# NHL 2015-2016: Expansion! 3 on 3 OT! Coaches Challenge!



## Sofos

Bettman just announced that the NHL is beginning the expansion process. Vegas, of course, will be one of the teams. The other is likely going to be Seattle or Quebec City (Please be Seattle).

The Board of Governers also ratified a few rule changes today:

1) OT will now be 3-on-3 for 5 minutes. No 4-on-4 at all.
2) Coaches Challenge for off-sides/goalie interferene.
3) Team in defensive zone will put stick down first for faceoffs. Neutral ice will be visiting team.


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## Vostre Roy

Sofos said:


> Bettman just announced that the NHL is beginning the expansion process. Vegas, of course, will be one of the teams. The other is likely going to be Seattle or Quebec City (Please be Seattle).




Nay, I want my Nordiques back!


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## Sofos

Vostre Roy said:


> Nay, I want my Nordiques back!



Yeah but you still have a (somewhat) Local team in MTL. To see NHL i ether have to go to Vancouver or travel all the way to Cali or Colorado. the pacific northwest is an NHL deadzone.


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## MFB

I could see it staying that way though, I mean it's kind of divided evenly for teams that fans in the area can root for. Further north-western fans have the Canucks to root for, and those in the Portland area can go either way with them or with the Sharks. 

I'd be fine with seeing a team added in that region, but I just don't know how the draw will be. Vegas seems like it'll be a waste since it's a more tourist-y Phoenix.


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## Sofos

Seattle has been begging for a team for years. Every time I see a hockey fan, they always say "Seattle needs a team", even if they are fans of other teams. And every time I wear one of my jerseys/shirts out in public (Bruins, Rangers, Kings, Avalanche), I get quite a few people complimenting on them and saying how much they want a team, and that isn't even counting when I actually go to Seattle. Seattle is a whole new monster, hockey fans left and right. Team stickers all over cars and trucks. Plus Vancouver is a ferry ride away (a few hours, but still a ferry ride). Would make for a fantastic friendly rivalry, seeing as both cities are friendly to each other but also like to poke fun at one another. 

tl;dr, Seattle has a much better chance of success than Vegas, Kansas City, Portland, or anywhere not called Quebec or Hartford that doesn't already have a team.


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## Vostre Roy

I'd say I'd prefer to see Seattle and Quebec city getting a team, but it seems that Vegas has the leagues favor. Its funny to see how Bettman wants hockey to works in desert cities, he never had put that much effort in keeping teams in the north in the past.

That being said, Price had a pretty great night yesterday, glad for him after that incredible season he had


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## protest

They should be contracting, not expanding. Relocation would also make sense. Move Phoenix and maybe Florida. I doubt that a team would be added to Quebec because that would put 17 teams in the East. They should be trying to even out the conferences, so you would think they would be adding both teams to the West....this is the NHL though. I'd rather see them do like Milwaukee or something before Vegas. That might be to close to Chicago though.


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## MFB

Biggest problem with Vegas is that it'll never have a consistent fanbase. People might go out and see a game when they're on vacation, but I highly doubt you'll see a large number of season ticket holders.

Hockey in the desert just doesn't seem to work.


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## Pav

MFB said:


> Biggest problem with Vegas is that it'll never have a consistent fanbase. People might go out and see a game when they're on vacation, but I highly doubt you'll see a large number of season ticket holders.
> 
> Hockey in the desert just doesn't seem to work.



Except the guy that wants to bring the NHL to Las Vegas (Bill Foley I think his name is?) already has commitments for over 13000 season tickets in anticipation of a franchise. Vegas never made sense to me either but there does seem to be some serious interest on their end.


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## protest

Pav said:


> Except the guy that wants to bring the NHL to Las Vegas (Bill Foley I think his name is?) already has commitments for over 13000 season tickets in anticipation of a franchise. Vegas never made sense to me either but there does seem to be some serious interest on their end.



My guess is that all those tickets belong to casinos.


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## technomancer

Unless something has changed Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the US so the idea that nobody is there except tourists is a bit ridiculous. The group in Vegas has done more to show they can support a team than the other interested cities put together at this point so why not give it a shot.

In other news apparently overcoming mediocrity as opposed to actual hardship is now what wins you the Masterton trophy 

Also looks like GMJR is going to sit with his thumb up his ass and lose players to free agency instead of getting some draft picks back for negotiating rights. Niskanen and Orpik went that way last year, and it looks like Martin and Ehrhoff will go that way this year (though being able to trade Ehrhoffs rights is questionable due to his season). As insane as free agent salaries have gotten you can't tell me there aren't teams out there willing to trade to get rights to these guys to potentially save some salary.


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## Sofos

Bruins trade Hamilton to the Flames for fvcking draft picks.

I quit.


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## technomancer

Sofos said:


> Bruins trade Hamilton to the Flames for fvcking draft picks.
> 
> I quit.



Rumor is Lucic is going too...


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## Pav

Sofos said:


> Bruins trade Hamilton to the Flames for fvcking draft picks.
> 
> I quit.



Trading Lucic I would understand but this one caught me off guard.


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## Sofos

technomancer said:


> Rumor is Lucic is going too...



To LA for

13th overall
Martin Jones (Great backup, could be a starter on lesser teams, ala Talbot)
Colin Miller (Very good offensive Dman. Fastest skater in the AHL, and hardest shot in AHL history at 105.5)


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## Pav

I'll be interested to see how that works out for the Bruins. Martin Jones seemes like the type of backup that could be asking for a starting role any day now.


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## Sofos

Pav said:


> I'll be interested to see how that works out for the Bruins. Martin Jones seemes like the type of backup that could be asking for a starting role any day now.



Exactly what I thought, ala Cam Talbot


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## Sofos

Fvck Sweeney. Already worse than Chiarelli.

3 picks in a row, with Barzal and Connor on the board, and they pick 2 2nds and a 3rd.

We now have ONE top 3 dman, and he's 38 years old. We went from best D in the league a few years ago to bottom 5. I hope Rask asks for a trade, because he deserves so much better than this.


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## ElysianGuitars

I really want the Stars to land Talbot...


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## bulletbass man

technomancer said:


> Unless something has changed Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the US so the idea that nobody is there except tourists is a bit ridiculous. The group in Vegas has done more to show they can support team than the other interested cities put together at this point so why not give it a shot.



I'm relatively sure that hasn't been the case since the economic recession. I definitely am sure there are ....loads of huge abandoned projects all over the city, I personally just don't see it happening, especially not a winter sport.


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## MFB

Sofos said:


> Fvck Sweeney. Already worse than Chiarelli.
> 
> 3 picks in a row, with Barzal and Connor on the board, and they pick 2 2nds and a 3rd.
> 
> We now have ONE top 3 dman, and he's 38 years old. We went from best D in the league a few years ago to bottom 5. I hope Rask asks for a trade, because he deserves so much better than this.



No ....ing way Buffalo or Edmonton would give up a shot at McDavid or Eichel, so don't even try and claim that "they didn't go for him" It would've gouged us so hard for a kid who'll still take time to get acclimated to the NHL. We're in rebuild mode essentially without actually saying that, and we drafted what we needed. We lost a D man and freed up cap space, we drafted a new one as well as having a dozen or so in our AHL camp; Dougie fell into our laps so the fact that we got as lucky as we did with him is that - luck.

We also lost Soderberg to Colorado and my biggest disappointment with that is that we didn't try to get O'Reilly back as part of it since we turned around to give up a RW. Lucia will fit fine with the Kings and we now have a competent backup with Jones, as well as a Defensive prospect. And guess what, we filled both those wingers spots with our 2nd and 3rd draft picks.

Will it take time to conditon them? Yes. But that's what a rebuild takes. A year or two of mediocrity in the short run for a payoff in the long.


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## Sofos

MFB said:


> No ....ing way Buffalo or Edmonton would give up a shot at McDavid or Eichel, so don't even try and claim that "they didn't go for him" It would've gouged us so hard for a kid who'll still take time to get acclimated to the NHL. We're in rebuild mode essentially without actually saying that, and we drafted what we needed. We lost a D man and freed up cap space, we drafted a new one as well as having a dozen or so in our AHL camp; Dougie fell into our laps so the fact that we got as lucky as we did with him is that - luck.
> 
> We also lost Soderberg to Colorado and my biggest disappointment with that is that we didn't try to get O'Reilly back as part of it since we turned around to give up a RW. Lucia will fit fine with the Kings and we now have a competent backup with Jones, as well as a Defensive prospect. And guess what, we filled both those wingers spots with our 2nd and 3rd draft picks.
> 
> Will it take time to conditon them? Yes. But that's what a rebuild takes. A year or two of mediocrity in the short run for a payoff in the long.



what i mean by 2 2nds and a 3rd is that 2 of the guys we drafted were predicted 2nd rounders and the other was a 3rd


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## MFB

Sofos said:


> what i mean by 2 2nds and a 3rd is that 2 of the guys we drafted were predicted 2nd rounders and the other was a 3rd



I wouldn't agree with that at all. 

Going into the draft everyone knew the 3 big defense-man were going to be Hanafin (went 5th to Carolina) and Werenski (went 8th to Columbus) along with one other whom I'm blanking on; following that, Zboril wasn't too far behind their trail so it makes sense that he ended up with a team like us that needed defense. Look at his stats with the Sea Dogs, 44 games played in the regular season and he posted 33 pts, that's not bad at all. That's almost the same as Ekblad's postings this season with Florida.

Debrusk is also another one who doesn't seem like a 2nd rounder at all. 81 pts in 72 games, over a pt/game pace. Rick Nash posted a 42 goal season this year and I think he was surrounded by maybe 4 other guys breaking the 40-goal season, so it's not like that's a small feat; and then to nearly match that in assists? I'll certainly consider that first round worthy, especially for a middle of the first round grab. Is he McDavid? No, of course not. But he's gonna be someone we can turn into a top six forward because he's got the talent on his own, but we need to see how he clicks with others.

The 3rd dude, yeah, everything I've seen on him makes it seem like a stretch, but still, I'd say 2 solid first round picks overall from the Bruins and I don't get the extreme hatred Sweeney is immediately getting. We've made some big moves but that's what we need right now since we got so stagnant in our playing.


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## Sofos

MFB said:


> Debrusk is also another one who doesn't seem like a 2nd rounder at all. 81 pts in 72 games, over a pt/game pace. Rick Nash posted a 42 goal season this year and I think he was surrounded by maybe 4 other guys breaking the 40-goal season, so it's not like that's a small feat; and then to nearly match that in assists? I'll certainly consider that first round worthy, especially for a middle of the first round grab. Is he McDavid? No, of course not. But he's gonna be someone we can turn into a top six forward because he's got the talent on his own, but we need to see how he clicks with others.



Color me wrong on this one. I didn't realize the Bruins picked up his liney Colby Cave a little while back. 35/40/75 in 72 GP.


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## technomancer

Ugh rumors I am seeing are NOT encouraging for the Pens. Gonchar and St. Louis's names have come up. So much for younger and faster.

GM Jrs. comments have been hilarious too... commenting that everybody wants the Pens young defensemen. No kidding, they're the only thing outside of the core the team has of value.

Kessel to Pittsburgh rumors are still floating, but I'm honestly a bit scared by what the cost of that move could be. I'm also not sure the Pens can float a competitive team with another $8 million player in the cap mix. They're struggling now.


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## MFB

ElysianGuitars said:


> I really want the Stars to land Talbot...



Looks like Edmonton ended up nabbing Talbot in the end, so either he'll help them get out of a massive franchise slump... OR, his career is going there to die


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## Pav

technomancer said:


> Kessel to Pittsburgh rumors are still floating, but I'm honestly a bit scared by what the cost of that move could be. I'm also not sure the Pens can float a competitive team with another $8 million player in the cap mix. They're struggling now.



No chance in hell that happens unless we trade away a huge chunk of salary cap, like Malkin or Letang. That sounds like nothing more than a rumor to me, just like when reports came out a month or so ago that Malkin was unhappy and demanding a trade.


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## AdamMaz

Chris Pronger's contract moving to another franchise is probably the most interesting thing to happen the past few days.


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## technomancer

Pav said:


> No chance in hell that happens unless we trade away a huge chunk of salary cap, like Malkin or Letang. That sounds like nothing more than a rumor to me, just like when reports came out a month or so ago that Malkin was unhappy and demanding a trade.



It's actually been from multiple sources, they're legitimately talking a trade... whether it happens or not is another story.



AdamMaz said:


> Chris Pronger's contract moving to another franchise is probably the most interesting thing to happen the past few days.



Simple salary dump, the odds of Pronger ever setting foot on the ice again are pretty slim.


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## protest

A 3rd round pick for Rinaldo hahahahahahaha.

Holy .... I love the Bruins


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## technomancer

Wow LA terminated Mike Richards contract... I was expecting a buyout, wonder what he did that allowed them to terminate. I've seen rumors he was fond of the coke, so wonder if they busted him with drugs or what.


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## Sofos

protest said:


> A 3rd round pick for Rinaldo hahahahahahaha.
> 
> Holy .... I love the Bruins



yeah i quit. Call me when Sweeney and Neely are gone


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## Pav

technomancer said:


> Wow LA terminated Mike Richards contract... I was expecting a buyout, wonder what he did that allowed them to terminate. I've seen rumors he was fond of the coke, so wonder if they busted him with drugs or what.



I say we sign him. We've been needing a Ryan Malone replacement.


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## technomancer

Phil Kessel is now a Pittsburgh Penguin. Pens lost Kapanen, Harrington, and Spaling in the deal as well as next year's first round and another unspecified draft pick. Leafs retain $1.25 million in salary so he should have a cap hit of $6.75 million.

The Pens desperately need to dump some older overpaid players...


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## protest

Just what the Pens needed, another large contract.


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## Pav

^ Hey, it's been working for Chicago.

I can't believe that actually happened. I also can't believe Toronto made it so easy. We didn't give up nearly as much as I thought we would. If we can get rid of older guys like Rob Scuderi things could be interesting.


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## MFB

technomancer said:


> Phil Kessel is now a Pittsburgh Penguin. Pens lost Kapanen, Harrington, and Spaling in the deal as well as next year's first round and another unspecified draft pick. Leafs retain $1.25 million in salary so he should have a cap hit of $6.75 million.
> 
> The Pens desperately need to dump some older overpaid players...



You guys also just lost Martin to SJ, although hasn't he been fairly injury prone? So maybe it's not a huge loss.


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## technomancer

MFB said:


> You guys also just lost Martin to SJ, although hasn't he been fairly injury prone? So maybe it's not a huge loss.



Yeah he went in literally the first hour or so. One of the better defenders on the Pens, but he has been more injury prone lately. It will be interesting seeing what the Pens D looks like next year...

They also lost Chorney, which given how well he played when called up at the end of the season and that he got signed for IIRC $700,000 I found really annoying.

I'm guessing next year will look like

Letang-Maata
Cole-Pouliot
Scuderi-Lovejoy

unless they get rid of somebody since Dumoulin didn't really look ready last year. Then again who knows, he could force out somebody else to #7 if he plays well. So basically a decent top 4 with a bottom six that will cost us games on a regular basis


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## AdamMaz

Richards in Detroit makes sense, Green however will be interesting to see if he fits.


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## AxeHappy

I think the Kessel trade was good for both teams. 

Kessel is obviously a skilled player but wasn't working with the Leafs. I can imagine him doing well as a 2nd or 3rd liner on the Penguins. 

And getting rid of him for any picks was a good move. I am glad to see the Leafs finally start to address rebuilding seriously.


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## technomancer

AxeHappy said:


> I think the Kessel trade was good for both teams.
> 
> Kessel is obviously a skilled player but wasn't working with the Leafs. I can imagine him doing well as a 2nd or 3rd liner on the Penguins.
> 
> And getting rid of him for any picks was a good move. I am glad to see the Leafs finally start to address rebuilding seriously.



The guy is one of the best goal scorers in the league and you see him as a potential 3rd liner  I will almost guarantee he will be on the top line with Crosby at least initially.


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## RustInPeace

First open public practice for McDavid this morning.


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## MFB

They're putting way too much pressure on that kid


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## AxeHappy

technomancer said:


> The guy is one of the best goal scorers in the league and you see him as a potential 3rd liner  I will almost guarantee he will be on the top line with Crosby at least initially.



Or 2nd. If they can fix him up, he could gel on the first line, but the way he was playing on the Leafs there he would have no business being anywhere near the Penguin's first line.


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## technomancer

AxeHappy said:


> Or 2nd. If they can fix him up, he could gel on the first line, but the way he was playing on the Leafs there he would have no business being anywhere near the Penguin's first line.



Let me introduce you to somebody named Perron... 

That said I'm curious to see how he does. It seemed like regardless of what he did in Toronto he was crucified by the press... Hell the guy is 6' 202lbs hasn't missed a game in five years and is one of the fastest skaters in the league and people are bitching about him being fat and out of shape on Facebook


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## Pav

David Perron is going to be lethal this coming season. Give him a full training camp with the Pens and I think he'll find his footing. James Neal did even less than him before scoring 40 goals.


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## AxeHappy

technomancer said:


> Let me introduce you to somebody named Perron...
> 
> That said I'm curious to see how he does. It seemed like regardless of what he did in Toronto he was crucified by the press... Hell the guy is 6' 202lbs hasn't missed a game in five years and is one of the fastest skaters in the league and people are bitching about him being fat and out of shape on Facebook



Leaf fans always talk about how loyal they are, but we certainly seem to bitch about literally everything everyone involved with our team does. Whether they deserve it or not. 

Kessel was the leader goal scorer at the Olympics for ....'s sake. It wasn't him that was letting the Leafs down. The complete lack of support, defense and mediocre goaltending might have had just a little to do with it.


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## RustInPeace




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## AdamMaz




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## RustInPeace

Wheels


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## Pav

^ That kid is going to be something else to watch. He's like a young Scott Gomez.


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## technomancer

So Patrick Sharp is now a Dalllas Star

Patrick Sharp traded to Dallas Stars by Chicago Blackhawks for Trevor Daley, Ryan Garbutt - NHL.com - News

It's going to be an interesting season for the Blackhawks


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## technomancer

Wow and now Oduya is a Star...

Johnny Oduya signs two-year contract with Dallas Stars - NHL Free Agency 2015

and Kesler will be a Duck for quite a while

Anaheim Ducks sign Ryan Kesler to six-year contract extension - NHL.com - News


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## Pav

Dallas looks to be a serious contender next season. If they were to secure just one more top-pairing defenseman, I could see them going deep into the playoffs. But as it stands I can't see Alex Goligoski quarterbacking them to greatness.


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## RustInPeace

I think Dallas is still 2 good defenceman away from even making the playoffs, IMO. Their back end killed them last season.


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## technomancer

Dallas should be interesting... but the real question is can the Oilers still manage to suck with a new GM, coach, and the 4th #1 pick in 6 years who is supposed to be the best player drafted since etc etc


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## AdamMaz

I'm not going to pretend like I have ever been an Edmonton fan, but even I am excited for them this coming season.


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## Sofos

technomancer said:


> Dallas should be interesting... but the real question is can the Oilers still manage to suck with a new GM, coach, and the 4th #1 pick in 6 years who is supposed to be the best player drafter since etc etc



The real question is if Jamie Benn is 'down' with all these lineup changes 

Jamie Benn asks Jason Demers if he likes to 'Bunch Mox', hockey Twitter responds beautifully - Puck Drunk Love


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## bulletbass man

Harsh press release today by the NHL, Bartoszek must've been pissed.


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## Sofos

Well I'm pretty pissed myself. There were 8 groups total wanting to put a team into the league (3 Seattle, Las Vegas, Toronto, Quebec, Houston, Portland), and half of them were within a couple hour drive of me, and a grand total of zero of them even put in the application.


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## technomancer

Sofos said:


> Well I'm pretty pissed myself. There were 8 groups total wanting to put a team into the league (3 Seattle, Las Vegas, Toronto, Quebec, Houston, Portland), and half of them were within a couple hour drive of me, and a grand total of zero of them even put in the application.



Yeah but the NHL had already said they would accept applications after the deadline so I'd say wait and see what happens


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## ElysianGuitars

I can't wait for preseason.


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## technomancer

So the Habs signed Semin for $1.1 million for one year... at that price he's a steal. He's also likely to show up as it's a one year deal and he needs to earn another contract.


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## Pav

I would have been alright with the Pens signing him to a similar deal. But for the first time in a decade it almost feels like we have a decent crop of wingers...almost.


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## AdamMaz

I'm especially curious to see how he'll adapt to Therrien


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## technomancer

So the Pens traded Sutter and a 3rd round pick to the Canucks for Nick Bonino, an AHL defenseman and a 2nd round pick and signed Fehr to a 3 year deal. It's an interesting move that looks good on paper. It will be interesting to see how it actually shakes out on the ice since Sutter is a clutch player that brought a serious shorthanded threat that neither Fehr or Bonino replace.

The move also leaves no chance of seeing Sundqvist in the NHL this season.


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## protest

Flyers extend Couturier. 6 years @ 4.33m per.


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## technomancer

May have spoken too soon, didn't realize Fehr is injured so Sundqvist may actually get a shot in the NHL while he's recovering.


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## Pav

^ I'll take it. We essentially managed to flip Brandon Sutter into two centers for the same cap hit. More than anything, we need depth and cap space. Which JR accomplished.



protest said:


> Flyers extend Couturier. 6 years @ 4.33m per.



He certainly managed to cash in considering he hasn't really come close to the potential he showed in juniors.


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## technomancer

Pav said:


> ^ I'll take it. We essentially managed to flip Brandon Sutter into two centers for the same cap hit. More than anything, we need depth and cap space. Which JR accomplished.



No argument at all, while I like Sutter these were great moves for the team. Trading Sutter and a draft pick for a roughly statistically equivalent player, a defensive prospect, and a higher draft pick was an awesome move. And Fehr, assuming he recovers fully, was a great acquisition.


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## protest

Pav said:


> He certainly managed to cash in considering he hasn't really come close to the potential he showed in juniors.



Up until this past season he was the team's second most important skater. Last year he was the third most important skater. That's a steal of a deal for the Flyers. If he stops playing the toughest minutes in the league he'll be a 50 point Selke caliber center.


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## RustInPeace

Dont forget that Philly also has Sam "8 point game" Gagner now


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## Pav

Damn, I take it back. Jake Voracek is the one that managed to cash in. I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around the sizes of these contracts over the past couple years.


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## AdamMaz

Voracek is worth a big contract, a little more annual money than I would have expected.

I am considering driving to Boston for the Heritage Classic between the Bruins/Habs, no clue what to expect for ticket prices?


With Galchenyuk resigned, I can be happy with the Habs' lineup next year.


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## Pav

^ I'm assuming it may be along the lines of the Winter Classic, which starts at about $500 (US) per ticket for the most inexpensive sections. I had some friends try to get tickets for the Red Wings/Maple Leafs WC and even as well off as those guys were, they said it was way too expensive.


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## RustInPeace

Slow news day. This is kinda awesome. I remember watching #1 where Stefan misses the open net... just ridiculous.


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## MFB

I'm trying to go to the Winter Classic since I live in Boston and would love to see us best the Habs on New Years Day; at Gillette of all places, which won't happen again in my lifetime if I had to put money on it.

However, I'm estimating prices around $300ish since 500 seems absurd for that many people to buy tickets for


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## Pav

^ It varies based on teams and location, but you never know. Don't underestimate the legions of Habs fans willing to make the trek for the rivalry.


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## protest

Pav said:


> Damn, I take it back. Jake Voracek is the one that managed to cash in. I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around the sizes of these contracts over the past couple years.



New CBA structure. If it was 5 years ago his contract would have been 12 years at $5.5m per like Richards/Carter, but you can't do that anymore.


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## technomancer

Pens sign Cullen for $800k to a one year deal. He's a nice pickup, but it really seems like Rutherford is bound and determined to offer Sundqvist no chance at all to play in the NHL this season.

Cullen Can't Wait to Get Started - Pittsburgh Penguins - Features


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## Pav

I like it. He's a veteran forward that we've lacked since Bill Guerin and I don't mind giving Sundqvist another year to develope. More than anything atm we need depth and he adds it.


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## MFB

Looks like the Sharks found a new coach in DeBoer. Interesting to see how a coach from the East (and specifically a Defensive team like the Devils) does in the Western conference. 

