Prince of Wales Conference Final - Pittsburgh v Tampa

[sseagle]

May 13 Tampa v Pittsburgh 7pm NBCSN
May 16 Tampa v Pittsburgh 7pm NBCSN
May 18 Pittsburgh @ Tampa 7pm NBCSN
May 20 Pittsburgh @ Tampa 7pm NBCSN
May 22 Tampa v Pittsburgh 7pm NBCSN
May 24 Pittsburgh @ Tampa 7pm NBCSN
May 26 Tampa v Pittsburgh 7pm NBCSN

[Kreegz2]

Pittsburgh in 5

[glen a richter]

Pittsburgh in 7, then a sweep of the SCF.

[Portland Blues]

Pens in 6. Darius Kasparaitis as series MVP.

[ecbm]

Pittsburgh's been riding form. I'm thinking they run out of luck and their flaws get exposed here.

Tampa in 6.

[ComradeT]

Tampa is a lot better defensively than the Caps. This one will be a tough battle. I really hope Tampa beats Pens. So Tampa in 7.

[Kerfuffle]

I want the Pens to win - I still have a bad taste for Tampa from last year's discriminatory admittance policy. Pens really clicking right now too and look great.

[WaukeeBlues]

I think this one is going to be a lot closer than people think. The Bolts have proven far more resilient than I expected in this postseason. Having said that, the Penguins are just on absolute fire right now.

Penguins in 6

The last remnant of my bracket was destroyed by the Caps falling short

[gaijin]

I think this one is going to be a lot closer than people think. The Bolts have proven far more resilient than I expected in this postseason. Having said that, the Penguins are just on absolute fire right now.

Penguins in 6

The last remnant of my bracket was destroyed by the Caps falling short

We're in the same boat. Utter failure this year.

[Portland Blues]

Bishop twitching around like a fish.

[Portland Blues]

Bringing out a stretcher. Could be a big bummer for the Bolts.

[Portland Blues]

Johnson maybe hurt too? Friday the 13th blows for Tampa.

[theohall]

Johnson returned.

There were a couple of shifts in this game when Drouin looked way better than Crosby.

Big question: Can Tampa continue to play that level defensively to protect Vasilevsky while still generating offense from that defensive play.

The Penguins were seriously over-aggressive when they were only down one goal. This will be an interesting series.

Watching this game, what happens if Johnson turns his back and gets hit when he plays that puck, like Letang did. Does the Pens forward hold up? Does he not? Does the boarding minor/major happen like happened with Letang?

It drives me nuts when guys see the hit coming, clearly face their numbers to the hit, then get hit because of it in hopes of avoiding the hit.

I know the rules... See the numbers, hold up. What would have happened and Tyler Johnson faced the boards instead of turning the way he did to make the pass? Would it be the Pens fault for "boarding" him then? I don't know... Just an interesting "what if" discussion.

[goon attack]

Penguins looked like total crap almost the entire game.

That no look pass by Cindy Crosby was dope though.

[StL Dan]

I want the Pens to win - I still have a bad taste for Tampa from last year's discriminatory admittance policy. Pens really clicking right now too and look great.

It's baaaaack....

"According to the Lightning website, "only Lightning-branded or 'neutral' attire and apparel" will be allowed in season ticket holder areas such as the Chase Bank Club, Lexus Lounge (including the first two rows of seats in the arena) and the Vology Loge."

[StL Dan]

I want the Pens to win - I still have a bad taste for Tampa from last year's discriminatory admittance policy. Pens really clicking right now too and look great.

It's baaaaack....

"According to the Lightning website, "only Lightning-branded or 'neutral' attire and apparel" will be allowed in season ticket holder areas such as the Chase Bank Club, Lexus Lounge (including the first two rows of seats in the arena) and the Vology Loge."

[ComradeT]

I want the Pens to win - I still have a bad taste for Tampa from last year's discriminatory admittance policy. Pens really clicking right now too and look great.

It's baaaaack....

"According to the Lightning website, "only Lightning-branded or 'neutral' attire and apparel" will be allowed in season ticket holder areas such as the Chase Bank Club, Lexus Lounge (including the first two rows of seats in the arena) and the Vology Loge."

Doesn't seem too discriminatory to me but I could see how a team would want its fans closer to the glass, especially in the playoffs. On the other hand, if enough Pens fans populate the upper seats, they can still make plenty of noise.

[StL Dan]

I want the Pens to win - I still have a bad taste for Tampa from last year's discriminatory admittance policy. Pens really clicking right now too and look great.

It's baaaaack....

"According to the Lightning website, "only Lightning-branded or 'neutral' attire and apparel" will be allowed in season ticket holder areas such as the Chase Bank Club, Lexus Lounge (including the first two rows of seats in the arena) and the Vology Loge."

Doesn't seem too discriminatory to me but I could see how a team would want its fans closer to the glass, especially in the playoffs. On the other hand, if enough Pens fans populate the upper seats, they can still make plenty of noise.

I'm ok with it too. I don't think the resident LetsGoBlues.com/forum Blackhawk fan likes it much, though.

I watched the youtube highlights of the Blues/Hawks Gm 7 this morning. It was kinda fun watching all that red on the Hawks on edge of their front row seats and eventually disappointed at when the Blues finished them off.

[ecbm]

I have to say, I find all of these policies stupid.

If you don't have your local fanbase engaged enough to outnumber the away fans, fix your outreach/branding. I'm just imagining being thrown out of a SCF final game at MSG in 6 years because my 9-year-old son is wearing a Blues shirt. It's asinine. It seems especially asinine considering that among the measures used in European soccer to quell, you know, really serious criminal violence between home & away fans-they never felt the need to ban the other team's gear in the stadium. To do it just to make your support look more monolithic than it actually is...really stupid.

[gaijin]

I'm with ecbm on this one. How can you, from a legal standpoint, exert authority over what people wear (aside from the normal legal precedent of attire that covers the appropriate wobbly bits and is not profane)? I honestly can't believe policies like this are legal.