Official NHL 2015-2016 Thread

[mikeyd23]

Not happy at all about the Rangers match up against the Pens.     Then again, the Ranger's aren't a real contender this season, but I was hoping they'd make it out of the first round, not feeling it at all against the Pens.

Yeah the Pens have been playing well against the Rags as of late, but King Henry can steal a round for sure!

[cramx3]

Not happy at all about the Rangers match up against the Pens.     Then again, the Ranger's aren't a real contender this season, but I was hoping they'd make it out of the first round, not feeling it at all against the Pens.

Yeah the Pens have been playing well against the Rags as of late, but King Henry can steal a round for sure!

Well as usual, King Henry is going to have to put the team on his shoulders.  I think it's possible for sure, just unlikely given how good the Penguins have been lately.

[SchecterShredder]

Not happy at all about the Rangers match up against the Pens.     Then again, the Ranger's aren't a real contender this season, but I was hoping they'd make it out of the first round, not feeling it at all against the Pens.

Yeah the Pens have been playing well against the Rags as of late, but King Henry can steal a round for sure!

Without a doubt. I wouldn't bet against NYR in the east solely due to Lundqvist. He can do more than steal a round; he could carry the Rangers all the way to the final. Still toast against literally any of the west teams though.

[Nick]

Rest in peace Ed Snider.

 

Very sad way to start the week this morning.

As far as people who did not play the game, you would be hard pressed to find a single individual who had more impact on the game. The man had a vision and a city, and he brought them together. Every single player, coach, or member of the Flyers organization had no question that hockey, Philadelphia, and winning all ran through that man's blood. The void he leaves on the city and the sport is huge.  I don't know exactly what this will mean for the future of the team, but for now, even if we can't honor him with a Stanley Cup, I hope the players give every ounce of themselves to pushing towards that goal.

[jingle.boy]

I was a huge Flyers fan in the 80s.  Snider did some great work keeping that team competitive over a very long period of time.  I'll be rooting for them ... and hard.

[Nick]

I was a huge Flyers fan in the 80s.  Snider did some great work keeping that team competitive over a very long period of time.  I'll be rooting for them ... and hard.

Even before this happened I figured we'd have a lot of unusual fans this time around. People will be cheering for us to either knock out or at least soften up Washington and then Pittsburgh.

[TheCountOfNYC]

I was a huge Flyers fan in the 80s.  Snider did some great work keeping that team competitive over a very long period of time.  I'll be rooting for them ... and hard.

Even before this happened I figured we'd have a lot of unusual fans this time around. People will be cheering for us to either knock out or at least soften up Washington and then Pittsburgh.

If Pittsburgh makes it past the first round.

[KevShmev]

Wow. What a spineless showing from the Islanders. It's clear they were losing on purpose so they can get Florida instead of Pittsburgh. And the fans were happy about it too. Now the Rangers have to play Pittsburgh and either Washington or Philly to get to the conference finals while the Islanders have the easier sequence of Florida and either Detroit or an injured Lightning squad to play in order to get to the conference finals.

 

Why is that spineless?  If they tanked on purpose to avoid playing the hottest team in the league, that is smart.  Now, it is true, like has already been said, that there is no such thing as an easy round or path in the NHL playoffs, but the bracket the Islanders are in isn't as scary as the one the Rangers are in.  They might lose in the first round and it will end up not mattering, but they increased their chances.  That is smart.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Wow. What a spineless showing from the Islanders. It's clear they were losing on purpose so they can get Florida instead of Pittsburgh. And the fans were happy about it too. Now the Rangers have to play Pittsburgh and either Washington or Philly to get to the conference finals while the Islanders have the easier sequence of Florida and either Detroit or an injured Lightning squad to play in order to get to the conference finals.

 

Why is that spineless?  If they tanked on purpose to avoid playing the hottest team in the league, that is smart.  Now, it is true, like has already been said, that there is no such thing as an easy round or path in the NHL playoffs, but the bracket the Islanders are in isn't as scary as the one the Rangers are in.  They might lose in the first round and it will end up not mattering, but they increased their chances.  That is smart.

