Ice Hockey Fans in the Playground!!

[Don Julio Anejo]

I don't, Rypien has shown himself as a complete douchebag. Granted I doubt he did it without provocation (the fact that the guy is a lawyer is a big tip-off there), he still deserves to be suspended the hell out of. Too bad we have no 4th line center though Stupid idiots who didn't sign B-Mo.

[Chunklets]

I don't, Rypien has shown himself as a complete douchebag. Granted I doubt he did it without provocation (the fact that the guy is a lawyer is a big tip-off there), he still deserves to be suspended the hell out of. Too bad we have no 4th line center though Stupid idiots who didn't sign B-Mo.

That last one did surprise me a certain amount, and I certainly wouldn't have shed any tears if he'd ended up in Edmonton. I just checked, and he seems to be doing fine in Calgary (7 gp, 1-5-6, +2). I can only imagine that it was cap issues that kept him from re-upping with the Canucks.

Oilers vs. San Jose this evening, and this could be long night for Oil fans. Frankly, if the Sharks don't get 50 shots, I'll be a bit surprised. That said, San Jose's defence isn't any great wheeze either, so it might be quite an entertaining game to watch!

[Walrus]

Seems like the latter will be the case, since Jordan Eberle appears to prefer to do his scoring when we have a penalty. It helps that Patrick Marleau's back check was really lazy. EDIT: Never mind, that was easily the worst Oilers performance all year. If my team's going to lose, fine, it happens. But to cave in and just stop working is completely unacceptable. It's going to be a long, long year unless Tom Renney is some kind of wizard.

And as for the Canucks not signing Morrison, why even give him a tryout if they already knew they wouldn't have cap space for him? The whole point of a tryout is that they'll probably get a cheap contract. Calgary's probably glad they picked him up though, he's contributed like a third of their total offence.

[Chunklets]

Seems like the latter will be the case, since Jordan Eberle appears to prefer to do his scoring when we have a penalty. It helps that Patrick Marleau's back check was really lazy. EDIT: Never mind, that was easily the worst Oilers performance all year. If my team's going to lose, fine, it happens. But to cave in and just stop working is completely unacceptable. It's going to be a long, long year unless Tom Renney is some kind of wizard.

Yeah, if I'd called it a night after the first five minutes, I'd have gone to bed a happier man! That said, I'm inclined to put it down to "part of the learning process" and not worry about it too much... yet.

On Eberle - I can't remember every hearing of anyone having his first 2 NHL goals both be shorthanded. Usually the young guys don't see the ice on the PK at all; they're confused enough when it's 5-on-5. On the other hand, Eberle's obviously got some learning to do about the defensive side of killing penalties; San Jose had 3 powerplay goals on Saturday, and he was on for all of them (not that I'm blaming him alone here; the pk has been dreadful since about game 3, and he is very young).

[Walrus]

According to the Journal (not that I particularly respect their ability to do accurate research), Jordan Staal's first three goals were short-handed, the first person to do so since some guy in the '60s whose name I can't remember right now. Still, pretty impressive start for him.

I honestly don't know what's been wrong with the Oilers' penalty killing over the last few years (well, I mean, I know what they suck at, I just don't get why they don't seem to be able to fix it). As someone who didn't have a single complaint about the trapping Oilers in the '06 playoffs, I miss reacting to Oiler penalties with glee, knowing they would more-than-likely be killed off and lead to a momentum boost.

[Thes Hunter]

LET'S GO RED WINGS!!!

[shiram]

Pretty awesome Habs game last night.
8 goals, one shorted handed, penalty shot, a fight... lotsa turnovers!

Its gonna be interesting to see what goes on friday, and the Isles with their "no Habs no" thing as well. I figure the Habs fans will be louder than the Isles fan there!

[Chunklets]

LET'S GO RED WINGS!!!

That picture looks likes it's taken at a game - do you get to go see the Wings often?

