always love hockey season even though the Canadiens will be brutal.
Habs @ Leafs, B's @ Caps, Flames @ Canucks, and Ducks @ Sharks
Some interesting games to start.
My predictions on standings (just by conference) * = playoffs
East:
*Tampa
*Toronto
*Washington
*Boston
*Pittsburgh
*CBJ
*Buffalo
*NJ
Philly
Florida
Carolina
Detroit
Islanders
Rangers
Habs
Ottawa
West:
*SJS
*Nashville
*Winnipeg
*Kings
*Calgary
*Chicago
*Canucks
*Dallas
Minnesota
Colorado
St Louis
Vegas (FU Vegas)
Anaheim
Edmonton
Arizona
Conference Finals:
East: Tampa vs Toronto
West: SJS vs Winnipeg
Finals: Tampa vs Win, Tampa wins
Awards:
Hart: McDavid
Lindsay: Crosby
Ross: Laine
Selke: Kopitar
Vezina: Martin Jones
Norris: Subban
Calder: Kotkaniemi
Adams: Maurice
Byng: who cares
That's it.
I think the Blues will be the sleeper team in the league this year.
No shit, this was literally Eller's third career fight.
Eller is almost 30 and this is his 10th NHL season.
Jets looked great.
Sadly the Bruins bounced back.
and Vegas got rolled by PHI @ home.
Just two games tonight, CBJ vs CAR and LAK open up hosting SJS.
Full slate on SAT, most of our teams back in action.
the pre-game openings were overdone, but what isn't in Vegas?
Link - ( New Window )
Rasmus Dhalin didn't debut until the next night, he's a little older than Kotkaniemi (3 mos) as did Andrei Svechnikov (also a few mos older than Kotkaniemi).
Talk about feeling old I was already out of college and on my second job before this guy was even born.
That's awesome.
my mother lives in Vegas and when UNLV won the NCAA hoops title she sent me a national champs t-shirt.
It has the year on it (1990). I still wear it. My wife hates it (of course she does) because it kind of shows it's age. It's my oldest remaining shirt. But that t-shirt was 10 before these guys were born. LOL.
He and Dahlin were the two no-brainers in the draft. I wished their was another option so Svechnikov fell to MTL, but it was never in doubt. It was Dahlin and Svechnikov for about 3 months leading up to the draft (at least).
Only thing I did read was a couple people (very small percentage) had Svechnikov ahead of Dahlin. I wouldn't have, but a few people did. He's that good.
Matthews, Tavares and company going head to head with Kane (who is putting on a show), Toews, etc...
Leafs scored (Matthews 2nd of the game) with a minute and a half left to take a 6 - 5 lead, Kane comes back his 2nd a minute later to send it to OT.
In OT now
But yesterday ANA vs LAK great. on SAT LVG vs MIN was great, Patches netted his 1st as a GK to tie the game with a minute plus.
Some interesting games today - Columbus Day matinees, BOS vs OTT, and NYI vs SJS. LVG vs BUF at 3pm.
And the team played very well too (as they did against Nashville in a loss).
They were winning the shots and possession battle until late in the 3rd when the Sharks, trailing 3-0, pulled their goalie with 5 minutes left and also had a 6-on-4 advantage during that stretch after a Clutterbuck penalty. But other than a few spurts from San Jose, the Islanders were the better team.
Having said that, 4-0 isn't indicative of the game. It was a much closer game for sure, but the Islanders deserved to win even outside of Lehner's performance.
Pretty encouraging pair of games after a piss poor effort against the Canes in the opener where they were very lucky to win.
Mike Morreale
Verified account @mikemorrealeNHL
Rangers goaltending prospect Igor Shesterkin (2014 Draft, No. 118) of SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) is 6-0-0 w/ a 0.83 GAA, 3 shutouts, and .966 SV% (141 saves on 146 shots) in 6 gms this season.
10:21 AM - 8 Oct 2018
Quote:
Against a strong cup favorite. Nice!!!
And the team played very well too (as they did against Nashville in a loss).
They were winning the shots and possession battle until late in the 3rd when the Sharks, trailing 3-0, pulled their goalie with 5 minutes left and also had a 6-on-4 advantage during that stretch after a Clutterbuck penalty. But other than a few spurts from San Jose, the Islanders were the better team.
Having said that, 4-0 isn't indicative of the game. It was a much closer game for sure, but the Islanders deserved to win even outside of Lehner's performance.
Pretty encouraging pair of games after a piss poor effort against the Canes in the opener where they were very lucky to win.