A true competitor should always want to win. It shows a lack of competitive spirit to intentionally lose and if I were the Panthers, I would be happy about playing a team that loses on purpose.

[SystematicThought]

I think Philly has a good chance of knocking Washington out. Most times, the team that wins the President's Trophy doesn't win the cup. I'm rooting for the Broadstreet Bullies to win that series.

As for my state and team, the Wild are getting ripped in the media and rightfully so, for being a group of crybabies. I hope they don't go far/

[KevShmev]

Wow. What a spineless showing from the Islanders. It's clear they were losing on purpose so they can get Florida instead of Pittsburgh. And the fans were happy about it too. Now the Rangers have to play Pittsburgh and either Washington or Philly to get to the conference finals while the Islanders have the easier sequence of Florida and either Detroit or an injured Lightning squad to play in order to get to the conference finals.

 

Why is that spineless?  If they tanked on purpose to avoid playing the hottest team in the league, that is smart.  Now, it is true, like has already been said, that there is no such thing as an easy round or path in the NHL playoffs, but the bracket the Islanders are in isn't as scary as the one the Rangers are in.  They might lose in the first round and it will end up not mattering, but they increased their chances.  That is smart.

A true competitor should always want to win. It shows a lack of competitive spirit to intentionally lose and if I were the Panthers, I would be happy about playing a team that loses on purpose.

Eh, it's a marathon, not a sprint, and I am sure every player in the NHL knows you are not going to win every game.  I doubt the Islanders went into that game thinking, "I hope we lose," but it's more likely they didn't get "up" for it, and combined when resting certain guys, they were okay with not giving themselves the best possible chance to win. This happens all the time in sports; it's not a big deal.

[mikeyd23]

I think Philly has a good chance of knocking Washington out. Most times, the team that wins the President's Trophy doesn't win the cup. I'm rooting for the Broadstreet Bullies to win that series.

As for my state and team, the Wild are getting ripped in the media and rightfully so, for being a group of crybabies. I hope they don't go far/

Eh, as a Pens fan I literally can't bring myself to root for Philly against the Caps. But I honestly don't see the Caps losing a series to the Flyers. The Caps are not playing their best hockey right now, but they are still a much stronger team than the Flyers.

[SystematicThought]

Yeah, I do think this may be the year the Caps make it to the finals, but they just have a history...

And very happy to see that the Sens fired their coaching staff, although our goaltending has always been the highlight when we suck, so I am sad to see Wamsley go, but I'm happy to clean house. And they said they are going to hire a proven coach. Yeo's name has been thrown around and if the Bruins fire Julien, then we would probably be front runners to land him

[SchecterShredder]

Yeah, I do think this may be the year the Caps make it to the finals, but they just have a history...

And very happy to see that the Sens fired their coaching staff, although our goaltending has always been the highlight when we suck, so I am sad to see Wamsley go, but I'm happy to clean house. And they said they are going to hire a proven coach. Yeo's name has been thrown around and if the Bruins fire Julien, then we would probably be front runners to land him

Sens cleaning house was long overdue. They never should have given Cameron the permanent job after they canned the Walrus, he's a brutal coach. Not sure how he even made it out of the junior coaching ranks to begin with.

[KevShmev]

I hate to beat this drum already, but if the officiating keeps up like this, the Blues have no shot.  We already know the NHL loves them some big market teams, and that 1st period showed that quite clearly (marginal calls to give Chicago a 5 on 3, and then Backes gets interfered with and it isn't called when killing it).

[gmillerdrake]

I hate to beat this drum already, but if the officiating keeps up like this, the Blues have no shot.  We already know the NHL loves them some big market teams, and that 1st period showed that quite clearly (marginal calls to give Chicago a 5 on 3, and then Backes gets interfered with and it isn't called when killing it).

It's the Hawks Kev....defending Champs. Championship teams get calls like that and their infractions tend to be 'missed' from time to time. How about the Hawks player playing the puck and hitting our player while still in the box right when the door opened? A Clear penalty....you can't do that....but, It was pretty bad at time. but it all worked out     The goal Backes scored in OT is the type of goal that the Blues usually have go in on them....good to see a bounce go their way, especially after a couple calls that were missed for them.

