The Canadian teams aren't looking so hot to start the season. Ottawa, Montreal and Winnipeg are rounding out the bottom 3 in the east. Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary also started their first two weeks with losing records in the west.
Only Toronto hasn't lost (in regulation). *Knocks on wood. But seriously Riemer is the real thing. I love that kid.
the Leafs usually start off strong, so I'm not surprised to be honest.
the Leafs and Habs play tonight so I hope my Habs can pick up their second win of the season later.
is anyone else surprised with Colorado and the NY Islanders?
Not really.....Colorado needed goaltending and they got it (though I am a little surprised by the actual record). I expected the Islanders to contend for the 8th playoff spot in the East so Im not really shocked by them either. They had one of the best 2nd half records in the league last year
I'm really diggin the Wings so far this year. They've been the 1 bright spot in my sports teams this last couple of weeks with the Lions dropping 2, U of M losing to MSU, Tigers getting eliminated by Texas.....
At least us Wings fans can count on them to cheer us up
Is it really that surprising that they are doing so poorly though? Look at that roster, who really scares you on offense? Adding Eric Cole certainly isn't an upgrade from last year, and little shrimps like Gionta, Gomez and Camallari are a year older. The defense is still missing Markov, who now holds the title for 'Mr. Glass' in the NHL. Carey Price is about the only star player they have right now.
I guess it's not surprising that they're doing bad but at least they finally picked up a second win of the season.
Yes, they burn Philthy for 5 goals right after my post :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:. Doesn't change the fact that Montreal is a mediocre team and Philthy was also missing Pronger.
hopefully I don't get infracted for bumping this but I thought I'd try and start discussion about hockey again, as there hasn't been much hockey discussion here in a few weeks.
My Habs have started to improve a bit, let's see if they can keep it up.
guess the Islanders and Avalanche didn't experience success for too long, and now the teams I'm surprised by are the Oilers and Stars.
what's everyone else's thoughts on the season so far?
I think the most surprising thing for me is how well Florida is doing. I think that if they are able to keep playing at the level they are playing I think they could surprise a few teams when it comes to the playoffs.
Dallas's success is what I call Nashville syndrome where a team lacks offensive firepower and instead builds itself off of not giving up a lot of goals and trying to win ugly. I am sort of waiting to see if they can keep this up as really the only two teams that I can think of to have true success with this style recently is Nashville and Boston, both teams who were built around this philosophy. Dallas is playing this style more out of necessity which is what worries me.
As for my Blackhawks they seem to be up to their Stanely Cup winning forms as long as they don't let their emotions get the better of them and can stay healthy.
Finally I haven't watched much of Detroit as I would like (I like to keep tabs on the enemy), but whenever I do you can really start to see there age. It seems like they are beating opponents with experience and not so much physical ability. I think if they stay healthy they'll do fine in the regular season, but if I was a fan of them, I would be seriously concerned whether or not they have the energy and endurance to make it through the playoffs.
Yes the Stars success is really puzzling when you look at that lineup. Rangers and Pens are also winning despite icing a bunch of no-names. Maybe coaching is the real story of the year so far, which means teams like NYI and Collumbus should look to drop their coaches.
what does everyone think about Crosby coming back?
Scott Gomez got hurt tonight against the Hurricanes so he's apparently gonna be gone for a while, I dunno what to think because while he hasn't been doing much, he's been improving over the past few games
Everyone who had the Minnesota Wild at the top of the NHL standings at the start of the season, raise your hand.
Ok, I'm just as shocked that we're doing this well. Strong goaltending, decent forechecking and getting back to the trap (luckily not the Jacques Lemaire snooze-fest trap).
Ninja Edit: If you had 3 days in the "How Long Bruce Boudreau will be unemployed?" Pool. Congrats. Bruce Boudreau is the new coach of the Mighty Ducks of AnaheimLos Angeles DucksThe Los Angeles Ducks of Anaheim Anaheim Ducks.
Sid looked good since he's come back. I'm glad the Coyotes are doing well, hopefully they stop all this, should I stay or should I go now. With Winnipeg getting a team again not sure where they would move.
Sid looked good since he's come back. I'm glad the Coyotes are doing well, hopefully they stop all this, should I stay or should I go now. With Winnipeg getting a team again not sure where they would move.
