They lost more games but tended to lose in shootouts a lot so they came out ahead.
Losing in a shootout is the same as having the game end in a tie or losing in overtime. Now, if they got into the playoffs because they were winning a lot of shootouts, then you have a legitimate point.
It's okay, they're still going to blow it in the playoffs.
Well in order to stop the sharks downward sprial on the Western Confrence standings they picked up Wellwood and Eager off Waivers. I have doubts that this will do much of anything
no one is going to catch Van for the presidents trophy.
The thing is, no team in NHL history has been as dominant as the Canucks have this year.
In addition to clinching the President's Trophy, the Canucks currently lead the league in goals scored, fewest goals against, powerplay percentage and penalty killing percentage. The closest any team has come to doing that since these stats started being kept was the late 70s Canadiens (who won 60 and 58 games in the seasons where they were close).
The closest any team has come to doing that since these stats started being kept was the late 70s Canadiens
Sorry, apdude, but the Sharks have not been around long enough for me to sympathize with them either. I still tend to think of the Sharks as a relatively new team and yet they're almost 20. ****, I feel old.
No team I am a fan of in any sport has won a championship in my lifetime. I'm due.
Watching the Mighty Ducks win was pretty annoying. 2004-07 fucking sucked as Tampa Bay, Carolina and Anaheim all won. Each was like barely ten years old (if you discount Carolina's time as the Hartford Whalers, which makes sense since it would have been a different fanbase) in non-traditional hockey markets where I question how many dedicated fans actually care about them.
QuoteNo team I am a fan of in any sport has won a championship in my lifetime. I'm due.
So you either don't like baseball or your Philly loyalties don't extend to other sports.
Well that game was the most boring **** I've seen a while. Hey the Canucks won so I'm happy there but either Nashville had an off game or Anaheim REALLY sucks to lose to those guys. All night the Preds were moving in slow motion and the Canucks were going just fast enough to be ahead of them. Totally the opposite of the Chicago series where both teams were going 100 miles an hour.
Nashville is giving me the vibe of one of those old trap teams like the Minnesota Wild where they stick so close to their defensive system that even when they're behind they refuse to take risks to score. The key to beat such teams is to simply score first.
Nashville actually had a chance to play a pretty exhausted team. I'll thank them for offering such a weak challenge to let my guys catch their breath.
Sound like an extremely long game, first in Pred history but more impressively third in Canuck, that was dominated by goal tending.
Now let's keep that "**** you" attitude going and squash them on Saturday and move to the conference finals where apdude and I will suddenly become mortal enemies. ;)
Sorry, apdude, but the Sharks have not been around long enough for me to sympathize with them either. I still tend to think of the Sharks as a relatively new team and yet they're almost 20. ****, I feel old.
We may not be long suffering, but when the "Mighty Ducks" have already won one and we haven't it hurts.
So the schedule for the finals is out. Every game starts at 5pm PST. EVERY SINGLE ONE including the Vancouver home games that occur on weekdays. :@I would assume you can at least catch the first part on the Radio hopefully. Though this is probably going to help Sport Bars because people who normally wouldn't go would probably come in because its faster then going home.
I understand that you can't start a game at 10pm EST but because I have, you know, a job and don't live at the office I am going to miss most of the first period of every single game except the one on Saturday. That fucking sucks. And how is this going to work for people in Vancouver you have tickets to the game? Most people get off work at 5pm. Unless they work within walking distance of the arena they're going to miss part of the game they paid big money to see. That's ridiculous. And let's not forget that they will have to fight rush hour traffic as well.
You know what I would have been okay with? A 5:30 start time. Delay the game half an hour and it would make a huge difference. That's an 8:30 pm EST start time which is no big deal. And, hell, I would be fine with that only being in place for the weekday Vancouver home games. That's only three games out of a seven game series that I would request this for.
Our opponent better be the Bruins if we have to put up with this bullshit. They're from a big market and they're an original six team so they attract fans outside the Boston area. I can understand making some concessions for that team. But Tampa Bay? Nobody outside Tampa gives a **** about the Lightning and I don't think many people THERE even give a ****. The Eastern audience the Lightning would bring in is so insignificant that it would be a complete waste to essentially screw over the Vancouver fanbase to appease them.
When Anaheim won the Cup a few years back what time did their home games start? Did they get jerked around like this? Because if they didn't we sure as **** shouldn't.
Okay, one down, three more to go. Prior to this series I was worried that Tim Thomas was going to be impossible to beat. And that concern was totally justified because he was nearly unstoppable. But then so was Luongo. Right now it still looks like the series could go either way and I'm not very thrilled about that. I actually found it very hard to watch the game. This isn't really that fun. Aside from only one other time in my life (well I was alive in 82 but I was like four months old) the finals have been between teams where I don't really care who wins so I can just enjoy the hockey for what it is. But with this there is too much at stake to just relax.The GameCubers LOL.
Apparently Burrows bit someone in the game so he might get suspended which would SUCK so much. And Hamhuis got hurt bodychecking Lucic so he's out. ****.
