OMG!! i have been looking for a hockey related thread for ages!!! and now ive found one :D although i have to say, being english, i havnt seen much of NHL hockey, but ive been meaning to for a while... i know my mums boyfriend is a MASSIVE maple leafs fan, an personally... ive seen them play, thee not that good... any other english people here that watch EPL or elite legue hockey???

You know, it's ridiculous. Finally I have a legit reason to watch as many Isles games as possible instead of just watching ebcause I love the team, and I can't even get the games where I am now. I met a kid from my area who lives a couple rooms over and is a big Isles fan too, and he was pissed about it too. We were both talkin' how much we want to watch Tavares play, and I especially want to see how the offense evolves on-ice through a good ol' eye test.

Goaltending has looked pretty solid thus far, no complaints about Rollie or Biron, though they're inevitably going to come with our defense.

Got into a drunk argument last night with a Bruins fan, who was arguing that Milan Lucic is a better player than Ovechkin. I mean, I agreed that Lucic is a legit awesome force at this point in the league (and he can beat the fuck out of pretty much anyone), but he is not Ovie. No one is AO status in this league; you could argue a few guys at or around his level, but these days no one is touching him offensively.

There were a bunch of players I rattled off as better than Lucic at this point (Malkin, Crosby, Ovie, Thornton, Heater, Kovalchuk, Zetty, Datsyuk), and he just dismissed all of them. Fuckin' Boston fans, they never listen to reason.

BTW

NHL Center Ice is free from the 1st of October to the 24th of October for those of you that have DirecTV.

Just wanted to make sure you were aware.

At 10/8/09 10:20 PM, michelinman wrote: Avs just gave up 2 goals in 2 minutes. We went from up 2-1 to down 3-2. FUUUU-

Well, it's still only the first loss of the season. Give it time - we just beat the Bs 4-3 and the Leafs 4-1. Okay, so the Bs have stunk so far this season and the Leafs have not been a good Hockey Team for a while now, but since we were 28th in the whole NHL last season, we've come a long way so far :)

Anderson seems to be playing good in goal and the rest of the team seems to be settling in nicely. Can't wait to get Salei back, but this "back" injury looks like it could be pretty serious, with no official word on the timetable for his return.

Let's hope it's not an Eric Chavez style injury...

At 10/14/09 08:57 AM, Coop83 wrote: Well, it's still only the first loss of the season. Give it time - we just beat the Bs 4-3 and the Leafs 4-1. Okay, so the Bs have stunk so far this season and the Leafs have not been a good Hockey Team for a while now, but since we were 28th in the whole NHL last season, we've come a long way so far :)

We were 2 and 1. Since then we're undefeated coming up to the middle of one of the longest road streaks in franchise history. I gotta say, we look damn good. I'm interested to see ESPN's power rankings this week. We went from 19th to 13th last week, and we're bound to make another good jump this week. It's early, but I'm getting pretty damn excited about the team this year.

Anderson seems to be playing good in goal and the rest of the team seems to be settling in nicely. Can't wait to get Salei back, but this "back" injury looks like it could be pretty serious, with no official word on the timetable for his return.

Let's hope it's not an Eric Chavez style injury...

Anderson is dominating at goalie! That's a big part of why we're playing as good as we are. I think Budaj was a big part of the bad season last year. Now that we've got a strong starter, things are rolling so much more smoothly. And the team is so damn young too! They're playing this well and half the team is fresh out of high school! Haha. Also,
this. It may be early, but I think after these last couple years, we've finally got a reason to start getting excited Coop. :)

At 10/14/09 05:38 PM, michelinman wrote: Anderson is dominating at goalie!

So far - I bet the Panthers wished that they had bought Vokoun out of his contract, to keep this guy.

That's a big part of why we're playing as good as we are. I think Budaj was a big part of the bad season last year.

