NHL 2023-2024: Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers

[Anguyen92]

I'm feeling good.  All the Kings had to do was not go against heavyweights like the Avs and Canes and play against teams around their weight class like the Jets and Wild and they are starting to get some wins going.  PLD with two goals this game (one weird one where it looked like it kicked in and one where Fleury was just upset about that previous goal and caused a bad turnover that eventually led to the 2nd PLD goal.)  This is more like what we are hoping for.  Trevor Moore with his 4th of the season.  Things are picking up on his finishing in the early goings.  Hope it continues that way since he's typically in the list of players that scores below expected goals.

[King Postwhore]

B's off to a good start. They look solid, defensively.

[TAC]

B's off to a good start. They look solid, defensively.

They’ve played three sucky teams.

[Stadler]

B's off to a good start. They look solid, defensively.

They’ve played three sucky teams.

You keep saying that.   And it's largely true (San Jose is terrible).  But it's good for them to get their feet wet, and they ARE playing well together.  The second period was a bit of a drop off, but Period One was solid. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

[Anguyen92]

Let's see how they fare in LA tomorrow.  They normally crush the Kings when they come to LA.  It's all right.  When the Kings come to Boston, the Kings usually end up winning those games in OT or shootout.

[romdrums]

Ehhhh ... the injury factor applies to almost every winning cup winning team.  Leon a couple playoffs ago; Someone on Tampa was playing with a broken leg a few seasons back.  Kadri with a broken hand when the Avs won (and still scoring in the game clinching victory).

@Rom... exactly.  Hextall in '87 was absolutely unreal against a stacked Oil team who were not to be denied after shitting the bed the previous year.  Quick in '12 - 12-4 with a .946 SV%. 

Hasek's 02 Cup run with the Wings was pretty stellar as well. After giving up 10 goals total in the first two games against Vancouver, he went on to post a 16-7 record, a 1.86 GAA, and 6 shutouts, which beat the previous record for shutouts by 2.  Brodeur then broke that record by posting 7 shutouts in the 03 Cup run with the Devils!

[TAC]

B's off to a good start. They look solid, defensively.

They’ve played three sucky teams.

You keep saying that.   And it's largely true (San Jose is terrible).  But it's good for them to get their feet wet, and they ARE playing well together.  The second period was a bit of a drop off, but Period One was solid. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

I didn't watch any of the game last night, so I don't know how they looked. I couldn't really tell anything from the first two games, other than their goaltending kept them from a couple of what would've been embarrassing losses.

[Nick]

Just noting, that for however briefly it lasts, that the Red Wings are on top of the Eastern Conference standings.

[Anguyen92]

Well, I expected this Kings/Bruins game to be a tough one to go through.  I expected a decisive loss for the Kings hoping for them to show otherwise.  That hope was not happening here.  Swayman looked really good.  Pasta had a really good PP shot to get the scoring rolling and Marchand with his two goals pretty much deflated hopes the Kings had of winning that one.  The Kings got outworked hard after Alex Laferriere tied it up.  That was a good first goal for him in the NHL.  He had really good looks up in the games he played until that goal and it's good to see him get it.  I don't want to see that guy get demoted to the AHL if Arvidsson comes back.  He should be a regular NHL roster player at this point.

Hope the next time these two teams meet that the game in Boston ends in OT with a Kings win.  That should be how it goes.  Bruins crush Kings in LA.  Kings beat the Bs in Boston in OT or shootout.

[jingle.boy]

The Leafs/Bolts game was something else last night.  Samsonov gave up 3 goals on 4 shots.  None of them 'soft' ... the first was maybe stopable, but the next two were good goals coming out of sloppy play by the Leafs.  Then Woll came and was a brick fucking wall.  The Leafs peppered Johansson (finishing with 50+ SOG), but not many of them were terribly dangerous.  Then the last 10 minutes of the third, both of them played it was like a playoff game.  End-to-end action and lots of great back and forth chances.  Knies with his first two regular season goals (pretty nice snipes), and the Leafs had most of the puck possession in OT, finally sneaking one in.

It was a bit of a sloppy game, and was Tampa's to lose - which they did. 

@ Nick/Rom (and Doc if he's lurking)... I'm happy for you guys.  I still think they are punching above their weight class, but they are performing really good for the moment.

[jingle.boy]

Just noting, that for however briefly it lasts, that the Red Wings are on top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Say, I also notice the Flyers are on top of the Metro at the moment.  Maybe you were premature to pull the plug on them.  Just sayin... let's see how the next 77 games go.   

