BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
Off Topic and Technical Support => Off Topic => Topic started by: Firesprocket on 17 June 2017, 19:35:25
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With the NHL season over and Pens coronation as leaders of all that is frozen, it is time to focus on the off season. The Las Vegas
Magneto Golden Knights will have their expansion draft results announced later this month at the NHL awards show. The lists were have to been finalized by 5 pm this afternoon. Presumably we will see that list as early as tomorrow. Because of the draft there was some early trading this year prior to the standard July 1st opening of free agency. A couple of the highlights thus far:
Jonathan Drouin traded to Montreal for Mikhail Sergachev and a 2018 conditional second-round pick. Drouin should be utilized as a winger, but can be used as a center (he played 15-20 games this season because of injuries in Tampa. The conditions on that pick is that Sergachev play 40 games for the Bolts in 2018 in the regular season or playoffs.
Mike Smith traded to the Calgary Flames for Brandon Hickey, a conditional third-round selection, and an unrestricted free agent backup in Chad Johnson. That is probably a good deal for all parties. Mike Smith is probably better than his numbers have been the last few years in Phoenix and he will have a better team in front of him. Coyotes are also paying some of Smith's salary so that works in the Flames favor too.
Nathan Beaulieu was acquired by the Buffalo Sabres from the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday for the Sabres third-round pick (No. 68) in the 2017 NHL Draft. Montreal has no fear of trading within their division, not once, but twice. What is more surprising out of this trade is that is two defenseman they traded within the division.
The New Jersey Devils acquirinedMirco Mueller from the San Jose Sharks. The Devils also picked up the Sharks’ fifth-round pick in this year’s draft, in exchange for New Jersey’s second-round pick and fourth-round pick this year.
Simon Despres is in the process of being bought out. Despres has unfortunately had concussion issues and whether he has a professional NHL career down the road is uncertain.
Francois Beauchemin is the happiest Av on earth this week, he was bought out.
Ryan Reaves is potentially going to be protected by the St. Louis Blues. If that is the case, that makes the Caps look like rocket scientists for the rumored protection of Tom Freak'n Wilson.
Finally, Buffalo has a double dose of good news. Kyle Okposo is expected to be back with the Sabres by training camp after an extended hospitalization at the end of the most recent season. Buffalo also hired Phil Housley to manage their bench. While having ties to Buffalo as a player, he at this point has quite a few seasons under his belt as an assistant in Nashville and shouldn't be considered as another Homer pick.
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Expansion draft is complete and here is your initial list of Golden Kniggets:
https://capfriendly.com/teams/goldenknights (https://capfriendly.com/teams/goldenknights)
Nothing really earth shattering on that list of players (except that they drafted Chris Thorburn from the Jets). Quite a few draft picks swapped which makes perfect sense. Quite a few contracts that when they come due in the next few years will go UFA. Despite earlier statements made by ownership that they plan to be competing for a playoff spot immediately, there is nothing that jumps out on this roster right now that suggests that is remotely possible. I give them a chance to maybe win 20 games.
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I'm surprised that the Knights did not take Raanta or Mrazek. either would have made their goaltending legit. Now they have Fleury and Pickard as their goalies. Good, but would beter with Raanta or Mrazek.
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Pickard was decent for Colorado last season, particularly when you consider the wet cardboard he had in front of him for defense. As a backup to Fleury, Vegas could have done a lot worse- they may be gambling that he'll develop further and push for the big job when Fleury exits in a couple of years.
As for the roster overall, goaltending is good, defense has some gems (I hated seeing Colin Miller leave Boston), and no one can buy a goal. Expect that to be addressed quickly if they're really serious about this whole 'playoff' business (they shouldn't be), because it's doubly important here- first because you're not going to compete in the West against Chicago, San Jose, etc. unless you can put the puck in the net once in a while to keep up with them, and just as importantly you're trying to get a fan base going. Sheer novelty might get them in the door (I'm still a skeptic), but if all you can show them is a series of 2-0, 3-1 losses that bore the fans more than anything, they won't come back.
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Frustrated they didn't grab Grubauer or could be talked into taking Orpik. Like you guys I didn't see any big offensive names, although Eakin and Neal might be the tops of the list that I recognize. Something to remember is they still have the normal UFA signing period along with everyone else. It seems like GMGM wanted to avoid signing UFAs since they could draft a younger player from a team or extort some picks to not take a key exposed player. They can still go after the UFAs, they just have to compete with everyone else. And with all those draft picks, particularly the future ones, they can still try to make trades later on.
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Also, the Knights have a ton of picks in tomorrow's draft, including three of the first fifteen. They have a lot of bargaining chips to get better players and/or more picks. They definitely need more scoring punch, though.
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I'm surprised that the Knights did not take Raanta or Mrazek. either would have made their goaltending legit. Now they have Fleury and Pickard as their goalies. Good, but would beter with Raanta or Mrazek.
There was so much tender talent that Raanta wasn't going to be an automatic. As for Mrazek, word is out that he has some ego issues and that may have turned off the Knights.
Frustrated they didn't grab Grubauer or could be talked into taking Orpik.
Getting rid of Orpik would have cost the Caps an arm and a leg in draft picks, which they don't have. Grubauer and Schmidt made more sense. Given who they picked up for tenders, I can't say that any of them were a bad choice. Berube was a bit strange. However all those other moves they made with the Islanders for picks certainly helped out.
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In StanBo we trust.
In StanBo we trust.
In StanBo we trust.
In StanBo we trust.
In StanBo we trust.
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Can Cale Makar actually play defense? If not, why did the Avs even bother? And he still has to play a year at UMass before he can don an NHL jersey. WTF!
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Can Cale Makar actually play defense? If not, why did the Avs even bother?
Remember all the big moves they were going to make? Landeskog, Duchene, Varlamov, they were going to be the big movers and shakers at the draft?
****** Joe Sakic forever.
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This is what happens when you hire former star players as the big boss, especially one who has no front office experience.
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They took my favorite emerging Wild player "dang them, dang them to heck!"
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This is what happens when you hire former star players as the big boss, especially one who has no front office experience.
Ehhhhhhh... I won't paint them all with that brush. Seems to be going well for Yzerman, Hextall, Snow (to some extent), etc.- just this one guy is kind of a jamoke.
I'll be interested to see what he has to say after this- probably the usual crap about "believing in our roster, turning the ship around" or some such nonsense. What SHOULD be happening is he gets launched via trebuchet into Lake Michigan.
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Ehhhhhhh... I won't paint them all with that brush. Seems to be going well for Yzerman, Hextall, Snow (to some extent), etc.- just this one guy is kind of a jamoke.
I'll be interested to see what he has to say after this- probably the usual crap about "believing in our roster, turning the ship around" or some such nonsense. What SHOULD be happening is he gets launched via trebuchet into Lake Michigan.
Or, since we are talking about Colorado, launched from the top of Pikes Peak in that general direction.
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Mike Smith traded to the Calgary Flames for Brandon Hickey, a conditional third-round selection, and an unrestricted free agent backup in Chad Johnson. That is probably a good deal for all parties. Mike Smith is probably better than his numbers have been the last few years in Phoenix and he will have a better team in front of him. Coyotes are also paying some of Smith's salary so that works in the Flames favor too.
Mike Smith's a great goalie--it'll be interesting to see how he does on a team that at least helps him keep the puck away from his net.
I love the 'Yotes, but man...it's been a rough few years.
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Mike Smith's a great goalie...
Mike Smith is a great actor playing the role of a goalie.
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Dunno if he's that great of an actor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Smith_(actor))....
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It will be interesting to see how he does away from the yotes' coaching staff.
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Somewhat surprised, it has been almost a month since Tippett has left Arizona and his name hasn't materialized for a position (not necessarily head coach) elsewhere.
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Surprised nobody's taken a chance on Jagr yet. His numbers this year were remarkable for someone only a few years younger than me.
And me...
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I suspect Jagr will get signed later in August. There are 13 teams in the league that have 20 or less players signed to a NHL level contract next year. Once teams fill them out then they can look at a luxury or mentoring that Jagr brings to the table.
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It has been announced by the Dallas Stars that Dave Strader succumbed to cancer this morning :(
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It has been announced by the Dallas Stars that Dave Strader succumbed to cancer this morning :(
I can't even imagine a Stars broadcast without him. One of the great broadcasters in the sport.
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Jagr to Calgary. $1M + $1M in doable incentives.
Rumor is the Blues offered the same; Jags chose the Flames.
Bets on if the Flames start tanking, Jags becomes trade deadline bait again?
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Looking forward to the Avs finishing in last place ... again
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Jagr to Calgary. $1M + $1M in doable incentives.
Rumor is the Blues offered the same; Jags chose the Flames.
Bets on if the Flames start tanking, Jags becomes trade deadline bait again?
Safe bet, but I'm not 100% sure on whether the Flames are for real or not. The West is so wide-open for the most part (sorry, Colorado and Vegas) that there's a lot of room for teams to surprise us- either with good play or bad. The two above are probably out of the running already, and there are a few who are almost shoo-ins for the playoffs (Sharks, Ducks, Hawks, Preds, etc.), but the field is wide-open for success or failure for Calgary, Edmonton, St. Louis, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, etc.
If Calgary is in rough shape at the deadline, yeah, he goes off to earn yet another jersey for his collection. If they get some decent goaltending though, he may just be part of a playoff run just as easily. It's a good pickup by the Flames in that regard- low cost, no long-term commitment, and the guy might just be what they need. Bravo to them!
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Welcome once again to the Firesprocket’s preseason picks that you probably don’t give a damn about. Let us get started with the Metro division
1) These Pittsburgh Penguins lost Bonino and Fleury, but if Letang gets back to his old self they should be ready for another serious run at the cup.
2) The CBJ, while I don’t think they take a giant leap forward. I think it will be a slight step back. None the less, everyone who may have been able to otherwise steak claim to this position lost key personnel.
3) The Hurricane should make a run and get into the playoffs without needing the wild card so long as Darling stays healthy.
4) NY RANGERS OR ISLANDERS. Take your pick. The one that isn’t fourth will end up being 6th instead.
5) Washington Capitals. Hanging on to the last playoff spot you say? I think I’m being to generous. It is conceivable that they won’t make the playoffs at all after losing Williams and Johansson in the off season.
6) Refer to number 4
7) Flyers- they will hit a really strong 10 game stretch and look awesome. Shortly after they will bottom out and stay there.
8) NJ Devils- because they have to many wholes to cover u.
The Atlantic division
1) Tampa bay rebounds if Stamkos can play 34 of the season.
2) Toronto has an awesome season and manages to pick up a top 4 defenseman for the playoffs.
3) Habs lack of consistency lands them here
4) Ottawa best of what is left in the division. Fighting for a wild card with NY and or Washington.
5) Boston Bruins. Simply because they aren’t worse than the other teams behind them
6) Florida Panthers- Still trying to figure out how good or bad they are
7) Buffalo- Maybe they are better than the Panthers, just not by much.
8) Detroit- is fairly awful due to being squeezed against the cap.
Central
1) Team Bruce sleep walks through the first several months of the season only to fall apart later
2) Dallas- Chicago and St. Louis are going to take a step back for reason of age and or injury.
3) Chicago- they have more bodies than St. L Louis
4) St. Louis- what is behind them is a larger unknown.
5) Winnipeg- Assuming Mason normalize the team to at least league average tending they could make the playoffs as the final seed
6) Nashville- injuries and draft losses are likely going to keep them from repeating to the finals
7) Colorado- Still here to make the Golden Knights look good.
Pacific
1) Edmonton-They should get back to the 2nd round or farther. While the defense depth is a little low, having the amount of excellent forwards should give them a chance to win every single game with little effort.
2) Anaheim- A year older, but still relevant.
3) Calgary- Except for the unknown quantity of play they will get from Smith in net, this team looks really good and could easily enough swap places with Anaheim.
4) I’m flipping a coin on who will be better between the Kings and the Sharks. It landed edge, so Sharks it is.
5) Coyotes - I’m a dreamer
6) Kings- They aren’t getting back into the playoffs this year and we are going to blow this team up
7) Vancouver
8) Vegas
ECF- Pens vs the Leafs
WCF- Oilers vs Wild
SCF Pens vs the Oilers with the Pens capturing their third cup.
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Don't write off Boston quite so soon... this is a pretty interesting team all of a sudden. The changeover to young talent is proving interesting, with some really great young players coming up the last couple of years- David Pastrnak (thank god they finally got a deal done!), Frank Vatrano, Charlie McAvoy (who is technically a rookie but killed it during the playoffs against Ottawa almost every time he was on the ice), among others... this in addition to the veterans like Bergeron, Marchand, Krug (when he's not dead) and solid goaltending from Rask, if they can keep from exhausting him this time by having a backup who can stop a puck now and then allowing for nights off for the starter.
It's not a Cup roster- there's holes to fill, rookies to harden up, Chara is basically a giant pylon out there at this point, and Marchand will probably get at least one suspension for shoving a firecracker in someone's pads or something asinine like that sometime before spring. But I'd wager on this being a playoff team at least, and not one that will be a fun opponent for their first round opponent.
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McDavid and Simmonds [ :o ] with opening day hat tricks.
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Somebody in the Pens front office needs to go Toronto and seriously maim the guy who scheduled them into back-to-back games to open the season. They need to wipe this last game from their collective memories.
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Well the Habs and the Rangers should both be motivated tomorrow when they play each other because neither is motivated right now.
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I've lurked in this thread for the past several seasons and appreciate the savvy hockey commentary to which I cannot contribute much. So I'll go a different direction. I think Ovechkin, with his two hat tricks to start the season (something that hasn't happened in a century) needs to get his tail to Nats Park and do some Pinch Hitting.
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Someone please let the NHL's goaltenders know that the season started.
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So I'll go a different direction. I think Ovechkin, with his two hat tricks to start the season (something that hasn't happened in a century) needs to get his tail to Nats Park and do some Pinch Hitting.
Ask and ye shall receive. If you can get Werth out of the starting line up and Kendrick in too, that'd be great!
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Someone please let the NHL's goaltenders know that the season started.
What is not entertaining about the Leafs hanging a TD on the opposition for another 96 games?
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At his current rate Ovie is on pace to score 287 goals this season.
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Interesting: https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-third-expansion-team-to-win-first-two-games/c-291726568 (https://www.nhl.com/news/vegas-third-expansion-team-to-win-first-two-games/c-291726568)
I think I'll be calling them the Boba Fetts from now on. ;)
(https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7523673/boba_vegas.png)
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They might win 3 in a row to start the season as they play Arizona again tomorrow. Hell, double down and take Neal to score the winner.
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Hey JHB,
Sorry about the loss tonite. Varlamov seemed to have brought his 'A' game to the Garden. Avs will only be as good as Varlamov can stay healthy.
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Hey JHB,
Sorry about the loss tonite. Varlamov seemed to have brought his 'A' game to the Garden. Avs will only be as good as Varlamov can stay healthy.
Eh. Boston always sheets against the Avs for some reason- I'll never understand it, but it goes back a long, long time. Just that one team that they don't show up against, ever.
Bad afternoon all around on the B's roster, from the net outward. I expect better moving forward... getting Bergeron back would sure help a ton in that regard, but he's still (as of yesterday morning) in the red non-contact sweater in practice.
The one good sign? Vatrano's two-way play has become much, much better. Last year he played the kind of defense that would have made only Pavel Bure proud. This year, he's dropping back, he's blocking shots, he's going in the corner behind Rask... very pleased with that, at least.
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If you haven't watched the pregame memorial from last night's Knights game, go find it right now- NHL.com should have it, among others. That was absolutely amazing. Game aside (which clearly had the home team and fans fired the hell up), the organization knocked it out of the park with that ceremony.
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The Knights are playing well and are the first expansion team to start 3-0 and Neal is developing into a real star in the NHL.
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The Knights are playing well and are the first expansion team to start 3-0 and Neal is developing into a real star in the NHL.
Neal has always been a guy that has been at least above average in his career. Lacking pretty much anyone else who might be able to put the puck in the net regularly though he will be a star this season, at least to the point he gets traded at the dead line.
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Still some odd moves to make for Vegas- McPhee has a lot of work to do still. One of his top pickups from the KHL is making $4.5 mil to play in the minors because they don't have a way to call him up... that's due to their having TEN defensemen on the active roster (as opposed to the seven most teams carry)... they let a pretty promising young goaltender in Calvin Pickard (who you'll recall was the poor sap stuck behind the wet cardboard defense in Colorado during the latter half of last season, and really did quite well considering the circumstances) walk to Toronto for nothing, while picking up what at this point is considered to be a bust in Malcolm Subban as a replacement from the Bruins.
No idea what the long-term plan is in Vegas, but it's definitely odd for now. Winning three straight covers up a lot of issues, no doubt, but it's not going to be long before Neal is double-teamed all night long and someon eelse is going to have to reliably be able to score- defensemen won't do that for you, so time to make some deals to teams that could use defen- hey, that Avs defense still sucks outside of Barrie, I wonder if they'd be willing to make a deal for a grumpy star forward?
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well after 3 games, the Wild now have as many points...only about 97 to go to get into the playoffs.
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With regards to Vegas, I'm wondering if GMGM piled up on D because he thought there was a demand for more blueliners on some teams, so they were his trade bait.
But nobody bit.
So now he's stuck with a glut of D and no reliable way to move them out because most teams went deep to their farms to shore up the blue line.
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If he could just find a way to face Boston 82 times a year they'd be top seed in the conference... >:(
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If he could just find a way to face Boston 82 times a year they'd be top seed in the conference... >:(
split their games with Boston and Phoenix and they go undefeated for the rest of the season.
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With regards to Vegas, I'm wondering if GMGM piled up on D because he thought there was a demand for more blueliners on some teams, so they were his trade bait.
But nobody bit.
So now he's stuck with a glut of D and no reliable way to move them out because most teams went deep to their farms to shore up the blue line.
Caps could use someone that has NHL experience, but it is doubtful that they have anything to spare unless Mcphee is willing to take a late round pick a few years down the line. Cap considerations would also be a possible hurdle when MN comes off of IR in November or December.
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Somebody needs to tell the Boba Fetts how truly bad they are, 'cause they apparently never got the memo. :o
After 6 games an expansion team should already be relegated to punchline status. These guys are leading the western conference, and are only a point shy of leading the entire league! ???
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Somebody needs to tell the Boba Fetts how truly bad they are, 'cause they apparently never got the memo. :o
After 6 games an expansion team should already be relegated to punchline status. These guys are leading the western conference, and are only a point shy of leading the entire league! ???
Yeah, I have to admit, I'm impressed. It's not just that they're winning- they're making it look GOOD. And this without their bonafide best player (Fleury)! Who are these guys?
I try not to really make anything of a team's start until late November, when they've played enough to really get a feel for what's going well and what isn't, and whether the playoffs are still a realistic possibility. So we're a good month-ish out from when I'd really say they're for real. But... man, they're making life miserable on opponents so far, and thinking back to the early days in Nashville, Atlanta, etc. the difference is stunning.
Meanwhile, that glut of defensemen? McPhee may want to call his old office up. Washington is now without the services of several of their own- in fact, four of the six D-men they used last spring are either gone or on IR for a good while. If you're going to find a trade partner, there's no time like the present.
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How about any four Vegas defensemen for TJ Oshie? Do we have a deal?
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This team is somewhat devoid of goal scoring outside of Oshie, Ovechkin, and Backstrom. If any of them go down for a length of time this team is going to be pretty bad. I'm not knocking Kuznetsov, however he and Burakovsky really need to put some more shots on net. Vrana, early has looked pretty decent, but when no one else is scoring it seems like he is underachieving (which he hasn't).
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This team is somewhat devoid of goal scoring outside of Oshie, Ovechkin, and Backstrom. If any of them go down for a length of time this team is going to be pretty bad. I'm not knocking Kuznetsov, however he and Burakovsky really need to put some more shots on net. Vrana, early has looked pretty decent, but when no one else is scoring it seems like he is underachieving (which he hasn't).
I haven't watched much Caps hockey this season yet (work has kept me late most evenings), but what I've seen has been pretty one-dimensional as far as offense- if it isn't the first line, it isn't happening. That's a recipe for disaster against teams with decent defensive systems, like Ottawa- shut down Ovechkin and friends, and the game is over. (Toronto seems to have done that based on what I saw of the highlight reel).
Again, way too early to make any real calls about what teams are in trouble and such, but the Caps are a team that I'm a little concerned about after the past couple of weeks. You expect losing key guys over the summer and your defense being wiped out by injury to hurt, and it has, but I figured scoring was the one place they wouldn't have any trouble. If anything, it seems to have become their Achilles' heel.
Unrelated, but does Nikita Kucherov have an off switch? Good lord, stop me before I score again!
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I haven't watched much Caps hockey this season yet (work has kept me late most evenings), but what I've seen has been pretty one-dimensional as far as offense- if it isn't the first line, it isn't happening.
That pretty much summarizes things in a nutshell. The options were pay Evgeny Kuznetsov and lose someone else. Those someones were Justin Williams to a lesser extent (it was more or less known he would be a cap casualty) and Marcus Johansson. As you said, it is early in the season, but Burakovsky has to step up to fill the goals lost and at least one other player to boot who is TBD.
Burakovsky had a great game tonight, but he was able to thrive playing 6th or 8th forward on the team last year. That just simply won't cut it anymore. I can't see where this team is better than a wild card team come playoff time unless the bargain basement FA signings each pot about 10-12 goals this season.
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Who gets fired first Alain Vigneault or someone in Habs management? It is certainly early and I'm certain the Rangers will finally start getting goals at a league average, but I never pegged the Canadiens to be this bad AND Price to be healthy. At some point their shooting percentage has to go up at some point as well, maybe?
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I don't know who put their foot through a mirror in MN but 5 of your top forwards down with injuries in the first 2 games!?! and only 1 of those back by game 6?
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Who gets fired first Alain Vigneault or someone in Habs management? It is certainly early and I'm certain the Rangers will finally start getting goals at a league average, but I never pegged the Canadiens to be this bad AND Price to be healthy. At some point their shooting percentage has to go up at some point as well, maybe?
I'm always hesitant to knee-jerk this early in the year, but yeah, both teams are big surprises. Tough to make changes in Montreal especially, since they just did the whole coach-change thing last year already, but New York as well... I mean, early struggles are never fun, but Vigneault is a proven coach who deserves time to turn things around. To do anything else would be a huge surprise- after all, who do you bring in as a replacement off the street who would be an improvement?
If either team is still this bad a month from now, yeah, time to shake things up on the bench. For now, stay the course and hope things get better. In the Rangers case, I think it'll be better very soon. Montreal is harder to say- mostly because there shouldn't be struggles like this to begin with. Losing Price, yeah, that would do it, but with him healthy... weird stuff going down there.
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And the Boba Fetts keep setting milestones.
Fixed the logo:
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It's way too early to write them in for a playoff spot, but I'm starting to think they may finish a lot better than that 30th spot I had them penciled for.
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I caught the last half a period and OT of their game vs. the Blues. They still look like and play like an expansion team. One that the bounces are definitely going their way at the moment. Subban went down last night with an injury in the 3rd period so they are down to their 3rd tender. I'm waiting to see what happens when they play other playoff worthy teams. Not that St. Louis isn't, but the Blues, like any Mike Yeo coached team, flip a coin on what shows up (or doesn't).
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It's way too early to write them in for a playoff spot, but I'm starting to think they may finish a lot better than that 30th spot I had them penciled for.
You and everybody else associated with the NHL. Then I remember that the Avs and Coyotes are still in the NHL and I have them finishing 28th at worst
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NHL's 7th man extraordinaire, Antti Niemi, has put on waivers and will likely be released. One hopes for his sake and every other NHL team that he hangs up those skates.
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NHL's 7th man extraordinaire, Antti Niemi, has put on waivers and will likely be released. One hopes for his sake and every other NHL team that he hangs up those skates.
With Fleury and Subban injured, and Calvin Pickard having been let go to Toronto, it wouldn't surprise me if Vegas kicked his tires a little. Depends on what the long-term prognosis is on Fleury (sounded like he was skating again though).
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Fleury is skating, and Florida picked up Niemi.
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The prognosis for lu must be pretty poor if Florida took a flier on him.
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This link summarizes everything just so well https://twitter.com/TedCaps/status/922856162768359430/photo/1 (https://twitter.com/TedCaps/status/922856162768359430/photo/1)
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This link summarizes everything just so well https://twitter.com/TedCaps/status/922856162768359430/photo/1 (https://twitter.com/TedCaps/status/922856162768359430/photo/1)
I think that was my exact reaction too many years ago when I heard about the Joe Thornton trade. Just... 'wut?' followed by numb drinking.
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Q: What's the difference between the Montreal Canadiens and the Titanic?
A: One is old, rusty, full of faded glory, and at the bottom of the Atlantic. The other one is a boat.
(Heard that this morning and couldn't stop laughing at it)
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Vegas vs Colorado tonite. Two potential bottom feeders face off
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Vegas vs Colorado tonite. Two potential bottom feeders face off
Might want to check the current standings... whatever happens from here, Vegas is looking like they don't want to have much of a shot at the first pick next summer, anyway. ;)
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There's still time and 70+ games to play. I expect both teams to miss the playoffs and the Avs to battle Phoenix for overall last place
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Vegas scheduled a game during happy hour?
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Vegas 7, Av 0 = the Avs suck rotten eggs
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Q: What's the difference between the Montreal Canadiens and the Titanic?
A: One is old, rusty, full of faded glory, and at the bottom of the Atlantic. The other one is a boat.
(Heard that this morning and couldn't stop laughing at it)
:)) :)) :))
I am so glad I wasn't drinking anything as I read that, or I'd be on my way to buy a new monitor!
