Jordan Posted 8 October 2014 Posted 8 October 2014 It seems like yesterday Martinez' double-overtime winner in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final broke our hearts in New York... But thankfully, the new NHL season is already here, and a new chase for the Cup begins tonight. Again, the balance of power is titled toward the West, where Chicago and LA are tipped as favorites to win it all. Anaheim is looking good, too, and I really like Minnesota's chances to have a good run in the playoffs. Boston and Pittsburgh are the bookies' favorites to win their divisions in the East. I have a sneaky feeling Tampa Bay could shake things up in the Atlantic Division, and I think the Metropolitan will be a real battle among most of its teams, with the Islanders my pick for the most improved team of the bunch. I also think this year's Rangers are the fastest and most skillful group of players we've had in a long time, so I'm excited to see them start playing games that count after some encouraging signs in preseason.
David Guiza Posted 8 October 2014 Posted 8 October 2014 Fancy Bruins to nick the Eastern Divison, although Rangers finished pretty strongly last time out, but I can't see them going all the way unfortunaley. Fancy Blackhawks overall this year; a rematch of 2013 would suit me, Bruins coming out on top though.
Uncle Phil Posted 8 October 2014 Posted 8 October 2014 Here's to a better start for the Devils than year! Sadly I can see the Rangers having a good season but I see Boston topping the eastern pile and Chicago lifting the cup.
Chug Laguna Posted 8 October 2014 Posted 8 October 2014 Um... are these the same New York Rangers who lost Richards, Pouliot and Stralman that people here are tipping for a good season? Colour me confused.
Uncle Phil Posted 8 October 2014 Posted 8 October 2014 Um... are these the same New York Rangers who lost Richards, Pouliot and Stralman that people here are tipping for a good season? Colour me confused. Well I think they'll make the play offs, if you can carry a bit of momentum in you can end up with a good season.
Jordan Posted 8 October 2014 Author Posted 8 October 2014 Um... are these the same New York Rangers who lost Richards, Pouliot and Stralman that people here are tipping for a good season? Colour me confused.You clearly are confused if you think those players aren't replaceable.
Chug Laguna Posted 8 October 2014 Posted 8 October 2014 You clearly are confused if you think those players aren't replaceable. Oh no, I agree that they are, but the Rangers should seriously get on doing just that, considering its already opening day.
Jordan Posted 8 October 2014 Author Posted 8 October 2014 Oh no, I agree that they are, but the Rangers should seriously get on doing just that, considering its already opening day.It's only a problem on opening day because Stepan is on LTIR (will miss 10 games), youngster Hayes is hurt, and Lombardi hurt himself in training camp. Aside from this lack of depth at center, the Rangers did well to manage the cap and keep themselves competitive. Buying Richards out was imperative. The Rangers used that money to help keep some great youngsters in the fold and lock a few core players up long term. Stralman walked (good for him, I wish him well in TB--he's a very solid defenseman) but Dan Boyle gives them a different dimension at a lower price than the market was offering (and not that much more of a cap hit than Stralman is at TB). McDonagh-Girardi, M. Staal-D. Boyle, and J. Moore-Klein is a very good group of defensemen relative to the rest of the conference. As for Pouliot, while he had some great chemistry with Brass and Zucc, if anyone was gonna offer him 4 years at $4m per, they could definitely have him at that price. Getting Stempniak at about $800k is great value, and the Rangers are just fine down the wings anyway (extra spot allows Anthony Duclair to make the roster, too). Glen Sather normally ****s everything up in the summer and tries to fix things with trades in the winter (or buyouts--thankfully, NYR can afford those), but considering the Rangers' precarious cap situation, he did very well to keep the core of that team together, and I don't think they will miss those three (and Brian Boyle) as much as the naysayers expect (well, besides B Boyle's face off ability). For the first time in a long time, the Rangers are ready to continue rolling in youngsters to the lineup, too. Oh, and there's also that Henrik Lundqvist guy they have in goal...
Chug Laguna Posted 9 October 2014 Posted 9 October 2014 Oh, and there's also that Henrik Lundqvist guy they have in goal... You reckon he'll be any good?
The_77 Posted 11 October 2014 Posted 11 October 2014 You reckon he'll be any good?Is the Pope Catholic? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Uncle Phil Posted 12 October 2014 Posted 12 October 2014 Good night of hockey last night. 11 goals in 2 games for the Devils. (Can we have the cup now?) At 4-0 3 of our goals were from defencemen but it's still a much better start than last year.
