NHL: Final 4 who do you want to win their series

TheGoonies1985

Series starts May 19th

Vegas
vs
Dallas

Series starts May 18th

Carolina
vs
Florida

TheGoonies1985

My teams are out. But will take for Dallas & Carolina over Vegas & Florida. I have a ''grudge'' against both one beating Edmonton and the other Boston.

dallasactuary

Dallas, obviously.

And I think I'd rather Dallas face Carolina than Florida. Florida looks like a team that is peaking and they look scary good.

thisistheshow

Definitely Dallas.

Now that the Bruins are out, I'm rooting for them.

Alfonz24

anybody but vegas

perkdog

Vegas!

TheGoonies1985

Will miss hockey nights for the next few days. Happens every year but never seem to be prepared for the season getting closer to the end.

LandrysFedora

Vegas.

TheGoonies1985

2 days with no hockey boring can't wait till tomorrow evening lets go Carolina!!!

TheGoonies1985

Florida won game 1 vs Carolina

They lead the series 1-0

TheGoonies1985

Listening to the LV game hope they lose. Lets go Dallas!!!

TheGoonies1985

Damn LV won game 1 in OT.

LV leads series 1-0.

Tabe

Anybody but Dallas after Jamie Benn injured Dylan Larkin with a dirty crosscheck on a faceoff.

dallasactuary

Dallas has LV right where they want them. They also lost game 1 in overtime against Minnesota and Seattle.

@Tabe said:
Anybody but Dallas after Jamie Benn injured Dylan Larkin with a dirty crosscheck on a faceoff.

I've watched the video of that 100 times and I still don't understand how Benn's slow-motion crosscheck (it was actually more a shove than a hit) could cause a bruise let alone an actual injury. I'm not denying that it did, in fact, cause an injury, but I am positive that Benn was as surprised that it did as anyone.

Tabe

@dallasactuary said:
Dallas has LV right where they want them. They also lost game 1 in overtime against Minnesota and Seattle.

@Tabe said:
Anybody but Dallas after Jamie Benn injured Dylan Larkin with a dirty crosscheck on a faceoff.

I've watched the video of that 100 times and I still don't understand how Benn's slow-motion crosscheck (it was actually more a shove than a hit) could cause a bruise let alone an actual injury. I'm not denying that it did, in fact, cause an injury, but I am positive that Benn was as surprised that it did as anyone.

You're kidding, right? He chopped down across the neck and then knocked Larkin over with the stick.

It was absolutely dirty and definitely caused an injury. The only reason to even make that contact was to cause an injury. The puck was several feet away and Larkin was bent over. Larkin ended up in a neck brace for weeks and the team hired him a chauffeur because he literally physically couldn't drive.

TheGoonies1985

Florida won game 2 vs Carolina

They lead the series 2-0

TheGoonies1985

Florida sure seems to going towards winning The Cup this season. They are playing at 110% every single game.

dallasactuary

@Tabe said:

You're kidding, right? He chopped down across the neck and then knocked Larkin over with the stick.

It was absolutely dirty and definitely caused an injury. The only reason to even make that contact was to cause an injury. The puck was several feet away and Larkin was bent over. Larkin ended up in a neck brace for weeks and the team hired him a chauffeur because he literally physically couldn't drive.

No, not kidding. I'm not disagreeing with you about the results - Larkin was badly injured. I'm disagreeing with the word "chopped". I could hit you with a hockey stick on the neck as hard as Benn hit Larkin 100 times and while you wouldn't enjoy it, I think it's very unlikely that you'd be seriously hurt. The wrong part of Benn's stick caught the wrong part of Larkin's neck as his head was at the wrong angle and the results were tragic. But you and I, and every hockey referee, have seen something similar too many times to count, and the thought of calling a penalty just doesn't enter our minds. Detroit's announcers didn't even comment on the play when it happened. Important detail for anyone trying to picture this: Larkin was bent over, Benn was standing straight. That's why Larkin got hit in the neck even though Benn's stick was at his waist level.

And Benn did not "then knock Larkin over" with his stick. They got tangled (which is why this happened with the puck several feet away) and Benn shoved him once; the same contact that injured Larkin also knocked him down. You are painting a picture of Benn swinging his stick like a madman with an axe, and that's not at all what happened. If I knew how to post the video of it I would, but anyone who wants to watch it just Google Benn Larkin and the first result will show you the video. If any hockey fan agrees with you that Benn was trying to cause an injury I will be very surprised. Because he very clearly wasn't.

Tabe

@dallasactuary said:

@Tabe said:

You're kidding, right? He chopped down across the neck and then knocked Larkin over with the stick.

It was absolutely dirty and definitely caused an injury. The only reason to even make that contact was to cause an injury. The puck was several feet away and Larkin was bent over. Larkin ended up in a neck brace for weeks and the team hired him a chauffeur because he literally physically couldn't drive.