Its gonna be interesting to see what goes on friday, and the Isles with their "no Habs no" thing as well. I figure the Habs fans will be louder than the Isles fan there!

It seems to have gone pretty well for the Habs! They're on quite the roll right now.

As for the Oilers, well, we knew going into the season that with a team that young there were going to be nights when they struggled, and looked their age, and were generally just hard to watch. Last night was not one of those nights. Yeah, it was a sloppy game in some ways by both teams, and Chicago's goaltending in particular was aiding and abetting the Oilers' cause, but there were more than a "holy cow!" moments (in a good way) from the Oil.

I honestly don't know what's been wrong with the Oilers' penalty killing over the last few years (well, I mean, I know what they suck at, I just don't get why they don't seem to be able to fix it). As someone who didn't have a single complaint about the trapping Oilers in the '06 playoffs, I miss reacting to Oiler penalties with glee, knowing they would more-than-likely be killed off and lead to a momentum boost.

I don't know what the answer is there either. Practice, practice, and more practice may be the long-term answer, although that doesn't seem to have worked in previous years. That said, that was a huge kill they pulled off down two men during the second period last night, so maybe there's hope! And at least this year they've shown that they can be a bit of a threat to go the other way on the PK - the Oilers didn't get a shorthanded goal last season until what, February?

[Walrus]

That game in Chi-town definitely caught me off guard. If you'd told me before the game that the Oilers would win it 7-4 and never trail, I'd have said you were nuts. I definitely agree that the Blackhawks' goaltending really didn't do them any favours. Marty Turco's performance, especially, was shockingly poor. I mean, on one goal he was lying on his back flailing his legs like a poor man's Tim Thomas, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why he didn't just drop into a butterfly and casually kick aside the shot. It's almost like he was hallucinating moves that the shooters weren't even thinking about making. I'm certainly not going to complain, though, it's fun to watch a high-scoring game that goes in my team's favour once in a while.

The penalty killing seems to be have made a marked improvement over the last couple of games, too. Two PP goals allowed in the last 15 isn't too shabby, and they don't look as lost as they have at times this season. The Toews goal was more Khabibulin getting fooled one-on-one than a PK error.

I'm watching the Caps/Flames game right now, and am left to wonder why Jay Bouwmeester was such a big deal a couple of years ago when he was set to be a UFA. I mean, yeah, he's obviously a top 4 defenceman on pretty much any team in the league, but he's been pretty unspectacular in Calgary.

Also, the segment on goalies standing up for themselves on HNIC reminded me how much I love Dwayne Roloson. It's hard not to respect a goalie who takes treats crease-crashers as his personal punching bags.

[Joran]

I'm watching the Caps/Flames game right now, and am left to wonder why Jay Bouwmeester was such a big deal a couple of years ago when he was set to be a UFA. I mean, yeah, he's obviously a top 4 defenceman on pretty much any team in the league, but he's been pretty unspectacular in Calgary.

Would this be the Caps/Flames game where the Caps were down 0-2 and then suddenly scored 7 unanswered goals? Good times. It was fun to read the comments on Japer's Rink during the first period. People were just about ready to jump off a bridge before a well-timed 5 on 3 powerplay (off an idiotic 6 men on the ice penalty and a tripping call near the opposing goal) and two absolute rockets from Ovechkin opened the flood gates.

I don't know what the answer is there either. Practice, practice, and more practice may be the long-term answer, although that doesn't seem to have worked in previous years.

What kind of PK scheme do the Oilers run? The Caps were in the bottom of the PK last year (25th), but this year, we're near the top (4th). The reason we're having a lot more success this year is because we're running a more aggressive scheme. Last year, we sat back and let the opponents set up in our zone, while we tried to position ourselves to block shots and disrupt passing lanes, without much pressure on the points or along the wall. The problem was that this allowed the opposing team to basically bomb away from the points and bang home a.