It also seems like Jones is taking the starter spot now that Nemo is on the Stars. He was a solid backup with the Kings in his debut but last season wasn't as hot. Seems like real quick to give him a start in his 3rd season but I hope it works out for him.


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## technomancer

So the Pens signed Gonchar to a tryout contract...

Gonchar signs tryout contract with Penguins | TribLIVE


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## RustInPeace

The hype train is rollin hard...


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## Vostre Roy

Quebec advance to step 3 in the process to get a new team.

Stoked I am


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## Sofos

Bruins extend a Tryout deal to Gustavsson. Hope it works out and he gets the backup job, always liked him when he's on his game.


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## RustInPeace

McDavid on the backcheck:

https://vine.co/v/eUJnIaxxxLa


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## JD27

RustInPeace said:


> McDavid on the backcheck:
> 
> https://vine.co/v/eUJnIaxxxLa



He looks like he might have some speed.


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## Sofos

Chicago and the NHL are handling the Kane situation worse than the NFL did Deflategate. Voynov accused of assault? Ban him from the league forever. Kane accused of rape? "He's innocent and we will not punish him in any way"

I hope one of Zac Rinaldo, Matt Cooke, or John Scott just completely demolish him early in the season. Suspend him their own way. He is scum


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## JD27

Well Voynov was not accused of assault, he was arrested and pled no contest to the reduced assault charges. When he was arrested the NHL suspended him indefinitely. He isn't banned from the NHL either. After his 90 sentence he got snatched by ICE and detained. They were going to pull his Visa and deport him. But due to the Kings intention of voiding his contract, he decided to leave on his own before any of that could happen. I doubt he would ever get a Visa again, so he may as well be banned. 

I think the Blackhawks should have at least asked Kane to stay away from the team until they figure this out. But they are kind of in a tough position because he has not been charged with anything as of yet.


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## RustInPeace

^^ I think once there are charges, if any, something will happen.


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## Pav

I'm still wondering what will come of the Kings terminating Mike Richards' contract and the grievance he filed in response. Probably nothing interesting unfortunately.


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## Sofos

I just wish they would at least TRY and look unbiased. They are so sure of themselves and that Kane is innocent. Let me ask you this, if he was so innocent, why are there settlement talks going on? Something must have happened, if not full rape, at least assault or sexual harassment or something


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## Pav

Clearly something happened or this would be wrapping up by now. Kane could have just paid her an undefined amount of money to shut up. But the way things are dragging on tells me Patrick Kane pissed off someone who isn't willing to roll over and take it like a NY cab driver. I understand that the situation is complicated, will take time and is still in the early stages...but the way the Hawks announced Kane would be at camp and essentially tried to ignore what's happening seems a little irresponsible. We've seen plenty of teams ready and willing to cut ties with anyone that reflects poorly on their team or the franchise but the Blackhawks seem like they're gearing up to weather the PR storm and the potential backlash.


----------



## AdamMaz

Today I went to the Canadien's intra-team practice scrimmage at the Bell Center.

They played the end of the 3rd period 3-on-3 to show off the new overtime rules and I have to say: *I was surprisingly, extremely dissapointed* by the dynamics.


----------



## Pav

^ Why is that? What was disappointing about it? Did it just feel like 5 minutes of pond hockey tacked onto an NHL game?


----------



## AdamMaz

Pretty much that. Because there is so much open ice, its very easy for any given player to hold onto the puck and skate in circles. Defense would typically adopt a man-to-man coverage, so unless the puck carrier fumbles, makes for boring cycle play without much getting generated.

At least with 4-on-4, the two defensemen would cradle the puck and create waves of offence.


----------



## RustInPeace

Ive always been in the camp to change the point system instead of the way overtime is played. Make a regulation win worth 3 points, overtime win worth 2 and loss 1. Have a reason to get the win with the extra point, that will generate more offence!


----------



## Sofos

RustInPeace said:


> Ive always been in the camp to change the point system instead of the way overtime is played. Make a regulation win worth 3 points, overtime win worth 2 and loss 1. Have a reason to get the win with the extra point, that will generate more offence!



I'm in the "Every win is 2 pts, every loss is 0 pts" camp. Whether it's OT or SO or regulation, doesn't matter. You lose? You get jack. I bet we'd see a lot of teams busting serious ass out there in the last few minutes of a tie game. No floaters in OT going "well we got a point" and everyone in the shootout would actually try rather than just skate up and shoot like it's an early morning practice


----------



## JD27

RustInPeace said:


> Slow news day. This is kinda awesome. I remember watching #1 where Stefan misses the open net... just ridiculous.




Lol, I just saw this. The number one is too funny. That is maybe the most embarrassing play in NHL history by the worst #1 overall pick in NHL history. Hot-dogging on the empty net is shameful in beer league let alone the NHL.

Another one of my favorites on the empty net.


----------



## MFB

Anyone else see the Jagr "scandal"? 

Dude hooked up with some 18 year old chick who tried to blackmail him for $50,000 Czech-bucks
He doesn't give two ....s saying, "Release the photos, who cares"
She releases them
Turns out she's in a relationship with a Czech Junior National player
Every dude proceeds to give e-rep to Jagr


----------



## technomancer

I just saw the Jagr thing... freaking hilarious. It also apparently started a selfie trend...

Model Tries To Extort Jaromir Jagr Over Photo In Which He Doesn&#8217;t Care [PHOTO] « CBS Detroit


----------



## Sofos

Jagr truly is a god among men


----------



## Pav

I don't understand what she was trying to accomplish. JJ is a single, wealthy worldwide sports icon. All she did was pass off a weak attempt at blackmail while simultaneoualy publicizing herself as a skanky golddigger. Why would he care? It's not like he has a relationship with a wife and kids he was risking. That model is an idiot.


----------



## MFB

Check out the Avs new stadium series jersey,


----------



## Sofos

I threw up in my mouth a little

Also, David Pastrnak is still amazing.


----------



## RustInPeace

Wow... the evidence in the Kane case showing up at the victims mothers front door.. It obviously helps Kanes case legally but isnt it kinda damning at the same time?


----------



## JD27

Something is awfully odd in that news. They reported they had the results a few days back. It's turning into a circus. 

DNA test results spur questions in Patrick Kane rape case - BN Hockey


----------



## Pav

How does it help Kane at all? It sounds like a pitiful attempt at tampering with and planting evidence by someone on Kane's side. If the victim or her mother were trying to tamper with evidence, do you really think they would leave it tucked inside her front door for anyone to find?


----------



## RustInPeace

Because if critical evidence was lost or destroyed.. there is no longer evidence?


----------



## technomancer

It honestly sounds like it's time for the state AG to get involved as the local cops are clearly ....ing things up...


----------



## Pav

RustInPeace said:


> Because if critical evidence was lost or destroyed.. there is no longer evidence?



Well yes, but this isn't quite a black and white situation where it's definitely good for one and bad for the other. Even Kane's camp admitted that this isn't good for them.


----------



## RustInPeace

This has gone from bizzare to just... I cant even. The accused lawyer quit last night, and thats kind of a big deal. How often do lawyers quit on a case like this? He even said he doesnt even know whats true or untrue anymore.


----------



## Pav

I saw that too.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...s-from-case-on-ethical-grounds-012036621.html

That's a turn I was not expecting.


----------



## AdamMaz

How are people finding the 3-on-3 so far? Haven't seen any in the pre-season for myself.


----------



## Sofos

AdamMaz said:


> How are people finding the 3-on-3 so far? Haven't seen any in the pre-season for myself.



Loving it. Bruins are honestly really good at it. Pastrnak scored 12 seconds in from Krejci and Krug against the Caps the other night, and then last night, even though no one scored in OT, the Bruins dominated the Rangers. Here's a vid of the whole OT, so you can get a feel for it.


----------



## AdamMaz

^^ Also a great example of how penalties will work in various situations during 3-on-3 OT.


----------



## technomancer

As a Pens fan I think the 3-on-3 is going to be awesome


----------



## Sofos

Bruins win in OT again! Krug from Pastrnak!

Bruins are now 4-0 in preseason (1 regulation win, 2 OT, 1 shootout)


----------



## MFB

I can only assume that means the streak will come to an end on Monday when I go to see them play the Red Wings 

It'd be nice if it didnt, but thats usually how things go for me


----------



## MFB

BOOM!

Nailed it. 3-1 loss to the god damn Red Wings, and it took a 6-4 power play for us to even get that one goal.


----------



## Sofos

MFB said:


> BOOM!
> 
> Nailed it. 3-1 loss to the god damn Red Wings, and it took a 6-4 power play for us to even get that one goal.



I was at work so I didn't get to watch, but sounds like Pastrnak and C.Miller had great games.


----------



## RustInPeace

Andrew Ference is a damn good human being, too bad he is going to struggle to make the top 7 D this year as the Captian of the Oilers.


----------



## Pav

MFB said:


> BOOM!
> 
> Nailed it. 3-1 loss to the god damn Red Wings, and it took a 6-4 power play for us to even get that one goal.



Fortunately it's only the preseason.


----------



## MFB

Pav said:


> Fortunately it's only the preseason.



Pretty much how I'm looking at it



> sounds like Pastrnak and C.Miller had great games.



He played well for 99% of the game, although he had some embarrassing moments in the 3rd when he both missed going for a slapshot when the puck whizzed by; and I think while he was leaving slapshot position he took a stick to the face and left the ice


----------



## RustInPeace

Oilers are 6-0 in the preseason. McD has 5 assists in 3 games, hasnt scored yet. Last night was probably his best game yet. His speed is seriously unreal. I havent seen a player that fast since Pavel Bure.


----------



## RustInPeace




----------



## technomancer

^ 

Awesome, Zatkoff has given up 5 goals on 17 shots  SO glad the Pens didn't resign their backup from last year so they now get to choose between stunting the development of an amazing goaltender in Murray by making him an NHL backup that won't play very often and Zatkoff who just flat out isn't an NHL caliber goaltender.


----------



## MFB

I hadn't even realized that you guys weren't running Fleury in net this season. Zatkoff definitely hadn't been given the time last season to get his bearings as an NHL starter so I don't know why they thought it was a good idea.


----------



## JD27




----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> I hadn't even realized that you guys weren't running Fleury in net this season. Zatkoff definitely hadn't been given the time last season to get his bearings as an NHL starter so I don't know why they thought it was a good idea.



Fleury will be the starter, this is for the backup. I just don't want to see another season like the last one Zatkoff was the backup where Fleury played 70+ games and was exhausted by the playoffs because Zatkoff wasn't good enough to trust in net on a regular basis.

EDIT: and Murray was sent back to the AHL so Zatkoff is the backup...


----------



## Pav

That could be a problem. Zatkoff didn't look very good last season, but it's hard to blame him when you're only starting one game for every eight the team plays. Either way that's going to lead to: Fleury starting more than he should, being completely overworked by the time the playoffs start, then having no reasonable safety net if things take a turn. I think we'll get by if Zatkoff gets more starts and gets his .... together quicker than he did last year.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> That could be a problem. Zatkoff didn't look very good last season, but it's hard to blame him when you're only starting one game for every eight the team plays. Either way that's going to lead to: Fleury starting more than he should, being completely overworked by the time the playoffs start, then having no reasonable safety net if things take a turn. I think we'll get by if Zatkoff gets more starts and gets his .... together quicker than he did last year.



Zatkoff didn't play in the NHL last year, that was Thomas Greiss who was actually pretty solid. Unless you're talking about Zatkoff's AHL performance. The funny thing is he was apparently pissed and requested a trade when he heard he lost the backup job last year... pretty arrogant for a guy that has been mediocre at the NHL level at best.


----------



## Sofos

Counting shootout and preseason, Bruins haven't scored on Holtby in over a year. Ugh, this is embarrassing. Over 100 shots, 0 goals since this time last year.


----------



## technomancer

Sofos said:


> Counting shootout and preseason, Bruins haven't scored on Holtby in over a year. Ugh, this is embarrassing. Over 100 shots, 0 goals since this time last year.



Holtby is a monster. It could be worse, it could be a goaltender that sucks 

Despite sucking last night the Pens at least kept it to only taking two penalties...


----------



## RustInPeace

How does Kessel look with the boy wonder?


----------



## Sofos

RustInPeace said:


> How does Kessel look with the boy wonder?



Kessel's a Penguin, not a Bruin, so he's unable to play with Pastrnak, sorry


----------



## MFB

Sofos said:


> Kessel's a Penguin, not a Bruin, so he's unable to play with Pastrnak, sorry



You don't know how tempted I was to make the joke earlier


----------



## AdamMaz

Torres should have been banned from the NHL for life.


----------



## technomancer

RustInPeace said:


> How does Kessel look with the boy wonder?



3 goal in 4 games in the preseason... the televised game I saw them in they looked fantastic. We'll see what happens in the regular season though.


----------



## technomancer

Man as much as I like Dupuis he just needs to hang it up and retire already. He's basically missed the last two seasons, was going to be on and off blood thinners this season, and is already injured and out 4-5 weeks before the opening game of the season.


----------



## AdamMaz

Although the Canadiens haven't quite gotten into gear yet, Leafs are looking good with Babcock.


----------



## Pav

The puck drops in roughly 90 minutes. Let's go Pens!!!


----------



## Pav

And then Antti Niemi shows up and plays lights out.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA

stars 3 - pens 0


----------



## technomancer

The Pens looked just like last season... couldn't get the puck in the net and way too many stupid penalties. That said Niemi did make a bunch of insane saves las night.


----------



## Pav

There were some of the usual stupid penalties...we essentially shot ourselves in the foot midway through the 3rd, when we were finally looking like a real threat. Our top lines still still looked good though, so I'm not terribly upset. I think we'll beat the Coyotes tonight.

Jury is still out on our defense tbough.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> There were some of the usual stupid penalties...we essentially shot ourselves in the foot midway through the 3rd, when we were finally looking like a real threat. Our top lines still still looked good though, so I'm not terribly upset. I think we'll beat the Coyotes tonight.
> 
> Jury is still out on our defense tbough.



Yeah it's early and I'm not really worried about the offense at this point. That said Lovejoy is in no way, shape, or form a top 4 defenseman and the pairings almost seem like Maata is paired with him to help cover for him because he's solid. You'd hope that carrying 8 defense you could come up with six that don't suck...


----------



## AdamMaz

The cancelled goal that the Bruins challenged looks like it should have counted


----------



## Sofos

AdamMaz said:


> The cancelled goal that the Bruins challenged looks like it should have counted



Agreed, plus that major on Spooner was also a huge head scratcher  Yet Marchand get's elbowed in the head and likely concussed, Krejci's face gets ripped open from a high-stick, and Bergeron gets hit with a knee-on-knee. Guess how many of those were called. Refs seriously play biased when Habs vs Bruins are going. It's ridiculous.

Plus side is Pastrnak is _still _amazing.


----------



## technomancer

Absolute coaching fail for the Pens. The Coyotes were a mile offside on their goal and Johnston didn't challenge it. The guy was literally 5 feet over the blue line before the puck crossed. 

EDIT: my bad, on seeing the replay again the puck went in off of a Pen so it was not offsides, just terrible defense


----------



## Pav

I'm getting fed up with Mike Johnston and I can't help but wonder how long he'll last if we don't start winning a lot, and soon. Some of his decisions throught a game just reek of professional inexperience, as do his line combinations. We've gotten noticeably worse since he replaced Dan Bylsma.


----------



## technomancer

The only good thing about that Pens game last night was that they managed to take only one penalty... then again the refs were barely calling anything.

If they play like that against the Habs they're going to get blown out.


----------



## JD27

Poor Devils fell for it again.


----------



## technomancer

^ that was just sick


----------



## JD27

The speed that these guys can pull of stuff like that never fails to amaze me.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> If they play like that against the Habs they're going to get blown out.


Already excited for Tuesday?


----------



## Sofos

Marchand out indefinitely with Concussion.

Irwin waived (Thank the Gods. He's been on the ice for 8 of our 10 goals against over 2 games. -5.)


----------



## Sofos

Welp that f*cking sucked. This team f*cking sucks. Julien f*cking sucks.


----------



## MFB

0-3 baby, woo!

We're the East Coast Oilers, I mean Jesus, we're tied with Buffalo!


----------



## AdamMaz

MFB said:


> We're the East Coast Oilers, I mean Jesus, we're tied with Buffalo!


Not for long


----------



## Sofos

Here's my concept for the Bruins WC jersey:


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> 0-3 baby, woo!
> 
> We're the East Coast Oilers, I mean Jesus, we're tied with Buffalo!



I expect the Pens to hit that mark tonight unless they look radically better than they have.


----------



## Pav

technomancer said:


> I expect the Pens to hit that mark tonight unless they look radically better than they have.



I thought they were significantly better, but man we are still so out of sync it's embarrassing. Though on the flip side, we just tripled our season goal total.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I thought they were significantly better, but man we are still so out of sync it's embarrassing. Though on the flip side, we just tripled our season goal total.



Yep. I'm hoping I'm wrong but I don't see them going anywhere but 0 - 4 tomorrow night. I'm curious to see if they finally change the defensive pairings.


----------



## protest

Back to back shutouts for Neuvirth to start his Flyers career. Joins elite company, as Jeff Hackett is the only other player in history to do so


----------



## JD27

protest said:


> Back to back shutouts for Neuvirth to start his Flyers career. Joins elite company, as Jeff Hackett is the only other player in history to do so



Nice to see Neuvy doing well. He kind of struggled with consistency with the Caps, but that might have been due to the goaltending circus they had going for a while. His time with the Sabres was... well it is the Sabres... And he didn't play much with the Isles.


----------



## AdamMaz

Habs are looking like top dog material in the East and legitimate cup contenders. The team's whole lineup is playing excellent and has the makeup of a very balanced team. Play needs a little more tightening, but they will easily find their stride of last year. If they stay healthy; *be forewarned*.


----------



## Pav

Goodbye, basement.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Goodbye, basement.



 

They scratch Scuderi and Fleury gets a shutout


----------



## Sofos

Ready for the Winter Classic!


----------



## technomancer

So Pens lose 3 in a row and give up 2+ goals in all of those games. They change the defensive pairings and get their first win and give up no goals. So what do they do? Go back to the pairings they lost 3 games with


----------



## AdamMaz

Went the Habs/Red Wings game last night and sat 3 rows from the glass 

Good tight game that opened up in the 3rd. Habs are the real deal this year.


----------



## RustInPeace

McDavid had a great weekend. 4 points in 2 wins for the Oil. His zone entries and ability to drive the net are unreal. Hes finding some great chemistry with Yakupov as well.


----------



## MFB

At this point, I'm wanting the B's to tank the season and get a high draft pick for next season. 2-3 for the season and without a single win at home. What the .... happened to the team that was rollin' high during the preseason?


----------



## Sofos

MFB said:


> At this point, I'm wanting the B's to tank the season and get a high draft pick for next season. 2-3 for the season and without a single win at home. What the .... happened to the team that was rollin' high during the preseason?



At least we have a good power play. 

I think our biggest problem right now is honestly Rask. Almost every goal he lets in is a stinker. 5 GAA this season, and .850 S%. Those are close to worst in the league.


----------



## MFB

That too. The first goal he let in was absolute garbage, but nope, right by him. Then we score to tie it up, and boom, another goal let in. Does no good for us to score 4 goals if he's going to let in 5.


----------



## Sofos

MFB said:


> That too. The first goal he let in was absolute garbage, but nope, right by him. Then we score to tie it up, and boom, another goal let in. Does no good for us to score 4 goals if he's going to let in 5.



2nd in league in Goals For (3.67/Game), 29th in Goals Against (4.33/Game), #1 in PP% (38.1%), 27th for PK % (70%)

We are FINALLY scoring, but now our Goalie is statistically the 4th worst in the league (only 2 starters worse are Varlamov and Bobrovsky)


----------



## MFB

And it's not like Sweeney is gonna roll Gustavsson in net, despite having two goals against out of 22 shots in his only game of the season (which was also one of our two wins)


----------



## RustInPeace

We finally beat the Wings for the first time at home since 2009. Cam Talbot(.920) has been outstanding so far, as well as Anders Nillson (.953). Havent had solid goaltending in YEARS.


----------



## Pav

^ Wtf, you guys had Devan Dubnyk for 5 years!


----------



## MFB

^ During what are considered to be some of the worst five years for the Oilers, since I think '09 was when they started their rebuild. Don't get me wrong, a good goalie can carry a team, but only so far. In his case, he was like Atlas trying to carry the team on his shoulders for a whole season


----------



## RustInPeace

And to that point... Dubnyks last good season with the oil had a .920% (short lockout year), which is pretty good, but he always had a way to let in the goals that hurt the team at the worst time. 

Timely saves.

That season was the first real one at the helm too, as before that he was backing up the likes of an aging Roloson or Khabibulin.

Then the 13-14 season happened, and almost dropped him out of the league.

His bounce back with Minny was fantastic to watch, but I think we will see his numbers come back down to about .915-.920.


----------



## MFB

Holy Christ, we won?!


----------



## Sofos

MFB said:


> Holy Christ, we won?!



yeah seriously, i'm sitting here asking "um, how the hell did we win that one?"

Pastrnak's goal though... beautiful.


----------



## AdamMaz

Here's a beauty goal:


----------



## technomancer

Watching these games I really hate to say it but I think the Pens need a new coach. Massive defensive breakdowns and lack of structure in the D zone is a HUGE problem. The Pens looked like the keystone cops in their own end against Dallas...

The team also needs to accept that neither Kunitz or Dupuis are top line forwards anymore...

Sadly I'm expecting the Pens to drop their next two as they are just not competitive against good teams at this point.


----------



## Pav

^ I've had that feeling since the middle of last year. Mike Johnston may be improving but it seems so counter-intuitive to the "win now" mindset that we have considering the age of our key players. We need someone with experience who knows how to win, not someone still feeling things out at this level.


----------



## technomancer

Holy .... the Pens won!


----------



## Sofos

The WC jerseys are god awful.

Pros:

I like the front patch

Cons:

No collar
No lacing
Why are the numbers on the elbow?
Striping gold doesn&#8217;t match logo gold. See below.
In pictures, the number fabric just looks like cheap cut out felt. See below.
Numbers are funny looking


----------



## MFB

You've got to remember, Winter Classic jerseys ALWAYS play into the whole 'heritage' vibe so they're going to look older; which means using simpler numbering and keeping aesthetics to a minimum, like lacing. The collar missing is a bit odd but it's not something that immediately jumped out at me.

That's also more the bicep for the numbering vs. the elbow


----------



## Pav

The lack of laces are a confusing decision, orherwise I like them.


----------



## RustInPeace

Oilers got hosed on a game tying goal with 4 seconds left, ruled "inconclusive".


----------



## MFB

Anaheim is sitting at the bottom of the Pacific Division and the Kings are tied for 1st with SJ. How the hell did that happen?


----------



## Sofos

Fun fact: Dougie Hamilton, praised last season as the future of the Bruins defense and a future Norris winner, is now the single worst defenseman in the NHL. 

9 GP. 1G, 0A, 1P. 12 PIM. -11.

Starting to think we may have dodged a bullet there, instead of signing him to a massive contract.

Meanwhile, Krug is 7 GP. 0G, 6A, 6P. 2 PIM. +3.

Both play the say Average TOI.


----------



## technomancer

I liked Farnham's grit and spirit on the ice 

Devils claim Penguins winger Farnham | TribLIVE

Waived to make room for a guy that hurt himself celebrating a goal...


----------



## protest

A little late, but it's never too late for dangles.








This one didn't connect, but still


----------



## RustInPeace

Ol' Samwise Gamgee there always had some sick mitts.


----------



## JD27

Don't see many people get Lundqvist spun around like that.


----------



## MFB

While checking starting goals, turns out the Bruins are 3rd in the league for goals-per-game (3.86), and yet we're currently standing at 3W/3L's. Guess that shows where our weakness lies eh?


----------



## protest

MFB said:


> While checking starting goals, turns out the Bruins are 3rd in the league for goals-per-game (3.86), and yet we're currently standing at 3W/3L's. Guess that shows where our weakness lies eh?



You're PK is ass right now. That won't last, and neither will Rask's slump. I mean the PK might not be great, but it's not sub 70% bad. No one is sub 70% bad.


----------



## MFB

I'm hoping Gustavsson playing as well as he has will put some fire under Rask's ass, since if this continues we'll be lucky to hit round one of the playoffs. No chance he'll lose the starting spot, and he's certainly better than some goalies right now (here's to you Bob), but it's still tough to stomach.


