NHL Season 2011-2012

[Devil]

Yeah! 

[El-Producto]

Wow, game of the year last night.  Sabres exposed the Boston Goonies for what they really are.
Shutout twice in one week by two of the worst teams in the league.

Lucic is pure dirt, and Thornton leaving the bench to fight.. we should start calling it the Boston Line Change.

Perhaps Timmy Tea Party Thomas should worry less about German Poetry on facebook.

Oh god, I hope it's a Bruins/Canucks final, but I'm not even sure Bruins will get past the second round.

[Devil]

Welcome to my world!

[leo8877]

It doesn't matter who is good now, it matters who is hot in April.

[Isgrimnur]

As per ESPN, the 2013 Winter Classic will be Toronto at Detroit at the Big House.

Confirmed 

Bettman made the announcement at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, which will host the Hockeytown Winter Festival, a week-long celebration of the game at all levels.

The 2013 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic marks the first time a Canadian-based franchise is part of the festivities. It also marks the first time that the events of Winter Classic week will be split between two venues.

The cornerstone of the Hockeytown Winter Festival is the NHL Alumni Showdown, which will feature many of the game's biggest legends playing in the home of the Tigers, the major league baseball team also owned by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch. The alumni game is scheduled for Dec. 31.

In addition to the Alumni Showdown, an impressive lineup of other games will be played at Comerica Park during the Hockeytown Winter Festival. One headline event will be the Great Lakes Invitational, which will take collegiate teams Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech and Western Michigan outdoors for the popular and long-standing tournament that is a tradition in Detroit. There will also be American League Hockey, Ontario Hockey League, high school and youth hockey games played at Comerica.

[gellar]

Wow, game of the year last night.  Sabres exposed the Boston Goonies for what they really are.
Shutout twice in one week by two of the worst teams in the league.

Lucic is pure dirt, and Thornton leaving the bench to fight.. we should start calling it the Boston Line Change.

Perhaps Timmy Tea Party Thomas should worry less about German Poetry on facebook.

Oh god, I hope it's a Bruins/Canucks final, but I'm not even sure Bruins will get past the second round.

Canucks fans are so cute when they're angry.

[El-Producto]

Wow, game of the year last night.  Sabres exposed the Boston Goonies for what they really are.
Shutout twice in one week by two of the worst teams in the league.

Lucic is pure dirt, and Thornton leaving the bench to fight.. we should start calling it the Boston Line Change.

Perhaps Timmy Tea Party Thomas should worry less about German Poetry on facebook.

Oh god, I hope it's a Bruins/Canucks final, but I'm not even sure Bruins will get past the second round.

Canucks fans are so cute when they're angry.

Far from angry, happy!

[theohall]

IMO, the ref really screwed up waiving off Lucic's goal for incidental contact with the goalie.  If that was worthy of waiving off a goal, lots more goals should not have counted this season.

Boston's reaction, though, showed a severe lack of composure.

[Devil]

theo - Who you playin tonight?

[gellar]

Wow, game of the year last night.  Sabres exposed the Boston Goonies for what they really are.
Shutout twice in one week by two of the worst teams in the league.

Lucic is pure dirt, and Thornton leaving the bench to fight.. we should start calling it the Boston Line Change.

Perhaps Timmy Tea Party Thomas should worry less about German Poetry on facebook.

Oh god, I hope it's a Bruins/Canucks final, but I'm not even sure Bruins will get past the second round.

Canucks fans are so cute when they're angry.

Far from angry, happy!

If you're happy about a single Boston loss, you are actually angry about something deeper.  I think it may have to do with getting bent over in the Stanley Cup finals, but I'm not entirely sure.

[kronovan]

I think it may have to do with getting bent over in the Stanley Cup finals, but I'm not entirely sure.

Meh, different standards I guess - I wouldn't say taking a Stanley cup final to 7 games is getting bent over. But for sure Luongo got bent out of shape and psychologically busted up.

[gellar]

I think it may have to do with getting bent over in the Stanley Cup finals, but I'm not entirely sure.

Meh, different standards I guess - I wouldn't say taking a Stanley cup final to 7 games is getting bent over. But for sure Luongo got bent out of shape and psychologically busted up.

Your memory is different than mine.  The Canucks took the final to game 6.  They were taken to game 7 by getting destroyed in games 6 and 7.

[El-Producto]

It's called a rivalry, and I'm just enjoying the latest chapter, especially since the Hawks are laughable this year.

Nice showcase for the Bruins fans who go on and on about how dirty the Canucks are.  Pot meet Kettle.

