Official '19-'20 NHL Thread - v. Hedman is a cupman.

[TAC]

$40 to go see Connor McDavid in person. Yeah, I'd do it.

[SchecterShredder]

Ducks are definitely getting obliterated tonight

[romdrums]

Ughhhh.  My landlord told me that they got to replace an old internet modem which means we have no internet for 1-2 days and I find myself contemplating wanting to go Oilers vs Ducks today at the Honda Center.  Tickets are going for $40.00 for the worst nosebleed seats.  On the one hand, I really don't want to pay for a Ducks game unless I know for certain that they will be obliterated and the Oilers, so far, could be the team that can do that.  On the other hand, I don't really have anything else to do for the evening (no playing video games, no watching Twitch streams without taking up too much data from my personal hotspot).  I wonder what is it like to see a hockey game of two teams you don't have a huge horse in?

Did that a few times when I lived out in Colorado.  Saw an Avs-Oilers game and an Avs-Wild game during my time there.  Also took in a Thrashers-Preds game when my brother lived in Atlanta.  It was fun to watch from a pure enjoyment of the sport perspective.  It was interesting to see the strategies employed, team cohesion, and so on. 

[jingle.boy]

I honestly hope the latest rambling nonsense to spew from Don Cherry's mouth last night is the final nail in the coffin of his career. He should have been fired from HNIC years ago.

You got your wish.  Coaches Corner was at the end of it's useful life, but deserved a better end than this.  His comments may have been in bad taste, and it's the whole "you people" that gets everyones' panties in a bunch.  He didn't deserve to be fired over this.

Social Media Justice Warriors strike again.

[pg1067]

Ughhhh.  My landlord told me that they got to replace an old internet modem which means we have no internet for 1-2 days and I find myself contemplating wanting to go Oilers vs Ducks today at the Honda Center.  Tickets are going for $40.00 for the worst nosebleed seats.  On the one hand, I really don't want to pay for a Ducks game unless I know for certain that they will be obliterated and the Oilers, so far, could be the team that can do that.  On the other hand, I don't really have anything else to do for the evening (no playing video games, no watching Twitch streams without taking up too much data from my personal hotspot).  I wonder what is it like to see a hockey game of two teams you don't have a huge horse in?

I'm obviously responding too late for yesterday, but I have a couple points.

First, don't ever buy tickets for a game if you're going to regret doing so unless the game turns out a particular way.  I dropped somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 for a ticket to game 4 of the 2012 Stanley Cup final.  Kings didn't finish the sweep, but I don't regret it at all.

Second, $40 for nosebleeds at the Pond isn't too bad -- especially with a marquee opponent like the Oilers/McDavid.

Third, with respect to seeing games with teams that you don't necessarily have a rooting interest in (although any good Kings fan always has a rooting interest in a Ducks game), I love doing it!  When I travel on business, I always look to see if there are games going on locally (NHL, MLB or NFL and also local minor league stuff).  I'm going to be in NYC at the end of January and have my eyes on an Islanders game.

It was fun to watch from a pure enjoyment of the sport perspective. 

Exactly!  And you don't have to stress about whether your team wins or loses.

I honestly hope the latest rambling nonsense to spew from Don Cherry's mouth last night is the final nail in the coffin of his career. He should have been fired from HNIC years ago.

You got your wish.  Coaches Corner was at the end of it's useful life, but deserved a better end than this.  His comments may have been in bad taste, and it's the whole "you people" that gets everyones' panties in a bunch.  He didn't deserve to be fired over this.

Social Media Justice Warriors strike again.

Ugh....  I hate crap like that.

I posted last week about the "Russian Five" documentary, and I finished watching it over the weekend.  They had footage of some blowhard explaining that the reason why the Wings didn't win it all in 1996 was because they had "too many Russians" on the roster.  They then cut to Sergei Federov saying/half-laughing, "Yeah...it was the Russians' fault...again."  LOL!  It also reminded me of someone (might have been Don Cherry) who described Tomas Sandstrom as a "dirty Swede."

[SchecterShredder]

I honestly hope the latest rambling nonsense to spew from Don Cherry's mouth last night is the final nail in the coffin of his career. He should have been fired from HNIC years ago.

