Taro T

Because their D scheme is EXTREMELY unconventional. Ward comes out of the net like an NHL goalie and the D scheme is almost like an NFL Cover 1 where the coverage is mostly man w/ just 1 guy in the middle sliding to help when somebody comes clean. Because Ward is so high, you need to get him moving or get a pass to somebody down low, effectively behind him. And Colorado takes away that pass. That's why shooters are moving laterally before shooting & also why it's so effective to get the ball to Nanticoke. They're trying to force holes through / around Ward. They also have a lethal PP, which works against the Bandits as well, as they tend to take a lot of penalties. But their PP also gives up a lot of shorties. They get very aggressive & can't get a defender out the door before the counterstrike is past them. Bandits have a shortie in both games, need to keep that up in game 3. 1 on 1 is effective against Ward when the threat of going across the crease is credible. Both in 5v5 situations & short. They've capitalized on their own PPs & that should continue. Colorado isn't good defensively when Ward CAN'T cheat high. Missing Byrne hurts a lot. But he did bupkis against Colorado last year, so maybe not. Stay out of the box & be patient (another thing the Bandits aren't known for) and let Vinc do his job keeping Lee from diving at his knees & they've got this. Third time's the charm. ;)

Said it in a different thread, Krebs looks like he could become a Gilmour-lite player with the 200' game, the feistiness, & ~75% of the scoring. Adams really does seem to be building a well rounded team. Granato will have a lot of looks he can give opponents up front. Let's see if over the summer Adams can give Granato the same flexibility in net & at D.

Have only been to the Ra-cha-cha one. (It's the 2nd one that opened.) And they really do a great job there with a great location. Bummer that the Buffalo one is a disappointment.

Might have to check that out next time we're downtown. (Provided the lure of the Dinosaur isn't overwhelming. It usually is.)

Personally don't expect Ullmark gone, but stranger things have happened. And, in 1990, the heart of the Bills D Fred Smerlas was left exposed to Plan B free agency; the leader of the OL Joe Devlin was too. That loss of leadership sent the Bills to the next 4 Superbowls. Heck, the Presidents Trophy winning Swamp Cats sent Huberduberdeau, Weegar, and their coach packing and now are playing in the Stanley Cup Final for only the 2nd time in their history.

Not sure just how much of a Cinderella they are. Granted, it was with a different coach and with Huberduberdeux and Weegar rather than with Tkachuk, but this team was the top regular season team 1 year ago. They might be the poster child for the (official*) reason the league lets 1/2 of the teams into the dance; it gives teams that either have injuries or issues gelling an opportunity to still compete for Lord Stanley's chalice even though they didn't bring their A game all year long. And if Dallas can win this next game, we'll get to see if exhaustion is more of an issue than rust in that next round. Expecting exhaustion would be a bigger issue, but maybe not. Either way it should be a good series. * We all know that's a bunch of hooey and the real reason is playoff TV (and other) revenue is where the BIG money is at.

Depends. If Lyon does have to play and he plays like he did when Bobrovsky was out with his illness they might not miss a beat. If instead Lyon plays like Lyon, then yes, they'd be in trouble. Lyon's play is the biggest reason that team snuck into the last seed.

Why should salaries be raised to compensate for the extra games? Well, because they're playing that much extra, duh. Don't see that as a reason because the player salaries are only nominal and not actual and they set the rate of how much one player will receive relative to others. So, if the 2 extra games across the board raises revenues by 1/41st, then the players will get that bump in their actual take home pay. If it results in a 2.5% increase in HRR, they'd get that extra bump; and if it only goes up 2% or not at all, then they'd get just the 2% bump or none at all respectively.

Maybe we'll finally be able to figure out which one's Frick and which one's Frack?

The Mammoth match up very well against the Bandits. But, the Bandits were without Byrne and also had at least 2 goals called back on crazily close calls of having the toe in the crease. And even with Colorado playing a very good game, they could only take 2 very short lived 1 goal leads. The only 2 times the Bandits have trailed in the entire playoffs. They've been playing great since the game in Albany to end the regular season. Wouldn't have money against the Bandits Monday afternoon, especially if Byrne is back.

And the Bandits win game 1. 13-12.

Ward will be out of the net when play resumes. Vinc the save. Bandits ball with 13.4 left. Time out taken.

Final 2 mintues. Bandits still have the 13-12 lead. 1 minute left. Bandits still have the 13-12 lead. And they still have the ball. 36.3 left. Colorado ball with the full 30 seconds on the shot clock.

Mammoth score the PP. McLaughlin with the goal. 13-12.

5:54 left in the game. And the goal is no good. But somehow the Mammoth also get a PP out of it on an unsportsmanlike call on Fraser.

Cloutier with the bull rush. Will the goal count? 14 - 11 for now. But there is a coaches challenge.

Dhane Smith cross checked. Bandits going back to the PP.

McLaughlin to Lee and it's a 1 goal game. 13-12, Challenge that Tavares. His toe was in the crease. Still 13-11.

Wardle catches the D sleeping. 13-11.

Nanticoke draws a penalty and the Bandits go back on the PP. Fraser gets the missed shot to go right to his stick and the Bandits are 4 for 4 on the PP. 13-10.

Fraser took a penalty to end the 3rd and Williams made them pay to start the 4th. 12-10.

Dhane to Buchanan to MacKay to Nanticoke for a PP goal. His 3rd of the game makes it 12-9.

Bandits about to go up on the PP with 8:50 left in the 3rd.

Durn it. 11-9. McLaughlin with his 3rd.

MacKay to McCulley to Dhane. 10-8. Cloutier to Natitcoke. 11-8.