# NHL 2010-2011 Thread



## technomancer

So preseason started today, it's time for a new thread 

I watched the Flyers-Devils preseason game on NHL Network tonight... looks like it's going to be another tough year in the Atlantic Division


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## mattofvengeance

Getting closer and closer to hockey that matters 

We should have an SSO fantasy hockey league!


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## technomancer

I've got to say DAMN do I wish this Pens - Detroit game was being televised... 3-0 Pens in the first 

Granted it's exhibition, but Osgood IS in net for Detroit


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## MrMcSick

hell yeah 3-0 so far. Im listening on the x. Wish it was televised.


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## technomancer

MrMcSick said:


> hell yeah 3-0 so far. Im listening on the x. Wish it was televised.



Hehe yup me too. Gotta' say though, wonder what the hell Orpik was thinking kneeing somebody in an exhibition game... who does he thing he is, Ovechkin?


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## JeffFromMtl

Oh god, the Carey Price saga begins

One exhibition game (which was, admittedly, terrible on Price's part) in, and people are already calling for his head. It's going to be a long, long season in Montreal.


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

He wasn't responsible for Bergeron's goals IMO. Still not a very good performance.


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## Hollowman

ATDHE.net or channelsurfing.net usually carries all the games.


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## TheDivineWing22

NHL, HBO announce 24/7 Caps-Pens Winter Classic series - 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic - Capitals v. Penguins

"The NHL and HBO Sports announced Thursday their partnership for a groundbreaking, four-episode series as part of the network's 12-time Emmy Award-winning "24/7" reality TV franchise that will go deep into the inner workings of the Capitals-Penguins rivalry leading up to the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, which will be played Jan. 1 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. "

I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I think I want this kind of stuff to stay out of the NHL. Its just going to create more drama and give Pens/Caps haters more to talk about.


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## playstopause

The wait is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 



Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> He wasn't responsible for Bergeron's goals IMO. Still not a very good performance.



True, it was a bad performance. But those who call themselves "fans", and whistle at him are fucking morons, IMO. Let's wait 15-20 games, then we'll talk. Give the guy a chance for Christ's sake... He needs our support.


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

^ 

Good luck to all the teams (except maybe one or two ). Another great season is about to start


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## JeffFromMtl

playstopause said:


> The wait is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> True, it was a bad performance. But those who call themselves "fans", and whistle at him are fucking morons, IMO. Let's wait 15-20 games, then we'll talk. Give the guy a chance for Christ's sake... He needs our support.



Agreed. I was up in the Molson Ex Zone, so I heard it the loudest . I certainly wasn't impressed with his performance, but the reaction from some of the fans is just a little too much. Right after the game, I was listening to the radio, and people were calling in talking about how "this is what our season is going to look like with Price in the net"... After one meaningless game. Halak's gone, and still, the goaltending controversy just doesn't go away . I'm definitely with you on the support thing. He's a good goaltender with a lot of potential, but being so young, we're not helping by making it more difficult than it already is.


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## technomancer

Price needs to be given a chance, I've seen the guy play in person in a couple of games against the Pens where he was just UNREAL. Given that and that he's young, you guys are probably in good shape.

I also love people trying to judge the season based on the preseason. Like yes, it's fun, but come on until the final lineups take the ice all bets are off. Hell the Pens game last night only had one or two guys playing that are likely to be top 6 forwards 

I do have to say though that while I'm not an Asham fan, the idea of a Cooke - Talbot - Asham line is pretty freaking scary. I hadn't thought about them doing something like that.


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## TheDivineWing22

technomancer said:


> I do have to say though that while I'm not an Asham fan, the idea of a Cooke - Talbot - Asham line is pretty freaking scary. I hadn't thought about them doing something like that.



I think that they will make a good line if the Pens decide to go that route. I'm also interested in Comrie staying on the second line if they want to move Malkin to wing and keeping Staal on the 3rd line when he comes back. I really want to know what the final lineup will be.

On a side note, congrats Technomancer on the new mod status!


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## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> I think that they will make a good line if the Pens decide to go that route. I'm also interested in Comrie staying on the second line if they want to move Malkin to wing and keeping Staal on the 3rd line when he comes back. I really want to know what the final lineup will be.
> 
> On a side note, congrats Technomancer on the new mod status!



Thanks 

Honestly from the little I've seen so far I'd LOVE to see the following:

Sterling - Crosby - Kunitz/Dupuis
Tangredi - Comrie - Malkin
Cooke - Staal/Talbot - Asham

Unfortunately from what we've seen in past years with the Pens being VERY unwilling to really give AHL prospects spots in the lineup I doubt it will happen. I'm figuring we're more likely to see

Dupuis - Crosby - Kunitz
Asham - Comrie - Malkin

changing to 

Comrie - Staal - Malkin

when Staal gets back


as the top two lines... because you know the Pens have guys under NHL contracts so they'll get shuffled to the top 2 lines whether they belong there or not


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## technomancer

Also, just wanted to take a minute to say how cool tonight's Pens game is. ALL of the tickets for tonight's game were given away to local youth hockey teams, local charities, and people that worked in the construction of the new arena.


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## technomancer

So watching Hawks / Wings on NHL Net:

Dear Hawks Fans, it's the first week of preseason, it is WAY TOO FUCKING EARLY to be chanting, "We want the Cup"... especially when your team is now 1-2 in the preseason


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## jymellis

i played ice hockey for years. my newest brother in law is a ohio highschool gym teacher/football coach. we where talking sports. keep in mind im not a football fan. i was talking about how much fun it was to play and how rough it was sometimes. he instantly said "yeah well they hit harder in football" like it was a competition. it took me about 2 seconds to realize what he said and think. NO WAY IN HELL. i dont think there is anyway that a football player hits harder than a hockey player. what do you think? i would think physics would say the faster moving man would cause the biggest hit, wouldnt you.


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## technomancer

jymellis said:


> i played ice hockey for years. my newest brother in law is a ohio highschool gym teacher/football coach. we where talking sports. keep in mind im not a football fan. i was talking about how much fun it was to play and how rough it was sometimes. he instantly said "yeah well they hit harder in football" like it was a competition. it took me about 2 seconds to realize what he said and think. NO WAY IN HELL. i dont think there is anyway that a football player hits harder than a hockey player. what do you think? i would think physics would say the faster moving man would cause the biggest hit, wouldnt you.



Yup... Not to mention in football it's all two guys hitting each other, as opposed to getting smashed into a solid wall of wood / glass 

Football guys always have the 'oh football is the toughest sport" thing going on. When the NFL starts playing 82 games a season with back-to-back games and playoff series that're best of 7 for each matchup I'll agree  Hell football players whine when they have to play Monday and the following Sunday


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## technomancer

Pens are kicking ass, I was at the game tonight and they look REALLY good.

I also wanted to extend a public thanks to Brent Seabrook for scoring the Pens' two goals in the third period


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## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> Yup... Not to mention in football it's all two guys hitting each other, as opposed to getting smashed into a solid wall of wood / glass
> 
> Football guys always have the 'oh football is the toughest sport" thing going on. When the NFL starts playing 82 games a season with back-to-back games and playoff series that're best of 7 for each matchup I'll agree  Hell football players whine when they have to play Monday and the following Sunday



Having played both a lot in my 23 years, I will acknowledge that hockey is the tougher sport, but football is a much more physically demanding game. There is no way they could play with that sort of intensity for 82 games. Hell, adding two regular season games is completely ludicrous.


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## playstopause

And it's now "official" : Gionta is our captain.

My thoughts :


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## Groff

playstopause said:


> And it's now "official" : Gionta is our captain.
> 
> My thoughts :



High five for that!


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

playstopause said:


> And it's now "official" : Gionta is our captain.
> 
> My thoughts :


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## troyguitar

mattofvengeance said:


> Having played both a lot in my 23 years, I will acknowledge that hockey is the tougher sport, but football is a much more physically demanding game. There is no way they could play with that sort of intensity for 82 games. Hell, adding two regular season games is completely ludicrous.



They could play every day, but it would be a different game. They wouldn't have so many 300 lb dudes anymore 

I've never been more tired in my life then after playing pick-up hockey where there were only 10 skaters so everyone was on the ice the whole time.


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## technomancer

Pens spank Detroit 5-2 in the final preseason game for a 5-1 record 

I'm looking forward to the start of the season. Our first tix are Saturday against Montreal


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## JeffFromMtl

Cammalleri will be out for game 1 against the Leafs, serving a suspension for losing his cool with Nino Niederreiter of the Isles on Saturday.

I think he deserved it, but not for the wimpy "slash". I think the stick to the face, whether it was harmful or not, was uncalled for. Cammy looked like Sean Avery out there for a second, and it's a shame, because he should be part of the leadership core of this team. So Nino took a cheap shot on him and wasn't called... You hit him back and that's that, there's no need to lose your cool and act like a pest.


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## playstopause

^

Agreed. I don't know what went trough his head... And some people thought he should have been the captain... I like him a lot, but no.


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## technomancer

Crap, clearly one of the Pens goaltenders has an unexpected injury or illness and might not be able to play tomorrow, as Tangredi got sent to the ECHL and a goalie got brought up 

Penguins demote Tangradi to Wheeling - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

EDIT: The Pens recalled Tangredi and kept the ECHL goalie in Pittsburgh... but both Fleury and Johnson were at the morning skate and played in net  Asham's still out with an injury from preseason.


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

Decent start for the Habs tonight despite the loss.

That Oilers - Flames game was BRUTAL!


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## MrMcSick

I hate Philly.


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## Groff

MrMcSick said:


> I hate Philly.



Sorry we won 

I thought it was a good game. Both goalies were on fire!


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## technomancer

^  honestly I thought both teams played well, the big difference maker was the Flyers goalie holding off the Pens in the first period. Our first regular-season tickets are Saturday against the Habs, hopefully the Pens take that one.


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

How about hopefully they don't!


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## technomancer

Unfortunately Price seems to play brilliantly against the Pens 90% of the time


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## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> Unfortunately Price seems to play brilliantly against the Pens 90% of the time



... And then there's the other 10% 

I'm looking forward to the game, I have a feeling both teams are going to come out strong after losing games that really could have gone either way.


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## technomancer

Yeah should be a good game  

I think Martin and Michalek are still getting used to the Pens system, Martin especially after so many years in the uber-conservative Devils system. Should be interesting as things go forward.


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## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> ... And then there's the other 10%
> 
> I'm looking forward to the game, I have a feeling both teams are going to come out strong after losing games that really could have gone either way.



Here's hoping tonight is one of those 10% nights


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## technomancer

I am getting REALLY sick of Fleury looking fantastic and making amazing saves then giving up goals a college goalie should make 

Aside from that, and getting a 4 minute penalty for Suban smacking himself in the face with his own stick, I can't complain about the game, the Pens looked great even though they lost. Price was amazing.


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## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> I am getting REALLY sick of Fleury looking fantastic and making amazing saves then giving up goals a college goalie should make
> 
> Aside from that, and getting a 4 minute penalty for Suban smacking himself in the face with his own stick, I can't complain about the game, the Pens looked great even though they lost. Price was amazing.



Yeah, Fleury can't be feeling too good about that winning goal. Same goes for Price though. The 2nd Pens goal was a bit of a softy, but his play tonight was outstanding otherwise. I thought it was pretty clear that it was Comrie's stick that got Subban just above the eye though.

I think that if this game is any indication, there's still some bad blood left from last season's playoffs between these two teams, and we should see a real dogfight whenever they meet this season. A good old-time hockey rivalry.


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

It was a fun game tonight. Even if the habs hadn't come back and won, up until then it was still a fun game to watch.


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## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Yeah, Fleury can't be feeling too good about that winning goal. Same goes for Price though. The 2nd Pens goal was a bit of a softy, but his play tonight was outstanding otherwise. I thought it was pretty clear that it was Comrie's stick that got Subban just above the eye though.
> 
> I think that if this game is any indication, there's still some bad blood left from last season's playoffs between these two teams, and we should see a real dogfight whenever they meet this season. A good old-time hockey rivalry.



The replay on the jumbotron that's the size of a house looked like it was his own stick smacking him... I'd love to see a video of it since they only show it once in the arena  If you see it online let me know.

There's definitely some rivalry going on there 

I just get REALLY tired of watching the Pens blow games they should win. No disrespect to the Habs, but they really did get dominated for a large chunk of that game. The Pens dominant play for 50 minutes and blow the game in 10 thing is just not fun to watch


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## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> The replay on the jumbotron that's the size of a house looked like it was his own stick smacking him... I'd love to see a video of it since they only show it once in the arena  If you see it online let me know.
> 
> There's definitely some rivalry going on there
> 
> I just get REALLY tired of watching the Pens blow games they should win. No disrespect to the Habs, but they really did get dominated for a large chunk of that game. The Pens dominant play for 50 minutes and blow the game in 10 thing is just not fun to watch





I can see how it'd be easy to miss from the first angle, but the slow-mo replays show that it's clearly Comrie's stick. I understand why Subban was booed all game after the Staal injury last year and the way Subban and the Pens had generally gone after each other all game, but I was really surprised to hear him get booed while skating to the bench after he got his brow split.

I completely agree about the outcome of the game though, I thought the habs were _done_, as they were practically hemmed into their zone for a few minutes by the Pens nearing the end of the game, but they put up the equalizer, and were lucky enough to have squeaked the winner by Fleury.


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## technomancer

Ok I see what happened. Subban's stick knocked up Comrie's stick up, so it was a good call. On the ice and from the replay it looked like Subban hit himself. That was why everyone was pissed and booing, as it looked like Comrie's stick hit Subban's, and Subban hit himself and the Pens got a penalty for it  

That and there was a Montreal penalty a few seconds before that that didn't get called. I forget which two players were involved, but one of the Habs literally grabbed one of the smaller Pens (think it was Comrie or Letestu) by the front of the jersey, lifted him up and threw him down. It was a completely blatant hold that got ignored shortly before the Subban call, so everybody was worked up about that.


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## troyguitar

technomancer said:


> I just get REALLY tired of watching the Pens blow games they should win. No disrespect to the Habs, but they really did get dominated for a large chunk of that game. The Pens dominant play for 50 minutes and blow the game in 10 thing is just not fun to watch



Sounds like what used to happen in a lot of Red Wings losses 

side note: smoked the Ducks and beat the Blackhawks in their banner dropping game, much better start than getting pwned in Sweden last year!


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## mattofvengeance

2-0, tied for first in the Western Conference. This isn't going to last long, so I'll enjoy it


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## Groff

Just scored 2 tickets for the January 25th game Pilly vs Montreal. 5 rows back dead center behind the goal.

FUCK.
YES.


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## technomancer

Pens FINALLY win one: Pens > Jersey 3-1 

Of course it was against a Jersey team that literally only had 3 lines due to injuries and cap issues from signing Kovalchuk.... seriously, they only dressed 9 forwards and 6 defensemen. And the Pens barely held on and then Martin got an empty netter. Ah well, a win is a win I guess


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## Groff

technomancer said:


> Pens FINALLY win one: Pens > Jersey 3-1
> 
> Of course it was against a Jersey team that literally only had 3 lines due to injuries and cap issues from signing Kovalchuk.... seriously, they only dressed 9 forwards and 6 defensemen. And the Pens barely held on and then Martin got an empty netter. Ah well, a win is a win I guess



That's ok,  the Devils


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## technomancer

Groff said:


> That's ok,  the Devils


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## JeffFromMtl

Groff said:


> That's ok,  the Devils



I have a feeling this season might be the straw that breaks the camel's back; the camel being Brodeur


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## mattofvengeance

JeffFromMtl said:


> I have a feeling this season might be the straw that breaks the camel's back; the camel being Brodeur



I'm sure it will. He's only 93 years old.


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## technomancer

All I have to say about tonight's Pens game: the Leafs got 4 goals on 16 shots 

Oh and Orr got fucked up by a guy form the AHL


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

technomancer said:


> Oh and Orr got fucked up by a guy form the AHL


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## MrMcSick

Yeah, that game was a mess last night. So many turnovers.


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## technomancer

MrMcSick said:


> Yeah, that game was a mess last night. So many turnovers.



Oh I agree 100% the Pens' play was sloppy as hell. That doesn't change the fact that they outshot the Leafs almost 2 to 1 and only gave up 14 shots and STILL lost 4-3.

Also having watched Geno at the Allstars skills competition, I think when he has a penalty shot or a shootout chance he should just skate in to about 15' from the net, stop, and shoot from a standstill


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## technomancer

You know, I'm starting to wonder if the Pens are cursed. They finally start playing well, are up 2-0... and Letang gets a 5 minute major for elbowing and game misconduct for a clean shoulder to shoulder check. WHAT. THE. FUCK.

EDIT: Now they changed it to Illegal Hit to the Head. Sorry, given the shitty quality of refereeing in the NHL a play should have to be reviewed by Toronto before a game misconduct can be issued. It takes 2 minutes and would prevent bullshit like this.


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## technomancer

Despite the best efforts of the NHL and the Islanders the Pens get their first home win of the season 

Pens > Isles 3-2


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## MrMcSick

Im awaiting the apology from the nhl for the Letang call.


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## technomancer

Won't happen unfortunately. I did find it hilarious that there's supposed to be an automatic review for suspension when that call is made, but there's no mention of that happening on the NHL website 

Hopefully they play well tonight, it'd be nice to see them win 2 in a row for a change (and Fleury win one)


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## technomancer

Wow Pens unexpectedly pwn the Flyers 5-1


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## Groff

technomancer said:


> Wow Pens unexpectedly pwn the Flyers 5-1



Both our teams are having a weird season. Some nights are like "FUCK YEAH!" and other nights are like "Wtf happened?!"


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## troyguitar

technomancer said:


> All I have to say about tonight's Pens game: the Leafs got 4 goals on 16 shots



Try Dallas scoring 4 goals on their first 9 shots


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## technomancer

We are truly in the End Times... the Islanders and the Maples Leafs are both leading their divisions


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## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> We are truly in the End Times... the Islanders and the Maples Leafs are both leading their divisions



and  at how backwards the Pacific Division is right now. Stars in first, Sharks in last? Tehfuck!?


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## technomancer

The end is nigh  

I'm still pissed the Isles are ahead of the Pens because of the point the NHL basically gave them with the fucked up Letang call


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

Habs looking good


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## JeffFromMtl

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> Habs looking good



 Aside from the snorefest against the Devils, they haven't had a _bad_ game yet.


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## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Aside from the snorefest against the Devils, they haven't had a _bad_ game yet.



Wish I could say the same for the Pens  They managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory again against Tampa last night  How the hell you go from not letting a team out of their own end and scoring three goals, two them shorthanded, to losing 5-3 is just beyond me


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## Groff

technomancer said:


> Wish I could say the same for the Pens  They managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory again against Tampa last night  How the hell you go from not letting a team out of their own end and scoring three goals, two them shorthanded, to losing 5-3 is just beyond me



The Flyers are on a back-and-forth fest as well. It's kinda irritating 

I guess it keeps things interesting, eh?


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## Groff

What a start to todays game  Fucking brutal.

6 minutes in, only 3 shots on goal total.


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## technomancer

Yeah the start of this game was INSANE. How often do you see 3 on 3 hockey


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## TheDivineWing22

It was looking pretty cramped in the penalty box


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## technomancer

Yeah it's hilarious when there are more guys in the boxes than on the ice


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## Elysian

Stars have been looking really bad... They have lost 3 home games in a row, going to the game Saturday, hoping they don't make it a 4th... They're still 2nd in their division, but all 3 teams behind them are only 1 point away, 3 way tie for 3rd... Stars need to get their shit together, they're outshooting everyone they play against but not making any shots.


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## Groff

technomancer said:


> Yeah the start of this game was INSANE. How often do you see 3 on 3 hockey



When the Flyers and Pens mix, it's usually an all out war, but DAMN I couldn't help but laugh when it came to that


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## technomancer

Yeah. Unfortunately the Pens didn't come out of the locker room after the first  

If they can manage to play a full 60 minutes of hockey at some point this year the Pens will be dangerous  Oh and potentially scoring a power play goal would be nice too...


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## Groff

Sorry Islanders  (watch me jinx the game...)


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## Groff

Holy crap that game was brutal  The flyers and islanders couldnt seem to play nice at all.


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## technomancer

This shit is like a bad joke:

Staal to Undergo Surgery for Fractured Hand - Pittsburgh Penguins - News

So stall was FINALLY about to come back on Wednesday... and gets hit in the hand by a puck and is out for six more weeks


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## Groff

technomancer said:


> This shit is like a bad joke:
> 
> Staal to Undergo Surgery for Fractured Hand - Pittsburgh Penguins - News
> 
> So stall was FINALLY about to come back on Wednesday... and gets hit in the hand by a puck and is out for six more weeks



This season is starting out REALLY rough...


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## technomancer

Man, and the Pens are working REALLY hard to make the stars look good 

Way to go Morrow, picking a fight with Letang who is smaller than he is and has a bad hand


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## TheDivineWing22

^^ Last night was horrible. There were very few moments in that game where I could honestly say the Pens looked good. Seems everytime Goligoski has to go back to stop a breakaway it ends in a penalty shot.

I can't wait to see the Pens play a full 60 minutes of hockey.
oh well. Got to see Crosby drop the gloves!


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## technomancer

Yeah the Pens just looked bad all around last night. As for 60 minutes of hockey, it hasn't really happened yet this year


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## technomancer

Wow that Pens - Bruins game was just PAINFUL. We were there. Nothing like watching a team go from dominating the game and winning 4-2 to giving up 5 goals in 15 minutes and losing 7-4


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## MFB

I will say, you guys scoring a goal in the first THAT quickly was impressive. I think I turned it on like, 5 minutes in and it was already 1-0. I figured it was gonna go back and forth after seeing it get tied up not only once, but then a second time in the first period! Then when it got 4-2 I nearly throw the remote and called it a day, but then they managed to come back to 4-4 and it was just nerve-wracking watching the 3rd period.

I had a feeling the empty goal wasn't gonna work out but I could see why it was pulled


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## TheDivineWing22

Ugh, that was painful. Maybe the Pens should make a request to the NHL to make regulation 40 minutes.


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## technomancer

^ they might win some games that way  Honestly if the Bruins had just turned it on and looked great in the third it wouldn't have bothered me. What bothered me was the the Bruins kept playing the same and the Pens suddenly looked like the Keystone Cops.


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## TheDivineWing22

I dunno, I just feel like the Pens stop being agressive when they get the lead and feel content with just trying to hang out to a lead. Forwards give up on the forecheck and retreat to the neutral zone. I don't think they should stop being agressive just because they are ahead. Just my two cents.


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## technomancer

^ 

That and they just seem to lose focus. It's not even being aggressive as much as just mismanaging the puck 

PS - I did have one HUGE WTF moment with the officiating. How the hell do you get an interference penalty when you're standing still and get hit from behind without ever seeing the guy coming? That call on Orpik was HORRIBLE


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

Habs doing good this week and playing some sweet hockey, win or lose! Fun to watch


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## JeffFromMtl

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> Habs doing good this week and playing some sweet hockey, win or lose! Fun to watch



Yeah, things are going nicely for sure, but the season's gonna turn around real fast if they can't get get both of the top lines clicking on a semi-consistent basis. I can't even wrap my head around how they're first in the division when Gomez and Gionta have only 10 pts between them through 16 games, their best player in Markov was out for the first 10 games, and the team has only managed to score more than 3 goals in a game what, a whole two times this season? The only thing that *has* been consistent is Price's play. It's been said over and over again that his play would define the team's season, but I can't help but feel that things are going to turn ugly if the team continues to produce inadequate goal support, specifically the two guys I've already mentioned. So hopefully both Gomez and Gionta finding the net last night is a sign of things to come.


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## technomancer

And the Pens FINALLY play a full 60 minutes and Fleury played a good game for the first time this season


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## TheWreck

Wow! that was a crushing victory by the Habs! Really excited toward the game against Flyers! First game since last year playoffs....!


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## technomancer

Holy crap the Pens played 60 minutes of hockey 2 games in a row... and Geno made up for stupid penalties with a hat trick and and an assist. Fleury looked really good as well 

I hesitate to say it, but I wonder if the Pens are turning the corner.


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## JeffFromMtl

NO! MARKOV!!!!!


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## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> NO! MARKOV!!!!!



Just read the game recap, damn not again  He and Jordan Staal can write each other condolence letters


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## TheWreck

So Markov is out again....I did'nt have time to check the news after the game, had to go work, this is a sad moment.......!


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

Alright! Big win over the Flyers!


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## MFB

Just scored some free tickets to Saturday's game against the Kings. This will be my first game since early 2007 or so, and that was when my dad got free front-row tickets against Montreal. Also get to see the B's hopefully kick the shit out of the Flyers on Dec. 11th - it's gonna be a good couple weeks.


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## technomancer

Last night was a blast. A friend of ours was in from Vancouver and went to the Pens-Canucks game with us to watch the Pens win 3-1


----------



## JeffFromMtl

After playing their 4 best games of the season so far, the habs once again neglect to show up against a weak opponent. I don't understand how they can dominate the top teams (Philly, Boston, Vancouver), yet lose games to bottom-feeders Toronto, New Jersey, Florida, Nashville and Columbus. The only teams they've lost to who are in the playoff picture currently are Ottawa (8th in the east) and an overtime loss to Tampa (5th in the east). On top of that, both Jersey and Nashville _shut them out_ 3-0! I don't get it


----------



## technomancer

Yeah I'm currently watching the Pens struggle against the Canes  Then again the refs already missed a 4 minute high sticking call and it's not the end of the first yet sooooo...


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Awesome game last night for the Pens. Even more awesome to be at the arena to see it!


----------



## technomancer

^ I can see it would have been fun to be at, but the Pens need to get their D working better, no way that game should have gone to overtime much less a shootout


----------



## technomancer

The end is near, the four horsemen have commenced their ride:

The Pens have 2 power play goals in the first period of a game


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Does anyone else find it absolutley hilarious that the Devils are destroying the Caps 5-0 right now?


----------



## technomancer

MikeMonacoBrah said:


> Does anyone else find it absolutley hilarious that the Devils are destroying the Caps 5-0 right now?



 5 goals on 23 shots? Did the Caps goaltender stay home tonight?


----------



## MetalGolfer23

The Capitals were not firing on all cylinders the last two games, plain and simple. Yet, they are still in the top 2 of the East. If they want to keep their spot up there Ovechkin needs to start playing at an elite level, and stop missing the 'easy' shots he has been lately.


----------



## technomancer

MetalGolfer23 said:


> The Capitals were not firing on all cylinders the last two games, plain and simple. Yet, they are still in the top 2 of the East. If they want to keep their spot up there Ovechkin needs to start playing at an elite level, and stop missing the 'easy' shots he has been lately.



Well obviously. I also don't take the Caps ranking during the regular season too seriously since they play in the weakest division in the East


----------



## Groff

I don't think i've seen so many games go to shoot-outs before in my life... Wtf?


----------



## technomancer

The Pens game tonight should be interesting, they're playing Atlanta and the two teams have the longest active win streaks in the NHL (the Pens with 7 and the Thrashers with 6). Should be a good game.

EDIT: Pens win 3-2 on a Crosby hat trick  That moves the Pens into 1st in the Atlantic and 2nd in the East for the time being, and keeps Sid in the lead for points and ties Stamkos for goals


----------



## Groff

FUCKING SHOOTOUTS!! WHAT THE FUCK... 

