NHL 2005-2006: The thread

[hardinda]

Ray Emery first to start his career at 9-0. Heatley coming close to Gretzky's record for point streak starting with a new team (I think Gretzky's was 23 and Heatley is at 22, not sure though)

Ottawa still impressing.

[Uncle Larry]

I think if the referee goes back and looks at it, he'll realize it was a stick that 'went in', not the puck. The puck never even got near the goal line.Ya it did. TSN had another camera angle this morning, the puck was at least partially over the line, can't tell exactly if the whole puck went over but at the very least most of it did.

[Uncle Larry]

Is it just me, or has goalie interference disappeared as a penalty?It's getting absolutely ridiculous.

[Uncle Larry]

Ray Emery first to start his career at 9-0. Heatley coming close to Gretzky's record for point streak starting with a new team (I think Gretzky's was 23 and Heatley is at 22, not sure though)

Ottawa still impressing.Ya, Gretz had 23 game point streak to start with L.A. The record for longest point scoring streak is 51 by Gretz, so Heatley's not even half way there, but still very impressive.

[GefilteFish144]

Flyers dominated most of the game ... Esche needs to go. I almost want to see the Flyers waive Esche and pick up Thibault ... so you know it's bad.

When is the last time the Flyers had a good goalie? This team has always been an offensive force.

[Uncle Larry]

Good question, Hextall?

[MountainHawk]

When is the last time the Flyers had a good goalie? This team has always been an offensive force.

Probably Ron Hextall, assuming you mean Stanley Cup caliber goalie when you say 'good'.

[MountainHawk]

Ok ... I just read a Flyer comment on how they 'only have six losses', and this was only a couple of weeks after the Bruins were something like 8-8-5 and I heard one of their players say 'we have as many wins as losses'. Damnit, people, that third number in your record is a loss too!

[hardinda]

I like the 4 number format myself. I think shootout losses should be their own number (not included with OT losses), b/c shootouts aren't really like losing a hockey game, more like losing the skills game at the All-star game.

[MountainHawk]

That's fine ... but the Flyers haven't been to a shootout yet, and the Bruins have only lost in 1 or 2. Not counting OT losses as losses is absurd. I'd prefer a three number format (W-L-SOW) to get rid of the loser point and to only give a single point for winning a shootout, but the NHL hasn't seen the light on that yet. ;-)

[Uncle Larry]

The problem is it isn't a loss, you get a point for it, so it's an overtime loss. Not the same thing. I would say a team that is 8-8-5 is a .500 team, because they're averaging one point per game.

[MountainHawk]

.500 team is one thing ... but you still have more losses than wins.

[GefilteFish144]

Since shootouts are basically for show and not a real part of the game, I wouldn't give as much weight to a SO loss as I would for the other losses.

[GefilteFish144]

Probably Ron Hextall, assuming you mean Stanley Cup caliber goalie when you say 'good'.

That's a good way to put it. I agree that the early version of Hextall was their last 'good' goalie; when he returned to the team he was nothing special.

[Mike and Maddog]

No ... pretty sure I've been in this thread almost every day this season.


Reread my quote. You comment on flyers only when they win.

Run away from criticism when they lose. Commenting on other games doesn't count.

[hardinda]

Let's not forget Garth "the illegal huge pads goalie" Snow. He was the equivalent of putting the fattest man in the world in the net. I loved those wings he had on his shoulder pads, those were great.

[MountainHawk]

Garth Snow ... heh. I guess he was ok. But no where near the level of Hextall pre-Lindros trade. One of the 3 worst trades in Philadelphia history.

[DoctorNo]

Kristian Huselius is an interesting name out there on the waiver wire. Two-time 20-goal scorer for $1.2 million? Hopefully he's still there when Colorado has the option - with Konowalchuk out, we could use him.

I can't believe that Huselius cleared waivers!

[MountainHawk]

Yeah ... that's unreal. I wonder if there is something behind the scense there that isn't news yet. Did Thibault clear too?

[MountainHawk]

Q: Does a player that clears waivers count against the cap?

[hardinda]

I think teams don't like the contracts these players have. Why take them on waivers, when you can get them at half price if they ever get recalled on re-entry waivers?

Did he get put on waivers and get sent down?

[hardinda]

Answered my own question ... sort of:

As busy as Tuesday was on the NHL waiver wire, Wednesday has been quiet.

None of the three players available on waivers - Pittsburgh goalie Jocelyn Thibault, Florida forward Kristian Huselius and Chicago forward Mikhail Yakubov - were picked up by anyone and all three will, for now, remain with their current teams.

Yakubov, a restricted free agent and Blackhawk first rounder, will be joining the NHL team after starting this season with Spartak in the Russian League. Because he played in Europe this season, Yakubov had to clear waivers before joining the Hawks. He’s likely to go to Norfolk of the AHL for a conditioning stint before joining the NHL team at some point.

Thibault and Huselius both cleared waivers, so the Penguins and Panthers will either try to continue to trade these players or assign them to the minors.

If they are sent to the minors and subsequently recalled, they must clear re-entry waivers and, if claimed on re-entry, their original teams must pay half their salary and have it count against the salary cap.


http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=145100&hubname=nhl

[MountainHawk]

I doubt you'll see teams send players like this down. They'll just do what the Devils are doing with Oliwa. Waive him occassionally, and hope someone picks him up.

I thought I read that if you waive a player and he clears, then he doesn't count against the roster unless he's put back on the roster, that's why I asked. If so, the Panthers can essentially just hold Huselius in limbo to save cap space (though they actually have to pay him the money, so I'm sure it counts against the players share in the escrow calculation)

[hardinda]

Everyone in Buffalo got pissed at the Sabres management for their lack of offseason acquisitions. The management's response was always that they felt teams were over-spending and it would cost them. I think now we are seeing certain teams struggling with the salary cap and trying to unload salaries. Problem with that is that there aren't any teams who want the huge salary's related with an unproductive player. They know next year (or later this year) that player can be picked up at a huge discount.

I think the teams who didn't overspend are now looking like they made smart decisions. This next offseason will prob have some of the best values the NHL has seen in a long time in the free agent market. Oh yeah, players lost big time on this CBA. Owners have to be loving it.

[MountainHawk]

Updated odds from wsex.com

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH (11/29/2005)


ODDS TO WIN NHL STANLEY CUP

Line
----
Ottawa 7-2
Philadelphia 11-2
Detroit 13-2
Vancouver 8-1
Calgary 12-1
Tampa Bay 16-1
Carolina 16-1
Los Angeles 18-1
Montreal 18-1
Nashville 18-1
Colorado 20-1
Toronto 28-1
Boston 28-1
Dallas 28-1
NY Rangers 28-1
New Jersey 30-1
San Jose 30-1
Edmonton 35-1
Pittsburgh 35-1
Anaheim 40-1
Minnesota 45-1
Atlanta 45-1
Florida 50-1
Buffalo 55-1
NY Islanders 66-1
Phoenix 66-1
Chicago 66-1
Columbus 125-1
St Louis 250-1
Washington 250-1


ODDS TO WIN EASTERN CONFERENCE

Line
----
Ottawa 3-2
Philadelphia 14-5
Tampa Bay 8-1
Carolina 8-1
Montreal 10-1
Toronto 15-1
Boston 15-1
New Jersey 16-1
NY Rangers 16-1
Pittsburgh 22-1
Buffalo 25-1
Atlanta 25-1
Florida 28-1
NY Islanders 30-1
Washington 125-1



ODDS TO WIN WESTERN CONFERENCE

Line
----
Detroit 3-1
Vancouver 19-5
Calgary 6-1
Nashville 6-1
Los Angeles 7-1
Colorado 8-1
Dallas 15-1
San Jose 15-1
Edmonton 18-1
Anaheim 22-1
Minnesota 25-1
Phoenix 30-1
Chicago 40-1
Columbus 75-1
St. Louis 150-1

[Wannabe Actuary]

the way philly has been playing, that seems a bit out of whack....I also have a hard time thinking that Boston and Toronto have better odds at the Eastern Conference than the Rangers...unless they're just figuring that facing the flyers will knock them down a few times...but the Rangers beat the Flyers opening night and are still ahead of them in the division. I'm not saying the rangers are teh favorite, but these seem odd to me.

[MountainHawk]

Havlat dislocated his shoulder last night ... just saw it on TSN.

[MountainHawk]

They are betting odds, so they reflect the general public's perception.

[hardinda]

Havlat dislocated his shoulder last night ... just saw it on TSN.

Sweet, now I just need the ASH line to all get injured and Hasek by the time the Sabres play Ottawa next.