This year, the coaching staff realized we had a bunch of young, quick talent, which is better for a high-pressure type PK. We're pressuring the puck carrier even in the opposing zone, we're pressuring the points which generates turnovers and clears, just generally getting into the opponent's faces. We're also putting more of our top line talent on the PK like Backstrom, Semin, Green, and Schultz and keeping the shifts on the PK nice and short.

[Walrus]

Would this be the Caps/Flames game where the Caps were down 0-2 and then suddenly scored 7 unanswered goals? Good times. It was fun to read the comments on Japer's Rink during the first period. People were just about ready to jump off a bridge before a well-timed 5 on 3 powerplay (off an idiotic 6 men on the ice penalty and a tripping call near the opposing goal) and two absolute rockets from Ovechkin opened the flood gates.

Yep, that's the one. As an Edmontonian who loathes the Flames, it was a wonderful time. And believe it or not, the Flames actually had SEVEN GUYS on the ice for that penalty. I have no idea how it's even possible to screw up a line change that badly at the NHL level. Apparently Ovechkin's goals also came the closest anyone ever has to breaking the record for fastest hat-trick (current record is 21 seconds, by a guy whose name I forgot). Ovechkin had 2 in 12 seconds, but then went off.

What kind of PK scheme do the Oilers run? The Caps were in the bottom of the PK last year (25th), but this year, we're near the top (4th). The reason we're having a lot more success this year is because we're running a more aggressive scheme. Last year, we sat back and let the opponents set up in our zone, while we tried to position ourselves to block shots and disrupt passing lanes, without much pressure on the points or along the wall. The problem was that this allowed the opposing team to basically bomb away from the points and bang home a.

This year, the coaching staff realized we had a bunch of young, quick talent, which is better for a high-pressure type PK. We're pressuring the puck carrier even in the opposing zone, we're pressuring the points which generates turnovers and clears, just generally getting into the opponent's faces. We're also putting more of our top line talent on the PK like Backstrom, Semin, Green, and Schultz and keeping the shifts on the PK nice and short.

Last year the Oilers basically just sat there and let the other team shell our rookie goalies from the point, as you describe in the first set-up. For the first couple of games this season, and the most recent few games where the PK has been decent, they've switched to the latter method. In between the seemed to relapse to the former. Pretty much all of the big-time forwards are on the PK now, though, which seems to be helping. Hemsky and Penner have been one of our best PK pairs so far, and Cogliano has been doing well in that role.

[Chunklets]

On of my very favourite Pat Quinn rants from last season dealt with moral victories and their ultimate uselessness in re: the standings. For some reason I've remembered that rant a few times this week... The Oil played well, came close, and ultimately came away with nothing against Don Julio's Canucks and Thes Hunter's Red Wings. I do need to remind myself occasionally that this is a rebuild.

On the other hand, I did get to watch pretty much all of the Toronto-Washington game from a few nights ago, and that was an excellent bit of hockey!

Did anybody catch the brief spurt of weirdness in the past couple of days regarding Taylor Hall's number (yes, I realize this is probably of interest only to Oilers fans)? The CBC ran a brief article by an independent scout claiming that Hall and his family basically pressured Kevin Lowe into giving up the hallowed number 4, and that Lowe's apparent willingness to give Hall the number was feigned. Indignant denials followed, the CBC has now pulled the story, and the writer himself actually says it probably didn't happen that way. Anyway, it was a bit odd. I suppose the silver lining is that it will give the young man some early practise at handling being blindsided by the press. Details here and here.

[Joran]

On the other hand, I did get to watch pretty much all of the Toronto-Washington game from a few nights ago, and that was an excellent bit of hockey!

The Caps revert to their old ways of building a lead, then managing to blow it due to a lapse in concentration or hard work. The next game, Caps vs. Bruins was hilarious because the player of the month (Tim Thomas) and rookie of the month (Michal Neuvirth) were both pulled in the same game and Caps Rookie Braden Holtby got his first win after being shoved in with 10 minutes to go in the game... Absolutely bizarre.