----------



## Pav

technomancer said:


> I liked Farnham's grit and spirit on the ice
> 
> Devils claim Penguins winger Farnham | TribLIVE
> 
> Waived to make room for a guy that hurt himself celebrating a goal...


I liked him too, but we're going for skill here. And that 1.63 goals per game average isn't going to sustain itself.


----------



## AdamMaz

protest said:


>


I could watch this another hundred times and still get dazzled


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I liked him too, but we're going for skill here. And that 1.63 goals per game average isn't going to sustain itself.





I just REALLY hate to see the team lose players for no return to what is basically piss-poor management.


----------



## technomancer

Holy crap the Pens won both of those games!


----------



## JD27

That game was a sloppy mess tonight. Looked like neither team could get out of their own way most of the game.


----------



## Sofos

Since the Bruins started the season 0-3, we are now 4-0-1. 1st in the league in GF/GP (4.13!!!) and 1st in PP% (32.1%), and our defense is starting to click. We could be dangerous and maybe make an actual playoff spot rather than wild card if Rask can build off of his 6-0 shutout last night. Confidence goes miles. Look at Bob. 2 wins in a row now!


----------



## technomancer

Sofos said:


> Since the Bruins started the season 0-3, we are now 4-0-1. 1st in the league in GF/GP (4.13!!!) and 1st in PP% (32.1%), and our defense is starting to click. We could be dangerous and maybe make an actual playoff spot rather than wild card if Rask can build off of his 6-0 shutout last night. Confidence goes miles. Look at Bob. 2 wins in a row now!



Meanwhile the Pens can't score a powerplay goal to save their lives  I also suspect unless Zatkoff has a stellar performance tonight the Pens will drop one to the Sabres as they've basically only been winning when Fleury is incredible.


----------



## Pav

The Sabres don't exactly have their .... together yet either though. They're better than the past few years but still a work in progress. If someone can dig deep enough into their ass to find a power play goal, I think we'll win.

And suddenly, this team feels reminiscent of our Michele Therrien days. All of this big money talent yet they're winning games by one goal and can't score a PPG if their careers depended on it.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> The Sabres don't exactly have their .... together yet either though. They're better than the past few years but still a work in progress. If someone can dig deep enough into their ass to find a power play goal, I think we'll win.
> 
> And suddenly, this team feels reminiscent of our Michele Therrien days. All of this big money talent yet they're winning games by one goal and can't score a PPG if their careers depended on it.



Yeah the power play is just ridiculously bad and sloppy right now...


----------



## Pav

But my goodness, this is probably the best we've looked so far this season. 

Or at least we _did_ until we gave up two easy goals.


----------



## Sofos

LOL HABS. CHOKE. CHOKE. CHOKE.


----------



## AdamMaz

Sofos said:


> LOL HABS. CHOKE. CHOKE. CHOKE.


----------



## RustInPeace

McDavid 1, Subban 0


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> But my goodness, this is probably the best we've looked so far this season.
> 
> Or at least we _did_ until we gave up two easy goals.



They're getting there... Zatkoff was much better than I expected. The full starting lineup will finally be on the ice for the first time this season tomorrow night.


----------



## Pav

technomancer said:


> They're getting there... Zatkoff was much better than I expected. The full starting lineup will finally be on the ice for the first time this season tomorrow night.


I was definitely not expecting 50 saves out of Zatkoff. And with all of our stress over not scoring, I totally forgot Eric Fehr is coming back. Major excitement. This will be our most balanced forward corps in years.


----------



## Sofos

Bruins are dominant. as. balls. right now, it's impressive. 2 more PPGs tonight, and Krejci continues his streak.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I was definitely not expecting 50 saves out of Zatkoff. And with all of our stress over not scoring, I totally forgot Eric Fehr is coming back. Major excitement. This will be our most balanced forward corps in years.



The worrying part of that game was that they gave up 50 shots...

Yeah Milbury commenting on the poor "supporting cast" sort of cracked me up... not sure how many other teams in the league have 4 former 20 goal scorers in the their bottom six... not sure they'll gel or have that kind of production now but still


----------



## ASoC

Unsportsmanlike conduct called for icing the goalie in tonight's Blues game. Fvcking ridiculous. The entire stadium was on their feet screaming at the referee.


----------



## Sofos

What??? explain please, i don't think I understand


----------



## ASoC

The goalie held the puck and he got sprayed with ice when a player stopped hard in front of him. The ref decided to award a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. I've been a hockey fan my whole life, like my dad, and neither of us has ever seen that happen. When someone ices a goalie, it should be handled among players, not by the referee


----------



## Sofos

oooh, bruins fans typically refer to that as spraying  so i got confused. that's a stupid penalty


----------



## ASoC

Yes it is, hence the entire stadium screaming "ref, you suck!" for about 2 minutes


----------



## AdamMaz

I would judge that a penalty based on two things, blatancy and timing. Its legitimate.


----------



## technomancer

ASoC said:


> The goalie held the puck and he got sprayed with ice when a player stopped hard in front of him. The ref decided to award a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. I've been a hockey fan my whole life, like my dad, and neither of us has ever seen that happen. When someone ices a goalie, it should be handled among players, not by the referee



They changed the rules a while ago, it's a legitimate penalty if it's blatant / deliberate.


----------



## JD27

RIP Matt Hendricks foot. That is disgusting! I've taken plenty of shots off my skate, but that caught him in the worst spot possible, right between the skate and shin pads.

Matt Hendricks Suffers Another Gruesome Injury (Warning: Graphic Photos)


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> RIP Matt Hendricks foot. That is disgusting! I've taken plenty of shots off my skate, but that caught him in the worst spot possible, right between the skate and shin pads.
> 
> Matt Hendricks Suffers Another Gruesome Injury (Warning: Graphic Photos)



OUCH!


----------



## protest

JD27 said:


> RIP Matt Hendricks foot. That is disgusting! I've taken plenty of shots off my skate, but that caught him in the worst spot possible, right between the skate and shin pads.
> 
> Matt Hendricks Suffers Another Gruesome Injury (Warning: Graphic Photos)



I had to start myself on a regimen of antibiotics and painkillers just from looking at that.


----------



## JD27

Looks like a hematoma that burst. Lucky it didn't happen higher, like on the calf. Could have cause compartment syndrome. I played with a guy on an adult team that caught a hip check right on his thigh in HS and developed that. He almost lost his leg, has a monster scar from it too. That is still the worst hockey injury I have seen. He showed us pictures from the hospital, it was disgusting. They cut the thigh open to release the pressure and all the "meat" was exposed!


----------



## Pav

Still not as disgusting as how Braden Holtby played tonight.


----------



## Sofos

Pav said:


> Still not as disgusting as how Braden Holtby played tonight.



That's not as disgusting as how Rask played tonight. 5 goals on 19 shots.


----------



## JD27

Pav said:


> Still not as disgusting as how Braden Holtby played tonight.



That was Braden Hole-tby. Pretty ugly and the Caps D.


----------



## Pav

Sofos said:


> That's not as disgusting as how Rask played tonight. 5 goals on 19 shots.



I think that's how Holtby ended the night too.  I turned on the game and he had given up 5 on 17 shots.

But man, wtf is up with Tuukka Rask so far this season.


----------



## JD27

Pav said:


> I think that's how Holtby ended the night too.  I turned on the game and he had given up 5 on 17 shots.
> 
> But man, wtf is up with Tuukka Rask so far this season.



It was 4 on the first 11. And I think the only 2 shots on him in the second were goals.


----------



## RustInPeace

Oilers lose McDavid on another injury. Looks like broken collarbone, probably 10 weeks minimum. ..... At least Hall has beast mode engaged and can still carry the team. Also, Eberle hasn't played this season yet and could be back next week. Depth is good.


----------



## JD27

Yeah that was just an unfortunate play. That definitely looked like a broke collarbone.


----------



## MFB

Looks like Kelly will be out 6-8 MONTHS with a broken femur. I think that's the longest recovery I've heard for any player in a long time.


----------



## Pav

That's very tough for Kelly. I remember when Stamkos broke his femur a couple years ago...he was back in half the time expected, but he says that leg has never felt quite right since.


----------



## Sofos

MFB said:


> Looks like Kelly will be out 6-8 MONTHS with a broken femur. I think that's the longest recovery I've heard for any player in a long time.



Very very very likely that's the end of his Bruins (and possibly NHL) career.

Arrivederci, Kelly


----------



## MFB

Pav said:


> That's very tough for Kelly. I remember when Stamkos broke his femur a couple years ago...he was back in half the time expected, but he says that leg has never felt quite right since.



I thought it was even quicker than that. He came back in record time that's for sure, I remember it being the first year doing fantasy hockey and felt bad for the team owner; then sure enough he was back within the same season which is unheard of for a broken femur.


----------



## technomancer

Ok getting REALLY sick of the BS from the Pittsburgh press about the Pen's team defense being so good because they are one of the top in the league in goals against. They were 24th this morning when I looked in shots against. TWENTY FOURTH. The ONLY reason the goals against is so good is because the goaltending has been fantastic.

EDIT: substantially better last night only giving up 20 shots... though giving up 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of the game is never good thing


----------



## Pav

technomancer said:


> Ok getting REALLY sick of the BS from the Pittsburgh press about the Pen's team defense being so good because they are one of the top in the league in goals against. They were 24th this morning when I looked in shots against. TWENTY FOURTH. The ONLY reason the goals against is so good is because the goaltending has been fantastic.
> 
> EDIT: substantially better last night only giving up 20 shots... though giving up 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of the game is never good thing



We're still looking better though, every game. And it definitely helps that Fleury is arguably the best goalie in the league right now.


----------



## Sofos

Super excited. On December 5th, the Seattle Thunderbirds will hold a special "Seattle Metropolitans" night, celebrating 100 years since the Metros first game. (For those of you who don't know, the Metropolitans were the first US team to win the Stanley Cup, in 1917 against Montreal). 

The team will wear replicas of the original Metros jerseys, and the Stanley Cup will be there for picture opportunities. Needless to say, I'll be getting a picture! Debating slipping Philip Pritchard (Keep of the Cup) $100 to let me drink a beer from it XD Nah, it'll be cool to see it though.


----------



## RustInPeace

Eberle draws in for his first game of the season tonight against the mighty Pens. Im calling it here, 4-3 win for the Oil with 3 points from Hall.


----------



## Pav

I'll counter that with a 12-3 Pens win with 11 points from Sidney Crosby.


----------



## technomancer

You guys are hilarious 

Sofos: that's awesome, have fun... getting pictures with the cup when the Pens won was a blast


----------



## technomancer

F*ck Dupuis was taken to the hospital with potentially more blood clot issues  Even more than the effect on the team I hate to see anything like that with somebody that has a wife and kids


----------



## RustInPeace

Welcome to the new nhl, where they find ways to produce even less goal scoring with the coaches challange.


----------



## technomancer

RustInPeace said:


> Welcome to the new nhl, where they find ways to produce even less goal scoring with the coaches challange.



Eh having watched a playoff series swing on a goal on a piss poor offsides call I would rather have the challenge and see them get things right.


----------



## technomancer

So Dupuis' tests came back negative but he is on his way back to Pittsburgh for further evaluation and will not play tonight.


----------



## JD27

This coach's challenge is turning into a disaster. I'm not sure anyone has any idea what to think with regards to contact with the goalie. It's being called way too inconsistently. I've seen goals count with more contact made than goals that were disallowed.


----------



## AdamMaz

I've recently seen a couple of coaches challenges for goalie interference with Gallagher. Not that I've had any significant qualms with the calls, but the apparent lack of clear guidelines does appear to need defining.

Shout out to Krecji for the 2pts


----------



## Sofos

AdamMaz said:


> I've recently seen a couple of coaches challenges for goalie interference with Gallagher. Not that I've had any significant qualms with the calls, but the apparent lack of clear guidelines does appear to need defining.
> 
> Shout out to Krecji for the 2pts



Krejci seriously handed you that game on a silver platter. If not for that, and even if you guys won otherwise, I would have been content. The best we've played against you in YEARS... then he pulls that bs.


----------



## Ebart

Alls I can say is those 3 on 3's are fun as hell to watch. 
Weird thing - I was at an AHL Gulls vs "I forget who, I have season tickets" game and there was a power play in overtime...I got all fired up to watch them play 3 on 2, but instead they let the penalized team skate 3 guys and the power play team add a 4th skater. I thought that was pretty bogus.


----------



## AdamMaz

Ebart said:


> I got all fired up to watch them play 3 on 2, but instead they let the penalized team skate 3 guys and the power play team add a 4th skater. I thought that was pretty bogus.


I'm pretty sure that is the same way the NHL is doing it.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I'm pretty sure that is the same way the NHL is doing it.



Yep powerplays in the 3-on-3 OT are 4-on-3 and 5-on-3 if a second penalty is called. They don't ever go 3-on-2.


----------



## Sofos

Yay we are back in the win column

Concerning last night, as much as I HATE losing to Montreal, I am extremely happy that East Longmeadow, MA native and UMass star Frank Vatrano scored his first NHL goal against Montreal at the Bell Centre in his first NHL game with his dad and uncle in attendance. The only way that could have been any more perfect is if it stood as the game winner.


----------



## AdamMaz

Penguins fans praying that Price doesn't return to the lineup for Wednesday?


----------



## Pav

I'm hoping he's back by Wednesday so Fleury can make it a goaltending dual.  But realistically it doesn't matter who is in net, we aren't scoring much regardless.


----------



## AdamMaz

Looks like Price is out for the rest of the week and I'm happy to say that I am not even worried. The team has been not only playing great, but Condon equally so.


----------



## Pav

Just be aware that if your Condon breaks, you guys could be in a lot of trouble.


----------



## technomancer

It will be interesting to see how the Pens do... this game is a huge test for them.



Pav said:


> Just be aware that if your Condon breaks, you guys could be in a lot of trouble.


----------



## AdamMaz

Then get the pregnancy tests ready for Crosby and Co.


----------



## technomancer

FvCKING LOVEJOY 

Aaaaand 

Wasn't sure if they were going to pull it off watching the 2nd, but the Pens came back


----------



## Pav

If Fleury didn't have an off night, that would've been an easy regulation W. A couple of those goals were cringe-worthy.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> If Fleury didn't have an off night, that would've been an easy regulation W. A couple of those goals were cringe-worthy.



In Fleury's defense he was speared in the head by his own defenseman in the first and they were outshot 13-1 in the second... and he still had a .914 save percentage for the game


----------



## RustInPeace

Holy ...., we beat the ducks! 3on3 OT is awesome


----------



## technomancer

RustInPeace said:


> Holy ...., we beat the ducks! 3on3 OT is awesome



Don't get too excited, EVERYBODY beat the Ducks this season


----------



## RustInPeace

Hey a W is a W, and we havent won in that arena since 2012.

In other news, Leon Draisaitl has 10 points in 6 games since being called up.


----------



## Pav

So you're saying Leon Draisaitl is better than Connor McDavid?


----------



## RustInPeace

Absolutely not. Drai has been feeding off of Hall since hes been up. Hes normally a center as well but has worked out really well on the wing, so far. McD is a play driver and makes whoever he plays with better. McD and Hall together didnt work at all actually, as they both want to carry the puck and be the play makers. 

Honestly the top 6 of the Oil look fantastic this year, when everyones healthy that is. We still have a .... defense core thats young and prone to bad mistakes, plus our bottom 6 isnt scoring at all. Our goaltending has only been average as well.


----------



## technomancer

Glad Johnston waited until Letang and Cole are both a -11 before thinking maybe he should change up the defensive pairings


----------



## Pav

Call me crazy but I still don't care much for Mike Johnston. This team is just so frustrating to watch.


----------



## AdamMaz

Johnson always struck me as a placeholder coach.


----------



## Sofos

Pav said:


> Just be aware that if your Condon breaks, you guys could be in a lot of trouble.



It broke tonight haha


----------



## AdamMaz

Classic case of heavily outplaying the other team and losing to sheer opportunism 


How about this save!


----------



## RustInPeace

The Hawks got one back the next game


----------



## protest

The Flyers could pay a goalie to throw the game and still get shutout.


----------



## Pav

The Flyers are so unbelievably bad right now, wtf happened????


----------



## RustInPeace

Id say hiring a college coach may be the problem...


----------



## Vostre Roy

So the Habs are still sitting on top of the leagues with 34 points (17-4-2), only tailed by the Rangers and the Stars that has one less game played and with a goal for / goal against differential of +32.

It a good year so far, to say the least. And the result isn't only because of Price's skills, like last year, Condon has been doing a pretty damn good job to replace him with only 2-3 bad games, wich isn't bad at all for a rookie.

Gotta enjoy it, the team hasn't looked that good since.... well I can't really remember when they played taht good, I wasn't watching hockey back then lol


----------



## AdamMaz

By long and far the best I have ever seen them play in the 10-15 years I've been watching them


----------



## Sofos

Bruins are slightly getting better. Julien just needs to realize that guys like McQuaid and Kevan Miller do no good in the lineup when the rookies that he's benching are better than them. And Chara is getting too old to be a #1. He's a #2 at best now.


----------



## RustInPeace

In Taranna tonight to take on the Laughs. Should be a barn burner there eh bud?


----------



## Sofos

RustInPeace said:


> In Taranna tonight to take on the Laughs. Should be a barn burner there eh bud?



Woof, Edmonton.


----------



## RustInPeace

Ugh.


----------



## technomancer

RustInPeace said:


> Ugh.



 look at it this way... the Pens can't even beat Edmonton


----------



## technomancer

Awesome, the Pens are putting in 5' 9" 170lb Warsofsky agains the Sharks and putting Crosby / Kunitz / Dupuis back together. Johnston is completely out of ideas of what to do.


----------



## Sofos

technomancer said:


> Awesome, the Pens are putting in 5' 9" 170lb Warsofsky agains the Sharks and putting Crosby / Kunitz / Dupuis back together. Johnston is completely out of ideas of what to do.



I miss Wars of Sky, a lot. Was one of my favourite prospects, but Krug made him redundant.


----------



## technomancer

Sofos said:


> I miss Wars of Sky, a lot. Was one of my favourite prospects, but Krug made him redundant.



Warsofsky is basically proof that Pouliot has really pissed off management as his stats for the year are substantially better than Warsofsky's but he is still in WBS


----------



## Sofos

Sofos said:


> Woof, Edmonton.



I retract my previous statement.

ugh


----------



## RustInPeace

I like seeing Hall push back against Chara all night, but I felt like he was taking his life into his own hands.

Rask is good.


----------



## AdamMaz




----------



## technomancer

Awesome so Dupuis is no longer playing hockey... but he's going to sit on LTIR and take up $3.75 million in cap space


----------



## JD27

Semin got waived and assigned to the AHL!


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Semin got waived and assigned to the AHL!



Surprised GM JR didn't claim him for the Pens


----------



## Pav

I'm going to miss Dupuis. He was a very team-first guy who always seemed to keep his feet moving and finish his checks. His work ethic was something the rest of our team could stand to emulate.


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Surprised GM JR didn't claim him for the Pens



Actually I am shocked nobody picked him up. He was only making 1 million. MTL would be eating part of that, so he would be almost free of cost for a team.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I'm going to miss Dupuis. He was a very team-first guy who always seem to keep his feet moving and finish his checks. His work ethic was something the rest of our team could stand to emulate.



Yeah I really liked what he brought to the team a lot. Unfortunately that doesn't make the Pens any more able to afford to pay him $3.75 million to sit in the press box for another two seasons 



JD27 said:


> Actually I am shocked nobody picked him up. He was only making 1 million. MTL would be eating part of that, so he would be almost free of cost for a team.



Yeah I'm surprised he cleared... then again if he's not working hard enough to stay in the NHL when he needs another contract maybe everybody just assumed he's not worth it.


----------



## AdamMaz

Sad to hear about Dupuis, very respectable player. Regardless of which team they play for, I always encourage/follow the few Quebec-born players in the league.

As for Semin, I am not surprised he was not picked up. Highly skilled player, but absolutely careless with puck; a problem he wouldn't have if he used his body with any kind of work ethic. Classic case of bad-stereotype Russian that would/should go back to the KHL.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

technomancer said:


> Awesome so Dupuis is no longer playing hockey... but he's going to sit on LTIR and take up $3.75 million in cap space



I could be wrong on this but won't the Pens receive cap relief?


----------



## Pav

Yes, salaries on LTIR don't count against the cap. With Dupuis out we now have a little wiggle room and there are already rumors of Rutherford going after a defenseman.


----------



## technomancer

Yes and no... it still counts against the cap but they can go over the cap by his salary until the end of the season. The whole thing is a bit weird. Basically as long as Dupuis retires before the end of the season it will be fine, but if he doesn't they'll be over the cap.

Hockey 101: Long Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) - Fear The Fin

(I had actually misread the cap relief bit previously)


----------



## Sofos

Wait, the Bruins just beat the Habs? It only took us 22 months...


----------



## protest

If you have any LTIR questions let me know, I'm a flyers fan. Been abusing the LTIR since '07.


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> As for Semin, I am not surprised he was not picked up. Highly skilled player, but absolutely careless with puck; a problem he wouldn't have if he used his body with any kind of work ethic. Classic case of bad-stereotype Russian that would/should go back to the KHL.



Sadly, there were days when he did care and he was very good on both sides of the puck in Washington. Kind of reminds of the way Kovalev was, insanely skilled, but sometimes he just didn't care if he was there or not.


----------



## Pav

protest said:


> If you have any LTIR questions let me know, I'm a flyers fan. Been abusing the LTIR since '07.



There are no loopholes left to exploit that Chris Pronger hasn't already manhandled!


----------



## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> As for Semin, I am not surprised he was not picked up. Highly skilled player, but absolutely careless with puck; a problem he wouldn't have if he used his body with any kind of work ethic. *Classic case of bad-stereotype Russian that would/should go back to the KHL.*


Called it.


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Called it.



He has exhausted his NHL options, so KHL it is. I was surprised that he stayed in the NHL that long. I figured after the Caps he would just go back, but he kept hanging on. Kind of odd to, you know the KHL would offer him stupid money, they would do it just to get a big name Russian back in the KHL. Wonder why he bothered holding out as long as he did, when they surely would have paid him more money than he made here?


----------



## protest

Giroux's goal from last night for you non Pens/Blues fans.

https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CV6XNiMWUAIbt5B.mp4


----------



## AdamMaz

Oilers beat the Rangers 7-5 last night, after having watched the game highlights that would have been a hell of a game to watch


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Penguins fired their coaches this morning.


----------



## Pav

ElysianGuitars said:


> Penguins fired their coaches this morning.



Finally!


----------



## technomancer

Well 2 of 3 coaches... Tocchet is still around. They promoted Sullivan from the Baby Pens and moved Jacques Martin from "special assistant to the head coach" to an assistant coach. Should be interesting to see what happens... maybe Sprong will get a shot somewhere other than the 4th line now


----------



## Pav

The future is already looking brighter! Hopefully Sprong gets a better chance in the lineup now. He's looked good the past couple games, he just needs to see the ice more and I have no doubt he'll start chipping in some goals. Kids take time to develope and Mike Johnston seemed like he had no time for that, he needed immediate wins to save his job. And maybe now the rest of the team will wake up along the lines of when we fired Therrien.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> The future is already looking brighter! Hopefully Sprong gets a better chance in the lineup now. He's looked good the past couple games, he just needs to see the ice more and I have no doubt he'll start chipping in some goals. Kids take time to develope and Mike Johnston seemed like he had no time for that, he needed immediate wins to save his job. And maybe now the rest of the team will wake up along the lines of when we fired Therrien.



Yeah I'm curious to see how things go. It would be nice to see Sprong get a shot for some ice time to actually evaluate him. I'm also curious to see if Scuderi sits more and Pouliot get called up since Letang is apparently out with another injury. Pouliot has apparently been doing really well in the AHL.


----------



## AdamMaz

Habs have outshot the Sens 27-8... *after just the 1st period*!


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Habs have outshot the Sens 27-8... *after just the 1st period*!



That's just ridiculous


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Habs have outshot the Sens 27-8... *after just the 1st period*!



Haha! Did the Sens forget there was a game going on? That is insane!


----------



## JD27

Magical hands...


