Official NHL 2016-2017 Thread

[jingle.boy]

@Jar ... Isn't that the point tho?  McDavid makes draisaitl a better player, as does Matthews with Nylander. To be a truly GREAT player, you need a figurative wingman - Gretz/Mess; Mario/Jagr; Sid/Malkin; Kane/Toews; the list goes on. The best have someone a) they make better and B) spreads the defensive coverage.

I hear ya, and agree with you, and not totally sure if you're for or against Eichel  but, again IMO, Draisaitl and Nylander are young studs in their own right who are also capable of making those they play with better too (not knocking on McD or Matthews at all), whereas no other forward on Buffalo comes even close to that level.

I'm 'for' him, but I just don't see him in the same tier as McDavid and Matthews.  He's definitely Top 5 of the under 20-ish year old crop, and if Buffalo can build something around him, they could be a playoff team in a few years.  His situation reminds me of the Oilers at the start of the decade - despite having the #1 pick three years in a row, they couldn't do jack shit with them.  Buffalo still has a long way to go, even with Eichel.

[Snow Dog]

As a Devils fan, I thankfully grew up witnessing my favorite team during their best years. That was the golden era of hockey for me (1990-2005), the height of my interest in the NHL. I sadly only casually watch now, but there will never be anything better than the Stanley Cup playoffs, the absolute best thing in sports. Really looking forward to seeing how these NSH/STL and PIT/WSH series play out!

Favorite players:
Brodeur
Stevens (Scott)
Probert
Sakic
Clark (Wendell)
Roberts (Gary)
And of the newer guys, probably Kane...

[KevShmev]

I went to the game with my cousin tonight.  8 rows from the ice and all-inclusive, which meant free food and drinks!  Score!

I hated to see the Blues lose on a goal like that, but we still had a blast, and that 3rd period was some of the most exciting Blues hockey I've ever witnessed live.  The Predators were really lucky to survive that blitz.

[Jarlaxle]

Not sure if anyone saw any Bruins/Sens games, but the Bruins brought in Charlie McAvoy after 2 years at BU. He was fantastic in the series and really looked like a young Ray Bourque.

Missed this. I've been high on McAvoy for awhile now, and while I'm not old enough to really remember Bourque, I see lots of similarities between McAvoy and Doughty. He's going to be a heck of a player.

[gmillerdrake]

I went to the game with my cousin tonight.  8 rows from the ice and all-inclusive, which meant free food and drinks!  Score!

I hated to see the Blues lose on a goal like that, but we still had a blast, and that 3rd period was some of the most exciting Blues hockey I've ever witnessed live.  The Predators were really lucky to survive that blitz.

Glad you had a good time Kev....you're much more even keeled than I am. I'd be pi$$ed. Sure, the third period was inspiring and fun and all but where was that intensity and urgency all game? Same story...different series. And, three of the four goals were soft as    As I said..what have you done for me lately Jake? Any 'aura' he had from the first round is gone. He looked horrid.

Anytime you score three goals off of Pecca Rinne you should win, period. That doesn't happen often. That game was there for the taking and the Blues coughed it up.

Scott Upshaw and Jori Lehtera should not see the ice ever again. Upshaw continued his stretch of taking another retarded penalty and Lehtera...well...he just flat ass sucks. Put one of the rookies in there that are playing with passion instead of that European washout who lucked into a $4million dollar contract....man I hope Vegas takes that waste of space.

[mikeyd23]

And Chad, Ovechkin hasn't won jack shit. He doesn't deserve to be in the same conversation as Crosby.

TAC I like you more each day.

[KevShmev]

I went to the game with my cousin tonight.  8 rows from the ice and all-inclusive, which meant free food and drinks!  Score!

I hated to see the Blues lose on a goal like that, but we still had a blast, and that 3rd period was some of the most exciting Blues hockey I've ever witnessed live.  The Predators were really lucky to survive that blitz.

Glad you had a good time Kev....you're much more even keeled than I am. I'd be pi$$ed. Sure, the third period was inspiring and fun and all but where was that intensity and urgency all game? Same story...different series. And, three of the four goals were soft as    As I said..what have you done for me lately Jake? Any 'aura' he had from the first round is gone. He looked horrid.

Anytime you score three goals off of Pecca Rinne you should win, period. That doesn't happen often. That game was there for the taking and the Blues coughed it up.

Scott Upshaw and Jori Lehtera should not see the ice ever again. Upshaw continued his stretch of taking another retarded penalty and Lehtera...well...he just flat ass sucks. Put one of the rookies in there that are playing with passion instead of that European washout who lucked into a $4million dollar contract....man I hope Vegas takes that waste of space.

My cousin and I were talking about that after the game.  We actually are hoping Vegas takes Lehtera and that contract off our hands.

Allen didn't play great, but I think he'll bounce back.

Parayko and Schwartz are both incredible to watch live.  Parayko is already so damn good, and is just gonna get better.

[TAC]

Not sure if anyone saw any Bruins/Sens games, but the Bruins brought in Charlie McAvoy after 2 years at BU. He was fantastic in the series and really looked like a young Ray Bourque.

Missed this. I've been high on McAvoy for awhile now, and while I'm not old enough to really remember Bourque, I see lots of similarities between McAvoy and Doughty. He's going to be a heck of a player.

Definitely looks like Doughty out there.

[jingle.boy]

I didn't watch enough of the Bruins/Sens series to get a good watch of McAvoy, but there sure was a lot of buzz about him. 

