Hockey Talk - 2007-2008 Season

[Garak]

Derishton said:
Typical Pronger bulls**t after Kesler's goal in the Vancouver/Anaheim game last night: a hit to Kesler's leg as Kesler was starting to celebrate. No call, of course ... after all, there's no evidence that Pronger is one of the biggest thugs in league.

The NHL looks like it's just going to call the Flyers all year. Not that I'm a Flyers fan, but seriously. Call the cheap shots or don't call the cheap shots; stop letting the Prongers off the hook.

Yeah Pronger gooned it up last night, dirty stickwork, dirty cross checks. I respect his ability as a player, but he really is flying under the radar in terms of being a dirty player - no one seems to talk about it. At least last nights game was on TSN so hopefully the goonery he showcased resonated with people that wouldn't ordinarily watch him play.

And is it me or is Ryan Kesler the second coming of Jesus? Guy can play and just keeps on getting better as every game goes by. I don't think he'll ever be a superstar point a game kind of guy, but he is SOLID.

 

[Derishton]

I'm coming around to Kesler - the Philly incident made him seem too expensive until recently.

Pronger's excuse is almost always his size; when ever he elbows someone to the head, he points to the height differential. But if the choice is between "he's dirty" or "he's too stupid to know his own size after years of playing," where does that leave us?

 

[Gil T.Azell]

I like it that the Leaf's suck, the Flames are So/So under Keenan.
I hate it that the habs are doing good I hate them more than anything in hockey their coach was one of the biggest whiners when he played.

 

[tomalak301]

Well, I just got back from the Shark Tank and I had an awesome time. We got there early and just walked around the Arena taking a few pictures (I'm even thinking I'm going to reveal what I look like to you guys finally with some pictures of me at Ice Level) and then we sat in the nose bleed section up at top. One of my concerns was how difficult it would be to see the Puck from way high up but the Puck is actually quite large and it's the only black thing on the ice. Anyway, the game started, and the passion in there was unreal. Sharks have some really great fans and I'm even more proud to be apart of it and experiance it first hand. We had some people in our section going "Go Sharks" the entire game, and every time the Sharks were killing a penalty, the fans booed the Refs call. I even think there were quite a bit of bad calls (The Kings first goal I thought was covered up and there was no whistle which sucked). There was a lot of passion in the arena tonight and it is an experience that you have to have. TV just doesn't do it justice and I really wish tickets were cheaper (That is a way to sell the league by lowering the tickets and parking fees which are like 20 bucks). One example of TV not doing it justice was the Fog Horn. I think it's official that the Sharks have one of the best Goal celebrations in Hockey. Man that thing was loud and got the crowd wild up. It was awesome the entire game. Also, being there made the game seem all the more faster. It's unreal what kind of stamina these players have to go at those speeds for 3 periods. I'm almost ready to agree that the season is too long but more hockey is always a good thing.

As for the game, it was a very good game I thought. There was a lot of hard hitting, some mischef (not turning into real fights but it got close), and it just seemed very competitive. Thornton's Goal in the first period was awesome and I thought it was setting up to be a good night for the Sharks. Then it seemed like they backed off and I am starting to believe Nabokov isn't an everyday Goalie. Is he good? Yeah but he is inconsistant. You almost need him to pitch a shutout with this team if the Sharks have any chance.

One final thing, I think when it comes to shootouts, Ron Wilson might be the worst coach in the leauge. Here was the line up for both teams in the Shootout tonight:

Kings:

Kopitar
O'Sullivan
Brown

Sharks:

Roenik
Mahalik
Pavelski

Ah, excuse me? You have some scoring threats on your team with Marlaeu, Thornton, Cheechoo, and the kid Setiguchi. However, you decide to use a DEFENDER in Mahalik? I know he had a big goal last game, but he isn't a shooter. He's a DEFENDER. There's a reason you save him if the Shootout goes long like it did with Florida and Washington tonight. I don't blame Mahalik but now with the Sharks continuing to be the absolute worst team when it comes to Shootouts, I have to blame the coach. That is just bad decision making right there.

