The Official 2016-17 NHL thread

[EagerBeaver]

In other news the Oilers' new captain Conor McDavid is also off to a hot start with 2 goals and an assist last night:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400884399

I predict that McDavid will lead the NHL in scoring and win the Hart Trpphy this year as MVP. He is that good.

 

[Passionné]

What does it matter if you have a phenom who scores 4 goals if your team is still a loser? It's a terrific human interest story, totally awesome for him, but with no Stanley Cup with that kind of ending.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

The GEO are undefeated and tied for first place. Yes I will gloat whenever I can.

 

[jalimon]

What does it matter if you have a phenom who scores 4 goals if your team is still a loser? It's a terrific human interest story, totally awesome for him, but with no Stanley Cup with that kind of ending.

He was sorry they lost and he blamed himself for the overtime loss. Still, yes it does fucking matter he makes an NHL record on his very first game!

Cheers!

 

[EagerBeaver]

I previously posted the highlights of Austin Mathews 4 goals last night. His second goal reminded me of highlights I saw of Bobby Orr. He stole puck from Ottawa defenseman and then skated through about 5 guys and scored unassisted. As with Orr it looks like due to strength, skating ability, balance or puck control nobody could hit him or dislodge puck away from him. Most impressive! It was first time I ever saw the kid play.

 

[Doc Holliday]

This article raises the question of whether Auston Matthews might challenge Brett Hull's NHL record of 741 goals by an American:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/...uston-matthews-shows-help-way-american-hockey

It could happen if he remains healthy throughout his career. However, Auston Matthews is not really a pure sniper. He's more of a playmaker with great skills. I doubt he'll ever score 4 goals in a game again. I'm sure he'll get a few hat tricks, but all i'm expecting is for him to be a skilled two-way player who has great ability in setting-up other snipers and score a few goals himself. At his best, i'll expect no more than 40 goals or so from Matthews. I expect him to become an 80-90 point producer in the current NHL.

In other news, Jack Eichel will be out 2-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain. Evander Kane also will miss some time due to an injury suffered last night. The season isn't starting very well for the Sabres.

By the way, i don't expect the Leafs to make the playoffs this season. If they do, great. If they don't, no big deal. However, i do expect them to be a playoff team a year from now when their current team is a year younger with another year of experience under their belt.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

The GEO won again :whoo: . Do not like the 7 goals in 2 games though ( Better than the Flames 12 ).
R

 

[EagerBeaver]

Connor McDAvid on his way to his first NHL scoring title

 

[Doc Holliday]

Connor McDAvid on his way to his first NHL scoring title

It's only been two games. Still 80 games left to play. If i use your analogy, Auston Matthews will win the Rocket Richard and Calder trophies.

p.s. I predict the Oilers will once again finish in the bottom 5.

 

[EagerBeaver]

McDavid is winning the scoring title. He will take the NHL by storm this year. He cannot be stopped, unless he gets hurt.

 

[Doc Holliday]

McDavid is winning the scoring title. He will take the NHL by storm this year. He cannot be stopped, unless he gets hurt.

I'll bet you $100 he doesn't. Are we on?

p.s. Injuries are part of the game. Maybe Bobby Orr would have won 20 Norris trophies had he not retired prematurely. Same thing with Cam Neely, Pat Lafontaine, Michel Briere and Mario Lemieux.

 

[Doc Holliday]

PK Subban scores Nashville's first goal of the season

How about that PK Subban, eh? I really like this kid now playing defence for the Nashville Predators. Norris trophy?

 

[jalimon]

PK Subban scores Nashville's first goal of the season

How about that PK Subban, eh? I really like this kid now playing defence for the Nashville Predators. Norris trophy?

Not with the stupid penalty he took with 2 minutes to play...

Cheers,

 

[Doc Holliday]

Not with the stupid penalty he took with 2 minutes to play...

