Man that was one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time. I’m not sure what else I can say other than thank god I don’t have a rooting interest in this series.
Panthers fans who have stuck through this franchise deserve to actually be on the winnind end of these games eventually. All of the most exciting games in this franchise history have been losses. Not to mention like 7 or 8 straight ot playoff losses and this one might as well be another.
bob had some incredible saves in this game. The lightning had a lot of high quality chances in this game. 5 goals is a high number but this one isn’t on him at all.
Difference in the game was special teams, don't act like Lightning dominated and Bob kept them in it. Neither goalie was amazing iyam, TB PP is just incredible.
Bob just isn’t good. Driedger was the better of the two all year but there was zero chance Q was going to start him in game 1
Who doesn't like this guy? Spoiler Tonight's game was insane, easily top 3 exciting/intense Lightning games I've ever watched. This is likely going to be a long series and if tonight was any indication whoever makes it out will be hanging by a thread. Both teams hate each other and have bigtime players, this is fun.
The fact this game ended up with Tampa having a PP advantage after how that 1st period was officiated is peak game management.
Simmered down a bit. Glad we put on a show for everyone. Deserved a much better result but this is the experience of being a panthers fan.
Further simmered down take. Tonight’s story was one team who knew how to navigate game management officiating in the playoffs and a team who didn’t. Tampa knew they could get away with almost anything after the panthers got the first two PPs and took full advantage.
Unlikely. I’m currently watching a replay and Barkov just got called for roughing for being pulled down by his neck. So it’s gonna be a long one. #GameManagement
Was reading Gio Reyna’s Instagram post after the German cup win and it always throws me off that he and Zegras are friends as they’re both from Bedford.
Meh. If you think the only supplemental discipline from last night should be that hit, I don’t care about your opinion.
If the NHL suspends Bennett for that hit in the playoffs, it's just spin the wheel of player safety. I'm not saying thats a clean hit at all but the league fucking sucks at this especially compared to non-suspensions during the regular season.
OR....the officiating was wildly inconsistent from the 1st period to the 3rd period and....thats all there is to say other than Yandle sucks and Bob is perfectly fine but hasn't earned a Game 2 start.
well that's the issue. It wasn't inconsistent. It was peak game management. Lightning were prepared for it and played to it. Panthers didn't.
thats ridiculous pseudo-analysis. And officiating was inconsistent...not between the teams...just from period to period. The 1st period was called tight, the 3rd was called like "playoffs"
I mean the Bennett hit was the most egregious play in the 3rd period. If they called it like the 1st, they just would have called a lot more than that.
of course the replay you chose to show didn’t include the fact that he lined him up from 20 feet away and gained speed into that hit. That’s why it’s getting looked at IMO. The hit isn’t great but the intent is clear with where he starts from.
Also Bob's all-or-nothing style is going to be exploited on the PP again and again. That Kucherov slap pass was great BUT you don't need to sell out to the one-timer that heavily so that Point is guiding a puck into an entirely empty cage. There needs to be a better way to stay controlled to give yourself even a chance if the puck gets passed again. I want to see Driedger get a chance. Well either him or Accari.
I was showing the hit on Barkov, not the hit by Bennett. It was pretty clear in my post where I said "this is the hit bennett was responding to." The bennett hit was reckless and will get him a game. I find it a bit odd that Bennett is getting a game when none of the hits I posted previously are getting as much as a look from the DoPS.
was it though? knee on knee away from the puck should have at minimum been an interference penalty and once again could easily have been a major. That's my problem with game management. That call gets swallowed when it's an absolutely obvious penalty.
Yes. I didn't say the Bennett hit was the only penalty - I said it was by far the most egregious. In the 1st period, it all gets called. I don't understand your game management point whatsoever when Bennett clearly thought he could get away with what he did too. The difference was his hit was worse than anything else that was done. It was the one call made.
and that's my problem. You are making my point for me. Game management officiating makes it so a ton of penalties are not called, but the one that is can have massive consequences. You can't pick and choose when to call penalties. Because you end up with the inevitable escalation. Coleman gets called for the late hit on Barkov 30 seconds earlier and the Bennett play never happens. Call the rule book as written. The have to even it out bull shit is how obvious dangerous plays like the knee on knee to Acciari don't get called because the game was tied, or the late hit on Barkov isn't called because the Panthers are up 1, but since the team down 1 just got run, the arm goes up. I've been railing about this for years so it's not just a butt hurt about last night issue.
I think you lost track of the point you were making. At first you said the Lightning were better at the Panthers of managing the officiating...I wasn't arguing the officiating wasn't trying to be "game managing". The plays and calls and non-calls simply don't back that up. They were both pushing and doing unnecessary shit. It just happens the refs called the single most egregious one.