"The Stack" 5-16-19
The St. Louis Blues were screwed over after the San Jose Sharks committed a hand pass on the game-winning overtime goal to win 5-4. Only problem is that the refs didn't see the blatant hand pass and the play is not reviewable. The series has changed yet again.
The Stack is back on this Thursday (what is this, two days in a row?!!) and there isn’t a whole lot to talk about today, but they are upset in St. Louis (and for good reason) and disappointed in Toronto (and for good reason) so let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Thursday, May 16th:
Bucks battle back, take game one versus Raptors
The Milwaukee Bucks didn’t play their best game against a very good Toronto Raptors team, but once they sped up the game, things changed. Trailing by as much as 13 points in the game, the Bucks used a strong fourth quarter to take down the Raptors 108-100. Brook Lopez was huge in this game with 29 points and several big threes. The Bucks trailed by seven going into the fourth quarter and turned things up on both ends of the floor. The Raptors made just five field goals in the quarter while being outscored 32-17. They had a golden opportunity to take game one and maybe change how this series would overall turn out, but the Raptors do what the Raptors do and that is disappoint in the big game (outside of game seven against Philadelphia of course). The difference is that they have Kawhi Leonard this year, but he is going to need a monster game two for the Raptors to win. The Raptors wasted a great game by Kyle Lowry who went 7-for-9 from beyond the arc in this game. Great comeback win for the Bucks.
Sharks win game three on controversial goal
The western conference finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been back-and-forth so far and game three was no different. The San Jose Sharks got off to a 2-0 lead and after the first period and a 3-1 lead at one point in the second period, but the St. Louis Blues rattled off four goals in the second period including their first power play goal in their last 19 chances to take a 4-3 lead headed into the second intermission. The Blues looked like they had the game won with a couple of minutes left in the third period and the Sharks pulling their goalie for an extra attacker, but one of the shots just rung off the upset off the outside pipe. With one minute left, Logan Couture tied the game 4-4.
Into overtime we went and a little over five minutes into the extra period, with the puck in the Blues zone, Timo Meier of the Sharks certainly looked like he batted the puck out of the air and made a hand pass that went to Gustav Nyquist who got it to Erik Karlsson and scored the game-winning goal. There is a rule in the NHL rulebook (rule 79 something, something, something) that says if the puck is hand-passed that leads to an advantage for the team, it is illegal.
Unfortunately for the Blues, none of the four officials saw the hand pass and the play is not reviewable. Perhaps after last night it needs to be. The Blues got screwed, but then again, they could have not given up a goal with a minute to go in the third period when they had a 4-3 lead. Once the Blues calm down, they will realize that they are just as good as the Sharks and have a great chance to win the series. But last night’s events hopefully will lead to change and the NHL is very good about being proactive and changing rules when necessary. Either the rule needs to change or the play needs to be reviewable. I’m voting for the latter. Game four is Friday night. Game four of the eastern conference finals between Carolina and Boston is tonight. I think Carolina wins and staves off elimination…for another couple of days.
PGA Championship preview
The PGA Championship has been played in August in years past, but with golf changing the schedule around so that the golf playoffs end in August. Smart move by the PGA. With that change, the PGA Championship has moved to May and this year it is at Royal Bethpage, a place that Tiger Woods has won before. He didn’t practice Wednesday which may be a cause for concern, but after winning the Masters, all eyes are on him. I want to see him win. I really do, but I have to take the field in this one. There is no Justin Thomas, but Brooks Koepka is great. We’ll see if Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy come to play. I hope I’m wrong and Tiger dominates, but I do not see that being the case. It should be a very fun tournament though!
Misc. headlines
The Preakness is this weekend…and I don’t care. I imagine I am just like the most of the rest of America. With all of the controversy surrounding the Kentucky Derby and Maximum Security not winning after getting DQ’d and Country House claiming victory, with him not racing in this one there is no shot at a triple crown. This isn’t what horse racing wants, but it’s what they get. I may still watch the race, but it isn’t appointment television by any stretch. Enjoy watching the race if you do.
The New York Jets appear to be stuck in dysfunction after firing GM Mike Maccagnan Wednesday. They have named head coach Adam Gase as interim GM. The Jets seemed like they were heading in the right direction getting Le’Veon Bell and drafting fairly well. This is a head-scratching move to say the least. We’ll see where they go from here.
Coming up either tomorrow or next week: Reaction to playoff action and more
