# NHL 2009-2010 Thread



## troyguitar

...and I can't fucking watch it despite taking off early from work to be home for a 3PM Eastern start.

Versus has exclusive rights to the Red Wings games in Stockholm. Comcast apparently bought Versus and is not allowing DirecTV to carry the network any longer. Since VS has an exclusive, DirecTV customers can not see the games even if they buy the big NHL Center Ice package.


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## technomancer

It's ok, Detroit lost anyways


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## Joose

It's the only sport where I have 2 favorites...

Go Avalanche!
Go Sharks!


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## Rick

Go Avs!


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## coupe89

Go Sharks!
2010 is the year.


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## troyguitar

Wings are not looking good so far... sadness


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## technomancer

So we're overdue for one of these 

This should be stickied shortly...


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## technomancer

So yesterday I got to touch the Stanley Cup \m/


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## JeffFromMtl

I have a feeling it's going to be a long 4 months... before this season, the habs were 7-20 without Markov in the line-up.


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## technomancer

Pens are 2-0 (if barely) and our first tickets of the season are tomorrow night... I've got my fingers crossed for a win


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## 7 Strings of Hate

troyguitar said:


> Wings are not looking good so far... sadness



buuhawww!!!! fuck the wings. st.louis will have their day this year and stomp the mighty redwings!! like that already did. twice!!


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## technomancer

Man the Pens game tonight was AWFUL... not only did the Pens not look good in general, but we had a ref that liked the sound of his own whistle. 36 freaking minutes of penalties... some of the weakest calls I have EVER seen on both teams. Oh and none of those were 5 minute penalties.


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## SerratedSkies

There's no point in being an Islander fan anymore, is there?


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## technomancer

SerratedSkies said:


> There's no point in being an Islander fan anymore, is there?



I wouldn't say that... they've got two losses, but they're both overtime losses. Hell the Pens finished last or next to last in the Conference Crosby's first year, so just hang in there and see how it goes. They definitely look like a tougher team than they were last year.


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## mattofvengeance

coupe89 said:


> Go Sharks!
> 2010 is the year.



The year they fold like a lawn chair in the postseason?

Wait... that's every year.


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## technomancer

Ok so why is it that last year when Ruutu bit somebody it was the scandal of the league and he was suspended etc etc etc but Scott Hartnell took a chomp on Letang's hand and drew blood on Thursday and nobody is even mentioning it. WTF


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## Elysian

Go Stars! Beat the hell out of the Flames last night, was a great game to watch. They had Auld standing in for Turco, and IMO he's so much better than Turco it's not even funny. Turco isn't all that hot lately, I hope they use Auld a lot more. My favorite part was the last minute when the Flames pulled the goalie, and the Stars managed to get it down to their goal and score on them  Stars have been playing incredibly well, their new strategies have definitely been working for them. I feel this will be a good season for them.


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## coupe89

mattofvengeance said:


> The year they fold like a lawn chair in the postseason?
> 
> Wait... that's every year.


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## playstopause

mattofvengeance said:


> The year they fold like a lawn chair in the postseason?
> 
> Wait... that's every year.


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## playstopause

SerratedSkies said:


> There's no point in being an Islander fan anymore, is there?



Man, the season just started. 

... And you guys have Tavares.


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## technomancer

That was refreshing after a LONG time of watching the Pens lose to a team they should have beaten (they were terrible against the Leafs last year). Pens spanked the Leafs 5-2 \m/


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## mattofvengeance

Adam, while I am also impressed with Auld's play Friday night, I'm not about to take the leap to have him supplant Marty. Auld is a journeyman/career backup who has failed to live up to expectations everywhere he's been, with the exception of Ottawa where he outplayed Martin Gerber, which doesn't say much as Gerber is erratic, at best. Let's not forget, he failed to outplay Mikael Tellqvist and David Aebischer when Phoenix acquired Ilya Bryzgalov. All I hope for out of Alex is for him to be the solid backup that can win us games in Turco's absence. We haven't had that since the departure of Mike Smith, and let's be honest, Brad Richard's addition to this lineup has been HUGE. Anything more than that, in my eyes, would be icing on the cake. Don't get me wrong. If he succeeds here and manages to unseat Marty (who is in a contract year, I might add), then so be it. I'm just saying give him a little time. I really wish we could've added Jonas Gustavsson.

Speaking of Ilya Bryzgalov, one of my favorite interviews ever.


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## Bevo

Leafs...WTF?

Am a fan but, guys, you have to win one!!


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## Elysian

mattofvengeance said:


> Adam, while I am also impressed with Auld's play Friday night, I'm not about to take the leap to have him supplant Marty. Auld is a journeyman/career backup who has failed to live up to expectations everywhere he's been, with the exception of Ottawa where he outplayed Martin Gerber, which doesn't say much as Gerber is erratic, at best. Let's not forget, he failed to outplay Mikael Tellqvist and David Aebischer when Phoenix acquired Ilya Bryzgalov. All I hope for out of Alex is for him to be the solid backup that can win us games in Turco's absence. We haven't had that since the departure of Mike Smith, and let's be honest, Brad Richard's addition to this lineup has been HUGE. Anything more than that, in my eyes, would be icing on the cake. Don't get me wrong. If he succeeds here and manages to unseat Marty (who is in a contract year, I might add), then so be it. I'm just saying give him a little time. I really wish we could've added Jonas Gustavsson.
> 
> Speaking of Ilya Bryzgalov, one of my favorite interviews ever.




I guess I just can't back Turco anymore, he's become a less than ideal goalie, he lets so much by these days. Sure, he was great against the Red Wings last year, and he has his days, but his on days are far less often than his off days... Really, I guess I just miss the good old days with Ed Belfour  That roster was what got me into hockey. I think I'd probably like Turco better if it weren't for the shootout bullshit and the 4 on 4 overtimes... IMO it should be closer to how it was than how it is now.


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## playstopause

Man, losing Markov (one of the league top 3 defense man) is sure showing in the results... 3 injured in the first 2 games, including 2 defense man. What a start.


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## Elysian

Also, I can't wait to see the Stars with Modano back. I've got a feeling it will only improve with him back on the ice.


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## mattofvengeance

Elysian said:


> I guess I just can't back Turco anymore, he's become a less than ideal goalie, he lets so much by these days. Sure, he was great against the Red Wings last year, and he has his days, but his on days are far less often than his off days... Really, I guess I just miss the good old days with Ed Belfour  That roster was what got me into hockey. I think I'd probably like Turco better if it weren't for the shootout bullshit and the 4 on 4 overtimes... IMO it should be closer to how it was than how it is now.



See, that's the thing. His shootout futility has really only been evident within the last year. Before, he was a monster in the shootout, especially when it was first introduced. Back then, we'd just trot out Jussi and Zubov, they'd score, and Turk would just have to stop two shots. Like I said, I'm not ready to move on, but we'll see how he performs in a contract year. 



Elysian said:


> Also, I can't wait to see the Stars with Modano back. I've got a feeling it will only improve with him back on the ice.



I have that feeling too. So far this season, I've been very impressed with the play of the youngsters, particularly Neal and Benn, but Mike's veteran leadership can't be discounted. He'll fit that third line role well, and with Jamie Benn taking that first line RW slot next to Ribs and Morrow, Modano can be reunited with Lehtinen, with Ott over on the left side. It should look like this.

Morrow- Ribeiro- Benn
Eriksson- Richards- Neal
Ott- Modano- Lehtinen
Brunnstrom- Wandell- Peterson

Like I said, the way the youngsters have played, along with the emergence of Wandell, this is a very deep team that should be able to contend. I've liked the defense a lot better this season, and Crawford's scheme really benefits the games of Niskanen and Daley, which also allows Skrastins and Grossman settle into their shutdown defenseman role. Again, its early, but I've been very impressed by this team so far, and I'll always take 4 out of 6 points in a trip to Western Canada. Oh, and the Stars are still the only team in the Western Conference without a regulation loss. I'll be at the game Wednesday against the Preds, and hopefully, we'll be able to get some revenge for that opening day debacle!


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## Elysian

mattofvengeance said:


> See, that's the thing. His shootout futility has really only been evident within the last year. Before, he was a monster in the shootout, especially when it was first introduced. Back then, we'd just trot out Jussi and Zubov, they'd score, and Turk would just have to stop two shots. Like I said, I'm not ready to move on, but we'll see how he performs in a contract year.
> 
> 
> 
> I have that feeling too. So far this season, I've been very impressed with the play of the youngsters, particularly Neal and Benn, but Mike's veteran leadership can't be discounted. He'll fit that third line role well, and with Jamie Benn taking that first line RW slot next to Ribs and Morrow, Modano can be reunited with Lehtinen, with Ott over on the left side. It should look like this.
> 
> Morrow- Ribeiro- Benn
> Eriksson- Richards- Neal
> Ott- Modano- Lehtinen
> Brunnstrom- Wandell- Peterson
> 
> Like I said, the way the youngsters have played, along with the emergence of Wandell, this is a very deep team that should be able to contend. I've liked the defense a lot better this season, and Crawford's scheme really benefits the games of Niskanen and Daley, which also allows Skrastins and Grossman settle into their shutdown defenseman role. Again, its early, but I've been very impressed by this team so far, and I'll always take 4 out of 6 points in a trip to Western Canada. Oh, and the Stars are still the only team in the Western Conference without a regulation loss. I'll be at the game Wednesday against the Preds, and hopefully, we'll be able to get some revenge for that opening day debacle!



I'm going to a game on the 30th, doing the Ott-Toberfest $99 deal. They're gonna be playing the Panthers. 

I also see that Turco's #'s have been low because he played too many games last year, a career high of 74 games. Hopefully he doesn't repeat that this year, and actually plays well.


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## Elysian

what a fucking win! Stars just blew the predators asshole out tonight, 6-0! I know nothing about the predators, but the stars just fucking slaughtered them. What a night.


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## technomancer

Pens hang on to go 6-1-0  Always fun to see Ward in Fleury in a shootout battle as well 

Elysian: the Predators aren't doing that well this year, but games like that are always fun to watch if you're a fan of the winning team


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## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> Pens hang on to go 6-1-0  Always fun to see Ward in Fleury in a shootout battle as well
> 
> Elysian: the Predators aren't doing that well this year, but games like that are always fun to watch



Oh yeah. Being in the stadium to witness four goals scored within the first ten minutes of the game was unreal. It was absolutely insane in there, not to mention on the other end, Turco was flawless. More games out of him like that, and this team is definitely a contender. Still the only team in the Western Conference without a regulation loss


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## Elysian

Didn't get to watch last nights game, but I'm a little disappointed after watching the recap... 3-0 loss, and really nothing of substance in the recap from the Stars.


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## technomancer

Elysian said:


> Didn't get to watch last nights game, but I'm a little disappointed after watching the recap... 3-0 loss, and really nothing of substance in the recap from the Stars.



Sounds like the Pens loss to the Coyotes.... I had the unfortunate experience of being at that game  They just couldn't do anything right that night... I think that happens to every team sometimes.


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## mattofvengeance

Yeah it was pretty bad. They were getting outplayed in pretty much every aspect of the game, although all three goals were deflected in off Stephane Robidas' stick.


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## JeffFromMtl

For some reason I have a feeling that Price is going to stand on his head all game tonight but the habs will still lose and Kovalev will score all of Ottawa's goals


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## Elysian

technomancer said:


> Sounds like the Pens loss to the Coyotes.... I had the unfortunate experience of being at that game  They just couldn't do anything right that night... I think that happens to every team sometimes.



yeah, they won tonight 4-2 against the blackhawks.


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## technomancer

Elysian said:


> yeah, they won tonight 4-2 against the blackhawks.



Yeah Pens won last night too, 4-1. They're 7-1-0 now. We've got tickets for the game Tuesday night against the Blues \m/


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## Elysian

Just about time to kick back, open a Shiner Black Lager, and watch some hockey!


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## technomancer

Watching the tail end of the Rangers / Sharks game. Looks like the Rangers are now 7-2-0 AND blew their goals against average with a 7-3 loss. This gives the Pens a chance to take the best record in the NHL if they win tomorrow night, or even if they lose as long as they don't get blown out \m/


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## Elysian

stars got beat 4-1 against the kings.... Turco needs to make more use of the backup goalie, if I'm not mistaken he's only played 1 season game so far...


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## mattofvengeance

Elysian said:


> stars got beat 4-1 against the kings.... Turco needs to make more use of the backup goalie, if I'm not mistaken he's only played 1 season game so far...



Alex Auld has started two games this season, which he won, but that's Crawford's call, not Turco's. Crawford also appears to have a shorter leash, so if Marty goes for awhile playing poorly, he seems to have the balls to put in Auld, unlike Tippet last year who would go months without an appearance from Stephan.


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## technomancer

Pens crushed the Blues 5-1 giving the Pens the best record in the NHL at 8-1-0 \m/ The only reason it wasn't more like 10-1 is that the Blues have good goal tending, the Pens had 43 shots on net. Fleury's been kicking ass in net too, he's won all 8 of his starts. This is shaping up to be a fun season


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## technomancer

Shit Gonchar left the game last night in the second period and never came back. I was hoping it was just a bruise or muscle pull, but it's looking like he has a broken bone in his arm somewhere (they haven't been specific yet) and is expected to miss at least a month according to this Gonchar injured in Penguins' win - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Losing one of the best offensive defensemen in the league is not a good thing 

UPDATE: Looks like Gonchar will be out 4-6 weeks 
http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=502948&navid=DL|PIT|home


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## playstopause

^

Talk to me about it. We've lost Markov for 4 months in the very first game. One of the best 3 defensemen in the league. Everything has been going wrong since.


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## Elysian

mattofvengeance said:


> Alex Auld has started two games this season, which he won, but that's Crawford's call, not Turco's. Crawford also appears to have a shorter leash, so if Marty goes for awhile playing poorly, he seems to have the balls to put in Auld, unlike Tippet last year who would go months without an appearance from Stephan.



Which game did Auld play? The only one I caught was the one against the Flames. Was it the game against the Blackhawks? I missed that game, it wasn't even on here!


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## mattofvengeance

Elysian said:


> Which game did Auld play? The only one I caught was the one against the Flames. Was it the game against the Blackhawks? I missed that game, it wasn't even on here!



That would be why, bro. He did start the game against Chicago. The game was on FSN+, because Fox Sports Southwest has a commitment to college football on Saturday nights. So anytime there's a Stars game on a Saturday during football season, it's likely on FSN+. I've got Time Warner and had no idea we had it, but it's on channel 960 IIRC. 

That was an amazing game, btw. The goal Stephane Robidas scored that stood up as the game winner was one of the flukiest goals I've ever seen, and Cristobal Huet should be embarrassed for allowing it.


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## Elysian

mattofvengeance said:


> That would be why, bro. He did start the game against Chicago. The game was on FSN+, because Fox Sports Southwest has a commitment to college football on Saturday nights. So anytime there's a Stars game on a Saturday during football season, it's likely on FSN+. I've got Time Warner and had no idea we had it, but it's on channel 960 IIRC.
> 
> That was an amazing game, btw. The goal Stephane Robidas scored that stood up as the game winner was one of the flukiest goals I've ever seen, and Cristobal Huet should be embarrassed for allowing it.


You mean the goal where Huet went around the back of the net and Robidas got it?  That game was phenomenal. Turco had some pretty epic saves as well, especially when the Ducks pulled their goalie.


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## technomancer

Pens are now 9-1-0... granted they scraped by in a shootout last night, but still 

Now hopefully they win tonight since we'll be at the game


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## playstopause

3 goals by Cammalleri.  We win 5-4 over the Rangers.


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## technomancer

Pens lost to Jersey 4-1. Credit where credit is due, Brodeur looked fantastic and Fleury didn't  Actually the Pens just looked tired in general. On the bright side at 9-2-0 they still have the best record in the East \m/

Now they've got three days off before they play the Habs on wednesday 

I've gotta' say this is getting discouraging as the Pens are 9-2-0, we've been to three games, and two of them were the losses


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## troyguitar

50 shots on goal and we still can't win a game


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## Elysian

Stars were fuckin on tonight! Auld even made a save from the bench


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## mattofvengeance

Elysian said:


> Stars were fuckin on tonight! Auld even made a save from the bench



Haha that glove save was sick! I was very impressed with this team tonight, and I was absolutely stoked to get 5 out of 6 points on this trip, especially since we didn't deserve to be in that game in LA.

On another subject, did anybody see the hit Mike Richards put on David Booth? Jesus Christ...


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## Elysian

mattofvengeance said:


> Haha that glove save was sick! I was very impressed with this team tonight, and I was absolutely stoked to get 5 out of 6 points on this trip, especially since we didn't deserve to be in that game in LA.
> 
> On another subject, did anybody see the hit Mike Richards put on David Booth? Jesus Christ...



There were some massive hits last night. It was a really chaotic game, the Blues were not on top of their game last night, at all. Too much emotion on the ice.


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## technomancer

Must be nice to be able to do whatever you want if you're in a Flyer uniform. First Hartnell bites Letang and gets away with it, and now Richards blindsides Booth with a hit to the head, puts him in the hospital, and the league isn't doing anything about it.


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## mattofvengeance

Yeah, I can't believe they didn't suspend him for that hit. Richard's good reputation certainly precedes him, but my God, if that isn't a dirty hit, I don't know what is. I was lucky enough to have Center Ice over the weekend, and I was watching that game when it happened. Literally, my mouth dropped to the floor. Obviously the officials thought it was dirty. He got a freaking 5 minute major and a 10 minute misconduct for it.


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## Elysian

Man, last nights game was a nail biter. Just epic, I didn't think the Leafs had it in them, but they kept it a close game. Of course, I knew the Stars would prevail  Going to the game on Friday, can't wait. Hopefully it's another epic performance.


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## playstopause

Ok, thank you Mr Crosby for your hat trick.


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## technomancer

I was refraining from commenting on the game to help ease the pain of the Habs fans here 

I do find it really funny that Sid and Geno are NEVER both hot at the same time. Like Sid is ripping things up and Geno is just getting the occasional point. I want to see them both bang in multiple goal games on a regular basis


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## ralphy1976

i am surprised at the relative loss of form from both the Devils and red wings...interesting....


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## technomancer

Crap as if having Gonchar out wasn't bad enough, the Pens are losing Geno for 2-3 weeks 

Malkin to Miss 2-3 Weeks with Shoulder Strain - Pittsburgh Penguins - Features


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## playstopause

technomancer said:


> I was refraining from commenting on the game to help ease the pain of the Habs fans here



No problem man. 

The Pens clearly > us. I mean, you guys won the cup, right?


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## technomancer

Actually the way they've been playing to kick off the season, Pens > everybody ATM. My jaw is hanging open that they're 10-2-0, it's completely insane. If they can continue to win over the next couple of weeks until Malking and Gonchar are back this stands to be the best season EVER


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## ralphy1976

well, i do agree with you there, but (and i am sure the coaching staff is looking into this) i hope they are not so euphoric that they are over-doing it.

Once the bulls got their 1st title there was no turning back afterwards, so maybe we coudl be seeing a new dynasty in Hockey...considering the players they have it would not surprise me the slightest...

I think penguins on the run with their major players fit 100% would be pretty awesome to witness!!! especailyl against Redwings, Devils or Capitals!!!


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## technomancer

Yeah I'm very curious to see if they can keep playing like this... they've now got Malkin, Kennedy, Talbot, and Gonchar out...


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## technomancer

Aaaand Pens win in overtime minus Malkin to go 11-2-0 \m/


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## mattofvengeance

Yeah and how'd you guys do tonight? 

Don't feel bad, we went into extra hockey last night as well, and we too lost tonight. I hate when the NHL has the Stars playing back to back, with the second game on the road, especially when that team had the previous night off.


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## technomancer

^ Yeah this schedule has been nuts for everybody... the Pens played 4 back to back games in October, and this was their third game in 4 days.

This is getting ridiculous.... the Pens are 11-3-0 and I've been at all three of the losses 

I attribute the Pens loss last night to 2 things:
1) Backstrom made 34 saves and gave up very few rebounds
2) when there was a rebound there were 2 Wild in the way of the follow-up shot


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## mattofvengeance

That sucks, bro. The Stars are 1-0-1 this season when I've been in attendance, both games against Nashville. The first was opening night and ended in a shootout, and the other was a 6-0 blowout. We scored 4 times in the first period for Christ sake. I'll be seeing them against the Devils this month and possibly Tampa Bay.


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## technomancer

Yeah. Even better, one of those losses was to the Devils, who are our next tickets on 11/12


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## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> Yeah. Even better, one of those losses was to the Devils, who are our next tickets on 11/12



That's funny. The next game I'm going to is against the Devils on 11/21


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## havocvulture10

finally after all of these years of misery, The KINGS are kicking ASS!!!
this is why it is so great being a die hard fan of a club long over due, cuz once they start kicking ass, it feels great. all pens fans should know what im talkin about. and even though the season is just 1 month old, i have a pretty good feeling that this will last. oh yeah, kopitar leads the nhl in points


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## Elysian

mattofvengeance said:


> That's funny. The next game I'm going to is against the Devils on 11/21



I'm going to the game on the 23rd  They handed out free tickets because they ran out of Ott t-shirts


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## technomancer

havocvulture10 said:


> finally after all of these years of misery, The KINGS are kicking ASS!!!
> this is why it is so great being a die hard fan of a club long over due, cuz once they start kicking ass, it feels great. all pens fans should know what im talkin about. and even though the season is just 1 month old, i have a pretty good feeling that this will last. oh yeah, kopitar leads the nhl in points



Yeah Kopitar is doing awesome this year... and adding Scuderi to the defensive core helped as well I'm sure. Watching the turn-around and upswing is always a blast. I was there the three seasons the Pens finished in the bottom three in the NHL to get Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury and have watched all the rebuilding through the cup win last year \m/

I'm actually curious to see how the Pens are going to make out on this west coast trip with all the injuries as they have some serious talent side-lined in Malkin, Gonchar, Kennedy, and Talbot (though Talbot has been out all season, he's massively underrated by most people or was until after game seven last year).


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## technomancer

Pens won the easy game of this road trip against the Ducks... next two games should be more interesting against the Kings and Sharks \m/


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## troyguitar

I skipped class last night and went to the Boston @ Detroit game which was great fun. 2 assists for Datsyuk and damn near 2 goals if it weren't for some very good goaltending.

edit: Plus the 50th shutout for Osgood! He's sometimes criminally underrated.


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## testament19

I've been a Pens fan since I was born. I watched them win the 91,92 cups with my dad as a young one and now last year as an adult.

Hopefully, Malkin and Gonchar can get back into it. I was happy to see Kennedy back monday night.

I was there, in the 2nd row, at Mellon Arena last Saturday. They lost but man was it fantastic! I got a Powder Blue Sidney Crosby and White Mad Max Talbot!

GO PENS!


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## technomancer

Cool, another Pens fan \m/

I was at that loss Saturday as well... I still can't believe they didn't tie that up with that number of shots  Then again I'm starting to think we've got cursed tickets for our package this year... we've been to 4 games and 3 of them were the 3 losses 

It's gonna' be a while before Malkin and Gonchar will be back, and Malkin will most likely be back before Gonchar. I agree it was damn good to see Kennedy back in the lineup, hopefully he stays healthy.


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## testament19

Seriously it was like 35-15. Plus that last goal with .6 seconds left sucked as well.

It was a big win in Anaheim, hopefully we can keep up our road success so far this year!


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## technomancer

Yeah these next two games are going to be tough for the Pens as the Kings and the Sharks are both kicking all kinds of ass this season


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## technomancer

Wow Pens just did not show up for the third against the Kings


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## technomancer

Shit! To add to the fun the Pens just recalled a defenseman from their AHL affiliate... I'm betting this means Goligoski isn't going to play tonight (or another starting defenseman got injured, though Goligoski didn't practice). It's going to be a minor miracle if they win this game against the Sharks tonight.

