NHL Season 08-09

[Furtwangler]

Red Wings all the way

Do have a question though, I moved out of state and now I have to look into NHL Center Ice, anyone know if they blackout the games that would be on Versus?

I have directv, live in upstate NY and am a Devils fan. They 9/10 times blacked out devil games, idk why but they did. Didn't matter if it was on msg or fox sports or vs or w/e. I broke down and got the center ice package and I haven't had a blacked out game yet. sooo unless they become bigger douches than before they shouldn't black it out if you get the package.

I lived in NJ till 4th grade and moved up north now but still a devils fan. It's fun like once or twice a year to take the 4 hour trip down and see games like I did 5-6 times a year as a kid. Can't wait for season to start officially.

[Tythera]

I have directv, live in upstate NY and am a Devils fan. They 9/10 times blacked out devil games, idk why but they did. Didn't matter if it was on msg or fox sports or vs or w/e. I broke down and got the center ice package and I haven't had a blacked out game yet. sooo unless they become bigger douches than before they shouldn't black it out if you get the package.

I lived in NJ till 4th grade and moved up north now but still a devils fan. It's fun like once or twice a year to take the 4 hour trip down and see games like I did 5-6 times a year as a kid. Can't wait for season to start officially.

Alright, that pretty much answers my question, thanks for that. Definitely think I'll be ordering it, my other option is no hockey at all :/

[ZhanAsura]

Rangers, all day.

[Furtwangler]

Rangers, all day.

[Thoronas]

LA kings players on the Price is Right. Fucking LOL.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...s/lakings1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...s/lakings2.jpg

[Oxyminus]

Rangers went from being one dimensional offensively to a team that rolls 3 lines that are all balanced at puck possession and incredible forecheck. solid blueline with staal and girardi being great in their own end, and redden and rosival being good puck mover/point guys. one of the top 3 goalies in the league in their net...liking what im seeing, cant wait to go to the home opener friday!!!

[Ratatapa]

Yeah Rangers will be hard this year (top 3 in east not in good order nec) but MTL RNG(or pitt) and Wash

[Oxyminus]

the east is pretty stacked...hell the atlantic on its own is a very tough division. last season every team in it except the islanders made the playoffs, 4/5 teams from the division, making 4/8 teams to for the entire conference. playing well in the division is going to be huge, and the rangers getting both wins in Prague is a good start, lets them set the pace early get their confidence going.

i went to their first pre-season home game, and was floored with their forecheck and ability to put pressure on the puck non-stop (very similar to the 06-07 sabres) and watching the 2 games this weekend, when they finally had a full lineup, they should be in the mix. the favorites for the division (or at least dominating the talk) is pitt and philly, but we've got at least as balanced scoring as both teams (though not the pure talent pitt has in crosby and malkin) but by far we have better defense than pitt and the best goalie of said 3 teams. my atlantic division picks are as follows:

NYR
Flyers
Penguins
Devils
Islanders

I'll make my conference ones later

[Sepukku]

the east is pretty stacked...hell the atlantic on its own is a very tough division. last season every team in it except the islanders made the playoffs, 4/5 teams from the division, making 4/8 teams to for the entire conference. playing well in the division is going to be huge, and the rangers getting both wins in Prague is a good start, lets them set the pace early get their confidence going.

i went to their first pre-season home game, and was floored with their forecheck and ability to put pressure on the puck non-stop (very similar to the 06-07 sabres) and watching the 2 games this weekend, when they finally had a full lineup, they should be in the mix. the favorites for the division (or at least dominating the talk) is pitt and philly, but we've got at least as balanced scoring as both teams (though not the pure talent pitt has in crosby and malkin) but by far we have better defense than pitt and the best goalie of said 3 teams. my atlantic division picks are as follows:

NYR
Flyers
Penguins
Devils
Islanders

I'll make my conference ones later

Penguins down in 3rd in the Atlantic? Thats pretty bold....

[Ivaden]

I can't wait to see the Penguins when they finally mesh with all the new players. Solid team, imo (being as unbiased as possible), but the chemistry ain't happening yet. I'm gonna miss Malone and Ruutu.

[Darkevolution]

RED WINGS!

[Abraxas]

The pens will be good, but they lost alot of role players. Spots that can't be filled by Ruslan Fedotenko's and Miroslav Satan's. Yes, they are a highly offensive team, but their depth took a hit. Malone, Roberts, Ruutu and Laraque.. thats alot of holes to fill. Even Adam Hall. Yea he's not great, but you will get more hustle out of him than you will with Fedotenko and Satan.

I dont like predicting where teams will finish, but the Pens will really be tested if they want to be as good as they were last year.

[Ace-o-fire]

red wings need to have a backup goalie that shines out. If not we might be fucked.

[Sepukku]

You have Conklin. You'll be fine. Hes a fantastic goalie. When Fleury went down, he came in and played like an all-star for ~25-30 games. Played almost better than Fleury himself even.