[MountainHawk]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20051130_213211_4376


To Sharks:

Joe Thornton

To Bruins:

Brad Stuart
Marco Sturm
Wayne Primeau

[MountainHawk]

Anyone else thinking that Boston got robbed?

[DoctorNo]

Holy Jeebus!

[MountainHawk]

Yes ... that was my initial reaction too.

Go check out HFboards Boston section. Full fledged meltdown in effect.

[DoctorNo]

Yeah, I'm there.

Sharks get the best player by far in the deal, and as a fan of a conference rival, I'm not exactly thrilled about this.

[MountainHawk]

Glad to have him out of the East for sure.

[DoctorNo]

This is going to help Patrick Marleau a lot. He's never really thrived when handed a #1 role, but when the top defensemen aren't on him, he dominates.

Oddly enough, Thornton and Marleau went 1-2 in the 1997 entry draft.

[seabass]

I don't really keep track of the West, but weren't the Sharks supposed to be good already?

[hardinda]

All about the $$$$

Boston saves $1.6 mill with that trade. They are rebuilding now for sure.

[Uncle Larry]

Worst.Trade.Ever....for Boston

That's a "We give up" trade only a quarter of the way through the season.

[MountainHawk]

I don't know if it's 'we give up' or 'we are desperate and will try anything'.

[Real American Hero]

This is going to help Patrick Marleau a lot. Gawd, I hope so... and that it doesn't kill his current line mates.

[hardinda]

Sabres get away from the Sabre killer Thornton .... or maybe not.

Tommorow night, San Jose @ Buffalo ... great.

[Real American Hero]

Wasn't Boston all "We want Joe Thornton to be here for a long, long time." just a couple of months ago?

[Uncle Larry]

I don't know if it's 'we give up' or 'we are desperate and will try anything'.I disagree. I don't think the O'Connell can possibly believe he improved his team with this trade. Not only did they lose their franchise player, look for Glenn Murray's production to go down 50%.

[DoctorNo]

Wasn't Boston all "We want Joe Thornton to be here for a long, long time." just a couple of months ago?

Speaking as someone who was studying for an exam a couple of months ago, that seems like a very long time to me. I don't even remember what studying was like. :)

[bfore13]

I don't think BOS mang't ever got over the 0-for performance from Thornton against MTL in the '03-04 playoffs. They were the #2 seed, lost in the 1st round and he didn't get a single point. Careers are defined by playoff performances and Thornton has been sorely lacking in money season. He only has 6 goals in 35 career PO games and 3 pts in his last 12 PO games. That's not acceptable for an "elite" player.

[MountainHawk]

Standings on 12/1/2005:



Team W L OT Pts Win% AW% GF GPG GA GAA
Atlantic Division
NYR 16 7 3 35 .673 .613 86 3.31 65 2.50
PHI 15 6 3 33 .688 .626 98 4.08 82 3.42
NJD 12 10 2 26 .542 .493 78 3.25 79 3.29
NYI 12 12 1 25 .500 .455 79 3.16 88 3.52
PIT 7 12 6 20 .400 .364 74 2.96 106 4.24
Northeast Division
OTT 19 3 0 38 .864 .787 104 4.73 45 2.05
MTL 14 7 4 32 .640 .583 72 2.88 77 3.08
BUF 15 9 1 31 .620 .565 83 3.32 80 3.20
TOR 14 9 3 31 .596 .543 89 3.42 86 3.31
BOS 8 13 5 21 .404 .368 81 3.12 92 3.54
Southeast Division
CAR 16 7 1 33 .688 .626 85 3.54 74 3.08
TBY 14 10 3 31 .574 .523 84 3.11 81 3.00
ATL 10 12 3 23 .460 .419 91 3.64 94 3.76
WSH 8 14 2 18 .375 .342 68 2.83 100 4.17
FLA 7 14 4 18 .360 .328 59 2.36 81 3.24
Central Division
DET 18 6 2 38 .731 .666 100 3.85 68 2.62
NSH 15 4 3 33 .750 .683 65 2.95 57 2.59
CHI 10 14 0 20 .417 .380 66 2.75 85 3.54
CLB 7 18 0 14 .280 .255 47 1.88 89 3.59
STL 4 15 3 11 .250 .228 58 2.64 89 4.05
Northwest Division
VAN 16 8 2 34 .654 .596 84 3.23 74 2.85
CGY 14 9 3 31 .596 .543 63 2.42 66 2.54
COL 14 9 3 31 .596 .543 100 3.85 84 3.23
EDM 14 11 1 29 .558 .508 79 3.04 76 2.92
MIN 10 10 3 23 .500 .455 64 2.78 57 2.48
Pacific Division
DAL 16 7 1 33 .688 .626 83 3.46 68 2.83
LAK 16 9 1 33 .635 .578 95 3.65 77 2.96
PHX 13 12 2 28 .519 .472 72 2.67 69 2.56
ANA 11 11 4 26 .500 .455 70 2.69 68 2.62
SJS 8 12 4 20 .417 .280 63 2.63 83 3.46


Winning percentage is Points / (GP *2)
Adjusted winning percentage is Points / (GP * 2.2), because there has been an average of 2.2 earned in the NHL per game played.

Team Statistics:


Top 5 Offenses:

1. OTT 4.73
2. PHI 4.08
3. COL 3.85
DET 3.85
5. LAK 3.65

Worst 5 Offenses:

1. CLB 1.88
2. FLA 2.36
3. CAL 2.42
4. SJS 2.63
5. STL 2.64

Top 5 Defenses:

1. OTT 2.05
2. MIN 2.48
3. NYR 2.50
4. CAL 2.54
5. PHX 2.56

Worst 5 Defenses:

1. PIT 4.24
2. WSH 4.17
3. STL 4.05
4. ATL 3.76
5. CLB 3.56

Top 5 Power Plays:

1. DET 25.0%
2. TOR 22.7%
3. OTT 22.1
4. ATL 21.6%
5. BUF 21.5%

Worst 5 Power Plays:

1. CLB 10.0%
2. WSH 12.0%
3. FLA 12.7%
4. SJS 14.0%
5. STL 14.0%

Top 5 Penalty Kills:

1. MIN 89.3%
2. OTT 86.7%
3. NSH 86.5%
4. NYR 86.3%
5. NJD 85.1%

Worst 5 Penalty Kills:

1. PHI 76.0%
2. PIT 78.1%
3. CAR 78.6%
4. ATL 79.1%
5. FLA 79.8%



Individual Statistics:



Goals

1. Gagne 23
2. Jagr 21
3. Alfredsson 20
4. Staal 18
5. Heatley 17
Kovalchuk 17

Assists

1. Forsberg 31
2. Spezza 30
3. Savard 26
4. Thornton 24
5. McCabe 23

Points

1. Spezza 41
2. Alfredsson 40
3. Jagr 39
Forsberg 39
5. Heatley 38

PIM

1. Avery 87
2. Witt 68
3. Ott 66
Hordichuk 66
5. Barnaby 64

Rookie Points

1. Crosby 28
2. Ovechkin 25
3. Svatos 24
4. Jokinen 17
Vanek 17


GAA

1. Hasek 1.92
2. Fernandez 2.02
3. Lundqvist 2.07
4. Joseph 2.12
4. Legace 2.21

Save Percentage

1. Hasek 93.4%
2. Fernandez 93.4%
3. Joseph 93.2%
4. Lundqvist 93.0%
4. Vokoun 92.3%




And some final fun numbers:

Goals per game: 6.273
Points awarded per game: 2.196
Number of shutouts: 25
Number of OT games: 73
Number of shootouts: 36
Percentage of Games ending in regulation: 80.4%
Percentage of OT Games ending before shootout: 50.7%
Percentage of games ending in shootout: 9.7%

Shootout Statistics:

Games in shootout:36
Shots taken: 253
Goals scored: 80
Shootout save percentage: 68.4%

[MountainHawk]

Goals per game is trending down:

Nov 1: 6.391
Nov 15: 6.317
Dec 1: 6.273

[hardinda]

Do you have any penalties per game trends?

[MountainHawk]

No ... I've posted every stat I keep track of in the spreadsheet here. I'll dig around NHL.com and see if there is anything useful.

[MountainHawk]

Found something ... give me a few minutes to throw it into a spreadsheet.

[Uncle Larry]

I don't think BOS mang't ever got over the 0-for performance from Thornton against MTL in the '03-04 playoffs. They were the #2 seed, lost in the 1st round and he didn't get a single point. Careers are defined by playoff performances and Thornton has been sorely lacking in money season. He only has 6 goals in 35 career PO games and 3 pts in his last 12 PO games. That's not acceptable for an "elite" player.He shouldn't have even been playing in that series against Montreal. Regular season he would have been sitting out, but it was playoffs, he sucked it up and gave it a shot. Didn't he have torn cartiledge in his ribs or something?