----------



## AdamMaz

Bishop falling on his ass


----------



## technomancer

Bishop left out to dry with not one but two forwards all alone around the net... not one but two defenders dropping to the ice instead of covering their man 

Awesome goal but also an epic defensive breakdown 

Sort of looked like something Scuderi would do on D


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Bishop left out to dry with not one but two forwards all alone around the net... not one but two defenders dropping to the ice instead of covering their man
> 
> Awesome goal but also an epic defensive breakdown
> 
> Sort of looked like something Scuderi would do on D



If I recall correctly, it was a TB turnover on the way out of the zone, which is how they ended up that way. Kuznetsovs skating and puckhandling are so good though. He actually generates speed on his edges in a glide, which shows how efficient of a skater he is. It's fun watching guys like that, they make the game look easy when it's not.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah Kuznetsov is awesome 

There are a lot of really fun to watch younger guys coming into the league right now


----------



## protest

JD27 said:


> Magical hands...



That's a Forsberg kind of goal. Sneaky sneaky.


----------



## RustInPeace

Edmonton has won 5 straight and against some very good teams. Hall is seriously in beast mode and Draisaitl is 4th in the league in ppg with 1.30. And to think our entire second line has been injured for weeks now isnt expected to return until next month... (Yakupov, Pouliot, McJesus).

If the Oilers can continue to tread water and maybe even reach .500 when they get back, there could be a legit shot at competing for the playoffs!


----------



## protest

RustInPeace said:


> Edmonton has won 5 straight and against some very good teams. Hall is seriously in beast mode and Draisaitl is 4th in the league in ppg with 1.30. And to think our entire second line has been injured for weeks now isnt expected to return until next month... (Yakupov, Pouliot, McJesus).
> 
> If the Oilers can continue to tread water and maybe even reach .500 when they get back, *there could be a legit shot at competing for the playoffs!*



 

oh...oh you're not joking 

Would they still pick 1st overall? Is that in a contract somewhere?


----------



## RustInPeace

One can dream


----------



## Pav

Rob Scuderi has been traded to the Blackhawks for Trevor Daley! I'll take it!


----------



## RustInPeace

Oilers beat Boston in Boston for the first time in 18 years.

Bitches

Jk we were so lucky to get that. Oilers game strategy:


----------



## TheDivineWing22

Pav said:


> Rob Scuderi has been traded to the Blackhawks for Trevor Daley! I'll take it!



I definitely have mixed feelings on this one. Not excited that we are retaining 1.125 million of his salary. I feel our 3.375 million dollar problem just turned into a 4.425 million dollar problem. Hope I'm wrong. He at least has more skill than Scuds. If he goes back to scoring 16 goals a season this trade looks pretty good.


----------



## technomancer

My only problem with the trade is the salary retention. Daley is not worth the $4+ million we're paying for him.

Humorous historical note: the Pens could have drafted Kuznetsov in 2010 but instead picked Bennett


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Humorous historical note: the Pens could have drafted Kuznetsov in 2010 but instead picked Bennett



Sometimes it sucks looking back at draft years. The Capitals picked Eric Fehr at 18th in 2003... Ryan Getzlaf was 19th, Ryan Kesler was 23rd, and Corey Perry was 28th.


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> My only problem with the trade is the salary retention. Daley is not worth the $4+ million we're paying for him.
> 
> Humorous historical note: the Pens could have drafted Kuznetsov in 2010 but instead picked Bennett



Well, Jagr. We got Mike Ricci out of that draft instead so I don't want to hear it


----------



## Pav

TheDivineWing22 said:


> I definitely have mixed feelings on this one. Not excited that we are retaining 1.125 million of his salary. I feel our 3.375 million dollar problem just turned into a 4.425 million dollar problem. Hope I'm wrong. He at least has more skill than Scuds. If he goes back to scoring 16 goals a season this trade looks pretty good.



Ooooohhhh I did not know we were retaining part of Scuderi's salary. How long as Daley signed for? At the very least, he's an upgrade to our blueline in the short term.


----------



## technomancer

Crap Fleury is being evaluated for a concussion and Bennett is out 4-6 weeks. If Fleury is down the Pens are pretty much done unless Murray can be called up and perform at an NHL level because Zatkoff is certainly not at the level of a starting goaltender.


----------



## JD27

I didn't notice him get hit last night and he seemed to play pretty well.


----------



## technomancer

Crap Fleury has a concussion and is out at least 10 days

Penguins rule out Fleury with concussion; Bennett out 4 to 6 weeks | TribLIVE


----------



## protest

Gostisbehere now has the most OT winners for a rookie since 07/08, and he's played like 15 games.


----------



## technomancer

Zatkoff sucks. That is all.


----------



## technomancer

^ yup


----------



## Sofos

^ yep

How about Frank Vatrano with the Hat Trick though? And Ryan Spooner with a 4 assist night. Kids stepping up big for us.


----------



## technomancer

I'm rapidly losing any hope for the Pens until we get a new GM... GMJR kept Sprong in the NHL and burned a year of his entry level contract to mostly sit on the bench or play 5 minutes a game on the fourth line and waited until NOW to send him back to Juniors and replace him with guys from the AHL we could have called up at any time 

As for Zatkoff, i'm REALLY glad the Pens couldn't spring the $1+ million for Greiss so we wouldn't be completely screwed if Fleury got hurt. Zatkoff was terrible when he was Fleury's backup previously and you saw the exact same thing you're seeing this season: Fleury playing WAY too many games so that even assuming the team does turn around he'll be exhausted by the time the playoffs start. My only hope on that front right now is that Murray is able to play at the NHL level and kills it and takes the backup job from Zatkoff when when Fleury is back. I'm not holding my breath though as while Murray is incredibly talented he's also very young for a goalie to play at the NHL level...

That's not to take anything away from the Bruins last night, they played a great game, But 3 of those 6 goals should have never gone in the net


----------



## AxeHappy

Work was only running a single shift yesterday. As such, I got to work the last half of the day shift and was able to watch my 3rd Leafs' game of the season. 

What a one to catch!


----------



## technomancer

AxeHappy said:


> Work was only running a single shift yesterday. As such, I got to work the last half of the day shift and was able to watch my 3rd Leafs' game of the season.
> 
> What a one to catch!



That would have certainly been one to see


----------



## Pav

Now wtf, we looked like a completely different team tonight. Where has this fight level been so far this season???


----------



## protest

Shayne Gostisbehere is the real deal. I haven't been as excited about a rookie since Giroux. He basically looks like Giroux on defense.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Now wtf, we looked like a completely different team tonight. Where has this fight level been so far this season???



You're slowly seeing the effect of the new coaching and system changes. Sullivan has only had one practice with the team so things have been changing slowly. The D are coming up over the blue line into the offensive zone instead of hanging back and it's having a HUGE impact on offensive play. The breakout is also much better so the puck is getting up ice quicker.

That and Columbus IS one of the worst teams in the league right now and that was IIRC their third string goaltender


----------



## JD27

Pop quiz... Alex Ovechkin is on the ice and in your zone, what do you do? I'll give everyone a hint, it's not skate to the corner and leave him alone in front of the net. Lol, in his 492 other goals, I'm not sure he has ever been that wide open and alone in front of a goalie.


----------



## AxeHappy

Maybe they wanted to give their goalie a chance to make a hero level save?


----------



## JD27

Maybe they thought Holtby was playing for them?

He did make one to save his shutout.


----------



## technomancer

That looked like a Pens defensive play...


----------



## ZeroTolerance94

I'm so proud of the Panthers right now.

...Seven in a row! Can't wait to make it eight this weekend against the Rangers. .


----------



## Pav

The Panthers have been an amazing turnaround. I could not have imagined adding Jaromir Jagr would turn this team into such a bombshell. Jagr looks revitalized and the young kids around him are thriving.


----------



## Sofos

Out for the Classic:

Bruins: Marchand, Pastrnak, Krejci
Habs: Gallagher, Price

Gonna be a pretty boring Classic :/


----------



## technomancer

Fleury is back tonight 

Big game for the Pens, hopefully they show up...


----------



## Sofos

Well that classic sucked, but pretty much how I expected it to be. Bruins played terrible, Claude was coaching awful, and Habs wanted it more.


----------



## MFB

Went in expecting a slaughter and it delivered. Glad I didn't pay the $300 I was willing to when they announced the game. This B's team needs to get their .... together.


----------



## Sofos

MFB said:


> Went in expecting a slaughter and it delivered. Glad I didn't pay the $300 I was willing to when they announced the game. This B's team needs to get their .... together.



So do Julien and Sweeney. Bruins TOI leaders: Kevan Miller and Adam McQuaid. Zac Rinaldo with 10 min TOI.

In the lineup: Khokhlachev (done NOTHING in his NHL career)
Scratched: Colin Miller (Sent down to make room for Khokhlachev), Pastrnak (Inexplicably playing in WJC)

I originally was considering going myself, glad I didn't. Still bought a Bergy jersey and love it, though I'll pass on adding the WC shoulder patch.


----------



## Sofos

This just in: Pastrnak broke a finger at WJC today. WONDERFUL. Sweeney needs to cut his losses. This isn't a championship year. Sell Loui at deadline, acquire a top 2 defenseman under long term contract. Ditch Khokhlachev. Shoot Kevan Miller and Max Talbot into the sun.


----------



## technomancer

10 goals in 2 games, maybe the Pens finally found their offense


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> 10 goals in 2 games, maybe the Pens finally found their offense


Or they were playing back-to-back games against Anders Lindback.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Or they were playing back-to-back games against Anders Lindback.


----------



## Pav

It just struck me how hilariously stupid 3-on-3 OT really is.


----------



## Sofos

Pav said:


> It just struck me how hilariously stupid 3-on-3 OT really is.



still better than the Shootout


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> It just struck me how hilariously stupid 3-on-3 OT really is.



It was funny as watching Malkin and co taking that extended shift I literally looked at my wife and told her they were about to lose the game... sure enough the puck went the other way 10 seconds later and they were too exhausted to play defense.


----------



## JD27

Just another day at the office for Kuznetsov. Just filthy hands.

Assist
https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4/6ct1.mp4







Goal
https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4/k6da.mp4






Leisurely skate through the Bruins zone...


----------



## technomancer

^ he is just a sick player.


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> ^ he is just a sick player.



It was nice to see Backstrom get some recognition in an all star game, but I really wanted to see Malkin and Kuznetsov together in the 3 on 3 game. Actually, I would have taken Backtrom over Ovechkin, he has been pretty ineffective on the 3 on 3 OTs this year.


----------



## AdamMaz

Great trade for both teams in Johansen/Jones.

Lecavalier gets moved to LA and will announce retirement at the end of the season. Sad way to end a career, I believe he had long been injury riddled with reoccurring concussions.

Mike Richards signs a one-year contract with Washington, curious signing on Washington's part.


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Mike Richards signs a one-year contract with Washington, curious signing on Washington's part.



Beagle being out for minimum 6 weeks influenced their choice on this. No risk to them though, he signed a prorated $1m contract, so if he stinks then it's no real loss. Should be interesting to see if he is back in shape again and kicked his habit. The Kings used his arrest as a reason to dump his salary, but something tells me they knew he had issues long before they sent him to the AHL.


----------



## Pav

Dear Blackhawks,

You're welcome.

Sincerely,
Ben Lovejoy


----------



## Sofos

So Sidney Crosby is no longer an All-Star. Hm.


----------



## AdamMaz

Sofos said:


> So Sidney Crosby is no longer an All-Star. Hm.


I noticed yesterday the NHL used his likeness/image in an All-Star game hype commercial, wonder if that could get potentially legal and/or messy.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Dear Blackhawks,
> 
> You're welcome.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Ben Lovejoy



Yeah nothing like being the defenseman on the blue line with an empty net behind you and tripping over your own feet...


----------



## RustInPeace




----------



## JD27

Did anyone see John Scott in his All Star uniform?


----------



## AdamMaz

^^^
Considering the broken images in your post, that took me a couple of visits to understand


----------



## JD27

Fixed it, not sure what happened to the links.


----------



## JD27

Caps poured out a forty for their dead homies and put up a touchdown in honor of the Redskins. 







Ovi from the Ovi spot on the powerplay was fitting for his 500th.






Then for good measure a highlight real goal for 501.


----------



## AdamMaz

A bunch of days of extra rest and practice, then back into action against the Blackhawks, just what the doctor ordered.

High hopes that the Habs will get their .... back together tonight. Considering the Hawks current 8 game win streak, I'm not expecting the Habs will win, but I would be more than relieved to see them simply play well. I've pretty much blocked out paying attention to them up awhile ago into their meltdown.


----------



## technomancer

Pens trade Perron and Clendening to Ducks for Hagelin. Not really a fan of this trade at all... Perron for Hagelin would have been ok but Clendening throws the trade heavily in favor of the Ducks. GM JR gets fleeced by the ducks again.


----------



## AdamMaz

The John Scott trade is equally odd


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> The John Scott trade is equally odd



Yeah throws a monkey wrench in the All Stars


----------



## MFB

technomancer said:


> Yeah throws a monkey wrench in the All Stars



This is actually a pretty good article on the whole thing, and certainly a way I had never thought about J.S. before.

Hockey fans made John Scott an All-Star, and the NHL made him pay for it - SBNation.com


----------



## protest

I feel bad for John Scott. It would suck to have thousands of people reminding you that you're not good at what you do on a daily basis.


----------



## AdamMaz

Unless the Habs can pull a convincing win against the Bruins tomorrow night, I am actually going to stop watching them until they get their .... together. I have never boycotted watching them before in my life, its gotten that bad.


----------



## MFB

I'm just praying the B's pull off a win against Anaheim next week since they've sucked all year (applicable to either really) and I know have tickets at a much higher cost than they should have been.


----------



## technomancer

So, is the ref up for supplementary discipline for giving Warsofsky a concussion?


----------



## technomancer

In other news Pens are in desperate need of a backup goaltender that doesn't suck.

3 goals on 19 shots


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> In other news Pens are in desperate need of a backup goaltender that doesn't suck.
> 
> 3 goals on 19 shots



Just play 'em against the Flyers. Guaranteed 1 goal on 43 shots for any backup. It's part of our contract with the league.


----------



## Pav

protest said:


> Just play 'em against the Flyers. Guaranteed 1 goal on 43 shots for any backup. It's part of our contract with the league.



Normally I would be all for it, but Jeff Zatkoff these days...


----------



## RustInPeace

Oilers have points in the last 4 games but lost The Nuge last night with a broken hand. Thats our top 2 centers injured (Nuge and Mcdavid) as well as our top D man still out as well (Klefbom). Hockey gods hate us.


----------



## protest

RustInPeace said:


> Oilers have points in the last 4 games but lost The Nuge last night with a broken hand. Thats our top 2 centers injured (Nuge and Mcdavid) as well as our top D man still out as well (Klefbom). Hockey gods hate us.



That's what happens when you trade the hockey gods' son for cash.


----------



## protest

No Couturier tonight. Pens should be able to take this one unfortunately.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> No Couturier tonight. Pens should be able to take this one unfortunately.



The Pens should have been able to take LOTS of games they lost this season. I'm not saying they're going to lose, but anything is possible


----------



## RustInPeace

Interesting question came up on the radio today:

Do you take Chicago, Washington, and LA to win the cup, or the field?


----------



## Pav

^ Can I choose none of the above?



technomancer said:


> The Pens should have been able to take LOTS of games they lost this season. I'm not saying they're going to lose, but anything is possible



Agreed, don't count your weasels before they pop. The Pens have made a habit of dropping "easy wins" this season.


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> The Pens should have been able to take LOTS of games they lost this season. I'm not saying they're going to lose, but anything is possible



If you're watching, this is what happens without Couturier. I'd laugh but it pains me. Giroux becomes our checking center and our coach has a fixation with our abysmal 4th line, who are currently hemmed in there own zone allowing a shooting gallery on Mason.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> If you're watching, this is what happens without Couturier. I'd laugh but it pains me. Giroux becomes our checking center and our coach has a fixation with our abysmal 4th line, who are currently hemmed in there own zone allowing a shooting gallery on Mason.



And even so the Pens still almost managed to lose


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> And even so the Pens still almost managed to lose



Wide open net and he flubbed it!


----------



## TheDivineWing22

technomancer said:


> And even so the Pens still almost managed to lose



Can't complain too much being down two goals in the first period. That's 5 games since the start of 2016 the Pens have erased a two goal deficit. I don't think we saw that once when they were playing under Johnston this season.

They've definitely squandered some much need points under Sullivan though.


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> Can't complain too much being down two goals in the first period. That's 5 games since the start of 2016 the Pens have erased a two goal deficit. I don't think we saw that once when they were playing under Johnston this season.
> 
> They've definitely squandered some much need points under Sullivan though.



They're definitely better than they were... they just need to be better in their own end. The offensive zone play and zone exits are much better than they were under Johnston. Unfortunately they're still not a defensively strong team. Despite the press crowing they weren't under Johnston either, they had one of the worst shots against per game in the league (IIRC 27th or 28th) and fantastic goaltending gave them a great goals against average. They're still 25th in shots against per game.

Oh and they need a backup goalie


----------



## JD27

Oh my, Matt Hendricks got a real close call.











https://vine.co/v/iejTKn9AYHH


----------



## RustInPeace

I just came here to post that lol. Injury woes continue for the Oilers, who lead the league in man games lost due to slapshots to the dick.


----------



## JD27

He is a magnet for injury. That slapshot to the ankle that ruptured his skin earlier. He ate an Ovechkin shot to the ear in DC when he was here.


----------



## Pav

So what is everyone's take on this juicy little morsel?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...y-by-nhl-after-linesman-attack-212943963.html

Wideman's argument that he was dazed, confused, and didn't see him until the last second seems completely contradictory to the video, in which Wideman seems quite deliberate in the way he skated to the official and shoved his stick into his back. Fascinating.


----------



## technomancer

Wow that was just bizarre. I doubt Wideman was rational and deliberately hit him, but still just really bizarre.


----------



## Pav

Watching it again, Wideman definitely took a nasty hit in the corner before skating off, so I suppose it's possible. But from that rear camera angle...it really looks to me like he was skating to the bench, the linesman cut him off, and he just cross checked him instead of trying to get out of his way. Just my third-party, after-the-fact observation. It is very bizarre though, everyone is suggesting that Wideman may (and probably will) be slapped with an outrageous suspension along the lines of Raffi Torres this past preseason.


----------



## RustInPeace

It looked like he hit him on purpose to me, although I believe he may have been concussed and not thinking clearly.


----------



## technomancer

RustInPeace said:


> It looked like he hit him on purpose to me, although I believe he may have been concussed and not thinking clearly.



That's what I was thinking as well...


----------



## Xaios

So yeah, that All-Star Game. John Scott...


----------



## technomancer

Didn't watch any of it, saw the stories afterwards. Good for him.


----------



## RustInPeace

I could watch 3 on 3 with highly skilled players all day.


----------



## JD27

They actually skated pretty well, unlike the usual all star games as of late. I think the 3 on 3 format forces them to move or look stupid. John Scott showed some skill as well. If anyone hasn't read his article in The Players Tribune (awesome site), it is worth a read. While other players may have been more deserving of an appearance, the way the NHL handled the situation was an embarrassment. They wanted the fan voting and didn't like the results.

A Guy Like Me | The Players' Tribune


----------



## AdamMaz

I thought naming John Scott the NHL player of the week was a bit much. There is pressure in Montreal to call up John Scott to play... I would be surprised if it happened, but wouldn't mind 

Anyone else find the timing of the announcement of Bettman's contract extension distasteful?


----------



## Mattykoda

^Agreed. It was good to see everyone have fun and all but I still can't look past the cheap shots he has pulled especially the one against Jackman. 
I did lol at this


And when Bettman came out


----------



## Pav

AdamMaz said:


> I thought naming John Scott the NHL player of the week was a bit much.



No, THIS is a bit much.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...-all-star-mvp-gets-film-offers-001628591.html


----------



## protest

^ Honestly it has movie written all over it. It's Rudy.


----------



## Pav

Those casting suggestions though...Jeff Goldblum as Marc Bergevin and John Goodman as Mike Milbury made me .


----------



## RustInPeace

HE RETURNS


----------



## Pav

I'm not sure Iron Man is an appropriate reference given his first career game against Philadelphia resulted in 37 games on injured reserve. 

Srsly though, has anyone else seen the newly redesigned NHL.com and NHL app?


----------



## RustInPeace




----------



## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> Srsly though, has anyone else seen the newly redesigned NHL.com and NHL app?


I echo this sentiment.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I echo this sentiment.



Yeah it's terrible 

Also the Pens can't catch a break... Malkin and Fehr both out for back to back games against the top 2 teams in the Atlantic 

EDIT: the entire bottom 6 are AHL call ups tonight...


----------



## protest

Pens vs. Flyers outdoor game confirmed. Not sure if it'll be the winter classic or not. Also, it really is right up the NHL's alley to take some unique and special and drive it into the ground. "Hey the winter classic has been a huge success, let's have 9 of them a year instead of one!"


----------



## Pav

That, and it will be the fourth or fifth outdoor game for the Pens while most teams in the league are still waiting for their first. The same applies to the Flyers although they still haven't been in as many as the Pens. I don't mind the outdoor games but I wish they would start mixing up the teams more. So much untapped potential...why not something like the Wild hosting the Dallas Stars? I bet Minnesota hockey fans would eat that .... up and tickets would be sold out within hours. Hell, that's a game I'd even want to watch without having any connection to either team.


----------



## Sephiroth952

Pav said:


> That, and it will be the fourth or fifth outdoor game for the Pens while most teams in the league are still waiting for their first. The same applies to the Flyers although they still haven't been in as many as the Pens. I don't mind the outdoor games but I wish they would start mixing up the teams more. So much untapped potential...why not something like the Wild hosting the Dallas Stars? I bet Minnesota hockey fans would eat that .... up and tickets would be sold out within hours. Hell, that's a game I'd even want to watch without having any connection to either team.


Was supposed to happen.


----------



## technomancer

Pens beat Florida in overtime 

With two full lines of AHL players and a fourth line center taking Malkin's place...


----------



## Pav

Sidney Crosby = hottest player in the NHL right now




Sephiroth952 said:


> Was supposed to happen.



I would love to see that game happen in the future. At the least, Dallas is one team that should be getting a taste of the outdoor game exposure.


----------



## AdamMaz

Habs just got big time *screwed* by a ref. 

Final 1:30 of the game, down by the score of 5-4, 6-on-4 players, sustaining lots of pressure with scoring chances, a cleared puck hits the ref at the center ice, catching the last man back completely flat-footed and allowing for an easy empty net goal


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Habs just got big time *screwed* by a ref.
> 
> Final 1:30 of the game, down by the score of 5-4, 6-on-4 players, sustaining lots of pressure with scoring chances, a cleared puck hits the ref at the center ice, catching the last man back completely flat-footed and allowing for an easy empty net goal



That crap happens so often it's almost not even worth bitching about now... Warsofsky is STILL out for the Pens with a concussion because a linesman fell and tripped him and he slammed his head into the ice


----------



## Pav

Jeff Zatkoff:


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Jeff Zatkoff:



Yeah I suspect he will be gone shortly... GM JR said we will "be seeing more of Murray after the trade deadline"

Also good to see the Pens still can't beat teams like the Rangers and Bruins... it will be interesting to see how they do against the Rangers next week when they're not missing their second and third line starting centers.


----------



## AdamMaz

Oh ...., Chicago and Washington are playing right now! Stanley Cup Final preview


----------



## Ebart

Yeah that Chi/DC game was boring and slopping the first pd. 2 and 3 were good though. I also can't complain having grown up in Chicago...


----------



## Ebart

OH! and what about the roster moves the Blackhawks have made this week!!! Stan the Man Bowman stacking every. damn. line..!! Can't wait til June.


----------



## JD27

Caps need to lose a few, they have looked like garbage since the snowstorm hit and they played once over 13 days. They have been real sloppy defensively.


----------



## protest

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/standard-guitars/308035-ngd-branko-radulovic-789-custom-made-6-string.html

Tell me I'm not the only one here who saw that thread title and thought of this guy


----------



## JD27

Where are all the trades? This deadline day has been a snoozer so far.


----------



## Pav

Well, I'm guessing the day's big blockbuster trade has already come and gone with Eric Staal being traded to the Rangers.


----------



## JD27

I guess so and it wasn't even on deadline day. Only 8 trades today, nothing special anywhere. I want chaos!


----------



## AdamMaz

I was expecting a lot of movement in Edmonton, oh well.


----------



## Sephiroth952

We ended up losing the best name in the NHL. Jyrki Jokipakka.


