Rite of Spring 2019: The Chase for the Stanley Cup

[Wings]

Dear Las Vegas,

In exchange for what you perceive as a bad call against your hockey team, we will give you the Raiders as a peace offering.

Sincerely, The Bay Area............oh, wait. 

 

 

[OnWis97]

I have to admit, I'm surprised they called it a major.  I thought the only five-minute major in hockey was Murder 1.  The Sharks were lucky Pavelski fell.

 

 

But I'm fine with it; it's a cheap move and was not necessary.  If you do something like that, you're risking the opponent's health and, therefore, your freedom (i.e., not being in the penalty box).

 

[Alex Houston]

I'm still in shock of what happened. Ordinarily, I try to be a sensible sports fans, with a healthy dose of pessimism in my cheering diet because the Avalanche could easily come in and beat an old team like San Jose in 6 games. Once again, this is only one game, in one series.

 

However.

 

It's worthwhile to get excited at the first time one of my teams was able to come back from a 3-1 deficit, especially considering the dramatic way the won the last two. Vegas should've won Game 6 and even though you hate to see officiating used as the excuse for a defeat, the ample opportunities several people in this thread have pointed out are going to win once the emotional response subsides. 

 

As of now, I'm just enjoying an amazing comeback, which reminded me of The Flop on Figueroa and now turning my attention to hoping Pavelski isn't too hurt so we can give the Avs a good run for their money.

 

Also, why the heck is a St. Bernard the Avalanche's mascot, despite the fact their shoulder logo was a freaking yeti's foot?  

[LMU]

5 minutes ago, OnWis97 said:

I have to admit, I'm surprised they called it a major.  I thought the only five-minute major in hockey was Murder 1.

Lest we forget.

And, funny how DeBoer was involved in both of these.

[Sport]

I did forget that because I watched like six minutes of that series. 

 

The Devils were a sham team who I didn't want anywhere near the finals and the Kings had the worst person alive getting rewarded for his petulant behavior. 

[The_Admiral]

So you're telling me that these dum-dums, these absolute mouth-breathing simpletons, watched Eakin cross-check Pavelski to the ice and crack his head open like a coconut and then said the refs got the call wrong? What do they think the penalty is for a foul that makes someone bleed profusely? that the man in the knight costume has to do a dance with a smaller sword next time? Jesus, what a bunch of dolts.

[Alex Houston]

Graphic shot of Pavelski bleeding from the helmet

 

As a sports fan, ask yourself this: If this happened to a player on your team, would be so inclined to think it's the wrong call? Which by the way, it was the wrong call made. The issue with the hit isn't Eakin's initial cross-check, but how it left Pavelski defenseless for the secondary soft one coming from Stasny. He's the one who should've gotten the penalty. 

 

 

[The_Admiral]

But Pavelski doesn't hit the ground and bleed without the cross-check to the face knocking him back, so I'm not sure what you could ring Stastny up on. Interference? 

[Dilbert]

11 hours ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

Go talk to a Jackets fan about pain and suffering. Those fans know misery.

You want me to talk to myself?

 

Im from Cincinnati. A fan of the Blue Jackets, Bengals, and Reds. Trust me I know misery, pain and suffering.

[TrueYankee26]

23 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

You want me to talk to myself?

 

Im from Cincinnati. A fan of the Blue Jackets, Bengals, and Reds. Trust me I know misery, pain and suffering.

And as a Jets and Rangers and Knicks (formerly Nets) fan I am also acquainted with suffering.

[crashcarson15]

1 hour ago, Alex Houston said:

Graphic shot of Pavelski bleeding from the helmet

 

As a sports fan, ask yourself this: If this happened to a player on your team, would be so inclined to think it's the wrong call? Which by the way, it was the wrong call made. The issue with the hit isn't Eakin's initial cross-check, but how it left Pavelski defenseless for the secondary soft one coming from Stasny. He's the one who should've gotten the penalty. 

 

 

I'm quite fine with how that play was officiated. If you cross check a dude, you should be responsible for any injury that happens after that.

[Still MIGHTY]

Putting my malice for the Knights aside, I think the thing that should also be noted on the five-minute major call, there wasn't a penalty called on the ice at the time. The referees didn't blow the whistle to call a penalty, and made no signal otherwise. It was only after Pavelski was down and out that they had a discussion and went to make a call. Obviously, you can't have somebody down on the ice and bleeding from the head and just walk away saying "sorry, didn't see it. No call." But that's part of the faulty process here.

 

It's a tough call. No doubt about it. In a vacuum, Eakin's play is a 2-minute play at most. But as already said, it's the result of Pavelski being knocked off balance and run into by Stastny and bleeding out of the helmet that sends this play beyond. It's a tough one to take if you're Vegas.