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Vegas 7, Av 0 = the Avs suck rotten eggs
Hey, they have 10 times as many points as the Coyotes at least! ;)
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I expected the Coyotes would be bad, but dumpster fire might be the best euphemism I can come up with describe them (tastefully). Raanta's being healthy is unlikely to make this team that much better and the fact that they traded for Scott Wedgewood today can't be a good sign.
Is it possible?
-Barry Melrose is a better head coach than Rick Tocchet.
-Louis Domingue is actually worse than Ondrej Pavelec.
-The Coyotes break the modern futility record and record less than 8 wins or 21 points for the season?
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I'll actually be impressed if they find a way to finish worse than Colorado last year. That should take actual effort.
When they forced Doan out, I thought it was a little classless. Now it looks like it was one last favor to him.
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Fitting that it's Devil's Night, because the truly supernatural has occurred.
The Yotes have won a game, and the Boba Fetts have lost one! :o
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Finally got around to making my first post to this thread. Has been a busy past few months and I'm finally coming up for air.
I should have said this like six weeks ago, but...well, what a summer it was for the Habs.
Alex Radulov, who was their main offensive sparkplug last season, gone to Dallas, a victim of his own (and his agent's) greed. (Looks like he really was a merc after all.)
Andrei Markov, who was until the end of last season the longest-serving player on the roster, and STILL their best defenceman and most accurate passer at 38, gone to the KHL, a victim of Marc Bergevin's boneheaded intransigence. (At least he had the decency to say that signing with another NHL club after spending his whole career with the Habs didn't feel right.)
Alexei Emelin, hardest-hitting defenceman but who had become a defensive liability, let go in the expansion draft and claimed by Vegas.
Nathan Beaulieu, traded to Buffalo for...basically a bag of pucks.
And a whole raft of new faces, including one in his second go-round with the Habs.
Jonathan Drouin, from Tampa, intended to replace Radulov. The aim seemed to be to mold him into the French-speaking #1 centreman this team has craved for so long. But they had to give up the future of their defensive corps by trading away Mikhail Sergachev to get him.
Two aging veterans who had even less left in the tank than Markov in the oft-injured Ales Hemsky and Mark Streit (his second stint with the Habs), the hope being the latter could replace Markov. And David Schlemko from San Jose, a man who's spent almost as much time in the AHL as NHL, and who proved to be damaged goods and still hasn't played a single game in a Habs uniform.
The big free-agent signing was not the #1 centreman the Habs have needed since...oh, 1993-1994...but Karl Alzner from the Caps. The hope seemed to be he would be an upgrade on Emelin...
Whipping boy Alex Galchenyuk, who had his best season when the Habs were taking 2 years ago (you know, the one that saw the P.K. trade), re-signed to what amounts to a bridge contract, and still on eggshells with the coach and GM.
And the biggest news: Carey Price becomes the richest goaltender in NHL history, with a contract eclipsing even Lundqvist's.
All of the trade-deadline acquisitions from last season, with the exception of Jordie Benn, are gone--retired, released, or traded.
And what did Habs fans get for all this? For losing their most complete two-way player, most stalwart defender, and assembling an old, slow defensive corps that seemed to be intended to be a meat shield around Price--a whole corps that would play just like their GM did when he was a player? And then not using training camp and the pre-season to try and assemble this crew into a cohesive team, but rather to evaluate who would be sent to the newly-relocated farm team?
Well, now 12 games into the season, and just look at the standings.
The Habs have not started this poorly since the third year of WORLD WAR II.
It's almost like Marc Bergevin looked at the way his team played in their first-round series loss to the Rangers, decided he wanted more of THAT, and set about building a team that couldn't move and couldn't score. And that's pretty much what they've shown so far.**
Streit was done after 2 games and released. (Markov? Almost a PPG pace for Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL)
Hemsky? Back on IR, where he's spent most of the past several seasons.
Every defender on the team, with the exception of Benn--who seemed to fit like a glove last season but who has been just awful so far--in minus territory.
A first line that on paper looks like it should be one of the most feared offensive forces in the league, but on most nights has been a Ghostly Trio. The experiment with Drouin at centre has been an early failure.
It's been...goals? What are these magical things of which you speak? Especially hard for them to find in California, it seems.
But the biggest enigma so far...Carey Price. His numbers so far aren't even respectable for an AHL goalie. It's like he's come down with what Habs fans would call Plekanec-itis--sign a big fat contract and then your performance falls off a cliff. It's like he's playing with ADD out there, he can't keep track of the puck at all anymore. And a big contributor to that, IMO, is that "meat shield" mentality--anywhere from a third to half of the goals he's let in are on deflections off his own players, just sitting there and cutting his sight lines. That was a problem last year with Michel Therrien's PK system, but now it's affecting Price's 5-on-5 play too.
If not for how badly the Coyotes were doing, I would say that the Habs would be this year's version of last year's Avs.
**Well, they have won their past 2 games. Especially tonight's 8-3 demolition of the Sens, always satisfying. But 3 of those victories have come against other bottom-feeders playing their backup goalies--and still took EVERYTHING THEY HAD. This was the first time this season the Habs actually chased the opposing team's first-string goaltender, and one who's been a killer against them in the past.
But still too early to say they've turned a corner. Unless they can somehow go on a storybook run like the Jackets did last season, they lost this season in the first 10 games.
Habs fans had better settle in for a LONG season.
cheers,
Gabe
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Alex Radulov, who was their main offensive sparkplug last season, gone to Dallas, a victim of his own (and his agent's) greed. (Looks like he really was a merc after all.)
Do the Habs not understand how free agency works?
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Do the Habs not understand how free agency works?
Looking at their past few summers, seems they don't get it WELL at least. The door seems to be more 'exit' than 'entrance' for them, Radulov's arrival in the first place aside.
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Do the Habs not understand how free agency works?
No, they understand very well. Bergevin just took a position with Radulov and stuck to it. He made clear he wanted to retain the services of Radulov and Markov, as long as they were on HIS terms. And those terms are now proving detrimental to the success of his team.
What stung the most about Radulov was that he signed with Dallas for almost exactly the same money and term that the Habs offered him. And Bergevin remains adamant he made his offer first. But because taxes in Texas are MUCH lower than in Quebec, Radulov gets to see somewhere between an additional 3-4 million in the bank over the length of his contract. And he'd gone on a number of times about how Montreal fans were the best in North America and it was all "for the fans." I don't know when the Stars visit Montreal next, but when they do, Radulov will almost certainly get a chorus of boos usually reserved for the most hated players on the Bruins or Sens, or Chris Kreider.
With Markov, Bergevin just hung a man who was perhaps his most loyal AND intelligent player out to dry.
Bergevin's cap management was SO good that the Habs still have 8.5 million in reserve cap space. And they've been playing like a team that looks it. No bona fide #1 centre, and no mobile, puck-moving defencemen. They used to have one of the latter a little while back, a pretty decent one...Pernell Somethingorother...
cheers,
Gabe
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Q: What's the difference between the Montreal Canadiens and the Titanic?
A: One is old, rusty, full of faded glory, and at the bottom of the Atlantic. The other one is a boat.
(Heard that this morning and couldn't stop laughing at it)
That is the truth, and boy does it hurt.
It's what prevents the Habs from taking the steps necessary to accomplish a complete rebuild the way other teams (Leafs, Pens, Hawks, to name a few) have: tank for 5+ years, get some great draft picks and rebuild around them. It's that continued belief that they can be a contender every season with a (now aging) core that keeps underperforming year after year that won't let the management swallow the bitter pill.
In their case though, it's not just that, they've also horribly mismanaged their farm system for nearly the last decade, especially under Bergevin's tenure as GM. Charles Hudon, finally with the big club this season, represents the best of what they've been able to develop in the AHL. There sure as heck ain't much else coming up. (This in contrast to the Marlies, the Leafs' AHL affiliate)
cheers,
Gabe
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Varlamov had 57 saves tonite. WTF?! Where was the defense? Amazingly, the Avs still won.
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Varlamov had 57 saves tonite. WTF?! Where was the defense? Amazingly, the Avs still won.
They don't have one. It's Tyson Barrie and not a great deal else- there's probably nowhere else the team is weaker. Varlamov is getting shelled- again. Last year that resulted in him missing half the year when he broke down, and poor Pickard took the beating the rest of the way. Well, he's not there anymore (Toronto lucked out big-time getting that kid), so if Varlamov breaks again- likely!- it's going to be another spiral to the bottom.
Someone on Hockey News' comments section made a case for trading with the Capitals to get Orpik in exchange for Duchene. Even Sakic isn't that stupid, but the Avs need blue-line help desperately. I suspect it isn't coming along to save this season (lulz), but hopefully their next draft doesn't go with another skinny forward as-usual.
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It's that continued belief that they can be a contender every season with a (now aging) core that keeps underperforming year after year that won't let the management swallow the bitter pill.
Well Plekanec and his noose of a contract will be off the books next year. Mitchell and Hemsky also have one year left too. That gets a few of the 30+ off the roster next year. Anyone else on the team in their 30s is at least on the low end so should in theory have a couple good years left on them.
Schlemko, if he ever gets healthy, should be a boost to the team's defense. Trading away all those defenseman and letting Markov walk was a huge mistake. He wasn't great, but he was effective.
There is also some respectable d-men that will be available next year and Montreal certainly will have more cap space which is pretty modest right now anyhow. John Carlson goes UFA and he is going to cost more money than the 4 mil he makes right now and I can't see the Caps giving him the raise he is going to command on the open market. Calvin De Haan makes 3.3 right now and while he probably will get more too, it won't be more than say 4 mil a year. I say trade either Galchenyuk or Shaw for Carlson and other booty. I'll pack Tom Wilson's bags for you whether or not you want him to get him off this team and ship him north.
Someone on Hockey News' comments section made a case for trading with the Capitals to get Orpik in exchange for Duchene. Even Sakic isn't that stupid, but the Avs need blue-line help desperately.
I guess the op doesn't realize how bad our defense is at the moment either. Orpik isn't going anywhere until at least Niskanen gets back. While I'd take that trade 9/10, it is to much salary coming back the Caps direction so the Avs would have to retain some of it.
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Officially 3 years, 7 months, 30 days and counting since Tuukka Rask last beat the Washington Capitals. That there is some wretched and horrible bad luck.
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Officially 3 years, 7 months, 30 days and counting since Tuukka Rask last beat the Washington Capitals. That there is some wretched and horrible bad luck.
That game was rough... awful opening frame, and a pretty decent last 40 minutes wasn't enough to overcome. Great game from Tom Wilson, very good late-game stretch by Pastrnak, but the usual result between the Caps and B's, sadly enough.
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Three-way trade just now occurring between Ottawa, Colorado, and Nashville. Matt Duchene to Ottawa, Kyle Turris to Nashville. More to come.
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This is what yahoo fantasy had to say on the deal:
"Matt Duchene has been traded to the Ottawa Senators.
Advice: Duchene has finally been shipped out of Colorado and he has landed with the Senators in a three-way trade with Nashville involved as well. Ottawa sent Shane Bowers, Andrew Hammond, a first-round pick in 2018 and a third-round pick in 2018 to the Avalanche in the trade. Colorado also received Samuel Girard, Vladislav Kamanev and a 2018 second-round selection from Nashville in the deal. Duchene could slide into the spot that was occupied by Kyle Turris, who was sent to the Predators in the deal, between Zack Smith and Ryan Dzingel."
Shane Bowers is the most recent 1st round pick of the Sens and is just now in his freshman year of BU. Andrew Hammond getting traded finally washes clean a poor management decision and contract, albeit one that expires at the end of the year. I suspect we will see him playing in Colorado before the end of the season. The 2018 picks that Ottawa traded away means that they won't be drafting this year until the 4th round unless something comes back to them in another trade later.
Samuel Girard is a young defenseman. Looks to be undersized, but had a solid junior career.
Vladislav Kamanev, a young forward who has a year of the AHL underneath him and before that some KHL time.
So they got picks and perhaps some prospects. Seems like everyone got something of good value. The Avs seem to be finally committing to that rebuild.
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I'll even back Hammond as a decent option as Varlamov's backup - it wasn't THAT long ago that he was making that big playoff push for the Sens, after all, and there's no reason he can't redevelop that mojo. Nice to see they got a decent return, finally, on Duchene.
Nashville definitely is all-in as well for this year, Turris will be a big help to that team. Bravo to them, that's big.
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Well Plekanec and his noose of a contract will be off the books next year. Mitchell and Hemsky also have one year left too. That gets a few of the 30+ off the roster next year. Anyone else on the team in their 30s is at least on the low end so should in theory have a couple good years left on them.
Sure, but then Bergevin went and replaced it with Price's 10.5 M /year. That's like having a noose AND a dragstone. Unless Price gets himself out of whatever funk he's in now (I don't fully buy the minor knee injury story, I think it's something psychological), there is NO WAY the Habs will be able to move that contract. The same applies to a lesser degree for Andrew Shaw's contract.
Schlemko, if he ever gets healthy, should be a boost to the team's defense. Trading away all those defenseman and letting Markov walk was a huge mistake. He wasn't great, but he was effective.
And he could prove to be just as much of a washout as Streit, or as injury-prone as Hemsky.
There is also some respectable d-men that will be available next year and Montreal certainly will have more cap space which is pretty modest right now anyhow. John Carlson goes UFA and he is going to cost more money than the 4 mil he makes right now and I can't see the Caps giving him the raise he is going to command on the open market. Calvin De Haan makes 3.3 right now and while he probably will get more too, it won't be more than say 4 mil a year. I say trade either Galchenyuk or Shaw for Carlson and other booty. I'll pack Tom Wilson's bags for you whether or not you want him to get him off this team and ship him north.
I guess the op doesn't realize how bad our defense is at the moment either. Orpik isn't going anywhere until at least Niskanen gets back. While I'd take that trade 9/10, it is to much salary coming back the Caps direction so the Avs would have to retain some of it.
If the Karl Alzner situation taught Habs fans anything, it's that when the Caps want to trade, or don't want to re-sign, one of their D-corps, there's a good underlying reason for that. JUST SAY NO.
As for trading Galchenyuk, he finally seems to be finding his footing again. I do think, however, that this is a case of polishing the apple, and that he won't finish the season in a Habs uniform.
cheers,
Gabe
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Sure, but then Bergevin went and replaced it with Price's 10.5 M /year. That's like having a noose AND a dragstone. Unless Price gets himself out of whatever funk he's in now (I don't fully buy the minor knee injury story, I think it's something psychological), there is NO WAY the Habs will be able to move that contract. The same applies to a lesser degree for Andrew Shaw's contract.
Bergevin, doesn't seem to do a bad job managing the cap, but the personnel decisions leave a bit to be scrutinized. They have around 6-8 million in cap space this season. If they want to take on a large salary in trade they can do it. Assuming he can get back to playing at 90% of his old self, Price should be worth it and there really shouldn't be any reason to move him. Saw on the other hand is overpaid for what he provides and essentially paid for his past accomplishments.
If the Karl Alzner situation taught Habs fans anything, it's that when the Caps want to trade, or don't want to re-sign, one of their D-corps, there's a good underlying reason for that. JUST SAY NO.
If there were not financial contracts to be signed for other players that cost a significant amount of cash, perhaps Alzner might have been back. Even if he did it would still been at less than his open market value. Alzner was going to get overpaid and he did with his first free agency contract.
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That's the problem with Bergevin. He's getting a great deal on the players he's getting, but they aren't the right people. If I get a busted-as-hell Toyota Camry for $800, great, that's a good price, but it's still a busted-ass Camry.
Bergevin has a pretty good junkyard going, and not a lot of running models.
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That's the problem with Bergevin. He's getting a great deal on the players he's getting, but they aren't the right people. If I get a busted-as-hell Toyota Camry for $800, great, that's a good price, but it's still a busted-ass Camry.
Bergevin has a pretty good junkyard going, and not a lot of running models.
And, showing that he doesn't learn, he has now claimed Antti Niemi off waivers from the Panthers.
This is to cover for the loss of Al Montoya, who is out indefinitely with a concussion. Probably means Zach Fucale (backup netminder to a backup netminder who's suddenly been forced to be a starter) will be sent back down to the farm. He hasn't been spectacular by any means, but unlike Niemi, he can at least stop the occasional beach ball.
And the situation with Carey Price's "minor" injury is starting to look like a repeat of the horrendous 2015-2016 season.
Unlike that train wreck, a reliable substitute seems to be present in Charlie Lindgren--who is looking a whole lot like Price did in his prime. Price has been badly off all season, maybe since training camp. If Price's injury turns out to be career-debilitating, are we looking at a Fleury/Murray situation here? Lindgren hasn't won every game, but the way he's been playing so far, it seriously looks like he could steal the starter's job from the 10 million dollar man.
cheers,
Gabe
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And, showing that he doesn't learn, he has now claimed Antti Niemi off waivers from the Panthers.
This is to cover for the loss of Al Montoya, who is out indefinitely with a concussion. Probably means Zach Fucale (backup netminder to a backup netminder who's suddenly been forced to be a starter) will be sent back down to the farm. He hasn't been spectacular by any means, but unlike Niemi, he can at least stop the occasional beach ball.
Fucale was on an emergency call up so he can be returned back to the minors without having to clear a standard waiver process. Niemi is definitely a band aid over a bad situation. Even if Price returns I don't see the Habs being more than a bubble team. While they are on an upswing, they still aren't taking two steps forward without going backwards.
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The majority of the HHOF induction speeches can be found here:
https://sports.yahoo.com/class-2017-humbled-hockey-hall-140020120.html (https://sports.yahoo.com/class-2017-humbled-hockey-hall-140020120.html)
I have been through all of them except Temmu to this point and all of them have been pretty good.
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I don't know that I'd even call the Habs a bubble team at this point. Stranger things have happened, they could claw themselves right back into the playoff picture over the next few months, but I don't think they have the roster strength for it, even if Price is healthy. With it being that he isn't (again), and tends to take a while to come back from being hurt generally, the onus is on their defense to protect Niemi (oh GOD), and on the offense to make up for the increased number of goals he'll inevitably let in... and they just can't do that. They have a pretty great first line, and... well, beyond that it's uh-oh territory.
Like I said, who knows, they might surprise us all and we'll be looking at them playing meaningful hockey in mid-April. My bet though is that they'll continue to fall further behind the rest of the pack in the East and be all but forgotten by mid-January. Remember, they'd have to become one of the top three teams in their division or a wild card. Looking at that division, we have... yep, Tampa, Toronto, Ottawa, and if Boston can ever get over their injury bug they're in it too. So you have to bump two of those teams aside. Or you could be a wild card, which means not only bumping out of the way whoever doesn't get into the top three above but also the teams not in the top three in the Metro as well- which could mean teams like New York (either one?), Washington, maybe even Pittsburgh if they don't get the ship righted quickly. I don't feel like Montreal can elbow into that kind of territory at this point.
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I think there's legitimately only two good teams in the east right now: Jersey and Tampa.
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I think there's legitimately only two good teams in the east right now: Jersey and Tampa.
I'll grant you Tampa. I'm still wary of the Devils, I'm not sure whether they're a legitimately good team or if the wheels just haven't come off quite yet. They've certainly had a good run for this first few weeks though, no argument.
The other side of it though is that I don't think some of the better teams in the East have had the start you'd expect- but are going to be as dangerous as ever when spring rolls around. Pittsburgh isn't as stacked as they were, but there's still plenty there to make a third Cup in a row a legit possibility. The lame start by the Rangers is disappointing, but that's a pretty solid team if they can get it together. Columbus is always confusing to me, but we've seen what that team can do when they get hot. And of course, while not the offensive juggernaut of previous years, Washington is still a threat to make it to the second round.
Even in the West, I expected better starts from a few times like the Hawks and Sharks, while seeing early shocks start to fade from teams like the Knights. Kind of a weird season so far.
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Kind of a weird season so far.
Much like the NFL...
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I don't know that I'd even call the Habs a bubble team at this point. Stranger things have happened, they could claw themselves right back into the playoff picture over the next few months, but I don't think they have the roster strength for it, even if Price is healthy. With it being that he isn't (again), and tends to take a while to come back from being hurt generally, the onus is on their defense to protect Niemi (oh GOD), and on the offense to make up for the increased number of goals he'll inevitably let in... and they just can't do that. They have a pretty great first line, and... well, beyond that it's uh-oh territory.
Like I said, who knows, they might surprise us all and we'll be looking at them playing meaningful hockey in mid-April. My bet though is that they'll continue to fall further behind the rest of the pack in the East and be all but forgotten by mid-January. Remember, they'd have to become one of the top three teams in their division or a wild card. Looking at that division, we have... yep, Tampa, Toronto, Ottawa, and if Boston can ever get over their injury bug they're in it too. So you have to bump two of those teams aside. Or you could be a wild card, which means not only bumping out of the way whoever doesn't get into the top three above but also the teams not in the top three in the Metro as well- which could mean teams like New York (either one?), Washington, maybe even Pittsburgh if they don't get the ship righted quickly. I don't feel like Montreal can elbow into that kind of territory at this point.
This is all true, all of it. And yes, even the most FANatical of Habs fans would have to admit that there STILL isn't enough depth on the team to push them into contention with that company, especially not with the defence corps Bergevin has assembled for this season. Price or no Price, they either miss the playoffs or just scrape their way in with the last wildcard spot, and are promptly bounced in the first round again by whoever finishes at the top of the Metro division. Cue Bergevin's exit as GM.
As for Price, I get a feeling he may not be with the team much longer. The way they handled his injury in the 2015-2016 season was a PR disaster, and this is shaping up to be mostly a repeat of that. WHY will nobody--even Price himself--come forward to say what the nature of this "minor" injury is? I personally think it's something psychological--he realized what it means to carry a team for $10.5M a year and can't handle the pressure, or he really doesn't like what Bergevin has done with the team and his poor play is his way of saying he wants out. (But there's something clearly off about his positioning too, especially his lateral movement.) Whatever it is, something is amiss upstairs. The active goalie to whom Price is most often compared is Henrik Lundqvist, and Lundqvist didn't fall off a cliff like what's happened to Price when he turned 30 or when he signed a fat contract that basically bound him to the Rags for good.
cheers,
Gabe
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And on another note...it looks like it is happening again in Minnesota...3 straight shutouts for Devan Dubnyk.
cheers,
Gabe
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And on another note...it looks like it is happening again in Minnesota...3 straight shutouts for Devan Dubnyk.
cheers,
Gabe
"Who?"
+Edmonton fans+
Actually, on the Price situation, I've had the same thought that he might look to leave Montreal at some point in the not-distant future. He's made a couple of grumblings about management (particularly post-Subban trade), and the fact that this injury is still going on is concerning. Sort of reminds me of the Andrew Luck situation in Indianapolis for football- what was a nagging injury has been repeatedly bungled by the team, and with his being shut down for the season we're looking at him going into next year not having played a real meaningful football game in over two years- please, someone save Luck from the Colts! Same here, though not quite as public-mess-esque or drug-soaked (hi Irsay!). The team hasn't done right by Price- either in terms of dealing with his injuries or by putting a quality team in front of him during the prime years of his career. If he decides he wants out, half a dozen teams are going to be falling all over themselves to get him on board- actually, now that I type that, there might only be half a dozen that wouldn't be interested.
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4 straight wins for Minnesota. Last night was extra special because I was at the game with my wife. It was great that they won, but the first 50 minutes of the game they played flat footed.
I guess they saved "the globetrotter algebra" for the end
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I think there's legitimately only two good teams in the east right now: Jersey and Tampa.
I agree that there are two good teams in the EC, but I'd say they are Columbus and Toronto. Then there is a great team with Tampa. The only concern for Tampa happens to be can Andrei
Vasilevskiy stay healthy and continue to play at a high level. He's not likely to continue to punching a save percentage at 93+ that he is right now, but even in the mid to high 92% range this is a team that is going to be difficult to beat each and every game. With all the injuries they had last year and forced to play younger players, they are much deeper and talented team than they were last year.
Pittsburgh isn't as stacked as they were, but there's still plenty there to make a third Cup in a row a legit possibility. The lame start by the Rangers is disappointing, but that's a pretty solid team if they can get it together.
Pittsburgh, at least I think, isn't all that bad. At least when they decide they want to be awful they go out of there way to do so. If they clean up their game and stop taking penalties that will help them out quite a bit. Outside of those 3 absurd games where they gave up 24 combined goals to the Jets, Bolts, and 'Hawks which skew pretty much all of their team stats against they would be more toward the middle of the league.
Even in the West, I expected better starts from a few times like the Hawks and Sharks, while seeing early shocks start to fade from teams like the Knights. Kind of a weird season so far.
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NJ is punching well above where they should be and while I don't think they will drop off a cliff I think they certainly have a shot at making the playoffs because almost everyone in the EC is about equal. NJ is winning because of the fact they have a PP that is in the upper half of the league. They giving up the second most shots attempts in the league at almost 35 a game behind only the Panthers for last in the NHL. Props to them that there scoring is spread evenly through the line up, but Brain Gibbons isn't going to shoot 32% all season and Drew Stafford won't continue to shoot 15.6% either. Should make for a good flip for picks though come deadline time.
Columbus on the other hand is pretty much where it should be when compared to the other teams in the division. 34.5 SF/A and 30.9 SA/A. Truthfully the only thing they have been pretty bad at this year is the power play. Toronto is solid offense, average goal tending, and enough defense to get by.
As for Price, I get a feeling he may not be with the team much longer. The active goalie to whom Price is most often compared is Henrik Lundqvist, and Lundqvist didn't fall off a cliff like what's happened to Price when he turned 30 or when he signed a fat contract that basically bound him to the Rags for good.