----------



## technomancer

Aaand Pens lose Warsofsky on waivers to Jersey  

But hey we made room for another minus machine from the Oilers... no idea why they recalled him and then sent him down again, freaking idiot move by Rutherford.


----------



## technomancer

Also betting the "three goalie tandem" in Pittsburgh with Murray in the NHL means Zatkoff doesn't dress again this year unless somebody gets injured.

I'm curious if Murray gets the start tonight against the Caps or if they're going to attempt to have Fleury play two nights in a row...


----------



## RustInPeace

I cant believe we got a 3rd rounder for Justin "softer than hot butter" Schultz. Be prepared for missed defensive zone coverage, minimal to zero physical play, and a muffin of a shot that sometimes almost hits the net.


----------



## Pav

I was pretty confused by the Justin Schultz trade. My only guess is Rutherford desperately wanted another right-shooting defenseman as a safety net in case Ben Lovejoy stays injured into the playoffs. But even then, we're depleting our draft picks rapidly here.


----------



## RustInPeace

Chia is starting to form the Oilers into a real western conf team. Big heavy team. Yeah were sitting in last again, and might draft 1st overall again, but I expect actual big moves this summer. Hall and Eberle are definitely on the table, as I think Chia wants the core to be focused down the middle with Draisaitl, McJesus, and Nugent-Hopkins. 

Hopefully we could land a 1/2 D like Hamonic or Shattenkirk in the offseason.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I was pretty confused by the Justin Schultz trade. My only guess is Rutherford desperately wanted another right-shooting defenseman as a safety net in case Ben Lovejoy stays injured into the playoffs. But even then, we're depleting our draft picks rapidly here.



Yeah honestly though Schultz is another move that isn't going to actually help the team... unless he does a major turnaround once he gets here. Because you know that seems to happen with everybody the pens trade for 

(ok Daley is the exception, but it really does seem like almost everybody we trade for gets worse when they get here...)


----------



## Pav

I'm assuming he'll either be sent to WBS or sat as a healthy scratch most nights, probably more for depth if someone gets hurt in/before the playoffs. 

And Matt Murray's rebound control last night was giving me anxiety attacks.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I'm assuming he'll either be sent to WBS or sat as a healthy scratch most nights, probably more for depth if someone gets hurt in/before the playoffs.
> 
> And Matt Murray's rebound control last night was giving me anxiety attacks.



Pretty sure Zatkoff has a one way deal because Rutherford is a moron. I suspect they tried to trade him and got no interest so he's going to sit for the rest of the season until his contract is up. I would guess he'll only see time in net if somebody is injured or really takes a major hit in performance.

I didn't see last night's game, was out doing stuff. I recorded it and was going to watch it if they won... but since they lost didn't bother


----------



## technomancer

Holy crap the Pens beat the Rangers 4-1 

Granted Mark Staal and Rick Nash weren't in the lineup, but still nice


----------



## RustInPeace

Incoming suspension for Nurse:


----------



## Pav

Welp, reports are saying Las Vegas is going to be awarded an expansion franchise for next season. Go ahead and read through the comments sections on some of the sites reporting this; I didn't know it was even possible to gather so many angry, bitter Canadians in one spot.  You would think Gary Bettman personally removed the Nords from Quebec and then fired cruise missiles at the province, people are so upset.


----------



## Vostre Roy

Pav said:


> Welp, reports are saying Las Vegas is going to be awarded an expansion franchise for next season. Go ahead and read through the comments sections on some of the sites reporting this; I didn't know it was even possible to gather so many angry, bitter Canadians in one spot.  You would think Gary Bettman personally removed the Nords from Quebec and then fired cruise missiles at the province, people are so upset.



I have yet to see that information, none of the information/sport website I go to have mentionned anything about that.

My feeling right now is that at least one team will be relocated, either in Quebec or Las Vegas, and maybe the other city will get a new franchise. Since they avoid speaking about it while the process is ongoing kinda make me think that they just want to end the season before speaking it out so they wont loose money from the franchise that is about to move.


----------



## Pav

Vostre Roy said:


> I have yet to see that information, none of the information/sport website I go to have mentionned anything about that.


From what I've read, it's (mostly) all based on an interview Georges Laraque did in Montreal recently. He said Quebec has essentially been eliminated and Las Vegas will be getting a team. Obviously this is far from an official announcement so take it with a grain of salt. However, I'd be lying if I said the league didn't seem like it was leaning toward Las Vegas. Bettman has always been a big proponent of trying to expand the game into new markets rather than cashing in on existing ones.

And in reading about this, I just couldn't help but notice how violently angry Canadian hockey fans were getting over any/all hints that Quebec won't be getting a new team. It was almost frightening.


----------



## AdamMaz

I hate this season so much, ugh


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I hate this season so much, ugh



It has been a pretty brutal season for Habs fans 

Man hip checked in the head by your own guy...

Looks like Fehr and Hagelin will probably be back for the Pens tonight


----------



## technomancer

Crap and Malkin is out 6-8 weeks... that's probably the end of the post season.


----------



## Pav

I wouldn't give up just yet, we still have over a month before the postseason starts. He may heal up quicker than expected or, if a miracle happens, we may win some games without him and give him more time.


----------



## AdamMaz

For all the seasons Malkin has single handedly carried the Pens to a playoff berth down the final stretch, its about time the team returned the favor.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> For all the seasons Malkin has single handedly carried the Pens to a playoff berth down the final stretch, its about time the team returned the favor.



It would be a nice change of pace... today should be interesting as I increasingly think they only won the last game against the Rangers because Lundqvist was injured. Three of the Pens four goals were scored shortly before he left the game...

I am a huge Pens fan but I am not confident this "speed and puck handling" approach, especially on defense, holds up against physical teams or in a playoff environment. They barely beat a struggling Columbus team and it cost them two injuries in the process. I think if Bobrovsky had been sharp and in game form versus playing his first game after being out forever and a day they may not have won that one.

I guess we'll see what happens.


----------



## technomancer

Well that was a pleasant surprise given the Rangers are healthy and the Pens aren't


----------



## Pav

One more goal and Lil' Lundqvist may have been flipping his net over again. And people say Sidney Crosby is a whiner...


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> One more goal and Lil' Lundqvist may have been flipping his net over again. And people say Sidney Crosby is a whiner...



Oh no Lundqvist is just "competitive"  

I love that that is apparently the new excuse for douche bag behavior from pro athletes these days...


----------



## AdamMaz

I've always thought of Lundqvist as very calm, but developed an attitude of over-entitlement when he became the highest paid goalie in the league.


----------



## protest

i think the Flyers just need to get to OT tonight and they'll be the 8 seed.

Ghost is 5th in rookie scoring...as a defenseman....with 20 less games played than everyone else.


----------



## Pav

protest said:


> i think the Flyers just need to get to OT tonight and they'll be the 8 seed.
> 
> Ghost is 5th in rookie scoring...as a defenseman....with 20 less games played than everyone else.



Ghost is looking great, but how can you be sure the Wings won't start winning and keep you guys out of the playoffs altogether?


----------



## protest

I just meant at this point in time not for the rest of the season lol.


----------



## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> Ghost is looking great, but how can you be sure the Wings won't start winning and keep you guys out of the playoffs altogether?


How can you be sure the Pens won't fall apart?


----------



## Pav

protest said:


> I just meant at this point in time not for the rest of the season lol.


Oops, I forget you guys still have a game in hand over the Wings. And for some reason I thought you were still several points back from them, my bad!



AdamMaz said:


> How can you be sure the Pens won't fall apart?



After what happened to the Habs, I guess anything is possible isn't it?


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> After what happened to the Habs, I guess anything is possible isn't it?



Beat me to it


----------



## JD27

What I am now referring to as "The Kuznetstrick". Whenever Kuznetsov has 3 assists in a game. Literally setting up guys for empty net goals.

https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4-mobile/amzg.mp4

https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4-mobile/lchk.mp4


----------



## protest

It was too bad no one told the Flyers they had a game today.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> It was too bad no one told the Flyers they had a game today.


----------



## AdamMaz

protest said:


> It was too bad no one told the Flyers they had a game today.


Habs lost 5-0 to the Senators, whom played the night before, and allowed *3* short-handed goals


----------



## technomancer

I'll tell you if they keep letting the Caps throw checks anywhere on the ice whether the puck is there or not with no interference calls it is going to be a LONG game...

Also the ref in the Caps end needs to get the hell out of the way of the cycle, he's like a freaking extra defenseman for the caps


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> I'll tell you if they keep letting the Caps throw checks anywhere on the ice whether the puck is there or not with no interference calls it is going to be a LONG game...
> 
> Also the ref in the Caps end needs to get the hell out of the way of the cycle, he's like a freaking extra defenseman for the caps



I just turned the game on and it's 2-0 and the Caps can't stay out of the box. I don't think you have anything to worry about. The alter ego of the Capitals, the "Crapitals" has apparently showed up tonight.


----------



## technomancer

Freaking Fleury needs to stop trying to be fancy, if he had just put the pads down and stopped and frozen that it would have never gone in the net 

Also you forget the Pens were up 2-0 the last time they played the Caps too


----------



## JD27

Lol, why would he put the puck right back into a player crashing the net.


----------



## technomancer

I would guess he was trying to pope check it clear, but there was literally no reason to on that play 

Also referee 44 Kendrick Nicholson needs to go back to the freaking AHL... guy is terrible (unless of course he's being paid by the Caps, in which case great job )

Don't get me wrong this has been a great game so far but he is one of those refs that loses the puck too easily and has trouble getting out of the way of the play.


----------



## JD27

Fleury playing the puck has always been a bad thing. Caps stink 5v5 these days. Ovechkin is playing hurt, but for some reason isn't sitting. They have no reason to play him over the next 10 games.


----------



## technomancer

Did the Caps play last night? This was the second of back to back games for the Pens and Fleury played both so I get why he didn't look sharp, but Holtby really didn't look sharp either.


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Did the Caps play last night? This was the second of back to back games for the Pens and Fleury played both so I get why he didn't look sharp, but Holtby really didn't look sharp either.



Holtby has looked more like Hole-tby since the all star break. Actually, the team as a whole has been pretty bad since that long break they had with the all star game and snow storm that cancelled 2 games. They never look sharp anymore, especially in the first period. Being that far ahead in the standings isn't doing them any favors either. I predict a very early exit in the playoffs.


----------



## technomancer

Wonder if Holtby is having the same issue Fleury had a couple seasons ago: played WAY too many games and was just exhausted by the end of the season.

I'm actually a bit concerned with that happening this year and hate to see them doing stuff like playing Fleury in back to backs when they have a good backup now in Murray.


----------



## JD27

He likes to play a lot, but I think they need to break that habit. The porous defensive play isn't doing any favors either. I mean at least 3 of those were semi breakaways. Be nice if Carlson healthy, then they wouldn't have guys like Weber getting a jersey either.


----------



## technomancer

Ah good news, Dumoulin is day to day versus being out long term


----------



## technomancer

Well crap

The Inside Scoop: Maatta Week-to-Week with Lower-Body Injury - Pittsburgh Penguins - Features


----------



## technomancer

Pens absolutely crushed Detroit today 7-2... but it may not have been worth it as Dumoulin is definitely out tomorrow and Kunitz may be out as well.


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Pens absolutely crushed Detroit today 7-2... but it may not have been worth it as Dumoulin is definitely out tomorrow and Kunitz may be out as well.



They have been solid, they look very fast. They may be able to do something in the East. The Caps on the other hand have stunk and are definitely going out in the first round. Bad habits have formed from having nothing to play for due to the lead they had in the conference. The rest of the teams are tightly bunched and basically playing playoff hockey trying to get in. They can't seem to match it. Going to be a rude awakening come Game 1 for them.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> They have been solid, they look very fast. They may be able to do something in the East. The Caps on the other hand have stunk and are definitely going out in the first round. Bad habits have formed from having nothing to play for due to the lead they had in the conference. The rest of the teams are tightly bunched and basically playing playoff hockey trying to get in. They can't seem to match it. Going to be a rude awakening come Game 1 for them.



Yeah my main concern is injuries seem to be piling up and Fleury has not been sharp the last few games. He seemed to tighten up and shut the door after the first period today fortunately but I'm getting worried that he is getting tired.


----------



## technomancer

Fleury has a concussion and will miss at least the next two games 

EDIT: and the Pens beat the Islanders 5-0 with Murray in net to clinch a playoff spot


----------



## Pav

Holy freakin' ...., the Flyers look terrible. Aren't they teetering on the edge of missing the playoffs entirely?


Then again, the Pens are rolling harder than I've seen since 2009. Which gets my hopes up in a dangerous way.


----------



## technomancer

The Penguins are just crushing everyone in their path right now... they made the Islanders look like this last night too. It's REALLY surprising in a good way


----------



## RustInPeace

Justin Schultz has been looking decent as well. Scored a nice one timer clapper and has 7 points in 15 games. What an asshole!


----------



## Pav

Not to mention he's a +10 in 15 games, pretty much a complete 180 since the trade.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah Daley and Schultz have both been great for the team.

Also thought they were going to drop that game last night... nope


----------



## Pav

I think the Penguins are officially the hottest team in the NHL to end the season. The Caps (the San Jose Chokes of the eastern conference) are as good as gone.


----------



## technomancer

I found the consolidated power rankings this week hilarious... the Pens tied for 1st in the average with the Blues, but CBS had the Pens 7th while literally every other source had them 1 - 3


----------



## technomancer

And Pens clinch home ice in the first round


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> And Pens clinch home ice in the first round



You forgot to send a thank you note to the Caps for gifting that one to them.  Man that team stinks on ice right now, they are going to get killed in the first round.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> You forgot to send a thank you note to the Caps for gifting that one to them.  Man that team stinks on ice right now, they are going to get killed in the first round.



Actually that game was pretty funny all the way around as there were stretches where both teams forgot how to hockey


----------



## Pav

That was probably the worst game we've played in a month. I know the Caps wrapped up everything before anyone else even clinched the playoffs, but geez, you'd think they would want to give themselves at least a couple games to get into playoff mode.


----------



## technomancer

Good to see Zatkoff is living up to his past record... less than two minutes in net and gives up a goal

REALLY hope Murray is back for the second.


----------



## technomancer

Crap Murray isn't even back on the bench... if Fleury and Murray are both concussed going into the playoffs the Pens are screwed.


----------



## Pav

With no Crosby and no Letang (on top of no Malkin, no Mattaa, and no Fleury) we're basically missing _all_ of our top guys. I get the feeling team management was more concerned about giving guys a rest before the postseason than winning this game.


----------



## AdamMaz

Bruins missing the playoffs fawk and Galchenyuk getting his 30th goal tonight almost makes up for the crappy season 

Pacioretty just scored his 30th as well


----------



## protest

The Flyers made the playoffs with a defense that looks like it was ripped from a team fighting for the first overall pick. Is it bad that I would have rather gotten one more top 10 pick?


----------



## MFB

AdamMaz said:


> Bruins missing the playoffs fawk and Galchenyuk getting his 30th goal tonight almost makes up for the crappy season
> 
> Pacioretty just scored his 30th as well



We screwed the pooch at the end of this season, people almost started confusing us for the Habs!


----------



## AdamMaz

Pffffft, we're in a class all our own


----------



## Pav

I can't help but notice the rumblings coming from Bruinland these days...seems like everyone out there is saying Claude Julien is as good as gone. Kinda hard to believe that a coach with such a strong track record will take the fall for such an under-performing team...kinda like if Toronto fired Mike Babcock for missing the playoffs. If we hadn't found success with Mike Sullivan I'd be all over a guy like Julien to coach the Pens.


----------



## protest

RIP Mr. Snider.

Flyers founder Ed Snider dies at 83


----------



## technomancer

Fleury practiced today... fingers crossed he can start on Wednesday



protest said:


> RIP Mr. Snider.
> 
> Flyers founder Ed Snider dies at 83



RIP


----------



## technomancer

Zatkoff


----------



## AdamMaz

Talk about ....ty luck for Lundqvist


----------



## technomancer

Yeah seriously... but given the Pens are playing their third string goaltender I don't have a lot of sympathy 

That said I will give Zatkoff credit this is the best game I've seen him play in a LONG time (and as I type that he lets a sloppy rebound out and gives up a goal )

Ironically this was also the second game against the Penguins this season where Lundqvist was injured by another Ranger


----------



## protest

Thanks Caps' fans for being respectful of Mr. Snider


----------



## Pav

protest said:


> Thanks Caps' fans for being respectful of Mr. Snider



Are they really, or is that sarcasm?


----------



## protest

Pav said:


> Are they really, or is that sarcasm?



Nope, no sarcasm. They were genuinely respectful.


----------



## JD27

I would hope so, he was born in D.C. and went to the University of Maryland.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Today has dragged on SO much  Go Stars!


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Today has dragged on SO much  Go Stars!



Looks like you had a good night


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> Looks like you had a good night



Oh hell yes, that game was fantastic. I can't wait for tomorrow night.


----------



## technomancer

Man I love that NHL.com flat out doesn't report stuff like this... I missed the game but there was apparently a huge line brawl at the end of the Tampa / Detroit game. Abdelkader should be suspended, you don't beat somebody like that when they're down. Even better was the running away once Blunden was back on his feet.


----------



## technomancer

I really hope Malkin is actually ready to be back. I always get nervous when somebody is out that long and comes back after only ONE full normal practice...


----------



## Pav

One thing has become painfully clear to me over these first two games: without Lundqvist, the Rangers are nothing. Like, really truly nothing.


----------



## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> One thing has become painfully clear to me over these first two games: without Lundqvist, the Rangers are nothing. Like, really truly nothing.


I've long thought the Rangers looked like a near identical team to the Habs.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> One thing has become painfully clear to me over these first two games: without Lundqvist, the Rangers are nothing. Like, really truly nothing.





AdamMaz said:


> I've long thought the Rangers looked like a near identical team to the Habs.



Yeah unfortunately when the goaltending contest is Lundqvist vs Zatkoff, it doesn't bode well for the Pens. Zatkoff simply isn't good enough to cover for the occasional defensive breakdowns by the Pens. Being out-hit 2 to 1 won't help over a playoff series either.


----------



## AdamMaz

Flyer's Mason just let in quite possibly the most embarrassing goal I've ever seen


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Flyer's Mason just let in quite possibly the most embarrassing goal I've ever seen



Just watched the replay... wow that really was terrible


----------



## Pav

AdamMaz said:


> I've long thought the Rangers looked like a near identical team to the Habs.



Only the Habs know how to draft good players like Max Pacioretty and PK Subban. Meanwhile, the Rangers still want to fill the ice in front of Lundqvist with overpriced, past-their-prime "stars" like Dan Boyle and Eric Staal.


----------



## protest

I said it before that I had no idea how the Flyers made the playoffs, and my opinion hasn't changed. They have no business being there with the defense and bottom 6 that they have. They're still 2 years away, but damn do I wish their kids on D were ready now.


----------



## AdamMaz

Who would have thought San Jose to be ahead in their series 2-0 against Los Angeles, both wins on the road.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Who would have thought San Jose to be ahead in their series 2-0 against Los Angeles, both wins on the road.



But it's still the Sharks, how many times have they been ahead and lost the series?


----------



## Pav

After last year's historic meltdown, no SJ series lead is safe.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Did you guys see the wacky Roussel goal last night in the Stars/Wild game? I couldn't believe it counted, and wouldn't have been mad if they came back and said no.


----------



## Pav

ElysianGuitars said:


> Did you guys see the wacky Roussel goal last night in the Stars/Wild game? I couldn't believe it counted, and wouldn't have been mad if they came back and said no.



I didn't see until you mentioned it...that's seriously a one-in-a-million bounce. I didn't see anything illegal about it though, how can you argue a distinct kicking motion when the puck is behind the net??


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Pav said:


> I didn't see until you mentioned it...that's seriously a one-in-a-million bounce. I didn't see anything illegal about it though, how can you argue a distinct kicking motion when the puck is behind the net??



Yeah, he clearly wasn't trying to make a goal, and Dubnyk lifted the net off the pegs anyways, but I honestly had no idea which way Toronto would go


----------



## technomancer

Wow just watched the video of that one... that was nuts.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Seguin out tonight, I've heard his ankle is swollen and they're keeping him out as a precautionary measure.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars REALLY dropped the ball last night, went up 2-0 thanks to two Sharp goals in the first 5 minutes, went on to lose 5-3 (empty net goal gave the Wild 5, so it was still close). The Stars finished the game with 17 shots on net, unacceptable in any game, much less the playoffs.


----------



## Pav

ElysianGuitars said:


> Stars REALLY dropped the ball last night, went up 2-0 thanks to two Sharp goals in the first 5 minutes, went on to lose 5-3 (empty net goal gave the Wild 5, so it was still close). The Stars finished the game with 17 shots on net, unacceptable in any game, much less the playoffs.



I only watched the highlights, but it also looked like the Wild were _really_ clicking last night. Several of those goals were tips and redirects that made me go .

And what do you know, the Pens upgrade to their #2 goaltender and it's another convincing win. I think it may be a while before we see Fleury if Matt Murray keeps playing well.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I only watched the highlights, but it also looked like the Wild were _really_ clicking last night. Several of those goals were tips and redirects that made me go .
> 
> And what do you know, the Pens upgrade to their #2 goaltender and it's another convincing win. I think it may be a while before we see Fleury if Matt Murray keeps playing well.



Didn't see the Stars / Wild game, I basically try to keep it to the Pens and elimination games in the first round or all I get done is watching hockey 

I don't think Fleury is recovering as quickly as he wants to. I think he pushed it to practice and had a setback. He seemed really down in the last interview I saw with him. That said I would rather see the Pens eliminated in the first round than see him come back too soon and get seriously hurt. Given this is his second concussion this year he needs to take a deep breath and relax and do what the doctors tell him.

You can also see a complete change in disposition of the team with Murray in net. They look much more relaxed in their own end and are doing what they're supposed to (trying to get the puck up ice quickly). I also think the additional practice time for the lineup helped as things are flowing much smoother, especially for the D pairings.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> Didn't see the Stars / Wild game, I basically try to keep it to the Pens and elimination games in the first round or all I get done is watching hockey



I'm the same way, and I read what others say about the other games 

Hopefully the Stars actually show up to play tonight. Niemi in net.


----------



## JD27

I just go into hibernation during the playoffs and emerge outside around mid June. I expected Philly to put up more of a fight (not the after the whistle variety) than they have. A sweep would be nice tonight, but I am still not convinced what the Caps actually look like when they play a contender.


----------



## technomancer

Stay classy Blackhawks... Andrew Shaw suspended for homophobic slur and fined for an obscene hand gesture


----------



## pwsusi

> I don't think Fleury is recovering as quickly as he wants to. I think he pushed it to practice and had a setback. He seemed really down in the last interview I saw with him. That said I would rather see the Pens eliminated in the first round than see him come back too soon and get seriously hurt. Given this is his second concussion this year he needs to take a deep breath and relax and do what the doctors tell him.
> 
> You can also see a complete change in disposition of the team with Murray in net. They look much more relaxed in their own end and are doing what they're supposed to (trying to get the puck up ice quickly). I also think the additional practice time for the lineup helped as things are flowing much smoother, especially for the D pairings.


I may take some heat for saying this but i actually like the Pens chances better with Murray. Don't get me wrong I like Fleury, but the team really found their groove at the end of the year with Murray in net and he continues to play great. I think i would be more nervous with with Fleury returning now after being out so long. Plus, while he had a great year and great performance in the playoffs last year, his inconsistency the couple of years before that are still in back of my head. Now if Murray gets hurt or starts to struggle of course i would feel differently about Fleury returning. But for now, don't mess with a winning formula is my feeling. I kinda had mixed emotions about Malkin coming back too as stupid as that may sound 

Go Pens.


----------



## technomancer

pwsusi said:


> I may take some heat for saying this but i actually like the Pens chances better with Murray. Don't get me wrong I like Fleury, but the team really found their groove at the end of the year with Murray in net and he continues to play great. I think i would be more nervous with with Fleury returning now after being out so long. Plus, while he had a great year and great performance in the playoffs last year, his inconsistency the couple of years before that are still in back of my head. Now if Murray gets hurt or starts to struggle of course i would feel differently about Fleury returning. But for now, don't mess with a winning formula is my feeling. I kinda had mixed emotions about Malkin coming back too as stupid as that may sound
> 
> Go Pens.