The Coyotes could move to Quebec, correcting another of the NHL's major mistakes in letting the Nordiques move (although they did move to a city where hockey can legitimately be played outdoors, as opposed to where the Whalers, Stars and Jets moved). With the Canadian dollar more in line with its US counterpart, Quebec City could support a team on more even terms now.
I'm old-school. Give me teams north of the Mason-Dixon line (although I will accept Washington, Los Angeles and St. Louis begrudgingly due to their history) and move out of the Sun Belt; that experiment has been proven to be less than successful. No more Panthers, Lightning, Predators, Stars, Hurricanes, Coyotes, Ducks or Sharks would be fine with me, and I don't care if those teams move to more appropriate cities or just fold altogether.
I'd be happy with another team moving to Quebec City, there have been talks of the Coyotes moving for a while and that's really the only place they could go now that Winnipeg has a team
Only Toronto hasn't lost (in regulation). *Knocks on wood. But seriously Riemer is the real thing. I love that kid.
the Leafs and Habs play tonight so I hope my Habs can pick up their second win of the season later.
is anyone else surprised with Colorado and the NY Islanders?
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp
At least us Wings fans can count on them to cheer us up
There are some rumours going around about Jacques Martin might be getting fired soon
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp
Seriously. Their performance so far is outright embarrassing.
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp
Yes, they burn Philthy for 5 goals right after my post :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:. Doesn't change the fact that Montreal is a mediocre team and Philthy was also missing Pronger.
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp
My Habs have started to improve a bit, let's see if they can keep it up.
guess the Islanders and Avalanche didn't experience success for too long, and now the teams I'm surprised by are the Oilers and Stars.
what's everyone else's thoughts on the season so far?
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp
Dallas's success is what I call Nashville syndrome where a team lacks offensive firepower and instead builds itself off of not giving up a lot of goals and trying to win ugly. I am sort of waiting to see if they can keep this up as really the only two teams that I can think of to have true success with this style recently is Nashville and Boston, both teams who were built around this philosophy. Dallas is playing this style more out of necessity which is what worries me.
As for my Blackhawks they seem to be up to their Stanely Cup winning forms as long as they don't let their emotions get the better of them and can stay healthy.
Finally I haven't watched much of Detroit as I would like (I like to keep tabs on the enemy), but whenever I do you can really start to see there age. It seems like they are beating opponents with experience and not so much physical ability. I think if they stay healthy they'll do fine in the regular season, but if I was a fan of them, I would be seriously concerned whether or not they have the energy and endurance to make it through the playoffs.
I think injuries are one of the problems the Habs are having, besides not really having any good scorers.
as for firing coaches, I honestly think the Habs should fire Jacques Martin
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp
Scott Gomez got hurt tonight against the Hurricanes so he's apparently gonna be gone for a while, I dunno what to think because while he hasn't been doing much, he's been improving over the past few games
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp
Ok, I'm just as shocked that we're doing this well. Strong goaltending, decent forechecking and getting back to the trap (luckily not the Jacques Lemaire snooze-fest trap).
Ninja Edit: If you had 3 days in the "How Long Bruce Boudreau will be unemployed?" Pool. Congrats. Bruce Boudreau is the new coach of the
Mighty Ducks of AnaheimLos Angeles DucksThe Los Angeles Ducks of AnaheimAnaheim Ducks.Random Mafia 2 Town MVP
'08 MTGS Fantasy Football Overall Champion
Best Non-SK Neutral Performance (Individual)
The Coyotes could move to Quebec, correcting another of the NHL's major mistakes in letting the Nordiques move (although they did move to a city where hockey can legitimately be played outdoors, as opposed to where the Whalers, Stars and Jets moved). With the Canadian dollar more in line with its US counterpart, Quebec City could support a team on more even terms now.
I'm old-school. Give me teams north of the Mason-Dixon line (although I will accept Washington, Los Angeles and St. Louis begrudgingly due to their history) and move out of the Sun Belt; that experiment has been proven to be less than successful. No more Panthers, Lightning, Predators, Stars, Hurricanes, Coyotes, Ducks or Sharks would be fine with me, and I don't care if those teams move to more appropriate cities or just fold altogether.
standard
BU control
BG infect
modern:
mill
edh:
devour for power
Shizuko ramp