Is it wrong to just ask for a normal game for once?!


----------



## TheDivineWing22

11 in a row for the Pens!

I loved how guilty Dupuis looked after scoring the goal instead of passing


----------



## technomancer

^ 

It's really scary when they've won 11 in a row, and I still don't think they've hit the top of their game yet (except maybe that blowout of Columbus)


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Crosby is nucking futs


----------



## technomancer

^ 

I find it hilarious how hard the NHL is struggling to find something to say about Ovechkin these days 

Seriously, there is a pic of Ovi in the rotating top headlines on nhl.com with the caption "Ovi heating up... Ovechkin puts goal scoring streak on the line vs. Panthers". I pulled up the story because I was curious. The "streak" is a goal in each of their last two games. I wasn't aware two constituted a "streak" 

Nothing against Ovi in that, Malkin is in a slump too, but the press just cracks me up...


----------



## mattofvengeance

Bobby Ryan is such a beast. Glad to have him on my fantasy team, and I really hate playing him six times a year. What he did yesterday was fucking brilliant. 

Video: Ducks' Bobby Ryan scores using opponent's stick | The Fabulous Forum | Los Angeles Times


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> Bobby Ryan is such a beast. Glad to have him on my fantasy team, and I really hate playing him six times a year. What he did yesterday was fucking brilliant.
> 
> Video: Ducks' Bobby Ryan scores using opponent's stick | The Fabulous Forum | Los Angeles Times



Dude that's insane 

And yet another example of piss poor officiating, since there should have been a penalty when Ryan had his stick taken


----------



## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> Dude that's insane
> 
> And yet another example of piss poor officiating, since there should have been a penalty when Ryan had his stick taken



Well, to be absolutely technical, both players should have been given offsetting minors, since Koivu took Ryan's stick, which obviously isn't permitted, and then, a player is only allowed to receive a stick from a teammate on the bench or handed one from a teammate on the ice, which Ryan obviously didn't do. However, there really isn't an precedence for Ryan's beastly maneuver, so I understand why no penalties were handed out.


----------



## technomancer

Congrats to the Flyers, they played a better game tonight.

I've also gotta' say it's not a huge surprise as the Pens had started to wind down, you could see it in the game against Buffalo over the weekend.

On the bright side, Malkin had two goals after not playing for several games and Sid's point streak continues at 19.


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> Congrats to the Flyers, they played a better game tonight.
> 
> I've also gotta' say it's not a huge surprise as the Pens had started to wind down, you could see it in the game against Buffalo over the weekend.
> 
> On the bright side, Malkin had two goals after not playing for several games and Sid's point streak continues at 19.



On the bright side, it didn't end in a fucking shootout


----------



## technomancer

^ 

Pens dropped another one tonight. They started off strong then went downhill after the first. There were a couple REALLY shitty calls, but at the end of the day what sunk them was giving up three goals on three shots in the third. Absolutely terrible


----------



## TheWreck

Third lost in a Row for Habs.....They almost took over flyers in the 3rd period...but the puck did'nt roll for them!

Hope something good happens during their next 7 games on the road.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah I was hoping the Habs would win last night, as now we're going to have to listen to all the "Flyers best in east" crap from the press


----------



## Groff

Pronger is out 4-6 weeks...


----------



## playstopause

^


----------



## technomancer

^

+1


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Whoa! Wait.... What!?


----------



## technomancer

^   Ain't it a bitch when one point drops you from 2nd to 7th?


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Well, the new NHL _is_ supposed to be about parity, but this is ridiculous. I think it's also safe to say that with the Devils and Isles being this bad, the south-least can finally pass its crown as "least competitive division" on to the Atlantic, although the battle of PA is always an exciting one


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Well, the new NHL _is_ supposed to be about parity, but this is ridiculous. I think it's also safe to say that with the Devils and Isles being this bad, the south-least can finally pass its crown as "least competitive division" on to the Atlantic, although the battle of PA is always an exciting one



Given Montreal would be in 4th if they were in the Atlantic and they're in first in the Northeast I'm not so sure about that 

Though the Devils and Islanders are ABYSMAL this year. It's amazing seeing how good Brodeur isn't when the whole team's not focused on keeping the puck away from him


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> Given Montreal would be in 4th if they were in the Atlantic and they're in first in the Northeast I'm not so sure about that
> 
> Though the Devils and Islanders are ABYSMAL this year. It's amazing seeing how good Brodeur isn't when the whole team's not focused on keeping the puck away from him



I was speaking more from a divisional play standpoint. you've got two of the strongest teams in the league in Pitt and Phi playing 12 games a year against the two weakest teams in the league in the Isles and Devils. That's what I meant about least competitive.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> I was speaking more from a divisional play standpoint. you've got two of the strongest teams in the league in Pitt and Phi playing 12 games a year against the two weakest teams in the league in the Isles and Devils. That's what I meant about least competitive.



Gotcha. I also wouldn't expect the Devils to stay that bad for a long period of time. They've got good players, and played pretty strong the last time the Pens played them. I think once they get the goaltending straightened out and get settled in to the new system they'll be back strong again.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Off to the city to watch the Pens take on the Coyotes! Let's hope they can break this 2 game skid!


----------



## technomancer

Sweet, we have tickets tonight too, Though we're right outside the city so we'll head down at about 4:45 to get in at 5:00


----------



## technomancer

Damn was that a game to be at. 6-1 Pens win, Malkin had a five point night, and the Pens even killed a full 2 minute 3-on-5 the refs gave them on a bullshit roughing call


----------



## TheDivineWing22

yeah that was an awesome game to be at. Kind of dissapointed I didn't get to throw those nice hats they handed out on to the ice haha. Oh well, something to keep my head warm!


And to top it all off, the Flyers got destroyed!


----------



## technomancer

Yup, a hat trick would have been nice, but I'll take a 6-1 win  So Pens are only 3 points behind the Flyers, and the Flyers have played one more game. Basically the Pens need to win these next two


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> Though the Devils and Islanders are ABYSMAL this year. It's amazing seeing how good Brodeur isn't when the whole team's not focused on keeping the puck away from him



Ouch, but true. 

And the Devils problems this year so far : it's time for Brodeur to call it bye-bye. Oh, and that contract to that TOP scorer... Who is he again?


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Gotcha. I also wouldn't expect the Devils to stay that bad for a long period of time. They've got good players, and played pretty strong the last time the Pens played them. I think once they get the goaltending straightened out and get settled in to the new system they'll be back strong again.



I haven't wrote in this thread in along time, as a Devils fan I expected this, while it is disappointing to me how they have played. I hope they right their ship soon if not there's always next year even though Marty's probably not coming back. but hopefully, the 2 goalies they have are gonna mature to something good.


----------



## TheWreck

Damn! the Habs game is at 9pm...! I like games in western conference! We also never see them play on our sport network!

Habs vs Stars, what are your guess?


----------



## technomancer

I LOVE NHL.com

"Capitals try to put win streak together versus Devils"

Much like Ovi's "goal scoring streak" 2 != to a streak 

also tough call on the Habs / Stars game, should be a good one

PS - I am enthusiastically rooting for Jersey tonight  

Edit: EPIC BRODEUR FAIL: 4 goals on 21 shots


----------



## TheWreck

Epic Habs Fail to!


----------



## mattofvengeance

Good night, sweet prince.


I really didn't think the Stars would be first place in the conference at any point this season, so its definitely a pleasant surprise. I'm still cautiously optimistic about this team, which falls squarely upon the defense. Hopefully, they'll keep this up.


----------



## Hollowman

Well, Lamaire's back in as the Devils Head Coach, hopefully he will have an immediate impact and hopefully the season can be saved.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> Well, Lamaire's back in as the Devils Head Coach, hopefully he will have an immediate impact and hopefully the season can be saved.



Not like it can get any worse


----------



## technomancer

Pens down the Caps 3-2 in the shootout 

Honestly given the Pens didn't really show up until the third I'm sort of surprised they won it... great game to watch though, definitely fun and back and forth 

PS for the media that likes to play up the rivalry, that was Crosby 1 Goal 1 Assist, Ovechkin Nothing


----------



## technomancer

Aaaand the Pens maintain their trademark of dropping games to terrible teams


----------



## gunshow86de

Anybody been watching the Pens/Caps 24/7 on HBO??

It's actually really well done, just like the Hard Knocks series (that narrator is awesome, I could listen to him narrate a video of paint drying). Bruce Boudreau is histerical; like an R-rated Don Rickles.

The star of the show are the refs though. Never realized how foul mouthed the NHL refs are, especially when a fight starts. They turn in to f-bomb dropping boxing refs.


----------



## Xaios

It's good to be a Canucks fan right now, that's for sure. 12-1-2 in the past 15 games, 8-0-2 in the past 10. Getting full support from every line including stellar numbers from two of the best centres in the NHL in Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler, not to mention Daniel Sedin as well. The Sedin brothers are currently ranked 4th and 5th in the league in points, and Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler are ranked 5th and 6th in goals, respectively. The Canucks completely dismantled the Flyers a couple nights ago in what was supposed to be a "yardstick game," but wasn't even close.

Like I said, good to be a Canucks fan.


----------



## technomancer

^ yeah the Canucks are firing on all cylinders right now. I'm happy for them, after the Pens they're one of my favorite teams 

I'm a happy guy, they've announced Jordan Staal is playing for the Pens tonight in the Winter Classic. It's his first game back since the playoffs last year 

Now I just need to hope the Pens show up for all three periods tonight. If so they should do fine against the Caps.


----------



## Xaios

So, the Canucks beat the Avalanche tonight for their 5th straight win. They are now 14-1-2 in their past 17 and 9-0-1 in their past 10. They haven't lost in regulation since December 5th.


They are now tied with Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for 1st place in the league with 53 points.


They've played at least 2 fewer games than all the aforementioned teams.


Can I get a Hell Yeah?










As an aside, as a devout Canadian hockey fanatic, it's a pretty sad state of affairs in my interpretation when there's only one Canadian team in the top half of the rankings even if they are in 1st place, the next best team being Montreal who are currently sitting at 16th place. I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised, being as the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup were the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. Still, considering it is our national sport, our national teams simply don't measure up a lot of the time. I know a pretty damn large chunk of players who are winning the cups are indeed Canadian, but it would still be nice to see some teams based in Canada get the Cup, if for nothing more than to give something back to the fans.


EDIT: Also, I just had a bit of an absurd revelation. Based on the fact that a team will typically need to have 92-94 points on a season to qualify for the playoffs, if a team managed to make it so all of their regular season losses came in overtime, they would only have to actually win 12 or so games to nearly guarantee a spot in the post-season. Ridiculous, eh?

EDIT 2: Discovered another bit of hilariousness. Apparently for about the last minute of tonight's game in which the Canucks beat the Avs 2-1, the Avs actually had 7 players on the ice! Now, they had pulled their goalie, so they should have had 6 skaters, but apparently they had 7 for almost a full minute and none of the refs or linesmen noticed!

Plus, we *still* won the game. 


EPIC EDIT 3: If there's any single person in the NHL who deserves to get this penalty, Gary Roberts is that person:


----------



## gunshow86de

^

I would have gotten a major.


----------



## technomancer

Xaios said:


> EDIT 2: Discovered another bit of hilariousness. Apparently for about the last minute of tonight's game in which the Canucks beat the Avs 2-1, the Avs actually had 7 players on the ice! Now, they had pulled their goalie, so they should have had 6 skaters, but apparently they had 7 for almost a full minute and none of the refs or linesmen noticed!
> 
> Plus, we *still* won the game.



Sadly I think this summarizes the state of officiating in the NHL today...



Xaios said:


> EPIC EDIT 3: If there's any single person in the NHL who deserves to get this penalty, Gary Roberts is that person:


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Only because Scott Stevens retired before that rule was instated


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Winter Classic was fantastic, so excited for the Heritage later this year. On another note, the Canucks need to stop winning and the Avs really need to pick it up a bit. They've dropped 3 out of their last 4 or something close to that, all 1 goal games if I'm not mistaken.


----------



## technomancer

Holy shit Pens are up 5-0 over Tampa at the end of the FIRST PERIOD 

Geno had the first goal 7 seconds in 

EDIT:  Pens win 8-1 

In other news Canada blew the gold medal in the World Juniors by giving up 5 unanswered goals to Russia to lose 5-3...


----------



## Xaios

Yeah, Canada just imploded. It was ridiculous.

On the plus side, Canucks won yet again. Just like when they played Dallas on December 31st, they barely showed up and were outshot 2 to 1, but they still won 3-1 tonight. The Hockey Gods love the Canucks this season.

16-1-2 in their past 19 games. 7 game winning streak. Still 1st overall in the NHL with 57 points.


----------



## mattofvengeance

I sure wish Chicago would start Turco in the games the Stars play against them. Got the W tonight, but it would've been so much more fun to open a shooting gallery on Marty. I hope the next time Chicago comes to town, they'll be on the back end of a back-to-back and are forced to start him. I'll be there with bells on.


----------



## potatohead

Xaios said:


> Yeah, Canada just imploded. It was ridiculous.
> 
> On the plus side, Canucks won yet again. Just like when they played Dallas on December 31st, they barely showed up and were outshot 2 to 1, but they still won 3-1 tonight. The Hockey Gods love the Canucks this season.
> 
> 16-1-2 in their past 19 games. 7 game winning streak. Still 1st overall in the NHL with 57 points.


 
Couple games in hand, too. I am still waiting for something to happen, a key injury or something, being a typical cynical Canucks fan . 

It will be interesting to see what happens when Salo is ready... It looks as if somebody is going to have to be dealt.


----------



## technomancer

it's good to see the Canucks doing well this season 

Tonight we'll see if the Pens can win two in a row and maybe start breaking out of the mini-slump they were in. I think they looked the best last night that they have all season, so we'll see what happens. Getting Staal back was a HUGE boost for the team.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Yeah hopefully the Pens keep it going. It was nice seeing someone other than Crosby getting a hat trick. 

Wouldn't mind seeing another 8 goals for the Pens tonight!


----------



## technomancer

Shit Crosby and Cooke are both out tonight against Montreal 

EDIT: Bleh Pens lose in the shootout... then again every line was scrambled by Crosby and Cooke being out I'll be happy with the point


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Great game by both goaltenders, and amazing job by the Pens' PK collapsing down low on that extended 5-on-3 in the third. I thought the Pens would definitely take it after grabbing a ton of momentum from that kill, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the habs take it in their first shootout of the season.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Also, more bad news for the habs' D corps. Josh Gorges will miss the rest of the season due to knee surgery. It just keeps getting worse. First, losing their top offensive defenceman in Markov, now arguably their top defensive defenceman


----------



## TheWreck

JeffFromMtl said:


> Also, more bad news for the habs' D corps. Josh Gorges will miss the rest of the season due to knee surgery. It just keeps getting worse. First, losing their top offensive defenceman in Markov, now arguably their top defensive defenceman


 
Yeah..........just read that in the newspaper this morning on breakfast...

And i missed the game against pens...because i was working out of town and did'nt had tv...

It's the first game i miss since the begining of the season and maybe the one I would have liked the most to watch.


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Didn't watch any hockey tonight at all unfortunatley. A bit lame that the Canuck's won . And, how about Toronto scoring 9 goals? I wouldn't be too suprised if they only scored 9 goals in a span of 9 games


----------



## Xaios

MikeMonacoBrah said:


> A bit lame that the Canuck's won .


Heck no, Canucks winning is awesome. 

Beat the Oilers 6-1. Kesler and both the twins all had 3 points each, with 3 goals for Kesler, 2 goals and an assist for Daniel, 3 assists for Henrik. All in all we got points from 10 different players tonight, and another great performance from Schneider.

And because the Canucks officially now have the best record in the league at the half-point of the season, Alain Vignault is going to be coaching in the all star game.

This win means Canucks are unbeaten in regulation in 15 games (13-0-2) which is a new team record for longest point-streak, and they're 17-1-2 in the past 20 games. And *still* top team in the league.


----------



## technomancer

Bleh Pens blow another one, losing 4-0 to the Wild


----------



## potatohead

Canucks are about to lay the smack down on Detroit. Both teams played last night, should be a good one.



technomancer said:


> Bleh Pens blow another one, losing 4-0 to the Wild


 
Ouch


----------



## potatohead

D'oh, lost in a shootout, this team is terrible in shootouts. Mind you, Howard won the game for Detroit with two absolutely ludicrous saves on the Sedins.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Good job on the PP last night for the Pens. Had to laugh at the end of the game when MAF mocked the Carey Price pose.


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> Good job on the PP last night for the Pens. Had to laugh at the end of the game when MAF mocked the Carey Price pose.



Yeah it was awesome to see them win a game and get the power play clicking.

Hopefully this doesn't signal that it's time for them to lose 5 in a row again


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> Yeah it was awesome to see them win a game and get the power play clicking.
> 
> Hopefully this doesn't signal that it's time for them to lose 5 in a row again



Last season when Price did this in Tampa:



It was the the last game they won for a long, long time 

Unfortunately I missed the game last night, but 4 goals on the PP is some serious shit. Congrats to the Pens on the domination. It's about time that the team that manhandles the habs is actually better than them.


----------



## potatohead

Canucks were terrible tonight, first regulation loss since Dec. 5. They should have lost 4-0 but Schneider played very well (again). Washington tomorrow...


----------



## technomancer

potatohead said:


> Canucks were terrible tonight, first regulation loss since Dec. 5. They should have lost 4-0 but Schneider played very well (again). Washington tomorrow...



Everybody has an off night. As long as they beat Washington it's all good 



JeffFromMtl said:


> Last season when Price did this in Tampa:
> 
> 
> 
> It was the the last game they won for a long, long time
> 
> Unfortunately I missed the game last night, but 4 goals on the PP is some serious shit. Congrats to the Pens on the domination. It's about time that the team that manhandles the habs is actually better than them.






Yeah the Pens played VERY well and the Habs took a lot of stupid penalties in that game.

Good news: Boston beat Philly last night
Bad News: The Pens next game is against Boston again and the Pens have blown both games this year in spectacular fashion in the third period against Boston


----------



## technomancer

YES! Pens finally held on and won one against Boston 3-2


----------



## technomancer

Kick ass, Pens have now won 3 in a row after their 4-1 defeat of Detroit tonight 

Better, their next 3 games are Devils, Hurricanes, Islanders so in theory they should win those three as well (even though Jersey seems to be playing well now). I've got my fingers crossed


----------



## technomancer

Argh so now Crosby and Malkin are both out


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Avs with a terrific OT win last night against the Canucks 

Anyone think Crosby will be back for the all-star festivities?


----------



## technomancer

MikeMonacoBrah said:


> Avs with a terrific OT win last night against the Canucks
> 
> Anyone think Crosby will be back for the all-star festivities?



No idea, though my opinion is if he's not healthy enough to play in the Pen's last game on the 25th there is no way in hell he should be at the all-stars 

Concussions are a bitch...


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Man, the habs are getting decimated... First Markov and Gorges, our top two offenseive and defensive d-men respectively, out for the rest of the season, and now Cammalleri, with what looks like a shoulder injury that could keep him out long-term as well. Halpern will also most likely be out the next couple of games, as Engqvist, a Centreman, has been called up from Hamilton to replace him. I'm just super grateful that Pacioretty's alright and back on the ice in practise. You're pretty damn lucky if you can take a 100 MPH Wisniewski slap shot to the ribs, get taken to the hospital on a stretcher and be back on the ice two days later.


----------



## technomancer

Wow tonight is the first time since they've both been playing that both Malkin and Crosby will be out of the lineup at the same time


----------



## potatohead

Canucks = worst shootout team in the history of the world


----------



## technomancer

Bummer, looks like Crosby and Malkin are both probably going to miss the all-star game 

Sources: Crosby for sure, Malkin likely out of NHL All-Star Game - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


----------



## technomancer

It's official, Malkin won't be at the all-stars either. Bylsma made the announcement at the Pen's morning skate, he's still out with a sinus infection / knee injury


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Fuck, I hate Philadelphia!


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Fuck, I hate Philadelphia!



Yeah didn't you get the memo? You're supposed to beat them


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Is anyone as stoked about this as I am?


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Is anyone as stoked about this as I am?



We'll see... if he can play anywhere near the level he used to it will be awesome


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

JeffFromMtl said:


> Is anyone as stoked about this as I am?


 
You don't even know how stoked I am . Forsberg's been my favorite player since before I can remember. Forsberg, Foote, and Hejduk with all these youngsters could mean good things come playoff time!


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Avs down 3-1 early after two. God damnit.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Those NHL Guardians are pretty cool.

Especially the Habs one


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Anyone else watch the skills competition or all star game? Best one I've ever watched in my short 18 years so far


----------



## technomancer

Didn't watch the skills, but watched the all-star game. Great game, and was happy to see Letang net two


----------



## potatohead

MikeMonacoBrah said:


> Anyone else watch the skills competition or all star game? Best one I've ever watched in my short 18 years so far


 
Watched the last 1/3 of it, I forgot it was on


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Games resume today for the first time since the all star break! Avs are playing St. Louis, I hope we got this


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> Those NHL Guardians are pretty cool.
> 
> Especially the Habs one


 
Yeah, I thought some of them were dumb, but some were pretty cool. I especially like how the habs one made the other ones stronger and better


----------



## technomancer

Yeah Pens are playing the Rangers with Malkin and Crosby both still out. They've been doing better without them the last few games, hopefully that continues tonight...

EDIT: This is like a freaking bad dream. Letestu, who has been centering the top line, got hurt in practice and had to be helped off the ice so he's out. Godard is taking his place in tonights game (though I doubt he'll be centering the top line )


----------



## technomancer

You have got to be fucking kidding me, Staal just got a 5 minute match penalty for punching Prust AFTER Prust hit him... and they're already a forward short because Asham left the game with an injury 

I would have bought a roughing call, but a freaking match penalty? This after the Pens scored 3 unanswered goals and were already down a forward?


----------



## technomancer

And even after the bullshit call, Pens win in the shootout


----------



## TheDivineWing22

And I'm pretty impressed that they took the shootout without Crosby and Letestu. Not so much Malkin because he is usually terrible in the shootout. 

Letestu may no be great at them but I already think he is better in the shootout than Malkin.

Go Pens!


----------



## Xaios

potatohead said:


> Canucks = worst shootout team in the history of the world



Freaking amen. The problem with shootouts is that there's no team play involved, which is aspect of the Canucks that has made them so fierce otherwise this season.

That and Luongo pretty much bites at shootouts. 

Thankfully shootouts don't happen in the post-season, and the Canucks are still tops in the league despite their horrid record in shootouts.

I admit, it was hard to watch when the Canucks were on that 4 game slide, but now that they've managed to put together another (albeit only 3 games so far) winning streak, things are looking up again. They managed to take it to Dallas again last night, just as they had every other time they've played each other this season.

If there's one aspect of the Canucks that still bothers me, it's that there are some teams that they just can't solve, even when they should be coming out on top. Minnesota is one, Detroit is another. As is Phoenix, who the Canucks are playing tonight. I'm kinda nervous about that one. Granted, the Canucks have really stepped it up since the last time they played in November, while Phoenix hasn't been quite as good. So we'll see how it goes.


----------



## technomancer

FUCK Malkin is now on injured reserve so he's not going to be back anything soon 

So they're down Malkin and Crosby for who knows how long and Letestu is still out and Asham is now out again... this is just horrible.

I guess on the bright side is the Pens have won 3 in a row, so they're hanging in. If they ever actually get a full healthy roster they're going to be freaking scary.


----------



## technomancer

Holy shit goalie fight! You don't see that very often 

DiPietro and Johnson 

PS - Pens win 3-0


----------



## Xaios

Canucks stomped Phoenix 6-0!


----------



## potatohead

technomancer said:


> Holy shit goalie fight! You don't see that very often
> 
> DiPietro and Johnson
> 
> PS - Pens win 3-0


 
Hilarious, Goalie fights rule 

Canucks are kicking ass and taking names once again. Totally steamrolled Dallas and Phoenix two consecutive nights on the road (although Phoenix may as well be a home game, more Canucks fans than Coyotes fans ). 23-3-9 in their last 35, and back on a nice streak with four wins in a row. Lead the league with only 10 regulation losses, nobody else is even close, next is 13. They also have four to five rookies in the lineup at any given time right now due to injuries. Even the freaking backup goalie is 9-2-2. Luongo hasn't lost in regulation in two months. 

And they'll probably lose in the second round again 

Franzen had five goals last night too. Crazy.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah the goal scoring last night was nuts 

I'm happy as the Pens have won 4 in a row without Crosby and Malkin (as well as the extended list of other players). Granted they're not playing the cream of the NHL right now, but I'll take it.

Video of the fight


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Well, Letestu will be out 4-6 weeks for surgery. Atleast Malkin will be back tonight!


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> Well, Letestu will be out 4-6 weeks for surgery. Atleast Malkin will be back tonight!



Yeah I just really hope his knee is actually better. I think he's been truly healthy for about 4 games this year so far


----------



## Xaios

Tonight comes the acid test for the Canucks... Chicago. They've had Vancouver's number for a few years now and even though Vancouver won the last match 3-0 in Chicago, it didn't quite avenge the 7-1 loss Chicago dealt to them in November, in front of a home crowd no less.

Make no mistake, they're out for blood this time around. These guys have developed into real rivals. The Canucks will chase them round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition's flames before they give them up!


----------



## technomancer

Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

Anyways, yeah that Canucks / Hawks game should be good. 

I'll be watching the Pens / Sabres game though since I'm a Pens fan


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Malkin is hurt already? When are these injuries going to end?


EDIT: Oh well, the Pens still get the win!


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> Malkin is hurt already? When are these injuries going to end?
> 
> 
> EDIT: Oh well, the Pens still get the win!



Yeah the injuries are getting ridiculous... and now it looks like the Pens will be playing the Caps on Sunday without Sig or Geno.

On the bright side they've now won 5 in a row without them (more or less, since Geno was out for more of the game than he was in for tonight).


----------



## Xaios

Canucks win 4-3 against Chicago! That was a fantastic game! Luongo was superb against a team he has a history of crumpling against, and in the third period the Sedins moved the puck like they could see the Matrix.


----------



## potatohead

Xaios said:


> Canucks win 4-3 against Chicago! That was a fantastic game! Luongo was superb against a team he has a history of crumpling against, and in the third period the Sedins moved the puck like they could see the Matrix.


 
After tonights game, I am no longer a skeptic. This is a GOOD team. They were trailing twice and came back to win . Luongo was phenomenal. Points in 27 of the last 30 games.


----------



## technomancer

Xaios said:


> Canucks win 4-3 against Chicago! That was a fantastic game! Luongo was superb against a team he has a history of crumpling against, and in the third period the Sedins moved the puck like they could see the Matrix.



Don't the Sedins pretty much ALWAYS do that? 

Caps have got to be drooling at the chance to play the Pens without Sid and Geno right now


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Bylsma announced that Malkin has a torn MCL and ACL. This season has really been horrible to him.

It is really gonna be rough going into tomorrow without Sid or Geno, but hopefully they'll be able to pull through it.