[gellar]

It's called a rivalry, and I'm just enjoying the latest chapter, especially since the Hawks are laughable this year.

Nice showcase for the Bruins fans who go on and on about how dirty the Canucks are.  Pot meet Kettle.

I'm pretty sure both teams are as dirty as it gets.  That's the beloved irony of the rivalry from an outsider's perspective.  The Canucks fans refuse to admit their team is anywhere close to as dirty as the Bruins, when they actually have more PIMs and considerably less fighting majors.

I'm pretty sure Bruins fans (the ones I know) are well aware of their teams style of play.  They actually revel in it.

[Koz]

It's called a rivalry, and I'm just enjoying the latest chapter, especially since the Hawks are laughable this year.

Nice showcase for the Bruins fans who go on and on about how dirty the Canucks are.  Pot meet Kettle.

I'm pretty sure both teams are as dirty as it gets.  That's the beloved irony of the rivalry from an outsider's perspective.  The Canucks fans refuse to admit their team is anywhere close to as dirty as the Bruins, when they actually have more PIMs and considerably less fighting majors.

I'm pretty sure Bruins fans (the ones I know) are well aware of their teams style of play.  They actually revel in it.

Exactly right, on all counts.

Bruins are sucking it up right now and have been since mid-January. It's not much of an accomplishment to beat them right now.

[theohall]

theo - Who you playin tonight?

The Devils   Go Blues!!  Lucky for you the Devils get the Blues in NJ this season.

[Devil]

That was fun! Hate the shootout!

[gellar]

Goddammit Kings.  Stop sucking.  Start scoring.

[theohall]

That was fun! Hate the shootout!

Devils should have won.  Kovalchuk missing 5 shots on net, twice when he had plenty of net to see, let the game get to OT.

Including last night, the.Blues have scored a total of 5 goals on 29 shootout chances.  Yeah, it hasn't been pretty. I feel lucky the Blues won.

[Isgrimnur]

Goddammit Kings.  Stop sucking.  Start scoring.

Wil Wheaton?!?

[Devil]

That was fun! Hate the shootout!

Devils should have won.  Kovalchuk missing 5 shots on net, twice when he had plenty of net to see, let the game get to OT.

Including last night, the.Blues have scored a total of 5 goals on 29 shootout chances.  Yeah, it hasn't been pretty. I feel lucky the Blues won.

Kovy has been on FIRE. Without the assists, they would have lost anyway.

The Devils have been great in the shootout. Last night was a rare stink-fest where they got nothing.

What was your thoughts on the Foster 5 Min boarding? Definitely was a boarding. Didn't think it really deserved 5 though.

It was a high stick too on that goal. Not complaining though, that stuff happens and it was a really good game to watch.

[El-Producto]

Hey Bitz.. welcome to Vancouver. 


Awesome.

[theohall]

That was fun! Hate the shootout!

Devils should have won.  Kovalchuk missing 5 shots on net, twice when he had plenty of net to see, let the game get to OT.

Including last night, the.Blues have scored a total of 5 goals on 29 shootout chances.  Yeah, it hasn't been pretty. I feel lucky the Blues won.

Kovy has been on FIRE. Without the assists, they would have lost anyway.

The Devils have been great in the shootout. Last night was a rare stink-fest where they got nothing.

What was your thoughts on the Foster 5 Min boarding? Definitely was a boarding. Didn't think it really deserved 5 though.

It was a high stick too on that goal. Not complaining though, that stuff happens and it was a really good game to watch.

the boarding didn't deserve 5.   But... the rules state if someone is injured when boarded - it's an automatic 5 and game - and Porter's face was clearly cut.  Zero tolerance in the rules made the determination on that call.  I am betting the official initially intended to only give a 2-minute boarding minor, which is what I expected, but the cut face forced the change in the call.

Only complaint I had on officiating was the BS interference call on Backes in the 3rd.  Kovalchenko is clearly interfering with him - stick sideways, arms fully extended pushing on Backes - puck nowhere to be seen - forcing Backes into Hedberg.  Yet, it's interference on Backes, when it clearly should have been interference on Kovalchenko.  Without the contact from Kovalchenko, Backes skates in front of Hedberg without touching him at all.  This has been the hot issue this week - questionable interference calls involving goalies - and is the topic being most discussed in regards to potentially adding a coach's challenge on those types of calls.

