All Hockey talk all the time

davetherave wrote:

marakh wrote:Blues win in Calgary after a 3rd period come back. Just like that, they jump 3 spots and now sits in 9th in the west.

Several really exciting games tonight.

The Hawks-Oilers contest was a heartstopper...and so was the Blues-Flames thriller. It's like the playoffs have already started for these teams.

I LOVE hockey on HDTV.
:D :D :D

For alot of teams they are in playoff mode with so many important games.

So, tonight could be the night... a Leafs win over the Habs in regulation and a Florida win over the Blue Jackets will pop the Habs out of the playoff seeds and into 9th spot in the East.

shabbs wrote:So, tonight could be the night... a Leafs win over the Habs in regulation and a Florida win over the Blue Jackets will pop the Habs out of the playoff seeds and into 9th spot in the East.

Looks like Gainey is going to sit out Komisarek and Kostitsyn. It's getting close to 'pull the plug' time for the Habs.

Panthers-Jackets should be an awesome game as well.

Oodles of great hockey on tap...and more this weekend. Stock up on the beer and nachos, and disconnect the phone.
:##:

I like your style dtr

Fisher 'clearing the way'? For 15MM over the next four years? It's more like Nicky and Ryan are clearing the way for him these days...PS he has just five assists in The Clouston era. Not exactly value for money.

Calling Peter Regin?

And when Cody Bass comes back, does Fish become expendable?

Maybe expendable, but I would like the Sens to keep him. He's having a terrible year. I think it's just that, one terrible year. I'm not sure if he'll ever earn his full contract value, but I think he will be a key member of this team moving forward.

Lee looks like Big Bird out there sometimes -- and not in the cool Larry Robinson way. Does he have a ridiculously small head (for his body) or am I just being mean? He still looks like a gangly little kid out there. He needs to gain about another 20-25 lbs. I just hate giving up on a right-shooting D-man.

You're right IMO wprager, at least he's just 21. Schenn is 19 so he's obviously going to be a beast of a dman but the fat lady hasn't sung for Lee yet. He is still growing. I still don't see top 2 potential, but hey, I'm not a professional.

beerandsens wrote:

Oodles of great hockey on tap...and more this weekend. Stock up on the beer and nachos, and disconnect the phone.
:##:

I like your style dtr

Indeed.

Get those BEERS on ICE!

asq2 wrote:Brodeur's 101st shut-out.

Another cringe-worthy night for Tank Nation though. The Isles, Kings and Thrashers all lose.

Am certain Brodeur has that record broken by the end of the year, the team is playing well, and when they are not, it's Brodeur, the best goalie out there right now.

Leafs were blowing by the Habs 4-0 until Lapierre scored two in less than three minutes. I still think they're going down tonight.

Carolina is ahead of Washington? Didn't they play last night? Green has another goal -- amazing.

Florida is ahead -- albeit not by much.

If the scores stay the way they are now, the Habs will be in 9th. Will Gainey get the boot if they miss the playoffs?

Bah. Blue Jackets have taken a 2-1 lead with seconds to go...

Make that 3-1. Oh well. Habs will hold on to 8th tonight.

Perhaps this is even better this way. They continue losing but have not hit bottom yet. Kind of like the Sens last year. If it wasn't for that ridiculous start they had BM may have pulled the trigger a lot sooner on Paddock and, who knows.

Bottom line, if they continue losing they will get caught by someone. Perhaps even a team from Ontario

Do you guys realize that if the Habs and the Panthers win only 5 out of the 10 remaining, same with Buffalo, The Sens and the Leafs can still catch them?

Can the Sens win 10 out of 11?

marakh wrote:Do you guys realize that if the Habs and the Panthers win only 5 out of the 10 remaining, same with Buffalo, The Sens and the Leafs can still catch them?

Can the Sens win 10 out of 11?

When's Leclaire cleared to play?

wprager wrote:When's Leclaire cleared to play?

Not this season.