Price isn't going anywhere anytime fast. That contract extension that kicks next year makes that a certain. Even if he wants to go somewhere, the list of teams that can afford to take him on is small because of his cap hit. It looks something like this, just from a money stand point:
Arizona
Carolina
Toronto
Buffalo
New Jersey
Vegas
You can cross off of that list 3 of those 6 teams without worrying who is on his NTC list. Your 3 players in that of any consequence are Toronto, Vegas, and Arizona. The last two, only if you are willing to ship picks or players for them to eat money. Toronto is the only real suitor and that is assuming they send Andersen the other way. That is unlikely without more compensation thrown the direction of the Leafs to take that contract on. Simply put, that contract is parked somewhere between DiPietro Drive and My Contract Sucks Court with a perpetually flat tire.
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Well...it figures that if there was any team that would find a way to humiliate themselves at the hands of the 'Yotes, it would HAVE to be the Habs.
There is no way I can defend anything about that performance after the first period. They LET that one get away.
They turn in a performance like that against the league's deepest cellar-dweller and you KNOW this is not a playoff team. Maybe not even a bubble team.
Wouldn't it something if this is the game that turns around the seasons for both teams--the 'Yotes climb out of the cellar, and the Habs head into a tailspin like 2 seasons ago? Because I can see it happening.
cheers,
Gabe
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Well...it figures that if there was any team that would find a way to humiliate themselves at the hands of the 'Yotes, it would HAVE to be the Habs.
Arizona is a better team than their record indicates. They still have a lack of depth players that are under preforming between Duclair and Domi. Injuries have also been a factor affecting their goal tending. Domingue was and always has been wretched, now that he is gone and they would appear to have some goalies with better talent the team should win more frequently than they did in their first 21 games. Unlike New Jersey, they haven't been scoring and shooting above their weight. If they start shooting average then they are going start turning themselves around. Not enough to get a low lottery pick, but enough to not have the best chance at that #1 lottery ball.
There is no way I can defend anything about that performance after the first period. They LET that one get away.
They turn in a performance like that against the league's deepest cellar-dweller and you KNOW this is not a playoff team. Maybe not even a bubble team.
Wouldn't it something if this is the game that turns around the seasons for both teams--the 'Yotes climb out of the cellar, and the Habs head into a tailspin like 2 seasons ago? Because I can see it happening.
There is nothing that is a given at this point in the season. Without looking at ROW, Montreal is 2 wins out of a playoff spot. The only teams you could probably pencil in that division making the playoffs are Tampa and Toronto. Buffalo is probably the only one you can say is awful enough they aren't going to make the playoffs without looking at the next 20 games. The Metro isn't great either so they have as just as much of a stab at wild card as anyone else. Last year there were 4 above average teams in the metro. To this point in the year there are none right now.
cheers,
Gabe
[/quote]
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There is nothing that is a given at this point in the season. Without looking at ROW, Montreal is 2 wins out of a playoff spot.
<snip>
**looks at result of Leafs vs. Habs**
Um, you were saying...?
cheers,
Gabe
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Actually, on the Price situation, I've had the same thought that he might look to leave Montreal at some point in the not-distant future. He's made a couple of grumblings about management (particularly post-Subban trade), and the fact that this injury is still going on is concerning. Sort of reminds me of the Andrew Luck situation in Indianapolis for football- what was a nagging injury has been repeatedly bungled by the team, and with his being shut down for the season we're looking at him going into next year not having played a real meaningful football game in over two years- please, someone save Luck from the Colts! Same here, though not quite as public-mess-esque or drug-soaked (hi Irsay!). The team hasn't done right by Price- either in terms of dealing with his injuries or by putting a quality team in front of him during the prime years of his career. If he decides he wants out, half a dozen teams are going to be falling all over themselves to get him on board- actually, now that I type that, there might only be half a dozen that wouldn't be interested.
And guess who one of Carey's best buddies in the dressing room was...? Yep, P.K.
Nobody is going to want Price now, given the size of his cap hit and the fact that's he's damaged goods--either in the lower body, upstairs, or both. Plus, as Firesprocket pointed out, the NMC in his contract, which is retroactive. He doesn't go anywhere until a) he says he wants to, b) another team with deep enough pockets is willing to take the same gamble Bergevin did.
cheers,
Gabe
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I don't think there are to many of these 10 mil a year contracts that are not or will not become poison pills to their teams unless the team is winning cups left and right. In the case of McDavid, that may be the next to worst depending on whether Jack Eichel starts to preform better or the Black Hawks start winning cups again. The later seems extremely unlikely.
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Who needs Cup wins? The Hawks and Pens are getting outdoor games again, that's what's important!
Seriously, can we get some different teams in this thing? Tampa? Dallas? San Jose? Someone who isn't the same three or four teams over and over?
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It would be nice. But of course we all know it won't happen because those non-traditional markets won't draw nearly as well. I loved the idea of them having a stadium series game at a military academy this year, but I've not heard much in the way of publicity for it.
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tickets for it are expensive from what I've seen of the season ticket holder emails. It was more expensive than the winterclassic a few years ago. I passed on them.
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The cost being a modest sum doesn't surprise me at all. I went to classic in Pittsburgh and while I didn't pay for those tickets (I paid for the hotel) I remember looking at the stub and knew then it was probably the only WC that I was ever going to go to. Fun game what with the Caps winning and all. Somewhat surprising was the Caps fans were louder than the Pens fans. Somehow I don't think that is going to be the case. Toronto travels well even when they stank. I assume more than half the crowd is going to be filled up with Blue.
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Please...somebody stop the Habs' bleeding...
I'm telling you, that loss to the 'Yotes is the turning point of their season. The players basically stopped believing in themselves and each other after that.
With perhaps a handful of exceptions, it's clear these players are no team. No chemistry, no heart, and no pride in the emblem they wear on their jersey. I'm starting to incline towards the people who say it's time for a rebuild--and I mean a COMPLETE rebuild, including the coaching staff and the GM. Even Claude Julien has to go--even though he was hired late last season, whatever he's been trying is clearly not working, and I'm starting to think that, just like his boss Bergevin, the modern NHL has passed him by.
ASIDE: even though they lost again tonight (SO loss to the Preds), Antti Niemi surprised everyone by actually playing well enough for the Habs to win. Once again though, no run support from the team (god I hate mixing sports metaphors like that).
cheers,
Gabe
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The Habs are definately due for a rebuild, but I would say cleaning everyone out would be a poor choice. The front office and scouting should be on the chopping block. Getting rid of Claude Julien is a bad idea for a couple reason. First and foremost, while the results this season are below expectations this team is tops in Shot for per game and a top 10 Shots against per game. At the same time the goals for and against per game are the worst in the league. The power play has struggled and pk hasn't been great either. This suggests the problem isn't the system, but the players executing it are.
Julien didn't draft or sign anyone to this team. Bergevin did and he's not doing a great job of drafting. Julien's job is to win with what he has. While he has failed to do that this year, I'd say it could be a whole lot worse if he gets fired. Who do you hire to replace Julien? Only name that comes to mind right now is Dave Tipett and I honestly don't think he would take on another rebuild.
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The Habs are definately due for a rebuild, but I would say cleaning everyone out would be a poor choice. The front office and scouting should be on the chopping block. Getting rid of Claude Julien is a bad idea for a couple reason. First and foremost, while the results this season are below expectations this team is tops in Shot for per game and a top 10 Shots against per game. At the same time the goals for and against per game are the worst in the league. The power play has struggled and pk hasn't been great either. This suggests the problem isn't the system, but the players executing it are.
Julien didn't draft or sign anyone to this team. Bergevin did and he's not doing a great job of drafting. Julien's job is to win with what he has. While he has failed to do that this year, I'd say it could be a whole lot worse if he gets fired. Who do you hire to replace Julien? Only name that comes to mind right now is Dave Tipett and I honestly don't think he would take on another rebuild.
Are Habs fans really supposed to believe that Julien had NO input into which players would be gotten rid of, and who would be brought in to replace them? (That said, I'm pretty sure he was not at all happy with the loss of Andrei Markov in particular--that one is ENTIRELY on Bergevin and one of the reasons why Bergie has to go)
Dave Tippett, replace Julien? Not bloody likely unless he can show he's at least somewhat fluent in French. Due to off-ice socio-political reasons, since the early '80s the unwritten rule has been that the Habs' GM and head coach MUST speak French, and preferably be francophone Quebecers (Julien is Franco-Ontarian so he gets a pass). This has severely limited the candidate pool the Habs can draw from when they've canned a coach or GM. Had Julien not been available (after being let go by the Bruins), Michel Therrien would more than likely still be coaching the Habs.
cheers,
Gabe
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Are Habs fans really supposed to believe that Julien had NO input into which players would be gotten rid of, and who would be brought in to replace them? (That said, I'm pretty sure he was not at all happy with the loss of Andrei Markov in particular--that one is ENTIRELY on Bergevin and one of the reasons why Bergie has to go)
No, but he can't be held solely responsible for the mismanagement that was and continues to go on since he was hired. The problems as I see them:
- Trading for Drouin wasn't horrible. Expecting him to be a full time center, pretty damn dumb. He did okay last year for the Bolts when called upon to play center, but there was a body count last year that was huge. Had there not been a body count it is unlikely he'd been playing center full time. Plekanec is over-the-hill, but he's a better center than Drouin. Drouin shouldn't be anywhere the dot to take a face off, ever.
- Karl Alzner, god bless him, isn't a #1 or 2 d-man anymore. Then again is anyone on this roster? Oh right Weber is still there. Problem is you can't expect Weber to be on the ice the whole game. Benn's a 5 or 6 guy, Mete's a rookie, and Jeff Petry is having an awful year. Assuming he was playing at a clip of even 25% more offense though that still wouldn't fix this team's problem. Markov should have been re-signed. Until Mete has a year or two under his belt it is going to be difficult to grade this team on d-prospects, but right now for developed talent they seem to be batting .000 and that's an organizational problem that precedes Julien.
Dave Tippett, replace Julien? Not bloody likely unless he can show he's at least somewhat fluent in French. Due to off-ice socio-political reasons, since the early '80s the unwritten rule has been that the Habs' GM and head coach MUST speak French, and preferably be francophone Quebecers (Julien is Franco-Ontarian so he gets a pass). This has severely limited the candidate pool the Habs can draw from when they've canned a coach or GM. Had Julien not been available (after being let go by the Bruins), Michel Therrien would more than likely still be coaching the Habs.
I intentionally didn't bring that up, because I don't want to get into a long discussion about it. If I want to win, I hire the guy who I think gives me the best chance to win whether he speaks French or not. I make a point of it only when it is brought up (he gives us the best chance to win). If they don't care about winning right now and just want another French speaking coach hire Roy and get it over with. I know whatever language it is in that the sound bites should be great. I mentioned Tippett as he was the only name that immediately came to mind. There isn't a glut of coaches with experience that is going to get as much or more out of this team than Julien. Of course if they want to talk to Ottawa about trading for Guy Boucher I've got my memes ready to go.
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To toss another name on the table, there's Bob Hartley, who is fluent in French, has a Cup ring (granted, from sixteen years ago and on a pre-salary-cap superteam, but still)... his stint in Calgary wasn't great, and his stint in Atlanta was sort of stuck with an awful roster, but he's at least an option.
That said, are any of the available options- Hartley included- better options than the guy who lead the Bruins to a Cup, a few minutes from a Game 7 for another, and (until the salary cap monster ate their defense) consistently were among the leagues' best teams in the early half of the decade? There's only so much one can do with a really bad team (see: Hartley in Atlanta), and Julien flat out doesn't have a very good roster right now. Firing him isn't going to fix the problem- it's the guy above HIM in the hierarchy that's causing the problem.
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Well, the pod person who was impersonating Carey Price seems to have left the building. Only two games back from injury, but the Carey Price who shut out Buffalo two nights ago and repeatedly stymied a much better Columbus team tonight is the man who Geoff Molson wanted to see play when he agreed to part with 10M a year of his money.
And that is exceptionally bad, really. Why?
I'm thrilled as any Habs fan that the Habs got the 4 points. But that win against the Jackets tonight was a TYPICAL MARC BERGEVIN GAME. This is exactly what Bergie wants to see. This was the kind of game he built the team for. Pick your moments while the other team runs roughshod over you and hope your all-world goalie actually comes to play, stands on his head and steals a win for you. Like Price did tonight.
I find I'm thinking more conspiratorially as I get older (NEVER a good sign in today's world, I know!) but there's actually a part of me that wants to believe that Price's crappy play earlier this season was at least partly intentional. That he was sending a signal to his teammates and especially management, that "you can't rely on me to be in superhuman form all the time, you've got to put a decent team in front of me or this is what's going to happen." But nobody seems to have learned anything. The D-corps still generally sucks and is now without Shea Weber for who knows how long, and the scoring...well...when your current two best players are two of the smallest guys on the team...
On the plus side, Jakub Jerabek, Bergevin's latest ex-KHL experiment who they inexplicably buried** on the farm team for the first quarter of the season, actually seems like he might be the Emelin replacement that Alzner was supposed to be.
**I know, I know, they said it was to give him time to adapt to the North American game--unlike Radulov, Jerabek never played on this side of the pond before. But Alzner has turned out to be such a bust that's it's baffling they didn't call Jerabek up earlier.
cheers,
Gabe
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You know, the funny part is that there's a lot of fans here in DC still pining for Alzner to come back. To me, that says they don't watch Habs games.
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why would we?
Most of us noticed that he hasn't been the same since his surgery. It doesn't sound like his skating has gotten any better/faster since last season.
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why would we?
Most of us noticed that he hasn't been the same since his surgery. It doesn't sound like his skating has gotten any better/faster since last season.
Oh hell, to look at the followers of Russian Machine Never Breaks, the biggest blunder the team ever made was not signing Brooks Laich to a lifetime contract.
I get it, I mean I keep an eye on Bruins who have gone on to other teams. You have favorite players who go off somewhere else and it's sad to lose them (Milan Lucic was always a crowd pleaser in Boston for example, always nice to see him do well in Edmonton- other than scoring against Boston a couple of nights ago. Jerk.) Some of that canonization of past players though... I pick on Caps fans for it because I live here among you weirdos, but every fan base does it, I suppose. (Well, maybe not Vegas.)
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I intentionally didn't bring that up, because I don't want to get into a long discussion about it. If I want to win, I hire the guy who I think gives me the best chance to win whether he speaks French or not. I make a point of it only when it is brought up (he gives us the best chance to win). If they don't care about winning right now and just want another French speaking coach hire Roy and get it over with. I know whatever language it is in that the sound bites should be great. I mentioned Tippett as he was the only name that immediately came to mind. There isn't a glut of coaches with experience that is going to get as much or more out of this team than Julien. Of course if they want to talk to Ottawa about trading for Guy Boucher I've got my memes ready to go.
I'm 1000% with you on this. Every English-speaking Habs fan too. Heck, at this point, I'd say even a fair number of the francophone fans too, considering what the Habs have put on the ice this year. But there are still too many, especially in the French-language media, who simply will not have it. You may or may not have heard about the stink they made last time the Habs had an English-only head coach, when Randy Cunneyworth was hired to replace Jacques Martin. Never mind for a second that Cunneyworth wasn't a great coach and couldn't really right the ship. What was more important TO THEM is that he was a unilingual anglo from Ontario. Quebec nationalist groups wanted to boycott Molson products (they SHOULD be boycotted, but for reasons other than that!), protested outside the Bell Centre, and even the bloody provincial culture minister got involved, saying the Habs organization needed to "rectify the situation" ASAP! Geoff Molson doesn't have the spine or the balls to stand up to these people and so will continue to hamstring his own team to satisfy people who don't actually care about the on-ice product.
(Incidentally, Bergevin tried to keep Cunneyworth around as an assistant coach. He was let go at the insistence of Michel Therrien.)
cheers,
Gabe
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Oh yeah, Habs did it again tonight. 2-1 over Sens.
I like the fact that they won, but not the way they won. Another "Bergie special", though Price wasn't quite as overworked as in the previous two starts.
And that Schlemko character finally showed himself to be a real person and made his Habs debut. Reports say he didn't look too bad.
Can actually move the puck a bit.
cheers,
Gabe
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So...
Somebody forgot to tell Detroit's entire D-corps that they had a game in Montreal tonight >:D
Does this mean that either Mrazek or Howard have played their last game for the Wings? (You guys all know what I'm referring to...)
And lo and behold, the Habs are above .500 ** for only the second time this year and in the playoff picture.
*Well sort of. I'm a bit old school and still consider OT and shootout losses to be losses. I won't be fully satisfied until their wins exceed losses + OTLs.
Cheers, Gabe
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Getting wins now is better than trying to play catch up later. Just ask last year's Bolts. The division isn't up for grabs, but that 3rd division spot is. Prior to the Christmas break, Montreal has a really good schedule with only one back to back set of games and that is goes right into the break itself.
They get St. Louis on Tuesday which is in a bit of a funk lately, 2 games against the Oilers, the Sens, the Devils, the 'Nucks, and 2 against the Flames. 8 games in 21 days. That should provide enough down time to keep Price fresh and hopefully in good health.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, it's less sunny with a chance of hellfire and brimstone. Fortunately for them, they left town for a road trip and won't have to worry about any boos or jeering for another 9 days. I will say they pick up a win while they are in Vancouver. Conversely, if they manage to continue their win-less streak through December 14th, when they play Buffalo, the other shoe drops and Hakstol gets canned.
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Philly's next head coach just became available again!
http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/21653311/mike-keenan-fired-kunlun-red-star-kontinental-hockey-league (http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/21653311/mike-keenan-fired-kunlun-red-star-kontinental-hockey-league)
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Does this mean that either Mrazek or Howard have played their last game for the Wings? (You guys all know what I'm referring to...)
And how did I manage to forget about this tidbit...?
That game was in fact 22 years to the day after the Patrick Roy Incident which saw him play his last game for the Habs after giving up 9 goals against the Wings--perhaps the Habs' worst ever home loss.
Returning the favour at long last, hopefully the Habs have finally overcome the Curse of Roy and removed the stench left by Mario Tremblay. (Though to be fair, this year's edition of the Wings isn't remotely comparable to what they were in the mid-'90s.)
cheers,
Gabe
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Crap, I had a feeling it wasn't time to start planning the parade yet.
That marks the TENTH TIME SO FAR THIS SEASON that the Habs have given up goals less than a minute apart. Unlike previous occurrences which saw them collapse, this time they fought back and made a game of it, but still lost. (and Patrick Roy is off still snickering to himself in some corner somewhere.)
Price didn't look very sharp last night; I think they're pushing him too hard and fast since coming off IR (I was quite surprised he started both games of a B2B last week).
At least I can take some solace in the fact that Bobrovsky and Dubnyk didn't fare any better in their games.
Cheers,
Gabe
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https://deadspin.com/john-gibsons-glove-save-was-so-good-it-fooled-whoever-1821044502 (https://deadspin.com/john-gibsons-glove-save-was-so-good-it-fooled-whoever-1821044502)
Save of the year so far. Great play by Vegas, but... man, that was witchcraft.
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Welcome to the 2017-2018 winter break! As a special treat to you the reader I'll spoil Star Wars for you first. Han Solo is still dead and Jar Jar Binks isn't. Should the Vancouver Canucks suffer from anymore injuries (more on that later) don't be surprised if he is signed to play first line center. Anyhow on with this shenanigans.
Eastern Conference first!
Atlantic Division:
Tampa Bay Lightning- It's like this team is so good when it is is not injured. It is so good it can afford to take on crappy defenseman (waves to Dan Girardi). Buckle up Danny Boy while we put you on your custom Nikita Kucherov crotch rocket to glory. The 2017-2018 Peter Budaj show has to this point been underwhelming. If Vasilevskiy gets hurt though this awesome season could go up in smoke.
Toronto Maple Leafs- Despite a somewhat average performance in the last 10 games, Toronto finds themselves second in the Atlantic and 9 points back. Unlikely to give the Bolts a serious challenge they are likely going to make a second play off in the year. They still need a defenseman or two to make a solid run in the playoffs. Until then we will just have to enjoy the Bromance that is Roman Polak and Mike Babcock. Or start some rumors (https://twitter.com/SNFaizalKhamisa/status/938110665717194752 (https://twitter.com/SNFaizalKhamisa/status/938110665717194752)), Babs can take it.
Boston Bruins- Somewhat quietly, unless you are Hellbie's fantasy hockey opponent or the Washington Capitals, the Bruins are kick nass and taking names. Recently the scoring has been spread around with both vets and young blood are getting the job done. Things are going so well they even waived Matt Beleskey!
Montreal Canadiens- This team is only going to go as far as Carey Price can drag them and he is having problem wearing his gear onto the ice. Right now though they stand at least 7 points out of the final wild card spot. Not impossible, but with no games in hand, there is no room for error.
Florida Panthers- Vincent Trocheck, he's a guy that the Florida Panthers decided to protect and is doing well and still a Panther. Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith are two more guys used to be Florida Panthers and play for a first place team. This team they play for is not the Florida Panthers.
Detroit Red Wings- Will the wonders of Little Caesar's never cease. Cheap pizza and a new arena. It's that new arena that is the single factor that keeps the Red Wings out of the Atlantic basement. That and probably the awesome smell of crazy bread that is probably vented into the shunted into the arena to distract their opposition.
Ottawa Senators- It seems trading Kyle Turris and in return receiving Matt Duchene, might not have been the best plan as the Sens and Duchene have been outright awful since. Its not all bad though Sens fans. Eugene Melnyk is going to move the team to another city and some other city can be a sucker to Melnyk's brand of scum. You can also go back to routing for the Leafs. It's a good time to be a Leaf's fan!
Buffalo Sabres- The Jason Pominville great reunion tour lasted about 3 weeks and then fizzled. Despite efforts to address the defense during the off season, none of it has panned out. Thus the Sabres are where they have been the last several years, in the basement. Okposo is under preforming and Moulson has been buried in the minors. Evander Kane is bound to get moved at some point. Hopefully the Sabres can make something out of that, but I'm not optimistic.
The Metropolitan Division
New Jersey Devils- Somehow it is December at the Devils have not collapsed yet. The Life of Brian(s) is helping to make this possible. Both Brian Gibbons and Brian Boyle have 10 goals a pop. Corey Schneider is also pulling 92% save percentage again. The Devils are also getting good rookie play from Butcher. If the Devils are still in the playoff hunt at the trade deadline would be interesting to see what they do. They pulled the trigger and traded for Sami Vatanen last month and I think long term that is more a win for the Devils than the Ducks.
Washington Capitals- Mostly on their strength at home and within the Eastern Conference the Caps have managed a better than expected first half. That is all with losing Matt Niskanen and to a lesser extent T J Oshie. I'd still pick them as the team most likely to fall in the standings between now and the playoffs down to a wild card slot due to the young defense. If Vrana continues to produce though, anything is possible.
Columbus Bluejackets- This guy is the only guy in town that matters (https://twitter.com/ofcbobrovsky?lang=en (https://twitter.com/ofcbobrovsky?lang=en)) and also a UFA the year after next. Don't worry everyone, Columbus won't pay him.
New York Rangers- After an awful start to the season the Rangers picked up their sorry butts and corpse hopping themselves back into a respectable team. Then December happened and now you can flip a coin with almost equal results to see which Lundqvist shows up. That's still better than any result that involves Ondrej Pavelec starting, ever.
New York Islanders- The Islanders are quite the surprise this year. If they had a better goaltender they probably wouldn't be the 5th place team in the division. Barzal, Lee, and Bailey are all having excellent seasons. The only problem is that Tavares and Bailey are both going to be UFA after this season. There are UFAs on defense that will also be up for a raise so this maybe the only solid season the Islanders have in awhile to put together a solid, if not deep, playoff run.
Carolina Hurricanes- Scott Darling became a starting goal tender and may have recently lost the starting job to the previous starting goal tender Cam Ward. Cam Ward's save percentage this year is 91.1%. That's better than Scott darling, just not good enough for anything else :(
Pittsburgh Penguins- 6th in the division isn't where anyone expected this team to be. However, there top 6 forwards and bottom 6 are night and day. Matt Murray isn't playing up to Matt Murry level and that combination doesn't bode well. The majority of teams ahead of them right now have games in hand, which is never good.
Philadelphia Flyers- Saving their cross-state rivals from the basement are the bipolar Flyers. Brian Elliot has done reasonably well for himself and the cybernetic implants installed over the off season have allowed him to press on while Michal Neuvirth, bent his Wookie (http://theswca.com/images-misc/RALPH4.html) and landed on IR again. Dude can't catch a break.
Western Conference!
The Geocentric Central Division:
St. Louis Blues- The Blues have cooled off a bit lately and that is in part to the injury to Jaden Schwartz. Goal tending has been solid though and should keep them afloat. Team offense is significantly top heavy with 46 of 113 goals from one line. Brayden Schenn for MVP.
Nashville Predators- David Poile keeps doing good things and traded for Kyle Turris. Kevin Fiala is having a break through season and is tied for second in points total on the Preds. Filip Forsberg continues to remind all Caps fans how many points Martin Erat didn't score.
Winnipeg Jets- Connor Hellebuyck and that offense just might get this team into the playoffs and it might be better than the wild card. The might be an excellent achievement would it not mean having to play either Nashville and St. Louis in the first round.
Dallas Stars- Some nights are better than others, but the Stars are just as good (or bad) as the teams behind them in the standings. There defense and tending is better than last year, but that doesn't guarantee a spot.
Chicago Blackhawks- To this point it has been an off year for the Blackhawks. The defense is getting old and diamonds in the rough aren't there to replace the salary cap casualties. The good news for the Blackhawks is that they have games in hand against the majority of the conference. There are only a point out of a wild card. They are also only 2 points above last place in the division too. That's pretty rough.
Minnesota Wild- injuries, middling goal tending, and losses in the expansion draft have hit the Wild this season. All that doesn't appear to improve anytime soon making the Wild the playoffs.
