STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS OPEN THREAD- May 2/17

WASHINGTON 3 PITTSBURGH 2 OT (Penguins lead 2-1)

Kevin Shattenkirk saved the Capitals season last night when he scored on a PP in OT to give the Caps a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh. The big story of the night though was Sidney Crosby, who had to be helped off the ice after getting cross checked in the head by Matt Niskanen. The hit, originally announced as a 2 minute penalty sparked a massive debate on the Ol' internets and airwaves. Most saw it as an unfortunate incident, and it certainly looks like it when watched at real time. Some pundits even disagreed with the major and game misconduct given to Niskanen, and also questioned why Alex Ovechkin wasn't penalized for high sticking Crosby, which caused him to stumble into the Niskanen cross check. Here`s the incident:

Scary, especially given Crosby`s history with concussions. While some think the call was excessive, I think they didn`t really have a choice. You have to protect players, especially star players and even if it`s not intentional, it wasn`t accidental either. I like that the officials got together after the initial call, discussed it and changed it. Why on earth can they not do this with other similar situations. Get everyone`s opinion and get some kind of consensus. I think it becomes even more vital to do this in the playoffs so that they`re getting calls right.

As you might expect, the Pittsburgh media remained calm and rational, none more so than Rob Rossi,

(original photo from awful announcing)

who put out a pretty crazy conspiracy riddled rant, accusing Oveckin, Trotz and the NHL of planning to take out Crosby, but rather than giving him the clicks, here's a good summary of the crazy from Puck Daddy.

Ottawa Senators vs. New York Rangers

4:00 PM PT - Madison Square Gardens- New New York, NY

TV: CBC - Radio: N/A

For the most part, Canucks fans still have a fondness for Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. AV was part of some of the best times for the franchise, led them to game 7 of the finals and all that. But one of the things that drove us nuts about him was this, and it's crazy that they have to even write this article:

If you think this is an option that's going to help your team, hoo boy... Anyway, despite playing better and getting the goal scoring they've been missing in the playoffs, the Rangers still came out on the short end. I don't wanna blame it all on Henrik Lundqvist, but holy crap he was awful Saturday. If he doesn't steal one tonight they are in big trouble.

Nashville Predators vs. St Louis Blues

12:00 PM PT - Bridgestone Arena- Nashville, TN

TV: SN - Radio: N/A

The Preds can send the series back to St Louis for an elimination Game 5 with a win tonight. One thing that Nashville's done well? Making Vladimir Tarasenko be a non-factor in the series. And how about the play of Ryan Ellis? Solid on the back end and putting points? For a team with a couple upper echelon D men in their ranks in PK Subban and Roman Josi, Ellis might be their best so far.

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Time for the Hangover Activator! Here's Finnish thrash beasts LOST SOCIETY!