[KevShmev]

That was a playoff goal. Throw it at the net and get a weird deflection for a goal.  After seeing the Blues spend the whole game passing too much in search of the perfect shot, that was sweet to see. 

[mikeyd23]

Good start for the Pens last night, if King Henry can't play moving forward I'd say the Pens win this thing in 5 especially if we start getting some injured guys back in the lineup.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Penguins look nasty.

I'm hoping for a Caps/Blues Finals, but I won't be surprised if Pittsburgh wins it all.

[gmillerdrake]

That was a playoff goal. Throw it at the net and get a weird deflection for a goal.  After seeing the Blues spend the whole game passing too much in search of the perfect shot, that was sweet to see.

Hopefully someone has grabbed Tarasenko and let him know that he can quit passing when he has open shots like the handful he had....I get that he might have thought a guy was open but when he's on the ice for the Blues there's no other Blues player out there that needs to be taking the shot unless its a rebound from one of his or deflection. Shoot Vladi!!! 

Like I said, it was good to see the Blues get one of those goals as historically those are the ones that go in on us...

[cramx3]

Good start for the Pens last night, if King Henry can't play moving forward I'd say the Pens win this thing in 5 especially if we start getting some injured guys back in the lineup.

Yea, that was tough watching Henrik get whacked and then give up that first goal.  It was all down hill from there    Regardless, I can see the Pens winning in 5 even if Henrik is healthy.  They are just playing so much better than the Rangers at this point in time.

[mikeyd23]

Good start for the Pens last night, if King Henry can't play moving forward I'd say the Pens win this thing in 5 especially if we start getting some injured guys back in the lineup.

Yea, that was tough watching Henrik get whacked and then give up that first goal.  It was all down hill from there    Regardless, I can see the Pens winning in 5 even if Henrik is healthy.  They are just playing so much better than the Rangers at this point in time.

They are playing about as well as their current roster can play. The scary thing is that they are playing this good with Malkin out, Fleury out, and several other forwards that have played well this year for them like Bennett and Rust.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Good start for the Pens last night, if King Henry can't play moving forward I'd say the Pens win this thing in 5 especially if we start getting some injured guys back in the lineup.

Yea, that was tough watching Henrik get whacked and then give up that first goal.  It was all down hill from there    Regardless, I can see the Pens winning in 5 even if Henrik is healthy.  They are just playing so much better than the Rangers at this point in time.

They are playing about as well as their current roster can play. The scary thing is that they are playing this good with Malkin out, Fleury out, and several other forwards that have played well this year for them like Bennett and Rust.

The Rangers for the most part matched the Penguins in intensity and execution. The Hank injury and subsequent goal completely shifted the momentum and the Rangers made some mental mistakes that the Pens did not. The penalties were lopsided in favor of Pittsburgh as well. If the Rangers get Hank back and fix the mistakes that cost them the game, they can still make a series out of this.

[mikeyd23]

The Rangers for the most part matched the Penguins in intensity and execution. The Hank injury and subsequent goal completely shifted the momentum and the Rangers made some mental mistakes that the Pens did not. The penalties were lopsided in favor of Pittsburgh as well. If the Rangers get Hank back and fix the mistakes that cost them the game, they can still make a series out of this.

Eh, I'd say the game was like pretty much any other NHL game in terms of officiating, called poorly for both teams. I certainly agree that this will still be a tough series for the Pens to win, it's just encouraging as a Pens fan to finally see this team playing up to their potential and doing it at the right team of the year.

[fadetoblackdude7]

Clearly a fluke goal from the Blues last night....