You got your wish.  Coaches Corner was at the end of it's useful life, but deserved a better end than this.  His comments may have been in bad taste, and it's the whole "you people" that gets everyones' panties in a bunch.  He didn't deserve to be fired over this.

Social Media Justice Warriors strike again.

It's not like this was Cherry's first offense. He's repeatedly shown himself to be xenophobic and racist. The networks are partially to blame for continuing to renew his contracts. Rogers should have just taken the easy way out when they bought the exclusive rights to NHL broadcasts in canada, and fired him then.

[chknptpie]

I honestly hope the latest rambling nonsense to spew from Don Cherry's mouth last night is the final nail in the coffin of his career. He should have been fired from HNIC years ago.

You got your wish.  Coaches Corner was at the end of it's useful life, but deserved a better end than this.  His comments may have been in bad taste, and it's the whole "you people" that gets everyones' panties in a bunch.  He didn't deserve to be fired over this.

Social Media Justice Warriors strike again.

It's not like this was Cherry's first offense. He's repeatedly shown himself to be xenophobic and racist. The networks are partially to blame for continuing to renew his contracts. Rogers should have just taken the easy way out when they bought the exclusive rights to NHL broadcasts in canada, and fired him then.

Lets not forget misogynistic as well.

[SchecterShredder]

Lets not forget misogynistic as well.

Yup, can't forget that.

Here's a good summary article of some of Cherry's work

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/sports/don-cherry-s-history-of-controversial-comments-1.4680505

[jingle.boy]

I don't really want to get into a debate, but it's quite a feat of mental gymnastics to pull a few - FEW - random comments over 40 years of being on air weekly, and make the leap to misogyny, xenophobia, or racism.  He's an opinionated old man who has conservative views and speaks his mind.  Some comments may cross a line (barely), but he didn't deserve to be fired over this.

But to retort ... https://www.facebook.com/newstalk1010/videos/2578269588954889/?t=0

As I said, I think CC has come to the end of it's useful life - I don't think Cherry's insights have evolved with the game, and he routinely goes on about the same stuff (eg, 'never put your stick out to block a shot; it always throws the goalie off).  I'll get over not having CC in the 1st intermission, but stick by my stance that Cherry deserved better than a social media lynch mob - who zoned in on the "you people" comment, rather than what he was really trying to convey, which was the support of veterans and the Legion in general.

[KevShmev]

Chad, I agree with you. I am not that familiar with Don Cherry, but after looking at the link SchecterShredder posted, if those are the worst comments he has made over 40 years, then that ain't much.  People are really bothered about him joking that women get hit by pucks because they are too busy yapping in the stands?? Good grief.

[chknptpie]

My misogyny comment is referencing him stating that women journalist "don't belong in NHL locker rooms".

[jingle.boy]

What a comeback by Florida!

[TAC]

What a comeback by Florida!

So much to complain about. I don't even know where to start.

[King Postwhore]

So pissed I'm going to bed.

[KevShmev]

Be glad that happened in November and not in May.  Shit like that happens sometimes.

[jingle.boy]

Be glad that happened in November and not in May.  Shit like that happens sometimes.

The Leafs have blown a 4-1 3rd period lead twice this year already.

Suck it up, buttercup's.  Couldn't have happened to a better team!   

[KevShmev]

Rough night for the Blues as well. They blew a 1-goal lead in the 3rd period and ended up losing in the shootout and only got 1 point.

[gmillerdrake]

Rough night for the Blues as well. They blew a 1-goal lead in the 3rd period and ended up losing in the shootout and only got 1 point.

Arizona's goalie outright stole that game. 16-4 shot advantage in the second period alone....multiple 'big' saves. You could see it before it happened that the Blues were going to lose that game. It's one of those that they outplayed them for so much of the game yet it was still close that it had that 'feeling'. which is alright by me being that we've won several games this year where the other team has 'outplayed' us but we still found a way to win it.

I'll take being 2pts out of the best record in the league right now. 12-3-4 doesn't look too bad to me.

[jingle.boy]

Darcy Kuemper is probably the most under-rated goalie in the league.  Arizona is on a nice path - which worries the hell out of me in 5 years, cuz I'm starting to be fully convinced that Matthews will go the route Tavares did, and sign his 3rd contract with his home-town.

