# NHL April+Playoffs. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 9, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681 "2014-04-09T01:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/141 "2014-05-03T22:26:51Z")
> [@elninost0rm](#): > > Despite a few poor plays in the CBJ series, he was one of the better players on the ice. Full stop. > > Not sure I agree with you with respect to that series, anyway. I know what you are saying. There are times when he looks great. What drives me crazy (and seems to plague him in the playoffs) is that he gives up soft goals, or finds himself out of position. It is hard for me to applaud his play on one hand, when you look at some of the really bad goals he has given up in this playoff season already. He is not getting a lot of help from his defense, and lord knows the offensive stars have disappeared, but he can’t let soft goals in, either. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Yeah, I don’t know what’s up with Sid lately – it’s like he’s not even trying. It’s fucking depressing. I am starting to believe Sid is hurting. Something is definitely wrong with him. He is not playing like himself at all, and he has no energy. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/142 "2014-05-04T18:11:02Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > To the surprise of no one, after PK Subban scored the overtime winner, Boston fans unleashed a torrent of racist abuse at him. So much vitriol was directed at him on Twitter than the word “nigger” was a trending topic in the Boston area. > > [P.K. Subban targeted by racist tweets after Habs win | CBC News](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/p-k-subban-targeted-by-racist-tweets-after-habs-win-1.2629759) > > Stay classy, guys. And to the surprise of no one, the Canadiens\* are playing the victim, regardless of actual, you know, facts. [\*That’s the team and their fans, not the fine residents of the country] [QUOTE=CBC Correction] A previous version of this story reported that a racial epithet was trending online in Boston during Game 1 of the Bruins-Canadiens series. While the word was mentioned on social networks, it was not trending on Twitter. [/QUOTE] The corrected article does include a fact: the number of tweets including both “nigger” and “Subban”; it very quietly acknowledges that the majority of these were not negative (without any claims about how many were negative, or where the negative ones came from). But the headline is still there, claiming overwhelming racism from those other guys, and letting Habs fans feel all unfairly picked on morally superior, regardless, again, of actual facts. Anyway, Stay classy, guys. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/143 "2014-05-04T19:03:23Z")
I love this (from the article linked to above) > [@](#): > > Boston Bruins president Cam Neely issued the following statement early Friday afternoon: > > “The racist, classless views expressed by an ignorant group of individuals following Thursday’s game via digital media are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization.” Really? Did Cam Neely actually have to come out and say that? Did he think most Bruins fans were thinking “the Bruins organization is really happy we are tweeting these racist remarks!” Until Neely came out with this and burst their bubble? This reminds me of the disclaimers you see at the bottom of car commercials, where they say “professional stunt driver. Car cannot actually fly. Do not try this yourself.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Fred\_Garvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Fred\_Garvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fred_Garvin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/144 "2014-05-04T19:47:04Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > I love this (from the article linked to above) > > Really? Did Cam Neely actually have to come out and say that? > > Did he think most Bruins fans were thinking “the Bruins organization is really happy we are tweeting these racist remarks!” Until Neely came out with this and burst their bubble? > > This reminds me of the disclaimers you see at the bottom of car commercials, where they say “professional stunt driver. Car cannot actually fly. Do not try this yourself.” > > :smack: Really? Did Stink Fish Pot just write this? Do you really believe Cam was actually addressing Bruins fans??? I don’t usually pay attention to your posts, but I’m hoping you are extremely anti-Bruins, otherwise I can’t think of a reason why anyone would think that. The Bruins had no choice but make this statement despite its redundancy. No response would have led to this board and others exploding with “No response from the Bruins?? They must be condoning this!!” Stink Fish Pot, if you’re desperate to say something bad against the Bruins, I would suggest there are plenty of people on this board that would be more than happy to contribute plenty of fodder for you to use. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/145 "2014-05-04T21:50:19Z")
I respect Cam for responding… when I look at P.K. all I can think of is if the Thrashers had him… and promoted him (Or Kane) to the african-american sports fans here… I wouldn’t have to venture to Nashville to see my beloved 'Hawks… ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/146 "2014-05-04T23:36:54Z")