----------



## technomancer

^ was just about to post that. Unfortunately with those injuries it's more than likely Malkin is done for the season


----------



## troyguitar

I'm still waiting for Datsyuk to come back, the dude is half the reason I watch games these days. We got tickets for Boston at Detroit a week from tomorrow expecting that he'd have been back for a few weeks by then, now I'm hoping he'll be in the lineup for the game


----------



## technomancer

troyguitar said:


> I'm still waiting for Datsyuk to come back, the dude is half the reason I watch games these days. We got tickets for Boston at Detroit a week from tomorrow expecting that he'd have been back for a few weeks by then, now I'm hoping he'll be in the lineup for the game



I hear you, Datysuk is an awesome player and Detroit is probably the only team that's been dealing with similar problems to the Pens as far as massive quantities of star level players out


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> ^ was just about to post that. Unfortunately with those injuries it's more than likely Malkin is done for the season



Unfortunately, you're probably right. The MCL often means surgery. That's what's put both Markov and Gorges out for the season. If it's not surgery, with only 2 and a half months left in the regular season, it'll be a really close call.


----------



## potatohead

technomancer said:


> ^ was just about to post that. Unfortunately with those injuries it's more than likely Malkin is done for the season


 
Ouch, yeah. That's as bad as it gets when it comes to the knee. 4 - 5 months recovery time minimum. There's no other way to fix it than with surgery, ligaments and tendons to not heal back on their own. They usually take a piece of tendon out of your hamstring area and graft it into the knee.


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

IT'S OFFICIAL, FORSBERG'S BACK 
Forsberg to give NHL another shot, signs with Avs - NHL.com - News


----------



## technomancer

First let me take a moment to formally say fuck Bruce Boudreau

Now that that's out of the way, I've got tickets to watch the walking wounded play Columbus tonight. Hopefully the Pens fare better against the Blue Jackets than they did against the Caps on Sunday


----------



## Xaios

Well, Canucks won again, 4-2 versus the Senators. Sens actually played really well, there were times in the game when I was pretty scared for our side, especially after this happened to Ballard: 

*EDIT: If this pic goes to far, could a mod please remove it.*







Gruesome looking, isn't it?

Apparently Ballard's agent tweeted this morning saying it wasn't as bad as it looked, which is good, because it looks pretty gnarly. MRI is scheduled for today.


----------



## technomancer

^ pic is fine but OUCH!


----------



## Xaios

MRI results came back, and miraculously the injury has been limited to a mild MCL sprain. The doctors say he'll be playing again in 4 weeks tops.

Keith "Rubber Man" Ballard. Has a nice ring to it, eh? Either that or just "Gumby."


----------



## technomancer

Xaios said:


> MRI results came back, and miraculously the injury has been limited to a mild MCL sprain. The doctors say he'll be playing again in 4 weeks tops.
> 
> Keith "Rubber Man" Ballard. Has a nice ring to it, eh? Either that or just "Gumby."





Yeah that's good news given what just happened to Malkin 

Last night's Pens game was just painful... my wife wasn't feeling well so we left at the end of the 2nd. We rarely leave early, even when it's a bad loss, but I've got to say I was more than happy to watch the end of that one on my couch...


----------



## technomancer

Ugh it just gets fucking better and better

Report: Penguins' Cooke gets 4-game ban - NHL.com - News

So in addition to a 5 minute major that should have probably been 2 minutes, Cooke's now out for 4 games... the league NEEDS to get a disciplinary board to start making this stuff consistent. So let'd see Hedman gets 2 minutes for boarding and no supplementary discipline for a hit from behind that's put Crosby out for IIRC 12 games so far and counting, and Cooke gets 5 minutes and 4 game suspension for a hit that the guy resumed play after.


----------



## potatohead

I cringed when I saw the Ballard thing live, I thought it had to be pretty bad. Pretty amazing it's only a sprain, just goes to show how in shape and durable these guys are. 

Cooke, being an ex-Canuck I have always tried to like, but that guy just goes too far. If you want to talk about unpunished hits, what about Malkin on Mitchell here last year which ended his season?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imv7owJKLic


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Oh, God, that Ballard pic is just painful to look at


----------



## technomancer

potatohead said:


> I cringed when I saw the Ballard thing live, I thought it had to be pretty bad. Pretty amazing it's only a sprain, just goes to show how in shape and durable these guys are.
> 
> Cooke, being an ex-Canuck I have always tried to like, but that guy just goes too far. If you want to talk about unpunished hits, what about Malkin on Mitchell here last year which ended his season?




You just made my point, thanks. There is absolutely NO consistency at all in how they enforce supplementary discipline.


----------



## Xaios

potatohead said:


> Cooke, being an ex-Canuck I have always tried to like, but that guy just goes too far.



Agreed. I also have a tendancy to give Canucks and ex-Canucks a free pass just because of their Canuckleness, but Cooke really goes overboard.


----------



## troyguitar

technomancer said:


> There is absolutely NO consistency at all in how they enforce most of the rules.



fixed 

That being said, Pavel's back and scored a goal and an assist in his first game back so I'm excited to see the game on Sunday!


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Well, it's been confirmed that Malkin will miss the rest of the season, as he's going to need surgery to repair his knee.

Also, I never thought I'd say this, but I think the Leafs got the better end of the deal in sending Beauchemin back to Anaheim today. I like Beauchemin, but to get Lupul and a solid D propect who was picked 17th overall in '08 in return is pretty huge. Especially when you consider that the Habs acquired Wisniewski, who is second in team scoring, from NYI for only a 2nd round pick. Ducks gave up too much, IMO.


----------



## Xaios

I admit the Canucks have gotten the better side of some of the bad calls in the past few games, but the reffing in tonight's game is an absolute joke. After the whistle had gone, Getzlaf left his feet to deliver a hit to Hamhuis' back, smashed him into the boards, and knocked him out cold. Literally, "get the smelling salts" K-fucking-O'd. *THE REF WAS LOOKING RIGHT AT IT AND DIDN'T MAKE ANY CALLS.*


----------



## JeffFromMtl

INSANE game between the Habs and Bruins tonight! I wish the Habs came out on top, but regardless this game was amazing to watch, like the Habs-Bruins rivalry of old!

Check out how long the box score is 
*
Canadiens 6
Bruins 8*

*
SCORERS*
*First period*
13:16 BOS Brad Marchand, 15 (Patrice Bergeron, 26 Mark Recchi, 27)
13:28 BOS Dennis Seidenberg, 5 (Nathan Horton, 18) 
*Second period*
00:25 MTL Brian Gionta, 20 (Tomas Plekanec, 26 James Wisniewski, 30)
08:30 MTL P.k. Subban, 7 (PP) (Brian Gionta, 10 Tomas Plekanec, 27)
09:48 BOS Adam Mcquaid, 1 (Nathan Horton, 19 Milan Lucic, 14)
11:01 MTL Yannick Weber, 1 (Mathieu Darche, 12)
11:32 BOS Michael Ryder, 15 (Blake Wheeler, 14 Zach Hamill, 1)
12:31 BOS Milan Lucic, 22 (Nathan Horton, 20 David Krejci, 29)
12:48 MTL David Desharnais, 4 (PP) (P.k. Subban, 18 Yannick Weber, 8)
14:49 BOS Milan Lucic, 23 (SH) (David Krejci, 30 Nathan Horton, 21)
*Third period*
07:06 MTL Max Pacioretty, 7 (PP) (James Wisniewski, 31)
10:01 BOS Michael Ryder, 16 (PP) (Dennis Seidenberg, 19 Steven Kampfer, 5)
14:54 BOS Nathan Horton, 14 (David Krejci, 31)
19:46 MTL Max Pacioretty, 8 (David Desharnais, 3 Yannick Weber, 9)

*PENALTIES*
*First period*
13:28 BOS Milan Lucic Cross checking (2 min) 
13:28 MTL Travis Moen Cross checking (2 min) 
14:26 MTL Scott Gomez Tripping (2 min) 
19:31 MTL Max Pacioretty Interference (2 min) 
20:00 MTL Travis Moen Misconduct (10 min) (10 min) 
20:00 BOS Milan Lucic Roughing (2 min) 
20:00 MTL Carey Price Roughing (2 min) 
20:00 BOS Milan Lucic Roughing (2 min) 
*Second period*
07:32 BOS Nathan Horton Hooking (2 min) 
12:36 BOS Steven Kampfer Roughing (2 min) 
12:36 BOS Zdeno Chara Roughing (2 min) 
12:36 BOS Brad Marchand Roughing (2 min) 
12:36 BOS Tim Thomas Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
12:36 BOS Tim Thomas Goalie leave crease (2 min) 
12:36 BOS Brad Marchand Charging (2 min) 
12:36 BOS Mark Recchi Roughing (2 min) 
12:36 MTL Carey Price Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
12:36 MTL Carey Price Goalie leave crease (2 min) 
12:36 MTL Max Pacioretty Roughing (2 min) 
12:36 MTL James Wisniewski Roughing (2 min) 
12:36 MTL Brian Gionta Roughing (2 min) 
12:36 MTL Brian Gionta Roughing (2 min) 
17:52 BOS Steven Kampfer Cross checking (2 min) 
*Third period*
06:40 BOS Nathan Horton Tripping (2 min) 
08:06 MTL David Desharnais Interference (2 min) 
17:06 MTL P.k. Subban Misconduct (10 min) (10 min) 
17:06 MTL Benoit Pouliot Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
17:06 BOS David Krejci Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
17:06 BOS Milan Lucic Misconduct (10 min) (10 min) 
17:06 BOS Nathan Horton Cross checking (2 min) 
19:11 BOS Shawn Thornton Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
19:11 MTL Travis Moen Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
19:11 MTL Jaroslav Spacek Game misconduct (10 min) 
19:11 MTL Tom Pyatt Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
19:11 MTL Jaroslav Spacek Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
19:11 MTL Roman Hamrlik Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
19:11 BOS Shawn Thornton Game misconduct (10 min) 
19:11 BOS Shawn Thornton Roughing (2 min) 
19:11 BOS Johnny Boychuk Game misconduct (10 min) 
19:11 BOS Johnny Boychuk Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
19:11 MTL Travis Moen Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
19:11 BOS Andrew Ference Fighting (maj) (5 min) 
19:11 MTL Roman Hamrlik Game misconduct (10 min) 
19:35 BOS Adam Mcquaid Roughing (2 min) 
19:35 BOS Adam Mcquaid Roughing (2 min)

Busy night for the scorekeeper!


----------



## Xaios

Holy crap! That's 212 penalty minutes!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

It was a fun game for sure. Habs stayed courageous and fought hard regardless of the tougher Bruins trying to intimidate them. Some of those fights were questionable and lacked some class (really, Mcquaid at the end of the game? Campbell coulda picked a better target than Pyatt too... and why the hell was Shawn Thornton on the ice with 0:40 left in the game?). Anyway, good game; Habs will be ready on March 8th.

Pacioretty's been impressive as of late!


----------



## JeffFromMtl

What's funny is that the guy McQuaid was trying to go after at the end of the game was Pacioretty, who didn't want to have anything to do with it. On the ensuing power play, Pacioretty sniped a laser of a shot top corner. I thought that was a pretty good statement in return 

And I'd agree about the end. Thornton, Boychuck and Campbell, on the ice in the last 0:40, picking fights with guys like Pyatt and Spacek? I don't think either of those guys had ever even fought before.


----------



## technomancer

Wow that game must have been a blast to watch


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

JeffFromMtl said:


> On the ensuing power play, Pacioretty sniped a laser of a shot top corner. I thought that was a pretty good statement in return



That shot was _ridiculous_!


----------



## technomancer

Looks like the Pens are up to 6 of 12 starting forwards as AHL callups


----------



## technomancer

And with 6 AHL starting forwards, and one forward injured in the first, the Pens hold on to win in OT 2-1


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

Didn't get to post yesterday, but that habs game was insane. One of the funnest games I've watched in a while. Just mad they lost . Also, Avs dropped their 5th in a row last night, and habs dropped their 2nd in a row. It hasn't been a good hockey week for me. Hopefully Forsberg will play next game and help out the Avs a bit


----------



## potatohead

JeffFromMtl said:


> INSANE game between the Habs and Bruins tonight! I wish the Habs came out on top, but regardless this game was amazing to watch, like the Habs-Bruins rivalry of old!
> 
> Check out how long the box score is
> 
> *snip*
> 
> Busy night for the scorekeeper!


 
Pure gold. Three line brawls, and a goalie fight (albeit pretty weak). 

Freaking hell. More d-line injuries. Hamhuis was as out as out gets. Even with the smelling salts it took a good 20 seconds for him to come around. Brutal, frustrating game against Anaheim last night. Down 3-0 and lost 4-3 but anytime we got any momentum they came back and scored again .


----------



## TheDivineWing22

technomancer said:


> And with 6 AHL starting forwards, and one forward injured in the first, the Pens hold on to win in OT 2-1


 

Yeah, but who is going to take Jeffrey's place in the lineup against the Islanders? They might as well rename the team the Wilkes barre/Scranton Penguins


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> Yeah, but who is going to take Jeffrey's place in the lineup against the Islanders? They might as well rename the team the Wilkes barre/Scranton Penguins



Yeah I didn't hear anything else about what was wrong with him, waiting to see if they say anything at the morning skate.

I was sort of in a state of dread last night after the first period, but was impressed that they pulled it out. Hopefully they'll get some guys back since they only have two games in the next week after tonight...


----------



## TheDivineWing22

technomancer said:


> Yeah I didn't hear anything else about what was wrong with him, waiting to see if they say anything at the morning skate.
> 
> I was sort of in a state of dread last night after the first period, but was impressed that they pulled it out. Hopefully they'll get some guys back since they only have two games in the next week after tonight...


 
I know he was getting evaluated by a doctor today. Hopefully they will have some news and that it is nothing too bad.

The Pens would be scary if they could get some healthy forwards back and have the defense and goaltending be as good as they have been.

EDIT: Pens have called up Tangradi.


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> I know he was getting evaluated by a doctor today. Hopefully they will have some news and that it is nothing too bad.
> 
> The Pens would be scary if they could get some healthy forwards back and have the defense and goaltending be as good as they have been.
> 
> EDIT: Pens have called up Tangradi.



Oh yeah, the Pens haven't had a full healthy compliment of forwards yet this year with Staal being out and Comrie injuring himself the first game of the regular season (even if he played with the injury, he wasn't 100%).


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Forsberg Will Play Tonight Against Columbus - Colorado Avalanche - Features


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Forsberg Will Play Tonight Against Columbus - Colorado Avalanche - Features



Yeah just in time for the Avs to play the Pens next week


----------



## Xaios

Well, thankfully Salo is finally back for the Canucks, his first game is Saturday versus the Flames for Hockey Day In Canada... which, by the way, is centered HERE IN WHITEHORSE . If he can stay healthy (cross fingers), that should go a long way to repairing our decimated blue line.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Pens game tonight = joke


----------



## technomancer

Yeah Gilles should be suspended for the rest of the season, that was just complete bullshit. Hopefully Tangredi isn't seriously injured, but it's going to be a minor miracle if he doesn't have a concussion and some facial fractures.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

technomancer said:


> Yeah Gilles should be suspended for the rest of the season, that was just complete bullshit. Hopefully Tangredi isn't seriously injured, but it's going to be a minor miracle if he doesn't have a concussion and some facial fractures.



Bylsma said he passed the initial test but it showing concussion symptoms.

If you want to teach us a lesson then do it by playing hockey. They did that for the first half the game. Then the Islanders took it way to far. Luckily Letang was injured by the slashing penalty.

It was exactly like Bylsma said, the first half was a hockey game, the second half was not. It will be interesting next time the Pens play them.


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> Bylsma said he passed the initial test but it showing concussion symptoms.
> 
> If you want to teach us a lesson then do it by playing hockey. They did that for the first half the game. Then the Islanders took it way to far. Luckily Letang was injured by the slashing penalty.
> 
> It was exactly like Bylsma said, the first half was a hockey game, the second half was not. It will be interesting next time the Pens play them.



Yeah I was glad to see that Letang wasn't hurt. 

I'll be interested to see if the league does anything about it, to be honest. I'm sure Godard will be suspended. Given how half-assed suspensions have been I'm betting he's gone the longest of the bunch


----------



## potatohead

307 penalty minutes in that game.... WTF? lol

Canucks beat Calgary 4-2


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Godard got the 10 games just like it states in the rulebook. Applying the rules is fine it would just be nice if they applied it ALL the time *sigh* Decent call on the rest of the suspensions I guess.

_"There can be no circumstance that allows for a player to leave his bench for the purpose of coming to the aid of a teammate," Campbell said._

I have a problem with this, however... despite the rule itself having no gray zones.


----------



## technomancer

My only issue is that Godard getting less than Gillies literally sends the message that a rules violation is more important than taking actions that could potentially have killed another player. Gillies flew in with a blind side elbow to the head that bounced Tangredi's head off the boards and left him clearly stunned, grabbed him and slammed his face towards the ice, THEN dropped the gloves and started throwing punches. Then he stood in the runway screaming at the trainer and Tangredi.

This because Tangredi had a couple physical but clean hits a couple minutes before (believe me, they weren't letting shit go by that point ). It was literally the worst attack on someone I've seen in years.


----------



## technomancer

WOAH... Mario's statement that was just released:



Mario Lemiux said:


> Hockey is a tough, physical game, and it always should be. But what happened Friday night on Long Island wasn&#8217;t hockey. It was a travesty. It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow like that.
> 
> The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed.
> 
> We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players. We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action.
> 
> If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to re-think whether I want to be a part of it.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Despite me agreeing with Mario, he's going to hear it from the other team owners in the next meeting. Then again, maybe it's about time someone spoke up.

Showing brawls and fights on the big screen before a game like they do at TD garden or in Philly is unacceptable and only reflects and solidifies these team's reputations and hockey focus. Fighting will always be a part of the game, don't make it THE game.

I honestly don't think much will change until there's either more collective pressure from GMs and team owners or there's some change in some NHL high office positions. We can't speak of integrity and then go talk about Colin Campbell... while his SON is playing in the league of course...


----------



## technomancer

^ 

Also, ok, apparently I won't be getting to see Forsberg on the ice against the Pens on wednesday... that may have been the shortest comeback on history 

Forsberg ends comeback, retiring from NHL - NHL.com - News


----------



## Xaios

^ I saw that, was like WTF? 

I'm glad that Mario Lemieux decided to speak up. The problem is it's hard to take someone seriously about violence in hockey when Matt Cooke is on their payroll.


----------



## technomancer

Xaios said:


> ^ I saw that, was like WTF?
> 
> I'm glad that Mario Lemieux decided to speak up. The problem is it's hard to take someone seriously about violence in hockey when Matt Cooke is on their payroll.



Glad you repeated 1/2 the articles that were written since the statement 

My take is Cooke sometimes goes over the line, no question. I don't like it when he does. The Pens also play tough and take a lot of fighting majors. The difference is I haven't seen a Penguins player sucker punch someone, or deliberately slam someone in the head, then try to smash their head into the ice and then start punching them when they're down. I've also never seen the Pens call up bruisers from the AHL before a game with the intent of attacking an opposing team. That's what happened friday night.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

The quicker Matt Cooke gets removed from the NHL indefinitely, the better off everyone else will be. WAYYYY too many players injured/not playing because of that moron. He's the hot name right now, for sure... maybe there's a reason for that?


----------



## Xaios

Heh, just googled the whole situation, I guess I wasn't the only one who thought about Matt Cooke when reading Lemieux's reaction. 

And the Canucks lose ANOTHER defenseman! Andrew Alberts' wrist was broken last night. We've lost 4 of our top 6 defensemen in the past 3 weeks, the only ones left standing from before then are Bieksa and Rome. It's a damn good thing Salo is back and that Tanev has been exceeding expectations.

Edit: Yay, Canucks finally beat the Wild in Minnesota!


----------



## mattofvengeance

The Stars made the worst team in the NHL look like Gretzky's Oilers. Time to fold it in, guys. I've been saying all along the defense is too bad for this team to do anything other than contend for a playoff spot, at best.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

That's not all bad, man. The Canadiens have lost Twice this year to the Devils (3-0 and 4-1), twice to the Leafs, Once to the Oilers and I believe, twice to the Islanders. They're awful against bad teams. But somehow, they still bring it against the better teams. There's a reason that both the Canadiens and Stars are top-5 teams in their respective conferences, and it's that even though they're guilty of taking nights off sometimes, they bring it when they really have to. I'm not saying that either of them is a legitimate contender, but nobody really expected either of them to be anyway. I think the Stars, in particular, have done pretty well for themselves this year


----------



## technomancer

^ It's also worth noting that Jersey is a better team than their record shows this year. They're currently 8-1-1 in their last 10 and have won 4 in a row... that's the best record over the last 10 of any team in the Eastern conference


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Habs got a point in a game with only 2 starting D last night. Not bad. Sucks they let a 2 - 0 lead get away though!


----------



## technomancer

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> Habs got a point in a game with only 2 starting D last night. Not bad. Sucks they let a 2 - 0 lead get away though!



*cough* Pens - Rangers *cough* 5-2 final, started as 2-0 IIRC


----------



## Xaios

I have to say, super impressed with how the Canucks have played through the injuries. Last year this would have DESTROYED them.

... but this is them this year.


----------



## mattofvengeance

JeffFromMtl said:


> That's not all bad, man. The Canadiens have lost Twice this year to the Devils (3-0 and 4-1), twice to the Leafs, Once to the Oilers and I believe, twice to the Islanders. They're awful against bad teams. But somehow, they still bring it against the better teams. There's a reason that both the Canadiens and Stars are top-5 teams in their respective conferences, and it's that even though they're guilty of taking nights off sometimes, they bring it when they really have to. I'm not saying that either of them is a legitimate contender, but nobody really expected either of them to be anyway. I think the Stars, in particular, have done pretty well for themselves this year



You bring up some good points man, and honestly, I'm happier right now with the way they've played than I thought I would be. Kari Lehtonen has been fucking huge, and I'm stoked as hell with the future with him. Really, with the ownership situation, this is about as well as they could be doing. Once the team is sold, I expect things to improve. I just hope that comes sooner rather than later. I could really write a novel on this, and I've been drinking, so I'll just cut it off now. The Calgary loss tonight was terrible. I just really hope they can keep Brad Richards.


----------



## MikeMonacoBrah

technomancer said:


> Glad you repeated 1/2 the articles that were written since the statement
> 
> My take is Cooke sometimes goes over the line, no question. I don't like it when he does. The Pens also play tough and take a lot of fighting majors. The difference is I haven't seen a Penguins player sucker punch someone, or *deliberately slam someone in the head*, then try to smash their head into the ice and then start punching them when they're down. I've also never seen the Pens call up bruisers from the AHL before a game with the intent of attacking an opposing team. That's what happened friday night.


----------



## technomancer

Thank you so much for ignoring the rest of the sentence 

I don't see Cooke proceeding to wail on Tyutin or Savard after those hits, which is what my sentence says and what happened in the game 

Skip forward to 2:19



The hit on Tyutin was a board no question, and was also stupid as hell but if you honestly think that comes close to what happened in the game I was talking about you're delusional. The hit on Tyutin also caught him in the middle of the back, not the head. The Savard hit has been covered add-nauseam and isn't even worth talking about at this point, and combined with Richard's hit on Boothe lead to a rules change.


----------



## potatohead

Xaios said:


> I have to say, super impressed with how the Canucks have played through the injuries. Last year this would have DESTROYED them.
> 
> ... but this is them this year.


 
Canucks have another injured key defensemen...

Vancouver Canucks Rumor: Defenseman Kevin Bieksa Out with Injury 3 Weeks | Bleacher Report

This is ridiculous. Five of the top seven are out right now.


----------



## technomancer

potatohead said:


> Canucks have another injured key defensemen...
> 
> Vancouver Canucks Rumor: Defenseman Kevin Bieksa Out with Injury 3 Weeks | Bleacher Report
> 
> This is ridiculous. Five of the top seven are out right now.



Damn that is ridiculous... the number of injuries on a lot of teams this year is just insane. The Pens have more-or-less had the same thing but with forwards... they have 7 starting forwards on IR right now.


----------



## Xaios

Soo...


Another Canucks defenseman bites the dust. Kevin Bieksa, of all people. That means that in the past 3 weeks, we've now lost SIX defenseman, FIVE of whom were top 6 defensemen before Salo came back. We've now lost Edler (back injury, out until playoffs), Ballard (sprained MCL), Hamhuis (concussion), Alberts (broken wrist), Bieksa (foot fracture) and Sweatt (broken foot).

ALL IN THE PAST THREE WEEKS. IT'S A GODDAMN CONSPIRACY, I TELL YOU!


----------



## JeffFromMtl

^ The habs are having similar troubles. With Markov and Gorges out for the entire season, 3 games ago, they lost Spacek and Gill and last night, the Wiz got a serious puck to the face. That would also put the Habs at only 2 (Hamrlik and Subban) of their top 7 D-men.



That leaves them with Harmlik, two guys who have been in and out of the NHL for a couple of seasons in Weber and Picard and Rookies P.K. Subban and Brendon Nash. If the Wiz isn't ready for Sunday, we'll be able to count half of the Habs' D corps as rookies, whoever ends up getting the call from Hamilton.


----------



## potatohead

JeffFromMtl said:


> ^ The habs are having similar troubles. With Markov and Gorges out for the entire season, 3 games ago, they lost Spacek and Gill and last night, the Wiz got a serious puck to the face. That would also put the Habs at only 2 (Hamrlik and Subban) of their top 7 D-men.
> 
> That leaves them with Harmlik, two guys who have been in and out of the NHL for a couple of seasons in Weber and Picard and Rookies P.K. Subban and Brendon Nash. If the Wiz isn't ready for Sunday, we'll be able to count half of the Habs' D corps as rookies, whoever ends up getting the call from Hamilton.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Big trade involving the Avs and Blues!
Blues send former No. 1 pick Erik Johnson to Avs - 2011 Trade Deadline


----------



## potatohead

Calgary is wearing the ugliest jerseys known to man in the outdoor game


----------



## technomancer

potatohead said:


> Calgary is wearing the ugliest jerseys known to man in the outdoor game



 ... and crushing the Habs while wearing them


----------



## mattofvengeance

You're welcome for the scoring winger, Steve. The Stars facebook is flipping shit over this trade right now, while as much as I loved James Neal, this team needs so much help defensively, and he's the most expendable player with value on this roster. I think both sides win, except the fact that you guys are now stuck with Matt Niskanen


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> You're welcome for the scoring winger, Steve. The Stars facebook is flipping shit over this trade right now, while as much as I loved James Neal, this team needs so much help defensively, and he's the most expendable player with value on this roster. I think both sides win, except the fact that you guys are now stuck with Matt Niskanen



Yeah I was happy to see a scoring winger coming in, NOT so thrilled to see one of our two good offensive defensemen go... especially since he was very solid defensively as well and Niskanen sucks  Then again he can be shunted as our #7 defenseman 

Any idea what their contracts are like?


----------



## mattofvengeance

Yes, Niskanen is absolutely terrible. Both have two years left before becoming RFAs. Neal is making 2.875 and Niskanen is making 1.5.


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> Yes, Niskanen is absolutely terrible. Both have two years left before becoming RFAs. Neal is making 2.875 and Niskanen is making 1.5.



