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Title: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 13, 2010, 09:01:51 PM
This is a thread about hockey, primarily the NHL, but any league or level is welcome.


We're about 16 games into the NHL season; how are everyone's teams doing?


My Flyers started off rocky, but they've been on a roll lately, winning 7 of their last 8 (and the 8th was an OT loss to the league-leading Capitals) and are currently winning 5-1 tonight against Florida. This rookie goalie they've got, Sergei Bobrovsky, is playing out of his mind, and in addition to that they're putting up tons of goals (13 in the last 5 periods). It took a shootout win on the last day of the season to make the playoffs last year; it doesn't look like it'll be that dramatic this year.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TJ Spyke on November 15, 2010, 01:34:04 PM
I really tend to only follow my local hockey team, the Rochester Americans (who everyone calls the Amerks, they play in the AHL and are the farm team of the Florida Panthers). They are not doing that well as they are in second to last place in their division.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on November 15, 2010, 01:36:04 PM
This year the Canucks were getting serious pre-season Stanley Cup contender hype.  Now every team has the delusional fans that think that EVERY year is OUR year, but this was different as it was "experts" who don't really follow Western teams as much talking about it.  That's very strange as we never really face those sorts of expectations.  I honestly can't let myself get into that kind of thinking.  Something always screws things up, that's just how it is.  The Canucks winning the Stanley Cup would be very surreal.  In my mind it seems purely hypothetical, I don't assume it will ever happen.

So far we've played quite well.  I really enjoyed the game against the Leafs on Saturday night.  The two teams don't face each other very much and the games always feel like an event.  There are a lot of Toronto fans here in Vancouver from the original six days where the Maple Leafs were the de facto team of English Canada.  So there's a good rivalry there.  I always figured it was one-sided where Canucks fans hate the Leafs but Leafs fans don't pay any attention to the Canucks.  But Saturday's game was in Toronto and there were a lot of Vancouver fans there and the announcers were hyping up the rivalry.  So this is a full-on rivalry now?

One bad thing about the Canucks' success is that I'm getting creamed in my office hockey pool by guys with the Sedins and Luongo.  I don't have any Canucks so as they do well my pool does poorly.  If I had to pick one I would rather the team do well over my hockey pool, but it would be nice to have both.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on November 17, 2010, 11:23:08 AM
The Sharks are finally starting to play like we expected.  That Thornton suspension was a load of BS since he just stood there and the smaller guy ran into him and couldn't take it.  Our defence is a little suspect but they are starting to become more consistant.  Look for Torri Mitchel this year.  You haven't heard much about him in the past since he was out with leg injuries, but he is skating well this year and the puck is finding him.  He may end up in the 15-20 goal range which is good for a 3rd liner.

In other hockey news, my roller hockey team is 1-2 so far, and last game we got smoked.  Hopefully we can pull a W tonight.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on November 21, 2010, 05:55:38 PM
Tough time in Sharks land.  Lost 3 in a row blowing 2, 2 goal leads in the third to lose in OT.  I hate the 3 point games but I guess it was a bit of a saving grace this time.  What do you guys think they should do with the OT system, go back to ties instead of the shootout system? 

Looks like philly is doing well over in the east.  They are my favorite east coast team, but that game against the lightning, what was up with that.  Can Stamkos be stopped? 

Well I'm going to the game on Wed against Chi.  Hope it will be a good one.  We need the win so hopefully they come out and play a strong game like they did against the kings.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 21, 2010, 09:31:35 PM
What I'd personally like to see done with overtime (aside from playing continuous OT until there's a winner like in the playoffs, which I'd love but they'd never do) is to switch up the point system so that a win in regulation is 3 points instead of the 2 it currently is, an OT/shootout win is 2, and an OT/shootout loss is still 1. That way every game is worth the same amount of points, and teams are rewarded for winning without it going to overtime. In addition, they should increase the amount of overtime played from 5 minutes to at least 10.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on November 22, 2010, 12:18:30 PM
The winter Olympics had 3 points for every game and it was such an obvious idea you really question the intelligence of the NHL management.  I have never met anyone who doesn't think the current "sometimes there's 3 points" system is stupid.  It is so obviously stupid you have to think that maybe it is on purpose.  It adds a certain randomness to the standings which will allow the occasional undeserving team to make the playoffs, thus creating the illusion of parity which gets fans' hopes up so that they'll in theory give their team more business.  A little bit of random chaos ensures that there are less lame duck teams with no chance.

I personally still get upset about a couple of years ago when the Edmonton Oilers went to the finals.  They got in on the last seed in the west, beating out my Canucks, because they had more "loser points".  They lost more games but tended to lose in shootouts a lot so they came out ahead.  I think this was the FIRST YEAR the shootout was used and the exact worst case scenario that skeptics were worried about happened.

The 3 point system is the way to do it if you're going to give out loser points.  I personally was never bothered by ties so if they just had a short overtime and it remained as a tie, so be it.  I also wouldn't care if they just did wins and losses outright with no loser points and just used win/loss percentage like the other leagues do as it is easy to understand.  Yeah it sucks to lose on a shootout but the playoff seeds have been decided by shootout results already.  Shootouts count, even with the loser point, so if your team loses in a shootout, tough, it's their own fault for not getting the job done and the other team had the same risk of losing.

One thing that does offend me about shootouts and not allowing ties is that that seems to be designed entirely to attract attention from people that don't like hockey.  It's altering the game for the benefit of the non-fans.  A real hockey fan would not stop watching because of ties.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on November 22, 2010, 04:43:24 PM
Quote
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on November 22, 2010, 05:09:22 PM
Post-Lockout OT is definatly better than pre-lockout OT since in the pre-lockout days a winner was rarely decided in the 5min OT because everone was playing not to lose, and now they are playing for the extra point so they play with nothing to lose so to speak so you see more games get decided before the Shootout.

With that in mind do you think that if they did go to the 3 point regulation win, if a game was tied with say 5-7min left, both teams would be playing defensive and take no chances, in order to force the overtime as to not give 3pts to a rival?  I'd hate to go back to the Devils style of hockey everynight.

Although it would make the last 20 games of the season very exciting since teams can make up points quickly.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on November 22, 2010, 06:20:18 PM
Quote
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.

No, the point is that when the shootout was introduced the loser point came with it.  Now you could lose a game but still get a point out of it.  Vancouver had 42 wins that year while Edmonton had only 41.  But 13 of Edmonton's losses were in overtime or the shootout while only 8 of Vancouver losses received the extra point.  Because of the loser point a team with LESS WINS and MORE LOSSES made it into the playoffs and in this case they even made it to the finals.  This was the exact hypothetical scenario that critics of the loser point came up with to point out the serious flaw in the rule and it happened on the very first season with the loser point in place.
 
It's also worth nothing that two seasons after the NHL abolished ties Martin Brodeur set the record for most wins in a season.  Now Brodeur is an amazing goalie and a future hall of famer and still pulled off quite a feat.  But the record is somewhat tarnished because the previous record holder, Bernie Parent, did not have the luxury of shootout wins to pad his stats.  The record was only broken after the rules were changed in such a way that gave present day goaltenders an advantage.  That's a good knock against the shoot-out (but even then I would be fine if shoot-out wins was a seperate stat for goalies).
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 22, 2010, 08:49:42 PM
You got a point for losing in OT before the introduction of shootouts.

EDIT: The Flyers were losing 2-0 when I turned the game on tonight, but proceeded to score 3 unanswered and win. They aren't as dominant as they were during the 9-0-1 stretch, but they're getting the job done.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on November 26, 2010, 08:20:24 PM
Sharks game on wed was awsome.  Sharks won 5-2 and it was in convincing fashion.  Douglas Murry was back and in a big way.  He was hitting everything that moved took lots of good shots from the point and even saved a goal in the last minutes.  Good to have him back, after loosing 3 straight without him.  Just shows that the sharks need another quality defencemen to have a little more depth.  Also sat about 10 rows back from the glass and saw ryan clowe beat the crap out of the chicago player (can't remember who).  Chicago is not the same team as a year ago, no scoring depth and they lost there goal crashing presensce when Byfuglin left the team. 

Tonight they play Vancouver.  Ian your team is going down!  uhhh... nevermind....
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on November 27, 2010, 02:09:53 AM
I've never seen a ref call goaltender interference because a guy put his hand up, blocking the goalie's vision, but that's how they disallowed what would have been the game winning goal for the Flyers in OT this afternoon, leading to a shootout loss.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: fireponrome on November 29, 2010, 08:37:54 AM
hello people, i follow the oilers and by oilers i mean the edmonton oilers.  i also follow the okc barons of the ahl as much as i can...   the barons games i've listened to this season have been very enjoyable.  the oilers, well, not as much.   


i am a philadelphian and do enjoy the flyers but since i am a direct tv subscriber i do not get to enjoy them visually because we do not get comcast sportsnet philly.   D* and comcast do not get along because of D* having nfl sunday ticket and comcast not having access to that service(see comcast terrestrial loophole for more info)..... shame really but it is in fact my reality so i choose to follow another team and have done so for about four years now.  i'm more or less new to following hockey i must add...  i write more or less because being a philadelphian it's truely hard to escape sports because they are everywhere....oddly enough i remember crying back in 1987 after the flyers lost game seven against the oilers.  hah, i believe i was in third grade if i remember correctly.   how was i supposed to understand that the flyers just lost to one of the greatest hockey squads of all time? 
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on December 07, 2010, 05:41:08 PM
Well it's on tomorrow My Sharks visiting Insanolord's Flyers.  Seeing as how the Sharks had an impressive victory in Detroit, they will probably lose since they have been stuck in win one, lose one mode for the last 10 games or so.  I hope they've turned a corner on this season, but this will be a tough test against the what I feel is the best team in the east.

------------------------

Wow that was a crazy game, 3 on 3 in OT, the puck on the line with 0.0 left... absolutely ridiculous.  The sharks had no right winning that game, they had a good 5 min in the 3rd and some fortunate calls, but that was it.  If the Flyers can improve there PP I think they can win the East.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 08, 2010, 10:38:01 PM
Yeah, that was nuts. Still, it shouldn't have gotten to that point; the Flyers had a 4-1 lead in the 3rd and they let it get away.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on December 10, 2010, 11:51:52 AM
I'm from Toronto so I'm a leafs fan... so yeah, I'll just show myself out. Seriously though, I don't think that the leafs have been playing terribly in the last 3 games which is nice to see. Tough loss against Philly, there were some pretty soft goals given up, but other than that I thought it was reasonably close. I still think the flyers were the better team and deserved to win, but at this point I just like to see them give it an honest effort.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on December 10, 2010, 04:58:24 PM
Toronto is proably my favorite Canadian team, but I don't get to see them that often.  I mainly remember the sharks playing them in second round the 93 playoffs (when Toronto was in the western confrence or whatever they were calling it back then).  That was the first year the sharks made the playoffs and nearly beat Toronto after beating Detroit in the first round.  If Sandis Ozilinch didn't hit the damn crossbar of a wide open net in game 6 OT they would have made the confrence finals.  But Doug Gilmore and Wendel Clark were studs.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 14, 2010, 08:51:04 AM
The Flyers play the Penguins tonight, and I'm wearing my Flyers jersey on a campus where the majority of people are Penguins fans. The Pens' win streak ends tonight.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 14, 2010, 08:26:07 PM
No Versus on the cable we've got on campus, so I've had to rely on the ingenuity of the fine people on the Internet to let me watch the Flyers and Penguins. Tied 1-1 right now, but it shouldn't be; Nodl and Hartnell have each had shots at open nets that went wide.

EDIT: Not 5 seconds after I posted that Zherdev gave the Flyers the lead on a great 2 on 1 play.

EDIT 2: Goddammit, I love Chris Pronger so much.

EDIT 3: SCOTTIE HARTNELL!!!

Now dammit, whatever you do, don't give them another power play; that's the only way they've been able to score.

EDIT 4: GODDAMMIT WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!


FINAL EDIT: They made it way too exciting at the end, but the Flyers took the game, the division lead, and the best record in the league. As for the Penguins, 12 in a row doesn't mean **** if you can't win the big ones.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Guitar Smasher on December 15, 2010, 12:53:16 AM
Do you think the Flyers would have been as motivated if the Penguins weren't on a 12 game winning streak?  I'm guessing this one was bigger to the Flyers than to the Penguins.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 15, 2010, 01:01:37 AM
Flyers-Penguins is always a big game, no matter how good or bad the teams are they're strongly motivated. Also, the game decided who has the best record in the league, a major motivator for both sides. The Flyers' desire to end the streak is canceled out by Pittsburgh trying to keep it alive.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on December 20, 2010, 11:49:40 AM
Well the NHL is getting into the long haul part of the season.  What does everyone else think of the season so far?  I'm quite supprised by Dallas.  I thought they got off to a good start but would fizzle, but that team never gives up.  They went from a guaranteed two points last year to a tough game and will make the pacific division very interesting down the stretch.  Also what happend to Washington.  Being over on the left coast we don't get to see Eastern teams much, but I did get to see some of washington the other week (since all VS plays is either washington or pittsburg games) and they seem a lot slower and disorganized than I remember from last year.  Do you think they rely on Ovetchkin too much? 
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 20, 2010, 04:25:27 PM
As a Flyers fan, I don't think I have any right to complain about anything so far.

EDIT: How the hell can you beat Pittsburgh, Montreal, and the Rangers back to back to back and then be down 3-0 to the goddamn Florida Panthers?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on December 22, 2010, 11:23:05 PM
The Sharks put out a christmas video.  Here is the link http://www.svse.net/holidays2010/.  There are some inside jokes that people who don't follow the sharks or sharks broadcast might not get, but it's pretty funny anyway since hockey players can't act.  Enjoy.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on January 04, 2011, 12:13:11 PM
As of this moment the Vancouver Canucks are in first place of the entire league.  This franchise does not exactly have a tradition of excellence so I am going to enjoy this moment while I can.

Unfortunately I have not watched too many of their games.  Football season has kind of distracted me.  I get a little more into hockey after the Superbowl, when it can have my undivided attention.  It is not surprising though that the Canucks are doing well.  They often go on a tear if I'm not watching and then turn into lazy bums once I do. ;)

If things keep going this well I think they should make some trade deadline deal to put us over the top.  When you're a real contender you have to go for it.  The team should be focused on winning the cup this year.  Since Mike Gillis became GM every trade deadline has come and gone with the Canucks not doing anything.  Then the team loses in the second round.  We're not a rebuilding team thinking about the future.  The future is now and Gillis should be thinking about what extra piece could send us all the way.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on January 04, 2011, 05:46:22 PM
It's okay, they're still going to blow it in the playoffs.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on January 04, 2011, 05:56:39 PM
My team needs to fire its coach yesterday. And they don't even have a first rounder to work with. :(
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on January 04, 2011, 06:11:52 PM
Quote
  It's okay, they're still going to blow it in the playoffs.

Oh probably.  But this year let's at least get to the conference finals.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on January 04, 2011, 06:27:27 PM
Haha I typically pull for the canucks in the playoffs because I'm a leafs fan and they won't be there so I'd just like to see a Canadian team (not including the sens) take the cup. I think that as long as the Canucks keep coming up against the Flyers they will keep getting knocked out. The Flyers play fast physical hockey and I think the Canucks are just too fragile to survive a long series against them. If the Canucks are going to make a serious playoff run then they need Luongo to be at the top of his game every game, which he has yet to do.

Edit: I can't believe I forgot to mention the Canada vs USA world junior game. Going for the gold baby.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on January 05, 2011, 10:20:50 PM
The third period of the gold medal game - that was a dream, right? We didn't just get served by the Cardiac Comrades?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on January 06, 2011, 12:10:35 PM
Armak, did you mean the Blackhawks instead of the Flyers?  That's the team we have lost to in the second round two years in a row.  The Flyers play in a different conference so to the only way to face them is in the finals.  If there is a Canucks/Flyers series, well, then Vancouver has shown they can make a serious playoff run.

On that note, even though the Flyers are kind of like the villian franchise of hockey, I find myself often rooting for them because they're usually such a good team and contend almost every year.  If you look at their history, since their cup wins in the 70's they consistently get back to the finals or conference finals every so many years but never win the big one.  That must drive their fans absolutely nuts.

Losing gold in the world juniors doesn't matter that much to me because Canada wins gold all the time.  For each year we lose we win like three.  It's more the Olympics that affect me since a loss there means waiting four more years to get another chance.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on January 06, 2011, 11:40:51 PM
Yes I did mean blackhawks I don't know how I got that screwed up. I was pretty disappointed that we didn't win gold only because they showed that they had what it took to win and then gave it up. Otherwise I think along the same lines as you, we win so often that history is stacked in our favour no matter what. Also when you could make almost an entire team of junior eligible players who don't play because they are in the NHL I'm not too broken up about it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: RABicle on January 07, 2011, 01:59:20 AM
I keep meaning to troll this thread by talking about the Murdoch University hockey team and our drunken adventures at the Uni Games.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 07, 2011, 02:10:50 PM
Feel free to do so; as I said in the opening post, this thread is open to hockey discussion on any level, not just the NHL, mainly so I would have a place to brag when my college's women's hockey team wins the national championship.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on January 20, 2011, 03:31:53 PM
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, however their last two games give me a glimmer of hope but it looks like just making the playoffs is about the best they can do.  Tonight against Vancouver should be a good test if they are going to compete or not.

 
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on January 20, 2011, 05:14:49 PM
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

It'll cause the pressbox to collapse.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on February 18, 2011, 05:22:45 PM
So here we are a month later.  The Canucks are still in first which is pretty damn cool.  But things aren't all wine and roses.

Edler, Ballard, Hamhuis, Alberts and Bieksa are all injured.  That is five of our top six defencemen.  Are you kidding me?  The only one of the top six still active is Salo, the glass man who could injure himself sleeping, who had been out all season until now.  I figure it's only a matter of time before he's out again.  These last few weeks have been like dominoes.  Each game some d-man gets injured.  Here at work we were at first joking about it but as it has compounded no one is making light of it anymore.

The most frustrating thing is that the defence was largely considered the missing piece in making this team a contender.  We clearly had the forwards and goaltenders but our lack of defence kept us trapped in the second round.  So this year our GM makes the moves to improve the defence.  And the team is number one!  The move is paying dividends.  But with our entire defence out injured are we not now vulnerable to the same weakness as before?

Now it's only February and the general feeling is that we realistically can get most, if not all, of these guys back by the playoffs.  And with the lead we have missing the playoffs just isn't a real threat.  But, man, you feel like the hockey gods are out to get you when you specifically address your previous shortcomings only to have that negated due to incredibly bad luck.

That dreaded "this is when it all fucks up" feeling is creeping in.  Any fan of an underachieving team knows that feeling and only recent championships can cure it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on February 18, 2011, 05:37:05 PM
If you combine the Penguins forward lines and the Canucks defense, I'm not sure that team would finish above .500 in the ECHL.

So Toronto went from 0 first rounders in June to 2 inside of a week, unfortunately they're probably going to be late first rounders (21-30) in a draft that is extremely top heavy. This is where Burke makes his money, though.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on February 18, 2011, 06:04:00 PM
One things Leafs fans can feel good about is that Burke is admitting his original strategy didn't work and is doing things the right way now.  The timing isn't so hot though considering this draft is not supposed to be very deep.  Ottaw is also rebuilding and has been collecting draft picks but if it's a lame draft year will that do much good?  The funny thing with draft picks is unless they're like top five they aren't gimmes.  You have to know what you're doing or they're worthless.  I find it funny when you see trades for second or third round picks.  "This will prove useful in a our rebuilding process!"  Unless you have good scouts what good are draft picks that late?  It's like trading for a lottery ticket.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on February 18, 2011, 07:24:27 PM
Well the sharks added some help on the blue line by aquiring Ian White.  Haven't seen him play much since he's been in the east this year but seeing as how he's been on two teams already this year I don't think he will be the missing piece that can get the sharks back into top contender status.  But I'm feeling better about there chances of just making it to the playoffs which was in serious doubt about a month ago.

As for 2nd and 3rd round picks, they are probably more useful than you think and it's better than losing the player at the end of the season for nothing.  The draft is kind of a crap shoot even drafting in the first round so the more picks the better the chances someone can develop in the juniors and become a decent NHL player. 
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: brain on February 26, 2011, 04:30:33 AM
Hockey this game is very interesting?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 22, 2011, 06:55:07 PM
I'm really pissed at the NHL right now. Tuesdays are the longest and most strenuous day of the week for me this term, and I've been looking forward to watching the Flyers-Capitals game all day, only to find out when I got back to my apartment that it's on Versus, which isn't on the campus cable package. I pay good money for GameCenter Live, but it's blacked out because it's nationally televised.

Putting the NHL on Versus because ESPN wasn't willing to pay as much was really stupid and shortsighted. Hockey is a great sport that doesn't get the attention it deserves, and it's not going to get it on Versus. Being on ESPN would give the league a lot more exposure, both by more people getting it and by ESPN having to not ignore the sport completely like they currently do. I never saw ESPN mention NASCAR until they started airing races, and I'd bet they'd pay a lot more attention to the NHL (read: any real attention at all) if they were broadcasting games. Also, they'd get to bring back the awesome, awesome National Hockey Night theme music.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on March 22, 2011, 07:11:23 PM
Versus is the most BS channel ever.  The coverage of the games is horrible.  I mean for god sakes they used to add in the horn sound when the visiting team scored.  Do they really think that that will get more people to watch or help casual hockey viewers appreciate the game more?  Plus they give that analysts Pierre McGuire more air time than he should ever get (more than 5sec).  Every question or comment he makes has something to do with Sidney Crosby, and the rest of the time the VS coverage discusses Ovechkin.  Granted they are great players but come on... we get it already, I mean ESPN would at least occasionally talk about teams other than Detroit and New York.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on March 23, 2011, 12:31:38 PM
It really feels like hockey became irrelevant in America once they stopped showing it on ESPN.  It's not uncommon to get this attitude from American sports fans that are only three big sports instead of four.  I never noticed that until the NHL went to Versus.

ESPN is a big part of sports culture.  If you see them covering a sport you don't assume that it's because there is some broadcasting deal, you assume it's because the sport matters.  And the reverse of it is true.  No one assumes that the NHL isn't on ESPN because they couldn't get a deal done.  The natural assumption is that hockey doesn't matter so ESPN doesn't waste time covering it.  If you didn't follow hockey regularly you would think "boy the NHL must be a pretty small time league now if even ESPN doesn't cover it.  They cover every sport.  They're the sports network."

Of course here in Canada I get to watch hockey on CBC, Sportsnet and TSN.  The only time I've ever seen Versus is the occasional game where they lose the Canadian feed for whatever reason and temporarily switch the American one.

When is the stupid Versus deal done?  You would assume the NHL would jump at the chance to go back to ESPN.  But the NHL does not like admitting mistakes, thus they take on the Phoenix Coyotes and bend over backwards to keep them in a market that really doesn't seem interested in them.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 23, 2011, 12:38:03 PM
From what I understand, the Versus deal isn't exclusive, so the NHL could put games on ESPN in addition to the ones on Versus.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on March 23, 2011, 12:54:57 PM
Occasionally our local comcast station broadcasts games from other markets using their local broadcasters which is far and away better than the "national" coverage because you get more indepth coverage of the teams that are actually playing.  I hope Comcast does this more often instead of putting them on VS.

As for the game last night I could only watch the 2nd period, but the Flyers came back to force OT after giving up 3 early goals.  I know you'd like 2pt every night but thats a pretty good sign of there resiliency and will come in handy during the playoffs as it did last year against Boston.  As long as they win their division they should be in good shape for at least the first round match up, and no one is going to catch Van for the presidents trophy.  The West is still wide open (except for Van).  As much as I hate Ana and Dal, it would be something to see all 5 pacific division teams make it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on March 23, 2011, 05:37:54 PM
Quote
no one is going to catch Van for the presidents trophy.

It's pretty damn cool to read that.  :D
 
Of course that brings about a very unfamiliar scenario in the playoffs.  The idea of the Canucks winning the Cup has always been a "wouldn't it be nice" sort of thing.  Aside from the delusional fans that think every year is "the year" there has never truly been any expectations of winning the Cup here in Vancouver.  The desire has always been there but never the expectation.  Even when we made it to the finals in 82 and 94 it was a nice surprise.  No rational person expected them to go that far when the playoffs started.
 
This season if we don't win it will be considered not just a disappointment but an outright failure and a chokejob.  As a Canucks fan I've never encountered this sort of situation.  The Senators recently had to go through this and they failed.  The Sharks and Capitals are going through it now.  If we don't win we become one of THOSE teams where every season the "will team X get over the hump" story comes up.  If the Canucks don't win this year then that will become the future story.
 
I suppose it's the interesting dilemma in life.  The closer you are to success the disappointment of failure also increases.  Every winner has had to face the prospect of a devastating loss.  Of course after 40 years its about time this franchise took that step for good or bad.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 23, 2011, 07:35:39 PM
Vancouver's not going to win the cup; the Flyers are going to get out of the funk they've been in recently and get Pronger back in time to get hot going into the playoffs and win it all.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on March 24, 2011, 02:57:03 PM
I just did some random youtubing (testing out the HTML trial I joined 5 seconds ago) and ran across this video from 3/22

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CP72FLS4s4&feature=

How is that possible? the puck changed directions on it's own.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on March 24, 2011, 03:38:31 PM
Because Calgary sucks!

Before the period starts the goalies typically scrape up the area infront of the goal to give them more grip to go side to side.  This leaves some ruts in the ice.  When the puck bounced on the ice it probably hit a rut that caught the edge of the puck and made it deflect like that.  Very unlikely to happen again.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Stogi on March 24, 2011, 03:38:50 PM
You can see the puck hit and flip on its side and then fly away.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 24, 2011, 09:26:06 PM
If Bobrovsky played like this every night the President's Trophy race would still be interesting.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on March 24, 2011, 09:31:13 PM
Do you think they will go with him every game in the playoffs?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 24, 2011, 09:35:44 PM
Well, he doesn't always play this well. They'll probably stick with whoever's hot between him and Boucher, and maybe even call up Leighton from the AHL considering how fantastic he was in the playoffs last year.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on March 25, 2011, 02:51:14 AM
I told myself I wouldn't get too optimistic about the Sharks chances this year and after the slow start I would have been happy just to make the playoffs, but it's happening again.  I'm starting to think this team may do more than a first round win.  The mid season pickups has sparked some life into the team and the playmakers (Marleau, and Pavelski) are starting to make plays, and the young guys are really playing well.  I had my doubts but now I think this team is better than last years team and has there best opportunity to win it all.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 01, 2011, 08:17:55 PM
Goddammit, I don't know why Laviolette keeps giving Boucher starts. Bobrovsky's been really hot lately and should be getting prepped for the main role in the playoffs. Hell, at this point, the way Boosh has been playing lately, I'd consider calling up Leighton from the Phantoms. It's probably too late for that, though; he was great in the playoffs last year, but he's been playing against AHL players all year, and would need more time than we have left to get back up to speed.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 01, 2011, 08:37:39 PM
I just hope the Sharks keep their foot on the accelerator eventhough they clinched a playoff spot last night with the 6-0 beating they put on Dallas.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 01, 2011, 09:15:25 PM
I don't know what to make of the Flyers. They beat Pittsburgh 5-2 and then lose to Atlanta and are right now losing to New Jersey.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on April 02, 2011, 03:24:05 PM
The flyers are just coasting to the playoffs. They will be fine once playoff hockey starts because they are a character team and know how to turn it up when it matters. The concerns about the san jose and vancouver doing the same are more well founded. The last few years I have pulled for the canucks because I want to see a canadian team win and I will probably pull for them this year as well. It bothers me, however, that even though they have now clinched the presidents trophy I still don't have very much confidence in their ability to pull off a stanley cup. Right now what I want to see happen is the canadiens lose the rest of their games and the leafs win the rest of their games so that the last game of the season between the two is for a playoff spot. It won't happen but I can dream.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on April 02, 2011, 03:28:46 PM
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).
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on April 02, 2011, 03:39:27 PM
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).


I know all of these things and they are very compelling on paper, but the playoffs are always another story. My two main concerns with vancouver are their goal tending and their grit. First, I personally think that Luongo is the most talented goalie in the league. Watching the way he moves and the angles he takes he is the best, yet it seems like he lets in soft goals in big games and goaltending is mostly mental. Second, vancouver doesn't have any real tough guys. Burrows and Lapiere are not real tough guys. The Canucks like to play a fast game in both skating and puck movement, and they do it better than anyone else, but you can't win a seven game series without getting your hands dirty. Again I would prefer the canucks to win it, but I have my doubts.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 02, 2011, 03:44:09 PM
My issue with the Flyers is based on what happened last year. They barely made the playoffs, but got hot at the right time and went all the way to the finals. This year they dominated most of the year, but are getting cold going into the playoffs.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 02, 2011, 05:27:35 PM
Western Conference Outlook

Vancouver and SJ have been the hottest teams in the west for about the last 30 games.  The rest of the teams are good but have either health issues  to some of their top guys (Kopitar for LA and Hiller for Ana) or are just misfiring.  Detroit should be playing better, but they are struggling right now.  Chicago will have to play hard just to make it because they have a tough schedule at the end but are lucky that Dallas is struggling right now.  The grittiest team left will probably be Nashville, but I don't see them giving Vancouver or San Jose much of a threat.  Pheonix will be a bit of a challenge because they are one of those defensively minded teams that are allways tough in a playoff situation. 
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 03, 2011, 03:25:41 PM
Man, the Flyers just aren't any good in shootouts this year. Luckily, we're almost to the point of the season where that becomes irrelevant.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 04, 2011, 12:26:14 PM
Quote
The closest any team has come to doing that since these stats started being kept was the late 70s Canadiens

Comparisons to the 70's Habs dynasty.  Geez, no pressure or anything.
 
