Tampa defeats Toronto 4 games to 3

[Sasha Orlov]

Who wants to apologize to me first?
Or should I start tagging people? LMFAO

 

[Sheppy]

John Tavares isn’t a captain.

 

[oooooooooohCanada]

Disagree. I think the media overhyped him cause he threw his body around a bit. Was never scared of him all game. Marner is the real play driver on that line.

Why does seemingly every person from Alberta repeat the Marner is the "real" play driver on that line narrative? I see it on the Oilers board a ton and now a flames fan. It's really quite funny.

 

[Shane Diesel]

So did Matthews self-castrate?

 

[Frosty415]

So did Matthews self-castrate?

do disappointed, 60 goal scorer and he disappears in the 2nd half of the series

 

[DarylO]

Man. Judging by a lot of the responses in this thread I would have come away thinking the leafs got swept in blowout fashion this series.

Maybe take like 20-25% off the crazy when posting folks.

 

[McSuper]

Fans love to bash other team but shows their lack of intelligence with some of their statements . TML had to play the 2 time defending champs and played them as close as they could with out winning .

I came in to another thread say congrats after game 5 and was told thanks but still hope the Oilers lose by a Leaf fan . Fitting that they lose and the Oilers win . Karma is a bitch but you still have to tip your hats to the Leafs . They played hard and by the eye test they were the better overall team .

 

[Alexei Yashvalev]

The Leafs' futility is very funny, but I do find it amusing that if Toronto isn't called for a penalty a moment before he shoots the puck in the net John Tavares could have played the exact same game and been called 'clutch' instead of 'choker'.

 

[Duder54]

As a lifelong Oilers fan, I truly emphasize with Leafs fans.

 

[Beendair Donedat]

Wow!

 

[BigFuzzyDice]

I agree so much with Keefe in this interview, what makes Tampa an elite team is how much they prioritize defending. And how they can shut down any team in the third period when up a goal. THAT'S what makes a championship team and it's a future championship coach to recognize that.

Wonder where he'll sign to win those future championships .

 

[Dempsey]

I feel for the Leafs. On the other hand I feel like their fans have been responsible for a large portion of the "Oilers suck" narrative here, so I don't feel THAT sorry for them. Better luck next year.

 

[Soups On]

I'll say it again - the fact that this was in the first round of the playoffs is f***ed up.

Good on the bolts. The leafs did well but it's the same story - just can't get it done

 

[Cleatus]

Awesome series to Tampa! I'll be cheering for Florida in the next round, but if the Lightning win, I'm pretty sure they're on their way to a third straight Cup win.

 

[c9777666]

The Lightning didn’t have heart until Pat freaking Maroon showed up

The fact this guy has as many Cups as Yzerman

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

I think anyone not giving credit to the Leafs for a hard fought series is just a hater at this point. That was a hell of a series. Even though we went 7 vs. NYI last year, it, to me, didn't feel all that much in doubt. I did not expect TB to win tonight.

Leafs lost, but they definitely took the step forward they've been looking for. Matthews terrifies me. Marner had a big series. They've figured it out. TB just figured it out a long time ago, and has had a lot more practice.

The Leafs did play very well. They were way better defensively than in past playoffs and Marner and Matthews were both scary when on the ice. Campbell held it together too.

They looked like the better team for a large majority of the series, but couldn't seal the deal. If this had been nearly any other year, I think it would be a huge step forward. But the Leafs need to actually win to show they have taken a step forward at this point, imo. They've been a great team in the regular season for a few years now, and I wonder what they do going into next season.

 

[Gjman2019]

That's 2 years in a row the Leafs dominated game 6 OT and didn't win.......I know Price and Vasy had something to do with that (2 hall of famers) but it's also the third year in a row their offense dried up in the final deciding game.........Seems like they should look for a guy with some net presence to give their offense a new wrinkle and can score some greasy goals when other teams defense and goalies really bear down...........

Guys like Anders Lee and Brendan Gallagher come to mind but i doubt they can fit them under the cap....

 

[KUUUUUUUUCH]

Tampa Bay was more interesting when they got swept by CBJ

I won’t miss them when they become a lottery team

Your tears are delicious.

 

[Cleatus]

They’re running on fumes. This is a tired hockey team with lots of mileage

If they beat Florida, I really can't see anyone else beating them. I really do hope Florida pulls it off though!

 

[OrrNumber4]

Toronto played well, but there's also value in being an organization that values results, and not just the process.

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

I agree so much with Keefe in this interview, what makes Tampa an elite team is how much they prioritize defending. And how they can shut down any team in the third period when up a goal. THAT'S what makes a championship team and it's a future championship coach to recognize that.

I truly don't feel like we watched the same game. Tampa struggled to gain control, they were not very good at exiting their zone and they left Matthews open so many times. They just let the Leafs have so much control in their zone and Tampa was weak on the puck (not every game but a lot of the games I watched this was the case). Vasy was incredible. But Tampa played so desperate defensively and was lucky to have the goalie they do to save their butts. Credit to the Leafs for really keeping control in the offensive zone.

 

[TropicOfNoReturn]

Cooper is the worst Cup winning coach since Mark Crawford

And yet he's done it twice?

 

[c9777666]

And yet he's done it twice?

Against Rick Bowness and DOMINIQUE DUCHARME

 

[jcs0218]

The Lightning showed their championship pedigree, especially as the series approached the late stages.

They blew a 2-0 lead in Game 5, but they didn't allow it to cause them to fall apart mentally.

Even the 2-0 blown lead in Game 6 didn't faze them.

Then they put forth a textbook champion-calibre Game 7, on the road.

Vasilevskiy finally showed his worth as the #1 goalie in the NHL, after a very mediocre first 6 games.

The rest of the Lightning team did what they needed to do to win. Just look at all their blocked-shots and superior play in all of the dirty areas of the game.

The Lightning play very similarly to the last team to accomplish what they are chasing for history. The 1980-1983 Islanders.

Those Islanders teams didn't always win pretty, but they always managed to win with clutch performances and rock-solid goaltending when it mattered the most.

 

[TropicOfNoReturn]

Tampa Bay was more interesting when they got swept by CBJ

I won’t miss them when they become a lottery team

You need to stop, you're embarrassing yourself.

Hockey is just as much about preventing goals as it scoring them.
It is the ultimate team game.

If you don't find that interesting, I think you're watching the wrong sport.