Very cool 

Did some reading etc I think the Pens hope that the change of scenery will get Niskanen playing like he did his first two seasons... either that or they decided the defense was doing too well so it was time to sabotage it 

Worst case if Niskanen really doesn't work out they've got Strait who played well enough to make the team our of camp this year sitting in Wilkesbarre just because they wanted him to get a bit more seasoned before starting him in the NHL.


----------



## mattofvengeance

See the thing about Niskanen is he played well in his first two seasons, mainly the first, because he had zero responsibilities and Sergei Zubov, Phillipe Boucher and Matthias Norstrom in front of him. Back then, the defensemen the Stars rely on now (Robidas, Grossman, Daley) were all second and third pairing d-men. Really, none of them have handled their expanded roles consistently, which is why the Stars struggle on defense, and Niskanen was just the worst of them all. He turns the puck over religiously, particularly on the power play (enter Goligoski) and gets lost in his own end. One of the worst things a defenseman can do in his own end is stop moving his feet, and Nisky had a tendency to do that and get beaten. Anyhow, I hope he can find some sort of form for you guys, and I wish James Neal the best. I loved him in a Stars uniform, but unfortunately he was the most expendable of our players with value.


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> See the thing about Niskanen is he played well in his first two seasons, mainly the first, because he had zero responsibilities and Sergei Zubov, Phillipe Boucher and Matthias Norstrom in front of him. Back then, the defensemen the Stars rely on now (Robidas, Grossman, Daley) were all second and third pairing d-men. Really, none of them have handled their expanded roles consistently, which is why the Stars struggle on defense, and Niskanen was just the worst of them all. He turns the puck over religiously, particularly on the power play (enter Goligoski) and gets lost in his own end. One of the worst things a defenseman can do in his own end is stop moving his feet, and Nisky had a tendency to do that and get beaten. Anyhow, I hope he can find some sort of form for you guys, and I wish James Neal the best. I loved him in a Stars uniform, but unfortunately he was the most expendable of our players with value.



Sounds like Niskanen won't last long


----------



## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> Sounds like Niskanen won't last long



 Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me. I didn't get a chance to DVR the Stars game last night before I went to work, so I have no idea how well he played, though the site is giving him glowing reviews. I'm glad they paired him with Robidas.

I hope the close game against New Jersey signifies the end of this slump, and they take it to Detroit tomorrow night.


----------



## technomancer

Niskanen looked really good for the Pens last night, aside from one turnover... in overtime... that almost cost them the game  Neal looked good in general 

And Alexi Kovalev is once again a Pittsburgh Penguin  Actually given the Pens were the only team he really played well for I'm curious to see how he does... I loved him when he was here before.


----------



## mattofvengeance

A turnover that nearly cost them the game? Sounds pretty par for the course for ol Nisky 

Honestly, I really hope they both find success, especially Neal. I love his game, as inconsistent as he can be.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah Niskanen will have to do well... as of last night it looks like Orpik is out for 4 weeks with a broken finger. He's the Pens #1 shutdown defenseman so unless more trades happen Niskanen will be a starting defenseman along with a callup form the AHL


----------



## TheDivineWing22

WOW! What a game between the Pens and Bruins tonight. Hopefully the Pens can keep playing this way. Best they have looked in awhile.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah great game, nice seeing them play well. Especially against a Bruins team that had won 7 in a row


----------



## Xaios

Glad the Canucks managed to snap the vicious win-one-lose-one cycle that's been going on 10 straight games prior, having finally strung together 2 wins in a row. 

I admit, when the whole thing started, I stopped following, because I just hate to see them lose, especially since they're first in the league, because I don't want to watch if/when Philly or Detroit overtakes them in the standings. Makes me doubly glad that Philly's and Detroit's luck seemed to take a dive at the same time as it did for the Canucks, just as it has during the rest of the season. They've managed to take advantage of that trend just well enough to stay a few points up on both teams.

Figures, though, that the downturn in their futures is accompanied by Kesler having a scoring slump.


----------



## technomancer

Xaios said:


> Glad the Canucks managed to snap the vicious win-one-lose-one cycle that's been going on 10 straight games prior, having finally strung together 2 wins in a row.
> 
> I admit, when the whole thing started, I stopped following, because I just hate to see them lose, especially since they're first in the league, because I don't want to watch if/when Philly or Detroit overtakes them in the standings. Makes me doubly glad that Philly's and Detroit's luck seemed to take a dive at the same time as it did for the Canucks, just as it has during the rest of the season. They've managed to take advantage of that trend just well enough to stay a few points up on both teams.
> 
> Figures, though, that the downturn in their futures is accompanied by Kesler having a scoring slump.



Two in a row? Hell I'm just waiting for the Pens to win ONE in regulation


----------



## potatohead

Hah, typical Vancouver fans... Team goes 7 - 6 over a 13 game span and the............


----------



## technomancer

^ 

And tonight we see if the Pens can win two in a row... I'm hoping so since we have tickets for tonight's game


----------



## TheDivineWing22

So that is what a regulation looks like.

EDIT: Regulation win*


----------



## JeffFromMtl

It's very difficult to enjoy tonight's win after what happened to Pacioretty... That looked awful. I hate to say it, but Pacioretty didn't have the puck and Chara's actions looked pretty deliberate, and I honestly believe it merits a serious punishment. The fact that the two players have a bit of a history doesn't help the matter either.


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> So that is what a regulation looks like.
> 
> EDIT: Regulation win*



 yeah for real... the game was a blast to be at, seems like the fans in-building are finally starting to get into it in the new facility.

Also w00t to Neal and Michalek both getting their fist goals as Pens 



JeffFromMtl said:


> It's very difficult to enjoy tonight's win after what happened to Pacioretty... That looked awful. I hate to say it, but Pacioretty didn't have the puck and Chara's actions looked pretty deliberate, and I honestly believe it merits a serious punishment. The fact that the two players have a bit of a history doesn't help the matter either.



I haven't seen the hit yet but saw he was hurt. It wouldn't surprise me, as Chara tends to get dirty when somebody pisses him off (ie makes him look bad)


----------



## JeffFromMtl

This is the hit. Seeing him laying motionless on the ice for so long just makes my stomach turn.



And this is last time, when Pacioretty made him look bad and Chara lost it. The "history", if you will.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah, sorry that should have been a match penalty and a suspension. Unfortunately with the half-assed enforcement he probably won't get anything


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> Yeah, sorry that should have been a match penalty and a suspension. Unfortunately with the half-assed enforcement he probably won't get anything



He did get a major and was ejected from the game, however, I don't know if there'll be a suspension coming.


----------



## Hollowman

Sadly enough for Chara that he's so damn big that any hit that he does just looks bad.

Edit: Pacioretty was going for the puck upon the face off to clear it out of the zone watch it closely . HOWEVER, it was an absolutely horrible place to get caught and a stupid place for Chara to actually check someone there given his size I hope that Pacioretty will be alright.


----------



## technomancer

I have watched it, the puck was long gone for several seconds and Chara paralleled him and waited to hit him. He should be gone for an extended suspension, period. FFS if Cooke or Ruutu had done that they'd be gone for the season. Pacioretty is out indefinitely with a concussion and spinal fracture.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> I have watched it, the puck was long gone for several seconds and Chara paralleled him and waited to hit him. He should be gone for an extended suspension, period. FFS if Cooke or Ruutu had done that they'd be gone for the season. Pacioretty is out indefinitely with a concussion and spinal fracture.



Agreed wholeheartedly. Whether the play was intentional or not, it was reckless, irresponsible and dangerous. It's questionable whether Max will ever even fully recover, let alone play another game in the NHL. What compounds the whole situation is that Max is young (22 years old - just 9 months younger than me) and has just begun scratching the surface of his potential. I feel for the habs, losing their brightest forward prospect for an extended period, or god forbid, permanently, but mostly for Max and his family. I couldn't even imagine what they're going through.

Although, it's pretty tough to look at this and figure that Chara hadn't been taking numbers... Not to say he meant to injure the guy, but I think it's quite obvious that it was more than just "bad luck".


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Aaaand here it is. 

NHL's Murphy releases statement on Chara review - NHL.com - News


I don't even know what to say. The biggest guy in the NHL makes a dangerous and irresponsible play, putting a young, promising star into the board with a clear head shot, potentially ending his career, and the NHL lets it slide. Fuck the NHL... seriously.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah that is just inexcusable. Sadly it is exactly what I was expecting, since apparently supplemental discipline only applies to players they've decided to target as examples


----------



## Hollowman

I want to clarify that I don't agree with what Chara did at all like I stated before IT WAS STUPID !!!!


----------



## Xaios

potatohead said:


> Hah, typical Vancouver fans... Team goes 7 - 6 over a 13 game span and the............



Haha, yeah, I know, it's silly and irrational. Been a fan of the Canucks though since I was old enough to understand hockey, and seeing them lose just gets my stomach in knots because I love them so much!

We shant speak of the Messier/Keenan days...


----------



## Demiurge

JeffFromMtl said:


> I don't even know what to say. The biggest guy in the NHL makes a dangerous and irresponsible play, putting a young, promising star into the board with a clear head shot, potentially ending his career, and the NHL lets it slide. Fuck the NHL... seriously.



A few weeks ago, a former NFL player fricking shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain is studied because he was convinced that after all the concussions he sustained, his head wasn't right. Immensely f'ed-up, if you really think about it. 

Every other sport is (I'm hoping) taking a serious look at player safety issues- especially with head injuries, while the limp-wristed NHL predictably lets a guy get off scott-free after breaking a guy's neck _on top of inflicting a serious head injury_. The cherry on top is the hypocrisy and ridiculousness since the Bruins themselves are "mourning" the probable end of Savard's career with the blame being put on Matt Cook.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Demiurge said:


> A few weeks ago, a former NFL player fricking shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain is studied because he was convinced that after all the concussions he sustained, his head wasn't right. Immensely f'ed-up, if you really think about it.
> 
> Every other sport is (I'm hoping) taking a serious look at player safety issues- especially with head injuries, while the limp-wristed NHL predictably lets a guy get off scott-free after breaking a guy's neck _on top of inflicting a serious head injury_. The cherry on top is the hypocrisy and ridiculousness since the Bruins themselves are "mourning" the probable end of Savard's career with the blame being put on Matt Cook.



 Well-said.

There's something seriously wrong with the NHL, and I hope Pacioretty makes a full recovery and can go back to a normal life and productive career. I just hope it doesn't cost a player's life (which I feared could have happened last night when I saw the trainers taking Pacioretty's pulse while he lay face-down and motionless on the ice) for the NHL to finally do something about cheap shots and shots to the head, rather than just continuing to talk about how we need to get these things out of the game, as they have over the past several years... Not that whatever they do at that point would matter, considering I'm almost certain the league would be forced to fold before they even have a chance to change anything


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - NHL - Air Canada threatens NHL over headshots

Finally a big player speaks out


----------



## technomancer

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - NHL - Air Canada threatens NHL over headshots
> 
> Finally a big player speaks out



Yeah the only thing Bettman gives a fuck about is the money, so maybe that will make him think about the issue. Honestly I love hockey, I love the hard hitting, I love fights, I generally love everything about the game... but I am also in full support of making any head shot an automatic match penalty ad suspension with escalating SERIOUS penalties for repeat offenders. 

I mean ffs Gillies from the Islanders was suspended for running Tangredi in the head (Tangredi is still out with a concussion), came back and ran somebody else in the head HIS FIRST GAME BACK and his suspension was 1 game more than the previous one? Seriously? That's tough action that's supposed to send a message? And there was no question that it was a deliberate shot targeted at the head...


----------



## potatohead

The biggest joke of all of this is that Bettman and the owner of the Bruins (Jacobs I think) are very good friends. Colin Campbells kid also plays for Boston. Serious conflict of interest, yet they seem to think it's ok. 

Joke of a business. Total joke.


----------



## technomancer

Bettman: still a douche bag

Bettman responds to Chara hit, Air Canada - NHL.com - News

I also love the threat that teams will stop using Air Canada, since that is something the league has absolutely NO control over... what a dick.


----------



## Xaios

So Gary Bettman has basically given the middle finger to Air Canada and told them "if you don't like it, fuck off."

Dear lord, that man infuriates me.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

He's probably looking for a reason to switch to American Airlines, anyway. Hell, if it were up to Bettman, The Canadiens would be the Americans, the Canucks would be the Yanks, the Oilers would be in Texas, the Flames would still be in Atlanta _along with the Tharshers_ and the Senators would be the Presidents of the United States of America. And all of them would be playing somewhere in Sun Belt, US. He'd leave the Leafs in Toronto though, just because he loves Don Cherry and hockey's brightest dynamic duo, Brian Burke and Ron Wilson


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> He's probably looking for a reason to switch to American Airlines, anyway. Hell, if it were up to Bettman, The Canadiens would be the Americans, the Canucks would be the Yanks, the Oilers would be in Texas, the Flames would still be in Atlanta _along with the Tharshers_ and the Senators would be the Presidents of the United States of America. And all of them would be playing somewhere in Sun Belt, US. He'd leave the Leafs in Toronto though, just because he loves Don Cherry and hockey's brightest dynamic duo, Brian Burke and Ron Wilson


----------



## kmanick

Jesus the refs might as well have put on Saber shirts tonight.
what a joke
and guys there have been 17 suspensions handed out this season so far for "head hits" 
If the players themselves don't give a shit what's the league supposed to do?
and "putting the blame on matt cooke" ? what kind of fucking remark is that?
No that was a clean hit, Savard should stop being such a pussy and get back out there
Cooke is a clean player, I don't know why he has such a rep.


----------



## technomancer

kmanick said:


> Jesus the refs might as well have put on Saber shirts tonight.
> what a joke
> and guys there have been 17 suspensions handed out this season so far for "head hits"
> If the players themselves don't give a shit what's the league supposed to do?
> and "putting the blame on matt cooke" ? what kind of fucking remark is that?
> No that was a clean hit, Savard should stop being such a pussy and get back out there
> Cooke is a clean player, I don't know why he has such a rep.



As I've said before Cooke does some stupid shit, but if you think the league isn't trying to make an example out of him you're delusional. 

Seriously, the hit Cooke got 4 games for against Columbus earlier this year would have been a 2 minute boarding minor and forgotten by the end of the night if it had been any other player on the ice delivering it. I was there and about 15' from it when it happened.

And what I said was if that hit by Chara had been delivered by Cooke or Ruutu there would have been an extensive suspension dealt out, and again if you think that's not true I don't know what to say.

Bottom line the league should grow a pair and ban hits to the head, like every other hockey league on the planet. They should also establish a disciplinary board to handle supplementary discipline, and the board should be made up of referees not a fucking administrator whose son plays in the league.

But that's okay, ignore the rest of what I said and go back and talk about the hit on Savard from last year some more. Maybe pull up and review the hit Richards delivered to Booth as well while you're at it. Because you know, they're both TOTALLY relevant to Chara almost killing a guy and not getting a suspension for it


----------



## kmanick

I don't disagree with you about Chara not getting a suspension.
I think that was a big mistake by the league
but you can't put Chara and Cooke in the same basket.
Cooke is a piece of shit dirty hack (observe)


You don't see Chara pulling this kind of shit on regular basis, if ever.
I'm actually amazed Cooke is still allowed to play in this league.
guys like him,Sean Avery, and Gillies in long Island tarnish this great game.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

I think Cooke is a piece of shit, no doubt. And I think the short leash he's kept on is justified. Sure, he gets the book thrown at him for almost everything, but he's earned it. However, in an incident as blatantly dangerous as this, I don't think you should be taking a "track record" into account. If it were up to me, the guy would be banned whether it were Matt Cooke, Zdeno Chara or even Pavel Datsyuk, FFS. The point is _not_ intent, but to keep dangerous plays out of hockey and show players that they need to respect one another. I'm just not sure why the NHL doesn't see it the same way.

Things that others have been suspended for in the past completely pale in comparison to the Chara incident, which went entirely unpunished. Avery got 6 games for talking smack about Phaneuf's girlfriend and Wisniewski got 2 games for gesturing to Avery to suck a dick. I don't think there's a place in the game for that and it's disrespectful, but its _harmless_ (and hilarious). Guys get the boot for talking smack and a guy goes out and breaks a kid's neck with a reckless and dangerous play and he's absolved of all of his sins? Give me a break. There's a big problem with this league.


----------



## potatohead

If I run a red light and mow someone down, I go to jail for vehicular manslaughter, or worse, even if I am a fucking nun. 

Why is this any different?


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> However, in an incident as blatantly dangerous as this, I don't think you should be taking a "track record" into account. If it were up to me, the guy would be banned whether it were Matt Cooke, Zdeno Chara or even Pavel Datsyuk, FFS. The point is _not_ intent, but to keep dangerous plays out of hockey and show players that they need to respect one another. I'm just not sure why the NHL doesn't see it the same way.



That is precisely the point I was making.


----------



## technomancer

And the question of the day: which team of walking wounded will prevail... Pens vs Habs 

EDIT: not to take anything away from the Habs because they played a great game, but the Pens looked TERRIBLE... I think Neal delivered 3 checks to his own linemates  Ouch damn and I hope Staal is ok, he caught a stick in the face while sitting on the bench...


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

It was an ordinary game for both teams IMO. The score = Price playing very well and Fleury giving a few softies.


----------



## technomancer

Eh there was a LOT of bumbling by the Pens that was definitely not normal


----------



## matt397

JeffFromMtl said:


> I think Cooke is a piece of shit, no doubt. And I think the short leash he's kept on is justified. Sure, he gets the book thrown at him for almost everything, but he's earned it. However, in an incident as blatantly dangerous as this, I don't think you should be taking a "track record" into account. If it were up to me, the guy would be banned whether it were Matt Cooke, Zdeno Chara or even Pavel Datsyuk, FFS. The point is _not_ intent, but to keep dangerous plays out of hockey and show players that they need to respect one another. I'm just not sure why the NHL doesn't see it the same way.
> 
> Things that others have been suspended for in the past completely pale in comparison to the Chara incident, which went entirely unpunished. Avery got 6 games for talking smack about Phaneuf's girlfriend and Wisniewski got 2 games for gesturing to Avery to suck a dick. I don't think there's a place in the game for that and it's disrespectful, but its _harmless_ (and hilarious). Guys get the boot for talking smack and a guy goes out and breaks a kid's neck with a reckless and dangerous play and he's absolved of all of his sins? Give me a break. There's a big problem with this league.



SO very true. The way the NHL handles these situations is so fucking mind boggling and backwards. If it were up to me, and this is coming from someone who loves rough an tumble hockey and hates the habs, zdeno would be suspended until pacioretty recovered and if he doesn't recover then sorry about your fucking luck chara. How they came to a decision not to penalize him any further is beyond any logical reasoning. You can not tell me there was no intent to run him (his head or body, either or) into the stanchion. Clean record or not, Chara should not be any exception to punishment. He's no different then Todd Bertuzzi, Matt Cooke or anyone one else guilty of career ending hits.


----------



## technomancer

Aaaand Pens destroy the Oilers 5-1, with only 5 defensemen for the game (Niskanen was out with the flue and it was too late to call anybody up). Not that the Oilers are a good team this year, but it was still fun to watch


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

We're 0-1-1 against the Oilers this year 


...were also 2-0-0 against the Canucks though


----------



## technomancer

^ yeah I was afraid the Pens tendency to lose to terrible teams was going to kick in, especially after the bumble-athon against the Habs the day before


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Crosby skated this morning for the first time since his concussion. He skated with full hear so hopefully he'll be back soon. 

I'm guessing for playoffs


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> Crosby skated this morning for the first time since his concussion. He skated with full hear so hopefully he'll be back soon.
> 
> I'm guessing for playoffs



Yeah assuming it went well it's going to be a while before he's back... the playoffs would be realistic assuming he's symptom free and able to work out since he has literally not been able to work out at all since the beginning of january


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

It's a shame man, he was on pace for like 160 points this year... he still in the top 10 scorers and hasn't played in 29 games


----------



## technomancer

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> It's a shame man, he was on pace for like 160 points this year... he still in the top 10 scorers and hasn't played in 29 games



Yeah he was having the best season of his career by far. Hopefully he's all right and can continue to work out / get back in form.

I would REALLY love to see him with Neal and Kovalev


----------



## Xaios

Canucks won their 6th in a row. I'm sorry for ever doubting the hockey gods!


----------



## technomancer

Blech looks like Letang and Niskanen are both out for tonight's game against Ottawa, Pens have called up 2 defensemen from the AHL.

Letang took a hit to the head late in the game against the Oilers and was out for the rest of the game... though it's looking like Letang was at the morning skate but Martin wasn't 

Ok, looks like Niskanen is the only defenseman supposed to be out for the Pens.


----------



## technomancer

Pens won 2 in a row... both with scores of 5-1

Now if only they could do that when NOT playing the two worst teams in the NHL


----------



## Hollowman

I have to say that I'm happy that my Devils are doing better 23-3-2 and 6 points out of the 8th playoff spot with 13 games to go it can be done. I BELIEVE. I just wish that they had made this coaching change sooner to save their season and not to have put themselves into this position, even though I wouldn't want to see anyone lose their job .


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Hollowman666 said:


> I have to say that I'm happy that my Devils are doing better 23-3-2 and 6 points out of the 8th playoff spot with 13 games to go it can be done. I BELIEVE. I just wish that they had made this coaching change sooner to save their season and not to have put themselves into this position, even though I wouldn't want to see anyone lose their job .



I wouldn't be surprised to see Jersey finish ahead of Carolina and Buffalo. And I've got a feeling they'll be one of the more dangerous teams in the playoffs. A PHI v NJ series would be amazing!

On a side note, the Habs were dealt a serious slow in last night's game against the Caps. Not only did they lose the game, but both Plekanec, our top scorer and best two-way forward and Halpern, our Faceoff and defensive ace left the game with injuries and didn't return. Dawes and Palushaj were both called up from Hamilton, so I'm hoping it's just precautionary, because with all of the injuries the Habs are already dealing with, they can't afford to lose anyone else at this point in the season.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> I wouldn't be surprised to see Jersey finish ahead of Carolina and Buffalo. And I've got a feeling they'll be one of the more dangerous teams in the playoffs. A PHI v NJ series would be amazing!
> 
> On a side note, the Habs were dealt a serious slow in last night's game against the Caps. Not only did they lose the game, but both Plekanec, our top scorer and best two-way forward and Halpern, our Faceoff and defensive ace left the game with injuries and didn't return. Dawes and Palushaj were both called up from Hamilton, so I'm hoping it's just precautionary, because with all of the injuries the Habs are already dealing with, they can't afford to lose anyone else at this point in the season.



 on Jersey

And damn, I feel your pain on the injuries, hopefully they're both all right and back soon for the Habs.... I was relieved that Letang wasn't out for the Pens


----------



## Xaios

Canucks win their 7th in a row beating the Avs 4-2 after trailing at the end of the 1st 2-0 and at the end of the 2nd 2-1. In doing so, they've clinched the NW division title and a playoff spot, and a playoff spot in the top 3 at that.

I believe this describes their situation succinctly...


----------



## kmanick

Vancouver is on a tear for sure!
Go Devils (I alway root for the underdogs!)
plus being a Former goalie myself I 'm glad to see Marty is back on his game


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Pacioretty could return to Canadiens for playoffs - NHL.com - NHL Insider

Whoa! This guy is a freak of nature. Last time he left a game on a stretcher after taking a 100+ MPH slap shot to the ribs and returned to play the next game. Now this? Wolverine Healing power... Maybe it's no coincidence that he played his NCAA career with the Michigan Wolverines 

More good news is that the Habs knocked off the Lighting in shootouts tonight, and Plekanec's injury is listed as day-to-day


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Gionta's breakaway goal was a thing of beauty. It wasn't anyone trying to catch up with him either, it was fucking St Louis! That was some fast skating.


----------



## technomancer

Pens lose to Rangers because of stupid fucking penalties, and I'd say Cooke is going to be suspended again (and he should be, moron elbowed a Ranger in the head for no apparent reason ). That brilliance was followed up by a 4 minute high stick by Niskanen, giving the Rangers almost 2 minutes of 5-on-3


----------



## TheDivineWing22

I'm really getting sick of Matt Cookes shit. He makes some of the dumbest decisions which has really been giving the Pens a bad rep around the league.

It's really a shame too because he actually has talent.


----------



## Vostre Roy

Bertuzzi and Avery also have lots of talent, but still those guy plays like cheap-shoting pussies. Having talent doesn't mean that you have all your head and are a fairplay guy. For the Cooke incident, I really hope that Lemieux will ban him from his team. There is very few people that can make the league move, and Lemieux is one of them, as he is a team owner and a former NHL superstar.

That being said, hat trick for PK Subban yesterday, too bad I missed that game, that is freaking awesome!


----------



## technomancer

Yeah the bitch of the situation with Cooke is that he's one of the best penalty killers on the team and leads the league in shorthanded goals... and he was actually doing fairly well this year as far as cleaning up his game (sorry, the hit he got suspended for and the hit on Ovechkin that made the hockey news were both blown WAY out of proportion for what they were) but this was just plain fucking stupid and there was no need for it. He basically cost the Pens that game with a majorly stupid decision that could have easily injured another player.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Matt Cooke is suspended for the rest of the season and the first round of playoffs. 


And I completely agree with the decision.


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> Matt Cooke is suspended for the rest of the season and the first round of playoffs.
> 
> 
> And I completely agree with the decision.



So do I... as long as it's a sign of a no-tolerance policy that's going to be consistently enforced. Yeah that's going to happen


----------



## technomancer

Pens beat Detroit 5-4 in the shootout 

(I will ignore the fact that they blew a 4-0 lead to end up in the shootout )


----------



## Psyy

Apparently off-topic:

Go, Ward and Carolina! Buffalo needs to start choking asap. Also, I chose Tampa to win the cup off a spin-around-and-point-at-a-team-with-eyes-closed test before the season even began, so hopefully they pick it up after failing so hard last night.


----------



## technomancer

Psyy said:


> Apparently off-topic:
> 
> Go, Ward and Carolina! Buffalo needs to start choking asap. Also, I chose Tampa to win the cup off a spin-around-and-point-at-a-team-with-eyes-closed test before the season even began, so hopefully they pick it up after failing so hard last night.



Carolina and Buffalo are both good teams, that battle for the #8 spot is turning out to be interesting


----------



## The Honorable

Montreal WTF happened tonight?! RIP Patch who probably flat lined in his hospital room after seeing that weak display tonight. I'm gonna be facing some brutal heckling while reppin the colours tomorrow thats for sure...


----------



## technomancer

Yeah I didn't see the game, but saw the score 

Pens managed to beat Philly in the least effective way possible  I was honestly surprised to see them win, as the game had the feel of a Pens specialty where they dominate the play and still lose in the closing seconds


----------



## Xaios

Yeah, fair to say Montreal got their ass handed to them last night.


----------



## technomancer

Comrie is back in the lineup tonight for the Pens. I'll be really curious to see how he does after being out hurt for so long. It was really disappointing as he was tearing things up preseason, then got hurt the first game and played hurt for a while with unimpressive results and then was out for most of the year after hip surgery.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

^^Yeah I am really interested to see how he plays. He was great in the Pre-season.


----------



## Psyy

Montreal smashes Minnesota one week and turns around and decides to follow suit.