No, not kidding. I'm not disagreeing with you about the results - Larkin was badly injured. I'm disagreeing with the word "chopped". I could hit you with a hockey stick on the neck as hard as Benn hit Larkin 100 times and while you wouldn't enjoy it, I think it's very unlikely that you'd be seriously hurt. The wrong part of Benn's stick caught the wrong part of Larkin's neck as his head was at the wrong angle and the results were tragic. But you and I, and every hockey referee, have seen something similar too many times to count, and the thought of calling a penalty just doesn't enter our minds. Detroit's announcers didn't even comment on the play when it happened. Important detail for anyone trying to picture this: Larkin was bent over, Benn was standing straight. That's why Larkin got hit in the neck even though Benn's stick was at his waist level.

And Benn did not "then knock Larkin over" with his stick. They got tangled (which is why this happened with the puck several feet away) and Benn shoved him once; the same contact that injured Larkin also knocked him down. You are painting a picture of Benn swinging his stick like a madman with an axe, and that's not at all what happened. If I knew how to post the video of it I would, but anyone who wants to watch it just Google Benn Larkin and the first result will show you the video. If any hockey fan agrees with you that Benn was trying to cause an injury I will be very surprised. Because he very clearly wasn't.

They didn't comment on it at the time because it was away from the play.

And, yeah, Larkin was bent over - that's exactly the problem. The puck was nowhere around, Benn looked down, saw THE BACK of Larkin's neck and did a downward crosscheck onto it. There's no possible hockey play explanation for it. Again, he hit a guy in the back of the neck - intentionally - with a crosscheck. 100% dirty 100% of the time.

The knockdown was Benn's stick still being basically stuck to Larkin's neck. Benn shoved him from there - with the stick still on Larkin's neck - and knocked him over.

Benn wasn't "wildly swinging" his stick nor did I ever imply such a thing. No, it was a cold, calculated cheap shot to, again, the back of Larkin's neck.

Since you clearly disagree that Benn was trying to injure Larkin, what WAS he doing? It's not a hockey play - can't say it was. He saw where he was aiming his stick - can't say he didn't. It was the back of the neck, a place that's NEVER OK to hit a guy. He used a chopping motion - can't say he didn't. So, add it all up, you tell me - what WAS Benn trying to do there?

I hate Twitter, it's a basically useless medium but I'll use it here. Read the comments on this post and you'll see multiple calling it dirty or intent to injure or some other variation:

https://twitter.com/nhl_review/status/1385637941737922566

Incidentally, just so it's clear that Benn knew what he was doing, here he is looking down at Larkin, clearly seeing him, before he crosschecked him. In this same pic, you can also see the puck several feet away, already in the possession of a different Wings player.

dallasactuary

@Tabe said:
And, yeah, Larkin was bent over - that's exactly the problem. The puck was nowhere around, Benn looked down, saw THE BACK of Larkin's neck and did a downward crosscheck onto it. There's no possible hockey play explanation for it.

Since you clearly disagree that Benn was trying to injure Larkin, what WAS he doing? It's not a hockey play - can't say it was. He saw where he was aiming his stick - can't say he didn't. It was the back of the neck, a place that's NEVER OK to hit a guy. He used a chopping motion - can't say he didn't. So, add it all up, you tell me - what WAS Benn trying to do there?

Yeah, Larkin was bent over, and the puck was several feet away. WHY was Larkin still bent over with the puck several feet away?

As the video clearly shows, the two got tangled after the faceoff and Benn shoved Larkin to get him away. I see no "downward" movement of Benn's stick anywhere - I see him push his stick parallel to the ice against Larkin in order to get separated. The movement may have even been slightly upward.

I'm a Benn fan, you hate him. I'm really interested to hear what a disinterested party has to say.

TheGoonies1985

Dallas vs LV starts in 45 minutes. Lets go Dallas!!!

TheGoonies1985

@PillarDollarCollector said:
Dallas vs LV starts in 45 minutes. Lets go Dallas!!!

Tied 2-2 heading to OT.

TheGoonies1985

Damn LV wins again they now lead the series 2-0.

Tabe

@dallasactuary said:

As the video clearly shows, the two got tangled after the faceoff and Benn shoved Larkin to get him away. I see no "downward" movement of Benn's stick anywhere -

At 0:03 of the clip I posted, Benn's stick is literally at the level of his own chin. It's CLEARLY a downward movement.

TheGoonies1985

Florida wins they now lead the series 3-0. Pretty amazing I must say they seem unbeatable.

dallasactuary

To @Tabe or anyone else: you have my permission to say anything bad about Jamie Benn that you want to say. After what he just did, I will not argue.

TheGoonies1985

LV destroying Dallas so far this evening. Sure feels like a LV vs Florida Stanley Cup final both teams have never won a Cup ever.