In other news Winnipeg has a team again! I'll probably hate them once they start playing since they'll likely become a divisional rival of the Canucks but for now good for them! The general consensus is that the team should be called the Winnipeg Jets, yet the name has not been confirmed and rumour has it the new owners want to start fresh with a new name. They might even go with "Manitoba" instead of "Winnipeg" even though the vast majority of the population of Manitoba lives in Winnipeg. That wouldn't be a good start as the fever for the Jets is nuts. Everyone in Winnipeg is wearing Jets jerseys, everyone is caling them the Jets, in terms of merchandise Jets apparel has continued to sell regardless of the move to Phoenix. And apparently the league owns the rights to the Jets name and likeness because they own the Coyotes so giving it to the former Atlanta Thrashers is doable. To not use it would be stupid... so they'll surely not use it and call it something really dumb with a goofy logo and with like teal and purple colours.
The problem with calling them the Jets is that I think the old Jets organization (the Coyotes) still has the rights to the name and all the related stuff. Still, given the financial troubles that team is in, I'd bet they'd be willing to sell them.
Nice to see that not only does the team embarass Vancouver but a bunch of rioters do as well.
After Game Six I came home and realized that the Canucks didn't deserve to win the Cup. After getting blown out every time in Boston in such an embarassing fashion, I realized that if I wasn't a Canucks fan I would be upset to see such a team win the Cup. They did the same thing with Chicago and that should have been the warning sign.
To try to make myself feel better I've told myself that other teams have lost in the finals only to win a few years later. Yzerman's Red Wings lost in 1995 and won it in 1997. Crosby's Penguins lost in 2008 an won in 2009. This isn't the fluke team of '82 or the overachieving team of '94. With those teams we knew that was our only shot. The 2011 Vancouver Canucks were contenders throughout the season and should be expected to contend again. But I don't trust our star guys. The Sedins are hot and cold in the playoffs and Luongo is emotionally fragile. We need another piece to be able to carry the team on his back when those guys go cold. Maybe those guys can turn it around but I sure as hell am not trusting them until they do.
(http://i.imgur.com/aQv0R.jpg)
[img width=640 height=426]<Fake Image>Still an awesome picture even if their not actually kissing. Honestly you could replace the couple with Snugglufacus and it would still be a cool picture.
Fake: http://gizmodo.com/5815233/the-video-of-the-kiss-that-wasnt-a-kiss.
The makeup of the yet-to-be-named four conferences is as follows:
* New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Washington and Carolina
* Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay
* Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg
* Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado
Go Preds! Glad my team took out the Wings at the Joe. Now, if we can win game four, we can take it back to Nashville and win the series at home. Here's hoping!I hope there playing better in Playoffs then the games I've seen in person this year.
**** Aaron Asham and James Neal. A total lack of class today from the Penguins, as they desperately fought a losing battle.
I've noticed that. I'm surprised you went with a Bryz quote also since your 3DS Mii message still says he sucks.
I hope the players and owners think this labor dispute was worth the damage they did to the sport. Hockey was already a B-level sport in terms of popularity, and this dispute taking out more than half the season (not to mention the strike less than a decade ago that made the NHL the first major sports league to ever lose an entire season due to a strike) is gonna hurt it even more.
I like the conspiracy theory that Gary Bettman is a manchurian candidate of sorts. The NHL asked the NBA to recommend someone for their commissioner and the NBA suggested Bettman, who was working for them at the time. This is like Burger King asking McDonald's for hiring advice. Why would you ever ask a competitor about something like that? So NBA commissioner David Stern suggested his most incompetent lackey so that the NBA would pull ahead of the NHL in popularity. Bettman isn't a willing participant either. He's not trying to sabotage the NHL for the NBA, his incompetence is just such that by trying to do his job he's fucking things up.
So if you ever wonder why a league that is struggling for relevence in the United States would have a lockout over some pretty idiotic stuff immediately after the team from Los Fuckin' Angeles, the second biggest media market in the NHL, and the exact sort of market they want hockey to be cool it, wins the Cup, well there you go.
It's been almost 20 years since Bettman was hired and hockey is clearly in a much worse position now than it was then. So I'm shocked that the NHL owners would still want to keep this guy around. But then incompetence spreads throughout an organization if it becomes part of the workplace culture. The idiot owners hire an idiot commish and then only let other idiots into their league.
For a while I was seriously worried that we wouldn't get a season at all. If any league was going to lose two whole seasons in such a short amount of time it would have to be the NHL, right? Who else would?
So far, all is right in the NHL for me. Man, Selanne is incredible. And a quick salute to Jagr who also had a great first game. As I always have to tell people, Jagr is the player that made me a Penguins fan.
I will say that Fleury looked really good, and it's too bad he couldn't have been in his postseason form.
Well, the fears from some (like Connectivity) that the Winter Classic wouldn't have been good were founded. Unfortunately, that was due to the Red Wings without Lidstrom and not the Leafs.
The season's still almost a month away, but I'm really pumped for hockey to start. NHL 14 came out last week and is awesome as ever, and I just got out of my fantasy draft for this year. Despite my picking third, consensus number one Steven Stamkos fell to me, and then I managed to get Claude Giroux late in the second round. I like my skaters, but I'm a little thin at goaltender, although two of them have pretty great upside.Waiting for my Kids Club eMail.
