I feel the same way. I have several friends in Tampa and would normally pull for the Lightning here (past this round, anyway) but this is a historical one-shot. The Golden Knights sure look like they can do it.
Caps all the way though neither team shows much gas in the tank at this point. But a game 7 should get skates flashing!
Caps fans and team have paid way more dues towards a cup than any Johnny come latelies. I wouldn’t ordinarily be pulling for anything that comes out of Washington but that’s my logic for you.
Well, that didn’t go well for the Bolts. But just as well, that gives the Knights home ice!
Not at all. Wow that was a lot more one sided than I thought it would be.
Here’s to the finals.
One down, three to go! Tons of scoring in this one. You don’t see a lot of 9-goal NHL games (well, 10, but empty-netters hardly count). The CBC announcers were saying that the team who wins game 1 has won something like three-quarters of all 7-game Stanley Cup final series, so that’s another stat on the side of the Golden Knights.
That game was insane. The back and forth and wide open speed had me glued to my seat, especially the last period. I can’t wait for more of this.
Yeah, that was great. I haven’t watched an NHL game since I watched my St. Louis Blues play back in the 2000s.
One thing I noticed is that there were almost no power plays, which is very different from the last time I watched NHL hockey.
They were very loose on the calls, for sure. Especially so that when they did call one, they had offset penalties to create a 4x4.
It was a speed game. I have no idea how some of those guys kept gas in the tank until that late in the third period, but here’s hoping the rest of the series is this fun.
You tend to see fewer penalties in the playoffs. Presumably the refs aren’t interested in being accused of deciding the game on a cheap penalty call. Personally I’d rather they be more consistent, but then, no one is ever happy with officiating in any sport. ;)
Man, I can’t believe the ratings for an NHL game actually beat something. In this case, the Bachelor or whatever
Not really a hockey story, it just happened to happen to a guy who was drafted by the Blue Jackets:
Very exciting game! If the pace of that game is any indication of the rest of the series, I think Golden Knights are in a very good position to win it. That team plays with a ton of energy and they’ve shown that they can maintain that level of play against fast teams like the Jets and Sharks. They also have had more time to rest and probably less fatigued than the Caps who have had to scrap their way through some very hard fought series.
I was pretty amazed at the resolve and excellent work of the Golden Knights defense. They held ground and really punished any Caps that got near the crease, and they also fell back well in collapsing defense, forcing the Caps to go 5-in just to get shots on goal.
Seeing that summarized for me that even though the Golden Knights still score well, I think they are going to be better over this series based on defense, not just offense. You can see this a bit in their playoff stats. The Caps have scored more points, but also given up more points.
I’m not sure that strategy is going to win against Vegas. Especially since they have both faces about the same number of shots per game.
Game 2? What happened to it? I thought it was tonight. I guess it got pre-empted by a very special episode of American Ninja Warrior on my NBC affiliate. Sad that even the final round of NHL playoffs is not a big enough draw to put on network TV.
It wasn’t pre-empted; games 2 and 3 are only on NBCSN. Because NBC cares about hockey so much they can’t even put potentially 2 of the last 3 games of the year on their main channel. Great TV partner, eh?
Got to watch it at the bar. A much different game but also very close. This series is going to 7 for sure.
“Hi there.”
But yeah, I guess the team that’s been in the league for less than a year is the “feel-good” story… :)
Man, I laugh along with the comment, but no. it’s different. It’s a first in so many ways that it doesn’t even deserve the critique. If a first year expansion NFL or MLB team went to the finals it would be an INSANE amount of coverage and intrigue. The fact that for non NHL-people this still flies under the radar speaks to the fact that we need more fans, and also, Vegas really deserves MORE credit. It’s insane where they are at right now. There are multiple NHL teams that have NEVER been in the finals.
Here I am saying this as a fan of a team knocked out first round. Vegas deserves credit. Probably their biggest issue will be just that, IF they win. Was it a fluke? Are they legit? Etc, etc, etc. If they were an established team there wouldn’t be hardly any of that, only praise.
Second intermission in game 2 and the Caps are up 2, and it could easily be a couple more. They deserve the lead in this one. Washington has looked more energetic in all aspects, quicker to pucks and a whole lot more aggressive on their penalty kills. And Fleury’s been merely OK; nothing like how crazy good he was playing in the earlier playoff series.
Everything @Skipper said, plus the whole “X team hasn’t been to the big stage ever/for years” storyline feels commonplace. Stuff like the Cubs/Indians world series a couple of years ago, and (at least here in Michigan) the Lions Super Bowl drought ticking up year after year. “Expansion team makes good” is new and exciting by comparison.