Colorado Avalanche- Last place is bad, but the team is competitive right now. They will likely fall out of the playoff picture, but if they .500 hockey the rest of the season after getting that silly haul for Matt Duchene I'd call that win win.
Pacific Division
Vegas Golden Knights- God loves Skee Ball and the Golden Knights. I find that the only logical explanation for their success. She also hates the Florida Panthers.
Los Angles Kings- The poor Kings can't get their due because the Knights are rebelling against the crown. Most everyone of consequence is having a bounce back year and Jeff Carter is still out on LT IR. The Kings even turned Darcy Kuemper into a quality back up.
San Jose Sharks- This team either needs to score more or grow more beards to clog up the neutral zone.
Anaheim Ducks- This team needs to stop getting hurt and fire Randy Carlyle. The order in which they do it is irrelevant.
Calgary Flames- Mike Smith has played respectable, it's to bad the whole team can't consistently. Jagr can't stay healthy. That really isn't how I want to remember the last year of Jagr.
Edmonton Oilers- Now only 2 wins out of the last Wild Card. Sekera is back and playing again so things are looking up for the Oilers.
Vancouver Canucks- What started well has plummeted back to earth due to injuries. Brock Boeser has exploded this year and Bo Horvat was looking good until he was hurt. Thomas Vanek is going to net them a pick at the trade deadline so all is well.
Arizona Coyotes- Clayton Keller is a stud, the rest of the roster needs a real kick in the tail to jump start things. A change in venue would do well for some in that dressing room. How about some place like, I don't know, Seattle. It sure beats raising cattle.
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San Jose's Joe Thornton may want to finally give his beard a decent trim after this happened:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/night-nazem-kadri-ripped-off-joe-thorntons-beard/ (http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/night-nazem-kadri-ripped-off-joe-thorntons-beard/)
cheers,
Gabe
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The Habs have not given their fans much to cheer about the past month, managing to totally fail to take advantage of a relatively soft December schedule and finagle their way OUT of a playoff spot. With the teams they're supposed to be chasing (Bruins, Leafs) surging during that same time, this season is basically done.
But last night, they went the distance with the league-leading Bolts and won it in the shootout, because Carey Price decided he was going to channel his inner Dominik Hasek in OT:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canadiens-stars-shine-brightest-thrilling-win-lightning/ (http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canadiens-stars-shine-brightest-thrilling-win-lightning/)
Look for the third video on the page.
cheers,
Gabe
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San Jose's Joe Thornton may want to finally give his beard a decent trim after this happened:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/night-nazem-kadri-ripped-off-joe-thorntons-beard/ (http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/night-nazem-kadri-ripped-off-joe-thorntons-beard/)
cheers,
Gabe
Ow.
On the other hand, if I'm Kadri I'm hoping Thornton retires this offseason so I don't have to face him again next year. You know, just in case he has a memory as long as his beard.
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College football season is over, it is between playoff weekends in the NFL, and baseball season is still 3 months away. So what does the NHL do? Give half the league a bye week all at the same time ??? I'm not opposed to the bye week. I think it is a great idea, just schedule them off incrementally not all at the same time.
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College football season is over, it is between playoff weekends in the NFL, and baseball season is still 3 months away. So what does the NHL do? Give half the league a bye week all at the same time ??? I'm not opposed to the bye week. I think it is a great idea, just schedule them off incrementally not all at the same time.
Yeah, not good planning on their part, for sure. (It murders my fantasy team in the face, too. This is gonna just be a wash of a week for me)
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Do them all at the same time. What was the percentage of teams winning while coming off of a bye week? 15% and from what I remember, most of them were teams playing other teams coming off the bye week. I think there was one legitimate winner.
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Isles/Habs last night was one of the craziest games I think I've watched in at least a couple of years. Greiss let in four, but he was by far the best player on the ice for either team- he got shelled all night and stood up to some really great chances by Montreal. This one had it all- nine goals, lots of hits, some great goaltending, some very not-great goaltending (Price was very much off his game last night)... you couldn't ask for a more entertaining game.
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Do them all at the same time. What was the percentage of teams winning while coming off of a bye week? 15% and from what I remember, most of them were teams playing other teams coming off the bye week. I think there was one legitimate winner.
You could still do it and not have the league off at one time. My impression is they were going to spread around the bye weeks to the different teams over a longer span. These breaks all happening right before the All Star Break isn't something I can say I'm really fond of. I can't recall if I discovered this last year and simply was just reminded of it again today, but the bye week is simply that. There is little to no practice that happens during that bye week until roughly 36 hours before the next scheduled game. That is apparently league mandated or negotiated.
Isles/Habs last night was one of the craziest games I think I've watched in at least a couple of years. Greiss let in four, but he was by far the best player on the ice for either team- he got shelled all night and stood up to some really great chances by Montreal. This one had it all- nine goals, lots of hits, some great goaltending, some very not-great goaltending (Price was very much off his game last night)... you couldn't ask for a more entertaining game.
It is times like this I miss having cable and watching games. I know I could get Center Ice, however, and until the archaic concept of blackout rules no longer exist it is something I refuse to shell out the money for.
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some very not-great goaltending (Price was very much off his game last night)... you couldn't ask for a more entertaining game.
He hasn't been on his game most of the season. Yes, he's turned in a couple of master classes, but they've been few and far between.
I would say his glory days are over and we won't see the form of 2014-2015 again from him. (Great job that they locked him up for 8 years for the most money ever thrown at a goalie, eh?) Very sad to see him decline like that.
I haven't looked at the shot charts for that game yet, but I'd bet anything most of the Habs' shots came from the perimeter. If you can't win a game on 50+ shots then either the goalie is awesome, or most shots just aren't dangerous.
At this point, the Habs' season is mathematically done. I'm actually one of those on the tank and rebuild bandwagon by now, but the organization is simply too proud to do it. And it's not a guaranteed strategy--it has worked for a number of teams (Chicago, Pittsburgh, maybe Toronto), but not for Edmonton.
cheers,
Gabe
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Its Hockey day in Minnesota today. I didn't watch too much (because it was too nice to be inside watching TV). However I am watching the Wild game and as of the second intermission it is now 3-1 and all 3 of the Wilds goals have been scored by defensemen. How odd is that?
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Its Hockey day in Minnesota today. I didn't watch too much (because it was too nice to be inside watching TV). However I am watching the Wild game and as of the second intermission it is now 3-1 and all 3 of the Wilds goals have been scored by defensemen. How odd is that?
I remember a time when that was quite common for the Caps. So common that we had at least 3 defenseman with 20 goals in a season. It certainly isn't something that is seen all that often anymore. I appreciate that it did. The Wild's victory was the only thing that went right for my fantasy team today.
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So if you are all like me recently, you haven't been able to indulge and watch much, if any games then I offer you the highlights of the offensive explosion between the Islanders and Red Wings tonight. By the time you are done you will probably be as depressed as I am that Matt Barzal isn't on your favorite team.
https://sports.yahoo.com/video/recap-det-6-nyi-7-042140560.html (https://sports.yahoo.com/video/recap-det-6-nyi-7-042140560.html)
And as if I needed a another reason to be a) reminded that NHL players aren't at the Olympics I submit to you exhibit b) Martin Erat.
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Looks like the Rangers are on sell mode. Big discussion at work was if the Wild should go into sell mode as well. Problem is that assets that most teams would want are the young core of 4 that we should probably keep if we want to be have a chance in 1-2 years.
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So if you are all like me recently, you haven't been able to indulge and watch much, if any games then I offer you the highlights of the offensive explosion between the Islanders and Red Wings tonight. By the time you are done you will probably be as depressed as I am that Matt Barzal isn't on your favorite team.
https://sports.yahoo.com/video/recap-det-6-nyi-7-042140560.html (https://sports.yahoo.com/video/recap-det-6-nyi-7-042140560.html)
And as if I needed a another reason to be a) reminded that NHL players aren't at the Olympics I submit to you exhibit b) Martin Erat.
Okay, I am duly impressed.
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All work and no watch time makes for a busy deadline. But before we get to the early deals congrats to the USA Women's team on winning the gold!
The early dealings today are as follows:
Michael Grabner to the NJ Devils marking the first trade in 35 years. Last time it happened, the Devils were in Colorado.
Derek Brassard to the Pens. Back the other way to the Sens go Ian Cole, goalie prospect Filip Gustavsson, and a 2018 first round pick.
Ryan Reeves was reported to be headed to Vegas for a draft pick. Because GM GM likes grit and Donald Brashear probably told him he likes retirement.
*Almost forgot, congrats are in order for Germany as well in making it to the gold medal game. While I'd say the odds are slim that they win, they have had an excellent run. FYI, the Germans are coached by Marco Sturm of Bruins, Sharks, and minor Caps fame.
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The Wild have managed to claw themselves up to #3 spot in the Central. not a lot of points separate them and the 4 next teams though. At least this year we wont have to worry about the Blackhawks exiting us in the first round.
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When is the trade deadline this year?
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Monday, 3 p.m. EDT.
Cheers, Gabe
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Interesting decision against Bruins for Maple Leafs that saw decision on ice stand against a Coach Challenge for goal interference with 1:30 left in 3rd Period
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Rick Nash to the Bruins this morning for a haul. Per Yahoo:
The Bruins have acquired Rick Nash from the New York Rangers for a 2018 first-round pick, a 2019 seventh-round pick, Matt Beleskey, Ryan Spooner and the rights to Ryan Lindgren. The Rangers will retain 50 percent of Nash’s salary (a UFA this summer), while the Bruins are retaining half of Beleskey’s salary (his contract runs through 2020-21 season).
Looks great for the Rangers. I will withhold comment on the majority Bruins part. Nash wasn't going to be there after this season and his production has certainly dropped off considerably from the beginning of his contract. First round pick and Ryan Spooner is a good return. Bruins got rid of Beleskey's awful contract, but still have to pay something toward it for the next few seasons.
More importantly does this do enough for them to overtake Toronto and Tampa Bay to possibly win the division? The answer to that is no, it probably does not. Rd 1 looks like Toronto v Boston and the winner of that series is going to be determined on the goalies.
Interesting decision against Bruins for Maple Leafs that saw decision on ice stand against a Coach Challenge for goal interference with 1:30 left in 3rd Period
Why? There was no interference on the play. In the 5 to 10 seconds leading into play the Toronto player at no time touched Rask. Chara boxed out his man and Rask was out of position going from side to side to make the save. The only player that could have interfered with him was Chara at the time and that isn't a call to be made.
The Wild have managed to claw themselves up to #3 spot in the Central. not a lot of points separate them and the 4 next teams though. At least this year we wont have to worry about the Blackhawks exiting us in the first round.
I picked them last year to get out of the first round. I can't this year. Dubnyk is going to carry these guys if they are going to get anywhere this year. Their offense isn't all that great. Yes they have had injuries all year long, but they just don't have anyone that scares you is going to get sizzling hot. None of their first round options are palatable. If they stay in that 3rd slot they have to take the worse of the Preds or Jets and that's isn't really that good of an option. If they drop to the wild card they play the better team, which is Vegas. The only good chance to avoid either of those teams would be to go off on a 15 game win streak and somehow surpass all three teams which won't happen. Minnesota at this point just has to many role players (Winnik, Cullen, Foligno) and not enough scoring punch. As much as one would like to see Parise turn it on, I think he is more likely than not going to anchor and weight this team down for the remaining years on his contract.
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Brian Gionta signed to the Bruins.
3 team trade between the CBJ, Edmonton, and Nashville:
The Columbus Blue Jackets have reacquired Mark Letestu in a three-team trade that landed Pontus Aberg with the Edmonton Oilers.
The Nashville Predators, the third team in the deal, received a 2018 fourth-round draft pick from the Oilers
and finally
The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired veteran center Tomas Plekanec and forward prospect Kyle Baun from the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Rinat Valiev, forward Kerby Rychel and Toronto's second-round draft pick in 2018.
That last one doesn't blow me away, but the fact to Leafs and the Habs did a deal is kinda surprising. This makes me wonder exactly how hurt Matthews might be.
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With the trade deadline come and gone I have to once move applaud Steve Yzerman. Landing both Mcdonagh and an J.T. Miller for Namestnikov and picks was a great deal and more cost effective then it would have been to get Karlsson from Ottawa. The Rangers shaved quite a bit off their cap hit going forward and still have a decent core of forward that aren't over the hill and 3 first rounders and 2 2nd rounders for this year's draft. That's not a bad haul.
Poor old Ottawa really didn't do that well at the deadline. They got rid of Cole for player and pick in 2020! Karlsson is still there, but the package in what they were looking for just wasn't there. Then again if the rumor is true that any trade for Karlsson also had to take Bobby Ryan it is pretty easy to see why no one in their right mind would have traded for Karlsson. The 7.25 mil noose was a poison pill very few teams could financial handle. This team has quite a bit of talent that could catch fire, but the franchise is poison.
Golden Knights traded for Thomas Tatar and the Wings get back a 1st rounder. On the surface this looks pretty meh on the Detroit side and a decent move on Vegas part to get a little bit more offense from a vet for a playoff run that may have the VGK win more than 1 round.
On the Detroit side of things they are stacked with crappy loyalty contract for guys who are on the downside of their career. On the plus side, Tatar made 5.3 on the cap and Green will be gone at the end of the seasons so that's 11 million saved. Green wasn't going anywhere he didn't want to so can't really fault the Wings for not being able to move him.
The Kniggets only questionable move here is being left without a 1st rounder in this year's draft. If they flounder next year then this move will likely be considered another Martin Erat type blunder. Vegas has about 20 million coming off the cap from UFAs they may or may not be able to sign next year. Tatar puts a 5.3 million back on the cap when either one or both of James Neal and Grabovski drop off it. That solves an issue of having to potentially deal with hitting the cap floor. Tartar has generally been good for 20 goals a season. Though 5.3 million is a little rich for a 20/20 guy (at least for me) the price is controlled for 4 years. That should be a blessing with rising salaries and the fact they have to pay Karlsson a modest, but controled raise.
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Well Hellbie, looks like your boys have taken the season series against the Habs this year. Congratulations. But not much of a rivalry anymore if it's going to be so one-sided.
One thing I do have to comment on is Antti Niemi. In what has largely been a lost season for the team, being traded to Montreal seems to have rejuvenated him. For a guy who was supposed to be a porous cheesecloth who couldn't stop a beach ball anymore, he has stood tall in almost every game and given the team a fighting chance to win. He has had only one bad game where he was yanked. And I have to say, from all reports, the team has played better in front of him than they have in front of Price. He's been one of the few bright spots in a season every Habs fan (not to mention the team!) can't forget fast enough. If he can keep this up, I would say he's actually been good enough that the combination of him and Charlie Lindgren makes Price expendable. But there is no way the Habs are moving that lead anchor of a contract.
Cheers, Gabe
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Minor league gimicking at its finest.
https://sports.yahoo.com/minor-hockey-league-pick-playoff-opponent-format-073638090--nhl.html (https://sports.yahoo.com/minor-hockey-league-pick-playoff-opponent-format-073638090--nhl.html)
"The minor league that brought 3-on-3 overtime to hockey more than a decade before the NHL followed suit is adding a new innovation this season for the playoffs.
The Southern Professional Hockey League will use a ''pick your opponent'' playoff format, with the first-place team choosing its first-round opponent from the teams that finished from fifth to eighth place, then the second- and third-place teams makes their choices before the final two teams get matched up. In the second round, teams will be matched by regular-season points."
I mean honestly who wouldn't pick the bottom feeder? At least it is good for a little promotion and entertainment value.
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What kind of team gets 40 shots on goal and still manages to lose 5-0?
cheers,
Gabe
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What kind of team gets 40 shots on goal and still manages to lose 5-0?
cheers,
Gabe
The Wild, Game 1 of the playoffs last year... The game where Allen was pretty much blocking every imaginable shot.
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What kind of team gets 40 shots on goal and still manages to lose 5-0?
cheers,
Gabe
How about taking 54 shots and losing 4-1 in the playoffs? http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/GS030116.HTM
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None of these have anything over Ron Tugnutt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EHJ99HSVhM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EHJ99HSVhM)
Bonus video: Great homer moments in sportscaster broad casting: https://sports.yahoo.com/carolina-broadcaster-delivers-legendary-hurricanes-recap-despite-loss-173315522.html (https://sports.yahoo.com/carolina-broadcaster-delivers-legendary-hurricanes-recap-despite-loss-173315522.html)
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Good news: With their point in the standings from last night's OT loss to the Blues, the Bruins are now locked into a playoff spot- with first in the East still a legitimate possibility (though I'm pretty well betting on that second seed and Toronto in round 1)
Bad news: The injury bug has bit at the worst possible time. Bergeron, Chara, Krug, MacAvoy, DeBrusk, Rask (that may have simply been a rest night, but there's some belief he's not 100%)... as they are right now, I wouldn't pick them to win four games against Toronto getting Mathews back.
Great news: 2G/4P in two games for Donato, so the concerns that his Olympic breakout wouldn't translate to the NHL game are pretty well borked. Two games isn't much of a pattern to go on long-term, but when they've needed someone to spark them this kid has really done the job this week. (Which marks two years in a row that a late-season callup has been fantastic for the Bruins in his debut, following MacAvoy last season)
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Bergeron was on the ice twice this week from what I heard so might be starting recovery
Krug I think is a precaution rasks plated two and not top of game so could have been due a rest
Donato has been very impressive
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Bergeron was on the ice twice this week from what I heard so might be starting recovery
Krug I think is a precaution rasks plated two and not top of game so could have been due a rest
Donato has been very impressive
Yeah, I mean it sounds like the only one that might miss time after Game 82 is MacAvoy, and even that one is subject to his evaluation coming up, but it means going in with players already playing at less than 100% (because let's be honest, that's what they do when the playoffs start, play through anything short of broken legs). Not the best time to have guys pre-dinged up, especially key people like that.
Makes getting that first spot more important than ever- I don't know who the second wild-card team will be, there's several possibilities, but I'd rather see most of them than a finally-healthy Toronto. Stealing points down the stretch and making the games in-hand over Tampa into wins is absolutely vital- but, at least they're in no matter what now. (And just as importantly for diehard Boston fans, the Habs are eliminated. >:D )
Also, if you haven't seen what Crosby did last night, look up his highlights. Seriously. I'm not a big Crosby fan, but any play where you score after batting the puck out of mid-air TWICE first is a hell of a play.
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I agree with you that they need to turn the in hand games into wins the problem the Bruins have far is the schedule the last few months has been a game every two days some back to back and injuries fortunately it’s a team that seems to have lots of depth and the youngsters that have been added have worked
I’ve only got into this sport the last six months due to my girlfriend and it’s been worth it
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Oh man, then welcome! If you thought it was fun so far, you just wait- playoff hockey is a whole other animal, the energy is unreal. Half the league is about to go golfing, and we're going to be left with fifteen teams all desperate to win a Stanley Cup at all costs (yes, fifteen. Sixteen teams make the playoffs, fifteen want the Cup. Prove me wrong, Capitals.)
I can speak safely for NHL fans in-general when I say that we don't like the regular season. We tolerate it. It's the appetizer, an 82-game wait until the real season starts. And it's finally just about time. :thumbsup:
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I’ve enjoyed it so far easy to get into and follow so far even if seeing games in UK can be a trial
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(yes, fifteen. Sixteen teams make the playoffs, fifteen want the Cup. Prove me wrong, Capitals.)
Hey now, it's still mathematically possible the Caps could tank our last 4 games and get our dream scenario and play the Bruins in the first round ;) Philly just has to run the table and beat the Bruins in the process!
We can sign new super back up Scott Foster for the playoffs and we are set!
(for reference https://sports.yahoo.com/video/scott-foster-accountant-emergency-chicago-191503499.html (https://sports.yahoo.com/video/scott-foster-accountant-emergency-chicago-191503499.html))
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Well now that my wild dream has been shattered here is hoping the Pens lose out and end up the second wild card and in the Atlantic draw.
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Well its official the Sendins have decided they are going to retire after this season. Sadly they will do so without having won the cup. They will certainly go info the HOF when eligible in 2021 though. One would guess they get their numbers retired next year.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/two-kind-sedin-twins-retire-172609973.html (https://www.yahoo.com/sports/two-kind-sedin-twins-retire-172609973.html)
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Well its official the Sendins have decided they are going to retire after this season. Sadly they will do so without having won the cup. They will certainly go info the HOF when eligible in 2021 though. One would guess they get their numbers retired next year.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/two-kind-sedin-twins-retire-172609973.html (https://www.yahoo.com/sports/two-kind-sedin-twins-retire-172609973.html)
Sorry to see them go, but at least we'll always have their finest hour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emxHRMgJhBw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emxHRMgJhBw)
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Sad news out of Saskatchewan as bus carrying members of the Humboldt Broncos, a junior hockey league in the SJHL, was hit by a semi while they were on their way a playoff game. At least report there were 14 fatalities with another 14 people receiving medical care at a local hospital. No further details have been released at this time. This a sad day for hockey. My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and the injured. Godspeed to the injured as they recover from their injuries.
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Hey, I just noticed Dallas isn't making the playoffs.
Hey there, Alex Radulov! Bet your decision to jump ship from the Habs looks like it's paying off now, eh?
(Well, it's paying HIM off, whether the Stars make the playoffs or not.)
Seriously, even though this is about a year old now, I think a major factor in Radulov's decision not to re-sign with the Habs had a lot to do with the first-round exit against the Rags last year. He probably looked around, realized that he and Carey Price were the only players routinely showing up for the games, decided that it just wasn't a very good core, and that he wanted to be on a team that had a better chance of advancing past the first round--and would lead him to greener pastures, too.
Well, he definitely found the greener pastures. And he did surpass his totals with the Habs last year. But if he really wanted to play for a contender...well...despite having much better linemates than he did last year, and a set-up defenceman extraordinaire in John Klingberg (seriously, nearly 60 points in assists ALONE???), this Stars team still came up rather short down the stretch.
cheers,
Gabe
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Sad news out of Saskatchewan as bus carrying members of the Humboldt Broncos, a junior hockey league in the SJHL, was hit by a semi while they were on their way a playoff game. At least report there were 14 fatalities with another 14 people receiving medical care at a local hospital. No further details have been released at this time. This a sad day for hockey. My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and the injured. Godspeed to the injured as they recover from their injuries.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/nipawin-humboldt-bus-crash-1.4609554 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/nipawin-humboldt-bus-crash-1.4609554)
no cheers for this one,
Gabe
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Eh, I think Radulov made the right move still. Dallas looked pretty solid to start the year, in terms of playoff chances- with Bishop on board, I sure figured they'd get in. They were one of the bigger surprises for me, as a result- I kind of expected the Chicago decline, but Dallas and St. Louis missing the postseason in favor of Colorado and Vegas getting in? Yeah, nope.
Radulov had a pretty solid year, but he can't stop goals- and neither could anyone else, as it turned out. Bishop wasn't consistently healthy- to me, that's the reason the Stars are cleaning out their locker room this morning instead of getting ready for the annual spring playoff slog. Give them more Bishop, and that dramatic Avs/Blues race to the finish might not have mattered at all.
(And let's be real, side note- how great was THAT? Yeah, it was for the honor of becoming the Predator's lunch, but still, it made for a great finish. And while we're at it, kudos to the Avs for being the worst team of the modern era, then making the playoffs one year later- despite having basically the same roster, give or take a mopey Duchene. Very impressed- anything that happens against the Preds is just a bonus at this point. I'll be interested to see if they build on this momentum next season).
More Hellbie playoff thoughts later today when I have a few spare minutes. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats.
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Well without Suter and Spurgeon I think that the Wild will be out in 6 games against the Jets. The Jets were a team that had their number this year, They faired much better against Preds and Knights. But in any regards without their top two Defensemen they weren't going far.
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Sad news out of Saskatchewan as bus carrying members of the Humboldt Broncos, a junior hockey league in the SJHL, was hit by a semi while they were on their way a playoff game.
Thoughts and prayers are with those families. By some coincidence about 24 hours earlier I was watching some Sendin highlights and contained within was one Pavol Demitra who passed away in he Lokomotiv tragedy.
Hey, I just noticed Dallas isn't making the playoffs.
Hey there, Alex Radulov! Bet your decision to jump ship from the Habs looks like it's paying off now, eh?
(Well, it's paying HIM off, whether the Stars make the playoffs or not.)
Considering that Bergevin was probably low balling him an offer I'd say it was a good move on his part. Speaking of Marc Bergevin, how does he still have owner support and his job?
He probably looked around, realized that he and Carey Price were the only players routinely showing up for the games, decided that it just wasn't a very good core, and that he wanted to be on a team that had a better chance of advancing past the first round--and would lead him to greener pastures, too.
I honestly felt the Habs would turn it around earlier in the year. Price, however, isn't going to elevate this team up on his shoulder and a significant portion of this team just isn't cut from a better than average cloth. They certainly aren't the worst team in the league and they should look at trading off assets and go into full rebuild, but we know that won't happen. This year they have 4 2nd round picks with their own and one via a trade with Chicago making them both early picks. That Tomas Fleischmann and Dale Weise might actually have good return on it rather than be an afterthought.
Eh, I think Radulov made the right move still. Dallas looked pretty solid to start the year, in terms of playoff chances- with Bishop on board, I sure figured they'd get in. They were one of the bigger surprises for me, as a result- I kind of expected the Chicago decline, but Dallas and St. Louis missing the postseason in favor of Colorado and Vegas getting in? Yeah, nope.
Bishop is certainly better than the platoon they had before. At this point in his career I think his better days are behind him. This year and last he has proven to be injury prone. He's probably, at best, good for 50 or so games assuming they pick up a decent back up. Johnathan Bernier and Carter Hutton should both be available this off season and both could be signed for less than what Lehtonen made this season.