[MountainHawk]

Penalties Per team per game:

10/5 - 10/15: 7.66
10/16 - 10/31: 7.57
11/1 - 11/15: 7.12
11/16-11/30: 6.64

[hardinda]

Penalties Per team per game:

10/5 - 10/15: 7.66
10/16 - 10/31: 7.57
11/1 - 11/15: 7.12
11/16-11/30: 6.64

Yeah, that's what I figured. I think it's a combination of the players learning the new rules and the refs not calling as tight of a game. I haven't seen any big trends of the game going back to clutching and grabbing. I hope it doesn't.

[MountainHawk]

Penalties per game by team:

CHI 9.38
WSH 8.88
ANA 8.35
NSH 8.27
ATL 8.00
DAL 7.96
NYI 7.84
OTT 7.77
CBJ 7.72
STL 7.64
VAN 7.58
PIT 7.52
LAK 7.48
PHX 7.33
BOS 7.31
TOR 7.27
FLA 7.24
EDM 7.12
MTL 7.12
CGY 6.92
NYR 6.88
MIN 6.78
DET 6.73
PHI 6.63
COL 6.62
CAR 6.29
NJD 5.88
SJS 5.83
BUF 5.52
TBL 5.22

[Uncle Larry]

Are those combining minors with majors/misconducts and also coincidental? Wonder what powerplay time per game looks like

[MountainHawk]

Home teams: 7.17 penalties per game
Road teams: 7.28 penalties per game

Teams with best 'Home Ice Advantage' ... i.e Penalties for opponent - penalties for self for games at home:
Team Own.. Opp.. HIA
SJS 6.333 8.556 2.223
VAN 6.000 7.583 1.583
BUF 5.462 7.000 1.538
LAK 7.286 8.571 1.285
STL 7.333 8.500 1.167
PIT 7.250 8.083 0.833
COL 6.692 7.462 0.770
TBL 5.692 6.462 0.770
CAR 6.923 7.692 0.769
PHX 6.923 7.692 0.769
EDM 7.100 7.700 0.600
PHI 6.667 7.133 0.466
TOR 6.429 6.857 0.428
NJD 5.750 6.083 0.333
DAL 8.286 8.571 0.285
FLA 6.182 6.455 0.273
MTL 7.692 7.923 0.231
ATL 8.250 8.417 0.167
DET 6.154 6.231 0.077
CGY 6.786 6.643 -0.143
ANA 8.750 8.438 -0.312
OTT 7.769 7.231 -0.538
MIN 7.000 6.417 -0.583
NYR 7.000 6.417 -0.583
CBJ 7.500 6.250 -1.250
NSH 8.692 7.385 -1.307
BOS 8.182 6.727 -1.455
CHI 8.667 6.889 -1.778
NYI 7.727 5.909 -1.818
WSH 8.583 6.667 -1.916

[Irish Blues]

Geez....and I thought I was bad keeping a spreadsheet for ranking each team over the course of a season and projecting where they'd finish at the end of the season, and another one that's an attempt to figure out where each team sits with respect to the salary cap.

actually, I'm impressed - great work!

[MountainHawk]

I can strip out minors ... but not coindicentals.

[MountainHawk]

Minors per game:

10/5-10/15: 7.268
10/16-10/31: 6.924
11/1-11/15: 6.62
11/16-11/30: 6.475

Majors per game:

10/5-10/15 0.378
10/16-10/31 0.391
11/1-11/15 0.51
11/16-11/30 0.283

Misconducts per game (10, Game, match)

10/5-10/15 0.098
10/16-10/31 0.054
11/1-11/15 0.1
11/16-11/30 0.111

[Uncle Larry]

Cool, thanks man.

[Uncle Larry]

I was just reading some raction on the internet to the big trade, is there a Bruins fan ANYWHERE that thinks this was a good move? Hawk, you're in MA right? Have you come across anyone who isn't completely turned off by this trade? And it's not like the reaction has been "that was bad", people are wondering what O'Connell is smoking, or if he's trying to lose his job.

I would like to find one Bruins fan who doesn't think this was a horrible trade.

[hardinda]

I think it wasn't a horrible trade. The Bruins suck this year. Trade your big player while he is most valuable. It's a clean house attitude. Their defense is now going to be solid. The 2 other players will be gone after this year and they will have cleared up something like $4 mill in cap room. That could be Boston's biggest win in the trade.

[MountainHawk]

Haven't heard a single person that likes the move. However, I think once the hysteria of traded Joe Thornton settles down, they'll see it a little bit more like hardinda is. They solidified their D, and they cleared up some cap room.

Of course, if they waste the cap room next year as badly as they did this year, it'll all be for naught.

[hardinda]

It reminds me a bit of the Sabres trading Michael Peca. They got Connolly and Pyatt for him, everyone hated it. Now when I look at it, Connolly and Pyatt look much better than Peca who? in edmonton.

[hardinda]

hfboards.com site is overloaded. That many Bruins fans out there?

[MountainHawk]

The Bloc Quebecois wants the right to field a national team for Quebec (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=145268&hubname=) in hockey and soccer, similar to England/Scotland/Wales/N. Ireland.

[MountainHawk]

If that happened, what are the odds the Gold Medal game would be Quebec v Canada? ;-)

[seabass]

I liked Peca in NY during his first year. Our PK was solid and he contributed offensively, but then he got knocked out of the 2002 playoffs and wasn't the same player after that. On top of that, he's not someone who's game is much better under the new rules, so in retrospect, the Sabres made a smart move, but its tough to project stuff like this happening.

On the other hand, trading for Mike York turned out to be a smart move. Both have done nothing this season, but at least York is doing nothing at 2 mil a year instead of 4. Unless Peca all of a sudden gets his game back, I can say that it looks like Mike Milbury got the better of a trade. Might be a first.

[Real American Hero]

look for Glenn Murray's production to go down 50%.And he's on the IR with a pulled groin. Don't these guys even think of fantasy owners?

Don't know if this says more about the B's or Stuart, but he ought to be one of their first line d-men.

[Uncle Larry]

Does Leetch play with Slegr? Leetch is going to be first line, only way Stuart will be is if they get paired up. Slegr's having a good year. I'm thinking Stuart's second line.

[Irish Blues]

hfboards.com site is overloaded. That many Bruins fans out there?
That many people in general trying to cram in. It's getting better as the day goes on.

If the Bruins were worried about clearing cap room (they were still in decent shape before the trade), they should have moved Zhamnov and his 3-year, $12.3 million underachieving body somewhere. Stuart is a nice acquisition - alongside Boynton, the PP should be well-anchored from the blueline for quite a while. Sturm is OK - I know he produces, I've just never been big on him. Primeau was a throw-in IMO. He's a bigger waste of cap space than McEachern is.

[MountainHawk]

From SJS end ... could this be step 1? They have a solid #1 center already ... Could Thornton be making a quick stop in the west coast on his way to Florida is some sort of deal involving Thornton/Nabakov and Luongo/ some defense?

[MountainHawk]

NHL November attendence is best ever :

http://www.nhl.com/news/2005/12/245814.html

[MountainHawk]

$1 million raised for Hurricane Katrina relief by NHLPA & NHL Game-Worn Jersey Auction

Hockey fans bid $530,472 for game-worn jerseys, Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation matches

NEW YORK/TORONTO -- The National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) online jersey auction raised $530,472, which was matched by country music legend Garth Brooks' Teammates for Kids Foundation, for a total of $1,060,944 to be distributed through "World Vision" to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The jersey of Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Sidney Crosby, worn in Crosby's third NHL game, tops the bidding at $21,010. The jerseys of Washington Capitals rookie Alexander Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Mario Lemieux garnered bids of $7,929 and $6,710, respectively. The jersey of Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur fetched $5,110, while the jersey of Detroit Red Wings favorite Brendan Shanahan raised $4,510.


$21K.

for a jersey.


Wow.

[yankeetripper]

Anyone else thinking that Boston got robbed?
Go Sharks! Yeah I know they have absolutely stunk on ice lately. This is great trade for them. Boston gets 3 solid guys and pretty decent defenseman but barring injury, the Sharks got the best of this deal IMO.

[yankeetripper]

From SJS end ... could this be step 1? They have a solid #1 center already ... Could Thornton be making a quick stop in the west coast on his way to Florida is some sort of deal involving Thornton/Nabakov and Luongo/ some defense?
Not if you believe the Sharks GM. He was very high on the deal this morning. He said players of Thornton's caliber don't become availe that often and when they do you have to make the deal. Doesn't sound as if he's being flipped anytime soon.