> [@Fred\_Garvin](#): > > Really? Did Stink Fish Pot just write this? > > Do you really believe Cam was actually addressing Bruins fans??? > > I don’t usually pay attention to your posts, but I’m hoping you are extremely anti-Bruins, otherwise I can’t think of a reason why anyone would think that. > > The Bruins had no choice but make this statement despite its redundancy. No response would have led to this board and others exploding with “No response from the Bruins?? They must be condoning this!!” > > Stink Fish Pot, if you’re desperate to say something bad against the Bruins, I would suggest there are plenty of people on this board that would be more than happy to contribute plenty of fodder for you to use. Yeah. I really wrote that. What in the world did you read? I don’t think Cam was addressing Bruins fans at all. That statement wasn’t for Bruin fans. I’m not sure what you think I meant by my statement, but it wasn’t an insult to Cam Neely, nor was it a slam against the Bruins. Honestly, that never even crossed my mind, and i am fascinated by how you connected those dots. My point was that I didn’t think it was necessary for the Bruins organization to say anything about this. Of course the Bruin organization would not condone it. Why everyone (not just the Bruins, but in this case it was the Bruins) feels a need to fall all over themselves to distance themselves from racist comments is ridiculous, and it is bordering on obsession. IMO, Neely didn’t need to say anything. The fact that he did is not a problem, of course, but I still don’t understand why he had to do it. I didn’t think the Bruins or the organization were racists before his statement, and. I didn’t need his statement to make me sure. Seriously, this is where we are now? an organization has to respond to a bunch of twitter idiots every time they say something stupid or racist? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/147 "2014-05-04T23:49:44Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > And to the surprise of no one, the Canadiens\* are playing the victim, regardless of actual, you know, facts. > [\*That’s the team and their fans, not the fine residents of the country] > > The corrected article does include a fact: the number of tweets including both “nigger” and “Subban”; it very quietly acknowledges that the majority of these were not negative (without any claims about how many were negative, or where the negative ones came from). But the headline is still there, claiming overwhelming racism from those other guys, and letting Habs fans feel all unfairly picked on morally superior, regardless, again, of actual facts. > > Anyway, Stay classy, guys. Maybe I’m misreading this. Isn’t the article you linked from the CBC? What does that have to do with the Montreal Canadiens? In what way does it show that the Canadiens and their fans are “playing the victim”? It seems quite clear to me that regardless of how many people were actually sending these offensive tweets, or where they came from, Subban is quite definitely a victim here. Are you saying he’s not? And I’d argue that a team’s fans are justified in feeling a bit victimized, too, when one of their players has something like this happen to him. Are you disagreeing? ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/148 "2014-05-04T23:52:04Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > I love this (from the article linked to above) > > Really? Did Cam Neely actually have to come out and say that? > > Did he think most Bruins fans were thinking “the Bruins organization is really happy we are tweeting these racist remarks!” Until Neely came out with this and burst their bubble? > > This reminds me of the disclaimers you see at the bottom of car commercials, where they say “professional stunt driver. Car cannot actually fly. Do not try this yourself.” > > :smack: Sorry. Missed the edit window. I think I now understand why you misunderstood the point I was making. When I said “Did he think most Bruins fans were thinking “the Bruins organization is really happy we are tweeting these racist remarks!” Until Neely came out with this and burst their bubble”, I was being ironical. I don’t believe the Bruins organization or players are anymore or any less racist than any other team. I have no reason to suspect they are racist at all, but I don’t know any of the players. Seriously, if that’s what got you in a twist, you completely misread my intent. And considering Bobby Orr is one of my favorite players of all-time, I have his autograph, his picture of his flying goal in my office, and a copy of his retired number medallion that hangs in the rafters of the Garden in my office, you’d be hard-pressed to say I am anti-Bruin. I do hate them when they play the Penguins, but that’s just because I hate anyone playing the Penguins. Full disclosure, there are only a couple of hockey teams I hate since I started following the sport in 1970. The Rangers and the Red Wings. And I wouldn’t accuse either of those organizations of being racist, nor would I expect them to come out with a statement distancing themselves from racist statements made by a few mouth-breathing fans who need to call someone a “nigger” because he happened to be black and he scored the winning goal in overtime. That is pathetic, and I would say the same thing if this was happening with the Penguin instead of the Bruin fans. I reject those mouth-breathers, not the vast majority of fans, the players, or the organization as a whole. There are idiots everywhere, and there are racists everywhere. I don’t want some goofballs on twitter forcing any team or organization to have to come out and make a a statement that Neely made. There is nothing wrong with the statement. I just find it incredibly unnecessary. Did anyone here find it necessary? If so, why? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/149 "2014-05-05T02:19:32Z")