----------



## technomancer

Wow talk about a tight game... Pens beat Jersey 1-0 in the shootout


----------



## technomancer

With the Pens win today and the Flyers loss to Boston the Pens are now within 2 points of the Flyers 

Now if the Pens show up and win in regulation on Tuesday they'll be tied with the Flyers... looks like they might actually have a shot at winning the division this year, which given the bajillion injuries they've had is pretty damn impressive.

Then again the Pens looked like hell today against the Panthers, so I'm not holding my breath. The only reason the Pens won was because Fleury was unbelievable


----------



## potatohead

I'm pretty amazed the Pens are where they are, pretty impressive with the injuries. 

Canucks keep on rolling, won 10 of the last 11 I believe. Honestly they haven't really been playing all that well but both goalies are stopping absolutely everything. Hamhuis looks to be out with his second concussion of the season, hopefully he can rest up and be ok before the playoffs begin. It didn't look bad but we all know how consussions can be.


----------



## technomancer

potatohead said:


> I'm pretty amazed the Pens are where they are, pretty impressive with the injuries.
> 
> Canucks keep on rolling, won 10 of the last 11 I believe. Honestly they haven't really been playing all that well but both goalies are stopping absolutely everything. Hamhuis looks to be out with his second concussion of the season, hopefully he can rest up and be ok before the playoffs begin. It didn't look bad but we all know how consussions can be.



Yeah I am extremely impressed with how well the Pens are doing. Makes me hope Bylsma wins the Adams trophy this year considering he's been playing with 1/2 a teams worth of AHL guys and is in contention for the top spot in the East 

Funnily enough I think Orpik getting back in the lineup actually hurt them yesterday, as it shifted all of the D pairings that had been doing so well together and threw everything off. Hopefully they're more in-sync tomorrow against Philly or they're going to get killed 

Hopefully Hamhuis gets back, but with a second concussion of the year not sure how good the odds of that are. The Canucks are one of the western conference teams I like, so hopefully they make a good run this year.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

So... will the Habs be able to muster any scoring tonight? They've been shut out in 3 straight, after shellacking Minnesota 8-1  It's a bad time of the season for them to be hitting their low point.


----------



## technomancer

And the reason NHL discipline is complete fucking bullshit



that hit from last night isn't even being reviewed for a suspension


----------



## Xaios

Vancouver Canucks, 2010-2011 Western Conference Champs, baby!


----------



## technomancer

Pittsburgh Penguins: blowing the opportunity to be Easter Conference Champs 

On the bright side Sid has been cleared to practice  (damnit they updated, he's not cleared for contact yet)


----------



## Xaios

What the hell happened to Detroit last night?? They got beaten 10-3?! By the St. Louis Blues?!?


----------



## technomancer

Xaios said:


> What the hell happened to Detroit last night?? They got beaten 10-3?! By the St. Louis Blues?!?



Epic goal tending fail? 

I would pay to see that game though


----------



## JeffFromMtl

what a disaster!
The Habs also got lit up, even though they put 40 shots on Cam Ward. Shit's not looking too good.


----------



## technomancer

Bylsma said he wanted this game tonight against the Lightning to be a statement by the Pens... unfortunately the statement turned out to be that they can't score a goal to save their fucking lives 

Pens outshoot Tampa 37 - 24 and lose 2-1


----------



## Xaios

Booya! Philly loses against Atlanta, Vancouver beats LA.


VANCOUVER WINS PRESIDENT'S TROPHY!


----------



## matt397

Xaios said:


> Booya! Philly loses against Atlanta, Vancouver beats LA.
> 
> 
> VANCOUVER WINS PRESIDENT'S TROPHY!


 
That might not necessarily be a good thing, lest not we forgot the curse of the presidents trophy.....


----------



## mattofvengeance

*here's hoping Chicago continues their slide, so the Stars very minute playoff chances stay alive as long as possible*


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> *here's hoping Chicago continues their slide, so the Stars very minute playoff chances stay alive as long as possible*



Looks like the Stars are going to get a win tonight. How's Gogo playing for them since the trade? Neal has been playing great but the puck won't go in for him except during the shootout. Niskanen has been surprisingly good, though I'd much rather see him or Lovejoy scratched and Engelland in for the Pens as they don't have enough grit on the blue line with both of them in 

*here's hoping the Flyers drop one and the Pens win two*


----------



## Psyy

I don't understand how Vancouver can lose twice in a row to the worst team this season and then 5-0 a better team afterwards.

*crossing fingers Ward plays like he's been playing this last month."


----------



## technomancer

It is absolutely crazy that the Atlantic Division is coming down to the last game of the season... and even more crazy that the Pens are competing for it with all the injuries they've had


----------



## Psyy

RIP 'Canes' 2011 playoff hopes.

I don't even know who to cheer for anymore.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Well, now that the east is all squared up, anyone have any predictions?


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Well, now that the east is all squared up, anyone have any predictions?



I hate to even speculate this year so many of the teams in the East have been inconsistent enough that losing a best of 4 series is entirely possible


----------



## Xaios

Well, Chicago lost to Detroit. If Dallas wins in regulation, they'll bump Chicago out of the playoffs. However, if Dallas loses, or even if they win in overtime, they miss the playoffs.

*EDIT: *Dallas can actually win in OT as well, just not in a shootout.

*really hoping Dallas makes it, so Vancouver can annihilate them.* 

I have to admit, I was scared for Daniel Sedin's Art Ross hopes when Corey Perry started racking up points like a motherfucker. Thankfully, Daniel managed to pull out 2 assists each of the past two games, and Corey Perry choked at the last minute, so Daniel's Art Ross is now completely secure, unless Brad Richards can score 30 points tonight. 

Being as Perry finished in third for points behind Martin St. Louis, I figure his shot at the Hart has now also been torpedoed. Being as it's the Professional Hockey Writers' Association that votes for the Hart recipient, and twin brothers getting back-to-back scoring and MVP titles is BY FAR the best story, I think he's at very least the favorite for the Hart as well.

Plus, he's earned it fairly well too, I'd say.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> I hate to even speculate this year so many of the teams in the East have been inconsistent enough that losing a best of 4 series is entirely possible



 I was going to try posting my predictions and realized it was too tough to say, hence asking for everyon else's insigh  However, I do get the feeling there'll be a couple of upsets. The Rangers dominated the Caps this season, and Philly, playing their weakest hockey of the season could have problems with the Sabres, who, incidentally, have been playing their best hockey of the season going into the playoffs.

The other two series are anyone's call really, and I think we can all agree that the Montreal/Boston series is going to be entertaining, to say the least, seeing as they seem to have renewed the age-old rivalry this season. History is on the Habs' side, as they've dominated the Bruins in the playoffs, aside from their 4-and-out meltdown two years ago, and they took 4 of 6 during the regular season, but the physical game scares me, and so does the memory of that 7-0 rout in their last meeting.



Xaios said:


> Well, Chicago lost to Detroit. If Dallas wins in regulation, they'll bump Chicago out of the playoffs. However, if Dallas loses, or even if they win in overtime, they miss the playoffs.
> 
> *EDIT: *Dallas can actually win in OT as well, just not in a shootout.
> 
> *really hoping Dallas makes it, so Vancouver can annihilate them.*
> 
> I have to admit, I was scared for Daniel Sedin's Art Ross hopes when Corey Perry started racking up points like a motherfucker. Thankfully, Daniel managed to pull out 2 assists each of the past two games, and Corey Perry choked at the last minute, so Daniel's Art Ross is now completely secure, unless Brad Richards can score 30 points tonight.
> 
> Being as Perry finished in third for points behind Martin St. Louis, I figure his shot at the Hart has now also been torpedoed. Being as it's the Professional Hockey Writers' Association that votes for the Hart recipient, and twin brothers getting back-to-back scoring and MVP titles is BY FAR the best story, I think he's at very least the favorite for the Hart as well.
> 
> Plus, he's earned it fairly well too, I'd say.



I also have my fingers crossed for Dallas, as the 'Nucks have had way too many problems with Chicago recently. Aside from Vancouver, I'll be cheering on San Jose in the west. They're way overdue, and I pick them as my cup favourites every damn year 

As for the Hart trophy race, as great a season as Daniel's had this year, I don't think anyone's going to take that trophy (or the Vezina, for that matter) away from Tim Thomas. Barely breaking 100 pts in a season doesn't even hold a light to breaking the all-time save % record.


----------



## Xaios

JeffFromMtl said:


> I also have my fingers crossed for Dallas, as the 'Nucks have had way too many problems with Chicago recently. Aside from Vancouver, I'll be cheering on San Jose in the west. They're way overdue, and I pick them as my cup favourites every damn year
> 
> As for the Hart trophy race, as great a season as Daniel's had this year, I don't think anyone's going to take that trophy (or the Vezina, for that matter) away from Tim Thomas. Barely breaking 100 pts in a season doesn't even hold a light to breaking the all-time save % record.



Tim Thomas did have an incredible season, unfortunately I don't think he'll get it. When I lived in Kelowna, the goalie that played for the Kelowna Rockets was Kelly Guard. He inspired the same kind of fanaticism among Kelowna hockey fans that Luongo does in Vancouver. Every time we sung the national anthem at a hockey game, everyone screamed "we stand on *GUARD!!!* for thee."

Link to CHL records book: CHL Network - Best GAA, One Season (Min. 1500 Minutes Played)

In 2002-03, Kelly Guard became the first ever goalie in the history of the CHL to finish the season under 2.00 GAA, finishing with a 1.93 GAA. The next year, he annihilated his own record, getting a 1.56 GAA, a record that stands to this day.

Despite this, he was never selected in an entry draft, and he was completely snubbed for awards. In the end, the utter lack of respect from his peers pretty much destroyed his confidence, and he never played the same again. He doesn't even play hockey anymore.

The fact is that goalies simply do not get the same kind of respect that skaters do.


----------



## Psyy

^ Man, what a bummer. Big props to that guy. If Cam Ward's numbers then show the potential he's reaching now, Kelly Guard could have been absolutely ridiculous.

Personally, I feel if Vancouver can make it past Chicago they'll make conference finals, easy. What a joke it would be if the Presidents Trophy winner was knocked out first round.

I agree, Jeff. I think San Jose deserves a win. I don't think SJ will have too much trouble with LA, especially if they play like they have been the last month or so. I suppose I'll follow up on my Tampa to win the cup prediction I randomly threw out before the season started, so go 'Bolts, I guess.


----------



## HighGain510

technomancer said:


> I hate to even speculate this year so many of the teams in the East have been inconsistent enough that losing a best of 4 series is entirely possible



You know who's taking it home, Steve....


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

as long as it's not the Bruins or Flyers winning I won't be pissed to be honest.

Here's hoping the Habs have a few other miracles up their sleeves >.>


----------



## Elysian

Stars fired Crawford today.


----------



## mattofvengeance

Elysian said:


> Stars fired Crawford today.



Good night, sweet Prince. While I don't think he's the crux of the problem with this team, he definitely didn't do anything to help. His system just underlined the weaknesses of this team, particularly the lack of defense. I'm anxious to see who Joe picks up next, but this team will perennially sit on the bubble of playoff contention in the West until the team gets sold.


----------



## Xaios

The problem with teams Marc Crawford has coached is that, while he brings out the best in them from a pure skill standpoint, discipline goes by the board. This was certainly true of the Canucks during his tenure, the West Coast Express years. While he certainly did a much better job than "Iron" Mike Keenan, he hit a brick wall that was caused by lack of discipline that he couldn't remedy (on top of the fact that Dan Cloutier's playoff choke artistry makes Roberto Luongo look like Jaroslav Halak). Part of the reason I'm so happy with the job Alain Vigneault has done, especially in the current season, is that he's really hammered home the message of discipline, discipline, discipline. Both Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler, who were previously chirpers and general shit disturbers, have both closed their mouths and upped their game. The result? Their penalty minutes this year are not much more than half what they were last season, and Kesler had a 40 goal season. Not too shabby.


----------



## mattofvengeance

For sure, and given this team's complete absence of defense, I've never been a big fan of his "bring the defenseman up on the rush" scheme. It leaves one d-man to contain the oncoming onslaught with the inevitable turn over in neutral ice, and we don't have a single defenseman good enough to stop the barrage of odd man rushes his stupid scheme created.


----------



## AvantGuardian

Playoffs starting in a couple of hours. Hoping the Canucks can start the series off with a W tonight.


----------



## technomancer

HighGain510 said:


> You know who's taking it home, Steve....



Yeah let's talk about it if they make it out of the first round for a change 



AvantGuardian said:


> Playoffs starting in a couple of hours. Hoping the Canucks can start the series off with a W tonight.



Yeah same for the Pens... this should be a wild ride this year 

Our first tickets are friday


----------



## technomancer

Pens > Lightning 3-0 

1 down, 3 to go


----------



## TheDivineWing22

technomancer said:


> Pens > Lightning 3-0
> 
> 1 down, 3 to go



After that first 5 minutes or so the Pens looked really good and Fleury look great.

And that pass from Neal to Kovalev was awesome!


----------



## Psyy

2 goals on 9 shots? Not looking good, Chicago.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Luongo hasn't been busy, but those two leg saves he made in the last 2 minutes of the first were H U G E!


----------



## Psyy

I wish I had a television. :l


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

go DUCKS!


oh yeah, Vancouver too I guess


----------



## troyguitar

Some of these are quite unlikely, but who I'd like to see advance to the 2nd round: New York, Buffalo, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, LA, Detroit, Anaheim

I'm debating buying tickets to Saturday's game in Detroit. I would have been at Game 1 but was taking an exam during the first period  Ends up being $120 for two people not counting concessions with my discount which isn't horrible but I just don't want to spend the money when I can have it in HD on the big screen with pizza and beer for 4 people for $20


----------



## technomancer

troyguitar said:


> Some of these are quite unlikely, but who I'd like to see advance to the 2nd round: New York, Buffalo, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, LA, Detroit, Anaheim



Well, IF Pittsburgh continues to play as well as they did in game 1, they'll advance. They might even sweep the series. That's a BIG if though 

From what I saw of the NY/DC game that series is wide open as NY was really carrying the play.

Haven't seen enough of the other series to say anything yet.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

aaaaaaannnnnnd we get game one!  


not over boys, 3 more to go! Gotta keep on truckin'


----------



## MrMcSick

God, I hope we don't have to play the habs in round 2 again!


----------



## troyguitar

Yeah Pittsburgh and Detroit are similar in their abilities to dominate games and still lose - I'm really not expecting either team to sweep their first round. I'm thinking San Jose or Nashville are the most likely candidates for sweeps even though SJS barely won tonight.


----------



## technomancer

MrMcSick said:


> God, I hope we don't have to play the habs in round 2 again!



 



troyguitar said:


> Yeah Pittsburgh and Detroit are similar in their abilities to dominate games and still lose - I'm really not expecting either team to sweep their first round. I'm thinking San Jose or Nashville are the most likely candidates for sweeps even though SJS barely won tonight.



Yeah I agree. I think the Pens can sweep, but Tampa has a LOT of offensive firepower so I'm not banking on them doing it.

I just hope they play well and get the win tonight since we'll be at the game


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Ugh, that was rough to watch.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

sucks even more for Steve, he was at the game :S


----------



## technomancer

Yeah and I went with a cold, I felt like shit to begin with. Just got back. 

They still had a shot until that horrible power play goal at the end of the second, that was the straw that broke their back and basically ended the game. It was 3-1 and the Pens had dominated the play for the entire second period up to that point.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Goddamn, Datsyuk is having a beastly game!


----------



## Xaios

Canucks finally managed to beat the Hawks in game 2, and are going into Chicago with a 2-0 series lead. Whoo!


----------



## Psyy

They're up 2-0, but that was a sloppy victory indeed. If they play like they've played in the first periods vs the Hawks all through the playoffs, it'll be a smooth ride to the finals.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Huge win for the Habs last night, Coming back to Montreal up 2-0! I get the feeling that Boston's going to be bringing a dirty game for game 3.


----------



## technomancer

Wow looks like the Canucks are working hard on a sweep 

Wondering if the Habs will manage to do the same


----------



## Psyy

I've been extremely impressed with Price. Comes off a post-season last year where half of the Habs' fanbase wanted Halak in and Price out. He really handled that well and is giving Montreal an extremely solid performance.


----------



## Xaios

I know there's some buzz that Raffi Torres' first hit on Brent Seabrook wasn't clean, that Seabrook didn't have the puck and Torres shouldn't have hit Seabrook when his head was down.


B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T


If Ryan Getzlaf can get away with the hit he laid on Dan Hamhuis earlier this season FROM BEHIND, then there's nothing wrong with this hit. Seabrook either DID have the puck or was so close to having it that it shouldn't matter. And he put his head down, likely knowing that there some someone racing in from the other side to ruin his day. He failed to protect himself, just like Hammer failed to protect himself from Getzlaf. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If he gets suspended, I will be very disappointed at the clear double standard. He earned the penalty he got for the hit on Campbell, but judging by the NHL's own past interpretation of various hits, the ones on Seabrook should be deemed clean as a whistle.


----------



## Psyy

Xaios said:


> If Ryan Getzlaf can get away with the hit he laid on Dan Hamhuis earlier this season FROM BEHIND, then there's nothing wrong with this hit.



You're of course assuming the league has any idea of equally-distributed justice. :/


----------



## Xaios

Yeah, I know. Silly of me.


----------



## technomancer

Did somebody just use fair and NHL discipline at the same time


----------



## Xaios

Holy crap, the NHL actually made the correct call. There's not even a hearing.

It's worth noting that I'm not actually a fan of what they're doing. I still believe that Getzlaf should have gotten the book over his hit on Hamhuis, and thus I think that Torres should have maybe gotten a game for the hit on Seabrook, even if Seabrook was an idiot for not keeping his head up. But, barring that, I'll at least take consistency in dispensing punishment. In a league with as many consistency problems regarding refereeing and discipline as the NHL, I guess that's all you can really hope for.


----------



## technomancer

Pens pull out another one, despite Tampa basically being spotted a goal by Kelly Sutherland


----------



## technomancer

Sweet jeebus what in the HELL happened to the Canucks? I just glanced at the score and it's 5-1 Hawks 

Edit: Damn, 7-2 final 

No sweep for the Canucks


----------



## Xaios

God damn, what the fuck happened??

I figured they would split the games in Chicago, but I figured Chicago would take the first one then Vancouver would take this one to go up 3-1.

Who would have ever seen a score like THAT coming judging by their previous games?


----------



## technomancer

Ok the end of that Pens/Lightening game was awesome. Double overtime, the announcer JUST finished talking about how Neal hasn't had a goal in 21 games with Pens, "Well Neal will get a big goal and those 21 games will be forgotten." As he finished saying that Neal shot from the boards and scored the game winner. Freaking PERFECT 

PS - could the Pens PLEASE go back to playing the body on St. Louis?


----------



## technomancer

What in the hell is wrong with the Canucks? Just checked the score and they're losing 5-0


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Rough night, Habs lost a game they really shouldn't have for the second straight time, and the 'Nucks quite simply got destroyed


----------



## MrMcSick

Whoa, the saber's are now up in the series. hmmm.


----------



## technomancer

The question of the day: will the Pens show up and close out the lightening, or muff it and have to go back to Tampa


----------



## TheDivineWing22

technomancer said:


> The question of the day: will the Pens show up and close out the lightening, or muff it and have to go back to Tampa



I think that was an emphatic no. That was just awful to watch. Hopefully they'll wrap it up in game 6.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah that was terrible


----------



## ittoa666

I'm starting to wonder if there are any Wings fans on this forum.

Anyway, I still haven't decided who I want to win this year if we're out.


----------



## kmanick

Bruins pull it out in double OT!!!
booyah!!!!!
Tim Thomas saved the day again
Canadians are going down


----------



## JeffFromMtl

kmanick said:


> Bruins pull it out in double OT!!!
> booyah!!!!!
> Tim Thomas saved the day again
> Canadians are going down



I think Ryder and Chara saved the day with those open-net blocks more than Thomas did. Thomas should really be thanking his posts too


----------



## Psyy

Goaltending on both sides of the rink last night was incredible. Props to both Price and Thomas. Thomas (along with Price) is one of my favorite players, so I can handle Montreal losing.


----------



## troyguitar

ittoa666 said:


> I'm starting to wonder if there are any Wings fans on this forum.
> 
> Anyway, I still haven't decided who I want to win this year if we're out.



There aren't many. People don't like Detroit because they've been good for so long. I grew up watching them though and will probably always be a fan. My current hero is Pavel Datsyuk, the guy is unreal.

The teams I like in the West are Detroit and Vancouver, and in the East Montreal and Buffalo. Looks like Montreal isn't going to make it past round one though. I only watched game 5 yesterday, but the Habs just looked bad (except for Price). Bad passes and giveaways all over the place.


----------



## xmetalhead69

No flyers love around here?


----------



## Psyy

I'm actually hoping the Flyers make it out. Unlike every other team in the league, I like them as a team rather than due to a player or two. Personally, I'm glad Boucher got a chance to prove himself. 

I also agree with Jeff. I've personally always had a problem cheering for the Wings because they're so damn good, and they've always been damn good. It just doesn't seem fair. If they met up with San Jose, I think I'd have to cheer for SJ, just because I'm ever forced to find the underdog and cheer for them, and SJ definitely looks like what could be called an underdog in that matchup, based off playoff performance.

Also, while I think of it, big props to Cory Schneider tonight in Chicago. I know he gave up two stupid, stupid goals, but to go into a game with a great deal of your own fanbase expecting you to fail, along with the hopes of many people in Canada that the cup will finally be won by one of our country's teams riding on your shoulders must be almost crushing. He played great, aside from his puck-playing. I'll personally be angry if Vancouver loses again on Tuesday and the series loss is blamed on him. I won't put it past the Luongo fans.


----------



## AvantGuardian

Psyy said:


> Also, while I think of it, big props to Cory Schneider tonight in Chicago. I know he gave up two stupid, stupid goals, but to go into a game with a great deal of your own fanbase expecting you to fail, along with the hopes of many people in Canada that the cup will finally be won by one of our country's teams riding on your shoulders must be almost crushing. He played great, aside from his puck-playing. I'll personally be angry if Vancouver loses again on Tuesday and the series loss is blamed on him. I won't put it past the Luongo fans.



Schneider made some nice saves, but he just gave Chicago two goals that shouldn't have been. I know Luongo was shaky at best in the previous two games, but I was definitely wishing he had been in during the penalty shot. Lets not talk about blaming a series loss on anyone though. There will not be a series loss!


----------



## technomancer

Damn hope the Canucks pull it together for game 7...


----------



## technomancer

Speaking of hoping a team pull it together for game 7, the Pens need to get their shit together in a big way.


----------



## troyguitar

3 game 7's at least during the first round, this is NOT making me happy to be having huge final exams this week  Do I watch hockey or pass my classes? At least Detroit is not playing until the week is over!


----------



## Groff

xmetalhead69 said:


> No flyers love around here?



Me! Things aren't looking good though


----------



## TheDivineWing22

troyguitar said:


> 3 game 7's at least during the first round, this is NOT making me happy to be having huge final exams this week  Do I watch hockey or pass my classes? At least Detroit is not playing until the week is over!



Same boat here. I'll probably choose hockey though.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Wow, worst call I've ever seen in my life


----------



## Xaios

I admit, I just haven't had the will to watch Vancouver since they lost game 4. I just had this feeling that it was all going to unravel, and unfortunately, so far it's proven correct. If they win tonight, my faith will be restored, but I'm sad to say with how much they've just lost it in the past few games, I'm not holding out. It just blows my mind how they could go from being up 3-0 with all the momentum and such a clear advantage in nearly every category to this... free fall!

I really thought this was the year, too.


----------



## Groff

Hey! The flyers weren't asleep tonight!


----------



## Xaios

I couldn't help but look. The Canucks are winning 1-0 about 5 minutes into the third period.

CHRIST I AM GOING TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK


----------



## Xaios

7 minutes left in the game, Vancouver still up 1-0.

*breathing heavy*

EDIT: 5 minutes left...

EDIT: 2 minutes...

EDIT: FUUUUUUUUUUCK!

EDIT: On to overtime. This is the very definition of SUDDEN FUCKING DEATH.


----------



## technomancer

Watching it on VS... a friend of ours is at the game, he's got to be going nuts 

EDIT: wow, I feel like I'm watching the Pens seeing them fuck up and give up a tying shorthanded goal


----------



## troyguitar

Let's go Blackhawks! I don't want to see Detroit vs San Jose


----------



## AvantGuardian

Crawford is having a ridiculous game! Let's hope the Canucks can sneak one more past him.


----------



## technomancer

AvantGuardian said:


> Crawford is having a ridiculous game! Let's hope the Canucks can sneak one more past him.


----------



## Xaios

Seriously, this game is giving me stress. And I'm not even watching it, just following it online.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

FINALLY! The Canucks win a series against the Hawks! Not to say they didn't make it as difficult on themselves as they possibly could have


----------



## technomancer

Blackhawks


----------



## matt397

Fuck yeah ! Burrows finds the back of the net and goodbye chitown shithawks


----------



## Xaios

HELL FUCKING YES, NOW I CAN BREATH!!!!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Cool for the Canucks win!

Holy hell is Jonathan Toews ever an amazing player.


----------



## AySay

FUCK. YES.

Crawford was amazing though...


----------



## Psyy

Toews and Crawford carried the Blackhawks through that game. My God. I thought for a while there nothing could beat Crawford.


----------



## Xaios

Crawford deserves every bit of credit he can get, his play was just astounding. Any NHL veteran would be proud to play that well, but to do come within a hair of shutting down the #1 NHL team in the regular season as a rookie is just ridiculous.

Come to think of it, there have been a number of stories over the past few years of previously unknown or rookie goalies stepping up in the playoffs. Jaroslav Halak, Antti Niemi, Cam Ward...


----------



## technomancer

Got tickets to the Pens/Lightening game 7 tonight... if I'm not around after that you know I had a stroke at the game 

Seriously though, REALLY hoping the Pens get their shit together for this game, including Fleury. They're more than capable of beating Tampa, just not at all sure they're going to


----------



## Psyy

Xaios said:


> Cam Ward...



Ward became my favorite player in the league due to that playoff performance. Crawford is slowly making his way up that list with series like that. With all the talk of 'CAN CRAWFORD BE THE NEXT NIEMI?!!?!??!' I whole-heartedly believe that he is better than Niemi. It was only one series, yes, but you're up against the most desperate the best team in the league has played all year and you're standing on your head and making it look easy.


----------



## technomancer

So change in plans, wife is sick and we won't be at the game tonight...


----------



## Xaios

Wow, Habs-Bruins game is going to OT, tied 3 all.

Edit: Boston won it.


----------



## technomancer

Aaaaaand Pens blow the series.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

The pens played a good game. It shouldn't have went to a game 7.

Looks like I'm rooting for Tampa now, lol.


----------



## MrMcSick

Lame! You need to score goals to win.


----------



## troyguitar

Every single game 7 ended with the team I wanted to win losing. I'm kind of glad I only had time to watch like 1 hour out of all of the games


----------



## troyguitar

troyguitar said:


> Some of these are quite unlikely, but who I'd like to see advance to the 2nd round: New York, Buffalo, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, LA, Detroit, Anaheim



Well when I said quite unlikely I wasn't expecting to only get 2 of them right... interesting that the advancing seeds were 1,2,3,5 in both conferences.