Despite the utter dominance the Canucks have shown this season the reason I don't have complete confidence in them winning it all is because this core group has yet to make it past the second round.  Some teams go to the conference finals or the finals before finally winning it all.  I can see how a Philly fan would have some confidence because the Flyers were in the finals last year and in the conference finals on 2008.  It's a core that has proven it can go deep in the playoffs.
 
I remember a spell last year where the Canucks could not kill a penalty to save their lives.  Every time they were short handed they got scored on.  That sort of ineptitude was never demonstrated in the regular season.  We've had times where Luongo is just a machine all year and then has his absolute worst performance in the deciding game of the playoffs where we get eliminated.  You can't block that out of your mind regardless of how well the team does in the regular season.  You don't forget the playoff failures until they've shown they can succeed.
 
I also remember years of the West Coast Express lighting up the league every year and then struggling to score in the playoffs.  We aren't San Jose but we have witnessed a team shrinking up in the playoffs before.
 
Of course if this level of play continues into the playoffs I will get more confident the further they go.  If they make it past the second round I'll truly believe that this is for real.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 11, 2011, 03:16:23 PM
Well it's finally playoff time, how does everyone feel about their matchups? 

I think the sharks should have a pretty easy first round match up since travel won't be so far and there is allways extra jump for a NorCal vs SoCal match up.   I'm sure Jonathan Quick will probably steal a game or two for the kings but without Kopitar and Williams at less than 100 percent the Sharks should win this series in 5 or 6. 

Tough draw for Vancouver, granted Chicago is not as good a last year but still a tough team.  I hope Philly can pull it together because Miller is allways pretty good. 

I'm looking forward to the Boston/Montreal matchup I'm guessing it's going to be pretty physical after what happened durring the regular season. 

Good luck to everyone (except LA)!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 11, 2011, 03:32:16 PM
Well, might as well face our demons right off the bat, I guess.  Today at the office there is the usual excitement abou the playoffs but there is a slight hint of dread regarding the Chicago matchup.  Those guys have just had our number the last few years.  I'm picking Vancouver but I would not be surprised by an upset.  Hell, I wouldn't consider it an upset.  But then I could compare it to the Red Wings of the 90's who seemingly by fate had to conquer their arch-nemesis, the Avs, before they could win the cup.  If the Canucks are to win it all, overcoming Chicago would just seem like a requirement.

In my playoff pool at work I've got players from Vancouver, Detroit, Anaheim, Philly, Tampa Bay and Washington.  TB is my real wildcard but I picked them because I don't see Pitt going far without their stars.  Anaheim is against perennial playoff jobbers Nashville so I figured they were safe to get to the second round and will benefit from some momentum.

Unfortunately, apdude, I did not pick San Jose after getting burned in many previous pools by them.  But then years ago I said "to hell with Ottawa" for the same reason and then that year they made it to the finals.  So maybe that's your good luck charm.  Ian Sane finally decided not to pick them so they HAVE to go far.  If it can **** me over, then it will happen. ;)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 11, 2011, 03:54:37 PM
I hear ya IanSane, the Sharks have fooled me plenty of times, but it just feels like they are clicking right now and their 4th line finally has some grit and is a scoring threat. 

Maybe we should have a playoff pool here just for fun.  Pick the series winners and how many games.  2 pts for a win and a bonus point for the correct number of games.

Here's my picks

Vancouver in 5 (but close games)
SJ in 5
Pheonix in 7 (Detroit just hasn't been playing well recently)
Anahiem in 6

Washington in 4 (I just don't like the rangers)
Philly in 6
TB in 5
Boston in 7
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on April 11, 2011, 05:08:08 PM
No love for Nashville... But there on all the School milk here.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on April 14, 2011, 10:52:05 AM
Predators beat Ducks first game 4 to 1 so, they have to do 2 more games to upset your picks Apdude if I'm reading it write.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 14, 2011, 11:26:03 AM
I hope they do I hate the ducks.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: RABicle on April 15, 2011, 01:02:17 PM
Sorry guys, but I gotta barge in here with today's stories of hockey greatness. I've mentioned the Uni Games once or twice briefly and I may've even mentioned I'm the captain of my university team.

Keep in mind as I tell this story that this is field hockey. Any league or level is welcome right?

So in 2009, after having the best week of my life on the Gold Coast for Uni Games 09 I made the decision to prolong my stay at university specifically for the 2011 Uni Games which would return to the Gold Coast, last year's event was held in my home city of Perth and while was still fun, there's nothing quite like venturing 3000kms to play sport and party and just leave it all there. Almost every day I fantasise about how awesome Uni Games 2011 will be. The girls, the parties, the drinking and even the pride of leading my team on the field, playing the game I love. October can't come fast enough.

Start of the year, O-Day at uni, we're signing up new players, get quite a roster, could be the most interest ever. But also at O-Day the sports officer threw me off, he told me that due to the popularity of hockey at uni games and the difficulty with scheduling due to the shortage of artificial turfs to play on we would have to qualify. Here's the thing, we're ****. Uni Games 09 we only won 1 game. Last year we won 2 despite playing short and managed to finish 5th in Division B. The rules were decided that all of Division A would automatically qualify for '11 so would the top 4 from Division B. The remaining spots in Division B would be allocated to the top ranked university of each state that didn't already meet automatic qualification at their state's regional championships.

At this point I need to mention that Perth, Western Australia is pretty much the field hockey capital of the world. Australia are the most dominant country in mens and women's competitions and the institute of sport for hockey is in Perth. Around half players in the national men and women's teams are from Western Australia. Certainly almost the whole team play and train in Perth. Perth's top club league is generally regarded as not only the most competitive regional hockey league in the world but the toughest non professional league of any sport in Australia. I do not play in it, last year I played 12 leagues below it (this year I'm playing 3rd league but that's another story.) Sporting Scholarships as you have in America do not exist in Australia due to subsidised public education, sporting drafts selecting players straight out of high school and numerous other reasons. However top level hockey players, identified by the academy as potential Australian U21 and Senior representatives are afforded many opportunities to relocate to Perth and study while they train. Those players usually goto Curtin University.

There are 5 universities in Perth and all five competed today. University of Western Australia (UWA) are the current nine time defending Division A Uni Games champions. Curtin University as I just mentioned have numerous players under pseudo sporting scholarships. Both played Division A last year and therefore automatically qualified. University of Notre Dame, the only private university in the state finished 3rd in Division B last year. So the final spot at Uni Games would be determined today by whoever finished higher between Murdoch University, where I attend, and Edith Cowan University. At last year's regionals UWA were first, Notre Dame second, Curtin third, ECU fourth and we were last. The reason's we're not very good are many, mostly the focus we place on the social aspect of the sport but also because we're the smallest University by population and least supported by our university in regards to everything. We do all the recruiting, the fundraising, book our own flights. Training and practice matches are almost soley organised by me and being me, this year we didn't even have any. ECU have extensive support and attract many athletes through their sports science courses, Curtin attract top players from across the country because this Australian Hockey Academy, where the national team trains, it's one their campus, i forgot to mention that. UWA are backed by the oldest, most successful club in the league, like a 100 year history sorta thing. Notre Dame are an interesting anomaly in that they're like us but much more focused, being a private uni means they're all a bit richer than us too but honestly I really admire the way they go about things.

So anyway, I wake up this morning, eat breakfast, throw it up. Do some other stuff like liaising with my new housemate and real estate agent, the I pickup my teammate from campus and head out to Curtin for the game. Get to the stadium, try to eat some more food while I introduce myself to some of the new players. We had a full squad of 18 due to good recruiting but I hadn't even met some of the guys let alone played together with them. First match, we're up against UWA. I sit myself on the bench first up and throw as many of the new guys on the field as I can just to make note of them. Surprisingly we came out of the blocks strongly and UWA were a shambles. They started with only 9 players including a kicking fullback due to their goalie running late. The kicking full back did manage to make a spectacular save in the opening two minutes and was given a reprieve by one of our new faces missing an unforgivable shot. By half time they've gotten their **** together, filled out the roster and put away two goals by the final whistle.

Hour break, I and most of the team go to check out the girls play, girls hockey is laughably slower than ours but whatever. A few stay back to spy on ECU and it didn't sound good. While they lost as expected they scored and overall looked a dangerous and cohesive unit. We head back over to play Notre Dame, I tried to sit this whole game out to rest myself up for ECU later but Sam pulled up sore and swapped for me in the second half. I immediately ran back and gave away a penalty stroke by dive tackling a player and preventing a certain goal. I wasn't carded because my action was almost the only one that could've been taken and they converted from the spot anyway. Notre Dame went on to beat us 4-0. ECU played them next and lost 2-1.

We were really worried, Sam confided in me that he had no confidence in us to beat ECU. Sam and I have been friends since I sat next to him in science on the first day of secondary school in 2000. We'd since lived together and led the team to the '09 Uni Games. Sam had graduated but had enrolled in a second degree partly just to go to Uni Games '11. As I said earlier I had intentionally prolonged my university career by picking up a double major. I've also failed some units and had to repeat but that isn't intentional. But yeah, we had both put a lot of emotional investment in this future weak. I gave him a false confidence captains kind of remark, stating we had a good gameplan in place for ECU and whatnot, just in case anyone else was overhearing. But I gave him a look to show I shared his sentiment. We actually did have a gameplan though, one of ECU's players was a Singaporean National representative, studying abroad in Perth. I was going to do my best to tag him out of the match, reducing us to 4 forwards playing modified roles, 2 high strikers and two attacking midfielders. Some of the more regular players we debating various lineups but I they all seemed to not include any of the news guys. With five minutes before the game I made a tough captains call and named the starting 11, including two new players in place of two close personal friends. We sorted out substitutions to give most everyone a run.

The game starts and for whatever reason the Singaporean National rep was nowhere to be seen. So tagging gameplan out the window but we did have our wings play more defensively and run our right inner as a loose striker. I reverted to a more default left inner role. Two minutes into the game they score. "Comon Murdoch, let's regroup and get one back!" I call out, typical captain rallying bullshit. I later heard that the mood on the bench turned to despair. but we did regroup, some good teamwork and running saw us work the ball up field. We were into attack for the first time, just 6 minutes into the game. (Might mention here that while traditionally hockey games are two 35 minute halves, this one off round robin style tournament had us playing only 10 minute halves with only a one minute break in between.) I had the ball about 30 yards out on the left and heard a cry for a pass. I backed off from the defender coming down on me and drag-pushed it towards the sound of the call, only looking up as to where I was passing to make any last, instinctive adjustments. One of our strikers Barney was inside the attacking D, just to the right of goal, the pass was perfect, directly to the hook of his fore stick. He picked it up, tapped himself further right to get some leverage on the goalie and slammed it in. Throughout the day Barney had always had our best chances to score and had made a mess of them up ill now. The goal was perfect and a huge boost to his confidence and team moral.

Two minutes later, our two most talented players make a brilliant break through the middle of the ground, Jayben and Andrew passed back and forth between themselves and 3 defenders. It was ridiculous and Andrew put it away to put us in the lead. A minute later and Jayben was at it again, this time with our fullback Cheyne who'd found himself up field. Cheyne ended up with just one defender to beat before the goals, he headed left to attempt a tomahawk shot but the defender was on him, flying in attacking the ball missing and hitting Cheyne's foot. Cheyne swore in agony as the final seconds ticked away. Incredibly no free, short corner or penalty stroke was awarded despite even the Curtin team, watching in the stands calling for it. 2-1 up at halftime, Cheyne made an unscheduled substitution along with the other ones. I kept myself on, we swapped one wing and the defenders reorganised themselves in Cheyne's absence. We turtled most of the second half, our goalie kept out some good balls and ECU wasted some real chances, we weren't going to secure this game without at least one more goal on the board, a draw would be no good due to ECU's superior goal difference. I dropped back deeper into defence and latched into a poorly directly ECU pass, with that time, i slowly shuffled forward, drawing ECU's defence out and letting our left wing to start moving up feild, I didn't use him though, option instead to release Andrew through the who ran with the ball and two ECU defenders into the attacking D. Things got a bit messy in there, I'm not even sure what happened but we were awarded a penalty stroke, wiping valuable time off the clock. Jayben stepped up and made no mistake. 3-1 and 40 seconds to go. It was over, we were through to the Uni Games.

We actually had one last game against Curtin straight afterward. Our whole game was really just a celebration, the whole team elated. Curtin didn't really seem to care either as they had won all their games and were saving themselves for the final against who would prove to be Notre Dame. A revelation that Cheyne had broken his toe and had to be driven to hospital put a little damper on things but after the game we stuck around to enjoy beers in the stands with the girls and watch the girl's final (Curtin vs UWA)

I just feel like a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders. I always felt we'd step up but it was looking really dark today.

Geez I love sport.

Now in 12 hours I have to debut for my new club, against my old club playing in this third grade thing that I feel totally unprepared for. I hope my body doesn't fall apart.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on April 15, 2011, 01:11:59 PM
Lord Rabicle, thats a wall of text.  I'll read it tonight at home.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: RABicle on April 15, 2011, 09:31:22 PM
Yeah **** it was over 2000 words. I wish I could type out uni assignments like that.
Summary would be: The odds were stacked against us, but we won the game.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 16, 2011, 06:47:42 PM
Man, the Flyers can't get anything done on the power play tonight. eight chances, including two 5-on-3 opportunities, and nothing to show for it. They really need Chris Pronger back.

EDIT: Right after I typed that, Leino put one in. I'm not going to lie, I posted that while they were on the power play in hope that irony would kick in. They still really need Pronger back, though.

EDIT 2: And Briere just got an even strength goal to put them up by 2. They go from tied 3-3 to up 5-3 within minutes of my posting this. Coincidence? Almost certainly yes. Still, I'll take it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 18, 2011, 01:24:22 PM
Canucks within a game of bouncing the Hawks!  But that is only one of the monkeys on our back.  Losing in round two every year has also been part of it.  If we beat the Hawks and then job in the second round again, we really didn't do anything different.  But at least then would be merely chokers and not specifically Chicago's bitch. ;)

But Vancouver has been playing good.  Last year against the Kings in the first round it was more like we merely survived.  Here, we're clearly winning.  Most years if the Canucks win any playoff rounds they eke by.  Here they're almost certainly going on after a strong performance.

I figure Chicago can win at least one though.  I wouldn't get the brooms out yet.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 18, 2011, 01:52:07 PM
Vancouver has been playing really well and the pace of the games are so much faster.  I've been watching their games as well and compairing it to the sharks-kings series.  The sharks look like they are skating through mud in compairison.  Vancouver is clearly the best team in the west thus far and have some of the best passing and transition game I've seen in a while. 

What do you think of the Torres hit?  I think he is a pretty dirty player and I hope Torres gets suspended for a long time.  I remember when he was playing on the Oilers and elbowed Michalik in the face and wasn't really punished for it.  If he doesn't get suspended he better be looking over his shoulder everytime he's out there.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 18, 2011, 02:24:47 PM
In the coffee room this morning at work there was much discussion of the Torres hit.  Nearly everyone here in a Canuck fan so I felt there was a bias to their opinions.  Torres was just suspended for four games and the first game he comes back he nearly takes a guy's head off.  There is no way the league can't punish him for that.  That's like commiting a crime the same day you get out of prison.

Some people have talked about the specifics of the hit and whether it should be worthy of suspension.  I find the NHL to be incredibly inconsistent about this stuff but their goal seems to be to get headshots out of the game.  That was a headshot.  Yeah you could say that this player did worse or that player did the same thing but got off.  But put yourself in the league's shoes.  This guy just got back from suspension.  The league would look like complete idiots if they didn't address it.

They should suspend him and I don't care how long it is for, even though the guy plays for my team.  I don't respect guys who try to injure other players.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 18, 2011, 09:31:32 PM
It worried me that the Flyers limped into the playoffs, but after seeing them kill off a 1:15 two man advantage I'm a lot more confident. Goaltending is key in the postseason, and Boosh is doing a great job of it after coming in for Bobrovsky late in the 1st on Saturday.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 20, 2011, 12:15:43 PM
Holly crap...  That was a crazy game last night.  I'm glad the sharkies got the W, but I wish they didn't have to go down 4-0 before coming back.  If this keeps up I'll need to get some bi-polar meds.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 20, 2011, 01:10:44 PM
Well last night was rather embarassing.  I figured the Hawks would win at least one game but it could have been at least a competitive game.  The worst thing is that I went to a pub with co-workers last night and the whole experience was ruined by the Canucks half-assed play.  Halfway through the second period people were leaving and the whole evening was soured.  They could have lost in a competitive game and it still would have been a fun evening but there is no fun in watching a game that is over halfway through.

But it isn't like the Hawks have any real chance of coming back so I'm not concerned... yet.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 20, 2011, 02:23:14 PM
I wouldn't read too much into the Van-Chi game last night.  It was just some guys getting some frustration out.  Detroit laid a wooping on the sharks last year in game 4 when the sharks were up 3-0 in that series only to lose the next game.  I'm pretty sure this series will be similar situation.  But what do I know, my picks haven't really been playing out as I expected.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 22, 2011, 01:28:07 PM
Okay, what the ****?  I figured Chicago would win one or two games.  It was bound to happen.  But two blowouts where the 'nucks lose by FIVE GOALS!?  Once, that's an off night, but TWICE?

Odds are they'll still beat Chicago but at this exact moment I don't think anyone in Vancouver thinks we're bringing home the Cup.  Those last two games were utterly embarrassing.

This needs to be one of those "our shoddy play inspired us to get our **** together" situations where the team nearly blows it and then goes on a tear.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 22, 2011, 07:21:43 PM
Getting blown out at home is never good (see sharks kings game 2; awfull).  But Vancouver has 2 days to pull it together till they play again.  I think they'll get it done in Chicago.

Sharks better put the series with the kings to bed on saturday since it is likely we will be playing the redwings next round and they are already done. 

This first round has yeilded a bunch of suprising results.  You can't count anyone out until its over injuries or not.

I'm thinking Philly and Anahiem win tonight. 
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 22, 2011, 07:29:20 PM
I'm getting worried about the Flyers. Ryan Miller is hot right now, and when he's hot he's insanely good. And the word is Pronger still isn't ready to come back yet, and as I've said, him at the point is key to their power play.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 22, 2011, 10:26:00 PM
Regardless of who wins, this Flyers-Sabres game is one of the best I've ever seen. The Flyers fought back from down 3-0 to force OT, but if Buffalo didn't have Ryan Miller in net Philadelphia would have scored at least twice as many goals. It's also nice to see Michael Leighton still has some magic left in him after that crazy run last year.

EDIT: Ah, dammit. Well, they came back from down 3-0 last year, so coming back from 3-2 is certainly possible.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 25, 2011, 01:20:10 PM
I feel the Canucks played quite well last night.  But sometimes you can play your balls off and still lose and that is exactly why in a seven game series you don't essentially forfeit two games!  Chicago hasn't had to come back from 3-0, they've essentially had to come back from 3-2 which any decent team can do.

Now we're one bad bounce, one weak call, one brainfart or one meathead fourth liner taking a dumb penalty away from getting eliminated.  And if the Canucks lose it will be because of those two games that they did not show up for.  Unless they absolutely blow out the Hawks on Tuesday it is going to be a very hard game to watch.

And if they lose what does our GM do?  What do you do with a team that dominates all throughout the regular season only to suffer arguably the most pathetic choke job of all time?  You finish number one and lose to the number eight seed after having a 3-0 lead and it's to the team that has eliminated you the last two years in a row?  I cannot think of a worse situation.  How could I ever get excited about this core group again if they lose on Tuesday?  I played pick-up hockey last week with more determination then they showed in games 4 and 5.  And they have the Sedins and Luongo locked up for essentially the rest of their careers.  What good are Art Ross and Vezina trophies if the team is worthless in the playoffs?

I fear legitimate riots in Vancouver if the Canucks lose.  That isn't right but I can see it happening.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 25, 2011, 01:44:26 PM
Somehow the Flyers are in the playoffs virtually every season despite not ever having any kind of consistent goaltending. They even managed to have more of a problem there this year when they're the two seed than last year when they had to win the last game of the year to even make the playoffs. Three different starting goalies in six games. It's a testament to the resiliency of the team that they managed to take it to seven despite that. The last two games they started off by allowing two horrible goals that would be shameful in the AHL and having to fight back to force overtime.

If they do manage to win despite themselves, it's looking like a rematch with the Bruins in the next round, which should be interesting.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 25, 2011, 02:02:17 PM
Hey J.P., I was looking at a hockey board and a fan suggested, sort of jokingly, the idea of the Flyers trading for Luongo next year to handle their goaltending problems.  And I'm thinking "hmmmm" because our back-up is good and we could use some more heart in the playoffs which many of the Flyers skaters have in spades.  This is not the worst idea I've ever heard.

If the Flyers had some sort of decent goaltending since the Hextall era they certainly would have won another Cup by now.  Aside from the occasional bad season they never suck.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 25, 2011, 03:08:36 PM
There was speculation they would pick up Nabakov in the last off season which wouldn't really fix the "non consistant" goaltending problem, but he would probably have more success with the flyers defensive structure than he ever did with the sharks and their inexperienced D'men.  If the Islanders let him go he may be available for cheap.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 25, 2011, 03:11:18 PM
They've been in the playoffs I believe 9 of the last 10 seasons, but the one year they missed them they were the worst team in the league.

I'm not sure I'd be willing to give up as much as they'd need to to get Luongo. A big part of the reason they're able to succeed despite their goaltending is their sheer depth.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 26, 2011, 02:55:08 PM
Wow my picks are looking terrible.  Fortuneately the Sharks are moving on and now I can watch the rest of the quarterfinals games without the knot in my stomach.  Tonights games should be fantastic.  I'm not going to "jinx" anyone by supporting one side or the other, but just looking forward to some good hockey.  Good luck to anyone with teams left in the playoffs.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 27, 2011, 09:08:05 AM
And both Ian and I live to play another day. I really wish I could have watched that Vancouver game. OT in game 7 is always entertaining, but I had to be up early.

I've gotta say, that's more like what I was expecting from the Flyers in the postseason. If they play like that the rest of the way they could win the cup. Kimmo Timonen is fantastic so far, +9 for the playoffs, and Briere got his sixth goal.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 27, 2011, 12:23:01 PM
Fucking heart attack game last night!  When Toews scored short-handed in his knees to tie it with like a minute left I thought I was going to throw up.  The Canucks had played so well and didn't deserve to lose so all I could think of was games 4 & 5.  As I mentioned you can play your balls off and still lose, so you have to play hard each night in the playoffs.

The whole game I was screaming for the Canucks to score another goal!  The only time I was comfortable with the 1 goal lead was in the first period.  Crawford was a freak last night making all sorts of miracle saves.  Chicago will do well for the next few years with that guy in net.

It was great to see Burrows get it after missing the penalty shot and then later taking a penalty at the start of OT.  He would have been such a goat if we lost.

And after all that it's just the first round.  I have a feeling however that Nashville won't be so challenging.  They don't have the stars or the playoff experience or the psychological edge of having eliminated us the last two years in a row.  Still the Canucks should not take them lightly.  It would be rather lame to overcome such a near disaster against Chicago only to lose to a team that just made it past the first round for the first time ever.

We've got the monkey off our back so let's not blow it.  Full stream ahead to the finals and learn from the huge mistakes made in games 4 & 5.

Kind of nice that the Canucks, Sharks and Flyers all made it to the next round.  Now I need Tampa to win tonight and Boston to lose to help out my hockey pool.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 27, 2011, 12:43:51 PM
Any Red Wings fans here?  If so do you want to make a friendly bet?  If the Red Wings win I'll change my Avatar to the Red Wings logo for the rest of the playoffs but if the Sharks win, you'll have to sport a sharks one.  Any takers?
 
The Van-Chi game was crazy.  I was feeling for vancouver when the shorthanded goal went in.  I thought that level of bad breaks only happened to the sharks but glad to see them over come it, plus now we don't have to play Chicago.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TrueNerd on April 28, 2011, 12:54:38 AM
My Blackhawks lost. Looking at recent posts it appears I won't get much sympathy though.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 28, 2011, 11:43:43 AM
sympathy... probably not since they did take out all our teams last year, but much respect.  They did far better than I thought they would after a lackluster season.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on April 28, 2011, 11:46:42 AM
Nashville has to start somewhere.  Maybe if we have a good showing, they'll get more clout here.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 28, 2011, 01:08:38 PM
As a Flyers fan, I have exactly zero sympathy for Blackhawks fans. You had your fun last year; it's someone else's turn now.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 28, 2011, 01:32:55 PM
I agree.  If your team won a championship recently enough that there are active players from that championship team still playing, then it is too soon to complain.

Of the remaining teams Vancouver, Boston, Washington and Philly have had the longest droughts, each exceeding 30 years (and Van and Wash have NEVER won).  Although I want Vancouver to win, I have sympathy for the fanbases of those other teams.  Everyone else has either won too recently or has not been around long enough.

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.  The Preds seem like an expansion team to me and they're over 10 years old now!

30 years of drought seems like a good minimum before you start feeling sorry for a fanbase.  It gives enough time for someone to grow to adulthood and even have kids of their own without ever seeing their team win a title.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 28, 2011, 02:38:26 PM
No team I am a fan of in any sport has won a championship in my lifetime. I'm due.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 28, 2011, 03:16:04 PM

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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 28, 2011, 04:48:13 PM
Quote
  No 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.
 
If I only stuck with Pacific Northwest teams I could say the same but for baseball my team is the Toronto Blue Jays who did win back-to-back World Series in the early 90's.  And that was quite a thrill.  It really is super awesome when your team wins.
 
And the BC Lions have also won 4 Grey Cups in my lifetime but that's CFL.  That's like MLS level and only a step above arena football and the WNBA.
 
Team Canada winning Olympic Gold Medals in hockey in 2002 and 2010 were both really exciting though.  Both had something special to them to with 2002 being the first gold in 50 years and 2010 being in Vancouver.  I don't know if the US winning Gold medals has the same effect for Americans.  Canada is like a rinky-dink country in the grand scheme of things so Olympic Gold is a big deal to us.
 
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.
 
Carolina's is the worst because those idiots had missed the playoffs the previous two seasons and then would miss them again for the next two.  They are the very definition of a fluke team.  And the worst thing is that every three or years or so that they do make the playoffs they always go deep making it to at least the conference finals.  They're the Florida Marlins of hockey, being completely irrelevant for years and years only to periodically pop up and break the hearts of another team's fans.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on April 28, 2011, 05:20:36 PM
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.

In the case of the Ducks, not much.  I went to a game there.  They didn't show up till the end of the first.  The sharks took a 3-1 lead into the 2nd intermission, and most people left.  It's more of a novelty than something people are actually interested in.  It was pretty sad, but that's Southern California for you.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 28, 2011, 08:10:54 PM
From what I've seen, Carolina has a really solid fan base. Between that and their history in Hartford, I have no problem with them winning. I've never liked it that there are two teams in Florida and two teams in Southern California, so to hell with Tampa Bay and Anaheim, though.

Quote
  No 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.

I actually live in Erie, Pennsylvania, which, if you couldn't guess, borders on Lake Erie, the exact opposite end of the state as Philly. I'm a Flyers fan because my dad is a Flyers fan, and he's a Flyers fan because a lot of his friends in college at Penn State were Flyers fans, being from that end of the state. In football and baseball (I don't care for basketball) I'm a Cleveland fan. The Browns haven't won one since the '60s, and the Indians' last World Series win was in 1949.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 29, 2011, 12:19:34 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on April 29, 2011, 12:26:04 PM
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.

Even though it was a 1 point game if I read write.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Sarail on April 29, 2011, 06:35:34 PM
Nashville definitely didn't play like they normally do. I think they had a case of what I like to call "weak skates." They've been off for several days. They'll fire back in game two.

Go Preds! ^_^
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on May 02, 2011, 09:57:46 AM
Preds win. 
I've just finished reading the recap.  Sound like an extremely long game, first in Pred history but more impressively third in Canuck, that was dominated by goal tending.  I'll have to see the video but it sounds like the puck was going everywhere through the game but no one could really convert to goals.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 02, 2011, 11:39:55 AM
Renne "stood on his head" and basicly stole the game for Nashville, but that's what you need in the playoffs.  Sharks looking good against Detroit so far.  They are playing them much harder then the efforts they were putting into the LA series.  Hope they can take at least one game in Detroit and make this a short series and hopfully remove the choker label once an for all.  Plus it looks like they will need the rest because Nashville and Vancouver look like pretty tough opponents.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 02, 2011, 12:08:59 PM
Quote
Sound like an extremely long game, first in Pred history but more impressively third in Canuck, that was dominated by goal tending.

Yes, and it was boring horseshit yet again.  The worst thing about losing the other night is that there will now be at least five games in this horrible series.
 
I was pretty pissed off that Vancouver gave up the tying goal with like a minute left.  This is Luongo's trademark.  It happened in game seven against Chicago and it even happened in the Olympic Gold Medal game.  I can't relax if the Canucks are only up by one.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 06, 2011, 12:07:50 PM
Last night was worth watching entirely for Ryan Kesler's "split the defense" goal to win the game!  I've gotten very sick of this formula where the Canucks get a lead and Preds meander around for a little while as their goalie stands on his head and then play their one good shift per period and tie it up.  We needed someone to just say "**** this ****!  I'm scoring!"  And Kesler did that with an AWESOME goal, put going through two defensemen like they were pylons!

