For BartG101 and George Bachul (incase you missed it)

These two Tampa posters really irritated me on the general hockey board, so I had to follow them back to their home-base and hit them with my comments once again here.......

"You have to realize Bart that people generally defend their own team, and see everything through rose coloured glasses. The objective fan could look at it and see the possibility." (George Bachul)

Rose coloured glasses??? Are those the same rose coloured glassed that you are looking through to allow you to remain arrogant about your team despite their utter luck to be up 3-0 in a very close series? Any hockey fan, be it a Montreal fan, a Tampa fan or a neutral observer would say that this series is 50-50. If Montreal is "the worst" team in the play-offs what does that make you since your team is barely competing? If you've ever played a real game of any sport in your life you'd know that no athelete would walk away from a game like game 3 happy with what they showed. Tampa Bay was LUCKY to win game 3. They didn't deserve it, plain and simple. Now, does that mean I'm saying Tampa sucks or Montreal is going to win the series? - No. But you guys have to realize that you could very well have been 16 seconds away from a turn around that could have lost you an entire series. I'm not whining about bad breaks, but Montreal had a couple bad ones last night. If you want to know how breaks work though, just observe the Boston series. Montreal outplayed and outplayed them, and although Boston kept getting lucky at first, the breaks eventually evened out as they always do. Montreal ended up winning because they were the better team. The only difference between this series and the Boston series is that Tampa kept the puck in the zone with 20 seconds left on the clock - now, no matter how lucky Montreal gets in the next few games it is almost impossible to pull 4 wins out in a row - even if they continue to outplay the Bolts.

You Tampa fans are being completely unrealistic. You finished first in the regular season? That doesn't mean anything in the play-offs. The real teams show their colours in the post season. Calgary this year is proof. Anaheim and Minny last year are proof. Montreal and New Jersey have both won Cups as 8th seeds in the last decade. To think Tampa has proven anything being up in a series that should be 2-1, and because they finished first is foolish. Call it like it is. Thats what I do because I actually pay attention to the games I'm watching. I HATE Toronto more than I hate Boston, but as a knowledgable hockey fan I'll admit to you right now - they are a fantastic hockey club. I know exactly what they are capable of and if it wasn't for the sick amount of injuries they've had nearing the post-season this year they would be the #1 favourite for the cup IMO.

Lastly, I take nothing away from Tampa Bay. They ARE an excellent and exciting hockey team, but you guys talk about them like they are flawless. Montreal showed last game that their defence can't handle pressure. When the tempo and aggressiveness was stepped up they crumbled at the back and only Khabibulin has allowed them to have a lead in this series. I can't really picture how they'll hold up against Philadelphia in the next round, but if Philly skates hard and hits them hard it will be back to the drawing board for the Lightning.

Man, that was a long post, you guys really pissed me off!

Hate to tell you but that was as waste of time cause I have never seen either of those guys post on this board.

Hate to tell you but that was as waste of time cause I have never seen either of those guys post on this board.

I second that. I have never even soon those guys (or gals) before. :dunno:

I haven't seen them on this board either.

Hey guys, I've just spent a few minutes reading stuff on your board and I have to say, with a only a couple exceptions, there's no reason I can find here to be angry at Tampa fans. If those two losers who were causing trouble on the other board never come here then you might as well delete this post because I never meant to generalize towards all Lightning fans.

May I ask a question before you go?

You said the REAL teams show their colours in the post-season.

What is TB not showing?

Just curious.

1. As a staff member, I try to be impartial.
2. I have been a Habs fan since 1974, and have been an Oilers fan since the early 80s.

If you want to debate the homerism between any teams, I would have to say that as an Oiler fan and Habs fan, they rank one/two in the homerist views of their fans.(And you can place either one in first, I don't mind.)

As a hockey fan, I listen to others, just like watching 30 messageboards complain when their one favourite prospect isn't on a top 50 list. It is the same rose coloured glasses. As a Habs fan I discussed with another Habs fan here in my office (in Edmonton) about how disgraceful Ribiero and Kovalev's actions were against Boston. It amazed me when he defended them, but I realize that the love for the team, the love for the colours clouds most fans visions to what the realities are.

As a Habs fan, when the poster said that he was vilified for picking a short series against the Habs, I suggested a reason. That some Habs fans think their team is better than it really is. You can say "flow of play, the Habs dominated this, dominated that." but when it comes down to it, there really is one thing that matters...Tampa 3 Montreal 0.

I don't have an affinity for homers really, and that is what it sounded like. One guy making a prediction and 500 Canadiens fans telling the guy he was an idiot.

Would I have agreed with the original suggestion that Tampa would beat Montreal in a short series? Probably not. I picked Tampa in 6 myself. As for it being utter luck that Tampa is up 3-0...well the proof is always on the scoreboard. It don't matter if you are outshot 38-17 every game and win.(The Habs-Bruins series from two years ago should remind you of that.) But if you have the goaltender who is playing better, the flow of play doesn't matter. It isn't luck because you have one player out performing another.

So as for pissing you off, there wasn't any intention to do so, but anyone who is objective, looks at things that way. Anyways, have to go, My C-H home jersey is at the cleaners and I have to pick it up before tomorrow.

Quite the post to start it off, my thoughts on this

A) Can't say as though those two guys have ever posted in here, until the one right above me

B)As most who follow the team around here know, this isn't the mecca for the Lightning web dissussion, more of a secondary, more universal board, which probably attracts fans of a more biased, less knowedgeable view

C) Your are right on the point that we were lucky to win game 3, but you know what, we won it. Bottom line, i don't care how they do it, just so long as they win. Great teams find ways to win, and if we have to ride a goalie and scrape a couple garbage goals together to win, then so be it. Furthermore, the two games in Tampa were controlled by the lightning. The team has had two real bad games so far in the playoffs and we've won one of them.

D) The regular season means nothing at this point, but Tampa is one game away from the conference finals. 46-22-8-6 in the season, 7-1 in the playoffs. Not a bad improvement I'd say.

E) With all that said, I'm not looking forward to Philly, there was two teams in the east that I thought could beat the Lightning at the start of the playoffs, one of them is Philly.

Congratulations to you guys for managing to pull out the win. Good teams (and sometimes lucky teams...or teams with stupidly hot goaltenders) find a way to win, I agree. Tampa is probably the better team of the two, not by as much as the standings would indicated, but most nights they are probably the slightly better group. So, I concede your victory graciously...that said, my main point was simply this: those fans who think that Vinny-Marty-Modin are the re-incarnation of the 80s Oilers just because you placed first, beat the Islanders and have thus far squeaked out a 3-0 lead against the Canadiens are in for a big surprise as this play-off year rolls along.

These two Tampa posters really irritated me on the general hockey board, so I had to follow them back to their home-base and hit them with my comments once again here.......
1. Starting out threads to "call out" posters is a no-no, so this doesn't need to be here.
2. Neither one is a Lightning fan, so this doesn't need to be here.

Closed on the chance it might get ugly. If you want to argue with someone, do it in the thread with the post you disagree with, or do it in PMs.