IF we are 2 points out of the playoffs at the end of the season, those 3 games we lost against the Islanders are gonna haunt my nights for the entire summer :^:

Boedker and Turris will be special in a few years.

Funny sequence: Tikhonov gets a delayed penalty, Luongo goes to the bench, the VAN defenseman makes a pass to another D, Tikhonov touches the puck but doesn't take control of it and the puck goes in the net

marakh wrote:Funny sequence: Tikhonov gets a delayed penalty, Luongo goes to the bench, the VAN defenseman makes a pass to another D, Tikhonov touches the puck but doesn't take control of it and the puck goes in the net

Yeah, that was hilarious. :^^^:

Canucks may still yet wrest the division title away from the Flames though.

EDIT: Feel for O'Brien though. You never like to see a player do that. Not really his fault either.

And then they show Gretzky say "WOW" :^^^:

Yotes up 4-zip with two to go in the second.

Here's the thing with the Canucks...

...they have been playing seriously, and I mean seriously, good hockey...but if...anything--and I mean anything...happens to Luongo, they are S-C-R-E-W-E-D.

Not wishing any bad juju on them...but I have heard Vancouver fans crowing this year, in a way that makes me believe they could be messing with their hockey karma.

Look what happened to Montreal...hockey karma is a powerful force. Lose your humility, and it comes back to bite you big time.

Ask Eugene Melnyk.

BTW here's an example of how hockey karma works...from tonight's Nucks-Yotes game. Vancouver had the puck, and a delayed penalty had been called against Phoenix…this video from Kuklas Korner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g27So1RuFWM&feature=player_embedded

davetherave wrote:BTW here's an example of how hockey karma works...from tonight's Nucks-Yotes game. Vancouver had the puck, and a delayed penalty had been called against Phoenix…this video from Kuklas Korner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g27So1RuFWM&feature=player_embedded

That was a great reaction from Mr. Tikhonov.

5-0.

The stakes are raised again after last night's results, and today's games should continue to raise hockey fans' blood pressure.

The afternoon starts with the Flyers-Pens deathmatch for Pennsylvania braggin' rights and 4th spot. Sid n' Geno have the Pingus marching like a steamroller, but the feisty Flyers will aim to cook them like Philly cheesesteak.

The Devils will try to stick it to the Bruins as the B's feel the hot breath of Marty and the Jersey Mob, just three points behind them. The Beantowners have been burping of late, with just three wins in their last ten; and Brodeur will try to continue his baddabing goalie thing and bamboozle the bears.

The Kings swing into the United Center fighting for their fading playoff dream as the Hawks--now perched back on top in 4th after the nuking of the Nucks by Gretzky's Growlers--are determined to rock n' roll in the post season for the first time since 2002.

'Oil Gone Wild' is the name of the game as Minny's Jacques Lemaire plays the blame game, saying he's got way too many passengers on his bus. MacT's crew will look to keep the Wildmen slidin' under it.

No one wants to say it, no one wants to think it, but everyone's dreaming about it--the Sens-ational run by the boys from the Ottawa Valley has them back over .500 and nine points away from an invitation to the dance. Alfie's Army is once again a force united. Could Cinderella make her appearance at Madison Square Garden tonight? Johnny Torts, Sassy Sean, King Henrik and the Broadway Bunch have other ideas...

The Avalanche's playoff hopes may be snowed under on the way to Sam Jose, but the Sharks have been bitten by the so-called 'lowly lights' more than once this season. This may be only a tuneup for the titans in teal, but they don't want to tank at The Tank after setting the pace for so much of this year.

Gretzky's Growlers took chunks out of the Nucks last night, and they might just be thinking of Ducks for dessert. Anaheim, though, still has designs on their preferred place in the pecking order, with eighth a scant trio of points away, and their closest rivals idle. The Teemunator And Company will be revved up and ready to do some damage to the Desert Dogs.

8)

Fact: Habs last 10: 3-5-2 - 8 points
Fact: They have 10 games left.
Fact: Habs sit 8th in the East with 81 points

Playing their next 10 like their last 10 will see them finish with 89 pts and likely out of the post season.