 

But again... you still can't give up four goals on the ensuing power play. You blew a 3-1 series lead. You let San Jose score shorthanded in double overtime in Game 6 in Vegas to force Game 7. You had a 3-0 lead in the game. Hell, you were still able to tie it. You still had overtime.

 

I already went through this whole scenario with the Rams against the Saints. Yes. The call sucks. I'm sorry. But at the end of it, you still didn't execute. You didn't finish your opportunities when you had the chance. And even again like the Rams/Saints, you still had overtime, and you didn't convert.

[Alex Houston]

2 hours ago, the admiral said:

But Pavelski doesn't hit the ground and bleed without the cross-check to the face knocking him back, so I'm not sure what you could ring Stastny up on. Interference? 

 

I don't know the rules in depth like most fans, but you got to ding him on something. Look again at the hit. Eakin starts the ball rolling, however when you watch it in real time it's a plausible argument that Pavelski falls and either drops to a knee or takes a less severe bump to the back and traps. However, Stasny gives an extra push for good measure, making the angle much worse, giving Pavelski no room to protect himself. If anything, I'd consider it akin to the defenseless player rules you see when it comes to hits from behind against the boards.

 

https://streamable.com/0ysgg

 

 

[Sport]

I just rewatched the highlights again. It's a tough situation, but the guy gets dummied by two players and he's bleeding on the ice and didn't return to the game. You gotta call something and that's what the book says. 5 minutes is a long time on the penalty kill, but it's not an impossible task to allow fewer than 3 goals. It becomes really tough if you give up a goal in the first 7 seconds, though. If Vegas wins that faceoff and clears the puck they probably hang on to win the game. 

 

One thing that's unmissable was that Fleury completed fell apart on that PK. I know he's getting screened and stuff, but your goalie has to be better than that. The fourth goal was especially bad. Also your penalty killers have to move guys out of the way. 

 

Sorry, I still don't feel bad for Vegas. With 93 points they're lucky they even made the playoffs. 

[monkeypower]

I was at the Calgary Roughnecks-Saskatchewan Rush NLL game on Saturday where a Rush player took a five minute major for roughing and the Roughnecks scored twice on the powerplay. The Roughnecks won the game 18-8.

 

I’d have to say if a lacrosse team can hold another team to two goals on a five minute major in a game where 26 total goals were scored, a hockey team should be able to hold another team to less than 4 goals on a five minute major.

[DTConcepts]

It was totally a penalty. Two unnecessary cross checks. The first one I’d let slide, because it’s playoffs, but the second one by Stastny was totally uncalled for, and would totally warrant a five minute major in my book.

 

And you can’t blame a penalty for a blown series and a lack of defense on said penalty.

[GFB]

This was far more of a penalty than anything that happened in that sequence of play

 

[The_Admiral]

Thinking about that time Marian Hossa took a five-minute boarding call in the playoffs with the Hawks down a goal late. Kane tied the game shorthanded/extra-attacker, then Hossa came out of the box in sudden death and scored the winning goal. That's how you handle a major penalty. Dorks.

[Kramerica Industries]

5 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Thinking about that time Marian Hossa took a five-minute boarding call in the playoffs with the Hawks down a goal late. Kane tied the game shorthanded/extra-attacker, then Hossa came out of the box in sudden death and scored the winning goal. That's how you handle a major penalty. Dorks.

 

With an assist to Martin Erat, of course, who is pretty much known for that, and then redeeming himself through no effort of his own by bringing Filip Forsberg to Nashville a few years later. 

[GFB]

 

 

1

1 hour ago, Alex Houston said:

 

I don't know the rules in depth like most fans, but you got to ding him on something. Look again at the hit. Eakin starts the ball rolling, however when you watch it in real time it's a plausible argument that Pavelski falls and either drops to a knee or takes a less severe bump to the back and traps. However, Stasny gives an extra push for good measure, making the angle much worse, giving Pavelski no room to protect himself. If anything, I'd consider it akin to the defenseless player rules you see when it comes to hits from behind against the boards.

 

https://streamable.com/0ysgg

 

 

 

 

Stastny is already moving towards the dot (on his way to cover the point) as the puck drops. He has no clue that Pavelski is going start flailing into his path after the cross-check. If you watch Pavelski's body, the primary force of impact with Stastny is not high or with the arms, but low with Pavelski's knee rotating over and Stastny's side.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see any malice in that play other than the Eakin cross-check, and even that is, at the very most, a two-minute penalty (he checks Pavelski square in the chest after half-stride and knocks him off balance... that happens several times a game). It's awful what happened to Pavelski, but it's much more of a freak accident than anything else, unlike the Foegele hit (dangerous position) or the Kadri hit (too high).