NHL 2023-2024: Playoff Time. Hello Darkness.....

[jingle.boy]

The Bs have done a good job at beating the teams they're supposed to - but they have played 5 non-playoff teams from last year.  Still, undefeated is undefeated.

[TAC]

How far is Ottawa from you?

6 hour drive

Nice road trip.

The Bs have done a good job at beating the teams they're supposed to - but they have played 5 non-playoff teams from last year.  Still, undefeated is undefeated.

I've been largely unimpressed. Ullmark and Swayman have saved their asses. They've been great.

On D they seem ok. McAvoy is much better (healthier) than last year, but Lindholm has taken a step back. Not sure what the issue is.
I was NOT in favor of signing Shattenkirk. Would've liked them to introduce some young blood there, as Mason Lorei was their last cut to go to Providence. That kid is going to be a stud. But Shattenkirk is playing on the 3rd pair, and he has been rock solid. The guy is in position, makes the smart play, and his cool as a cucumber in traffic.

Up front, I don't think this team is as fast as they were last year. Losing Bergeron is huge obviously. Not just on the ice, but off of it. I think he had a way of calming or focusing the room. Bergeron wasn't a garbage goal guy. His goals always came at critical spots.
Losing Krejci I don't think is a big deal, honestly, but you still need to replace him with someone competent.

They're playing two rookies at center. 2022 2nd round pick Matthew Poitras (19 y/o) is playing 2nd line and has been great. He's up on his 9game tryout as it's NHL of back to Juniors for him, but he's staying.
Johnny Beecher (2019 1st rd) is playing 4th line center and that line has been most noticeable on most nights.




But yes, they've played nobody. They play the Ducks at home tomorrow, and then next week, they have Detroit twice, Florida and Toronto. I'll take their temp after next week.

[Stadler]

Look, are they playoff ready?  No.  But they've done what they needed to do.  I think they made Bedard look average last night (but then again, I've never been on the bandwagon, myself.) and they are for the most part playing good fundamental hockey.  I'll take it for October. 

[TAC]

Look, are they playoff ready?  No.  But they've done what they needed to do.  I think they made Bedard look average last night (but then again, I've never been on the bandwagon, myself.) and they are for the most part playing good fundamental hockey.  I'll take it for October.

Well, yeah, for sure. 5-0 is better than 0-5 obviously.

The PP is a trainwreck, and they've been outplayed for large stretches of these games. They are not up to speed yet. But yeah, I'll take it.

[axeman90210]

The Devils haven't been as strong as last year at 5v5 so far, but the power play has just been stupid good (44% and one "even strength" goal last night came right as the man advantage ended and it was still 5v4 in the offensive zone). Jack Hughes just motoring along with 14 points in his first 5 games.

[Anguyen92]

Well, this is turning into a crazy development.  It's out there somewhere, but the last remaining RFA that is yet to be signed, Shane Pinto of the Senators, has now been suspended for breaking protocols relating to gambling (I'm reading that he didn't bet on anything NHL-related, but active players being involved regarding gambling on sports is a no no, despite sports betting ads has been crammed down our throats for the last few years, but that's a different topic for another day).  This story, as it unfolds, got a lot of layers to tell.

https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1717576126237753753

[Anguyen92]

So let me get this straight.  The Bruins loses their undefeated streak to the Ducks in OT???  Even with a 3-1 lead going into the 3rd???  The Avs also got clobbered by the Pens. 

Meaning, the last undefeated team in the league is the Golden Knights......  They play the Blackhawks on Friday and got Kings on Saturday.

[TAC]

So let me get this straight.  The Bruins loses their undefeated streak to the Ducks in OT???  Even with a 3-1 lead going into the 3rd??? 

With two minutes left, to boot.
That was an ugly collapse.

[jingle.boy]

[Anguyen92]

Man, things were ugly with the Oilers, even with McDavid healthy, to start the season.  Things are horribly ugly with McDavid injured.  They couldn't even get a goal on Quick whose pretty much on his last legs in a 3-0 loss to the Rangers.  Both Oilers and Flames are going to be playing in a stadium in Alberta on Sunday and both teams are trending downwards in a frustrating way for the fanbases.  I never think both teams are playing an outdoors game going into it pretty cold on the streak side of things.