You're right, that does sound stupid  My only concern with Malkin coming back was if he was ready since he only had one full practice before playing in a game. Murray also only started the last 5 games of the season and the Pens were 9-1 in the ten games before that with Fleury in net...

I also don't think Fleury is going to be back anytime soon, he didn't practice again today.


----------



## protest

JD27 said:


> I expected Philly to put up more of a fight (not the after the whistle variety) than they have. A sweep would be nice tonight


----------



## JD27

protest said:


>



I thought that might happen last night. Same old Caps, never any urgency to finish of a team when they are down.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars have a chance to wrap it up at home tomorrow night, last night was a stressful game but they pulled it out.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> I thought that might happen last night. Same old Caps, never any urgency to finish of a team when they are down.



The Flyers also played a REALLY good defensive game through the second...


----------



## Pav

Don't look now, but Henrik Lundqvist just turned in an ECHL-level first period.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

NYR really want to go on vacation huh?


----------



## technomancer

That is what a crushing defeat looks like... damn


----------



## protest

JD27 said:


> I thought that might happen last night. Same old Caps, never any urgency to finish of a team when they are down.



I expect it to be over tonight. I'm hoping for the Flyers to get a couple early PP's and cash in on them. That's the only way I see them winning. Pretty much like last game, just get a lead and cling to it. 

I only wanted two wins out of this heading into the series since the Flyers really weren't a playoff team. I'm honestly surprised at how well they've hung with the Caps at even strength. Especially without Couturier, and with Jake and Giroux still banged up.


----------



## JD27

protest said:


> I expect it to be over tonight. I'm hoping for the Flyers to get a couple early PP's and cash in on them. That's the only way I see them winning. Pretty much like last game, just get a lead and cling to it.
> 
> I only wanted two wins out of this heading into the series since the Flyers really weren't a playoff team. I'm honestly surprised at how well they've hung with the Caps at even strength. Especially without Couturier, and with Jake and Giroux still banged up.



They literally stopped playing in the 3rd period, that was a bold strategy, but it worked. I don't think the Flyers can behave themselves for too long to stay out of the box. Caps have been playing like garbage at even strength for months. I was thinking special teams would be where it was won. Series needs to end tonight or there won't be any players left.  Couturier, Laughton, and Orpik out in the first 4 games. Orlov came close to not walking again.


----------



## Pav

technomancer said:


> That is what a crushing defeat looks like... damn



I was a little unnerved when we lost game 2 but hot damn, we cleaned up in a hurry.

I don't want to get ahead of myself since we haven't even closed out this first series yet but I have a very good feeling right now.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I was a little unnerved when we lost game 2 but hot damn, we cleaned up in a hurry.
> 
> I don't want to get ahead of myself since we haven't even closed out this first series yet but I have a very good feeling right now.



Yeah unless somebody implodes in a big way it looks like we're heading for a Caps / Pens round 2... should be a good series


----------



## AdamMaz

I haven't been tuning in much, mostly since I don't care for any of the matchups so far, but *Caps/Pens* I would watch every game 

Tuning in to the *Panthers/Islanders* game tonight, fast and intense game. Both teams are playing good breakout offence  I have NEVER seen a crowd at a Florida Panthers game this loud and into it!


----------



## technomancer

Extended Iron Maiden break in the Washington / Philly game 

Hopefully the Pens don't follow the Caps example and forget how to hockey tomorrow... (though Neuvirth is playing really well)


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Extended Iron Maiden break in the Washington / Philly game
> 
> Hopefully the Pens don't follow the Caps example and forget how to hockey tomorrow... (though Neuvirth is playing really well)



Yeah, the guy that couldn't stop a beach ball in the playoffs is pitching a shutout. It's like 2010 all over again, they are being "Halaked". Shots are 42-10 right now.


----------



## JD27

Absolute suck from the Caps, but it's just the way they are. Maybe it would be best if they blow the 3-0 lead, then at least I wouldn't have to waste my time with them getting swept next round... you know because of the great history against the Pens.


----------



## protest

So that's what it's like to be on the winning end of one of those games.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Yeah, the guy that couldn't stop a beach ball in the playoffs is pitching a shutout. It's like 2010 all over again, they are being "Halaked". Shots are 42-10 right now.



Sounds like the Pens before the coaching change  

Really hoping the Pens show up and close out the Rangers today


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Man, Niemi sucks. If Kari was in net last night we absolutely would have ended the series. Niemi let in 5 on like 18 shots. Awful. Have no idea why they didn't put Kari in after the Wild tied the game at 4-4 to get it to OT. Kari in his 3 games has let in 5 goals, Niemi in 2 has let in 7.


----------



## technomancer

NEXT!


----------



## AdamMaz

I would never have thought either the Rangers or Kings would be eliminated in the first round after only 5 games


----------



## pwsusi

So why are the Pens guaranteed to play the winner of Washington and Philly? I would have thought that would have been the case Florida beats NY and Washington beats Philly (i.e. metropolitan vs. metropolitan and atlantic vs. atlantic for the division finals). But if the Islanders win against the Panthers and Washington beats Philly I would have thought it would be the lowest remaining seed vs. the highest (either Islanders vs. Capitals because Islanders were the wild card team, or Lightning vs Capitals because Lightning have the least amount of points of the remaining eastern conference teams).


----------



## Pav

pwsusi said:


> So why are the Pens guaranteed to play the winner of Washington and Philly? I would have thought that would have been the case Florida beats NY and Washington beats Philly (i.e. metropolitan vs. metropolitan and atlantic vs. atlantic for the division finals). But if the Islanders win against the Panthers and Washington beats Philly I would have thought it would be the lowest remaining seed vs. the highest (either Islanders vs. Capitals because Islanders were the wild card team, or Lightning vs Capitals because Lightning have the least amount of points of the remaining eastern conference teams).



I'm still a little confused with how the playoffs work now too, but I know the league is trying to produce more divisional matchups in the first two rounds. The Pens will play either Washington or Philly because both Washington and Philly are Metro teams like the Pens...but if the Islanders advance I will be completely lost on how things are decided.


----------



## AdamMaz

*NHL.com Playoff Bracket*

Chicago is ....ting the bed. If Nashville can beat Anaheim, the playoffs in the West will become miraculously interesting real fast.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I'm still a little confused with how the playoffs work now too, but I know the league is trying to produce more divisional matchups in the first two rounds. The Pens will play either Washington or Philly because both Washington and Philly are Metro teams like the Pens...but if the Islanders advance I will be completely lost on how things are decided.



This explains it (sort of):
Stanley Cup Playoffs format, qualification system - NHL.com - News

It's still Division based except for the wild card teams which can both come from either Division and are based on points 

So the Metropolitan matchups were Caps (1) / Flyers (wildcard) and Pens (2) / Rangers (3)... the winner of those two play each other.

The Atlantic matchups were Panthers (1) / Islanders (wildcard) and Tampa (2) / Detroit (3) so the winner of those two play each other.


----------



## technomancer

Caps / Pens here we come


----------



## Pav

Obviously this doesn't apply at the moment, but since we're playing the Caps I thought I would start things off with my favorite Caps-related meme.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Obviously this doesn't apply at the moment, but since we're playing the Caps I thought I would start things off with my favorite Caps-related meme.


----------



## JD27

Capitals have no chance against the Penguins.


----------



## Pav

JD27 said:


> Capitals have no chance against the Penguins.



What makes you so sure? I do a lot of online reading when it comes to hockey and it seems to me that most Caps fans are pretty confident right now.


----------



## protest

Pav said:


> What makes you so sure? I do a lot of online reading when it comes to hockey and it seems to me that most Caps fans are pretty confident right now.



Because they could barely outplay the Flyers at 5 on 5 and the Flyers are a bad 5 on 5 team. I don't see the Caps making it past the Pens, but I hope they do.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I nearly had a heart attack when the Stars blew a 4 goal lead and only barely won 5-4 yesterday  The next round isn't going to be better


----------



## AdamMaz

Regardless of the Caps this year, I still tend to lean towards Pens as coming out on top for some reason, probably history.


----------



## Sephiroth952

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD!


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Regardless of the Caps this year, I still tend to lean towards Pens as coming out on top for some reason, probably history.



Having watched a lot of both teams and barring serious injuries to any major players, I will be shocked if the Pens don't win this series



Sephiroth952 said:


> DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD!


----------



## technomancer

Also WTF is this crap with the league starting the second round before the first round is finished?

Given Stamkos is just starting to practice I would be REALLY pissed if was Tampa about not getting that extra day or two before the start of the series


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Also WTF is this crap with the league starting the second round before the first round is finished?


I too noticed that this morning, never seen this before.
EDIT: Woooooow, the first game of the 2nd round could potentially even finish before the last game of the 1st even starts. Good job Bettman.

Hoping the Ducks get eliminated tonight.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

So Boudreau is probably gone today yeah? Will probably be hired by another team within the month, maybe even week. He's just got to figure out how to go to that next step.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> So Boudreau is probably gone today yeah? Will probably be hired by another team within the month, maybe even week. He's just got to figure out how to go to that next step.



Yeah it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him fired in the near future...


----------



## AdamMaz

Caps/Pens 1st period is over, both team's powerplay looking good. I have a feeling special teams will be the biggest factor in this series.

I was expecting to watch this series indifferently, but I think I am leaning towards rooting for the Caps. Both teams have had polarized playoff success in recent years and I want to see an interesting outcome (Pens winning has gotten dull over the years )


----------



## Pav

But we haven't won sh!t since '09.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Caps/Pens 1st period is over, both team's powerplay looking good. I have a feeling special teams will be the biggest factor in this series.
> 
> I was expecting to watch this series indifferently, but I think I am leaning towards rooting for the Caps. Both teams have had polarized playoff success in recent years and I want to see an interesting outcome (Pens winning has gotten dull over the years )



Not sure how Pens winning could be getting dull, they've flamed out every year since 09 

It's not like they're the Blackhawks...


----------



## technomancer

PS Beagle: full of sticks


----------



## Pav

22 plays involving pucks bouncing in front of the net and one finally goes in. Bring on game 2.


----------



## technomancer

Pens D really does need to do a better job of covering guys going behind the net... that game winner was flat out poor D coverage as nobody was there to pick up Oshie on the other side. Also I really like Maatta but his speed is concerning me in this series.

Great game overall, definitely going to be a fun to watch series no matter who comes out on top


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Was Daley at fault for any goals against? I'd be willing to bet yes, but just curious


----------



## protest

I hope that series ends in a tie.


----------



## Pav

ElysianGuitars said:


> Was Daley at fault for any goals against? I'd be willing to bet yes, but just curious



Nope, Daley has been excellent for us IMO. He's bringing a lot of offense from the blueline. Olli Mattaa was the guy being outskated a little too frequently.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Nope, Daley has been excellent for us IMO. He's bringing a lot of offense from the blueline. Olli Mattaa was the guy being outskated a little too frequently.



Well, while not directly responsible he was on the ice for 3 of the 4 Caps goals... while I mentioned Mattaa's performance earlier he was only a -1.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Yeah it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him fired in the near future...


----------



## Pav

technomancer said:


> Well, while not directly responsible he was on the ice for 3 of the 4 Caps goals... while I mentioned Mattaa's performance earlier he was only a -1.



Quiet with your statistics, let me have my ill-grounded opinions!

Let's go Pens.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Quiet with your statistics, let me have my ill-grounded opinions!
> 
> Let's go Pens.



Typical Pens fan 

Bottom line if the Caps are going to go for the Crosby / Ovechkin line matchup the Pens top line needs to play better. -3 doesn't cut it for your top line...


----------



## technomancer

How the fvck is a late elbow to the chin NOT a 5 minute major?!?!?


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> How the fvck is a late elbow to the chin NOT a 5 minute major?!?!?



Flyers fans dealt with this and many similar questions throughout our series.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah Pens are playing with 5 D because Mattaa is apparently concussed by the looks of it.

So frustrating... outplay and outshoot the Caps 2-1, tie game half way through the third


----------



## Pav

Whatever, it's a whole new series now.


----------



## technomancer




----------



## protest

I still can commiserate, but I still can't support you guys


----------



## technomancer

I think I can hear Elysian screaming all the way over here in PA


----------



## Pav

And Brooks Orpik has been suspended 3 games. I was guessing 1 or 2...does this help us? As "meh" as he's been so far I can't think of any other Caps D-man that brings such a physical presence.


----------



## technomancer

It definitely helps the Pens. It is pretty funny watching some Caps fans whine about this. It was a blatant head shot well after the puck was gone from a guy that has been suspended for the same thing in the past. Three or four games is appropriate, one or two would have been light IMHO just because it was such a blatant hit and he is a "repeat offender" under the discipline guidelines.


----------



## technomancer

Wow really surprised they brought in Pouliot and not Schultz.. hopefully Pouliot has a good game as I do not want to see the Pens split these two home games


----------



## technomancer

Crap and Letang will likely end up suspended damnit... and that would definitely be a bigger loss for the Pens than Orpik was for the Caps


----------



## Pav

After the Orpik suspension, I'll be surprised if he gets less than 2 games. People seem to be calling the league's credibility into question more than usual this series...thanks, Barry Trotz.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> After the Orpik suspension, I'll be surprised if he gets less than 2 games. People seem to be calling the league's credibility into question more than usual this series...thanks, Barry Trotz.



Trotz was a royal a$shole on this one... so three games for Orpik who is a repeat offender and injured someone on the play was too much but it would have been fair for Letang who is not a repeat offender on a play where no injury happened? Screw him. He was just hoping to win the series by getting our #1 and #2 defenders out of the way.

I think given the lack of history and injury on the play the one game was fair but you know the Caps are going to carry on about it. Not to mention Letang is a bit more integral to the Pens than Orpik is to the Caps. They were both terrible hits with pretty much the disciplinary outcomes I expected given what the league looks at in those situations.

I'm honestly getting sick of the completely random determination of what gets called and what doesn't both ways in these games.

EDIT: I did see Johansson didn't practice, but I will be flat out amazed if he isn't on the ice tomorrow given he said his neck was just a bit sore. Also saw that the Pens recalled Sestito and Oleksy... wonder if the Pens are going to go in heavy tomorrow night given the Caps play.


----------



## AdamMaz

*DESTROYED!*


----------



## technomancer

Good to see Oshie's jaw was hurt from a hit that was shown to be square in his chest on the replay


----------



## technomancer




----------



## Pav

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YES!


----------



## protest

Barry Trotz is a giant baby and looks like one of those things from Ocarina of Time.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> Barry Trotz is a giant baby and looks like one of those things from Ocarina of Time.



I haven't looked, what's he whining about now?


----------



## AdamMaz

protest said:


> Barry Trotz is a giant baby and looks like one of those things from Ocarina of Time.


Please clarify "those things from Ocarina of Time"


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> I haven't looked, what's he whining about now?



Just in general. He's always whining in between periods to the refs, and complaining during and after the game, even if the team wins. I never noticed it because I didn't watch many Preds games.



AdamMaz said:


> Please clarify "those things from Ocarina of Time"


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> Just in general. He's always whining in between periods to the refs, and complaining during and after the game, even if the team wins. I never noticed it because I didn't watch many Preds games.



Ah all right gotcha. Thought he was complaining to the press about something else 

Hopefully after tomorrow he'll be complaining on the golf course I'm still annoyed about all the head hit crap in the last game. Oshie getting hit sqare in the chest and getting up and running over to the refs holding his jaw and the Malkin hit on Wilson that was another chest shot that caught his chin on the follow through getting the commentators going. I don't want to see anybody take a head shot, but the attempts to buy something are getting annoying.


----------



## pwsusi

_The NHL announced on Thursday that Gerard Gallant of the Florida Panthers, Lindy Ruff of the Dallas Stars and Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals are the finalists for the Jack Adams Trophy this year. Although the votes are already cast and counted by PHWA, we won't learn who won until the NHL Awards ceremony in Las Vegas on June 22. The award is voted on by NHL broadcasters from every team._

How Mike Sullivan not one of the finalists is beyond me.


----------



## Pav

Probably because he hasn't even coached a full season yet. He's been here for such a short time that I would definitely question a Jack Adams nomination at this point. If he can replicate this success over a full 82 game season, then I'm with you.


----------



## AdamMaz

There is nothing more frustrating than completely outplaying a team, only to lose to sheer opportunism ....ing Tampa yet again


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> There is nothing more frustrating than completely outplaying a team, only to lose to sheer opportunism ....ing Tampa yet again



Bottom line Greiss needs to make that save... it was a shot from the point with no Tampa players anywhere near him.


----------



## AdamMaz

I'm only just noticing now early in the 2nd period, but am I actually seeing a lot of empty unattended seats at this game?


----------



## technomancer

Holtby stole one


----------



## technomancer

And Tampa advances... hopefully the Pens show up on Tuesday and do the same


----------



## Pav

Aw son of a bitch, I thought we played tonight. Now to pass the next 34 hours. Word on the street is the Flower may be returning.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Aw son of a bitch, I thought we played tonight. Now to pass the next 34 hours. Word on the street is the Flower may be returning.



Yep Tuesday is the next one... and I like Fleury, but honestly I saw nothing about Murray's performance that warranted pulling him. Two of the goals he let in he could literally do nothing about, the 5 hole goal literally bounced right over his stick  

Also either Sullivan is lying or Murray will be in net

Penguins name Murray starting goaltender for Game 6 | TribLIVE


----------



## Pav

Well it WAS the word on the street until Mike Sullivan went and undermined my hockey journalism.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Well it WAS the word on the street until Mike Sullivan went and undermined my hockey journalism.


----------



## technomancer

I am getting REALLY tired of the selective officiating. Daley gets tripped in the Pens end in the corner, no call. Similar play at center ice a minute later, Caps powerplay 

If you're going to call it, call it regardless of team or score.


----------



## JD27

Lol, same old Capitals... More playoff passengers than a Carnival Cruise ship.


----------



## technomancer

Pens


----------



## technomancer

Despite every attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory


----------



## Pav

In all of his years as a Penguin, both regular and postseason, I don't think I ever saw Brooks Orpik make mistakes as careless and costly as he did in this series. Maybe Barry Trotz is one of the NHL's most overrated coaches or maybe the Caps really are cursed, but he appeared to be out of his element and clumsy enough to wonder if he's been injured for a while.


----------



## protest

Let's go Lightning!


----------



## JD27

Pav said:


> In all of his years as a Penguin, both regular and postseason, I don't think I ever saw Brooks Orpik make mistakes as careless and costly as he did in this series. Maybe Barry Trotz is one of the NHL's most overrated coaches or maybe the Caps really are cursed, but he appeared to be out of his element and clumsy enough to wonder if he's been injured for a while.



Orpik has been slow for a while now, it's only gotten worse since the Caps signed him. He takes a lot of minors because he can't keep up. Losing Alzner in the first didn't help, he is the Caps best defensemen. 

I am actually surprised they managed to win 2 games in the series, they match up terribly against teams with speed. The Pens had much more forward depth as well. The Caps bottom lines are pretty much garbage. The team as whole kind of fooled people because of their hot start. They were not very good after Feb, especially 5v5. 

On another note though, the new playoff seeding format is pure garbage, there is no reason the top 2 teams in each conference should meet in the 2nd round.


----------



## technomancer

Got to admit I really did think they were going to blow that game last night when they took the three delay of game minors in a row... 



JD27 said:


> Orpik has been slow for a while now, it's only gotten worse since the Caps signed him. He takes a lot of minors because he can't keep up. Losing Alzner in the first didn't help, he is the Caps best defensemen.



Yep that is exactly why the Pens didn't resign him. He was slowing down and wanted a long-term high dollar deal. I thought the Caps were insane when I saw the contract they signed him to  (I also say that as someone who likes Orpik...)


----------



## Pav

Wow...I can't believe Dallas crumbled the way they did.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Wow...I can't believe Dallas crumbled the way they did.



I unfortunately missed the game but was surprised when I saw the score this morning...


----------



## protest

Is Stamkos coming back? I wonder if it's going to be a Lindros in 2000 type situation where he gets forced the puck and the chemistry gets thrown out of whack.


----------



## JD27

Really? They reminded me a lot of the Boudreau Era Capitals. They scored a whole lot, but their goaltending and Team D was suspect all season. They allowed a lot of goals, far more than any of the serious Cup contending teams.

Just saw Orpik was playing with a cracked Femur that was not fully healed from earlier in the season and a concussion/neck injury from the first round.


----------



## Pav

^ The Orpik injuries don't surprise me at all.



technomancer said:


> I unfortunately missed the game but was surprised when I saw the score this morning...


I didn't watch it either but made sure to watch the highlights this morning. The Stars have like $10mil tied up in two goaltenders and neither of them were consistent at all.



protest said:


> Is Stamkos coming back? I wonder if it's going to be a Lindros in 2000 type situation where he gets forced the puck and the chemistry gets thrown out of whack.


Apparently he's expected to return during this series but atm he's still skating with a no-contact jersey. I'll take a wild guess and say he'll be back for game 3.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Pav said:


> ^ The Orpik injuries don't surprise me at all.
> 
> 
> I didn't watch it either but made sure to watch the highlights this morning. The Stars have like $10mil tied up in two goaltenders and neither of them were consistent at all.
> 
> 
> Apparently he's expected to return during this series but atm he's still skating with a no-contact jersey. I'll take a wild guess and say he'll be back for game 3.



I'm about certain at least one of our goalies is getting bought out in the offseason. Hope it's Niemi. He was trash.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> I unfortunately missed the game but was surprised when I saw the score this morning...


I watched the game until 4-0. The Stars were competitive and getting great scoring chances, the problem was 100% Lehtonen. First period he let in 3 soft goals PLUS a dissallowed goal via review/offside that was even softer. Was playing deep in his crease on his knees the whole time and couldn't cover the holes from low percentage shooting angles.

I haven't seen any Sharks or Preds games, but my money is on the Blues for the Cup. I believe the Lightning will beat the Pens fawk, but aren't as good as the Blues right now.


----------



## Pav

If the Lightning beat the Pens, I'll eat a sandwich comprised of my own feces. I'm expecting Sharks-Penguins in the final.


----------



## protest

Pav said:


> If the Lightning beat the Pens, I'll eat a sandwich comprised of my own feces. I'm expecting Sharks-Penguins in the final.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> If the Lightning beat the Pens, I'll eat a sandwich comprised of my own feces. I'm expecting Sharks-Penguins in the final.



You're feeling brave given how the season series went 

I think the Pens will win the series, but I'm not THAT confident about it...


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Apparently Sharp was playing with a separated shoulder for part of the 2nd round, Moen broke his wrist, and Roussel was playing with an abdominal strain. I wouldn't be surprised if several other major players had injuries as well, didn't seem like Benn or Spezza were playing well by the middle of the 2nd round.


----------



## Vostre Roy

Haven't watched a complete game during the post-season, but given the results so far, I think I'll go for a Blues - Pens final aswell. I just can't wrap my head around seeing the Shark being in final given how many times they blew their chances in the past.

Also in other news, since my Habs are out playing golf, I can't pass over the fact that my local LHJMQ (Quebec's junior hockey league) hockey team, the Rouyn-Noranda's Huskies, just won the President's Cup and will now compete for the Memorial cup, wich sees the best of Ontario, Québec and Western junior leagues teams (along the local team who gets to host the cup) compete for the cup.

Go Huskies!


----------



## Pav

technomancer said:


> You're feeling brave given how the season series went
> 
> I think the Pens will win the series, but I'm not THAT confident about it...



I am feeling brave. Call it blind optimism but this is the best I've seen the Pens play in at least 5 years. Even if Tampa swept us this past season, how many of those games were during the Perpetual Slump of Mike Johnston? We haven't played them since we took off under Sullivan. On top of that, we've already solved two of the best goalies in the league. Tampa's strength so far has apparently been their defense but I think Hagelin, Kessel and Bonino can turn Victor Hedman into a Swedish turnstile. I'm as weary as ever of a spontaneous collapse but for the first time in years, I feel comfortable with what we can do here versus the last several years, where we went in expecting the worst. I guess I'm just ready to cheer emphatically again.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I am feeling brave. Call it blind optimism but this is the best I've seen the Pens play in at least 5 years. Even if Tampa swept us this past season, how many of those games were during the Perpetual Slump of Mike Johnston? We haven't played them since we took off under Sullivan. On top of that, we've already solved two of the best goalies in the league. Tampa's strength so far has apparently been their defense but I think Hagelin, Kessel and Bonino can turn Victor Hedman into a Swedish turnstile. I'm as weary as ever of a spontaneous collapse but for the first time in years, I feel comfortable with what we can do here versus the last several years, where we went in expecting the worst. I guess I'm just ready to cheer emphatically again.



