Rite of Spring '14: Can you fall asleep with a panic switch?

[Kramerica Industries]

7-0 in Game 6 when up 3-2 in a series, including 5-0 on the road. You're right about that and we're once again digging into weird trends about the Toews/Kane 'Hawks.

That said, Minnesota is 5-0 at Xcel and Chicago is 1-4 on the road in this playoff year. They've scored 3.5 GPG (empty net excluded) in those two victories in this series. More importantly, Chicago has looked limp and useless in those two games. I wouldn't be shocked if Minnesota has one more victory left in them in this series

[LMU]

I heard on the radio that either Williams or Richards was quoted that they had to get the desperation back that they had against the Sharks. That's great. A team that can't get motivated until they face elimination.

[speedy]

How can anyone truly respect Subban's game? Yeah he's loaded with talent but he plays like such a little bastard. Off the ice he seems to be mild mannered and well spoken, very respectful. On the ice he loses his mind and turns into a 12 year old who didn't get the present he wanted on Christmas.

Now I'm not saying there aren't players on the Bruins who are just as childish, but PK truely is the king of the castle.

His game is so, so, so good, if only he cut out this act - he doesn't need it.

FWIW, I find Lucic and Marchand FAR more annoying than Subban.

Fair enough. You won't find any praise for Marchand here - never liked him, never will. He has no redeemable qualities on or off the ice. I used to have a soft spot for Lucic but ever since he woke up one morning trying to be Cam Neely I really can't stand him. He's a glorified 4th liner. The thing I can't stand most about Subban is his scuffles that end in him skating away mid-tussle. If you want to go, then go - drop the gloves. If you want to be a little weasel like Marchand and be twice his size than more power to you, but you look foolish. The one thing I like about Lucic his he'll go with whoever wants to go.

How can anyone truly respect Subban's game? Yeah he's loaded with talent but he plays like such a little bastard. Off the ice he seems to be mild mannered and well spoken, very respectful. On the ice he loses his mind and turns into a 12 year old who didn't get the present he wanted on Christmas.

Now I'm not saying there aren't players on the Bruins who are just as childish, but PK truely is the king of the castle.

His game is so, so, so good, if only he cut out this act - he doesn't need it.

I respect his game and don't think he's been playing like a bastard in the slightest... He's been incredible in this series and good part of why it's going the distance.

Color me shocked based on your avatar and caption. Let's call a spade a spade. His body language is so outrageous it makes me cringe. Like I said, it is exactly that of a whiny pre-teen who didn't get what they wanted. Just buckle up and play hockey. You don't need that garbage in your game.

[NJTank]

Boomer Esiason is going all out for the Rags tonight

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/13/thats-dedication-boomer-broadcasts-in-full-rangers-face-paint-for-game-7/

[CDixonDesign]

Boomer Esiason is going all out for the Rags tonight

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/13/thats-dedication-boomer-broadcasts-in-full-rangers-face-paint-for-game-7/

Boomer has turned into a baffoon. His CBS sport minutes are some of the most horrible 30 seconds of sports radio i've ever heard.

[JayMac]

Boomer Esiason is going all out for the Rags tonight

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/13/thats-dedication-boomer-broadcasts-in-full-rangers-face-paint-for-game-7/

Boomer has turned into a baffoon. His CBS sport minutes are some of the most horrible 30 seconds of sports radio i've ever heard.

That and his Boomer and Carton show on CBS sports network. What a horrendous show that is. Its sad to think that this took the place of the Tim Brando show.

[dbadefense1990]

Aaaand the Kings are in the process of Sharking this series away.

And to think in this matchup, the team with the supposed more-stable goalie situation is floundering with exploding Anaheim offense and laughable Kings defense, while John Gibson is playing like he's the second coming of Patrick Roy. Actually, the Ducks, based on the way they've played, should have won this series by now if it weren't for Gabbo. As of now, Anaheim stood 82 seconds away from the Western Finals, yet they have to endure another 60 minutes against LA, minimum.

Because HOCKEY PLAYOFFS!

