2011-12 NHL Regular Season Thread

[Suburban Rhythm]

Re: Briere goal

This is what is most mind boggling about the NHL. I love what Shanahan does with the suspension videos, he walks through the points of the rule and how they are applied.

Then, they have an NHL employee, Mike Murphy, give this explanation:

CISCO NHL Live - Mike Murphy Video - NHL VideoCenter

He says the puck can go backwards. Which is great...except it is exactly what the rule says can't happen.

24.2 Procedure - The Referee shall ask to have announced over the public address system the name of the player designated by him or selected by the team entitled to take the shot (as appropriate). He shall then place the puck on the center face-off spot and the player taking the shot will, on the instruction of the Referee (by blowing his whistle), play the puck from there and shall attempt to score on the goalkeeper. The puck must be kept in motion towards the opponent’s goal line and once it is shot, the play shall be considered complete. No goal can be scored on a rebound of any kind (an exception being the puck off the goal post or crossbar, then the goalkeeper and then directly into the goal), and any time the puck crosses the goal line or comes to a complete stop, the shot shall be considered complete.

Wouldn't it make sense to have your explanation not go against the rule?

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Did we contract Buffalo?

Don't put it pass Gary Bettman.

[bhlloy]

They actually got themselves into that mess last year when trying to allow the spin-o-rama because OMG it's so cool and it's exactly what the fans want to see and it will get us on top plays every night!!!!

If it's not bad enough that there's this dumb skills competition deciding a significant % of the games and completely cheapening the points structure, let's cheapen it even further by ignoring and contradicting the rules. Awesome.

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

And that's why Gary Bettman can't die soon enough.

+10000000000

[Galaxy]

Jhonas Enroth is getting the nod again tonight in Ottawa.

[Grover]

Flyers up 5-0 after one on the absolutely hapless Blue Jackets. Voracek with a goal and an assist. Can tell he's absolutely pumped to be playing against Columbus.

[TurnerONU22]

Just when I thought the CBJ couldn't get any worse, they just did.

I'm at a loss for words. Seriously, I have never been as depressed as a sports fan. If the coach, GM and Steve Mason are still with the organization after this debacle, then this team deserves to move.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

Are you on a 6 game losing streak? Do you average 1.8 goals per game? Don't worry, we have Bruce Boudreau. You're welcome.

Wait, I thought the Wings beat Anaheim tonight?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Just when I thought the CBJ couldn't get any worse, they just did.

Kind of tacky of the Flyers to go for a two-point conversion after their first TD.

[RomaGoth]

St. Louis fires their coach and hires............yep, Ken Hitchcock.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Wait, I thought the Wings beat Anaheim tonight?

Shit, that game actually happened? I assumed it was a nightmare.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Shit, that game actually happened? I assumed it was a nightmare.

I had to work late that night. What the hell happened with Teemu?

[Grover]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Just when I thought the CBJ couldn't get any worse, they just did.

I'm at a loss for words. Seriously, I have never been as depressed as a sports fan. If the coach, GM and Steve Mason are still with the organization after this debacle, then this team deserves to move.

I didn't understand pulling Allen and putting Mason back into the game.

As a Flyers fan, it was nice to have a game that I could actually watch and enjoy. There's no way the Jackets should be as bad as they are.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I had to work late that night. What the hell happened with Teemu?

I don't know actually. Only heard the first period on radio, and by then the Ducks were already giving up goals. After that, I decided to blot the game form memory and never went back to see what happened.

[Suburban Rhythm]

PING Turner

The answer to all your problems

Penguins Acquire 2012 Fourth-Round Draft Pick From Columbus in Exchange for Mark Letestu - Pittsburgh Penguins - News

[bbor]

Leafs go into their annual early season swoon after a solid start.

[Honolulu_Blue]

What the hell is going on in Tampa between the Lightning and the Flyers?

[DeToxRox]

I just turned it on. What's going on?

[Galaxy]

I don't think I've ever seen that before. What the hell? I would be asking the NHL for a refund on my tickets.

[Grover]

Tampa's refusing to put any pressure on the puck by playing a 1-3-1 through the center, so the Flyers are holding waiting for them to forecheck.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Grover

Tampa's refusing to put any pressure on the puck by playing a 1-3-1 through the center, so the Flyers are holding waiting for them to forecheck.

It seemed to be effective as they won 2-1.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

It seemed to be effective as they won 2-1.

Heh, it wasn't so much the 1-3-1 that was effective as the Flyers imploded in the third period taking bad penalty after bad penalty. They set themselves up to lose.