As much as they need a good back up as a net for Bishop, Dallas really needs defensive help. The UFA market is pretty much average to junk with the exception of John Carlson and to a lesser extent Mike Green. Green doesn't help out with defense all that well. John Carlson on the other hand is set this off season to get paid. As much as I'd like him to still be in Washington, I think that it is unlikely he will remain here. Dallas looks like they have the cash to make a solid run at him and they should.
...that dramatic Avs/Blues race to the finish might not have mattered at all.
(And let's be real, side note- how great was THAT? Yeah, it was for the honor of becoming the Predator's lunch, but still, it made for a great finish. And while we're at it, kudos to the Avs for being the worst team of the modern era, then making the playoffs one year later- despite having basically the same roster, give or take a mopey Duchene. Very impressed- anything that happens against the Preds is just a bonus at this point. I'll be interested to see if they build on this momentum next season).
That was a great way to end a season. If Johnson and Varlamov weren't out for the season I'd say Nashville might get a scare. They still might if Nate Mckinnon decides to put on a show for the first round. That I think is more wishful thinking on my part. The fact that Duchene went from one hell to another amuses me.
Well without Suter and Spurgeon I think that the Wild will be out in 6 games against the Jets. The Jets were a team that had their number this year, They faired much better against Preds and Knights. But in any regards without their top two Defensemen they weren't going far.
The Jets/Thrasher's organization are going to get their first series win unless Dubnyk wills it to be otherwise. While the team lacks any organizational success to stand on, they have depth and a solid #1 goaltender. If Hellebuyck gets hurt and they have to rely on Steve Mason, that will be another matter entirely.
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Having looked back on my preseason picks I was an absolute crack monkey. I got one division winner right (hurray Tampa!) and only got remotely close with another. 6 teams I had on the outside looking in made the playoffs. That alone should be enough evidence to prove my playoff prognostication to be total garbage. Nonetheless, here are my picks for the first round!
Tampa over NJ in 4 games.
Toronto over Boston in 7 games.
Washington over Columbus in 6 games.
Pittsburgh over Philadelphia in 5 games.
I picked the Leafs over the Bruins because I'm honestly at a point where I can't pick Rask to beat anyone in a game that matters. Khudobin is a solid back up, but he's not going to be a difference maker. The Leafs are a year removed from a decent series vs. Washington and Andersen is no slouch despite that 2.81 GAA. It should be an entertaining series.
Caps over Columbus is a pick 'em and Washington was largely and surprisingly more consistent over the course of the than the Blue Jackets. Generally Bob doesn't play well against the Caps with their most recent game an exception.
Nashville over Colorado in 4 games.
Winnipeg over Minnesota in 5 games.
Vegas over the Kings in 6 games.
Anaheim over San Jose in 6 games
Vegas was a pick em over the Kings until Muzzin got hurt. After their top 3 forwards there is a significant drop off in offensive production. Between Quick and Fleury I'd take Fleury as more likely to steal a game. My pick for the Ducks v Sharks is entirely linked to Gibson starting. If he isn't that series can go either way. Winnipeg has more depth and weapons right now than Minnesota and that one win is probably being generous.
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I guess picks are a good idea, huh?
Tampa (1) vs. New Jersey (WC2): I know this is supposed to be a cakewalk for Tampa, and let's be real- it probably is a Lightning win in the end. But when it looked like Boston might get the top seed I found myself sweating it a little- the Devils aren't a pushover. They've earned their seat at the table this year, and it all starts with that front line. Beyond Hall's shenanigans there's not a ton to write home about overall, sure, and depth is what wins playoff series, but that front line really could be terrifying if Tampa's defense doesn't hold up. But... one team has depth, the other isn't sure who their goalie is, so Tampa in five.
Boston (2) vs. Toronto (3): Hey, remember last time these two face in the playoffs? Wasn't that fun, everyone? (Toronto fans need not apply here). Well, good news, hockey fans- Boston is back and better than before. Trick is, so are the Leafs- by far and away the best Toronto team of the past 20 years. It all rotates around Mathews, though- much like the Devils, if the big gun gets shut down, Toronto will struggle. Not sure if Boston's defense is up to the challenge, but Boston is replying with three solid scoring lines- that's a task that the Leafs definitely aren't up to... yet. Boston in six.
Washington (1) vs. Columbus (WC2): Let's get the usual jokes out of the way here- it's another year of the Washington Capitals in the playoffs, and you all know what that means, blah blah blah. Cool? Well, thing is, this isn't the Caps of prior years- they're still dangerous, but not some super-team like '09. They score goals like it's a hobby, but the defense is awful (hi, Orpik!), and their net is surprisingly shaky. Columbus, meanwhile, is actually a pretty solid team when you look them over- if Bobrovsky has a good series, this could be a first-round shocker. But... Ovechkin and co. are probably a little too much... if only barely. Washington in seven.
Pittsburgh (2) vs. Philadelphia (3): Well now, here's another one that was sure a lot of fun last time they did a series against each other, wasn't it? Goalies were verboten, fights and rough stuff were encouraged, it was one of the best playoff series I've seen in my time. Is this year a repeat? Sort of- I think this is the angriest series of the lot this round, no question, but with the Flyers rolling lately I'm taking them to upset the two-time defending champs with a big surprise. Philly in six.
Nashville (1) vs. Colorado (WC2): The worst team of the modern era last year made the playoffs this year- what a turnaround! Their reward is a date with what probably is the best overall team in the NHL this year. Yay? There's reason to be optimistic about the Avs next year, but this is a train wreck- shut down MacKinnon, and it's over. That's what happens when you lose your best defenseman and goalie vs. the yellow juggernaut. Nashville in four.
Winnipeg (2) vs. Minnesota (3): The Wild always seem to be a decent enough team that just can't get past the truly elite teams in the West. With Chicago fading out at last, this looked like a good opportunity... right up until the Jets became one of the best teams in the league, and the Wild got paired up with them. I don't think it's a pushover series, but I don't see the Wild getting out of this one. Winnipeg in five.
Vegas (1) vs. Los Angeles (WC1): Nothing makes sense. Vegas should have finished 31st this year, or at least no higher than 25th if we're being kind. And yet... solid scoring depth, great goaltending all the way down to the fourth-string level (!!!), great defense, special teams, one of the craziest home crowds in the league... we've waited all year for the bottom to fall out. It never really did- they struggled a few times here and there, but midnight never really has struck. At this point, it's hard to bet against them- even with the Kings' firepower and elite goaltending (so good to see Quick back to form after last year's injury!), it feels like history isn't done with the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas in six.
Anahem (2) vs. San Jose (3): The Battle of California is always fun, no matter which two teams meet. Anaheim has been a quiet beast this season, and the Sharks have had their struggles- struggles that ended when they made a surprisingly shrewd move for Evander Kane, who has become the monster he always hinted at being in Winnipeg and Buffalo. If Martin Jones has a big year, this could be over fast, but I expect a slog that someone survives rather than dominates. San Jose in seven.
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Considering that Bergevin was probably low balling him an offer I'd say it was a good move on his part. Speaking of Marc Bergevin, how does he still have owner support and his job?
Habs fans everywhere are wondering the same thing as you, Firesprocket.
However, the end-of-season presser showed some signs that Geoff Molson is finally ready to stop continually deferring to Bergevin on hockey matters and now has him on a VERY short leash. He even cut Bergy off in mid-sentence a couple of times, which has never happened before.
They certainly aren't the worst team in the league and they should look at trading off assets and go into full rebuild, but we know that won't happen.
Actually, they were. Over the last 47 games of the schedule (at the start of which was the last time they were above .500), they managed the fewest points of any team in the league. Even Buffalo and Arizona did better over that stretch.
Thought for the day...an historical analogy...
Habs up to 1980 = Roman Empire
Habs from 1980 onwards = Byzantine Empire
And perhaps this was the year Constantinople finally fell.
cheers,
Gabe
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To be a LITTLE fair, few teams were hotter down the stretch than the Coyotes. It's too soon to say 'they have turned the corner', but the turn signals are on at least. Hopefully they build on the last month or so when next season gets going, because I'd love to see that team turn into a playoff contender again- particularly with Vegas nearby creating the opportunity for an instant rivalry.
Buffalo though... at least Edmonton stole ONE good season out of the last decade of high picks and dismal records. When was the last time the Sabres were even 'okay'? Have they looked at all like a decent hockey team since... hell, Lucic ran over Miller? I think that's the last time I can think of them really being any good. (I'm prone to being wrong, mind you). Pegula has been a nightmare owner, and it seems like it's only getting worse.
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When was the last time the Sabres were even 'okay'?
Before Hull stuck his foot in the crease? ;)
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Before Hull stuck his foot in the crease? ;)
OK, low blow, but funny regardless. ;D
(Also, even as a Sabres hater, I'll still admit that team got boned on that goal. It would have been a nightmare to get all the chaos on the ice under control again enough to get play going again, but that doesn't make it the wrong thing to do.)
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Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Flyers' goaltending sucks on toast.
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Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Flyers' goaltending sucks on toast.
I'm not certain the rest of the team showed up either. There is at least one former Flyer though ready for a shot...
https://twitter.com/bryzgoalie30/status/984221644481757184/photo/1 (https://twitter.com/bryzgoalie30/status/984221644481757184/photo/1)
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Habs up to 1980 = Roman Empire
Habs from 1980 onwards = Byzantine Empire
And perhaps this was the year Constantinople finally fell.
It might be, but I'd give it at least another year. Consider for a moment though that the league size was a fraction of what it is now for the better part of their existence. The fact is they have still won 2 cups past 1980. That's a decent success over the history of what has been 20+ team league. Certainly you can point at Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Detroit in the last 20 years that had sustained year to year success and multiple championships to their name.
The day of the dynasty teams are over though because of the salary cap and they won't be coming back anytime soon.
When was the last time the Sabres were even 'okay'? Have they looked at all like a decent hockey team since... hell, Lucic ran over Miller?
I'm fairly certain it was sometime before Miller got run over. That might also have been the last time Lucic did anything relevant in the NHL too.
Before Hull stuck his foot in the crease? ;)
And here we are years later and we still don't know how to define goal tender interference.
Lastly, Shea Theodore is the answer to the trivia question of who scored Vega's first playoff goal and here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KfvNB1c8tc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KfvNB1c8tc)
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Nah, I'll give Lucic some credit post-Miller hit. He was instrumental in taking stupid penalties that got Boston knocked out against Chicago in '13 and Montreal in '14. Without him there could have been a second Cup in a three year span, maybe even a third in four years! That kind of dedication to doing what one does best can't be overlooked.
He was a monster in '11, that Cup run didn't happen if he wasn't the bull in the NHL's china shop the way he was, but... man, get out and stay out. Chiarelli can keep him in Edmonton for life.
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I'm not certain the rest of the team showed up either. There is at least one former Flyer though ready for a shot...
https://twitter.com/bryzgoalie30/status/984221644481757184/photo/1 (https://twitter.com/bryzgoalie30/status/984221644481757184/photo/1)
The Flyers had better get their act together and especially figure out what to do about Crosby. Otherwise that's going to be a very short and one-sided Battle of Pennsylvania.
cheers,
Gabe
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Well, the first step was the one they should have made after the first period- put Mrazek in the net. Yeah, he let in a couple of bad ones himself, but he was BETTER. If you're stuck with two bad options, take the less-awful one. (Philly fans should be used to that situation over the past couple of decades anyway. How many times can you build a great team and forget to pick up a decent goalie? I'll give them a mulligan on Bryz, since I was shocked that went so poorly as well, but beyond that...?)
But yeah, I'll be interested in seeing how the Flyers come out after this. Those early goals sucked the life out of that team, and while they threw a few hits here and there afterwards they never really looked like they were going to push back again- they were sending a Game 2 message. Well... what's that message? If it's "we plan to shove you around and act tough while you run up the score again", let's just skip this whole thing. If it's "ok, you get the first one, now it's our turn", they HAVE to score first in Game 2. Period. They cannot let in the first goal. And since their goaltending is, shall we say, 'iffy' at this point, that means they need Giroux and his group to step up from the opening faceoff and make it happen.
Flyers hockey tends to focus on physical play- outmuscle the opposing defense, own the corners, set up screens, get chippy. The Penguins aren't pushovers, but run-and-gun like last night plays far more into the Penguins' hands- so set the tone, play your game, and make it happen. Otherwise, down 2-0 in no time, and this series is over already at that point.
Seriously, no matter what happens from here on this spring, Hextall needs to sit down and figure out his net when it's all over. The 'play two or three B-level goalies and see if one grabs the starting job' tactic has been used to death in Philly, with the exception of picking up an A-level talent with Bryz (and again I'll back the move based on what he'd done previously- no one saw that falling apart the way it did). Make another Bryz splash. Go for a real goaltender who can carry you in the playoffs- you knew when you signed him that Elliott wasn't the solution, he proved that in Calgary a few weeks before you brought him in. What do you need to do to get someone who can stop pucks when it's most important? DO IT. Stop squandering good Flyers rosters on not being able to stop a beach ball.
(I may have been ranting about this to the better half last night in the third period. She's remarkably patient about this kind of thing.)
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My assessment of the Flyers over the last couple years are they a work in progress. There hasn't been that many quality goal tenders to hit the market and assuming Hextall jumped on one the Flyers have a mediocre to below average defense corps. I'd say he's done well with what he has. Assuming Hextall sticks to a long term plan and not go crazy this off season he'll have a fair amount of money to throw at some quality free agents for defense and/or goal tending.
Assuming a 80 mil cap, they should have about 40 million baring other trades. Filppula, Read, Weal, they all come off the books. Oduya and Manning are gone by the end of this season. If they can find anyway to get out from under the Andrew Macdonald contract by giving away a pick for someone to take him away, its a win. Wayne Simmonds is a UFA after next season. If you think he is going to cost to much to sign him you could trade him and some can and will take him at under 4 mil a year and pro rate.
2019-20 has Bobrovsky and Varlamov becoming a UFA. I'd argue that Varlamov is an upgrade over any tender they have now. Whether the Flyers would resign Bob to a large contract is another matter. He's going to get paid by someone though.
The riches to be had though will be on defense. Doughty, Karlsson, Ekman-Larsson all become UFAs. Tyler Myers, Anton Stralman, Jake Gardiner, and Ryan Ellis will be available in the next tier down. That's a good crop of talent and the first two are going to cost quite a bit. Ekman-Larson will get paid quite a bit too, but I expect it to be a step down. He'd certainly fit the mold of a 'Flyers' d-man though as a solid hitter and can move the puck.
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It might be, but I'd give it at least another year. Consider for a moment though that the league size was a fraction of what it is now for the better part of their existence. The fact is they have still won 2 cups past 1980. That's a decent success over the history of what has been 20+ team league. Certainly you can point at Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Detroit in the last 20 years that had sustained year to year success and multiple championships to their name.
The 2 post-1980 Cups were part of the analogy.
The day of the dynasty teams are over though because of the salary cap and they won't be coming back anytime soon.
I'll reserve judgment on that statement until we see who hoists the Cup this year. If it's the Pens again I would say that puts paid to your assertion.
I'm of the opinion that the Pens spend much of the season playing rope-a-dope with the rest of the league. They play just well enough to finish in the middle of the conference, then once the playoffs start they show what they're really made of.
cheers,
Gabe
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Well. THAT was quite the evening.
Random musings:
+It's weird being here in Washington DC this morning. On the morning after their first game of the playoffs, the fans have given up here. By the time OT started people were leaving the arena- they knew what was coming. It's so weird- I just don't understand the Capitals' playoff trouble. I didn't watch as much of that game (guess why), but every time I looked in they seemed to be almost sluggish, like they just hadn't yet had their coffee. Take heart, Caps fans- there's still plenty of hockey to play. Sunday could see this a tied series still... with better effort. If not for the five-minute power play show by Kuznetsov (I haven't seen the hit that prompted it still), this could have looked a lot worse even.
+Avs lost, but it's closer than the 5-2 score made it look- they fought like hell all evening, even grabbed the first goal of the evening. Filip Forsberg's show was amazing, and the Preds are just the better team still, but... man, that gave me some hope. There's no rolling over from the Avs this season!
+Really, looks like much the same for the Devils. Outmatched overall, but put up a pretty good fight overall. Not enough to get a win, but enough to at least show Tampa it won't be a cakewalk.
+I meant to catch the Ducks and Sharks, but dozed off. Apparently so did the Ducks.
+Let's talk about the Leafs/Bruins for a few, shall we? Great performance by Boston- that power play looked vicious in particular. Rask was on- the only goal against him was one that Superman would have struggled with. All around there's no aspect of the Bruins I wasn't totally happy wit-
+Oh wait, antics by Marchand again. Please, for God's sake, don't get thrown out of a game because you wanted to lick someone. That kind of crap is getting really, really old.
+Buuuut, if only that was the dumbest move of the night in that game. Nothing changes a rivalry like Toronto/Boston into something ugly like a dirty hit, and what Nazim Kadri did is up there with the worst I've seen in a few years. I'll be livid if he doesn't get at least a couple of games off for that. Wingels could have been very seriously hurt by that hit- that's the kind of thing that sees guys leave on stretchers. He had opportunity to avoid Wingels once he'd gone down to his knees, he could have at least made an effort to avoid it, but if anything once Wingels is down he aims right for his head. My HOPE is that he misses a few games and that's it, and no one takes it upon themselves to do something stupid in reply to it (MARCHAND).
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The Boston Power Play and the defence against it were very good last night.
A newbie to the sport but I agree on your assessment of the hit on Wingles it was so bad
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It really was. With the kind of speed a player can move at, that angle, that's the kind of things that end careers.
Toronto HAS to adjust here. Outside of Kadri's dumb crap, there were several penalties that they couldn't afford- and most of them were just frustration/retaliation kind of things. Boston got under their skin, pissed them off, and they went to the box repeatedly. The result? Three power play goals. That CAN'T happen twice if Toronto wants back into this- because not only did Boston strike three times as a result, but most of those penalties were at points when Boston had the lead. Even if the B's don't score then, that's two minutes when YOU aren't getting chances either- and that adds up fast.
I expect a very different mindset on Saturday for Game 2, or they'll be down two games heading back to Toronto- and down 2-0 is not a fun place to be.
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Kadri suspended for 3 games. Still seem insufficient given how late that hit was after the play.
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So in the Pennsylvania series, it appears turnabout is fair play as the Flyers pound the Penguins 5-1. didn't watch, but I assume they found a way to shut down Crosby.
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Well. THAT was quite the evening.
Random musings:
+It's weird being here in Washington DC this morning. On the morning after their first game of the playoffs, the fans have given up here. By the time OT started people were leaving the arena- they knew what was coming. It's so weird- I just don't understand the Capitals' playoff trouble. I didn't watch as much of that game (guess why), but every time I looked in they seemed to be almost sluggish, like they just hadn't yet had their coffee. Take heart, Caps fans- there's still plenty of hockey to play. Sunday could see this a tied series still... with better effort. If not for the five-minute power play show by Kuznetsov (I haven't seen the hit that prompted it still), this could have looked a lot worse even.
For the Caps themselves I'd guess fatigue. Not that one couldn't claim the same with Columbus being down 2 forwards, but the game ending injury to Michal Kempny happened in the first period leaving the 5 defenseman out there and only 3 of them played more than 20 minutes (almost 30 as a matter of fact). I get it that Orpik is slow and old and Jerabek is the 6th d-man, but I will never get it as to why when down to 5 d-man or less, regardless of how far down on the totem pole a guy is, you don't put him in there for more playing time. The late frame an OT show Caps gave up 16 shots and I'd assume tired d-man a were the reason why.
+Avs lost, but it's closer than the 5-2 score made it look- they fought like hell all evening, even grabbed the first goal of the evening. Filip Forsberg's show was amazing, and the Preds are just the better team still, but... man, that gave me some hope. There's no rolling over from the Avs this season!
If the Avs keep the games competative than the off season was a success.
+Really, looks like much the same for the Devils. Outmatched overall, but put up a pretty good fight overall. Not enough to get a win, but enough to at least show Tampa it won't be a cakewalk.
I didn't see the game, only the highlights, but it appears that the Devils chances are all based on how far Taylor Hall will carry them.
+I meant to catch the Ducks and Sharks, but dozed off. Apparently so did the Ducks.
One would consider that par for the course for either one of these teams really. I won't be surprised if the Sharks take game 2 off.
+Let's talk about the Leafs/Bruins for a few, shall we? Great performance by Boston- that power play looked vicious in particular. Rask was on- the only goal against him was one that Superman would have struggled with. All around there's no aspect of the Bruins I wasn't totally happy wit-
+Oh wait, antics by Marchand again. Please, for God's sake, don't get thrown out of a game because you wanted to lick someone. That kind of crap is getting really, really old.
+Buuuut, if only that was the dumbest move of the night in that game. Nothing changes a rivalry like Toronto/Boston into something ugly like a dirty hit, and what Nazim Kadri did is up there with the worst I've seen in a few years. I'll be livid if he doesn't get at least a couple of games off for that. Wingels could have been very seriously hurt by that hit- that's the kind of thing that sees guys leave on stretchers. He had opportunity to avoid Wingels once he'd gone down to his knees, he could have at least made an effort to avoid it, but if anything once Wingels is down he aims right for his head. My HOPE is that he misses a few games and that's it, and no one takes it upon themselves to do something stupid in reply to it (MARCHAND).
The Bruins looked good. Marchand doing anything Marchandian and getting suspended though could be a disaster.
So in the Pennsylvania series, it appears turnabout is fair play as the Flyers pound the Penguins 5-1. didn't watch, but I assume they found a way to shut down Crosby.
After his horrible preformance in game 1 would you be surprised to hear it was Brian Elliott that did that? Pens seemed to be generating chances without any issues. Really the wheels didn't start to fall off for them until the 3rd period. the first two goals that when in on Murray were of the bounce and deflection variety. The 3rd and 4th goals were on a semi breakaway for Travis Konecny and an awesome pass by Sean Couturier. Philly had 19 shots for the game Pittsburgh 35.
Winnipeg is on fire right now, I'd be surprised if the Wild will do anything worthwhile at home in the next 2 games.
The Knights are currently up on the Kings, again, 1-0 and would anyone be surprised if they held on and won by that score again tonight? I wouldn't.
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To follow up on what Firesprocket said, the hit that was the boarding major knocked out a d-man, which meant Trotz & Co gave Orpik waaaaay too much ice time, which showed itself later on the Jackets 2nd goal https://mobile.twitter.com/ianoland/status/984608874559950848
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I admire the dedication of the Flyers and Penguins to give no regard to playing defense. I just wish it was both teams throwing the idea out the window at the same time. These back and forth blowouts make for a dull game.
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While I haven't given up hope that the Caps can turn this thing around, I am hard pressed to believe the defense is going to turn the corner and suddenly protect our goalie. All but 2 of the Jackets goals have come from an area right in front of the tender or the face off circle. It's great to see the Caps turn the corner and shoot the puck. I say the Blue Jackets plan should be to stop taking dumb penalties, but it seems to be working out of them after 2 games.
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Well the Wild must have had some introspection on that plane trip home.
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I think we're witnessing Washington's master plan to avoid being eliminated by Pittsburgh again: Get eliminated by Columbus instead!
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I think we're witnessing Washington's master plan to avoid being eliminated by Pittsburgh again: Get eliminated by Columbus instead!
As a Caps fan, the only thing that would surprise me would be if they rattled off eight straight wins. That's the only thing.
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Maple Leafs of Toronto played well Bruins best line not their best tonight still Boston up 2-1
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I have come to the conclusion that I want to see the Kniggets raise the Cup -- I don't care who their opponent would be (though Toronto or Washington losing would make me quite giddy), and I want it to be a sweep...
I will admit that I'm probably insane...
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Pekka Rinne seems to be continuing his Jeckel & Hyde performances between home and road playoff games going back to last year's Finals.
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As a Caps fan, the only thing that would surprise me would be if they rattled off eight straight wins. That's the only thing.
The Wild tried that last year, it didn't work out for us...
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I think we're witnessing Washington's master plan to avoid being eliminated by Pittsburgh again: Get eliminated by Columbus instead!
Now that there is funny ... and likely true
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More bad news for the Flyers, Radko Gudas is yet again injuring his teammates (accedently). Bad collision during practice for Sean Couturier.
https://twitter.com/JamieApody/status/986318648313774081/video/1 (https://twitter.com/JamieApody/status/986318648313774081/video/1)
Also now its officially final, the Vegas Golden Knights sweep their way through LA and into the second round of the playoffs just as we all predicted would happen at the beginning of the season. It will be interesting to see what the Kings do this off season. There is quite a bit of under-preforming talent on that team and they need to do something to raise their stock. So much of the core of that team is locked up for the next 3 years or more except Drew Doughty. I wonder if the Kings will decide to take the plunge and try and trade him this off season for some sort of assets.
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Also, Jack Edwards is a straight shooter. Why stop play when the guy was still conscious?
https://twitter.com/FeitsBarstool/status/986050127738621953/video/1 (https://twitter.com/FeitsBarstool/status/986050127738621953/video/1)
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Wow, who would've thought the Kings would go down so easily and quickly?
Cheers, Gabe
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Wow, who would've thought the Kings would go down so easily and quickly?
In 4 games no, but they have been a flawed team most of the season. Carter was hurt most of the season. When he came back though he was absolutly on fire. To bad the rest of the team wasn't. Muzzin got hurt at the end of the regular season. Brown and Toffoli were on fire during the first of the season but cooled down or disappeared in the case of Toffoli over the last 25 to 30 games. As good as Kopitar and Carter were they couldn't lift this team on its shoulders. Quick played well this series and you would think when the Kings gave up 7 goals in 4 games they would win half of them. Fleury and the Knights were just lights out this series.