Hopes for Round 2: Vancouver, Detroit, Tampa, Boston


----------



## Xaios

Hart nominees anounced last night: Daniel Sedin, Corey Perry and Martin St. Louis. Interestingly enough, all wingers.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Well, it was an entertaining series to say the least...

My second-round picks are Vancouver, San Jose, Tampa and... Ah, I don't give a shit, I hate Boston and Philly


----------



## technomancer

Hmmm gonna' say Vancouver, Detroit, Washington, and Boston


----------



## TheDivineWing22

I'm goin Tampa Bay, Boston, Detriot, and Nashville. Yeah, I said it


----------



## bulletbass man

Flyers, Detroit, Vancouver, Washington


----------



## troyguitar

...I want to be an NHL referee, easiest fucking job in the world.


----------



## matt397

troyguitar said:


> ...I want to be an NHL referee, easiest fucking job in the world.



NHL referee or a weather man, you can be completely incompetent at your job an wrong about every decision an still keep your job at the end of the day.


----------



## Groff

Not that I had any hope for the Flyers going into the series, but I think i've pretty much given up at this point.


----------



## technomancer

I am having a blast watching the Flyers get spanked 

EDIT: Uh oh, Philly might be coming back... 5-2

LATER EDIT: Nope, false alarm 7-3 final


----------



## xmetalhead69

flyers played like garbage the whole game.


----------



## MFB

Go Bruins!


----------



## Psyy

I don't understand why the Canucks turtle as much as they do. It's like they get bored with the offensive zone or something.


----------



## DVRP

Canucks were playing alright...that goal that tied it was complete crap. It seems luongo always shits the bucket on stupid plays. 3/4 of the last games going to OT. cmon.


----------



## technomancer

Canucks were playing like shit, sorry. You can't play nothing but defense for most of a game and expect to win 

The shots at the end of the 3rd were 36 to 15... leaving your goalie in a shooting gallery then blaming him when he gives up ONE goal is complete bullshit. If the Canucks had played the entire game the way they did the two overtimes instead of trying to sit back and defend a one goal lead the series would probably be 2-0 and not tied 1-1.


----------



## xmetalhead69

ok flyers, not a bad first period. And damn, I'd be surprised if that one bruin (i forget his name) doesnt have a concussion after he wrecked himself on the boards, that was brutal.

edit: godfuckingdamnit.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Woo! TB up 3-0 in the series!

Hopefully they close out the series tomorrow night!


----------



## technomancer

Revising my pics, I assumed Detroit and Washington would actually show up but they're really not

Vancouver, San Jose, Tampa, and Boston

(Detroit might still pull it out, but I'd say the Caps are done... and if Vancouver ends up losing it's likely because of piss poor coaching having the team shut down their offense when they get a lead)


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Looks like my picks are holding up quite well. However, I still hate Boston and Philly too much to pick one. I honestly wish they could both just lose


----------



## troyguitar

JeffFromMtl said:


> Looks like my picks are holding up quite well. However, I still hate Boston and Philly too much to pick one. I honestly wish they could both just lose



I was hoping they'd both lose in the first round 

Detroit is out, this is why I didn't want to face San Jose. For whatever reason the Sharks just win most of the time. I took a nap after the first goal was scored in tonight's game. Constantly losing close games is really annoying though - I'd rather see San Jose winning 5-1 than in OT.


----------



## Hollowman

Bye, Washington and Philly (I know they are 1 game away but.) 

I would like to see Nashville go to the next round but I'm thinking realistically it'll be Vancouver vs. San Jose and the East is already set.

As for the Finals San Jose vs. Tampa Bay

I'm sure the San Jose pick over Vancouver will raise some eyebrows but, I feel they are the most creative team when they have the puck in the playoffs plus they know how to come from behind to win. Vancouver caves when losing and start taking penalties that is why the Blackhawks forced them into a game 7.

Tampa is just because I hate the Bruins.


----------



## xmetalhead69

Oh the joys of being a Philadelphia fan, aka constant disappointment


----------



## Hollowman

xmetalhead69 said:


> Oh the joys of being a Philadelphia fan, aka constant disappointment



Dude, I used to be an Eagles fan I know, I know.


----------



## technomancer

Late as my internet has been down, but

 Caps

and maybe Detroit and Philly tonight


----------



## technomancer

Philly

Only one team I have serious dislike for left


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Under normal circumstances I'd enjoy watching the Flyers fail... but they're failing against the only team I hate more


----------



## xmetalhead69

Why does everyone hate on Philly teams so much?


----------



## matt397

xmetalhead69 said:


> Why does everyone hate on Philly teams so much?


For me, *CARCILLO*, the only thing that disappointed me about that series is I didn't get to see his fucking face get smashed through the glass, otherwise that would of been a perfect series for me. Also, Peter Laviollette is a retard, he couldn't coach a peewee team. You cycle your goalie's like he did an you end up with 3 goalies that have zero confidence.

edit: and you gotta love Scotty Hartnell biting off way way way more then he can chew, 2 shots from Chara an he just turtled


----------



## Psyy

I like Philly for Richards. I feel he's extremely overlooked as a player. He had a mediocre season this time around, but he's solid and I like that more in a forward as opposed to flashy play.

I can deal with Boston being a team because of Thomas. The guy DESERVES a cup. If not for Thomas I'd hate Boston more than any other team. Ference, Lucic, and Marchand on one team deserves all the hate I can possibly give it.


----------



## technomancer

So, what do you guys think, will the Sharks close it out tonight or have they started their spring hibernation?


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> So, what do you guys think, will the Sharks close it out tonight or have they started their spring hibernation?




Sharks close out tonight
'Nucks close out tomorrow


----------



## Psyy

I'd say the Sharks close out tonight. Vancouver enjoys unneccesary game 7s, so I'll hold off on them for a bit.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

San Hose closes it out. I'm still sticking with my pick of Nashville over Vancouver.

Yeah go ahead and laugh


----------



## technomancer

Freaking Sharks


----------



## technomancer

Canucks Win 

 Nashville


----------



## Xaios

Phew!

It's hard to be a Canucks fan, what with all the constant HEART ATTACKS they manage to give their fans. But they got the win, and all is forgiven! 

How about Ryan Kesler? The guy is just a beast. First he Selkes Jonathon Toews to death in round 1, and then he has a hand in 11 of Vancouver's 14 goals in round 2. If Vancouver goes all the way, the Conn Smythe trophy is his, no question. His playing so far has been unreal, and exactly when we needed it too, with the Sedins struggling.

I dunno who I'd prefer the Canucks to play next round, both teams present a fairly even challenge. I think I would prefer San Jose, IF Vancouver can throw the same physicality at them that they did against Chicago in round 1. In either case though, round 3 has the makings of a great series.


----------



## technomancer

^  Kesler has been amazing... though the Canucks need to step it up in round 3 if they're going to make it to the final round

Hopefully the Sharks close it out tonight so we can get on to the conference finals already


----------



## Hollowman

Awesome Game one of the most exciting of the playoffs yet. 

Game 7, if Detroit keeps doing things this way we might see a Van-Det conference final...

Thoughts on how Detroit matches up with Vancouver anybody?


----------



## troyguitar

San Jose is the only team in the West that IMO is favored against Detroit, but I'm a little biased


----------



## DVRP

Go canucks go


----------



## JeffFromMtl

If the Sharks choke (yet again) tomorrow, I will not be pleased 

Some good news for me, however, is that the Canadiens are expected to announce the signing of Alexei Yemelin, who they drafted back in '04. He stayed in Russia to play in the KHL because he wanted no part in the AHL, and he couldn't have been guaranteed a spot with the big club. So finally, 7 years after being drafted, we're going to see the hard-hitting Russian D-man lace 'em up in the NHL. It's being reported that there's a clause in the contract that says he can return to the KHL instead of the AHL if he doesn't make the Canadiens' line-up, but I doubt he'll have any trouble. Last year, he put up 26 points in 52 games in a very defensive/clutch-and-grab league and led the KHL in penalty minutes. The Habs are starting to look like they'll be STACKED on D throughout the upcoming years with Markov and Subban leading the rush along with Wisniewski if he signs in mtl again, they'd have 3 of the top 15 offensive D in the league. Yemelin has a cannon shot from the point, plays with high intensity and is an absolute brute. Rounding out the bottom could be veteran workhorse Hamrlik on a pay cut, as he's already said he'd be willing to take to stay here, and shot-blocker extraordinaire, Josh Gorges. Coming up through the system, they've got a great PP QB in Yannick Weber and some giant stay-at-home types in Brendon Nash and the 6'7" Jarred Tinordi, who projects to be a faster and smoother-skating Hal Gill with a severe mean streak


----------



## technomancer

Yeah that last game was absolutely TERRIBLE for the Sharks...

Habs are looking to be interesting next season... meanwhile the Pens have IIRC six unrestricted free agents at forward heading into the next season and a third pairing of Lovejoy and Niskanen on D that I am MASSIVELY unimpressed with. The fact that rumors say they're talking to Jagr make me feel even more that they're grasping at straws to try to complete their lineup. They've got three of the best centers in the league in Crosby, Malkin, and Staal and their top two D pairs are great, but there are still some BIG holes they need to fill in the off season.

Hoping the Canada / Russia game is televised tomorrow afternoon too


----------



## JeffFromMtl

I've also heard that Jagr's agent has been trying to get the Habs interested as well because Jagr wants to play with fellow Czech, Tomas Plekanec, who he's tearing it up with in the world cup right now. Word is, the Habs' brass quite bluntly said "No thanks" 

One thing that you can count on next year for the Pens, however, is that their big 3 should be healthier. The number of man-games lost to injuries up the middle for Pittsburgh this year was just insane.

We've got the Canada vs Russia game televised here, but It'll be just about done by the time I'm home from work. It would certainly be a good chance to see Yemelin in action for the Russian team as well.

edit - I just checked the IIHF rosters, and checked out Yemelin's stats... The guy was just over 6' and only 187 lbs when he was drafted, he's now listed at 6'2", 223 lbs  Now wonder the guy's been dominating the KHL, he's put on almost 40 lbs, that's a lot of weight to throw around!


----------



## technomancer

Hehe yeah Jagr still has the hands but he's got a massive ego and I don't know how he'd respond to being a minor player on a team with Crosby, Malkin, and Staal.

And it would be hard for the big three to be LESS healthy  Malkin and Staal were only on the ice together for 2 games all season and Crosby was out for half a season. It'd be nice to actually have one year where all three of them are healthy and play as well as they can. The only times Malkin has really performed at the level he's capable of were the year he won the scoring title and in the playoffs the year they won the Cup. Imagine him playing like that and Crosby playing the way he was earlier this year before he got hurt :evil laugh:

If TSN is covering it hopefully Versus will be carrying the coverage, should be a fun game to watch.


----------



## technomancer

Canada / Russia is on Versus 

Wow epic refereeing fail... Tavares just got a 4 minute minor for one of the Russian defensemen smashing Kovalchuk in the nose with his stick. So Canada has to kill a 4 minute penalty they didn't commit in a 1-0 elimination game


----------



## technomancer

Detroit

Gotta' say I'm looking forward to the Conference finals... and also hoping for a Czech / Russia gold medal game at the Worlds on Sunday. We'll see about that one tomorrow


----------



## Xaios

Heh, western conference finals: battle of the underachievers!


----------



## troyguitar

I watched game 1 and they lost. I watched game 2 and they lost. I watched game 3 and they lost, then I gave up on them. I didn't watch game 4, or game 5, or game 6. Somehow after that I started to believe they had a chance to win, so I sat down and watched game 7... fail


----------



## Xaios

Ouch.


----------



## Hollowman

Wow..R.I.P Derek. 

Rangers forward Boogaard dead at age 28 - NHL.com - News


----------



## technomancer

Ok what the hell... so they televised the games all week for the Worlds... but apparently the bronze medal game isn't being televised  Looks like it's a good game too, Russia / Czech with Russia in the lead at the end of the first 3-2

Ah well, at least the Canucks / Sharks is on tonight 

EDIT: Czechs won the bronze 7-4


----------



## Xaios

Canucks come back in the 3rd period to win 3-2, Hank finally shows his stuff!

Also, the green men were great tonight, but then again, they're always golden. The Don Cherry impersonation was legendary!


----------



## DVRP

I hope to god they don't get rid of the green men. EVER.


----------



## technomancer

Looks like Tampa / Boston is going to be a series after all. Though I gotta' say this is the second game Tampa has put up 5 goals, while Roloson seemed to have a really off night compared to his previous performances


----------



## Xaios

Wow, Ben Eager almost single handedly destroyed his own team tonight. Canucks won 7-3!

Also, while it appeared the Green Men weren't able to make it tonight, the void was filled by the Pink Mammaries. 

You mad, SJ?


----------



## DVRP

Man, The Canucks DESTROYED last night.


----------



## technomancer

I wouldn't say Eager single-handedly destroyed the Sharks. They would have still been down, what, 4-3 without the power play goals from Eager's stupidity 

I'll be curious to see how tonight's Lightening / Bruins game plays out.

Some damn good hockey going on


----------



## Xaios

Maxim Lapierre had the most awesome shit-eating grin on his face after he declined to fight Ryan Clowe. I can't find any pictures, but if you were watching the game, you know how hilarious it was. I'm glad he's on our team!


----------



## MFB

I really thought tonight's game was gonna end in a 1-0 against Tampa  Worst part is, I said that with about 10 minutes left in the first, and about 5 minutes into the 3rd I was like "I think I jinxed it" and then voila, another goal! So we ended 2-0 in a rather uneventful game.


----------



## Xaios

Well, turns out the girl who flashed Ben Eager has a face after all. Not bad. 

Don't worry, SFW (mostly).


----------



## matt397

Xaios said:


> Well, turns out the girl who flashed Ben Eager has a face after all. Not bad.
> 
> Don't worry, SFW (mostly).



 I might even pay for that.....nah I wouldn't*









*yeah I would....


----------



## MFB

Well, looks like Tampa showed us how we can fuck up a 3 point lead


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> Well, looks like Tampa showed us how we can fuck up a 3 point lead



I feel your pain, stuff like that is why the Pens are playing golf right now 

Looking forward to the game tonight (actually been watching both series and hoping the Canucks finally win a Cup)


----------



## MFB

3-1 versus Tampa, putting us in the lead. Now if we win Wednesday we'll be good to go on and kick some more ass.


----------



## DVRP

Knocking on wood that the Canucks close it out tonight.


----------



## technomancer

^ yeah hoping the Canucks close it out. I'd like to watch some Stanley Cup games with our friend that's coming in over the weekend from Vancouver


----------



## technomancer

Canucks are going to the Cup Finals 

Damn that was a great game


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Canucks are going to the Cup Finals
> 
> Damn that was a great game



That was a BULLSHIT icing call there should have been a game 6, fucking refs. but, oh well it was a hell of a game, I just wished they played the whole series like this game.  Bye San Jose.

Edit: I hope the Canucks do win the Stanley Cup they deserve to...


----------



## Xaios

Go Canucks!

And whoever's idea it was to drop a shitton of confetti onto the ice needs an enema.


----------



## MFB

FUCK YOU TAMPA AND YOUR SHITTY LITTLE THINGS YOU THREW ON THE ICE!  You hit my fucking boy Krejci in the dome, and he got a fucking hat-trick! No respect.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Too bad they didn't hit Marchand or Ferrence instead.

Man, watching Lapierre playing for the Canucks makes me realize now why he was so hated when he was in Montreal  Man, is he ever a PEST that guy!

If the Canucks keep playing the way they have as of late I don't think it'll matter much who plays against them in the final...


----------



## Xaios

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> Man, watching Lapierre playing for the Canucks makes me realize now why he was so hated when he was in Montreal  Man, is he ever a PEST that guy!



Yeah, he's amazing like that. He's also a perfectly good player though, and has been a serviceable replacement for Malhotra on the third line. His real skill though, is that he can separate his playing from his chirping. He can do one without affecting the other, which is something that our former pests, Kesler and Burrows, weren't able to do. He can draw opponents into taking stupid penalties without getting caught up in things himself, like when he pissed off Clowe so much that Clowe actually dropped the gloves only to have Lapierre back off. Clowe got a penalty, Lapierre didn't. He knows how to play that game, and he plays it very well. I'm glad to have the guy, as it gives us an element that we didn't have a lot of in the regular season. Him and Higgins have made Mike Gillis look like a freakin genius for that particular trade deadline decision.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Xaios said:


> Yeah, he's amazing like that. He's also a perfectly good player though, and has been a serviceable replacement for Malhotra on the third line. His real skill though, is that he can separate his playing from his chirping. He can do one without affecting the other, which is something that our former pests, Kesler and Burrows, weren't able to do. He can draw opponents into taking stupid penalties without getting caught up in things himself...



He was like that in the post-season for us also. Regular season is a different story, however.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Come on, Tampa, it's time to send the Booins home!


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Come on, Tampa, it's time to send the Booins home!


----------



## matt397

JeffFromMtl said:


> Come on, Tampa, it's time to send the Booins home!



Nope, not gonna happen. Bruins will go on an then Vancouver will walk all over them.


----------



## technomancer

Wow great game... though I would have much prefered a Tampa / Vancouver series as I think Vancouver / Boston is going to be more like the Preds / Canucks series earlier in the playoffs and not as much fun to watch


----------



## kmanick

Bye Bye Tampa!!!!
Boston is going to the finals baby!!!!!
YeeHaa!!!!!


----------



## Psyy

Fuck. Roloson, bro, you really need to win a cup, man. :/


----------



## matt397

Shit yeah Son !
Just as I was hoping. Though Roloson will be getting a vezina one of these days. I'd like to say that was a close game but if they didn't have Roloson in net that would of been a 3 or 4 - 0 game, easily.


----------



## kmanick

you guys think roloson will be back again next year at 44?


----------



## matt397

kmanick said:


> you guys think roloson will be back again next year at 44?



I personally hope so and I don't see why not I mean goalies are typically late starters and retire later, having said that he is defintately near the average age of retirement so I could honestly see 2 or more seasons out of him especially considering the shape he's in.


----------



## kmanick

I hope so too, he's been playing way too well to hang it up now.


----------



## Xaios

Aye. Plus, Rollie the Goalie is such a great nickname. Even if he's not the first one to have it.


----------



## Xaios

So, looks like Atlanta is moving to Winterpeg after all!

Even though the name is technically owned by the Phoenix Coyotes, I hope they can reclaim the name "Winnipeg Jets." That would mean a lot to the fans there.


----------



## AvantGuardian

Xaios said:


> So, looks like Atlanta is moving to Winterpeg after all!
> 
> Even though the name is technically owned by the Phoenix Coyotes, I hope they can reclaim the name "Winnipeg Jets." That would mean a lot to the fans there.



Yeah, for some reason I'm excited that Winnipeg is getting a team again. Hopefully they can work out some way to get the Jets name.

Anybody else bummed out by the Stanley Cup schedule? With every game starting at 5pm Pacific time, its not exactly conducive to those of us west coasters that have.. you know.. jobs. I get that they want to keep them on at a reasonable time for the fans back east, but man, I'm probably going to miss at least the first period, probably more of each weekday game. I can't imagine how early you'd have to leave work if you lived in Van and actually wanted to go to a game.

Oh well, I'll be sporting my Canucks t-shirt and finding a hockey friendly bar ASAP after work tomorrow. Go Canucks!


----------



## technomancer

AvantGuardian said:


> Yeah, for some reason I'm excited that Winnipeg is getting a team again. Hopefully they can work out some way to get the Jets name.
> 
> Anybody else bummed out by the Stanley Cup schedule? With every game starting at 5pm Pacific time, its not exactly conducive to those of us west coasters that have.. you know.. jobs. I get that they want to keep them on at a reasonable time for the fans back east, but man, I'm probably going to miss at least the first period, probably more of each weekday game. I can't imagine how early you'd have to leave work if you lived in Van and actually wanted to go to a game.
> 
> Oh well, I'll be sporting my Canucks t-shirt and finding a hockey friendly bar ASAP after work tomorrow. Go Canucks!



Can you tell NBC controlled the scheduling for these? 

I'll be watching and rooting for the Canucks


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

Hell yea Canucks! 

Unfortunately my graduation ceremoney falls on the fourth game


----------



## MFB

To anyone who's complaining about the schedule, I'll be missing games 1 & 3 because of work, as well as potentially game 5, and I imagine 6. My team is actually IN these games, not just someone worth rooting for.


----------



## whilstmyguitardjentlyweep

So pumped for puck drop tonight, more late night hockey for me! At least I dont have to miss any of it for work - I just have to miss lots of sleep!

Go Canucks Go!


----------



## DVRP

Go Canucks Go!!!


----------



## Hollowman

Go Canucks Go.... 

Great game so far......and Don Cherry's suit is living up to expectations.

Ok, on to period 2...what the hell are the ref doing? they are calling penalties on things that aren't even penalties and thing that should be aren't even called.


----------



## Hollowman

Vancouver Wins 1-0, Series 1-0 ....


----------



## technomancer

Damn was that an amazing play for that game winner 

Go Canucks, 1 down 3 to go


----------



## kmanick

damn , it could've been 3-0 in the first 2 minutes tonight if Thomas wasn't on his game.
Great play on the game winner, but I'm bumming big time.
and what the fuck is with the finger biting and Sedin diving like a pussy????


----------



## Xaios

kmanick said:


> damn , it could've been 3-0 in the first 2 minutes tonight if Thomas wasn't on his game.
> Great play on the game winner, but I'm bumming big time.
> and what the fuck is with the finger biting and Sedin diving like a pussy????



The finger biting? Not cool. The diving though? They've gotta find a way to get some powerplays somehow though. CBC replayed one play where one of the Sedins, I think Daniel, was fishing for the puck in behind Boston's net, and one of Boston's players cross-checked him in the back *NINE TIMES in a row!* No call of course. Also, the time when Burrows got called for goalie interference even though a) he was looking the other way, and b) Thomas was way, WAY out of his crease. Thomas sold that one pretty well, and Burrows got the penalty.

Gotta give the goalies some credit though. Lu is getting hot just at the right time and is just on fire right now, but Thomas was no slouch either. Vancouver would have lit them up a few times early if Thomas hadn't been razor sharp.

Oh, and this picture is hilarious.


----------



## Psyy

^ I approve of how nonsensical this is.


----------



## technomancer

Canucks win it in OT 

That's two games the Bruins have lost because the Canucks have taken advantage of Thomas getting overly aggressive


----------



## MFB

Seriously, what the FUCK was Thomas thinking?


----------



## kung_fu

Christ that was a short OT


----------



## kmanick

WTF was that??
Ference, Chara and Thomas all got hosed on that play.
I wonder why Ference was out there to start the OT with Chara and not Seidenberg?


----------



## Xaios

BoooYAAAAA!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

call it karma for that ridiculous slash on Bieksa; Great game though!


----------



## matt397

I damn near pissed my self laughing so hard when I saw this.......


----------



## Psyy

Oh God... I'm cheering for the Canucks and everything, but good on Bergeron to somehow not punch Lapierre in the face. I would have.


----------



## technomancer

Damn I can't stand Boston, but I hate to ever see somebody get hurt like that


----------



## Vostre Roy

technomancer said:


> Damn I can't stand Boston, but I hate to ever see somebody get hurt like that



Same here.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

Downtown...is packed.


----------



## matt397

I don't want to see anyone get hurt either, I hate seeing a player out cold on the ice like that. Having said that, Rome's hit on Horton might of been a little late, at best, but if your going to skate around looking at your feet your going to get leveled.


----------



## Psyy

Well, good to see Vancouver took the opportunity to get their obligatory choke game out in game 3 rather than game 6 or 7.


----------



## kmanick

that's more like it.
this is how the B's played during the Philly series and we wore them down and
manhandled them.
Now I hope they don't go into their "play not to lose" mode and fuck it all up.


----------



## technomancer

What. The. Fuck.

All the shit they ignored, and they give two 10 minute misconducts for that little bit of nothing?


----------



## Xaios

Jesus Murphy. It seems like when Alex Edler's stick broke, the whole team cracked with it. I stopped watching after Boston's fourth goal, I just could not believe how badly the bouncer were going against Vancouver. Pucks hoping over sticks, coming off the boards at bizarre angles... I was giving myself a heart attack just watching it. Vancouver couldn't buy a goal with all the tea in China for how hard they played.


----------



## Hollowman

As much as I hate the Bruins I hope Horton will be ok. 

I thought Boston would win game 3. But, 8-1 WTF Vancouver?


----------



## technomancer

Yeah Boston was due to win one, but I wasn't expecting a blowout either


----------



## kmanick

well now that's more like it


----------



## Hollowman

kmanick said:


> that's more like it.
> this is how the B's played during the Philly series and we wore them down and
> manhandled them.
> Now I hope they don't go into their "play not to lose" mode and fuck it all up.



Big Deal, Philly had 6 players that were in need of surgery if they were healthy it would have been a different series all together and not a sweep.This was the way the Bruins should have responded with home ice for game 3, just like Vancouver will adjust like they have all year to win games 4 and 5.

Also, Has anybody gone on ESPN.com and read the comments there? or do you guys leave that .com alone.


----------



## technomancer

I never really read ESPN.com... 

Also not cool, a Boston fan threw mustard on a friend of mine from Vancouver at the game last night. He was wearing an authentic jersey.


----------



## Vostre Roy

Oh well, Rome got a 4 game suspension. Seems that his playoff is done lol. I'm splitted toward this suspension. If this was worth 4 games, what about the hit Crosby received? Booth? Anyone Cooke hitted? Even the Chara/Pac thing? I still believe that this hit was dirty, but limit to be, he was in front of Horton and maybe it was a little late, but I think that the head's contact to the ice did most of the damage (like the pole in the Pac's incident, according to the Bruins fans). But I'll say the same thing I said with that particular event: The league should penalise players regarding the result of an head contact, not the intention. People go in jail for less than that.

Also, what about Peverley's slash on game 2? Even if no penalty was called on the move, shouldn't it be reviewed?

I hope to see similar suspension for similar play, and not just one in a bunch. I like physical play, but their is a way to keep it safe.


----------



## kmanick

Hmmm?? and what about Torres sucker punching Kelly after the Whistle?These Cancuck Players are throwing cheap shots and biting fingers and diving. If Thornton suckered punched Either of the Sedins like that 
they would've called 911 up there in BC. 
I hope the B's kick the shit out of them tomorrow. 

Chara should 've got suspended , but he didn't , don't blame that on the B"s it's the NHL front office that apparently does not have the either the balls or the now how to make the right call.
Matt Cooke even still being allowed to play in this league is a good demonstration of how "in effective" the front office is at handling goonery.

Go Bruins!!!



Vostre Roy said:


> Oh well, Rome got a 4 game suspension. Seems that his playoff is done lol. I'm splitted toward this suspension. If this was worth 4 games, what about the hit Crosby received? Booth? Anyone Cooke hitted? Even the Chara/Pac thing? I still believe that this hit was dirty, but limit to be, he was in front of Horton and maybe it was a little late, but I think that the head's contact to the ice did most of the damage (like the pole in the Pac's incident, according to the Bruins fans). But I'll say the same thing I said with that particular event: The league should penalise players regarding the result of an head contact, not the intention. People go in jail for less than that.
> 
> Also, what about Peverley's slash on game 2? Even if no penalty was called on the move, shouldn't it be reviewed?
> 
> I hope to see similar suspension for similar play, and not just one in a bunch. I like physical play, but their is a way to keep it safe.


