2009-10 NHL Thread

[Ishido]

Pronger just took a one handed swing and caught Helm in the neck... why am I not surprised.

[Penthesilea]

MILBUR-WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

"Over the last twelve or thirteen years, Detroit has about 14 Cups." "Neither goal was Boucher's fault." HURR DURR I JUST SAY STUFF DERP DERP DERP. God he's awful. I can't fucking wait for this new TV deal.

On a related note, Brian Boucher is also pretty terrible. He plays really small in net and doesn't cut down the angles at all. Really speaks as to how good Leighton's been in keeping Philly alive for so long. With Leighton, Howard, Rask and Niemi (and Varly when healthy) playing well this year, there seems to be a lot of really good young goalies out there.

Bouch is fucking horrible. He's good to let in atleast 2 soft goals a night. While Leighton played fantastic for the team, he's still a back up.

[Ishido]

Detroit and LA clinch playoff spots with Calgary's loss, despite Detroit's loss and LA not playing today. Chicago clinched the Central with Detroit's loss as well.

Detroit might finish 7th, even though they might still get to 100 points if they win 2 out of the last 3.

[Thoronas]

I wonder who San Jose wants to see in the first round more, Colorado or LA. Who am I kidding they want to see the golf links.

[Ishido]

Havlat gets a roughing penalty and seals my win in fantasy. I think.

And I didn't even do the whole drop/add players to get an extra big roster!

Also Caps get the Presidents' trophy, enjoy your early playoff exit.

[Thoronas]

Canucks almost fuck up but win against Minny to secure the NW division. Bring on the playoffs!!!

[Ishido]

Burrows is a piece of shit lol.

[NynJa]

Havlat gets a roughing penalty and seals my win in fantasy. I think.

And I didn't even do the whole drop/add players to get an extra big roster!

Also Caps get the Presidents' trophy, enjoy your early playoff exit.

What curse?
Since it's inception, there have been 23 winners:
17 Western, 6 Eastern
7 have gone on to win the Stanley Cup (6W 1E)
2 have lost in the Stanley Cup finals (1W 1E)
9 have lost in the Conference finals (5W 4E)
1 lost in the Conference semis (1W)
4 were eliminated in the first round (4W)

There is no curse, but if people are so intent on believing there is one, Eastern teams that have won the presidents trophy have survived atleast 2 rounds of playoff hockey.

[Ishido]

What curse?
Since it's inception, there have been 23 winners:
17 Western, 6 Eastern
7 have gone on to win the Stanley Cup (6W 1E)
2 have lost in the Stanley Cup finals (1W 1E)
9 have lost in the Conference finals (5W 4E)
1 lost in the Conference semis (1W)
4 were eliminated in the first round (4W)

There is no curse, but if people are so intent on believing there is one, Eastern teams that have won the presidents trophy have survived atleast 2 rounds of playoff hockey.

The Red Wings are the only team that has won the Presidents' and the Stanley Cup in the same season since the lockout. It's not so much a curse as the fact that it means nothing. Also the fact that it's been associated with the Sharks recently who are gigantic chokers, so that lends it a bit of a curse type feeling. 2 out of the last 4 winners have been bounced in the first round, etc.

Also this is only the 3rd time an East team has won in 14 seasons, so...

[Bregor]

People are predicting early exits for the Caps anyway, so it's just one more thing to pile on that we won the President's. I mean, if the likes of R.J. Umberger think we play hockey "the wrong way" we have no shot, right?

[Ishido]

He has a point though, the Caps D has been known to be pretty shitty sometimes.

[Bregor]

He has a point though, the Caps D has been known to be pretty shitty sometimes.

Look, no one's watched more shitty defense since the lockout than I have. For years our best defensive defensemen were Brendan Witt and Kenny Klee. But in the last year the Caps have gone from "porous" to "adequate." And when you're scoring 4+ goals a game, it gets the job done. Schultz has been rock solid all year, and Carlson looks like a great young player. I know they haven't proven anything yet but I have a much better feeling than I did at this time last season.

[Abraxas]

Starting to understand one of the reasons Sep hates the Flyers so much, half of their team plays like the game is to injure the other team, not score goals.

ive said it before, and ill say it again.

if you cant take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

whatever their plan was - it worked. Hank was invisible and the wings D didn't do anything.

you should tell Babs that it does pay to have an enforcer

[Absolutely Virtue]

Look, no one's watched more shitty defense since the lockout than I have. For years our best defensive defensemen were Brendan Witt and Kenny Klee. But in the last year the Caps have gone from "porous" to "adequate." And when you're scoring 4+ goals a game, it gets the job done. Schultz has been rock solid all year, and Carlson looks like a great young player. I know they haven't proven anything yet but I have a much better feeling than I did at this time last season.

Pretty much this, and shame on you for not mentioning Green's improved focus on the other end. My postseason worries go like this:

1. Goaltending
2. OV's late season scoring swoon (tired from banging chicks in the Olympic village?)
3. Finding a way to hide paying for Stanley Cup tickets from my wife

[Bregor]

shame on you for not mentioning Green's improved focus on the other end.

Where have you been all season? Every time I mention that he's gotten a lot better with his positioning and board play in his own end, haters jump all over my shit. People who don't watch the Caps love to hate Mike Green, even more so than Ovie I think. "HE'S JUST A FORWARD PLAYING D! HE'S A PRODUCT OF THE SYSTEM! HE HAS A MOHAWK AND DOES COMMERCIALS!"

http://jubeegankin.bigmandan.com/HatersGonnaHate.jpg

I've said it a million times before, Duncan Keith is a fucking good defenseman and deserves the Norris, but so does Green. It's really a toss-up to me at this point.

And I'm not worried about Ovie's scoring drought, the top line only has like 5 goals in the last 9 games or something, but moving Semin up with Backstrom and Ovie seemed to give them a spark. BB will get it figured out.

[Sepukku]

In my mind, the bottom line is the Capitals have proven themselves incapable of winning big games. They've been eliminated two straight years in game 7's, both at home, and for what its worth, AO crumpled during the Russia-Canada game (much like he did vs Pittsburgh in game 7) and there were 0 Capital players on the two finalists in the Olympics.

[Bregor]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...ultzgreen1.jpg

[Ishido]

ive said it before, and ill say it again.

if you cant take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

whatever their plan was - it worked. Hank was invisible and the wings D didn't do anything.

you should tell Babs that it does pay to have an enforcer

Would be well and good if that's why the Wings lost - unfortunately the real reason was a soft goal allowed 17 seconds into the game. They dressed enforcer types earlier in the year, but now that the skill is back, May and Abby are in GR, and Lilja was scratched because of a slight injury. Ericsson still does nothing despite being like 6'5".

Also Mike Green is not a great defenseman. Great scorer, but not a great defenseman.

[Bregor]

Also Mike Green is not a great defenseman. Great scorer, but not a great defenseman.

O/U on Caps games watched by you this season: 2 1/2

[Sepukku]

O/U on Caps games watched by you this season: 2 1/2

Thats still higher than the O/U on Caps series wins this year, OHHHHHHHHHHHH.