We've been predicting a 92/94 point cut-off in the East.

But neither Buffalo or Florida seem to be making any real push.

This will be very interesting.

shabbs wrote:Fact: Habs last 10: 3-5-2 - 8 points
Fact: They have 10 games left.
Fact: Habs sit 8th in the East with 81 points

Playing their next 10 like their last 10 will see them finish with 89 pts and likely out of the post season.

We've been predicting a 92/94 point cut-off in the East.

But neither Buffalo or Florida seem to be making any real push.

This will be very interesting.

And more spin...

Fact: Sens last 11: 8-3 - 16 points
Fact: They have 11 games left
Fact: They sit in 12th spot with 72 points.

If the Sens play their next 11 like their last 11, they'll finish with 88 pts. 1 point shy of the Habs above.

Hmmmmmmm....

shabbs wrote:

shabbs wrote:Fact: Habs last 10: 3-5-2 - 8 points
Fact: They have 10 games left.
Fact: Habs sit 8th in the East with 81 points

Playing their next 10 like their last 10 will see them finish with 89 pts and likely out of the post season.

We've been predicting a 92/94 point cut-off in the East.

But neither Buffalo or Florida seem to be making any real push.

This will be very interesting.

And more spin...

Fact: Sens last 11: 8-3 - 16 points
Fact: They have 11 games left
Fact: They sit in 12th spot with 72 points.

If the Sens play their next 11 like their last 11, they'll finish with 88 pts. 1 point shy of the Habs above.

Hmmmmmmm....

Very interesting, perhaps 94 points isn't the cutoff? One has to imagine that someone out of Florida, Buffalo or Montreal is going to put up a fight and turn it around? The don't seem to want it lately though...

MurderOnIce wrote:

shabbs wrote:

shabbs wrote:Fact: Habs last 10: 3-5-2 - 8 points
Fact: They have 10 games left.
Fact: Habs sit 8th in the East with 81 points

Playing their next 10 like their last 10 will see them finish with 89 pts and likely out of the post season.

We've been predicting a 92/94 point cut-off in the East.

But neither Buffalo or Florida seem to be making any real push.

This will be very interesting.

And more spin...

Fact: Sens last 11: 8-3 - 16 points
Fact: They have 11 games left
Fact: They sit in 12th spot with 72 points.

If the Sens play their next 11 like their last 11, they'll finish with 88 pts. 1 point shy of the Habs above.

Hmmmmmmm....

Very interesting, perhaps 94 points isn't the cutoff? One has to imagine that someone out of Florida, Buffalo or Montreal is going to put up a fight and turn it around? The don't seem to want it lately though...

Ryan MIller is back soon. I think we need to lose tonight to make everything more simple. If we are 1 point away from the playoffs before the final game and the Leafs beat us in that last game, I'm gonna need to hibernate until the draft.

Marakh...just start cheering for the Panthers...

davetherave wrote:Marakh...just start cheering for the Panthers...

I could force myself, but I just can't

Florida's pretty like-able: Booth, Ballard, DeBoer, Bouwmeester.

Pretty much anyone on that team with a B in his name.

I agree. I have little problem cheering for a team that doesn't rhyme with Beefs or Tabs

Just came across something of interesting on tsn. They have listed the top 100 rookies from this year - Lee, Elliott, Winchester and Regin made the list.

However at the bottom it lists who's hot and who's not - Bouwmeester is -3 with no points in 5 games. I know I'm in the minority - but I do not want to throw the farm at this guy. He has never won anything and he has disappeared when he is most needed.

He's good - but definitely not $50 million over 7-8 years good.

marakh wrote:

davetherave wrote:Marakh...just start cheering for the Panthers...

I could force myself, but I just can't

It might be easier than cheering for Buffalo, damn that pominville, grrr lol.

Hayden wrote:Just came across something of interesting on tsn. They have listed the top 100 rookies from this year - Lee, Elliott, Winchester and Regin made the list.