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. ;)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 06, 2011, 03:49:35 PM
The Flyers goaltending, after being the best I've ever seen it be for most of the season, has been inexcusably awful in the playoffs. At least Pittsburgh's out and Detroit's all but out, so I've got nothing against any of the remaining teams. I'll just be rooting for good hockey the rest of the way.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 08, 2011, 11:30:24 PM
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. ;)

Looks like we will have to wait.  Arggg...  the sharks may be good in OT but they are terrible in the final 5 min of the third recently.  I've never seen Marleau look so invisible as he has in this series.  Terrible.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 09, 2011, 12:09:59 PM
Saturday night's game was the first entertaining one I've seen in this series yet.  But those stupid preds still won!  Damn it!  And they were super flukes too with the guy who scored two goals so much as admitting it in the interview afterwards.  Hell, they scored one by flicking the puck over the net from behind and bouncing it off one of our guys.  Then later we almost scored on our own net due to a weird bounce off a pass.

Still I have noticed that the Sedins have sucked lately.  Not just that they aren't scoring but those two or three shifts a night the Preds actually get shots on net?  The Sedins are always on the ice!  Every fucking time we get scored on it's them half-assing on defense.  If they're going to get soft in the playoffs and stop scoring that is one thing but they sure as **** shouldn't be a defensive liability.

Kesler meanwhile is playing his balls off.  He does not deserve to lose.  He should go up to the Sedins and clonk their heads together.  If the Sedins don't get their **** together they should strip Henrik of the captaincy and give it to Kesler.  Anyone who shrinks in the playoffs does not deserve the 'C'.  Kesler has earned it.

I always find it weird how guys can disappear in a playoff series.  I get it if you don't end up scoring but even then you should still be getting lots of shots on the net and it just isn't going your way.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Sarail on May 09, 2011, 01:54:18 PM
Really hope the Preds force game 7 tonight. They've played a spectacular series against the Canucks so far, and are definitely deserving of moving on to the next round.

Keep fighting, Preds! Stand with us!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 10, 2011, 12:04:43 PM
Oh yeah!  First time to the conference finals since 1994!

Now I have to wait for San Jose.  I don't wish blowing a 3-0 lead on anyone (except Chicago, hee hee) so I'll be cheering for the Sharks for the next few days.  Though if Detroit wanted to force a game seven and tire the Sharks out, that would be okay. ;)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 10, 2011, 03:56:53 PM
I'm still cautiously optomistic about tonights game because I think the Sharks have outplayed Detroit for the most part in this series.  Detroit has only been able to muster about 15-20 minutes of old time Detroit hockey per game.  If the Sharks can weather that and Niemi can come up with a big save or two they will win.  I hope Roenick's (one of my all time favorite players) comments light a fire in Marleau and the entire team to step it up.

Glad Vancouver won so if the Sharks can advance it will be a Pacific time zone series so I can watch the entire game instead of getting home work sometime late in the first period.  But what worries me is Kesler looks like a playoff monster right now. 
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 11, 2011, 12:14:24 PM
Oh man, that was nuts!  I was at my parents' last night for dinner and they had the Detroit/San Jose game on.  I left almost halfway into the third with San Jose up by one figuring they either had it or it would be overtime by the time I get home.  I get home, check online and Detroit won?!  Huh?  Not won in overtime but somehow won in regulation?!

So apdude is probably not in a good mood today.  Game 7 against Chicago was the most uncomfortable game I've ever watched.  Now Shark fans have to go through the same thing only a round later.

I hope San Jose wins it because I don't like the idea of Detroit overcoming a 3-0 deficit coming into the conference finals.  You don't make that sort of comeback only to get swept in the next round.  They'll have momentum and a "team of destiny" confidence if they pull it off and I don't want to face that.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 11, 2011, 02:14:02 PM
To tell you the truth SJ had nothing going last night.  Actually all three of these losses have progressively gotten harder to watch.  Game 4 they score 3 to tie it then lose it at the end of the 3rd.  Game 5 they lost a 2 goal lead in the 3rd.  Game 6 they were out classed but somehow had a lead and then gave up goals quickly after.  This series has been crazy with all the 1 goal games, and I don't think I've ever seen a series play out like that the whole time.

Hopefully Clowe will be back for game 7 because he's been our Kesler, and they empty the gas tank to get the win.  Either way both of theses teams will be a big underdog to Vancouver, but I'd also be more nervous playing against Detroit at this point even though most of there players are banged up.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 12, 2011, 07:08:08 PM
Well 2hrs to go till game 7 and nervous anticipation is starting to set in. 

My girlfriend's best-friend got tickets from her work so they will be going to the game!  So jelous. 

God I hope the Sharks can pull off the win instead of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory like is their usuall MO.  That being said this has been the best series I've ever seen.  Great hockey from both teams, but I guess thats what you get from a 2-3 matchup.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 13, 2011, 12:24:16 PM
Sharks vs. Canucks.  One of the teams everyone makes fun of for underachieving in the playoffs is going to the finals.

While I obviously want the Canucks to win, as a general hockey fan I'm mostly happy with the final four.  San Jose and Vancouver have never won the cup and Boston hasn't won since the 70's.  All three would be worthy winners.  And then there's Tampa Bay who won the cup only six years ago, then sucked so they got a gimme number one pick and are back in the finals with two of their top stars remaining from the cup team.  **** THAT!  It would be super lame if they won it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 13, 2011, 01:10:51 PM
I really hope Boston advances, but Tampa has a lot of weapons and Rolason is just one of those goalies that's hard to beat in the playoffs for some reason.

I want the Sharks/Canucks series to be another good one, but I've got a bad feeling that the Canucks will blow us out.  The Sharks just are not fast enough anymore.  If they can limit Kesler and stay out of the box they have a chance. 

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/5715394710_cc583e386e_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/33834440@N06/5715394710/)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on May 14, 2011, 06:30:51 AM
(http://i56.tinypic.com/2nsnhw9.gif)

Dayuuuuuum!!!!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 14, 2011, 02:54:33 PM

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.

Hey, the Ducks are the greatest franchise of the modern expansion era. Although let me clarify. I'm only comparing them to all other new teams that have joined the league since the 90's and onwards and not pre-established teams from before the 90's.

And I don't consider Mighty Ducks an insult. It's a term of affection of which I will always hold out hope that it gets brought back one day. Nice to see the Mighty Duck logo slowly creeping it's way back via the third jerseys.

As for me, I'm rooting for Vancouver or Boston to win. Although a SJ vs BOS final would definitely have he most intrigue. Frankly, though, it's Vancouver's cup to lose. I've been saying this since the start of the playoffs but they have got one of the best assembled teams I've seen in some time. It's very hard to find a weakness with them although Chicago did seem to find it for awhile there. That was odd. But, Vancouver just seems to deep to lose to any team over a span of seven games. But I think the real Stanley Cup final will be between VAN and SJ.

When Van lost its 3-0 lead and then went in to overtime on game 7 but won it, I felt that showed they would now have the mental toughness to beat any other team. A lot of teams in this league might have lost it going into overtime like that. Look what happened last year when Philly started scoring in Game 7 vs Boston after the Bruins acquired a 3-0 lead that game. I'm sure it was stunned disbelief that they suddenly began to realize they could lose. It would have been very easy for the players of Vancouver to be heading into overtime stunned that after how well they played the first three periods, they just couldn't finish the Blackhawks off. Despite all the pressure they faced, they went out and won it. That has got to be a huge boost to the confidence of every player on that team that no matter the pressure they face, they can beat it.

But now, SJ has gone through almost the same thing against their own hated rival. It's going to be a very interesting match-up. What worries me is that I think SJ might be a bit more motivated than the Canucks. The Canucks have said that they wanted to make it past the second round. They've wanted to for a while. Now that they have beaten the rival Blackhawks and finally gotten past the second round, will they be a bit less motivated? SJ has met that goal of getting past the second round already. Their goal is to make it past the third round. Now that they are here again for a third time, they are going to be very tough to remove.

A highly motivated team is the toughest thing to face. Everyone one it is playing at a higher capacity. When I watched Game 1 of the Preds/Ducks series, I knew the Ducks were going to have trouble. Nashville came into the playoffs with the singular goal of getting past round 1 and they played that way. Take their powerplay. It was one of the weakest of the play-off teams going in but during that opening round, it was incredibly successful. But that success dropped off in the second round because they didn't have the same focus anymore. They had met their goal of getting past round 1.

Even in football. Look what happened with the Jets and Patriots. The Jets were highly motivated to beat the Patriots. They did that and then they didn't seem to have the same motivation to beat the Steelers in the next round.

That's what worries me about the Canucks this round. They might not be as motivated as they were in the first two rounds.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 14, 2011, 05:34:33 PM
Just some friendly ribbing

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/5719563639_9140885610_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/33834440@N06/5719563639/)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 16, 2011, 12:10:16 PM
Now last night that was some exciting hockey.  Because of those stupid Preds I had forgotten how FUN hockey can be to watch.

And the Canucks won so sorry apdude, it looks like it will be at least 5 games until we're at Sea World.

I have realized now that if the Canucks don't win the Cup it is going to seriously bum me out.  I'm not cool with just making it to the conference finals.  That's awesome if you're some overachieving cinderella team but we're supposed to be here this time so we need to win it all.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 16, 2011, 12:30:44 PM
It was a pretty good game, but the Sharks took there foot off the accelerator again...  That's been pleagueing them the whole playoffs.  But Vancouver was pounding our guys every chance they got so that may have been the reason why.

Our penalty kill was looking pretty good but they just over chased Kesler and he drew two of our guys basicly leaving a 4 on 2 and that was the game. 

It's looking like it will be a fun series since both teams pretty much play straight up instead of defensive grind/trap type game (cough, tampa bay, cough..). 

Joe Pavelski is going to have to get back on the score sheet for the sharks to have a chance in this series, but our "first" line is looking pretty good so far so that is nice to see.  The sharks are going to need to take Wednesday's game otherwise thoughts of last confrence finals will begin to creep in and that just ramp up the pressure.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 21, 2011, 04:34:51 PM
Hooray!  The Sharks will not be swept out of the WCF. 

Unfortunately for me I'm in Albuquerque for work and the hotel doesn't have Vs.  Hockey is not big in the southwest so they don't even play it in sports bars.  Sounds like Vancouver took a lot of penalties.  I wonder if that was due to the refs trying to make up for the discrepancy in powerplay opportunities in the first two games.  Can't believe McGuinn took another major penalty this playoffs.  He's a tenacious forechecker but he's not usually a dirty type of player.  Some reports say it was clean and others not, and having not seen it I can't really comment, but it did almost cost the team the game so it was definitely stupid either way.

Fortunately I'll be able to watch tomorrow and hope they figured out how to clog up the neutral zone some and protect the defensive blue line since it looked as porous as the US-Mexico border in the first two games. 

I'm still not confident that they have enough to get past Vancouver, but if they can win tomorrow then it's pretty much anyones series. 

Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 21, 2011, 05:37:29 PM
In my experience most sports bars will switch to a game if you request it as long as the TVs aren't all taken by things other people are watching and they get the channel. Given the time of year and that we're talking about Vs., the latter is probably more likely to be a problem.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 23, 2011, 01:47:12 PM
So the last game the Canucks had back to back 5 on 3's and somehow couldn't score and I was just screaming at the TV (the Sedins' endless cycle game is BRUTAL to watch night after night if it doesn't result in anything).  Then yesterday they get three consecutive 5 on 3's and just bury the puck in all three.  Oh yeah!

The funny thing is my brother is anti-Canuck so he was cheering for the Sharks.  He was constantly yelling at the screen and saying "damn it the Sharks SUCK!!"  One series and he knows what it's like for every Shark fan.  I hope for the fans' sake that the Sharks someday get their **** together... but not this year.  If the Canucks win the Cup I will be incredibly generous with letting other fanbases get a go at it.  I don't need a dynasty.  After 40 years I just need ONE.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 25, 2011, 12:15:31 PM
Stanley Cup finals WHOOO!!!  First time in 17 years.  It's weird to think about that.  That was over half my life ago.  I was 12 years old then, now I'm 29.  I'm pretty much a different person than I was then.

Everyone around Vancouver is pretty jazzed today as one would expect.  And the general consensus is that whoever decided to have confetti pour down from the ceiling is an idiot.  The players couldn't skate through it!  I was getting nervous about the idea of one of our star players wiping out on the confetti and getting injured!  Potential Cup winning season derailed because some marketing director who probably knows nothing about hockey had confetti fall onto the ice?  Yeah that person would have been run out of town. :)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 25, 2011, 08:10:19 PM
I still don't know what happend on that overtime goal, but it should have never gone into overtime anyway.  Vancouver has a team of destiny smell about it this year, and it's kind of hard not to root for them to win it all so good luck in the finals. 
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on May 26, 2011, 07:42:33 PM
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 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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on May 26, 2011, 08:47:03 PM
Stanley Cup Final games have started at 8 ET/5 PT as long as I can remember, this includes 2007 and even going back to when Gretzky's Kings were in the Finals in '93. So no, Vancouver isn't the only one getting boned.

(Don't get me started on 1993, though.)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on May 27, 2011, 12:18:33 PM
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 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.
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on May 27, 2011, 02:32:34 PM
Can you go into work a half hour early and leave at 4:30?  That's what I did for the Detroit series, then again my boss is flexible as long as I get my work done.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on June 02, 2011, 12:26:26 PM
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.

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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on June 02, 2011, 12:30:55 PM
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.

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 GameCubers LOL.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 02, 2011, 01:03:57 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on June 02, 2011, 01:19:25 PM
As I undersand it the Jets were the Jets because the owner was friends with the NFL Jets owner.  These are not the same owners anymore so the new owners may want to just break-ties with the older franchise and go for something new.  They may buy the Jets name just to have throwback jerseys to sell in the store, but I doubt they will be the Jets again.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on June 02, 2011, 04:42:10 PM
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.

Like Ian said though, the owner of the Coyotes right now is the NHL. It's in their best interest to get extra cash where they can.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 02, 2011, 06:34:40 PM
Yeah, I don't generally read everything Ian posts. I scan it to get the core details, but his posts are way too long and aren't generally worth reading the whole way through. No offense, Ian.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on June 02, 2011, 06:59:35 PM
Hey!  :@
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 02, 2011, 07:11:48 PM
It's not just you, I don't read any posts that long the whole way through. You just happen to almost exclusively post that way.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on June 06, 2011, 12:29:26 PM
Halfway there.  I watched Saturday's game on a restaurant patio in Vancouver where they had TVs set up.  It was very cool to watch in that atmostphere with so many other fans.  I noted something to my friend after Burrows scored the overtime winner.  THIS is fun.  THIS is exciting.  Watching the games is so stressful it is barely enjoyable but that feeling when your team wins the game is so awesome.  It makes it worthwhile.  It makes it so you remember the game as an enjoyable experience.  You put yourself through almost three hours of stress for that feeling of joy at the end.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 06, 2011, 06:03:24 PM
I posted this on Twitter after the last game, but not here. During the celebration after the Canucks won the camera showed a fan with a sign that I loved, that read "Burrows Is Hungry for the Cup."
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on June 07, 2011, 03:21:23 PM
That was, um, very embarassing.

Hopefully it's a one-off bad game and not the start of a pattern like in the Chicago series.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: ShyGuy on June 07, 2011, 08:21:23 PM
Canucks are a stupid lousy team who have failed their fans. Pathetic really.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: KnowsNothing on June 09, 2011, 12:14:13 AM
Haha bruins humiliated the canucks once again. Hopefully they can perform like that again on canadian ice!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 09, 2011, 12:48:17 AM
The Canucks win the first two, barely squeaking out a victory in the final seconds, and then the Bruins come home and even it up with two blowouts. Boston's really in the Canucks' heads right now; their coaching staff really needs to get morale back up.

We're that much closer to my dream scenario of game 7 of the Cup Finals going into multiple overtimes.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on June 09, 2011, 12:16:20 PM
AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!

The Canucks are a lot like Nintendo.  They're talented, capable of so much potential, constantly face criticism, and when the chips are down they go out there and prove their detractors right. :(

A lot of people here in Vancouver are playing it up as both teams winning their home games which is no big deal.  But as insanolord points out the Vancouver victories were in close games while the Boston victories were in blowouts.  Tim Thomas' play is reminding me of the dead puck era where it was such a huge pain in the ass to score that being behind by even one goal seemed like a huge obstacle.  Though these last two games the Canucks either shoot right in Thomas' chest or miss the net completely.

Everyone sucked these last two games.  Not just Luongo or the Sedins but absolutely EVERYBODY.  And they could seemingly do nothing right.  It felt like you could grab any AHL team, put them in Canucks jerseys and get the same results.  This series will have a major impact on the legacy of the Sedins and Luongo.  All three of them have faced criticism for buckling under the pressure.  Well the pressure is on.  If you're going to prove everyone wrong, now is the time.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on June 14, 2011, 01:21:10 PM
Okay, does Boston drug the water in the visitor's locker room or something?  How does this team just suck so much in Boston?  I blame that game on Luongo.  He let in practically the first two shots on net and the whole team deflated while the Bruins turned it on.

I am quite annoyed that the Bruins are constantly getting in cheap shots on the Canucks.  They punch our guys and slash at their ankles after the whistle but the refs do nothing and yet the media tends to paint the Canucks as the bad guys.  I don't get that.

Anyway, let's hope this "home team wins" pattern continues.  I do have a friend going to Game 7 so I guess this worked out for him at least.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: KnowsNothing on June 14, 2011, 02:28:07 PM
Boston looks just as bad on Vancouver's ice.  It's really mind boggling.  The Canucks are around -11 in total goals but are poised to win the series all because the Bruins outscored them at home 17-3 but can't seem to find the net in Vancouver.  Those numbers might not be perfect but they're pretty damn close.  Both teams just seem so much faster on their home ice, and Boston is not known for their speed :p It's just really strange

The Bruins aren't saints but I've seen a lot of slashing and bumping from both teams.  Hell, Alex Burrows bit Bergeron's finger and Aaron Rome sent Nathan Horton to the hospital with very late, cheap shot.  Plus, Luongo's comments about Tim Thomas aren't helping their PR problems and were particularly hilarious after last night's performance.

Anyway, I don't have too much of an emotional investment in this series but I would be disappointed to see the Canucks win after getting destroyed in every game in Boston.  The Vancouver games have at least been close.  But whatever, the Heat lost the NBA finals so justice has been served in the world of sports.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 14, 2011, 08:55:33 PM
Okay, here we go. Game 7: double overtime. The greatest thing in the history of sports. Make it happen!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on June 15, 2011, 12:25:31 AM
I hope so. There have been 5 game 7 Stanley Cup finals the past 10 years and none have gone to overtime. And with no real vested interest in this result, (I'm quite fine with either team winning and don't hate one over the other), this would be awesome to finally see.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on June 15, 2011, 06:20:38 PM
It'd be the first game 7 overtime in the Cup finals since the Eisenhower administration.

I'm personally rooting for a meteor strike, though.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on June 15, 2011, 11:00:06 PM
It's official.  Boston won the Joe Tornton trade.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: KnowsNothing on June 16, 2011, 12:48:22 AM
I honestly feel bad for Vancouver fans.  Your team is obviously very talented but they cannot play from behind.  Score one goal early in the game and mentally they can't seem to recover.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Lithium on June 16, 2011, 04:31:03 AM
Riots in Vancouver (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/rioting-overshadows-hockey-as-vancouver-reels-after-game-7-loss/article2062706/)
the only thing that can override Canadian politeness is Hockey, go figure.

(http://i.imgur.com/aQv0R.jpg)

stay classy.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on June 16, 2011, 12:21:22 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: KnowsNothing on June 16, 2011, 12:51:27 PM
Last year the Bruins were up 3-0 in a series and up 3-0 in game 7 and they blew it.  The Celtics won the NBA Finals in 2008, were eliminated in 2009, and went back to the Finals in 2010. You guys are a good team and will have another shot. I feel terrible for the city though for having to put up with those insane rioters, that's just inexcusable.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Lithium on June 16, 2011, 02:57:29 PM
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.

yeah i agree, the Canucks didn't really deserve to win, and i say this as a Canucks fan, espesially since they were acting like goons this entire series and all the praise went to Lulongo's head and he became pretty arrogant so those humiliating defeats in Boston and game 7 was karma in my opinion.

on an unrelated note: I loled pretty hard when i saw that all the ads for Boston Pizza had Boston crossed out and had Vancouver written under it (http://files.myopera.com/sanshan/blog/Vancouver-Pizza.jpg)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on June 16, 2011, 06:55:35 PM
Montreal did that 2 seasons ago when they faced the Bruins in the playoffs and it worked out about as well.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 24, 2011, 02:54:43 PM
According to ESPN, the new Winnipeg team will indeed be called the Jets.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on June 24, 2011, 02:59:06 PM
I can't believe I missed that Pic its awesome.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on June 24, 2011, 04:29:40 PM
I'm glad to hear they're going with the Jets name.  But they can still **** things up with an ugly uniform and logo so we'll see how things go tonight at the draft.

Seriously though it would have been just throwing money down the toilet to not use the Jets name.  EVERYONE has been calling them that.  When the press conference was done in Winnipeg, the vast majority of the fans were wearing Jets jerseys.  If a no-brainer decision like THAT goes sailing over your head, how are you going to get the other more important hockey stuff right?  For every shitty team that never competes there is a clueless ownership group at the top that routinely gets even the easy stuff wrong.  This name decision was the first test to see if the ownership is competent.

Though right now the big news is that Philly has unexpectently blown up a roster that brought them to finals only two seasons ago and was considered a contender most of last season.  And they've got a questionable goalie locked up longterm.  They're taking some big risks and I would be shitting bricks if I was a Philly fan.  And the worse thing is that they gave Mike Richards to the Kings.  I don't need good Western Conference teams getting better!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on June 24, 2011, 04:32:52 PM
They could have pulled a Nintendo and called themselves Uer.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 24, 2011, 11:46:02 PM
They didn't "blow up" the roster. The only guys we lost were Carter, who has never been a factor in the postseason runs they've had, and Richards, who, as great as he is, was our third line Center. We still have Briere and Giroux and JVR, and everyone on that fantastic defense.

As for the goalie, maybe he was questionable because of the guys he had in front of him. Even without Carter and Richards, the Flyers can score, and they're stacked defensively from Pronger and Timonen all the way down. It's an ideal situation for a goalie. And if he's a flop, they'll send him down to the AHL to get him off the cap and sign someone else.

The way I see it, the team is still very much a contender for the cup.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Caliban on June 25, 2011, 10:07:45 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/aQv0R.jpg)

Fake: http://gizmodo.com/5815233/the-video-of-the-kiss-that-wasnt-a-kiss.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on June 26, 2011, 12:27:48 PM
[img width=640 height=426]<Fake Image>
Fake: http://gizmodo.com/5815233/the-video-of-the-kiss-that-wasnt-a-kiss.
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Caliban on June 26, 2011, 08:52:34 PM
Oh... my bad.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on July 01, 2011, 04:55:09 PM
Well it's free agent day and it looks like the Flyers have been busy.  Looks like they are trying to buy up the cross state rivals players.  How many goals you think Jagr still has in him?  For 3.3mil it better be >25.

The Sharks did a sign and trade of Setoguchi.  Not sure I like how it happened but we were able to get a true 2nd defensman to go with Boyle.  Hopefully Wilson can pick up another piece or two to go improve the sharks blue line depth or hope the young guys can step it up.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 03, 2011, 11:57:25 PM
It's going to be a radically different Flyers team taking the ice this fall. Quite a gamble, considering how well the team had done recently.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 30, 2011, 06:08:57 PM
We're a little less than a week out from the start of the season, and I am really excited for it to start. My fantasy draft is in about 20 minutes, and that's making me even more excited. Is everybody else looking forward to it as much as I am?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on September 30, 2011, 07:18:01 PM
I am definatly looking forward to this season. The sharks added some toughness and skill to the blue line and didn't have to give up too much offensive power. Pavelski, Thornton, Marleau line looks awesome so far.  Hopefully niemi gets healthy soon and solidify their goaltending position.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on October 01, 2011, 12:18:48 AM
I've been taking a different approach this year. I haven't been focusing on the preseason at all. It never seems to matter and throws me off on what to expect for the season. I'm going to wait until a couple days before the season starts and see what the firm rosters are instead of complaining about one guy getting cut or not or expecting another player to be huge after a good camp and just watch when it matters.

As such, I'm still patiently waiting to see my teams in action and I really honestly don't know how things are going so far and I kind of like that. Yet, I'm still a bit nervous on the season. I've mentioned this a few times but my favorite teams are the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Anahiem Mighty forever Ducks. Which is kind of funny since I'm rooting for big rivals of Insanolord's team and Apdude's team. Hey guys! How's it going?

With Pittsburgh, I'm not sure what to expect. I'm sure they'll still be a contender and make the playoffs again but for the past few years, the Atlantic division has been like an arms race and every team in it is tough. Even the Islanders. The biggest problem for Pittsurgh is secondary scoring. After Malkin and Crosby, they've always been weak. I don't think they did anything to bolster that. At least Malkin will be back.

With the Crosby concussion, I think I'll always be nervous every time he takes a hit now. Such a shame. He was having such a great year. I'm curious to see what he'll be like when he finally plays again. How long will it take him to find that level of play again? Being away that long can defintely set a player back. That said, I still think Pittsburgh has the best defence in the Atlantic division and that's what is going to carry them through the season.

As for the Ducks, I'm glad to see Hiller is back and feeling fine. He might be the most important player on that team. And I'm glad Selanne decided to come back another year. Probably my most favorite player in the NHL currently playing. I'm pretty sure this will be it for him. And as such, I hope he doesn't suffer some bad injury that ends it short like has happened to other player such as Joe Sakic or Mike Modano for instance. I'd like to see him get into the playoffs one last time.

Like the Penguins, the Ducks really didn't add much to their roster. They are like a 50/50 team to me. Half the team is exceptional and the other half could be replaced by minor leaguers and you wouldn't notice the difference. Still, the exceptional half makes every game worth watching. In fact, I'm looking forward to watching the Duck games more than the Penguins games. With the talent the Penguins have, I'm amazed at how many dull games they often seem to play. With the Ducks, there seem to be very few dud games. It could be because they had a lot of come from behind victories last year as well. With no real changes to the team, it will probably be the same this year.

Shame though. With a couple other better defencemen and even two good secondary scorers, that could make this team a Cup contender.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on October 04, 2011, 05:06:26 PM
I was on vacation so I have not been paying attention to the pre-season.  I'm not sure how I feel about the season.  The Canucks realistically had their best season ever last year (though I prefer 1993-94).  They were the best team in the regular season and made it to the finals.  So how do you top that?  Winning the Stanley Cup is the only way.

I found the playoffs harder to watch last year because of the expectations involved.  The team was good enough that losing in the second or third round would not be acceptable.  It was like "okay, guys, you've got our hopes up so you HAVE to win or we're going to be seriously bummed out!"  Well the expectations are still high.  Every year you get the delusional diehards who say "this year is the year" and I NEVER believe them.  It's very different to feel that your team is merely decent and has some good players and you get excited when they exceed your expectations.  They get on a win streak or beat some big teams in a dominant way and you start thinking "maybe they'll do it" but you don't REALLY believe it so all the success is a fun surprise and the failures don't hit you too bad because you kind of expected them.

But I KNOW the Canucks are capable of winning the Cup.  They weren't some Cinderella team that got hot.  They dominated all season.  So if they have some losing streak at some point, it's going to be a much more panicky situation than it normally is.  I really think they should have beat Boston and was REALLY disappointed in their performance in the finals.  I don't want to learn at one point this season that last year was our one chance and we blew it.  That pins and needles feeling I get when watching Canuck playoff games is going to be there from the first game!  Ugh.  But if they start off strong, I'll probably feel better and get relaxed... until the playoffs of course.

Deep down I don't trust Luongo or the Sedins at all.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 06, 2011, 10:13:15 PM
And with that, the Flyers took their first step toward hoisting the cup next June, beating Boston 2-1. They looked really good tonight, and although it's just one game, Bryzgalov played brilliantly, and definitely looked worth the high price they paid for him. I was surprised to see Couturier (their 1st round pick, 8th overall) not just playing, but contributing. Veracek, who we got for Jeff Carter (and who is also on my fantasy team) got a goal in his first game as a Flyer. I am very happy with what I saw here tonight.

Even though ESPN's NHL coverage is generally ****, it was still nice to see Matthew Barnaby pick the Flyers to win it all (over the Canucks; sorry Ian). If they keep it up like they did tonight, I could definitely see that happening.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on October 07, 2011, 11:55:31 AM
Well the Canucks lost but we lost on a shootout while the stinky Bruins lost in regulation so HAW HAW!

My Mom pointed out something encouraging.  Though the Canucks lost (and really losing to the Pens ain't nothing to be ashamed of) they played hard all night.  None of this bullshit where they take a period off.

When Luongo let in the first goal, I heard boos.  Harsh.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 12, 2011, 08:35:54 PM
Tonight is Flyers-Canucks, which based on preseason predictions (you know how accurate those are) could very well be a Stanley Cup preview.

After one period, the Flyers lead 3-1. A lot of that is due to Vancouver giving up four power plays so far, two of which produced Flyer goals. Then Vancouver got one back on a power play of their own (that PP unit of theirs is damned impressive, it's no wonder the announcers said avoiding it was key for the Flyers), but almost immediately van Riemsdyk responded with the only even-strength goal of the game so far.

Claude Giroux is beginning to emerge as a real star in this league. The first goal of the game was his, his third of the season, and he had assists on both of the others. The second was Pronger from the point, perfectly illustrating why his injury destroyed our power play late last year. They've only played seven periods, but everything I've seen from this team so far this season is making me ecstatic.




