NHL 2011-2012 thread

[Yancakes]

Welp. Time to put my Nashville hat on

[skyknight]

Will be interesting to see if the Sens can upset the Blue Shirts tonite; and if this is Brodeur's last game.

Otherwise, there is a good chance of the '67 teams meeting in the Cup Finals - I think the '67 Six are more important to the current state of the NHL than the Original Six (there was more than 6 before the establishment of the modern NHL).

[ZenLogikos]

Otherwise, there is a good chance of the '67 teams meeting in the Cup Finals - I think the '67 Six are more important to the current state of the NHL than the Original Six (there was more than 6 before the establishment of the modern NHL).

How do you figure? Two out of four in the West, one out of four in the East. Not really good odds. Plus, it's really the '67 Five since Oakland folded. And more important...how so?

[skyknight]

Otherwise, there is a good chance of the '67 teams meeting in the Cup Finals - I think the '67 Six are more important to the current state of the NHL than the Original Six (there was more than 6 before the establishment of the modern NHL).

How do you figure? Two out of four in the West, one out of four in the East. Not really good odds. Plus, it's really the '67 Five since Oakland folded. And more important...how so?

No 67 Six, no Pens, no Flyers, nuff said for that! But seriously, it did expand the market to West Coast and along the Mississippi River, instead of concentrated around the Upper Great Lakes area. Keep in mind, there were members opposed to the expansion, but looking at it now you gotta realize without the 67 Six, hockey would've been a niche sport with no appeal for the US mainstream (look at lacrosse and footbul/soccer).

The Seals have an interesting story:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Golden_Seals
Yes, the behind-the-scene maneuver did lead to the North Stars to go "South" and the San Jose Sharks was born, folks here still wonder if the Gunds brothers should have trade places with Norm Green (still the villain of the State of Hockey!) and maybe the North Star could've stayed.

I do love the possibility of the the Kings vs Flyers in the Cup Finals, Carter and Richards going against their former team, to prove who is the WINNER! The Blues and Kings have not won the cup, and they do have hardcore fans. The only team that I want to FAIL is the Coyotes - any progress they make will give Bettman the more reason to say NO to moving out, and I say fans are showing up because they want to suck up to the winner, try showing up for the next 41 home games!

[retrosportsgamer]

Devils outworking the Flyers in the last 7 periods. Disappointing.

[Luke]

Devils outworking the Flyers in the last 7 periods. Disappointing.

After game 1, I honestly expected a sweep. In my experience, usually Philly fights so hard that by conference finals, they are too beat up to play well. This year...wow.

I don't see a lot of effort. Not saying that they are phoning it in, but I don't see any (please forgive me for using this over used and ill defined word) hustle. Of course they want to win, but they already seem beaten. Again, I know they want to win but they aren't showing it, and it is very disappointing.

Really dumb penalties, sloppy line changes, and something about their defensive strategy has got to change if they plan on making it even close.

[retrosportsgamer]

^ Couldn't agree more. Really weird shift since the great Pittsburgh series and Game 1. Game 2 was a tough loss, Game 3 was just sloppy (as you noted with the line change at the end also). I hate seeing them out-hustled.

[Luke]

It has been weird hasn't it?

Usually when Philly loses in the playoffs, they leave the opposing team so battered and bruised that they don't stand a chance. Jersey looks plenty healthy to me, which isn't par for the course. I doubt the Flyers lack spirit, and forgive me for saying this, but they are lacking in brawn and brain.

I'm embarrassed that I have so many sports cliches, but I'll go ahead and play my cliche card and add one more: Statement Game.

If Philly doesn't win, and win BIG next game, it's over. Anything less than a four goal win will mean nothing. You shake Marty, you shake the entire Devil squad. Now if I was coaching the Flyers, I'd be incredibly stinking rich. I would also advise a four man collapsing box with an aggressive and loose forechecker. Collapse near the goal, defend the goal, and let the goalie do his job. If you inadvertently screen your own goalie, that's on the goalie as long as you did your part on defense (full disclosure: I hate, hate whiny goalies who shout "I can't see!" when I'm blocking half the shots. If you can't see, freaking readjust).

Not sure RSG, as you can never be, but this doesn't look good for the Flyers, and without a big win, I'm afraid my Eric Desjardins sweater is going back in the closet.


Call me crazy, but a Nashville Stanley Cup would be something amazing. Hopefully amazingly enough to get a new commish. (I'm kidding, but I'm not).

[skyknight]

Well the Conference Finals is quite surprising for me, you have the Kings and the Dogs in the West, and the Rangers and Devils in the East; I was predicting other teams that would made it, but still interesting to see.

I know I have said this many times, but the NHL should move the Glendale (NOT in Phoenix) Coyotes to a US or Canada city that has the love for hockey. I am betting that the latest deal will FAIL (just like the previous ones), since insiders from US and Canada have continuously to mention that both the city and the team have LOSS money while operating in the new Jobing.com Arena (even the company behind the name isn't doing that well lately).

What is fair for me? How about any potential owners putting down a non-refundable down payment of USD $15 million (in cash not bonds) to the City of Glendale - that's about the average loss per year for the city of Glendale, have a NHL-ready arena by the 2015 season (either new or refurbished), and sell out 12,000 tickets (where buyers will pay from USD $300 to $2500 for a non-refundable "pass"). Whoever gets done first and is able to pay up the relocation fee, gets the team. Fair enough?

Back to the Conference Finals, I do seeing the Kings making the push for their first Cup, while the Blue Shirts and the Devils may tango to Game 7 - I see the Blue Shirts winning the series.

[Yancakes]

Anyone watching this? I'm actually rooting for the Kings, but holy jebus it REALLY comes off as though the officials are favouring them.