Yes. It was necessary to establish distance between the organization and the assholes. The media was expecting a response. What should he have said in response? It’s an embarrassing public relations issue and distancing yourself from it is paramount. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/150 "2014-05-05T03:24:33Z")
If we keep playing like we did tonight, we just might win this thing. > [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Full disclosure, there are only a couple of hockey teams I hate since I started following the sport in 1970. The Rangers and the Red Wings. Not the Flyers? And you call yourself a Pens fan! ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/151 "2014-05-05T05:54:17Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If we keep playing like we did tonight, we just might win this thing. > > Not the Flyers? And you call yourself a Pens fan! How could I forget the Flyers?? :smack::smack::smack: I must have blocked them out of my brain. I was hoping we wouldn’t play them in this round… We always seen to struggle with them. But yeah, they are number one on the hate parade. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/152 "2014-05-05T06:10:31Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Yes. It was necessary to establish distance between the organization and the assholes. > > The media was expecting a response. > > What should he have said in response? > > It’s an embarrassing public relations issue and distancing yourself from it is paramount. That’s the thing. I don’t think Neely or anyone should have had to come out and say anything. Of COURSE they are not agreeing with the assholes, and anyone who would think about it for a second would know that every team has fans that don’t represent the views of the organization. I also don’t think it is an embarrassing public relations issue. ANYONE can go on twitter and claim to be a Bruins fan and make racist comments about the black player that scored. Why give it any attention at all? That’s just crazy to me. Maybe it would be better if reporters tried tracking down the jerk that made the racist comment and embarrassing him. Again, he didn’t hurt anything by making his statement. But it just seemed so unnecessary to me. When I heard those twitter comments, my brain didn’t immediately go to the Bruins and make a connection with the organization and those comments. And I can’t imagine anyone with a brain would have made that connection either. Honestly, I think it just sets a bad precedent. So, if anyone makes a racist comment on twitter about another team’s player for whatever reason, and that comment starts to gain traction and “trend” in twitter, I don’t want to think that whatever organization was tangentially connected to a racist fan has to come out with their own statement, “distancing themselves and the organization from these racist comments.” ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/153 "2014-05-05T13:03:14Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Maybe I’m misreading this. > Isn’t the article you linked from the CBC? What does that have to do with the Montreal Canadiens? In what way does it show that the Canadiens and their fans are “playing the victim”? > > It seems quite clear to me that regardless of how many people were actually sending these offensive tweets, or where they came from, Subban is quite definitely a victim here. Are you saying he’s not? > > And I’d argue that a team’s fans are justified in feeling a bit victimized, too, when one of their players has something like this happen to him. Are you disagreeing? OK, I’ll be clear. There’s a huge difference between one or two people saying ignorant racist things on twitter (MY GOD, THAT"S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!) and a huge outpouring of such sentiments capturing the consensus of a city’s residents. I have no doubt that sure, some ignorant racist thing was said abou Subban on Twitter, but do you really think that before Thursday there had never been a single ignorant racist thing said about Subban on twitter after a game against a different team? Surely, any intelligent person would realize that second part can’t be true (I’m sure someone who knows Twitter better than I could even check that). And anyone with a functioning sense of proportion would also understand that there are ignorant fuckwits everywhere, [even in Montreal](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/police-cars-burned-stores-looted-in-montreal-hockey-riot-1.757821), but that they can’t be held up as representing the consensus of a whole city. So why are the Canadiens fans (and I include the CBC writer and his editor among them for this) playing this as if it means something important about Boston – before even checking if the central fact presented in the article is actually true? Well, to me it’s hard not to call that playing the victim. I’m not saying Subban himself is playing the victim here (he does enough of that on the ice…), and if anything went beyond a couple people displaying their idiocy on Twitter, I’d be absolutlely on his side, but are the CBC and Canadiens fans playing the victime here? Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/154 "2014-05-05T13:33:48Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If we keep playing like we did tonight, we just might win this thing. That’s adorable 😛 The Hawks are gonna burry everyone in their path unless something goes wrong. The support is key. If Hossa, Bickel, and Leddy play well the Hawks are damn tough to beat. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/155 "2014-05-05T20:44:12Z")