Last news of the night, Calgary fired Glen Gulutzan earlier this evening and associate coaching staff. Not a real surprise there given the talent they have an how poorly they were managed. I will be interested in to see who ultimately replaces him. I have to image that job looks more attractive with the talent they have over Dallas who is also looking for a coach since Hitchcock retired.
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Congratulations to the Boba Fetts being the first team to advance!
Hell, before the season I thought they'd be lucky to hit 50 points!
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Psa for the day. If you are looking for the bolt v devils or sharks v ducks, the games will be broadcast on the golf channel.
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Psa for the day. If you are looking for the bolt v devils or sharks v ducks, the games will be broadcast on the golf channel.
I find it helps to very slowly repeat that sentence and really let it roll around in your head. It makes for a great 'wait', what did I just say?' kind of laugh.
While I'm at it, speaking of things that seemed a few months ago like something I'd never say with a straight face, congratulations to our first team off to the second round, the Vegas Golden Knights. I don't understand this planet anymore. ;D
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The GM for Vegas is one shrewd genius. He built a good team from players that were cast aside by their former teams and made few good trades along the way. Aside from Fleury and Neal, there were no exeptional playrs on that team. Now they are in the 2nd round and look prepared to shake up the NHL.
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The GM for Vegas is one shrewd genius. He built a good team from players that were cast aside by their former teams and made few good trades along the way. Aside from Fleury and Neal, there were no exeptional playrs on that team. Now they are in the 2nd round and look prepared to shake up the NHL.
I think Haula was a good player that was never given an even chance when with the Wild (especially in the Mike Yeo days) he was fast enough where he would often negate and icing call.
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For the umpteenth year in a row, the Flyers need to address their goaltending. I know I've said it before here, but holy crap- at this point painting a pair of 2X4s orange and nailing them over the front of the net is a better option than what they're using.
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The GM for Vegas is one shrewd genius.
Until he is the architect of a Stanley Cup winning team he is the idiot savant that traded Martin Erat for Filip Forsberg and nothing more to me.
I think Haula was a good player that was never given an even chance when with the Wild (especially in the Mike Yeo days) he was fast enough where he would often negate and icing call.
He definitely benefited from the higher ice time in Vegas this year over the 3rd line minutes he was playing in Minnesota. Had he stayed there he likely wouldn't have had the breakout season he had this year because he would still be playing behind Staal and Koivu for another 2 years. I am going to assume his scoring numbers drop off next year (he shot 16.6% this year!). Assuming he dips down to 11 to 12%, that probably still nets him 20/20 next year and he is signed for 2.75 mil for the next 3 years!
Compare that to Lars Eller, who I'm using as a comparison because he hit career highs this year and will likely represent a good regression point for Haula had lower numbers across the board and saw less power play this year and are about the same age. Eller signed an extension for 3.5 million a year. Haula is just flat out steal.
The bottom line on this expansion draft was it was more team friendly than any other during the Gary Bettman era. It also exposed how poorly some teams are run with their failure to protect established talent (looking at you Florida). Had not a few of these guys had career years (Haula and Karlsson) then we are probably looking at slightly better version of the expansion Bolts or Panthers that still finish close to, but outside the playoffs.
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In 4 games no, but they have been a flawed team most of the season. Carter was hurt most of the season. When he came back though he was absolutly on fire. To bad the rest of the team wasn't.
Point taken, but even a flawed team should be able to win a couple of games. (Just look at last season's Habs...that was a flawed team that got turned into an execrable team)
Quick played well this series and you would think when the Kings gave up 7 goals in 4 games they would win half of them. Fleury and the Knights were just lights out this series.
I think MAF wants to send a message to his former team.
Pens vs. Kniggets for the Cup final, anyone?
cheers,
Gabe
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The GM for Vegas is one shrewd genius. He built a good team from players that were cast aside by their former teams and made few good trades along the way. Aside from Fleury and Neal, there were no exeptional playrs on that team. Now they are in the 2nd round and look prepared to shake up the NHL.
Not all players were cast aside by their teams, some were effectively stolen by GMGM thanks to the rules of this expansion draft. Schmidt, for example, was an up & coming defenseman who is now top pair in Vegas and thriving.
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And just think, we get to do it all over again within the next couple of years when Seattle gets their expansion draft! ;D
(Actually, now that I type that, would Vegas have to give up a player in an expansion draft? I don't remember how that all worked when the last few teams joined the league)
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I don't see why Vegas would get exempted when they're loosing only a single player and they still get the same opportunities to protect players.
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In the last few drafts the NHL made exempt a team that was previously an expansion team with the last two years of the newest expansion draft. Prior expansion drafts in llast 20 years have allowed a higher amount of protected players per team as well. I will elaborate later as I hate posting from my phone
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Not all players were cast aside by their teams, some were effectively stolen by GMGM thanks to the rules of this expansion draft. Schmidt, for example, was an up & coming defenseman who is now top pair in Vegas and thriving.
Schmidt aside the incompetence of Florida and Columbus are exactly how Vegas got their best gems.
The Florida Panthers traded Reilly Smith in exchange for Vegas selecting Jonathan Marchessault and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft
The Minnesota Wild traded Alex Tuch in exchange for Vegas selecting Erik Haula and a conditional third-round pick in the 2017 or 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
The Columbus Blue Jackets traded their first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and David Clarkson in exchange for Vegas selecting William Karlsson
The prior expansion drafts allowed for 9 forwards, 5 d-man, and 1 goalie to be protected. This was the first draft with a larger pool of available players and on top of it the selections governed by the salary cap.
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Looks like the Wild missed the bus to Winnipeg. Good job guys...going out on a whimper...
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And the Avs managed to stave off elimination with, of all people, Andrew Hammond in net. Here's hoping they can push it to a seventh game.
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This is either a call of the Avs game winning goal or a an ECW play by play call. Still trying to figure out which.
https://twitter.com/Avalanche/status/987737317279346688/video/1 (https://twitter.com/Avalanche/status/987737317279346688/video/1)
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Way to keep it classy Philly fans.
Just for that, I'm glad you're eliminated!
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The Avs put up a hell of a fight for five games.
It seems they didn't realize they had a sixth game.
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I have to applaud the Avs on their effort this series. I expected them to get swept in quick fashion. Next season, perhaps, the injury bug doesn't hit them abruptly at the end of the season.
Jake Guentzel is a helluva playoff performer. Perhaps the Flyers should have covered that guy. It is debatable who had the worse series. The combined futility of Philly's goaltenders or Claude Giroux. 1 g 2 a and a -10. Vorachek was 0 g 3 a and a -3. Konecny and Simmonds barely showed up. Sean Coutuier on the other hand was a 5g 4a +1. Coutuier's teammates should just be glad that he wasn't throwing stuff at them too.
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The Avs put up a hell of a fight for five games.
It seems they didn't realize they had a sixth game.
Avs were forced to use Andrew Hammond as their goalie. He's third on the depth chart.
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Avs were forced to use Andrew Hammond as their goalie. He's third on the depth chart.
And he singlehandedly won game 5.
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Truth, but he couldn't carry that over to the next game which was on home ice. At least the Avs went from worst in the league one year and make the playoffs the next year. All it took was getting rid of Duchene. who knew?
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A game 7!
Could there finally be one upset this round?
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All it took was getting rid of Duchene. who knew?
I'm sure he's happy to be out Colorado and in that hot bed of a dumpster fire that is Ottawa.
Caps eliminate the Jackets this evening with a solid 2nd period. I'm fairly impressed by their come back from being down 0-2 in the series. Didn't think this team had it in them. The top players though played that way. Imo that bumps their chances from beating Pittsburgh from roughly 5% to 10%. I'm fairly certain though that Pittsburgh isn't going to as undisciplined as Columbus was this taking bad penalties.
A game 7!
Could there finally be one upset this round?
Technically the Sharks sweeping the Ducks was an upset.
Andersen was outstanding tonight and Rask too. It should be a helluva game 7.
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Anderson is keeping them in it after a very wobbly game one and two he’s bounced back impressively
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The Leafs sure are finding a way to make it interesting after those first couple of games. Have they actually solved Boston's top line or have the Bruins slacked off?
On another note, the hockey season in Russia is over. The KHL's Gagarin Cup has been won this year by Ak Bars Kazan, in a somewhat surprise victory over CSKA Moscow (the former Soviet-era Central Red Army club), taking the series 4-1. (Surprising because 8 of the CSKA players were on Russia's Olympic gold-winning squad.)
This means that former Hab Andrei Markov finally has a championship (although not the one I'm sure he really wanted).
I wonder if they'll let him take the Gagarin Cup to Montreal, just so he can shove it in Marc Bergevin's face? (Some Habs fans [like yours truly] want Nashville to win the Cup, just so P.K. can bring it to Montreal and shove THAT trophy in Bergy's mug--after he shares it with the kids at the hospital first, of course.)
Yeah...both Markov and P.K. taking it to Bergy in the same year...that would be sweet.
cheers,
Gabe
EDIT: I should have mentioned that Markov signed a 2-year deal with Kazan after Bergevin left him twisting in the wind following the 2016-2017 season and no other NHL team wanted him. He was 4 games short of 1000 with the Habs. Now it seems as though he'll finish his pro career in the KHL.
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Glad to see Holtby back to form, now if only the D could limit the shots against, then the games won't be so close. On to the next round. Oh look, its Caps vs Pens vol. 23518621, yaaay
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I looked it up after last night's game and the Caps are averaging the 4th most blocked shots in the playoffs. Last night they out performed Columbus 23 to 9. The problem remains not the volume of shots, buy where they are coming from. Holtby is simply stopped a higher amount than grubauer.
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I looked it up after last night's game and the Caps are averaging the 4th most blocked shots in the playoffs. Last night they out performed Columbus 23 to 9. The problem remains not the volume of shots, buy where they are coming from. Holtby is simply stopped a higher amount than grubauer.
Blocked shots are one thing, but looking at shots against, both the regular season (31.9 vs 27.8) and playoffs (32.7 vs 28.8) are up this year over last year. And I'm sure there's more to it than that, but I like the end results so far even if it can be nerve-wracking at times.
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I'm genuinely amazed watching Boston right now. It's like they played two great games, then decided that was enough and they'd just coast the rest of the way. Well, it bit them hard- here we are looking at a Game 7 against a team that is at this point manhandling them. The Leafs are just parking in front of Rask like it's their home, and the B's defense isn't clearing them out. It's baffling.
(Side note, something is very, very wrong with MacAvoy. Not sure what his malfunction is, but when the Bruins' playoff run ends- whenever that is- I'll guarantee you he's getting some serious surgery done. Double or nothing he's on a bad MCL.)
That Game 1 Bruins team needs to show up again on Wednesday night, or Toronto and Tampa will play the most confusing 'we both wear the same uniform' series of the year this weekend.
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Haven’t followed this long but I agree on MacVoy each time he turns looking at I’m you wonder if something will give way
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Couturier says "I see your playing with a ligament injury and raise you a hat trick"
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Wayne Simmonds wasn't playing anywhere nearly healthy either at any point this season either.
Per NHL.com
"Forward Wayne Simmonds said he played all season with a torn pelvis, an injury he believes he sustained before training camp. He said doctors told him if he could manage the pain, he could play through the injury.
"[Surgery] wasn't something I wanted to do," he said. "I thought I would be able to play through it. … I didn't play up to my expectations this year. Very frustrating year. Things didn't go the way I wanted. But it was something that if I could play, I could play. I probably could have taken some time to do it, but I would have been out for probably a month and a half, something like that."
In October, Simmonds sustained a groin injury, lost six teeth when hit by a stick while sitting on the bench, and broke his ankle when hit by a Gostisbehere shot, but he did not miss any time."
He's apparently not the only one that was dinged up badly, I doubt it would have mattered though with the amount of injuries they battled through. Provorov was pretty badly beaten up in game 5.
""I did all the tests well with the doctors before the game," Provorov said. "They said I was good to go and it was up to me then. As long as my arm was attached, I was playing. ... In the third period, I was starting to lose the feel for my arm and lost the puck a bunch of times, turned it over. But as a competitor, it's hard to not be out there and not try to do everything to help the team win."
Someone should tell him that your arm going numb is also a sign of a stroke. That's insane.
Under the radar and somewhat buried because of the last few games of the post season the Wild fired Chuck Fletcher on Monday. I'm not surprised that it happened. I am surprised it took this many years for it finally unfold. 100 point seasons are great and all, but 100 points is no longer the sign of an elite team. Its the sign your team probably isn't playing in a Wild Card game.
Bruins win with a solid 3rd period. I wish I could have watched or heard instead of watching a play by play line, but I couldn't get a signal or tap into a local radio. I used to be able to pull up the stations reliably through the NHL.com into the radio stream, but have had no luck over the past 2 months.
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Because the NHL doesn't want us to enjoy ourselves for more than 24 hours between playoff rounds and games start for round 2 tomorrow night here are my picks.
Tampa v Boston: Boston took 3 of 4 during the regular season with the lone exception the last game of the season. Honestly I don't think anyone can go wrong with picking either one those teams. For me it just comes down to which goalie I trust less. Like the first round I'll say I trust Rask less. Tampa in 7.
Washington v Pittsburgh: I fairly certain I picked Washington both of the last 2 years on the merits of how strong a season they had and recent success and all that nonsense. This year I'm picking the other way. Washington had an excellent season and played well above their expectations. While Holtby came back during the post season and has played more up to his standard, both teams don't have the depth of last year. With blue lines thinner on each side than last year, I expect this is going to come down to tenders and forwards. I'd put better odds on Holtby stealing the series this year than I would Murray. Pittsburgh has the superior forward depth and as we saw in the first round the Caps can't clear out the danger zone down the center of the ice all that well. Pittsburgh in 6 and we all know what that means. Pens are your cup champs!
Nashville v Winnipeg: Much like last year when Washington vs. Pittsburgh, this could be the series that determines the eventual Stanley Cup favorite. This series could produce a series full of fire wagon hockey or tight games. If this series doesn't go to 7 games it will be a shame. I'm going to stick to my guns and say Nashville in 7, though I'd like to see Winnipeg win to make up for the years of futility this franchise has gone through. Or maybe it is because I don't want to see Forsberg get a cup just yet.
San Jose v Vegas: Crap shoot IMO. I'll take Fleury over Jones in 7. All of California shut out of the SCF makes for awesome TV playoff ratings.
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Hellbie's first round predictions:
Lightning over Devils in five games (got that exactly)
Bruins over Leafs in seven games (off by one- more on that shortly)
Capitals over Blue Jackets in six games (took one less game)
Penguins over Flyers in six games (ok, so that... was wild. Bad Flyers goaltending, who knew?)
Predators over Avalanche in six games (Avs were much tougher to put down than expected)
Jets over Wild in five games (got it exact)
Knights over Kings in four games (Wait... wut?)
Sharks over Ducks in four (I didn't see the Ducks rolling over like that.)
Overall, not bad other than the gaffe on the Flyers series. I really thought they'd found their legs and had a shot against a Penguins team that doesn't look as solid as prior years. I'm still not sold on the Penguins- but the Flyers looked wretched, particularly in net.
Second round predictions:
Boston over Tampa in six (I won't lie, this is a total homer pick.)
Pittsburgh over Washington in seven (because the hockey gods are cruel)
Nashville over Winnipeg in seven (this is going to be an amazing one)
Vegas over San Jose in six (because at this point why the hell not back the Knights?)
OK. Let's talk Game 7 last night. I'll be up front, I was in a bus accident last night (my second bus crash in two days, thanks DC Metro!), and I missed the first period. I liked a lot of what I DID see of the last 40 minutes. I also disliked some of it strongly. The mess that resulted in the shorthanded goal in the second to give the Leafs the lead was unforgivably bad, on all involved in black jerseys- Rask included (who was pretty crappy all night, honestly- he has to be better if they'll hang with Tampa). Defensively they were sloppy at times, good at others. MacAvoy continues to play like he's hurt, though this was a better one than his previous few games. Chara isn't shooting right still- that big booming shot isn't nearly as strong as usual. And I'll be interested to see if McQuaid is okay after that diving crash into the boards. But... here we are.
I want to share one more thing, to show how important the top line for Boston is right now. I admit to homerism, but I genuinely think the Bergeron-Marchand-Pastrnak line is arguably the best in the game right now, and the proof is in the stats:
In four Boston wins in this series, the top line had 30 points combined and a +23 rating.
In three Boston losses in this series, the top line had 0 points and a -16 rating.
If that line is firing on all cylinders, Boston wins games, period. If they get shut down, so does everyone else.
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As a Caps fan, the only thing that would surprise me would be if they rattled off eight straight wins. That's the only thing.
I am not surprised. Mad as Hell, yes. For giving up a two goal lead, I will continue to not give the Caps the satisfaction of watching them nor will I use my Death Star ice cube in my post game misery serving of scotch while I play the Battletech video game.
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So the Caps strategy this playoffs seems to be the hockey equivalent of the Picard maneuver. Shame on me for paying attention to the 3rd period.
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https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs-decisions-31-thoughts/ (https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs-decisions-31-thoughts/)
#22 'After Game 1 of the Toronto/Boston series, the Bruins got a, “We’d prefer if you could tell Brad Marchand to stop licking people” phone call from the NHL." And thus we shall have the Brad Marchand/Tootsie pop rule in effect for next season.
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Well the first 35 or so seconds on the third were good. But the first Pens goal threw them off balance and it took them too long to recover the form they had the first two periods.
Oh and BTW, Hellbie, 3 seats over was an Avs fan in an Avs sweater and then two seats next to us were Pens fans (I think he said his name was Ben).
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Yeah, I heard about the Avs fan. I mean, don't get me wrong, high five to him, but... that's a weird one to wear to a Caps/Pens game.
Can we take a moment, by the way, to look at this ridiculous 7-0 Knights win and just ask what color the sky is in the real world right now? I don't understand what's happening.
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Look at the Boba Fetts on paper and they should not be a good team. ???
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Luckily they play on ice, where they are better!
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Can we take a moment, by the way, to look at this ridiculous 7-0 Knights win and just ask what color the sky is in the real world right now? I don't understand what's happening.
Something in the water in Vegas...
Next time you're outside on a clear night, look up in the sky and see if the moon appears to have a smaller green twin. Then you'll know this world is not the world you're used to.
(A cookie to anyone who gets the reference.)
Cheers, Gabe
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Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross?
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Yeah, I heard about the Avs fan. I mean, don't get me wrong, high five to him, but... that's a weird one to wear to a Caps/Pens game.
Can we take a moment, by the way, to look at this ridiculous 7-0 Knights win and just ask what color the sky is in the real world right now? I don't understand what's happening.
IF the Knights make it to the Cup finals Disney better make the movie quick. If they win the Cup I'll kiss my ass goodbye because the World will end.
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Tell me that wouldn't be one hell of a parade on The Strip though. Say what you will for other cities' celebrations, but Vegas would be one to remember.
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Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross?
No, not what I had in mind (but do they also use that as a plot device?)
You're in the right country of origin though ^-^
cheers,
Gabe
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No, not what I had in mind (but do they also use that as a plot device?)
Glorie, the planet in the series (not Earth as it was changed to for Robotech) had a smaller second moon. The tried to edit it out for Robotech, but a couple of twin moon shots remained.
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Watching the game yesterday, it sure looked to me like the puck never did cross the line completely under Holtby in Pens/Caps.
Looking at it the next morning in still images, that should have counted. Oops.
Sometimes the refs make mistakes- everyone gets calls that go against them and for them, and all you can do is play through it, but that sure would have changed the last several minutes in particular- down two goals with a few minutes left is more of a 'make a statement for the next game' situation. Down one... well, that's a different kind of energy.
(Also, turns out the Knights are mortal after all- barely, but at least a bit. Who knew?)
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Watching the game yesterday, it sure looked to me like the puck never did cross the line completely under Holtby in Pens/Caps.
Looking at it the next morning in still images, that should have counted. Oops.
Sometimes the refs make mistakes- everyone gets calls that go against them and for them, and all you can do is play through it, but that sure would have changed the last several minutes in particular- down two goals with a few minutes left is more of a 'make a statement for the next game' situation. Down one... well, that's a different kind of energy.
(Also, turns out the Knights are mortal after all- barely, but at least a bit. Who knew?)
A commenter on RMNB had a gif of the NHL demonstrating parallax. Evidentially the 1/8in difference between the ice surface and the paint can be a big deal. So I guess the reasoning is, if you can't see it from top down and there is a question about it: no goal.
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Glorie, the planet in the series (not Earth as it was changed to for Robotech) had a smaller second moon. The tried to edit it out for Robotech, but a couple of twin moon shots remained.
What I was thinking of takes place in early-mid '80s Japan. And no mecha of any kind involved.
In any event, the small green moon has gone into hiding for now. It will only re-appear if the Knights actually take the series.
cheers,
Gabe
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To late to change my pick to the Jets? I think they might have just relegated the Preds to a beer league team.
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The curse of the President's Trophy.
No team has ever gone on to win the Cup the year they win it for the first time.
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To late to change my pick to the Jets? I think they might have just relegated the Preds to a beer league team.
That game was a lot closer than it looked- really it was a one goal difference, those last two were window dressing. But yeah, being up 3-0 and letting in three goals on four shots is a pretty shocking thing to see from the Predators. But, it's also very, very out of character- I don't think this one's easy to call yet. If they implode like that again, definitely, but good teams bounce back from bad games- see Tampa's losing to the Devils in, what was that, Game 2 of their series? They put their foot down after that and never let them back in. Really, same for Nashville- Colorado showed some spark and even stole a couple of games, but the Preds rallied and did what a good team does- they got rid of their opponent despite that surprise.
Now, the Jets are a sight better than the Avs or Devils, and Nashville might not be able to overcome this kind of firepower, but I also don't think they'll wilt and surrender after last night- if anything, that'll really piss them off.
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Connor Hellebuyck had some pretty bad luck on two of those first 3 goals scored by the Preds in the first period. The Jets as a team collectively had bad luck on the play that led to the other goal when it hit a Jet during a line change. After that the Preds seemed to just pack it in until the third period and Hellebuyck recollected himself. The Jets out shot them by a wide margin, were far better in face off wins, and Rinne turned into a sieve without any solid help from the defense in front of him. It isn't as if the bottom defense pair was the reason the Preds lost either. The top 2 pairings were essentially on the ice for every goal scored one way or the other.
The Preds likely should have won game 1 and instead won a game they probably should have lost in game 2. They definitely should and did lose last night. If they continue to put together another lackluster game tomorrow I can see Saturday's game being the last game of their season. Their defense and/or Rinne needs to be 100% better in order to have any shot at winning this series.
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Methinks somebody was a bit too hasty in counting the Preds out.
Cheers, Gabe
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Watching bruins v lightning on nbc new to this sport and I’ve never seen so bias commentating in sport
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I'm livid. If we're going to lose to Tampa, fine, they're a great team and I expect we'll have a tough time with them. But we can't play the refs too. MacAvoy getting hauled down to cause the turnover that lead to Stamkos' goal in the third period effectively ended our season, and that's just flat unacceptable. to allow that kind of call to be ignored. I refuse to believe none of the four officials saw it- you know, since he HAD THE PUCK AT THE TIME.
Very, very upset about that one.
Watching bruins v lightning on nbc new to this sport and I’ve never seen so bias commentating in sport
Oh man, you think that was bad? Tune in tonight to Penguins/Capitals. NBC really, really luuuuuuuuurves them some Penguins. I'm pretty sure Pierre Maguire (the bald lump of stupid they put down at ice level for reporting) has a tattoo of Sid Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on him somewhere. ;D
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Oh man, you think that was bad? Tune in tonight to Penguins/Capitals. NBC really, really luuuuuuuuurves them some Penguins.
It is hard to complain about the zebra's this evening when the Caps just keep giving them reasons to call penalties. The fact they nixed that to many men call and then the Pens scored stings a bit though.
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Well I suppose no more penalty calls period is better than simply no calls against the Pens.
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Well I suppose no more penalty calls period is better than simply no calls against the Pens.
Not that it mattered tonight; the Pens, surprisingly, are the ones on the brink now.
Cheers, Gabe
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I'm surprised we only had two injuries in the third period. I don't mind them putting the whistles away for the third period but that was getting ugly.
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It is hard to complain about the zebra's this evening when the Caps just keep giving them reasons to call penalties. The fact they nixed that to many men call and then the Pens scored stings a bit though.
NBC showed replays a few times pointing out that while it was close, it was legal line changes for the Pens, so at least they got the call correct I guess.
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Not that it mattered tonight; the Pens, surprisingly, are the ones on the brink now.
I can give you at least 9 reasons why that doesn't matter until the Caps win another game this season.
I'm surprised we only had two injuries in the third period. I don't mind them putting the whistles away for the third period but that was getting ugly.
Here is hoping that the Backstrom injury isn't a bad one and that he can play at least 80% for the rest of the playoffs.
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Oh Hellbie, you must be crying in your beer today... >:D
In all fairness, that result demonstrated why a team needs more than just one great top line these days. Once the Bolts figured out how to shut them down, the secondary scoring didn't come through. But at least the B's will still be scary good next season.
Cheers, Gabe
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Okay... a few notes on the end of the Bruins season:
+No tears in beers for me. Looking back at what this team appeared to be in September when camp got going, it looked like a rebuilding-on-the-fly season, bringing up kids from Providence to see who was going to be worth keeping on the big team, who to send back down, etc.- big tests for people like MacAvoy, DeBrusk, Vatrano (prior to his being traded), etc., while also letting veteran players in their last couple of years with the team help bring those kids up before leaving their roster spots to them (Chara in particular, Krecji, etc.)... sounded like a team that was a long shot to make the top three in the division, a wild card was possible, missing the playoffs completely wasn't going to be a total surprise. Instead they fought for the top spot in the east until the last day of the season, they dominated the league in January and February, most of the kids were fantastic (including surprises like Grzelcyk and Donato)... it was a great season. There's not much to be disappointed by in the big picture.