Jordan Posted 12 October 2014 Author Posted 12 October 2014 Good night of hockey last night. 11 goals in 2 games for the Devils. (Can we have the cup now?) At 4-0 3 of our goals were from defencemen but it's still a much better start than last year.Hell of a night of hockey, indeed: all 30 teams played. First Coach's Corner of the season last night, too, and Don Cherry was unintentionally hilarious.I didn't catch much of the Devils last night, but from what I've seen so far, they're doing a much better job so far this season keeping it simple in the offensive zone and getting bodies in front of goal. The Devils have a lot of veterans in their forward lines who can still do a job, but we'll have to see how their legs keep up over the long run (IIRC the Devils have 19 back-to-back games this season). Jaromir Jagr though, how could anyone not love the big fella? I gotta say, though, if I were one of the few Panthers fans, I'd have been upset with Roberto Luongo's body language last night. After every goal, he was sighing and throwing his head back. If that's the way he's going to act in the second game, then I wonder how much effort he'll be willing to give in February and March as I doubt they'll be anywhere close to the playoffs. Strange game for the Rangers last night, as I didn't think they looked bad at all. 1-1 in those two games is OK, but I'd have rather those results gone the other way around. Leafs at home should be a good bounce back game, though.
MC Prussian Posted 12 October 2014 Posted 12 October 2014 Two wins out of two for my dear Pens. Crosby currently joint topscorer with six. Now, if only they could maintain that for a longer period of time... One major question I have about the NHL these days is that I wonder whether we'll ever see players getting past the 150-point mark again. I miss the years of Gretzky, Lemieux et al. in their prime...
Jordan Posted 12 October 2014 Author Posted 12 October 2014 Two wins out of two for my dear Pens. Crosby currently joint topscorer with six. Now, if only they could maintain that for a longer period of time... One major question I have about the NHL these days is that I wonder whether we'll ever see players getting past the 150-point mark again. I miss the years of Gretzky, Lemieux et al. in their prime... Those were certainly fun days to be a kid and a hockey fan... But alas, those days are over unless the league makes fundamental changes to the way the game is played, or starts instructing its refs to call much more penalties (which I don't want to see). The mean average of goals scored per game is down about 2 from the days when Gretzky was potting 70+ and racking up triple digit assist totals, and there are a few reasons why:-Improvement in goaltending has to be the biggest reason. Goalies are bigger, more athletic, are much better coached, are protected better under current rules, and have bigger equipment that takes up more space. Also, the stand-up goalie style is dead, and modern butterfly styles and stand-up/fly "hybrids" have been shown to be more effective. -Defensemen are also much better skaters. On the 24th anniversary of his 1st NHL goal, Jaromir Jagr recently joked that when he joined the league, he had long hair, was fast, and defensemen were slow. Now, he wrote, he has long hair, he's slow, and defensemen are fast. "You can't stop time," Jagr said, and the march of time has seen defensemen catch up to their forward counterparts. -The level of talent available has caught up to the amount of teams in the league, as opposed to the "watered down" product in the NHL following the league's rapid expansion. -Players block more shots. This has a lot to do with improvements in equipment. Players obviously still get injured when they block shots, but many coaches and players are willing to take that risk. -Teams play more sophisticated defensive styles. Teams don't purely play neutral zone traps/wing locks as they did for about a decade starting from the mid-'90s, but teams do seem to work on defensive coverage systems in practice more often these days than they used to. Also, aside from rare exceptions, players today are expected to fit into a team's system as opposed to days when star forwards were allowed to play with more freedom. -Power play opportunities are down from the level at which they occurred in the mid '80s-early '90s. The league has changed the rules to create more open ice and more power plays, but after the initial shock, teams have adapted to newer rules and PPOs are actually at their lowest point since the '70s (I was surprised to learn this, because it seems like refs are blowing the whistle all the time these days). The '80s weren't just an offensive decade--fights per game were at their peak. In a more rough and tumble league, there will be more penalties, and of course a team is more likely to score when they have a man advantage. The instigator rule that was added in 1992 led to a sharp decline in fighting. There are also fewer "goons" in rosters, who can be defensive liabilities and also can be more likely to take other penalties.
Jordan Posted 29 December 2014 Author Posted 29 December 2014 It's the best fan tradition in North American sports: when a hockey player scores a hat trick, the fans celebrate the achievement by throwing their hats onto the ice. Last night, Derek Stepan was the recipient of such a tribute. His three goals led the Rangers to their eighth consecutive win.