Penguins Recall Defenseman Deryk Engelland - Pittsburgh Penguins - News


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## playstopause

Our first meeting with the Lightening tonight... Let's hope Price plays as good as he did in the game against Boston.


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## playstopause




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## technomancer

That's ok though, this Sharks game is going about how I was expecting it to


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## B Lopez




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## technomancer

I wish the Pens would have been healthy as it would have been a great game. As it was the game was close in everything but score after the first period  Nabokov was awesome, and given that the Pens were down to 5 defensemen after the first period and four for the third period the outcome wasn't all that surprising.

This is pretty crappy, as at this point the Pens are down 2 starting defensemen (Gonchar, Letang) and 3 starting forwards (Malkin, Kennedy, Talbot)... hopefully they start to get healthy while they still have the best record in the east


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## technomancer

Damn this is depressing.... players the Pens have out and their stats from the playoff run last year

C, Max Talbot: Torn left rotator cuff/out 2 weeks &#8212; 8 goals (Tied-3rd/team)

D, Sergei Gonchar: Broken left wrist/out 2-4 weeks &#8212; 14 points (T-4th/team)

RW, Tyler Kennedy: Undisclosed (lower-body)/out day-to-day &#8212; 5 goals (6th/team)

C, Evgeni Malkin: Strained right shoulder/out 1-2 weeks &#8212; 36 points (1st/team)

D, Kris Letang: Undisclosed (upper-body)/TBD &#8212; 13 points (T-5th/team)


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## technomancer

FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brooks Orpik was injured in the first period against Boston and won't return for the rest of the game. That's now 3 of 6 starting Pens defensemen out injured  That's also 1/3 of the starting lineup out injured, for those keeping track


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## testament19

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I'm at work right now on break and can't watch the game. I'm disgruntled to say the least about Brooks! DAMNIT!!! Once we're at full strength we'll give the West coast a better run for their money!!!

LET'S GO PENS!


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## technomancer

Yeah he took the wooden lip of the boards between the boards and the glass in his ribs pretty hard. Not good


----------



## mattofvengeance

Jesus Christ the Penguins are a M.A.S.H. ward. 


On a side note, after the game Saturday night, waiting until fucking Thursday for the next game really sucks. I feel like an eternity has passed, and they still don't even play until tomorrow. Not only that, but its in San Jose, so I've gotta wait until 9 freaking 30. It's good, though, cause I'll be off work by then.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah the Penguins are in sad shape due to injuries. I mean 1/3 of the starting lineup and 1/2 of the starting defensemen  I see headlines about the "decimated" Capitals who have two guys out or Boston "struggling" due to injuries with two guys out and and am just like


----------



## ralphy1976

WINGS 9 - 1 "some other team"

did i miss something? i did not know that training was taking place on telly now and that points would be awarded? WTF??!!!!


----------



## Elysian

mattofvengeance said:


> Jesus Christ the Penguins are a M.A.S.H. ward.
> 
> 
> On a side note, after the game Saturday night, waiting until fucking Thursday for the next game really sucks. I feel like an eternity has passed, and they still don't even play until tomorrow. Not only that, but its in San Jose, so I've gotta wait until 9 freaking 30. It's good, though, cause I'll be off work by then.



I'll likely head out to the bar to watch the game tonight, as well as shoot some pool, need to get some practice in. At least the Stars will be well rested for the Sharks.


----------



## technomancer

Orpik Out 2 Weeks With Lower-Body Injury - Pittsburgh Penguins - Features


----------



## mattofvengeance

Elysian said:


> I'll likely head out to the bar to watch the game tonight, as well as shoot some pool, need to get some practice in. At least the Stars will be well rested for the Sharks.



 well rested would certainly be an understatement. I can barely remember the last game they played, which is a good thing because they sucked horribly. I wish the NHL would abolish back to back nights when with the second game being on the road against a team who had the previous night off. I had a feeling the Stars would get beat, and the way they played in the first period that game cemented that.


----------



## technomancer

Man that was just painful... 3 posts in a 4-1 loss


----------



## mattofvengeance

Looks about right. After the way we played the first two periods, I would've gladly taken the one point for taking it to OT.


----------



## Elysian

I didn't make it to the bar last night, was too busy playing Modern Warfare 2 and catching up on my shows  I did watch the recap though, some pretty epic saves by Turco. Awesome that they came back from 0-2 in the 3rd period, I've said it before, they are definitely a 3rd period team.


----------



## mattofvengeance

Yeah, it was an incredible game in the third. They've shown exceptional heart this season in their ability to take games into overtime that they don't deserve to win.


----------



## technomancer

So now Malkin is back but Kunitz is out for 2 weeks ffs this is just ridiculous


----------



## technomancer

You have got to be fucking kidding me 

"The hits keep coming for the Pittsburgh Penguins as it was learned today that defenseman Alex Goligoski, who was off to a great start with the club, will be sidelined for 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury."

That is now 4 of 6 starting defensemen out for the Pens... and Goligoski was in the top five +/- in the NHL and was scoring as well 

We've got tickets for the game tonight against the Ducks, hopefully they can pull off a win...


----------



## technomancer

Jesus christ this is turning into a bad joke

"Defenseman Jay McKee will be sidelined two-to-four weeks with an infected finger."

Unless someone returns from an injury that is now 5 of 6 starting blue liners out for the Pens


----------



## mattofvengeance

What a win tonight! I was at the game, and I encountered this







Apparently they're called the Rockland Regulars. If you guys have a Devils game in your area, be on the lookout for them. Apparently, they go to a ton of Devils road games fully decked out.


----------



## technomancer

^ I'm a HUGE Pens fan and all, I mean I have 1/2 season tickets and am more often than not in a Pens shirt or some such, but damn those guys need to get a life 

Also that Jersey loss put the Pens back to first in the division again \m/ Hopefully they can hold it as they get some people healthy again (though they're still missing 1/2 the starting defensive core)


----------



## Elysian

I'm going to the game tonight, I'm so stoked, though my seats are up on the 3rd level, should still be a blast.


----------



## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> ^ I'm a HUGE Pens fan and all, I mean I have 1/2 season tickets and am more often than not in a Pens shirt or some such, but damn those guys need to get a life
> 
> Also that Jersey loss put the Pens back to first in the division again \m/ Hopefully they can hold it as they get some people healthy again (though they're still missing 1/2 the starting defensive core)



Yeah you're welcome for that jersey loss 

I wish I had the financial means to dress in full regalia and travel the country going to my favorite teams' away games. Right now I'll just settle for going to about 10 to 15 games a year and wearing a jersey.



Elysian said:


> I'm going to the game tonight, I'm so stoked, though my seats are up on the 3rd level, should still be a blast.



Excellent! I gotta say I'm a bit jealous, especially since I have to work  I swear to God if they lose to Carolina, things at my job will be broken.


----------



## mattofvengeance

I was at the game tonight, and good Lord this team can be good when they want to be. They thoroughly outplayed the Bolts in every facet of the game for nearly the entire 60 minutes. They forced them into taking penalties and delivered on their powerplay opportunities, scoring 3 PP goals. The only thing I didn't like about this game was Auld's play in the last 5 minutes. Both goals that TB scored in the third were 100% his fault and really should've been stopped, especially Halpern's goal. I was very impressed with the play of young Steve Stamkos. He was a beast in the offensive zone. did an excellent job winning pucks off the boards and even scored a beautiful goal. I'll be back again next Saturday against the Oilers. I'm gonna miss my weekend trips to the AAC December 12th


----------



## technomancer

Pens game last night was AWESOME. They got Kennedy, Goligoski, and Letang back in the lineup and proceeded to open up a can of whoop-ass on the Ranges 8-3 \m/. At this point the Pens only have two players still out of the lineup, so hopefully it's a sign of things to come.


----------



## ralphy1976

how long did it take to clean all those hats off the ice!!!!

crazy score, more like a football score really!!!


----------



## technomancer

Not that long really, probably 5 minutes, 10 tops. There were a TON of hats though since it was a free hat promo night


----------



## playstopause

^

Ok, that why. I just couldn't believe it.


----------



## technomancer

I've gotta' say it's fucking awesome that Cooke is suspended for two games for a less extreme version of the hit Richards threw on Booth earlier this season (oh yeah and Booth was taken out on a stretcher and still hasn't come back) with NO league action. I have no problem with them tightening up the rules, but if they're going to do it it damn well needs to apply to everyone on the ice.

And again, Ovechkin delivers a blatant deliberate knee to knee hit, far more so than the one Laraque was just suspended for last week, and there's no indication the league is investigating it. Hell the refs even called kneeing and gave him a game miscounduct. I do find it hilarious however that he injured himself making the hit this time.


----------



## technomancer

About fucking time... Ovechkin was suspended for two games \m/


----------



## kmanick

Holy crap did you guys see this?
Zednick got his throat slashed the other night during the game.
Zednik's injury brings Malarchuk's own nightmare back to surface - NHL - ESPN

I saw the Malarchuk slice live the night it happened.
I ws a college goalie in the 80's (UMASS), I remember that scared the shit out of me. (we goalies all started wearing throat guards after that).


----------



## technomancer

kmanick said:


> Holy crap did you guys see this?
> Zednick got his throat slashed the other night during the game.
> Zednik's injury brings Malarchuk's own nightmare back to surface - NHL - ESPN
> 
> I saw the Malarchuk slice live the night it happened.
> I ws a college goalie in the 80's (UMASS), I remember that scared the shit out of me. (we goalies all started wearing throat guards after that).



The other night over a year ago... I saw your post and was like AGAIN?!?!?!

I was surprised I hadn't heard about this, then looked at the article you linked... it's from 2008


----------



## playstopause

^





technomancer said:


> About fucking time... Ovechkin was suspended for two games \m/





You know why many people say Crosby is better than Ovechkin? Because Crosby plays with his _head._ Crosby will probably play 10 more years than Ovechkin, wich will probably get a major injury sooner or later related to his (over agressive yet very spectacular to watch) style of playing.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

playstopause said:


> ^
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You know why many people say Crosby is better than Ovechkin? Because Crosby plays with his _head._ Crosby will probably play 10 more years than Ovechkin, wich will probably get a major injury sooner or later related to his (over agressive yet very spectacular to watch) style of playing.



Kinda reminds me of Forsberg. A pure skill player who played the game with the mentality of a third-liner. Hopefully Ovechkin's career doesn't end as prematurely as Forsberg's did, what a huge loss to the game


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> You know why many people say Crosby is better than Ovechkin? Because Crosby plays with his _head._ Crosby will probably play 10 more years than Ovechkin, wich will probably get a major injury sooner or later related to his (over agressive yet very spectacular to watch) style of playing.



I have no problem with aggressive, physical play. I have a problem with dirty hits, and Ovechkin regularly does shit like running people from behind and deliberately leading with his knee. I was honestly hoping he had finally blown out his knee on the hit he got suspended for. His comments also lead me to believe that that's not going to be his last suspension this year 

Now hopefully the Pens show up tonight against the Habs tonight


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> I have no problem with aggressive, physical play. I have a problem with dirty hits, and Ovechkin regularly does shit like running people from behind and deliberately leading with his knee. I was honestly hoping he had finally blown out his knee on the hit he got suspended for. His comments also lead me to believe that that's not going to be his last suspension this year
> 
> Now hopefully the Pens show up tonight against the Habs tonight



 And that's where Forsberg and Ovechkin differ  I personally love Ovechkin, but I'll second that this year, he's really playing way too recklessly. People go on and on about how he's going to hurt himself, and I'll be te first to say that if he does, it's because he deserves it.

And hopefully the habs show up tonight. Well, at least those who aren't injured  two of their top 4 d-men are out as well as Paul Mara's huge physical presence. And it's looking like Gionta won't be back until after christmas  Here's to a good game tonight!

On a good note, however, I've heard rumours that Gainey's breaking his "no offers during the season" policy. He's currently in talks with Tomas Plekanec's agent. I hope this is true, because if Tomas tests the market this off-season, he will almost certainly be seeing offers of 5+ million per season, and could very well be lost to a team that has the cap space for that sort of commitment.


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> I have no problem with aggressive, physical play. I have a problem with dirty hits, and Ovechkin regularly does shit like running people from behind and deliberately leading with his knee. I was honestly hoping he had finally blown out his knee on the hit he got suspended for. His comments also lead me to believe that that's not going to be his last suspension this year
> 
> Now hopefully the Pens show up tonight against the Habs tonight



Nah, they don't need to show up. 

To me, Ovechkin's playing is rather reckless than agressive and physical.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> And hopefully the habs show up tonight. Well, at least those who aren't injured  two of their top 4 d-men are out as well as Paul Mara's huge physical presence. And it's looking like Gionta won't be back until after christmas  Here's to a good game tonight!



You've got my sympathies on the injuries. For a while there the Pens had 5 of their 6 starting defensemen out and IIRC 4 starting forwards. The Pens are FINALLY getting healthy though. With tonight's game I think everybody is back in the lineup except for Kunitz.


----------



## technomancer

PHEW! Pens caught a HUGE break with the ref losing site of that puck to disallow that goal. I feel bad for Montreal, but then again the Pens have had those kinds of bounces go against them recently


----------



## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> PHEW! Pens caught a HUGE break with the ref losing site of that puck to disallow that goal. I feel bad for Montreal, but then again the Pens have had those kinds of bounces go against them recently



Yeah, that seems to be a problem this season. This "intent to blow the whistle crap" has affected pretty much everybody so far.


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> PHEW! Pens caught a HUGE break with the ref losing site of that puck to disallow that goal.



!!!!!


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> Yeah, that seems to be a problem this season. This "intent to blow the whistle crap" has affected pretty much everybody so far.



No intent about it, the whistle blew before the puck went in the net. The ref lost sight of the puck in the crease, and per the rules blew the whistle. It always sucks when that goes against you, the Pens have already been on the other side of it this season.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> No intent about it, the whistle blew before the puck went in the net. The ref lost sight of the puck in the crease, and per the rules blew the whistle. It always sucks when that goes against you, the Pens have already been on the other side of it this season.



I'm not even sure the whistle was blown before the puck crossed the line, and if it was, it was REALLY close. It was hard to even see how the puck went in at all from the TV broadcast angle, but on RDS, they showed the play in replays from the overhead cam above the net, and I'd have to say, I'm not sure the whistle was blown before the puck crossed the line. And the shot was definitely taken before the whistle was blown. I'm not sure why they didn't go upstairs on it, is that some sort of rule or something?


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> I'm not even sure the whistle was blown before the puck crossed the line, and if it was, it was REALLY close. It was hard to even see how the puck went in at all from the TV broadcast angle, but on RDS, they showed the play in replays from the overhead cam above the net, and I'd have to say, I'm not sure the whistle was blown before the puck crossed the line. And the shot was definitely taken before the whistle was blown. I'm not sure why they didn't go upstairs on it, is that some sort of rule or something?



Actually that I'm not sure about. I was sort of expecting them to review it too


----------



## playstopause

Puck in before the whistle or not, the call on the ice still stands no matter what. It's just a poor decision from one of the worst ref in the league.
And agreed with Steve, it happened to many other teams. Refing in the NHL : sucking donkey's balls sine way too long.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Refing in the NHL : sucking donkey's balls sine way too long.



Quoted for truth 

Had a blast at the game tonight watching the Pens beat the Panthers in overtime while watching the out of town scoreboard and seeing the Flyers and Caps both loose \m/

Even sweeter was that the Caps lost 6-3 to freaking Toronto


----------



## mattofvengeance

So a little over a third into the season, how do you guys feel about your teams? Have they met your expectations, exceeded them or disappointed you?

With the Stars, they're about right where I expected them to be. I didn't think they would be a force to be reckoned with, but I figured with Turco somewhat resembling what he was two years ago, they would contend, and so far they have. This inability to score lately has got me frustrated, but with Carolina coming up on the schedule, that may change


----------



## technomancer

The Pens are doing about as I expected. I knew the power play was going to struggle when they didn't resign Sykora... about the only thing I didn't expect was over 1/3 of the team to go down with injuries before the 1/3 season mark  They just need to stay healthy and start scoring on the power play and I'd say they've got a good shot to make it to the finals again


----------



## technomancer

You have got to fucking be kidding me... Rupp just got a roughing call for a clean hit on Parent. Even the announcers on Versus were trying to figure out what the hell the call was for 

Ok I realize the Flyers are like the Keystone Cops of the NHL this year, but it still does my heart good to watch the Pens kick their asses. 6-1 final


----------



## mattofvengeance

I hate the Flyers, especially their fans. They believe that their team can go out and hit anybody however they want to, but if one of theirs gets lit up, then it was a dirty hit. 

Flyers= hypocrites of the NHL


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> I hate the Flyers, especially their fans. They believe that their team can go out and hit anybody however they want to, but if one of theirs gets lit up, then it was a dirty hit.
> 
> Flyers= hypocrites of the NHL



Quoted for truth... Richards especially... I've never seen another guy that plays as dirty as he does and then cries to the refs whenever anybody touches him


----------



## Elysian

Going to the Stars/Red Wings game Saturday, with suite tix, I'm so fucking stoked!


----------



## technomancer

Elysian said:


> Going to the Stars/Red Wings game Saturday, with suite tix, I'm so fucking stoked!



Awesome! Hopefully the Start crush the Wings (another team I REALLY dislike )


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> Quoted for truth... Richards especially... I've never seen another guy that plays as dirty as he does and then cries to the refs whenever anybody touches him


----------



## technomancer

Man what is it about the freaking Devils 

Pens need to solve these guys... and ironically Fleury was named one of the NHLs stars of the week and pulled from net in the same freaking day


----------



## JeffFromMtl

I got to watch the habs down the leafs on boxing day wearing my christmas gift:


----------



## playstopause

^




... And also, as a side note : Plekanec.  Overtime goal tonight against Tampa.


----------



## technomancer

Ugh WTF is wrong with the Pens... first they lose to freaking TORONTO then they blow a three goal lead over Buffalo and finally wrap it up by losing to the Devils AGAIN 

Well, unless the Devils take a serious slide I'd say that kills any real shot of winning the division


----------



## technomancer

Pens continue to suck, losing to Tampa


----------



## playstopause

I also f*cking HATE Buffalo.


----------



## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> Pens continue to suck, losing to Tampa



And get trounced by the Panthers?


----------



## 7slinger

went to the wild/devs game the other day, and while I had to endure my home team losing, Langenbrunner scored his first career hat trick in 925 games in front of busloads of fans from our little hometown, the day after being selected to the olympic team


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> And get trounced by the Panthers?



Yeah this is horrible. It was even worse than it looks, as the Pens came out strong and were dominating, took an early 2 goal lead, then just fell apart.


----------



## mattofvengeance

Elysian said:


> Going to the Stars/Red Wings game Saturday, with suite tix, I'm so fucking stoked!



I just saw this. I was at the game as well. My buddy won them on a radio show, so we were sitting in the front of the terrace right behind the net in our defensive zone. Those seats are incredible. You can see every inch of the ice and see every play develop. Watching the powerplay from up there was amazing. Generally, I like to sit towards the top of the lower bowl where the glass doesn't distort my vision, but I may have found my new favorite seats


----------



## technomancer

Hopefully the Pens get it together tonight... they've lost 6 of their last 7, and 3 of those were to teams that can hardly be called good. It's worrying when the coaches start doing things like calling up AHL talent to try to spark things.... (unless there's an injury to somebody they haven't disclosed yet, which is possible)

Caputi Hopes to Provide Scoring Depth - Pittsburgh Penguins - Features

EDIT: Ok, they updated, Kunitz is out for 4-6 weeks undergoing surgery to repair an abdominal muscle tear.


----------



## technomancer

Pens FINALLY broke their losing streak last night, winning 5-2 against the Thrashers...

Hopefully they show up again on Thursday against the Flyers since those are our next tickets


----------



## playstopause

Yeah, please do us a favor and crush the Flyers.


----------



## technomancer

Too late 

The sad thing is Fleury more or less single-handedly blew that game.... 4 goals on 16 freaking shots  They were done by about a minute into the second period when that fourth goal went in. Not sure what is going on with Fleury recently, he's just not looking good at all.


----------



## playstopause

... And we win agaisnt Dallas.


----------



## mattofvengeance

No need to flex, you beat one of the worst teams in the NHL right now.


----------



## playstopause

Sorry for your feelings.


----------



## mattofvengeance

It's alright. I'd feel better about life in general if we left Marty in Montreal. Our D core sucks, there's no doubt, but he definitely shouldn't have allowed half of those goals.


----------



## Ram150023

GO GO BUFFALO!!!! Looking forward to see what Miller does for Team USA!!!


----------



## playstopause

mattofvengeance said:


> It's alright. I'd feel better about life in general if we left Marty in Montreal. Our D core sucks, there's no doubt, but he definitely shouldn't have allowed half of those goals.



Losing Ribero isn't helping too... But yeah, Turcot's goaltending style is clearly out of date.


----------



## technomancer

Maybe the Pens have turned the corner away from sucking for the season... maybe... now that they've blown any shot of winning the division unless Jersey implodes


----------



## mattofvengeance

playstopause said:


> Losing Ribero isn't helping too... But yeah, Turcot's goaltending style is clearly out of date.



Well, he's always gotten by on his athleticism, not necessarily his positioning. With him getting older and the athleticism diminishing, he's starting to look pretty bad. Unfortunately, going with Auld is pretty much a lateral move.


----------



## technomancer

It never ends... looks like Fleury is out with a broken finger, Johnson is out with an undisclosed injury, so Curry (AHL callup) will be starting in net tonight with Pechurski as backup. Pechurski is a junior league goaltender that they signed exclusively for tonight's game. Ugh.

Penguins Sign Pechurski to One-Game Try Out - Pittsburgh Penguins - News


----------



## playstopause

^

I think we can all blame this year's calendar (olympic year) for all the injured each team has.


----------



## technomancer

And the 19 year old kid from the Juniors got to play and looked better than Curry, who was pulled after giving up 5 goals


----------



## Elysian

how the fuck did the stars beat the red wings today?! I turned the game off early cause I thought the stars would lose, then check twitter and they fucking won in a shoot out!


----------



## technomancer

Elysian said:


> how the fuck did the stars beat the red wings today?! I turned the game off early cause I thought the stars would lose, then check twitter and they fucking won in a shoot out!



Good luck and instant replay?  I'm happy whenever Detroit loses


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> And the 19 year old kid from the Juniors got to play and looked better than Curry, who was pulled after giving up 5 goals



I watched the kid goal! Pretty awesome moment. He did well, especially coming in the game cold.


----------



## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> Good luck and instant replay?  I'm happy whenever Detroit loses



Pretty much this. I forgot the game was early, so I was out doin crap. Once I got the text update that said 2-0 Detroit, I mentally gave up on that game. When I got the one that said 2-2 headed into overtime, I was completely stunned. I haven't seen the goal in question, but from what I understand, it was very close. Either way, I don't care, I'm like you, and I completely hate Detroit, and I wish nothing but the worst for them.


----------



## technomancer

I was hoping Sutton would get suspended for this hit... it was absolutely uncalled for

Islanders' Sutton suspended for two games - NHL.com - News


----------



## playstopause

... And we just keep sucking. As of today, I would not bet 10$ on a playoff spot.


----------



## technomancer

Tonight is probably not going to be pretty... Looks like Fleury is out, Gonchar is out, Talbot is out, and Dupuis is out.


----------



## bulletbass man

technomancer said:


> I was hoping Sutton would get suspended for this hit... it was absolutely uncalled for
> 
> Islanders' Sutton suspended for two games - NHL.com - News





yeah terrible fucking hit.

Atleast the flyers aren't doing terrible anymore. The loss to toronto was unacceptable but with a win tonight I believe they can get a playoff spot again. (though I haven't looked at the standings in two days).

Ray Emery shouldn't be back in goal yet. he's played really sloppy his two starts back. They should've kept him in the minors till he was playing atleast his best. Though that's not very good. 