[DoctorNo]

$21K. for a jersey.


I paid that much for my Chris Drury sweater.

Oh, wait. That's a "K", not a "0". Never mind.

[Uncle Larry]

Leafs on the season are outscoring Atlanta 18-1. Why doesn't Atlanta just not bother showing up? Don't risk injuries that way, save some dinity.

[DoctorNo]

You know what they say about one-game samples, but so far, so good for the Bruins, eh?

[Mike and Maddog]

The Flyers are giving away a Derian Hatcher wind-up walker to fans on Dec. 10 when they host Minnesota. The Hatcher walker is realistic. It walks as ... s-l-o-w-l-y... as Hatcher skates.

:lol:

[MountainHawk]

Yet Hatcher is on a team that is 15-6-3, and on a defense that has none of it's top 6 defense in the minus side of +/-.

[MountainHawk]

On plus minus for a second ... how the hell can Varada be a -2 on the Senators!

[hardinda]

Through the first 25 games or so:

Northeast: OTT, BUF, TOR, MON, BOS

OTT* MON* TOR* BOS* BUF

OTT*,BOS*,TOR*,MON,BUF

OTT*, TOR*, BOS*, MON, BUF

OTT*,BOS*,TOR*,MON,BUF

Northeast: OTT *, BOS *, MTL *, TOR *, BUF

Northeast: MTL*, BOS*, TOR*, OTT*, BUF


Everyone must have thought the Sabres were actually the Bruins.



On the other hand, my Thrashers prediction was way off. They don't show up for quite a few games. I went last night and besides Exelby, not a single player showed up. I still think they can run for the 7th or 8th spot, but that's about it.

[MountainHawk]

BUF is short for Bruins Un Fit for human consumption BOS = Buttload O Snow aka Buffalo.

;-)

[hardinda]

On plus minus for a second ... how the hell can Varada be a -2 on the Senators!

Varada is not cut out for the new NHL. The speed of the game is gonna make him look silly. I loved him in the old NHL, but he prob won't be around this league much longer.

[Irish Blues]

On the other hand, my Thrashers prediction was way off. They don't show up for quite a few games. I went last night and besides Exelby, not a single player showed up. I still think they can run for the 7th or 8th spot, but that's about it.
Sorry - I think they still finish about 10-15 points out.

[Uncle Larry]

On the other hand, my Thrashers prediction was way off. They don't show up for quite a few games. I went last night and besides Exelby, not a single player showed up. I still think they can run for the 7th or 8th spot, but that's about it.7th or 8th? You've gotta be kidding.

[Uncle Larry]

Buffalo has been on a hot streak lately. A couple weeks ago they were right down there fighting for last place with the Bruins. I think at this point Ottawa, Philly, Montreal, Toronto, Rangers, Tampa, Buffalo and Carolina make the playoffs. Buffalo'll be 8th seed and get their clock cleaned by the Sens in the first round.

[hardinda]

Buffalo has been on a hot streak lately. A couple weeks ago they were right down there fighting for last place with the Bruins. I think at this point Ottawa, Philly, Montreal, Toronto, Rangers, Tampa, Buffalo and Carolina make the playoffs. Buffalo'll be 8th seed and get their clock cleaned by the Sens in the first round.

When is a hot streak no longer a hot streak and just a good team? Do you realize the injuries the Sabres have had through this hot streak? They should only get better.

[DoctorNo]

Through the first 25 games or so:

C'mon, where the love for DoctorNo? I suck, too! :crying:


NORTHEAST: MON*, TOR*, BOS*, OTT, BUF

[DoctorNo]

To be fair, I was mistakenly under the impression that Dominik Hasek was nearly forty-one years old.

[MountainHawk]

Don't worry man ... as long as the Senators don't win as many games in the next 59 as they didn in the first 23, you'll be fine. ;-)

[MountainHawk]

Update in the predict the standings game:



Player Std Ply Tot
JustaSix 32 -20 12
MountainHawk 40 -22 18
Dr. No 40 -22 18
RAH 38 -18 20
BigD 40 -20 20
Uncle 42 -22 20
Chubbs 42 -20 22


Reminder of the scoring system:

For each team you get the absolute difference of the predicted place and actual place added to your score.

For each playoff team you get right, you get -2.

Uncle and BigD current have the entire Northwest division right; RAH has the entire Central Division right.

[GefilteFish144]

When is a hot streak no longer a hot streak and just a good team?

We Rangers fans keep asking that question every day. 6 straight and counting....

[seabass]

Huselius to Calgary for Steve Montador and some guy.

[MountainHawk]

Blue Jackets send down SEVEN players to AHL (http://www.nhl.com/news/2005/12/245990.html) to save cap space, because they are off for a week.

[hardinda]

Blue Jackets send down SEVEN players to AHL (http://www.nhl.com/news/2005/12/245990.html) to save cap space, because they are off for a week.

I'm sure the players love that they have to play more games at a reduced salary. That's pretty petty by the management.

[MountainHawk]

Yeah ... I think in the next CBA, they need to change it up a bit.

Here's how I would calculate the cap:

Every team has a 23 man roster
If a players in on the 23 man roster on the day of the game, 1/82 of the players NHL salary is added to the cap figure for the team for that year.

There would be five ways to remove a player from the 23 man roster:

(1) Trade
(2) Player Announces Retirement
(3) Put on Waivers
(4) has a 2 way contract and is assigned to the minors
(5) IR

Introduce a 10, 30, and 60 day IR. Players on IR are not on the 23 man roster, but do not have to clear waivers when they are removed from the 23 man roster. They cannot be added back to the 23 man roster until the expiration of the term of the IR. Once the term on the IR expires, players will have to be on the 23 man roster for at least one game before being reassigned to the IR.

No re-entry waivers.

[sharkie21]

Go Sens Go! Can't believe they got shut out by Boston though.

[DoctorNo]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=145415&hubname=nhl

Predators - Wings has been rescheduled for January 23. Game will be a full sixty minutes (plus overtime/shootout as applicable) but the Preds will start with a 1-0 lead.

That sounds about right.

[MountainHawk]

Weird that they aren't picking up with 7:30 left, but yeah, seems good.

[DoctorNo]

That was the only difference I would have made, especially since I'm sure that they will honour tickets from the postponed/cancelled game last month.

[MountainHawk]

hfboards down again?

[DoctorNo]

Yeah. I think they're running on a 286 over there or something.

[Uncle Larry]

When is a hot streak no longer a hot streak and just a good team? Do you realize the injuries the Sabres have had through this hot streak? They should only get better.The Sabres went 2-7 from late Oct to mid-Novemeber, since then they've been 8-0-1. If you want to believe the Sabres are going to continue to play at an 8-0-1 pace, believe it. I do not believe that the Sabres will "only get better" and not lose a hockey game for the rest of the season, therefor it's a hot streak. They should be somewhere in the middle of those two streaks.

[DoctorNo]

Sabres' hot streak ends Sunday in Denver. :)

[MountainHawk]

hmmm .... taunting the hockey gods isn't always the best way to go ;-)

[MountainHawk]

Sabres' hot streak ends Sunday in Denver. :)
See ... now you won't get a chance ... looks like SJ will end BUF hot streak .. 4-0 Sharks in the 1st.

[Irish Blues]

hfboards down again?
I've been on all evening, I haven't had any problems.

[MountainHawk]

it's back for me now ... just had problems for the 15 minutes around when I posted.

[MountainHawk]

Esche out 1-4 weeks with abductor injury / possible sports hernia

time for Frank to show us what he's got

[hardinda]

Sabres get away from the Sabre killer Thornton .... or maybe not.

Tommorow night, San Jose @ Buffalo ... great.

Called that one.

[hardinda]

Esche out 1-4 weeks with abductor injury / possible sports hernia

time for Frank to show us what he's got

JP Dumont most likely has a sports hernia and Briere something close. Crazy that this injury is all of a sudden all over the place.

[Uncle Larry]

See ... now you won't get a chance ... looks like SJ will end BUF hot streak .. 4-0 Sharks in the 1st.No, no, it wasn't a streak, they're an 8-0-1 caliber team :roll:

[hardinda]

No, no, it wasn't a streak, they're an 8-0-1 caliber team :roll:

They are 16-10-1 after tonight, but they are just a .500 team according to you.

[MountainHawk]

Weird play in the Devils-Wild shootout today. Mogilny shot, Ferdandez made the save but drifted back into the goal. The ref waved it off, but the replay showed Ferdandez drifted back into the net entirely. It was waived off anyway, because you couldn't see the puck go in.