 

[BigFoot]

^ Good to hear you had a great time. And yeah, experiencing hockey live is just... amazing.

 

[Derishton]

It does sound like Wilson made some bad choices, but not as bad the NHL made when it decided to use shootouts in the first place!

Glad to hear you had a great time, though. Remember that, in the eys of God and all that is holy, your team earned a tie. And a solid game ending in a tie used to be a beautiful thing.

 

[Ariadne]

Well, the Sens extended their losing streak.

And things were going so well.

 

[BigFoot]

Nicely done Luongo.

 

[Derishton]

Toresica said:
Well, the Sens extended their losing streak.

And things were going so well.

That was a rollercoaster of a game - it might help that I like both teams, although I haven't been following Nashville very closely this year.

And speaking of Luongo ... How did he knock that puck out of the air in the third? 195 minutes without allowing a goal.

 

[DBR]

I don't think I've seen Calgary involved in a 15 goal game since a Californian Gretzky and company handed us our asses on a silver platter in the late 80's.

 

[SlyCardie]

Any Caps fans here? Mini 3 game win streak going on. I need to get to more games.

 

[Canadave]

Wow... Leafs are on a tear. Vesa Toskala especially is on a tear, .937 save percentage, 1.67 GAA and a 5-1 record over the last 6 games going into tonight, and with the Buds pulling off a 4-0 win, those numbers are only going to improve more. His overall numbers have seen quite the change, too... a few weeks ago, he was ~.889-.890 overall and had about a 3.20 GAA. Now? .906 and 2.77. I'm not complaining! GO LEAFS GO!

 

[TorontoTrekker]

Canadave said:
His overall numbers have seen quite the change, too... a few weeks ago, he was ~.889-.890 overall and had about a 3.20 GAA. Now? .906 and 2.77. I'm not complaining! GO LEAFS GO!

Actually, the stats on the team's website don't seem to have been updated following tonight's game, so he's actually 2.65/.909. (I'm pretty sure of this because the news story on the game says that tonight's was his second shutout of the year, but the stats page only shows him with one.)

What I want to know is where Nik Antropov came from all of a sudden this year. I think I ought to be checking George Miller's report for his name or something.

 

[DBR]

SlyCardie said:
Any Caps fans here? Mini 3 game win streak going on. I need to get to more games.

Not a Caps fan, but I'm a Chris Clark fan. :thumbsup:

 

[Derishton]

Another shoot-out last night in Edmonton. It was a pretty good game ... both teams really earned that point.

 

[BigFoot]

^ Speaking of Canucks, man Luongo needs to come back ASAP.

 

[Derishton]

I thought Sanford was pretty solid (as was Garon), and I don't know that Luongo would have mae that last save. Maybe. I don't think Luongo has necessarily been superhuman in the shoot-out - the Canucks just aren't scoring shoot-out goals this year like they did last. And Edmonton's snipers perform very well when there isn't a distracting game of hockey going on around them.

 

[BigFoot]

^ I wasn't actually referring to last night's shoot-out, but their results in general since Luongo's injury.

 

[Derishton]

Of the last six, they've lost four, it's true. But one was the Edmonton shoot-out, and once the hockey game stops in Edmonton you just hand the Oilers a free point. One of the losses was Luongo's, aganst Pittsburgh - again, a shoot-out. And they were on a long road trip.

It's doesn't look disastrous, really. I agree it would be nice to have Luong back, but it would also be nice if the Canucks played as well in front of Lou as they did in Edmonton in front of Sanford.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

more sorriness from Chris Simon

story/ video

after returning from his 25 game suspension that started last season, Chris Simon has "been given time off" by the Islanders to "receive help" after knocking Jarkko Ruutu to the ice and then stomping on his lower leg this weekend.

How many games will he get? I'm hoping at least 30, to start after he returns to the team and then he has to apply for reinstatement

what's it going to take to put some respect back in the game?