EDIT: Through some excellent clutch penalty killing (after stupid, unnecessary penalties), the Flyers edged out Vancouver 5-4. If that really was a preview of the Stanley Cup finals as the analysts would have it, it's going to be one hell of a series come June.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on October 13, 2011, 01:19:12 AM
Tuesday was an awesome night for me. The Penguins opener against Florida was great fun. 5 star entertainment. Not like that dog of a game against the Oilers. That was 2 star entertainment. Letang is defintely outshining Jordan Staal as the number one star of the Penguins without Malkin and Crosby around. He's been awesome.

Tomorrow night, it's the Capitals, which should be interesting. Early season, still down Malkin and Crosby, how much better has the team gotten playing without them? I'm curious to see. Lately, the Caps have been dominating the rivalry. It's going to be a tense one.

Meanwhile, still waiting to see the Ducks play a game. Never got any of the European games they played. Finally have a chance to see them in action this Friday. Excited to finally see them in action again.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 21, 2011, 12:26:36 AM
I found this and I love it: NHL power rankings using Simpsons quotes to describe all 30 teams.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/powerRankings
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 06, 2011, 12:17:30 AM
The NHL Board of Governors has approved a plan for realignment that would split the league into four conferences.

Quote
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

Also known as the only conference NBC will pay any attention to.

Quote
* 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

Teams play 5-6 games with each team in their conference and a home-and-home with each team from the other conferences. The top four teams in each conference make the playoffs, and the first round takes place within the conference. The rest of the playoff details haven't been finalized yet.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on December 06, 2011, 03:08:18 PM
Okay they have to name these new conferences the Smythe, Adams, Patrick and Norris conferences.  It is such an obvious way to go and these match up pretty good with the old divisions as well.

There a couple things I don't like.  I don't like having uneven divisions.  Six worked because there were 30 teams.  Four would work with 32 or 28 teams.

I also hate "choke points" in the playoffs.  Every league has them.  Right now the Stanley Cup is between the top team of the two conferences.  As a result the choke point is at the conference championships because if the best teams in the league are in the same conference that's the farthest they can go before they meet up.  If one conference is notably stronger than the other the conference finals are essentially the "real" finals.  The best setup is to just have the top 16 teams in the playoffs and seed them accordingly.  This four conference setup introduces more choke points.  Now the choke point is in the second round.  The NHL had a similar setup during the 80's and early 90's.  In the 80's Calgary was probably the second best team but they constantly lost in the second round to Edmonton because they were in the same division and that was where the choke point was.

Teams with inferior records should not make the playoffs over a better team because of divisional alignment.  Inferior teams should not get an easier path to the finals because of divisional alignment.  The playoff systems of all the big four leagues are designed to lessen travel rather than try to truly give us the best two teams in the finals.

I think they should have just swapped Nashville and Winnipeg and kept the old system.  Keep it simple.  What league realigns their divisions without any change to the total amount of teams?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: apdude on December 06, 2011, 04:09:05 PM
Well this will be better from a travel standpoint and it will show which teams are really good since everyone will play each other at least twice so the schedules will be more balanced. I feel bad for Winnipeg since they are the only Canadian team in their conference. Will that end up hurting their attendance?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 13, 2012, 10:26:19 PM
As I always say, there's nothing in sports quite as good as playoff hockey, especially when it goes like that. Way to take advantage of home ice, Penguins!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 15, 2012, 06:48:02 PM
**** Aaron Asham and James Neal. A total lack of class today from the Penguins, as they desperately fought a losing battle.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on April 16, 2012, 01:28:12 AM
lol Canucks.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Sarail on April 16, 2012, 08:37:05 AM
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!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 16, 2012, 12:15:22 PM
I guess before my President's Trophy winning team gets swept in the first round I get a word in.

That word is:

ARRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on April 16, 2012, 03:20:46 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 16, 2012, 08:47:37 PM
**** Aaron Asham and James Neal. A total lack of class today from the Penguins, as they desperately fought a losing battle.

Truth. Penguins are completely turning me off right now. I've never seen such a miserable performance from this team like this before. Frankly, I thought they should have switched jerseys since the Penguins are playing the way the Flyers play and the Flyers are playing the way the Penguins play. Insanolord might object to that but I've seen many dirty tactics by the Flyers before and they always seem to goon it up if you will.

Much sadder is that this year, I don't even really hate anybody on the Flyers team. I actually like a lot of the players. I've even mellowed to Hartnell. I'm more upset at the Penguins players and am yelling at them instead of the Flyers. Philly has achieved the greatest victory here. Not only are they completely routing the Pens, they are doing it while making the Pens fans disgusted and ashamed of their own team. There's only star on the Pens right now and that's Jordan Staal. And even he's been weak defensively but at least that's the worse thing I can say about him.

Best of luck to you, Insanolord. I still think the Rangers are going to win the East but for the first time in maybe ever, I'm actually okay if the Flyers win it all. Heck, I still root for Jagr. I can't help. Reason I became a Pens fan.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 18, 2012, 07:32:05 PM
Proving once again that the Penguins have the worst broadcast team this side of Boston, a guy on their pregame show was just criticizing the league for suspending Penguins players, going as far as blaming the officiating for James Neal crosschecking a guy in the neck..
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 23, 2012, 12:50:25 PM
Well at least we didn't get swept. :(

I've realized that I absolutely do not want the Western Conference to win the Cup.  Look at who's left:

LA - just beat my Canucks so **** them!
St. Louis - boring no-stars trap team that are an embarassment to hockey.  The franchise deserves a cup but not this specific team.
Chicago - archrivals of the Canucks, plus they injured our best player right before the playoffs!
Phoenix - the team owned by the NHL?  Who the hell wants THIS team to win?
Nashville - It's a post-Bettman expansion team in a non-traditional market.  They win the Cup and dozens of fans will be thrilled.

In the East the only team that would offend me with their victory would be the Florida Panthers who have that similar sunbelt expansion stink of the Preds but without years of, you know, being a well run team that consistently makes the playoffs.  A Florida/Nashville finals would probably set record lows for ratings.  Aside from Florida though I'm fine with any of the other Eastern teams (well I still don't really like Boston after last year).
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Sarail on April 25, 2012, 07:40:22 PM
Dozens of fans, Ian? I don't know who you're trying to kid, but my hometown goes absolutely bonkers over this hockey team. An arena that seats over 17,000, and we fill it up EVERY freaking night.

My Preds are playing much better hockey in the playoffs than they did all season long. I really, REALLY hope they knock the snot out of Phoenix.

I do agree with your St. Louis sentiment, though. :P
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on April 26, 2012, 03:08:02 PM
At work we do a playoff pool every year.  Thus far NONE of my players have gone to the second round.  My remaining players are from New York and New Jersey.  If both teams lose tonight I could lose my entire playoff pool team in the FIRST ROUND.

I'm actually hoping it happens because I'm clearly going to lose anyway so I might as well do it in style.  Edmonton Oilers style! :D
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 23, 2012, 03:27:13 PM
Scott Howson is a fucking idiot.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on July 23, 2012, 05:24:14 PM
Wow. I imagine what has happened is that no teams were talking to him but the Rangers and they just persistantly wore him down. With no one else even willing to talk after his huge demands, he probably gave up and took the Rangers deal.

Best comment I saw about this:

"In a related story: Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, and Tim Erixon are contemplating retiring from hockey instead of playing for the Blue Jackets."

Ha ha. Don't worry. Howson will trade them away to teams they want to play for just like Carter and Nash.

Still, the Atlantic Division stays crazy tough. I was disappointed the Pens couldn't pick up Parise but they have plenty of cap space to make a move later, even if it is next year. With Parise leaving, it helps weaken the Devils a bit. If the Flyers do acquire Weber, I'd rank the teams as best to worst as Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, Devils, Islanders. The Islanders also aren't as bad as they might seem. They've got some good talent but not enough complementary peices and play in what I think is the toughest division.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 23, 2012, 05:32:52 PM
If you've been paying attention to the rumor mill, it seems like Columbus got much better offers than that earlier in the process and then turned them down. Based on what I've read I know the Flyers made a higher quality offer than that. Apparently Howson was just holding out for two third-liners, a prospect and the twenty-somethingth pick.

I think where the Flyers rank in that division will depend a lot on what kind of play they get from Bryzgalov. He showed signs of brilliance in March, and then fell off again, perhaps due to a foot injury he sustained late in the season. If he can step up his game, which would be made easier by acquiring Weber, I think the Flyers could be better than the Rangers, because even with Nash the Rangers are no match for the Flyers (or Pens) in sheer firepower.

And yeah, the Islanders would finish with a much better record if they didn't have to play a third of their schedule against the other four teams in that loaded division.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on July 23, 2012, 05:43:13 PM
The winner in this is going to be whichever team picks up Alexander Semin. The Capitals really didn't play to his strengths last season, and if he doesn't stay in Russia after the lockout I can see him outproducing Nash and being more valuable than Weber over the terms of those deals.

(Burkie, you're killing me. Pick up the phone. Even though he won't play until 2013-14, pairing him up with MacKinnon is going to make me flood the city with drool.)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 23, 2012, 05:48:10 PM
I don't think he'd be better than Weber given the context. The Flyers have tons of scoring options, but they were light on defense. If they get Weber (especially if they don't have to give up Meszaros to do it), and already got Luke Schenn, they've addressed the major weak point on the team.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on July 23, 2012, 06:30:31 PM
I was disappointed to find out Nash had gone to the Rangers.  Not because I care about the Jackets or because I hate the Rangers but simply because it's a boring end result.  The Rangers get EVERYBODY.  It isn't exciting or interesting to find out the Rangers landed a star.

The only chance for Columbus to ever turn around is to somehow get a good GM and coach and build a contender entirely through the draft.  They have too much of a loser culture to get free agents or successfully trade for anyone with a no-trade clause.  If no one wants to go to your team then homegrown draft picks are the only way to win because those players don't have much of a choice but to play for you for the first few years.  Then you hope you do well enough that those player want to stay when they become free agents and that you're enough of a contender that other players want to be on your team.  It can be done but they might as well be the Columbus Clippers at this point.

What's sad is the Ohio isn't like some sunbelt non-traditional market.  This is the sort of place where hockey could find any audience much easier than some place in Florida or Arizona.  Yet they continuously suck while the Predators are a good team constantly facing relocation rumours because they're based in Nashville.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 23, 2012, 06:35:03 PM
The Blue Jackets aren't like the Clippers. The Clippers are actually good. They've won the International League two years in a row.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on July 24, 2012, 10:50:16 AM
I rank the higher Rangers higher than the Flyers because the Flyers didn't beat the Rangers once last year despite their firepower. That said, the addition of Weber could make them a stronger team by strengthing their defense. (I'm not convinced the Schenn trade makes it stronger than before). But since there hasn't been too much upheaval for either team like last year for the Flyers, based on last season's play, I give the edge to the Rangers.

As for the rumor mill, I know the Red Wings were supposed to have made a better offer but I think Howson clearly wanted to send Nash out of the division and to the East. As for what other offers there were from Eastern teams, I can't recall anything of better significance. Generally, it was often a report of Howson wanting some really good player and the team balking at his asking price.

As for Semin, I definitely think he's worth taking a chance on. Last few years, the Caps have tried to move to a more defensive system which I think has limited his production. However, I do think he's a streaky player. But he might be better off on a team where he plays an auxillary role and is counted as one of the top got-to guys for goal production. I wonder if he would play for the Ducks where Boudreau is or if Boudreau would want to have him on his team again. He might make a good fit there.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 24, 2012, 06:37:31 PM
Well now I think the Rangers are certainly better than the Flyers. ****.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 19, 2012, 12:24:30 AM
In the midst of having a long conversation with a friend about hockey I came to a realization that I know at least one person here probably doesn't want to hear, and that's that the Toronto Maple Leafs are hockey's equivalent to the Cleveland Browns.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on August 19, 2012, 08:00:36 AM
Wouldn't that be the Jets, considering they lost their franchise for a time?

The Leafs would be more like the Cowboys - biggest money-maker in the league, but haven't been able to do anything in the postseason recently. Oh, and they get way more attention than their level of talent deserves.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 19, 2012, 12:56:12 PM
I wasn't thinking of the relocation angle. I meant in the sense that despite perennial sucking they have some of the most devoted fans in the league, and that they haven't won a championship in the modern era of the sport, but they won a whole bunch of them before that.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on August 20, 2012, 12:13:03 AM
I'm sad. The leafs make me sad.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Armak88 on August 20, 2012, 02:52:01 AM
I was really trying not to end up going on a Leafs rant. But I can't help myself. And now this is happening. The current Leafs team makes me depressed. I feel like I watch every other team get better. Every other team has hot prospects that are the future stars of the league or are signing free agents for absurd sums of money, but they are making serious strides toward building a better team. Toronto has a overwhelmingly terrible history of drafting players that go bust and in recent years haven't been willing to make moves to bring in big free agents. Even in the past when we did bring in free agents we usually overpaid for guys who were at the end of their career and ended up doing jack **** with the team. Historically, we have only really done well when we've had a top 5 goal tender to pull our ass out of the fire.

The Leafs have painted themselves into a corner, and MLSE doesn't really care too much because the corner is full of money. We don't have the cap space to bring in large contracts. Let that sink in for a minute, who the hell is taking up the entire salary cap when we have 1 top six forward on the team. Phaneuf is our highest paid player at 6mil a year (did you just through up a little? because I did) followed by Grabovski at something over 5mil. We take mediocre players, over pay them, and then ask them to over reach themselves and fill roles that they they are not cut out for. Surely this is a recipe for success. Now we're at a point where we're trying to pick up value trades and picks of guys who have been hurt or haven't gotten a chance to take that next step and just hoping that they pan out. There are at least three other teams in our conference that did not make the playoffs who made moves that make them contenders next year. The only reason I'm not on the fire Burke wagon is because I dread the idea of ANOTHER rebuild and ANOTHER 5 years of waiting for draft picks and not making the playoffs.

I know a lot of people say "haha the leafs suck they've sucked for a long time why bother with them?" but it wasn't always like this. I became a leaf fan when Wendel Clark beat the tar out of Marty McSorely in THE CONFERENCE FINALS. I was five years old, the leafs were good and I felt like Wendel was the personification of our team. We were probably one of the hardest teams to face in hockey at that time. I remember facing the flyers being the most physical games I've ever seen. But the leafs then weren't the biggest team, just tough, scrappy, a little dirty (you know Clark loved those elbows) but we could just grind out wins. We were the perfect underdog team and I loved every minute of it. Once Gilmour left the team I felt like we lost that. Nothing against Sundin but he never did it for me like Gilmour and Clark. I will always be a leafs fan, but this whole no playoff hockey thing has gotten under my skin and it doesn't look like that's going to change for some time.

oh look i'm back to depressed again.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 14, 2013, 07:05:37 PM
So we're 5 days away from the season starting, and my avatar and title clearly show that I'm excited; how about everybody else?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on January 15, 2013, 10:41:14 AM
I've noticed that. I'm surprised you went with a Bryz quote also since your 3DS Mii message still says he sucks.

I'm slowly getting more and more excited for the start of the season. I decided to look at the schedule and see what games are coming up and, as much as I'd like to write hockey off and send a futile message to the sport, I'm most likely going to watch the first games of the season this Saturday of Pittsburgh and Anaheim.

Still sad they let Jordan Staal go. I've liked him from the first moment he started playing for the club and the impact he always had. I know Malkin obviously has the better point production than Staal but Staal always seemed to have more of an impact on big games due to his defensive prowess. I always loved seeing him on a penalty kill. He was very effective.

As for the Ducks, I don't know what to think about this team anymore. They've got some great players but others that just haven't been effective yet. We'll see if a fresh start changes anything. I do hope they make playoffs this year but more because I'm pretty sure this will be the last season for Selanne and I'd like to see his career end at least competing in the post season. If they can get to the second round of the playoffs, I'll consider this season a major success. I hate that Schultz never signed with the Ducks and went to the Oilers and I live in Edmonton. I hope the Ducks do better than Edmonton as well.

So yeah, the rivalries are starting to build up again in my mind.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on January 15, 2013, 11:34:25 AM
I hope I still get to take my son to a Predator game...
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on January 15, 2013, 12:24:01 PM
I haven't gotten excited yet.  I was really annoyed by the lockout so while I'm glad they didn't cancel the season, I'm not in a good enough mood to just act like nothing happened and, hooray, the Canucks are playing again.  Though I think part of it is uncertainty with my team.  Luongo is assumed to be on the trading block but nothing has happened yet.  At this point I don't really know exactly what team is going to take the ice in Vancouver.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TJ Spyke on January 15, 2013, 12:30:44 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ian Sane on January 15, 2013, 02:29:33 PM
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?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 15, 2013, 03:11:05 PM
I've noticed that. I'm surprised you went with a Bryz quote also since your 3DS Mii message still says he sucks.

I didn't realize it still said that. I really think this is going to be a (humongous) big year for Bryz. He's more accustomed to the demands and pressures of playing in Philly, and he's got a considerably stronger defensive corps in front of him. Also, with the amnesty clause in the new CBA, if he blows it this year the team can cancel the rest of his contract, so he's certainly got something to play for.

Also, the Penguins are fucking going down Saturday.


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.

First off, this and the previous work stoppage were lockouts, not strikes. The owners were the ones who put a stop to it, not the players. Second, there's no question this hurt the league. Die hards like me will come back, but they'd been making real gains in mainstream popularity over the last few years, and now they pretty much have to start that from scratch.


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?

Bettman is really terrible, and I don't know why the owners put up with him. It also didn't help that Donald Fehr, the NHLPA director, was the guy in charge of the baseball players union during the 1994 strike, so this was a disaster waiting to happen. One of the terms of the CBA should have been that both of them be fired for letting this happen.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TJ Spyke on January 15, 2013, 03:17:01 PM
The 2004 lockout happened because the players selfishly refused to accept a salary cap. It's ridiculous that NHL teams were spending a whopping 76% of their revenue on salaries (far more than any other sports league). The owners do share part of the blame, but the 2004 lockout was due to the players.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TrueNerd on January 19, 2013, 04:25:47 PM
Based on the first period of the first game, I can only assume my Blackhawks will win every game 9-0 and do the same in the playoffs. It's gonna be great!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on January 20, 2013, 03:55:46 AM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on January 20, 2013, 08:36:43 AM
Season started out bad for me with a Senators win, but the Flyers loss/Leafs win/Canuck bombing made up for it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on January 20, 2013, 10:34:21 AM
I tried to watch the Hawk and Kings game online but only got through a bit before NBC stream started not working.  Wish they had a pulled out view that showed the whole ice.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 20, 2013, 11:39:30 AM
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.

That first game in Dallas for Jagr made me upset that Holmgren let him walk, but we'll see if he can continue like that.

As much as I hate losing to Pittsburgh, I thought the Flyers did pretty well rebounding after a pretty awful first 15 minutes. Bryzgalov looked good; those two goals weren't really his fault, and he looked really sharp most of the game. What really killed them is going 0 for 5 on the power play. I will say that Fleury looked really good, and it's too bad he couldn't have been in his postseason form.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on January 20, 2013, 12:06:12 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 20, 2013, 01:30:27 PM
Clearly the refs should have been over in Europe and in the AHL like the players, because they're pretty obviously out of practice. Goaltender interference my ass.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 20, 2013, 03:17:13 PM
The Flyers are 0-2 on opening weekend due to terrible special teams play and even worse officiating. Gave up three power play goals today while going 1 for 8 with the advantage over both games, and had two disallowed goals that should have counted, as well as god knows how many bad penalties called against them.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on January 20, 2013, 06:10:44 PM
I will say that Fleury looked really good, and it's too bad he couldn't have been in his postseason form.

Ha ha. Don't worry. The season's just started. He'll get there. Shame Flyers didn't win Saturday because maybe then they'd have thought they had already won the season and just tanked for the rest of it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on January 20, 2013, 06:12:25 PM
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.

Well, it is early and for whatever reason, the Wings often lose the first couple games. However, I expect the Blues to be the number one team in the West this year also so it could also be a factor of facing an elite team.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TrueNerd on February 10, 2013, 10:41:38 PM
You guys. The Blackhawks are 10-0-2. They've only played two games at home. Patrick Kane seems to have discovered that he can score. Our goalies, both of them, discovered that they can stop the puck. Our penalty kill has been INFINITELY better than last year. In short, things have been about as good as they can be over these first twelve games.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 10, 2013, 11:07:16 PM
The Flyers are showing signs of life, with 7 points in their last 4 games, the lone loss coming in a shootout. They're looking more like the team I expected to see after a really rough start.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Sarail on February 11, 2013, 01:13:05 AM
My Predators have finally come around, and are starting to move up the division - or down, since they lost to the 'Hawks, and because the Red Wings got a lucky win today. Grrr...

I'm just glad the Blues are under me. But I have to say, I've been enjoying watching 'Hawks and Flyers games this season right along side my Preds. Good stuff.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on February 11, 2013, 07:01:57 PM
Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks!

Man, they are off to a good start as well. Really hope they can win division and go deep in the playoffs this year. It's been too long. I've loved watching their games even if they do lose. They just seem fast paced and full of action. And I like their motly crew of different personalities but, of course, Selanne is the real star. Wasn't sure about the hiring of Boudreau last year since I really did like Carlyle and before him was Babcock so they've had two really good coaches in the past decade. So far, the Boudreau regime is paying off which is great.

Penguins are doing alright but there's something lacking about the team this year. I don't know what it is that's off about them. Frankly, I think they've had better teams in the past. A lot of people have high expectations with the Penguins because of Crosby and Malkin but take away them and Neal and I just don't think the rest of their forwards are that great. Even the defence is 50/50 to me right now. You could say the team is made up of guys better suited for the playoffs but the results the last few years haven't shown that. I don't know. There just doesn't seem to be much excitement about the way they play. They just seem to be going through the motions for the most part like they are just waiting until the playoffs. Regardless, they are fine positioning and could still get competative and take the conference. And that's another thing. For a team that is always supposed to be so good, they've only won their division in the past 7 years and have never won the conference. #2 spot is the highest they've finished. Part of that is because the Atlantic division does have really good teams but to me it points out that the team has some weak spots and could use a more competative focus in the regular season.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TrueNerd on February 22, 2013, 11:27:36 PM
THE BLACKHAWKS MAY NEVER LOSE IN REGULATION
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 23, 2013, 02:12:07 AM
I can see it now: they go the whole regular season without losing in regulation, then get swept in the first round of the playoffs.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TrueNerd on February 24, 2013, 11:09:18 PM
That would be greatly disappointing.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on February 25, 2013, 07:38:56 PM
I could see that though. I mean, there will be a few losses before the playoffs. But unless they completely tank it hard in the next two months, they've got to be considered heavy favorites to win the Stanley Cup and that could create huge pressure especially when a loss or two doesn't matter now but in the playoffs, the margin for error is reduced. With high expectation and pressure, if things go wrong for a game or two, it could cause panic and the team could choke. I think that's a common demise for the President Trophy winners sometimes.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 25, 2013, 09:00:51 PM
Winning the President's Trophy is a good way to get yourself knocked out of the playoffs, unless you're the Red Wings.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on February 26, 2013, 02:06:49 AM
To be fair, when the Canucks won the President's Trophy two years ago, they did make it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. Instead of getting knocked out of the playoffs, they just burned their city down instead.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TrueNerd on February 26, 2013, 09:01:33 PM
Anything's possible, especially in the NHL playoffs. Something that I imagine would help the Blackhawks is that the core of this team is the same one that won the Cup in 2010. Experience is never a bad thing.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TJ Spyke on April 25, 2013, 01:56:11 AM
Well, the Blackhawks won the President's Trophy today.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 12, 2013, 11:44:48 PM
Just in case anyone who might be at all interested isn't aware, game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals is going into double overtime.

EDIT: Triple.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on June 13, 2013, 01:05:38 AM
Shaw wins it at 12:08 of triple overtime.

Because it's the Cup.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on June 24, 2013, 11:05:27 PM
The winners...

...and NEW Stanley Cup champions...

...the CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS!!

xfdbruins
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TJ Spyke on June 24, 2013, 11:06:18 PM
I know CM Punk must be happy.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: TrueNerd on June 25, 2013, 01:09:54 AM
BLACKHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWKS!

Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 15, 2013, 12:55:42 PM
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?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Ceric on September 16, 2013, 11:22:00 AM
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?
Waiting for my Kids Club eMail.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on September 16, 2013, 09:09:43 PM
Hang on, I'm still trying to find a guy to club David Clarkson onto LTIR.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: IceCold on September 17, 2013, 04:32:50 AM
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?

Hell yes I'm ready. My friends and I do a fantasy league with 20 teams, and 20 players each, with a customised points system. It's insanely deep (and also has a huge pot) so we get very competitive about it. Need to do my research!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 19, 2014, 03:31:14 AM
 Tonight just proves that if you let up, even for a second, Claude Giroux will make you pay for it. He's an unstoppable scoring machine.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 20, 2014, 05:04:54 PM
So how's everyone doing a couple games into the first round? I know a few of regulars from this thread saw their teams miss the playoffs.

My Flyers got a huge win today, their first at Madison Square Garden in over three years, to even their series with the Rangers at 1-1 going back to Philly. Of all people, Ray Emery has been the standout performer in the series so far, despite only playing because of Steve Mason's injury.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 20, 2014, 07:31:20 PM
Ducks and Penguins are both in so I'm happy enough. I don't expect much from the Penguins as they have what I think is their weakest team since Crosby's first year in the league. At least as far as forwards go. I actually think their D is pretty strong aside from Letang which I didn't think I'd be saying 3 years ago. As much as the media wants to keep hyping up Fluery as being close to another collapse, his play through the first two games and all year has been very good so I have no complaints there. I still think the team can make it to the Conference finals but I just don't see any team in the East stopping Boston. That said, I do think Detroit was the best first round match-up against them as they could make it tough for the Bruins considering the skill and record they have against them. Montreal is looking like they might be Boston's second round opponent which could also make things interesting as the history with those two teams does not favor Boston and Rask has a terrible record against them. Thus, the potential is there to possibly wear down the Bruin by the time they face Pittsburgh if that were to happen but I don't have much expectations for the team to be competing for a cup this year.

On the other hand, I'm more optimistic and really rooting for Anaheim. They have got a solid team at least as far as forwards go. Defense could be tweaked a bit but they've got some solid goaltenders to make up for it. With this being Selanne's last year, I'm hoping they go deep and maybe get that second championship. Good to see they are up 2-0 already. Hoping they can close the series with the Stars fast while SJ and LA go the distance. Plus, there is just something about the Ducks style and their games that are more interesting to watch. Despite Pittsburgh potentially having the 2 best players in the game with Malkin and Crosby, their games are just not as exciting to watch as they used to be 3 years ago. Maybe its the other players but their games are just not that dynamic anymore. With Anaheim, games just seem to have more energy and action. So, go Ducks!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on April 20, 2014, 08:09:38 PM
Hoping for meteors in every series but Pittsburgh/Columbus in the East, hoping for Chicago (for friends) or Colorado (massive fluke though it might be, I just want a cup parade here again) out West.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 10, 2017, 07:37:29 PM
Well, it's do or die for the two teams I root for tonight. Penguins in their Game 7 versus Washington and Ducks versus Oilers in their Game 7.

If Ducks and Penguins are out then that means I'm pretty much done watching hockey for the year which isn't a bad thing because then my evenings are freed up again.

I wasn't sure how the Penguins would do with some of the injuries they've had to endure near the end of the season but after the first couple games of round 1 versus Columbus and with how Washington struggled in their first few games against Toronto, I've been thinking that Pittsburgh might end up repeating this year for the cup. However, Washington has actually got their act together that they may finally be able to move to the third round in the Ovechkin era for once. Curious to see how Penguins do tonight but Game 7's have not been the Capitals friend and Penguins has been mixed in their success. They've beat Washington in Game 7 in 2009, they beat the Wings for the cup in Game 7 in 2009 (with Fleury in net then) and beat Tampa Bay last year in Game 7 to get to the Stanley Cup. However, they also lost to Tampa Bay and the Rangers after being up 3-1 in a series in 2011 and 2014 respectively. They also lost to Montreal in Game 7 in 2010. So, who knows but I still think Pittsburgh has the edge despite this series suddenly becoming closer than it seemed over the first 4 games. I'm still disappointed they didn't win Game 3 after forcing overtime. It would have put Washington in 3-0 hole and I think they would have been done mentally after that.

As for the Ducks, please don't lose another Game 7 at home. They've put out some good teams for half a decade now and the best success they've seen was in 2015 when they lost to Chicago in 7 games in the Western Conference Final. That series was sort of seen as the true Stanley Cup Final since the Ducks and Blackhawks were the two best teams in the West and nobody expected the East winner to be as good as the winner of that series. Would love to see the Ducks get back to the Stanley Cup and they've got the talent to do it especially with the Kings suddenly winning 2 cups in the past few years. Would like the Ducks to get another cup and tie them so that the Kings don't have that bragging right anymore.

Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on May 10, 2017, 08:44:02 PM
Couldn't have said it any better. Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, and Cogs are getting old and they're not getting any better or faster. Getz said it best: Ducks like to do things the hard way. They made it to #1 in the Pacific Div. this year and last, on the very last game of the year. They clawed back from an 0-2 round 2 series deficit this last week, only to blow the 3-2 series lead in Game 6. I can't take the ulcers anymore. WIN TONIGHT DUCKS!

And if anyone disagrees I'll fight you!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 10, 2017, 09:38:50 PM
That's why last year's disappointment with the Predators was further upsetting. The Ducks had to come from behind to win the division on the last or second last game of the year but they won their games to take it from the Kings. Unlike past years when they won the division in a blowout, they had to battle all year especially with the horrible start to the year they had. Yet, the dropped the first 2 games in stupid plays and multiple penalties and couldn't recover in time.