Flyers really need to try to get a franchise goaltender in the next couple of years. It's been there weakness since I can remember. Sure they've had goaltenders that have played good for a season but they generally end up terrible.


----------



## playstopause

... And in other news, Bob Gainey just sent home Laraque for the rest of the season. Yes, he fired him. Wow.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> ... And in other news, Bob Gainey just sent home Laraque for the rest of the season. Yes, he fired him. Wow.



Wow 

Also, the game tonight didn't go AS bad as I was expecting, thought you wouldn't know it by the final score. The pens looked decent for two of the three periods


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> Wow



Yup. 

Laraque is too old now and has become a "danger" on the ice... Not beeing able to cover his zone. He also has become too much of a distraction for the team (mainly out of the ice) and it seems that Jacques Martin did not like him...


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Yup.
> 
> Laraque is too old now and has become a "danger" on the ice... Not beeing able to cover his zone. He also has become too much of a distraction for the team (mainly out of the ice) and it seems that Jacques Martin did not like him...



Wow 

The Pens power play is really killing them... 0-4 last night against the Caps and when you take into account that the last goal in the 3-6 loss was an empty netter :sigh: But I'm REALLY glad we didn't need Sykora who was the Pens second highest goal scorer on the power play and was basically willing to sign for nothing if they'd give him a couple year deal


----------



## playstopause

It's going to be one hell of a race.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> It's going to be one hell of a race.



Indeed, especially with crazy shit happening like the Islanders kicking ass


----------



## technomancer

God I HATE NBC's coverage. 15 minutes into the Pens - Flyers game and they have literally said 10 words that weren't about the Flyers. Oh wait 18 they just said Guerin is a leader in the locker room.

I do have to love that the game is 1-1 instead of 2-0 because the Flyers are thugs... Gagne tackled Malkin right as the Flyers put the puck in the net and took a penalty that negated the goal  Even better, the Pens scored on the resulting power play to tie it up 


Ok, coverage has somewhat evened up in the second...

Wow and the Pens win 2-1 because of another stupid Flyers penalty. Some things never change


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> Indeed, especially with crazy shit happening like the Islanders kicking ass



Yeah, what the hell is up with that? 

Tavares is doin' great for his first season.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Yeah, what the hell is up with that?
> 
> Tavares is doin' great for his first season.



Honestly they've been pretty good all season... most people missed that they lost a ton of games early, but 90% of them were overtime losses so it wasn't like they were getting blown out. The Islanders are also one of those teams that always tends to give the Pens fits


----------



## playstopause

On a side note, can't wait to watch the Olympics. That's going to be epic, especially with Canada having the first line from the Sharks (Heatley-Marleau-Thornton) and players like Crosby-Inginla-Nash that will probably be on our 2nd line...  



... Oh yeah, and we have Brodeur, Luongo and Fleury as goaltenders.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah I think Canada and Russia are the two teams to watch (I say swallowing national pride as I don't think the US stands a chance this year)


----------



## troyguitar

Russia ftw


----------



## playstopause

... And in the meantime, the Habs keep sucking.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> ... And in the meantime, the Habs keep sucking.



I feel your pain... the Pens are riding the injury bus again with two AHL forwards in their starting lineup and going up against Ottawa who is 7-0 in their last 7 games. I may be pleasantly surprised, but at this point I'm not looking forward to tonight's game. Oh and add to the 7-0 that the Pens crushed them 8-2 in December so they're going to be pissed off coming in as well


----------



## playstopause

^

Please crush the f*ckin' Sens. 





please please please please please



EDIT :


----------



## technomancer

Yeah that went about how I was expecting... it'd be nice if the Pens could beat a team that's not on the slide


----------



## Groff

This came in today









I wanted to get a Flyers jersey, but wanted something more contemporary, plus I grew up watching him and have fond memories watching those games. My dad (rip) was a big fan also, so i'm doing it for him as well.

It also sucked being at the Flyers/Pens game last week and not having any proper attire


----------



## playstopause




----------



## technomancer

^ 

The Pens actually beat a team NOT on a slide... Pens > Buffalo 5-4


----------



## JeffFromMtl

playstopause said:


>



I hate Matthew Barnaby 

On a much shittier note, word is, the Cammalleri injury is an MCL thing and he should be out 6-8 weeks. Playoff hopes = 
It's time for the habs to start looking ahead to next season... Come trade deadline, I think the Canadiens will be sellers this year.


----------



## playstopause

^



It's not our year. Injuries strikes again....


----------



## JeffFromMtl

On the bright side, A. Kostitsyn will be back after the Olympic break. Hopefully he continues to tear it up at the goal-per-game rate he finally hit before the injury.


----------



## playstopause

Yep. Let's hope it doesn't take him 30 games to get into it... Like at the beginning of the season.


----------



## technomancer

And Kovalchuk is now a NJ Devil... just what the Pens needed, something to make them even harder to beat 

Kovalchuk traded to Devils - 2010 Trade Deadline


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Wow, that's a lot to give up for what could essentially be a rental... Bergfors and Cormier could be key components to any team's future core.


----------



## technomancer

True, but they're chasing the cup this year at this point I think


----------



## playstopause

Bye Bye Bob!

Bob Gainey to step down as GM of Montreal Canadiens - Staff reports - NHL - Sporting News


----------



## playstopause

... And we stopped Washington winning streak at 15!


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> ... And we stopped Washington winning streak at 15!



 the Habs have been playing tough the last couple days


----------



## 7slinger

technomancer said:


> And Kovalchuk is now a NJ Devil... just what the Pens needed, something to make them even harder to beat
> 
> Kovalchuk traded to Devils - 2010 Trade Deadline



yay! 

Devs have been on a bit of a slide though

time for the olympic break, but not before Langy notched a goal and 2 assists tonight...now off to Vancouver to captain the American team, I really hope he can bring home a medal


----------



## technomancer

Ah, the Pens proving no opponent is too shitty to lose to by blowing it to the Rangers in overtime


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> the Habs have been playing tough the last couple days



Yeah... Too bad we could not do this against Philadelphia... 2 times in a row.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Yeah... Too bad we could not do this against Philadelphia... 2 times in a row.


----------



## playstopause

God I hate the Flyers. Such cocky goons. At 5-1, they kept crushing players with dirty hits from behind... As if that was needed. No class, at all.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> God I hate the Flyers. Such cocky goons. At 5-1, they kept crushing players with dirty hits from behind... As if that was needed. No class, at all.



That's Philly for you... Pens blew another one and lost their first shootout this year today 

If they ever play a full 60 minutes of hockey they could be dangerous


----------



## Groff

playstopause said:


> God I hate the Flyers. Such cocky goons. At 5-1, they kept crushing players with dirty hits from behind... As if that was needed. No class, at all.



Still better than the way Pittsburgh played against them a few weeks ago


----------



## mattofvengeance

playstopause said:


> God I hate the Flyers. Such cocky goons. At 5-1, they kept crushing players with dirty hits from behind... As if that was needed. No class, at all.



The Flyers are ridiculous. They can unleash all the cheap shots they want, but when somebody does it to them, they fucking cry. Chris Pronger has never been a better fit for a team in his career haha.


----------



## playstopause

^

Well said.


----------



## technomancer

^ Quite


----------



## Groff

mattofvengeance said:


> The Flyers are ridiculous. They can unleash all the cheap shots they want, but when somebody does it to them, they fucking cry. Chris Pronger has never been a better fit for a team in his career haha.



Yet when a Penguin cross checks a Flyer into the goalie the pens cry "GOALIE INTERFERENCE!"


----------



## technomancer

Have the Flyers played a game this season where they DIDN'T run a goalie?


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I love the Flyers hate! keep bringing it XD haha

which sucks cause I'm a big Mike Richards fan =\


----------



## playstopause

^

Claude! Where the hell you been?


----------



## technomancer

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> I love the Flyers hate! keep bringing it XD haha
> 
> which sucks cause I'm a big Mike Richards fan =\



Richards is a good hockey player, I just don't like him because he's dirty as hell on the ice but then whines like a little girl whenever anybody touches him.


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> Richards is a good hockey player, I just don't like him because he's dirty as hell on the ice but then whines like a little girl whenever anybody touches him.



Because Pittsburgh doesn't have any cry babys


----------



## mattofvengeance

Groff said:


> Yet when a Penguin cross checks a Flyer into the goalie the pens cry "GOALIE INTERFERENCE!"



That's all well and good, but I'm not a Penguins fan.


----------



## playstopause

The last part of the season is about to kick in : love is the air. 

...

On the side question : did the NHL cancelled the all-star this year because of the olympics?


----------



## mattofvengeance

playstopause said:


> The last part of the season is about to kick in : love is the air.
> 
> ...
> 
> On the side question : did the NHL cancelled the all-star this year because of the olympics?



Yeah, it happens every year the Olympics occur.


----------



## Groff

playstopause said:


> The last part of the season is about to kick in : love is the air.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

playstopause said:


> ^
> 
> Claude! Where the hell you been?



Been quite busy, finally graduated college 

Canada DOMINATED Russia today


----------



## playstopause

^

Congrats sir! 

... And Sweden is out!


----------



## technomancer

As a proud American I'm a little sad... as a proud Pens fan that kicked ass 

Hopefully Sid puts a few more past Miller on tuesday night  We'll be at the Pens / Sabers game


----------



## Groff

Ray Emery is out for the season. 

He's having hip surgery, so hopefully we'll see him back next year.


----------



## technomancer

The Pens downed the Sabres 3-2 and have picked up left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky and defenseman Jordan Leopold. I think they gave up WAY too much for Ponikarovsky considering he's an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season... Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula are gone. Skoula isn't a huge loss with the acquisition of Leopold, but Caputi was one of the Pens top prospects. That's a lot to give up for a guy that will likely be unsignable under the cap if the Pens make another convincing Cup run


----------



## playstopause

I can't believe some people booed when they showed the Crosby goal before the Pens-Sabres game...


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> I can't believe some people booed when they showed the Crosby goal before the Pens-Sabres game...



Yeah that was sad (I was at the game). I think it was at the USA loss and not at Crosby per say though  The presentation they did to honor all of the Olympic athletes before the game was pretty cool though 

Also wow, the Caps made a lot of trades... just what we need, a stronger Caps team


----------



## mattofvengeance

What do the Sharks and the Titanic have in common? They both look invincible until they hit the ice in April.


----------



## playstopause

^


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Knowing the Canadiens, upcoming games against the Sharks, Kings and Ducks should be gimme's, I'm just worried about the games after their road trip - the Lightning and the Oilers 

If there's any way to describe the habs' season, it's that they've been winning games they should be losing and losing games they should be winning


----------



## technomancer

I still can't believe the Devils beat the Sharks... then again I should have known since a loss would have let the Pens move into first in the division


----------



## technomancer

OK wtf Cooke just stood there and got a punch in the face from Prust and GOT A PENALTY for it. They were on camera the whole time, he literally stood there and the guy hit him and it's somehow a 4-on-4


----------



## mattofvengeance

Congrats, Steve, for the Penguins victory on Saturday!


----------



## playstopause

JeffFromMtl said:


> Knowing the Canadiens, upcoming games against the Sharks, Kings and Ducks should be gimme's, I'm just worried about the games after their road trip - the Lightning and the Oilers
> 
> If there's any way to describe the habs' season, it's that they've been winning games they should be losing and losing games they should be winning



Yep. But we lost that one against the Sharks, altough Price was really great. Better win the 2 next ones if we want to make it in the playoffs... We're sliding...


----------



## technomancer

I am amazed that Pens - Rangers game last night went to overtime... Fleury looked terrible, gave up 4 goals on 12 shots. King Henry however earned his paycheck BIG TIME. The Pens completely dominated the Ranges, only allowing one Ranger shot in the third period. Total shots were 55-16


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> Total shots were 55-16



Holy shit!


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Holy shit!



Hehe yeah, tell me you'd expect a game with that shot stat to have gone to overtime for a 5-4 win for the team with 55 shots


----------



## mattofvengeance

technomancer said:


> Total shots were 55-16



Yes, and that's what the Stars have to look forward Saturday with a goaltender making his first start of the season. Hooray.


----------



## technomancer

mattofvengeance said:


> Congrats, Steve, for the Penguins victory on Saturday!





mattofvengeance said:


> Yes, and that's what the Stars have to look forward Saturday with a goaltender making his first start of the season. Hooray.



Keep in mind the Pens also gave up 4 goals on 16 shots and that they have tended to lose games they should win this season... all hope is not lost for the Stars


----------



## technomancer

I am impressed with the Pens play.... and really pissed that they're talking about suspending Cooke for that hit today on Savard. It sucks that Savard got hurt, but the league needs to make up their fucking minds and if Richards' hit earlier this season wasn't suspendable, then Cooke's shouldn't be either. He came straight across on Savard, didn't raise his shoulder, didn't leave his feet.  And if it is a suspension, then they need to start enforcing it that way for EVERYONE in the league.

I'll also add that I was at the game, and the officiating was all around piss poor


----------



## playstopause

Some general managers are meeting on the subject this week. I agree, they NEED to come up with a CLEAR rule regarding hits to the head. It's crazy how the NHL is slow to move on the matter... You can have an automatic penalty for sending the puck into the crowd and some vicious hits are not even punished. It makes no freaking sense. I hope they move before a player loose his life on ice.


----------



## Elysian

Stars are playing fucking terribly after the Olympics. 5-1 the first game back(Turco's 500th game), 6-2 I think the 2nd game back, and this weekend, 6-3. Lehtonen(new backup goalie) played the end of the 2nd game, and started the 3rd game, dunno if he played all the way to the end, but our goalies both suck, and our defense is shit... They were playing strongly before the Olympics, wtf happened.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Some general managers are meeting on the subject this week. I agree, they NEED to come up with a CLEAR rule regarding hits to the head. It's crazy how the NHL is slow to move on the matter... You can have an automatic penalty for sending the puck into the crowd and some vicious hits are not even punished. It makes no freaking sense. I hope they move before a player loose his life on ice.



Yeah the league needs to be consistent, and they're not. I mean Cooke came&#65279; straight across, didn't raise his shoulder, didn't leave his feet, didn't move AT ALL to target Savard's head... Compare this to the Richards hit on Booth where Richards literally jumped up to hit Booth in the head. Richards received a game misconduct but no suspension. Cooke received no penalty but I've heard as much as a 5 game suspension suggested. Explain to me how one hit deserves a suspension and the other doesn't. The league needs to be consistent or not take action at all.

I mean seriously, watch the videos


----------



## technomancer

Elysian said:


> Stars are playing fucking terribly after the Olympics. 5-1 the first game back(Turco's 500th game), 6-2 I think the 2nd game back, and this weekend, 6-3. Lehtonen(new backup goalie) played the end of the 2nd game, and started the 3rd game, dunno if he played all the way to the end, but our goalies both suck, and our defense is shit... They were playing strongly before the Olympics, wtf happened.



But they just came back from being dow 3-0 against the Caps going into the third to beat them in a shootout  Shame you guys couldn't keep Ovechkin off the board


----------



## playstopause

Campbell = ONE GIANT DOUCHEBAG. 

Way to correct a mistake by another mistake.

Ok, so Cooke won't get suspended because Richard didn't get a suspension for his hit on Booth. Why? Because it's legal. Nothing is written in the book of rules about that. Yet, Cooke got suspended twice for similar hits earlier this year. And Lapierre (Habs player) gets a 4 GAMES SUSPENSION for a gesture that is a hundred times less dangerous. The player he "almost hit" is now up and playing. Will Savard EVER PLAY AGAIN? No one knows. Same for Booth. Not this year, for sure, with that 2nd degree commotion. And yet, NO SUSPENSION!!! WTF????????

New rule? Not now. NEXT YEAR! WHY CAN'T YOU APPLY THE NEW RULE NOW??? Just bypass or accelerate the rule acceptance procedure
So what message does it send to the players? KEEP DOING HITS TO THE HEAD, THEY'RE LEGAL UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!!! 

Something bad is going to happen.


----------



## Elysian

technomancer said:


> But they just came back from being dow 3-0 against the Caps going into the third to beat them in a shootout  Shame you guys couldn't keep Ovechkin off the board



Then they fucking lose against Buffalo... Who the fuck is Buffalo? I couldn't even tell you their team name before yesterday!


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Campbell = ONE GIANT DOUCHEBAG.
> 
> Way to correct a mistake by another mistake.
> 
> Ok, so Cooke won't get suspended because Richard didn't get a suspension for his hit on Booth. Why? Because it's legal. Nothing is written in the book of rules about that. Yet, Cooke got suspended twice for similar hits earlier this year. And Lapierre (Habs player) gets a 4 GAMES SUSPENSION for a gesture that is a hundred times less dangerous. The player he "almost hit" is now up and playing. Will Savard EVER PLAY AGAIN? No one knows. Same for Booth. Not this year, for sure, with that 2nd degree commotion. And yet, NO SUSPENSION!!! WTF????????
> 
> New rule? Not now. NEXT YEAR! WHY CAN'T YOU APPLY THE NEW RULE NOW??? Just bypass or accelerate the rule acceptance procedure
> So what message does it send to the players? KEEP DOING HITS TO THE HEAD, THEY'RE LEGAL UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!!!
> 
> Something bad is going to happen.



Ummm not to derail your rant, but Booth has BEEN BACK ON THE ICE for a while. He missed ~8 weeks. Savard will likely be back before the end of the playoffs, and if not will definitely be back next season. I agree there should be a rule against hits to the head. But there's not, and randomly suspending people accomplishes nothing. It was unfortunate, and I hope the new rule gets passed, but holding up a punishment decision to rush through a new rule is just stupid, and completely unfair. Should they retroactively suspend Richards too?



Elysian said:


> Then they fucking lose against Buffalo... Who the fuck is Buffalo? I couldn't even tell you their team name before yesterday!



Buffalo is number three in the East and has won their last 3 games in a row... sounds like you need to look at more than just the Stars  Everybody know the Caps because of Ovechkin and their being in first, but most people don't notice they're also in the weakest division in the East... that pads their point totals A LOT  The gap between 1st and 2nd in their division is 33 points right now


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> Ummm not to derail your rant, but Booth has BEEN BACK ON THE ICE for a while. He missed ~8 weeks. Savard will likely be back before the end of the playoffs, and if not will definitely be back next season. I agree there should be a rule against hits to the head. But there's not, and randomly suspending people accomplishes nothing. It was unfortunate, and I hope the new rule gets passed, but holding up a punishment decision to rush through a new rule is just stupid, and completely unfair. Should they retroactively suspend Richards too?



My bad, I thought Booth was still off the ice. That beeing said, I highly doubt Savard will be back this year.

No, they should not retroactively suspend Richards, but that was the mistake they shouldn't have done twice. Granted, Richards hit was intentional and more violent compared to the Cooke one, but IMO, any hit to the head must be punished. It just send the message to players : "Hey guys, it's legal!!! Go ahead and hit the head until the end of the season, because after that you'll get a punition or get suspended... But now, it's OK!! Keep going!! You can END a player's career, but don't mind!!!".

The NHL is that huge ship that takes too long to turn. I really feel something bad is going to happen to a player before the end of the season... IMO, it would take a player dying on the ice for the NHL to apply a new rule right away. ONLY pro sport association with that kind of problem. It's a shame!

And in the meantime, other players get suspended for things wich are a hundred times less dangerous... Seriously, WTF?!?


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> My bad, I thought Booth was still off the ice. That beeing said, I highly doubt Savard will be back this year.
> 
> No, they should not retroactively suspend Richards, but that was the mistake they shouldn't have done twice. Granted, Richards hit was intentional and more violent compared to the Cooke one, but IMO, it just send the message to players : "Hey guys, it's legal!!! Go ahead and hit the head until the end of the season, because after that you'll get a punition or get suspended... But now, it's OK!! Keep going!!".
> 
> The NHL is that huge ship that takes too long to turn. I really feel something bad is going to happen to a player before the end of the season... IMO, it would take a player dying on the ice for the NHL to apply a new rule right away. ONLY pro sport association with that kind of problem. It's a shame!
> 
> And in the meantime, other players get suspended for things wich are a hundred times less dangerous... Seriously, WTF?!?



I do agree that the inconsistency of it irritates the hell out of me... that was one of the reasons I was actually glad Cooke didn't get suspended. I'm tired of seeing high-profile players like Ovechkin and Richards getting away with blatantly dirty hits while instigators like Cooke get penalties even when they don't actually do anything. (see my earlier post from the NY-Pittsburgh game when Cooke got 2 minutes for standing there and receiving a punch to the face)

On an unrelated note I would also like to see tighter rules on crease violations against goal tenders. I've watched a bunch of Detroit games lately and the shit Holdstrom gets away with is freaking ridiculous


----------



## playstopause

Agreed.

IMO, any hit to the head must be punished. If it was Malkin, Crosby or another useful player beeing hit like Savard has been, laying on the ice for minutes, I'm pretty sure you'd be shouting loudly, Steve. 
And yet, they could come back to the game, have a hit to the head again and it would be just fine!

Savard is a _huge_ loss for the Bruins. I might even advance that this could make them miss a playoff spot.

At least, let's hope the new rule will be effective next year. I'm just pissed at the fact it's not "on" right now.


----------



## technomancer

Honestly if it was Crosby or Malkin I'd be upset they were out and calling for the rule change, but at the end of the day it was (unfortunately) by the rules a clean hit. Now if it had been the hit Richards did where he clearly leapt up to target the head and was off his skates on the follow through because of it, yeah I'd want his ass suspended as that was obviously charging with a clear intent to injure. Hell if Cooke had lead with his elbow (which some retards are claiming despite what the video shows) I'd say he should be suspended  After watching Cooke's reaction I just don't think it was an intentional head shot... I was at that game and he looked physically ill on the bench afterwards.

I'm with you about the new rule though, there is just no reason to have hits to the head be legal, regardless of intent. It's no different than a high stick IMHO, it should be an automatic penalty regardless... but currently it's not


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Honestly if it was Crosby or Malkin I'd be upset they were out and calling for the rule change, but at the end of the day it was (unfortunately) by the rules a clean hit. Now if it had been the hit Richards did where he clearly leapt up to target the head and was off his skates on the follow through because of it, yeah I'd want his ass suspended as that was obviously charging with a clear intent to injure. Hell if Cooke had lead with his elbow (which some retards are claiming despite what the video shows) I'd say he should be suspended  After watching Cooke's reaction I just don't think it was an intentional head shot... I was at that game and he looked physically ill on the bench afterwards.
> 
> I'm with you about the new rule though, there is just no reason to have hits to the head be legal, regardless of intent. It's no different than a high stick IMHO, it should be an automatic penalty regardless... but currently it's not



Cooke's hit was clean the only thing that I saw that was wrong with it was Savard had his head down and that Cooke was a little behind him so he couldn't have seen him anyway, should he have taken more of the body? yes. do I think it was illegal? no. and I can't comment on the Richards hit since I didn't see it who was the hit on? I'll youtube it later.


----------



## Elysian

technomancer said:


> Ummm not to derail your rant, but Booth has BEEN BACK ON THE ICE for a while. He missed ~8 weeks. Savard will likely be back before the end of the playoffs, and if not will definitely be back next season. I agree there should be a rule against hits to the head. But there's not, and randomly suspending people accomplishes nothing. It was unfortunate, and I hope the new rule gets passed, but holding up a punishment decision to rush through a new rule is just stupid, and completely unfair. Should they retroactively suspend Richards too?
> 
> 
> 
> Buffalo is number three in the East and has won their last 3 games in a row... sounds like you need to look at more than just the Stars  Everybody know the Caps because of Ovechkin and their being in first, but most people don't notice they're also in the weakest division in the East... that pads their point totals A LOT  The gap between 1st and 2nd in their division is 33 points right now



There are other teams besides the Stars?


----------



## playstopause

^

Yeah, a lot of them. 



