The NHL Thread

[MC Prussian]

Two founding fathers of the NHL meet in this year's Stanley Cup final. Chicago and Philadelphia won their respective series against San José and Montréal. Chicago will be looking forward to their first playoff final in 18 years (they lost against Pittsburgh in 1992) and in search of their first title win in 50 (!) years. Philadelphia, on a Cinderella-like resurrection spell this postseason, have been waiting a tad bit less long to get to this place - they last won the cup in 1975 and had their last Stanley Cup appearance in 1997, when they left the ice as losers against Detroit.

Chi-Town vs. Philly - who's going to win it?

I've been to Chicago myself and quite like the city (not for its blistering cold wind in winter, mind you) and have nothing against the City of Freedom, either.

In any case, it's a grandstand, classic finale.

Bring it on.

[Jordan]

Two founding fathers of the NHL meet in this year's Stanley Cup final.

Chicago is an Original Six team, yes, but Philadelphia isn't--they were part of the first big expansion wave in '67.

I picked the Hawks to win it all before the playoffs started and even though the Flyers are on a miraculous run, I still see no reason to change my pick.

[dandannieldanok]

San Jose

[lildave3]

Genuinely thought for a second this Antti Niemi was the football one

[MC Prussian]

And Chicago has just done it. In a hard-fought, high-scoring series, they managed to beat Philadelphia away in the sixth game with a score of 4-3 after overtime to wrap up the series 4-2, making them Stanley Cup title holders for the first time in 50 years.

Well done Blackhawks!

And well done Flyers for making it this far.

Edited 10 June 2010 by Alexei

[Jordan]

...at least I got one prediction right this postseason ...

well done, Chicago. They were really fun to watch all season long. It's rare to find a team that has both crazy depth in forward lines AND three excellent defense pairings, and when one does, that team usually wins the Cup. This is a true testament to the excellent work done by Tallon and then the father-son Bowman duo to build a great team.

Also, while a franchise owner often gets a lot of undue praise, in this case, Rocky Wirtz actually does deserve a lot of credit for the Blackhawks' success. He inherited a team that was doing miserably both on the ice and in its bank accounts. Just four years ago, the 'hawks were playing in front of too many empty seats for a city/franchise of its pedigree. Nearly every team has a good cable TV deal, but the Blackhawks didn't even have one. Wirtz' father refused to set up a TV deal because he believed the fans ought to fill up his seats first and pay for that instead of staying home watching games on TV for free. Never mind that he also never bothered with putting a decent team on the ice, or making an effort to sell tickets, or that strong cable TV deals bring in lots of sponsorship revenue, interest in the team, etc.

The younger Wirtz immediately 1) hired good "hockey people" to run the playing side of things, 2) set up a deal with Comcast cable to have all 'hawks games broadcast on TV and 3) completely revamped the team's ticket office and public relations divisions. Almost overnight, the fans returned to pack the house every night as the Blackhawks awoke from a nearly 15-year-long slumber to become a young, exciting, immensely-talented team.

The scary thing is that the team is still so young...

While they were rebuilding, I was shocked that they fired Denis Savard so early in 2008/09 because he really seemed to click with their younger players (and also has a great reputation in Chicago from his playing days). after this season, though, I have to tip my cap the Blackhawks because replacing Savard with Joel Quenneville (who had seemed to be a playoff underachiever as head coach in St. Louis and Colorado) now seems like a brilliant move.

Edited 10 June 2010 by Jordan

[lildave3]

Disappointed that it didn't finish at 3-2, I was all set up to make a 'Guy scores the goal to win the Stanley Cup. LADD' joke

[MC Prussian]

Smashing off-season news: The New York Islanders secured the rights of RW Nino Niederreiter in the first draft round. Never before was a Swiss drafted this high up - he was in 5th.

From left to right: Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Erik Gudbranson, Ryan Johanson, Nino Niederreiter.

Looking forward to seeing him play together with Mark Streit.

Outstanding comment of the night:

"He may be Swiss, but he doesn't have holes in him like Swiss cheese and he's not soft like Chocolate."

American sports commentators... Never shy of coming up with the latest cliché-ridden sentence...

Edited 26 June 2010 by Alexei

[Jordan]

I hear he's a very versatile player and has a got all the tools he needs to succeed, like a Swiss Army knife.