Actually all three games were under Sullivan... they were some of the most painful games as they were the old Pens standard of dominate all stats and still lose badly  Don't get me wrong I'm optimistic, just not THAT optimistic... especially since Tampa is as fast as the Pens. It should be a fun series to watch.


----------



## Pav

But how the .... is Ryan Callahan not thrown out of the game after that hit?


----------



## technomancer

That was my response as well... I'm going to be amazed if Letang doesn't have a concussion


----------



## technomancer

Damn don't like to see anybody get hurt, but that may equalize the series for the Pens losing Letang.

REALLY glad none of the Pens hit Bishop to cause that injury.

EDIT: Also WTF is Letang doing back on the ice


----------



## Pav

That looked pretty bad for Bishop, like a done-for-the-year type of thing. And I'm surprised Letang was let back into the game with his history of head injuries, that was a suspension-worthy hit from behind.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah that I agree Bishop is probably done and I completely agree on Letang. You could see from the one angle he was unconscious on the ice so I am amazed they let him back in.


----------



## AdamMaz

Only recap footage I've seen of tonight's game was the Bishop injury, underwhelming tumble for how serious it likely is. Looks like Pav probably won't have to eat that sandwich after all.


----------



## technomancer

WTF no supplementary discipline for either of the boards by Tampa. Apparently you can't turn and face the boards to play the puck with somebody several feet behind you or you can expect to get killed. Awesome. So basically two blatant boards both of which resulted in players being knocked out on the ice with no action by the league.

I love hockey (was a season ticket holder for the Pens for years) but I really am so sick of the random officiating and crap like this that I get closer to just not watching every year.


----------



## technomancer

REALLY relieved to see both Letang and Dumoulin on the ice for practice today... I was really not expecting to see Dumoulin.


----------



## MFB

I'm shocked that the Sharks have made it this far. I want nothing more than for them to go all the way and bring that thing home to San Jose. It's about damn time.


----------



## Pav

Like I said, Sharks and Pens in the final!

Assuming Matt Murray can get his rebounds under control. He's giving me anxiety here.


----------



## technomancer

Man I love the journalism on nhl.com

Off night dooms Lightning in Game 2 loss

So both games the Pens substantially outshot the Lightning AND had more giveaways but the Pens only won last night because the Bolts had an "off night"


----------



## protest

That's how I saw it.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> That's how I saw it.



Shouldn't you be watching the IIHF by this time of year


----------



## AdamMaz

MFB said:


> I'm shocked that the Sharks have made it this far. I want nothing more than for them to go all the way and bring that thing home to San Jose. It's about damn time.


I would be equally happy with that outcome, they never could quite make it past the WCF for a bunch of years.

I would also like Vlasic to bring the Cup home. I still remember playing soccer with him way back in elementary after-school daycare. I think they even have a laminated picture of him hanging at the rink across the street, next to referee Randy Jackson.




technomancer said:


> Man I love the journalism on nhl.com
> 
> Off night dooms Lightning in Game 2 loss
> 
> So both games the Pens substantially outshot the Lightning AND had more giveaways but the Pens only won last night because the Bolts had an "off night"


If you ignore the outcome of the first game; _two_ off nights


----------



## Ebart

Okay, all of my teams are out, but I am really hoping for a Sharks Penguins Final. Hoping the Sharks take it, because why not.


----------



## technomancer

So apparently interference is no longer a call for this game (it's been both ways which is fine, I just find it funny)

Also what was possibly the weakest slash ever called in the NHL


----------



## technomancer

Guess Tampa had another off night


----------



## Pav

During the game they mentioned that we were out-shooting Tampa to a hilarious degree, like 118-64, through the entire series so far. This whole conference final seems to be an off night for the Lightning. I was settling in for a long series after game 1 but now we have an opportunity to dismantle them like we did the Rangers.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah hoping the Pens keep their foot on the gas and finish Tampa off. I do not want to see Bishop and Stamkos coming back in this series.


----------



## Pav

I'm expecting to see Bishop back by the end of the series but Stamkos is starting to look like he's done until next year. But first, the time is ripe for the Flower to make his triumphant return to domination.


----------



## technomancer

We'll see. Whoever the Pens start better be on their game since it looks like either Maatta or Pouliot will be going in for Daley...

As for Stamkos from what he said he's nuts if he plays. He's he's about 1.5 months into a 3 month protocol for a blood clot on injectable blood thinners... he probably shouldn't even be practicing


----------



## Pav

Realistically, I think Matt Murray will be starting tomorrow. But I love Fleury and just want to see him post 6 consecutive shutouts en route to the Cup.  And considering how well we did without Letang against the Caps, I'm not too worried about Daley. I have a feeling he won't be out for long.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah my biggest concern is speed, the Lightning are much faster than the Caps and I'm not sure either Maatta or Pouliot can keep up with them... that worries me. That said if the Pens keep possession it doesn't matter


----------



## technomancer

Fleury is starting and Daley is out for the rest of the post-season with a broken ankle.


----------



## Pav

That makes me 0 for 3 on postseason predictions. 

Losing Daley like that definitely hurts. Hopefully Olli Maatta can bounce back in his stead. And in other news, Beau Bennett has been cleared to play and may also be back in the lineup.


----------



## technomancer

Really not sure how I feel about Bennett being back in much less back in and on the top line... guy has not played in forever, is made of glass, and is really hot and cold when he's not hurt


----------



## technomancer

What to do when you have 3 goal tenders and none of them are playing well


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Trade one to Dallas


----------



## Pav

Despite how shaky Fleury looked, he didn't even have a chance on at least two of those goals. That was definitely not our finest team game this postseason, we let Tampa claw back when we had them where we wanted them.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Trade one to Dallas



Nope.... thought I think Zatkoff is a UFA  



Pav said:


> Despite how shaky Fleury looked, he didn't even have a chance on at least two of those goals. That was definitely not our finest team game this postseason, we let Tampa claw back when we had them where we wanted them.



No argument. Definitely not blaming the loss on Fleury. I was more referring to who they would play tomorrow night


----------



## Ebart

Watching this 3rd pd right now. TB REALLY came out strong and does not want a game 7.


----------



## Pav

Too bad for them they're heading back to Pittsburgh...and coming off their worst loss yet. Everyone was talking about if/when Matt Murray would crack but it's starting to look like Andrei Vasilevskiy cracked first.


----------



## MFB

SHARKS!
SHARKS!
SHARKS!
SHARKS!

Bout damn time they made it to the Finals


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Too bad for them they're heading back to Pittsburgh...and coming off their worst loss yet. Everyone was talking about if/when Matt Murray would crack but it's starting to look like Andrei Vasilevskiy cracked first.



Hopefully Murray can keep it together. He looked good last night, maybe he just needed some rest.



MFB said:


> SHARKS!
> SHARKS!
> SHARKS!
> SHARKS!
> 
> Bout damn time they made it to the Finals



Pretty sure the Sharks making the Final is one of the signs in the Book of Revelations


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Pretty sure the Sharks making the Final is one of the signs in the Book of Revelations



Yup, right here...



> "Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast
> For it is a human number, Its number is Eighty-eight."


----------



## technomancer

^


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Rooting for the Sharks.


----------



## MFB

Burnz for Prez



> Hopefully Murray can keep it together. He looked good last night, maybe he just needed some rest.



Do you guys have him on lock for a while? I'm curious to see if someone will try to repeat the success of Jones in SJ with Murray next season.


----------



## Pav

MFB said:


> Do you guys have him on lock for a while? I'm curious to see if someone will try to repeat the success of Jones in SJ with Murray next season.



He has 2 years left on an entry-level contract and then becomes an RFA. Unless someone hands him one of the most outrageous offer sheets in league history, he's going to be here for a while.


----------



## MFB

Pav said:


> He has 2 years left on an entry-level contract and then becomes an RFA. Unless someone hands him one of the most outrageous offer sheets in league history, he's going to be here for a while.



Didn't expect anything else but that, and I feel that's a solid place for him to be given the Pens ability to overuse Fleury to the point he breaks (with good reason); but now there's actually a backup who can take over and give the team confidence.


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> Didn't expect anything else but that, and I feel that's a solid place for him to be given the Pens ability to overuse Fleury to the point he breaks (with good reason); but now there's actually a backup who can take over and give the team confidence.



Yeah I see Fleury as the starter and Murray as the backup next year with a more reasonable rotation. IMHO they should have resigned Greiss as the backup for this season, Fleury played WAY too many games because they had no confidence in Zatkoff.


----------



## Pav

Personally, I don't see Matt Murray playing as a backup. I think at his age management would rather send him back to WBS so he can keep starting regularly. Or...gasp...they actually move Fleury and give Murray the crease for good.


----------



## AdamMaz

I've never understood the confidence that the Penguins organization has in Fleury


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Personally, I don't see Matt Murray playing as a backup. I think at his age management would rather send him back to WBS so he can keep starting regularly. Or...gasp...they actually move Fleury and give Murray the crease for good.



I think the only way they move Fleury is if they're going to lose him or Murray in an expansion draft. Fleury is a franchise goaltender that was playing some of the best hockey of his career when he got hurt and is still under contract for 3 years. Murray has had an absolutely amazing debut but is currently 4-3 in his last 7 and was looking worn out before he got a game off. Not sure that would bode well as a starter in an 82 game season. I think Murray will definitely be the Pens starting goaltender, I just doubt it will be next year.



AdamMaz said:


> I've never understood the confidence that the Penguins organization has in Fleury



He's got the best stats of any goaltender in franchise history?


----------



## technomancer

Also if Stamkos plays tonight he is insane. The guy is in the middle of a 3 month treatment run and is still on injectable blood thinners...


----------



## Pav

He's there but I can't say I'm too worried. He doesn't look anywhere close to 100%.

And with that in mind, why the ....ing .... do we keep handing Drouin such glorious chances? He's been one of their most effective offensive players this entire series yet we look like we're caught off guard everytime he shoots and scores. If we were as soft on Ovechkin as we are on this kid, the Caps would've walked all over us.


----------



## technomancer

^ 

That said Vasilevskiy has made some amazing saves or this would be 5-1


----------



## Pav

This series would probably be over already if not for Vasilevskiy. I daresay he's looked even better than Matt Murray has.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah especially given the Pens have outshot the Bolts over 2-1 through the series...


----------



## technomancer

PENS SHARKS BABY


----------



## Pav

This is officially legit. The Cup is within reach. Tampa was probably the second most fleet-footed team left in the playoffs (after us). The Sharks aren't going to be able to keep up with us. Just envisioning Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau trying in vain to chase down Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel puts a smile on my face. Let's do this.


----------



## technomancer

NBC's commentators can fvck right off too, Vasilevskiy was phenomenal and has absolutely nothing to regret about this series.


----------



## Ebart

technomancer said:


> NBC's commentators can fvck right off too, Vasilevskiy was phenomenal and has absolutely nothing to regret about this series.



He WAS great, no doubt. But you can't argue against that being a sloppy goal he let in. 

Regardless, I'm excited for Sharks/Penguins. If only the Blackhawks didn't blow it in the first rd, I'd be REALLY excited.


----------



## technomancer

Ebart said:


> He WAS great, no doubt. But you can't argue against that being a sloppy goal he let in.
> 
> Regardless, I'm excited for Sharks/Penguins. If only the Blackhawks didn't blow it in the first rd, I'd be REALLY excited.



It's going to be really interesting to see how the Hawks deal with the cap issues the Pens have been dealing with for years. 

I'm hoping the Pens take it all this year as they don't have this group locked up for very much time and some of the guys making big contributions that came up from the AHL are going to likely want paid when their contracts are up.


----------



## AdamMaz

Sharks in 4.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Sharks in 4.



Keep dreaming... should be a good series


----------



## Pav

I'm surprised at how the media seems to be almost unanimous in picking the Sharks to win the Cup. Matt Murray > Martin Jones. And I keep reading that the Sharks also play a high-speed game but I'm lost as to who their speed players are. Couture? Pavelski? Hertl?

Omg I'm getting so anxious over this, Monday cannot come soon enough.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> I'm surprised at how the media seems to be almost unanimous in picking the Sharks to win the Cup. Matt Murray > Martin Jones. And I keep reading that the Sharks also play a high-speed game but I'm lost as to who their speed players are. Couture? Pavelski? Hertl?
> 
> Omg I'm getting so anxious over this, Monday cannot come soon enough.



Yeah I watched a few of the Sharks games, maybe they have a speed game compared to the Western conference teams, but they're nothing remotely close to the Pens or the Lightning. Realistically they need to hope they can rattle the Pens with physicality or they're going to be in trouble.

It should be an interesting series. I also agree it feels like there should be a game tonight.


----------



## MFB

AdamMaz said:


> Sharks in 6.



As much as I'd like to see if be a sweep, the Pens made it to the Finals so that says something in itself. I feel like it'll get tied at 2-2, then Sharks close it out back to back.


----------



## Pav

I'm predicting the Sharks will win a couple close games before the Pens win the Cup in 6. Despite all of the veteran players on the Sharks, they're still a team full of virgins when it comes to the Cup Final.


----------



## MFB

Without looking at the rosters, how many of your players are still from the 08-09 season? I know Sid, Malkin and Fleury were all there but there have been a good amount of changes in the 7 years since then; and aside from them who else on the team have been to a Cup final?

I don't think being 'finals virgins' is as big as its made out to be


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> Without looking at the rosters, how many of your players are still from the 08-09 season? I know Sid, Malkin and Fleury were all there but there have been a good amount of changes in the 7 years since then; and aside from them who else on the team have been to a Cup final?
> 
> I don't think being 'finals virgins' is as big as its made out to be



Letang was on the Pens cup team and Cullen won the Cup with the Canes. Lovejoy was also on the roster in 09 IIRC but didn't dress for any games.


----------



## Pav

MFB said:


> Without looking at the rosters, how many of your players are still from the 08-09 season? I know Sid, Malkin and Fleury were all there but there have been a good amount of changes in the 7 years since then; and aside from them who else on the team have been to a Cup final?
> 
> I don't think being 'finals virgins' is as big as its made out to be



Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Letang - basically the exact same core we had back then, although I guess Fleury doesn't even count right now. You could very well be right, maybe the experience factor doesn't mean anything compared to how the media talks about it. But the memory of the Penguins' crushing loss in the Finals in '08 will be forever burned into my mind. When they lost, I remember hearing a common thread throughout the hockey world; people were saying once you've been to the Finals and lost, THEN you'll finally have the necessary playoff experience to get back there and win. That may be nothing more than a proverbial load of BS but when the Pens went all the way the following year, I couldn't help but wonder if there was something behind the idea of playoff experience.


----------



## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> When they lost, I remember hearing a common thread throughout the hockey world; people were saying once you've been to the Finals and lost, THEN you'll finally have the necessary playoff experience to get back there and win. That may be nothing more than a proverbial load of BS but when the Pens went all the way the following year, I couldn't help but wonder if there was something behind the idea of playoff experience.


I would agree with this.


----------



## MFB

If that's really the case, then I look forward to the Sharks 2017 cup!


----------



## AdamMaz

Sharks' defensemen look remarkably bad tonight.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Penguins speed is going to win the series, Sharks defensemen are remarkably easy to get around



This is honestly what I hoped would happen, we'll see if it keeps up. This is also why I wondered what games the commentators were watching when everybody was talking about how fast the Sharks are... they have a good quick up game but they don't have the foot speed the Pens do.


----------



## MFB

There seems to be a good lack of aggression from the Sharks D, especially Burns. They need to get in there and own that .....

This second period has been a pretty damn good turn around though.


----------



## technomancer

One down 

Pens need to clean up their passing and elevate the puck on shots more


----------



## Pav

Agreed on both. Our passes were noticeably off target tonight. And I think Kessel and Hornqvist could've had 2 goals each if they had been able to shoot high. Meanwhile, Nick Bonino could win the Conn Smythe if he keeps playing like this.


----------



## protest

This is my nightmare.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> This is my nightmare.



Really? This has been worse for you than watching the Flyers?


----------



## protest

Ha ha ha


----------



## MFB

That was one hell of a giveaway goal


----------



## Pav

The Sharks are pretty fortunate to have allowed only one in regulation. They have hit as many posts as the Pens, but one goal on 30 shots? I'm so tired of these unreal goalies.


----------



## technomancer

Pens lead the series 2-0 

also agreed on the insane goaltending


----------



## Pav

Has "Crybaby Crosby" been usurped by Crybaby Couture?? Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, he's too good in the faceoff dot!!!


----------



## technomancer

Yeah talk about some reaching looking for something to complain about...


----------



## AdamMaz

Looks like the Sharks had another "off night"  Seriously though, Pens are looking like the far better team. 

It isn't over until the home team loses.


----------



## technomancer

Oh yeah it's not over until it's over, but the Pens have definitely carried play so far. You can say what you want about the games potentially going either way, but generally when a team gets outshot 2 to 1 they're going to lose...


----------



## technomancer

Got to admit watching them break down the Sharks centers cheating on faceoffs on NHL Live was pretty freaking hilarious, but not remotely as funny as watching Couture backpedal.

Hoping the Pens keep their foot on the gas and win this but I'm honestly expecting them to drop this one tonight  I'll be happy if I'm wrong though


----------



## Pav

Based on the prior playoff series this year, it's a safe bet to assume they'll lose tonight. They seem to be consistently splitting the two road games. Of course a win would put a stranglehold on the Stanley ....ing Cup.


----------



## technomancer

Yup about what I expected. They also finally found that top corner of the net Murray ALWAYS leaves open when he crouches and hugs the post.


----------



## MFB

Well that was quick


----------



## Pav

It looked more like air hockey than ice hockey last night. I haven't seen ice so bad since it rained before the Winter Classic a few years ago.


----------



## technomancer

What's really funny are the Sharks fans trying to compare Cole saying the ice was bad to Couture saying Crosby gets away with cheating because he's Crosby 

As for the goal, it's hard for a goaltender to react when he doesn't see the puck until it's 2' away... if you look at a couple of the other camera angles Letang completely screened Murray on the play so he never saw the puck. Now the Ward goal, that one Murray should have had


----------



## Pav

Well...the ice _was_ noticeably bad, even the NBC announcers were talking about it. The puck isn't supposed to bounce around like a tennis ball. But like Sid said, both teams are playing on the same ice so it's no excuse. Let the Sharks fans savor Ian Cole's negligible comments, I suppose.

And as terrible as that first goal looked, I could see it during the first replay. Matt Murray can't see anything except the back of Kris Letang. I've been in that situation so many times myself. If the defense isn't going to make a concerted effort to block the shot, they need to gtfo of the way so the goalie can see it and stop it, which he couldn't. But Ward's goal was a total facepalm moment.


----------



## RustInPeace

I hate that. The d man stands right in front of me and then jumps out of the way when the other team shoots.

Top notch d there bud.


----------



## MFB

The Sharks are doing a much better job of keeping the Pens spread out while keeping themselves grouped together to try and make some two on one plays. If they keep this pressure up, it'll be a different series.


----------



## Pav

Metallica did the national anthem tonight? Dammit, now we have to get Dave Mustaine in Pittsburgh to counter.


----------



## technomancer

^ 

So the Sharks have gotten so used to blatant interference not being called that they bitch non-stop when they finally get called on one? Seriously HUGE blatant hook


----------



## MFB

I haven't seen anyone from SJ complaining during this game?  I wouldn't doubt there have been big calls missed, but so far they've on had two penalties called on them and they just kind of took them.


----------



## technomancer

What are you talking about? Karlsson was bitching the whole way to the box and the whole time he was in there and when he came out on the penalty the Pens scored on. They had him on camera four times


----------



## MFB

Huh, I'll take your word for it. This whole game is kind of a blur between the Sharks looking good or near collapse; so something like Melkers complaining just gets filtered out.

If it's the call I'm thinking of (right outside the face off circle in the Pens end) then it was a fair call against him.


----------



## Pav

The Sharks are certainly looking more consistent with their puck possession and getting shots on goal. That will make things more interesting compared to letting the Pens dominate the first half of the game.


----------



## technomancer

ONE MORE TO GO


----------



## Pav

The Cup will be in Pittsburgh on thursday. The pucks will act like pucks again. Time to finish this.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> The Cup will be in Pittsburgh on thursday. The pucks will act like pucks again. Time to finish this.



Got to admit this is the first time I have regretted giving up my season tickets... but I also predicted when we dropped them that they would win another cup within 3 seasons so I knew it was coming


----------



## MFB

Maybe the Sharks are trying to recreate the Pens 07-09 seasons? They're tanking it now to get the experience, and they'll come back hard next year to win it all!


----------



## protest

Where are the Blackhawks when I need them dammit!?!?!


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> Where are the Blackhawks when I need them dammit!?!?!



Golfing 

In other lolz Karlsson was STILL complaining about his penalty in the post game interview  Seriously, the Pens got called for the EXACT SAME THING a couple of minutes later, get over it.


----------



## RustInPeace

Im really, really going to dislike watching J Shultz lift a cup up.


----------



## Pav

RustInPeace said:


> Im really, really going to dislike watching J Shultz lift a cup up.


It still won't sting as badly as certain Toronto sportswriters watching Phil Kessel hoist both the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe.

I've been impressed with Schultz though. He's looked like a different player since we traded for him. Though I would guess it's because he's being played to his strengths here rather than thrust into a bigger role than he can handle.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> It still won't sting as badly as certain Toronto sportswriters watching Phil Kessel hoist both the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe.
> 
> I've been impressed with Schultz though. He's looked like a different player since we traded for him. Though I would guess it's because he's being played to his strengths here rather than thrust into a bigger role than he can handle.



I am looking forward to watching both skate the Cup 

Also you nailed it for both Schultz and Kessel: they are no longer THE GUY but are part of a complete team. It has let them both do what they do well.


----------



## AdamMaz

God, if you really do exist; _please blue-ball the Penguins_. At least once.


----------



## MFB

God might be a SJ fan at this rate.


----------



## technomancer

The hockey gods do not smile upon the home team at this time...

and the Pens D needs to wake the hell up


----------



## MFB

Or he has the cruelest sense of humor in existence


----------



## technomancer

Not that the game is over by a long shot


----------



## technomancer

Could somebody call Murray and tell him there's a hockey game on? 3 goals on 5 shots


----------



## MFB

Don't worry, I didn't realize it until tonight but San Jose called up a defenseman to help them play. Here he is in action:


----------



## Pav

^ I think The Post has worked himself into the Conn Smythe conversation, bumping out Matt Murray and his spectacular .571 save percentage tonight.


----------



## MFB




----------



## technomancer

The post has been a hero all series... it has stopped more shots that I ever remember seeing in the playoffs


----------



## MFB

That's a really ....ty play by Polak, he should have known better than to think that's acceptable; let alone to do it.


----------



## technomancer

But hey no penalty so why not  It pisses me off as it's happened multiple times this series with no calls and it's been blind luck nobody has gotten hurt


----------



## Pav

At least the Pens seem unphased by playing from behind, we're back to outshooting them by a ridiculous margin.


----------



## Blood Tempest

A little off topic, but RIP Mr. Hockey 

Gordie Howe Dies, According To Numerous Reports « CBS Detroit


----------



## protest

Blood Tempest said:


> A little off topic, but RIP Mr. Hockey
> 
> Gordie Howe Dies, According To Numerous Reports « CBS Detroit



Just saw this  

There will never be another player like him. RIP Mr. Howe


----------



## technomancer

Yeah sad news indeed, RIP


----------



## Pav

This is what happens when the Sharks win.


----------



## MFB

Pav said:


> This is what happens when the Sharks win.



I can only imagine what happens at the end of game seven then!


----------



## AdamMaz

The only reasonable course of action would be for Pittsburgh to gracefully forfeit the Stanley Cup to avoid two more hockey legends from passing. Lemieux will realize that he is in the line of fire and actually has the power to save himself!


----------



## technomancer




----------



## technomancer

Dear Kunitz:

When you have a wide open net in front of you SHOOT THE DAMN PUCK


----------



## MFB

Burns scores tying the game at 1-1! Woo! Then Letang comes in and makes it a 2-1 game 

Honestly, if you're not gonna even try defending, just finish the game and give them the cup already


----------



## sezna

Anyone else kind of hoping for a sharks win so there's another game? or am I just not opinionated enough about who wins?