Hollowman666 said:


> Cooke's hit was clean the only thing that I saw that was wrong with it was Savard had his head down and that Cooke was a little behind him so he couldn't have seen him anyway, should he have taken more of the body? yes. do I think it was illegal? no. and I can't comment on the Richards hit since I didn't see it who was the hit on? I'll youtube it later.



Steve posted the Mike Richards video a couple of post up.

That's the kind of hit the NHL wants to ban : coming from behind or sideways (player can't see it coming) hits to the head.

If the rule was part of the game now, Cooke would have been suspended because player will have to control themselves in the future (like Steve said, same as high sticking penalties).

...

Just think of Dino Chaara (intelligent player, not like Cooke) : at 6'9'' he could rip ANYONE's head in the league if he wanted to. Does he do it? No.

...

If a person cross the street, walks on a red light and you're coming fast at the intersection in your car, will you stop or hit the person saying "it's ok, it's my right. It's not illegal, you just had to keep your head up and look around".


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> Cooke's hit was clean the only thing that I saw that was wrong with it was Savard had his head down and that Cooke was a little behind him so he couldn't have seen him anyway, should he have taken more of the body? yes. do I think it was illegal? no. and I can't comment on the Richards hit since I didn't see it who was the hit on? I'll youtube it later.



Both hits are in my post here http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/1888043-post244.html

My problem with the Richards hit was that if you watch he clearly comes up with his shoulder so that he takes Booth in the head, as opposed to just coming across with a straight shoulder check.


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Both hits are in my post here http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/1888043-post244.html
> 
> My problem with the Richards hit was that if you watch he clearly comes up with his shoulder so that he takes Booth in the head, as opposed to just coming across with a straight shoulder check.



I agree with what you are saying about Richards, his hit is questionable did he leave his feet? yes.Did he have contact with his head? yes. did he get suspended? If so then good.


----------



## Hollowman

playstopause said:


> ^
> 
> 
> 
> Just think of Dino Chaara (intelligent player, not like Cooke) : at 6'9'' he could rip ANYONE's head in the league if he wanted to. Does he do it? No.
> 
> 
> If a person cross the street, walks on a red light and you're coming fast at the intersection in your car, will you stop or hit the person saying "it's ok, it's my right. It's not illegal, you just had to keep your head up and look around".



Zdeno Chara is intellegent he's also European he was taught a different style of the game.

Depend on the points...


----------



## Hollowman

Speaking of Chara what if he checks someone and he get them in the head not from the intent to injure, but because he's like 7'1" on skates do you suspend him if it's accidental and because of his size?


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> I agree with what you are saying about Richards, his hit is questionable did he leave his feet? yes.Did he have contact with his head? yes. did he get suspended? If so then good.



Nope, no suspension. Which was the reason I said Cooke shouldn't be suspended 



Hollowman666 said:


> Speaking of Chara what if he checks someone and he get them in the head not from the intent to injure, but because he's like 7'1" on skates do you suspend him if it's accidental and because of his size?



With the way the rule is written now that they're proposing if the player didn't see it coming then yes


----------



## playstopause

Chara : the exception that confirms the rule.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Chara : the exception that confirms the rule.



Genetic anomalies tend to do that


----------



## technomancer

Man I hate watching games like that Pens game against Carolina last night. They literally dominated play for the entire game... outshot the Canes 2-1, killed a 1:30 long 3-on-5 without allowing a single shot, etc etc etc and freaking lost in overtime 

If the Pens ever get consistent good goal tending they're going to be dangerous  Johnson just had a meh night and gave up two soft goals and it cost them the game


----------



## ralphy1976

and what about the Nashville San jose game score?!!!! that's football score!!! not hockey!!!


----------



## technomancer

ralphy1976 said:


> and what about the Nashville San jose game score?!!!! that's football score!!! not hockey!!!



Not the worst score I've seen, but DAMN  What's really sad about that is the Predators were up 4-2 going into the third


----------



## ralphy1976

yeah, getting netted 6 times in the 3rd that's pretty crazy..maybe SJ was feeling the olympics or something!!!


----------



## playstopause

Thank God we beat the Oilers...


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Thank God we beat the Oilers...



Hey, Jersey didn't  Speaking of which, hopefully the Pens can FINALLY beat Jersey tonight 

PS - no love for mah KxKs from Montreal?  
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/sevenstring-guitars/112102-kxk-sii-7-update-56k-joke-goes-here.html


----------



## playstopause

^

You've had the love from Montreal in another forum. 

(... But i'll still send some more love, just because... But be honest, you just want me to bump the thread, right?   )


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> ^
> 
> You've had the love from Montreal in another forum.
> 
> (... But i'll still send some more love, just because... But be honest, you just want me to bump the thread, right?   )



I need all the love I can get :wah:


----------



## ittoa666

Would like to see the wings do SOMETHING this season, though nothing will ever beat this.



Nothin better than seeing McCarty lay out Lemiuex. Best hit *EVER* in hockey.


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Hey, Jersey didn't  http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/sevenstring-guitars/112102-kxk-sii-7-update-56k-joke-goes-here.html



We can't seem to beat anybody as of late except for the Rangers. hopefully that will improve.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> We can't seem to beat anybody as of late except for the Rangers. hopefully that will improve.



and the Penguins  

Then again the refs helped more than a little on that one with the 5 minute major and game misconduct on what would normally have been a simple boarding call... and missing the stick in Fleury's glove when he was trying to stop Kovalchuk's shot for the second Jersey goal 

EDIT: OK, what is going on Philadelphia just beat Chicago and and Florida beat San Jose


----------



## technomancer

Looks like the league is at least being somewhat consistent... Ovechkin got a 5 minute major boarding call and a game misconduct for a hit that had similarities to what happened to Adams in that Jersey game


----------



## playstopause

^

If they're REALLY consistent, they'll suspend him, for at least 4 games.
That's what Lapierre got for a similar gesture that looked a bit less intentional.

*CAMPBELL, WE'RE WATCHING YOUR EVERY MOVE! *


----------



## technomancer

^ yeah given it was a late hit into the board from behind and Campbell may be out for the rest of the season I can see a suspension



Ovechkin said:


> "It was not a hard hit," he told reporters. "I just wanted to push him. It's just a moment in the game. I don't think it has to be five minutes or something like that. I just felt bad."



Yup Ovi, taking people head-first into the boards with late hits is perfectly OK. I mean you broke the guy's collarbone and a couple of ribs, but why should that be five minutes 

Reports: Hawks' Campbell out for season? - NHL.com - News

Also, apparently on the Adams hit in the Jersey game Adams got the 5 minute and game misconduct because Skoula's visor cut him when he hit the boards.... so from a technical standpoint it was within the rules.


----------



## playstopause

Ovechkin gets 2 games suspension.

 ... But not enough!!!!!! Campbell = out for the season. 
Lapierre got a 4 GAMES SUSPENSION for a hit on a player that is STILL playing.

What the freaking fuck, C. Campbell???


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Ovechkin gets 2 games suspension.
> 
> ... But not enough!!!!!! Campbell = out for the season.
> Lapierre got 4 GAMES SUSPENSION for a hit on a player that is STILL playing.
> 
> What the freaking fuck, Campbell???



I agree with you on this one. Given this is his THIRD game misconduct and SECOND suspension this season and the player he hit is likely out for the season 2 games is complete bullshit.


----------



## playstopause

^



C. Campbell needs to take his head out of his ass once and for all. 
In the meantime...


*GO GET THAT MAURICE RICHARD TROPHY SIDNEY!!!!!!!!!*


----------



## technomancer

Good to see Ovi is still a 



Ovechkin said:


> I am very sorry that Brian was injured and I hope he is able to return to his team soon. NHL hockey is a physical game. We all play hard every time we are on the ice and have battles each shift in every game we play so we can do our jobs and win. As players we must accept responsibility for our actions and I am no different but I did not intend to injure Brian and that is why I was disappointed with the NHL's decision yesterday. Every time I have the honor to play for my team, I will continue to do what I have done since I was taught to play. I will play hard, play with passion and play with respect for my teammates, opponents and fans. I look forward to returning to my team and doing everything I can to be the best player I can be.



Alex Ovechkin sorry for hit on Blackhawks' Brian Campbell - NHL.com - News

So "I'm sorry he was injured, but I'll do the exact same thing again and really see nothing wrong with it"


----------



## playstopause

Seriously, fuck him.


----------



## troyguitar

technomancer said:


> Man I hate watching games like that Pens game against Carolina last night. They literally dominated play for the entire game... outshot the Canes 2-1, killed a 1:30 long 3-on-5 without allowing a single shot, etc etc etc and freaking lost in overtime



Welcome to being a Red Wings fan


----------



## technomancer

troyguitar said:


> Welcome to being a Red Wings fan





But yeah, fuck the Wings  Honestly I was kind of hoping they'd miss the playoffs this year just so there would be zero chance of a third Pens / Wings Cup round


----------



## ittoa666

Whats wrong with the wings?


----------



## technomancer

Hello, rabid Pens fan, bit of a rivalry there


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Big win for the habs in New York tonight! 6th place, 1 pt. ahead of Philly and 1 pt. behind Ottawa so their next two games against the Leafs and Sens will be hugely important. It's a slow week with only 2 games and it'll give other teams a chance to play their games in hand. Let's go boys, make it 7 then 8 in a row to grab 5th place by this time next week! ... And if this winning trend continues, the division title isn't out of reach by season's end


----------



## playstopause

^



Crazy : the Sens seemed so far away before the Olympics...


----------



## technomancer

I'm just hoping the Pens can beat Jersey ONCE this season... as if they don't they're probably not going to win the division  I guess tonight will tell. Then again, spending most of the second period short-handed and having Brodeur play an unreal game didn't help last time either 

EDIT: Well, this game against Jersey is just pathetic


----------



## mattofvengeance

I was in the building last night for the complete dismantling of the Sharks. Joe Blow disappeared as usual, and it appears the inevitable San Jose collapse has already begun.


----------



## playstopause

Thanks to the Pens for defeating the Bruins!


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Thanks to the Pens for defeating the Bruins!



Yeah it's just Jersey and Carolina they don't show up against  And of course my tickets for tomorrow are against Carolina


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Yeah it's just Jersey and Carolina they don't show up against  And of course my tickets for tomorrow are against Carolina



Yeah, then the Devils don't play well against the Leafs thats almost laughable to me.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> Yeah, then the Devils don't play well against the Leafs thats almost laughable to me.



Whereas the Pens kicked the shit out of Boston 

I REALLY hope they win against Carolina tomorrow... I have been at way too many losses this year


----------



## technomancer

The Pens game today was painful... they freaking lost in overtime with .9 seconds left on the clock


----------



## Ville

Teemu Selänne scored his 600th career goal!


----------



## playstopause

Man, this is gettin' scary in the East...


----------



## Hollowman

playstopause said:


> Man, this is gettin' scary in the East...



Yep, now The Devils are 2nd in the Eastern Conference. 

wanted to ask this it's probably done earlier in the thread but, Who's your favorite hockey player of all time?

Mine is someone either youl love or hate so with out further ado. I give you Scott Stevens. 

YouTube - Scott Stevens Tribute

when I used to play this is what I played like.


----------



## technomancer

Mario Lemiux, no question. Absolutely amazing player and a hell of a nice guy as well. Given what he did with the health problems he had I'd say he's arguably the most skilled player of all time.


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Mario Lemiux, no question. Absolutely amazing player and a hell of a nice guy as well. Given what he did with the health problems he had I'd say he's arguably the most skilled player of all time.



I'd have to agree, He'd have most if not all the scoring records and he did it in an Era thats long forgotten when they had the 2 line pass rule and Teams were more defensive, now a days they wait by the opposing teams blue line.


----------



## troyguitar

Hasek, Lemieux, or Yzerman. It's hard to pick just one. Hasek was certainly the most fun to watch, especially in the '98 Olympics.


----------



## technomancer

Taking goaltenders into account, I'm a huge fan of both Hasek and Roy.


----------



## Ville

Could say some of the older players but Rick Nash.


----------



## playstopause

Hollowman666 said:


> wanted to ask this it's probably done earlier in the thread but, Who's your favorite hockey player of all time?



Gretzky and Roy.


----------



## Elysian

Mine is the Stars goalie during their 98 and 99 season, Ed Belfour.


----------



## playstopause

... And I have to add this guy :


----------



## Hollowman

Goalies Martin Brodeur he holds or shares almost all goaltending reconds.


----------



## technomancer

^ honestly I was a bit annoyed he got the shutout record since he took >100 games more than the previous record holder to get it 

PS - Montreal, please beat Jersey tonight, kthxbby


----------



## playstopause

^

I wish we did. Our powerplay = dead.


----------



## technomancer

^  yeah and now the Pens get to play Toronto who has beens smoking hot.. hopefully they show up since we'll be at the game. I'll be curious to see if Malkin and Gonchar are back in the lineup, since they've both been out for a couple games.

EDIT: Malkin and Gonchar were both out, but the Pens won in a shootout  AND the Devils are currently getting their asses kicked by Philadelphia


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> ^  yeah and now the Pens get to play Toronto who has beens smoking hot.. hopefully they show up since we'll be at the game. I'll be curious to see if Malkin and Gonchar are back in the lineup, since they've both been out for a couple games.
> 
> EDIT: Malkin and Gonchar were both out, but the Pens won in a shootout  AND the Devils are currently getting their asses kicked by Philadelphia



Yeah Philly did it to us huh? it's all right theres still a few to go.


----------



## technomancer

One down, LOTS to go. The Pens have signed Letang to a 4 year deal 

Penguins Sign Defenseman Kris Letang to Four-Year Contract - Pittsburgh Penguins - News

Downside of this is that it more than likely means Gonchar will no longer be a Pen next year


----------



## playstopause

With only 6 games to play, I'm getting VERY nervous. We MUST win against Carolina tonight!


----------



## playstopause




----------



## technomancer

I do not believe the Pens lost to fucking Tampa... way to go guys, you had a chance to solidify your hold on the division and blew it


----------



## Elysian

While Ed Belfour is still my favorite, Kari Lehtonen is quickly becoming my favorite current player, he's proving to be a rather phenomenal goalie. Since he started with the Stars, he's holding a higher record than the NHL's leading goalie right now... Pretty incredible player.


----------



## mattofvengeance

Lehtonen has looked good for the most part, especially when you consider he hadn't played a single game in the NHL this season due to injury. I'm really looking forward to what he can do in the future, but this team has got to fix their defense. They're directly responsible for the miserable season this team has had. Now, I wish like hell we got to play San Jose every game of the season. 5-1 last night (which was made better by Ott's hat trick), and 8-2 the time before that on home ice. As a reward, I wish Gary Bettman would put the Stars in the postseason as the honorary Sharks eliminator. Think of it like the play-in game of the NCAA tournament, but the Stars wouldn't even have to advance to the next round. I think Joe-blow, Patty, and their new murderer of a teammate will be hitting the links early once again.


----------



## playstopause

Dear GOD, let us beat the Flyers tonight. raying:


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Dear GOD, let us beat the Flyers tonight. raying:



God called, he said you're welcome, oh yeah and fuck the Flyers


----------



## Elysian

mattofvengeance said:


> Lehtonen has looked good for the most part, especially when you consider he hadn't played a single game in the NHL this season due to injury. I'm really looking forward to what he can do in the future, but this team has got to fix their defense. They're directly responsible for the miserable season this team has had. Now, I wish like hell we got to play San Jose every game of the season. 5-1 last night (which was made better by Ott's hat trick), and 8-2 the time before that on home ice. As a reward, I wish Gary Bettman would put the Stars in the postseason as the honorary Sharks eliminator. Think of it like the play-in game of the NCAA tournament, but the Stars wouldn't even have to advance to the next round. I think Joe-blow, Patty, and their new murderer of a teammate will be hitting the links early once again.



Ludwig got it right the other night, the Stars need to be hard to play against. Tonight against the Oilers, they're showing that they are. Benn got his 20th and 21st goal of his rookie season(he's only 2 goals from the leader), Modano got his 800th and 801st assist of his career, and Benn just got another goal to make it 6-3 in the end of the 3rd. This game has been phenomenal, and I really feel like the Stars are playing better because they have more faith in their goalie. Lehtonen even got an assist this game! Benn is only 2 away from the leading rookie goal scorer in the NHL right now.


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> God called, he said you're welcome, oh yeah and fuck the Flyers


----------



## Skanes

Winnipeg Jets win again, 102 points on the season. Noice!


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Halak stands on his head again, 2 shutouts in a row, now #3 in the league in sv%. If only the brass didn't have such a boner for Price for the last 2 years... 

The powerplay is still struggling a little bit, but that'll be alright next year with the arrival of PK Subban. I just found the most up-to-date compilation, and shit, he just keeps looking better and better. Image the powerplay with Markov and Subban setting each other up on the point 



And as for my favorite player?


----------



## playstopause

Halak = NHL's player of the week.


----------



## playstopause

Fucking RANGERS.


----------



## technomancer

The Pens play their last regular season game ever at Mellon Arena tonight. We've got tickets, should be pretty cool.


----------



## MrMcSick

You lucky bastard techno. The end of an era and the start of anew.


----------



## technomancer

Aaaaand the Pens FINALLY looked like the defending Stanley Cup champions for the first time in a long time. Pens beat the Isles 7-3, and with Jersey's loss to Florida they have a shot at the Division title again


----------



## playstopause

^

That was a cool ceremony at the Mellon. 
Crosby scoring his 50th FTW.

And on our side :


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

that 50th one SO went off guerin.

Atleast the pens are looking playoff ready, which is a lot more than I can say about the Habs -_-


----------



## Elysian

Stars played well last night, Modano scored another goal, and also got a shootout goal. Was really a great game, and if it really is his last game, it's a great way to retire. Lehtinen also got the last goal of the shootout, cementing the win, which is yet again a great way to retire.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> ^
> 
> That was a cool ceremony at the Mellon.
> Crosby scoring his 50th FTW.
> 
> And on our side :





Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> that 50th one SO went off guerin.
> 
> Atleast the pens are looking playoff ready, which is a lot more than I can say about the Habs -_-



The ceremony was freaking awesome. So are the hand-forged aluminum commemorative tickets they gave out.

The video on the tickets is here
http://penguins.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=912&id=63176

Also the goal got credited to Guerin after they announced it


----------



## Groff

Just for some entertainment



Also, the amount of videos of Chris Chelios getting owned is kinda staggering


----------



## technomancer

Aaaaand Pittsburgh continues to prove that no team sucks too badly to lose to, and blows any shot at the division title in the process


----------



## playstopause

Damn, that's too bad for Crosby... Oh well. Sedin win the scoring title and Crosby and Stamkos still have a shot at the Maurice Richars Trophy.

And as a side note :  Let the playoff begin!


----------



## technomancer

Sid now leads the league in goals  

EDIT: Damn, Stamkos got an empty net goal to tie for the league lead


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I'm just happy we're not playing New Jersey. Washington it is I guess...

PREDICTIONS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens ------> Habs in 6 (LOL ok...gimme a break, gotta cheer for home!)
#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers ------> Devils in 6
#3 Buffalo Sabres vs. #6 Boston Bruins ------> Sabres in 7
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators -----> Pittsburg in 5

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Colorado Avalanche ------> Sharks in 7
#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Nashville Predators ------> Chicago in 5
#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 Los Angeles Kings ------> Vancouver in 6
#4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings -------> Wings in 5

I will probably edit these 5 times before the playoffs start XDXD

My cup favorites are Pittsburg, New Jersey, and Vancouver


----------



## technomancer

While it would give me no end of joy to see the Caps knocked out in the first round, I just don't see it happening.

The Pens winning / not winning depends entirely on whether or not they show up... it's been a roll of the dice if they do or not for months


----------



## troyguitar

technomancer said:


> The Pens winning / not winning depends entirely on whether or not they show up... it's been a roll of the dice if they do or not for months



Yep. Same thing over here. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Wings sweep the Coyotes OR get swept by them


----------



## MrMcSick

Can't decide if I should start my playoff beard now or wait till wed when our first game is?

Here goes my wolfman beard from last years stanley cup champs run. So outta control lol!


----------



## playstopause

^



Also :  for Crosby (and Stamkos). Eat it, Ovechkin! 
...

Of course, nobody will expect the Habs to beat the Capitals... BUT, if they show up it could be a long one. We have to play waaaaaay better than we did in the last 2 weeks. As far as the cup go, Pitsburgh vs Chicago would be awesome.


----------



## technomancer

MrMcSick said:


> Can't decide if I should start my playoff beard now or wait till wed when our first game is?
> 
> Here goes my wolfman beard from last years stanley cup champs run. So outta control lol!



Damn, that is one serious playoff beard 

I'm waiting to start mine until Wednesday


----------



## mattofvengeance

Now that the regular season is over, the clock is now officially ticking on the San Jose Sharks' season. The annual countdown has begun.


----------



## Hollowman

PREDICTION:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens ------> Caps in 5 (I'm giving the Habs 1 Good luck in out scoring the Caps though .)
#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers ------> Devils in 7 (It all depends on the Devils and how Marty plays and if they can score .)
#3 Buffalo Sabres vs. #6 Boston Bruins ------> Sabres in 7
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators -----> Pittsburgh in 5 (fair enough on this assumption, besides being 4th doesn't matter they came from the strongest division in the East.)

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Colorado Avalanche ------> Aves in 6 (Hey the Sharks have been first what the last 3-4 years and can't even get out of the 1st round that said it's almost Tee time in San Jose.)
#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Nashville Predators ------> Chicago in 5 (yeah....good luck Preds)
#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 Los Angeles Kings ------> Vancouver in 6
#4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings -------> Wings in 5 (nobody thought this was possible for Team NHL but, they are in and sadly the Wings experience will take the series.) 


My cup favorites
East: Washington or New Jersey or Pittsburgh lets face it The Eastern Conference Finals are their own Stanley Cup.

West: Detroit or Vancouver or Chicago and lets face it once Detroit gets into the playoffs well..... ya know it's only a matter of time .

For Lord Stanley

EAST: New Jersey

WEST: Detroit

Winner:My bold prediction New Jersey in 7

My reason: Jersey's lines match up against other Teams lines really well even though they have a "who the hell are they?" defense they get the job done and plus Brodeur well what can you say about him that hasn't been said.


----------



## MrMcSick

Ok here goes my before pic for this year. Hopefully we go pretty deep into the playoffs so this baby can bloom. Grant me thy power o beard gods!


----------



## technomancer

Looks like our first playoff tickets are for Friday night


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

You know I actually wouldn't be surprised if Jersey won this year. Too bad I don't want Kovalchuck to get anything... crazy idiot who thinks a team will be stupid enough to pay 11 million a year for a russian one trick pony who thinks getting a gold medal is harder and way more important than a stanley cup.


----------



## technomancer

Tonight it begins.... and it looks like the Pens may have Cooke, Kunitz, and Orpik all out


----------



## Xaios

Go Canucks!

I think the Canucks' success will depend directly on whether or not Luongo comes down with Cloutier-itis, otherwise known as the ability to choke in a most spectacular fashion during the playoffs. Heck, it depends on whether or not the whole team comes down with this. Let's face it, they have a history...

Still, they're they home team, gotta root for em. 

I'd say they've got more depth this year than they've just about ever had, especially offensively. Dan & Hank Sedin, Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond & Mikael Samuelsson are all having banner years.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

^ I think Canucks will get to third round.


----------



## Xaios

Stealthtastic said:


> ^ I think Canucks will get to third round.



They'll definitely get past the first round. Aside from the last game earlier this month, they've played well against the Kings all year, and the last game will give them more motivation.

Second and third rounds are up in the air, depending on who they play. While definitely not a certainty, it isn't inconceivable to think that they have a decent chance to end the season sipping bubbly. Luongo has to man up a bit and show some of that spark we saw in the Olympics. He proved once this year that he can play under pressure, let's see it again.