[Irish Blues]

Lang out indefinitely for the Red Wings, Jiri Hudler called up to take his place. Maybe now we see if the kid can play or if he's been overhyped for just being with the Red Wings.

[GefilteFish144]

Weird play in the Devils-Wild shootout today. Mogilny shot, Ferdandez made the save but drifted back into the goal. The ref waved it off, but the replay showed Ferdandez drifted back into the net entirely. It was waived off anyway, because you couldn't see the puck go in.

Moot point, since Devils won it anyway. Quietly they are starting to play better but still a few points away from being #8 in the conference.

[hardinda]

Sabres' hot streak ends Sunday in Denver. :)

4-1 Sabres after the 1st.

[hardinda]

4-1 Sabres after the 1st.

Must be a Buffalo thing today ... 4-4 now

[DoctorNo]

Your Sabres are fast.

[hardinda]

Your Sabres are fast.

Yep, amazing how when you actually see them play, you can realize how they have won 9 of the last 11.

[Mike and Maddog]

Flyers lose again!

And of course there is no mention of the game by mountainhawk.

[MountainHawk]

I don't mention many Flyers games here. I do most of my hockey posting over on other hockey boards.

However, it was a great game, Therien is an idiot, and we lost our first shootout, so it's a bit silly for you to be gloating about that like we got killed. Nashville is one of the top 2 or 3 teams in the Western conference, and we played them to a tie over 65 minutes of hockey on the road. I'll take that for now, especially sans Forsberg, Primeau, Stevenson, and Esche.

[Wannabe Actuary]

Flyers lose again!

And of course there is no mention of the game by mountainhawk.
4-3-3 in their last 10.

They've played 3 less games than the rangers, and are 3 points behind them.

[seabass]

Flyers lose again!

And of course there is no mention of the game by mountainhawk.

It's not like you've been showing up to give credit when they win, so what's the difference?

[Irish Blues]

Brandon Bochenski scores a hat trick and the Senators win yet again.

This probably blows up the trade I worked out at HF to get him and a 2nd from Ottawa for Weight.

[MountainHawk]

Anyone heard anything more on Havlat's injury. Last I saw, they thought it was anywhere from 1 month to season ending.

[Wannabe Actuary]

Rangers win again, as Jagr adds some assists to his point total, now at 43

Rucinski adds 3 assists in his second game back from his knee injury

[Mike and Maddog]

rangers are too reliant on jagr. he gets hurt and bye bye rangers.

ottawa has 3 guys near the top. Spezza tied with jagr. alfred and heatley tied for 3rd.

[seabass]

Has Jagr spent significant time away due to injury? He seems to have avoided the groin injury phenomenon, probably because he got a decent amount of playing time during the lockout. The good thing about that team is that it's clearly his team, but the other lines do just enough (i.e. don't blow it) to keep the team on the winning end.

On the other hand, Darius Kasparitis will not be winning the "Athlete as an actor" award this year. He needs to take some tips from Peyton.

[Wannabe Actuary]

rangers are too reliant on jagr. he gets hurt and bye bye rangers.

ottawa has 3 guys near the top. Spezza tied with jagr. alfred and heatley tied for 3rd.
doesn't mean I can't enjoy them winning. I'm not out boasting a SC win...

[DoctorNo]

Not sure if the World Juniors rate a separate thread around here, but I can't believe that Wojtek Wolski isn't going to be invited to Team Canada's camp this year.

I've always been a big Sutter fan, but it doesn't make sense to me. I got to see this kid close up for two months before he was sent back to juniors, and he's absolutely sick.

[MountainHawk]

World Juniors probably worth a separate thread. I'll miss the first couple days, But I'll be in Canada for the 28th-1st, then back at home after that and it'll hopefully be on CI.

[Wannabe Actuary]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=548&hubname=

tsn NHL rankings as of yesterday...injuries are starting to pile up for the flyers

[MountainHawk]

Yep ... lost Sharp, another solid young player too. Primeau is done, but Forsberg should hopefully be back in another week ... getting Stevenson back tonight ... still waiting to see if Esche needs surgery, but they are leaning towards no last I heard. It could be worse, we aren't quite the Kings yet. ;-)

[Wannabe Actuary]

kings are only missing valeri buri, right?

hurricanes are missing 5 key (for them) players

[MountainHawk]

Kings is a reference to the past couple of seasons, where they lost 300+ man games to injuries, many of the critical players.

[Wannabe Actuary]

Kings is a reference to the past couple of seasons, where they lost 300+ man games to injuries, many of the critical players.gotcha...being a west coast team, most of my focus is on east coast teams and I missed most of that...that and the fact the kings aren't worth following really...:wink:

although to be honest...Felix Potvin 2000-2003 was with the Kings and was always one of my favorite players
he was pretty darn good in the 2000-2001 playoffs...they came back from 0-2 against the red wings to win 4-2. They took the avalanche, the eventual champ, to 7 games. Potvin posted shutouts in games 5 and 6 against the aves...6 was an 1-0 OT win.

He went 7-6 in the playoffs that year

[MountainHawk]

Until this year, most of the interesting games were in the West.

[Wannabe Actuary]

but I've always followed and east coast team...thus good or bad, that's where my attention was.

[Uncle Larry]

Ya, the West has been a lot more fun to watch past few years. Vancouver, Colorado, Detroit, Dallas. The play is a lot faster and more open out West.

[MountainHawk]

I've always followed the Flyers ... but given the choice of watching a late game of Edmonton-Florida or LA-SJ ... it's been a pretty easy choice. Even an early game of DET-STL would have been watched in previous years before NYR-NJD.

[MountainHawk]

Flyers take a MAJOR blow on the injury front:

Joni Pitkanen (D)-Athletic pubalgia-Out 4-to-6 weeks from Monday, Dec. 5. :(
Robert Esche (G) - Slight tear, abductor tendon -Out at least one week from Friday, Dec. 2.
Ryan Ready (LW) - Abductor strain - Day-to-day.
Turner Stevenson (RW) - Right hip flexor - Day-to-day.
Peter Forsberg (C) - Right groin strain - Day-to-day.
Dennis Seidenberg (D) - Broken right wrist - Broken right wrist sustained at Pittsburgh on Nov. 19, out two-to-three weeks.
Brian Savage (LW) - Sprained MCL, right knee - Suffered sprained MCL in right knee at Pittsburgh on Nov. 19, out one-to-two weeks.
Keith Primeau (C) - Concussion - Out indefinitely.

[Uncle Larry]

Rangers were fun when they had Bure. I still think he's one of the most exciting guys to ever have played. Or when they had Lindros/Fleury/York. Or even Kovalev. I never minded watching the Rangers, but ya, Devils are brutal, Pittsburgh has been so bad it hurt to watch, Islanders, Florida, Buffalo and Tampa up until a couple years ago. Just boring hockey teams.

[DoctorNo]

Vitali Kolesnik recalled to the Avalanche:
http://www.coloradoavalanche.com/news/currentdetails.asp?ID=414

I wouldn't normally think anything of this, but I'm pretty sure that both Aebischer and Budaj are 100% healthy. Could be prelude to a trade!

[DoctorNo]

We called the Avs, and they said that Aebischer and Budaj are both 100% healthy, and that Kolesnik was recalled solely for the purpose of having three goaltenders on the roster.

Of course, they wouldn't say "Oh yeah, he was recalled because a deal is coming up."

For the historically-significant-minded out there, consider:

(1) Patrick Roy was acquired ten years ago to the day.

(2) Roberto Luongo wants out of Florida.

Anyhow. I'm just sayin'. :)

[MountainHawk]

Flyers-Flames just played one of the most exciting 0-0 games I've ever seen. Niittymaki and Kiprusoff were both fantasic. Great for the Flyers too, with Forsberg, Pitkanen, Primeau, and Esche all on the shelf, and Desjardins going down in the first with a subluxion of the shoulder.

[Wannabe Actuary]

Rangers were fun when they had Bure. I still think he's one of the most exciting guys to ever have played. Or when they had Lindros/Fleury/York. Or even Kovalev. I never minded watching the Rangers, but ya, Devils are brutal, Pittsburgh has been so bad it hurt to watch, Islanders, Florida, Buffalo and Tampa up until a couple years ago. Just boring hockey teams.
Yeah, Bure and Fleury (when on drugs) were great to watch. Fleury was crazy. I'll never forget him sliding on the ice, heading into the boards, throwing punches at the guy next to him on the ice sliding into the boards along with him...I miss having MSG though, like my parents have. I already ordered ESPN Full Court, I'm likely ordering the MLB package next season...I just can't order another sports package...:shrug: but maybe I need to

[MountainHawk]

When it rains it pours for the Flyers. Desjardins is out 'best case two weeks, worst case we don't want to think about'.