[MC Prussian]

Not to mention his shooting skills, which are reminiscent of William Tell.

And he strikes as precise as a Swabian cuckoo clock.

[Jordan]

He's excellent in the neutral zone.

This could go on and on...

[MC Prussian]

I know - isn't there any Austrian player in the first draft round to pick on?

[Jordan]

That would be bad news--you'd probably hear jokes about throwing another shrimp on the barbie.

I'm guessing that the broadcasters were more likely to be Canadian.

[MC Prussian]

R.I.P. Bob Probert. Once a goon, always a goon.

Former NHL defender Bob Probert dies at age 45

Edited 6 July 2010 by Alexei

[Jordan]

Sad to see Probert go so young, but to be fair, the guy has had his share of problems.

He has had lots of problems with alcohol--addiction, arrests, DUIs, the whole lot. I'm pretty sure Probert was also arrested for cocaine possession in Canada, and as a result was prohibited from entering the country for a while, causing him to miss a bunch of away games.

On the ice, though, a total goon but one of the toughest guys to ever lace up the skates. He was the ultimate enforcer and easily one of the best fighters ever. His bouts with Tie Domi were epics.

Love him or hate him, he was certainly one of the most recognizeable players of his time.

[MC Prussian]

How's this for hockey?In a game that finished 9-3 to the home side, the Isles and Pens go down in one of the worst hockey nights in NHL history (or one of the best, depending on whether you prefer to call it "Fighting with some hockey in between"):

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010020823&navid=sb:recap

14 fighting majors, 21 misconducts and 346 penalty minutes...

[Jordan]

Last night, the Rangers beat the Caps, 6-0--and that's about two months after the Blueshirts whooped Washington, 7-0. Crazy. To be fair, things were always going to go south for Washington when just five minutes in, the Rangers scored just seconds after Derek Stepan knocked Mike Green out of the game with a vicious head shot that went uncalled by the refs (I'm a Rangers fan, and I'll even admit that Stepan deserves to be suspended for a few games). But if Green is going to cross-check Stepan (or anybody, for that matter) into the boards from behind, he should make sure he's aware of his surroundings on his next shift.

I seriously don't know what's going on with the Caps this season. They've been struggling offensively all season and their power play is one of the worst in the league. Don't ask me how a featuring Alex Ovechkin can have just the 26th-best power play in the NHL.

There's already been a big spell of trade activity before Monday's trade deadline, but a lot of people around the league are saying to still expect lots of movement all the way until the end. Even though Toronto has made a few big moves already, they're still a safe bet to do some crazy shit on deadline day, particularly now that they're up to 10th, 6 pts back from 8th with 21 games left and 1 game in hand (withering heights for the Leafs! ). It's still unclear if my 7th-place Rangers will be buyers or sellers come Monday.

How's this for hockey?In a game that finished 9-3 to the home side, the Isles and Pens go down in one of the worst hockey nights in NHL history (or one of the best, depending on whether you prefer to call it "Fighting with some hockey in between"):

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010020823&navid=sb:recap

14 fighting majors, 21 misconducts and 346 penalty minutes...

Oh, that... That was a goddamn disgrace.

The Penguins have played dirty all season so they can't exactly play the role of good guys here... but what happened that night was bush league behavior by a bush-league Islander team in a bush-league arena in front of bush-league fans.

This was retaliation from the previous Islanders-Penguins game:

I can understand a team sticking up for its players (even though Rick DiPietro is a bitch), but for Jah's sake, don't turn a game into WWE Friday Night Smackdown. And don't wait until you're blowing the other team out to start taking cheap shots at them (running out to a 6-0 lead is revenge enough, and IMO exactly how teams should avenge insult and/or injury). And don't do any stick-swinging and jumping-guys-from-behind stuff.

I dislike the Penguins, but I don't dislike any team in any sport as much as I dislike the Islanders.

Edited 26 February 2011 by Jordan

[DJ Barry Hammond]

There's already been a big spell of trade activity before Monday's trade deadline, but a lot of people around the league are saying to still expect lots of movement all the way until the end. Even though Toronto has made a few big moves already, they're still a safe bet to do some crazy shit on deadline day, particularly now that they're up to 10th, 6 pts back from 8th with 21 games left and 1 game in hand (withering heights for the Leafs! ). It's still unclear if my 7th-place Rangers will be buyers or sellers come Monday.