[spartacat_12]

For the people complaining about the possibility of a repeat final-4 you have to realize that the NHL typically goes through phases like this. Remember that between 1995 and 2003 the Stanley Cup was won by either Detroit, New Jersey, Colorado, or Dallas, with one of those teams losing in the Final a lot of the time. I'm the type of person who likes to see the best teams do well in the playoffs, rather than see a cinderella story go on a miracle run. When things like the 2010 ECF (7 seed vs. 8 seed) or 2006 WCF (6 seed vs 8 seed) happen I never get caught up in the romance of it all, I'm just upset that the best players aren't playing. I know it's sport and the element of randomness is what makes it exciting, but CHI, LA, BOS, & PIT are all model franchises that represent what every team should strive for. In NHL.com's Bracket Challenge I picked an LA/BOS Final, but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing Crosby and Toews go head to head for the Stanley Cup.

Regular season success doesn't automatically mean they were the best team though, otherwise they would've won when it mattered. That's part of the problem when sports use a playoff format. Teams are allowed to keep up with the Joneses and then simply execute enough at the right time to win. The older I get, the more I like the round robin way of scheduling to decide a champion.

I don't always equate regular season success with the best team. I wasn't upset that the Kings won as an 8 seed because they were a championship caliber team with depth at every position that underachieved during the regular season, and they took out the 1, 2, & 3 seeds on route to the Cup. On the other side of that, while Colorado was technically a better team than Chicago, St. Louis, and LA this season, I wouldn't consider them to be a better team (maybe in a couple of years). The thing that makes hockey different than other sports is that even the best teams can run into a hot goalie and lose.

[NJTank]

Boomer Esiason is going all out for the Rags tonight

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/13/thats-dedication-boomer-broadcasts-in-full-rangers-face-paint-for-game-7/

Boomer has turned into a baffoon. His CBS sport minutes are some of the most horrible 30 seconds of sports radio i've ever heard.

That and his Boomer and Carton show on CBS sports network. What a horrendous show that is. Its sad to think that this took the place of the Tim Brando show.

Also is there a bigger American League West caps than Craig Carton, the only thing that is amusing is when they make fun of the Yankees announcers and the Sports Pope.

[SuperLeafsFan]

Aaaand the Kings are in the process of Sharking this series away.

And to think in this matchup, the team with the supposed more-stable goalie situation is floundering with exploding Anaheim offense and laughable Kings defense, while John Gibson is playing like he's the second coming of Patrick Roy. Actually, the Ducks, based on the way they've played, should have won this series by now if it weren't for Gabbo. As of now, Anaheim stood 82 seconds away from the Western Finals, yet they have to endure another 60 minutes against LA, minimum.

Because HOCKEY PLAYOFFS!

I think he's playing more like this guy:

Hopefully the results are different...

[monkeypower]

https://twitter.com/Real_ESPNLeBrun/status/465555248400973824

[dbadefense1990]

https://twitter.com/Real_ESPNLeBrun/status/465555248400973824

Maybe the Kings should call the Dodgers and have them borrow this institution as a counter:

[Still MIGHTY]

No.

Don't you have a doomsday clock to update?

[The_Admiral]

7-0 in Game 6 when up 3-2 in a series, including 5-0 on the road. You're right about that and we're once again digging into weird trends about the Toews/Kane 'Hawks.

11-2 when they can win a series: losses were Game 5 with Vancouver in 2010 (Hawks put them away in Game 6), Game 7 with Vancouver in 2011. But is that enough to overcome Keith Ballard???

[bigbean24]

Wild win tonight and then get spanked right out of Chicago for game 7.

Spanked? Yeah, spanked.

[CS85]

It doesn't matter if the Blackhawks win because quite frankly the Ducks deserve the cup because they gave reporters In-n-Out Burger and I want Teemu to have his "look at this old guy get one last moment" thing for them to add to commercials next year. Plus the Blackhawks and Bruins are so lame. They're trendy now. They're basically the Pitbull of professional hockey. SOOO over it.

