Previous  1 ... 8  9  10  11  12  13  Next

Well, the playoffs have begun this weekend. Strange format with the round-robin for the top 4 in each conference and qualifying round best-of-5 for the next 8 teams.

Odd to not see fans yet hear recorded fan noise (cheers, boos, oohs). Strange as well to hear music between plays and announcements being made in the arenas.

I'm finding it hard to take seriously (it's August!) and can't help but wonder if it will carry through to the cup being awarded at this point.

Is anyone watching? Even just as a diversion to watching reruns on TV?

   

You know what I do not understand is that some government agency in Canada said that the Bluejays could not play any home games this year. It would be to risky for players to be crossing the border with so many covid hotspots in the states. I would agree with that sentiment. So why is my American hockey team currently playing in Canada? Baseball players are deemed nonessential and forbidden to cross the border, yet hockey players from the hardest hit cities on the planet are given carte blanche to cross the border at will. I am calling total bullshit on this one. I hope that the Bluejays sue some government hacks out of existence over this horseshit. Either athletes are essential or they are not. You do not get to cherry pick which sports are "essential". If people crossing the border leads to more covid deaths, than you do not get to just look the other way because the carriers are playing your favorite sport. Shut it all down, or open it all up. Letting one sport continue to play and cross borders while shutting another sport down is total horseshit, and total hypocrisy.

   

I’m watching the Canucks tonight. I was watching the last few weeks of the EPL so I’m used to seeing empty stadiums that nonetheless have crowd noise. It’s odd but better than the haunting silence. I imagine it’s better for players too; make it feel less like an exhibition game with the piped in crowd noises and house music.

   

Why? Because it’s safer up for the players. The NHL picked two cities to play their games in and sequester players so that their potential exposure is as limited as possible. Also, picking Canadian cities because we’re managing the virus so much better up here.

The MLB, not so much. They’ve shortened their ridiculously long season and limited the travel teams have to do. But there’s still travel to hot spots like Florida, Georgia and Texas, among others. They’ve exposed the players to much more risk and frankly I don’t blame the government telling the Blue Jays to stay in the US if they want to play.

   

LOL Oilers. Looks like, once again, the Edmonton fans shouldn't have awarded their team the Cup before the first puck being dropped in the first playoff game. They really need to stop doing this to themselves.

   

So Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal move on to the next round.

Toronto hangs on by the skin of their teeth to be 2-2 in the series and Edmonton chokes out looking for another #1 draft pick on Monday.

Whatever... Go Canada. Even if it's Calgary or Toronto. Montreal isn't looking bad.

   

The tweets by Oilers fans demanding that Ken Holland and Dave Tippett be fired, not even a year after being hired as the latest saviours, are reliably hilarious. Like, how genuinely delusional are the fans in that city anyway? No fans anywhere else behave this way.

   

Hopefully Toronto will move as well. I thought Edmonton would have moved on as they have a good team. Oh well.

It's been weird to watch these games but good to see that the players seem to have adapted and are playing with intensity.

   

Well, now that those weird preliminary rounds are done it's time to get on with the 2020 playoffs.

Usually we have a separate thread for the playoffs but this year is far from normal and the playoffs participants were determined in a different way since the league's final 10 or so games were not completed by the teams. Whether or not the 16 teams that remain would have been the top 16 anyway... who knows.

Anyway, the match-ups are:

Las Vegas vs Chicago
Colorado vs Arizona
Dallas vs Calgary
St. Louis vs Vancouver
Philadelphia vs Montreal
Tampa Bay vs Columbus
Washington vs NY Islanders
Boston vs Carolina


Game 1 for everyone is either tomorrow or Wednesday.

   

Holy crap!

Columbus - Tampa Bay about to go to the 5th OT

Shots are 87 - 60 for Tampa Bay. It almost makes me hope Columbus wins, just because.

   

Flames won over Dallas this afternoon in game one. Golly! So used to them turtling that when they get a win in a playoff game it's genuinely shocking. Golly again!

   

I don't. Tortarella is a bum. He's another Mike Keenan; a good coach in certain situations with certain players, but generally an asshole.

   

He's an entertaining dickwad though. Need more animated coaches like that. They shoulda booked a three-round fight between Torts and Bob Hartley back in the day and used it as footage for the second Goon movie.

   

I'm not a fan of tortellini either.

I was thinking more about the Columbus goalie Korpisalo!

   

They've bumped the Carolina-Boston game to tomorrow morning. Good call as this could go on for awhile.

Nevermind... just when I hit submit Tampa scored. Those guys must all be exhausted.

   

Previous  1 ... 8  9  10  11  12  13  Next