[jingle.boy]

BTW Tim, I raz ya, but the Leafs did the exact same thing last year around this time - blew a 3rd period lead to the Ducks - and lost in OT.

It's legitimately shameful.

[King Postwhore]

You bastard. 

[Stadler]

So let me get this straight.  The Bruins loses their undefeated streak to the Ducks in OT???  Even with a 3-1 lead going into the 3rd??? 

With two minutes left, to boot.
That was an ugly collapse.

WTF?!?  I flipped over to the Bills game with about 3:30 left, and then got sidetracked by my wife...  I checked my phone and thought I had the wrong game.  Three goals in basically four minutes.   They weren't playing GREAT before that but they weren't playing badly either.

I'm not panicking, and this isn't a knee-jerk thing (I said this back in April of last year):  I think you deal Ullmark while the new car smell is still there, and go with Swayman and bring up Bussi.

[jingle.boy]

And now no one is undefeated.

[TAC]

I'm not panicking, and this isn't a knee-jerk thing (I said this back in April of last year):  I think you deal Ullmark while the new car smell is still there, and go with Swayman and bring up Bussi.

I think they had a deal for Ullmark at the Draft, but it was to one of the teams on his partial no trade list, and he nixed it. He seemed pretty much resigned to the fact that he was going to be dealt, but he ended up blocking whatever deal they had in place.

[Anguyen92]

I know this was against the Coyotes, but they are a feisty team to play against nowadays, but the Kings came back from a 4-1 deficit to win in regulation.  Kings was not ready at all to play in the 1st 10 minutes of the game.  Copley got pulled.  Talbot let in a goal early after he was in relief.  The Kings were getting goalied by Vejmelka.  Somehow, slowly by surely, they were making those PPs count.  Doughty had a great game.  He had a great shift that led to a winning goal. 

Don't think they are going to have much left against the Golden Knights tomorrow, but at least, it's nice when the Kings are able to win a game after being down 3 goals rather than it be the other way around.

[jingle.boy]

No matter the team, that's always a good feeling.

[jingle.boy]

Dear lord... with 35 seconds left in a 2-2 tie, the Leafs had a defensive zone face off.  They won it, but then burned that entire 35 seconds passing back and forth and just skating around their own end below the hash marks.  Like, WTF?  I get wanting to make sure you get the point, but c'mon.  There was ample time to attack and try to get the game.  As soon as the horn blew, I commented to jingle.son "The Hockey Gods will make them pay for that".  Sure as shit, they lost the opening faceoff, and except for about 8 seconds when Matthews had a bit of puck control, they didn't touch the puck again.

None-the-less, taking 7 points on a 5-game road trip isn't terrible.  I do find it odd though, that this is their longest road-trip of the season.  Usually west coast trips will often include a game or 2 in the Central as well. 

Pretty excited for the Heritage Classic tonight.  It's perfectly cold in Edmonton (hovering around the freezing mark), and both teams are in dire need of a win.  This could be a very intense Battle of Alberta.

[SchecterShredder]

Needing a win is an under statement for edmonton. It's practically crisis mode. It's still early,  but the history of teams making the playoffs after starting poorly in October and November is not great.  Not great at all.

Heritage Classic should be good. I was fortunate enough to attend the first one in 2003. It was so fucking cold. -27C i believe.  I was in full snowboarding gear, and it was still awful.

[jingle.boy]

Needing a win is an under statement for edmonton. It's practically crisis mode. It's still early,  but the history of teams making the playoffs after starting poorly in October and November is not great.  Not great at all.

Heritage Classic should be good. I was fortunate enough to attend the first one in 2003. It was so fucking cold. -27C i believe.  I was in full snowboarding gear, and it was still awful.

They're 14 points behind Vegas already!  Hard to believe that less than 10 games into the season, they can probably kiss their hopes of winning the West goodbye.

[Stadler]

Solid win against Detroit.  I know the Wings were on a two-game slide, but we weathered the push in the third period nicely.  That penalty shot was a thing of beauty.

[jingle.boy]

Heritage Classic was pretty good game.  Edmonton looked like last year's squad.  Calgary looked limp.  That team is just bad, and I think will be contending for a lottery pick.  Huberdeau is going to be an anchor of a contract - one killer year, and he cashed in big time.  Now he looks like the 3rd liner he clearly is - at $10.5M for the next 7 years with a NMC.