----------



## playstopause

Well it looks that none of the teams that were suposed to win in yesterday's games didn't! Let's hope it will be the same with us tonight!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Hey Steve, can you tell the Pens that the playoffs have started?  Jesus...


----------



## technomancer

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> Hey Steve, can you tell the Pens that the playoffs have started?  Jesus...



Yeah they sort of went to sleep for a large chunk of that game... with that said I'm still not worried about this series as even sleeping they only lost that game because of one weird bounce off the boards and one puck Gonchar misplayed in his feet 

Hopefully the Habs show up tonight and kick the Caps asses


----------



## Elysian

I really, REALLY want the Coyotes to knock the Wings out in the first round. I could care less about all the other teams, just get the Wings out of there


----------



## technomancer

I care about the other teams, but I agree I would love to see the Wings get knocked out by the Coyotes.... same goes for the Caps with Montreal


----------



## Groff

Flyers vs Devils game one was GREAT! I still think we're weak without Emery in the net, but DAMN did Boucher really play his ass off, only letting one goal get past. He really took the heat during that 4:00 penalty.


----------



## technomancer

HABS WIN IN OT! FUCK YEAH! 

Coincidentally while Ovechkin was standing on the blue line waiting to try to cherry pick


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> HABS WIN IN OT! FUCK YEAH!
> 
> Coincidentally while Ovechkin was standing on the blue line waiting to try to cherry pick



Not that cherry picking would have done him any good. He was completely shut down all game, and had 0 shots on goal in over 20 minutes of ice time. Halak was amazing, let's hope the Habs bring the game they played in periods 2 and 3 for all 3 periods on Saturday


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Thomas Jagr scores for the Habs! WOOOOOO!


----------



## playstopause

^




1st period : we were sleeping and got out-shooted.
2nd + 3rd periods : this is what's it's like when we actuallly start playing.

The Caps are going to come out very strong the next game. Remember last year? They lost their 2 first games in the first series and then... We just have to keep playing as well as we did last night. Also, great coaching by Martin.


----------



## technomancer

Now for tonight let's hope the Pens show up... we'll be at the game


----------



## technomancer

The Pens woke up and realized it's the playoffs and did a pretty good job shutting Ottawa down for the last half of the game, which was impressive considering they were down to 5 defensemen after Leopold got a forearm to the head from Sutton. I am REALLY hoping Sutton gets a 2 game suspension for the hit, since while it was a clean hit from a penalty standpoint it was definitely a blatant hit to the head that knocked Leopold out cold and put him out of the game.


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> The Pens woke up and realized it's the playoffs and did a pretty good job shutting Ottawa down for the last half of the game, which was impressive considering they were down to 5 defensemen after Leopold got a forearm to the head from Sutton. I am REALLY hoping Sutton gets a 2 game suspension for the hit, since while it was a clean hit from a penalty standpoint it was definitely a blatant hit to the head that knocked Leopold out cold and put him out of the game.



Yikes! Any videos of this up on the internet yet?


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Posted on the Montreal Canadiens forum in light of the Plekanec/Theodore controversey


----------



## technomancer

Groff said:


> Yikes! Any videos of this up on the internet yet?



I completely understand why there was no penalty, but it was a direct forearm to the head which SHOULD be a suspension under the revised rules. Apparently the league already reviewed it and it's being let go  Fucking awesome since the Pens are now down a starting defenseman


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

The only reason the game is tied 5 - 5 right now and going to OT is because of the shitty reffing. 2 goalie interference non-calls, minor league reffing, and a goalthat should have been dissallowed by the caps. Not to mention the 2 times where Markov got a stick in the face and they weren't called..

EDIT: NHL got what they wanted


----------



## technomancer

I would agree the ref'ing sucked and the Ovechkin goal when Halak had the puck frozen should not have been allowed... however could Halak maybe not give up 3 goals on the same damn shot? Maybe practice top corner glove side saves before the next game?


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

At first I thought the Ovie goal was bullocks also but apparently you can see from the overhead that he didn't have full control of the puck (I can still argue the ref didn't see the puck anymore therefore shouldn't have waited a century to whistle but whatever). For me the shitty goal was the one at the end of the 2nd. Holmstrom's had goals dissallowed for less than that for christ's sake.

I agree on Halak though, solid 'tending, but relatively weak on top corner glove... In fact, his glove side in general isn't the best.

Whatever, we lost and we lost, nothing can be done about it. I'm just sick of seeing the league indirectly help out it's shining stars/teams as much as possible in times that are less than picture perfect. Apparently pushing hockey in the U.S is more important than the actual integrity of the game.


----------



## technomancer

I didn't see the overhead... but it certainly looked like the puck was frozen or at minimum no longer visible when Ovi poked between Halak's pads


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Yeah, the Backstrom goal at the end of the 2nd when Knuble clearly knocked Halak over should not have counted, and there were a number of other goaltender interference calls that the refs completely turned a blind eye on (Tom Poti physically removing Halak from the crease). There were also the high sticks on Markov and the two times the Washington net was knocked off by their defenders or goaltender. I guess the one that Pouliot had crashed the net could be called unintentional as he ended up in the net also (along with 2 Washington defenders and their goaltender as Gionta buried the puck into the empty net), but a few minutes later when Varlamov backed up into the net and knocked it off, there's no excuse for not calling that.

Also, I know it doesn't matter at this point, but I still can't believe there was no call in OT of game 1 when Gionta was tripped on a breakaway.

Bad officiating won the game, not the Capitals


----------



## Hollowman

I understand why both of you don't want to see The Caps win 1 likes Montreal 1 likes the Pens, The Pens aren't the same as they were last year and the same with the Caps and thats who the Pens face in the 2nd round if both teams make it and Buffalo beats Boston and New Jersey Beats Philly, unfortunately it's gonna happen it's only a matter of time last nights game the Habs played their best and the Caps didn't and still won . The Ovechkin goal, no one knew where the puck was besides Ovechkin thats why it it wasn't froze and it was visible and it's legal to poke the puck through the goalies pads who also didn't know where it was. Knuble was pushed into Halak which isn't interference thats why that goal counted . besides, would the Habs had scored 5 goals if Varlomov had started since Theodore gave up 2 on 2 shots? Also What about the first goal in the L.A. Vancouver game last night there were Canucks blatantly in the crease of the first goal and it counted.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> I understand why both of you don't want to see The Caps win 1 likes Montreal 1 likes the Pens, The Pens aren't the same as they were last year and the same with the Caps and thats who the Pens face in the 2nd round if both teams make it and Buffalo beats Boston and New Jersey Beats Philly, unfortunately it's gonna happen it's only a matter of time last nights game the Habs played their best and the Caps didn't and still won . The Ovechkin goal no one knew where the puck was thats why it it wasn't froze and it's legal to poke the puck through the goalies pads. Knuble was rode into Halak which isn't interference thats why that goal counted . besides, would the Habs had scored 5 goals if Varlomov had started since Theodore gave up 2 on 2 shots?



Ummmm the rules state that if the referee loses site of the puck when it's in the crease he's supposed to blow the whistle.... so if the ref didn't know where the puck was then that Ovechkin goal should definitely not have counted as play should have been whistled dead when the puck was under Halak 

Anyways, unfortunately bottom line on that game yesterday was the Habs blew a 4-1 lead and lost 

I wouldn't call any of these series over by a long shot though, especially the Philly / Jersey series given that while Philly mostly sucked all season, they still beat Jersey 5 out of 6 games. Jersey has only won 1 game, and that not by a huge margin considering one of the two goals they won by was an empty net score.


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Ummmm the rules state that if the referee loses site of the puck when it's in the crease he's supposed to blow the whistle.... so if the ref didn't know where the puck was then that Ovechkin goal should definitely not have counted as play should have been whistled dead when the puck was under Halak
> 
> Anyways, unfortunately bottom line on that game yesterday was the Habs blew a 4-1 lead and lost
> 
> I wouldn't call any of these series over by a long shot though, especially the Philly / Jersey series given that while Philly mostly sucked all season, they still beat Jersey 5 out of 6 games. Jersey has only won 1 game, and that not by a huge margin considering one of the two goals they won by was an empty net score.



When I'm saying anyone I meant the players not the refs sorry for not being more specific. Besides look on nhl.com at the goal the puck was still visible.

Yes, they did and now it's tied .

yeah I worry about My Devils and Philly but, I think they come out better this used to happen all the time in the regular season against Philly but the Playoffs are always a different story .

Yeah, and the Boston/Buffalo series might change since Vanek was injured yesterday. I still think this is how it is gonna turn out for the second round though


----------



## playstopause

4-1 is never a big lead when you're playing against the league's biggest offensive threat. You can't rest for a SECOND against them. The Caps have noticed Halak biggest flaw: his size. Top corners shots, side of the net... 
I would not be surprised if Price is back next game as he played very well against the Caps this year.

We're still very happy to have won one of the 2-first game. That was the plan. We still have ice "advantage" right now. And the Caps are coming to face the league's most hostile crowd... It's gonna be interesting.

And about the refs... Yeah, one big f*ckin thumb down. 
No calls, bad calls (both ways)... *WTF NHL??????????????????????????????*


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Hollowman666 said:


> I understand why both of you don't want to see The Caps win 1 likes Montreal 1 likes the Pens, The Pens aren't the same as they were last year and the same with the Caps and thats who the Pens face in the 2nd round if both teams make it and Buffalo beats Boston and New Jersey Beats Philly, unfortunately it's gonna happen it's only a matter of time last nights game the Habs played their best and the Caps didn't and still won . The Ovechkin goal, no one knew where the puck was besides Ovechkin thats why it it wasn't froze and it was visible and it's legal to poke the puck through the goalies pads who also didn't know where it was. Knuble was pushed into Halak which isn't interference thats why that goal counted . besides, would the Habs had scored 5 goals if Varlomov had started since Theodore gave up 2 on 2 shots? Also What about the first goal in the L.A. Vancouver game last night there were Canucks blatantly in the crease of the first goal and it counted.



I'm not sure how you could say that the habs played their best and the caps didn't. Halak was porous at best, there were dumb plays (and dumb calls/non-calls) made that resulted in Washington goals. 

I don't know if the habs would have scored 5 goals if Varlamov started, but the fact of the matter is that Theodore started the game and let in 2 goals on 2 shots. At least Theodore is part of the team and those 2 goals were a result of the game playing out at its own pace. Being practically handed a game that shouldn't have even gone to overtime by the refs is a whole different story all together. 

I am a habs fan, but all it takes is a hockey fan from any city to know that the reffing was absolutely horrendous. I think the Ovechkin goal was a good goal, and yes, Knuble was pushed, but not before his ass was all over Halak, knocking him over. The entire TSN panel saw it and agreed, the goal should not stand. The comment was something to the effect of "if Montreal loses this game, Jacques Martin is going to have a serious case against the refs for goaltender interference". There was also the high-stick on Markov that went uncalled, resulting in a Washington goal and the two times the caps took their net out, one of the plays that was called unintentional, Gionta put the puck into the net and the goal was called off, and the other, Varlamov lost track to the puck, and untouchd by anyone, backed up into the net and blatantly knocked it off of its moorings. No call. 

I don't think that either team played their best, but I do think that the result would have been very different if the game was called properly.


----------



## Hollowman

Damn it.. The goon scored. I already knew the Flyers were gonna win, they wanted this game more just by out shooting N.J. 34 to 18 at least it went into O.T. that I can be ok with


----------



## technomancer

^  yeah I hate Carcillo too, unfortunately the guy is actually reasonably talented in addition to being a goon

It's been a good day, Detroit lost, Jersey lost, and the Pens not only won but are looking better as they play more games


----------



## mattofvengeance

The end of the Colorado/San Jose game has me in tears laughing.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I really hope San Jose wins the series; mostly because they fucking deserve it. The Avs have no business being in the lead right now and if it's not for the off the wall amazing goaltending by Anderson the Sharks would lead this series 3 - 0. I'm sorry, but you don't get outshot 51 - 15, spend 85% of the game in your defensive zone, give up about 30 scoring chances, and deserve to win a game.

But holy shit was Anderson amazing tonight! :O

Go Pens, Go Devils, Go Sabres, Go Pheonix, Go Hawks, Go Sharks, Go Canucks, and most importantly... Go Habs Go!


----------



## playstopause

God i'm beeing nervous for tonight's game... IS it 7h00 already?


----------



## technomancer

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> I really hope San Jose wins the series; mostly because they fucking deserve it. The Avs have no business being in the lead right now and if it's not for the off the wall amazing goaltending by Anderson the Sharks would lead this series 3 - 0. I'm sorry, but you don't get outshot 51 - 15, spend 85% of the game in your defensive zone, give up about 30 scoring chances, and deserve to win a game.
> 
> But holy shit was Anderson amazing tonight! :O
> 
> Go Pens, Go Devils, Go Sabres, Go Pheonix, Go Hawks, Go Sharks, Go Canucks, and most importantly... Go Habs Go!



Wow seriously? I kind of regret not watching it now  But after watching what I could of the 3 previous games I was sort of hockeyed out for the night.

I'll definitely be watching the Habs/Caps and Canucks/Kings games tonight


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

send some Penguins pixie dust our way please?


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> send some Penguins pixie dust our way please?



Seriously, by the look of the end of game 2, the habs could use some! I'm all jittery for tonight's game. It's great to see the habs in such and exciting series after that first-round fandango with the B's last season


----------



## technomancer

Ok EPIC fucking broadcast FAIL... I can't watch the Habs/Caps game because it's not being broadcast. Instead I've got the fucking Sabres/Bruins games. Who gives a fuck about that game? That's right, unless you're in fucking Boston or Buffalo NOBODY 

EDIT: Ok, so now that I see it's 4-0 Washington I'm not so sad to be missing the game


----------



## playstopause

Damn.


----------



## technomancer

My condolences to the Habs fans... better luck next game guys


----------



## JeffFromMtl

... That was awful


----------



## Hollowman

It'll happen again, sorry, I said it was only a matter of time . it's ok though, My team is sucking ass.  and before anyone says it I already Know.  what's up with Vanny and L.A. thats amazing huh?


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> It'll happen again, sorry, I said it was only a matter of time . it's ok though, My team is sucking ass.  and before anyone says it I already Know.  what's up with Vanny and L.A. thats amazing huh?



It's the Kings power play... they've been INSANE with the man advantage. That and horrible refereeing and Luongo getting his hand stomped on haven't hurt LA either.

And yeah, I don't expect the Habs to win the series but it would be nice


----------



## playstopause

I'm pretty sure Price will be back in the net tonight. That's the spark we need + he's been very good against the Caps this year + he's so huge he covers about 20% more surface in front of the net than Halak.

Never really watched a full Caps game this year but god damn it they're sooo explosive! Everyone talks about Ovi but man, Backstorm is one hell of a sharp shooter. Every zone entry turns into a scoring chance for them. The Habs need to come out VERY strong tonight.*




* psp gets down on his knees and pray


----------



## JeffFromMtl

^Plus Price isn't afraid to give someone a good crack in the back of the head if they're roughing him up. 

If this series has made me realize anything, it's that everyone was right. The habs are way too small. It doesn't matter how much skill you have up front or how fast you are. If you're playing a 7-game series with one of the bigger teams in the league (Washington just happens to be the biggest), you're going to get worn down if you can't match them physically.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> ^Plus Price isn't afraid to give someone a good crack in the back of the head if they're roughing him up.
> 
> If this series has made me realize anything, it's that everyone was right. The habs are way too small. It doesn't matter how much skill you have up front or how fast you are. If you're playing a 7-game series with one of the bigger teams in the league (Washington just happens to be the biggest), you're going to get worn down if you can't match them physically.



There's more to it than that though... it's not that the Caps are big, it's that they're big.. AND fast... AND highly skilled... AND tenacious as all hell. They are truly a scary team this year.

Now the Habs need to step up and take them to seven games to start tiring them out before they get to the rest of the Eastern Conference 

And AGAIN versus is showing the fucking Bruins / Sabres game instead of the Caps / Habs. Fucking hell


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> versus is showing the fucking Bruins / Sabres game instead of the Caps / Habs. Fucking hell



Yep..but Hockey Night in Canada should show the Caps/Habs game. My only problem is I have to put up with Don Cherry and his UGLY ass suits.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> Yep..but Hockey Night in Canada should show the Caps/Habs game. My only problem is I have to put up with Don Cherry and his UGLY ass suits.



If I had a way to watch it that would help  And yeah, I can't stand Cherry either


----------



## Hollowman

How in the HELL does a Canadian station not have a Canadian team not on it? dumb asses.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> How in the HELL does a Canadian station not have a Canadian team not on it? dumb asses.



 and it looks like a freaking good game, tied 2-2 in the 3rd (watching the scores on nhl.com)


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Habs have outplayed the caps all game until the 3rd so far... very frustrating to outshoot a team 19-6 in a period and yet get scored on a short handed rush...

and now it's almost over... fucking hell. Oh well, I'd rather lose with the way the Habs have been playing then win with the way the Caps are playing. I wouldn't worry too much about it Steve, the Caps might get past the Habs, but they won't make it past the 2nd round unless they play better. The 4 - 2 score in the game right now is very deceiving.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

Good to know what side the refs are on 

If we don't win tonight im jumping ship.


----------



## technomancer

Well, unless something unexpected happens (which is always possible) the second round will be Pens / Bruins and Caps / Flyers.


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> nhl.com



A Hockey fans best friend. and actually the Bos/Buf game wasn't to bad.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

I hate Varlamov.


----------



## playstopause

^

For sure. 

That beeing said, Price needs to grow up. His 2(!) misconduct penalties were not appropriate at all.

... Anyway, Habs payed great BUT let's face it : it's the #1 team against the #18... So no big surprise here. Still good despite the fact it's the first year with that brand new team.

I totally see a Pens - Caps final in the east and the Pens will get trough them.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> I totally see a Pens - Caps final in the east and the Pens will get trough them.



Guess we'll see  

Huge game for the Pens tonight, it'll be interesting to see if they show up and shut Ottawa down to end it or fold and take it back onto Ottawa ice. I'm glad to see the team seems to be getting their shit together as the playoffs progress, but if their defense is as porous as it was last game against somebody like the Caps it's going to be ugly


----------



## Groff

Oh boy... Tonights Philly/NJ game is gonna be tense. With both Carter AND Gagne out on injurys from the last game...


----------



## Hollowman

Groff said:


> Oh boy... Tonights Philly/NJ game is gonna be tense. With both Carter AND Gagne out on injurys from the last game...



Normally I wouldn't be happy about anybody being out for the rest of the season, but......In this case. I hope it gives the Devils an edge I've been givin shit by all my friends who are Flyers fans back home so......The Devils need to DO something beside LOOSE!!!!

Oh Yeah, before I forget channelsurfing.net. you can watch real time Games.


----------



## Groff

Hollowman666 said:


> Normally I wouldn't be happy about anybody being out for the rest of the season, but......In this case. I hope it gives the Devils an edge I've been givin shit by all my friends who are Flyers fans back home so......The Devils need to DO something beside LOOSE!!!!
> 
> Oh Yeah, before I forget channelsurfing.net. you can watch real time Games.



It's the playoffs man, no remorse required


----------



## Hollowman

Stick a fork in the Devils, they are done....It's a shame they didn't even try to save their season.


----------



## Groff

OUCH!!!

Laperriere just took a puck to the face...
I hope he's okay... He was bleeding like crazy.

And fuck the fans that cheered at the sight of blood.


----------



## Groff

Bye bye Devils


----------



## technomancer

Groff said:


> Bye bye Devils



 Jersey 

Now the Pens need to get their shit together and close out Ottawa...


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

playstopause said:


> That beeing said, Price needs to grow up. His 2(!) misconduct penalties were not appropriate at all.



I disagree. I think the problem is ovechkin's hockey sticks stuck somewhere inside those ref's asses. They've let way worse go by uncalled.

I'm psyched for tonight's Avs vs. Sharks game


----------



## technomancer

This Pens games is giving me an ulcer.... headed to the second overtime period


----------



## technomancer

Jesus I'm having flashbacks to the 5 overtime game against Philly we were at... headed to the THIRD overtime period


----------



## technomancer

Fuck and yet again the Pens fail to put away an opponent when they should have


----------



## kmanick

Ottawas goalie was outstanding tonight 
B's will close out Buffalo tomorrow


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Jersey



The Flyers deserved this more Boucher outplayed Brodeur and the Flyers did a better job at swarming the net, Oh well it sucks but...it happens it;s gonna happen alot more as the playoff progress and yes it does suck to be the first though.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I feel for you Jersey fans though, you had high expectations going into the playoffs, realistic ones at that...


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Damn, 3 shutouts out of 4 games tonight 
I'm glad to see San Jose finally find a way to keep the puck out of their net as well as solve the Anderson problem in the same game


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> I disagree. I think the problem is ovechkin's hockey sticks stuck somewhere inside those ref's asses. They've let way worse go by uncalled.
> 
> I'm psyched for tonight's Avs vs. Sharks game



 The refs have had way too much to do with the outcome of the habs/caps series so far. If game 2 had been called fairly, as well as a few terribly blown calls throughout the 4 games, it would be a whole different series. 

But I do also think that Price needs to grow up. He wasn't great in the game, and both of Ovechkin's goals were relatively soft. He was in position, he wasn't screened, he should have had them both. If he wanted to give his team a chance to make up those bad goals, he shouldn't be taking such selfish penalties. Although it's not entirely his fault, I also think JM's decisions to pull Price with over 2:30 left was a ridiculous move. As if Washington wouldn't get possession of the puck for 2:30 . All it took was 8 seconds for the habs to give it up and surrender the first empty-netter.


----------



## playstopause

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> I disagree. I think the problem is ovechkin's hockey sticks stuck somewhere inside those ref's asses. They've let way worse go by uncalled.



Price : he can control his emotions (has to) whatever is happening on the ice.
Refs : we can't control their decisions, whatever happens on the ice.

Yes, refs sucks big time, but there's nothing to do about it but complain. On the other side, Price HAS to control himself. Don't you think the Habs reeeeaally needed that 2 minutes to create some offense and get back in the game instead of defending themselves for 2 minutes because of Price's childish behavior?

Blaming the refs is kind of easy in the sense that they make bad calls _on both sides_. Yes they suck, but face it, bottom line is the Caps are 50x better than us. Bad reffing ain't gonna change that.


----------



## technomancer

WOW was that a shitty hold call on Montreal at center ice... as in there was no hold  Glad Montreal killed that one off, as it would have been shitty to see Washington tie it up on a bad call.

EDIT: Montreal stays alive for another game!


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

Go canucks go!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I missed the game because of work.  I heard it was a good one though!


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

Canucks game is still going on..


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I was talking about the Habs game... Canucks are blowing the kings out


----------



## playstopause

This is what happens when we play for 60 MINUTES!



Halak ---->


----------



## technomancer

Grrrrrr just fucking grrrrr


----------



## technomancer

Pens win in OT 

 Ottawa


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Colorado as well.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Colorado as well.



Hehe I went to bed before that one wrapped up... but HOLY SHIT THE SHARKS MADE IT PAST THE FIRST ROUND


----------



## JeffFromMtl

And it didn't even take 7 games


----------



## coupe89

My Sharks win.


----------



## technomancer

^ isn't that one of the signs of the apocalypse?

EDIT: And the Coyotes spank the Wings 5-2 to force a game 7


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> HOLY SHIT THE SHARKS MADE IT PAST THE FIRST ROUND



What the fuck is up with that? 

Also, prop to the Coyotes.


----------



## technomancer

I gotta' say this bullshit of not suspending people because it's the playoffs needs to stop. Hossa and Chara should both be gone for at least one game


----------



## technomancer

Canucks win 4-2

 Kings


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

YES QUEENS ARE DESTROYED.