Well, it can't just be down to Budaj - the defense was a lot worse in front of him and that will reflect once he's between the pipes as the backup. I think that it knocked his confidence and he lost a gilt edged chance to stake a claim for the #1 spot. Perhaps we should have given Raycroft a chance last year to make a run at the #1 spot and take some pressure off Budaj?

Now that we've got a strong starter, things are rolling so much more smoothly. And the team is so damn young too! They're playing this well and half the team is fresh out of high school! Haha.

These young Avs will be here for a long while together, so long as they stay healthy and we win. Simple. Joe Sacco is doing a good motivational job behind the bench as well.

It may be early, but I think after these last couple years, we've finally got a reason to start getting excited Coop. :)

We'll see. I'll be happier with a win for the Burgundy & White coming out of Montreal tonight :)

No major complaints about the Isles thus far (other than the whole Lighthouse-Wang-Kate Murray bullshit).

Tavs and KO are lookin' real good together. Moulson isn't bad when you have two great young players on the line.

I'm disappointed about the continued healthy scratches for Tambellini and Jack Hillen thus far, but I'm hoping (as one fan suggested) that it might just be a ploy to get Sutton and Jon Sim more playing time in hopes that they'll showcase something decent for a trade...but nobody wanted Sim when we waived him last year (because as I've said for a long time, he fucking sucks)..I don't know what Scott Gordon is thinking. This really is a make-or-break year for Tambells as an NHL-caliber player. He's got to prove this year that he can produce at a decent level, otherwise he'll be out of a job soon enough.

Rob Schremp hopefully will pan out though. Not too bad so far.

At 10/15/09 09:52 AM, Coop83 wrote: Well, it can't just be down to Budaj - the defense was a lot worse in front of him and that will reflect once he's between the pipes as the backup. I think that it knocked his confidence and he lost a gilt edged chance to stake a claim for the #1 spot. Perhaps we should have given Raycroft a chance last year to make a run at the #1 spot and take some pressure off Budaj?

I don't think it would've mattered too much. It's hard to overcome a lot of losses and start winning again. I wasn't trying to blame Budaj for how things happened, but he didn't really help matters. I think with the team rolling like it is now though, he'll do a lot better job than people are expecting out of him as a backup. Things tend to fit together a lot more smoothly when you're winning.

These young Avs will be here for a long while together, so long as they stay healthy and we win. Simple. Joe Sacco is doing a good motivational job behind the bench as well.

I know! And they're doing so well already! I really hope this keeps together, because if these guys are the real deal, then for the next 4/5 years, if not more, we're gonna be tough to beat.

We'll see. I'll be happier with a win for the Burgundy & White coming out of Montreal tonight :)

*hugs coop* We did it! And those young rookies stepped it up with the game on the line! I was worried that when it came to some serious crunch time, they'd crack, but they stepped up like CRAZY. Those last two goals by them were awesome. Just awesome.

Also, scoreboard fail after the game winning goal by the Avs.

At 10/15/09 05:46 PM, Canas wrote: Considering the Av's were by all accounts supposed to be dead last in the Western conference I would say their performance thus far is phenomenal and I would have absolutely nothing to complain about.

Definitely.

Hope ya'll make the playoffs

Well, I won't get myself too carried away just yet - let's concentrate on the Red Wings now. Hopefully these two teams are heading in opposite directions, so I can see an Avs victory tonight.

At 10/15/09 08:09 PM, Buddhist wrote: No major complaints about the Isles thus far (other than the whole Lighthouse-Wang-Kate Murray bullshit).

It's a more major rebuild on Long Island, so you're not going to make massive strides this time around. Stay low and ninja more draft picks is my advice :P

Mind you, it's still early in the year.

At 10/16/09 01:55 AM, michelinman wrote:

At 10/15/09 09:52 AM, Coop83 wrote: These young Avs will be here for a long while together, so long as they stay healthy and we win. Simple. Joe Sacco is doing a good motivational job behind the bench as well.

I know! And they're doing so well already! I really hope this keeps together, because if these guys are the real deal, then for the next 4/5 years, if not more, we're gonna be tough to beat.