If they beat the Oilers tonight then it is a rematch against the Preds who have beat the Ducks the 2 times they've played each other in the playoffs. So, if Ducks want to do things the hard way, they're going to get their wish.


Watching the Pens game right now and I want to say the best thing about their playoffs this year has been Fleury. I've always been a fan of his even when people started to dump on him during the 2012-14 era when he got lit up through a few playoff series. Even Brodeur and Roy had bad playoff years so its realistic to expect that some years things won't align or he might be off his game. Despite the playoff troubles, he was putting up solid numbers through the regular season year after year so at some point that would translate back to success in the playoffs. It was disappointing last year when Murray got to take over the net because of a late season injury but things have reversed this year and Fleury's gotten his chance to redeem himself finally and it's great to watch. I love when they cut to Fleury after some saves and he's smiling and laughing. It's hilarious. When you see Holtby, the dude just looks miserable throughout the game. I guess playing for the Capitals would do that to a person but I prefer Fleury's bemusement as if he can't believe he made a save.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 10, 2017, 11:18:20 PM
Penguins Win!!!! On to the Conference Finals!


(http://i.imgur.com/GmlVMrs.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/q2kxAHP.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/gadHTAu.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/u5SAioU.jpg)

Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 11, 2017, 12:03:59 AM
Well, I think this means a return trip to the Finals for Pittsburgh. I mean, there's the chance that Ottawa can beat them but that would be a huge upset. Penguins have the second best regular season record this year and they just took out the number 1 team in the league as well as the 4th best in their opening round despite injuries and a constantly changing line-up with some inexperienced players who weren't even part of last years run. At this point, I don't see how the Senators are going to beat them. I'm surprised they've managed to make it to this point but it just shows how good Karlsson is of a defensemen. If the Senators could actually acquire some better talent to support him than they could have a chance to dominate their division for possibly a decade. Oh well, a chance for their owner to whine about the Penguins some more as they go down, I suppose.

But who will they play in the finals and will they be healthy enough by then or will the wear and tear of the past season and last year be too much?

Had a couple conversations about the game at work today with Justin Williams Mr. Game 7 reputation being a focal point in the media leading up to the game and asking if I was worried. People know I'm a Penguins fan because I often wear a Pens jersey during game days in the playoffs so hockey talk is brought up sometimes to try and give me a hard time a bit. I was saying that I had a feeling Justin Williams probably wouldn't be a factor in this game. When Rust scored that first goal, I was instantly reminded of his 2 goal performance in Game 7 last year and was laughing to myself that the Penguins have their own Mr. Game 7 on their side. Best of all, Fleury got the shut-out. I kept hoping he'd get one this series particularly for Game 5 or 6 to close out the series and "steal" a game to further bolster his Conn Smythe potential. Fortunately, he saved it for Game 7. Phew. What a performance. A couple lucky breaks and quite a handful of highlight saves.

Personally, I don't really have anything against the Capitals. There are other teams I dislike way more. (Like the Flyers. Sucks they got lucky in the draft.) Last year, Pittsburgh seemed to be a team in the middle of a rebuild and while I hoped they might still get past Washington last year, I was prepared to accept that the Capitals would most likely finally see some postseason success and eliminate them to move on to the third round. But then the series began and despite looking pretty evenly matched, Penguins began to get the upper hand and that's when I was fully on board with believing they could actually win the cup that year. It was a bit of the same this year. Before the playoffs began, Pittsburgh wasn't exactly brimming with good news as different players were injured and on the mend while Washington was pretty much healthy and even a bit more stacked than last year. However, I wasn't about to concede defeat. Seeing how Pittsburgh would perform against Columbus in the opening round would be the best indication of whether this team could make another run. As I said earlier, once I saw Pittsburgh handling the Blue Jackets pretty easily in their opening games while Washington was having trouble beating Toronto, I've been thinking a repeat just might be in the cards for this team. Admittedly, Washington finally got themselves on track near the end of the series but they dug themselves into too much of an early hole with this series.

It's crazy that Ovechkin hasn't made it to the finals or won the cup with some of the talent and teams the Capitals have put out. I honestly would be fine with Ovechkin winning a cup. The guy has proven that he is one of the all-time great goal scorers in the league and is very talented even though his defensive abilities may not be as well developed as his offensive. For a few years now, he has been one of the few players doing all he can to try and get his team over the hump. This year was the first regression I've seen in his playoff performances in awhile but, as I also mentioned earlier, sometimes a player can just have a bad year. Unfortunately for the Caps, a lot of times the team they have lost to in the second round ended up going to the Finals. Maybe they'd have still lost to that team if they faced them in the third round but the way the playoffs worked out they've ended up facing a bunch of those teams in the second round and losing to them there making their playoff record dismal at second round success. It's really crazy that they can't get past it despite year after year of making it to the second round and having a lot of those series go to a Game 7 as well. And now, they're going to have to make some changes and probably lose a good chunk of their team. 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.

From where this team was 2 years ago to now, I'm still amazed at the sudden transformation but I'm really happy to see this franchise really living up to the potential everyone thought it had after back to back Finals in 08 and 09. If Crosby and company can win another Stanley Cup, quite a few players will tie the Blackhawks and their recent 3 cup wins. It's the Blackhawks that suddenly become the team that Pittsburgh was expected to be this decade but they've got a chance to fulfill those expectations with another good chance to win a cup again this year. Doing so will but them into a 3 way tie with the Oilers and Blackhawks at 5 cup wins in franchise history which is also the number 5 spot for teams with the most cup wins.

Of course, if some kind of madness occurs and the Ducks and Penguins actually do meet up in the Stanley Cup Final for the first ever such match-up, I'm going to be highly conflicted on that one. But for now, it's best to treat each team separately with the assumption the other one isn't around in the Final.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 11, 2017, 01:38:23 AM
Huzzah!!!

(http://i.imgur.com/GnjR64U.jpg?1)

(http://i.imgur.com/qhMoGgs.jpg?1)

(http://i.imgur.com/P4cM3oD.jpg?1)

(http://i.imgur.com/RHT5gcX.jpg)



Got a lot of friends in Edmonton since I used to live there and I learned that the Oiler Nation has been going by the term Orange Crush of late for their home games with all the orange jerseys. So, after getting a bit of razzing from them after the first two games, I look forward to sending them one or two of these pictures as a response. Perhaps Optimism Prime has a suggestion on how I could enhance them further.  ;D

So glad the Ducks finally won a 7th game and end that conversation. Last week, on Wednesday, the Ducks and Penguins both played games and they both won. This Wednesday, they both had games again and both won. Can all Penguin and Duck games be scheduled on Wednesdays from now on?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 11, 2017, 01:40:45 AM
I just realized this means I'm going to be watching a lot more hockey yet still. So long Breath of the Wild. I may need to buy 100 tacos for $100 yet to get the adequate sustenance I need for the next few rounds to come.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on May 11, 2017, 02:18:48 AM
WOOOOO

Well the Ducks are from Orange County so... maybe the Oilers can come up with a new nickname while they're on vacation. You can send your friends my lovely twitter MS paint masterpiece: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/848993200668688384/AAg5PICu_400x400.jpg
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 11, 2017, 03:10:29 AM
I wonder if this changes the narrative on Randy Carlyle. Close to the time he first left Anaheim, there were a lot of former players that just didn't like him. When Boudreau took over the team, I was uneasy about the move. From the early part of the Crosby/Ovechkin Pens/Caps rivalry, Boudreau never struck me as a great coach but someone who just was lucky to be coaching a really talented team and the playoff failures seemed to reinforce that.

Yet, I changed my opinion on Boudreau after his first two seasons. In fact, it was his last year that really impressed me because of how the Ducks rebounded from the 1-10 start (or close to it) to still come back and win the division. Most teams are done for the year with a start like that yet his system seemed to allow them to recover. Best of all, the Ducks played an entertaining type of game to watch. Lots of energy, hits and action. Plus, as Washington continued to fail at making it out of the second round of the playoffs, people couldn't really blame Boudreau for Washington's lack of success anymore. Plus, he did get the Ducks to the WCS showing he could get past the second round also.

Meanwhile, Carlyle's reputation took a further hit in Toronto as advanced stats took on a larger focus of game analysis and his system of play seemed to fail in that analysis with the narrative growing that he was an old-style coach who had failed to adapt with the changing game of the current NHL and stuck to outdated methods of coaching.

Thus, even though last year's playoff loss for the Ducks was a real downer, I really was hoping Boudreau wouldn't be fired as a I felt this Game 7 early playoff exit streak couldn't continue and his method seems to have such success in the regular season that it should translate to post season success at some point. Plus, if he was fired, what coach was available to replace him? At that point, there were only a couple coaches I considered better and they weren't going anywhere. So, when Boudreau was fired and Carlyle was brought back as coach, a lot of the media analysis seemed to be that this was a regression for the franchise, that Carlyle would drag the team down from the past few seasons of success and that the players would hate playing for him again.

And yet, the Ducks won the division for the 5th straight year, they just won a Game 7 at home and they have made it to the Western Conference Finals again. The players seem to be pretty accepting of him. When you look back at his time with Toronto, he was the only coach to get the Leafs to the playoffs in the past decade (until this year) and was a period away from them advancing to the second round as well. Even Babcock with a team probably more skilled than what Carlyle had to work with was only able to get a couple wins with the Leafs. When you compare the 2 series, Carlyle's team was much closer to advancing than Babcock's was this year but there's a lot of differences between those two series for a whole lot of serious analysis.

Meanwhile, Boudreau and the Wild had a great first 75% of the season and then crashed near the end and fell into an 0-3 hole eventually losing in the first round this year. Poor guy's reputation is certainly going to take a further hit with the Ducks results so far this year. Feel bad for him since I did like a lot of his tenure with the Ducks. However, I'm interested to see how Carlyle handles Nashville. A year after losing to them in the first round, they meet each other again in the WCS with Nashville getting the Laviolette Bump.

Lavy coached the Hurricanes to their Stanley Cup win in 2006, got the Flyers to the Finals in 2010 (and helped orchestrate a real doozy on the Penguins in the opening round of the 2012 playoffs) and now he's got Nashville to the WCS as they try to get to the Finals. Dude's been responsible for defeating my favorite teams a few times so here's hoping it doesn't happen again.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 11, 2017, 12:30:05 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on May 11, 2017, 07:29:22 PM
The 2017 difference was a combination of magic and coaching.

1) Getzlaf checks Mcdavid just before the first puck is dropped in G7, to throw off his concentration. Maybe it worked? Other than one lucky goal, it would've been 2-0. Oilers simply didn't have the drive, even though they just had a blowout game
2) Kesler shadowed Mcdavid for most of the series, shutting him out the last 2 games. The Kesler-Silfverberg-Cogs line has been good all year
3) Moving Nick Ritchie to Getzlaf's line got the goal
4) Rakell and Silvferberg
5) Ducks finally decided to attack the puck whenever the Oilers tried entering the zone, something the Preds consistently did in last year's playoff meeting
6) Game 5 was pure magic that came from within
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Phil on May 11, 2017, 07:53:49 PM
Friggin' Blues. Been to the playoffs more than any team in the States in any sport and have still not won a championship. They're the Cubs of the NHL, except the Cubs actually win championships.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 12, 2017, 10:19:38 PM
My local major junior team, the Erie Otters, won the OHL championship tonight for the first time in 15 years. They've been great the last few years, producing the #1 and #3 picks in the 2015 draft in Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome, but they couldn't quite get it over the top until now.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on May 13, 2017, 12:44:13 AM
What brain-dead moron decided to give PK Subban to Nashville again? I forgot.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 16, 2017, 08:08:38 PM
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.

Not surprised your rooting against Pittsburgh. That was expected. But you can just say you want Pittsburgh to lose instead of pretending to invent the idea of a friend rooting for Ottawa. Having finally watched Ottawa play in these first two games of the series, there's no way anyone could start watching hockey and decide that's the team they want to root for. At least Game 2 had a bit more action than Game 1 but man is this series a drag to watch right now. Worst playoff hockey I've seen this year. The only entertaining thing so far has been watching Kessel and Malkin's reactions the past two games.

Now, with the Ducks and Preds, this series has delivered and has probably been the best series yet of the few I've watched with the potential to be the best series of this year's playoffs. Nashville is one of those teams that I may root for or root against depending on who they play but I'm not always wishing would lose like Flyers or Senators. (I've disliked the Senators for a long time before this current Pens series.) Unlike Columbus, Phoenix, or RIP Thrashers, they've been one of the better recent expansion teams and have slowly and steadily kept building themselves into a better and better team getting more and more successful. After the Pens wrapped up their series with Columbus, I was checking what else was on and saw that the Chicago/Preds series was on in the third period with Nashville looking to finish the sweep. I'm glad I tuned in for that period because the fans were really into that game and celebrating the Preds about to clinch the series. It was a great experience to take in just from watching the game. I'm sure it would have been really electric in person. In that case, I was glad to see Nashville and its fans get a great win like that. Making it to the Finals for the first time is another great step but if going further means beating the Ducks then Nashville must lose.

Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 16, 2017, 08:39:06 PM
As for rubbing the Subban trade in Montreal's face, it is kind of pointless. Pretty much all of Montreal's fans were upset with the trade. Even now, people in Montreal are still cheering Subban on because they liked him and knew the trade was bad. As for rubbing it in the GM's face, as this article pretty much explains (https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/montreal-gm-knows-already-lost-p-k-subban-trade-trending-topics-130043468.html), even Bergevin has to be well aware he lost this trade based on his moves in the season and that article was written after the first round and that makes it hard to mock him.

Subban winning doesn't give you much to mock Montreal with. It's not like Toronto and Kessel where they scapegoated and scorned the guy at the end and then he won a cup immediately after being traded to Pittsburgh. (Although with the Leafs getting Austin Matthews, they're probably still going to be pretty happy about losing Kessel to acquire him.) Still, at least Kessel proving his worth on a good team made it easy to rub Toronto's fans dismissal of him in their face.

With Montreal and Subban, all you're going to get is agreement. The fans didn't turn on him. They liked him. They didn't want him traded. Heck, I'm sure most of his teammates probably didn't want him traded. Montreal fans are still pulling a bit for Subban to win anyways. The only person to criticize is Bergevin and I'm sure he's getting that on an almost daily basis since he made the trade. So, if that's your main motivation for cheering on the Preds, you can let it go and cheer for the Ducks. ;)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 16, 2017, 09:25:29 PM
I know everybody feels that way about the Subban deal, but it doesn't make it any less desirable. Beyond that, I'm rooting for Subban himself irrespective of the trade. He's an excellent player who's fun to watch and by all accounts a great guy off the ice as well, and I'd like to see him succeed.

Also, I really do have a friend who's a Senators fan. He's got odd taste in teams (he's also an LA Rams fan) but he's been a fan of theirs for a long time now, stuck by them through some really lean years, and it'd be nice to see that rewarded. Believe me, though, I'd be rooting against the Penguins no matter who their opponent was in this series, I don't need excuses.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 18, 2017, 11:34:35 PM
SERIOUSLY, ANAHEIM!!! STOP MAKING YOUR WINS SO BLOODY DIFFICULT!!!

Ugh.

At least the series is even and best of 3 now.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on May 19, 2017, 12:07:52 AM
WOOOO! Just 6 wins away from the cup.

Someone on Twitter said the promo giveaway for the next game is a rally towel and a pacemaker  ;D
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 19, 2017, 01:16:03 AM
What a waste by the Predators to manage to claw their way back but not finish the job. Oh well, it was a hell of a game. Even though I'm rooting for Nashville, I don't honestly care that much who wins this series (as opposed to the other one) and I hope it goes the full 7 with more close, entertaining games.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 19, 2017, 02:34:46 AM
I'm beginning to wonder if Ottawa might luck their way to a cup by playing injured teams along the way. The Bruins had injuries limiting their effectiveness, Penguins are just full of players constantly getting injured and the Preds/Ducks just seem to have the intent that if they're going to lose than the other team isn't going to survive by much with how much they are whacking and checking each other in that series.

An interesting thing about the Pens/Sens series is that Crosby was the number 1 draft choice of 2005 but Bobby Ryan was the number 2 selection by the Ducks. Now he's playing with the Sens and it is the first playoff series between the number 1 and 2 draft choices of 2005. (Number 3 was Jack Johnson with Columbus whom the Pens defeated in the first round.) If Ottawa surprises everyone and beats the Pens and the Ducks beat the Preds then it will be Bobby Ryan (and Silfverberg) versus his old team. I was a big fan of Bobby Ryan when he was part of the RPG line with Getzlaf and Perry. In retrospect, the team never won much or went that far in the playoffs when he was a member of the team but, man, I always found the Duck games to be very entertaining and fun to watch with that top line. His best year was probably 2009 when they defeated San Jose and then took Detroit to 7 games tied into the 3rd period of Game 7 before finally losing to them in that last 20 minutes. I was disappointed when he got traded to Ottawa but even more confused that he actually chose to resign and stay there. I'd have thought he'd want to get to free agency and get outta there.

However, I must say that Silfverberg has been a pretty equal trade for the Ducks so its been easy to forget Bobby Ryan. The only real reminder is with how many players keep getting swapped in to play with Getzlaf and Perry that you remember when they had a consistent partner in Ryan. I kind of think this is a bit of a weaker Ducks team than the ones that lost to LA and Chi a few years ago but they just may get it done. I was thinking Penguins had a good chance to repeat but with their blueline really getting abused in these playoffs, this might be the real Stanley Cup final and if so, I hope it's the Ducks that advance and win it all.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 22, 2017, 10:58:56 PM
Pekka Rinne is going to win Conn Smythe.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 22, 2017, 11:04:31 PM
(https://at-cdn-s01.audiotool.com/2014/02/17/documents/beL8OwGbTjjatwUSrmiikDaRIt2/0/cover256x256-0682b27e698343d2995e2b245883eb41.jpg)


Well, here's hoping Penguins pull off the repeat.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 22, 2017, 11:13:02 PM
I can't believe the Ducks lost this game and this series. Some of the comebacks they had. I believed every game they could still pull it off and win (Game 6 of the Oilers aside). I'm losing any goodwill I may had for the Predators at this point. 2 Western Conference Finals in 3 years and losing them both. Man, what a way to keep whiffing.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 22, 2017, 11:20:06 PM
Giving up 6 goals on 18 shots is pretty damned impressive.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on May 23, 2017, 12:09:23 AM
RIP another Ducks cup dream.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on May 23, 2017, 07:53:52 AM
Now if Ottawa can bleep off, I get a win-win in the Finals. Either Pittsburgh wins and I get to go to a Stanley Cup parade, or Montreal look like idiots for sending PK to the champs.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 23, 2017, 11:01:41 PM
Wow. I'm not just saying this because the team I was rooting for won, that was an incredible game of hockey. Take a bow, Craig Anderson.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 24, 2017, 12:59:04 AM
Second night in a row a goalie has ruined the result I was looking for. *shakes fist*

Le sigh. Going into these Conference Finals, I knew there was a 25% chance neither the Ducks or the Penguins would make it to the Finals but there was a 75% chance at least one of those teams would. Please don't let this be the darkest timeline. Just when I thought the Penguins were getting their act back together with their 7-0 stomping of the Sens. But, it often seems that when a team completely thumps the other, they seem to lose the next game against them. The other team is quite motivated to avenge a blow-out loss.

See you for the coinflip on Thursday. May the odds be ever in Pittsburgh's favor.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on May 26, 2017, 12:15:05 AM
Phewwwwwwww!


Bit of a nail-biter tonight but Pittsburgh finally prevailed against those darned Senators. 3rd time Pittsburgh plays in back-to-back Finals. That's crazy. Here's hoping the rest they do get before Monday helps them out as they take on the Preds. Love to see them win another Cup instead of the split that happened last time in 08/09. It's the return of Peter Laviolette and James Neal.

Dream scenario: Murray gets injured early in Game 1. Fleury comes in and shuts out Nashville as the Pens sweep them 4 in a row with the Pens winning the Cup and Fleury gets the Conn Smythe before his possible exit from Pittsburgh. Loving the addition of Hainsey on defense. And in case you missed it, the guy's 36 years old and has played 907 games and this is the first time he's got to play in the playoffs and he's able to play in a Stanley Cup final as well. That's always pretty awesome when a long-time player like that gets to go through an experience like that.

4 more wins left and this team can further cement its ability to join some elite company.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on June 08, 2017, 11:17:39 PM
Just 1 more win away from the repeat. Go Pens Go!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on June 12, 2017, 12:25:14 AM
50 years in the NHL. 5 cups. 2 time Back to Back winners. 91, 92 and now 16, 17. Wowsers. Way to go Pens.

I couldn't believe when Hornqvist scored that goal because I knew how much that probably meant to him. Getting drafted by Nashville and then traded later to the Penguins and he scores the game winner versus Nashville to get the Penguins their 2nd cup in a row.

I still wish Fluery could have had the chance to finish this playoff run if it is his last year as I still think the Penguins probably would have won with him in net also but can't deny how well Murray played in the final stretch.

It's a shame Nashville had the one disallowed goal. I'd have preferred a victory without any major controversy or complaint by the other team but as I've said before and come to realize is that bad refereeing is part of the game and a team has to be able to overcome it. I think it is partly why Nashville had 4 power plays including a brief 5 on 3 and Pittsburgh had none in order to sort of make-up and give Nashville the chance to score. Pittsburgh got their break with the disallowed goal and refs may not have wanted to tip things further to their advantage.

Curious to see what will happen to this team now though with the expansion draft and free agent market soon to approach but by keeping so much of the team intact this past year, it really helped them pull off the repeat. Maybe Jagr will decide to join up and see if he can accomplish what the Pens failed to do in 93 which is to win 3 in a row. (Looking back, I can't believe the 93 Pens didn't win a 3rd cup. The team they still had back then.) At that same time, just thinking about that makes me realize how amazing it is that Jagr is still playing and the Penguins franchise has now won 5 cups during his hockey career. What a player to still be going strong after all this time.

Looks like Montreal didn't lose the Subban trade after. Media are writing stories that Subban's antics got Crosby fired up and motivated the Penguins leading to their win. Guess Bergevin was right to trade him away. lolololol. But, in all seriousness, Nashville looks like they could be a serious contender for awhile right now and they very well could win a cup yet in the next couple years if they can keep this team pretty well intact and possibly add another couple good forwards. I think all the teams in the Central division should be wary of facing them in the playoffs now.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on June 23, 2017, 08:35:00 PM
WOOOOO! The Ducks sign Patrick Eaves for 3 years! 3 months left til the season starts.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 23, 2017, 08:35:54 PM
The top of the draft came and went without any major surprises, and the Flyers were able to use their not-at-all-deserved 2nd overall pick on Nolan Patrick. We're going to be a very young team this year, between rookies like him, Lindblom, Morin, and Sanheim and then returning youngsters like Provorov, Konecny, and Gostisbehere. I don't know exactly how it's going to pan out, but the analysts on the draft seemed very high on our prospects.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on June 23, 2017, 09:02:52 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 23, 2017, 09:30:13 PM
That really depends on how some of these players produce. We're going to be leaning a lot on young, unproven talent, with crazy upside but no NHL experience. I think this is going to be a better team on paper than the one we had last year (or at least it will be once we address our goaltending situation) and that team didn't miss the playoffs by that much. We're on the upswing, though. Hextall's plan is a little ahead of schedule because of the lottery, but this team only looks to improve over the next few years, whereas teams like the Rangers are likely to fade.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 23, 2017, 09:49:59 PM
I was going over our forwards for next year in my head and I kept thinking somebody was going to have to be the odd man out in the top 9, and apparently Ron Hextall agreed because he just traded Brayden Schenn.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on October 24, 2017, 10:44:52 PM
Bieksa's superman punch tonight

Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 24, 2017, 11:10:44 PM
It was pretty much all downhill from there for the Flyers from that point too. Out-muscled, with dumb giveaway after dumb giveaway. Ugly, ugly game. I think I turned it off when it hit 4-1.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on October 29, 2017, 01:34:23 AM
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.

These posts didn't age well. Eaves is out with a scary and very rare disease, probably for a year minimum (my professional opinion). And the Ducks went from getting whipped by the Panthers, then two days later, beating Tampa Bay, one of the hottest teams at the moment. Good thing I don't bet on sports!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 23, 2018, 10:34:19 PM
My football team is atrocious, my baseball and soccer teams are in the midst of extremely disappointing offseasons, but man is hockey fun right now. The Flyers went from losing 10 in a row to a crazy hot streak that has them tied for second in the best division in the NHL. The older stars like Giroux and Voracek are back to their old selves and the youngsters like Konecny and Patrick are getting hot.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on February 26, 2018, 02:39:45 AM
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?

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.

Well, I still think the Capitals are a weaker team than they were last year but they've been able to still stay in the top of the division like I figured they would since they still have a lot of good talent there. The division has been pretty wacky this year. With the Atlantic consisting of 3 great teams and the rest all terrible, the Metro division is most likely sending 5 teams to the the playoffs and the Metro has also stayed pretty tight giving most of the teams in it a chance to make the playoffs this year. I felt the Rangers were on the decline last year and that has proven to be true as they waved the white flag early and the Metro is now 7 teams fighting for 5 spots.

The Devils were a big surprise this year and their early success seems like it will allow them to make the playoffs though they seem to be fading as we get closer to the end of the season. I wasn't sure about Columbus and they are holding on to that last playoff spot right now but I feel that with the talent they've got, they should probably be ahead of the Devils in the standings. Philly has been surprising. They've gotten hot about the same time of the Penguins and have been climbing the standings with them and staying pretty even. I didn't expect them to be doing as well as they are but this division is pretty wild in that so many teams have a chance to compete for a playoff spot even if they aren't an elite team like Nashville or the Bruins seem to be.

But it's all about the 3-peat for me now, baby! Even when people were talking about the Penguins and how they were hurting without a third line center or just unable to win consistently and hanging near the bottom of the division in December, a look at the standings showed they were still in good shape. They were basically a 50/50 team in wins and losses and there was only 3 - 4 points difference between them and 2nd place in the division. I had no doubt they could easily string together 5 or 6 wins and put themselves right back in a playoff spot. And that's they only thing they've got to do with the regular season is just make the playoffs. If they want to conserve their energy a bit and take a few more losses along the way, whatever. Just bring the A game for playoffs like they've been doing.

And since January, they are now 17-5-1 with one more game in February to hopefully win and then on to their usual March domination as the battle for division leader continues. And now they've made the crazy Brassard trade to give themselves the actual 3rd line center people thought they were lacking. Now the prospect of a three-peat is looking like a very real possibility and I am so pumped right now. Brassard's first game is this Tuesday versus the Devils and I plan to check it out. I had stopped watching regular season games 4 or 5 years ago and have just been tuning in during playoffs for the past few years for the Ducks and Penguins but this team with Crosby, Malkin and Kessel and the way they've been playing since Sullivan took over as coach reminds me of their early days with Therrien and Bylsma from 07-10 when they were such an energetic and exciting team to watch. They seemed to lose that spark after the Crosby concussion saga and then the switch to more defensive style hockey to cover up the lack of talent on their third and fourth lines. But these last few playoff runs and the way they are playing again now is just so fun to watch.

After the abysmal (for them compared to past performances) 2014-15 season, I was beginning to think the Penguins organization had really screwed things up with how they built things despite having Crosby and Malkin to work with. It seemed like they had wasted their prime years and then they miraculously turned it around starting with that Kessel trade even though it didn't seem that way at first. And now, the possibility exists of achieving that Mt. Olympus of sports - Dynasty. It was something people though possible back when they went to the Stanley Cup final in '08 but lost. It seemed then that Penguins and their talent could form a dynasty like the Oilers (or Islanders but mainly Canadian sports writers referred to the Oilers) of the 80s and the playoff runs they had with their young talent in that decade. However, despite winning the cup in '09, that dynasty idea faded away. But now, 10 years later, that potential destiny is back and it's all I want to go on about with people. So, now you get to hear about NWR! Lucky you!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 26, 2018, 03:09:37 AM
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. And speaking of the Flyers, holy ****, I don't quite understand how they got this good this fast. They had a 10 game losing streak that ended in early December, but since the end of that only the Bruins have a better record than they do in the entire NHL, and the Flyers are better than anybody since the start of 2018.

The biggest difference in Philly has been young guys stepping up. First it was 20 year old Travis Konecny, who had an up and down first year and a half in the NHL before exploding for 24 points in 25 games after being moved to the top line in January. Then it was last year's 2nd overall pick Nolan Patrick, who started the year slow due in large part to injuries, but has come on really strong over the last month or so. Not to mention Shayne Gostisbehere, who's rebounding from a disappointing second season with a career year, matching his insane point totals from his rookie season but also turning into a much more well-rounded defenseman beyond just his offensive ability.

But really, the greatest part of all this is the resurgence of team captain Claude Giroux. He had a pretty awful year last year, again largely due to injuries, and as he's now over 30 a lot of people were ready to write him off as has been. Instead, he came roaring back with not only a bounce-back year, but one that is both statistically and by the eye test the best season he's ever had in the NHL. He's third in the NHL in scoring, and on pace for career highs in goals and points. He's legitimately in the Hart trophy discussion right now, and along with Konecny and Sean Couturier, who's finally seeing the offensive side of his game flourish after years of being seen as more of a defensive forward, they have one of the most effective lines in the league.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on February 26, 2018, 04:49:12 AM
Flyers better than anybody since 2018? *checks record* Flyers are 17-5-2 so basically the same as the Penguins. They've just played one more game than the Penguins which gives them a point from a second shoot-out loss. Like I said, Philly's been matching their rise.