Everybody on VS was slagging the 1-3-1 hard, both Milbury (who I despise) and Jones (who I love). Strader, Edzo and Pierre didn't seem to be huge fans of it either. It's negative hockey, much like the Wings old left wing lock or the Devils trap. There's no place for that negativity in the game.

[Grover]

Completely infuriating. I'm glad the Flyers exposed the fraud that is the 1-3-1 by just sitting back in their end holding the puck.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Grover

Completely infuriating. I'm glad the Flyers exposed the fraud that is the 1-3-1 by just sitting back in their end holding the puck.

Bizarre first period overshadows interesting Flyers-Lightning clash - Cross Checks Blog - ESPN

[bronconick]

If you really hate the system, you start doing this every game in Tampa that you play. Their fans will start making plans to do anything rather than watch Philly hold the puck in their own zone for 48 of the 60 minutes every time they're in town.

[Fidatelo]

If I'm the coach of the next team to go into Tampa, I advance the strategy a notch. Instead of having my d-man just stand there with the puck, after 5 seconds or so I get him to lob it down into the other zone and then fall back into my own 1-3-1. Two can play the counter-attack game.

[TurnerONU22]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Just when I thought the CBJ couldn't get any worse, they just did.

I'm at a loss for words. Seriously, I have never been as depressed as a sports fan. If the coach, GM and Steve Mason are still with the organization after this debacle, then this team deserves to move.

This team deserves to move. The owner doesn't have the balls to make a change, the president doesn't have the slightest clue how to run a hockey team, the GM can't bring in a capable goalie or defense, and the coach runs a system that continually puts pressure on a terrible D and Sieve Mason. Pathetic.

[RomaGoth]

So the Wings are now on a 4-game winning streak. This, after starting the season 5-0-0 then going 0-5-1. Weird how these streaks go.

[Fidatelo]

Jets looked atrocious for the first 50 minutes against Columbus tonight. Not that Columbus looked like any great shakes either, but at least they had a handful of chances.

Byfuglien is a serious problem right now, and I don't know how the Jets can solve it. He's likely untradeable, I don't think they can realistically send him to the minors, from what I've heard he won't listen to talk of moving back to forward, and he's pretty much the laziest defenseman I've ever seen. Not a good combo.

[Grover]

Great win for the Flyers in Sunrise over the upstart Panthers.

Bryzgalov was nothing short of fantastic and is the reason they won the game. It was also nice to see the Panthers with a pretty packed house and it was nice to see that they are a VERY good hockey team.

I'd like to see them do well because Kevin Dineen was the AHL Portland Pirates coach up here for a number of years, he's brought a nice attacking mentality to the Panthers.

[NoSkillz]

I'm pretty surprised no one here is talking about the Lucic hit on Miller from Saturday night.

Or more importantly, especially as a Sabres fan, the complete and utter lack of response, in any way, by the rest of the Sabres to their world-class goaltender getting absolutely trucked.

Deservedly, the Sabres are getting murdered in the press for not doing anything to respond to the Lucic hit and the whole league now knows that the Sabres are soft and easily intimidated. They were actually leading that Bruins game at the time of the hit and all it did was fire the Bruins up to the tune of six consecutive goals.

Is Lucic tougher than any Sabres player? Yeah, most likely but I don't care if it was Gaustad, Myers or even Pominville, all of whom were on the ice...SOMEONE has to nut up, drop their gloves and take a few shots on the chin after that.

I'm embarrassed as a fan and I certainly hope the team can't stand to look in the mirror at themselves right now.

For those that still haven't seen it:

[Honolulu_Blue]

I was curious of the same thing... I figured someone would raise it.

The HNiC crew... Well, at least Hrudey, Milbury and Stock all thought that the hit was fine and if Miller is going to come out that far outside his crease, he is "fair game". MacLean, of course, took the opposing view.

Some pretty harsh words from both Miller and Lucic.

When do they play next? Does Buffalo have anyone who could have done something about it? Gaustadt was on the ice, no? Kaletta fights, but he's a punk bitch Avery-type guy. Who else do they have?

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I was curious of the same thing... I figured someone would raise it.

The HNiC crew... Well, at least Hrudey, Milbury and Stock all thought that the hit was fine and if Miller is going to come out that far outside his crease, he is "fair game". MacLean, of course, took the opposing view.

Some pretty harsh words from both Miller and Lucic.

When do they play next? Does Buffalo have anyone who could have done something about it? Gaustadt was on the ice, no? Kaletta fights, but he's a punk bitch Avery-type guy. Who else do they have?

