I live in Boston but don't let that influence your opinion. I'm from SoCal - only in Boston because of the job, definitely not the team, fans, weather, women, etc. And yes, there are still objective Ducks fans out there, but like any fan base, we're not abundant.
- Asplanchna

The Flyers are, historically, the dirtiest/nastiest team in the league, although people who believe that to still be the case are just lazy. They have dirty players, but no more than most teams. The responses were to the guy who went on about Nashville "gooning it up" when Anaheim has a history of their own of gooning it up in the playoffs. You know, the glass houses bit.

From what I've read, the Ducks broadcast was complaining about the Preds "dirty" play during the game. That likely explains why some Ducks fans think that the Preds were "thugging it up." I'm sure that most wouldn't have gotten that impression from the game if their home analysts hadn't fed that narrative to them. The Ducks fan posting from Boston probably watched the national broadcast, instead of the Ducks broadcast, and didn't seem to get the same impression about the Preds. It's why I think that fans need to take home team analysis with a grain of salt, since they're fans and prone to bias, too.

It goes both ways. Grimson, on the Preds' broadcast, didn't like the holding call on Ekholm and that likely greatly influenced a lot of Preds fans' feelings about it. I feel that the call was justified. Ekholm and Lindholm (hereafter known as the "holmes") were both grabbing each other and the refs let them both go, because it's the playoffs. The key, however, is that Lindholm eventually stopped and Ekholm didn't. He kept holding and pestering him, pushing what was already leniency by the refs. It was a justified call, IMO, and if Grimson had shared that view, I'm sure that more of the fans watching would've begrudging agreed, too.

This is why I generally prefer national broadcasts, even when watching teams that I'm rooting for. You can trust their analysis more and not have to question whether they're saying something out of bias or because it's what viewers want to hear.

Alright Nashville fans, let me just say this now. I doubt there is a better top four in the playoffs. Dang! You guys are strong back there. And how is it that your team runs under the national radar when it's this good?

To be fair, we have one braindead defenseman (Despres) playing with an AHL defenseman (Theodore) as a result of Forsberg's headshot on Manson. I imagine this series would look a whole lot different if we had Stoner and Manson out there. But your team knows this. Just look at the run your guy took at Vatanen last night. That was a well-deserved injury.

As to our announcers, it's pretty common in non-traditional hockey markets, to have slightly homerish announcers. You want to hear how bad your captain is all the time? Move to Toronto or Edmonton where the teams thrive despite constant futility.

I'll be at game 7. But there is no way our crowd will come close to matching whatever the hell it was you guys were doing last night. That was impressive. Oh, and please Ducks, put them away in regulation. I live in San Diego. And my son has to get up at 5:00 tomorrow for school. I hate weeknight OT playoff games. But there's nothing as bad as a multiple OT game 7 loss on a weeknight. That's what I call a long drive home. Plus, I want San Jose!