----------



## Vostre Roy

My judgement is obviously biased, don't worry lol. I don't like the B's but I don't blame them for all the stupidities that this league is showing, I'm using them as an example. Several players, in several teams should had got suspension. The Chara/Pac incident is an example amongst many, but thats the one that affected most of my judgement, because I like Pac and the way he was playing. Its sad to see a young player getting injured like that.

I'm not saying that the B's deserve to get dirty hits like that, both team areplaying dirty, thats the stanley cup final after all, but its seems that the B's fans were all upset about it while there players ain't angels either. Hits like that happens, I just found stupid that they gave a 4 game now and didn't before. Its a fair suspension, but just show how "amateur" this league is.


----------



## matt397

Rome got 4 games ? Thats pure bullshit, as much as I don't like to see someone get hurt, If your wandering around the ice like a fuckin fart in the wind with your head facing the ground your just asking to get laid the fuck out. Something I want to know, considering Horton obviously wasn't blind sided, why the suspension ? I bet any money if Horton had of been paying attention to what was going on around him and had taken the hit without ending up flat on his ass there would not of been a suspension. Im almost certain Rome wouldn't of even recieved a major for that if any penalty at all. 

These hits happen, it's NHL hockey, not a fucking gardening competition. 

Whatever, I give up, it's never the right call being made in this league, its the "popular" call that gets made.


----------



## Xaios

matt397 said:


> Whatever, I give up, it's never the right call being made in this league, its the "popular" call that gets made.



Most of the time I agree, but most of the world was ready to crucify Torres when he laid out Seabrook in round one. League made the right decision, recognized it was a good hit, that was the end of it.


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> I never really read ESPN.com...
> 
> Also not cool, a Boston fan threw mustard on a friend of mine from Vancouver at the game last night. He was wearing an authentic jersey.



First off. I'm pretty unbiased when it comes to hockey, just throwing that out there but....

The stuff I've read on ESPN.com pisses me off. The Boston fans on there are running their mouth's about how the Bruins whooped the Canucks..IT"S ONE GAME...yes, you won the game 8-1. it's still 2-1 in the series and how talentless and classless the Canucks players are and how they are a team of cheapshot artist's especially Burrows who scored the game winner in game 2 on a "miscue" by Thomas c'mon, he pulled the goalie so far out of the net that Thomas couldn't recover. As for the finger biting BS this is the chance you take when your facewashing someone while chirping at each other and your fingers go in his mouth and you get bit while he is talking get over it. As far as the suspension to Rome, I think he should have gotten 1 Game not 4, Chara didn't get suspended for his "hit" on Pacioretty which could have been career ending.

As for the mustard on your friends jersey that suck's. I've got 3 Authentic's 2 inaugural Predators jersey's home and away and a Macon Trax and I would be pissed if someone did that to me.


----------



## Hollowman

Go Canucks Go...win tonight and put a strangle hold on the series then close it out on Friday.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman said:


> First off. I'm pretty unbiased when it comes to hockey, just throwing that out there but....
> 
> The stuff I've read on ESPN.com pisses me off. The Boston fans on there are running their mouth's about how the Bruins whooped the Canucks..IT"S ONE GAME...yes, you won the game 8-1. it's still 2-1 in the series and how talentless and classless the Canucks players are and how they are a team of cheapshot artist's especially Burrows who scored the game winner in game 2 on a "miscue" by Thomas c'mon, he pulled the goalie so far out of the net that Thomas couldn't recover. As for the finger biting BS this is the chance you take when your facewashing someone while chirping at each other and your fingers go in his mouth and you get bit while he is talking get over it. As far as the suspension to Rome, I think he should have gotten 1 Game not 4, Chara didn't get suspended for his "hit" on Pacioretty which could have been career ending.
> 
> As for the mustard on your friends jersey that suck's. I've got 3 Authentic's 2 inaugural Predators jersey's home and away and a Macon Trax and I would be pissed if someone did that to me.



Yeah I'm REALLY tired of Boston fans acting like Boston, who is one of the dirtier teams in the league, are a bunch of saints. Nobody seemed to give a shit in game 1 when Hamhuis got crosschecked in the back of the head WHILE HE WAS ON HIS KNEES, that was perfectly clean  So a 2 minute minor and here we are going into game 4 and there's still no word on his return. But the press sensation is a bite and the Bruins are being victimized. Please... 

I also agree with you that that shouldn't have been a four game suspension. I don't like to see ANYBODY get hurt, but that hit was no different than the one after the blind side head hit rule went in that knocked out one of the Pens defensemen for over a month with no suspension. It wasn't a lateral blind side, so it shouldn't have had the new rule applied. I could have seen one game, maybe even two, but four was ridiculous.

Majorly sucked about the two guys I know that were at the game. Apparently in addition to getting deliberately sprayed with mustard the guys a couple of rows behind them were throwing ice cubes and shit at them the whole third period.



Hollowman said:


> Go Canucks Go...win tonight and put a strangle hold on the series then close it out on Friday.





In unrelated good news, Billy Guerin is now working for the Pens as a player development coach. Thought it was cool that they found him a place in the organization. Honestly I wish his hands hadn't started to go on him, as I would have loved to see him play one more year, but he was clearly missing easy tip-ins by the end of his last season 

Guerin Stays a Penguin Even After Retirement - Pittsburgh Penguins - Features


----------



## MFB

matt397 said:


> If your wandering around the ice like a fuckin fart in the wind with your head facing the ground your just asking to get laid the fuck out. Something I want to know, considering Horton obviously wasn't blind sided, why the suspension ?









Are you fucking kidding me? You call that "wandering around like a fart in the wind"? Not to mention, his head wasn't facing the ground, he was watching Lucic and waiting for the god damn pass that would've come had he NOT been paying attention. Seriously dude, where you watching the same hit? He's skating up there with the rest of them expecting the puck and then got his ass laid out by a cheap hit, especially where Rome put his shoulder into the head shot.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Horton wasn't expecting any pass. He was watching *his own* pass to Lucic, instead of the play in front of him. If you've ever played hockey at any level, one of the first things they'll teach you is that you don't stand around and watch your pass, no matter how pretty it is. You keep your head up. Horton should have been more alert, not that that makes it his fault entirely... Late hit was late. There was no reason for Rome to make that play whether Horton's head was up or not. I think it's quite clear that Rome's sole intention was to pulverize Horton.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Hollowman said:


> First off. I'm pretty unbiased when it comes to hockey, just throwing that out there but....
> 
> The stuff I've read on ESPN.com pisses me off. The Boston fans on there are running their mouth's about how the Bruins whooped the Canucks..IT"S ONE GAME...yes, you won the game 8-1. it's still 2-1 in the series and how talentless and classless the Canucks players are and how they are a team of cheapshot artist's especially Burrows who scored the game winner in game 2 on a "miscue" by Thomas c'mon, he pulled the goalie so far out of the net that Thomas couldn't recover. As for the finger biting BS this is the chance you take when your facewashing someone while chirping at each other and your fingers go in his mouth and you get bit while he is talking get over it. As far as the suspension to Rome, I think he should have gotten 1 Game not 4, Chara didn't get suspended for his "hit" on Pacioretty which could have been career ending.
> 
> As for the mustard on your friends jersey that suck's. I've got 3 Authentic's 2 inaugural Predators jersey's home and away and a Macon Trax and I would be pissed if someone did that to me.





technomancer said:


> Yeah I'm REALLY tired of Boston fans acting like Boston, who is one of the dirtier teams in the league, are a bunch of saints. Nobody seemed to give a shit in game 1 when Hamhuis got crosschecked in the back of the head WHILE HE WAS ON HIS KNEES, that was perfectly clean  So a 2 minute minor and here we are going into game 4 and there's still no word on his return. But the press sensation is a bite and the Bruins are being victimized. Please...
> 
> I also agree with you that that shouldn't have been a four game suspension. I don't like to see ANYBODY get hurt, but that hit was no different than the one after the blind side head hit rule went in that knocked out one of the Pens defensemen for over a month with no suspension. It wasn't a lateral blind side, so it shouldn't have had the new rule applied. I could have seen one game, maybe even two, but four was ridiculous.
> 
> Majorly sucked about the two guys I know that were at the game. Apparently in addition to getting deliberately sprayed with mustard the guys a couple of rows behind them were throwing ice cubes and shit at them the whole third period.



I haven't read ESPN.com, but I'm more than familiar with the antics of Bruins fans. If you think ESPN is bad, you should read the kinds of things that actual "journalists" write over at NESN. They're just as biased and belligerent as the Bruins faithful have proven to be, writing articles headlined as "How many diving penalties will the Canadiens get this series?" just as the Habs/Bruins series was getting under way. When the Pacioretty incident happened, there was no shortage of Bruins fans going over to the Canadiens' facebook pages and internet forums for the sole reason of being assholes and stating things like "Pacioretty got smoked and he deserved it", and of course, just like the super-classy Mark Recchi stated, that Pacioretty "embellished" on the play. I've never seen anyone embellish loss of consciousness quite so well, so give the guy an Oscar 

There's a reason I hate the Bruins and the Flyers, and that's because they're two of the dirtiest teams in the league, and a surprising amount of their fans are classless, knuckle-dragging neanderthals just like them.

As for the suspension, I think 4 games is a bit much. But I also thought it was quite clear that Rome, who left his feet to make the hit, had every intention to hurt Horton. It was bad, yes, but if if it were consistent with rulings on similar plays throughout the year, it would have been 2 games at most


----------



## Xaios

HOW FUCKING GIGANTIC IS THE HORSESHOE UP BOSTONS ASS? THIS IS JUST UNREAL!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Xaios said:


> HOW FUCKING GIGANTIC IS THE HORSESHOE UP BOSTONS ASS? THIS IS JUST UNREAL!



If the Canucks actually played hockey right now I don't think the horseshoe would be as large. You know there's something wrong when BOSTON looks like the faster team on the ice.

Btw anybody notice those two slashes on Sedin's ankle by Seidenberg? hockey play my ass.


----------



## Xaios

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> If the Canucks actually played hockey right now I don't think the horseshoe would be as large. You know there's something wrong when BOSTON looks like the faster team on the ice.
> 
> Btw anybody notice those two slashes on Sedin's ankle by Seidenberg? hockey play my ass.



Yeah. Not saying Vancouver is innocent of this little back and forth, but Boston is getting away with some absolute horseshit out there.

What can you do though? Just watching it, you can see that Vancouver is just trying SO hard, and nothing is going their way.


----------



## matt397

MFB said:


> Are you fucking kidding me? You call that "wandering around like a fart in the wind"? Not to mention, his head wasn't facing the ground, he was watching Lucic and waiting for the god damn pass that would've come had he NOT been paying attention. Seriously dude, where you watching the same hit? He's skating up there with the rest of them expecting the puck and then got his ass laid out by a cheap hit, especially where Rome put his shoulder into the head shot.



Yeah, I do call that wandering around like a fart in the wind. He passed the puck, the puck was recieved, he took 2 strides towards the play, all the meanwhile he's got 2 Vancouver defenceman and a winger in front of him, and then he got ran over. Yes it sucks he got hurt, Yes it was a late hit. Though if it's as late as everyone said it was and he had been looking in the direction of which he was skating he might of seen Rome coming at him.
In retrospect, yeah alright I'll go as far as to say I can understand Rome getting a suspension for that, for a game. For 4 though ? 

I think where all the Bitching an Whining about Vancouver "playing dirty" comes from is that Vancouver is playing the same game that Boston is playing an Boston fans are used to seeing other teams just put up with it an play there own way. Boston has made a reputation for themselves as one of the dirtiest, meanest, roughest sons o' bitches in the NHL, now your playing a team thats playing the same game Boston plays. 

Anyhow, hopefully Vancouver can figure there shit out on there way back home. Go 'Nucks


----------



## MFB

I can agree to a 4 game suspension being a bit far, I think they knew they were going to have to have some justice for Boston fans since we just lost one of our main players, so if they didn't pull something like that - they were going to catch a LOT of flak. As well as it being a LATE hit so it was insult to injury - literally.


----------



## kmanick

never mind it being late. It's a hit to the head.
Hits to the head are automatic suspensions................Period.
Get used to it we'll see plenty more of those calls next year.
Ever since the Chara hit, the league has decided to start cracking down on this. 
Marchand got a 2 game suspension earlier in the playoffs for a hit that was no where near as bad. (I think it was against Philly).

Vancouver is contributing plenty of their own dirt out there.
Nice sucker punch in game one to Kelly by Torres after the whistle. No call,
but that's OK because the Canucks are "nice boys" and are more skilled?
Fuck that shit.
You Bruins detractors apparently have not been watching them all year long.
When they decide to dig in and hustle they are tough to beat.
kind of like the old Jacques Lemaire Devils.
kind of boring but effective.
Luongo has once again shown his true colors.


----------



## Xaios

kmanick said:


> never mind it being late. It's a hit to the head.
> Hits to the head are automatic suspensions................Period.
> Get used to it we'll see plenty more of those calls next year.
> Ever since the Chara hit, the league has decided to start cracking down on this.
> Marchand got a 2 game suspension earlier in the playoffs for a hit that was no where near as bad. (I think it was against Philly).
> 
> Vancouver is contributing plenty of their own dirt out there.
> Nice sucker punch in game one to Kelly by Torres after the whistle. No call,
> but that's OK because the Canucks are "nice boys" and are more skilled?
> Fuck that shit.
> You Bruins detractors apparently have not been watching them all year long.
> When they decide to dig in and hustle they are tough to beat.
> kind of like the old Jacques Lemaire Devils.
> kind of boring but effective.
> Luongo has once again shown his true colors.



Like I said, Vancouver isn't innocent in participating in it, but Boston is initiating it and doing it far, far, FAR more than Vancouver.


----------



## matt397

kmanick said:


> never mind it being late. It's a hit to the head.
> Hits to the head are automatic suspensions................Period.
> Get used to it we'll see plenty more of those calls next year.
> Ever since the Chara hit, the league has decided to start cracking down on this.
> Marchand got a 2 game suspension earlier in the playoffs for a hit that was no where near as bad. (I think it was against Philly).
> 
> Vancouver is contributing plenty of their own dirt out there.
> Nice sucker punch in game one to Kelly by Torres after the whistle. No call,
> but that's OK because the Canucks are "nice boys" and are more skilled?
> Fuck that shit.
> You Bruins detractors apparently have not been watching them all year long.
> When they decide to dig in and hustle they are tough to beat.
> kind of like the old Jacques Lemaire Devils.
> kind of boring but effective.
> Luongo has once again shown his true colors.





kmanick said:


> never mind it being late. It's a hit to the head.
> Hits to the head are automatic suspensions................Period.
> Get used to it we'll see plenty more of those calls next year.
> Ever since the Chara hit, the league has decided to start cracking down on this.
> Marchand got a 2 game suspension earlier in the playoffs for a hit that was no where near as bad. (I think it was against Philly).
> 
> Vancouver is contributing plenty of their own dirt out there.
> Nice sucker punch in game one to Kelly by Torres after the whistle. No call,
> but that's OK because the Canucks are "nice boys" and are more skilled?
> Fuck that shit.
> You Bruins detractors apparently have not been watching them all year long.
> When they decide to dig in and hustle they are tough to beat.
> kind of like the old Jacques Lemaire Devils.
> kind of boring but effective.
> Luongo has once again shown his true colors.



I don't remember saying anything about Vancouver being "nice boys" or being innocent, I think everyone can pretty much agree that Vancouver is playing just as dirty as Boston. Anybody that thinks either team is playing clean hockey is retarded. 
Typical American mentallity thinking that Canadian teams are finesse sissy boy hockey players an us 'muricans are big strong tough hard hitting hockey players  please, your roster is made up of 18 Canadians, 3 Europeans an 3 Americans 
After all is said an done I get to watch 2 of my favourite teams contend for the cup an I know its going to be a brutal series. I don't enjoy the cheap shit that either team is dishing out, not necesarilly the cheap hits but the behind-the-play slashing an crosschecking guys while there on the ground an this an that but thats hockey an its going to be a good series.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Xaios said:


> Like I said, Vancouver isn't innocent in participating in it, but Boston is initiating it and doing it far, far, FAR more than Vancouver.



Agreed. And the only reason Vancouver is playing that way is because they've been goaded into playing Boston's game. No team led by the Sedins plays a raw, dirty brand of hockey on a regular basis . And when teams not suited to playing that kind of hockey give in and try to hit back, they get away from what makes them successful: their own game. I saw it happen to the Canadiens twice this year, in the games the Habs lost 8-6 and 7-0 against the Bruins during the regular season. The 8-6 game was entertaining at least, but the 7-0 game looked the exact same way as the 8-1 game against Vancouver the other night. The Bruins were out-shot, but in getting the opposition to get away from their sound game/system and pulling them into compromising positions, playing more aggressive defensively, the Bruins were able to capitalize on _every_ chance they got.

It's quite simple, really. If the Canucks play the Bruins' game and let them get under their skin, the Bruins will easily win the next two. If the Canucks can do what they did in games 1 and 2 and just play hockey, there's no reason for them not to win it easily.


----------



## technomancer

Boston: city of douche bags. You know it's sad when the local paper has to run an article asking people not to be assholes.

Broadcast from CA (audio quality is pretty terrible).... the dude in the first group of three guys that can't stand still is my friend from Vancouver


----------



## Blake1970

Go Bruins!


----------



## kmanick

technomancer said:


> Boston: city of douche bags. You know it's sad when the local paper has to run an article asking people not to be assholes.
> 
> Broadcast from CA (audio quality is pretty terrible).... the dude in the first group of three guys that can't stand still is by friend from Vancouver





Nice comment on a whole city.
guess I can't expect much more from someone from Pittsburgh, the land of the lost.

It makes me laugh that the Canucks fans think Boston goaded them into dirty play.
Torres throwing sucker punches in game one? not addressed by any Canadian media. 
Vancouver tried to bring it to Boston , they outhit and out cheaped shotted them by a large margin in games 1 and 2.
boston loves that type of game and thrives when they play like that.

Typical american mentality that the euros are pussies?
why don't you go back and watch the 3rd period from last night.
Vancouvers defensemen started shying away form the bruin forwards coming n and shellacking them.
Most Canadian players have balls. Most Euros don't like to be hit.
Last night I didn't see anyone wearing a white shirt have any balls.


----------



## technomancer

Sorry man, but when you've got crowds of fans assaulting people and trying to pull guys out of cabs, yes it DOES reflect poorly on your entire city. It also says something that instead of being upset by the behavior you're defending it and taking shots at me.

I'm not talking about the teams at this point, I'm talking about the appalling behavior by fans. And yes I would be COMPLETELY disgusted and pissed off if this was going on in Pittsburgh.

That said on a game level the Canucks aren't lily-white innocents, but if you don't see the Bruins getting away with murder you need some glasses (as has already been pointed out by several other members).


----------



## matt397

kmanick said:


> Nice comment on a whole city.
> guess I can't expect much more from someone from Pittsburgh, the land of the lost.
> 
> It makes me laugh that the Canucks fans think Boston goaded them into dirty play.
> Torres throwing sucker punches in game one? not addressed by any Canadian media.
> Vancouver tried to bring it to Boston , they outhit and out cheaped shotted them by a large margin in games 1 and 2.
> boston loves that type of game and thrives when they play like that.
> 
> Typical american mentality that the euros are pussies?
> why don't you go back and watch the 3rd period from last night.
> Vancouvers defensemen started shying away form the bruin forwards coming n and shellacking them.
> Most Canadian players have balls. Most Euros don't like to be hit.
> Last night I didn't see anyone wearing a white shirt have any balls.



I think you need to go back an read what I posted in response to your post. I'll make it easy an quote it for you here:


> Typical American mentallity thinking that Canadian teams are finesse sissy boy hockey players an us 'muricans are big strong tough hard hitting hockey players  please, your roster is made up of 18 Canadians, 3 Europeans an 3 Americans



I said Canadian teams not European players. For the record, if you want to talk about Europeans generally not wanting to be hit or "not having any balls" just remember who and where your captain is from. 
Also, Torres throwing sucker punch's in game 1 probably didn't get much media attention because it's not really notable or worth any attention, I mean come on buddy, it's hockey, this shit happens, it's part of the game. I mean you said it your self


> Boston loves that type of game and thrives on it


 So what are you getting mad about ?


----------



## kmanick

I'm not getting mad, I don't like people talking shit about my town.
Chara is not your typical Euro player.
"Also, Torres throwing sucker punch's in game 1 probably didn't get much media attention because it's not really notable or worth any attention, I mean come on buddy, it's hockey, this shit happens, it's part of the game. I mean you said it your self "

 that's a great double standard

if that was Thornton or Marchand on one of the Sedins the Media in Canada wouldve had a fucking field day.
"hello my name is Daniel , my name is Hendrik and this is our vegetarian linemate"??????
ya keep taking pot shots at my boys and see what happens.
I'm getting tied of Canadan fans bad mouthing my team and my town, just becuase their town is going down the shitter.
Look I can trash talk all day and night 
I was a Varsity goalie for Umass 82-86 I had a brief tryout with the New Market saints back in 86, I've played with and against plenty of euro Players. 
The majority of them don't like contact, look at Kaberle, he shys away constantly (I can't believe he's even still dressing)
I'll just stop now and let the B's beat these posers into the oblivion.


----------



## technomancer

Some good news for the Pens, they resigned Craig Adams to a two year deal. He's one of the key components on the PK, so I'm relieved to see he'll be here for a while longer.


----------



## Psyy

kmanick said:


> I'm not getting mad, I don't like people talking shit about my town.



Not to continue the conflict, but Boston fans have always had a certain sort of infamy. People have been shit-talking the Boston fanbase as a whole for as long as I can remember.


----------



## Hollowman

kmanick said:


> You Bruins detractors apparently have not been watching them all year long.
> When they decide to dig in and hustle they are tough to beat.
> kind of like the old Jacques Lemaire Devils.
> kind of boring but effective.



Please don't compare the Devils and Bruins.

And your right about Chara being not your typical European player however, he shouldn't even be playing right now if the NHL wasn't so wishy washy on how they interpret things, much like Krechji (sp? don't really care..) cross checked Hamhuis in the back of the head the NHL stated any hits to the head not being tolerated so, how is he still not suspended?

As for cities every city has Good and Bad. I just hate Boston's teams except for The Pats....as for the city itself, I really don't have any plans to ever go there so I couldn't make a judgement but, for the people I've met from there the term Masshole works just fine .


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Some good news for the Pens, they resigned Craig Adams to a two year deal. He's one of the key components on the PK, so I'm relieved to see he'll be here for a while longer.



I'm a little lat on Billy Guerin joining the Pens as a Player Development Coach, I've always liked Billy Guerin since he Played for the Devils so, Good for him they are a good oraginization to be part of. The Pens should be loaded next year with Crosby,Malkin coming back to the addition of Neal and Kovalev and if Jagr comes back into the fold which seem's very likely you should NEVER be shut-out . Unfortunatily, I feel that the next step for the Devils the obvious  trying to find a new Coach and the rebuild process at Goaltender.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman said:


> I'm a little lat on Billy Guerin joining the Pens as a Player Development Coach, I've always liked Billy Guerin since he Played for the Devils so, Good for him they are a good oraginization to be part of. The Pens should be loaded next year with Crosby,Malkin coming back to the addition of Neal and Kovalev and if Jagr comes back into the fold which seem's very likely you should NEVER be shut-out . Unfortunatily, I feel that the next step for the Devils the obvious  trying to find a new Coach and the rebuild process at Goaltender.



Well, there is no way they're going to resign Kovalev, he's an unrestricted free agent and judging by the way the first round of the playoffs went and his performance I'd say he's gone (that and he was making $5 million and they don't have room for that cap hit). I think the biggest proof Kovy is done in Pittsburgh was the final 6 on 5 with the goalie pulled in a 1-0 game 7 and Kovy hadn't been out for a shift before that and was kept on the bench.

The Jagr bit isn't going to happen either IMHO. The Pen's GM Shero even said they hadn't considered signing him since he left NY. That whole thing was Jagr and his agent talking to try to get him more money from his KHL team for next year 

I'll be curious to see what happens for next year. The Pens have a LOT of unrestricted free agents so watching to see who stays and who goes should be interesting.

As for Jersey, yeah I think you called it. They need a coach and a new goalie


----------



## Hollowman

The refs suck...

with 2 refs how can you miss a stick holding call on Kelly or Lucic's trip? WTF

Looks like the calls are gonna go with Boston tonight.


----------



## Xaios

Agreed, the officiating has just been garbage so far. Canucks can't sneeze without getting a penalty, while Boston is getting away with crosschecks, stick holding, tripping... practically everything. Makes me wanna go zebra hunting with a very large caliber gun.


----------



## technomancer

Despite playing both the Bruins and the refs, Vancouver wins


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

Word, im dt at the moment...so much airhorn


----------



## Hollowman

1-0 win, 3-2 Series lead Go Canucks..


----------



## Psyy

technomancer said:


> As for Jersey, yeah I think you called it. They need a coach and a new goalie



I really hope Brodeur calls it quits if this next season is anything like last. Gotta retire while everyone remembers the legend you are, instead of the burn-out you're appearing to be. 

Missed the game tonight. Always close unless the 'nucks are blown out completely.


----------



## kmanick

good game tonight, quite the nail biter.
strange how all 3 games in Vacnouver have been tight checking 1 goal games.
Not so much in Boston


----------



## technomancer

kmanick said:


> good game tonight, quite the nail biter.
> strange how all 3 games in Vacnouver have been tight checking 1 goal games.
> Not so much in Boston



I'll be more than happy if the home team wins every game


----------



## kmanick

technomancer said:


> I'll be more than happy if the home team wins every game



I'm sure you would


----------



## Hollowman

kmanick said:


> good game tonight, quite the nail biter.
> strange how all 3 games in Vacnouver have been tight checking 1 goal games.
> Not so much in Boston



Yep and those 1 goal games are harder to win.


----------



## Sofos

Come on Bruins, one more game


----------



## Xaios

Well, while I wish tonight's results were different, it's pretty much what I expected. There's something about that building that the Canucks just can't get through. Probably the bad ice combined with home team advantage. The Canucks transition game really depends on speed and the ability to predict puck movement, neither of which they can get there.

Well, that and Tim Thomas. And of course, half of their best players are injured, playing or not.


----------



## kmanick

It wasn't even very warm here in Boston toaday.
I don't think the condition of the ice was as much of a factor
as the losing teams fans are trying to make it out to be.
The B's looked like they were skating just fine tonight. 
On another note, every time I've seen Cory Schneider play this year he's looked fantastic. That long term contract they gave lumpy was probably not the smartest choice Vancouver management has made recently.
Allains post game interview ws pretty funny.


----------



## Demiurge

All of the games in Boston:


It's like two different sets of teams playing in each city. And now, still no idea what game 7 is going to be like.


----------



## technomancer

All I'm going to say is that I'm REALLY disappointed in seeing two players out with serious injuries from questionable hits with only one two minute penalty and no disciplinary review.


----------



## Xaios

technomancer said:


> All I'm going to say is that I'm REALLY disappointed in seeing two players out with serious injuries from questionable hits with no penalties or disciplinary review.