[Mike and Maddog]

Flyers-Flames just played one of the most exciting 0-0 games I've ever seen. Niittymaki and Kiprusoff were both fantasic. Great for the Flyers too, with Forsberg, Pitkanen, Primeau, and Esche all on the shelf, and Desjardins going down in the first with a subluxion of the shoulder.

Just like I said. Post about a flyers game when they win. Although just barely.

[seabass]

What's with the Flyers and weird injuries? Abductors and subluxions and pubalgias? Good win for them though, Flames have started to ummmm... get hot lately.

Islanders seemed to get a good win over the Blues yesterday, but I couldn't tell, because Cablevision is evil. I didn't have access to the game, because to get OLN, you have to subscribe to IO digital cable service. In any case, we took a bunch of penalties, so I'm sure I missed out on another viewing of the Steve Sterling Sourface. It seems like every time we take a bad obstruction penalty, FSN cuts to Sterling and he always looks like he's sucking on a lemon.

[Real American Hero]

Shanny, post game, on Wings win:
This team is not used to losing -- and then to put together two losses in a row at home, especially. Pretty soon we would have started blaming Joey Harrington. It was getting that desperate.
2 losses and desperate? In December? In their division? I'm sure the Blues can feel their pain. <insert rolly eyes>

[MountainHawk]

Pretty sure I posted that before the shootout happened, champ. But keep whining.

[MountainHawk]

pubalgias is just a fancy name for a sports hernia. I hadn't heard of the damn thing before September, now it's all over the place.

[Irish Blues]

2 losses and desperate? In December? In their division? I'm sure the Blues can feel their pain. <insert rolly eyes>
Yep - the Blues were feeling desperate after that 5th straight loss.

Right now, it's more a feeling of numbness. The defense has struggled, won't clear opposing forwards from the front of the net, rarely blocks shots, has had *a lot* of breakaways and 2-on-1's against, we've got Cajanek, Brewer and Backman on the IR, Lalime is lame right now in net, ... and the Red Wings are desperate because they've lost 2 in a row?

[yankeetripper]

Sharks 3-0 since the big trade. Starting to play like the team many thought could challenge for the cup this year. If they can just get Nabakov straightened out they should be solid.

[Mike and Maddog]

Pretty sure I posted that before the shootout happened, champ.

Wow that's gutsy. Taking a chance they win the shootout.

Then again, you would probably delete the post if they lost.

[MountainHawk]

Considering how awful the Flyers looked in the shootout against Nashville, it would have been a big chance.

You seem to be under the delusion that I care very much if the Flyers win or lose game by game. Frankly, I don't. I just want to see the solid effort from all 19 guys on the ice (that's 12 forwards + 6 defenseman + 1 goalie, just so you know, because I get the impression you don't really understand hockey). The Flyers are going to be in the playoffs unless something disastrous happens. Home ice advantage means nothing unless you go to a game 7, which is fairly rare. If you are playing good solid hockey headed into the postseason, that's what's important, because that's when results actually start to matter.

Do I prefer it when they win? Of course. But I'm not ranting and raving about every loss, or gloating about every win. I was just happy to see a team that has lost a huge number of talented players in the last couple of weeks still had the drive and heart to play a very very solid game against the defending Western Conference Champions.

[Mike and Maddog]

I 'm confused. I thought there are only 6 guys on the ice for a team at one time.

And you forgot to include the backup goalie in your 19. he might see some ice time.

I get the sense that you don't understand hockey.

[MountainHawk]

Sens lose Havlat for long, long time:



ources say the Ottawa Senators winger is going to require surgery on the shoulder he injured last week against the Montreal Canadiens.

There is no definitive word yet how long Havlat will be out, but shoulder surgery usually results in an absence of at least three-to-four months.

[Uncle Larry]

I 'm confused. I thought there are only 6 guys on the ice for a team at one time.

And you forgot to include the backup goalie in your 19. he might see some ice time.

I get the sense that you don't understand hockey.If that was supposed to be funny, it wasn't.
If it was supposed to be witty, it wasn't.
If it was supposed to be clever, it wasn't.

Maybe you should quit while you're behind.

[Uncle Larry]

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh Penguins owner-player Mario Lemieux was admitted into hospital Wednesday for observation of an irregular heartbeat, the latest medical problem for a Hall of Famer who has missed the equivalent of five full seasons due to illness or injury.

Lemieux was to be monitored overnight in an undisclosed hospital and won't play Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild. The team said his playing status will be day to day after that.Hopefully he's alright and doesn't miss too much ice time.

[MountainHawk]

When it rains it pours for the Flyers. Desjardins is out 'best case two weeks, worst case we don't want to think about'.
Ugh. Desjardins gone for two to three months. Let's guess which critical Flyer player goes out with a injury tonight... not many left, will it be Gagne, or maybe Kapanen?

Maybe we should just call up the entire Phantoms team.

[MountainHawk]

Also, Bruins lose Boynton for 4-6 weeks with a fractured kneecap. That sounds like that would hurt.

[Uncle Larry]

Broken kneecap? He run into some problems with the mob or something?

[MountainHawk]

Colorado ... mob ... same thing. Just a bunch of no talent thugs. ;-)

[MountainHawk]

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie.asp



Sources suggest the earliest the NHL is considering the change is for the playoffs of 2008.

But there is every reason to believe that by then, 20 of 30 teams would see some playoff action. There are a number of permutations to this concept, but the basic premise is that the top two teams in each division would be guaranteed a playoff spot and those teams would be the top six seeds in each conference. The next four teams in each conference with the most points would then go into the "play-in" pool. It could be a best of three series, it could be a two-game series, with overtime as the tie-breaker - that's all still to be determined -- but the point is those four teams would be reduced to two after the brief "play-in" round and then hook up with the other six in each conference to start the 16-team "playoff" round.

There's a good chance, at that point, the league would go to "bracketed" playoff series, a la the NBA, as opposed to the round by round re-seeding that is currently done.

...

Sources suggest "hockey-related revenue," which is the basis for the new CBA, is being projected as quite strong and much better than expected.

...

Twelve per cent of each player's salary is currently being held in escrow, but that figure could be drastically reduced or perhaps even obliterated with healthy revenues. And at this point, the projections appear positive.

[Uncle Larry]

Oh goodie, more change. Hey how about instead of playing on ice, they play on grass. And instead of using sticks and pucks and nets, they use a ball, shaped sort of like a rugby ball, but pointier. And they can either throw the ball, or run it down the feild. You have to tackle the person carrying the ball to stop the play. Teams will get 4 chances to move the ball 10 yards forward. We can work out the details later.

I mean, that's what they want right?

[MountainHawk]

I think it's silly, but it's a way to squeeze in 8-12 more playoff games, with an averaeg ticket price of $80, with 17,000 people per game, or a total extra revenue of $11M-$16M. NHL just isn't going to say no to that, I don't think.

[Uncle Larry]

When people criticize the NHL for having too many playoff teams, I defend it. Sixteen is a great number because it gives you 4 rounds of playoffs. But 20 teams? Seriously, what's the regular season for? Do we need 82 regular season games to determine the top two thirds of the league? God I hate Bettman.

[MountainHawk]

How about you and me just consider the last four rounds 'the playoffs', and this silly extra round just 'overtime of the regular season' ... ;-)

[Uncle Larry]

Can there be a shootout?

[MountainHawk]

No, the shootout is soooo regular-regular season.

Instead, if the series is tied 1 game apiece, we'll put four targets in each corner of the goal, and the player that can hit all four the fastest will win the contest and his team will advance.



P.S. I hope Bettman doesn't read that

[Uncle Larry]

No kidding...I'll bet after that, what was it, 15 round shootout that Malik won, they were already coming up with more gimmickey ways to end ties.

[DoctorNo]

Colorado ... mob ... same thing. Just a bunch of no talent thugs. ;-)

Did this happen last night? I was at the game, and didn't even notice it. :(

[MountainHawk]

I didn't see the whole game, but the guys on the radio implied it happened during the game.

[Wannabe Actuary]

Super Mario is out of the hosptial...will rest for a week

[Irish Blues]

I think it's silly, but it's a way to squeeze in 8-12 more playoff games, with an averaeg ticket price of $80, with 17,000 people per game, or a total extra revenue of $11M-$16M. NHL just isn't going to say no to that, I don't think.
That's the exact reason the NHL went to a best-of-7 format throughout the playoffs in the mid-80s, because the owners wanted to generate more revenue.

