NHL Season 08-09

[Gadritan]

Ah shit. OT inc.

[Sepukku]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Thoronas]

Very entertaining game. Thank god this is a series again.

[Gadritan]

GO CANES BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KoalaTrap]

Ah I love me some OT playoff hockey. Best thing in sports, ever.

[BarthelloSylph]

Canes ftw

[Saphirea]

I'd like to personally thank Malkin for deciding that tonight was the game he decided to show the hell up and play amazing.

The Ovechkin goal was a fluke, I'm glad that they bounced back from it.

[Abraxas]

whoever says they're not entertaining is crazy

the hurricanes are not entertaining. but i cant say im upset they are beating Boston, cause they aren't really fun to watch to me either.

ive been meaning to say... with all this talk of Bylsma's resurgence of the Pens. its really kind of a joke. not the fact that they started winning after he was hired. but how much credit a coach like him gets. this isnt a knock on him; i really dont know how well of a coach he is, though im sure hes decent. but ive always had this opinion about coaches of superstars. just like Boudreau in Washington. you have Crosby and Malkin, and Ovechkin. you cant coach players like that. they are going to do whatever they can to score/set up opportunities etc.

Can anyone imagine Barry Melrose telling Wayne Gretzky what to do when he was in LA? no, you call his line and he knows what to do when he's out there.

coaches probably have more of an effect on the role players of a team, to get them more motivated, but the game still relies on the shoulders of your best players. especially in hockey. the game is so fast that decisions need to be made in a split second. and thats something you cant teach. no matter how good a of a coach you are, you cant predict everything that may happen.

again, this isnt a knock on Byslma, but if you look at the Blues coach, Andy Murray, thats a good coach. a team with no real big superstars, save for Keith Tkachuk, and even with Paul Kariya injured for a big chunk of the year, he still got that team in the playoffs. the Blues goaltending in the 2nd half is what made the difference, no doubt. but Murray kept his team within reach of it all year.

i think Murray should get the Jack Adams award for that reason. Julien is good in Boston, but like coaches like Bylsma, he got alot of help from his players like Chara/Savard/Kessel/Lucic etc.

[Gadritan]

That's exactly why I think Paul Maurice is such a good fit with CAR. They don't have super stars either. But they have great chemistry, and he obviously plays a key role in that chemistry. He knows how to get them going.

[Sepukku]

CAR 2008-2009 is almost as bad as watching the Devils circa 1998-2003ish...

[Gadritan]

lol /.\

[Thoronas]

If NBC ends up getting a Carolina vs Vancouver Stanley Cup Final they'd cry openly. Then pull the plug on their tv coverage.

[Vedder]

That's exactly why I think Paul Maurice is such a good fit with CAR. They don't have super stars either. But they have great chemistry, and he obviously plays a key role in that chemistry. He knows how to get them going.

Maybe I'm a homer, but I think Eric Staal and Cam Ward at least qualify as super stars. Not on the elite level on an Ovechkin or Crosby, but you just have to watch them to get how good they are.

Agree with you on the chemistry thing. They have guys stepping up left and right and everyone is playing the 'team' game at the moment.

[Gadritan]

They're more local stars.

Ward is absolutely incredible, but you never hear much about him outside of NC.

Same for Staal. People talked shit about how he was undersized and would never be a great player when they picked him up. He hit some crazy growth spurt and he's bar none one of the best they have now.

Brind'Amour and Cole fall into this category too imo. I think they have a lot more talent as a whole than people give them credit for.

Hell, even Jokinen has been absolutely on fire during the playoffs.

[Selamis]

They're more local stars.

Ward is absolutely incredible, but you never hear much about him outside of NC.

Same for Staal. People talked shit about how he was undersized and would never be a great player when they picked him up. He hit some crazy growth spurt and he's bar none one of the best they have now.

Brind'Amour and Cole fall into this category too imo. I think they have a lot more talent as a whole than people give them credit for.

Hell, even Jokinen has been absolutely on fire during the playoffs.

In before allegations of steriod/hgh use....

Two HUGE games tonight.....personally hope that the normal Hawks team shows up tonight against the Canucks and that we don't fall behind early for the 4th game in a row. Also got a vested interest in the Ducks game, hope the Ducks go up 3-1, but I think Detroit is gonna come out with fire and passion and try to take the Ducks out of their gameplan. Should be a good night of hockey.

[Gadritan]

lol. Well, he was still 18 too. He went from about 5'10" to 6'4"...

Yeah man. Part of my heart is still with the Hawks. Belfour was my hero (yeah, it was that long ago). I played goalie for 10yrs and modeled my style directly from him. Even had the sig series pads and eagle mask, lol.

[Bregor]

Maybe I'm a homer, but I think Eric Staal and Cam Ward at least qualify as super stars. Not on the elite level on an Ovechkin or Crosby, but you just have to watch them to get how good they are.

Agree with you on the chemistry thing. They have guys stepping up left and right and everyone is playing the 'team' game at the moment.

I was shocked to hear on a pre-game show that Ward has yet to lose a playoff series, and even more shocked that I didn't know that already. But this begs another question, the last three Cup champions are still alive, and people generally believe Detroit is the strongest of the group. But if Anaheim or Carolina wins it all again this year, do you think people will consider them a "great team" like the Detroits and New Jerseys of recent memory?

[Gadritan]

I was shocked to hear on a pre-game show that Ward has yet to lose a playoff series, and even more shocked that I didn't know that already. But this begs another question, the last three Cup champions are still alive, and people generally believe Detroit is the strongest of the group. But if Anaheim or Carolina wins it all again this year, do you think people will consider them a "great team" like the Detroits and New Jerseys of recent memory?

For some reason the Hurricanes and the Panthers never get the respect that they deserve. I think it's kind of odd considering the amount of talent on both and the accomplishments of the teams.

No matter how much either of them win, they're almost always considered the underdogs.

Perhaps this stems from both of them still being "new," teams. They don't have generations of fans that have grown up watching the teams for 30yrs yet.

And no, even if Carolina or Anaheim wins, I seriously doubt they'll be considered a great team.

[Bregor]

Just saw this, apparently message boards are serious business. Guess I can't tell people to "die in a fire" on here or I'll get arrested for murder and arson!

Police Seize Laptop In Ovechkin Death Threat Investigation - Sports News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

[Selamis]

Sitting here on pins and needles with this Chicago/Vancouver game.... Normally would say I love overtime but not at this moment, especially given our track record in the regular season with OT.

/anime sweat drop