[Sport]

If I squint my eyes really hard I can pretend the Rangers are the Blue Jackets. Let's go RangerJackets!

[Still MIGHTY]

It doesn't matter if the Blackhawks win because quite frankly the Ducks deserve the cup because they gave reporters In-n-Out Burger and I want Teemu to have his "look at this old guy get one last moment" thing for them to add to commercials next year. Plus the Blackhawks and Bruins are so lame. They're trendy now. They're basically the Pitbull of professional hockey. SOOO over it.

Just when I think I've got Andy down pat, whooosh, curveball.

If I squint my eyes really hard I can pretend the Rangers are the Blue Jackets. Let's go RangerJackets!

Rain Jackets?

[The Six]

It doesn't matter if the Blackhawks win because quite frankly the Ducks deserve the cup because they gave reporters In-n-Out Burger and I want Teemu to have his "look at this old guy get one last moment" thing for them to add to commercials next year. Plus the Blackhawks and Bruins are so lame. They're trendy now. They're basically the Pitbull of professional hockey. SOOO over it.

Just when I think I've got Andy down pat, whooosh, urveball.

It's like he wants to make some kind of pointed commentary about fandom and how we choose to root for teams, but it's really just baseless whining brought on by hockey fans not rooting for his team anymore (which he tried to camouflage by including the Bruins).

[CS85]

It doesn't matter if the Blackhawks win because quite frankly the Ducks deserve the cup because they gave reporters In-n-Out Burger and I want Teemu to have his "look at this old guy get one last moment" thing for them to add to commercials next year. Plus the Blackhawks and Bruins are so lame. They're trendy now. They're basically the Pitbull of professional hockey. SOOO over it.

Just when I think I've got Andy down pat, whooosh, urveball.

It's like he wants to make some kind of pointed commentary about fandom and how we choose to root for teams, but it's really just baseless whining brought on by hockey fans not rooting for his team anymore (which he tried to camouflage by including the Bruins).

I mostly was just trying to troll Zach but since admiral's board brother wants to turn this into a superlative analysis on Why CS85 Sucks, that's fine too. I'm a "bad" fan who has found himself ironically rooting for the hockey equivalent of the St. Louis Cardinals and it sucks ass, so part of me wants to fight that notion off that the Blackhawks are another one of these elite teams who wins so routinely that it's not "cool" to root for them anymore and they become the enemy that must be destroyed by chic teams like CBJ or in my little jab the Ducks.

Truth be told I could deal with the Blackhawks losing to the Wild or Anaheim but, like every year, the hard part isn't the losing, it's the opposing fanbase being smug pricks about their triumph because, like a dog licking it's own balls, they can and it feels good. Since neither Anaheim or Minnesota are the Vancouver Canucks or St. Louis Blues, fine. The Blackhawks losing would be crappy but I'd probably end up cheering on the Ducks/Wild (not the Kings, just don't care for them) to win it all. But that would immediately get a WHO CARES THESE FINALS BLOW because the glorious golden story of The Little Franchise That Could got beat by the stupid Penguins.

I've done it before - anytime the Devils or Spurs or Heat or Yankees or Cardinals made a championship tilt - it's tiresome. Let's get some new blood in there! But hating the Blackhawks simply for winning is a crappy excuse (this sickens me because I know that the Cardinals fans will copy/paste this post sometime later this baseball season). If you hate the Yankees that's fine - they bankroll rosters to get rings. Hating the Heat is easy! Triumvirate of Discount Basketball Gods & Scrappy Company of Turds wins championships with aplomb. And the Devils/Spurs? Their title runs were just plain dull, like a juggernaut of efficiency that has no real charm.

"I hate the Blackhawks because they win" is stupid, but not nearly as stupid as "I want the Ducks to win because they're novel with their silly hamburgers, old gimmicky player who can't decide when to retire, and this rookie goalie who will save the day."

If only the Cubs could be the Ducks...

Anyway, I don't care if people don't care - that's perfectly normal - but you can't judge the playoffs like a season finale on a TV show.