Rite of Spring 2018-“What happens in the playoffs stays in the playoffs”

[Crabcake]

Lightning get their first legit power play of the night. 

[Morgan33]

Wow.  2.3 seconds left and it's 4-2!

[Crabcake]

Now that’s how you end a period. Deja vu all over again at the end of the second!

[JerseyJimmy]

Oh. Never mind. Hahahaha eat sh-t Tampa.

[CraigJPritch]

That works, great period by the Caps

[Kramerica Industries]

The boys in blue might legitimately be ed this time, and I'm saying that both to see if I can get the reverse jinx going again before it's too late (probably already is) and also because the Capitals are proving to be the nightmare matchup that explained why I wanted no part of them in 2015 or 2016 and why I was glad to have missed them both times. Doesn't help that the Lightning have had all the mental fortitude of a piece of china in this series. Two power play goals given up in the last five seconds of a period. It's freaking mesmerizing. The Lightning penalty kill has been a tire fire for several years now, ESPECIALLY against the Capitals, and they've only continued that trend in this series.  , they caught two breaks early in this game and scored on both power plays that followed and the end result is still going to be them getting run off their own ice for the second straight game.

 

The good news? Now they go to Washington, where they won their last game in that building. The bad news? Game 3 is on May 15. Since May 15, 2011, which was the same night bin Laden was killed mind you, that last head-to-head meeting is literally the Lightning's only regulation/OT win in Washington. Literally seven years to the day and they've won once in that time. So good luck trying to turn the series around in a building they practically never win at. Sure that's gonna go well.

[CraigJPritch]

Glad to see the Caps beat the Lighting and the refs tonight, Should be up 3-0 with a chance to closeout the series Tuesday

[Cosmic]

13 minutes ago, Kramerica Industries said:

Since May 15, 2011, which was the same night bin Laden was killed mind you, that last head-to-head meeting is literally the Lightning's only regulation/OT win in Washington.

You're close, but it was May 2nd. I was on vacation for my daughter's birthday when it happened. 

 

Pretty scary for a Lightning fan thinking about what this game would look like without those two power plays in the first period. There's no way the Caps screw up this series now... right?

[MiK]

56 minutes ago, Crabcake47 said:

Deja vu all over again

 

These two phrases mean the same thing. It's the equivalent of saying "All over again all over again." Sorry, pet peeve.

 

Hooray Washington!

[Crabcake]

5 minutes ago, Cosmic said:

You're close, but it was May 2nd. I was on vacation for my daughter's birthday when it happened. 

 

Pretty scary for a Lightning fan thinking about what this game would look like without those two power plays in the first period. There's no way the Caps screw up this series now... right?

DONT SAY THINGS LIKE THAT

[Crabcake]

All joking aside, that was dominant from the Caps. Eddie Olczyk said in the postgame that in even strength, “it’s not close.” He’s right. The Lightning have one 5-on-5 goal this series. 

 

Of course, as the Caps themselves proved in the first round, 2 road wins to open up a series isn’t a guarantee of success. But getting at least a split at home should set them up nicely. 

 

Oh by the way, this is all without Nick Backstrom. Lars Eller is a freakin hero. 

 

Still doesnt mean anything yet. 10/16

[CraigJPritch]

If the Caps have looked great plus they haven't put their best lineup out there yet with Backstrom still out, but should return soon. I like the Caps chances

[CraigJPritch]

1 minute ago, Crabcake47 said:

All joking aside, that was dominant from the Caps. Eddie Olczyk said in the postgame that in even strength, “it’s not close.” He’s right. The Lightning have one 5-on-5 goal this series. 

 

Of course, as the Caps themselves proved in the first round, 2 road wins to open up a series isn’t a guarantee of success. But getting at least a split at home should set them up nicely. 

 

Oh by the way, this is all without Nick Backstrom. Lars Eller is a freakin hero.

 

Still doesnt mean anything yet. 10/16

Add Jay Beagle in there too, Takes HUGE faceoffs in the D-Zone plus he's been huge on the PK blocking shots

[ozzyman314]

Capitals are pretty much doing exactly what Tampa did to Boston. 

They’ve completely dominated them in every way. 

 

Hope Caps can pull it off, but I still think Vegas/Winnipeg takes The Cup. 

[Kramerica Industries]

11 minutes ago, Cosmic said:

You're close, but it was May 2nd. I was on vacation for my daughter's birthday when it happened. 

 

Pretty scary for a Lightning fan thinking about what this game would look like without those two power plays in the first period. There's no way the Caps screw up this series now... right?

 

I've been saying May 15 for so many years now and no one has ever corrected me.

 

How come I've always thought it was May 15? Because now that you mention it, it makes too much sense - there's no way Game 2 of a 2nd round series would be that late on the calendar. 

 

Whatever. Doesn't change the broader point but I can't believe I've been spewing bad information for so long.

[habsfan1]

This might be a short series, shorter than I thought.

[IceCap]

On 2018-05-11 at 2:56 PM, the admiral said:

I'm giving the Capitals a fair shot at this one. I don't trust Vasilevskiy to see this through, even with as much talent in front of him as there is.

Gonna quote this again because good G-d. Vasilevskiy has looked terrible. 

[Kramerica Industries]

5 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

Gonna quote this again because good G-d. Vasilevskiy has looked terrible. 

 

Don't single him out. I know admiral did in his pre-series skepticism but don't single him out. It's been a complete effort from all 19 players Tampa Bay has iced in this series.

[The_Admiral]

.838s and Heartbreak

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I think this is the first time in memory after the final four where I didn't have either a. a clear cut preference to win; or b. despised all remaining teams and didn't care who won. 

 

Now, I'm sort of pulling for Winnipeg, but would be happy if Vegas or Washington won as well. Not a huge fan of Tampa, just for rivalry sake, but still wouldn't be upset.