Friday, April 28, 2017

NHL Playoffs: Round 2 - Here We Go Again

My apologies for the "ghost post" yesterday.  I hit the Publish button instead of the Save.  The Michigan finale will be the next post (probably tomorrow).

After the first round of the playoffs, the regional sports networks no longer carry the games.  National coverage takes over and is led by NBC and it's affiliates.

The Nobody But Crosby flagship station...


 The Nothing Besmirches Crosby's Sublime Nobility network....

And the Capitals Never Beat Crosby network...

Doc Emerick and the boys are great announcers, but let's be real.  We know who they like.  Whether it's their own preference, or coaching by the NHL...


I had written another rant condemning them to one-sided coverage of the series.  I must admit, it wasn't nearly as badly biased as I expected, at least, during the game.  Well, until Squidney scored twice.  Then the "unbelievables" and "amazings" started flying around.  I didn't watch the analysts between periods.  I'm guessing they couldn't stop gushing about 87's godlike abilities.

 
The Caps are not only fighting the players on the other side, they must combat the fact that the Pens are the most promoted team in the league over all others, and that usually, Pitt gets all the bounces, deflections, bad penalties, and dumb luck in their favor.

That pretty much continued....

Both teams played very well.  The Pens got some (or all, as usual) lucky breaks early in the second.  The Caps caught up by the third period.  Then a breakaway gave Pitt the lead again.  At this point, the refs stripes turned yellow and they called a slashing penalty on what is generally considered fishing for a rebound.  The Caps allowed only two shots on the kill, but then only had a couple minutes to try for the tie.  Even a seven car pileup in front of the net couldn't provide an opportunity for a score.

Hopefully, the Caps will be able to keep up the pressure for the rest of the series.  It seemed like a much more even matchup this time.

Which means Caps don't have much of a chance.....

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