[Ivaden]

Yeah, Conklin did pretty well, but saying he might have been Fleury is a bit of a stretch I think. Fleury did learn a lot from him though, I'll admit. I went to their last public practice a week ago, and our new goalie Curry is pretty good for a rookie.

[Bweigelt]

You have Conklin. You'll be fine. Hes a fantastic goalie. When Fleury went down, he came in and played like an all-star for ~25-30 games. Played almost better than Fleury himself even.

I'm sorry but 25-30 games doesn't not make you a great goalie when it's preceded by 5+ seasons of mediocrity. And up until last season he actually seemed to be getting worse each year instead of better. I wouldn't really have high hopes for a guy who's only good year was on a stacked Pittsburgh team that could outscore anyone they went up against. Mind you Detroit won't be much different, but I still wouldn't expect much from him.

[Sepukku]

Well, Conklin played better than Fleury did pre-injury last year, and there was whispers of keeping Conklin in net even after Fleury gets better. ....then Fleury played out of his mind, best-so-far-of-his-career, hockey. So it depends what perspective you're looking at of Fleury. Yeah, in the playoffs, he was out of his mind (until the Finals) good. But pre-injury he was very run of the mill, he hadn't reached that top echelon yet. Everyone still knew he had the potential to, but he hadn't reached it yet. Conklin, himself, probably had a bit to do with Fleury crossing that threshold and reaching the elite level of goaltending, as Ivaden has said.

[Arnwulf]

Conklin is a solid backup for any team, we had him here in Columbus for a season and he did well. I'd actually prefer him to Freddie Norrena, but I'll take what I can get with goaltending. I just want to have a year where our starting goaltender isn't out for more than 20 games.

[BadKarma]

Rangers went from being one dimensional offensively to a team that rolls 3 lines that are all balanced at puck possession and incredible forecheck. solid blueline with staal and girardi being great in their own end, and redden and rosival being good puck mover/point guys. one of the top 3 goalies in the league in their net...liking what im seeing, cant wait to go to the home opener friday!!!

WHere you sittin ill come poke you, me and my dad have had season tickets for 23 years

[Oxyminus]

Penguins down in 3rd in the Atlantic? Thats pretty bold....

I said that the atlantic division is going to be tough, maybe the toughest in the league? like I said, I think NYR, Philly, and the Pens are the ones who are going to be battling for the division. between those 3 teams, the rangers have the edge in goaltending. Pitt has the most upper end offensive talent, and Philly has very good balance throughout their lineup.

from there, its how the weaknesses of one team compares to the strength of the others. Outside of Crosby and Malkin, I question the offensive weapons Pitt has, I don't think they have the same kind of depth they had last season. Malone is gone, Sykora is gone, and I'm no believer in Satan or Fedotenko. Ty Conklin is gone, who played ABSOLUTELY out of his head while M.A.F (who i'm still not buying as an elite goalie) was injured, and kept them in games that they shouldn't have been in. also they're out Gonchar and Whitney for a big chunk to open the season. those are big losses for any team to overcome, especially a team that wins games with its offensive, not its defense.

Philly, has, questionable goaltending with Nittyimaki and and Biron showing that both are good at sharing the load, but can't handle the starting job and can't really go "head-to-head" with other elite goalies, which goes a long way in this league. what Philly does have is a big, nasty defense (though the losses of smith and hatcher may leave this core a bit exposed as not being as physical as it used to be), and depth on their forward lines that's impressive.

Rangers, have the best goalie out of the three teams. that in of itself gives them a leg up. post-lockout they've consistently been one of the best defensive teams in the league, and from what i have seen so far in the pre-season, and 2 games (granted it was a offensively loaded, but ultimately not that good TB team) that trend should continue. as they only allowed 40 shots over 2 games, and a good chunk were perimeter shots, and not many from the points or real "quality" shots. the big question around the rangers is are their young guys ready to handle the load? and can they handle/make up the offense that they lost in jagr, straka, and shanahan? that debate has been going on all summer between rangers fans. I'm on the optimist side here. I like the depth the rangers have on their forward core. they've gotten much younger, MUCH faster, and have a tenacious forecheck. the offensive no longer flows through one player, but relies on every line being a legitimate threat, which i think makes you a stronger team anyway. again, i'm an optimist (and a homer) and have seen the chances the team is already generating, and think the offensive will continue to get better.

I don't look at my picks as locks by any stretch. I just think of the three teams, Pitt has the most questions by their loss of players up front, opening the season with longterm injuries on the blueline, and a goalie who has yet to establish elite status. BUT they have a huge ace in Crosby and Malkin. Philly has great depth, good defense, but questionable goaltending. Rangers have great goaltending, very good defense, and good offense that I think will be very good. either way it's going to be a very tough division, and a lot of fun to watch.

LETS GO RANGERS!!!