The Official 2014-15 NHL Thread
 

Under 24 hours, eh?

The East is so mediocre that everyone can feel hope, hooray!

I think the Jackets and Isles are going to be improved this year and the Flyers defense is a dumpster fire, so I wouldn't be surprised if they miss the playoffs. If they do miss the playoffs, I hope it involves selling old players with stupid contracts and getting McDavid or Eichel .. but they aren't that bad. Stuck as a fringe playoff team for a season or two before the young defenders are ready, bleh.

That said, they have enough offensive firepower to get in and if they do get in, anyone can win this East before probably getting stomped by the West.

Pretty much. Outside of Buffalo and Ottawa, everyone has a nice shot. And even those two teams, with some breaks, could be competitive.

I think Florida and New Jersey have a lot of work to do as well. Devils could surprise me, maybe I'm just being biased.. but I don't see much there outside of good goaltending.

I'm worried about the Flyers. They didn't do anything to upgrade the defense, Kimmo is pretty much done. I think they are a borderline playoff team and wouldn't be surprised if they missed it.

I realize they need to go through a year like this...especially with what they have in the minors as far as defense goes.

Edit: You pretty much said the same thing two posts up.

Florida...I am not a Luongo fan. But he's always played well when forced to face a ridiculous number of shots. And that's what I expect this year.

They have enough talented young guys who should still be getting better.

I'm not sure they get in, but could see them in the race up til the end, finishing 10th in the East, and not 14th or 15th

DOLA

Boston, Tampa, Montreal, Pittsburgh and the Rangers would be my "locks" in the East.

Buffalo, Ottawa, and Carolina my most certain NOs

Then everyone else piled in the middle.

Toronto, Columbus, Philly and Isles the 4 fighting for those last 3 spots.

Think this is the year the Detroit streak ends.

NJ, Florida and Washington somewhere behind them, 11-13, but could grab the last spot with some breaks.

We'll see how it goes. I think Hartnell for Umberger was a downgrade, but Umberger is a useful bottom 6 forward, at least, and it's somewhat addition by subtraction in terms of the reduction of minor penalties and the moveable contract.

Excited to see how Couturier and Read mesh with Simmonds.

But again, the story will be the defense. Will MacDonald learn how to play gaps better? Will his neutral zone play improve? Or will he and Coburn get skated around and pinned in deep most of the time. I like the Del Zotto signing, and there's decent balance amongst the 3 pairs in terms of one stay at home guy and one guy who can skate/pass ... but no one is envying our defensive situation/players.

And in goal, people expect Mason to regress to his career norm, and if the defense is the same as or worse than last year, that wouldn't be terribly surprising.

It's too early to be pessimistic, but it's also easy to look at 2 years down the line and salivate at the potential defensive setup we'll have.

I'm foolishly optimistic about the Jets this year. I think Wheeler-Scheifele-Kane and Ladd-Little-Frolik are two very strong lines, and Lowry-Perrault-Byfuglien should be a quality third line as well. The fourth line might still suck although I liked what I saw out of Halischuk in the pre-season.

Defense is not great. I really wish they'd move Buff back, as a top pairing of Bogosian/Enstrom is not good. Trouba had a lacklustre pre-season but I'm optimistic he'll quickly get back to his amazing self. The rest of the defense is basically made up of borderline NHL'ers.

Goaltending. Much has been said about this. I'm not a fan of Pavelec, and I'm not sure anyone outside of the Jets organization is. This is his last chance to prove his detractors wrong. Apparently he came to camp in great shape, which has always been an issue for him, so there's that at least.

Hmmm, typing this out I feel even more foolish than when I started. I just really feel like those top 3 lines are quite solid. Who needs defense and goaltending, amirite?

I suppose the most likely outcome is another draft in the 7-10 spot.

I am so PUMPED for Thursdays Blues - Rangers game!!! Let's GO BLUES!!!!!

We already covered the Flyers. :D

Avs for the cup!!!!

Last chance for this Blackhawks team, salary cap is going to force them to make some big changes after this season.