----------



## MFB

I think right now the main contributors for this thread are divided between Sharks and Pens. I'm firmly rooted in the Sharks camp and Techno is rooting for his Pens to take it, I can't remember where Adam and Pav's loyalties lie though


----------



## technomancer

^ Yep.

Though Jones deserves the MVP whether the Sharks win or not. He is literally the only reason this game is not 5-1 and that the series wasn't over long ago


----------



## MFB

Welp, there you go.

You guys outplayed us and it was a hell of an ending.



Spoiler



Sharks in '17!


----------



## technomancer




----------



## technomancer

That said with the added world cup of hockey in the fall I will be surprised if either team can go the distance next year... that is a LOT of hockey without a lot of time off.


----------



## MFB

I'll tell you one thing, it sure as hell won't be the Bruins!


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> I'll tell you one thing, it sure as hell won't be the Bruins!



Hey we agree on something


----------



## Pav

Sweet, sweet victory. Now add a Conn Smythe to Sidney Crosby's resume. I think the Sharks are going to be a major contender for the next few years. Is it too soon to start wondering what will happen to this Pens team during the offseason?


----------



## technomancer

Given they have very few R/UFAs I think the real question for next season will be fatigue with winning the Cup and most of the better players playing in the World Cup of Hockey before the season next year.

Lovejoy UFA
Cullen UFA
Porter UFA
Schultz RFA

Compared to previous years that is very little potential turnover for next season.


----------



## BoneClaws

Pens win! I love living in the City of Champions!


----------



## AxeHappy

I am just really happy that Kessel got to hoist the cup. After years of being Toronto's best player and getting completely .... on by the media and fans.


----------



## LLeaDD

AxeHappy said:


> I am just really happy that Kessel got to hoist the cup. After years of being Toronto's best player and getting completely .... on by the media and fans.



Me too. Life long Leafs fan and I just loved the guy, ....ing awesome player and dude. Embarrassed at how the media and some fans treated him. So happy for him. He's just an all-round good guy, there's no missing that.


----------



## AdamMaz

Crosby really got the Conn Smythe?


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Crosby really got the Conn Smythe?



Given they never give it to the losing team who would you have given it to? I could have seen Kessel...


----------



## MFB

I would've expected Letang to get it since didn't he have an assist on every goal in the series or some ridiculous stat like that?


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> I would've expected Letang to get it since didn't he have an assist on every goal in the series or some ridiculous stat like that?



Not even close... he didn't even have a point per game much less on every goal


----------



## RustInPeace

I thought Murray would have taken it. Oh well. Good job pens. The sharks looked liked they were skating with cement blocks on their feet. Limiting a team like that to 2 shots in a 3rd period is how you win championships.


----------



## AdamMaz

MFB said:


> Sharks in '17!


----------



## MFB

technomancer said:


> Not even close... he didn't even have a point per game much less on every goal



Really? Hmm, maybe I'm thinking of the wrong player then. I know they said that someone on the team had a helping hand on every goal that the Pens had during the series, and I could've sworn it was Letang.


----------



## MFB

AdamMaz said:


>



I look forward to their implosion next year as well.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


>


----------



## AdamMaz

My sympathies for the Sharks defeat, I was rooting for them as well, no need to get malicious.


----------



## MFB

We've got three waggin' Price gifs on this page and it's freaking me the hell out


----------



## AdamMaz

MFB said:


> We've got three waggin' Price gifs on this page and it's freaking me the hell out


Next season, the man, the myth, the legend will return and with it, disappears the Stanley Cup hopes of 29 other teams. Be freaked out. Be _veeery_ freaked out.


----------



## MFB

AdamMaz said:


> Next season, the man, the myth, the legend will return and with it, disappears the Stanley Cup hopes of 29 other teams. Be freaked out. Be _veeery_ freaked out.



Yeah, well, we've got Tuuka Rask so be incredibly underwhelmed by the #3 highest paid goaltender

Edit: on the topic of goalie salaries, crazy to think that the goaltender making $620K just won the Stanley cup over the one making $5.75Mil


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> Yeah, well, we've got Tuuka Rask so be incredibly underwhelmed by the #3 highest paid goaltender
> 
> Edit: on the topic of goalie salaries, crazy to think that the goaltender making $620K just won the Stanley cup over the one making $5.75Mil



The defense insulated Murray to an insane extent in the playoffs. In the Final the Sharks only broke 24 shots in 2 of the six games and in three of the games had 22 shots or less. The Sharks highest shot total was 26 

I think Murray is a solid goaltender who will improve with age and be an impressive starter. I am also REALLY afraid they're going to trade Fleury, go back to giving up 30+ shots a game on average, and Murray is going to collapse. I don't think the Pens defense is getting the credit it deserves for that Cup win.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> I don't think the Pens defense is getting the credit it deserves for that Cup win.


I can't remember hearing about a single game where they got blown out on the scoreboard and a lot of tight games (many more than I would have expected from them).


----------



## Pav

Pittsburgh Penguins

I KNEW IT. Malkin played the entire postseason with an elbow injury and may need surgery. Apparently Nick Bonino also had an infection in his elbow that required him to be quarantined during the finals. Was there a rare elbow-dwelling bacteria passed around Pittsburgh?


----------



## technomancer

^ yeah was just reading that, pretty crazy.


----------



## Pav

I could tell Geno was not 100%, he rarely is at the end of the season. But Nick Bonino did a pretty damn good job of playing while on life support.  I wonder if the infection had anything to do with his constant shot blocking...like he took a puck to the arm and fractured something early on but played right through it.


----------



## AdamMaz

Is Malkin _ever_ healthy?


----------



## MFB

AdamMaz said:


> Is Malkin _ever_ healthy?



Pretty sure the last time was July 31st of 1986


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


>



Don't worry, it's just Price answering the question, "Will you be recovered from your injury and ready to play next season?"


----------



## Pav

AdamMaz said:


> Is Malkin _ever_ healthy?



Usually at the start of the season. Fortunately for us, Evgeni Malkin at 50% is still better than much of the league at 100%.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> Usually at the start of the season. Fortunately for us, Evgeni Malkin at 50% is still better than much of the league at 100%.



I liked Rutherfords comment to some reporter that asked about trading Malkin... his response was sure if we get a star center of equal caliber in return, know of any?


----------



## Pav

The comments and rumblings about trading Crosby or Malkin are just ridiculous. Unless they asked to leave, those aren't players you trade away. Those are the type of players you pray that one of your draft picks even comes close to one day. Hell, even if Tampa had offerred us Stamkos for Malkin straight up at some point, I wouldn't want to take it. Geno is a proven gamebreaker and I look forward to seeing his number hanging from the rafters in Pittsburgh in 10+ years.


----------



## technomancer

Pav said:


> The comments and rumblings about trading Crosby or Malkin are just ridiculous. Unless they asked to leave, those aren't players you trade away. Those are the type of players you pray that one of your draft picks even comes close to one day. Hell, even if Tampa had offerred us Stamkos for Malkin straight up at some point, I wouldn't want to take it. Geno is a proven gamebreaker and I look forward to seeing his number hanging from the rafters in Pittsburgh in 10+ years.



Yeah honestly the whole thing is hilarious since the team has expressed no interest in moving anyone. Including Fleury. Even funnier was the wishful thinking by the reporter in Ottawa saying they could get Fleury for basically nothing. Yeah the Pens are going to trade a franchise goaltender that is under contract for 2 more years for no return


----------



## Sofos

Is Price going to get injured next season?



AdamMaz said:


>



Are the Habs going to be a team with more than just a world class goalie?



AdamMaz said:


>


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## AdamMaz

You're all going to chase away MFB from this thread forever


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## technomancer




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## Sofos

damn i missed it here lol. no pc for 6 months and the mobile site isnt very wieldy (read: there is none). 

f the Pens, but good for Murray and Phil the Thrill. Either deserved the Smythe more than Sidney "0g 3p -2 in Finals" Crosby. rigged.


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## technomancer

The panel of 18 journalists that votes on the award disagreed with you 

Crosby barely edged Kessel for Conn Smythe

That said analysts also picked the Sharks to win the Cup 15-2 out of 17 commenting so obviously those guys don't know much


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## Pav

I was pulling for Phil Kessel but I have no problem with Crosby winning. Even though he was outscored by Kessel he was a major threat everytime he was on the ice, he laid out the GWG in game 2 on his own and dominated in the faceoff circle so hard he had Logan Couture whining to the media.


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## technomancer

Just got the text from the NHL, Las Vegas has been approved as the NHLs 31st team and will begin playing 2017-2018... buckle up for the expansion draft 

EDIT: also whole lot of salt in the Facebook posts about it... seriously, Las Vegas presold 14k season ticket packages, why would they NOT put a team there


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## Pav

I'm excited. I first started to seriously follow the NHL about 9 years ago, so this will be my first expansion experience. People don't seem too crazy about a team in Vegas but I agree with you. The necessary money and commitments are there and I get the feeling people have this predetermined idea that Vegas cannot and will not work...even though Bill Foley and co. have already ponied up more than enough to make it work. The expansion fee these days is insane compared to what it was when Columbus and Minnesota joined the league around 2000, so Foley already seems as capable (and as wealthy) an owner as any others in the NHL.


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## technomancer

Yeah at the end of the day Vegas did more legwork than anybody else looking to bring in a team so they got it.

Also looks like the players in their first or second year pro are exempt from the expansion draft, so I'm curious to know how they're counting and as of when as that may solve the protecting Fleury or Murray problem for the Pens.

Also looks like Rutherford won GM of the year


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## AdamMaz

I was skeptical of Vegas for a long time, but I think it would work. I'm more worried about city/team culture/spirit than the finances. I can't help but worry that it will be business execs passing out their seasons tickets as gifts for clients/shareholders.

As for Quebec, I'm sure they will keep trying to get a team and will probably get one next, in another couple of years.


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## technomancer

Yeah from what was said it sounds like the only reason Quebec didn't get one now is they don't want to bring in two new teams in the same year and the finances were stronger for Vegas.


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## MFB

I think the biggest worry for Vegas would be generating enough of a fan base with tourists. We've seen how hockey in the desert can go (here's to you Coyotes) and imagine them with people who don't live there year round.

I don't doubt theyll sell a good amount of tickets to tourists just for the novelty of seeing them, but I do think it'll be interesting to see how it pans out.


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## technomancer

I keep hearing that about Vegas, but last I looked it was one of the fastest growing metro areas in the US because people were moving there  It is a big freaking city with a lot of permanent residents


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## Pav

I have read a couple things that could be valid sticking points for a Vegas team in securing a loyal fanbase. T-Mobile Arena is right on the strip, in the heart of Las Vegas cliches. Apparently this could make it pretty inconvenient for permanent LV residents, who may live on the outskirts of town, to penetrate the tourist mobs and actually get to the games. The strip is also an area that residents prefer to avoid for obvious reasons. This could turn out to be speculative BS but it does seem reasonable to assume that the arena may be full of corporate tickets and fans of opposing teams, at least for the first few years.


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## AdamMaz

Looking over the rules for Vegas' player acquisition, looks like a serious B team. I wonder who the first star player the organization would sign or trade for?

Just read that Habs are having a short notice press conference any minute now; the only thing I can imagine is that they traded Subban. Even if they get Stamkos or some other star player, I will be super pissed.


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## Pav

Did they really call that press conference just so Bergevin could insist they are NOT tryin to trade Subban?


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## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> Did they really call that press conference just so Bergevin could insist they are NOT tryin to trade Subban?


Right?!


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## technomancer




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## MFB

Pav said:


> Did they really call that press conference just so Bergevin could insist they are NOT tryin to trade Subban?



In other news: water is wet.


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## RustInPeace

God damn do the oilers need to land Subban


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## AdamMaz

Only things I would want in a Subban deal would be McDavid and that 4th overall pick for Dubois.


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## Pav

RustInPeace said:


> God damn do the oilers need to land Subban



And risk your chances of landing another top-3 draft pick next year? Are you out of your mind?!?!?


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## technomancer

Pens traded Bennet for a third round pick

Penguins Acquire a 2016 Third-Round Draft Pick from the New Jersey Devils in Exchange for Beau Bennett - Pittsburgh Penguins - News


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## RustInPeace

Holy .... did Columbus ever F that up.


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## technomancer

Guess we'll find out in the next couple of years. 

A lot of guys are saying the same thing about the Pens selecting Filip Gustavsson with their first pick in the draft (though granted that's not a top 3 pick )


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## AdamMaz

RustInPeace said:


> Holy .... did Columbus ever F that up.


"What are your thoughts on the Columbus Blue Jackets selecting Dubois 3rd overall?"


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## technomancer

I do have to say it's funny watching all the yinzer fans that don't understand the salary cap talking about how the Pens should resign Lovejoy or Shultz... the Pens have $1 million and change under the cap, either of those guys would have to be insane to sign for that. Granted Lovejoy was only making $1.1 million, but after winning the Cup and playing well in the process both of those guys are looking for decent paydays and they would be crazy to not take them.


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## Pav

Plus we're looking into signing Matt Cullen for another year. As well as Lovejoy played down the stretch, I'd rather bring back Matt Cullen. Ben Lovejoy is probably going to be paid at least $3mil annually after this past year.


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## technomancer

Yeah the question will be if Cullen wants a payday for his last season  Guess we'll find out since he's said he's playing another season and if we don't sign him before free agency opens I would say he is gone too.


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## Pav

I really, really hope we keep him. He seems like the type of guy that wouldn't be above taking a hometown discount to stay with the team (just a guess). If he can settle for 1 year at $1 million then our forward corps is set for next year.


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## technomancer

What REALLY sucks is that Dupuis is taking up $3.75 million in cap space doing nothing. If he would retire we could easily bring back Cullen and possibly get either Schultz or Lovejoy to re-sign. Instead that money is tied up and we will only have it available next season when he goes back on LTIR at the start of the season.

It's a case where he should file his retirement paperwork to free the cap space and accept some kind of development job with the team.


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## RustInPeace

Oilers just traded Hall to NJ for Adam Larsson plus more. I dont know enough about Larsson to know what to think about this.....

EDIT: Looks like its one for one. NJ just made off like ....ing bandits. In other news, Edmonton is likely to sign Lucic on Saturday.


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## MFB

The logistics of that trade are fvcking MIND BOGGLING. Except...

Oh, now it makes more sense


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## Vostre Roy

Subban traded for Shea Weber.

Never saw that coming lol


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## AdamMaz

RustInPeace said:


> Oilers just traded Hall to NJ for Adam Larsson plus more. I dont know enough about Larsson to know what to think about this.....


If I remember correctly, he was to be the future of the NJ defense corps. An all around good defenceman.

Very sad to see Subban leave Montreal, but it is a good move.


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## RustInPeace

Im seeing lots from NJ fans that they REALLY liked Larsson. Solid d man who can play top minutes against the best players in the east. But he only has 1 solid season under his belt. If he can come here and play top pair minutes and be that shut down guy, its a win for us too. Also, we dont see him over here at all so its tough to judge. 

But right now, fans in this city are collectively losing their minds:


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## technomancer

WOW those are some monster trades!


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## technomancer

Stamkos signed an 8 year extension with Tampa for $8.5 million a season


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## AdamMaz

I'm surprised Stamkos didn't get more than 8.5


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## technomancer

Yeah if he was going to accept something that low I wonder what took so long... Can't believe Tampa would have tried to get him for less than that or that term


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## Pav

I'm so effing confused by the Subban/Weber trade. Two teams just directly swapped top-dollar all-star right-shooting defencemen. Can someone explain to benefits of either side to me? Mostly Montreal's side, as isn't Shea Weber 5 years older and way more expensive? 

Also, in googling facts about each player, I found it amusing that this was one of the first links at the top of the page: Why the P.K. Subban trade may be the worst in Canadiens history - Sportsnet.ca


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## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> I'm so effing confused by the Subban/Weber trade. Two teams just directly swapped top-dollar all-star right-shooting defencemen. Can someone explain to benefits of either side to me? Mostly Montreal's side, as isn't Shea Weber 5 years older and way more expensive?


Weber's cap hit is just below $8 million/year. He is a more reliable player that plays a much more physical game and has a reputation as one of the best captains in the league.

Subban is a much more dynamic player with the puck and his skating; an offensive-minded defensemen.

Weber fits the style of play that coach Therrien likes to play and I imagine Nashville wants to continue becoming a more offensively-skilled team.


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## Pav

I still don't get it. Shea Weber is past age 30 and it's safe to assume he's only going to decline from here, not to mention he's signed until he's at least 40. I could respect the notion that he's one of the best captains in the league if that wasn't a completely subjective topic with zero ways to actually gauge the quality of his captaincy. Weber's teams have never advanced past round 2 in the playoffs and his lasting legacy involves smashing Henrik Zetterberg's head into the glass in frustration.

On the other hand, PK Subban is 27 and just now getting to the prime of his career. He's far more fun to watch, he's made it to the conference finals twice, he actually seems to make his teammates around him look better (which Weber does not), and his lasting legacy includes highlight-reel plays and a momumental donation to a children's hospital. Not to mention if you compare advanced stats, Shea Weber is nowhere near PK Subban in virtually any category at all.

I can only draw two reasonable conclusions from this: Michel Therrien really didn't care for Subban and the coach got his way, plus apparently Shea Weber is on one of the most ludicrously front-loaded contracts in the NHL and the Habs aren't going to be paying anywhere near what his cap hit suggests. So they traded away an exciting player with a bright future for a less effective player with a fading future and a lower salary. I'm sorry, but Marc Bergevin ....ed up badly on this one.


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## technomancer

Subban is 27 and Weber is 30 so the age difference isn't THAT much. Weber is also one of the best defensive defensemen in the league. I also suspect relations in the locker room and behind the scenes were a large part of this. Bottom line is it really seems like Subban pissed off his coach and management so they got rid of him.


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## RustInPeace




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## Pav

technomancer said:


> Subban is 27 and Weber is 30 so the age difference isn't THAT much. Weber is also one of the best defensive defensemen in the league. I also suspect relations in the locker room and behind the scenes were a large part of this. Bottom line is it really seems like Subban pissed off his coach and management so they got rid of him.



I think it has to be some kind of locker room or management relations thing. Therrien has publicly singled out Subban before so it doesn't seem like a stretch that the coach wanted someone a little more suited to his style. However, I won't deny some bias on the topic because for years I've thought Shea Weber was one of the league's more overrated defensemen. He's strong as hell with an insane slapshot but IMO he was never worth the fortune that the Flyers instigated. I think he benefited greatly from being the best player on the Predators for most of his time there but that skill gap is finally starting to narrow.

Now comes the part where Shea Weber puts up 80 points in Montreal this year, wins the Norris and makes me look like a dumbass.


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## technomancer

Pav said:


> Now comes the part where Shea Weber puts up 80 points in Montreal this year, wins the Norris and makes me look like a dumbass.



Glad to see you understand how these things work


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## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> Now comes the part where Shea Weber puts up 80 points in Montreal this year, wins the Norris and makes me look like a dumbass.


Don't forget the Stanley Cup!


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## MFB

You might wanna tell the Habs not to forget the cup either, they might not remember what it looks like


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## protest

This is what happens when you let the villains win the cup. Chaos reigns.


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## Pav

So much free agency fun happening!

Ben Lovejoy is now signed with the Devils for three years. Hopefully he's getting paid as well as he should be. He really played his way into my heart this past postseason.

And Milan Lucic finally signed his much-rumored contract, he's an Oiler for the next 7 years. I think there's going to be a fair bit of pressure put on Adam Larsson to very quickly stabilize their defense. Hopefully the kid is up to it after one good season.

The Buffalo Sabres also signed Kyle Okposo to an enormous contract, David Backes has signed with the Bruins and Eric Staal has accepted 3 years of disappointment in Minnesota.


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## AdamMaz

Looking at Bob McKenzie's twitter feed, he is surprisingly very off today


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## Pav

And the Habs just signed Alexander Radulov...


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## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> And the Habs just signed Alexander Radulov...


I see one of two things: 

1. A last resort signing, Semin part 2.

2. I wonder if Weber's presence made the team attractive to Radulov? Seems like the Habs may have been conscious of this when they got Weber; Radulov was nowhere to be heard of leading up to today and when it did surface, it seemed like it was already pending exclusively with the Habs.


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## technomancer

Wow watching the In The Room from the Cup run... the Sharks goalie really was unbelievable

EDIT: also Warsofsky is back in Pittsburgh


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## AdamMaz

Panther's D Eckblad only two years into the NHL already has himself an 8 year/$60m contract, jesus.

On a similar note Hedman is good, but $7.8m/year good?


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## technomancer

Free agent salaries have been insane for a while 

I'm still amazed Stamkos only got $8.5 million


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## Pav

AdamMaz said:


> Panther's D Eckblad only two years into the NHL already has himself an 8 year/$60m contract, jesus.
> 
> On a similar note Hedman is good, but $7.8m/year good?



Not at the moment, but his numbers have been trending upward for a few years and presumably Tampa expects him to blossom into the next Zdeno Chara.


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## MFB

AdamMaz said:


> Panther's D Eckblad only two years into the NHL already has himself an 8 year/$60m contract, jesus.
> 
> On a similar note Hedman is good, but $7.8m/year good?



Go him.

I wish the Bruins had tried to snag him as our new D-man, he played well last season, but given our history of trading (aka getting fleeced) it would've cost us half the time to Florida


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## RustInPeace

Finally some toughness up front


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## Pav

Too bad you guys are still so soft from behind.


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## AdamMaz

Anyone else find it kind of cute to see league tough guy Lucic giddy about playing with McDavid?


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## technomancer

Ah nice the Pens got Schultz back for one more year. Sort of amazed nobody else signed the guy to be honest.

Penguins Re-Sign Defenseman Justin Schultz to a One-Year Contract - Pittsburgh Penguins - News


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## MFB

If the B's weren't all in on another year of mediocrity he would've been a smart move for us to snag.


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## technomancer

Yeah I can only assume he wanted to stay here as I can't believe nobody offered him more money or term than that.


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## Pav

Sounds to me like Matt Cullen may be returning to Minnesota now. Hopefully GMJR can move Dupuis to LTIR and work some cap magic to squeeze him in for one more year, but it sounds like management was more interested in another right-handed defenceman to compliment Letang since Ben Lovejoy is gone.


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## RustInPeace

Right handed top 4 D are becoming the most coveted positions lately..


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## technomancer

Ah the summer hockey lull when we wait for something interesting to happen.

At this point I'm wondering if Cullen has an off the books deal with the Pens to be signed to a paid tryout for training camp and signed once Duper goes on injured reserve. Knowing Minnesota was after him and the Pens can't sign him now it's odd that he's still available.


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## Sofos

Patrick Roy quit the Avs today. Shocking.


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## technomancer

It'll be interesting to see who they get and if they do any better. Management's inability to keep talented players had to be frustrating...


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## Pav

The brewing storm of disdain for Patrick Roy is kind of amusing though. The only way he could've timed it worse for the Avs is if he waited until the week the season started.


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## technomancer

Pens resigned Cullen

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=891196&navid=DL|PIT|home


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## Pav

..... Yes. Repeat time?!? Or did I just blow our chances by putting it into words?


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## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> ..... Yes. Repeat time?!?


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


>



You keep posting this graphic showing his answer to if he's going to play this season...


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## MFB

technomancer said:


> You keep posting this graphic showing his answer to if he's going to play this season...



Not sure if more  or


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> You keep posting this graphic showing his answer to if he's going to play this season...


I went to a home game early last season and received a refrigerator magnet upon entering the building. On this magnet is the entire 2015-2016 season schedule and a picture of Price off to the side. Now, every time I look at it I think of it as "the year/season Price was on vacation"  



MFB said:


> Not sure if more  or


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I went to a home game early last season and received a refrigerator magnet upon entering the building. On this magnet is the entire 2015-2016 season schedule and a picture of Price off to the side. Now, every time I look at it I think of it as "the year/season Price was on vacation"


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## AdamMaz

May I suggest with the hockey world cup on the horizon, that it may be a good time to start the new season thread?


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## technomancer

Good call, just started the new thread


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## AdamMaz

Part of me was expecting you would respond with Carey Price.


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## AdamMaz

Pav said:


> Now comes the part where Shea Weber puts up 80 points in Montreal this year, wins the Norris and makes me look like a dumbass.


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