Well, that's nothing new for PK. It's typical PK, taking dumb penalties at the worse times and then wondering why the coach would bench him. Habs fans still thought he was a god and i even heard many say that Michel Therrien was a racist for always picking on Subban. Yet, habs fans kept saying all year long that PK should win the Norris and it'd be a great injustice if he didn't win it. Same thing with Team Canada. It was implied by habs fans that Team Canada management and Mike Babcock must be racists if they didn't pick him for the team. Ridiculous!

 

[EagerBeaver]

I'll bet you $100 he doesn't. Are we on?

p.s. Injuries are part of the game. Maybe Bobby Orr would have won 20 Norris trophies had he not retired prematurely. Same thing with Cam Neely, Pat Lafontaine, Michel Briere and Mario Lemieux.

I don't wanna take your money as you need it to cover your other misguided bets. But McDavid will win the scoring title. The reason why is that he a notch above Gretzky and Crosby in strength and athleticism. When you couple elite skills with elite athleticism you have a scoring title winner at age 19. He is about to storm the league and will be the best player in the NHL very soon.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

He is about to storm the league and will be the best player in the NHL very soon.

And what team does he play for :clap2::rockon::thumb::cheer2::whoo:

 

[lgna69xxx]

Always nice to see a team from bawstin defeated, especially when it is the hometown favorites and with rookie Mitch Marner scoring his first ever in the pro's against a team like that, just fantastic! The Leafs are one exciting team of fast young skilled rookies mixed with some grizzly veterans.

Leafs win, Beantown bums lose as do the Canadians in Ottawa, good night in the NHL :thumb:

 

[EagerBeaver]

Leafs win, Beantown bums lose as do the Canadians in Ottawa, good night in the NHL :thumb:

Actually the Canadiens did not pick up a pure loss, in the NHL a shootout loss counts as "OTL" which is one point. So technically it was a tie for Montreal because they did get a point for their losing efforts. On the other hand Ottawa gets a full 2 points for the win. I have never really understood this scoring system, to me a win is a win and a loss is a loss and a tie is a tie, but they decided to do something different with games that go into a shootout or extra time. To me it's a bizzare scoring system that encourages tanking, since all the players know they will get a point no matter what. It certainly runs counter to the "winner takes all" mentality that dates back to the days of Gladiator competitions during the Roman Empire days.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I don't wanna take your money as you need it to cover your other misguided bets. But McDavid will win the scoring title. The reason why is that he a notch above Gretzky and Crosby in strength and athleticism. When you couple elite skills with elite athleticism you have a scoring title winner at age 19. He is about to storm the league and will be the best player in the NHL very soon.

I haven't lost a bet in over two years, so no worries. Actually, I won again last night with the Leafs winning and the habs losing against Ottawa! So how about we make it a cool $100? If you want me to pick a player, i'll go with Patrick Kane.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Always nice to see a team from bawstin defeated, especially when it is the hometown favorites and with rookie Mitch Marner scoring his first ever in the pro's against a team like that, just fantastic! The Leafs are one exciting team of fast young skilled rookies mixed with some grizzly veterans.

Leafs win, Beantown bums lose as do the Canadians in Ottawa, good night in the NHL :thumb:

I agree. The Leafs dominated the Bruins last night. Zdeno Chara looks old and showed why it's a young man's game now. It also showed everyone why Patrice Bergeron is the best Bruins player. His absence was greatly felt. By the way, i'm not impressed with the Bruins defence. John-Michael Liles was the top Bruins defenceman last night and that's never good.

As for Mitchell Marner, he once again had a strong game. It's too bad his mom was gone to the bathroom when he scored his first NHL goal. By the way, he may have been the Leafs' best player in Ottawa, although he was held of the score sheet. Matthews scored 4 goals that night, but Marner was dangerous all night long. He really does remind me a lot of Patrick Kane!

I like everything about this Leafs' team. The lines are all very balanced. Lots of speed and skill! And the defence is better than i thought it would be. Roman Polak is going to have a hard time cracking the lineup of the defence continues playing like that and the defencemen stay healthy.

Goaltender Freddy Anderssen promised he'd be better last night and he was. Hopefully for the Leafs he'll continue providing solid goaltending night after night!