I'd rather see the league seed the teams in each conference 1-8, then cross them over for the playoffs so you'd have 8E vs. 1W, 7E vs. 2W, ..., 1E vs. 8W and allow the chance that two teams from the same conference might meet in the Finals.

Not that I have a *huge* problem with going to 20 teams for the playoffs, but if they do it should be a best-of-3, have 7W vs. 10E and so on, and then go forward. And the bracketed idea is long overdue - at least this way, fans and coaches don't have to see one series end in 5 and sit around for 6 days waiting for a series to finish in 7 so they know who they're playing next.

[MountainHawk]

If we do that, just seed them one to sixteen or one to twenty, and go from there.

[Irish Blues]

If we do that, just seed them one to sixteen or one to twenty, and go from there.
If the league played a balanced schedule, I'd be all for it. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened since out 1981 or so - and even then, the NHL only played a balanced schedule for 3 or 4 seasons.

[Wannabe Actuary]

Rangers beat a good Nashville team 5-1....Flyers lose 3-2...

[Wannabe Actuary]

Rangers 19-8-4
Flyers 16-7-4

[hardinda]

Sabres also won last night. 3-2 in OT vs Ducks.

MH and I were talking last night and it looks like the Sabres will be switching back to Blue/Gold in 06/07. It'll be nice to get something like the old jerseys back. I think they'll update them into a newer style.

Also, Ryan Miller is going to play some conditioning games with Rochester this wkd. Biron has won his last 9 starts. With Miller coming back, I could def see a trade coming up in the next month or two. Anyone need a Biron caliber goalie?

[MountainHawk]

Disappointing effort by the Flyers last night ... I know they've lost a ton of guys to injuries, but a lot of players didn't work very hard. Ah, well. Looks like Esche will be back soon, Foppa is getting closer, and we'll have Pitkanen and Desjardins both back and nice a fresh after the Olympic break.

[Mike and Maddog]

Lose to Edmonton?
At home?
Allow 2 shorthanded goals?
How can this team be #2 on the TSN list?

[Wannabe Actuary]

Lose to Edmonton?
At home?
Allow 2 shorthanded goals?
How can this team be #2 on the TSN list?
I ask myself that every time I see the rankings. Seems no matter what the Flyers don't drop lower than 3rd or 4th...they're not even in first place of their own division. They need to go 3-1 in the 4 games less they have played than the Rangers. It's time for the Flyers to move down a bit. They've been saddled with injuries and aren't playing well. Be honest in the rankings. It's like the Iggles, it took a while for them to move down the rankings. People just aren't honest with what's really happening when it comes to philly sports.

[MountainHawk]

Edmonton has one of the best road records in the league. Once again, M&M shows his lack of knowledge.

Flyers won't need to go 3-1 in the 4 games in hand, because they are going to going to get 9-11 points in the 7 remaining games against the Rangers.

[Wannabe Actuary]

Edmonton has one of the best road records in the league. Once again, M&M shows his lack of knowledge.

Flyers won't need to go 3-1 in the 4 games in hand, because they are going to going to get 9-11 points in the 7 remaining games against the Rangers.
we'll see. Season series: Rangers 1, Flyers 0 (game played in Philly)
not a good start for the flyers in that series

[Wannabe Actuary]

I think Rangers win the season series 5-3 and the Flyers get a max of 7 points in the remaining 7 games against the rangers

[Mike and Maddog]

Once again MH shows his lack of the english language.

As for hockey knowledge, Edmonton had a 9-7 road record before last night. flyers were 11-3-2 at home. Even a novice like MH should see that flyers should have won.

[MountainHawk]

Right, because injuries to their top two centermen, top two defensman, and starting goalie mean absolutely nothing. :roll: ..

You know what ... forget it. This hockey thread is great other than your idiocy, so I'm putting you on ignore.

[Wannabe Actuary]

MH, I don't agree with MandM that based on the records the Flyers should have won, but he has pointed out that your statement of "Edmonton has one of the best road records in the league" is clearly not true.
Ottawa 9-2
Buffalo 9-5
Carolina 9-4-2
Detroit 9-3-1
Dallas 8-2

those are what I would call the best in the league in terms of road records.

[Uncle Larry]

I'm thinking of putting him on ignore too. I appreciate a good troll as much as anyone, but he's not even funny. Just annoying. Like one of those yappy little weiner dogs.

Is it someone's alt ID?

[Uncle Larry]

MH, I don't agree with MandM that based on the records the Flyers should have won, but he has pointed out that your statement of "Edmonton has one of the best road records in the league" is clearly not true.
Ottawa 9-2
Buffalo 9-5
Carolina 9-4-2
Detroit 9-3-1
Dallas 8-2

those are what I would call the best in the league in terms of road records.From a quick scan looks like Edmonton has the 7th best road record in the league, give or take a spot. I don't think saying they're "One of the best road records" is a stretch.

[Wannabe Actuary]

I guess not, but saying that Edmonton has one of the best road records makes it sound like they dominate on the road. Going into that game 9-7 on the road to me sounds like they're very beatable on the road. it's only 2 games above .500. Lots of teams are 2+ games better than .500 on the road...
12 teams have 2 or more wins than regulation losses on the road

[Uncle Larry]

Isaying that Edmonton has one of the best road records makes it sound like they dominate on the roadNo it doesn't.

[Wannabe Actuary]

No it doesn't.
it sounds that way to me.
I mean technically a team could be 1-15 on the road and be the only team with a road win. You could say they've got the best road record, it would be true, but it would also make you think they're goog on the road, which they obviously aren't. 9-7 is barely over .500...to me, that's not that good.

[Uncle Larry]

You are responsible for your own assumptions.

[MountainHawk]

Anything above .500 on the road is a very good road record, especially in the Western Conference where the travel is much more severe. I'll also admit I just heard they had 10 road wins on the season, and sort of assumed they were more like 10-5, not 10-7.

[Wannabe Actuary]

and the 10th came last night. so while 9-7 is good, it's not overly impressive either

[MountainHawk]

It's damn impressive for a Western Canadian team that travels over 200 mi to almost every road game.

[MountainHawk]

Oh right ... you're the guy that doesn't think travel and stuff wears on a team, because you refuse to acknowledge the advantage the Giants got in the NFL. Never mind.

[Wannabe Actuary]

yeah, I guess that does add to it. But Ottawa is similar that they have to travel far for their road games and look at them...9-2

[Wannabe Actuary]

Oh right ... you're the guy that doesn't think travel and stuff wears on a team, because you refuse to acknowledge the advantage the Giants got in the NFL. Never mind.
it was an advantage, yes, but the G-Men still would have beat the lowly Saints

[DoctorNo]

yeah, I guess that does add to it. But Ottawa is similar that they have to travel far for their road games and look at them...9-2

Are you seriously comparing Ottawa's travel schedule to Edmonton's?

[Uncle Larry]

It's damn impressive for a Western Canadian team that travels over 200 mi to almost every road game.They have 4 road games a year that are 190 miles away, second closest location is 700 miles, and 3rd closest is 1200 miles, and 4th is about 1400 miles. Those are their divisional opponents.

[Uncle Larry]

Ottawa's farthest divisional opponent is closer than Edmonton's second closest. It's not even comparable.

[MountainHawk]

Wow ... I didn't realize it was that bad.

WA -- Come on. Ottawa? Toronto is 4 hours away, Buffalo 5, Montreal 2, and Boston about 7 ... BY CAR. Edmonton to Colorado is a few hours flight probably.

[Wannabe Actuary]

hey, I'm in the US, to me, Canada is canada is canada...I don't know canadian geography that well.

is calgary far from most of their road opponents? they're 7-7-2
vancouver is far out west as well, right? they're a less impressive 5-8-2

I just figured most canadian teams had far to travel for most road games. I wasn't comparing exact distances. Sorry if that offended some.

[MountainHawk]

:rolleyes:

[bfore13]

is calgary far from most of their road opponents? they're 7-7-2
vancouver is far out west as well, right? they're a less impressive 5-8-2.Calgary and Vancouver are also far from their road opponents which is why there's such a disparity in their home/road records (CAL is 10-2-2 & VAN is 12-1). Edmonton is the farthest into Canada and therefore the farthest from division foe Colorado. This makes Edmonton's over .500 road record even more impressive especially since they aren't as good as CAL or VAN.

[Uncle Larry]

Wow ... I didn't realize it was that bad.

WA -- Come on. Ottawa? Toronto is 4 hours away, Buffalo 5, Montreal 2, and Boston about 7 ... BY CAR. Edmonton to Colorado is a few hours flight probably.Toronto is closer to 6 hours, Buffalo probably 7.5 because you have to go around the lake. The thing is Ottawa to their conference rivals isn't too much farther than division rivals. For Edmonton, their isn't a team outside their division within a 3 hour flight. There are teams inside their conference more than 2000 miles away.

