The Official 2016-17 NHL thread

[EagerBeaver]

jalimon,

The Habs lack a dynamic offense and that is why they are coming back to Earth. The Galchenyuk and Desharnais injuries hurt their team badly. When a team that is not good offensively to begin with then loses its top center and then his replacement, things can and will spiral downwards. You cannot claim to be surprised. It's reality. I am a fan of the UConn basketball team which was preseason ranked #15 team in the country but they lost 3 players to season ending injuries, including 2 starters, they now have an 8 man team and they lost a game to Ohio State on the road because their top big man off the bench had the flu and they only had 7 bodies. They led that whole game and faded at the end of the game and lost by 4. It's reality, you can't win shorthanded. Montreal, like UConn hoops, is stuck. It really sucks though because UConns season was over as soon as these injuries happened.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Regarding Werenski, I agree at this point he may have caught Laine in the Calder Trophy race. I can't believe this 19 year old defenseman has 20 points already, it's amazing:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/3899972/zach-werenski

 

[EagerBeaver]

Cody Eakins got a 4 game suspension for this hit on Lundqvist, what do you guys think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqlgfLHc3WY

Actually the announcer is wrong Eakins did try to avoid contact at the end but it was too late. Discussion of the suspension here:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/...es-charging-henrik-lundqvist-new-york-rangers

 

[Doc Holliday]

Montreal is slowly fading back in the standings and they are not far from dropping to 8th or 9th place. They are one slump away from being there. This is a tough league and you have to to win consistently over a long season.

And what did i say about Carey Price yesterday? He was yanked after allowing 4 goals on just 18 shots. As he headed towards his bench halfway in the second period, he gave either his coach or the entire bench a death stare that was reminiscent of the Patrick Roy/Mario Tremblay showdown back in the early 90's in Patrick Roy's final game with the habs. Price also did not return to the team bench for the final period, preferring to remain in the team's dressing room (we believe). Heck, maybe pulled a Bill Lee and spent watching the third period at a bar!! :lol:

The habs are in trouble, folks. Just like they were at this time last season. Price hasn't been acting like his ol' self and has been rather ordinary in the past few games. Maybe the baby crying all night long isn't helping, who knows. Maybe they should have him playing the road games and putting in Montoya for the home games. Injuries are starting to pile up. The habs won't be spending a very merry christmas, that's all i'll say. :lol:

 

[lgna69xxx]

I hope you are correct Doc, your predictions are a hit and miss lately so we shall see but i say "let the habbies free fall begin!" It would make for a great Christmas Present!

 

[Doc Holliday]

I hope you are correct Doc, your predictions are a hit and miss lately so we shall see but i say "let the habbies free fall begin!" It would make for a great Christmas Present!

Hit and miss?? Which one?? I nearly have a 100% success rate with my predictions. I'm rarely wrong on anything! It's crazy!! It's also downright depressing, to tell you the truth!

Note: Please ignore this post. I was simply being sarcastic. I'm wrong once in a while. I do not have a 'nearly' 100% success rate. I exaggerated. I will also be pushing myself to post more sex reviews but i'll have to force myself not to use any sarcasm since this is a serious escort review board, after all.

 

[blacktata01]

Let's Go Rangers !!! Come on Iggy let me here you say it. BTW if Price stays healthy Montreal will make the playoffs but they will only go as far as Price will take them. Just my two cents.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Messier Praises Jagr, Who Is About To Pass Him On NHL Points List

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/18289851/jaromir-jagr-poised-pass-mark-messier-nhl-points-list

 

[blacktata01]

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/18289851/jaromir-jagr-poised-pass-mark-messier-nhl-points-list

Jagr deserves every ounce of praise he gets from any NHL player. His longevity and work ethic make him one of the top players of all time. I knd of think he is a freak of nature to be playing at that level at his age, and to stand the daily grind he must put his body through on a daily basis in order to compete with much younger and faster players in this league. I am sure he is putting hours upon hours of strength training in order to do what he is doing at his age. The guy is a beast to say the least.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

The habs are in trouble, folks. Just like they were at this time last season. Price hasn't been acting like his ol' self and has been rather ordinary in the past few games. Maybe the baby crying all night long isn't helping, who knows. Maybe they should have him playing the road games and putting in Montoya for the home games. Injuries are starting to pile up. The habs won't be spending a very merry christmas, that's all i'll say. :lol:

Yup, I would sure hate to be cheering for a team whose goalie is 16-4 with a .94 save % and third in the league with 44 points. Rather be cheering for a team that is in 23rd place and a goalie with a 11-7 record and .916 save %.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Yup, I would sure hate to be cheering for a team whose goalie is 16-4 with a .94 save % and third in the league with 44 points. Rather be cheering for a team that is in 23rd place and a goalie with a 11-7 record and .916 save %.