Mike - hold your breath I am about to compliment the Islanders : )
Maybe it's because the Ranger expectations are low due to this rebuild and of course you know the referees always have it in for us. I know the Tavares situation was a crappy experience but I think in the long term you guys will balance out nicely. I think you guys had a good draft on paper and have a lot of young talent. A good coach and a GM with a good history. Man, I hope pganut doesn't read this, he'll think I am getting soft (probably the case).
Speaking of officiating - on Saturday we were joking about the refs and then we have the Giant debacle on Sunday. Talk about one sided officiating.
Darren Dreger
Verified account
@DarrenDreger
Statement from Joe Resnick, Rick Nashs agent, addressing speculation: There is no truth to the tweet that Rick Nash is retiring today. Our position has not changed since July 1.
Maybe it's because the Ranger expectations are low due to this rebuild and of course you know the referees always have it in for us. I know the Tavares situation was a crappy experience but I think in the long term you guys will balance out nicely. I think you guys had a good draft on paper and have a lot of young talent. A good coach and a GM with a good history. Man, I hope pganut doesn't read this, he'll think I am getting soft (probably the case).
Hope youre well, buddy.
Quote:
Mike - hold your breath I am about to compliment the Islanders : )
Maybe it's because the Ranger expectations are low due to this rebuild and of course you know the referees always have it in for us. I know the Tavares situation was a crappy experience but I think in the long term you guys will balance out nicely. I think you guys had a good draft on paper and have a lot of young talent. A good coach and a GM with a good history. Man, I hope pganut doesn't read this, he'll think I am getting soft (probably the case).
Shhhh...you beautiful boy, you. Bring it in. Dont fight it. Youre getting a nice internet hug, Drew.
Hope youre well, buddy.
Haha - Hey PGA - good to hear from you - I hope all is well with you.
I'll poke my head in here from time to time. Besides, B and I are working on getting the band back together.
Elias Pettersson, 5 points in two games, probably leading all rookies in this early part of the season also in action.
Canucks have some good young players
Not sure if anyone has seen the Leafs play this year, but apparently Matthews worked all off-season on his shooting angles. Meaning most people shoot with their stick extended, he has been working on shooting from different angles and positions of his stick. I saw it opening night against MTL, he pulled the puck in close to his body and drilled a wrist show top shelf on Price.
It's hard to defend and stop as a goalie you just don't know when he'll shoot and goalies aren't prepared for the angle.
this is revolutionary type stuff IMO. I'll see if I can find a gif or youtube. He may not wind up with the same overall point numbers, but the way he plays defense and distributes he could be the better player.
Fun to watch.
Which is pretty cool, too, because it won't be because McDavid is a disappointment, but because Matthews is even more incredible than McDavid.
The talent level in the league is getting insane.
Quote:
Mike - hold your breath I am about to compliment the Islanders : )
Maybe it's because the Ranger expectations are low due to this rebuild and of course you know the referees always have it in for us. I know the Tavares situation was a crappy experience but I think in the long term you guys will balance out nicely. I think you guys had a good draft on paper and have a lot of young talent. A good coach and a GM with a good history. Man, I hope pganut doesn't read this, he'll think I am getting soft (probably the case).
Shhhh...you beautiful boy, you. Bring it in. Dont fight it. Youre getting a nice internet hug, Drew.
Hope youre well, buddy.
Well said and thanks, man.
As it stands now, I think we're slightly better than what most have us pegged as. I've got us around 88 points.
Having said that, if they can catch some lightning in a bottle at some point and sneak into mid-January trending 6-8 points better than that, I think you'll see them make a move for someone that could make them a playoff-contender.
As of now, I've got them 10th or 11th.
Quote:
may wind up better than McDavid.
Which is pretty cool, too, because it won't be because McDavid is a disappointment, but because Matthews is even more incredible than McDavid.
The talent level in the league is getting insane.
100% agree. McDavid is insanely talented. They call him "McJesus" (controversially) in the city that watched the best years of the "Great One".
I've been watching the NHL for almost 40 years and even the high scoring hey day with Gretzky and Lemieux in their primes I don't know of any era that matched today in terms of the combination of talent and youth.
I think Lyle Odelein will take part in the ceremony - I believe I linked his story up earlier in the thread.
Amazing and scary story.
Meanwhile, Morgan Reilly is tried with Matthews at 12 for the league lead in points through 5 games.
Tavares and Marner also near the top of that list.
After their opening night debacle, the Bruins unfortunately have righted the ship and reeled off 3 wins in a row.
NYR had a nice win last night, no clue what Dell was looking at on the OT winner, goalie plays shot, D plays pass. Dell played neither.
Blackhawks gave up the game tying goal, a shortie with 23 seconds left, then lost in OT. That will piss off a coach.
Penguins also lost Justin Schulz for 4 months with a broken leg. Huge loss.
