(05-31-2017 01:37 PM)topper1296 Wrote:  No discussion of #catfishgate on here? The good news is that the charges will be dropped.

http://wkrn.com/2017/05/31/charges-to-be...ittsburgh/

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19505...tfish-toss

Even the TBI was trolling the city of Pittsburg about this
https://twitter.com/TBInvestigation/stat...7490078720

hilarious

(05-31-2017 02:27 PM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  Really hope Rhinne is more of himself tonight, if he played like his normal self we win Game 1, now almost feels like a must win tonight....

I don't think the entire Pens team played like their normal selves in game one. No reason a Western Conference 8th seed should be able to come into Pittsburgh and control the game as they did. It'll be interesting to see how tonight's game plays itself out. I thought Nashville played lights out in game one and that the Pens were fortunate to come away with the W.

Admittedly though, Nashville's playoff run has been impressive. They lost 8 of their last 11 regular season games and were fortunate to even qualify with that sort of a finish. They've turned on a switch though so far for the playoffs. We'll see if they can keep it up.

(05-31-2017 02:39 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 02:27 PM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  Really hope Rhinne is more of himself tonight, if he played like his normal self we win Game 1, now almost feels like a must win tonight....

I don't think the entire Pens team played like their normal selves in game one. No reason a Western Conference 8th seed should be able to come into Pittsburgh and control the game as they did. It'll be interesting to see how tonight's game plays itself out. I thought Nashville played lights out in game one and that the Pens were fortunate to come away with the W.

Admittedly though, Nashville's playoff run has been impressive. They lost 8 of their last 11 regular season games and were fortunate to even qualify with that sort of a finish. They've turned on a switch though so far for the playoffs. We'll see if they can keep it up.

Really dude? ALso no reason Preds should have swept the Number 1 Team Blackhawks in the west either for the first time in NHL playoffs history right? Or Preds won every game 1 at the opposing arena.... This is not the regular season....Also stop acting like the Penguins were unstoppable in regular season, you guys struggled too and finished 3rd.....Nashville was picked to finish high preseason.....Regular season did not mesh, injuries, etc...They obviously found their stride since playoffs started and you can shed the 8th seed discussion at this point...We in the finals...It doesn't matter if Nashville played light outs game 1 since our goalie did not....Really unlike Rinne to give up these shots he did for goals....So I can counter with lets see if Rinne is better tonight...

(05-31-2017 02:44 PM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 02:39 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 02:27 PM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  Really hope Rhinne is more of himself tonight, if he played like his normal self we win Game 1, now almost feels like a must win tonight....

I don't think the entire Pens team played like their normal selves in game one. No reason a Western Conference 8th seed should be able to come into Pittsburgh and control the game as they did. It'll be interesting to see how tonight's game plays itself out. I thought Nashville played lights out in game one and that the Pens were fortunate to come away with the W.

Admittedly though, Nashville's playoff run has been impressive. They lost 8 of their last 11 regular season games and were fortunate to even qualify with that sort of a finish. They've turned on a switch though so far for the playoffs. We'll see if they can keep it up.

Really dude? ALso no reason Preds should have swept the Number 1 Team Blackhawks in the west either for the first time in NHL playoffs right? Or Preds won every game 1 at the opposing arena.... This is not the regular season....Also stop acting like the Penguins were unstoppable in regular season, you guys struggled too and finished 3rd.....Nashville was picked to finish high preseason.....Regular season did not mesh, injuries, etc...They obviously found their stride since playoffs started and you can shed the 8th seed discussion at this point...We in the finals...It doesn't matter if Nashville played light outs game 1 since our goalie did not....Really unlike Rinne to give up these shots he did for goals....So I can counter with lets see if Rinne is better tonight...

My, we get offended easily, don't we? (lol) I just got through saying I was impressed by the Predators' playoff run, didn't I?

And I didn't act like Pittsburgh was unbeatable in the regular season either. Since you brought up injuries though, I've got a graphic for you...

http://nhlinjuryviz.blogspot.com/2016/10...downs.html

No comparison between the injuries Nashville has had and the injuries Pittsburgh has had this season. In fact, the Pens haven't had a full squad since December 14th, and had as many as 9 guys out at one time in March.

The Pens have been unbelievably lucky this postseason. They were handled pretty well by Caps (expected goals 17.6-12.2) and then handled by Preds, but score 5 goals on 12 shots.