----------



## matt397

Vancouver for the cup ! I would love to see Vancouver vs Montreal in the final series or Vancouver vs Pittsburgh


----------



## technomancer

Halak has been freaking superhuman for the Habs so far... 11:17 left


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> I really hope San Jose wins the series; mostly because they fucking deserve it. The Avs have no business being in the lead right now and if it's not for the off the wall amazing goaltending by Anderson the Sharks would lead this series 3 - 0. I'm sorry, but you don't get outshot 51 - 15, spend 85% of the game in your defensive zone, give up about 30 scoring chances, and deserve to win a game.



Well I look pretty stupid now don't I?  Halak with 53 saves to win it for us 4 - 1.

Credit Josh Gorges and Hal Gill also who did AMAZING work. Good job boys!


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

matt397 said:


> Vancouver for the cup ! I would love to see Vancouver vs Montreal in the final series or Vancouver vs Pittsburgh


----------



## technomancer

Wow Montreal forces a game 7 with an AMAZING performance by Halak. That was damn impressive.


----------



## kmanick

Bruins win 4-3!!!
Halak was just awesome tonight!!


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Jaro! Jaro! Jaro! 

What a dominant performance he put on tonight. Wednesday's game is going to be epic!

Even with the win, though, I have to comment on how poor some of the officiating was. Those "diving" calls were a joke. Lapierre's first, I understand because that's how he plays and is the reason I'm not his biggest fan. But his 2nd, and the one on Gionta? Come on, refs, that was just poor.

 Nashville & Buffalo!


----------



## playstopause




----------



## technomancer

Wow that Coyotes / Wings last night was like the Coyotes went home and the Wings shifted to a higher gear when Datsyuk scored that first goal.

Hopefully the Habs fare better against the Caps tonight


----------



## troyguitar

Wings finally played up to their potential, they had me nervous for those first 6 games 

Go Habs!


----------



## technomancer

I TOLD you Ovi wasn't getting a Cup 

That said Montreal is looking SERIOUSLY good, I'm a bit nervous about the upcoming series for the Pens 

 Washington and Ovi


----------



## MrMcSick

Later Ovechkin. That was alot of blocked shots and some super good goaltending on behalf of the Habs. Can't wait till we play you guys this week.


----------



## technomancer

Just checked... me and my beard will be at the game from Friday night


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I still can't believe it. wow


----------



## kmanick

I can't believe it either, WTF happened to the best power play in the league this season????
Now the Bruins get the Flyers, I wonder if Boucher can keep it going.


----------



## troyguitar

Habs/Wings final ftw


----------



## JeffFromMtl

From the frying pan and into the fire.
Bring on the defending champs 

I'm officially naming my next band Jaro and the Shot Blocks


----------



## ralphy1976

WTF??!!!! washington out..crazy!!!!!

i can't quite fathom out how this happened, sounds like the team just collapsed

Crazy result!!!

EDIT : 16 to 42 SOG..and only 1 goal for washington?!!!!!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

it wasn't enough that we faced the most potent offence in the league, now we gotta face the champs... that actually play as a team *gulp*


----------



## playstopause

Who would have thought!!! First team EVER a last seeded team comes back a 1-3 deficit and win against the top seeded team. Incredible.

The problem with the Caps : no "structure" in their playing and our ENGAGEMENT. When the *D* blocks as many shots (41) as the goaler, you know guys are putting their whole body and spirit into winning.

See ya, Ovi! 

...


Now the Pens...
Now that's a team that plays as a TEAM, contrary to Washington. It's going to be interesting... Not sure the Pens we're prepping to face us...  And it's already starting tomorrow!!!


----------



## kmanick

Pens are well coached, I think a lot will depend on which Fleury shows up between the pipes. and can Halk keep this going? 
I hope so (even though I hate the habs, Bruins guy here) I am a formal college goalie myself and I love to see great playoff goaltending.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah this series is going to be interesting... and a lot of it is going to come down to which Pens team shows up. When they work together and PLAY and Fleury is on I don't know that anybody in the league can beat them. Problem is that doesn't always happen 

The Caps were shut down because they're not a team, they're a bunch of individuals that hit a REALLY strong defense. This honestly worries me a bit, as the Habs have the kind of system that can potentially shut down the Pens and win games against them. 

That said, this is going to be a damn good series, and I'm really looking forward to being at the game tomorrow night


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Mike Cammalleri posted this on twitter last night, and it was captioned "Pitt" 






And here's my playoff beard, getting ready for semi-finals


----------



## playstopause

... And it's already GAME DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

And I get to miss most of it because of work! :'( Oh well, Mcguire and Dubé are awesome on the radio


----------



## technomancer

It is indeed game day! Heading down to the Arena at 4 to avoid the complete traffic clusterfuck we hit before the last game


----------



## Groff

And some hockey humor for everyone.


----------



## technomancer

^ 

That sad absolutely awesome game, though I expect better from the Habs on Sunday  I'm going to call it as Pens in 6 unless the Habs implode.

PS if anybody hears what's actually wrong with Markov I'd like to know. The hit looked like a pretty innocuous shoulder check, and I honestly just thought he was trying to draw a penalty until he had trouble getting up and the trainer came over (it was right across the ice from our seats). Even the one replay they did on the jumbotron didn't look that bad... have to check it out on youtube tomorrow as I really don't like to see anybody get hurt


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I didn't catch the game due to work, all I heard was Pens scored 4 PP goals and Habs kind of beat themselves, without taking anything away from the Pens though...

Hopefully we'll fare better on Sunday! I said Habs in 6 but I think it's wishful thinking more than anything


----------



## JeffFromMtl

All I've heard about the Markov injury is that it's one of those infamous "lower-body" injuries. No word yet on how bad it is, or when he should be back, but the commentators were saying that it looked like it could have been his knee, as it took a bit of an awkward bend. 

Watch the right knee:


I hope the Habs come out a little stronger on Sunday. Even though they had the edge in shots, and I don't think the Pens played their best game, the Canadiens looked really tired out there. They definitely need to tighten up the PK too, because they won that game 5 on 5.

EDIT: Just read that Markov left the Igloo on crutches. Chances are, his season is done 
On the bright side, Subban played very well tonight, including his 1st career NHL goal and Spacek should be ready to return to the lineup for Sunday, so they won't be playing with a short bench.


----------



## playstopause

Markov. 

I think he fell the "wrong way". That's how he got hurt. Good hit by Cooke.

God we looked tired in yesterday's game... Even Halak. Not much time to recover from the Caps. That and the Pens actually scoring on their power play contrary to the Caps. 4 in 4 yesterday while the Caps were what, 1 in 33? 

Now that's a team. And what a shot by Staal.

Let's hope we come out stronger in the next game so we can have a nice serie.


----------



## technomancer

Sounds like Staal and Markov both left the Igloo on crutches. Bad news for both teams. Especially given that Staal is usually matched up against opponents top lines and is one of the Pens top penalty killers.

The Pens are doing what the Caps really didn't do, moving the puck a LOT and getting traffic in front of the net on the power play. They're also taking shots from the points which the Caps didn't do much if at all.


----------



## technomancer

FUCK Staal has a lacerated tendon and is likely done for the playoffs (they obviously don't say that, but at a guess the soonest he could get back is the finals) 

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=527810&navid=DL|PIT|home


EDIT: Wow, Boston was working HARD to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Philly this afternoon


----------



## Hollowman

Don't be surprised if the Habs take the Pens to 7, IF and it's a big IF they get rested every playoffs has a spoiler and what they did to the Caps wasn't nothing short of amazing.

Boston is gonna beat up on Philly, I'd say by 6 games to be fair but, they look like they did last year when they rolled over everyone before they fell apart to the Canes and plus Boston looks hungry which could be a bad thing for the remaining teams.

Nothing is gonna come close to the blood bath thats gonna take place in the Vancouver-Chicago series


----------



## technomancer

Yeah I'm looking forward to that Vancouver-Chicago series. 

A huge part of the Pens-Habs series is going to be how well the Habs can keep up the pace and adjust to playing the Pens. The losses of Staal and Markov are going to do interesting things to the dynamics on the ice as well.


----------



## technomancer

Damn, Hawks got spanked 5-1. The Canucks just plain old outworked them for 90% of the game...


----------



## technomancer

Good to see the Habs are on the "we only call every tenth penalty" plan with the refs 

That said Halak has looked good and the Habs powerplay has been great.

EDIT: let me update that, Halak was amazing in the 3rd for the Habs


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Interesting statistic: None of the Canadiens forwards who were on for the Cooke goal played a single shift afterward, so they rolled with only 3 lines for about 5/6 of the game. Also, rookie P.K. Subban logged over 23 minutes of ice-time and held up very, very well.

Looks like the PK and Halak are both back on top of their game. I hope they can keep it up!

I didn't think the reffing was great either, but I definitely wouldn't say it went in either team's favour, some calls were missed both ways 

I feel like Adams is going to be getting hell from the Pens' brass about that 5-minute penalty, trailing with 2-3 minutes left in the game.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah that Adams penalty was idiotic... and I think it was only one of the refs and the other one decided to try to balance it out in the third 

I actually had somebody I know (who is not a Pens fan) call me at the end of the second to ask if Montreal brought their own refs with them


----------



## troyguitar

Fucking refs handed the Sharks their game. I can't believe how pissed off I am over this. Maybe I need to stop watching hockey...


----------



## Hollowman

troyguitar said:


> Fucking refs handed the Sharks their game. I can't believe how pissed off I am over this. Maybe I need to stop watching hockey...



It's funny how everyone blames the refs if their team loses. Hockey is by far the HARDEST sport to sway in anyones favor and it's up to the refs discretion to call them or not. they do it to each team quite a bit.

good example this was a penalty even though it was clean.


How do you figure? I watched the game from beginning to end it wasn't the refs it was the Wings who did that to themselves all the penalties except for Pavelski's dive were right. your guy's .....I dunno  I've never seen the Wing's have that happen but it doesn't look good for them.


----------



## playstopause

JeffFromMtl said:


> I
> I didn't think the reffing was great either, but I definitely wouldn't say it went in either team's favour, some calls were missed both ways



Definitely. I recall a couple of flagrant penalties not beeing call against the Pens. It went both ways.

And like you said, great coaching by Martin. You don't play well? Sit your ass over there on the bench, keep it warm.


----------



## technomancer

I don't blame the refs for the Pens loss at all... but you have to admit until the third the calls were COMPLETELY one-sided 

The biggest factors in that game were that Halak was phenomenal (39 saves) while the Pens penalty kill pretty much sucked (not to take away from the Habs powerplay, the goal that got knocked in out of mid-air was an amazing play) but Orpik losing track of the puck RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE NET was absolutely terrible and lead directly to a goal.


----------



## troyguitar

Hollowman666 said:


> How do you figure? I watched the game from beginning to end it wasn't the refs it was the Wings who did that to themselves all the penalties except for Pavelski's dive were right. your guy's .....I dunno  I've never seen the Wing's have that happen but it doesn't look good for them.



All 3 Bertuzzi penalties were insane (If I were him I would have started really playing dirty, if you're going to get a penalty regardless you might as well try to hurt someone while you're at it). Sharks players did the exact same things all night and were never called. It's ok, I've decided I don't want to deal with being that pissed off over a stupid game that I'm not even playing so am abandoning being a spectator for now. I'll spend my time and money actually doing something instead of watching others. Which reminds me, I haven't laced up my skates in a few months now


----------



## Hollowman

troyguitar said:


> Which reminds me, I haven't laced up my skates in a few months now



I laced up mine and now i'm itching to do it again plus I am teaching my Daughter how to skate.

Also I'm not picking on anyone at all.


----------



## Xaios

troyguitar said:


> All 3 Bertuzzi penalties were insane (If I were him I would have started really playing dirty, if you're going to get a penalty regardless you might as well try to hurt someone while you're at it). Sharks players did the exact same things all night and were never called. It's ok, I've decided I don't want to deal with being that pissed off over a stupid game that I'm not even playing so am abandoning being a spectator for now. I'll spend my time and money actually doing something instead of watching others. Which reminds me, I haven't laced up my skates in a few months now



Let's face it, refs are going to watch Bertuzzi like a hawk for the rest of his career because of the Moore incident. Anything less would be perceived as bad form by the fans (aside from the fans of his current team). A lot of people still don't like him. While I think he is responsible for the incident with Steve Moore, I don't really think the injuries he sustained were caused by Bertuzzi alone, that dog pile did a lot more damage than the actual punch.


----------



## Hollowman

Xaios said:


> While I think he is responsible for the incident with Steve Moore, I don't really think the injuries he sustained were caused by Bertuzzi alone, that dog pile did a lot more damage than the actual punch.



Absolutely..


----------



## MrMcSick

2 week beard. yaaaaaaaa


----------



## technomancer

Wow did Luongo get fucked on that Hawks game-winning goal... he had his legs tied up immediately before he had to come across to try to make the save that lead to the Hawks goal. I honestly don't care who wins this series, but that was complete bullshit


----------



## technomancer

Phew that game tonight was touch-and-go for a while... and that call on Gill was LONG overdue  Still looking forward to the rest of the series 

We've got tickets to game 5 on Saturday


----------



## playstopause

Great game yesterday! Altough we lost, we played great me thinks.


----------



## coupe89

Notice the colors.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

I hate refs...so so so much.


----------



## TheWreck

GO! HABS! GO!!!! 

Tryin' to keep the faith!! LOL


----------



## technomancer

I have to say I watched the Blackhawks / Canucks game last night... those two refs should never be allowed on the ice again. I honestly don't care who wins the series, but the Canucks got ROYALLY fucked in that game. Sorry, letting a team get away with running the goal tender repeatedly and BLATANTLY slashing sticks out of a players hands with no call is just complete bullshit.


----------



## Demiurge

TheWreck said:


> GO! HABS! GO!!!!
> 
> Tryin' to keep the faith!! LOL



My wife is a Habs fan and she's shitting bricks right now (3-2 Montreal, 8:00 to go in the 3rd).

I've never been much of a hockey fan, but the playoffs this year have been wild.


----------



## technomancer

Man the Pens have blew that game


----------



## Demiurge

technomancer said:


> Man the Pens have blew that game



That's probably true... but do you really think that the Penguins aren't going to take the series?


----------



## technomancer

Demiurge said:


> That's probably true... but do you really think that the Penguins aren't going to take the series?



As a Pens fan I want to confidently say they'll take it... as a realist that's watched every game this season and been at half the home games, I'll say they'll take it if they keep their shit together


----------



## B Lopez

wow sharks, almost had that one... almost


----------



## playstopause

Demiurge said:


> That's probably true... but do you really think that the Penguins aren't going to take the series?



It's far from over. Nobody gave us a chance against the Caps, wich were way ahead of other teams at the end of the season, including the Pens.
This is going to be interesting.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Holy Johan Franzen! The Wings were on fire last night!
But mark my words, San Jose will take it in no more than 6.

The Habs and Pens series is shaping up to be a great one, can't wait for tomorrow's game!


----------



## TheWreck

For the Habs vs Pens, I think that tomorrow game will tell us alot about the future of this serie! Anyway, it's so nice to see the fierce battle of Fleury and Halak, those two guys are truly the game keepers of each their own team!

But those damn playoff are expensive! a 6 pack of beer per game....!lol!


----------



## Hollowman

THE MULE !!!!


----------



## Hollowman

The Boston/Philly Series is over tonight if Boston doesn't mess around and let Philly back in the game.

The Chicago/Vancouver has disappointed me somewhat I thought it would be really nasty and for the most part it hasn't.

The Montreal/Pittsburgh series like I've said and it wouldn't surprise me if Montreal actually won this they are playing the spoiler this year.

The Detroit/San Jose series it could be actually harder to get 1 win than 3


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> It's far from over. Nobody gave us a chance against the Caps, wich were way ahead of other teams at the end of the season, including the Pens.
> This is going to be interesting.



I don't discount the Habs in this series at all... but bottom line is the Pens blew last night's game. Letang scored on his own goaltender, and Leopold was completely out of position on the wraparound goal, forcing Fleury to have to try to make a fantastic save he failed on. Add that to Fleury's epic goal tending fail to open the scoring


----------



## technomancer

aaaaaand Philly lives to play another day


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Unacceptable. And two of these blown calls lead directly to Pittsburgh goals  The reffing just keeps getting worse and worse. And what really irks me is that Crosby seems to be able to get away with anything and can still find a reason to complain.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Unacceptable. And two of these blown calls lead directly to Pittsburgh goals  The reffing just keeps getting worse and worse. And what really irks me is that Crosby seems to be able to get away with anything and can still find a reason to complain.




Ok let's go through them and try to slow them down and go frame by frame on the Sid bits in the video

~7 seconds: slow it down, they never touched each other

~15 seconds: it wasn't called because there would have been offsetting penalties, they've done that quite a bit this year

~18 seconds: stick blade on stick blade, not a penalty... if it had been higher up the stick it would have been a slash, but it wasn't

Starting from the beginning, skipping the Crosby bits I already mentioned:

The Fedetenko play could have been interference, but again they seem not to be calling plays like that in the post season, as I've seen similar plays ignored in other games... actually it seems like interference and holding are being mostly ignored (which has proved a huge benefit to Montreal since that's 80% of Gill's defensive play)

The Eaton hit was a shot to the chest that rode up in motion, could have gone either way but again they've been not calling anything on stuff like that across all the games I've seen

The Ponikarovsky hit should have been a 2 minute boarding call, no question

I'll also say the officiating has been bad across the board. I've been watching a LOT of the playoff games, and the officiating has been consistently terrible. Gotta' give Montreal fans and Canadian media credit though, their ability to whine consistently even when they win amazes me.

PS in an unrelated bit of suck I'll be staying home from tonight's game because one of our dogs is sick


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I wouldn't say too much about whining when you've got Crosby on your team. He's one of my favorite players, but he really needs to stop acting like a child every single time he takes a hit.

You're still the only soul I've heard so far who doesn't think the reffing was heavily in Pitts favor in game 4 be it Habs fans, Pens fans, or just neutral.

The reffing has been bad on both sides and in many games/series no doubt about it (especially Vancouver - Chicago), but it's no secret there are double standards for the league's stars; and that reality has been showing it's ugly face for a lot of teams facing star-filled lineups.

Other than that, it's been a fun series to watch so far


----------



## technomancer

Crap hope Gill didn't just get hurt badly by that skate cut...

Despite taking a STUPID penalty Pens win


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Whether the Canadiens win or not doesn't change the fact that the refs were piss-poor in game 4. You don't just forget about it. And really, I'm not so sure you could point the finger at us and say that we whine about it when the team you cheer for has Crosby on it. He's the biggest whiner in the league, even though when he gets frustrated and breaks his stick on the opposing team's net, almost hitting their goaltender in the process and then throws his stick, he wouldn't, in this lifetime, get called for unsportsmanlike because he's Sidney Crosby. Even Don Cherry took notice of the pro-Pens officiating, and he *hates* the Canadiens.

But yeah, losing Gill would be huge. With Markov and Spacek already out, we'd be down our top 3 d-men and Gill has easily been the habs' most valuable defender throughout the first two rounds. We've been lucky that Gorges and Subban have played well under the pressure so far.

Decent game tonight for the Habs, but Fleury was on top of his game, and the Pittsburgh D did a great job of clearing and keeping the Canadiens away from the big rebounds that Fleury was giving up. I just have a problem with the dump-and-chase offense, 6 or 7 times out of ten, it'd end up on a Pittsburgh stick and going the other way.


----------



## Hollowman

OK, I'm about as unbiased as you can get and I've noticed a trend in the games. I've watched which are primarily Habs games thanks to CBC there were a few that should have been called that weren't but, when your the face of todays NHL you don't get penalized really this shouldn't surprise anybody.


----------



## Hollowman

Don Cherry hates any team thats not Boston.


----------



## playstopause

^

Don Cherry has a chip on his shoulder. He never recovered from that mistake he made in the 79 playoffs. Fuck him, he's a fucking loud mouth AND a major asshole.



technomancer said:


> Gotta' give Montreal fans and Canadian media credit though, their ability to whine consistently even when they win amazes me.





Care to elaborate on this?



Hollowman666 said:


> ... when your the face of todays NHL you don't get penalized really this shouldn't surprise anybody.



Well, it doesn't surprise anybody, really. Does that mean it's ok? No. That's why people are complaining. The rules have to be the same for every player.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Care to elaborate on this?



Consult video and whining in previous posts  What's missing from that are the 20 times in that game Gill had his stick around Crosby or his hand clutching him with no call. And let's not even talk about last night when Sid got crosschecked in the jaw and later from behind when he was knocked to the ice and the player that crosschecked him down KNELT ON TOP OF HIM to keep him pinned so he couldn't participate in the play. And the Habs power play with 2:15 left in the game (that was a penalty, but similar plays by both teams were DEFINITELY ignored earlier in the game). And the roughing call on Malkin (apparently grabbing your face when nobody touches you is now enough to warrant a penalty). But yeah the officiating is completely one sided  

I can't complain about that Malkin call too much though, that was a good penalty buy, but seeing the replay was just like damn 

I do apologize for the EPIC generalization about Habs fans though 

Has there been any word on Gill in the media in Montreal?

On another note, damnit I went out to get a late bite to eat and missed the end of the Sharks / Detroit game. I would have loved to see Detroit get eliminated  When I left Detroit was stepping it up and looked like they were going to pull off another win. At least now there is NO chance of another Detroit / Pittsburgh Stanley Cup round 

 Detroit


----------



## B Lopez

"Wow" is all I have to say.


----------



## playstopause

^

Bobby, havin' the time of a lifetime!  



technomancer said:


> But yeah the officiating is completely one sided



It's really not. IMO, they haven't called a LOT of penalties, on both sides. Anyone that did not see this is blind. BUT bottom line is : reffing is bad, bad, BAAAAAD.



> I can't complain about that Malkin call too much though, that was a good penalty buy, but seeing the replay was just like damn



Replays changes everything, really. If refs had to look each time, I think they would reverse 50% of their decision wich happens, let's face it, in one of the world (if not the) fastest game. Things happens so fast on the ice. 



> I do apologize for the EPIC generalization about Habs fans though



Thanks. That was a hard one to swallow. 



> Has there been any word on Gill in the media in Montreal?



Epic cut. He won't be playing but Spacek is back and Markow skated yesterday.



> On another note, damnit I went out to get a late bite to eat and missed the end of the Sharks / Detroit game. I would have loved to see Detroit get eliminated  When I left Detroit was stepping it up and looked like they were going to pull off another win. At least now there is NO chance of another Detroit / Pittsburgh Stanley Cup round
> 
> Detroit



Never seen a smile that big on big Joe's face.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> ^
> 
> Bobby, havin' the time of a lifetime!



Yeah Bobby has to be doing the happy dance. At this point I'd say the Sharks have a pretty good shot at making it to the Stanley Cup round 



playstopause said:


> It's really not. IMO, they haven't called a LOT of penalties, on both sides. Anyone that did not see this is blind. BUT bottom line is : reffing is bad, bad, BAAAAAD.



My point exactly. And what's worse is it has been bad and completely inconsistent, so what they call one minute they completely ignore the next.



playstopause said:


> Replays changes everything, really. If refs had to look each time, I think they would reverse 50% of their decision wich happens, let's face it, in one of the world (if not the) fastest game. Things happens so fast on the ice.


 
Yeah that call was hilarious, as I was watching on TV when it happened and went wait, that didn't look like Malkin touched him. Then they showed the replay and it clearly showed he never actually touched him.



playstopause said:


> Thanks. That was a hard one to swallow.







playstopause said:


> Epic cut. He won't be playing but Spacek is back and Markow skated yesterday.



Tonight should be a good game 



playstopause said:


> Never seen a smile that big on big Joe's face.



Yeah I'm sorry I missed that one.


----------



## B Lopez

you know it. i'll take the canucks or blackhawcks any day


----------



## JeffFromMtl

^ Yeah, the Sharks have been playing great, and they're way overdue for a championship. I've been picking them in hockey pools at work to win the cup for the past like 3-4 years. Maybe this year... 