You just keep telling yourself that. We thought the same way last season – don’t get cocky. **StinkFishPot** , I don’t really have any strong feelings towards the Rangers or the Wings (at least when we’re not playing them). The two teams I loathe the most (well, after the Cryers) have to be the Capitals and the Bruins. I nearly laughed myself into a hernia when I realized that Washington didn’t make the playoffs. (And no, my hatred of the Bruins has nothing to do with this latest episode of racism. I wasn’t all that fond of them when we played them last season, and then Shawn Thornton’s attack on Brooks Oprik pretty much earned them my undying hatred) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/156 "2014-05-05T22:57:53Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > OK, I’ll be clear. > > There’s a huge difference between one or two people saying ignorant racist things on twitter (MY GOD, THAT"S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!) and a huge outpouring of such sentiments capturing the consensus of a city’s residents. > > I have no doubt that sure, some ignorant racist thing was said abou Subban on Twitter, but do you really think that before Thursday there had never been a single ignorant racist thing said about Subban on twitter after a game against a different team? Surely, any intelligent person would realize that second part can’t be true (I’m sure someone who knows Twitter better than I could even check that). And anyone with a functioning sense of proportion would also understand that there are ignorant fuckwits everywhere, [even in Montreal](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/police-cars-burned-stores-looted-in-montreal-hockey-riot-1.757821), but that they can’t be held up as representing the consensus of a whole city. > > So why are the Canadiens fans (and I include the CBC writer and his editor among them for this) playing this as if it means something important about Boston – before even checking if the central fact presented in the article is actually true? > > Well, to me it’s hard not to call that playing the victim. I’m not saying Subban himself is playing the victim here (he does enough of that on the ice…), and if anything went beyond a couple people displaying their idiocy on Twitter, I’d be absolutlely on his side, but are the CBC and Canadiens fans playing the victime here? Absolutely. I don’t have a Twitter account and don’t know much about it, but the word nigger was trending in Boston. I think this means that a statistically significant number of people were tweeting with that word in their, ah tweet. Perhaps a lot of them were responding negatively and saying things like “Hey stop calling him a nigger, you bigot!” Anyway, overall it caught the attention of the trending algorithm. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/157 "2014-05-06T00:25:04Z")
And the Canes [sack the coaching staff](http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=718012&navid=DL%7CCAR%7Chome) ---
**Author:** ![Fred\_Garvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Fred\_Garvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fred_Garvin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/158 "2014-05-06T02:52:03Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Seriously, if that’s what got you in a twist, you completely misread my intent. And considering Bobby Orr is one of my favorite players of all-time, I have his autograph, his picture of his flying goal in my office, and a copy of his retired number medallion that hangs in the rafters of the Garden in my office, you’d be hard-pressed to say I am anti-Bruin. I do hate them when they play the Penguins, but that’s just because I hate anyone playing the Penguins. You don’t need to convince me one way or the other on your feelings for the Bruins. It doesn’t bother me if you’re anti-Bruins, I actually enjoy reading people’s rhetoric on their aversion to any of the Boston teams or players on occasion. I just couldn’t understand (and still can’t) why you would think Neely’s statement was redundant. I, on the other hand, believe silence from the Bruins would have made the situation much worse ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/159 "2014-05-06T03:03:09Z")
Well, Fleury has completely shut me up. Tonight, he was just amazing. Last night he was great, also, but tonight the game was played more in the Pens end than the Rangers, and he stood on his head. Two straight shutouts. And the pens had what, 2 shots in the 3rd? If the Pens can push the play and give Fleury some breathing room, maybe he will be the goalie he was a few years ago during their cup run. And Sid scoring? I almost fell out of my chair. I still think he is hurting, but at least that “zero goals since sometime in last year’s playoff” song will be out of his head. That was quite a monkey to get off his back. lundquist (i know I spelled that wrong) is a very good goalie, so it was nice to see Sid get that one tonight. And **Guin** , i have a hard time hating the Capitals. That is the one team that always seems to choke against the Pens in the playoffs. At best I am indifferent with the Caps. The Bruins? As I mentioned, I was a big Bobby Orr fan as a kid, so I always liked them. And they were my favorite “original 6” team (along with the Maple Leafs - no one can ever accuse me of being a band wagon fan!). If. I have any gripe with the bruins, it was the whining they did when the Pens changed their colors to black and gold from the light blue/dark blue/white color scheme they came into the league with. But they got over it. I think. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681/160 "2014-05-06T03:11:07Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > …And they were my favorite “original 6” team (along with the Maple Leafs - … Sniff. Brings a tear to my eye. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-april-playoffs/685681.md?page=9)