Western Conference Final: Vegas Golden Knights vs Dallas Stars

[chuckcouples]

Stars in 5

[hockeyrobot]

Fun stat here for Suter....

At 1470 total games (reg+playoffs), it's the most by any player in NHL history before making a Conference Finals appearance.

[random-d]

I have Stars in 7 just because I find it impossible to root for Vegas. They're like the new neighbors with the matching Subaru's. They're just hard to like.

[hockeyrobot]

Jamie Jamie Jamie.

[hockeyrobot]

What an absolutely bone headed play.

[The Comish]

What an absolutely bone headed play.

Uh, I'm pretty sure you mean "Stone-headed play", lol!

[random-d]

Not-inger was hot garbage in those 8 minutes he was in there. They nearly killed the major and he overplays an easy save and then lets in a short side backhander from a sharp angle. He just wrote a manuscript on how to let your team down in a game you need to win.

[rataylor22]

I certainly did not expect a sweep in either series, let alone both.

[tweetdrivr]

This series was over the second DeBoer failed to challenge for goalie interference in game one.

[2014olympicgold]

Not saying Benn's penalty didn't deserve a 5min but I've seen crosschecks to the head go for less this yr.

League needs to put in a rule where if a crosscheck hits a head it's a 5min regardless. The CHL/IIHF have hard rules for things and I think the NHL needs to go that way. None of this "well it wasn't as bad as a crosscheck to the head as others so it's only a 2min". Non-hockey plays should be black and white.

[rufio.85]

The fact that Stone was vulnerable and lying on the ice makes this even more suspendable. What a stupid crosscheck that killed the Stars' energy.

Vegas is looking really good. Like Stanley Cup good.

[2014olympicgold]

Why are high crosschecks more common now? I don't understand. The second you crosscheck someone high, it should be a suspension no questions asked and players will stop bringing the stick up high.

[Pengwin7]

^The sort of "hard push high cross check" was somehow a staple of NHL hockey for too many years.
I think it is still engrained in guys like Benn as natural instinct - that it's OK/acceptable.
[NHL big-men, defensemen typically, seem to do this every 20sec when trying to clear net-front forwards out of position]

Part of me wonders if Benn is internally pretty pissed about healthy-Stone and the $95m cap Knights.
Stone has such a league-wide hype train on his two-way play... I think it eats at some players (maybe Benn) that don't get the recognition.

Point being - Benn knew immediately it was Stone and he was somehow just itching to dish "more" on the guy.
Brutal cross-check, on-ice, and right into a fairly exposed neck area. Terrible.\
Almost like Benn was so in a composed-predetermined-rage towards Stone.

Just a stupid, stupid, stupid move.
Dallas is toast. Tough exit coming for Suter & Pavelski on a pretty solid team - the breaks (xG & such) have just gone mostly VGK's way... and Dallas hasn't marked up well in their defensive zone.

[2014olympicgold]

The high crosscheck you say tho isn't this shoulders and up that seems to be happening. It could be forwards are mad at a crosscheck to the kidney and turn around and look at the guy and just instinctually go to push the guy high?

The D-man crosscheck crackdown was supposed to happen after the MTL Stanley Cup push. And it did for a bit. And I think the refs got lazy at calling it and stopped as they aren't as "violent" anymore. But this retaliatory high (shoulder and up) stuff is happening a lot more than I remember, but could just be me, or our willingness to let it go is smaller now and we see this stuff in a different light. More camera angles lingering on plays after the pucks gone catching them.

I dunno. I will push and blame the refs for moving that line that is in the regular season in the playoffs allowing a LOT that should be illegal. The amount of interference stuff that's let go in this yrs playoffs is dumb. And I bet Benn felt Stone was late on his engagement before the crosscheck. When you're constantly interfered with, it gets frustrating especially with the way the Stars have gone this series.

(Not saying Stone deserved it, or Benn did the right thing. Benn is an idiot for doing it).

[2014olympicgold]

Benn spoke with the media and said he wished he wouldn't have fallen on Stone and used his stick "as a landing point". lol ok.