+That said, as with everywhere this playoff year, officiating has been wretched. The Stamkos goal that tied Game 4 was a travesty in particular, but the refs have been very inconsistent all season. And yes, that includes Boston, who got away with calls that I was baffled by throughout both playoff series.
+Let's talk about the elephant in the room when it comes to the Bruins. The exit interview for Brad Marchand should not be a fun one for him. His play style is based around getting under his opponent's skin, and that's fine- that's a role every team should have a specialist in, and he's among the best. That he adds in a ferocious offensive boost is a great bonus. But this licking thing? That shit needs to stop, cold turkey. He's going to get suspended again for this crap if he does it again, and I'd like to see the Bruins suspend him a few games before the league even gets around to it if he does. Enough is enough- there's being a pest, and there's stepping well over the line. Marchand found a new way over that line this playoff year, and it's time to stop. VERY disappointed in that business.
+Coach Cassidy has been a great breath of fresh air for a team training new players to join up, compared to the often-stodgy Julien and his style of 'keep trying the same thing until it works'. That said, the Tampa series felt like Julien was back- in particular, Game 5 was a prime opportunity, particularly late in the game, to change up the lines, move Pastrnak (for example) down to the second line to force the Lightning to pick their poison on who their top defensive unit could cover... it never really happened. The Bergeron/Pastrnak/Marchand line might be the best in the NHL right now, but Tampa shut it down hard- and Boston never adjusted. That was a theme throughout the series- Boston stole the first game, the Lightning adjusted for Game 2, and Boston never adjusted to their shifts afterwards. To me, that's the key to the series.
+A lot of B's fans are screaming for Rask's head. Shut the hell up with that crap. Rask wasn't an ultimate weapon in this playoff year, for sure- his numbers are pretty average. But he made some key stops, and on nights when the Boston offense struggled he kept them in games. There's no way you get rid of him, not without a truly great way to replace his production in net- and with all respect, Anton Khudobin is a great backup, and nothing more than that. Losing Rask to a dumb trade would turn this team into the Flyers and Blues- things are great at forward and defense, and the goal is a pit.
Ah well. See you next fall, let's wait for the inevitable Cup parade down the Vegas Strip. ;D
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Ah well. See you next fall, let's wait for the inevitable Cup parade down the Vegas Strip. ;D
Ancient Chinese Proverb: Be careful of wht you ask for you just may get it.
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It's been overcast here in Nanjing for the past 3 days, but I bet that small green moon is up there behind the cloud cover.
(Nobody here gets this reference? Nobody...?)
Cheers, Gabe
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I think Boston need to get their lines 2, 3 and 4 settled too much reliance on the main line and on the Power plays very poor 5 on 5 but as a starter to my Hockey life I've enjoyed it looking forwards to more. Definitely looking forward to seeing the local team Aberdeen Lynx and possibly even an Atlantic trip to see Bruins
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OMG! I'm numb. I'm still waiting for the replay where the Caps were off sides.
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OMG! I'm numb. I'm still waiting for the replay where the Caps were off sides.
I might be surprised at this point.
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THERE WILL BE NO THREE-PEAT.
Caps. Vs. Knights for the Cup final. You heard it here first.
Cheers, Gabe
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Sorry to rain on your parade, but the Caps ain't getting past the Bolts.
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Sorry to rain on your parade, but the Caps ain't getting past the Bolts.
Dwayne Roloson is not in net, we have a shot!
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With the final game of the 2nd round etched in stone we have set of conference finals that look intriguing, but will probably rate horribly on TV.
Your Eastern Conference final is a South East throwback-
Lightning vs. Capitals- The Bolts have more depth from top to bottom of the line up. Their weakness is their bottom pair defenseman and their tender. On the flip side of the ice the Caps stars have largely played like it this off season. If Backstrom has a broken hand as some reporters have speculated it will be a real blow to the Caps chances. Even if healthy it will be an uphill climb for the Caps. I'll pick the Bolts in 5 with all of the games being close.
Your Western Conference final is yesterday's expansion team, once removed, Jets vs. the new kids on the block the Golden Knights. The Jets have probably the best depth of the teams remaining and most everyone on the team is contributing. I think the Knights finally falter this round after a drawn out series. Jets in 7.
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With the final game of the 2nd round etched in stone we have set of conference finals that look intriguing, but will probably rate horribly on TV.
Your Eastern Conference final is a South East throwback-
The whole finals is tied to the Southeast Division. Caps & Tampa were members. The Jets used to be Atlanta, another member. And Vegas' GM was the Caps GM, another Southeast Division tie.
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Looks like the Preds couldn't escape the curse of the President's Trophy.
Damn. Another year that P.K. won't bring the Cup to Montreal.
Looks like Rinne's number is up with Nashville. Wonder if David Poile could be convinced to take Carey Price's contract...? I think reuniting Price with his buddy would do him a world of good.
Cheers, Gabe
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A solid game 1, minus a few minutes there in the third. I'll take it if I can get it for 3 more games. Next time I won't get stuck listening to the 3rd period sitting at CVS drive thru.
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Wow, there really is no home ice advantage for Bolts vs. Caps this year, is there?
Things are not looking so good for the Jets vs. the Knights. I think Winnipeg is gassed after going the distance against Nashville and Gerard Gallant and his staff studied the tapes of the Jets' losses vs. the Preds very closely. The first game was embarrassing for them but I think they've figured out how to shut Winnipeg down and do it consistently. (And oh yeah, that Laine guy really needs to start showing up if they're going to have a chance.)
cheers,
Gabe
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It's weird. In round one the Caps lost those first two games and it looked like they were done for- and suddenly... they roared back. This time, it feels like the opposite- Tampa looked awful for the first two games, and now the Caps seem to have no answer for them. Game 5 looks like a VERY intriguing game, all of a sudden. (Well, I mean it did anyway, but seeing how the Caps adjust will make for a very intriguing evening.)
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...now the Caps seem to have no answer for them.
I dunno, how about stop committing dumb penalties. Just a thought.
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I dunno, how about stop committing dumb penalties. Just a thought.
And take Orpik off the PK, they're moving the puck too fast for him to keep up with. Tampa got a PP goal b/c they got Orpik all turned around chasing some quick passes and then got an easy pass in right in front of Hotlby
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I'm not really sure what Orpik offers the Caps at all right now... there's got to be a callup from the minors who would be an improvement.
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I'm not really sure what Orpik offers the Caps at all right now... there's got to be a callup from the minors who would be an improvement.
I seem to recall that you play(ed) hockey. So suit up and get out there!
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And take Orpik off the PK, they're moving the puck too fast for him to keep up with. Tampa got a PP goal b/c they got Orpik all turned around chasing some quick passes and then got an easy pass in right in front of Hotlby
I hate the "fixed that" thing but there you have it. Also, Burakovsky 'cause he's not helping at all.
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The Golden Knights are now one game away from the Stanley Cup Final. I would love to know what the odds were on that prop bet at the beginning of the season.
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I dunno, how about stop committing dumb penalties. Just a thought.
Especially if your name rhymes with Mars Yeller.
And take Orpik off the PK, they're moving the puck too fast for him to keep up with.
That's not the only reason Tampa score the goal. 3 of the Caps 4 players on the ice at that point were all giving plenty of space to the Bolts. So to say Orpik is the reason they score that goal, I'd disagree.
I'm not really sure what Orpik offers the Caps at all right now... there's got to be a callup from the minors who would be an improvement.
Hershey's finest, as it where, have already been called up. Madison Bowey and Jakub Jerabek are scratches. I don't think either are a better option over Orpik.
I hate the "fixed that" thing but there you have it. Also, Burakovsky 'cause he's not helping at all.
Burakovsky is frustrating to watch, but honestly he isn't horrible. He has decent fancy stats (https://novacapsfans.com/2018/05/18/whats-the-deal-with-andre-burakovsky/ (https://novacapsfans.com/2018/05/18/whats-the-deal-with-andre-burakovsky/)) which would indicate most of the time he is helping to drive possession well. Burakovsky issue, aside from that fact that he isn't putting the puck in the net in the playoffs (more on that in a moment), is that any small little miscue he makes is magnified 500% because he isn't scoring. Burakovsky's lack of scoring, at least relative to what everyone would want out of him, seems to be more of a product of who and where he plays (on the 3rd line).
At this point he is wrapping up his 4th pro season. In that time he has a career shooting percentage of 13%. That's very good. Over the past 4 seasons and comparing players who have played at least the same career games as him (252) he sits 43rd in the league in shooting percentage. That seems fairly respectable. This year he experienced his best season with regards to his shooting percentage and 10 of his 12 goals came at even strength.
Time on ice average over this time: 13:15. That ranks him 195th out of 221 forwards and a crowded list of 3rd and 4th liners. Shifts per game 16.5 that is 213th. These are the guys below him:
Brett Connolly
Chris Stewart
Matt Martin
Kyle Clifford
Nicolas Deslauriers
Cody McLeod
Chris Thorburn
Ryan Reaves
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Burakovsky is better than all of those guys. If you want to argue Connolly is better on the basis of his goal total I can't disagree this season, but he played 14 more games and scored 3 more goals. Connolly is getting paid 1.5 mil to play on the 3rd line as has been as good as one could expect from a 3rd liner. Burakovsky is being paid to play on 2nd line and is playing an average of 3rd to 4th line minutes.
Its probably will not happen this off season, but come next year they really need to put him on the 2nd line or find some way to get him out there for an additional 2 minutes a game whether it is at even strength or the power play. I'd honestly do it now and move Stephenson down to the 3rd line. Not because Stephenson has done anything wrong, but offensively I think the Burakovsky is a better option playing on Backstrom's wing than on Lars Eller's wing. Stephenson is Jay Beagle lite. You know what you are going to get and he is unlikely to make a horrible miscue, but that is about it.
The Golden Knights are now one game away from the Stanley Cup Final. I would love to know what the odds were on that prop bet at the beginning of the season.
Probably ends up being the same people that placed money on UMBC to be UVA during NCAA :thumbsup:
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I seem to recall that you play(ed) hockey. So suit up and get out there!
I was a goalie, that's one thing the Caps don't need right now! ;D
(Though now that you mention it, I don't skate SLOWER than Orpik, and I can stay out of the penalty box... ok, for half his salary, I'm in.)
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Burakovsky is frustrating to watch, but honestly he isn't horrible. He has decent fancy stats (https://novacapsfans.com/2018/05/18/whats-the-deal-with-andre-burakovsky/ (https://novacapsfans.com/2018/05/18/whats-the-deal-with-andre-burakovsky/)) which would indicate most of the time he is helping to drive possession well. Burakovsky issue, aside from that fact that he isn't putting the puck in the net in the playoffs (more on that in a moment), is that any small little miscue he makes is magnified 500% because he isn't scoring. Burakovsky's lack of scoring, at least relative to what everyone would want out of him, seems to be more of a product of who and where he plays (on the 3rd line).
At this point he is wrapping up his 4th pro season. In that time he has a career shooting percentage of 13%. That's very good. Over the past 4 seasons and comparing players who have played at least the same career games as him (252) he sits 43rd in the league in shooting percentage. That seems fairly respectable. This year he experienced his best season with regards to his shooting percentage and 10 of his 12 goals came at even strength.
Time on ice average over this time: 13:15. That ranks him 195th out of 221 forwards and a crowded list of 3rd and 4th liners. Shifts per game 16.5 that is 213th. These are the guys below him:
Brett Connolly
Chris Stewart
Matt Martin
Kyle Clifford
Nicolas Deslauriers
Cody McLeod
Chris Thorburn
Ryan Reaves
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Burakovsky is better than all of those guys. If you want to argue Connolly is better on the basis of his goal total I can't disagree this season, but he played 14 more games and scored 3 more goals. Connolly is getting paid 1.5 mil to play on the 3rd line as has been as good as one could expect from a 3rd liner. Burakovsky is being paid to play on 2nd line and is playing an average of 3rd to 4th line minutes.
Its probably will not happen this off season, but come next year they really need to put him on the 2nd line or find some way to get him out there for an additional 2 minutes a game whether it is at even strength or the power play. I'd honestly do it now and move Stephenson down to the 3rd line. Not because Stephenson has done anything wrong, but offensively I think the Burakovsky is a better option playing on Backstrom's wing than on Lars Eller's wing. Stephenson is Jay Beagle lite. You know what you are going to get and he is unlikely to make a horrible miscue, but that is about it.
Early indications via Twitter are that Burakovsky is sitting.
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Early indications via Twitter are that Burakovsky is sitting.
That's unsurprising given it is the playoffs and the Caps absolutely need to win tonight to have any good chance of winning the series. I wasn't aware of this until last night, the Caps have never won a home playoff game against the Bolts. So I guess all the better they play the next 2 out of a possible 3 on the road.
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Well that first period was awful.
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Second is looking remarkably like the first, too. Uh oh...
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And it is now official the VGK are in the Stanley Cup final just as we all expected they'd be last June.
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And O Canada has been sang for the last time this season.
No matter who comes out of the East, I absolutely cannot see the Boba Fetts not going the distance.
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I can see it happening if MAF keeps playing out of his mind. He's the biggest reason Vegas just beat the Jets in 5 games.
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And because Marc André Fleury is from my hometown, I have a chance to see the cup this year! :P
That's why taking for a particular team is more difficult now, all teams have something or someone that will appeal to you anyway.
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Anyone who put any money on Vegas to win the cup back when the odds were 800/1 has got to be really happy right now.
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I figured the Caps would cave this evening, however I'm elated they pulled it out. All I ask out of a Game 7 is a game where they don't give into the stupid penalties they committed between games 3-5.
It is being reported that Lou Lamoriello is likely to join the Islanders front office, just as we all thought he would when it was announced he wouldn't be retained by the Leafs.
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Well... that can't HURT the Isles, I guess. If only because it's hard to wound an already-bludgeoned corpse. I guess I'm not as much of a Lou fan as a lot of people are.
But yeah, Caps? I said if they scored in the first ten minutes they'd win- if not, the odds of Tampa winning increased with every minute after that it took to finally get on the board. And yet... man, I figured it would be a high-scoring one. No one told Tampa.
That almost works in their favor for Game 7 though- if you get shut out in a big game like that, you're going to be PISSED when the next game arrives. That might give them a big edge, that 'not being embarrassed twice in a row' factor. I guess we'll see on Wednesday night, either way.
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Shame we gotta wait 'till Monday for the Finals to start.
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One period of cloggy neutral zone play down. Two more anxiety filled periods to go.
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Gourde whiffs and Burakovsky scores!
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10 minutes left, 3-0, I feel pretty confident in congratulating Caps fans on their trip to scenic Las Vegas on Monday. It would be a pretty epic collapse if they biffed it now.
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A ENG at just under four minutes has surprised me. I'm glad I decided to watch tonight. It is nice to have a smile on my face watching this.
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I've been waiting 20 years for another crack at cup. bring on the Kniggets.
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Sorry to rain on your parade, but the Caps ain't getting past the Bolts.
Um...you were saying...?
Caps. Vs. Knights for the Cup final. You heard it here first.
I called it.
cheers,
Gabe
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Knights will win in 6. I have zero faith that the Caps can pull this off. ZERO!
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I have come to the conclusion that I want to see the Kniggets raise the Cup -- I don't care who their opponent would be (though Toronto or Washington losing would make me quite giddy), and I want it to be a sweep...
I will admit that I'm probably insane...
okay, so I hedged a little by adding T.O., but...
...still hoping for that Kniggets sweep...
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Am I the only one who finds Washington in the Finals even more unbelievable than the expansion team? ???
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Am I the only one who finds Washington in the Finals even more unbelievable than the expansion team? ???
Well... kinda?
Look, that the Caps are here is a shock. We spent most of the season pretty much crowning the Lightning as the Eastern champs, and while the Penguins looked pretty good and the Bruins were a big surprise the Caps seemed like just another 'very good' team chasing that one 'elite' team. That they beat the Penguins was a shock- that they got past the Lightning even more so. But... they have very good goaltending (now that Holtby is back to normal), their offense is deep, their power play is a terror, and even their defense is fairly solid. This is a good team- and eventually they were bound to finally get some success past the second round. Remember, the Sharks- who have just as well-earned of a reputation as playoff-hopeless losers- went to the Finals a couple of years ago as well. The Caps were due, if not by straight talent by law of averages- this team is too good to keep hitting the same wall.
The Knights? Even with the league's setting things up so they'd have some decent players to start off, even with the deals they struck with teams like Columbus and Florida, even with the Penguins letting go of Fleury... there's nothing about this that makes sense. Players suddenly blowing past their career-high goal totals by 30? Winning with their fourth-string goalie getting hurt? Dominating their division almost all season long- despite being in a pretty tough one? Rolling three solid teams- including a Cup-contender in the Jets- to get here? It's madness. They weren't going to be a 10-win team, but they also weren't likely to be a playoff team either- here they are getting ready to take on the Caps though.
So yeah- the Caps are a surprise. The Knights are bizarre.
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Am I the only one who finds Washington in the Finals even more unbelievable than the expansion team? ???
I'd say yes. Vegas received the most favorable expansion draft rules in modern era expansion which starts with the San Jose Sharks. That draft was kinda of a doozy based off of how the Sharks even came to be. Read up here if you want to learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_NHL_Dispersal_and_Expansion_Drafts (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_NHL_Dispersal_and_Expansion_Drafts). Long story short though as compared to other recent expansion drafts, there was far more talent available because teams could protect less players then in the past. No one make anything other than a homer pick or random throw of the dart board would figure all of the players on Vegas to put together career defining seasons.
Washington's stock was supposed to sink because of the loss of talent, especially on defense. If anything they would be a wild card while rebuilding. The season certainly started that way, but overall through the season they played steady and never got into a long funk. I'm less amazed that the Caps are in the cup then probably anyone else because they put in the work and have done so almost every game in and out. The Caps probably should have won this past series in 6 as they outplayed Tampa for 65% of that series.
Based on their whole season of work the Bolts should have been the better team and beat the Caps. Those bottom defense pairings for Tampa were exposed as being not as good as you thought they were. The Caps had similar lapses, but were only exposed in really 2 of the 7 games for it.
This series against Vegas and the Caps being the underdog should be interesting and I'm going to embrace it.
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Kniggets 1, Caps 0. I have no TV so I did not watch the gae, but the 6-4 score tells me it was exciting.
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Kniggets 1, Caps 0. I have no TV so I did not watch the gae, but the 6-4 score tells me it was exciting.
More like Refs 1, Caps & Knights 0.
Caps up 4-3 early in the 3rd, Reaves crosschecks Carlson in the back, and picks up a rebound in front of Holtby to score. Should have been no goal and a Caps powerplay. Even Mike Millbury was ticked off about that and he hates the Caps. Late in the 3rd the Caps pull Holtby down 1 goal, Lars Eller has a chance on an open net, gets slashed from behind and misses the shot, no call.
Also, multiple delays during stoppages for ice repairs.
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I think there must be something in the water in Vegas. Maybe a couple of somethings. One thing for the home team's water bottles and another for the visitors'.
Cheers, Gabe
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I think there must be something in the water in Vegas. Maybe a couple of somethings. One thing for the home team's water bottles and another for the visitors'.
Cheers, Gabe
Oxygen for Vegas, Hydrogen for Washington.
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Oxygen for Vegas, Hydrogen for Washington.
Hydrogen? You mean the stuff in the Hindenburg?
...Someone alert the NHL! It's an assassination attempt! ;D
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I'd love to rant about the officiating, but I didn't watch any of the game, only heard it over the radio. At one point I got up to go to the bathroom and came back during the do we or don't we call a penalty on Tom Wilson. I'd never assume Tom Wilson didn't deserve a penalty, I'd just assume he was getting a major or getting kicked out of the game. What the heck took so long to decide and then give him a minor?
Not that the Knights did any better, but the Caps need to keep the play to the outside and away from the net. That is what got them this far. The failure to do so was the reason they lost last night.
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I'd love to rant about the officiating, but I didn't watch any of the game, only heard it over the radio. At one point I got up to go to the bathroom and came back during the do we or don't we call a penalty on Tom Wilson. I'd never assume Tom Wilson didn't deserve a penalty, I'd just assume he was getting a major or getting kicked out of the game. What the heck took so long to decide and then give him a minor?
Not that the Knights did any better, but the Caps need to keep the play to the outside and away from the net. That is what got them this far. The failure to do so was the reason they lost last night.
There was no penalty called during the play. It was only after the play was stopped it seemed like the refs were trying to decide what to do since Marchassault was down for so long. Watching the play and the replay, I think the interference minor (for a late hit) that was called was the correct call. It just seemed like the refs only called something b/c he was on the ice for so long
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It just seemed like the refs only called something b/c he was on the ice for so long
Which makes it all the more bizarre. Make the call as it happens that's their job.
As for tonight's game, every Caps fan on earth is 100% happy that Braden Holtby has excellent reflexes and the thought process to lunge to the other side of the net.
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Which makes it all the more bizarre. Make the call as it happens that's their job.
As for tonight's game, every Caps fan on earth is 100% happy that Braden Holtby has excellent reflexes and the thought process to lunge to the other side of the net.
Still not happy with the refs, although I'll take that win.
Neal punches himself in the face and sells an illegal check to the head call. The guy hits Kuzy, leading with his hip, but following through with a shoulder & elbow combo to the head, no call. Probably won't get any games from Player "Safety" either.
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The first part there, yeah, that wasn't a great call at all. The second though... you're right, no call from player safety on that one. Regular season, maybe, but if they're not calling Tom Wilson to sit for Game 1, Neal's hit shouldn't get it either. I'd be very surprised if anything comes of it- if it does, it's Vegas that will have the right to be upset.
Two very, very different games in tone, but both have been classics- very happy so far with this series. It always sucks to get all the way to the end and have the Finals end up being a dud after that long trip through the season- this one really does feel like it's the prize we all deserved.
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Game 3 was a nice and complete effort by the Caps. Hopefully they keep that up and don't relapse into their Game 1 selves. The rest of the series is on network television so I'll be able to watch the rest of it if I so choose :thumbsup:. The big negative for both sides. Each side should probably tell their tender to be a helluva lot more disciplined when it comes to playing the puck.
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So...is midnight fast approaching for Sin-derella here...?
I think so. The hunger is clearly there on the Caps' part and you can see it.
Caps take the Cup next game.
cheers,
Gabe
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I genuinely figured we'd see a desperate, fired-up Knights team that would, if not win the game, at least put up the kind of fight that would make it a close-run thing all night long- I even figured on OT.
Nope.
Not to take away anything from the Caps, who looked like they were absolutely dominant from the face-off onward, but Vegas had three major problems last night:
1) Luck. Damn, did they have the kind of bad luck that you usually only see in my Battletech games and... well, most years' Capitals playoff runs. That game should have been off to a 1-0 Vegas lead- there's no way James Neal misses that net nine out of ten times, with Holtby off getting a sandwich and the goal mouth six feet away- it looked likehe'd have to try to MISS it. And somehow he took that challenge head-on. All night long it was like that though- bounces off the posts over and over, open opportunities inexplicably sailing off into oblivion... it was maddening to watch a team fight all season to get to this point and have this kind of puck luck doom them. If no for the other two problems, that is...
2) Goaltending. Fleury looked terrible- for someone who has been here so many times, and has faced the Capitals so many times (including the Trotz years here), he seemed to have no answer for the cross-ice passes that Trotz has made a hallmark of his offense. Every time they did it, even if it didn't actually go in the net, Fleury seemed to struggle to get into position. They have to adjust to that or it's over- it's the core tenet of the Caps' offense, and he's got no idea what to do about it.
3) DISCIPLINE. And I'm not just talking about taking dumb penalties, which they so strangely seemed to take perverse pleasure in doing, particularly late. I mean defensive discipline. Look at some of these goals- two guys bite the bait and leave the front of the goal as a no-mans-land, and Tom Wilson buries the shot as a result because no one is there. Same on the Oshie goal- who's covering the front of the net and helping Fleury out? Ovechkin had a partial break in the early third as a result of a gaff in the neutral zone- if there's ANYONE Vegas should be focusing their attention on NOT letting him get loose like that, it's that guy!
Last night is the first time since the start of October that this looked like an expansion team. And I'm having a whole lot of trouble seeing that effort, combined with the red buzzsaw on the other end of the ice being at full speed, resulting in three straight Vegas wins. It might not be on Thursday night, but this series is going to end very shortly- I hope it DOES need another game past Thursday so the long-suffering fans around here get to enjoy the win at home. They've earned it.
Let's just be clear. Congratulations to the Washington Capitals. You put your foot down on your opponent, they didn't fight back, and the result is your first Stanley Cup. Go finish this up and collect your prize.
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It doesn't matter if the win on the road or at home. Just get it done. If they lose on Thursday then I have to listen to people talk about the 3-1 caps curse.
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On the drive home from work I heard our first conspiracy theory on the local call in show.
Short version: The Vegas sports books stand to lose billions if the Knights win the final, so they paid them off to lose the series. ::)
In more serious news, Islander fans have got to be nearly as happy as Caps fans today. ;D
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I genuinely figured we'd see a desperate, fired-up Knights team that would, if not win the game, at least put up the kind of fight that would make it a close-run thing all night long- I even figured on OT.
Nope.
Not to take away anything from the Caps, who looked like they were absolutely dominant from the face-off onward, but Vegas had three major problems last night:
1) Watching some of the replays, you see Niskanen's leg go sliding by on the ice. It almost looked like Neal was trying to shoot far post to get past the leg, yet keep it on the ice so he doesn't pull a Baggio in the 94 World Cup https://youtu.be/sWHDRfblPSo All together it results in PING!