Do you mean they're not shit anymore?

I did notice they'd won 6 out of the last 10 in their recent form, but I just assumed they'd played a few weaker teams in a row, because they have been awful the last few years.

[Kilworthfox]

Just watching Sabres V Canes

If anyone has not got hooked on NHL yet, catch NHL on the fly (its a bit like MOTD) or a game its a high skill game which is very physical.

The Canucks sure look like the team to beat, but there are so many good teams & top players its really hard to say who is going to win the cup. I am eagerly awaiting Sid to be back as I think the Pens will be a much better force with him & he is the best offensive player in the league by a little way.

[Kilworthfox]

Do you mean they're not shit anymore?

I did notice they'd won 6 out of the last 10 in their recent form, but I just assumed they'd played a few weaker teams in a row, because they have been awful the last few years.

James Reimer has made a difference in net, & they have come alive offensively, but IMO they have left it far too late, they need to win all their remaining games to get 90 points & I still dont think that will be enough as the sabres or canes will both get more than that IMO.

Edited 3 April 2011 by Kilworthfox

[Kilworthfox]

Last night, the Rangers beat the Caps, 6-0--and that's about two months after the Blueshirts whooped Washington, 7-0. Crazy. To be fair, things were always going to go south for Washington when just five minutes in, the Rangers scored just seconds after Derek Stepan knocked Mike Green out of the game with a vicious head shot that went uncalled by the refs (I'm a Rangers fan, and I'll even admit that Stepan deserves to be suspended for a few games). But if Green is going to cross-check Stepan (or anybody, for that matter) into the boards from behind, he should make sure he's aware of his surroundings on his next shift.

I seriously don't know what's going on with the Caps this season. They've been struggling offensively all season and their power play is one of the worst in the league. Don't ask me how a featuring Alex Ovechkin can have just the 26th-best power play in the NHL.

There's already been a big spell of trade activity before Monday's trade deadline, but a lot of people around the league are saying to still expect lots of movement all the way until the end. Even though Toronto has made a few big moves already, they're still a safe bet to do some crazy shit on deadline day, particularly now that they're up to 10th, 6 pts back from 8th with 21 games left and 1 game in hand (withering heights for the Leafs! ). It's still unclear if my 7th-place Rangers will be buyers or sellers come Monday.

Oh, that... That was a goddamn disgrace.

The Penguins have played dirty all season so they can't exactly play the role of good guys here... but what happened that night was bush league behavior by a bush-league Islander team in a bush-league arena in front of bush-league fans.

This was retaliation from the previous Islanders-Penguins game:

I can understand a team sticking up for its players (even though Rick DiPietro is a bitch), but for Jah's sake, don't turn a game into WWE Friday Night Smackdown. And don't wait until you're blowing the other team out to start taking cheap shots at them (running out to a 6-0 lead is revenge enough, and IMO exactly how teams should avenge insult and/or injury). And don't do any stick-swinging and jumping-guys-from-behind stuff.

I dislike the Penguins, but I don't dislike any team in any sport as much as I dislike the Islanders.

I remember watching this on the fly, Stepan should have got a decision & was frustrated, took it out on Green & it was a shit check in to the boards which i could not believe did not get called! Bet the Caps were well pissed off

[Jordan]

I seriously don't know what's going on with the Caps this season. They've been struggling offensively all season and their power play is one of the worst in the league. Don't ask me how a featuring Alex Ovechkin can have just the 26th-best power play in the NHL.

My, how things have changed.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

James Reimer has made a difference in net, & they have come alive offensively, but IMO they have left it far too late, they need to win all their remaining games to get 90 points & I still dont think that will be enough as the sabres or canes will both get more than that IMO.

I must have put the kiss of death on them, because as soon as I started paying attention they returned to being pants (think they also had a tougher run of games). I've recently gone back to paying no attention, except for reading the odd email from the leafs offering me tickets to their games and anything else there holding at their arena and it seems there on another 3 game winning streak.

As you say, too little too late, and even if they did sneak 8th, I couldn't see them beating any of the top 5 in a best of 7 series.

[Ozwin]

I wish ESPN would stop bloody showing this crap and show more NBA.

[Finnegan]

I wish ESPN would stop bloody showing this crap and show more NBA.

Hockey > basketball.