2023-24 NHL Season

[EagerBeaver]

Has the Carolina power play sucked Hippo balls in this series, or what????? Meanwhile Rangers have fallen apart 5 on 5

 

[EagerBeaver]

Do you guys realize amidst Edmonton's goalie problems, that Jack "Soup" Campbell, who was signed by Edmonton to a 5 year, $25 million contract to be a starter but is now 3rd string, played 32 games for the Bakersfield Condors this year? Is any other player in the AHL making $5 million a year?

If that's not an embarrassment, I don't know what is.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Again 2 heroes for the Dallas fans last night, as a 20 year old leads the team, Oettinger is brilliant in goal again, and Dallas smashes the reeling Avs 5-1. Is anyone really surprised that Georgiev has been exposed as a poser, and the Avs a less balanced team than Dallas? Look for Dallas to send the Avs to the golf course and close this baby out in game 5!

 

[gaby]

Yep a lot...plus TOEWS/injury.... big guys not doing the job....credit to DALLAS/ dominant team and kid JOHNSTON always impressive.....AVS are done.

And NYR playing with the fire....could well have to play a 7th game..... and who knows?????.....lol.

 

[ThunderLipps]

Do you guys realize amidst Edmonton's goalie problems, that Jack "Soup" Campbell, who was signed by Edmonton

Personally I would not start Skinner today and Pickard has done well with a .904 S% in his career. In the playoffs last year Campbell did well when he played, Jack Campbell had a 1-0-0 record in 4 games with a goals against average of 1.01 and a save percentage of . 961 played 120 minutes in the 2023 playoffs. , should have played game 5 but the coach stuck with Skinner and lost. Pretty sure if the Oilers lose this series Draisaitl will leave. If the Oilers win the series they would rather play Dallas over Colorado.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I think you can stick a fork in Colorado, the Nicushkin loss devastated the psyche of the team as dude was on fire with 9 goals in 10 games. Maybe it was steroids, who knows, but he failed a test for some illegal substance that should not have been in his body, and the team is left to wonder about his absence and him letting them down. He is a huge disappointment with his behavior, missing lots of time for personal issues that shouldn't be the Avs problem. He is unreliable and unprofessional. Players like this can destroy teams especially when the letdown comes in the middle of a tight playoff series.

As far as the NY Rangers, I agree with Gaby that their situation now is a bit concerning and the 3rd period last night was a major WTF for them. Carolina, except for their power play, has played very well at times this series and although they went down 3-0 those first 3 games were tight and much closer than being down 3-0 suggests. Game 7 could happen. I still think NY Rangers will get it done, they have a really good team and Chytil may play game 6.

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

Imagine what turn it could take if the Canes PP starts to produce!

 

[EagerBeaver]

I had thought the Bruins might be cooked tonight, but a strong game from Swayman and opportunistic goals stole them a game and sent the series back to Boston for game 6.

Swayman backs up vow as Bruins force Game 6

Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who told reporters this week that the Bruins would stay alive in Game 5 and force a Game 6, made 28 saves as his club outlasted the Florida Panthers 2-1 in Game 5 of their NHL playoff series on Tuesday night.

www.espn.com

 

[ThunderLipps]

Oilers pulled this one off, they played more physical than the past few games. Looks like Pickhard will start game 5 also, wish he played the previous game. Still cheering for Boston

 

[EagerBeaver]

Pickhard is just a mild salve on the wound that is the Oilers' goaltending, a wound that has been infected and treated for years but has not been healed. It's like a venereal disease. The organization has had a hard time getting rid of this problem.

 

[gaby]

You were right with PICKARD...he was the answer....and what an ending....hockey at his best.....and true BRUINS still well alive ...BUT i think PANTHERS will close the book FRIDAY.

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

BUT i think PANTHERS will close the book FRIDAY.

I really hope they do so in Boston ! I love when the Garden gets silenced!

 

[Womaniser]

I had thought the Bruins might be cooked tonight, but a strong game from Swayman and opportunistic goals stole them a game and sent the series back to Boston for game 6.

Swayman backs up vow as Bruins force Game 6

Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who told reporters this week that the Bruins would stay alive in Game 5 and force a Game 6, made 28 saves as his club outlasted the Florida Panthers 2-1 in Game 5 of their NHL playoff series on Tuesday night.

www.espn.com

0
And the referees or the league gave the Bruins a goal to compensate for the one they gave to Sam Benneth of the Panthers in the previous game.
There was interference on Bobrovsky on the first or second Bruins goal.

 

[ThunderLipps]

Pickhard is just a mild salve on the wound that is the Oilers' goaltending, a wound that has been infected and treated for years but has not been healed. It's like a venereal disease. The organization has had a hard time getting rid of this problem.

Yeah have too agree, they need defense and goaltending but pick up forwards year after year.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Yeah have too agree, they need defense and goaltending but pick up forwards year after year.

There was a time when they had a great 2 man goalie tandem in Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog. Are you guys old enough to remember those guys? Ever since then, their defense and goaltending has mostly been shit.

I can remember the Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s. I can remember very vividly when the Islanders swept Edmonton 4-0 in 1983 Stanley Cup Finals for the Islanders 4th straight Stanley Cup. The following year, 1984, the teams met again. I expected the same result and a 5th straight Stanley Cup for the NY Islanders. Instead, after the series was 1-1, Edmonton won 3 straight games in blowout fashion to go on a run of winning 4 of the next 5 cups. What I recall was being stunned by the barrage of goals and shots and Edmonton flying around the ice, against a proud, but aging Islanders team that had never been shellacked like that. Messier was MVP, but he and Wayne Gretzky were something else. That team was an offensive juggernaut, the likes of which haven't been seen in the NHL ever since.