[SystematicThought]

Come on Ottawa, 3 more wins!

[TheCountOfNYC]

Well when you take dumb penalties and don't play good defense in front of your goalie, you usually don't win games. Regroup and beat them in game 2.

[mikeyd23]

Good start by the Pens last night. My thought before the series was that they would need to steal one of the first two in DC in order to win this series. Consider one game in DC stolen.

[cramx3]

That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night.  Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline.  Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way.  SO frustrating.  Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything.  This could be a long series.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Late to the favourite player thread:

Ovechkin
Kovalev
Price
Souray
Joe Thornton

[King Postwhore]

That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night.  Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline.  Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way.  SO frustrating.  Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything.  This could be a long series.

That's how the Sens and their trap works.  Boring way to play but it works.

[jingle.boy]

That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night.  Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline.  Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way.  SO frustrating.  Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything.  This could be a long series.

That's how the Sens and their trap works.  Boring way to play but it works.

1995 New Jersey all over again?

[cramx3]

That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night.  Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline.  Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way.  SO frustrating.  Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything.  This could be a long series.

That's how the Sens and their trap works.  Boring way to play but it works.

1995 New Jersey all over again?

Please don't remind me of 15 years of bad memories in hockey 

[KevShmev]

Crosby is so damn good.  Two goals last night in under a minute.

That winner by the Sens was crazy.  A million to one shot and it went in.

[KevShmev]

Tarasenko ties it up after a very dirty hit on Parayko.  Parayko better be okay or I'm cracking some skulls.

[gmillerdrake]

Tarasenko ties it up after a very dirty hit on Parayko.  Parayko better be okay or I'm cracking some skulls.

Cheap ass hit. It's the Blues. Parayko will have a blown out knee, you know that.

Although i thought i saw him say 'I'm fine'

[KevShmev]

The Blues PP stinks.

[gmillerdrake]

The Blues PP stinks.

Yeah. Gonna cost them. 9 minutes of Power play time and 1 goal. Pretty bad.

[gmillerdrake]

Gonna find my Dad tomorrow and slap him for making me a Blues fan.

[Rattlehead]

Gonna find my Dad tomorrow and slap him for making me a Blues fan.

Hold off on the slapping! We've got a game here 

[SystematicThought]

That Rangers/Senators game was hard to watch last night.  Not a lot of action and then my team loses on a fluke goal, shot from behind the backline.  Ugh, Henrik played soooo good to let that game end that way.  SO frustrating.  Luckily, it's not like the Rangers couldn't hang with them or anything.  This could be a long series.

Gonna be a fun series! For me at least, I always enjoy watching the Sens play

[gmillerdrake]

Gonna find my Dad tomorrow and slap him for making me a Blues fan.

Hold off on the slapping! We've got a game here 

   still gonna get him.

[Rattlehead]

Tarasenko is awesome  I'm happy for the Blues, I'm pulling for them in the West.

[KevShmev]

That was awesome.  Tarasenko is so good.  Fun series so far.

[gmillerdrake]

I'm gonna have to take Chads advice and switch to decaf before I watch a game. Those last few minutes of holding off the Preds had my heart a pumpin.

[SchecterShredder]

Good thing Talbot brought his A-game tonight.  The 1st was a shooting gallery.

[jingle.boy]

I'm gonna have to take Chads advice and switch to decaf before I watch a game. Those last few minutes of holding off the Preds had my heart a pumpin.

Holy hell did the Preds bring it.  I'm always in awe that a team can do that after coasting for so much of a game.  Allen returned to form, and he/Vladi put the team on their backs and carried that victory.  Fantastic game.

Edmonton looks like the real deal.  Hope they can continue this at home.

[SchecterShredder]

Glad the oil won last night,  but if they keep playing like that the rest of the series they'll lose the next 4. Talbot stole that game.

[KevShmev]

I'm gonna have to take Chads advice and switch to decaf before I watch a game. Those last few minutes of holding off the Preds had my heart a pumpin.

I counted 48 new gray hairs.

  Allen returned to form, and he/Vladi put the team on their backs and carried that victory.  Fantastic game.

Tarasenko came up big last night.  The two goals were obviously huge, and his sliding defensive play near the end was the kind of sacrifice you love to see the stars make in the playoffs. 

[gmillerdrake]

  Allen returned to form, and he/Vladi put the team on their backs and carried that victory.  Fantastic game.

Tarasenko came up big last night.  The two goals were obviously huge, and his sliding defensive play near the end was the kind of sacrifice you love to see the stars make in the playoffs. 

Interesting quote from Edmundson in the paper about Tarasenko's second goal. I thought it looked like a bit of fortune when the puck went from his skate over to Vladi...but...it was intentional:


Joel Edmundson can’t recall how Blues teammate Vladimir Tarasenko called for the puck. But he knew it was the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer begging for it with time running down in a tie game Friday between the Blues and Nashville Predators.

“I know his voice,” Edmundson said.

The defenseman was planning to stop a pass from Jaden Schwartz with his skate and move the puck to his stick, but upon hearing the Russian inflection, Edmundson instead steered it with his foot to Tarasenko, who put his second goal of the night past Nashville’s Pekka Rinne for the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over the Predators.


Reminds me of the goal he scored with seconds to go in regulation two years ago against Chicago in the playoffs when Petriangelo said he didn't know what Tarasenko was screaming to him....that it was all in Russian....but he figured he really wanted the puck 

[SchecterShredder]

What is going on in this Rangers/Sens game lol? Wide open hockey at both ends