NHL 2010/2011 season....

[AdmiralGarak]

Devils fire Coach Mac, and replace him with... Oh, god... not again...

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVnArp9ZE0[/yt]

Lemaire.

 

[Canadave]

^ Right, because coaching is clearly the root of the problem in New Jersey...

 

[Aragorn]

Pierre Turgeon's 18-year-old daughter Ellizabeth was killed when her pickup truck crashed into the trailer of a semi-truck at an intersection on Thursday. Police say fog was a factor, but that she also failed to stop at the intersection.

 

[Danny99]

I know it's cold hearted, but if you fail to stop at an intersection where a stop sign is posted, that's just stupid.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

HBO may have re-title their special: "Penguins Capitals 24/7: The Road to a Game Played Indoors on a Later Date"

After a couple weeks of 20° temperatures around Pittsburgh, the weather forecast for January 1st, 2011: 53°, with rain.

If the game cannot be played Saturday, the league has reserved Heinz Field for Sunday and will attempt to play the game then, according to an e-mail from Jamey Horan, NHL vice president of player development/event communications.

If the game cannot be played Saturday or Sunday, it will be rescheduled for later in the season in Consol Energy Center. No details were available regarding ticketing or refunds.

Steady rain, however, can cause problems. It won't immediately freeze, and the accumulating water could flood the rink's surface, Craig said. After the water does freeze, it could create an uneven surface, possibly risking the players' safety, he said.

AccuWeather is calling for three hours of rain and a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms Saturday. The forecast worsens Sunday, with 12 hours of rain in the forecast, according to AccuWeather.

(source)

 

[Warped9]

It's a goddamned shame! The Habs are self-destructing right before my eyes. Martin keeps fucking around with lines (even when they seem to be working), Kostitsyn is nonexistent, no one can put the puck into an opposing net and Price has turned into less than average.

If Price doesn't get back into his groove soon he'll simply prove they traded away the wrong goalie. And Martin is useless in getting his players to play some sort of system. And, of course, their power play has been shit since the beginning of the season.

What a fucking shame! These guys play with no pride. They're wearing the jersey of the most storied franchise in hockey history and they play like clowns!

Disgusting.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Heads up-- The Winter Classic has been pushed back to 8:00 pm.

 

[BigFoot]

Damn, I was gonna watch it live.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Weather reports are looking good; Staal's set to make his season debut tonight. Let's go Pens!

 

[Canadave]

Not a lot of bright spots for Toronto this year, but the emergence of Mikhail Grabovski (38 GP, 15 G, 14 A) has to be one of 'em.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUEExPBHI5I[/yt]

 

[Starbreaker]

Leafs beat the Thrashers 9-3. WTF

 

[Geck]

^Yeah, that was insane. 6 goals in the second period.

Meanwhile the Canucks continue their charge, winning 6-1 over the Oilers....haven't lost in regulation in something like 15 games now. At least one Canadian team is having a good season... Tonight's game against Detroit should be a good one.

 

[BigFoot]

^ Yeah Canucks have been playing well. They've lost just once in regulation in their last 20. I believe they're 13-0-2 in their last 15 and are currently on an eight game winning streak.

Everyone's been playing well... Sedins are doing their thing, Kesler has been a beast (he already has 23 goals this year), Luongo was the second star for the month of December, Schneider is 8-0-2 this year. So yeah... I'm currently a one very happy camper.

Tonight's game should definitely be a good one.

 

[Winterwind]

Not a lot of bright spots for Toronto this year, but the emergence of Mikhail Grabovski (38 GP, 15 G, 14 A) has to be one of 'em.

I hadn't seen that. Wow. That was a beautiful move by Grabovski. The line of Grabovski, MacArthur and Kulemin has been the best thing about the Leafs all year.

And James Reimer has really been on a hot streak since getting called up. I wonder what they're going to do when Giguere comes back. You don't want to rush a kid like Reimer with too much pressure but he is the hot goalie and his numbers are better than Giguere and Gustavsson. Mind you, I never thought Gustavsson was their answer in net.

 

[Canadave]

Not a lot of bright spots for Toronto this year, but the emergence of Mikhail Grabovski (38 GP, 15 G, 14 A) has to be one of 'em.

I hadn't seen that. Wow. That was a beautiful move by Grabovski. The line of Grabovski, MacArthur and Kulemin has been the best thing about the Leafs all year.

Indeed they have. The three of them are all on pace for 60+ point seasons, I believe, and have a positive +/-. Versteeg and Kessel are both on a 60-point pace, but both have bad +/- numbers.

And James Reimer has really been on a hot streak since getting called up. I wonder what they're going to do when Giguere comes back. You don't want to rush a kid like Reimer with too much pressure but he is the hot goalie and his numbers are better than Giguere and Gustavsson. Mind you, I never thought Gustavsson was their answer in net.