Bruins look all the way back from opening night embarrassment. I'd solidly put Pastrnak in the "will compete for Hart/Ross trophy" category. He's among the elite players at 22 years, in case anyone still had doubts. I didn't.
Which I never understood. I don't think it was an expansion draft related trade.
And now Saad is likely to become a healthy scratch moving forward in CHI after already being demoted to the 4th line.
He has 16 points in his teams first 7 games, and multiple points in all 7. His 45% shooting percentage is ridiculously unsustainable, but suffice it to say he's off to a ridiculous start.
11 of his 16 points are 5v5, so while he does have some pp points, not like he's loading up on them.
Leafs are a juggernaut.
And I think DET may be a lock for Hughes. I don't know I've seen a team as bad defensively (they gave up 15 goals their last two games - including 7 to the offensively challenged Canadiens). In their defense (no pun intended), they lost 4 of their top 6 D.
Well there is the whole lottery process too, so nothing is guaranteed, and I think many of our teams will be in the lottery.
Rangers should see some good skill tonight with McKinnon. Another sub-25 year old super star.
Well that's somewhat self-inflicted due to good play (drafting late), trading away a lot of picks, and some terrible picks when they did keep them (El Cubano, McIlraith, Brendl, etc.).
Tim Hortons brings Kenyan hockey team to Canada.
Link - ( New Window )
Tim Hortons brings Kenyan hockey team to Canada. Link - ( New Window )
Exactly.
Guy does everything the NHL asks, totally low key, doesn't even have social media. Class act.
Some good games on tap tonight.
Habs vs Blues
B's @ Flames
NYR @ Caps
NYI @ Ducks
I like the Flames as an up and coming team, not sure if this year, but soon if they keep adding pieces.
Canadiens pulled off a stunner (not that they won, the Blues are off to a poor start), but they were leading most of the game, gave up the lead with a couple minutes left, and the team seemed resigned to each get a point and see what happens in OT, but no one told Brendan Gallagher, he stole a Parayko misfire clearing attempt and redirected a Tatar pass to the net over Allen's shoulder with under 10 seconds left.
Fans are not yet revolting in Montreal. I don't think this early season success is sustainable, they, like the Rangers, lack blue line depth and elite scoring, but some nice things happening early. Kotkaniemi, while not a finished product by any stretch, seems to fit in fine (except on the dots where he's brutal) and Tatar and Domi are playing really well.
I watched part of the Rangers Caps, not sure how teams still let Ovie camp out in that same spot. Pionk played a great game until OT when he tired out or just lost Niskanen.
Didn't see any of Islanders game.
Johnson is already better than Martin. That 4th line (especially Clutter and Martin) only has value when they are fresh and playing with maximum energy. Johnson should rotate in with that line so that Martin or Clutterbuck never play a back to back game. Let's keep these guys strong throughout the season.
Please please please put Pulock on the first power play. The power play didn't look bad, but Pulock would make it better.
Signs of life for Andrew Ladd? He's looked good his first few games back. He's another guy that we need to give 10-15 games off this year so that he stays relatively fresh. He'll never live up to his contract but if he can be an above average 3rd liner for the next few years it would help.
Biggest job for Lou this offseason isn't signing Panarin or even signing a new D-man, it's convincing Sorokin to come over here and locking him up long-term. The difference between bottom 5 goaltending and top 5 goaltending cannot be overstated.
IMO, you're crazy if you want to blame Trotz for 2-3. This is one of the least talented rosters we've had in a long time. They look MUCH better coached and smarter than they ever did under Cap or Weight and Trotz has only had a training camp and a week of practice. The way they exit the D-zone and work to gain offensive zone entry is light years more organized that the train wreck we saw last year.
Guy who surprised me in this one was Frederik Claesson. He was really solid.
Guy who surprised me in this one was Frederik Claesson. He was really solid.
probably, and miscommunicate on 3v3 and someone scores.
Claesson is IMO the epitome of a stay at home defenseman. He will usually give you solid, unspectacular minutes. Solid 3rd pair/7th D. Andy may have more insight on him watching him the past three years I only really paid attention to him if the Sens played the Habs and he was in the lineup, but I don't think he's going to give you much offense (which is fine, not counted on from him)
On a side note, I may have mentioned this before, but I actually love the 3v3 OT. I think they should play until there's a winner. forget the shootout. Not sure the downside, those games won't go on forever IMO.
Chris Johnston
Verified account @reporterchris
59m59 minutes ago
Four teams are sending TWO scouts to tonight's #leafs-#pens game: Carolina, New Jersey, N.Y. Rangers and Tampa.
That's unusual.
Would be a great addition to any of these 4 teams. Hope it's not TB. Otherwise, not sure the significance.
Some rumors are Kadri, Kapanen, and other forwards.