Just to be fair after last night's stellar performance Freddie Anderson is 12-7 with a .919 save percentage, which is just above his career .918 save percentage. While he is nothing special as a goalie, his save percentage was well below 90% earlier this year after a few early performances in which he flat out sucked moose balls. I still don't think he is the guy but rather a "placeholder" signing for a young team - he is there to provide competent goaltending services until they can get the right guy who will provide championship goaltender services 3-4 years down the road when the younger talent on this team gels. It appears to me that is the plan with him, just a placeholder kind of a guy but he will take the money and won't embarrass himself usually, and when the team improves to Cup contender status in around 3 years, he will become the backup to whomever they get as "the guy." Andersen is not "the guy."

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

My point was for people who trash a team who is doing far better that a team they are cheering for, the Montreal media is bad for sports teams, they could win 20 games straight and lose 3 in a row and it would be an outrage. Many people I know if given the chance would not play in Montreal because of the media.

 

[lgna69xxx]

STN, I can't speak for Doc but when you are born and bred to hate your oldest rival then you do so til the bitter end, that's sports that's what fans do and it will never change. It is like a "hobby" for a die hard Yankees fan to hate everything about the boston red sox, for a die hard fan of the LA Dodgers to hate the SF Giants, the Leafs fans to hate the Mtl Canadiens and vice versa.

EB, not so sure anymore about Freddie Andersen being average, check out his stats in his last 10-12 games, he has been one of the best in the league and is only 26 so when the Leafs are ready to contend in a few years he will be the perfect age where goalies usually thrive and come into their own. If you add 2 more good defensemen in on the Leafs blueline, he would be a top goalie in the league the way he has played the last 10-12 games. He started off horrible otherwise those stats would be in line with some of the best in the business right now. The Leafs drafted a guy named Woll, huge guy and literally a WALL who might be the future but the way Freddie A has played, I likes what I am a seeing! (now watch him give up 5 in the next game lol)

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

We have the Oilers and Flames rivalry going, remember, possibly the best hockey back in the early 80's, teams hated coming to Alberta. Do not recall Flames or Olier fans saying that after a goalie had a bad game that they were doomed and about to tank, we were thankful that we won..... But social media was not around then. The Habs are a good team, Price is perhaps the best in the league, they will be in the playoffs. The Leafs not so much and not because they play poorly but because they are in one fuck of a tough division. When I went to games of course there was trash talk but after the game was over we notes that both were great teams. What I could never figure out was someone who cheered for a lower placed team saying a top team sucked, what does that say about your team? Pure garbage...
Just my opinion.

 

[EagerBeaver]

As Bill Parcels once said, "look at the standings. You are who your record says you are." I abide by this Parcellsism.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Blue Jackets Deliver Tortorella's 500th NHL Win

Congrats to Torts on his 500th NHL win, a wonderful accomplishment:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400884868

 

[tiga]

The team that is performing the best right now is Columbus, they have also the least games played.
However I do not beleive the Habs are tailspining out of control, even if they are no longer in first place. They have injuries and are dealing with them as best they can, I would also point out they have played less games then most(three less than NY)
The games against San Jose and Washington some experts predicted they would lose both...

 

[tiga]

As for rivalries I remember the Habs Bruins riavalry very well, even the Nordiques and Habs, some years even Ottawa, but I have no vivid recall of a true rivalry between the Canadiens and the Leafs since the sixties.
You see, it's all about the playoffs...

 

[EagerBeaver]

Right now Montreal is as many points away from first place as they are from out of the playoffs. They are in a downward spiral. It doesn't have to be out of control all it has to be is slow and steady for 6-8 weeks and they lose 4 points in the standings (not much) and suddenly they are out of the playoffs. There is a fine line here between being number 1 and going home. I don't think fans totally understand how fine the line is between winning and losing at the highest levels of professional sports which are salary capped.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Right now Montreal is as many points away from first place as they are from out of the playoffs..........

Very well put. I agree.