Uncle Phil Posted 4 January 2015 Posted 4 January 2015 It's the best fan tradition in North American sports: when a hockey player scores a hat trick, the fans celebrate the achievement by throwing their hats onto the ice. Last night, Derek Stepan was the recipient of such a tribute. His three goals led the Rangers to their eighth consecutive win. And tonight is Jagrs turn, see the Rangers and Devils both scored 5 so far. Happy days.
Nalis Posted 4 January 2015 Posted 4 January 2015 And tonight is Jagrs turn, see the Rangers and Devils both scored 5 so far. Happy days. Havent followed NHL in years, cant believe he is still playing. Legend! Been to see Belfast Giants a few times in the Elite league in the UK and can honesty say that ice hockey is one of the best spectator sports around. Would one to watch a live NHL game next time I'm in Canada/the US!
Jordan Posted 4 January 2015 Author Posted 4 January 2015 And tonight is Jagrs turn, see the Rangers and Devils both scored 5 so far. Happy days.JJ must be pretty familiar with that feeling. What a legend he is. Yesterday was a great day if you like goals. The Rangers put on a power play clinic, the Devils pounded the hapless Flyers (they really need to clean house there)... But craziest of all, the Kings score 3 goals in the final 2 minutes to tie Nashville 6-6 only to lose 18 seconds into OT. Mark WNI, I can't guarantee you every NHL game would be like that last one, but you're right on when you say hockey is fantastic entertainment live.
Uncle Phil Posted 4 January 2015 Posted 4 January 2015 JJ must be pretty familiar with that feeling. What a legend he is. Yesterday was a great day if you like goals. The Rangers put on a power play clinic, the Devils pounded the hapless Flyers (they really need to clean house there)... But craziest of all, the Kings score 3 goals in the final 2 minutes to tie Nashville 6-6 only to lose 18 seconds into OT. Mark WNI, I can't guarantee you every NHL game would be like that last one, but you're right on when you say hockey is fantastic entertainment live. Yeah a fantastic night for goals, flying in all night. Three or Four fights too in the Devils game. Tootoo still has that small man syndrome haha. I have family living in New Jersey but they're Flyers fans (booo) so that was nice. I had a friend go to the Rangers Pens game at MSG before Xmas, the tickets were all £100+, is that a similar story across the nhl? I always knew the Jerseys were expensive but I was actually shocked at the match ticket prices.
Uncle Phil Posted 4 January 2015 Posted 4 January 2015 Havent followed NHL in years, cant believe he is still playing. Legend! Been to see Belfast Giants a few times in the Elite league in the UK and can honesty say that ice hockey is one of the best spectator sports around. Would one to watch a live NHL game next time I'm in Canada/the US! Yeah he's still going pretty strong. He's a youthful 42! I'd been watching a bit of the EHL on premier sports but they're stopped it on virgin media now. I'll have to get down and see Plymouth sometime.
Jordan Posted 10 April 2015 Author Posted 10 April 2015 Um... are these the same New York Rangers who lost Richards, Pouliot and Stralman that people here are tipping for a good season? Colour me confused. Season ends on Saturday; playoffs start on Thursday. Only two more spots are up for grabs, and they're in the East. It looks like stumbling Pittsburgh and Ottawa's Cinderella Senators will grab them, with Boston facing a desperate situation and perhaps a tumultuous offseason if a miracle doesn't go their way. Out West, the 8 teams are set; it's just a matter of finalizing their positions. Johnny Hockey and the Flames are in. There will be a "White-Out" in Winnipeg for the first time since 1996. The Kings are OUT.
Uncle Phil Posted 10 April 2015 Posted 10 April 2015 It looked in the East Boston pits and the Islanders were doing all they could to not go through for a while and the Rangers ran away with it, even without Henry for a fair number of games, so fair play. I doubted them this year, maybe more through hope than expectation! Anyone getting involved in the bracket?
Jordan Posted 13 April 2015 Author Posted 13 April 2015 I'll do a bracket! There's a contest on NHL.com and you can also use the NHL app to submit an entry. Did I say Thursday for the playoffs? Err, I meant Wednesday Schedule:
MC Prussian Posted 13 April 2015 Posted 13 April 2015 Still can't get my head around the Pens' steady decline this season that started somewhere near the 60-game mark. Can't just be down to injuries. I recall them being top of their division for so long!
Uncle Phil Posted 13 April 2015 Posted 13 April 2015 Did I hear the Kings locked and then barracaded they're coach out of the changing room? Also special shout out to Jagr for making sure my season finished with a bit of salt in those non-playoff wounds. It was so obvious he'd get the match winning goal.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.