[gmillerdrake]

Darcy Kuemper is probably the most under-rated goalie in the league.

since January of last year he is tops in most if not all goalie numbers. He flat out won the game last night against the Blues single handedly. I agree with your assessment of Arizona. they aren't far off from being a dominant force.

[jingle.boy]

This is going to be a very important stretch for the Leafs.  Between now and the end of the month they play Boston, Pitt, Vegas, Arizona, Colorado, Detroit, then a home-and-home with Buffalo - 6 of which are on the road.  They're barely ahead of Buffalo and Tampa in the standings - who have 3 and 5 games-in-hand respectively.  The roster is a hot mess - D is a joke (only Detroit has given up more GA); backup goaltending is a train-wreck and they have 0 wins without Anderson in net; and their salary cap issues have them completely handcuffed to do anything about it.  The way they are playing, they could very well go 2-6 (or worse) in this stretch - these are some tough teams that are all playing well (save Detroit).

Their offense is clicking at 5-on-5... they have the 2nd most GF in the league - talk about polarizing.  If they could just keep the biscuit OUT of the basket, they'd be cake walking thru the division.  Of their 7 regular time losses, 5 were by one goal. They've been horribly inconsistent - looking like a practice team at times, then dominating at others (23 shots in the 3rd period the other night against Chicago).  Special teams are 23rd in combined PP/PK %s.

December 1 could very well be come-to-Jesus time for the team, and Babcock.  This was exactly the start I predicted, and this is the stretch where they have to show that they can turn a corner and come out of it.  Despite Matthews' stats, he's not shown himself (this year so far) to be the kind of player - like MacKinnon, or McDavid, or Sid - that can carry the team to victory.  The East is gonna be a dogfight to the end... Boston, Mtl, TB, Buf, and Fla all have the capability of being playoff teams.

[gmillerdrake]

I had no idea Toronto had so many issues. From a casual observer of the team they seem solid.

[jingle.boy]

I had no idea Toronto had so many issues. From a casual observer of the team they seem solid.

Solid as a turd.

[KevShmev]

I had no idea Toronto had so many issues. From a casual observer of the team they seem solid.

Solid as a turd.

Not all turds are solid. #looseday

[King Postwhore]

I had no idea Toronto had so many issues. From a casual observer of the team they seem solid.

Solid as a turd.

Not all turds are solid. #looseday

Stadler follows hockey?

[SchecterShredder]

Well, looks like McDavid is on fire again tonight.

[jingle.boy]

Well, looks like McDavid is on fire again tonight.

No shit.  Loose or solid!

And look out Atlantic. Tampa 5-for-8 on the PP.

[TAC]

I was watching On The Fly this morning, and it's amazing how many wrist shots flat out beat goalies last night.

[TAC]

I love the HOF ceremony. I'm balling my eyes out and Lannie MacDonald is still talking .


And for the record, I have always loved Guy Charbonneau.

And Hailey Wickenheiser knocked it out!!

[goo-goo]

Babcock fired from the Leafs.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28124447/maple-leafs-fire-coach-mike-babcock-name-sheldon-keefe-replacement

Quite a bit shocking but seems like the team has tuned out. They do have a decent roster to be underachieving right now. 

[KevShmev]

I know they have been struggling, but that is really surprising to see.  I've always thought Babcock was a damn good coach, but what do I know?

[TAC]

Dubas probably thinks he'll get Quenneville.

[jingle.boy]

Not a surprise at all - it's been ALL the talk around here. The team is severely underperforming. I could rhyme off all the reasons why.  A change had to be made before thy let th whole season slip away. The notion that "anything can happen" (ala the Blues last season) is a crock. The Blues absolutely caught lightning in a bottle, and that won't be a yearly repeating thing.

Now the players gotta step up.

I say their chances of making the playoffs are 50/50 at best.

[KevShmev]

Very true, it is rare for a team to change coaches during the season and then win the Cup, but the season is so long that it can still be salvaged.  The Leafs are only a couple points out of a playoff spot at the moment, so with any luck, the coaching change will light a fire under their asses, and then they will squeeze into the playoffs and upset the Bruins in the first round. 

[King Postwhore]

The Bruins are their Broncos to the Patriots.