Caps fans are somewhat bitter at the moment because many of them feel we have yet to play an entire 60 minutes and dominate an opponent, but it's hard to complain when the team is 9-4 and near the top of the conference. The record is a little deceiving since the Caps are 3-0 in OT and 1-0, but I'm generally happy.

[SensFan]

How bout them Sens? Terrible start to the season, and very good since.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Me personally? I have nothing to complain about and I'm very happy about that

[shiram]

My Habs are still plugging along, and the return of Markov was not the shot in the arm expected. With key players not pulling their weight, its a relief to still high in the rankings, but some magic needs to happen soon, or the rest of the season will be tough.

[Chunklets]

Caps fans are somewhat bitter at the moment because many of them feel we have yet to play an entire 60 minutes and dominate an opponent, but it's hard to complain when the team is 9-4 and near the top of the conference. The record is a little deceiving since the Caps are 3-0 in OT and 1-0, but I'm generally happy.

How bout them Sens? Terrible start to the season, and very good since.

Me personally? I have nothing to complain about and I'm very happy about that

Yup, if I've done the arithmetic properly, your three teams combined have now won 13 straight games. Not bad work! The Canucks and Capitals were expected to be strong, and pretty much have been living up to that, but the Senators are a bit of a surprise to me. I rather suspect that a healthy and happy Spezza has a lot to do with their success the last few games.

As for the Canucks - hats off to the GM at this point. The below-the-radar acquisitions of Malhotra and Torres seem to paying off quite nicely!

I wouldn't worry about the Caps OT record too much - it's probably an accurate reflection of their strengths (speed and attacking ability are lethal 4-on-4). The only problem, of course, is that it means that teams are getting to OT (and getting that bonus point) against the Caps, which might or might not come back to bite them later on.

My Habs are still plugging along, and the return of Markov was not the shot in the arm expected. With key players not pulling their weight, its a relief to still high in the rankings, but some magic needs to happen soon, or the rest of the season will be tough.

I wonder a bit if this wasn't a case of some of the team saying "Ok, Markov's back, he'll look after things, we don't need to play as hard as we have been." I have seen that phenomenon before, from various teams. I agree with you about the weight-pulling, especially in the cases of Gionta and Gomez.

And so the Oilers now have as many wins in Chicago this season as they do in Edmonton... It wasn't the world's most entertaining game ever, but that Taylor Hall kid can do some things. He set up Gagner for one that should have been a tap-in, and Gagner completely missed it, obviously totally unprepared for the possibility that Hall would be able to make the move he did and get the puck across. Young Master Samwise did redeem himself later on, though, potting the winner. It was actually a very good night for the Oilers - while the big club was busy beating Chicago, down on the farm Linus Omark scored five goals against the Marlies, and added one in the shootout for good measure. That boy will play in the NHL, and probably this season.

[shiram]

Whats better than getting a shutout against a tough team like Vancouver?
Getting a shutout on a night where the Leafs got blanked!!!

[Eldpollard]

See, I'm a fan of ice hockey in the sense I think the idea of it is cool. Problem is that I live in the UK and it isn't shown on TV here at all. I'm also having a huge problem finding sites to watch it on.

[SensFan]

Whats better than getting a shutout against a tough team like Vancouver?
Getting a shutout on a night where the Leafs got blanked!!!

Poor Leaf fans...

I remember one time last year I had a late class. My 3 roommates were all Leaf fans, so when I got in from class at 9ish the Leafs game was on. I glanced up, thinking 'Huh. Leafs are up 3-2 with 10 minutes to go. Wierd.' I went to make a sandwich and grab a coke and came back into the living room. Leafs were down 4-3 with 5 to go. 'Now there's the Leafs I know!'

[shiram]

The worst of it though is that if they fail as bad as they did last year its only going to make the Bruins better with a top 5 five in the draft...