Young guys stepping up is actually a big part of the Metropolitan division make-up this year. It had happened with the Devils and it's happening with Philly. Penguins have benefited from it with Sheary, Guentzal and Matt Murrey. Maata and Rust have developed nicely and now there's the chance that Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon and Tristan Jarry could also follow in their footsteps and further keep making this team elite. Rookie Mathew Barzal of the Islanders has become the stand-out rookie of the year with Brock Boeser the only other rookie I can think of that could challenge him for the Calder.

On the Ranger's side, I can't think of any young guys really stepping up there and it is there older core which has led to them to start working on a rebuild. Likewise, with Columbus, after a great season last year, a lot of their young guys are regressing this year. And I'm afraid my knowledge about Carolina these days is Jordan Staal (my favorite Penguin of the Baby Pen era), Cam Ward and Jeff Skinner so I can't really comment on whether they've got young talent stepping up or not.

Still, I figured bringing this up would give me a perspective on what's happening with the Flyers since I've lost touch with what is going on in regards to that team similar to Carolina. If a team isn't in the playoffs getting beat by the Ducks or Penguins then its hard for me to care keep track of them. I took a look at the stat race and you are right about Giroux having a comeback year. He's currently tied with McDavid for 3rd. Man, I swear I heard or read about people talking about him as being a possibility for a trade early in the season since Philly didn't have a strong start and the thinking was that his best days were behind him.

I knew Malkin was having a heck of a year for the Penguins and Pens fans have been wondering if he can catch Kucherov and Ovechkin to win the regular season with most points and most goals since he's second in both categories and not too far behind but I didn't realize Giroux was that close until now. I'm further blown away to see Voracek currently has the lead for most assists in the NHL. I've been thinking that it's probably going to be Penguins and Capitals in the second round once again for the third time in a row. But considering they are doing just as well as the Penguins and some guys are having career years, it just might be Pittsburgh and Philly in the second round this year and that could be a crazy match-up. Pens and Flyers play each other Mar. 7 and Mar. 25. I think I'm definitely going to have to tune in to those games and see this Flyer team in action.


A quick couple asides. Normally, I root against the Devils. Have never cared much for the team but I would like to see them make the playoffs purely to let Taylor Hall finally experience NHL playoff hockey. I don't think the experience will last long but I kind of feel bad for the guy and being stuck on the lousy Oiler teams only to get traded before the one year the Oilers make the playoffs and was stuck with a lousy Devils team. Also, I'd like the Penguins to claim Jagr before the deadline. Even if he played a couple games with limited minutes on the fourth line, if they can pull of the three-peat, it would be so fantastic to see him back with the team for this run and they accomplish what him and Mario and the Penguins tried to do in '93 but failed.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on February 26, 2018, 05:21:08 AM
He is, at least so far. We were talking about it a lot this weekend because they played the Flyers on Sunday.

Well, he's definitely a fan to stick with them despite incompetent ownership / management. (Although I highly suggest he picks a back-up team or has a 1A, 1B situation like I do with Pens and Ducks. Having an East and West team works out pretty good and keeps me invested in a lot more of the league.) That said, I remember when people were shocked about the Bruins trading away Joe Thornton (and basically getting nothing for him in return) and how the thinking was the Bruins had set themselves back for years and maybe they did for a little bit. Compared to the instant success and as well as some long term success for the Sharks, the trade still looks a bit bad. Yet, the Bruins ended up winning the cup about 5 years later and even made it to another Stanley Cup final before the Sharks ever got to one. It took Thornton 10 years with the Sharks to finally get to the Final and ended up losing to the Penguins.


So, even if Ottawa does trade away Karlsson and stick to the basement, maybe they'll actually pull off an amazing rebuild like the Bruins did. I hope not more because I don't like the owner and the Sens fanbase is a bit weird which is understandable with how this franchise has turned out but something about them irritates me. They used to have a lot of players that annoyed me as well but they're pretty much all gone now. So, maybe if ownership was different, I wouldn't be so anti-Sens but I've never found much reason to ever root for them. Last time I can think of wanting to see them win was early 2000s if they played the Devils or Flyers. Other than that, I would then hope they promptly lost and I enjoyed watching them lose to the Leafs repeatedly.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 26, 2018, 10:38:59 PM
And after tonight's win over Montreal, the Flyers now sit alone in in 1st place in the division. Not bad for a team that was in last and in a 10 game losing streak three months ago.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on February 27, 2018, 02:06:19 PM
Woa! They're sitting above the Caps and Pens for the moment. This whole season has been exciting. The Avs are somehow way above the Blackhawks and the Oilers and even with the injuries and lazy playing, the Ducks are currently third in the Pacific. Works for me, I'd rather the Ducks take on the Flyers for the cup. Now if the Kings can somehow lose their edge and fall out of the wildcard completely, I will be a happy, happy camper.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on March 23, 2018, 02:06:15 AM
What's your take on the Ducks this season, IDK?

I've been watching a couple of their games of lately because I'm getting hyped for playoffs and want to see how they're doing now that they've mostly got their roster back from injury but they seem to be playing the worst hockey I've seen them play in years. They're hard to watch. I'm glad they're winning right now but I wish they looked a bit better in doing so.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on March 23, 2018, 05:07:10 PM
[sports nerd voice]
The last few weeks have been super exciting and every game from here on out will be big ones so hold on--it's gonna get bumpy! I wish they were in a more secure spot like they were in years past, but I'm loving the excitement of a 5-way playoff race.


Have they been playing bad lately? Ehh. Since Feb 6 their only Reg losses have been Det, Ari (wtf), Nash, Dal, and STL, but in the same span they had FIVE shutout wins. The Avs had a 10-game winning streak this season, whereas the Ducks have yet to win or lose more than 4 in a row, and yet they're tied. I was rooting for the Avs against the Kings last night, but they allowed FOUR goals by Kopitar, so, since the Flames are essentially out, I'm not too worried about the Ducks' chances. Kesler to shut Kop or Ovechkin down. Henrique and Rakell as secret weapons. Kase and Cogliano for speed and shorthanded goals. All they need to do is:
The next mega game is against the Kings on the 30th (10pm ET). Maybe we should all hop in Discord and chat.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on March 24, 2018, 03:29:50 AM
I guess I need to get my mindset back to the days of classic Ducks hockey like the 2003 Cup run where teams pummel the Ducks with shots but the goalie stands on his head and the few seconds they get in the opposing team's zone they score and win the game.

I watched their loss to Dallas, their win against the Flames and saw parts of the game tonight against the Jets in between the Pens/Devil game and they just seem unable to force the play against opponents and are always reacting. It didn't help that Getzlaf was out of the line-up though it goes to show how dependent the team seems to be on every player being in their normal position in the line-up. Lose one guy in any of the top three lines and it just seems to ruin the effectiveness of the line and ripples down depending on which line it is.

The Ducks continue to be blessed in goal and even though I liked Andersson more, Gibson has become the goalie Brodreau praised and talked about him becoming. At the same time, Ryan Miller has proven to be a really good pick-up and has been playing some of his best hockey in years so if one goes down, the other can take over the job without fear of the team collapsing from a weak goalie in net. It's one of the reasons the Penguins have been so dominant the last couple playoff runs. Having Murray and Fluery kept the position solid no matter which one you put in net.

Their top three lines are pretty good as well. They might not be as dominant as other top lines as some other teams but they're definitely top half of the league, at least. The problem is that the lines aren't producing that well. Rakall's been huge for them this year and I was surprised about the Vatanen for Henrique trade but I'm glad they made it because Henrique has been another bright spot. Frankly, I think the third line of Henrique, Kase and Ritchie may be my favorite line of the Ducks right now. I don't know if it is a combination of age and injuries keeping player back this year from previous years but they are goal starved. There are 10 teams that have currently scored less goals than the Ducks this year and all those teams are out of a playoff spot. The Ducks are the lowest goal scoring team out of all the teams currently qualifying for the playoffs. That's probably also why their powerplay ranks so low in the game. And as for the fourth line, I just hope those players get their shifts over as quickly as possible without hurting the team. I guess I shouldn't be too hard on Derek Grant as he seems to be the only decent part of that fourth line but this is clearly a 3 line team in the playoffs.

On the flip side, only 5 other teams have allowed less goals than the Ducks. Three of those are Nashville, Winnipeg and Boston. The other two are, surprisingly, LA and St. Louis. I'd say it is pretty much because of the defensive efforts of the Ducks that they are still in the playoff hunt and I'm still expecting they will make it in for the playoffs again this year. I like the top four defensemen the Ducks have of Fowler, Manson, Lindholm and Montour. It really sucks how Vegas was able to take Theodore in the draft though. I can't believe Beauchemin is back with this team and still playing for them. Yet, I kind of prefer him playing over Bieksa. I can't really comment on Pettersson too much since he's new to me but I have noticed him in the games I watched and for good stuff on his part so I'm kind of positive on him but he's still unproven. So, as far as defense goes, it's a pretty strong top 4 and so-so bottom defensive pairing. Unfortunately in playoffs, a poor third defensive pairing can sink a team. I've watched it happened to the Capitals and Sharks when they faced the Penguins in the 2015 cup run.

So, they're a still good team despite some of the turnover from the last few years. They've won the Pacific Division, what, five years in a row now up to this point? That talent is still there and as San Jose proved with their cup run that even as some of the core get older there's still an opportunity for this group to make a run like that with a mix of old and new. I do think there is a slight lack of depth near the bottom of this team in the fourth line and third defensive pairing but if the forwards can all start producing with better regularity while maintaining the defensive ability so far then they could be back in consideration as one of the top teams in the league and a cup contender. I still feel this team has the make-up to win the Pacific and get it to the Western Conference Final again. What happens after that might depend on who they face. Game 6 against Nashville last year was a frustrating game as they should have won that and taken them to a Game 7 at least. In my mind, if they could match-up like that last year against Nashville then they aren't that overmatched in a series against them even if Nashville has gotten a bit stronger than last year even. The Ducks younger guys got to go through 3 playoff rounds so they also got a lot of playoff experience. If they can get back to that third round that's just going to keep helping this team for the future in playoff competition.

Of all the points you listed, stay out of the penalty box is, for me, the biggest thing they need to learn and do. It is the team's kryptonite in the playoffs. I think the problem goes back to after the lock-out and when they added Chris Pronger. They got the reputation as the Big Bad Ducks for awhile because they were a hard-hitting team and prone to taking a lot of penalties. It didn't matter much on their way to a cup because the team was stacked and they had Pronger and Scott Niedermayer on defense (along with Beauchemin in his prime) so they could kill a lot of penalties and get away with them. (Although I think it is that very thing which cost them an early round exit in 2007 when they still had a stacked enough team to go much further than that.) It seems that Big Bad Duck attitude has still stuck around with the team and sometimes they get too caught up in trying to hit and retaliate against the opposition instead of just playing through it and it costs them a few games which then becomes the series. I look at 2015 as the most recent example of this. The first two games, the Ducks were just caught up in trying muscle around the Predators and went to the box repeatedly dropping the first two games of the series. They finally started playing with discipline after that and almost came back but ended up falling in Game 7 for a first round exit and the end of Brudreau's coaching tenure. The fact that they won 3 of the next 4 always irked me because it was a sign to me that they should have won that series and could have if they had played a whole lot smarter in the first two games instead of getting lost in intimidation games against the Preds. At least, the Pens won the Cup that year so it removed the sting but it was still another wasted season when that Duck team had so much going for it.


Anyways, to your point about Discord, it's an interesting idea. Don't know how much I'd have to chat about during a game but why wait until the Kings? All games are kind of Mega for the Ducks right now. Why not try it this Sunday with one of my favorite matches, Ducks vs Edmonton?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on March 24, 2018, 11:59:10 PM
Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks! Ducks!

Dang, this guy knows his stuff. And he's Canadian!


That Jets game was horrendous. Only by the good grace of John Gibson was it not 13-2. It was like a whole 60min penalty kill with a few lucky goals in their favor. They can't keep pushing for the cup playing as the Big Bad Ducks forever; they need faster players. However, if they can somehow keep Henrique next year and Patrick Eaves rises from his grave, I'd overlook management's continued stubbornness.


Getzlaf-Rakell-Eaves
Kesler-Silfverberg-Cogliano
Perry-Henrique-Kase
Vermette-Ritchie-Selanne Force Ghost


Now that's a Star Trek!


I can't really comment on the newer players either. Patterson, Grant, and Chimera all seem to be temporary stopgaps whenever the lines need to be shuffled for an injury, but Grant is getting the goals, so he can stay. JT Brown seems a little quiet so far, might need to trade him. Bieksa and Beauchemin are both too old and gotta go this summer.

One last thing. Do other teams have mini-promo events in their area? My Ducks do a monthly thing at a local auto repair shop or grocery store and give away sunglasses, shirts, or do raffles for game tickets, and the mascot walks around and poses for pictures with the kids. It's great. I have gotten a bunch of shirts and sunglasses and last time I got chap stick which was perfect cause it was a windy day. Just wanted to know if other sports teams are that rad 8-)


PS: Khushrenada and I are kicking off the first hockey Discord chat for tomorrow's Ducks@Oilers game.

Tomorrow--Sunday, Mar. 25 (9:30pm ET). Just hop onto the NWR Discord. PM me for questions.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on March 25, 2018, 03:13:26 AM
and Patrick Eaves rises from his grave,

lol, that's almost what a return would be. I mean, it is a pretty serious syndrome that he's got but talk about a major career setback. And I'm still not sure if it is even worth waiting or hoping for Eaves to return to increase the depth of the team. When Eaves joined, he was having a career year. He scored over 30 goals. He's never done that before in his career. His best year goalwise was his rookie year where he scored 20. He's 33 now and I have serious doubts as to his ability to get 50 points again in a single year especially after dealing with this immune system deficiency that can almost paralyze a person.

I find it interesting that you drop Perry down to the third line to make room for Eaves but Perry just ain't the producer he used to be. Getzlaf can still put up points and him and Rakall are kind of the new top line tandem alright so I can get behind a drop for Perry but I'd be surprised if the coach actually drops him that far considering the salary. But if the Ducks could pick up a high end talent worth a top line spot, I do agree that Perry is the weak link on that line these days. Frankly, I wonder what a Silfverberg / Perry switch in the line-up could look like now that you've got me thinking of future possibilities.

Selanne Force Ghost sounds like a great fourth liner. At this point, I'd even take Concussed Kariya for a fourth line spot.

Man, I wish I was in a city where Hockey isn't the number one sport so they have community outreach junkets like that. In Canada, it just seems like they do some hospital visits and some charity work and that's it. The teams have enough fans buying merchandise that they don't seem to see a need to give out anything for free or raise awareness of the team and reach out to the fans much that way. But maybe too, the events wouldn't work well with a lot of fans trying to get all the free stuff they can or start asking for autographs and telling the players how they need to shoot more or whatever grievance they've got with the team. Since it is often the only sport in town, people can get pretty worked up about it which is something I don't think Anaheim has to worry about too much. I should come down to LA. I want a picture with WildWing and a Ducks shirt myself. What I've really been after for awhile now is a classic Ducks Away jersey with the Mighty Duck logo on it and the green/teal and white mixture. Not as big a fan of the eggplant look but the Away jersey is pretty sweet. Always hated the change to the black uniform with just the words Anahiem Ducks and the webbed foot. Such a soulless jersey. Like the third orange jersey with the Mighty Ducks logo on it much better. May end up just getting one of those instead since they're a bit easier to come by.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on March 25, 2018, 03:18:45 AM
And, oh yeah, join in the Discord hockey chat. Let's see this Connor McDavid in action. He just took the scoring lead somehow despite the rest of his team not doing that great.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 25, 2018, 03:36:07 AM
I'm busy tomorrow, but I'm definitely in if you do it again some other time.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on March 25, 2018, 04:17:12 AM
I think we'll definitely try it again on Mar. 30 with the freeway match-up of Kings vs Ducks so perhaps that can work for you. Guess it depends how much we have to say after the Oiler game.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on March 30, 2018, 05:30:55 PM
Just a reminder that the NWR Discord channel will be hijacked again for some hockey talk tonight. (Windyman seemed to really like it.) It will be happening during the Ducks vs Kings game so that will be the focus but if you want to talk about other hockey games and teams, jump on in. It's going to be a thrilling battle of teams fighting for the last couple playoff spots. The Ducks decided to lose to the Canucks on Tuesday just to make it even more exciting but Kings couldn't do their part and lose to Coyotes last night so here we are.  :P: :
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: ShyGuy on March 31, 2018, 04:09:32 AM
So what about that accountant goalie? When is the movie coming out?

(https://i.imgur.com/V9hvEEB.jpg)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 07, 2018, 10:51:23 PM
The stage is set for Flyers-Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. Claude Giroux finished off his 102-point season with a hat trick this afternoon, and Brian Elliott looked strong in his second game back from injury. This should be an interesting series.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 08, 2018, 12:43:47 AM
I'm already hyping it on Discord! I was kind of hoping for a Pens/Flyers match-up second round since I don't think a match-up between the Pens and/or Capitals/Blue Jackets would be as entertaining for a follow-up but, yes, I clearly expect the Pens to still win and move on. That said, as motivated as the Capitals might be to not lose to the Penguins AGAIN, I don't think any team will be as motivated as the Flyers to knock out the reigning champ Penguins and be the ones to end their three-peat bid (except maybe Nashville if they were to rematch.)

As such, there's probably no greater and better test for the Penguins on whether they can repeat again. I expect it to be a tough challenge and if they get through it then look out! That could be a huge psychological boost and motivator for them to pull off such a rare feat. That said, as tough as the 2012 playoffs were to take as a Penguins fan when they last faced the Flyers, it is still one of my favorite playoff series in the past decade because of how much action, scoring and shenanigans happened in that series. I had a hard time watching any more playoff hockey after that because nothing else could match the entertainment value of that series. I'm not sure if such a spectacle like that will happen again this year but if it does I just want the Pens to be the ones to come out victorious this time.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 08, 2018, 02:04:16 AM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 08, 2018, 02:11:38 AM
Well, the Ducks did it and took that second place spot from Sharks after hovering around 4 and 5 in the division for most of the season. If not for the injuries suffered, (I believe I saw a report a few weeks ago that the Ducks led the league in games missed by players due to injury this year but that could have changed by the end of season) they probably would have won another division title. 6th year in a row going to the postseason for the Ducks. May not seem that impressive but it is the second longest active playoff streak in the NHL right now (Penguins have the first longest with now 12 straight years of playoffs [Do I know how to pick teams or what?]) and it is the 5th year in a row that the Ducks have cleared over 100 points. (It probably would have been the 6th if the abbreviated lockout season in 2013 hadn't occurred because they were clearly on pace for it then as well.)


They've been overlooked quite a bit this year because of the injuries resulting in their middling play and not getting much traction in the standings. Since they haven't been as dominant against teams like the past 5 years, a lot of people have been writing them off but then they got healthy and mostly back to a full roster before season's end and have begun to resemble the team they've been the past 5 years going 10-1-1 over their last 12 games. They're still not at 100% but they are going into the playoffs very strong and I really think they've got the best shot at getting to that Western Conference Final again from their division.

Bring on the playoffs already! (I hope Invincible Donkey Kong was able to pick up a second free Ducks shirt to send my way. ;) )
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 08, 2018, 02:36:30 AM
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.

Honestly, I was kind of hoping that Flyers would take on and eliminate the Capitals in the first round while Pittsburgh took on the Blue Jackets again and eliminated them in the first round and then met the Flyers in a second round match-up. I think Flyers could have upset Caps and I don't think Columbus quite has the make-up to do that. I'm also kind of tired of the Pens/Caps 2nd round match-up so to have the Flyers eliminate them would have been a nice change of pace. Heck, I think even the Devils had the potential to upset Caps but the Caps probably got the best match-up for themselves. Flyers should have lost in OT today to clinch playoffs and play the Caps but, nope, they had to go and whoop the Rangers without thinking of their seeding results.

I've said to a few people that I've got no problem if the Caps were to put it together finally and win the Cup. Ovechkin is one of the all-time greats to play the game with how he's been able to stay so productive in goal-scoring. At this point, as a Pens fan, I'm well aware of the limitations in his game when it comes to playing defense but you can't take away the fact that few players are able to score at the pace he has especially in an era where goaltenders have larger pads and cover more of the net and are much better trained in how to cut down angles and protect the net. The only thing is that I don't want the Capitals to win if that means the Penguins lose. Beating the Caps in the second round is kind of like the good-luck charm for the Penguins since every time they've beat the Capitals in the second round they have then won the Cup in the Crosby era. So, why fix what ain't broke? But unlike other Pens fans, I am starting to feel bad for Ovechkin always having to talk to the media about losing in the second round. Even Boudreau got to experience a 3rd round of the playoffs once while coaching the Ducks. Ah well. A lot can still happen. I'm just glad it's finally about to happen. I've been ready and waiting for the playoffs for over a couple months now to see what will happen and we are less than 4 days away from it finally starting.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on April 08, 2018, 07:21:50 PM
Still don't know who the Leafs are playing in R1 because of all those nor'easters we had, but I'm looking at their record breaking regular season that landed them in third as a product of half the division emptying entire clips into their feet.

I do hope it's the Bruins because of the... unpleasantness... of May 13/13, but we'll see. It's a tough matchup either way.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 09, 2018, 01:03:20 AM
The Bruins it is. I'm excited for it. I'm shocked that Bruins didn't win the division in the end from the Lightning. They are coming into the playoffs having gone 1-4 in their last 5 games, a lot of players have been getting injured or coming back from injury and may not be 100% and the Leafs beat them 3 out of 4 times this year. Granted, 2 of those wins came in November before the Bruins became the mighty team they turned into this year but they seem vulnerable right now and I'm getting a vibe from the Leafs this year that they are ready and confident to take and eliminate the Bruins.

Meanwhile, Tampa has lost all 3 games the played against the Devils this year and 2 of those occurred in the past two months. Tampa seems to have cooled a bit from their hot start in the first half of the season though they still ended up with the third most points in the league. But, unlike Predators vs Avalanche, there may actually be a real chance at an upset in this series which I was not expecting. I do think the Devils were going to be a bit of a challenge for any team that faced them but the Lightning may find it more of a challenge than others. With Taylor Hall making it to the postseason for the first time, I am more intrigued in this series than I thought I would be.


Time to take over the NWR Discord channel for the next couple months. (Depending on various outcomes) The NHL was half considerate. For just about the first week, the Penguins and Ducks games are on alternate nights until the game 4 for both of those series and then the Pens and Ducks games will fall on the same night each night. Hopefully there's no long overtime sessions cutting into the Ducks games during that time. So, I'll be ready to go each night on Discord during the games but probably end up just alternating after that during those series. We'll see but hopefully all the NWR hockey fans will be ready to jump on and start making this a lively postseason chat as we see how that crazy rubber disc bounces along this year.

My dream final four this year would be TOR, PIT, WPG, ANA. Now let's see how many of my dreams will be dashed this year.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: King of Twitch on April 09, 2018, 10:35:24 PM
Woop woop, I did get another free shirt, and Sean Pronger signed my #PaintItOrange shirt I got from last year's playoff promo stop. I asked him what the Ducks need to do differently to get past the Preds and how to beat Vegas. Later he judged a mini-rap contest for playoff tickets. Great guy.

Ducks won the last 5 games, their first and only 5-game win streak of the season. I'll be in SJ at the same time as Game 3&4, so I'll report back any nasty comments from hooligans while sporting my sport cap. I'm guessing LA for round 2, Preds round 3, Pens for the money and Ducks take it all.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 12, 2018, 12:42:02 PM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dai_x1OU0AAF4ad.jpg:large)




So good. Poor Insanolord. Guess that's why he's focusing on Soccer.






By the way, Shaymin, if interested, I plan to check out some of the Bruins/Leafs game and will be ready to post on Discord during the game. Had a new user show up interested in the Hockey Discussions, specifically the Leafs as he is a Leafs fan so you may want to check in for that too if posting with others during the game appeals to you.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 12, 2018, 06:59:08 PM
I'm actually focusing on baseball right now, since soccer isn't going very well for me at the moment either.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on April 12, 2018, 10:29:57 PM
So over/under 2.5 games for Kadri after that stupidity tonight? I thought he headbutted a guy, but that's even worse.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 13, 2018, 01:20:39 AM
Just saw it. Yeah, I'd say 2 games seems highly likely. I don't think he has a history of suspension which might limit it but that is definitely the kind of headshot on a vulnerable player the league has been trying to get out of the game for awhile now so it could be more yet.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: ShyGuy on April 13, 2018, 07:09:47 PM
Boy, Hockey Discord is really blowing up. Why are people allowed to fist fight in hockey but no other field sports?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 13, 2018, 09:47:48 PM
And suddenly we have ourselves a series.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 13, 2018, 09:51:50 PM
I've wondered that too. It's just kind of been grandfathered into the sport at this point. They've got rules about it. People have talked about eliminating it for a long time but there are other people who say it's part of the game and support it. That said, fights in games have been dropping off because teams and the league are starting to realize that it is smarter to have a skilled player take that spot on the roster than a guy that is good at fighting but pretty poor at scoring. Because of this, skilled guys don't fight as much because then it puts the team at a disadvantage if they are in the penalty box for fighting and there's also the chance of injury in a fight which they probably want to avoid.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 13, 2018, 09:59:54 PM
And suddenly we have ourselves a series.

Yep. You could have had a grand ol' time today talkin' up the Flyers in Discord and how much the Penguins suck. Pens were just snake-bit today. Flyers were way better obviously but this time it was the Pens that were off their game. Stuff like Letang not paying attention and running into Giroux and having to go off to the locker room from his fall, Crosby missing his scoring chances and a few posts. Add to the the refs doing a poor job for both teams and it was a long slog of a game. Will not be remembering this one.

Too bad. I really enjoyed reading some of the reactions from Flyers fans after the blowout loss of how upset they were about the team. Even better was reading reactions from Capitals fans today. With the Capitals fans losing the first game to Columbus, so many of their fans are already writing off the team and complaining about how terrible they do in the playoffs. They're so pessimistic that even if the win, they still expect to lose to the Penguins in the next round and so many fans were comparing the Penguins Game 1 victory to the Capitals Game 1 loss and talking about how great the Penguins are in the playoffs. It was great. That franchise and their fans have developed a real inferiority complex to the Penguins. Now, they may all start to feel better about themselves. Ah well. On to Game 3.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 13, 2018, 10:06:21 PM
Yeah, the refs were all over the place, sometimes letting lots of stuff go and other times calling some pretty soft penalties. The key for the Flyers, though, was Brian Elliott. After giving up 5 goals in game 1 before getting the hook a lot of people thought Dave Hakstol was crazy to start him tonight, but he was incredible. It was a good team performance, but without Elliott standing tall this would have been a very different game. Also nice to see two young guys get their first career playoff goals, especially Konecny's spectacular tally.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 13, 2018, 10:52:02 PM
Fun fact: Sean Couturier has played two playoff games against the Penguins that have fallen on Friday the 13th. He had a hat trick in the first one in 2012 and then he had three points tonight.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 16, 2018, 03:11:18 AM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Da24VovW4AEhvUJ.jpg)


Also, changed my stance on the Letang/Giroux collision. Thought it was accidental because the views were from the back side of the players but today they showed views from the front on the collision and Giroux clearly sees Letang is coming up behind him and levels into him. Still don't get how he cuts his hand open from his stick through his glove but considering how dangerous the fall could have been for Letang I'm glad that was the only damage done out of it. Nice to see Pens get their revenge.

I was reading some Penguins fans comments during the game and people were making jokes of how lost Hakstol, the coach for the Flyers, looks during the game. I will say that he looks like a guy who is surprised he's still coaching and wondering why a replacement hasn't come to take over for him. I was also laughing at his comment after that game where he said he should have taken a time-out after the third goal to settle things down (which could have prevented the fourth goal five seconds later). Apparently he wants to try and channel some of that Laviolette Time Out Magic.

I thought I made a comment about it here but maybe it was on Discord or elsewhere that Brian Elliot is one of the most bi-polar goalies in the NHL. He has had playoff series where he is nearly invincible and almost winning it by himself and others where he is a leaky sieve and completely sinks the team. This series has now featured both Elliots but I'm hoping it stays more the latter version. If just to get more images like this one:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Da20klCVMAEFQCC.jpg)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 20, 2018, 09:50:46 PM
We had to wait until game 5 for a non-blowout, but it was a hell of a game. Michael Neuvirth, who hadn't played a full game in over two months, brought some of his playoff magic from two years ago, including an absolute robbery of Sidney Crosby right at the end, and a clearly still injured Sean Couturier stepped up big time, playing through it and scoring the winning goal. This is what I expected this series to look more like, not necessarily the Flyers winning but the hard-hitting grind it out kind of game we got tonight.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 20, 2018, 11:18:12 PM
Ugh. I get that you're happy to see a win but after Game 4 I was wishing this series was over already since it really didn't seem to be much of a series. Yeah, it was closer today but that's basically because of Neuvirth. Of course, Malkin got tangled up with a Philly player and may have tweaked his leg/knee early in the game which is what I was afraid might happen with having to play more games in a series that felt like it should have been over after Game 4. Now Pens have to play another game opening the door for more potential injuries to take out the Flyers who I just don't see winning this series and being able to win 3 in a row against the Penguins. I'm restless with this series and want to move on to the next round already.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 21, 2018, 12:30:16 AM
It most certainly should not have been over after game 4. I don't know if you're familiar with how hockey works, but in this format you have to win 4 games to move on, and at that point Pittsburgh had only won 3. Easy mistake to make. Expecting the Flyers to just roll over and not try to get back in the series with their backs against the wall wasn't a good plan.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 21, 2018, 01:13:55 AM
When one team has beat the other in 3 of those 4 games by a score of 7-0, 5-1, and 5-0 then, yes, I'm going to wish the series was already wrapping up by that point. Watching the Flyers get stunned over and over in those 3 games is entertaining at first but it's also means the game is pretty much decided halfway through and it's just a lot of waiting for the rest of the game clock to play out which isn't that exciting either as you just hope no one somehow injures themselves in the rest of the time remaining. So, yeah, wishing the series could have been wrapping up that point is a valid feeling. I didn't say I expected the Flyers to roll over but with the exception of Game 2, the Flyers have seen little success in this series despite controlling the game for portions here and there and having the Penguins unable to push back in some stretches. It just didn't seem like the Flyers were going to be much of a threat to win this series. To their credit, this is the first game where they seemed to be equal to the Penguins but I don't think it's going to last and it just seems to be prolonging the inevitable.


