The Official 2025 NHL Playoffs Thread: Do you get two Conn Smythes if you're a rookie? Asking for a Russian friend

[Grand Moff Larkin]

There have been a lot of “Wow that team came back after I went to bed” games this year but I was pretty surprised that thee Goil did it again

[sutterfamily]

"Frustrated Canadiens have some gripes with referees after Game 4 loss" is just quintessential Habs. They wanted a whistle on the Wilson/Carrier hit for... some reason?

[Grand Moff Larkin]

"Frustrated Canadiens have some gripes with referees after Game 4 loss" is just quintessential Habs. They wanted a whistle on the Wilson/Carrier hit for... some reason?

Comments from The Athletic piece on how the hit changed the game:

I don’t care if the hit was legal. If another player gets a concussion as a result it should be out of the sport. I don’t mind physical hockey, but I think players shouldn’t risk CTEs because of such plays.

Nothing wrong with hard hitting hockey but unless they can be made safe, potentially dangerous plays should be removed from the game.

Wilson is a polarizing player. I expect that fan comments and discourse will fall 50/50 on this particular hit as to its validity, his ability and so on. I think he and a few other players, mostly named Tkachuk, are what is wrong with hockey. It’s an opinion, nothing more. What I do know is that I’d rather watcher the 5 Canadiens players on the power play led by Suzuki and all under 25 (26?!), real hockey skill at work, over whatever game it is that Wilson purports to play.

Borderline? Please - it was far from legal. Good on you calling a decapitation borderline. Let’s get more players in concussion protocol - great for the league.

[Grand Moff Larkin]

There’s another article about how the Canadiens need to take ownership of the problems that got them down 3-1 and most of the piece and especially its comments are whining about the officiating and how the Caps are embellishing.

[sutterfamily]

I don’t have anything against the guy but Quentin Byfield wearing a big gold Q medallion makes me want to call him QAnon Byfield

I imagine the chain got in his way from chipping the puck out at the end of the third? (instead of skating into Bouchard and losing it -> tying goal gets scored, oops)

[Grand Moff Larkin]

I read about that this morning and chuckled

Byfield seems like he could be a superstar but his hockey sense is turned off 40% of the time

[sutterfamily]

I mean he's still only 22. I know hockey sense isn't that high on the "things you can learn" list but some of the plays he makes are amazing and he's got Kopitar to learn from.

SNES and KANGS fans have a (very stupid) war with Stutzle v Byfield and, I dunno, they both seem very good?

[practice]

I don’t know who #45 on the Habs was but Tom Wilson just ended him

might be the hardest hit I've ever seen

[sutterfamily]

I can't say I'm qualified to be an NHL coach but I do wonder if maybe giving Joel Edmundson the most ice time of your entire D core by 3 entire minutes is maybe not the optimal deployment strategy?

[sutterfamily]

How stupid do you have to be to post this?

[Fleetwood mactavish]

those last 2 Edmonton games were insane

[Grand Moff Larkin]

I don’t get what the Kings are doing with Clarke at all. I haven’t gotten the sense that he’s out of his depth at all.

[sutterfamily]

Panthers on a major penalty spree tonight (if you count the one that should have been called on Ekblad)

[Grand Moff Larkin]

Guentzel was just getting punched in the face by both Ekblad and Tkachuk in the corner, perhaps they could call even more penalties

[Grand Moff Larkin]

Panth have definitely reached the “they won’t call anything so let’s do everything” part of the game

[Grand Moff Larkin]

BLOT just went from leading to trailing in about 15 seconds

Bizarre bounce off Vasi on the second one

[sutterfamily]

Panthers scored 2 in 11 seconds to go ahead with 4 mins left. After the Lightning scored 2 goals in 11 seconds earlier in the game. Wild.

[Grand Moff Larkin]

Now Verhaeghe gets the EN

Brutal collapse

[Grand Moff Larkin]

No crowd shots scan “All Trump voters” like Panthers crowds

[sutterfamily]

Dallas up 1-0 9 seconds in.