Well, with the way that the scouting team has worked to bring the Avs some great prospects over the years (Sakic, Foote, Tanguay, Drury, Hejduk, Duchene and O'Reilly), we should be in pretty safe hands, so long as the GM doesn't trade away all of that talent in bone headed deals.

Also, scoreboard fail after the game winning goal by the Avs.

LOL

At 10/15/09 11:09 PM, Canas wrote: Stop calling him KO

>:(

It's not my fault that that is his nickname.

Sigh.

It's bordering on masochistic following the Leafs these days. I think my favourite stat is that 7 games into the season the Leafs have only had 1 lead and it lasted for just over 6 minutes... averaging less than a minute per game.

And of course we traded our potential first overall pick, enjoy Taylor Hall Boston.

At least it's an Olympic year, maybe I'll start watching hockey again in February.

Down 2-0 at the start of the 3rd, won 4-3 in a shootout. I came.

At 10/17/09 09:29 PM, EternitySpent wrote: And of course we traded our potential first overall pick, enjoy Taylor Hall Boston.

It looks like Boston could be going into a rebuild year themselves. If they managed to get more than 1 first round pick, they may well consider trading down a little more over the season.

At least it's an Olympic year, maybe I'll start watching hockey again in February.

I know how you felt - I was the same last season, though not this early on, to be honest.

At 10/18/09 03:21 AM, michelinman wrote: Down 2-0 at the start of the 3rd, won 4-3 in a shootout. I came.

Seriously, isn't there anything else to do in your area than watching sports and ejaculating, you really do need to move house... and clean the TV before you go.

At 10/18/09 05:03 AM, Coop83 wrote:

At 10/18/09 03:21 AM, michelinman wrote: Down 2-0 at the start of the 3rd, won 4-3 in a shootout. I came.

Seriously, isn't there anything else to do in your area than watching sports and ejaculating, you really do need to move house... and clean the TV before you go.

I'm a Raiders fan. I'm starved for success. And I take it you've never been to Georgia before... This place is gods asshole.

Just a sad, careless, hometown nucks fan. Watching shit go by as always.

Rough win tonight for the Avalanche. Anderson let up 4 goals, the 4th being late in the third putting the Hurricanes within one and a legitimate shot at tying the game up and taking it to OT. The offense put up 5 goals though which you can never complain about, and the defense did a good job at the end making sure they kept the lead and even coming up with a couple scoring chances that would've made it 6-4 with only a couple minutes left. A win is a win though.

Darcy Tucker looks to be in bad shape though. He got his face smashed into the glass. He was motionless on the ice for about 5 minutes, and when they put him in a stretcher and drove off, there was a pool of blood where he had been laying. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Big game tonight against the Red Wings. Hopefully we can pull off another win. 7-1-2 is where we're standing at right now. Not too shabby for a team that was expected to be a basement dweller in the conference. :P

At 10/24/09 03:21 AM, Canas wrote: Gotta wuve that Wojtek

*Dances for Wojtek*

1-6-1. Tonight. I believe. Fuck Luongo.

Also, Colorado can keep winning all they want as long as Stastny steps up his goal production. He was supposed to be the Ace in the hole of both my fantasy teams.

At 10/24/09 01:48 PM, EternitySpent wrote: 1-6-1. Tonight. I believe. Fuck Luongo.

JUST KIDDING

At 10/24/09 01:48 PM, EternitySpent wrote: Also, Colorado can keep winning all they want as long as Stastny steps up his goal production. He was supposed to be the Ace in the hole of both my fantasy teams.

Ask and ye shall receive - he's just heated up over the past two days, with 3 goals there and five points over those two games. Suddenly he's tied for the lead in scoring on the team with Wojtek Wolski and Ryan O'Reilley (!) This kid seems to be looking to surpass Matt Duchene as the club's top rookie this year. I don't mind a bit of healthy competition like that.