[MountainHawk]

Toronto is closer to 6 hours, Buffalo probably 7.5 because you have to go around the lake. The thing is Ottawa to their conference rivals isn't too much farther than division rivals. For Edmonton, their isn't a team outside their division within a 3 hour flight. There are teams inside their conference more than 2000 miles away.
Not at 170 km/h, which was the average speed on the 401 last time I was on it. ;-)

[DoctorNo]

hey, I'm in the US, to me, Canada is canada is canada...I don't know canadian geography that well.

Thank you for helping to perpetuate the stereotypes involving the American educational system.

[Uncle Larry]

Not at 170 km/h, which was the average speed on the 401 last time I was on it. ;-)Must not have been a summer weekend. I'm lucky if I can do 100 heading East on the 401 outside Toronto in the summer. :roll:

We need to get rid of a lot of people around here...

[Wannabe Actuary]

Thank you for helping to perpetuate the stereotypes involving the American educational system.
sorry, Canada wasn't a focus...in fact, geography in general wasn't that helpful. I think it was taught one year and never revisited after 7th grade.

[Mike and Maddog]

Anything above .500 on the road is a very good road record, especially in the Western Conference where the travel is much more severe. I'll also admit I just heard they had 10 road wins on the season, and sort of assumed they were more like 10-5, not 10-7.

Never assume.

Check your facts before saying someone doesn't know anything about hockey and then points out your mistake.

[hardinda]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=548&hubname=

LOL, i love TSN's power rankings. Sabres at 17th. That's a good one.

[astudent]

And why are the coyotes ranked so high?
My favorite was Dallas' drop to ninth because of Phillipe Boucher's injury. He is a good player for Dallas, but c'mon!

[MountainHawk]

Forsberg and Esche coming back on tomorrow ... thank god, we can have a real power play again :)

[MountainHawk]

Never mind ... Gagne is out two weeks now. *sigh*

[GefilteFish144]

Just like that, Rangers Petr Prucha is tied with Sidney Crosby with 13 goals. The rookie won't get the same publicity as Crosby or Ovechkin but it's good to have someone besides Jagr who can score.

Strange game against St. Louis last night. Rangers blew the lead with 8 seconds left in regulation, but then won in OT after a shot ricocheted off the board, then hit Lalime in the back and went in the net. Talk about your freak goals....

[Wannabe Actuary]

missed that since I was out christmas shopping...I'll take the W any way it comes

[GefilteFish144]

Exactly how I feel. Rangers tend to play down to the level of their opponent -- they are 1-2 against the Caps, and that one win was a 15-round shootout. To the Rangers credit, refs were anal and called them on 13 penalties, but still should have killed them.

[Chubbs_23]

Forsberg and Esche coming back on tomorrow ... thank god, we can have a real power play again :)

Mountain Hawk,

I have Esche on my fantasy team and I am curious.. Is there any site that you can go to find out who will be starting in net that night?

[MountainHawk]

One place to check is the 'coach's corner' feature on www.philadelphiaflyers.com. When both goalies were healthy, it often commented on who would be playing next. The hockey futures boards (www.hfboards.com) also seem to have a lot of fans that scan every thing online, so it will often appear in the game day thread for that game.

[Mike and Maddog]

flyers with forsberg squeaked by lowly minny on saturday. at home.

scored in last minute of 3rd period after blowing a 2-0 lead.

[DoctorNo]

The rookie won't get the same publicity as Crosby or Ovechkin

If you're going to add Prucha to that list, you've also got to add Marek Svatos.

[Uncle Larry]

Why not Phaneuf?

[MountainHawk]

Because defenseman don't count. ;-)

(I'm kidding. He deserve consideration, but too many decision makers will go by point totals alone.)

[bfore13]

flyers with forsberg squeaked by lowly minny on saturday. at home.

scored in last minute of 3rd period after blowing a 2-0 lead.Forsberg was back but Gagne (tie for the league lead in goals) was out. You may think Minn. is lowly based on their record but Fernandez leads the league in GAA and save % and has an 8-4 record.

[Wannabe Actuary]

Forsberg was back but Gagne (tie for the league lead in goals) was out. You may think Minn. is lowly based on their record but Fernandez leads the league in GAA and save % and has an 8-4 record.
btw, since forsberg went out, how many goals in how many games did Gagne have? the whole is truly greater than the sum of the individual parts in this case

[MountainHawk]

I think he had 2 or 3 goals in about 5-6 games. Not at the clip he was before, but that's obvious due to the PP tanking, which is where a good portion of the offense came from for the Flyers. If they keep finding way to win these games without Forsberg and/or Gagne in the lineup, it's only a good thing.

[bfore13]

He had 2 goals & 1 assist in 6 games all of which came in one NYI game. With the losses of Pitkanen & Desjardins the PP has really struggled. Richards and Gagne didn't seem to click real well but it's a tough position to put a 20 yr old rookie in.

[Irish Blues]

Patrick Lalime will apparently be waived by the Blues today after his *pitiful* performance Saturday night, capped off with a highlight goal from Martin Rucinsky off the glass, off Lalime's butt, and into the net.

No truth to the rumor that the Blues are about to start a promotion where some lucky fan at every home game will get to start in net for the Blues that night.

[GefilteFish144]

If you're going to add Prucha to that list, you've also got to add Marek Svatos.

Fair enough, he has 14 goals, almost as many points as Crosby. I do admit that Prucha has a measly 3 assists, so that puts him well below Ovechkin, Crosby and Svatos in that department, but Prucha has the best +/- out of the 4. (Crosby's at a -9; yikes!)

[GefilteFish144]

Patrick Lalime will apparently be waived by the Blues today after his *pitiful* performance Saturday night, capped off with a highlight goal from Martin Rucinsky off the glass, off Lalime's butt, and into the net.



That was actually the 2nd goal that deflected off him that night. There was another one that deflected off a defenseman's skate.

[Uncle Larry]

Fair enough, he has 14 goals, almost as many points as Crosby. I do admit that Prucha has a measly 3 assists, so that puts him well below Ovechkin, Crosby and Svatos in that department, but Prucha has the best +/- out of the 4. (Crosby's at a -9; yikes!)Prucha has 16 points and is a +1, Phaneuf is a +2, has 15 pts and he's a defenseman.

Plus Phaneuf beat the hell out of Bill Guerrin.

[Real American Hero]

Patrick Lalime will apparently be waived by the Blues today after his *pitiful* performance Saturday night, capped off with a highlight goal from Martin Rucinsky off the glass, off Lalime's butt, and into the net.
They may be using waivers to fish for suckers. Kind of like puting out a "Free kittens" sign.

This doesn't however really change my already low opinion of Lalime.
No truth to the rumor that the Blues are about to start a promotion where some lucky fan at every home game will get to start in net for the Blues that night.
Be sure to tell Doctor No. Last I heard he was trying to score an entire section just to get a try-out. :insert appropriate smily here:

[DoctorNo]

We've got a phrase here in Colorado to describe something that was displayed in Denver tonight. Top team in the league is in town, and the Avalanche roll over in the third period.

That phrase is...

"F'n Avs" (replace "F'n" with the appropriate curse word).

The best part of it is that you can use to describe just about anything.

Can't get your car out of the driveway because there's too much snow? "F'n Avs".

Get turned down for that big raise at work? "F'n Avs".

"Arrested Development" gets cancelled? "F'n Avs".

[DoctorNo]

Be sure to tell Doctor No. Last I heard he was trying to score an entire section just to get a try-out. :insert appropriate smily here:

Not sure what I did to deserve being placed behind the St. Louis Blues' lineup, but believe me when I say that I apologize profusely.

;)

[Jables]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/666

[Wannabe Actuary]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/666
that's great....666=Satan

[MountainHawk]

Thanks for pointing that out ... I'm sure noone else could have made the connection. ;-)

Yahoo has a sense of humo(u)r? Who knew?

[GefilteFish144]

that's great....666=Satan

Well how conveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenient! Isn't that special?

A block from my apartment there is a Christmas tree sale from Boy Scout Troop 666. Of course, we all know an anagram of Santa....

[DoctorNo]

that's great....666=Satan

Thanks for ruining the surprise. Do you go around telling kids about the Easter Bunny, too?

[Wannabe Actuary]

Thanks for ruining the surprise. Do you go around telling kids about the Easter Bunny, too?
well, I have told a few kids the easter bunny is a lesbian, guess I should have let them figure that out.

[Irish Blues]

well, I have told a few kids the easter bunny is a lesbian, guess I should have let them figure that out.
:rofl: