conundrumed

Damn, rough game for Pelech, thought he shoulda been benched after running Point into Varlamov. But no, continued relentlessly turning the puck over in his own end. Turning into a great series. The 4 remaining teams have the best goalies in the league. Great bounce-back year for Varlamov.

Well the Isles threw out a near perfect game!! Gotta keep that up.

4 seems a little harsh for a 1st timer. As long as everyone's appeased and quits whining, sure. Get on with it.

My biggest concern is how much the court of public opinion plays into NHL decision-making. No one will be happy. But I hope this doesn't appear as a pressured-to-suspend him. That looks like a thing to me if he gets 5. My guess is 1 or 2 and a lot of people will have their panties in a bunch.

The max he can get is 5 games, as it's not an "in-person" hearing.

I'm with you on that. I have a lot of ex-jr friends that will tell me, "this is exactly what they want you to be like in the playoffs, or your benched". It's a many-pronged problem. This play really highlights it, as it's a player you really don't expect it from. I also believe he may have knocked the puck clear if he kept his head. The last couple of strides might have gotten him there if he had taken them. Or dive for it at least. I'd hate to see him removed from the series, but he may well be. It'll be interesting to see what they decide.

I'm not really concerned about which way they go with it. All I'm saying is this is the type of being jacked up intensity that is taught and expected at an early age. If I were to lay blame, I'd blame the system more than the player. Exactly this can be expected when that amped up emotion smells defeat. It can go horribly wrong. That's what I see. Scheifele isn't dirty, we all know that. It's the culmination of being amped up for 3 hours, like they've trained you to do, and having all of that emotion come out badly when you lose. It does happen, and it isn't pretty. The decision-making goes in the toilet. We love players that hate to lose, this can be the problem that goes with it.

I'm on the fence. I'm thinking a game or 2. The hit was clean, and he stopped striding hard so not necessarily charging. He did what players are trained to do in the playoffs ever since they were kids, to be intense and take no prisoners. It's unfortunate and I'm honestly uncertain how to categorize this one. Very tough call for the NHL, they won't be satisfying half the people regardless of what they do. Does Mtl have a fighter? Love it or hate it, that's part of the game also.

I wish someone could beat Tampa, but I think Fla had the best shot. Vasilevsky's an absolute monster and I just don't see anyone beating him. Bad enough they have a solid roster, they have the best goalie in the league.

Didn't mind TBag before the Cap "negotiating" crap but I do Love Vasilevsky. When he decides your not scoring, your not scoring. The totally sketch reffing in games 1 & 2 is my only gripe. And the year we wasted trading down for Jankowski...yeah...Stevie Y took Vasilevsky...hands down the best 18yr old goalie on the planet. Now the best goalie on the planet.

Let's go Panthers! Keep it fun!!

It's a conundrum, pardon the expression. The adds to O never match the adds to D. Big spends on Hamilton, Hamonic...then big adds on O are lumbering fwds like Brouwer and Neal. I agree it's a d-first and puck-moving d game. But it becomes pretty onerous when your fwd roster is too unskilled to move it fwd adequately. Where they done good things to move fwd, they've done enough negative things to keep it the same. Just looking at the players in and out of the top 6 this year. It's cheap alternatives you always hope work out when they never do. Rinse and repeat. Always the same angle. "No risk, no reward" should be the team motto. And yes, I'm very down on them. I hope they have some solutions, but history doesn't bode well for that.

It would be nice to get away from where Calgary went wrong with Bennett. Calgary isn't a good team, on paper or on the ice. They really haven't been for quite some time. They had no one for Bennett to play with or learn from. They're too busy being D-centric to have real quality forwards. Fla is all about pace so Bennett is free to skate, not the skating in mud Flames game. Then he has Barkov to watch and talk to. Fla was more than ready to play to, and help, Bennett's strengths, the Flames never really were. They just don't have a very good forward roster, that's why they can't score much. It will always haunt them. Too much mishmash of big & small, no in between. And deathly slow.

Agreed. I almost wept when he buried it. My favourite stories in hockey are guys that never gave up and never got down. He fits that to a tee. Always liked his attitude and drive. Some of the best players in the league struggle with adversity when the going gets tough, because the game's always come easy. Players like Lomberg, it's always been adversity, the going has always been tough, so there's no difference. Heart and soul players are my fave!

And Knight played sensational! Guess he'll be starting game 6!

For me, it indicates a team with zero depth. Also an org that is terrified of risking a season vs having a player(s) able to go on IR. They show no belief in their players being able to step up. I've become entirely morbid with the Flames org. They set the tone for the players, they are the one's responsible for the team's give a Satoshi Nakamoto level. Injuries aren't an excuse for how dysfunctional this team is. It starts at the top, you reap what you have sewn. Very dark days ahead imho. The culture looks horrendous. That's a conviction of the org. Players won't want to come to Calgary. It's toxic.

He blew past Hedman to beat Vasilevsky, so that's fun.

Lomberg's always been aggressive, fast, and pretty good mitts. For the record.

Actually, I was always a Lomberg fan. The fact that I was right and you were wrong is neither here nor there though. Big fan. Love him long time.😃

Beat them again. Please god. Can't stand TBag's commentary. Florida's is nowhere near as Oilersish as Tbag. Did anyone learn that Hellebuyk was great last night? 2ndly: Did you get that from the commentary? Andreychuk & Friends are exactly the same.

But Lomberg OT breakaway on Vasilevsky. I love that guy's passion. I've always been a big fan. Something about that guy I've always liked. Tre gave him a shot. He took it. Quenneville is using him without fear. That says a lot.

I'm over it. Not blaming the Flames.

Barkov missed most of the 1st. Bennett's a great add for them. Plays all situations better than anyone not named Barkov.

Wow, the Panthers are so fun. Never out of it. Who knew Lomberg's okay to play late or with the game on the line? He's fast and has pretty good mitts. The way he's been playing for awhile now, this is justified.

Hahaha!!! LOMBERG!! There is a god❤️❤️❤️