Robert

Has Niemi really been that bad? He hasn't been spectacular but I don't think you can pin the 2 losses on him alone. Seems like a weird time to go with an unknown backup goalie.

How long before some decrepit GM or owner (Hey Lou!) complains that teams shouldn't be allowed to pull their goalies until less tahn 2:00 are left in the game?

What the hell would it take to get a league ban these days? Stick swinging? I don't even think that would get more than 15-20. I doubt any on-ice occurance short of stabbing someone to death with a broken stick could get you anything more than 25 games.

SPOILER for Blues/Hawks fans: http://t.co/TtpNb6kxmQ

LOL That's what I was thinking too! I forget who it was but the other day someone tweeted out every line brawl should include streamers.

Man that final 1:30 of SJ vs LA was as hateful as you'll see hockey. Only thing missing was stick swinging. Too bad there's only one game left in the series.

ZING! Was Vokoun driving?

Every year Fleury... every year. He always finds a new way to entertain. Imagine if he played for a subpar team.

LOL Can't wait for the gif of Carcillo vs angry Philly fans.

FRENCH REFS. AM I RITE? In all seriousness, full points to Habs. Dominant performance. Can't help but think if it would have been closer with Bishop available and Stamkos at 100%.

LOL Yeah... that was a brutal knee. He knew exactly what he was doing.

WOW. Just when you think MacKinnon has stolen the highlight reel for the entire playoffs... GRANLUND SHOWS UP! Amazing OT goal in Minnesota.

This seems to be the idea behind the new playoff format. Not sure how long it'll stick around since people are already down on it but can you imagine these teams meeting again and again over the next 3-4 years? Decapitations are the next logical step.

You're not in trouble until you lose at home. I still think SJ/LA is going 7.

That no goal call was so absurd. Ignoring the fact Price caused the contact and oversold it... the ref who called no goal watched the entire play & then waved off the goal even though the supposed contact was 5-6 seconds BEFORE the goal was scored. There was time for two passes in between contact (again... caused by Price) and the puck getting shot. If I was a Tampa fan I'd be pissed.

And I agree but would you shut the fuck up arguing with a Hawks fan? As if you're gonna talk him into saying yes it was a dirty hit. You may as well just go ahead and bang your head against a wall.

Every hit is dirty if it's against your team. Every hit is clean if someone on your team is throwing it. End of story.

Wow. Just wow. And now a PP going into OT. Incredible.

Man I am loving STL/CHI. They're not just hitting, they're hitting to hurt. Surprised Oshie survived getting run over by Bollig.

For as much money as DeKeyser makes ($925,000 via capgeek) - he may as well just return the favor to Lucic in the next game if it's only going to cost him $5,000.

A fine tag match though nothing overly special. Another one of those matches which I feel only made the set because someone was a big Cota fan - much like an earlier Dandy trios match that was included. Cota was great as usual but I thought Zavala was right up there with him. I've seen limited Zavala stuff but he's definitely one of those guys you just wish more stuff existed to get a better idea how good he really was. Tecnicos were limited and did their usual preliminary guys act with a couple of neat spots and good selling - especially for the larger rudo. Negatives would be match slowed down too much in the middle & finish seemed random (although it was cool!). A definite middle of the pack to lower half match.

Awesome brawl early on with Villano III getting the jump and Chicana selling like only Chicana can. Tons of blood as expected. Really liked the direction the match was heading as I was pumped for Chicana's big comeback. He finally did it and nailed a great Chicana tope like only Chicana can do. Villano III sold it like a champ too and was also busted open. Match was chugging along into that third fall and then... it ended. And it ended with the typical UWA face saving finish - both guys get DQ'ed. I understand you are building to a bigger match (presumably) but it's still such a total letdown. The only thing worse at the time was double countouts. In retrospect they really wasted doing such a good job in the first two falls if this was the idea on how to end the match. Disappointing.

Much like the others I thought Mocho Cota carried this. His partners kinda faded into the background more and more as the match progressed which makes sense since they were building Cochisse/Cota. Villano III was fine when involved and Rayo was his usual non-interesting self. Cota is great going from crazy brawler to total pussy who wants nothing to do with any of the tecnicos as the crowd eats it up. Finishing sequence was excellent. Not a standout match but better than a few of the random trios I've seen on the set so far.

I believe they said 1957 in the pre-game.

What are the odds the STL/CHI game goes longer than the SJ/LA game which started 2 and a half hours later?