FYI, the Caps hit a post earlier in the period and if you counted goals and posts, Caps still win 7-6 https://twitter.com/IneffectiveMath/status/1003834930047127552
2) While the Caps have generally made Fleury look bad this series, I think its a testament to the Caps coaches putting an emphasis on what types of shots are going to beat him. Fleury is aggressive & he generally has quick reactions & good positioning. Prior to last night the Caps had scored 10 goals, 3 were deflections, 2 were a Cap sniping a shot, and half, 5, were a result of quick passes & puck movement getting Fleury out of position. The Caps know how to beat him, and have put it in to effect well this year. From back at the start of the Playoffs here's a great article on it https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/capitals-insider/wp/2018/04/11/capitals-start-stanley-cup-playoffs-bent-on-taking-better-shots-not-more-shots/?noredirect=on
3) For lack of a better term I see it as playing as more of a team. They seem to have better awareness of where their teammates are and are sticking to the gameplan better than in years past
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Props to the Islanders for finally firing Snow. Firing Weight though may not have been the best thing for that team.
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Props to the Islanders for finally firing Snow. Firing Weight though may not have been the best thing for that team.
Ehhhhhh... totally on board with Snow being gone, but yeah, Weight is a tough one to lose, but a new GM is going to want his own people on board rather than be stuck with the leftovers from his prececessor. If they'd kept Weight, I wouldn't expect him to survive to this point next year unless they went on a really surprising Cup run.
I wonder how much of this was dissatisfaction with the franchise's direction and how much was a signed-with-hearts message to Tavares and his agent...
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It doesn't matter if the win on the road or at home. Just get it done. If they lose on Thursday then I have to listen to people talk about the 3-1 caps curse.
Hear, hear.
Did it look to anyone else like the Caps let up in the five minutes leading up to the two VGK goals last night? I saw it with the top line in particular. Regardless, I liked the overall team two-goal response but I was mildly concerned when I saw it.
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I wonder how much of this was dissatisfaction with the franchise's direction and how much was a signed-with-hearts message to Tavares and his agent...
What little info I could find on the subject indicated that Tavares actually liked Weight. Ultimately though it Weight got the ax because of the lack of recent success and the fact Lou would rather have his own guy in there, whomever that might be.
Did it look to anyone else like the Caps let up in the five minutes leading up to the two VGK goals last night? I saw it with the top line in particular. Regardless, I liked the overall team two-goal response but I was mildly concerned when I saw it.
I didn't really put a watch on it, but the Knights put on a solid push when they came out for the 3rd period. In the context of the series outside of game 1 where the Caps gave up some penalties and got burned by it, it was of little consequence. Though I'd be lying if I didn't feel as if the Caps were going to shrivel up and cave until they scored again. Such is the fragile mentality expecting bad things to happen at any moment. That's the nature of Washington sports fandom for the past 30 years.
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Fairly even first period. Neither team is leaving space for the other. Refs look like they are not going to call anything short of obvious. Everything thus far looks like this game may end up a low scoring affair.
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20 years I have waited for this chance as a fan again. now let's hoist this baby!
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When this season started, isn't this what we all expected? Alex Ovechkin holding up the Cup after getting past Pittsburgh and all those postseason demons, beating VEGAS to get it done?
Anyone who made that bet can not just retire, they can buy the next expansion team.
Congratulations to the Washington Capitals, Stanley Cup Champions 2018!!!
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Well, the long slog is over, and we have our 2017-2018 champions. The Caps have finally slain their demons and all those years of promise have finally borne fruit. Congratulations to a team of very worthy champs.
Obviously there were many things that have changed for the Caps over the years, but I believe the biggest factor was...THEY UNLOADED KARL ALZNER. :D ;D
So, how can I turn this victory back towards Montreal again...? Yes I can...
The tying and winning goals were scored by Devante Smith-Pelly and Lars Eller, two more players the Habs' so-called "brain trust" gave up on. And who had a pretty damn good playoff run as members of the Caps.
Come on, you two guys. Bring the Cup to Montreal, drive up with it outside Marc Bergevin's and Michel Therrien's places, and yell in the most obnoxious voices possible, "Look what we found!!!" (So many of us were hoping it would be P.K. doing it, but this'll be almost as good)
cheers,
Gabe
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I, ah... I guess I'd rather let the Capitals rest on their own laurels than try to shoehorn why it's another team's doing that allowed them to win it all. Your mileage may (and clearly DOES) vary, but I strongly disagree with your sentiment here.
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Going forward maybe the NHL can simply just award the Cup to the winner of the Crosby/Ovechkin series and cancel the final two rounds.
They just seem like a formality at this point. ;)
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I, ah... I guess I'd rather let the Capitals rest on their own laurels than try to shoehorn why it's another team's doing that allowed them to win it all. Your mileage may (and clearly DOES) vary, but I strongly disagree with your sentiment here.
Um...what is it you THINK I'm saying...?
I did not in any sense mean that it's because of these two specifically that the Caps won it all. No, my comment had everything to do with the Habs management's apparent ongoing inability to properly utilize and develop certain (kinds of) players--players that other, more competently run and coached organizations--like the one that just took the championship--seem to know how to get the most out of.
Now, on another note...is the Stanley Cup actually allowed to be taken from North America?
cheers,
Gabe
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Now, on another note...is the Stanley Cup actually allowed to be taken from North America?
cheers,
Gabe
Yes, I know it's been to Sweden and Finland, for sure. I'm sure it's been to the Czech Republic and Russia, too. Besides, it's not the real Cup that goes on the road as it it's too precious to put in the hands of those who choose to abuse it.
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Obviously there were many things that have changed for the Caps over the years, but I believe the biggest factor was...THEY UNLOADED KARL ALZNER. :D ;D
If the Caps could have afforded it, they most likely would have kept Alzner. Alzner's lack of injury history and the fact he was a tenured vet priced him out of the Caps budget. He truthfully should
have been avoided by any cost conscious team based on more recent injury from a sports hernia that he never properly recovered from in 2016-2017. He's never really piled up the points and the Canadiens paid double his previous salary when he probably should have been paid about 3/4 of the amount he is paid now. Simply put the NHL puts a high price on experience and in only a small percentage of cases is the right price tag assigned to the player.
I can't wait to see what Michal Kempny signs for and where this off season. He definitely has value and was heavily feature this post season. He doesn't have huge offensive numbers, just like Alzner, and only made $900,000 plus possible bonus pay. I'd be willing to bet he gets at least triple his current value this off season because he won the Cup. While he doesn't have a large NHL tenure, he's been a pro elsewhere, but he's going to get someone to possible throw a large amount of cash at him for his recent success.
The tying and winning goals were scored by Devante Smith-Pelly and Lars Eller, two more players the Habs' so-called "brain trust" gave up on. And who had a pretty damn good playoff run as members of the Caps.
Based on where Eller is now, a Stanley Cup champ, with multiple stand out moments in the playoffs I'd say sure, hindsight is 20/20. This year was his best year as a professional and he still didn't crack 40 points of 20 goals during the regular season. Eller's base salary is 3.5 mil for the next 4 years and I'd say that is worth it. If he he hits bonuses though that money escalates potentially closer to 5 mil (per Capfriendly.com). If any team offered me a 1st and 2nd round pick for Eller under those conditions like Montreal was, I'd take it 10/10 times. The odds that Eller turns out in the long turns out a significantly better performance is rather low.
Smith-Pelly is a harder guy to peg on who he was or is. The consensus though is that he would be someone who might play as high at the second line. His offensive production has never met that expectation outside of the playoffs. He paid maybe a hair over value by both Montreal and New Jersey, but the salary he had at the time seemed just fine. The Caps played him largely 3rd and 4th line minutes which seems to be where he is best suited. I don't honestly know why NJ decided to cut him. He's young, controlled, and could have easily played on either teams 3rd or 4th. The fact that the Canadiens traded him for Stefan Matteau was baffling.
Bringing things back full circle though, I'd say the cup will make its way back to Montreal. If not from one of these two guys, Alex Chiasson is from Montreal and I'd have to think he'd be bringing the Cup there.
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I can't wait to see what Michal Kempny signs for and where this off season. He definitely has value and was heavily feature this post season. He doesn't have huge offensive numbers, just like Alzner, and only made $900,000 plus possible bonus pay. I'd be willing to bet he gets at least triple his current value this off season because he won the Cup. While he doesn't have a large NHL tenure, he's been a pro elsewhere, but he's going to get someone to possible throw a large amount of cash at him for his recent success.
I know of a certain GM who really likes to overpay for free agents, particularly defensemen...
Based on where Eller is now, a Stanley Cup champ, with multiple stand out moments in the playoffs I'd say sure, hindsight is 20/20. This year was his best year as a professional and he still didn't crack 40 points of 20 goals during the regular season. Eller's base salary is 3.5 mil for the next 4 years and I'd say that is worth it. If he he hits bonuses though that money escalates potentially closer to 5 mil (per Capfriendly.com). If any team offered me a 1st and 2nd round pick for Eller under those conditions like Montreal was, I'd take it 10/10 times. The odds that Eller turns out in the long turns out a significantly better performance is rather low.
Well, I didn't say or imply he was going to suddenly be jumping to the first (or even second) line. He's at best a third-line centre who works best in the shutdown role. And that's how the Habs tried to use him--the difference being that Michel Therrien always shifted him between lines 3 & 4 and insisted on playing him with stone-handed pluggers. The Caps staff paired him with linemates that were actually worth a damn.
Smith-Pelly is a hard per guy to peg on who he was or is. The consensus though is that he would be someone who might play as high at the second line. His offensive production has never met that expectation outside of the playoffs. He paid maybe a hair over value by both Montreal and New Jersey, but the salary he had at the time seemed just fine. The Caps played him largely 3rd and 4th line minutes which seems to be where he is best suited. I don't honestly know why NJ decided to cut him. He's young, controlled, and could have easily played on either teams 3rd or 4th. The fact that the Canadiens traded him for Stefan Matteau was baffling.
Better a 3rd/4th liner who knows how to step up his game for crucial playoff moments, than a first-liner who keeps brushing the glass ceiling of elite status in the regular season and becomes a non-factor in the playoffs.
Bringing things back full circle though, I'd say the cup will make its way back to Montreal. If not from one of these two guys, Alex Chiasson is from Montreal and I'd have to think he'd be bringing the Cup there.
I was, of course, being facetious. If DSP will be bringing the Cup anywhere, it'll be to his hometown of Toronto.
And my question above about the Cup being allowed to leave North American soil had more to do with whether or not the NHL would countenance the idea of Ovi and Kuznetsov** bringing it to Russia for a spin. And if they can, Eller might like to bring it to Denmark...
**Try to picture Kuznetsov tooling around the streets of Chelyabinsk in a tractor, the Cup in his lap...
cheers,
Gabe
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I'm not entirely certain what to make out of this trade other than the fact the Montreal Canadiens appear like they might actually go through with a rebuild. I see no downside for the Coyotes.
https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/06/15/trade-coyotes-get-alex-galchenyuk-canadiens-gamble-on-max-domi/ (https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/06/15/trade-coyotes-get-alex-galchenyuk-canadiens-gamble-on-max-domi/)
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The Coyotes got a great player, really. The Habs... got a guy who might end up being one, but might not. This is a win at the moment for Arizona, for sure- I'm not entirely sure what the Habs' line of thought was here, other than 'Bergevin is consistently weird'. Domi may end up being decent, but I wouldn't have made this gamble.
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Wow. Barry Trotz just stepped down as coach of the Capitals.
I suspect we'll be hearing from the Islanders VERY shortly.
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The Isles need more than Trotz to fix what ails them.
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The Isles need more than Trotz to fix what ails them.
But they may have it now. Remember, they've cleaned house- the goofy ownership under Wang is over, Snow is out, a proven contender-builder is now running the show, a good solid coach (assuming Trotz goes there, and I'm waiting for that announcement)... if Tavares needs a signal that this is where to play still, to not leave town and seek a Cup elsewhere, I'll grant the Isles this- they're sending all the right signals.
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The Capitols sure want to make their Stanley Cup win an interesting one.
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Wow. Barry Trotz just stepped down as coach of the Capitals.
I suspect we'll be hearing from the Islanders VERY shortly.
Honestly I don't think Lou will pay out the money to hire Trotz. He is certainly the hot coach of the moment, but I suspect he's going to command north of 2 million and probably north of that. Trotz makes 1.5 million a year and the escalator if he won the cup was another 2 years at an additional 300k.
Julien makes 5 million a year
Quenneville 6 million a year
Babcock 6.25 million a year
None of those guys has won a cup in the past 3 years!
Todd McLellan is $3 mil a year
Dave Hakstol is $2 mil a year
Bruce Boudreau is 2.6 mil a year
None of these guys has sniffed a cup as a head coach. If I was Trotz I'd be aiming for at least as much money as these last 3 guys and probably more. Will he get that much eventually? Most likely he will, but I don't think it will be with the Islanders. The safe bet is he takes a year off, takes a TV job somewhere. According to Capfriendly.com here is a list of teams whose head coaching contracts come due at the end of next season:
Columbus, San Jose, Anaheim, Colorado, and Nashville ;D
St. Louis and Minnesota could and probably will fire Yeo and Boudreau if they either don't make the playoffs or make a deeper run.
Also Todd Reardon is 90% likely to be the next head coach. If he isn't I'd be shocked.
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Reports are it was a combo of the money & term (5 years) that was the downfall. I think its a fair ask on Trotz's end (stability, pay similar to other cup winners), but I can see not wanting to be locked in for that long or pay top tier for a coach (which then might have the assistant coaches and on down the line come asking for big raises).
Getting a raise and extension is fair for winning the cup (although the roughly 20% raise seems small by itself), but it just sucks to see them not be able to work this out.
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Mike Hoffman just got traded twice today before lunch. Man did his grlfriend screw up his career. He's in Florida, now, by way of San Jose. god only knows where this man will be come sunset.
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Mike Hoffman just got traded twice today before lunch. Man did his grlfriend screw up his career. He's in Florida, now, by way of San Jose. god only knows where this man will be come sunset.
I was trying to think of the last time a player got traded twice in a day, and the best I could think of was Martin Jones leaving L.A. for Boston, then immediately to become the Kings' worst nightmare in San Jose within about two hours. Same idea for Ottawa here- you got rid of a talented but problematic player to somewhere you'll hardly ever have to face him, all so he could end up right back in your division later in the morning.
San Jose got rid of a bad contract, Florida got a very good forward, and I can't see any way Ottawa didn't punch themselves in the groin here. They were in a bad place- they had to move Hoffman, and everyone knew it, but that was still a pretty lousy return for a core part of their offense.
My dad called me a couple of nights ago asking what the hell was going on about it, because he'd seen a headline about the whole mess but didn't see the details. After giving him the cliff-notes version, his reply was "...wow. That woman must be a hell of a good cook for him not to have tossed her out in the lawn."
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I went to look him up, and the second auto-fill result on Google was "Mike Hoffman wife," followed two places later by "Mike Hoffman girlfriend." Yeah, it's pretty gross stuff.
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Of course, her antics did prompt her to not only get her away from Karlsson's wife, but got her moved to a nice warm climate for her troubles too... so I'm not sure she really had a life lesson learned from all this.
"If I say unspeakable things about someone else and harass them mercilessly, I'll get to spend my winters in Miami!"
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I went to look him up, and the second auto-fill result on Google was "Mike Hoffman wife," followed two places later by "Mike Hoffman girlfriend." Yeah, it's pretty gross stuff.
This has been going on for some time apparently:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/rumours-karlssons-harassment-circulating-time/ (https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/rumours-karlssons-harassment-circulating-time/)
Considering the Karlssons' tragedy earlier this past year, some of those comments--if true--are particularly odious, almost inhuman.
cheers,
Gabe
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This has been going on for some time apparently:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/rumours-karlssons-harassment-circulating-time/ (https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/rumours-karlssons-harassment-circulating-time/)
Considering the Karlssons' tragedy earlier this past year, some of those comments--if true--are particularly odious, almost inhuman.
cheers,
Gabe
It's stories like this that make me hate all social media. The Internet has become a bully pulpit where folks spew their venom, relatively anonymously with little fear of repercussion.
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It's stories like this that make me hate all social media. The Internet has become a bully pulpit where folks spew their venom, relatively anonymously with little fear of repercussion.
This has been going on for literally all of recorded history. Horrible behavior on social media - which, by the way, includes web forums - is barely any different from the whisper campaigns, attack broadsheets, and even graffiti of the past. Despite the fearmongering of the technophobes, social media has had many more positive results than negative. For example, a web forum for an old board game has allowed fans of that game from around the world to discuss it for the past twenty years and introduced new talent to the publisher. On a personal note, services like Facebook mean that I can keep in touch with my friends and family over the country and world in real time, allowing us to share our lives in a far more intimate and responsive manner than ever before.
Are there bad people on social media? Yes, but they're bad people in real life as well, and the kind of person who would act in such reprehensible ways doesn't care about repercussions at all. For that matter, note that this person's behavior has come to public light and begun to affect her life, so there are repercussions.
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A definite lack of early wheeling and dealing at the draft this evening. The first few picks seem to have been about what was expected. Caps made a trade earlier to send Orpik and Grubauer for a 2nd round pick in this year's draft. I'd call that pretty damn good for Washington and between okay and decent for Colorado. That gives the Avs Varlomov and Grubauer in net next season, unless they can figure out some way to trade Varlamov elsewhere.
Buffalo has made the choice to non tenure Lehner, which I think is a horrible idea. I suspect he will have no problem finding a job making at or more than what his previous contract was worth.
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I like the Avs getting Grubauer, but I'm not happy with Orpik and his contract. A nice salary dump by the Caps if they are intent on bringing Carlson back.
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According to WaPo, GMBM is willing to bring Orpik back if the Avs buyout his contract...not sure if that's a good idea, oh well.
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I like the Avs getting Grubauer, but I'm not happy with Orpik and his contract. A nice salary dump by the Caps if they are intent on bringing Carlson back.
Capfriendly.com is reporting Grubauer has a new 3 year deal at 3.3 mil+ a year. Taking Orpik's contract on was the price of doing business. Capfriendly is also reporting that Orpik has been placed on unconditional waivers and Sakic stating to him they would explore trade options or a buyout and it looks like the later is more likely.
This allows the Caps a good chunk of money to pay and make a competitive offer to Carlson. I don't believe he will give the Caps a home town discount though. GMBM seems to think he will get the deal done. In a few hours though he can start talking to other teams.
According to WaPo, GMBM is willing to bring Orpik back if the Avs buyout his contract...not sure if that's a good idea, oh well.
I'm hoping he said that out of respect and doesn't actually follow through with it. A guy like Ian Cole or Brandon Manning could likely be brought in for less than Orpik.
The rest of the NHL news for the day has Kovalchuk signing with the Kings for 6.25 mil for 3 years. I don't think that gets them over the hump, but it makes the Pacific more interesting.
Last, but not least, Dougie Hamilton has been traded to the Hurricanes in a 5 player deal:
https://www.nhl.com/news/flames-trade-dougie-hamilton-micheal-ferland-to-hurricanes-for-noah-hanifin-elias-lindholm/c-299231490?tid=278542340 (https://www.nhl.com/news/flames-trade-dougie-hamilton-micheal-ferland-to-hurricanes-for-noah-hanifin-elias-lindholm/c-299231490?tid=278542340)
It looks like a decent trade both ways to me. Multiple players who have either floundered or not lived up to their expectations and headed elsewhere for a change in scenery.
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Well, John Carlson just cashed in with his signing of an 8 year, $64 million deal.
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The Avs net will be interesting this season- not because it'll be a competition between Varlamov and Grubauer, but because it'll be interesting to see how long until Grubauer is starting. Varlamov's deal is up at the end of this coming season, and... let's be real, he's been decent, but not great. He's been very injury-prone, and takes a long time to recover from those injuries. When he's healthy he's good, but not top-level kind of play generally. He won't be returning to that net after 2019- the Grubauer deal was a big flashing sign in that regard, and the deal signed shortly after merely put the exclamation point on it.
So that's Grubauer's net when the 2020 season starts, and the question now is how long until Avs management sort of elbows Bednar along into making it happen a lot sooner. My guess is that the first modest losing streak (3 games-ish?) or Varlamov injury, Grubauer won't hand the keys back unless he REALLY forgets how to hockey. Nothing I've seen of him in Washington suggests he will.
I don't know if he's really a better goalie overall than Varlamov- we've seen him as a starter only briefly at the end of this past season, and being 'the guy' for a whole year is very different from backup duty, particularly on a team with a defense as questionable as the Avs. But, no question that the Avs are all in on him- here's hoping the gamble works out.
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Swiss cheese has less holes in it than the Avs defense. ;D
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Varlamov's deal is up at the end of this coming season, and... let's be real, he's been decent, but not great. He's been very injury-prone, and takes a long time to recover from those injuries. When he's healthy he's good, but not top-level kind of play generally. He won't be returning to that net after 2019- the Grubauer deal was a big flashing sign in that regard, and the deal signed shortly after merely put the exclamation point on it.
That was really the main issue with him while he was here. He would get injured and be out for a protracted period of time. Michal Neuvirth ended up replacing him because he could stay healthy and play at nearly the same level. Neuvirth, or course, then started getting issued later and Holtby caught fire and the rest was academic. One of the draft picks in that trade then became Filip Forsberg which will, which effectively became Martin Erat (pardon me while I lament, again).
I think he's still a hair better than his career stats assuming you give him NHL mid-grade defense in front of him. Something he has never had. Grubauer is probably an upgrade and perhaps snags them 3 or 4 more standings points. That's enough to get them out of a wild card, but still facing another really good team within the Central and not much better than they are now).
Varlamov should be an attractive option for another team out there if Sakic decides to trade him. If it doesn't work out, then he is a UFA at the end of the year. I suspect Robin Lehner signs first and then Varlamov gets traded after the fact. Lehner is a UFA after the Sabres didn't tenure him and offer. I get it that Lehner has been the starter for some of the worst years in Sabres history, but he isn't as bad as his goals against, nor the reason why they stunk so bad this year. If I were the Flames or the Islanders I'd tenure him a contract. They both have the money and need a strong need for starting goal tender.
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I'd back you on Lehner. In both his and Varlamov's cases, decent B-level goalie with an absolutely horrendous defense in front of them- I'd put Patrick Roy in his prime in net for the 2017 Avs and feel pretty bad about his chances, really.
Other side of it, of course, is wondering how much a good defense makes a goaltender look better. I typed that intending to give an example, and now no one comes to mind. Crawford maybe? I guess?
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Other side of it, of course, is wondering how much a good defense makes a goaltender look better. I typed that intending to give an example, and now no one comes to mind. Crawford maybe? I guess?
I think Crawford has shut the door on that idea. At least I think he has. The defense he had in front of him for those cup runs has been eroded by the salary caps. Despite the fact he's had worse talent in front of him his GAA and Sv% have been consistent. I think the only knock on him is his potential durability. He's never played 60 games in a season. I don't think that is really an issue though. If you have a good backup, let him play more and keep Crawford fresher for the post season. Up until this season the 'Hawks had Ray Emery, Antti Raanta, and Scott Darling all played between 20-30 so games a season as a back up. Anton Forsberg sort of broke that model of consistency.
I think the example I can best bring up would be Craig Anderson. The couple years where the Sens seem to have at least an decent d-corp around him and he manages a 92 sv%. In other years when the rest of the team plays poorly his GAA and Sv PCT become bloated.
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Other side of it, of course, is wondering how much a good defense makes a goaltender look better. I typed that intending to give an example, and now no one comes to mind. Crawford maybe? I guess?
EDIT: Take Holtby as an example of bad defense throwing off a goalie's stats
End of EDIT
Holtby this year's regular season vs the two previous years & this year's playoffs. Two time Vezina finalist, one time winner, Conn Smythe #3.
His GAA went from a 2.20 (15-16), 2.07 (16-17), 2.16 (17-18 playoffs) to a 2.99 (17-18 reg season).
His save % went from .922, .925, .922 to a .907.
And just to in case you thought those were just on him, he faced a higher shot per min rate (.537) this past regular season than the other seasons/playoffs (.469, .459, .461).
After the Caps traded for Kempny and tweaked the defensive scheme a bit, shots against dropped and Holtby's performance increased. Even if Holtby kept his .907 save percentage, that would have resulted in 9.5 more goals against this playoffs, which would have made it a much shorter postseason for the Caps
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After the Caps traded for Kempny and tweaked the defensive scheme a bit, shots against dropped and Holtby's performance increased. Even if Holtby kept his .907 save percentage, that would have resulted in 9.5 more goals against this playoffs, which would have made it a much shorter postseason for the Caps
As a pro, this was Holtby's worst season. Prior to this past 3 seasons the defense that was in front of him was average to mediocre. I'd say his body of work speaks for itself in that he's not a man made by the team or system in front of him. Anyone is falliable though if you have substandard talent in front of you playing defense or you start trying to tinker with something that isn't broken such as was the case when Kolzig was the goalie coach during Adam Oates tenure as head coach.
Pens traded Sheary and Hunwick today for a pick(s) in a cash/cap saving move. With rumors floating about that they are trying to shop Ryan O'Reily, I was trying to figure out who was going to pass him the puck. Then I remembered, that Jack Eichel is in Buffalo! Granted he isn't shabby at all and an injury derailed what would have been another year of increased production. I still can't figure out why you'd lock him up for 10 mil a year though.
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Wait, where did I pick on Holtby in my post?
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Didn't say you did. I was giving him as an example of bad defense throwing off a goalie's performance numbers.
I'll go back and trim your quote to just that part