Talking of fantasy teams, mine took a nasty hit - I picked up Cody McCleod and then he takes a stick to the face and is out injured. Bummer.

LEAFS WON! PLAYOFFS HERE WE COME!!!!!

At 10/27/09 01:01 AM, o0-0o wrote: LEAFS WON! PLAYOFFS HERE WE COME!!!!!

Playoffs? I thought that you were going to end your drought of Stanley Cup no less. The way you dominated the Ducks, you are pretty much a lock to win it all.

I have been a Pens fan since 1990. That is the only team i like or watch. as far as confrences. I have no clue. I listen to the Pens game on the offical Pens website sinc i live in Packer country i am not able to get the games on T.V. unless it is the Stanley Cup.

At 10/27/09 01:01 AM, o0-0o wrote: LEAFS WON! PLAYOFFS HERE WE COME!!!!!

lol high five! That was a pretty garbage game though, a bunch of bad calls and then the Ducks goonery got out of hand, even Neidermayer rode a guy into the boards from behind... although it feels good to see bad/stupid penalty calls go for the Leafs as opposed to against them.

The only positive I can see right now is that Gustavsson's got game, had he not been injured the losing streak may have never gotten this out of hand.

For all the guys watching the Avs, I'm sure you'll smile when you see this. Scroll to the bottom. The VERY bottom. We've come a long ways.

At 10/27/09 02:07 PM, Canas wrote: The penguins were actually my favorite team at the age of 2 and beyond, and always were. It's only just recently everybody else jumped on the bandwagon of cheering for them since Kidney Beansby showed up :(

They had a pretty big bandwagon when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were there back in the day too. I've always supported the Penguins in the sense that they have the best name in professional sports. Haha.

At 10/27/09 02:07 PM, Canas wrote:

At 10/27/09 11:02 AM, gamer30hrplus wrote: I have been a Pens fan since 1990. That is the only team i like or watch. as far as confrences. I have no clue. I listen to the Pens game on the offical Pens website sinc i live in Packer country i am not able to get the games on T.V. unless it is the Stanley Cup.

The penguins were actually my favorite team at the age of 2 and beyond, and always were. It's only just recently everybody else jumped on the bandwagon of cheering for them since Kidney Beansby showed up :(

I was 9 when i first watched a Pens game. Jagr was my Fav. In away still is.
Crosby, Malkin, Fluery, are the big players. Sidney "the Sid" Crosby is there captian. Fluery is the goalie. Malkin i think is the forward.
Who can forget Mario Lemuix one of the Pens best players.
I went 15 years without watching a Pens game:( all we had was local TV. Plus i was to busy doing stuff that i almost forgot about the Pens. I maybe got to watch one game of theirs ayear if i was lucky. Packers came first. My family were packer fans. that is why i did not get time to watch hockey.

At 10/27/09 12:29 PM, michelinman wrote: For all the guys watching the Avs, I'm sure you'll smile when you see this. Scroll to the bottom. The VERY bottom. We've come a long ways.

I was quite disappointed to see Pierre LeBrun drop the Avs down two places after posting a 2-0-1 record in the previous week.

Still early days, but it's looking a lot more rosy than it was at the start of the year, I'll be the first to admit.

At 10/29/09 11:59 AM, Coop83 wrote: I was quite disappointed to see Pierre LeBrun drop the Avs down two places after posting a 2-0-1 record in the previous week.

Same here. I was going to post a comment about it, but I looked, and ever other person that posted something was an Avs fan bitching about how he dropped them because of a "feeling." Haha.

At 10/29/09 01:35 PM, michelinman wrote: Same here. I was going to post a comment about it, but I looked, and ever other person that posted something was an Avs fan bitching about how he dropped them because of a "feeling." Haha.

Well, I've got a "feeling" that the Avs are going to have a better season than last year. 47 points to go, and we're not even out of October.

Tomorrow will be a good game. Off to the Shark Tank, where we get to see two of the division leaders going head to head and putting decent winning streaks on the line as well :)