But congrats on the Colorado Avalanche and the Hamburgler pulling off the Game 5 robbery against Nashville. Speaking of series with a seemingly inevitable conclusion being prolonged, I did not expect this series to see a Game 6 either. I figured there was a chance Colorado might pull off one win and prevent a sweep but I didn't think they'd be able to take the Preds to 6. Helps that they decided not to play Bernier. After losing Gibson last year, Bernier proved he couldn't stop the Preds in the conference final last year but it took Colorado a few games to realize that also.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 21, 2018, 02:11:47 AM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 21, 2018, 03:00:13 AM
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.

Yeah, that stat was mentioned at the start of the game on the feed I was watching which is surprising considering how long they've been in the league. Part of what helped was that Boston got injured as the series went on while Philadelphia had guys come back from injury and kind of got stronger as that went on but you probably already knew that. Of course, Boston also lead 3-0 in that game 7 only to still lose the game for a double 3-0 blown lead irony. With Hornquist currently injured and Malkin now fighting through something suffered this game while Neuvirth now back and Simmonds maybe getting healthier (everyone suspects he is playing through with some kind of injury but were commenting that he seemed a bit stronger in this game), there's a possibility history could repeat itself. Gudas injuring Couturier in practice upsets that narrative a bit.


Anyways, I didn't bother posting anything after the Game 4 win because I wanted to wait for the series to be over to lay in a couple more jokes at Flyers expense so here's to a better result on Sunday. (And further reason for Insano to really root for the Flyers.) Defeating the Flyers at home in 6 games was also the first step in the Pens winning their first cup in the Crosby/Malkin era so why not do it again this year since we are talking history.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Shaymin on April 21, 2018, 11:04:03 PM
It was 4-1.

Thank Naga it stopped at 4-3.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion
Post by: Khushrenada on April 22, 2018, 01:07:07 AM
I thought it was cruel of Jim Hughson to say that a 4-1 lead in Boston is never safe or something to that effect as the Bruins scored one to make it 4-2 and attempt the comeback. So, take that, memories of 2013! Still, the Leafs seem much more overmatched than I thought going into this series and I just don't see them pulling off the series win. I would like to be proven wrong but, man, Boston can really dominate these games.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 22, 2018, 06:15:19 PM
I'm going to let Insanolord go first on this one. Lot's of legit grievances I'm sure.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 22, 2018, 06:24:39 PM
I actually wasn't able to watch the game until the last few minutes, so I don't have much to say as all I saw were the score updates on my phone.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 22, 2018, 06:51:53 PM
Probably for the best.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 22, 2018, 10:21:13 PM
Yeah, it sounds like it. Couturier getting three goals and two assist despite a torn MCL would have been interesting to see, though.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 23, 2018, 10:52:36 PM
So we've got Penguins and Capitals again. Columbus was up two games to none going home and then lost four straight. At least the Flyers didn't give me much real hope during their series so it wasn't as much of a letdown when they lost as it must have been for Blue Jackets fans.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 24, 2018, 12:36:59 AM
Yeah, it's probably tougher for Jackets fans especially since the third game went to double OT. Had Jackets scored then they'd have been up 3-0 and Capitals are probably done. Still, Game 5 also went to OT and, again, if the Jackets score then they are up 3-2 in the series. On the flip side, had Capitals won the first two games in Overtime then maybe it would have been a sweep and not a six game series. Still, to have 4 games in OT shows the Jackets were close but since Capitals had 2 victories by a 3 goal margin they were still the better team.

That said, this Penguins/Capitals match-up could be a tough series even though most people have been writing off the Capitals and this match-up since the playoffs began. Ovechkin told the media the Capitals would come back to Washington tied at 2 after they lost the first two and the team came through. I highly doubt the players on that team want to lost to Pittsburgh for the third year in a row. Right now, Malkin is sidelined for who knows how long and Hagelin was also injured so that's 2/3 of the second line currently injured. If there's another injury for the Pens, that could weaken their offence or defense a bit more. Of course, it's possible that Malkin and/or Hagelin can recover for the start of or soon into the series and they're back to full strength.

Do I think the Capitals will do it? Not really. Their best chance was probably last year and they couldn't pull off. Capitals had leads and lost them in Games 1, 2, 3, and 5. In Game 5, the Blue Jackets crumpled them in the third period but were only able to score one goal to tie it and take it into overtime. This was after the Capitals were able to even the series 2-2 and were in real danger of falling behind to the Jackets again if they had been able to score that go-ahead goal in the third or overtime. Capitals have some good talent on the team but they don't have the sort-of gamebreakers the Pens have been fortunate to accrue over the past couple years and who have the postseason success of now winning a couple Stanley Cups. I do feel bad about Ovechkin because the guy is stuck in a cruel postseason joke of not even getting a chance to play in a Conference Final but the Capitals have been unable to find the right combination of players that could succeed in the match-ups they've faced.

Still, I'm actually rather interested in all the second round match-ups this year and that's pretty rare. Obviously, I'll be watching all of Capitals/Penguins. The Vegas Knights are appealing to me because of Fleury and since Vegas is new I've really got no hard feelings against them or their fans. Seeing them succeed so much is kind of funny as well when you think of teams like the Oilers, Coyotes, Panthers or even the Blue Jackets who still haven't won a playoff series through all their years of existence but Vegas has and they swept the series to boot!

Jets and Predators are the top two teams in the league already facing each other which is kind of messed up that it is happening in the second round like that. That said, there's no guarantee that they would have both still been around for the conference final if this was the old playoff seeding. There have been a lot of upsets to a number one or two seed in the playoffs in the old format. However, this year, with the teams that have made the playoffs in the west, I don't think there are any teams that would have upset them and prevented a match-up in the Conference Finals. Of course, that theory will be put to the test when the winner faces the remaining Pacific team for the Conference Final but, for now, I think whoever wins this series is going to the Stanley Cup Final.

And there's Tampa versus some team. Either Boston or Toronto and this is very much a bit like the Jets/Preds series. If it is Boston then it is the top two Eastern teams facing each other in the second round and if it is Toronto then it is like the first and third best team. Personally, I'd prefer if it was the Maple Leafs that make it to this match-up but it should be another hard fought series either way. There is a bit of intrigue to all these series. Looking forward to it but for now it's waiting for about 3 - 4 days until that happens.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 24, 2018, 12:46:16 AM
On that note, way to go Maple Leafs on making it a seven game series against the Bruins. I think the expectation for a lot of people was that this would be a six or seven game series because Bruins and Leafs were a couple of the top teams in the league this year but, with how Boston played those first two games, it didn't seem like an even match-up at first. Even when they've won games, there are times where it looked like Boston was going to come back or had the Leafs under siege at times. I'm not sure Toronto can pull off the upset because the Bruins are going to be playing pretty hard to avoid a first round exit. But Babcock has been able to coach underdog teams to succeed at various times. I've been a fan of him since his first year coaching in the NHL when he took the seventh seed Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Then he left and coached Detroit making it much harder to root for him.)


I think Anderson is going to be the biggest decider in this and I've always thought he was a great goaltender. I liked him in Anaheim and I'm still not quite won over to Gibson who they kept over Anderson even though Gibson has been doing a good job in net. Anderson just seems able to make a bigger difference when needed especially in the playoffs. I'll be tuning in Wednesday and not just because it's the only game in town.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 25, 2018, 09:33:47 PM
This Game 7 of the Bruins/Leafs is really good. Once again, the Leafs are in the lead going into the third. Will they avenge 2013 or will the Bruins overcome another first round Leafs scare? Third period about to start.

Go Leafs!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 25, 2018, 10:23:00 PM
Nope. A 4 goal third period for the Bruins. Too bad.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 27, 2018, 04:31:12 AM
Well, another win for the Pens. Really wish there were more people willing to watch the Penguin games with me but Discord seems to have dried up fast with a lot of people's teams dropping in the first round. Too bad. Still great stuff happening.

Like in Vegas. Fleury gets another shut-out as Vegas completely routed the Sharks tonight. Not only does he get the shut-out, he also decided to join in the wave the fans were doing during the third. It's awesome. I'm glad Fleury is having a great year in Vegas.


Wish there were more people wanting to chat up hockey. It's Jets and Preds tomorrow. That's a big series. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

(https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/989724815752757249)

Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: ShyGuy on April 28, 2018, 10:54:05 PM
Did somebody win Stanley's cup yet? The weather is warming up and the ice is going to melt.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 28, 2018, 11:03:51 PM
There's still almost a month and a half of playoffs left. The second round (of four) just started.

Tonight the results of the draft lottery were announced, and the friend of mine I've mentioned here who's a Senators fan is not happy, as they finished with the second-worst record but got knocked down to fourth in the draft. Buffalo, who finished dead last, will indeed pick first. For the second straight year the second pick goes to a team that nearly made the playoffs in Carolina, while Montreal will pick third.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Shaymin on April 28, 2018, 11:21:35 PM
Between the Bills and winning the draft lottery, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and Dahlin to end up in Edmonton somehow. Can they handle all this winning?

I still can't believe an expansion team is favoured to make the final four, even if the Knights are in OT as I type this.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 28, 2018, 11:30:10 PM
The Bills drafted Josh Allen so I'm not sure how much winning they're going to be doing anytime soon.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 29, 2018, 12:37:41 AM
Knights drop their first one thanks to the Wheel of Goalie Interference. Couldn't erase a goal scored against them and lost one they scored. Wheeeeeee!

I was kind of hoping Edmonton would pull off the impossible and win the Draft Lottery just to see the league implode from outrage from all the other fanbases with crap teams right now. But Buffalo finally got the win they craved when Edmonton stole Conner McDavid from them. And the truth is they need defensive help there badly so Dahlin is a big get. Recently, NBC released some statistics about the markets with most hockey viewership in the playoffs so far. Pittsburgh was number 1 but Buffalo was number 2 which is pretty amazing since they aren't a playoff team. So, I'm glad their fans got some kind of a win for being hockey fans despite having such a terrible team for so long now.

Carolina got pretty darn lucky but with the new owner and GM shake-up, I wonder if they are going to fumble that pick. Of course, Ottawa dropping doesn't bother me. I absolutely loved the dumpster fire that team became particularly in December when the news leaked that Karlsson was asked to name teams he'd be willing to get traded too and Melnyk dumped on the fans and how hard it is to keep the team in Ottawa. The less help they get out there, the better as far as I'm concerned. Whenever I meet someone in Canada who roots for the Senators, I instantly question their taste in everything. Your friend really needs to move on from that team. Anything is better (except for Philly).
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on April 29, 2018, 02:04:37 AM
Speaking of the Flyers, so I obviously got in one dig by changing this thread title to riff on the NBA one. I like that it celebrates the Flyers loss in a thread started by Insanolord himself. Of course, if the Pens go down, I wouldn't be surprised if he changes it to reflect that and fair enough. But in the meantime:


What do the Flyers and the Titanic both have in common?

Both look great until the hit the ice.


Why do the Flyers wear orange?

So they can go straight back to work picking up garbage when the game is over.


Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 29, 2018, 04:22:51 AM
Honestly, I'm very happy with this Flyers season apart from having it end at the hands of the Penguins. We were never going to be serious contenders this year, but we showed resiliency, fighting back from that 10 game losing streak and other issues, and saw great development for a lot of our young guys like Konecny, Patrick, and Sanheim, plus the wave before that of Provorov, Gostisbehere, and Couturier stepping up as leaders and into high level roles. We've got more prospects coming, and for the first time since Ron Hextall took over as GM we're going to have significant cap room to play with this offseason as he's finally rid us of most of the awful contracts his predecessor saddled him with. This is a team on the rise, and the next few years are going to be a lot of fun.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 02, 2018, 12:34:01 AM
I tuned into two separate games tonight that were tied late in the 3rd period hoping to see some of that sweet playoff overtime action, and both of them ended up with late winners to deny me that pleasure.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 02, 2018, 04:19:50 AM
Need to watch some Vegas for that. I feel like there has been very little overtime action this year. Columbus/Washington had some and Vegas had one double OT with Kings and now a couple with Sharks. I've been watching Vegas now that the Ducks are out and I've been enjoying their games a lot. Man, Vegas really did get a jackpot with their team. Definitely worth checking out.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 05, 2018, 10:09:43 PM
Is it really going to happen this time? The Capitals have a 3-2 lead, just one win away from doing what's been so impossible for them over the years, beating Pittsburgh and getting to the conference finals.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Shaymin on May 05, 2018, 11:44:03 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 06, 2018, 02:52:17 AM
They just might. As odd as it sounds considering the Capitals had back-to-back President Trophy winning teams in 2016 and 2017, I actually think this is the best Capitals team the Penguins have faced yet. This is the first time I've ever really seen them not give up or meltdown when things go bad. I think the last thing this team wants to do is lose three years in a row to the Penguins and they are staying focused on working hard to beat them no matter how bad things may get in a game. The mindset of this group strikes me as different from any other year they've played where they just seem to doubt themselves and seem unable to respond when things go bad.

It's a shame the Penguins have had to play both Flyers and the Capitals in the first two rounds since both those teams seem to be resorting to some questionable hits in order to try and beat the Penguins or play against them. When I'm watching other series and I'm just not seeing the level of dangerous hits in them as seems to be occurring in some of the Penguins games. Boston / Toronto was probably most comparable but even that kind of went tame as the series went on.

The weird thing is that the Penguins are kind of a one line team right now. There's Crosby and Guentzel doing most of the heavy lifting but just not seeing much happening from the other lines and the past couple years the Penguins were getting great contributions from all four lines to win. Malkin and Hagelin both got injured in the Flyers series and that seems to have affected the danger of that second line a bit which is a shame. With the way Malkin was playing in January and February, I thought he could have a huge playoff run this year but Crosby / Guentzel are the ones who have been having the biggest impact. Kessel must be playing through an injury. He'd had an incident near the end of the regular season and people thought he might miss some of the last few games but he stayed in the line-up but maybe he should have been resting up. Tonight was the first game where he looked to be a lot more effective and his past playoff self. My guess is that whatever he has may be a hand/wrist injury and that fixing it would require surgery and ending the season so he's playing through. Considering some of his stick work and handling of the puck, it suggests a problem in the arm wrist area since his skating seems to be mostly fine.

That said, the expected third line center of Brassard has now dropped to the fourth line center and Sheahan has take up that role. I'm ok with it because I think Sheahan has become very effective for the Penguins and was a big part of their turnaround in January but he seems offensively limited and if Kessel is hurt, that might be an prevent that third line from contributing much. If Sheary can find his 2016 game, that would really help improve the fortunes of that line and the Penguins right now. He can move well and does pretty good in creating a chance but it either gets shut down from lack of support or he's unable to convert the opportunity into a goal.

As for Brassard, I was never enthusiastic about the trade. Pundits made a big deal about it because of his puck possession and other statistics but he's not a guy that ever impressed me and I'm not a big fan of someone who played on both Columbus and Ottawa. If players look good on those teams it is only because the rest are even worse. The only real successful player to come out of Ottawa that I can think of is Hossa. Anyone else who ever had success on that team and left it has never made much of an impact anywhere else. You might point to Mike Fischer but, again, with the depth on that team, there are probably eight to ten players that were a bigger factor than him.

I will say, though, that I have noticed Brassard is able to often get the puck over to the opposing zone but nothing much happens when it gets there. A Brassard shift often seems to be more back and forth as both teams try to set something up but nothing materializes and then it goes the other way only for that to fail and return. The only player I have hopes in that can score on the fourth line is Rust who was playing with Malkin on the second line in the past couple playoffs so it might be smarter to put him back there to try and get that second line going since I don't think Brassard or Kuhnhackl are going to give Rust the offensive support he needs at this point.

Of course, the big second guessing for some is whether Pittsburgh should have kept Fleury over Murray. The Vegas expansion is pretty frustrating because without it, Pittsburgh may not have had to make that choice yet and who knows how this year's playoffs go if Murray is struggling like he seems to be at times. A lot of teams could be different. Expansion draft really seems to have messed up the Anaheim Ducks and what they were building as well which is kind of frustrating. I really hoped the team would have kept Fleury because I've always liked and believed in him even when his reputation got cratered a bit during 2012 - 2014 and the media and fans put a lot of the blame on him for the playoff failures they suffered. I felt bad for him in 2016 when the Pens went on that playoff run and Murray had the net because Fleury had been injured shortly before the post-season and, finally when the Pens had a really good team again, he wasn't able to be the one in net to prove the critics wrong. Loved the 2017 run more because he was a big part of that run but was sad he didn't get the chance to go all the way and finish it. I can't deny that Murray was excellent when taking over but I felt Fleury could have won it also. It's kind of funny that he ended up almost getting his own team in the end and a brand new big fanbase in Vegas so I'm happy for the guy to be getting that love from the fans in Vegas. I just wish more of that could have happened in Pittsburgh. The truth is Murray is still a young player and developing but Fleury is kind of in the prime of his career right now so it's hard to compare the two at this point so I'm not writing Murray off and he may still prove to be the smarter choice. It's just hard because Fleury has a more charismatic personality than Murray so it's easier to like him a bit more because of it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 06, 2018, 03:21:12 AM
That was a long post. You got me monologuing about the Penguins again, you sly dog. But I will just add these couple points of the history at play.

In 2009, the Penguins won their first cup in the Crosby era. They defeated the Flyers in the first round in 6 games and then defeated the Capitals in the second round in 7 games and were down 3-2 in the series after Game 5. I think they had to win Game 6 even in overtime and then had a blow-out Game 7 win. Will history repeat again?

The Edmonton Oilers won back-to-back Stanley Cups in '84 and '85. In '86 they lost in the Second Round in the seventh game when Steve Smith accidentally scored on his own net giving the Calgary Flames a 3-2 lead and the Oilers were unable to comeback and tie it. The Oilers then won in '87 and '88 but lost in the first round to the LA Kings who had acquired Gretzky from the Oilers that summer. The Penguins won in '91 and '92 but, despite winning the last 17 games in a row of the regular season, they lost in overtime in Game 7 of the second round against the Islanders. And the Red Wings won back-to-back in '97 and '98 but their bid for a threepeat ended in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche in six games.

The second round seems to be a killer for teams trying to three-peat. The tenth series victory in a row might be the hardest. So, perhaps it is only fitting that this Penguins team looking to three-peat would meet the team that most struggles to get past the second round this year. Will history stay on the Penguins side as the duplicate the start of their '09 run with the Capitals falling in the second round again or will the Capitals benefit from back-to-back winners falling short in the second round to get themselves over that hump?

It's definitely an interesting scenario at play in this series. In their two recent Championships, the Penguins only faced elimination four times. In 2016, they were down 3-2 against Tampa in the Eastern Conference Final. In 2017, they had a Game 7 against Washington and a Game 7 against Ottawa. Monday is the fifth time they've faced a potential elimination from the playoffs. If they win in 7 games, that will be six times they've done it. Never like to see a team play without that safety net as anything can happen in sports. Maybe the odds finally start to catch-up to them. Maybe they avoid elimination again. But I still think Pittsburgh is the deeper team against Washington and despite the favorable circumstances for the Capitals right now, Pittsburgh could still get their act together and see their four lines suddenly clicking again. Perhaps an elimination scare is what they need right now.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 06, 2018, 03:28:09 AM
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.

You think so? After the game tonight, I'm thinking the Jets may be the ultimate winners of the West and I'm thinking they might actually be the front-runners for the cup. Not to discount Tampa but Jets seem to have that "special cup run" look that teams like the 03' Ducks, 04' Flames, '06 Oilers, heck, even last year's Preds seem to have. Not sure it will translate to a cup win since it failed those teams but the way the team is playing and their attitude has that kind of destiny trait I've seen in other great cup run teams.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 07, 2018, 10:07:25 PM
The curse is broken.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 07, 2018, 10:32:12 PM
Not necessarily a curse. Washington did beat Pittsburgh once in the 90s. It's just that the rivalry is kind of in the Canadians/Bruins win ratio. But if Pittsburgh won, it would have been the tenth time they've beat the Capitals in the playoffs and the tenth playoff series in a row since 2016. The tenth is always the hardest to win.

Well, once again, another threepeat dream dies in the second round by a team. The Brassard trade turned out to be rather ineffective and Kessel was most likely playing injured along with Malkin who got injured in the Flyers series. Pens became a one line team and once Washington was able to focus on shutting down that one line they were able to finally get by the Pens to the third round. Last time they got to the third round was 1998 so it's a 20 year anniversary party. That said, I was already wondering how well the Penguins might stack up against Tampa and I'm not sure Capitals are that much stronger than the Penguins. Guess we'll see if the Caps can take advantage of this opportunity but a lot of times a team just doesn't have the same focus against their next opponent after a big win against a rival. See New York Jets defeating the Patriots a few years back or Flyers defeating Penguins in 2012 for quick examples.


At this point, if Jets win their series, I'd prefer to see a team from the West win. Either Jets or Vegas but I'm not that heavily invested in whatever the ultimate outcome might be. I've got to see the Penguins win a couple more cups the past couple years so it's really taken out a lot of the disappointment in the loss. I'm just kind of the shrug emoji. Whatcha gonna do? They still have a good team and can try again next year.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: King of Twitch on May 09, 2018, 01:15:06 PM
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 09, 2018, 02:59:27 PM
I'll tell you one thing, Kuznetsov and his stupid bird wing celebration is one of those things that will add some fuel again to this Pens/Caps rivalry over the next few years.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 17, 2018, 11:25:57 PM
The Capitals win the first two games in Tampa, only for the Lightning to take the next two in DC. If that pattern holds it's good news for Washington, but they're going to need much better shooting than they had tonight to get there. Vasilevskly was huge in goal for Tampa but the Caps wasted so many great chances.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 21, 2018, 10:55:49 PM
What a performance by the Washington Capitals tonight. It ended 3-0, but it was scoreless until late in the 2nd and a one goal game with less than 10 minutes left before they pulled away. Holtby had a massive night, and the Caps with their backs against the wall simply outworked the Lightning, winning the little battles consistently until the game tipped their way. Very excited to see what kind of Game 7 we get.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 22, 2018, 02:05:27 AM
I'm sure there is a lot of hope by hockey writers that the Capitals make it to the Finals for a Washington/Vegas final. George McPhee versus his old team. Fleury helped win the series for the Pens versus Washington last year and now it would be Caps vs Fleury for the cup. Tampa vs Vegas doesn't quite have much of a hook to latch onto aside from the fact that it's the Final and whether Vegas can pull off the storybook ending.

I'm shocked the Jets were done in 5 games. It might sink them but Vegas is who I'm rooting for now and I just don't think they can be stopped. At this point it feels like the Conn Smythe is going to Fleury win or lose unless he suddenly gets blown out every game in the cup final by 5 or more goals.

I haven't been watching any hockey since the Penguins got knocked out. I've joked with some of my friends that it is kind of nice to be free from a longer playoff run by the Ducks or Penguins and no longer being so invested in their ups and downs allowing me to just enjoy the excellent spring/summer weather of the last couple weeks. Moreover, I'm just not that terribly invested in the remaining teams aside from preferring one of the teams from the West win. But if the East pulls it off, whatever. Good for them. I think it would have been an interesting summer in Canada if the Jets and crazy Winnipeg (Slurpee Capital of the World because they drink so many Slurpees) had pulled it off. But that ain't going to happen so now I'm rooting for Fleury to at least 3-peat and enjoy the playoff run I always believed he could pull off. I'll check out Game 7 of the East now to see how that goes down but if I'm watching the Finals it is mainly for Vegas to win.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 22, 2018, 02:16:41 AM
Personally, I'm rooting for Washington. Ovechkin is an incredible player, it'd be a shame if he never got to lift the cup, and this might be his last good chance to do it.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 22, 2018, 03:54:18 AM
Heck, it might be his only chance with the Capitals history in the playoffs but he still has to get to the Final. Closest he's ever been but Washington just played to stay alive and now the Lightning are going to be doing the same. Will it be another Game 7 overtime winner like last year with the Pens/Sens? If so, Kunitz is playing for the Lightning this year so Washington may want to keep an eye on him.

This is why I say I'm not that terrible invested in the teams left. If Washington wins, good on them and Ovechkin finally can shed that baggage of not getting to the Finals and not having won a cup. If Lightning win, way to go Yzerman for his work as GM and Stamkos gets his name on a cup. Kucherov is showing that he looks to be a heck of a player and sucks to be Drouin demanding a trade from a team that's had championship potential for a few years now because he didn't think he was getting used well enough. Still, Vegas has a few former Penguin and Ducks players thanks to their draft so I feel more affinity to that team because of it and the play a fast game in the style that the Penguins have done the last couple years. There's just a fun energy to the team. They've had the rare opportunity to play through with no real expectations because just qualifying was seen as the biggest victory for this team and so the players are just having fun and enjoying the ride they are on. They've won me over while watching them play the Kings in the opening round. Plus, they've got a mascot second only to Wild Wing in being compellingly attention getting.

(https://www.bardown.com/polopoly_fs/1.884642!/fileimage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/chance-the-vegas-golden-knights-mascot.JPG)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 23, 2018, 10:48:12 PM
And after all that suspense, Game 7 was never in doubt, as Washington cruises to victory 4-0. The Stanley Cup Final will be the long-suffering Washington Capitals against the not-long-anything Vegas Golden Knights. Here's hoping for a great series.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: ShyGuy on May 28, 2018, 11:48:01 PM
Nobody talking about the Capitals and Golden Knights?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on May 29, 2018, 02:35:05 AM
It was a great Game 1. Apparently the most lead changes in one game in Stanley Cup Finals history. The Caps were this close to equalizing late and forcing overtime but they couldn't knock in a perfect pass with an open net to shoot at before Vegas slammed the door with an empty net goal. If tonight was any indication, this should be a very entertaining series.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: Khushrenada on May 29, 2018, 03:06:46 AM
Can't believe that Ryan Reeves is suddenly the clutch player for the Golden Knights. Add it to the pile of Vegas hitting the jackpot on pretty much every move they made this year. Obviously there was some talk about rust for Vegas having 9 games off and Washington had 5 as well which isn't too bad but that may have contributed to both goalies being not as sharp and Game 1 being a higher scoring game. I like it and it would be great if the games stayed this close yet full of action throughout the series but I feel the goal-scoring will decrease as the series goes on. It always seems to get tighter as the Final moves to the end.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: nickmitch on May 31, 2018, 04:34:52 PM
#ALLCAPS
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on June 04, 2018, 11:09:40 PM
A dominant performance in Game 4 gives the Capitals a 3-1 series lead. They're either going to pull this off or be the most epic DC sports collapse ever (and that's saying something).
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: Now without the Flyers because they lost, baby!!!
Post by: nickmitch on June 04, 2018, 11:34:38 PM
Until then, #ALLCAPS
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Ian Sane on June 05, 2018, 12:42:29 PM
I was into the novelty of Vegas winning in their first year at first as I assumed they would go against a team like Pittsburgh that had won it recently (and my Canucks weren't anywhere near the playoffs anyway).  But with Washington it would be such a kick in the balls to their fans if they lost so I'm hoping the Caps close it out Thursday.  If anything I would like to see Ovi get a Cup and get that monkey off his back.  That will totally change the narrative of his career.  Hall of Fame athletes tend to get looked at completely differently depending on if they won a championship or not.  If Ovechkin wins it then there's no "but..." when people talk about his career.  Actually he might be the most high profile player without a Cup win as the top stars in hockey have usually managed to win a championship.  Aside from active players like Stamkos, who's the most prominent to never win a Stanley Cup?  Lindros?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: ShyGuy on June 07, 2018, 07:39:58 PM
Extry Extry, Hawky Tawky in the Discord at kickoff!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Khushrenada on June 08, 2018, 12:52:54 AM
So, already talked a bunch about the game and Caps and other hockey stuff in the Discord channel and don't really feel like rehashing it out again in post form. Suffice to say, it's a pretty amazing victory by the Caps to win this year and they did so by getting revenge on a couple teams that bounced them out the past few years (Pens and Tampa) as well as defeating the new team by their former GM who got to see a lot of the talent he drafted and traded for finally win with him on the other side.

But one thing I didn't mention and would like to bring up is that great punching bag of the NHL: The Ottawa Senators. I just heard couple stories that I wanted to share because it once again highlights why they are the worst and more crappiest team in the NHL.

First, Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee is accused of inappropriately touching and making lewd comments toward a hotel shuttle driver while in Buffalo for the NHL's scouting combine. (https://www.tsn.ca/senators-agm-lee-charged-with-harassment-1.1100925)

And second, Health Canada has issued a recall for Ottawa Senators onesies over a choking hazard. (https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ottawa-senators-onesies-recalled-over-choking-hazard-1.3958896) I like the nice touch the article makes by pointing out that "No other NHL teams’ onesies have been recalled."

