Series Discussion Thread - Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins

[geschrocks33]

To those people saying that Washington had a team meeting to "take out" Crosby, get ahold of yourselves. Come on people.


1. The Ovechkin swinging his stick happens 99% of the time a player is ahead of another player. Almost every breakaway, or guy skating away is getting hacked away at by the guy behind him. So that's nothing out of the ordinary. It's ridiculous that it's allowed to happen, but it does, every single game.

2. The Niskanen hit isn't nearly as bad as it's being made out to be I don't think. It's not like he plowed through Sid at full speed with the intent to destroy him. He got his stick up to brace himself. Unfortunately, he hit him in the head, and Sid was also falling awkwardly, which made it worse.

3. If that same exact thing happened, and a Penguins player cross-checked say Tom Wilson like that, I can probably guarantee you they don't get 5 & tossed.

Overall, I think the NHL needs to get a grip on their officiating and inconsistency with calls. Also the continuous hacking that occurs (like what occurred with Ovi on Sid) needs to be eliminated. That needs to start being a slashing (or hooking) penalty if you hack away at a guy. Gaudreau has been injured from it, Methot almost lost the tip of his finger and it's getting ridiculous. Last nights game was so poorly officiated it was unbelievable. They called garbage penalties, missed a ton of penalties, and overall was just a terrible display of officiating, just like the entire playoffs has been.

[10-4 collector]

The game is so fast now, Niskanen is not a dirty player. I don't think he did this intentionally. I'm not a big Crosby fan but let's hope he's ok, he brings a lot to the game.

[Craig2]

Yeah, i didnt see what Ovechkin did til later on when they slowed it down in the highlights, either way, a gutless move to target a player who has concussion issues & aim for his head. Niskanen did more than brace himself for the impact too. If thats all you think he did then i suggest you look at the replay again. I dont see how a cross check to the head is a way to brace yourself. I wish Pittsburgh still had some tough guys & take some runs at Washingtons star players, the Leafs could lend the Kadri.

I've watched the replay at least ten times, I still don't see anything vicious. Niskanen's stick was at waist level until Crosby fell into it. If you want to blame anyone on that, it's Ovechkin for the slash but that's become acceptable in today's NHL - just ask Marc Methot.

[jameslacarte]

I agree with the officiating or lack there of it for sure. I think it was Cullen, he was going to get a breakaway & the Caps defenceman blatantly hooked him nullifying the break & there was nothing called, not a penalty & it could easily have been a penalty shot too. I spend most of the game yelling at my TV. The officials are so inconsistant its rediculous!! Something has to be done for sure, they are ruining these games.
As for Crosby i dont doubt that was intentional but no one will ever know for sure. I think the Caps are so desperate for a Cup that they will do just about anything to get it. If they don't win this year they have 10 players they have to try to sign & i'm sure this team will be dismantled. A slash to the gloves happens all the time, it was an unfortunate incident with what happened to Methot but it happens 20 times a game, every game. Hits to the head however are a whole different ball game. There should be zero tolerance for that & OV should have been tossed from the game as well as Niskanen. If the League doesnt make a bigger effort to protect the star players this league is nothing, we may as well join the KHL. Bettman is the worst thing to happen to hockey, they couldnt have picked a worse guy for the job..

[geschrocks33]

I agree with the officiating or lack there of it for sure. I think it was Cullen, he was going to get a breakaway & the Caps defenceman blatantly hooked him nullifying the break & there was nothing called, not a penalty & it could easily have been a penalty shot too. I spend most of the game yelling at my TV. The officials are so inconsistant its rediculous!! Something has to be done for sure, they are ruining these games.
As for Crosby i dont doubt that was intentional but no one will ever know for sure. I think the Caps are so desperate for a Cup that they will do just about anything to get it. If they don't win this year they have 10 players they have to try to sign & i'm sure this team will be dismantled. A slash to the gloves happens all the time, it was an unfortunate incident with what happened to Methot but it happens 20 times a game, every game. Hits to the head however are a whole different ball game. There should be zero tolerance for that & OV should have been tossed from the game as well as Niskanen. If the League doesnt make a bigger effort to protect the star players this league is nothing, we may as well join the KHL. Bettman is the worst thing to happen to hockey, they couldnt have picked a worse guy for the job..

