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2016-17 NHL season running thread

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Cosmo, Oct 10, 2016.

  1. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Oh, I agree with you about it being a dumb way to seed.Yeah, it probably isn't good for the league.

    As good as the Jackets look, and as good as I know Washington is, the team I still fear most is probably Pittsburgh. When things are clicking for them, there is just so much speed and it's hard to keep up with them. Last year, it defied everything I usually think works in the playoffs, because I am prepared more for tight checking, not a team that is so much better than it can blow the doors off their opponent. We'll see, though. Every season is different. In March, we could be talking about Ottawa or Toronto or Florida or Tampa. Everything is just so tight, and if a team starts streaking at just the right time, once they are in -- it could change the whole conversation. I know it is a cliche, but all the teams in the NHL really are good. It is hard to win consistently in that league. You have to show up to play every night.
     
  2. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    Toronto is going to be hell on the top seed in the East if the Leafs can sneak in. They're not ready to win yet, but they're young, fast and play with a lot of don't give a fuck. They won't be able to stop enough goals to win a series, but they'll freak someone out, for sure.

    Agree with you on the league in general. The Jackets' power play numbers are unsustainable and will come back to earth a bit at some point. Pittsburgh definitely had an affect on how Barry Trotz has coached this year. Brett Connolly should have been getting a sweater every night, but Barry has been scratching him here or there to get Jakob Vrana and Zach Sanford and other young pups NHL ice time so they'll at least have some acclimation to the league come playoff time. He's started to play his veterans more now, but that's the way Pittsburgh operated last season, and those pups had a huge impact in the spring. Nothing wrong with learning lessons from the team that beat you.
     
  3. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    If they're counting on Vrana and Sanford to help them in the playoffs, it will be another short spring. They've had six players score a goal apiece in two of their past four games. That's what they need. Holtby to continue being good and balance. Stop Ovi = Stop the Caps is what they need to avoid

    I also sure as hell hope they find a way to sign Oshie.

    Went to the Caps-Devils game last week and was talking to a guy next to me about Oshie. This guy said the rule was changing, that after the first 3 in the shootout you'll be able to bring the same guy back every time. I had not heard that - is that true?
     
  4. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    There's some talk about that. I'm not sure if it ever came through. Agree 100 percent on Oshie. He seems to like it in Washington. Hope the money is there, because he deserves it.

    I'm not talking about Vrana and Sanford taking big-time roles. But injuries happen and it's better to have them at least acclimated should somebody get hurt. But I also liked that he got to the end of December and said, yeah, it's time for the vets to get the minutes.
     
  5. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I agree about Toronto. I haven't gotten to watch as many of their games as I would like to, but I have been keeping an eye on them -- there are teams I always hate (like Philly, Pittsburgh, Montreal), teams I am agnostic about (like Carolina, for example), and teams I actually kind of like because of how they are playing (Ottawa, Toronto). With Toronto, Austin Matthews, is getting the attention, of course, and he should. But there are some other GOOD players there. Nylander is fast. And Marner is a really good player. They are already good, and they are just going to get better -- they are still really young. You throw in players like van Reimsdyke and Kadri, who I guess would qualify as veterans there, and I can understand why they are winning games.
     
  6. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Rangers-Jackets game was their game of the season, too. They were getting the doors blown off them early. Columbus had gotten the loss out of the way to Washington, were back home, and came out firing. And the Rangers defense -- looked like the Rangers defense. They fell behind 2-o very early. Then by early in the second period it was 4-1. The Rangers scored a goal late in the second period to make it 4-2 and then scored 3 unanswered goals in the third period to win 5-4. The game winner came with only 16.5 seconds left. Michael Grabner. Grabner had two goals and both were due to his speed -- he blew through to get himself 1-on-1 with the goalie. He is having a career year, and the Rangers got him on a 2 year deal at relatively little $$.

    Two of the other comeback goals were from Adam Clendening. He sits in the press box for 9.5 out of every 10 games. The only reason he was in there is that Mark Staal is hurt. It has made no sense the whole time. Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein are getting top 4 defenseman minutes, and have been horrible all year. Girardi has been going downhill for 3 years. Clendening made the team, has the kind of offense for a defenseman that fits the style they Rangers are trying to play this year, but Vingneault just doesn't want to use him. He seems to have players like this every year -- before they waived him earlier this year, it was Dylan McIlrath too, although admittedly McIlrath didn't fit the kind of team they had built. Clendening, though, does. He can play the power play. And it's not like their defense is solid enough where they shouldn't be sitting some of what they have every few games.

    Anyhow, great game. ... and I am really enjoying this season so far.
     
  7. ChrisLong

    ChrisLong Well-Known Member

    Bruce Boudreau returns to Anaheim tonight as the Wild meets the Ducks. He is a better coach than Randy Carlyle, but the Ducks had to fire him. The franchise is shrouded in the negativity of four consecutive Game 7 losses at home. That is Boudreau's legacy. Attendance is down and the atmosphere in Honda Center is dead as hiring a retread coach failed to produce any excitement. Yeah, but Carlyle won the Stanley Cup as Ducks coach. Great coaching to be able to tell Niedermayer and Pronger to get on the ice and get the puck to Selanne.
     
  8. JC

    JC Well-Known Member

    Holy fuck I agree with you. Carlyle''s a dinosaur, terrible hire.
     
    ChrisLong likes this.
  9. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Ryan Hartman with the lamest hat trick in history last night - two empty-netters.
     
  10. JohnHammond

    JohnHammond Well-Known Member

    If you're counting on a coach to generate excitement in Anaheim, there's the problem.
     
  11. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

  12. da man

    da man Well-Known Member

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