Senators gonna suck.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Ian Sane on June 08, 2018, 12:19:44 PM
Alright, Ovi has his Cup.  Now the narrative from the sportswriters for him is flipped.  He's no longer the guy who can't win the big one, he's now "only" one of the best players of all time.  I guess Stamkos becomes the punching bag now (or maybe McDavid in a few years if the Oilers don't go anywhere).

My favourite moment was seeing Ovi and Backstrom skating with the Cup together.  Those guys have been teammates for 11 seasons so you gotta know it was a special moment for them.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Shaymin on July 01, 2018, 08:44:17 PM
So my Leafs went out and signed John Tavares (the biggest name on the UFA market) for 7 years, AAV $11m a year. Can't wait for the Leafs to be able to roll out three helicopters next year.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 01, 2018, 09:56:32 PM
And the Flyers brought back the guy they took 2nd overall and then traded for a mediocre defenseman. JVR-Patrick-Voracek should be a pretty fun second line, now we just need a third line center and maybe a second pair defenseman and we'll be in business.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Khushrenada on July 02, 2018, 01:57:50 AM
And all the Penguins could do is bring in Jack Johnson. *Insert Price is Right loser music*


Amazingly, Matt Cullen is actually going to play another year and also signed with them. I don't expect much from Cullen but he had made it seem like he was probably going to retire after his year with the Wild. Time for the Pens to bring back Jagr and have these two hockey oldtimers together to change the fourth line to a fortieth line.


Seriously, though, I am very interested to see what the Leafs will look like now with Taveres joining them. I'm surprised JVR didn't want to stay with the Leafs with Taveres coming on but I guess he really wanted to go back to Philly for some reason. I'd say this puts the Leafs about equal with the Lightning at this point. They've definitely got a good shot at winning the Atlantic division in the playoffs now and as, Vegas and Washington just proved, anything can happen at that point.

Big shake-up in the Atlantic with this signing. I'd say this kind of solidifies the Metro though. Pens and Caps are still the top dogs but Philly gets a bit better. Columbus is still around their level but if Philly continues the level of play they had this year then I give them the edge for 3rd spot. Islanders stay weak, Carolina is stuck in its cycle of so-so talent and play, Devils are seeing some turnover and will probably be fighting with the Rangers, Panthers and maybe the Canadiens for a possible wild card spot.

In the west, I don't see much change in the Central division either. Jets couldn't keep Statsny but even without him they were pretty equal to Nashville and if Hellebuyck doesn't regress then Nashville and Winnipeg probably stay as the top teams in that division. Wild continue to stay good but not great and should be able to get the third place or wild card spot again depending on Dubnyk being able to bail the team out. St. Louis has made a few additions so maybe they challenge the Wild for that third spot or are just better than the Avs now to get that last Wild Card spot they lost out on this year. I think the biggest competition in the division will be who can claim the wild card spot as STL, COL, DAL are all just good enough to do so depending how their season goes. Heck, even CHI might have the chance to snag that last spot if they get lucky and have a good season out their top players.

But it is the Pacific where things are getting wild. SJ missed out on Kovalchuk and Tavares and were rumoured to be trying to get one of them. Kane has been a good fit for them and they are a tough team to face already with the talent they do have. Still, having Tavares or Kovalchuk really would have boosted this team's potential. Maybe Joe Thornton can have one more healthy playoff run but I wouldn't expect him to carry this team or be the difference maker he once was. Vegas did bring in Stastny which easily makes up for the loss of Perron. If they can keep Neal then they may not see much of a dip in their standings from last year. Thanks to their cap room, they continue to be rumoured of being in the hunt for Erik Karlsson and if they do pull of that trade then they just might pull off another season of being the best in the Pacific. But Kovalchuk to the Kings does make things interesting. Kings have had problems scoring for awhile now. Carter and Kopitar have really been the only players to really be considered scoring threats for them. They've been able to do well defensively and Quick has put up good stats but as the quick exit this year showed, that defense does no good when they've got no offence to protect. Can Kovalchuk change the offensive make-up of the team enough to make the Kings a stronger team? I'm not convinced it is enough to give them one of the top spots in the division but enough to get them in the playoffs.

Then there's Edmonton who have Conner McDavid on the team and came close to winning the Division a couple seasons ago. Was last year an off year? An anomaly for the team and players who got off to a bad start and couldn't recover? Or is it indicative of a poorly contructed roster? Will McDavid be enough this year to get them to the playoffs again or not? Same with Anaheim. The roster suffered from injuries of crucial players all year and continued into their brief playoff run. When they've got all the pieces together and healthy then their team can still compete with any of the teams in this division but they just don't seem to have the depth to recover if they lose a crucial player or two. With them not making many moves this year, they better hope they stay healthy or that Perry sold his soul to the devil to get back his scoring ability because it is going to be a struggle to make the playoffs again otherwise. Even though Calgary made the weird decision of getting rid of Hamilton, they are a team that is a trade or surprisingly good rookie or two away from being a really good team. They are a mix of high and low end talent and came close to making the playoffs before fading off in the last 6 weeks of the season. As for Arizona and Vancouver, they need a Vegas miracle season. I expect those two can be counted out. If some other trades happen yet during the offseason with the teams in the Pacific it will just further add to this being the most interesting division to watch next year. There was a lot of talk about it being the weakest division and perhaps it is but that didn't stop Vegas from making the Final. With none of these teams being completely stacked versus the others, this could be a six-way battle for any of the four playoff spots.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Khushrenada on September 29, 2018, 01:08:32 AM
Man, oh, man. I just thought about checking up on the Penguins to see how things were going in the Preseason and discovered this gem about the Senators and their GM.

https://thesportsdaily.com/2018/09/18/watch-pierre-dorions-brain-shut-off-on-live-tv-when-asked-what-makes-him-most-optimistic-about-the-2017-2018-ottawa-senators-p1b1/

Now that is how you answer a question! (https://thesportsdaily.com/2018/09/18/watch-pierre-dorions-brain-shut-off-on-live-tv-when-asked-what-makes-him-most-optimistic-about-the-2017-2018-ottawa-senators-p1b1/)


Anyways, congrats to the Senators for winning the highest odds in the draft lottery this season. I mean, I don't see any other team being able to fall down to their level this year unless Boucher has come up with a new defensive trap he can coach this team with.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: ShyGuy on October 02, 2018, 08:01:15 PM
Seattle's getting an NHL team in 2020! Suck it, more deserving hockey towns!

https://www.chron.com/sports/article/NHL-moving-forward-with-Seattle-expansion-13275293.php
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 02, 2018, 08:10:48 PM
I'm already worried about the expansion draft. The Flyers figure to be a lot stronger and deeper in two years than they were last summer, and we're likely to lose somebody a lot better than Pierre-Edouard Bellemare this time around.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Shaymin on October 02, 2018, 09:45:36 PM
Seattle won a Stanley Cup back in the day so I wouldn't call them an undeserving hockey market. Hopefully by 2020 the Canucks won't be a tire fire for the Cascadia Derby.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: ShyGuy on October 03, 2018, 01:35:35 AM
I see people on the Internet getting mad it was Seattle and not Quebec or some place in Wisconsin.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 03, 2018, 01:54:20 AM
Wisconsin should probably have a team, but I don't think they have anything resembling a possible ownership group, let alone a real bid. Quebec City at least tried, but there are like 400 people living there, so I can understand the NHL not being in a rush to try that again.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Khushrenada on October 03, 2018, 02:58:28 AM
Ever since Winnipeg got their team back, Quebec City and its fans have been hoping they can return to the NHL too. Problem is QC isn't really set up or ready to make any real bid at the moment. Frankly, Winnipeg is kind of lucky because when they lost the NHL, they later constructed a new arena but it was smaller than the average NHL arenas (probably since they thought having the NHL come back wasn't going to happen) and now that they are back in the NHL, they've got the smallest arena in the league.

Seattle, meanwhile, had built a large arena so they had the building and have been talking of getting an NHL or NBA team for awhile. When Vegas joined last year, Seattle started getting more serious with the NHL so this isn't really surprising news aside from the fact that it took this long to finally be announced that they would be getting a team. It's made sense for awhile as well since the Western Conference had two fewer teams than the Eastern Conference. With Vegas and now Seattle, that will even the Conferences out. Although I wonder who will get pushed out of the Pacific Division and into the Central as Seattle will clearly belong in that division. I'm thinking it might end up being Vegas that gets moved. Unless the NHL decides to remap and redo all the divisions and conferences again.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Khushrenada on October 04, 2018, 02:24:29 AM
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? Thank goodness for Rakell. I have a feeling it's going to be him and Gibson that will be the main reasons for any success the team has this year.

Wanted to see the game but was out for a bit tonight and then I needed to finish submitting a job application before the deadline tonight. By the time I was done, it was over. Oh well. It wasn't the home opener and there'll be plenty of other chances to check in with the team yet.

In the meantime, I look forward to the Penguins first game tomorrow. Curious to see how this teams performs after their slow start last year.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: King of Twitch on October 04, 2018, 11:37:09 PM
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?

That was the 2003 Nintendo motto as well :reggie:

Agreed on Gibson, he is truly a madman. The first part of the game was bad: couldn't go anywhere with the puck, and the Sharks could waltz right in whenever they wanted, then factor DX (Ducks-X) happened and they got opportunistic and pulled off their first win vs. SJ since Nov. 20. Yikes and also yay.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Khushrenada on October 05, 2018, 01:49:26 AM
Really? I thought the Ducks beat the Sharks before the playoffs happened last year but I must be confusing them with the Kings. Didn't realize that the Sharks were becoming a problem (even though they completely sucked against them in the playoffs last year :( ). I prefer the streak of the Calgary Flames who could not win against the Ducks for so long. Hope they get back to making another streak against them.


Glad I watched the Penguins/Capitals game today though. There's been a few years where the rivalry wasn't that big a deal with Pens or Capitals having off years but the past three seasons, these teams have both got their act together and it's always a great game when you've got two teams with that much talent who can capitalize quickly at any moment in the game. Entertaining stuff.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 05, 2018, 03:24:00 AM
Promising start tonight for the Flyers with a 5-2 win in Vegas. Especially nice to see Wayne Simmonds pick up two goals after all the injuries that held him back last season. How well we do this year is going to depend on what we get from our goaltending and our bottom 4 defensemen, and so far so good. Elliott looked sharp in net and Travis Sanheim looked like a guy who's ready to break out in his second NHL season and play a big role on defense.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: ShyGuy on December 06, 2018, 02:35:04 AM
So Seattle is getting one of them there NHL Teams: http://africa.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25451147/everything-need-know-seattle-new-nhl-team?platform=amp

Looking forward to the Seattle Soviets hitting the ice!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 06, 2018, 03:10:17 AM
I was pretty upset when the Flyers fired Ron Hextall, but this new guy seems okay.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: Khushrenada on December 06, 2018, 03:26:15 AM
WHAT?!?! I thought you'd be further disappointed by the Fletcher hire.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: NWR_insanolord on December 06, 2018, 05:18:21 AM
I mean, it remains to be seen how it goes, but I was afraid we were returning to the Paul Holmgren days of trading 1st round picks for 35 year olds, but based on everything Fletcher's said so far it sounds like he intends to stick closer to Hextall's patient approach of building through the draft. I know he made some mistakes in Minnesota, but it sounds like he's learned from them.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: One way or another, the Caps are about to make history
Post by: NWR_insanolord on April 09, 2019, 08:21:58 PM
Sure, the NHL playoffs are pretty okay and starting tomorrow, but the main event is tonight: the NHL draft lottery! Time to see what colors Jack Hughes will be wearing in the fall.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Shaymin on April 09, 2019, 09:02:35 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on April 09, 2019, 09:52:04 PM
He did say he was an "NHL lottery ball specialist". Congrats on him further proving that point.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on April 09, 2019, 09:53:00 PM
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.

Seven? I would double check those numbers. I'm seeing it as just four.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 24, 2019, 06:57:52 AM
Did  no one watch the Sharks come back on the Vegas Knights tonite and win in OT!?

I left 1 spot, and the Sharks were down 3-0
I get to the other spot..... 15 minutes later!? and the game was 4-4 in OT
EVERYONE was watching (since the only bball game on was OKC about to lose to Portland.)
final goal was HYPE as ****.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Shaymin on April 24, 2019, 08:31:54 AM
The Sharks scored four goals on a five minute powerplay, Vegas managed to tie it, but the Sharks won it late in OT.

Nice to see Toronto's not alone in the "blow a game 7 3 goal lead in the third period" club, which I suppose is one good thing after they lost their own game 7 to Boston and ruined a country's hopes (specifically, the US's).
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Ian Sane on April 24, 2019, 12:25:57 PM
Vegas is creating a typical sports team history for their fans in record time.  They already did the miracle season where you fall short in the finals.  Now they've got the heartbreaking playoff choke job complete with a pariah in Cody Eakin.  Poll any fan of a sports team that's been around for at least 20 years and we've all got these stories.

They still need an infamous trade that sets the franchise back ten years, a notorious draft bust and a high priced free agent who comes nowhere near to earning his salary.  Oh and I guess a championship but not every team gets one of those.  But everyone eventually gets the bad stuff.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Shaymin on April 24, 2019, 09:09:33 PM
Based on the magnitude of the penalty kill failure, I was curious how many times that 4 goals on a major PP ever happened, and the answer was twice in the regular season (2011, last year) and never in the playoffs.

I think Fleury got angry after the call and lost his cool, which insanolord will remind us that he has a habit of doing in the playoffs (see: 2012 first round).
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 25, 2019, 12:35:14 AM
I don't watch Hockey but...

GO SHARKS!!!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Ian Sane on April 25, 2019, 12:43:22 PM
So with Washington out my playoff pool team is down to only a handful of San Jose players.  So, yeah, it took a miracle 4 goals in one penalty to prevent my entire playoff pool lineup from being wiped out in the first round.  This is the least predictable playoffs I can think of.  My guess is that Boston or San Jose will win the cup since they're the only teams left where there was some expectation of them going far.  But who knows?  Carolina has only been to the playoffs four times since 2002 but all of the previous three trips went at least as far as the conference finals.  They seem to either completely suck or they go on miracle runs.  Of all the teams left the one I would find most surprising to win the cup would be the post-Tavares Islanders.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on February 22, 2020, 01:56:37 PM
Ugh. Ducks trade Kase. Bob Murray keeps getting fleeced. First Sprong for Pettersson and now this. Sure, maybe the pick becomes a great player and maybe the defensive prospect Andersson can turn into something they lost like Pettersson but with the way things have been going for the Ducks, I doubt it.

Maybe Pens can pull off a bit more magic before the deadline and get Pageau out of Ottawa and Gustafsson out of Chicago while trading away Jack Johnson and a 4th liner like Teddy Blueger to get the necessary cap space. Although I am leery of picking up an Ottawa player as they don't often do to well once they leave Ottawa with exceptions to Chara and Hossa. The Brassard trade a couple years ago highlighted that. Guess we'll see what happens but Penguins have got me very excited for the playoff chances with how things have been going this season.

I thought letting Kessel go was going to result in them struggling a bit more this season. I felt they'd still make the playoffs but might be battling a bit more for third place in the division. However, things have gone very well despite injuries at times to their top talent with some of their newer and younger players making a big impact like Jarry in net and Marino on defense. The fact that the Penguins are somewhat in a position to win the President's Trophy this year is not what I was expecting at all. Of course, the East is going to be a tough conference to get through since 4 of the top 5 teams are in the East (Pens included.) But playoffs can be strange at times. Still, I'm getting to the point now where I just want to time travel ahead two months to get into the playoff action now and see what happens. I'd like to see the Penguins get one more cup and pass Edmonton for most cups won with 6 joining the Bruins and Chicago at that marker. (Then be greedy and wish for one more to get past them.  8) )
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 22, 2020, 02:40:02 PM
I'm really interested to see what Chuck Fletcher does at the deadline. The Flyers are still probably a year or two away from being real contenders, but they're playing really good hockey right now and if they keep that up and Carter Hart gets hot at the right time who knows. We're pretty tight up against the cap, though, which limits his options even if he can get the other team to retain salary. There's been some talk of a Jeff Carter return to Philadelphia, but that doesn't make a ton of sense beyond sentimental reasons.

EDIT: The Flyers win this afternoon and Pittsburgh and Washington both losing in regulation means they're only 3 points back of the division lead. Maybe this is our year after all.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on February 24, 2020, 12:26:08 PM
Well, part of that is a lot of Metro teams are stalling at the moment. Columbus is on an 8 game losing streak. Washington had lost 4 in a row until their win yesterday against the Pens. That puts the Pens on a 3-game losing streak. Islanders are playing 50/50 hockey. Had a 4 game losing streak but have now won 2. Carolina has been about the same though maybe more 60/40. With Philly having a 3 game win streak, it's allowed them to make some movement in the standings but if everyone starts winning again and Philly loses a couple then they'd probably go back to the same position they were before of fighting for a wildcard spot. Still, you never know what can happen in the playoffs. It's gotta be someone's year.


Well, Pageau went to the Islanders so the trade scenario I had mentioned earlier is kaput. Good pick-up for Islanders. That may give them the boost they need to secure a playoff spot. Philly's trade for Grant is ok. I don't think it does much to increase their chances of winning a cup or anything but Grant had impressed myself and Zap Jamaican Mario Scholar with his play in Anaheim of making their 4th line a bit more competitive. Instead of Pageau, Pens went for Marleau which is something, I suppose. I see it as being the equivalent of Washington's Kovalchuk pick-up. The big name people had been chatting up, Kreider, re-signed with Rangers so he's off the market.

Will anyone take a chance on Joe Thornton?
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 24, 2020, 01:11:19 PM
Grant and Thompson are minor pieces, but like I said, we didn't have the cap room to make any big moves. If we used all our remaining cap space and got the other team to retain half the salary, we could still only get someone making about $2.8 million. I think we were in on Pageau but didn't want to give up a 1st, which the Islanders did. We're probably not real cup contenders, but it'd still be nice to get a couple playoff series to give our young guys some valuable experience.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on February 24, 2020, 01:59:54 PM
Yeah, the sooner you can get playoff experience then the more it can really help a team in the future and also let management know just how well some of these players can perform in that higher stakes scenario.


Ducks traded Nick Ritchie to make up for the Kase trade. ZAP should be happy on that. Looks like the Ducks are starting to give up on their younger players. Not sure where Bob Murray is planning on taking this team now.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on February 24, 2020, 03:37:13 PM
Lol! Rutherford did it. I was scanning through a list of players thought to be open for trade which is how I came up with Pageau as a possibility. Among the list, I saw Conor Sheary and laughed to myself how funny it would be if Pens brought him back and, sure enough, it has come to pass. I know the PensBlog was alright with Sheary going since he seemed to have lost his magic touch after the 2016 Cup run with Guentzel coming in and being the better player to keep long-term. Near the end before he was traded, they liked to highlight how he kept falling all over the ice during the games. Guess I'll have that fun factor to watch for now in the games. Reminds me of last yeah when Rutherford traded Hagelin away and then tried to trade for him back at the deadline. (He was denied since you can't trade back for a player you traded away in the same year.) Got to love GM's changing their minds on a player.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 04, 2020, 09:51:42 PM
With tonight's 5-2 win in Washington, the Flyers are within 1 point of the Metropolitan Division lead. This team might just be for real.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on March 05, 2020, 02:05:31 AM
Flyers are hot right now. 7 game win streak has really helped allow them put some distance on the other teams they were fighting for that third Metro spot earlier. Saw your Discord post about thanking the Ducks for Derek Grant. I touched on the Grant trade before when it happened on Trade deadline and knew the Ducks were giving up a good lower roster player. Is Grant playing on the third or fourth line in Philly? I'm so out of touch with the Flyers, I only just realized Alain Vigneault was coaching them tonight.

It was nice of the Flyers to slow down the Capitals recent bit of momentum and keep the Division title still in contention for the Pens also. Was excited to see them snap their 5 game losing streak yesterday. Probably helped that 2 of the top 4 defensemen for the team finally came back from injury to play in that game. That should give the team a boost as we have about a month left in the season. I'm expecting the usual March of the Penguins now.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 05, 2020, 02:15:59 AM
Grant’s been playing some on the 3rd and some on the 4th, though his big play tonight came as part of the second power play unit, but technically at even strength since the penalty expired a few seconds earlier.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 05, 2020, 09:52:28 PM
We were this close to the Flyers ending the night in first place after their 8th straight win, 4-1 over Carolina, but the Capitals tied it up with less than a minute left and even though they ended up losing in overtime, the loser point puts them level on points with the Flyers and ahead slightly on the tiebreaker.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on March 06, 2020, 02:08:47 AM
And the reloaded Pens won again tonight so the race goes on, Judah, uh er, Insano.

But by focusing on the Caps you are neglecting the bigger story that game which was Zibanejad scoring 5 (FIVE!) goals in that game. Wowsers!! What a performance!

I can't believe Rangers are now in the playoff hunt. 7 of the 8 Metro teams are fighting to make the playoffs and the current top three of Caps, Flyers and Pens don't have that much breathing room ahead of the lower 4. Can't believe how stacked the Metro division is. Of course, with Isles, Blue Jackets and Hurricanes slumping of late, that's why Rangers have managed to get some traction. Can't believe how Florida is stuggling despite having this opportunity also to get a wildcard spot.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 06, 2020, 02:22:03 AM
Zibanejad was fantastic, but it would have only needed to be 4 goals if they didn't leave Ovechkin wide open with every Ranger on the other side of the net with less than a minute to play. The OT winner was really pretty, though.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: ShyGuy on July 23, 2020, 07:41:44 PM
Congratulations to Seattle on their new NHL hockey team, the Seattle Kremlins!

(https://i.imgur.com/SoCPmiY.jpg)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 23, 2020, 08:29:00 PM
I'm already dreading the expansion draft.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Adrock on July 23, 2020, 09:33:36 PM
I thought the menacing red eye was a tongue at first so now all I see is a happy snake.
(https://i.imgur.com/8fxjvit_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 03, 2020, 03:06:07 AM
The Stanley Cup Qualifiers are underway, and even though we're just one game in, and not even that for some teams, there have been some surprising results so far. My Flyers beating Boston today wasn't exactly shocking given how they played them during the regular season, but just how thoroughly they did it was surprising. Carter Hart was nearly flawless in goal in his first career playoff game, with Boston's lone goal not being his fault, and the Flyers depth really showed, with the 4th line scoring two goals. They're picking up right where they left off as the hottest team in the NHL when things shut down.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Ian Sane on August 03, 2020, 11:46:48 AM
Canucks lost game one.  Waiting months to see hockey again and five years to see your team in the playoffs (though maybe I should write it as "playoffs" for the qualifying round) only for them to get shutout is very disappointing.  In the context of a whole season the odd shutout isn't that deflating as you've probably watched lots of games throughout.  But I realized as the third period was wrapping up that there was no moment where I was excited and cheering and after such a delay that was a real letdown.  The Canucks fell behind pretty early on as well so that initial beginning-of-game buzz wore off quickly.

Hockey works quit well without an audience.  Baseball is uncomfortably silent if crowd noise isn't piped in but hockey is very loud on it's own with all the skating sounds and voices echoing.  The game sounded like if you went to your kid's game and the audience is just the small group of parents.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 07, 2020, 08:21:13 PM
Lol, Penguins.

EDIT: Lol, Oilers.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Ian Sane on August 08, 2020, 02:21:37 AM
In my work playoff pool we're including the qualifying round and the round robins.  So a safe strategy would be to only pick players from the round robin teams because they will stick around at least to the first round of the "real" playoffs.  But I was thinking that maybe they wouldn't try as hard and the teams in the qualifying round would score more because their games were more important.  Plus the goal is to pick who goes all the way so if I thought a team was good enough to do so I should pick players from that team regardless.  And my thinking also was that some weak teams that were not going to make the playoffs pre-covid would be matched up with clearly superior teams.

I had some players from Pittsburgh, Nashville and Edmonton - 10 players from my 20 player roster - and they all got eliminated tonight.  That's all the players I had that were in the qualifying round as I split my roster evenly between that and players from round robin teams.  Well it looks like my strategy was the shits as I'm now probably doomed after one bad night.

But on the bright side my Canucks made it to the next round and can be considered a proper playoff team.  I didn't pick them in the pool because I never do.  If I did then if (or let's be honest, WHEN) they get eliminated it then is a double-shot of bummers - my team is out and my playoff pool is screwed.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Shaymin on August 08, 2020, 08:26:54 AM
Today we are all Peter Mansbridge (https://twitter.com/petermansbridge/status/1291924629536362496).

Though really, peak Leafs is blowing game 5 the same way they blew game 3. I think the "beat Columbus, go to the Finals" thing ends this year.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 08, 2020, 10:47:14 PM
#1 seed, baby! Bring on the Canadiens, and everybody else, Carter Hart's got ice in his veins and all the other kids are up for this too!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 12, 2020, 10:54:44 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Ian Sane on August 13, 2020, 11:20:33 AM
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.

Carey Price is old enough to be another player's idol growing up?!  But I'm older than Price so that must mean...

Canucks won game one so I'm happy.  In the first two periods they would get a lead and then let the Blues tie it up like a minute later due to a boneheaded turnover but in the third they got that out of their system and put them away decisively.  They were never behind so I didn't spend any time stressed out of my mind (watching sports where you care about the team is surprisingly stressful for something that's supposed to be fun).
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 21, 2020, 10:31:49 PM
That was an incredibly ugly series, but the Flyers survive. Montreal is just a bad matchup for this team, they struggled against them in the regular season too, but they got it done. The Flyers have gone from a trendy pick to win it all to people completely writing them off after that performance, but I think they'll look a lot better going forward, even if the Islanders aren't the best matchup either. The Habs' speed is what really gave them fits, though, and that and the opposing goaltending should be less of an issue.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on August 27, 2020, 07:16:47 PM
Demonstration of the Power of the Platform people.

This is why the NBA should continue in my opinion (and i realize that's the opposite of my oiriginal position, but I explained it in the NBA thead)

NHL post pones ALL GAMES on Thurs & Fri in solidarity
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgdYedhXgAMfRaH?format=jpg&name=medium)
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 27, 2020, 10:39:30 PM
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.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on August 27, 2020, 11:13:08 PM
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.

I saw that. But that wouldn't have happened if the NBA didn't flex it's influence.
and the NBA wouldn't have had the balls or support to do that, had it not been for the immense uprising of support from the community at large.

This is the time we've been waiting for to finally demand the change that we've been "promised".
I'm glad we've come far enough as country to gather such support from all walks of life to demand that we all be seen as equal and all have the same rights and privileges as the next person.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 04, 2020, 12:33:11 AM
The Flyers were down in the series 3-1 and facing elimination. Then they won game 5 in overtime. Now tonight they won game 6 in double overtime to force game 7 on Saturday night after both Western Conference semifinal series have their own game 7s tomorrow. A fun stretch of games for neutrals.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Ian Sane on September 04, 2020, 01:36:27 PM
Double game sevens!  Unfortunately I won't be able to watch it tonight.  D'oh!  No way I could avoid spoilers either.  If the Canucks win then I'll hear horns honking and if I don't hear them that it will mean they lost.

All things considering though, I wouldn't have expected this group of players to be one game away from the conference finals in their first playoffs so whatever happens there is lots of optimism for the future.  Hughes has really impressed me and he's a rookie so he should only get a better.  Pettersson and Horvat have been great.  Boeser was disappointing me at first but he's picked it up the last few games.  I was really happy with Markstrom's goaltending and was worried that he would leave in free agency.  But he's been "unfit to play" (ie: presumably has covid) and Thatcher Demko has come in and killed it.  So maybe we can let Markstrom leave if his asking price is too high.  Though I notice Demko gives up a lot of rebounds which hasn't gotten him burned yet but is something I hope he improves on over time.

The Canucks seem quite overmatched against Vegas so I'm blown away they were able to force a game seven.  It's a nice situation because the pressure is on the Knights.  They lose and it's a choke.  Vancouver loses and it's an underdog team going down after a strong effort.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 13, 2021, 08:04:36 PM
Hockey season is back and in the first game of the year the Flyers beat the Penguins 6-3, so take that, Khush!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on January 13, 2021, 11:49:27 PM
Hahaha! Pittsburgh teams on a losing streak right now. Good thing I forgot about the game and just played SNES games instead. However, this reminds me of something I was going to suggest to you a couple days ago and change the Honk!/Honk!! system to Browns/Steelers. You got the admin powers. You should be taking advantage of things like that!
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 14, 2021, 03:37:12 AM
They play again on Friday, so I've got a chance for 4 in a row.

Beyond just the win, tonight's game was super promising for the Flyers. Going into the season there were a few things that seemed like they could be the difference between the Flyers being a good-to-really-good team and being a true Stanley Cup contender, and at least for one game a lot of them look pretty nice. Getting Nolan Patrick back after missing all of last season was big, and tonight he had a goal and generally looked good. Improving the power play after an awful showing in last year's playoffs was hugely important, and they went 2 for 3. And Joel Farabee showed some signs of a potential breakout season coming in, then scored 4 points tonight. All in all a very nice start.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: Khushrenada on February 16, 2022, 09:43:03 PM
Now I'm no fan of the Philadelphia Flyers but, man!, are they starting to win me over this season. A 10 game losing streak which they later followed up with a 13 game losing streak?! Letting Crosby score his 500th goal against them! Be still my heart. They've got one more game against the Penguins this year and I hope they keep up this goodwill by losing once more and giving the Pens a 4-0 season sweep on them.
Title: Re: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 16, 2022, 10:00:39 PM
I'm just mad they took it to overtime last night. Beating the Penguins would have been fun, and they really should have given the lead they had, but if you're going to lose, lose in regulation. Can't be needlessly hurting our draft position like that.