Is everybody else ready for some hockey?
The season's still almost a month away, but I'm really pumped for hockey to start. NHL 14 came out last week and is awesome as ever, and I just got out of my fantasy draft for this year. Despite my picking third, consensus number one Steven Stamkos fell to me, and then I managed to get Claude Giroux late in the second round. I like my skaters, but I'm a little thin at goaltender, although two of them have pretty great upside.
Is everybody else ready for some hockey?
Once again I find myself diametrically opposed to Khushrenada. I'm pulling for Ottawa in the East both because of my general hatred of everything Pittsburgh and because a friend of mine who I introduced to hockey about 15 years ago picked the Senators as his team for whatever reason and has stuck by them, so I'm also rooting for them for him. I'm also rooting for Nashville in the West, just because they're a fun team with a great fan base and also to rub it in Montreal's face for trading PK Subban.
WOOOOO! The Ducks sign Patrick Eaves for 3 years! 3 months left til the season starts.
I don't know exactly how it's going to pan out, but the analysts on the draft seemed very high on our prospects.
WOOOOO! The Ducks sign Patrick Eaves for 3 years! 3 months left til the season starts.
Hope he keeps producing like he did when they acquired him and he didn't just get hot/lucky during the end of the season.I don't know exactly how it's going to pan out, but the analysts on the draft seemed very high on our prospects.
The Metro is probably the toughest division in hockey these days. Islanders just helped themselves a bit by acquiring Eberle a couple days ago to. It's hard to say how any team will finish in it. I expect Washington and Penguins will most likely claim the top two spots again but after that, who knows? Islanders could rebound from last year's bad start, Columbus could be in the mix or regress, Rangers are a so-so bubble team, Carolina is still in rebuild mode, Devils are too although if Kovalchuk does come back then maybe they are in the playoff hunt a bit longer. Does Philly have the talent to beat these other teams? Maybe but I kind of don't think so right now.
Once again I find myself diametrically opposed to Khushrenada. :( I'm pulling for Ottawa in the East both because of my general hatred of everything Pittsburgh and because a friend of mine who I introduced to hockey about 15 years ago picked the Senators as his team for whatever reason and has stuck by them, so I'm also rooting for them for him.
If the Capitals get weaker, Pittsburgh benefits because their team is pretty well built to last for a few more years. Rangers are on the decline, Flyers are in a bit of rebuild, Devils are restructuring, Islanders looked to be on the rise but seemed to have suddenly stalled, Carolina is going nowhere. Columbus is the only team right now that may be trending in the right direction to compete in the division and the playoffs but its hard to say with just one good season and no real record of sustainable success yet.
Once again I find myself diametrically opposed to Khushrenada. :( I'm pulling for Ottawa in the East both because of my general hatred of everything Pittsburgh and because a friend of mine who I introduced to hockey about 15 years ago picked the Senators as his team for whatever reason and has stuck by them, so I'm also rooting for them for him.
So, is your "friend" still sticking with the Senators as that franchise seems to be imploding?
He is, at least so far. We were talking about it a lot this weekend because they played the Flyers on Sunday.
Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks!
and Patrick Eaves rises from his grave,
Honestly I would have preferred to play Washington given how well we did against them in the regular season and to hopefully give Elliott a bit more game experience before having to go up against the Penguins. As cliche as it sounds, this series is really going to come down to the power play. If you look at the numbers, Pittsburgh this season really hasn't been that great of a 5-on-5 team, but in our matchups this year the Pens power play completely gashed the Flyers and we couldn't do anything with our opportunities. The Flyers lately have been doing a good job of just avoiding taking penalties in general, and for them to be successful in this series I think they're going to need to keep that up.
And suddenly we have ourselves a series.
As they say, there's a reason they play the games. Sometimes things go in unexpected ways. For what it's worth, the Flyers are 1-17 all-time in series where they trailed 3-1, with the lone win coming, oddly enough, in a series they actually trailed 3-0, against Boston in 2010.
We all know this is building to a 1-0 Game 7 OT win for Pittsburgh.
I'm kind of hoping for Winnipeg/San Jose in the West just because of some truth San Jose told about Winnipeg earlier in the year, but I'm still expecting Nashville to bounce back on that end as well.
Woo! Now that's the classic 2003 Ducks hockey I remember. Get outshoot by the competition and yet still win by being able to score on the very few chances the Ducks actually get. Quality not quantity, am I right?
He did say he was an "NHL lottery ball specialist". Congrats on him further proving that point.
So Taylor Hall's team has now won seven draft lotteries and the one year they didn't get into it, he was league MVP.
That was a little more nerve-wracking than I was hoping for, but a win's a win. Carter Hart, who turns 22 tomorrow, out-dueled Carey Price, his idol growing up, in game 1. Flyers got annihilated territorially in the 2nd period but managed to answer right back 16 seconds after Montreal leveled it, and that turned out to be the difference.
Evander Kane, one of the most high profile black players in the NHL, was hitting the league pretty hard yesterday for their lack of response to this issue. Glad to see they've come around.