[gmillerdrake]

Clearly a fluke playoff goal from the Blues last night....

those are they types of goals that are going to go in. Both teams are too good defensively where a "normal" shot is going to go straight in. It's going to bounce off a skate, off a player, be deflected...etc. Chicago knows it and that's why they tried all night to stuff one in like that. That wasn't a 'fluke'.....it was a 'game winner'   

[fadetoblackdude7]

Clearly a fluke playoff goal from the Blues last night....

those are they types of goals that are going to go in. Both teams are too good defensively where a "normal" shot is going to go straight in. It's going to bounce off a skate, off a player, be deflected...etc. Chicago knows it and that's why they tried all night to stuff one in like that. That wasn't a 'fluke'.....it was a 'game winner'   

Valid point

[TheCountOfNYC]

The Rangers for the most part matched the Penguins in intensity and execution. The Hank injury and subsequent goal completely shifted the momentum and the Rangers made some mental mistakes that the Pens did not. The penalties were lopsided in favor of Pittsburgh as well. If the Rangers get Hank back and fix the mistakes that cost them the game, they can still make a series out of this.

Eh, I'd say the game was like pretty much any other NHL game in terms of officiating, called poorly for both teams. I certainly agree that this will still be a tough series for the Pens to win, it's just encouraging as a Pens fan to finally see this team playing up to their potential and doing it at the right team of the year.

I wasn't saying the game was unfairly called. The refs called what they saw. The penalties were in favor of the Penguins because the Rangers made stupid mistakes that the Penguins didn't. That's why they won. Because they limited mistakes which gave them more opportunities.

[mikeyd23]

The Rangers for the most part matched the Penguins in intensity and execution. The Hank injury and subsequent goal completely shifted the momentum and the Rangers made some mental mistakes that the Pens did not. The penalties were lopsided in favor of Pittsburgh as well. If the Rangers get Hank back and fix the mistakes that cost them the game, they can still make a series out of this.

Eh, I'd say the game was like pretty much any other NHL game in terms of officiating, called poorly for both teams. I certainly agree that this will still be a tough series for the Pens to win, it's just encouraging as a Pens fan to finally see this team playing up to their potential and doing it at the right team of the year.

I wasn't saying the game was unfairly called. The refs called what they saw. The penalties were in favor of the Penguins because the Rangers made stupid mistakes that the Penguins didn't. That's why they won. Because they limited mistakes which gave them more opportunities.

Ah, cool, I misunderstood. First game was fun to watch, it should be a fun series to watch regardless of which way it goes!

[KevShmev]

Clearly a fluke playoff goal from the Blues last night....

those are they types of goals that are going to go in. Both teams are too good defensively where a "normal" shot is going to go straight in. It's going to bounce off a skate, off a player, be deflected...etc. Chicago knows it and that's why they tried all night to stuff one in like that. That wasn't a 'fluke'.....it was a 'game winner'   

Exactly.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Caps win a physical game 1. Good start.

[Nick]

Caps win a physical game 1. Good start.

The series is going to the Caps, that much is clear after game 1.

First off, Caps are the stronger team, no doubt about that, and they are completely healthy to boot.

Next, you have the injury to Couturier. His importance to our team cannot be understated. He is key 1, 2, and 3 when shutting down big players, and his loss is huge.

Then there is Ghost, who should absolutely win the calder this year, for what he did for this team. As great as he was, he had a noticeable slowdown going into the playoffs. You have to remember he missed nearly all of last year with an injury. Coming back from that he's been asked to hop into the NHL, play good minutes, and now extend that into the playoffs. He's nearly out of gas.

Finally there is Streit and especially Voracek, who have been playing like crap. Voracek was doing well up until his last injury, and has just failed completely at having a great game since coming back.

I hope I'm wrong, but I'd expect Caps in 4 or 5, which kills me.

[KevShmev]

I might seriously be done with the NHL. I have never seen a game so lopsided in the officiating.

[gmillerdrake]

I might seriously be done with the NHL. I have never seen a game so lopsided in the officiating.

I literally cannot believe what I watched. If someone came up to me and told me that happened to their team I'd say they made it up. Anyone who says that first, the Tarasenko goal shouldn't have counted or second that Shaw didn't interfere with Elliot isn't intellectually honest. Plain and simple.

Had that been a Kane goal or a goal against Crawford....the goal would have stood and then goalie interference would have been called.

Of course, this is after the other things that went on that are laughable. I love the fact that a guy who violently assaulted a man two weeks ago by violently hitting him in the face with a stick is allowed to continue to play this year.

[fadetoblackdude7]

Great game