Thomas has all but sealed up the Vezina trophy as best goaltender, and most likely, will pick up the Conn Smythe trophy as well for player most valuable to their team (league-wide).

This is not a matter of opinion, but a matter of the stats (GAA, SV%, contributions to team standings)

These jabs are about those numbers, not about the cup. I wouldn’t read much into it. Regardless of who wins the cup, these trophies won’t chance unless Thomas allows tens of goals past, and decides to fight the entire Canucks line and have the team ejected from the series (read: not gonna happen).

Honestly, I’m kinda getting sick of all this bullshit where one side acts like they’re all innocent, and the other is evil.

Both sides have good fans, bot sides have asshats. No need to drop it to the lower of the two levels, ok?

We are critiquing voice inflections now? The way he said it? He is an athlete, not a politician. The narrative in the vast majority of the media has been that Thomas made a couple mistakes in the losses, but is the leading Conn Smythe, while Luongo HAD to have been insulting him, because did you hear how he said that!?

The Canucks did talk to the NHL for clarification, because they are playing th goalie in the NHL that comes out like that and initiates contact more than any other goalie. Its part of the swashbuckling style that makes him so good. But that is a statement of fact, not complaining. It worked too. He got an early one on Burrows in the series that was a penalty ( the foot ), and one that was not ( Chara hit him not Kes )…but there have been more than a few times he came out and hit a guy, or got the contact, and the refs shook their heads.

The thing on Hank, they had to ask again, because when is the last time you ever saw a goalie hit like that? Not saying it was right or wrong, good or bad, but again, just a coach at a media presser answering a question.

It is fascinating, isn’t it mahoney? The contrasting styles of reporting, all the way to contrasting styles all over the ice. I can honestly say that outside of the Chitown media, the Boston guys have succeeded better against the vancouver media at controlling the narrative.

That is fine. We’ll embrace the black hat thing. But that whole Timmy/ Lui insult thing was just an effective manufactured controversy. Thats it. Bravo to the Boston media on that one. Took a soft easy hanging curve over the plate and blasted it upper deck, thats for sure.

He was aasked a question last night that was about the difficulty of playing that, as a goalie. he answered honestly, and the malice, and “fanning the flames”, was immediately done by the Eastern media. Immediately it was a shot. Taking a clip out of a comment to change the context is an old saw.

People, including you my dear friend Johnny, bought in because they already have a hate going, or it just makes the us vs them thing work better.

So, then when he explains it further, even complimenting the other guy about “pumping his tires”, the last line about not hearing it the other way is again, in the hallmarks of biased sports journalism, is again taken out of context for the desired effect ( like Adam above did almost exactly as I just said )

Its not surprising. Neither is the anger and cheap shots both ways. Its the cup Final. The refs have had 5 games to put a cap on it, but they let enough of that go that in Game 6, I don’t expect it to change.

I don’t hate you or any other guy here personally, and I have grown to accept this BS as part of the colour of the Final.

Take it as you will. was not intended as such…

along with:

1. Who shot JFK
2. What is in Area 51
3. Where is Amelia Airheart…