The whole 8th seed thing doesn't even matter. We are terrible in 3 on 3 OT and shootouts, both of which don't exist in the playoffs, and Subban was out for a good chunk of the regular season with an injury. We were one of the best teams in the NHL from February through the end of the year, and that has showed in the playoffs. We did limp in, but our playoff spot was never really in question when you looked at the schedule.

Bridgestone's atmosphere in this playoff run has easily been the best sporting event experience I have ever been a part of.

Preds were a serious pre-season contender for the Stanley Cup. Finding chemistry after significant lineup changes (traded away our captain) and then key early season injuries made for meh regular season, but seriously before the season started, no one who really followed hockey would have been surprised if you came from the future to tell them that Nashville was 12-5 in the playoffs right now

Regarding the preseason expectations, I like this SI article from a little over a year ago after the Subban trade.

P.K. Subban trade will transform Nashville Predators to hockey's Golden State Warriors

(05-31-2017 04:16 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  The Pens have been unbelievably lucky this postseason. They were handled pretty well by Caps (expected goals 17.6-12.2) and then handled by Preds, but score 5 goals on 12 shots.

The Caps did out-shoot the Pens in every game, the closest being game 7 where they only out-shot Pittsburgh 29-28. But at least give the Pens credit for playing what many considered the best team in the NHL, and taking a 7-game series from them, winning three times in Washington, including the game-seven shutout. Real easy to dismiss it all as just luck when the Pens are the defending champions. Btw, it's not a coincidence that the Caps finished with the best record in the regular season and also had, by far, the fewest injuries.

And about the shots on goal, anyone can take a ton of shots on goal. There's an art to sharing the puck enough times in order to find the best opportunities rather than just flailing away at it. And let's also not discount the accuracy of the shooters. So at least give the Pens some credit for making the most of their opportunities.

(05-31-2017 04:44 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:16 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  The Pens have been unbelievably lucky this postseason. They were handled pretty well by Caps (expected goals 17.6-12.2) and then handled by Preds, but score 5 goals on 12 shots.

The Caps did out-shoot the Pens in every game, the closest being game 7 where they only out-shot Pittsburgh 29-28. But at least give the Pens credit for playing what many considered the best team in the NHL, and taking a 7-game series from them, winning three times in Washington, including the game-seven shutout. Real easy to dismiss it all as just luck when the Pens are the defending champions. Btw, it's not a coincidence that the Caps finished with the best record in the regular season and also had, by far, the fewest injuries.

And about the shots on goal, anyone can take a ton of shots on goal. There's an art to sharing the puck enough times in order to find the best opportunities rather than just flailing away at it. And let's also not discount the accuracy of the shooters. So at least give the Pens some credit for making the most of their opportunities.

The quality of the shot is accounted for in expected goals. Certainly, there are some players that are skilled at shooting (a lot of Caps players, to be honest) and goalies play a bit of a roll (but Holgby is one of the best). Still, there is a lot of puck luck in hockey. Inches can be the decider in the sport. The Caps dominated large stretches of games and had nothing to show for it.

http://www.corsica.hockey/blog/2016/03/0...ls-part-i/

Not intending to whine about luck in the sport, but the Pens have been on a magical run the past few weeks despite getting handled pretty well.

(05-31-2017 04:53 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:44 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:16 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  The Pens have been unbelievably lucky this postseason. They were handled pretty well by Caps (expected goals 17.6-12.2) and then handled by Preds, but score 5 goals on 12 shots.

The Caps did out-shoot the Pens in every game, the closest being game 7 where they only out-shot Pittsburgh 29-28. But at least give the Pens credit for playing what many considered the best team in the NHL, and taking a 7-game series from them, winning three times in Washington, including the game-seven shutout. Real easy to dismiss it all as just luck when the Pens are the defending champions. Btw, it's not a coincidence that the Caps finished with the best record in the regular season and also had, by far, the fewest injuries.

And about the shots on goal, anyone can take a ton of shots on goal. There's an art to sharing the puck enough times in order to find the best opportunities rather than just flailing away at it. And let's also not discount the accuracy of the shooters. So at least give the Pens some credit for making the most of their opportunities.

The quality of the shot is accounted for in expected goals. Certainly, there are some players that are skilled at shooting (a lot of Caps players, to be honest) and goalies play a bit of a roll (but Holgby is one of the best). Still, there is a lot of puck luck in hockey. Inches can be the decider in the sport. The Caps dominated large stretches of games and had nothing to show for it.

http://www.corsica.hockey/blog/2016/03/0...ls-part-i/

Not intending to whine about luck in the sport, but the Pens have been on a magical run the past few weeks despite getting handled pretty well.