However at the bottom it lists who's hot and who's not - Bouwmeester is -3 with no points in 5 games. I know I'm in the minority - but I do not want to throw the farm at this guy. He has never won anything and he has disappeared when he is most needed.

He's good - but definitely not $50 million over 7-8 years good.

From 30 teams, we'd expect an average of 3.3 per team in the top 100. In fact, Ottawa has six (Lee at 31, Elliott at 33, Winchester at 68, Regin at 81, Bass at 86, Zubov at 95) so maybe things are truly looking up.

Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis and (surprising to me) LA seem to top the list, with the most in the top 30; Ottawa's top is Lee at 31 ( ) ahead of Elliott though?

Interesting that NYI have several highly ranked. So many years of great draft picks - how do they still manage to soil the bed so effectively?

Hayden wrote:Just came across something of interesting on tsn. They have listed the top 100 rookies from this year - Lee, Elliott, Winchester and Regin made the list.

However at the bottom it lists who's hot and who's not - Bouwmeester is -3 with no points in 5 games. I know I'm in the minority - but I do not want to throw the farm at this guy. He has never won anything and he has disappeared when he is most needed.

He's good - but definitely not $50 million over 7-8 years good.

Agree 100%. I watched JayBo play quite often when I was living in South Florida...he is not the assertive presence that galvanizes a team. A very talented D-man nonetheless. He will probably get 6-7MM from someone though.

Acrobat wrote:

Hayden wrote:Just came across something of interesting on tsn. They have listed the top 100 rookies from this year - Lee, Elliott, Winchester and Regin made the list.

However at the bottom it lists who's hot and who's not - Bouwmeester is -3 with no points in 5 games. I know I'm in the minority - but I do not want to throw the farm at this guy. He has never won anything and he has disappeared when he is most needed.

He's good - but definitely not $50 million over 7-8 years good.

From 30 teams, we'd expect an average of 3.3 per team in the top 100. In fact, Ottawa has six (Lee at 31, Elliott at 33, Winchester at 68, Regin at 81, Bass at 86, Zubov at 95) so maybe things are truly looking up.

Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis and (surprising to me) LA seem to top the list, with the most in the top 30; Ottawa's top is Lee at 31 ( ) ahead of Elliott though?

Interesting that NYI have several highly ranked. So many years of great draft picks - how do they still manage to soil the bed so effectively?

it must be a part of their well calculated plan, or other than that, their coach is a real dick and no one likes him.

I don't remember where the original thread was, but looking today at TSN's Draft Lottery Lookahead we have passed Toronto and LA (as I predicted). And we're tied in points with Dallas. Brad Richards broke his hand in his first day back after missing 15 games with a broken wrist (he's still their leading scorer even after missing 15 games). Well I guess we're passing Dallas very soon and are setting our sights on St. Louis. The Wild and Buffalo are only another point from that.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=7027

wprager wrote:I don't remember where the original thread was, but looking today at TSN's Draft Lottery Lookahead we have passed Toronto and LA (as I predicted). And we're tied in points with Dallas. Brad Richards broke his hand in his first day back after missing 15 games with a broken wrist (he's still their leading scorer even after missing 15 games). Well I guess we're passing Dallas very soon and are setting our sights on St. Louis. The Wild and Buffalo are only another point from that.
[url=http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=7027

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=7027[/quote[/url]]

What I really don't like about this most recent rankings is that toronto has MPS, however, Marakh and I believe he will not be available that late, more like he will be gone in the top 5.

It's (almost) Miller time:
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Buffalo/2009/03/23/8857111-ap.html

Miller was in full equipment at practice today, taking shots. He hasn't called a date for his return yet, but it's gotta be close.

Wild's Koivu could miss the rest of the season:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=272397

So we're almost surely moving up (down?) another two spots (Stars and Wild) with a very good chance of passing St. Louis as well.

Kulikov? A Russian defenseman. If he's another A-Train or another Mr. Bean then I'm good. If he's another Malakhov, not so good.