But man ... Washington looks bad.  Maybe Ovi's output is starting to decline (as I always knew it would).  When your linemate options are a bunch of 35 year olds and/or AHL grads, I wouldn't count on another 40 (30?) goal season.

[King Postwhore]

The Golden Knights are 6-0?  Holy crap!

[TAC]

The Leafs/Bolts game was something else last night.  Samsonov gave up 3 goals on 4 shots.  None of them 'soft' ... the first was maybe stopable, but the next two were good goals coming out of sloppy play by the Leafs.  Then Woll came and was a brick fucking wall.  The Leafs peppered Johansson (finishing with 50+ SOG), but not many of them were terribly dangerous.  Then the last 10 minutes of the third, both of them played it was like a playoff game.  End-to-end action and lots of great back and forth chances.  Knies with his first two regular season goals (pretty nice snipes), and the Leafs had most of the puck possession in OT, finally sneaking one in.

I watched this game. I thought the Leaf's posession and what looked like set plays in OT were quite impressive.


Glad to see the B's win in LA last night. I only watched the 1st period, and they seemed to be getting outskated despite leading by a goal.

[jingle.boy]

It's amazing how important winning the opening face off is.  The Leafs had puck control in OT for all but a stretch of about 30 seconds.  It was the same last week in TB's OT loss to the Sabres - the former never even touched the puck.

[TAC]

It wasn't even that they simply maintained possession...they looked like the damn Globetrotters. 

[Nick]

@ Nick/Rom (and Doc if he's lurking)... I'm happy for you guys.  I still think they are punching above their weight class, but they are performing really good for the moment.

I mean, I think that's the consensus, but still, plenty to be happy about.

Dylin centering Raymond and DeBrincat has been absolute fire.
Copp is playing a lot better.
Compher is playing great.
Ghost has been great on the back end.
Seider/Walman continues to be a top end defensive unit.
Holl/Chariot hasn't been a complete dumpster fire yet.

Even if they end up moving a bit more towards average, the offseason moves are worth getting excited about.

Just noting, that for however briefly it lasts, that the Red Wings are on top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Say, I also notice the Flyers are on top of the Metro at the moment.  Maybe you were premature to pull the plug on them.  Just sayin... let's see how the next 77 games go.   

They can keep on winning, won't change my tune on them. My departing was a result of being fed up with the organization, the last straw being the hiring of Torts. Once he inevitably wears out his welcome, we'll see if the rest of the management has proven the hope about them right.   

[Nick]

And again, I know it won't last, but while it's happening...

Your Eastern Conference leading Red Wings
AND
Your NHL goal leader, Alex DeBrincat.

[jingle.boy]

And again, I know it won't last, but while it's happening...

Your Eastern Conference leading Red Wings
AND
Your NHL goal leader, Alex DeBrincat.

Jingle.son told me about a meme floating around there showcasing his jersey #s with Ottawa (12) and Detroit (93) with the caption "thanks for matching your effort level with your jersey number" - or something to that effect.

[Anguyen92]

The Bruins are 5-0 to start the season.  People really hoped Bergeron and Krejci being gone would actually lead to the downfall of the team.  Hasn't happened yet.  Now granted, three of those teams they should beat easily and I hoped the other two teams (Kings and Preds) would have stopped them in getting a win.  I guess the next team of greater resilience to the Bs will be the Red Wings on Saturday.

[Stadler]

The Leafs/Bolts game was something else last night.  Samsonov gave up 3 goals on 4 shots.  None of them 'soft' ... the first was maybe stopable, but the next two were good goals coming out of sloppy play by the Leafs.  Then Woll came and was a brick fucking wall.  The Leafs peppered Johansson (finishing with 50+ SOG), but not many of them were terribly dangerous.  Then the last 10 minutes of the third, both of them played it was like a playoff game.  End-to-end action and lots of great back and forth chances.  Knies with his first two regular season goals (pretty nice snipes), and the Leafs had most of the puck possession in OT, finally sneaking one in.

I watched this game. I thought the Leaf's posession and what looked like set plays in OT were quite impressive.


Glad to see the B's win in LA last night. I only watched the 1st period, and they seemed to be getting outskated despite leading by a goal.

That first 8 to 10 minutes or so was NOT indicative of the rest of the game.  Same with last night.

[Anguyen92]

Today is going to be an interesting experiment for the NHL.  All 32 teams play today and a new game is going to start every 15-30 minutes starting at 6 PM EDT (with Leafs vs Caps) until the last game (Golden Knights vs Flyers) at 11 PM.

[jingle.boy]

Today is going to be an interesting experiment for the NHL.  All 32 teams play today and a new game is going to start every 15-30 minutes starting at 6 PM PST (with Leafs vs Caps) until the last game (Golden Knights vs Flyers) at 11 PM.

jingle.son and I are going to the Sens/Sabres game in Ottawa.