However the team also had good goalies. Fuhr shut out the Islanders in the first game in Nassau Coliseum. Back then it was 2-3-2 format. So they split the 2 games in NY and the next 3 games were in Edmonton. Edmonton won all 3 in blowouts. 7-2, 7-2 and 5-2. Never went back to NY. As you all know it's now 2-2-1-1-1 and not 2-3-2. Not sure it would have mattered though as Islanders were dominated.

 

[gaby]

AVS---STARS start soon....am pretty nervous....lol....not that optimistic...enjoy.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I have seen 4 teams that look like they could be capable of winning the Stanley Cup: Florida, NY Rangers, Carolina and Dallas. These 4 teams have balance between offense and defense and are not plagued by shitty offense (Boston) or crappy goalies and defense (Colorado, Edmonton). I am still not convinced on Vancouver. They should be able to beat Edmonton, as their big, physical defenseman have stymied Edmonton's power duo of McDavid and Draisaitl.

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

I am still not convinced on Vancouver.

I fully agree. Biggest contender for the are Panthers, Dallas, Rangers and Canes, in that order!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Blackhawks Sued For Sexual Harassment By Native American Consultant:

Native American woman who worked as cultural advisor to Blackhawks sues team for sex harassment, fraud

Nina Sanders was brought on to build relationships between the team and the Native American community. But instead, she said she was pushed out.

www.cbsnews.com

"I feel abused, traumatized, used," Sanders said.

In the lawsuit, Sanders said she was sexually harassed in 2022 by a man working with the organization. The lawsuit accuses him of "inappropriate sexual advances," touching her "without her consent", and also of sending her unwanted "sexually explicit videos of him" on Snapchat.

The lawsuit also said Sanders verbally reported two other incidents of women being groped at Blackhawks events by men working with the organization.

Sanders alleges she complained about all these incidents to her supervisor, the director of the team's charitable arm, the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. But the lawsuit said nothing was done, and instead the team attempted to silence her by changing her role and moving her out of the United Center.

"I repeated it over and over, and that's really when I felt like I started to get pushed out," said Sanders. "That was the beginning of the retaliation and discrimination."


The organization provided the following statements to CBS Chicago:

Addressing our commitments with the Native American community:
Our organizational commitment to Native American communities extends beyond our walls. For more than a decade, the Chicago Blackhawks have worked to deepen relationships and align our efforts with our namesake Black Hawk's ancestral tribe, the Sac & Fox Nation, and other Native American communities. Presently, we engage five formal partners and more than 15 advisory relationships to help guide our programming. This work includes grant programs, collaborative exhibits and installations, language preservation projects, game day materials, our land acknowledgement and resources invested in identifying future opportunities.
As part of these collaborations, community leaders, elected council members and a formal advisory committee help establish our organization's priorities, regularly evaluating our collaborative action in support of the Native American people and their culture. We are as committed as ever to this partnership and look forward to sharing details on upcoming initiatives, their community impact and furthering the education of our fans and the general public.
In response to Ms. Sanders work contract with the Chicago Blackhawks:
From 2020 to 2023, Ms. Sanders assisted the Chicago Blackhawks Native American efforts as an independent contractor, one of many partners and advisors in a support function. As part of her role, Ms. Sanders was asked to support specific initiatives in partnership with the Sac & Fox Nation and other Native American communities. Although the Chicago Blackhawks valued the consulting relationship with Ms. Sanders, the organization had noted operational issues in her work, and had received feedback from external partners that they did not want to continue to work with her. As such, in June 2023, based on specific initiatives slated for the upcoming season, the organization made an effort to extend her contract, with very specific deliverables, commensurate with work and responsibilities needed. Although initially agreeable to the new terms, Ms. Sanders ultimately made the decision not to renew her contract and has not worked with the organization since.
After contract negotiations dissolved, Ms. Sanders shared her frustrations with the organization over the working relationship, and introduced noted allegations, none of which had been shared by Ms. Sanders at any time during her engagement with the Chicago Blackhawks. Notably, shortly prior to her contract ending, Ms. Sanders shared correspondence with Chicago Blackhawks executives, praising the organization for their efforts with Native American communities alongside the leaders responsible for that work.
As a point of clarity, the Chicago Blackhawks have had working relationships with members of the Sac & Fox Nation for more than 10 years. This relationship ultimately led to the formal partnership discussions with Sac & Fox Nation that began in 2020.
In response to harassment allegations made by Ms. Sanders:
The Chicago Blackhawks have a zero tolerance policy for misconduct and take allegations of harassment in the workplace very seriously. In response to Ms. Sanders' allegations, the organization immediately conducted a thorough investigation with the assistance of outside counsel, including interviews with internal and external parties, and review of pertinent materials and digital records. Based on the information available to us, we found insufficient evidence to substantiate her claims. Of note, the persons identified by Ms. Sanders in your question are not, and have never been, independent contractors with nor employees of the Chicago Blackhawks.

 

[ThunderLipps]

I fully agree. Biggest contender for the are Panthers, Dallas, Rangers and Canes, in that order!

I am guessing that Dallas will not get past Colorado, will leave my decision on Edmonton to see how Pickhard does, and still think Boston will take this series and the Rangers will take the east.