As to the "high-stick" goal - depends on which angle you view it from.  From behind - it looks like a high-stick.  From the front, it looks like a good goal.  With it being called a goal on the ice, that is not enough to overturn.  Had they called it a high-stick on the ice, that likely would have stood.  Tough break for the Devils on that one as the on-ice call determined the outcome.

[El-Producto]

Goddammit Kings.  Stop sucking.  Start scoring.

Panthers are tough, no shame in that.

[kronovan]

Hey Bitz.. welcome to Vancouver.  


Awesome.

Yup, he's been very good, but I think there's a caveat to that; any talented winger placed on a line with the Twins looks very good when the Twins are on their game. I think the bigger question is - are the Twins back on pace because of Bitz, or is it because of the line shakeup? I'm thinking its the latter, but Burrows proved me wrong in the past. I don't expect him to stay there for long, but time will tell.  

[Jag]

Goddammit Kings.  Stop sucking.  Start scoring.

Panthers are tough, no shame in that.

May actually make the playoffs for the first time in recent memory. Picked a good year to get cheap season tickets

[El-Producto]

Hey Bitz.. welcome to Vancouver.  


Awesome.

Yup, he's been very good, but I think there's a caveat to that; any talented winger placed on a line with the Twins looks very good when the Twins are on their game. I think the bigger question is - are the Twins back on pace because of Bitz, or is it because of the line shakeup? I'm thinking its the latter, but Burrows proved me wrong in the past. I don't expect him to stay there for long, but time will tell.  

I think Burrows/Kesler line is great, and so far it's working.  Bitz seems to be a tough power forward, who can create some space for the Twins.
I like the look of this years Nucks much better than last years.  Not a prediction by any means, I just think they look solid and seem to be keeping the foolishness in check for the most part.

[Devil]

That was fun! Hate the shootout!

Devils should have won.  Kovalchuk missing 5 shots on net, twice when he had plenty of net to see, let the game get to OT.

Including last night, the.Blues have scored a total of 5 goals on 29 shootout chances.  Yeah, it hasn't been pretty. I feel lucky the Blues won.

Kovy has been on FIRE. Without the assists, they would have lost anyway.

The Devils have been great in the shootout. Last night was a rare stink-fest where they got nothing.

What was your thoughts on the Foster 5 Min boarding? Definitely was a boarding. Didn't think it really deserved 5 though.

It was a high stick too on that goal. Not complaining though, that stuff happens and it was a really good game to watch.

the boarding didn't deserve 5.   But... the rules state if someone is injured when boarded - it's an automatic 5 and game - and Porter's face was clearly cut.  Zero tolerance in the rules made the determination on that call.  I am betting the official initially intended to only give a 2-minute boarding minor, which is what I expected, but the cut face forced the change in the call.

Only complaint I had on officiating was the BS interference call on Backes in the 3rd.  Kovalchenko is clearly interfering with him - stick sideways, arms fully extended pushing on Backes - puck nowhere to be seen - forcing Backes into Hedberg.  Yet, it's interference on Backes, when it clearly should have been interference on Kovalchenko.  Without the contact from Kovalchenko, Backes skates in front of Hedberg without touching him at all.  This has been the hot issue this week - questionable interference calls involving goalies - and is the topic being most discussed in regards to potentially adding a coach's challenge on those types of calls.

As to the "high-stick" goal - depends on which angle you view it from.  From behind - it looks like a high-stick.  From the front, it looks like a good goal.  With it being called a goal on the ice, that is not enough to overturn.  Had they called it a high-stick on the ice, that likely would have stood.  Tough break for the Devils on that one as the on-ice call determined the outcome.

I agree with all of that. A bit of a flukey game, but was great to watch.

We'll see you in the finals! 

[El-Producto]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npn0dyhSyr0

Amazing... and yes I know it's a joke.

[gellar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npn0dyhSyr0

Amazing... and yes I know it's a joke.

I'm surprised I didn't post that earlier in that I found it really well done on Puck Daddy a few months or weeks ago.

In other news (also from Puck Daddy), an interesting article arguing about Eberle, his statistical performance, his next contract, and how he could get another Horcoff-esque mistake contract.  Edmonton is cursed, I'm telling you:  http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=4301

[Devil]

If the Devils score 74 goals in the third period tonight, Ryan Miller would still be the best player in this game.

[Isgrimnur]

A tic-tac play, a deflection from the defensive player, and a 3-1 goal.  It would be nice if the rest of his team would start helping out.

[theohall]

I am calling Bullshit! on the Redwings 20-game win streak as actually mattering in comparison to the Bruins streak in the 20s and the Flyers streak in the 70s.