I think the Bruins are in a similar boat, as can be seen by the Boychuk trade. Chia is going to have some big decisions to make.

Didn't realize how ready I was for hockey to be back till today.

ok, so talk me through this... NHL center ice through Verizon is 160. NHL gamecenter from the NHL is 159. so essentially no difference. I can run the game center through my blueray player... is there any differences other than which box it comes in on? Ie has anyone had a bad experience with game center?

I switched to gamecenter last year and was very happy with it. It's nice to have the option to have the TV freed up, especially if you live with someone else ;)

Gamecenter broadcasts everything in HD with both home and away feeds (streaming quality dependent on your internet strength, of course) - whereas center ice broadcasts are dependent on what service provider you use. I know when I had center ice there were only two channels that were HD and you didn't always have the option of which feed to choose. On the flip side it's nice to be able to record games on center ice, but I think technically you could have a game paused with gamecenter and come back to it - plus gamecenter makes it super easy to jump to goals if you just want to check out some highlights or catch up on a missed period.

I would consider GameCenter since I don't have cable, but they'll blackout all the Canes games that are on Fox Sports South, so what good would it do me?

Yeah blackouts are so annoying. I live in NYC so anytime the Flyers play the Rangers, Devils, or Islanders I have to watch on cable. And of course anytime they are on NBCSN or NHLN.

2 years ago it was only 2 HD last year it was almost all HD... Can you use gamecenter on an IPAD?

and can you watch the previous nights games? being a colorado fan means I never get to see them live...

Pretty sure it depends on your provider - I think if you have DirecTV or some other things you get them all in HD, but TimeWarner and probably other cable companies just those 2 channels. But I'm not positive there!


Looks like it


Yep. And if you don't feel like watching the whole thing (like say they lost 7-1) you could just click on their one goal and then go on your merry way!

COOL, THANKS seems like a clear winner to me. ( I have Verizon and that had most in HD)

The only decision left for me today is what kind of bottle to buy for the game tonight .. LETS GO FLYERS .. clap clap clap

I love hockey but I just don't have time to follow it, especially since I live in Ohio and don't get Devils games.

I entered a Fandual NHL league tonight and realized just how out of touch I am when I built my team, I hardly recognized anyone.

Makes me a little sad, there was a time 20 years ago when I knew every player on every team.

yes? oh... you were chearing

Do you get Jackets games? At least they are in the same division as the Devils now, so there's a handful of games. Not that I can understand why anyone would want to subject themselves to watching the Devils, of course.

Hockey surpassed the NFL for me probably 5 years ago now. I'll still watch the Steelers, but rarely watch any other coverage.

I'm sure I'll catch bits of a few games tonight, and stay up watching NHLN way too late to catch highlights of games I have no rooting interest in.

Hockey was always my #1, but the EPL has easily surpassed the NFL for me. Really the only reason I pay attention to football anymore is fantasy, which is a lot of fun.

Quit fantasy leagues 5 years ago too. Have not missed it.

Not sure if dropping fantasy caused me to enjoy NFL less...or enjoying NFL less led me to drop fantasy

Sharks get to open this year at LA's banner raising after screwing around all offseason trying to get rid of Thornton. They're going to suuuuuuuuuuuck.

I highly doubt the Sharks are going to suck

Their major acquisition was John Scott.

Yup. The Sharks will be a top 5 team in the west and lose in the first round. Again.

I'm not saying that was smart, but they are still going to be a good team

Just found out I get a free subscription to NHL GameCenter until Dec 31 via my Rogers wireless account. If this thing works well, I might be one step closer to cutting my cable cord...

Any good hockey podcasts out there?

7 minutes in, Jets are looking fantastic! I can just extrapolate this over the rest of the season, right? Right?!

Hmm, guess not.

Kane has now headed to the dressing room after he was hit knee-on-knee by Scheifele a couple minutes earlier. Things are going downhill fast.

Another goal! Jets to the Cup!

I follow those weekly NFL threads, this is how it works, right?

Wow 3-1! Winnipeg, fuck yeah!