[billboy73]

Yeah, I have somewhere to be this evening but should be home to watch around 8:00 or so.  I will probably have the "Frozen Frenzy" whip around show on the tv and the Hurricanes on the computer.  There are some really good matchups tonight too, so it should make for a great night of hockey.

[jingle.boy]

Unsurprisingly, the NHL dropped their stance on Pride tape.

The National Hockey League today released the following statement regarding symbolic tape in support of social causes.

"After consultation with the NHL Players' Association and the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, Players will now have the option to voluntarily represent social causes with their stick tape throughout the season."

[TAC]

Unsurprisingly, the NHL dropped their stance on Pride tape.

The National Hockey League today released the following statement regarding symbolic tape in support of social causes.

"After consultation with the NHL Players' Association and the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, Players will now have the option to voluntarily represent social causes with their stick tape throughout the season."

Just wait for a player to support Palestine or same sex only bathroom rights.

[pg1067]

Today is going to be an interesting experiment for the NHL.  All 32 teams play today and a new game is going to start every 15-30 minutes starting at 6 PM PST (with Leafs vs Caps) until the last game (Golden Knights vs Flyers) at 11 PM.

The Leafs Caps game starts at 6pm EDT, not Pacific time (and certainly not PST, which won't start for another couple weeks).  The last game starts at 11pm EDT, which is 8pm local time, which is an hour later the normal weekday start time.

The 9 eastern time zone games start between 6:00 and 8:15 local time.
The 4 central time zone games start between 7:30 and 8:15 local time.
The 1 mountain time zone game starts at 7:45 local time.
The 2 Pacific time zone games start at 7:30 and 8:00 local time.

In other words, while a few games will start a bit later than usual (and a handful of eastern time zone games will start earlier), the games are all basically starting around when they normally would.

[Anguyen92]

Whoops.  Force of habit.  It's edited to EDT now.

[pg1067]

By the way, from what I've seen elsewhere, this stunt ("Frozen Frenzy") seems to be designed to draw attention from opening night in the NBA, which is a little weird since only 3 of the games are being televised nationally (and there are only 2 NBA games being played today).  Seems like the sort of thing that might have more impact if done on a weekend.

[TAC]

By the way, from what I've seen elsewhere, this stunt ("Frozen Frenzy") seems to be designed to draw attention from opening night in the NBA, which is a little weird since only 3 of the games are being televised nationally (and there are only 2 NBA games being played today).  Seems like the sort of thing that might have more impact if done on a weekend.

Well, they'd be battling college football on Sat and the NFL on Sun.

But if there's a bye week during the NFL playoffs or between the CGs and the SB, that'd be perfect.

[Anguyen92]

Saturday should be the kind of day the NHL should try to corner since you can't do Sunday or Monday due to football and no one wants to watch games on Fridays for whatever reasons.

Wait, College Football does that well in occupying eyeballs?

[TAC]

Saturday should be the kind of day the NHL should try to corner since you can't do Sunday or Monday due to football and no one wants to watch games on Fridays for whatever reasons.

Wait, College Football does that well in occupying eyeballs?

Pretty sure they do.

[jingle.boy]

Holy shit that Sabres/Sens game was bonkers.  Sabres were up 5-1 heading in to the 3rd, and at one point I joked with jingle.son that this was in the bag, and when the fans started leaving, it would make it easier for us to get out of the parking lot at the end of the game.  Afterall, these weren't the 2000 Leafs that blew a 5-1 to the Blues mid-way thru the 3rd!  And by the 10 minute mark, sure enough, 1/2 of what was already an arena only 2/3 full had emptied out.  Sens get one back with about 4 minutes to go, then score 2 in the span of 20 seconds with just over a minute to go.  Ironically, the arena was lowder at that point than any other time during the night.  Luckily, Thompson iced it with an EN goal, but man did they make it interesting with some very sloppy play in the last 5 minutes.

Great night out with jingle.son.

[TAC]

How far is Ottawa from you?

[jingle.boy]

How far is Ottawa from you?

6 hour drive

[Anguyen92]

All right, well, the Kings got a good enough win against the Coyotes.  Not much else of note to point out.  That said, the Coyotes are more competitive than I think most people will give them credit for, despite their arena situation.  They got solid young players.  Dynamic players that can move the puck around and create dangerous chances.  They could be a solid team if their team budget isn't so dire.

So to recap as of right now, the Bs are 6-0.  The Avs are 6-0.  The Golden Knights are now 7-0.