In the 1920s and 1970s shootout wins did not exist.  75-76 Flyers did not even have 5-on-5 OT.  That means 4 games that count in the Red Wings streak would  never have counted for the Flyers or Bruins.

So going back to real hockey and not this BS shoot out wins, the Red Wings home win "streak" ended on Jan 12, 2012 at 12 games.   The Bruins did better 3 times with 15, 16, and 19 game streaks without even 5-5 OTs or shootouts back in the '70s.

It's shocking to me the NHL media is actually touting this current Wings "winning" streak when it's been created by altering the rules which artificially inflates "won" games.

[gellar]

I am calling Bullshit! on the Redwings 20-game win streak as actually mattering in comparison to the Bruins streak in the 20s and the Flyers streak in the 70s.

In the 1920s and 1970s shootout wins did not exist.  75-76 Flyers did not even have 5-on-5 OT.  That means 4 games that count in the Red Wings streak would  never have counted for the Flyers or Bruins.

So going back to real hockey and not this BS shoot out wins, the Red Wings home win "streak" ended on Jan 12, 2012 at 12 games.   The Bruins did better 3 times with 15, 16, and 19 game streaks without even 5-5 OTs or shootouts back in the '70s.

It's shocking to me the NHL media is actually touting this current Wings "winning" streak when it's been created by altering the rules which artificially inflates "won" games.

Weird thing to get worked up about.  Rules change over time.  You could make just about any argument on how a current record is not equivalent to an old record (or vice versa) because the game itself is different.  They're still wins in the record books.  As far as it mattering, that's really just up to the individual.

[Devil]

I agree with gellsy...

You could do this forever with every record.

[gellar]

David Perron of the Blues just tried the most hilarious illegal goal I think I've seen live.  With less than 5 seconds left, Mason is sprawled in the crease with the puck around there somewhere.  Perron then effectively rides on top of Mason and punches the puck into the goal with his hand.  Shockingly the play wasn't called dead while Perron was body surfing the goalie and they went to review where it was pretty obvious it was punched in.

Excellent effort though.  Nothing to lose at that point.

[Koz]

David Perron of the Blues just tried the most hilarious illegal goal I think I've seen live.  With less than 5 seconds left, Mason is sprawled in the crease with the puck around there somewhere.  Perron then effectively rides on top of Mason and punches the puck into the goal with his hand.  Shockingly the play wasn't called dead while Perron was body surfing the goalie and they went to review where it was pretty obvious it was punched in.

Excellent effort though.  Nothing to lose at that point.

No, it was a good goal. Refs were Red Wings fans.

In other news, Lundqvist is pretty good.

[theohall]

I'm just sayin'

Without the created wins via shootouts - the Wings home win streak ended at 12 games.   Not even close to the 3 70s Bruins streaks or the Flyers actual 20-game streak.

Individual scoring stats, goaltending stats - yes, they very by era - but they vary by era usually based upon skill levels, not the league inflating wins and point totals by creating wins via a glorified skills competition.

IMO, shootout wins should not count in "win" streaks.  They don't count when determining playoff standing.  They don't exist in the playoffs.  So if they don't count for those two things, why should they count as in "official" win streaks??  The league set those rules and is picking and choosing when they should and should not apply.  If more important things don't count, why should "streaks" count when a shootout is involved?

[theohall]

At least I admit when the Blues F up  - unlike the anointed ones.....

[gellar]

I'm just sayin'

Without the created wins via shootouts - the Wings home win streak ended at 12 games.   Not even close to the 3 70s Bruins streaks or the Flyers actual 20-game streak.

Individual scoring stats, goaltending stats - yes, they very by era - but they vary by era usually based upon skill levels, not the league inflating wins and point totals by creating wins via a glorified skills competition.

IMO, shootout wins should not count in "win" streaks.  They don't count when determining playoff standing.  They don't exist in the playoffs.  So if they don't count for those two things, why should they count as in "official" win streaks??  The league set those rules and is picking and choosing when they should and should not apply.  If more important things don't count, why should "streaks" count when a shootout is involved?

1)  OK terrific.
2)  Shootout wins award an extra point, so they certainly count when determining playoff standing.  Non shootout wins are a tiebreaker when the point totals are the same, but that's the only time they 'don't count'.
3)  Using your logic, you could argue that any goals or assists recorded in OT shouldn't count towards a players total because it would be unfair to the players whose records you are comparing them against from the previous era when there was no OT whatsoever.
4)  OK, terrific.