And as for tonight, Go Habs Go!!!  Should be a great game!


----------



## technomancer

Wow GREAT game 

I hope Halak is thanking his posts


----------



## Stealthdjentstic

B Lopez said:


> you know it. i'll take the canucks or canucks any day


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I swear I lose about 5 years of my lifespan everytime I watch these games 

And yes, it was an awesome game!


----------



## technomancer

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> I swear I lose about 5 years of my lifespan everytime I watch these games
> 
> And yes, it was an awesome game!



Me too 

Though I honestly figured it was over when the Pens were down by two and didn't capitalize on their power play


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Oh man, what a game! Game 7 should be incredible, I don't think we could ask for much more!

And I just heard about Sami Salo's injury... Poor guy!


----------



## playstopause

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> I swear I lose about 5 years of my lifespan everytime I watch these games



No kidding. I think I died twice since the beginning of the playoffs. 

What a game!!!


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> And I just heard about Sami Salo's injury... Poor guy!



Yeah we watched that game... talk about taking one for the team...


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Just some news that hasn't been talked about in this thread, and with all of the playoffs discussion going on:

NHL has schedule including Winnipeg, just in case - thestar.com

The city of Glendale will have a vote tonight on whether or not they will cover losses by the Phoenix Coyotes organization (roughly $20-35 million). If the city votes against doing so, the team could be moving back to Winnipeg. An alternate schedule has already been made for 2010-2011 (for if the relocation goes through), with the Winnipeg team competing in the Northwest division and the Colorado Avalanche moving to the Pacific division.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Oh man, what a game! Game 7 should be incredible, I don't think we could ask for much more!
> 
> And I just heard about Sami Salo's injury... Poor guy!



Holy shit, he's playing tonight! Now that is one tough dude


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> Holy shit, he's playing tonight! Now that is one tough dude



I'm watching also, when I saw him out there, I was like  He's out of his mind!


----------



## technomancer

A belated  to the Canucks


----------



## technomancer

Congratulations to the Montreal Canadiens on a well-played game 

I think whoever wins the Philly / Boston series is in deep shit


----------



## Groff

Bye bye pens! That was one hell of a series, no?  7 games...


----------



## technomancer

Groff said:


> Bye bye pens! That was one hell of a series, no?  7 games...



Yeah for real... it came down to goal tending and Halak was incredible while Fleury just wasn't


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> Yeah for real... it came down to goal tending and Halak was incredible while Fleury just wasn't



As a Flyers fan, I know a thing or two about goaltending... We're on our backups backup


----------



## Groff

And the Flyers take it to game 7!!

Holy crap these playoffs are full of win across the board!


----------



## kmanick

Fucking Bruins are choking their way right out to the golf course.
Leighton looks pretty good, he was playing great before he got hurt.
I think the B's are in big trouble. No Sturm or Kreichi is really hurting them now


----------



## mattofvengeance

What a defensive effort by Sergei Gonchar. This is the kind of shit I've been witnessing in Dallas for the past two years.


----------



## MrMcSick

Can't believe the pens lost. Tight series by the way.


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> Congratulations to the Montreal Canadiens on a well-played game
> 
> I think whoever wins the Philly / Boston series is in deep shit





Crazy how that Crosby penalty right at the beginning of the game killed the momentum right away. Crosby was out of his game, boarding Gorges like that... As if it was still game #6 going on. And yeah, Fleury... Too bad, I like him a lot but he gave at least 2 easy goals... Let's not forget Gonchar sleeping at the blue line on Moen... We played great, no doubt about that, but this year's Pens are not last year's Pens. They looked tired. 

Washington, Pitsburgh... Can't believe we're in the final four!

Who's next? Halak is ready.


----------



## GoreNotCore

Why Penguins, why???? The fucking Canadiens???? They dont need a 25th stanley cup ffs. I blame Bylsma for holding back Crosby and Malkin. and what the fuck Fleury. god. He has been soo inconsistent. He kicks ass sometimes but others hes like fuckin Marty Turco, but i love him anyway.


R.I.P. Mellon Arena


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Crazy how that Crosby penalty right at the beginning of the game killed the momentum right away. Crosby was out of his game, boarding Gorges like that... As if it was still game #6 going on. And yeah, Fleury... Too bad, I like him a lot but he gave at least 2 easy goals... Let's not forget Gonchar sleeping at the blue line on Moen... We played great, no doubt about that, but this year's Pens are not last year's Pens. They looked tired.
> 
> Washington, Pitsburgh... Can't believe we're in the final four!
> 
> Who's next? Halak is ready.



Honestly that was a pretty soft call... but the Pens really didn't show up until half way through the game, and added to Fleury's horrible performance and Gonchar's traffic cone impersonation among other things it was too late by then. I can't get over how bad Gonchar and Fleury looked in that game...

Going forward I'm figuring it will probably be the Sharks / Habs for the Cup which should be interesting (assuming the Sharks don't implode in the Conference finals or the Cup round )


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Wow, I can't believe the habs have made it to the conference finals. Even after they took out the Caps, I didn't think they'd eliminate the Pens... Just crazy! And I'm with you guys on the "wtf was Gonchar doing?", that was awful. If I were a pens fan, I would have been furious  Anyway, it was a great series! I'm crossing my fingers for a Flyers win tomorrow, cuz quite frankly, Rask and the Bruins scare me. Either way, if it's the Bruins, the habs will want revenge for last year's first round. If it's the Flyers, the habs will want revenge for the year before's second round . Hopefully they fare a little better this year, and from what we've seen so far, it looks promising


----------



## TheWreck

I'm still impressed by the performance of the Habs yesterday! Never tought they would go that far! Hope they'll be against Flyers for the conference final....


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Come to think of it, I'm not sure who I want to win tomorrow, since Boston has really been struggling without Krejci and Sturm. Ah, who cares? Whoever it is, bring 'em on !


----------



## TheWreck

I'd like better against Flyers, Habs seems to have a little bit more success against them than against Bruins in playoffs....anyway that's my feeling about that...and like you said Jeff, who ever it is! Bring em'On!!!


----------



## technomancer

Honestly I don't think it's going to matter who wins the Boston / Philadelphia series, the Habs should crush them unless they implode. Neither team has remotely close to the offensive talent needed to crack the Habs if they play the way they have been.


----------



## cgabb

GO HABS GO


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> ... and Gonchar's traffic cone impersonation ...







technomancer said:


> Honestly I don't think it's going to matter who wins the Boston / Philadelphia series, the Habs should crush them unless they implode. Neither team has remotely close to the offensive talent needed to crack the Habs if they play the way they have been.



Well said. 

I very slightly prefer Boston over Philly, just because Philly will have a momentum going on.


----------



## kmanick

WOOHOO!!!!! Boston 3 Philly 1 at the end of the first


----------



## TheWreck

4-3 Flyers! in the last 5 minutes of the Second!! Some Great Hockey is getting played over there!!!


----------



## TheWreck

Haha!! No Goal!! LOL!


----------



## MFB

3-3 and this game took a quick turn to from "" to "" for Boston fans


----------



## kmanick

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck
3-3 at the end of the second.
Satan is the laziest defensive player out there 
WTF??? get in and hit somebody you big fucking pussy.


----------



## technomancer

Boston... talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory


----------



## MFB

Dear Bruins :

Out on the ice there are these "guys", and these "guys" wear the same jerseys as you - we can even call them teammates. These so called "teammates" are there to help you while playing, and if you pass them the puck - they'll keep skating with it and even make a shot on the net! Yet instead of doing the smart thing and passing the puck between teammates, you chose to instead dump it ahead of you into the other team's (in this case : Philly's) zone, and thus allowing them to take control of it and shoot on our net. This is not how you play hockey.


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> Boston... talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory



Hell yeah, even *I* have no idea where we pulled that from  but fuck yeah i'm excited!


----------



## playstopause

MTL vs PHI will be one hell of a fight. Something tells me it's going to be the toughest.

It's going to be epic.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> MTL vs PHI will be one hell of a fight. Something tells me it's going to be the toughest.
> 
> It's going to be epic.



I'm gonna' say Montreal in 5 unless Halak doesn't show up.


----------



## metalvince333

woohoo hockey thread! didnt see that! 

I say Cammhalak in 6!


----------



## technomancer

Damn, why didn't Halak suck like this against the Pens?


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> Damn, why didn't Halak suck like this against the Pens?



I don't really think he sucks by any means tonight. He really had no chance on any of them. He was either completely screened or left out to dry on each goal. I think the problem is the dumb penalties and the laissez-faire game they're playing right now. The habs better get their act together quickly, cuz they're not playing with much fire right now, and the Flyers are. It looks like Game 1 against the Pens all over again.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Wow, what an embarrassment.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> I don't really think he sucks by any means tonight. He really had no chance on any of them. He was either completely screened or left out to dry on each goal. I think the problem is the dumb penalties and the laissez-faire game they're playing right now. The habs better get their act together quickly, cuz they're not playing with much fire right now, and the Flyers are. It looks like Game 1 against the Pens all over again.



Honestly he was MANY times against the Pens and still came up with the puck  Don't get me wrong, Montreal didn't play as well as they have been, but if you think Halak played at the level he has been I'd like to know what game you were watching.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

I don't think he was as good as he was against the Pens, but to say he sucked tonight is a bit of a stretch. He had no chance on any of the goals. The Flyers were just putting more bodies in front of the net than either the pens or caps, and picking the top corners. If the shots are visible or kept on the ice, Halak's got them, but that wasn't the case tonight, just like in game 1 against Pittsburgh and games 2 and 3 against Washington. He wasn't great tonight, that's for sure, but he's the last guy I'd put the blame on. Nobody was very good for Montreal tonight.


----------



## technomancer

JeffFromMtl said:


> Nobody was very good for Montreal tonight.



I'll agree with you on that one  If they played so tough against the Caps and Pens and fold up against Philly I am going to be highly pissed


----------



## JeffFromMtl

technomancer said:


> I'll agree with you on that one  If they played so tough against the Caps and Pens and fold up against Philly I am going to be highly pissed



Yeah, I'm with you on that one as well


----------



## TheWreck

Congrats to Flyers, it was an epic fail for the Habs.....


----------



## Hollowman

The game 2's hopefully will be better.


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> I'll agree with you on that one  If they played so tough against the Caps and Pens and fold up against Philly I am going to be highly pissed



No kidding. 

So yeah, that was one huge slap in the face... And the Habs deserved it. The WHOLE team did not show up last night. They did not _*compete*_. That's what happened. The Flyers are quite different from the Pens and Caps and the Habs need to adjust. Fast. If they don't, it's going to be hard to get trough the Flyers, especially with their momentum going on right now.

And in my humble opinion, the Flyers are much tougher than the Pens and Caps and overall a better team. Their offensive talent is spreaded on the 4 lines and they're also way bigger! Ouch. They also have a much better defense... In short, take Malkin and Crosby out in the Pens line-up and there is not much left... Same with the Caps and Ovi + Backstrom + Semin. 

We neutralized the big players on both these teams and it worked... Now we need to neutralize a whole team. We need to fucking out-skate them and clear the front of our net!!! It's the only way.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> And in my humble opinion, the Flyers are much tougher than the Pens and Caps and overall a better team. Their offensive talent is spreaded on the 4 lines and they're also way bigger! Ouch. They also have a much better defense... In short, take Malkin and Crosby out in the Pens line-up and there is not much left... Same with the Caps and Ovi + Backstrom + Semin.



I wouldn't go this far. The Pens defense was DEFINITELY a weakness this season, and as with all teams in the league the majority of scoring comes from the top lines, but the Pens had 11 guys with double digit goal totals in the regular season. What killed the Pens against the Habs was Fleury putting in multiple mediocre performances along with a weak Pens defense coupled with a strong Habs defense and Halak being freaking amazing. I think you remove any one of those elements and the Pens would be playing the Flyers right now 

That said the Flyers are hot right now, and they're doing one of the things that has been a weakness of the Pens for years which is GETTING SOMEONE IN FRONT OF THE NET. I to this day have no idea why the hell the Pens don't screen goalies more.

The question is can the Habs step up and do what they've done pretty consistently in the last two series, which is get in shooting lanes, block shots, and generally make life miserable for forwards. If they can do that the Flyers will get frustrated and take stupid penalties which the Habs should be able to capitalize on.


----------



## playstopause

We'll see how that goes in a couple hours... Can't wait.


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> We'll see how that goes in a couple hours... Can't wait.



I plan to watch both games tonight


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Well, one thing to feel good about is that Halak usually stands on his head the game after he gets yanked. And we'll see how the rest of the team responds. While I've been impressed with Subban so far and will be the first to tell you just how awesome he is, I think he was noticeable for all the wrong reason last game, hopefully he can bounce back and put in a solid performance, cuz we need him on top of his game. And hopefully Cammalleri isn't invisible this game like last. He's one of the reasons the habs are where they are, and if he can't carry them any longer, I'm afraid it might be lights out.


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> I'll agree with you on that one  If they played so tough against the Caps and Pens and fold up against Philly I am going to be highly pissed



After coming back from a 3-0 deficit, don't underestimate Philly. Anything can happen.


----------



## tr0n

I live in London, UK, but since finding out I have ESPN America I've been following the playoff games, very entertaining! Can't say I understand how the actual league and playoffs format works in terms of number of games etc, but I'll look it up.

I don't know if I should be rooting for a particular team though, there's no justifiable reason for me to support one over the other considering I'm a Brit born and bred.


----------



## Groff

Holy crap! Leino scored a sick goal!


----------



## technomancer

Wow, Halak did not look good at all... again. Missed glove save, bobbled a puck against his chest, etc blech

Leighton looked good again though


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> Wow, Halak did not look good at all... again. Missed glove save, bobbled a puck against his chest, etc blech
> 
> Leighton looked good again though



I dont think halak thought that shot had ANY chance of catching net. In fact, I don't think he thought leino was going to even TRY to shoot from that distance with a defenseman on him.


----------



## playstopause

^

I agree with this.

Damn. 

So yeah, we played better... But we will have to be better than that still!

It ain't over yet!!!!


----------



## technomancer

Groff said:


> I dont think halak thought that shot had ANY chance of catching net. In fact, I don't think he thought leino was going to even TRY to shoot from that distance with a defenseman on him.



Oh that goal wasn't in "the list"  I agree 100% with what you said, Halak was not expecting him to shoot the puck and Leino shot while his stick / the puck were screened by the defenseman. The first two goals however were a different story. I don't think it's over by any means, and the Habs looked better than the first game, but Halak is still not playing remotely close to the level he did in the first two series.


----------



## Groff

playstopause said:


> So yeah, we played better... But we will have to be better than that still!
> 
> It ain't over yet!!!!



No sir, it certainly isn't over. I got worried a bit in the second period, you guys came back hard and fast, but I think towards the end you got a little frustrated. The drive is there though. It's going to be a long series.


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> Oh that goal wasn't in "the list"  I agree 100% with what you said, Halak was not expecting him to shoot the puck and Leino shot while his stick / the puck were screened by the defenseman. The first two goals however were a different story. I don't think it's over by any means, and the Habs looked better than the first game, but Halak is still not playing remotely close to the level he did in the first two series.



I don't think the defenseman was screening him totally, but when he shot, you can see the look on Halak's face was "He actually TRIED shooting from there?! ...Wait... FUCK!"


----------



## playstopause

Groff said:


> No sir, it certainly isn't over. I got worried a bit in the second period, you guys came back hard and fast, but I think towards the end you got a little frustrated. The drive is there though. It's going to be a long series.



It will be a long one if we win tonight. Otherwise, is gonna be short... We'll see if the Habs have anything left in the pants after two 7 games series against better teams than them.

And you know what? We need to score a goal at this point! It might help!


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> It will be a long one if we win tonight. Otherwise, is gonna be short... We'll see if the Habs have anything left in the pants after two 7 games series against better teams than them.
> 
> And you know what? We need to score a goal at this point! It might help!



Yeah no kidding  I've been watching these games going, "Ok, what in the hell happened?!?!?"


----------



## eaeolian

technomancer said:


> Yeah no kidding  I've been watching these games going, "Ok, what in the hell happened?!?!?"



It's funny, when the Flyers won game 7, I was completely pissed, because I knew the Habs didn't match up well against them.

Looks like the magic carpet ride is over. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.


----------



## TheWreck

I hope Habs will come out strong tonight.....if not, i'll be embarassed.....


----------



## technomancer

eaeolian said:


> It's funny, when the Flyers won game 7, I was completely pissed, because I knew the Habs didn't match up well against them.
> 
> Looks like the magic carpet ride is over. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.



I thought the Habs won all but one of the regular season meetings?  ah well


----------



## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> I thought the Habs won all but one of the regular season meetings?  ah well



Nope the season series was 2-2

This is starting to look like a sweep.


----------



## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> Nope the season series was 2-2
> 
> This is starting to look like a sweep.



whoops off by one  Hopefully the Habs don't completely implode and get swept 

EDIT: wow, nice Montreal fuckup 30 seconds into the game 

EDIT: THE HABS SCORED A GOAL   (actually they're looking more like the team that won the first two series this game so far)


----------



## JeffFromMtl

That was a pretty dominant first period, possibly the best period of hockey the Habs have played all playoffs aside from game 7 against the Pens or period 1 of game 2 against the Caps. Don't take the foot off the pedal now, boys! Every game I watch, I'm more and more impressed with the acquisition of Moore at the deadline. This guy performs every night, and has size and skill to boot!

EDIT: Speak of the devil, Moore just put one in!


----------



## technomancer

hello Montreal, we were wondering where you went to... shame you missed the first two games


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

^ +1

Let's get it rolling guys. I'd rather lose to ANY team in the league than the flyers. PLEASE not them.


----------



## playstopause

technomancer said:


> hello Montreal, we were wondering where you went to... shame you missed the first two games





EPIC RETURN TO THE WAY WE PLAYED!
Something tells me the Habs need the ultimate pressure to start playing... 


Now, let's keep it rolling guys. Flyers are frustated!
Next game saturday @ 3pm!!!!


----------



## TheWreck

That was a Hell of a game! 
Good thing they were present at this game....

Hope they keep that style of playing for the rest of this serie, they rocked!!!

And Leighton showed a big weakness with the goal between the pads....that's a shot he should have stopped! But in the end it's good for us Habs Fan!!!

Fuck Yeah!!


----------



## playstopause

Wow, 3-0 Chicago!!!


----------



## technomancer

playstopause said:


> Wow, 3-0 Chicago!!!



You know I actually stopped watching that series because I got tired of watching the Sharks outplay the Hawks and lose anyways.

Hopefully the Habs keep it together and continue to play well, as the Hawks will eat the Flyers alive


----------



## Groff

Nice fake-out goal for Leino! And one hell of a pass!


----------



## AK DRAGON

Chicago > Philly in Finals.. just a prediction.. may not be entirely correct


----------



## Groff

AK DRAGON said:


> Chicago > Philly in Finals.. just a prediction.. may not be entirely correct



With the way the playoffs have gone so far, anything can happen


----------



## AK DRAGON

Groff said:


> With the way the playoffs have gone so far, anything can happen



I'll agree with that especially when Philly come back from a 3-0 series deficit


----------



## playstopause

Damn. 

I hate the refs so fucking much...
Anyway, can't blame them for the loss. The Flyers stepped up and we now need to do so if we don't want to go and play golf.


----------



## technomancer

Man this is not cool... it's going to be hard to watch the Stanley Cup Finals not wanting either team to win if it goes Hawks / Flyers


----------



## technomancer

Sharks

and a congratulations to the referees on the Hawks victory


----------



## JeffFromMtl

I didn't get a chance to catch the game today, but man, I'm bummed that the Sharks got swept. I thought this might have been the year they might finally put it all together


----------



## Groff

Well fuck, that was quick


----------



## Groff

Tie game, WTF was Halak thinking?!


----------



## technomancer

Montreal

I am honestly amazed the Flyers won this series in 5 games


----------



## Groff

WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!



technomancer said:


> Motreal
> 
> I am honestly amazed the Flyers won this series



Me too


----------



## TheWreck

Now....they disapointed me...! It's an amazing thing that Flyers have been able to beat them in 5, and it's an amazing thing too that the Habs went that far in the playoff if we look to the season they had!

The playoff final will be something interesting to watch! My vote go to the Hawks in 6!!

Congrats to Flyers fan by the way!!!


----------



## eaeolian

technomancer said:


> Motreal
> 
> I am honestly amazed the Flyers won this series in 5 games



I'm not. I said not two minutes after the last Philly/Boston game that the Habs would be gone quick, since Philly was a terrible matchup for them. I thought it might go six, but five didn't surprise me - after game 1, I thought it might be a sweep.

With what I saw from Chicago, though, it probably won't matter. That team has some talent.


----------



## playstopause

Steve! 

It's Montreal, not Motreal. 

I knew it should have been the Bruins!!!! 

Hey the Flyers got our number, that's it. Stronger team overall. Congrats to them and their fans.

Halak move killed our momentum and that was it.... That really was a WTF moment right there, but hey... Can't blame the guy that brought the team all the way there.

The HABS beeing in the 3 last teams to end their season??? A team that has been freshly re-constructed as of this year... Seriously : a big THANK YOU guys! 
Nobody would have bet a dime on that. We've had a killer spring because of our team. Props to them!

... But now : go CHICAGO!!!!!!!!! 

Chicago in 5!


----------



## technomancer

Whoops, spelling error corrected 

Honestly it looked like the Habs were just out of gas... which is understandable after two seven game series against two of the best teams in the eastern conference. I think the WTF move by Halak was just the final nail in the Habs coffin. You are completely right though, a team that was just completely restructured going to the conference finals is a damn good season.

I'll agree with Hawks in 5 though it also wouldn't surprise me if they sweep


----------



## Groff

Wearin' my Hextall jersey last night at the Diner celebrating victory 









technomancer said:


> I'll agree with Hawks in 5 though it also wouldn't surprise me if they sweep



You see, but that's just predictable. These playoffs have proven otherwise


----------



## AK DRAGON

Hextall was the man back in the day.

At this point I don't care who wins as long as they are close games and no 6-0 blowouts


----------



## playstopause

Groff said:


> Wearin' my Hextall jersey last night at the Diner celebrating victory
> 
> You see, but that's just predictable. These playoffs have proven otherwise



Man, the logo looks weird reversed. 
I hate the Flyers but thay jersey f*ckin' rocks. One of the best looking one IMO. Congrats on the win, Sir. 



technomancer said:


> Honestly it looked like the Habs were just out of gas... which is understandable after two seven game series against two of the best teams in the eastern conference. I think the WTF move by Halak was just the final nail in the Habs coffin. You are completely right though, a team that was just completely restructured going to the conference finals is a damn good season.



Well said.


----------



## Groff

Let's go Flyers! Win this one for my Dad. Let me put the Flyers Stanley Cup Champions newspaper clipping onto his grave.



playstopause said:


> I hate the Flyers but thay jersey f*ckin' rocks. One of the best looking one IMO. Congrats on the win, Sir.



It's Hextall's 1993 version. I had a choice of the 87 or 93 version, I got the 93 version because that's the one I remember the most. Though I was thinking of getting the 87 version in the future anyway, because that's when i'd sneak out of my room after bed time when I was little to watch hockey with my dad.


----------



## corellia_guitar

can't root for either team! both teams are awesome in my book


----------



## Groff

Damn... Both teams are coming out swigning. Back and forth, back and forth


----------



## Groff

Side note: Refuse/Resist is an awesome song to watch hockey to.


----------



## Groff




----------



## technomancer

6-5 Hawks 

I'm surprised by the score to be honest, as well as by the completely one sided refereeing


----------



## B Lopez

I go to the field for a few days and the Sharks get swept... grr...


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> as well as by the completely one sided refereeing



Yeah, even I thought that it was really unfair.

It's cool to have Boucher back though, although it looks like Leighton is going to keep starting. I'm glad he recovered from his injury fast.