Bob McKenzieVerified account ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie

It's official: Chris Pronger has been hired to work for @NHLPlayerSafety.


Dude's still on LTIR.

Patrick Kane is really good at hockey.

Go Kings?

It's about eight minutes from the college to my house. Last night in that time there were three goals in the NJ/Philly game.

Yeah...this makes zero sense

Cap circumvention is OK, as long as the league is behind it I guess.

This is a very bizarre situation. There's going to have to be some more detailed answers/explanations at some point..

Towards the end of the offseason thread I brought up Pronger and Savard.

Not sure why the league didn't put something in the CBA to get out from under these contracts while allowing retirements. They clearly don't want to destroy a teams cap structure by the loopholes in place. So just allow him to retire, eliminate the contract and move on.

Leafs are looking great so far this season......3-0 Pitt after 1.....Carlyle should start being concerned.ALOT.

I enjoyed it
:p

Hornqvist looks great next to Sid,he was all over the place.

Neal could do one thing, shoot. He did it really well, but if you took that away, not much else (unless you count kneeing people in the head! )

Still probably need one more top 6 winger- Malkin isn't staying at wing all year.

Buffalo has to be the front runner for the McDavid sweepstakes. They looked absolutely terrible this afternoon

whooboy 7,311

Oh boy, the Panthers' arena is empty again (PHOTOS) | NHL | Sporting News

This guy was on to something:

http://www.cavemag.com/my-year-as-a-...ticket-holder/

Is the consensus still that McDavid's the definite #1? I saw Eichel put up 4 points in his 1st Hockey East game, although I see McDavid is averaging 3 ppg in the OHL as well.

I think McDavid is still expected to be the first pick, but that could change if Eichel outshines him. Either way 1-2 are going to get great players. Flyers probably aren't going to be -that- bad....

Oilers are on the road in LA tonight.

Eberle and Hopkins are both out due to injury (so 2/3 of their top line) and now they've healthy scratched Jeff Petry (likely their best D so far this season and for most of last season) so they can give Darnell Nurse his first NHL action. According to the coach, Petry is a bit behind because he didn't get a full camp in.

So yes, he's being sat down for game 3 of the season after playing the first 2 better than any other D on the team, on the road, against a very good team so a rookie can make his first start.

They also called up a rookie center to fill one of the forward spots along with one of the coaches kids (Will Acton).

The Oilers starting centers tonight are Boyd Gordon, Mark Arcobello, Leon Draisaitl (rookie) and Bogdan Yakimov (rookie).

Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is how at least one capped out NHL team actually does business.

Petry being a healthy scratch is very weird.

Btw, Bruins just saved their season. Signed Simon Gagne! (Still can't understand why they re-signed Jordan Caron.)

Bruins have been UGLY so far.

:(

But seriously very happy to see Gagne back in the NHL.

I call BULLSHIT.

-signed, Oilers' fan

I don't think they are Cup material, but the Caps look so much better with six NHL quality defensemen and an experienced head coach.

6? I thought they signed Orpik?

:p

I'm not sure what's happening with the Jets so far this year. They have had periods in most of their games where they just dominate the other team, but they can't seem to sustain it, nor capitalize on their chances. My eyes tell me that they are a far better team than last year's squad, but the results don't reflect that at all. Maybe it's just wishful thinking.

Oh and the locals are starting to boo at the end of home games, which is disgusting. The narrative that Winnipeg was some magical bastion of great fans that has kicked around since the Jets came back is quickly being exposed for the laughable myth that it's always been. There is a reason the first team left and it wasn't just because the arena wasn't fancy.

I am petitioning for the NHL to not let the Ducks know that the postseason has started next April, and just let them think they are still playing regular season games.

no mention of the 23M contract for fleury?

This Pittsburgh/Winnipeg game is probably the best game I've watched all year. Very entertaining game.

I'm meh on it. They've pretty much tabbed Tristan Harry the goalie of the future, but he's a handfull of years away.

I could have done with a small cut from the $5m he's making now, but nothing major.