They play again, in Buffalo, in 9 days so I'm sure the league will be watching that game closely. Still...too little, too late in my opinion.

Gaustad should be ashamed - while Buffalo doesn't dress an 'enforcer' under the normal definition, at 6'4" and 220+, he's at least a policeman out there and fights a number of times a year. He was on the ice, admittedly the last into the skirmish but did nothing other than get tied up by Nathan Horton. Vanek went after him first and fell to the ground after hitting him but what about 6'8" Tyler Myers? Nothing...

As for later in the game and possible players who could handle themselves other than Gaustad: Kaleta is just a shit-disturber type but he was playing his first game since the four-game headbutting suspension so he's truly under the league's microscope right now. Cody McCormick also fights but he got his face rearranged by Tanner Glass a few nights earlier and has stiches all over...I'm sure he's been told not to fight for a certain amount of time. Their toughest defenseman is Mike Weber but he was a healthy scratch. He won't be for much longer (Myers is scratched tonight, his first benching of his NHL career).

That all said, at the very least, they could have re-enacted the brawl from a few years ago when Chris Drury took the headshot from Ottawa's Chris Neil that resulted in the memorable fight between Ray Emery and Andrew Peters. Just the sight of Adam Mair chasing a scared Jason Spezza down the ice and Peters mugging Dany Heatley makes me smile, if even for a second.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I was curious of the same thing... I figured someone would raise it.

The HNiC crew... Well, at least Hrudey, Milbury and Stock all thought that the hit was fine and if Miller is going to come out that far outside his crease, he is "fair game". MacLean, of course, took the opposing view.

Some pretty harsh words from both Miller and Lucic.

When do they play next? Does Buffalo have anyone who could have done something about it? Gaustadt was on the ice, no? Kaletta fights, but he's a punk bitch Avery-type guy. Who else do they have?

Cody McCormick. He's not a heavyweight, but neither is Lucic.

And about being "fair game", things like that always blow my mind. The rule is you can not touch the goalie. Period. So what these 3 are suggesting is let's bring more gray area and judgement calls to the game, so the officials can be inconsistent on something else.

[Suburban Rhythm]

DOLA

Lucic has a hearing today

I have to think there is some suspension. Prior history + penalty + injury (NHL favorite piece of the puzzle).

[Fidatelo]

I've never been a fan of protecting the goalies outside the crease. In this scenario, whatever rules apply to Tyler Myers should apply to Ryan Miller.

I think the charging call on the ice was appropriate. I'm not sure on a suspension or not; I can't quite tell if he gets his elbows up into the head area at the end or not. I think he kind of does, so I'd probably give him a couple games.

[bbor]

If a goalie leaves his crease he is fair game by the NHL rulebook....now the "code" is different, hit a goalie and you have to eat some knuckles usually.

Unfortunatly no one from Buffalo stepped up to enforce it and that is the real crime here.

What is up with Myers? He is a tire fire out there. I think he has been scratched for tonights game?

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

DOLA

Lucic has a hearing today

I have to think there is some suspension. Prior history + penalty + injury (NHL favorite piece of the puzzle).

No suspension

Shanahan says "Lucic convinced him there was no intent"

Not sure what that means.

Also, waiting for the part where Mark Recchi comes out and claims Miller is faking the concussion.

[Galaxy]

The Sabres have been soft for, what, the last 4 years or so? I just wonder if Ruff is behind it. I'm also glad Myers is suppose to get scratched tonight.

[Grover]

Flyers have jumped out quick on Cam Ward, 2-0 8:50 in.

[Wolfpack]

Speaking of tire fires...well, that's pretty much the entire Carolina roster at this point. Aside from the game against the Pens that they nearly gagged away, they've been pretty much blitzed by every team they've faced over the past couple of weeks. Tonight was just more of the same. Choppy play, sloppy defense, more "gliding" over skating, etc. Overall, the team is pretty well stuck in a rut.

The media focus whenever it shifts to Carolina is now beginning the inevitable "Maurice may be in trouble" storyline. Not too surprising as aside from the several months after he replaced Laviolette and goosed them into the playoffs in 2009 and the frantic push to get out of the massive hole they found themselves in 2010, the team has played mediocre at best hockey. I will say it's not entirely on him, though. Rutherford's choices in free agency this offseason have not worked out so far (*cough*Kaberle*cough*cough*), either.

Of course, the inevitable problem is, who replaces Maurice? After all, Laviolette is still coaching in Philadelphia right now, so you can't bring him back (even though I think he'd just as soon light himself on fire as come back given the acrimony between him and Karmanos and Rutherford). No chance at recycling as a result.