Eldpollard : wish i could help you, but apart from paying on nhl.com i dont know where to watch games online.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Whats better than getting a shutout against a tough team like Vancouver?
Getting a shutout on a night where the Leafs got blanked!!!

That's what AV gets for sitting out Keith Ballard because apparently our #8 depth defence plug Aaron Rome is playing almost as well...

P.S., I believe the team's proper name is Toronto Maple Laffs.

EDIT: try the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) website for watching games. They always stream games whenever HNiC (Hockey Night in Canada) games are on, which is usually 2 games every Saturday. The downside is, the games are live and usually begin at something like 7PM EST (2AM GMT) and go up to about 10PM PST (8 AM GMT).

[shiram]

Heh i usually call them the Loafs..

[Joran]

See, I'm a fan of ice hockey in the sense I think the idea of it is cool. Problem is that I live in the UK and it isn't shown on TV here at all. I'm also having a huge problem finding sites to watch it on.

Try http://atdhe.net/

espnplayer.com offers subscriptions also.

[shiram]

Interesting time last night...
Kovalchuck on the shootout, i was laughing out loud at that, look it up if you havent seen it, totally worth it.

Halak pulled, so he is human heh? one bad night, let's see how it affects him!

And the Loafs barely able to not get shutout twice in 2 games.
fun times

[Joran]

Interesting time last night...
Kovalchuck on the shootout, i was laughing out loud at that, look it up if you havent seen it, totally worth it.

Halak pulled, so he is human heh? one bad night, let's see how it affects him!

And the Loafs barely able to not get shutout twice in 2 games.
fun times

Here's the Kovalchuck video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6NuT41Wu7A

New Jersey is not looking good at all. -24 goal differential? Wow.

[Thes Hunter]

Chucklets, I live walking distance to the ice, so I try to go as often as I can.

I have been very busy with school, and dating a Non-fan so I haven't been yet this season.

But I went like 12 times last year. Which isn't great compared to uber fans, but for the casual fan that I am, that is HUGE!

I think I need to go again... I got a lot of current frustration (At student loan companies) that I need to work out somehow!

If I wasn't so behind on work, I'd go pick up a student ticket for tonight! ;-)

Go Wings!!!!

[Joran]

New NHL All-Star Format:

Fans pick the top 12 All-Stars (3 forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goalie) from each conference. The rest of the team is picked by the league as are 12 rookies.

To form the teams, the All-Stars vote four captains (2 for each team) and the captains draft their team from the pool of All-Stars.

I think this is absolutely brilliant, because it adds a nice dimension to the All-Star game and injects some needed personality. Also, I'm not sure that Ovechkin and Crosby will be the captains. I have a distinct feeling that elder statesmen, like Pavel Datsyuk will probably be the captains.

Also, it'd be hilarious if Ovechkin or Crosby are picked last.

[SensFan]

New NHL All-Star Format:

Fans pick the top 12 All-Stars (3 forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goalie) from each conference. The rest of the team is picked by the league as are 12 rookies.

To form the teams, the All-Stars vote four captains (2 for each team) and the captains draft their team from the pool of All-Stars.

I think this is absolutely brilliant, because it adds a nice dimension to the All-Star game and injects some needed personality. Also, I'm not sure that Ovechkin and Crosby will be the captains. I have a distinct feeling that elder statesmen, like Pavel Datsyuk will probably be the captains.

Also, it'd be hilarious if Ovechkin or Crosby are picked last.

My understanding is fans are only picking the top 6 overall (not per conference), to ensure that all the fan picks are starters, regardless of which team they end up on. I could be wrong.

[Joran]

My understanding is fans are only picking the top 6 overall (not per conference), to ensure that all the fan picks are starters, regardless of which team they end up on. I could be wrong.

Correct. My bad. Full rules here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puc...urn=nhl-284177

I wonder how many of the 6 will be Leafs =P