NHL 2017 -Official Discussion Thread

[SilverEagle]

Nashville-Anaheim, that's real playoff hockey. The Pens couldn't even score more than a goal against the Sens neutral zone trap, yawnville. The Western Conference Final is the series to watch.

The Pens could've easily won that game 3-1 or 4-1. The trap did little to slow them down. Sometimes the puck just doesn't want to go it. The Pens will win tonight.

[StCapps]

The Pens could've easily won that game 3-1 or 4-1. The trap did little to slow them down. Sometimes the puck just doesn't want to go it. The Pens will win tonight.

They damn well better. The Pens got outplayed in Game 1, Ottawa had a goal called back, while out shooting out hitting and out blocking the Pens, it never it should have went to overtime. The Pens did get slowed down, Crosby was held pointless by the JG Pageau line yet again, and that has carry over from the regular season. I expect adjustments out of the Pens because Mike Sullivan is dope coach, but you better hope play better as the series go on, or an upset is entirely possible. Don't let the Pesky Sens hang around, it could come back to bite you, especially with a banged up defense.

[SilverEagle]

The Pens could've easily won that game 3-1 or 4-1. The trap did little to slow them down. Sometimes the puck just doesn't want to go it. The Pens will win tonight.

They damn well better. The Pens got outplayed in Game 1, and it never it should have went to overtime. They did get slowed down, Crosby was held pointless by the JG Pageau line yet again, and that has carry over from the regular season. I expect adjustments out of the Pens because Mike Sullivan is dope coach, but without them they are in trouble.

As long as he doesn't blow the lines up like he did in game 6 of the Washington series they'll be fine. I hate watching the Trap not matter who's playing. It's like watching the late 90's Devils and it's a snooze fest. I hope the Pens blow them out of the water because the last thing the league needs is for the Trap to come back in style.

[StCapps]

As long as he doesn't blow the lines up like he did in game 6 of the Washington series they'll be fine. I hate watching the Trap not matter who's playing. It's like watching the late 90's Devils and it's a snooze fest. I hope the Pens blow them out of the water because the last thing the league needs is for the Trap to come back in style.

Yeah Ottawa has to make this series boring to win. The less exciting it is the worse off the Pens will be. 90's Devils all over again, except the Sens have Erik Karlsson and their defensive depth is lacking. If the Pens lose to the trap and a hot goalie, that would crack me up though, so I'm perfectly happy no matter which way the series goes.

Pens in 6, I agree, but the Hockey Gods might have something else in mind.

[StCapps]

The Pens can't give the giveaway the puck 17 times, while getting out shot, out hit, out blocked and beaten in the faceoff circle, especially if Crosby and Kessel are held pointless. That's just not a good game for the Pens, so they really need to step it up tonight, because a repeat performance is unlikely to yield success in Game 2.

[SilverEagle]

1-1 now. God I hate the Trap. The Sens are luck it was only 1-0. Easily could've been 4-0 or 5-0. I'm guessing game 3 will be the game the walls come crashing in on the Sens.

[StCapps]

1-1 now. God I hate the Trap. The Sens are luck it was only 1-0. Easily could've been 4-0 or 5-0. I'm guessing game 3 will be the game the walls come crashing in on the Sens.

The problem with the trap for Sens, is that if the score is 0-0 in the mid-late third and then the Pens score, they don't have enough time to turn it back on and it's hard to turn on the offense when you've been avoiding it like the plague all game. Serves them right for trying to bore me to death anyway, hell if it weren't Dion Phaneuf going Double Dion on the Pens, I probably would have actually fallen asleep.

[SilverEagle]

1-1 now. God I hate the Trap. The Sens are luck it was only 1-0. Easily could've been 4-0 or 5-0. I'm guessing game 3 will be the game the walls come crashing in on the Sens.

The problem with the trap for Sens, is that if the score is 0-0 in the mid-late third and then the Pens score, they don't have enough time to turn it back on and it's hard to turn on the offense when you've been avoiding it like the plague all game. Serves them right for trying to bore me to death anyway, hell if it weren't Dion Phaneuf going Double Dion on the Pens, I probably would have actually fallen asleep.

It was a very frustrating game to watch for sure. Several pucks were close to going in for the Pens. If the Pens can get 2 goals in the first period in game 3 we might actually see a damn hockey game because it would force the Sens to play hockey instead of hiding behind a trap scheme.

[StCapps]

It was a very frustrating game to watch for sure. Several pucks were close to going in for the Pens. If the Pens can get 2 goals in the first period in game 3 we might actually see a damn hockey game because it would force the Sens to play hockey instead of hiding behind a trap scheme.

Indeed, if the Pens can get an early lead we know that Boucher will open it up, like he did against the Rangers. If the Sens would just start playing that way and then once they have a lead go back to the trap, I think that strategic calibration would work better for the Sens going forward in the series, and save us from boredom at the same time. If you can't generate any offense while playing the trap and you don't have a lead, then you've overdone it at least a little bit, and under this scenario the trap backfires the most often. The Sens need to use the trap to help win this series against a superior team, but that doesn't mean they should play the trap every second of the series, that isn't optimal for the Sens or spectators.

[SilverEagle]

It was a very frustrating game to watch for sure. Several pucks were close to going in for the Pens. If the Pens can get 2 goals in the first period in game 3 we might actually see a damn hockey game because it would force the Sens to play hockey instead of hiding behind a trap scheme.

Indeed, if the Pens can get an early lead we know that Boucher will open it up, like he did against the Rangers. If the Sens would just start playing that way and then once they have a lead go back to the trap, I think that strategic calibration would work better for the Sens going forward in the series, and save us from boredom at the same time. If you can't generate any offense while playing the trap and you don't have a lead, then you've overdone it at least a little bit, and under this scenario the trap backfires the most often. The Sens need to use the trap to help win this series against a superior team, but that doesn't mean they should play the trap every second of the series, that isn't optimal for the Sens or spectators.

I agree. They just seem to be scared to death to go toe to toe with the Pens and hoping that they can outlast them and sneak one in for the win. The Pens are so banged up right now which makes me wonder why the Sens will not open up. You would think that their odds would greatly improve and like you said if they got the lead then go back to the trap.