stick9

Yes. I have Step and I did not profile them. They are, like JR said, a bit more game ready. The LS3 I used in the past had to be profiled. I just could not make them work without it. Way too much material at the toe. LS4 is workable but not optimal.

FWIW, I’ve tried Blackstons FBV from two different places and the results were much different, same exact cut. As with any manual sharpening, it’s only as good as the guy/gal behind the wheel. Ive also tried a Blademaster flat bottom, which was nothing like Blackstones. Not all flat bottoms are created equal.

The rink @jimmy is referring to is the New England Sports Center. It’s an 8 sheet facility that houses all kinds of tournaments, leagues and travel teams. The shop runs 4 Sparx sharpeners and 1 Blademaster. I believe each Sparx is outfitted with a different wheel. The labor and equipment needed to keep up with the demand just isn’t feasible, not for what they’re doing. It’s a smart play for them. As for PH in my area. I’ve had more bad than good. From my perspective, going automated is a plus.

I've spent a good deal of time on both. The Fire feels nothing like Blackstones FBV. It's more like a ROH with more glide, less bite. For instance, I usually skate on a 3/4 ROH. When i tried the 3/4 Fire I found it to have significantly less bite. I moved down to a 5/8 Fire, which felt more like the 3/4 ROH I was used to. Still not completely sold on the Fire. It's not bad...I was hoping it was closer to Blackstones FBV. I'll probably move back to my normal 3/4 ROH next time around.

Regardless what side you were on, it was a great series. I know a lot of people talk about how great of a story Vegas was. I think Washington's was equally compelling.

He's not a guy you bring in during a rebuild or to mentor younger players. If you have a strong room with a good core group and a solid leadership he can come in and provide some secondary scoring. Give him a 2 year deal slightly above veteran max. Otherwise, thanks but no thanks.

Me too. I’d say second round was a good showing for this team. Still some work to do before they can truly be called contenders, but least the ship looks like it’s pointed in the right direction. I was really impressed with the way McAvoy, DeBrusk & Pastanak played... Gryz had his moments too.

I’ve been eying these as an upgrade to my 9k pants since seeing them at Winterfest. Does anyone have more info as to the differences between the two versions, other than the price?

Krug our for the remainder of the series with an ankle injury.

Really? I’ve read through these and you are just as guilty. Let’s be perfectly honest with ourselves, everyone....EVERYONE whines when things don’t go their way. When it comes to last night and what led to the tying goal. Had that happened to a Maple Leaf this place would have exploded with “typical Boston favoritism”. In reality, Boston is rarely shown any favoritism by the league or officials, note David Backes 3 game suspension for his first ever offense. Ill go one step further. Had that play happened to a Maple Leaf in Toronto, it’s a penalty 10 out of 10 times and we all know it. You wanna hate, fine. You want to root for the other team, fine. You want to be sour your team lost, fine. Just be realistic.

Completely agree. In fact, that would be my reaction to getting licked. It’s disgusting. Looks like he’s officially been warned now.

That form of goonery is long gone. This team is way different than the one that bruised it's way to the finals in 2011 or even the one that lost to the Hawks in two years later. Yes, they play hard. Yes they finish checks. Yes Marchand crosses line and often. But the Lucic's and Shawn Thornton's of the past have been replaced by likes of Kurlay and Debrusk. Two guys that play hard, finish their checks but aren't pulling any "antics". I've seen a lot of different Bruin teams. If I am honest, this is probably my favorite. They really are fun to watch. And to get us back on track. Must win situation tonight. You can't head back to Tampa down 3-1 and expect to win the series. It didn't work for Toronto...

You should have led with that and saved people the time in reading the entire post. I think you're painting the entire team with the Marchand brush and not giving the proper credit to guys like Bergeron, Krejci, DeBrusk & Pastanak. But you've admitted you hate them, so I don't expect you to be fair.

The slash was a weak call, period. We all know it. As Millbury pointed out, if that's a call in the 1st then it's a call in the 3rd, which we found out it wasn't. Not a great game for the stripes. Look, I hate blaming them. I hate when fans use them as an excuse. They aren't the reason Boston lost, but that doesn't mean they didn't call a shit game, obviously they did.

I was wondering if Rick and Riley switched jerseys. Rask should have known the rule in regards to equipment. I was a little disappointed that he sort of gave up on that play. He was lucky his little freak out didn’t cost them.

Being down 3-1 and turn around to force a game 7 and control most of that game is no small task. Yeah it stings right now but overall, the Leafs really showed something.

Leave Ricky where he is. I'd like to see Donato back in, especially since secondary scoring has been an issue.

Really liked their chances in this series, however, not liking their chances in game 7. Boston really needed to put this series away in game 5. They are different then the Julien led teams but they still lack that killer instinct.

Not the first guy I think of when think of grizzled playoff vets. I think Jack Eichl has really suffered not having that. It doesn’t get mentioned much, but Marty Lapointe was huge in Patrice Bergerons’ development. Mark Reechi helped guide that 2011 team to a cup.

I think games 1 & 3 could have gone either way. Boston puts a few of those posts in, and the Leafs could have been playing to avoid the sweep last night. Boston looked pretty flat in periods 1 & 2 last night.

Rask bailed them out big time last night. Right back in the drivers seat.

As opposed to the fan-Boys telling you they’re right up there with sliced bread and the wheel....

I'd say there is fairly big difference between pro-stock skates and pro-stock gloves, pants & sticks. Your average hack can use anyone of those items without impacting his or her game. Skates on the other hand, if they dont fit, well you know how that goes. FWIW, I buy pro-stock sticks because it's good value. I could care less who's name is on the nameplate (most of the time it's someone I've never heard of).

Think they’ll make a game of it in game 3, possibly even pull out the win. I tend to agree with chippa though, they looked done.

Umm yeah, cuz while stupid and annoying, no one got hurt.