TheGoonies1985

LV takes 3-0 lead in the series.

Tabe

@dallasactuary said:
To @Tabe or anyone else: you have my permission to say anything bad about Jamie Benn that you want to say. After what he just did, I will not argue.

Kudos for this.

Davidk7

Go Panthers! Tkachuk's personality is just what this team needed. Never been more proud of my team.

Tabe

@dallasactuary said:
To @Tabe or anyone else: you have my permission to say anything bad about Jamie Benn that you want to say. After what he just did, I will not argue.

After ducking away from the media after the game, Benn spoke today.

"Said he wished he wouldn’t have fallen on Stone and used his stick “as a landing point.”

HAHAHAHA. Good lord, that is great. C'mon Jamie, just own what you did. Even your family doesn't believe it was an accident.

Dallas should strip him off his captaincy.

dallasactuary

@Tabe said:

Dallas should strip him off his captaincy.

As promised, I will not argue. I actually said to my wife as Benn left the ice "If I were DeBoer the first thing I'd do at intermission is rip the "C" off Benn and hand it to Pavelski."

What I think was running through Benn's head was that Stone had hit him in the face with his stick and he was going to get even. Several problems with that. First, it was Benn hitting Stone (for no apparent reason) that lifted Stone's stick. Second, it didn't "hit" Benn's face, it brushed it or maybe not even that. Third, Benn is the freaking captain of a team in a must-win game and he completely lost his head when his team could least afford it, and this would apply even if Stone had been at fault. That the whole damn mess was Benn's fault makes it entirely inexcusable. If he expects his teammates to buy the "landing point" story, I don't see how he could continue as captain. He owes them, at minimum, an actual apology.

Tabe

@dallasactuary said:

@Tabe said:

Dallas should strip him off his captaincy.

As promised, I will not argue. I actually said to my wife as Benn left the ice "If I were DeBoer the first thing I'd do at intermission is rip the "C" off Benn and hand it to Pavelski."

What I think was running through Benn's head was that Stone had hit him in the face with his stick and he was going to get even. Several problems with that. First, it was Benn hitting Stone (for no apparent reason) that lifted Stone's stick. Second, it didn't "hit" Benn's face, it brushed it or maybe not even that. Third, Benn is the freaking captain of a team in a must-win game and he completely lost his head when his team could least afford it, and this would apply even if Stone had been at fault. That the whole damn mess was Benn's fault makes it entirely inexcusable. If he expects his teammates to buy the "landing point" story, I don't see how he could continue as captain. He owes them, at minimum, an actual apology.

100% agree with you. And I'd say the same thing if the player involved was Dylan Larkin.

TheGoonies1985

Florida wins series 4-0 going now to the Stanley Cup finals.

Davidk7

Panthers have beaten the top 2 teams in the Atlantic and the best team in the Metropolitan division. I don't see why they can't defeat Vegas.

TheGoonies1985

@Davidk7 said:
Panthers have beaten the top 2 teams in the Atlantic and the best team in the Metropolitan division. I don't see why they can't defeat Vegas.

I would rather see Florida win it all than LV.

TheGoonies1985

LV leads series 3-1 would love to see Dallas come back and win the series but I know that is going to be next to impossible.

lanemyer85

@Davidk7 said:
Panthers have beaten the top 2 teams in the Atlantic and the best team in the Metropolitan division. I don't see why they can't defeat Vegas.

other than at some point their razor thin margin (straight out of 1996) style of play (9 one-goal wins) should see a market correction at some point. 16th out of 16 playoff teams carrying possession, 80% of a Florida Panther playoff game is played 2 feet from the boards, and it's a visual Ambian tablet for 56/60 minutes. Can they win, sure, the way the playoffs are being ref'd will help them. Is it a good thing that they may win this thing? No, because it's not 1996.

Not just because rooting for a human compost pile like Radko Gudas, or Canadian meatball Paul Maurice shouldn't be in the cards, but because this would be setting the game back 25 years. The last thing in the world that the NHL needs is more copycat-assembled slog teams. There's already another team alive whose first line accounts for nearly 70% of their scoring. These types of teams should not still be alive. It's not quite as bad as that horrible Canadiens bubble-Cup final team from '21, but it also isn't far off.

If Florida cashes this in, then we'll have some dopey team dust off Mike Babcock's Interference-expo (as has already been rumored), and all that will be left is for someone to dig Ken 'Boyardee' Hitchcock out of the attic to ensure that 99.9% of every game is played in the neutral zone or on the boards.

TheGoonies1985

Dallas wins

LV leads series 3-2 hope Dallas beats them and moves on to the Stanley Cup.

TheGoonies1985

Seems like LV will close the series this evening they are leading 4-0 going into the 3rd period.

TheGoonies1985

LV wins series now will face Florida for The Cup. Lets go Florida.

TheGoonies1985

Florida wins game 3!!!