7.
Richard Mayhew
Yellow card for a great Tampa tactical foul there
geg6
@redshirt:
Seriously? Baseball is the most boring sport there is. Unless you call golf a sport. Which I don’t.
Bitter Scribe
Letang just took a really dumb penalty. Not like him.
Bitter Scribe
Hey Hedman, it’s still a slash even when you break your stick.
Bitter Scribe
That Russian kid in goal is keeping the Lightning in it.
MomSense
@raven:
I loved seeing that photo of Bohdi body surfing. Hope you are a happy tired.
Miss Bianca
@geg6: Err…I’ve been known to watch both baseball *and* golf on TV.
I…I like boring sports, evidently.
LAO
@Miss Bianca: you aren’t alone. I love baseball and play golf, which I’ve just learned isn’t a sport.
Bitter Scribe
Rust almost got a hat trick.
philpm
Should’ve been a holding call on that chance by Rust.
redshirt
@LAO: Golf is the best. I mean that, too. A nicely designed par 4 where you pitch on in 3… it’s like a dream.
Bitter Scribe
That TB goalie is playing a great game, but he goes down faster than a Cicero Avenue hooker. If the Pens can just get a little elevation on their shots…
Miss Bianca
@LAO: *sobs with pathetic gratitude*
We are the opposite then, for I have played baseball and only watched golf! My father loved to watch it, and so for me it conjures up happy memories of lazy Sunday afternoons.
Bitter Scribe
Usually Game Sevens are played really tight. This one has been wild, one end to the other.
Adam L Silverman
@Bitter Scribe: He, like Bishop, is big. He takes up a lot of the net.
Adam L Silverman
That was dumb!
max
Tampa Bay is starting to lose it.
max
[‘Coach is chewing gum at a billion chomps per hour.’]
max
Also, baseball is fine.
max
[‘It is what is, which is different from the other big three.’]
Bitter Scribe
Strahlman just got whacked. Could be bad news for TB.
max
OOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEE MINUTE!
max
[‘…’]
Bitter Scribe
Empty net.
Bitter Scribe
Faceoff in Pens zone with 44 secs.
Linnaeus
Pittsburgh really getting to loose pucks quickly.
max
Cleared! And cleared again. But Icing.
max
[‘Last shot on goal for TB.’]
Bitter Scribe
Faceoff in Pens zone with 14 secs
debbie
@geg6:
Baseball’s much better if you’re at the ballpark. We used to take the subway to Yankee Stadium, sit in the top deck, work on our tans, and enjoy the breezes — all while watching the game.
Linnaeus
Not a good time to take that icing.
Bitter Scribe
Empty net goal waved off. 5 secs left
max
Bah. Bounced off the stick.
max
[‘Well, that sucks.’]
Adam L Silverman
well that sucked!
geg6
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
max
Cole should be happy!
max
[‘Hopefully he doesn’t break any furniture bouncing up and down.’]
Bitter Scribe
Pens win faceoff and the series.
Linnaeus
NBC must be breathing a sigh of relief now.
LAO
?
philpm
Wow, what a game! Tampa couldn’t have played any better.
geg6
@LAO:
It might be in your dictionary, but not in mine. Neither is bowling or car racing or pool. They are games, not sports.
Bitter Scribe
GREAT game.
(BTW, why the fuck is the Eastern Conference trophy called “the Prince of Wales trophy”?)
Betty Cracker
☹️
Bitter Scribe
@geg6: What about poker? It’s on ESPN all the time.
philpm
The Eastern Conference was the Wales Conference for many years. Somebody with a little more knowledge can tell you why.
Linnaeus
@Bitter Scribe:
The Eastern Conference used to be called the Prince of Wales conference. The Western Conference was the Campbell Conference (hence, its championship trophy is the Campbell Trophy)
geg6
@debbie:
I love going to PNC Park. And, don’t get me wrong, I love my Bucs. But the games are usually a snooze fest. Until the playoffs. A little more excitement then. Hockey is my favorite. I could watch it year round..
geg6
@philpm:
Apparently, they could have. But it was a very good series between a couple of teams who were well matched.
Bitter Scribe
@Linnaeus: Oh yeah, now I remember. But I still think it’s a dumb name. Maybe it’s just that Prince Charles annoys me.
Adam L Silverman
@Bitter Scribe: The Eastern Conference used to be called the Prince of Wales Conference and the Western Conference was called the (Clarence) Campbell Conference. The Eastern Conference cup/trophy was donated to the league by one of the Princes of Wales and the conference was named for that position as a result. Clarence Campbell, IIRC, was a league official (and professional son of a bitch), and that’s why the Western Conference was named for him.
ETA: the divisions also used to be named for people. They were Adams, Smythe, Patrick, and Norris. There are awards named for all of those guys too.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Whoa. This…is about *hockey*? Not polo?