Latest I heard was that he'll get the nod, not Giguere, on Thursday night. Might as well keep starting him as long as his numbers remain good, though I expect he'll drop off that .950 save percentage soon.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I didn't catch this after the game, but I love it--

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNSKGdG8Fdg[/yt]

 

[Winterwind]

Not a lot of bright spots for Toronto this year, but the emergence of Mikhail Grabovski (38 GP, 15 G, 14 A) has to be one of 'em.

I hadn't seen that. Wow. That was a beautiful move by Grabovski. The line of Grabovski, MacArthur and Kulemin has been the best thing about the Leafs all year.

Indeed they have. The three of them are all on pace for 60+ point seasons, I believe, and have a positive +/-. Versteeg and Kessel are both on a 60-point pace, but both have bad +/- numbers.

And James Reimer has really been on a hot streak since getting called up. I wonder what they're going to do when Giguere comes back. You don't want to rush a kid like Reimer with too much pressure but he is the hot goalie and his numbers are better than Giguere and Gustavsson. Mind you, I never thought Gustavsson was their answer in net.

Latest I heard was that he'll get the nod, not Giguere, on Thursday night. Might as well keep starting him as long as his numbers remain good, though I expect he'll drop off that .950 save percentage soon.

According to TSN, Reimer is getting the start and, depending on an evaluation, Giguere will be the backup. Anything the Leafs can do to finish above the bottom five this year is good. At least that would deny the Bruins another lottery pick in the draft.

 

[Canadave]

I hadn't seen that. Wow. That was a beautiful move by Grabovski. The line of Grabovski, MacArthur and Kulemin has been the best thing about the Leafs all year.

Indeed they have. The three of them are all on pace for 60+ point seasons, I believe, and have a positive +/-. Versteeg and Kessel are both on a 60-point pace, but both have bad +/- numbers.

And James Reimer has really been on a hot streak since getting called up. I wonder what they're going to do when Giguere comes back. You don't want to rush a kid like Reimer with too much pressure but he is the hot goalie and his numbers are better than Giguere and Gustavsson. Mind you, I never thought Gustavsson was their answer in net.

Latest I heard was that he'll get the nod, not Giguere, on Thursday night. Might as well keep starting him as long as his numbers remain good, though I expect he'll drop off that .950 save percentage soon.

According to TSN, Reimer is getting the start and, depending on an evaluation, Giguere will be the backup. Anything the Leafs can do to finish above the bottom five this year is good. At least that would deny the Bruins another lottery pick in the draft.

Indeed. I think Burke should really be going after a good two-way centre before the deadline. Ship someone a d-man; we've got lots. What we don't have is someone skilled to anchor Kessel. He's a great offensive talent, but he'll put up much better numbers with someone good setting up plays from their own end.

 

[Winterwind]

Yes, Kessel needs at least one true first line player with him, not two guys trying to fill that role.

And Reimer gets the start against Phoenix.

And in other Leafs news...

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=349217

Seriously, they're looking into Wilson putting some friendly cash on the table prior to the game, to inspire the guys to get the win, his 600th, and against his old team. So f---ing what? Surely the league has much, much better things to do. And what's the big difference between what Wilson did and the rookie tradition mentioned in the article? The league's office truly is a joke now.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Yes, Kessel needs at least one true first line player with him, not two guys trying to fill that role.

And Reimer gets the start against Phoenix.

And in other Leafs news...

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=349217

Seriously, they're looking into Wilson putting some friendly cash on the table prior to the game, to inspire the guys to get the win, his 600th, and against his old team. So f---ing what? Surely the league has much, much better things to do. And what's the big difference between what Wilson did and the rookie tradition mentioned in the article? The league's office truly is a joke now.

How is the league office a joke because of this? They're probably the only people acting like intelligent rational humans in this trumped up empty story.

The NHL's statement:

The NHL has informed the Maple Leafs they will be fined an undisclosed amount for violating the league's salary cap rules after head coach Ron Wilson rewarded his players with a small cash bonus after winning his 600th game in San Jose on Tuesday.

Part of the cap system instituted in 2005 was intended to make sure there were no more side deals between teams and players that were not specifically part of the Standard Player Contract. Teams used to routinely keep unofficial agreements "in the drawer" that allowed players benefits, cash or otherwise, that the league never knew about.

Article 26 of the current collective bargaining agreement states clearly "Neither a Club nor a Club Actor may pay or provide a Player anything of value except as provided in his (contract)."

Admittedly, it's a silly and minor violation. The difference here is that Wilson and his players stupidly exchanged money in public view so that the internet went on a tirade about this violating the CBA so that the league was forced to act on it.