Obviously Mayray is one of them, but who's the other one? As far as Dan Hamhuis goes, he was injured on his initial hipcheck of Lucic, not on the subsequent crosscheck from (I think) Krejci. Lucic didn't do anything wrong.


----------



## technomancer

Xaios said:


> Obviously Mayray is one of them, but who's the other one? As far as Dan Hamhuis goes, he was injured on his initial hipcheck of Lucic, not on the subsequent crosscheck from (I think) Krejci. Lucic didn't do anything wrong.



He was cross-checked in the back of the head while he was down on his knees... if that's not a deliberate attempt to injure worthy of at least a short suspension I don't know what is 

Also to the best of my knowledge they never released what the injury was.


----------



## Xaios

technomancer said:


> He was cross-checked in the back of the head while he was down on his knees... if that's not a deliberate attempt to injure worthy of at least a short suspension I don't know what is
> 
> Also to the best of my knowledge they never released what the injury was.



That's true, and the officiating this entire series has been unquestionably one sided. And Boston is getting away with some really horrendous shit too. There's just no way to explain away how Boston never seems to get called unless a penalty is so obvious that Stevie Wonder could have called it, while the Canucks get called for sneezing. Hell, Brad Marchand made Daniel Sedin his punching bag, and Sedin was the one who got a misconduct.

For what it's worth, I actually don't believe that Johnny Boychuck intended to hurt Mayray, just keep him out of the play (which, granted, should have been an interference penalty), and things got tangled.

Also, for what it's worth, Boston fans on HFBoards (which is essentially the unofficial official Bruins forum) have been fairly sympathetic towards Mayray's injury.

The biggest problem is the inconsistency in the NHL's approach to determining suspensions for such things. Sometimes they take a player's injury record or the severity of the injury into account, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they use past precedent, sometimes they don't, even if plenty exists.


----------



## technomancer

Yup there is no consistency at all. I still think there should be a disciplinary review board made up of 3 individuals instead of one person with unilateral decision making power


----------



## Psyy

Xaios said:


> The biggest problem is the inconsistency in the NHL's approach to determining suspensions for such things.



Yep. Chara's hit on Pacioretty is probably the best example of that this season.


----------



## kmanick

no mention of Peverly geting whollaped on that icing call?
Like that wasn't a deliberate attempt to injure?
the Canucks are just as guilty of dirty shit as the B's are in this series.
And Sedin should be ashamed of himself for letting Marchand get away with that.
I've lost all rspect for those two. No balls at all.


----------



## Xaios

kmanick said:


> And Sedin should be ashamed of himself for letting Marchand get away with that.



Haha, blaming the victim now, are we? Marchand decides to lay on a beating, but it's Sedin's fault because he took it? That would be akin to a police officer blaming a rape victim for letting it happen. In other words, BULLSHIT.


----------



## kmanick

Xaios said:


> Haha, blaming the victim now, are we? Marchand decides to lay on a beating, but it's Sedin's fault because he took it? That would be akin to a police officer blaming a rape victim for letting it happen. In other words, BULLSHIT.


 

it would be but this is "Hockey" ever play ? I seriously doubt it, and that was hardly a "beating" ,(well maybe to someone with a vagina that's a beating)
I've been watching and playing hockey for over 30 years and I've never seen a Captan in the Stanly cup finals from any team be such a bitch before (especially with a midget rookie).


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Only a Bruins fan wouldn't see the (admittedly aggravating) arrogance in Marchand's play. Good player, but he really needs to come down a few stairs before someone throws him off the handrail so to speak.


----------



## kmanick

We here in Boston see it and we love it.
Marchand is the kind of player you love to have on your and hate to play against.
Like Essa Tikkonan used to be for the old Oilers team.
I hated that guy, but would have loved him in a Bruins uniform.


----------



## dnoel86

I'm certainly glad I'm not downtown right now...


----------



## technomancer

Stupid hit by Hansen after another piss poor non-call


----------



## Demiurge

4.0 (not the current number of goals scored, but the average BAC at Sullivan's Tap right now, I'm guessing)


----------



## technomancer

Congrats to the Bruins. I hope the team and fans enjoy their summer with the Cup, it was an absolute blast when Pittsburgh won 

While I still think the officiating was piss-poor in the series, game 7 wasn't that bad and definitely not off enough to have effected the outcome.


----------



## Sofos

Though a Bruins fan, I will say congratulations to the Vancouver Canucks for making it to the finals and giving the Bruins a run for their money. They have my utmost respect.


----------



## MFB

GO BRUINS!


----------



## kmanick

Yay!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Congratz to the bruins! I'm happy timmy thomas got the cup, still sour everyone else on the team got it but I'll get over it 

Bettman's reception was epic! XD


----------



## ridealot100

The Bruins played well and deserve the win. The Canucks are my team and they played exceptionally, but the injuries towards the end just weighed way too heavily on their performance. Their lines were completely altered due to excessive injury. And the players on ice were worn out or hurt in some way. 
Would've been nice to see em win but there is always next year. I just hope the officiating gets a makeover because It was extremely bias and played favorites way too often. If you try an argue that, you either were not watching, or you choose not to see it. (not taking away from the Bruins win)


----------



## Psyy

Good games, Bruins. My opinion of the majority of the Bruins' fanbase has been quieted by the classy rioting of the Canucks' fanbase. I'm proud of Thomas to come so far and sad for Kesler and Luongo, wanting it as much as they did.


----------



## MFB

Well, this certainly happened a LOT quicker than I expected

Vancouver fans set cars on fire, fling bottles after Stanley Cup loss to Bruins - The Washington Post


----------



## ridealot100

To all of the Canucks "fans" that blame the loss on Luongo.. Try not to get hurt jumping off of the band wagon. 

He got us to game 7 in the SCFs. 

This series somehow managed to make me hate someone more than Tootoo on the preds.. Marchand has a very poor attitude and almost no gamesmanship. 
Everyone else on the Bruins though were great. 

Seeing and hearing Chara of all people scream YAY when holding the cup was pretty hilarious. Probably the highest it's ever been on the ground before.

And to the rioters in Vancouver. 
YouTube - &#x202a;Nacho Libre - Take It Easy 1&#x202c;&rlm;

We will get em next year.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

For anyone interested, there's my take on the riot.

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/off-topic/161365-well-i-got-back-riot-video.html


----------



## kmanick

I've never understood this whole "Rioting" mentality.
It doesn't change or solve anything. 
I'm still a little in shock here.
I can't believe they actually pulled it off and won


----------



## AvantGuardian

Thomas was incredible throughout the series and the Bruins seemed to be the better team, but I'm pretty disappointed in the Canucks last night. Couldn't muster a single goal on home ice in game 7. Luongo played okay, (that third goal was bizarre, can't blame him for not stopping that) and even if he'd played better, you can't win with 0 goals.


----------



## Mindcrime1204

I'm not really a hockey fan, but I'm glad we (US) won.


----------



## technomancer

Mindcrime1204 said:


> I'm not really a hockey fan, but I'm glad we (US) won.



I always love seeing stuff like this when the "US" team is made up of 90% Canadians, 9% Europeans, and 3 guys from the US 

IIRC Thomas was the only US player that was on the ice in the series for Boston... then again with the way he played maybe that was enough


----------



## Xaios

My thoughts:

Boston earned the win last night, they were the better team on the ice. Congrats to them.

Luongo, for the most part, was just fine. The only time in the series I would say he really choked was game 6. Other than that, it was far more a breakdown of our defense core, who were pretty banged up and missing their best man in Dan Hamhuis. My dad has become one of the people who blame Luongo everytime something goes wrong, I unloaded on him. Injuries also took a toll on our offense, although Kesler looked better tonight than he had all series. I mean, this is our list of injured players:

- Henrik Sedin
- Ryan Kesler
- Alex Edler
- Andrew Alberts
- Manny Malhotra
- Mikael Samuelsson
- Mason Raymond
- Dan Hamhuis

That's a pretty damn significant list of people. Of course, Boston was able to use this to their advantage, combined with their size. I don't blame them for that, that's fair game. I'll admit, every time Chara used his unbelievable reach to block a pass, it frustrated me, but that's life.

Tim Thomas... what more can be said? He capped off the most incredible regular season with a stellar playoff performance. He was seriously America's answer to Dominik Hasek this year. I hope for Boston's sake he can do it again next year, because that kind of thing usually only happens once in a lifetime.

I'm sad that my team couldn't pull it together, especially on home ice, but I guess there's always next year. We've got some incredible talent developing in guys like Cory Schneider, Chris Tanev, Lee Sweatt and Yann Sauve. Schneider and Tanev will be All-Stars someday, I'm calling it now, and I've been super impressed with both of them this season.

We do need to trade away some of our defensemen in order to clear cap space for next year. Based on what we've seen this year I'd say Christian Ehrhoff and Keith Ballard will be the first ones to go. Despite the fact that he's our highest scoring D-man, Ehrhoff just didn't play particularly good defense during the playoffs. Nor did Ballard, although that was as much the team's fault as it was his, as the one game they played him during the final round, they put him on with Kevin Bieksa, despite the fact that their styles didn't compliment each other at all. Had he gone on with Chris Tanev, I think it would have worked out much better. They're also two of our highest paid D-men, so that will go a long way to keeping our core group, as well as acquisitions like Higgins and Lappy. I'm kinda sad to see Ballard go, as his hip checks are nothing short of legendary, and when paired with a more conservative D-man like Tanev or Hamhuis, he can really shine. Rome or Albert may be on the way out too, and Salo may retire. Thank God we've got talent on the farm team.


----------



## kmanick

Within the next 2 years Cory Schneider will be one of the "Elite" goaltenders in this league.
I used to watch him at Boston College and he always delivered.
Every time I saw him play this year he was solid.
I wonder if he didn't pull his groin (or hip) on that breakaway in game 6 against Chicago, if we would've even seen Luongo back in there the rest of the way?


----------



## Mindcrime1204

technomancer said:


> I always love seeing stuff like this when the "US" team is made up of 90% Canadians, 9% Europeans, and 3 guys from the US
> 
> IIRC Thomas was the only US player that was on the ice in the series for Boston... then again with the way he played maybe that was enough


 

Sorry dude, I'm not really into hockey but felt I should give my congrats to the Bruins which are based in the US. If the Canadians in there wanted to play for Canada I'm sure they would have.

Do you not concider the Bruins a US team because they have some dudes from Canada?


EDIT: I'm not some Canadian hater, lol. Have you seen how many hotties they produce!!!!!!!!?????


----------



## Psyy

Mindcrime1204 said:


> Sorry dude, I'm not really into hockey but felt I should give my congrats to the Bruins which are based in the US. If the Canadians in there wanted to play for Canada I'm sure they would have.
> 
> Do you not concider the Bruins a US team because they have some dudes from Canada?
> 
> 
> EDIT: I'm not some Canadian hater, lol. Have you seen how many hotties they produce!!!!!!!!?????



Well, there's an issue with your logic. The Boston Bruins (along with a TON of other organizations) though based in the US are mainly comprised of Canadians. A large reason is nearly every Canadian boy grows up at one point or another wanting to play professional hockey, so it flourishes a lot easier. These Canadian players play for an American team because that's how it works out. I'd be very surprised if any hockey player ever wanted to trade to a Canadian-based organization simply because he was Canadian. You play the game you love, and when the Olympics roll around you play for your country; until then you work toward furthering your team and pursuing the Stanley Cup.

Though I'm not sure you understand enough about NHL hockey to assume 'Canadian players would go to a Canadian team if they wanted to'. Up until just a few weeks ago, there were 25 teams based in the US and only 5 in Canada. Odds like that work in favor of an American team eventually drafting you.


----------



## MFB

Xaios said:


> My thoughts:
> 
> Boston earned the win last night, they were the better team on the ice. Congrats to them.
> 
> Luongo, for the most part, was just fine. The only time in the series I would say he really choked was game 6.



You found him choking in game 6 with a final of 5-2 to be worse than 8-1? Is this because of how late it was in the series and that you guys could've won the cup right then, or for some other reason I'm missing?


----------



## Psyy

MFB said:


> You found him choking in game 6 with a final of 5-2 to be worse than 8-1? Is this because of how late it was in the series and that you guys could've won the cup right then, or for some other reason I'm missing?



I'm not sure about his opinion, but in the 8-1 loss, Luongo's team more or less gave up on plays after about the 4th goal. The 3 that Luongo let in were just weak goals.


----------



## Mindcrime1204

Ok since there seems to be some confusion on my end.. I'll just re-word my congrats to read:

Thanks to Canada for winning the US the Stanley Cup!


----------



## technomancer

So looks like the Pens ARE actually talking to Jagr 

Gotta' say I wouldn't mind seeing him back on a one year deal to see how he does given averaging a point per game on a team without a center like Crosby or Malkin last year...


----------



## Vostre Roy

technomancer said:


> So looks like the Pens ARE actually talking to Jagr
> 
> Gotta' say I wouldn't mind seeing him back on a one year deal to see how he does given averaging a point per game on a team without a center like Crosby or Malkin last year...


 

Aparently his agent also spoke with the Habs' GM, I think he would either go with one of the most talented team, or with one of the most talented Czech in the league (Plekanec)

On a side note, the NHL's governor voted yes for the Trashers relocalisation, so it seems now that nothing could stop the moving from happening


----------



## technomancer

Vostre Roy said:


> Aparently his agent also spoke with the Habs' GM, I think he would either go with one of the most talented team, or with one of the most talented Czech in the league (Plekanec)
> 
> On a side note, the NHL's governor voted yes for the Trashers relocalisation, so it seems now that nothing could stop the moving from happening



I think the Habs management told him they're not interested though. Looks like Pittsburgh, Detroit, and probably the Rangers are in the running if he comes back to the NHL.

And yup, looks like the Thrashers are definitely moving. Sort of dreading the realignment the following season that will result from the move though.


----------



## troyguitar

technomancer said:


> I think the Habs management told him they're not interested though. Looks like Pittsburgh, Detroit, and probably the Rangers are in the running if he comes back to the NHL.
> 
> And yup, looks like the Thrashers are definitely moving. Sort of dreading the realignment the following season that will result from the move though.



Just what we need, another old guy to get hurt and miss half the damn season like Modano did 

Actually Jagr was one of my favorite players back in the day (when he played with Mario and co) and I'm genuinely interested to see him play again, but he really belongs in Pittsburgh.

unrelated: I was rather surprised to see that Rafalski retired and Lidstrom did not, though Lidstrom did have 62 points this year and hasn't missed a game in either of the last 2 seasons. The guy is like a damn robot.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah Lidstrom is just ticking along 

From what I've read it sounds like Jagr is open to Detroit or Pittsburgh and it's going to boil down to who will pony up the cash 

Was just reading his comments in this article

Agent: Jagr 'loves that team, city... Mario' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


----------



## troyguitar

Jagr told ESPN.com:

"In Pittsburgh, I played there 10 years," he said. "I still have a house there. I was too lazy to sell it."



Seems like he thinks Pittsburgh is more likely to offer him a contract, but he wants to actually play over here. I'm on the fence myself, but we do need someone to score goals. He'd probably work well on a line like Franzen-Filppula-Jagr maybe depending on what else happens with the roster.


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## technomancer

Yeah pretty much the same way I feel. Having just watched him in the World games a few weeks ago, he looks like he's still effective as a player, the real question is can he check his ego at the door if he signs with the Pens


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## technomancer

Bylsma won the Jack Adams


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## Psyy

To be honest, I thought Trotz was going to win it. But Bylsma was definitely a close second for me.

I'm a bit of a Philly fan, but what's up with them getting rid of both Carter and Richards? I thought Philly looked great during the regular season, with some choking at the tail end. I won't even mention their playoff performance. I'm fairly sure Bryzgalov would have fixed their goaltending situation, at least moderately.

Also, Corey Perry: most awkward individual in videos ever?


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## technomancer

Honestly Trotz and Vigneault both had great seasons, but Bylsma lead what was basically an AHL team to the NHL playoffs and only didn't win the division because of tie breaker stats. Six of the Pens starting forwards were AHL callups for a large percentage of the season, along with injuries to 3 of the starting six defensemen on and off. Crosby, Malkin, and Staal each missed half a season each, with Malkin and Crosby both being out the last half of the season. To me that made Bylsma a clear win, as dealing with massive adversity and being successful is more impressive than having a good (or great) season coaching a team 

On the Philly deal I think Richards was gone because of attitude, not sure about Carter. Definitely a major change there.

And  at Perry


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## kmanick

They've been talking about the Philly moves here in Boston.
Apparently there may have been some behind the scenes shenanigans going on with players and other players wives. 
I think Richards is a big loss, Carter?? maybe.
Getting Bryzgalov was a great move , I can't believe Phoenix let him go.
Bylsma definitely deserved to win it this year, he did an amazing job with a desimated group of players.

Jagr??? do you guys really want theat mess of an ego. the last couple of seasons in NY he really was a shell of his old self.
for the money he wants I'd pass. there are some great prospects coming up in the draft.


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## Xaios

So, it's official. Winnipeg Jets are back.


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## technomancer

kmanick said:


> Jagr??? do you guys really want theat mess of an ego. the last couple of seasons in NY he really was a shell of his old self.
> for the money he wants I'd pass. there are some great prospects coming up in the draft.



That "shadow" had 75 points his last season  The ego does concern me, but it sounds like he's got that in check. Shero has said he'd only pay $1 million, so if Jagr will take that I'd gladly see him in a Pens uniform. Hell I wouldn't be upset for twice that if he performs


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## kmanick

technomancer said:


> That "shadow" had 75 points his last season  The ego does concern me, but it sounds like he's got that in check. Shero has said he'd only pay $1 million, so if Jagr will take that I'd gladly see him in a Pens uniform. Hell I wouldn't be upset for twice that if he performs


 
oh I have no doubt that he "can" still perform.
but will he? Watching that last season with the Rangers was sometimes painful.
shit I wouldn't mind seeing him in a Boston uniform if he's going to 
actually go out and work.


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## Xaios

Found something interesting, it's an official tally Mike Gillis put together of all the injuries the Canucks sustained during the playoffs:



> -&#8220;Dan Hamhuis suffered a serious abdominal injury.&#8221; (TSN reports Hamhuis will have surgery next week)
> 
> -&#8220;Mason Raymond has a broken back.&#8221;
> 
> -&#8220;Alex Edler has two broken fingers from a slash.&#8221;
> 
> -&#8220;Kevin Bieksa has a bruised MCL from a slash.&#8221;
> 
> -&#8220;Ryan Kesler has a hip problem that we don&#8217;t know the extent of yet.&#8221;
> 
> -"Mikael Samuelsson, as you know, had an operation on an abdominal muscle tear.&#8221;
> 
> -&#8220;Manny was a warrior out there, but he was operating at less than 100 per cent, he hadn&#8217;t skated in I think six to seven weeks after his injury because of the treatment he had to have.&#8221;
> 
> -&#8220;Chris Higgins had a foot injury that continued to get worse throughout the playoffs.&#8221;
> 
> -&#8220;Christian Ehrhoff had a shoulder injury that didn&#8217;t recover from the third round onward. We don&#8217;t think he&#8217;ll need a procedure, but he&#8217;ll need some fairly serious rest and rehab.&#8221;
> 
> -&#8220;Henrik had a back injury from getting cross-checked in the second round.&#8221;



Pretty big list. Knowing that, it's not terribly surprising that they couldn't pull the trigger when it mattered most because they were playing with a shit-ton of injuries against the single team in the NHL most suited to take advantage of the fact. I'm proud of the boys.


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## LanguageOfStrings

Xaios said:


> So, it's official. Winnipeg Jets are back.


great news after years some new element 

I have to congrats to Zdeno Chara´s Boston bruins once again.. no one was expecting they'll win stanley cup in this season.


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## technomancer

Well, it's official the Pens have extended an offer to Jagr

Penguins offer Jagr one-year contract
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_744275.html

Hopefully Shero didn't fuck up and low-ball him too much...


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## Psyy

Xaios said:


> Found something interesting, it's an official tally Mike Gillis put together of all the injuries the Canucks sustained during the playoffs:



Jesus.. Good luck to Raymond getting back on his game. Some players never play the same after an injury like that. I truly hope he can match the speed he had before the injury.


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## JeffFromMtl

From David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod, posted yesterday:



> Jagr could make a decision tomorrow. Penguins, Red Wings and Canadiens have all made an offer, each believed to be 1-year.



It's interesting how the Habs and Pens have, as the weeks wore on, gone from "not interested", to having "no comment", to having made an offer 

I like to think he'll end up here, as he loves the city, and has apparently been seen training with his good friend and fellow native of Kladno, Czech Republic, Tomas Plekanec here in Montreal a few times, but I can't help but feel he'll be playing in Pittsburgh. The decision is reportedly going to be made today, but he can't officially sign until Friday.

I'm also hearing that Gomez may be on his way out of Montreal.


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## technomancer

The Pens didn't really say they weren't interested, just that at the time Jagr started talking about coming back here they hadn't thought about it... Apparently they then started thinking about it 

Given the history it would be nice to see him end his career here, and as he proved at the worlds he still has skill, so I'd love to see what he could do alongside Crosby or Malkin


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## MrMcSick

Waiting........

Who will it be??????


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## Stealthdjentstic

Riot if its someone I dont want it to be.


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## JeffFromMtl

Via David Pagnotta's twitter 55 minutes ago



> For those asking... Jagr has NOT agreed to terms with any club, as of yet.



I wonder if his decision will only be announced once he officially signs a contract on Friday.


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## technomancer

Yeah who knows... it's also possible the league contacted his agent and bitched him out since he can't sign until Friday


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## technomancer

Pens resigned Asham... guess since Rupp is holding out for more money they wanted to sign SOMEONE physical 

Not really the news I was hoping to see today...


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## JeffFromMtl

According to agent Petr Svoboda, Jaromir Jagr has gone missing. He was supposed to arrive in NY at around 3:30 this afternoon, but he didn't, and now his whereabouts are unknown and he can't be contacted


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## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> According to agent Petr Svoboda, Jaromir Jagr has gone missing. He was supposed to arrive in NY at around 3:30 this afternoon, but he didn't, and now his whereabouts are unknown and he can't be contacted



His flight stopped in Monte Carlo and he got sidetracked in a casino 

New article says his agent is meeting with the Pens and calling the Wings and Habs today... which sounds like he's either signing with the Pens or going in person to ask for more money to match another offer


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## technomancer

OH SNAP

Penguins Withdraw Offer to Jagr - Pittsburgh Penguins - News


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## Psyy

Saw that. I just wish Jagr would play the game because he enjoys it and is good at it, rather than focusing so heavily on money. 'Tis a shame.

Interesting to see where some of the FA's are going to go today. I'm interested to see if Teemu goes anywhere, since he was extremely unhappy with his club during their playoff run. Will be interesting to see if Ward from the Predators will get any attention from other teams. He certainly had an impact on the team's performance against Vancouver.


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## technomancer

Aaaand Jagr is a Flyer for $3.3 million... fortunately Pens fans are already used to booing him since he was such a douche when he left the first time 

Curious to see what else happens in free agency now


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## technomancer

woohoo Pens sign another small winger with an injury history... this has worked out so well in the past...

Penguins Agree to Terms with Forward Steve Sullivan - Pittsburgh Penguins - News

To extend my comments, I can only assume Shero has brain damage... in his interview, "It's come out that it was a matter of money, but Jagr never came back and asked for more money. That was never a negotiation." He told the press our offer is our offer and is not open to negotiation. Gee I wonder why when you said you're not willing to negotiate the terms he didn't come back to you to negotiate the terms 

Also I love signing somebody who hasn't managed to play more than 44 games in the past three seasons and saying you're not concerned with their injury history


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## SnowfaLL

been waiting all day to see where Richards will go.. doesnt look like the choice will be tonight. lame =/

Toronto or NYR or Philly?


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## technomancer

NickCormier said:


> been waiting all day to see where Richards will go.. doesnt look like the choice will be tonight. lame =/
> 
> Toronto or NYR or Philly?



Yeah I'm curious to see where he'll end up but didn't really expect that to close the first day, way too many teams want him. I'm also REALLY curious to see where Stamkos ends up... I still can't believe Tampa didn't lock him up before free agency started. Granted he's a restricted free agent, but I'm wondering if Tampa is going to manage to keep him.


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## Psyy

If Tampa can put out the 8 million he's going to be asking (at least) I'm fairly sure he'll stick with them, even if it means a couple hundred thousand a year less. It seems he really likes the place and the guys on the team.

I'd hate to see him end up playing for Toronto or something..

That said, Florida is looking like they might actually make the playoffs next year.


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## troyguitar

technomancer said:


> Aaaand Jagr is a Flyer for $3.3 million...



Where did this come from?  I never heard that he or they were considering each other.


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## technomancer

Psyy said:


> If Tampa can put out the 8 million he's going to be asking (at least) I'm fairly sure he'll stick with them, even if it means a couple hundred thousand a year less. It seems he really likes the place and the guys on the team.
> 
> I'd hate to see him end up playing for Toronto or something..
> 
> That said, Florida is looking like they might actually make the playoffs next year.



If he wanted to sign there for less money he would have probably done so before the start of free agency. Tampa did make him an offer and he turned it down IIRC



troyguitar said:


> Where did this come from?  I never heard that he or they were considering each other.



That's typical Jagr, everything has to be a circus. Ah well, I'll be really curious to see what Philly looks like on the ice once they're done revamping as they're going to be a massively different team this season.


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## Psyy

Oh, did he? I need to check more into these things, it seems. Surprised Vokoun hasn't been looked at yet.


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## technomancer

Psyy said:


> Oh, did he? I need to check more into these things, it seems. Surprised Vokoun hasn't been looked at yet.



Tampa had to have made him an offer, or he'd be an unrestricted free agent

And Brad Richards ends up a NY Ranger

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=568285


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## technomancer

Wow gotta' love it, Washington got Vokoun for $1.5 million. Seems while Philly, NY, and Washington have all made considerable moves to improve their teams, the Pens have lost grit and stayed the same for the most part


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## Psyy

I'm not sure what I think of Carolina picking up Kaberle. He can play better than he did with Boston, but I'm not sure how well he'll fit with them. Carolina needs all the defensive help they can get, honestly, so I won't argue too much.


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## JeffFromMtl

I haven't been able to keep up with much as far as free agency is concerned because I've been without internet and cable since the 1st because I moved and haven't had time to get that stuff taken care of, but I've got to say, the Canadiens made *the* move they needed to make. Erik Cole is exactly what they needed to fill a hole in the top 6, and I couldn't be happier with the acquisition. Hopefully we see Carolina Cole and not Edmonton Cole.


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## MFB

Psyy said:


> I'm not sure what I think of Carolina picking up Kaberle. He can play better than he did with Boston, but I'm not sure how well he'll fit with them. Carolina needs all the defensive help they can get, honestly, so I won't argue too much.



Thanks for taking him, he didn't really do shit for us


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## technomancer

MFB said:


> Thanks for taking him, he didn't really do shit for us



Really? You consider 47 points and a +4 in the regular season and 11 points and a +8 in the playoffs on a cup run not doing anything? Most teams would kill to have defensemen doing that kind of nothing


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## gilsontsang

I'm still sad about the plane accident. sigh....


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