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: Yes, its about hockey. Also, a la Carlin, water polo isn’t a sport, its cruel to the horses!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY_7XRUJtDE
Warning: Coarse Language!
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: It had periods, not chukkers.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: I did mention he was a son of a bitch.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: It’s a bad sign when I’m laughing even before I click on your links, sir! “Pavlov’s horse” ain’t innit!
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: perhaps.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: No ‘perhaps’ – being forced to laugh is a form of torture, did not you know? But ‘perhaps’ you were the sort of brother who insisted on tickling hapless siblings, come, confess it…
Mike J
@Linnaeus:
Brings a whole new meaning to “I am a lineman for the county…..”
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: Nope, I went for good ring generalship, clean punching, and effective aggression. That way I never had to worry about the ten point must system.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: errr? I feel like the dog in the Larson cartoon: “blah blah blah GINGER blah blah blah GINGER” with your “ten point must system”, for all love! What you say and what I understand being vastly different things!
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Odd, I relied on being 6 1/2 years older. It worked for me.
different-church-lady
Happy for happiness in the Cole household tonight.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Boxing. Judges must give 10 points to at least one boxer in each round. OTOH, if one knocks out one’s opponent, the scorecard doesn’t matter.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: The ten point must system is part of how boxing is scored. The judges are looking for: “good ring generalship, clean punching, and effective aggression”.
different-church-lady
@Bitter Scribe: Only because the bleedin’ Prince of Wales gave ’em the money for the bloody thing.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m four years older and that helped too!
Omnes Omnibus
@Bitter Scribe: Did he ever take your parking space or cockblock you? If not, why do you care?
Origuy
The Prince in question wasn’t the current one; it was the future Edward VIII. He was the king who abdicated because they wouldn’t let him marry a divorced woman. It didn’t help that both he and Wallis Simpson were at least Nazi-curious.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: @Adam L Silverman: Ah, the minutiae of the “sweet science” have ever eluded me…thank you for that elucidation!
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Bitter Scribe:
It used to be the the NHL’s conferences and divisions were named for individuals in the sport’s history. What is now the Eastern Conference was, from 1974-93 called the Prince of Wales Conference; it actually got its name from the trophy, rather than the other way around. The Prince of Wales Trophy was first awarded in 1926, and has been given out based on eight different criteria in its life. It got its name because it was donated by Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII until his abdication).
The other historical names from the 1974-93 period were:
Clarence Campbell Conference (now the Western Conference): Campbell was the NHL’s president from 1946 to 1977.
Adams Division (which was roughly the Northeastern Division until the last edits): Jack Adams played in the NHL at its inception, but is best known as the coach of the Red Wings during their (first) glory days in the 1940s and 50s. His name is still on the Coach of the Year award.
Patrick Division (now roughly the Metropolitan Division): Lester Patrick played before the NHL was created, and is responsible for much of the modern rulebook.
Norris Division (now roughly the Central; during its heyday, it was known mostly for bad hockey): James Norris bought the Red Wings in 1932, cleared up the team’s debts and managed it through those first glory days. It’s his name on the award for the Best Defenseman each year, for unclear reasons.
Smythe Division (now roughly the Pacific or Northwest Division): Conn Smythe played hockey before the First World War. After it, he was a part of a group that bought the Toronto St. Pats, and changed the name to the Maple Leafs. He owned them until 1961. The trophy for best player in the playoffs still carries his name.
I really wish the NHL had kept the tradition of naming its pieces by historical names rather than the boring geographic ones.
Edit: Everyone beat me because of my pedantic ways.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Bitter Scribe:
One of the many reasons I’ve come to prefer women’s hockey to the men’s game is that they don’t insist on pushing and shoving each other after every whistle. Usually. If it does happen, it’s probably an Ohio State game.
Omnes Omnibus
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: OTOH, you provided detail that no one else bothered to do. And nice OSU random dis.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Omnes Omnibus: The funny thing is that’s a pretty accurate statement. If Schlamazel were on, he’d back me up on that, and he’s not from Ann Arbor like I am.
Three years ago, one of the OSU players (Julia MacKinnon, who just used up her last eligibility, and who I will not miss in the slightest) instigated a bench clearing brawl at the end of a game against Bemidji State. Eleven players from each team got fighting majors and one game suspensions; the league didn’t let them stagger the suspension, so the next night’s game was played with only twelve players dressed for each team.
Easily the dirtiest team in the WCHA, no matter how much I wish I could give that label to North Dakota.
Miss Bianca
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Wait, you’re Maize and Blue?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Miss Bianca: Originally. My father was on the faculty there and I grew up in Ann Arbor. I’m a Gopher now, though.
PaulWartenberg2016
@philpm:
YES THEY COULD HAVE THEY COULD HAVE PLAYED BETTER TO WIN… /cries
Bitter Scribe
@Omnes Omnibus: It’s just that he’s a useless twerp with huge ears. Plus I’m still jealous of him getting with Princess Di.