How should Ovi have been tossed too? For making the same play with his stick that every other player makes too? There wouldn't be anyone left to play the game if we ejected people for that. Seriously, a player got injured and that's a shame but some people need to take the superstar goggles off and see what really happened. A slash, an unfortunate collision where Niskanen got his stick up. It's not like Crosby got absolutely trucked by anyone or Tom Wilson went flying to take his head off. Ovi takes 1 hack at him, gets a slash in Crosby loses his balance and collides with Niskanen who got his stick up into Crosby's face/head. To say Ovechkin should've been tossed means at least half of each team in every NHL game should get tossed.

[jameslacarte]

It was to the Head!! Thats why.. Of a Super star player who already has concussion issues. Anything to the head should be called immediately. There are 4 guys on the ice, 2 refs & 2 Linesman, any of them can make that call.
Your entitled to your opinion as i am mine, it doesnt make you or me right its just perception of an incident that occurred. If the League does not protect its stars then whats the point..

[LecavalierFan]

Well then you still need 3 goals cause then its only 5-2 :)

Not to mention a helmetless Ovy destroying Fleury late in game 1. That's okay right?

I guess when you know you cant win you take a cheap shot at the other teams best player. That was a cheap shot on Crosby & if you ask me i think when the Caps had they're closed door meeting something like that was planned. They, for the first time all playoffs dressed 7 defenceman like they knew..What can you expect from a Gutless, heartless team. The play was over, there was no need for Niskanen to cross check Crosby to the head while he was on the ice. Totally gutless!!

Wow!! The cheating losers finally win a game!!! Who says cheaters never prosper? I hate Washington but after that Crosby incident i now dispise everything about this cheap shot team..
Another great game by Fleury & congrats to the Pens for rallying late with 2 goals with under 2 minutes left. Go Pens Go!!!

Yeah, i didnt see what Ovechkin did til later on when they slowed it down in the highlights, either way, a gutless move to target a player who has concussion issues & aim for his head. Niskanen did more than brace himself for the impact too. If thats all you think he did then i suggest you look at the replay again. I dont see how a cross check to the head is a way to brace yourself. I wish Pittsburgh still had some tough guys & take some runs at Washingtons star players, the Leafs could lend the Kadri.

I agree with the officiating or lack there of it for sure. I think it was Cullen, he was going to get a breakaway & the Caps defenceman blatantly hooked him nullifying the break & there was nothing called, not a penalty & it could easily have been a penalty shot too. I spend most of the game yelling at my TV. The officials are so inconsistant its rediculous!! Something has to be done for sure, they are ruining these games.
As for Crosby i dont doubt that was intentional but no one will ever know for sure. I think the Caps are so desperate for a Cup that they will do just about anything to get it. If they don't win this year they have 10 players they have to try to sign & i'm sure this team will be dismantled. A slash to the gloves happens all the time, it was an unfortunate incident with what happened to Methot but it happens 20 times a game, every game. Hits to the head however are a whole different ball game. There should be zero tolerance for that & OV should have been tossed from the game as well as Niskanen. If the League doesnt make a bigger effort to protect the star players this league is nothing, we may as well join the KHL. Bettman is the worst thing to happen to hockey, they couldnt have picked a worse guy for the job..

It was to the Head!! Thats why.. Of a Super star player who already has concussion issues. Anything to the head should be called immediately. There are 4 guys on the ice, 2 refs & 2 Linesman, any of them can make that call.
Your entitled to your opinion as i am mine, it doesnt make you or me right its just perception of an incident that occurred. If the League does not protect its stars then whats the point..

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[jameslacarte]

At what point does a player have enough, and stick up for himself? Are these pics supposed to prove a point? All you need to do is look at the amount of concussions to star players in the League to know something is broken. Its not just Crosby he just happens to be the one we're talking about now. Slashing happens so much in a game & you point the finger at Crosby for a slash to Methot!! How many times a game does Crosby get slashed? Taking Goons away from the game was the worse thing they could have done. Guys didnt do this to Gretzky very often cause they knew what was coming!! When the cats are away the Rats come out to play!!

[Craig2]

How should Ovi have been tossed too? For making the same play with his stick that every other player makes too? There wouldn't be anyone left to play the game if we ejected people for that.

Exactly. If they want to cut down on the slashing that has become too big a part of today's game, it needs to be a league-wide mandate discussed in the offseason. I'm sure Johnny Gaudreau and some of the others who get slashed 10+ times per game would be supportive.

The Ovie slash was bad, but I don't remember any of these same fans calling for a Crosby suspension when he decided Marc Methot didn't really need the end of his finger.

[jameslacarte]

C'mon!! Crosby wasnt attempting to injure Methot, it was an unfortunate incident, thats all. It wasnt a slash to the head. This was blown out of proportion. I hope the concussion to Methot's finger is ok!! This isnt even in the same category.