----------



## technomancer

Groff said:


> Yeah, even I thought that it was really unfair.
> 
> It's cool to have Boucher back though, although it looks like Leighton is going to keep starting. I'm glad he recovered from his injury fast.



Yeah it's great for the Flyers to have two strong goalies ready to play... it'll be interesting to see if Niemi looks better next game for the Hawks, as he's played REALLY well so far against some really high-caliber offenses without giving up 5 goals


----------



## playstopause

Go Hawks Go!


----------



## Groff

We lost, but it's getting tighter. Not that clusterfuck that was game 1.


----------



## technomancer

Hey, the Flyers won one... looks like we might have a series after all


----------



## playstopause

^

Yup. Where the hell is Groff?!? 

I'm still all for the Hawks (wich first line has to wake up), but a bit proud for our homeboy Giroux.


----------



## technomancer

You know, I am so fucking disgusted by the refereeing in this game I'm considering not watching the rest of the finals 

(not saying the Hawks were playing well or anything, more talking about all the non-calls on Philly)


----------



## Hollowman

Look back at my past threads you know I don't complain about the ref's but c'mon how many calls can you botch in the 3 out of 4 games I've watched theres been ALOT of calls missed on Philly.


----------



## Groff

playstopause said:


> ^
> 
> Yup. Where the hell is Groff?!?
> 
> I'm still all for the Hawks (wich first line has to wake up), but a bit proud for our homeboy Giroux.



I've not been around  Sorry.


----------



## Hollowman

Series tied Hawks 2 Refs err I mean Flyers 2


----------



## playstopause

Last game tonight?


----------



## technomancer

Contrary to comments made by the Flyers coaching staff etc it wasn't that the Flyers weren't playing well last game... it was that the Hawks were playing better. Honestly if the Hawks play the way they did last game and if the refs continue to actually call penalties the series is over. I make the penalty calls comment because there were at least four calls last game, against both teams, that would have been ignored in previous games and knowing those calls will be made limits the Flyers ability to play dirty and get away with it when backed into a corner.


----------



## technomancer

Way to go Hossa!


----------



## technomancer

Flyers

HAWKS HAVE WON THE CUP!!!!!!!

Now another crawling off season until hockey starts again


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

I'm happy Hossa finally got his cup, personally. Good for him! 

Congratulations Hawks/Hawks fans!


----------



## Groff

Good job Hawks!

You guys earned it.


I'm not totally sad the Flyers lost - they played a hell of a playoff season. With a lot of top players out injured, and the fact that we're using our backups BACKUP goalie... I'm impressed with how everything went down. Hell I thought the Canadiens were going to steamroll us... As long as the Redwings or the Pens don't win i'm happy 

Plus Al Jourgensen is a Blackhawks fan, and seeing as Ministry is my favorite band, I'm happy for him


----------



## playstopause

Congrats to the Hawks! SO happy for Toews! Love that guy.
Also congrats the the Flyers on a terrific post-season. Let's not forget they came into the playoffs with a shootout goal in the very last game of the season... Way to go.

Also, thanks again to the Habs for the best spring ever since 17 years.
Really looking forward to next season. 



technomancer said:


> Now another crawling off season until hockey starts again



No kidding! Dullest part of the year just started. Fuckin' summer.


----------



## technomancer

Hehe actually it's a tense time for Pens right now with half the teem being unrestricted free agents on July 1  I'm really not happy that Gonchar is not likely to be here next year


----------



## Groff

technomancer said:


> Now another crawling off season until hockey starts again



After this historic and awesome playoff series... Yeah, it's going to be one hell of a slow off season...


----------



## JeffFromMtl

playstopause said:


> Congrats to the Hawks! SO happy for Toews! Love that guy.
> Also congrats the the Flyers on a terrific post-season. Let's not forget they came into the playoffs with a shootout goal in the very last game of the season... Way to go.
> 
> Also, thanks again to the Habs for the best spring ever since 17 years.
> Really looking forward to next season.
> 
> 
> 
> No kidding! Dullest part of the year just started. Fuckin' summer.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

hey! Atleast we still got stuff to talk about until July 1st


----------



## playstopause

^

Yup. Halak, Price or Plekanec? Take your pick!


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

All of them?


----------



## playstopause

Ain't gonna happen. We can't afford all 3 of them.


----------



## playstopause

playstopause said:


> Ain't gonna happen. We can't afford all 3 of them.



And bye-bye Halak! 


Wow. Traded to St-Louis for 2 rookies.


----------



## technomancer

Saw that earlier. I guess they figured they wouldn't be able to match the offers he was likely to get after his playoff performance so the might as well get something for him.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Yup, I've heard that with his arbitration rights, we should be seeing a deal struck for $4M+ per season. Unless the habs bought out Hamrlik's final $5.5M season of his contract, keeping Halak would be impossible. It's sad, but I think they got some very solid prospects in return. Lars Eller's a proven two-way scorer at the AHL level who's got size and should be ready for primetime this coming season, and Ian Schultz looks like he's built in the mold of Dustin Byfuglien. At 20 years old, he's 6'3", 208 lbs, will hit and fight anything that moves, has leaderships qualities and posted 55 pts in 70 games in the WHL this season, adding 15 pts in 23 playoff games.


----------



## 7 Strings of Hate

Fuck you all, we rule!  Damn, i gotta give it to the blues organization. They have been promising us a cup in the near future when they bought the team 3 years ago, and they have been giving it a serious go, building the team.


----------



## playstopause

^
You sure gotta be happy about that trade!


----------



## technomancer

Looks like Cooke will be a Pen for 3 more years 

Cooke agrees to three-year deal with Penguins - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


----------



## playstopause

... And Plekanec signs with the Habs for 6 years @ 5 millions.


----------



## Unknown Doodl3.2

and homeboy Darche


----------



## playstopause

^
That's about freaking time. 

I'm glad he signed, he deserves it.


----------



## technomancer

Ugh 7 freaking unrestricted free agents and only $10 million left before hitting the cap, including Gonchar who had 50pts in 62 games and three top two line wingers.

It's likely going to be a LONG season next year


----------



## technomancer

I just wanted to take a moment and extend a golf clap to Ray Shero, GM of the Penguins, for failing to sign a single one of the 8 unrestricted free agents on the Pens, including Hamhuis who he blew a third round draft pick to even talk to. 

Congratulations Mr. Shero on accomplishing ONE FUCKING SIGNING before the opening of free agency and on losing a 50pt defenseman and a 45pt forward.


----------



## ralphy1976

i though that with Super Mario had it sussed out with the Pens....obviously not...


----------



## technomancer

ralphy1976 said:


> i though that with Super Mario had it sussed out with the Pens....obviously not...



Mario leaves the running to the team in the hands of his General Manager, Ray Shero, when it comes to player contracts and such. Unless Shero pulls off a miracle here I'd say this season may be Shero's last, as signing a handful of star players and then giving the rest of the team shit short-term deals does not work. The only reason the Pens got by this past season is they had the mystique of being a Stanley Cup winner with the potential to win again so he was able to sign guys for less money than normal... and even so he lost his best two defensive defensemen from the Stanley Cup team.

Case in point, they just lost Gonchar over one fucking year of contract term because he was unwilling to give Gonchar a 3 year deal

Senators sign Gonchar? - NHL Free Agency 2010


----------



## technomancer

Ok Shero's moves yesterday did wonders for the Pens defense which was one of their weak points over the past season. Martin and Zbynek are great additions to the team and they have long term deals. He's being lauded in the local press for this. 

HOWEVER something nobody is talking about is that while the Pens now have a stronger defense, they are short two top two line wingers in the team lineup. They have four guys left who have shown they are even remotely capable of playing on the top 2 lines with success: obviously Crosby and Malkin, and Kunitz and Dupuis. That leaves 2 spots that will need to be filled by third or fourth line wingers or Tangradi who will be playing his first full season in the NHL. With the departure of Gonchar and Guerin they've also lost two of their top 5 scorers and two guys that were on their top power play unit.

This on a team that had notable trouble scoring goals for long stretches last season. To me it looks like Shero may have addressed one problem while making another much much worse. Not to mention they're very close to the cap and one of their starting defenseman is another guy that will be playing his first full season in the NHL AND they don't have the luxury of a seventh defenseman that they've had for the last two seasons AND some of the guys they had the luxury of scratching when they weren't needed like Godard, Rupp, and Adams will be required to play every game as the Pens only have 12 forwards under contract. Granted they have about $2.2 million left under the cap, but there's a LOT of need left to try to fill with that amount of money.


----------



## TheDivineWing22

I dunno, I never felt like the Pens had a problem with getting the lead. Where they had the problem was keeping it, which I believe (maybe hope is better word) Shero addressed with signing Martin and Michalek. The pens will probably bring Tangradi and Letestu this season so hopefully that will help on the offensive side. 

Only one thing's for sure, Oct 7th can't come soon enough


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> I dunno, I never felt like the Pens had a problem with getting the lead. Where they had the problem was keeping it, which I believe (maybe hope is better word) Shero addressed with signing Martin and Michalek. The pens will probably bring Tangradi and Letestu this season so hopefully that will help on the offensive side.
> 
> Only one thing's for sure, Oct 7th can't come soon enough



Yeah we'll see, they definitely needed to improve the defense but they lost some SERIOUS components of the power play that they didn't replace.

The most likely starters are Tangradi, Conner, or Jeffrey and hopefully they give the two they pick a shot on the top two lines and don't screw around with trying to play Talbot and Kennedy up there.


----------



## technomancer

And Kovalchuk is not a Devil 

Kovalchuk a free agent after arbitrator ruling - NHL Free Agency 2010


----------



## TheDivineWing22

^^Best news I've heard all day. Maybe he'll go visit LA again lol


----------



## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> ^^Best news I've heard all day. Maybe he'll go visit LA again lol





I wouldn't be surprised to see the league REALLY crack down on some of these contracts going forward. I have no idea how a couple of them got accepted in the first place when the salary drops by 75% in the last couple of years...


----------



## playstopause

^

I've read today that the NHL is still inpsecting other contracts like the Kovalchuk one (ex. : Luongo, Hossa, Pronger, Savard, etc.) and might cancel those as well.


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## TheDivineWing22

It does suck for NJ and Kovalchuck that they are putting their foot down now considering some of the deals that have went down recently, but the NHL had to stop it sometime. It kinda seems like they're shutting the barn door after the horse has already ran out.


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## technomancer

Not necessarily, since they're retroactively reviewing other contracts. I still can't believe the other contract they approved since those tails are obviously there to decrease the cap hit of the contracts


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## TheDivineWing22

That's true. Oh well, definitely something that should be addressed in the CBA.

Yahoo has an article about KHL being interested once again. I could see him going there after this fiasco. Maybe he'll run into Nabokov.

What the KHL is offering Ilya Kovalchuk after NHL contract rejection - Puck Daddy - NHL - Yahoo! Sports


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## technomancer

Arron Asham is now a Pen 

I honestly am at a complete loss as to why the Pens signed him, they need another role player like they need a hole in the head 

It will be an interesting season


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## TheDivineWing22

^^yeah not the most exciting new. Because of the reason you said, and also because its Asham. I guess we'll see how things pan out. I'm so ready for October


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## playstopause

... And Price just signed for 2 years. 

Now let's see if the "prodigy" is up for the task.


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## technomancer

^ 

I am completely prepared for the Pens to have a terrible season. They've got three of the strongest centers in the league, so do they sign a good winger to go with them? Or even bring up and give 2 of the really strong prospects they have a shot? No of course not they sign a bruiser like Asham, and are apparently going to move one of the 2 best centers in the league in Malkin to the wing with Staal playing center  We'll ignore the fact that Malkin really doesn't do well on the wing, while Staal played wing for Malkin his rookie year and had his career high in goals that year.

Not to mention this breaks up what was arguably the most effective line the Pens had last season in Cooke / Staal / Kennedy


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## TheDivineWing22

I really don't want them to break up the cooke/staal/kennedy line, but in all honesty I would rather have Stall center than Malkin if I had the choice. I just think it's a choice that should'nt have to be made.

In other news, Pens sign Mike Comrie. For $500,000, that's a steal in my book.


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## Hollowman

And Kovy's a Devil again..


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## technomancer

TheDivineWing22 said:


> I really don't want them to break up the cooke/staal/kennedy line, but in all honesty I would rather have Stall center than Malkin if I had the choice. I just think it's a choice that should'nt have to be made.
> 
> In other news, Pens sign Mike Comrie. For $500,000, that's a steal in my book.



Yeah that's a steal... but the Pens really don't need another center  That and Malkin has NEVER played well at wing, while Staal has, so it just seems stupid to me. Staal had his career-high goal scoring his rookie year playing on Malkin's wing. Then again at least with Comrie is they insist of shoving one of their existing centers to wing at least they still have three really strong centers. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how it works out 



Hollowman666 said:


> And Kovy's a Devil again..



I thought the NHL might actually start cracking down on those contracts, but apparently as long as you're not subverting the cap by more than $3.5 million a year it's ok


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## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Yeah I thought the NHL might actually start cracking down on those contracts, but apparently as long as you're not subverting the cap by more than $3.5 million a year it's ok



The Pens did it with Malkin and Crosby didn't they.so really it shouldn't matter. anyway it's probably more money that You or I will ever see at once and to me thats more of a shame than anything else.


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## playstopause

Hollowman666 said:


> And Kovy's a Devil again..



I wouldn't want that overpaid sissi on my team at that price. While beeing a very talented player, the guy never proved anything in post-season. And let's not forget his end-of-season with the Devils last year and him having to play in the (defensive) Devils game plan. Let's wait and see of he'll have the same stats he had with the Trashers, where he had the green light to do whatever he wished for.


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## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> The Pens did it with Malkin and Crosby didn't they.so really it shouldn't matter. anyway it's probably more money that You or I will ever see at once and to me thats more of a shame than anything else.



Honestly no, I don't consider it the same thing. Signing a young player to a contract with a salary that gets higher towards the end is a little different than signing a player to a contract that runs until they're in their 40s, when most guys retire before then, with the salary at the final years a small percentage of most of the contract. Then again the effect on the cap hit is the same, so maybe that needs re-evaulated and the cap hit for a given year should be the actual salary for that year instead of being based on the average 

Honestly I also think the Devils are out of their freaking minds paying him that much, but that's another story. It'll be interesting to see how he performs this year.


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

I'm even more interested in seeing how they're going to manage to sign Parise to a new contract next season now that they've blown a wad of cash on kovalchuckles.


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## Hollowman

playstopause said:


> I wouldn't want that overpaid sissi on my team at that price. While beeing a very talented player, the guy never proved anything in post-season. And let's not forget his end-of-season with the Devils last year and him having to play in the (defensive) Devils game plan. Let's wait and see of he'll have the same stats he had with the Trashers, where he had the green light to do whatever he wished for.



When you go from a non playoff team to a playoff team of course your gonna have different expectations and being this will be his first full season only time will tell do I anticipate that he is gonna be good this season yes he's been through out his career so far also it depends on how McLean uses him or if he takes him and gives him the green light.


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## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Honestly no, I don't consider it the same thing. Signing a young player to a contract with a salary that gets higher towards the end is a little different than signing a player to a contract that runs until they're in their 40s, when most guys retire before then, with the salary at the final years a small percentage of most of the contract. Then again the effect on the cap hit is the same, so maybe that needs re-evaulated and the cap hit for a given year should be the actual salary for that year instead of being based on the average
> 
> Honestly I also think the Devils are out of their freaking minds paying him that much, but that's another story. It'll be interesting to see how he performs this year.



Honestly being a Pens fan I really don't expect you too when your team has done this with Crosby and Malkin however , Detroit has made this a common practice sine the 90's but in the same sense they have found great player in remote places in the world. I'm hoping that Mclean takes and gives him the green light to just play the way he plays but. and this being the big but.. McLean was part of Lamaires defensive system and since I never had chance to actually see him coach and see if he uses that same approach.


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## Unknown Doodl3.2

^I'm not a Pens fan, and I don't see how Crosby or Malkin's contracts are in any way in similar violation of the collective agreement as the Kovalchuckles or Hossa or Loungo. Crosby's cap hit is 8.7 million dollars a year... not 5

BTW, why did we sign Halpern?


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## technomancer

Hollowman666 said:


> Honestly being a Pens fan I really don't expect you too when your team has done this with Crosby and Malkin however , Detroit has made this a common practice sine the 90's but in the same sense they have found great player in remote places in the world. I'm hoping that Mclean takes and gives him the green light to just play the way he plays but. and this being the big but.. McLean was part of Lamaires defensive system and since I never had chance to actually see him coach and see if he uses that same approach.



Actually, I just took the time to look it up, Crosby and Malkin IIRC have identical contracts. Crosby's contract was for 5 years and $43.5 million dollars with a yearly cap hit of $8.7 million... 43.5 / 8 = 8.7. That's going by these articles

Penguins, Crosby Agree to Long-Term Contract Extension - washingtonpost.com
Sidney Crosby - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

According to this the numbers per year in millions are

Penguins sign Crosby to five-year extension

08-09 $9
09-10 $9
10-11 $9
11-12 $9
12-13 $7.5

for a cap hit of $8.7 so the cap hit is off of actual salary by a whopping $300,000 per season.

Compare that to the Kovalchuk deal where
1) he will likely be retired before the end of the contract
2) the difference between actual salary and cap hit is >$3 million for the majority of the contract... maybe I'm biased but I do not consider that to be the same at all. You can't sign a player to an entry level contract for $300,000. For $3 million you can sign a good player who can make a difference to you team's performance 

Like I said, the system needs reevaluated. Maybe they need to establish a minimum variance between salary and cap hit. Maybe they need to limit contract length. Bottom line is teams are exploiting the current system and it needs to be fixed 

PS - Aaron Asham  but on the bright side the Pens signed Mike Comrie so you take the good with the bad. I would have honestly preferred to see one of the prospects get a chance to play as opposed to signing Asham...


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## Hollowman

technomancer said:


> Actually, I just took the time to look it up, Crosby and Malkin IIRC have identical contracts. Crosby's contract was for 5 years and $43.5 million dollars with a yearly cap hit of $8.7 million... 43.5 / 8 = 8.7. That's going by these articles
> 
> Penguins, Crosby Agree to Long-Term Contract Extension - washingtonpost.com
> Sidney Crosby - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> According to this the numbers per year in millions are
> 
> Penguins sign Crosby to five-year extension
> 
> 08-09 $9
> 09-10 $9
> 10-11 $9
> 11-12 $9
> 12-13 $7.5
> 
> for a cap hit of $8.7 so the cap hit is off of actual salary by a whopping $300,000 per season.
> 
> Compare that to the Kovalchuk deal where
> 1) he will likely be retired before the end of the contract
> 2) the difference between actual salary and cap hit is >$3 million for the majority of the contract... maybe I'm biased but I do not consider that to be the same at all. You can't sign a player to an entry level contract for $300,000. For $3 million you can sign a good player who can make a difference to you team's performance
> 
> Like I said, the system needs reevaluated. Maybe they need to establish a minimum variance between salary and cap hit. Maybe they need to limit contract length. Bottom line is teams are exploiting the current system and it needs to be fixed
> 
> PS - Aaron Asham  but on the bright side the Pens signed Mike Comrie so you take the good with the bad. I would have honestly preferred to see one of the prospects get a chance to play as opposed to signing Asham...



$300,000 per game if he was getting 8.7 mil a season or something that equates to that right? also, biased is a good thing the Pens are your team the Devils are mine. Kovachuk's contract is front loaded so toward the end it is a less of a hit verses a larger lump sum toward the end of his career which means toward the end they could potentially buy him out before he retires. and I don't disagree with anything your saying about contracts. personally, I think any/ever athlete is over paid and salary caps are a good thing to keep a somewhat level playing field.

Asham was a good role player for Philly. not a stellar player but...if it was up to me I would have resigned Jagr since he said he'd play for the Pens for minimum and at least he could retire where he started.

What do you think about the Habs signing Halpern?


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## technomancer

My issue with Asham is that the Pens really don't NEED another role player... as for Jagr he sort of burned his bridges in Pittsburgh before he got traded by incessantly complaining about the fans and the organization. There was a reason he got boos every time he stepped onto the ice after he left here 

Honestly I don't know a lot about Halpern, so I can't really comment on that.


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## JeffFromMtl

I don't know much about Halpern either, but from what I hear, he's similar to Moore, but a bit bigger, more physical and more solid defensively, albeit with a little less offensive upside. I liked Moore a lot, but Halpern's $600,000 contract is less than half of what it would have cost to keep Moore in Montreal, so I haven't got a problem with the signing. We'll see how things pan out, though.


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## playstopause

^

This, plus he's a face-off specialist. Remember how much fail we had in that department last year, especially in the playoffs?


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## technomancer

If that's the case Halpern should help the Habs a lot


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## Xaios

As a Canucks fan, even though they kinda fell apart against Chicago, I'm still happy Hank got the Hart Trophy. Makes me glad that I've stuck with the Canucks through thick and thin ever since I was 10 years old.

I'm also looking forward to see what the twins can do this season.


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## technomancer

Xaios said:


> As a Canucks fan, even though they kinda fell apart against Chicago, I'm still happy Hank got the Hart Trophy. Makes me glad that I've stuck with the Canucks through thick and thin ever since I was 10 years old.
> 
> I'm also looking forward to see what the twins can do this season.



We just got three tickets to the Pens-Canucks game and have a friend of ours coming in from Vancouver for the game. Should be a blast


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## technomancer

Fuck, and now Staal is going to miss the start of the season 

Penguins Adjust with Staal Expected to Miss Start of Regular Season - Pittsburgh Penguins - Features


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## TheDivineWing22

I was just reading that, hopefully he makes a quick recovery. Since its Staal Im expecting it to be haha.


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## Speedy

playstopause said:


> I wouldn't want that overpaid sissi on my team at that price. While beeing a very talented player, the guy never proved anything in post-season. And let's not forget his end-of-season with the Devils last year and him having to play in the (defensive) Devils game plan. Let's wait and see of he'll have the same stats he had with the Trashers, where he had the green light to do whatever he wished for.



Haha... Kinda hard to prove anything in the play-offs when you are playing for Atlanta Trashers 

I've read much about Devils' new look. I think they have realized they just can't shut the opposition down, which has shown on the last couple of years as a lame play-off success. That is why I'm really looking forward how Devils get their game going. I hope Zajac, Parise, Kovy, Elias and Langenbrunner get their chemistry to work.. They can be really magical.

I'm also interested to see how the Sharks are going to perfor with no Nabby. Nabokov has never showed of at the post season, so now with two feasty Finns it gets interesting  And the Caps... Ofcourse. Sure they do score, but is Varlamov ready for to be a full time no. 1, and is the defensive unit solid enough. I think Vancouver looks really good with the moves they made during the offseason.


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## JeffFromMtl

Speedy said:


> I'm also interested to see how the Sharks are going to perfor with no Nabby. Nabokov has never showed of at the post season, so now with two feasty Finns it gets interesting



I'm not overly concerned about the Sharks. Nabokov was simply a fairly consistent goaltender who had the luxury of playing for an elite team for many years. Whoever they have in the net, they'll be just fine. Look at the Detroit team that won a handful of cups with Mike Vernon and Chris Osgood in the net. Neither of those guys were all-stars by any stretch, just an attestation to how a bit of consistent goaltending can go a long way on a well-rounded team.


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## mattofvengeance

JeffFromMtl said:


> I'm not overly concerned about the Sharks. Nabokov was simply a fairly consistent goaltender who had the luxury of playing for an elite team for many years. Whoever they have in the net, they'll be just fine. Look at the Detroit team that won a handful of cups with Mike Vernon and Chris Osgood in the net. Neither of those guys were all-stars by any stretch, just an attestation to how a bit of consistent goaltending can go a long way on a well-rounded team.



Yes, a well rounded team of choke artists. That team will never win anything with that core.


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