So tell me, what was the expected goals between the 8th seed Predators and their Western opponents then?

(05-31-2017 04:26 PM)MTowho Wrote:  Bridgestone's atmosphere in this playoff run has easily been the best sporting event experience I have ever been a part of.

Have you gotten to be in the stadium for the Playoffs? Jealous.

(05-31-2017 07:27 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:53 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:44 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:16 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  The Pens have been unbelievably lucky this postseason. They were handled pretty well by Caps (expected goals 17.6-12.2) and then handled by Preds, but score 5 goals on 12 shots.

The Caps did out-shoot the Pens in every game, the closest being game 7 where they only out-shot Pittsburgh 29-28. But at least give the Pens credit for playing what many considered the best team in the NHL, and taking a 7-game series from them, winning three times in Washington, including the game-seven shutout. Real easy to dismiss it all as just luck when the Pens are the defending champions. Btw, it's not a coincidence that the Caps finished with the best record in the regular season and also had, by far, the fewest injuries.

And about the shots on goal, anyone can take a ton of shots on goal. There's an art to sharing the puck enough times in order to find the best opportunities rather than just flailing away at it. And let's also not discount the accuracy of the shooters. So at least give the Pens some credit for making the most of their opportunities.

The quality of the shot is accounted for in expected goals. Certainly, there are some players that are skilled at shooting (a lot of Caps players, to be honest) and goalies play a bit of a roll (but Holgby is one of the best). Still, there is a lot of puck luck in hockey. Inches can be the decider in the sport. The Caps dominated large stretches of games and had nothing to show for it.

http://www.corsica.hockey/blog/2016/03/0...ls-part-i/

Not intending to whine about luck in the sport, but the Pens have been on a magical run the past few weeks despite getting handled pretty well.

So tell me, what was the expected goals between the 8th seed Predators and their Western opponents then?

Nash 17.4-16.8 vs Ana
Nash 14.9-14 vs Stl
Nash 10.3-9 vs Chi

Preds need to get it together.

Never seen the PReds give up two goals that fast ever...

Meltdown two games in a row. And given up a goal off a defenseman in both games.

5-1..... da eff

(05-31-2017 09:16 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 07:27 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:53 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:44 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(05-31-2017 04:16 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  The Pens have been unbelievably lucky this postseason. They were handled pretty well by Caps (expected goals 17.6-12.2) and then handled by Preds, but score 5 goals on 12 shots.

The Caps did out-shoot the Pens in every game, the closest being game 7 where they only out-shot Pittsburgh 29-28. But at least give the Pens credit for playing what many considered the best team in the NHL, and taking a 7-game series from them, winning three times in Washington, including the game-seven shutout. Real easy to dismiss it all as just luck when the Pens are the defending champions. Btw, it's not a coincidence that the Caps finished with the best record in the regular season and also had, by far, the fewest injuries.

And about the shots on goal, anyone can take a ton of shots on goal. There's an art to sharing the puck enough times in order to find the best opportunities rather than just flailing away at it. And let's also not discount the accuracy of the shooters. So at least give the Pens some credit for making the most of their opportunities.

The quality of the shot is accounted for in expected goals. Certainly, there are some players that are skilled at shooting (a lot of Caps players, to be honest) and goalies play a bit of a roll (but Holgby is one of the best). Still, there is a lot of puck luck in hockey. Inches can be the decider in the sport. The Caps dominated large stretches of games and had nothing to show for it.

http://www.corsica.hockey/blog/2016/03/0...ls-part-i/

Not intending to whine about luck in the sport, but the Pens have been on a magical run the past few weeks despite getting handled pretty well.

So tell me, what was the expected goals between the 8th seed Predators and their Western opponents then?

Nash 17.4-16.8 vs Ana
Nash 14.9-14 vs Stl
Nash 10.3-9 vs Chi

Nashville had the fewest points (94) of any of the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs. And only 3 of the other 15 playoff teams had a smaller goal differential. So how could their "expected goals" be higher against the 1, 3, and 5-seeds? This isn't making sense to me.

Preds completely wilted after the 1st period.

(05-31-2017 09:37 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  5-1..... da eff

that one was ugly....