The Official 2017-18 NHL Thread

Thanks! Really loved hearing the players in the locker room after. They have their minds in the right place this year. Holtby has been a great leader. He talked about this being nice, but only half way to their goal. I remember I was so furious when they started Grubauer the first 2 games against Columbus, but who knows? Maybe it sparked Holtby even more.

Now time for Tampa Bay. Should be a fun series for most fans to watch. The Bolts are like the Caps of the last 2 years. Best team, added even more players for a Cup run at the deadline, and now they have their chance. This is a rare series for the Caps lately where they don't have home ice. Last time was 2015 vs. The Rangers.

 

Can't blame ya!

 

Game 7 tonight! The Winnipeg Jets at the Nashville Predators. I truly consider the winner of this game to be the Stanley Cup favorite.

Capitals at Lightning start tomorrow. The Golden Knights await the Jets/Predators winner. Should be an exciting Final 4 no matter who wins tonight!

 

Yeah, can't disagree with that.

Hats off to Nashville though. Nice run last year and this year. The Final 4 is pretty exciting for NHL fans who are not used to success. Winnipeg and Washington fans are going to be super excited. Vegas is crazy every home game they have and the most successful of the 4 is Tampa Bay. Won the Cup in 2004, went to the Finals a couple years ago, and the ECF in 2016. It will be an entertaining and fresh Conference Finals to watch!

 

That was soul-crushing for the Preds. 2 SUPER SOFT goals by Rinne though. Unfortunate, since he is a top goalie in the league. I think I would have kept him in if I was Head Coach, but I also think it would not have mattered. The Jets were rolling. Actually the Caps-Pens and Jets-Preds series were similar. The Caps and Jets kept playing better, but it was as if people did not want to believe it until the series was over.

Haha no, it is a smart move! They are possibly the best team in the NHL and better than our Jets right now!

 

Great win by the Capitals tonight. Pure domination the first 40 minutes. They seem to keep rallying around each other without Backstrom on the ice. Tampa Bay is a much better team than they played like tonight though. I expect them to fight back Game 2. Hopefully the Caps are up to the challenge.

 

I'm not used to this. Another great Capitals win. 6-2 over Tampa Bay to take a 2-0 series lead back to Washington. Caps can't get too high though, as they know they lost the first 2 at home against Columbus and were able to come back to win the series. Need to keep the foot on the gas for Game 3!

 

Great article here by Brooks Orpik: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/brooks-orpik-mama-luccia

 

I guess I can't go to Caps playoff home games anymore, as I am now (0-3) this year. Game 1 vs. Columbus, Game 1 vs. Pittsburgh and Game 3 (technically Game 1 at home) vs. Tampa Bay. On the bright side, the Caps won their first 2 series after losing their first home game, so hope that trend continues here. Amazing Stat: Games I attend the Caps are (0-3), games I don't attend they are (10-2).

As for the actual game, the Caps just seemed off. Holtby too. Give credit to the Lightning, especially their Power Play, which is lethal. The Capitals must play much more disciplined if they want to take a 3-1 series lead on Thursday. Tampa Bay is too good to allow back in the series.

Can't wait to see the Las Vegas fans tomorrow night too, as the Jets-Golden Knights series shifts to Vegas. (Series tied 1-1)

 

One game at a time! And Backstrom is not why they lost last night. They just didn't play well top to bottom. They were 3-0 without him until then. I say let him rest until he is as close to 100% as possible. Game 4 is huge though, I agree. These are 2 great teams. It is the Eastern Conference Finals.