Only thing that was bad in that game was in the 3rd the number of even up calls and taking 2 guys off. Refs lost control end of the 2nd when Byfuglien wasn't given 10 immediately after hitting Downie after the goal.

But that was the most playoff-y game the Pens have been involved in this year.

That game was awesome! I don't have a problem with Buff's hit on Downie. It wasn't all that late (yes, it was late and deserved a penalty, but not Hunter on Turgeon late) and, well, it was Downie. I don't think it deserved 10.

MAF was outstanding.

I loved seeing the Jets play that way (feisty, chippy, scrappy). They are starting to get a bit of attitude and I think they are realizing they can play with the big boys. They can't match teams like Pittsburgh in top-end skill, but they can skate and hit with anyone and that can keep them in games.

I'm not certain it deserved 10 either. But not giving him 10 opened the door for everything that happened after.

And no doubt that being Downie was a factor. I think handled differently if that a player without a reputation.

Can't link from a phone, but I loved Maple Leafs article on the elimination of enforcers from the game. I still think fighting has a place in the game, and the NHL shouldn't go the way of NCAA where its an automatic suspension, but I have no problem with it only being used in particularly egregious situations.

Crazy ending in Pittsburgh vs Rangers

In the shootout, game tied 2-2, shootout 1-1, Dan Boyle is Rangers 3rd shooter

His shot clips Fleury's pad, then the post, then Boyle's stick. Called a goal.

As the teams file to the locker rooms, repeatedly blowing horn to alert teams officials calling to Toronto war room. After about a minute, ruled no goal.

Teams back out. Allegedly Fleury had already taken his jersey and upper pads off.

Sutter scores as 4th shooter for Pittsburgh. Nash stopped. Win Pittsburgh.

Nuts

Shootouts are stupid

Filip Forsberg's 22 points and +20 make me want to beat the living shit out of George McPhee. That has the potential to go down as the worst trade in NHL history.

Yeah. That trade didn't make any sense then - Erat wasn't playing all that well - and it's looking even worse now.

And Oates couldn't or wouldn't find a place for Erat.

Didn't he go goalless his entire WSH tenure?

Nah, they scored a few times while Oates was coach. :)

Actually Erat scored twice once each season he was on the team.

So....mumps?

I had my money on scurvy at the start of the year

I blame Jenny McCarthy.


And... there goes Dallas Eakins. Oh, Edmonton... Such a hot mess.

The details released re: Slava Voynov domestic abuse are pretty brutal.

Wouldn't be surprised if he's played his last NHL game.

Gah!

No offense, Fidatelo, but I am going to make a lot of posts here to get that picture off the page. Crosby is weird looking even when he doesn't (TOTALLY NOT!) have the mumps.

And as it turns out you had the 87th post of this thread.

Yeah, that's almost a bannable offense. Since I like Fidatelo too much to report him, I will simply move Crosby's picture off the current page thread by posting the Jets' last 10-13 win loss records.

2013-2014: 37-35-10 (7th, did not qualify for the playoffs)

2012-2013: 24-21-3 (51 pts)-- 2nd in SE, didn't qualify for the playoffs

2011-2012: 37-35-10 (84 pts)-- 4th in SE; did not qualify for playoffs

Thanks for point that out, Sak. Thanks...

I had a discussion with a friend of mine who, for a while was convinced the mumps = mono and that Crosby must have contracted the disease by kissing Corey Perry. I told him that they were two different things and that the mumps were an infection of the salivary glands, which didn't help much.

1995-96: 36-40-6 (78 pts)-- 5th Central (lost first round)

1994-95: 16-25-7 (39 pts)-- 6th in Central; did not qualify for playoffs

1993-94: 24-51-9 (57 pts)-- 6th in Central; did not qualify for playoffs

1992-93: 40-37-7 (87 pts)-- 4th in Smythe (lost first round)

1991-92: 33-32-15 (81 pts)-- 4th in Smythe (lost first round)

1990-91: 26-43-11 (63 pts)-- 5th in Smythe; did not qualify for playoffs

1989-90: 37-32-11 (85 pts)-- 3rd in Smythe (lost in first round)