Hopefully Tree learned his lesson, and doesn't do anything this stupid for the Leafs.

[TAC]

Solid win against Detroit.  I know the Wings were on a two-game slide, but we weathered the push in the third period nicely.  That penalty shot was a thing of beauty.

That Empty Netter was a thing of beauty.

[Anguyen92]

Hopefully Tree learned his lesson, and doesn't do anything this stupid for the Leafs.

So you're saying if he gives Nylander that kind of contract now, you wouldn't be ok with it?

[jingle.boy]

Hopefully Tree learned his lesson, and doesn't do anything this stupid for the Leafs.

So you're saying if he gives Nylander that kind of contract now, you wouldn't be ok with it?

No, I wouldn't.  No team can afford four $10M+ players.

[TAC]

Mark Messier rules!!

[jingle.boy]

Leafs just did not have it tonight.  Lucky bounce on the first goal against, and killer snipe on the third.  For a team that is 30th in Goals Against so far, the Kings looked like the '95 Devils, absolutely swarming the Leafs giving them no space to make any plays.

[Anguyen92]

All right.  After some disappointing losses to teams like the Avs, Bruins, Canes, and Golden Knights, the Kings finally got a win against a higher-end team, against the Leafs.

[Anguyen92]

So remember that trade that didn't happen where Vegas sent Evgenii Dadonov to the Ducks, but Dadonov had the Ducks on his NTC list?  Well, the Ottawa Senators (who traded Dadonov to Vegas previously) has to forfeit a 1st round pick for them mishandling and not providing the trade list to Vegas.  Even though back when the botch trade happened in 2022, the league said that there would have been no punishment to the Sens regarding this matter.

https://twitter.com/reporterchris/status/1719754353345487312

[jingle.boy]

I heard this was coming down.  So, failing to file NTC's is a more severe offense than covering up sexual misconduct.

Good job NHL.   

[Anguyen92]

Not to get all Stadler on us, which I don't want to defend Chicago and I am really pissed that they had no picks forfeited for that s***.  Like what is the monetary value of a 1st round pick around #16-32 overall?  Chicago paid $2 million of a fine for their crap (which is nothing to them when it comes to their overall net worth).  The Senators were just negligent (intentionally or not) in providing Vegas with the trade list at the time they traded Dadonov. 

Would we think it's on the Golden Knights to do their research a little on the player's modified NTC list before making that trade that became void?  Yes, I personally think that.  Vegas doesn't think that.  They thought it's on the Senators to provide them that list and they didn't when the trade from Senators to Vegas happened.  Vegas threw a fit and the league hammers the Senators to forfeit a 1st round pick in either 2024, 2025, or 2026.

[SchecterShredder]

Yeah...I'd put the blame strictly on Vegas here. That's simply not doing your due diligence. You'd think if a NTC was legally binding, it would have to be explicitly laid out in the contract which teams are on the list. Sens shouldn't be penalized at all, and someone in the Knights legal department should be losing their job.

[jingle.boy]

And Dorian is fired.  Timing seems too coincidental for this Dadanov thing not to have played a role.  I figured he was safe until the end of the year, and I figured he was safer than DJ Smith.

[Anguyen92]

It's not just the Dadanov thing.  It's also stuff like not getting Shane Pinto signed (even during the Summer before Pinto got suspended for half a season due to breaking gambling protocols).  Plus, with new ownership, Dorion was already on a tight leash and unless the team is off to a much more respected start, even the smallest infraction and the owner is like, "Nahh, this guy ain't our guy moving forward."

I will say this about Dorion.  That guy had quite the limited resources, but he was not afraid to make big moves.  Some worked out fine like getting Brady Tkachuk, Stutzle, and Sanderson signed long-term.  Some that did not work out as fine like paying a hefty price for Debrincat, only to get smaller returns in performance and getting assets back.

Now people are pondering if Peter Chiarelli is going to be the new GM for the Sens in the future.

[SchecterShredder]

Now people are pondering if Peter Chiarelli is going to be the new GM for the Sens in the future.

That would welcome news to 7 other teams in the Atlantic lol. Hiring Chiarelli is a sure fire way to tank your team. A GM who literally does nothing at all would be more successful.