2019-2020 NHL Thread (c'mon, it's almost December)
 

Kind of surprised that there had been no NHL thread to date. Lots of intriguing things going on thus far...

-The Leafs fire Mike Babcock
-Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid on pace for 150 points and the highest Art Ross total since Lemieux in 96-96. If they keep up this pace, one of them could record the highest ever Art Ross total by someone not named Gretzky or Lemieux.
-David Pastrnak on pace for 70+ goals
-Capitals defenceman John Carlson on pace for 120 points
-The Robert Bortuzzo cross-check on Viktor Arvidsson that someone only managed to get him a 4-game suspension

Many others. Discuss.

-The Red Wings are in dead last place
-Bill Peters will soon be fired for throwing out racial slurs towards a black player he coached in juniors

H/t to Maple Leafs for the funniest piece of sports journalism I've read in a while.

Down Goes Brown: Attempting to answer a simple question about jersey numbers – The Athletic

Cancel the season and give the Cup to the Bruins already.

Phenomenal!

I know it's not easy being a sports writer in these uncertain times given that, you know, there are no sports actually happening. That said, Down Goes Brown's latest piece in The Athletic feels a bit personal and mean-spirited.

“Oh right, the Red Wings exist.” Come on. Having to deal with more than my fair share of Nikolai Borschevsky's one moment of relevance, I'm getting this now?

Seattle's team is officially the Kraken.

Not saying I hate it, but I already hate the number of "Release the Kraken" headlines I'm bound to see.

For intros before the game it’ll be great.

I like how the color scheme and nautical pieces of the logo complement the Mariners.

With the Mariners, Sounders, Seahawks, and Kraken all Seattle teams echo the water. Pretty good synergy.

From a purely financial standpoint, doesn't that hurt merchandise sales? Why buy a new shirt when you already have a green one that says Seattle on it?

They are all a little different. For one, Kraken jerseys are going to be long sleeve while none of the others are :D.

And if you are just getting merch to represent the city, you'll likely just get the NFL or MLB team anyways.

I think it's going to feel dated in 20 years but I kindof like it now

SI

I love the name. Logo looks cool. Jersey and colours aren't the greatest, but I think they'll grow on me and overall are decent enough regardless. Pretty good 'launch' if you ask me.

Can't wait for the Jets to take on the Sea Monsters some day!

Obligatory "Fuck Winnipeg"

Hockey in August?!? Loving it so far.

The backdrop/"covering" on the seats is just...weird. Perhaps I just didn't give myself time to adjust to it, but watching the end of the PHI/BOS game it just felt claustrophobic. I dare say I actually prefer cardboard cutouts.

(How are we not at a point where we can just computer generate an entire crowd? Get EA in there or something.)

They can all stand and sit in unision? :lol:

This ending to the Blues - Avs game is one of the more insane things I’ve seen. Shame it’s “only” a seeding game and not a real game 1.

That's about as close as a goal can cut it.

go avs!
:D

The Arkells in the between period stuff?

Haven't sports fans suffered enough in 2020 already?

Weird to see an ad for Huawei

Hockey being back was fun for about 5 minutes on Saturday night, and then I watched Scheifele go down howling in pain and I was reminded how hard sports can punch you in the gut.

Right? I had just purchased NHL Live right before that and thought of seeking a refund at that moment. If there are hockey gods (and karma), if the Jets lose due to these injuries, hopefully they are rewarded with Alexis Lafrenière, particularly considering it was their original draft position that was the placeholder for the first overall pick.

Hard to feel for a franchise that just a few seasons ago had a playoff streak of 25 years end, which included 4 Stanley Cups and two other finals appearances. I mean, Ottawa arguably has the bigger gripe not winding up with the first (or second) when one considers they also had San Jose's selection.

Also, with Yzerman running things, I'm confident that Detroit will turn things around soon. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised that they haven't hired Gerard Gallant yet to replace Blashill.

Lightning/Blue Jackets starting it off with a 4OT(at least) game... I was wondering how long they'd said between games, figured maybe 45, but they just they need at least 87!!! Maybe that's due to COVID protocols, but hockey locker rooms are a place I don't think Coronavirus is the biggest worry, even now.

Going to be a lot of Bruins fans calling in sick to work tomorrow... also this is nuts in a game 1, when the players haven't really had the usual preparation and when there are already back to backs on the schedule. Part of me wonders if this was to go 6 or 7 whether they might have to call it at some point just in terms of player safety.

Heh, I just came to post the phrase #instantclassic

Bos-Car now pushed back to 11am wednesday

If TB had lost that game, they would have to be thinking what in the hell do they have to do to beat Columbus. Got swept by them in the 1st round last year.

First game of any kind I sit down to watch since the pandemic started and it gets pushed to 9AM local time tomorrow.

.....go flyers

Damn Blues looked good until the 3rd period.

loving this thread title now btw

Blues tie it up with 6 seconds left and then allow Bo Horvat a breakaway in OT to win the game.

Rask opts out to be with family... Halak is a decent backup but you'd think that ends any chances of the Bruins being a serious contender, which is pretty wild as they came in to the bubble as the best team in the league and really haven't looked that good so far

Glad the Blues won the cup last year as they look lost in the bubble. It would be nice to win atleast one game in this setup ;)

I have watched more hockey in the past week than I have watched since the strike. My daughter has become a huge fan overnight and it's all we've been watching.

Yet the Bs skated the Canes off the ice yesterday!

And then that 3rd period happened tonight... my god that McAvoy hit on Staal

Charlie McAvoy on Jordan Staal. Massive hit. pic.twitter.com/aIkRk4w2do

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) August 18, 2020

They didn't even make him go back to the bench, just opened up the side door to the locker room tunnel while play was still going on! :lol:

Staal looks a little bit like Kenny Omega there, but on the wrong end of a V-Trigger

Blues getting their act together and Allen has taken the goalie position over from Binnington.

That was quite a collapse indeed.

Goodnight Blues... I'm not even upset though. Last season was a dream come true.

FYI, the Stars/Avs game is on USA Network at 4pm, thanks to NBCSN airing the KY Oaks.

Stars make it to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 20 years. The Bolts couldn't close out their series against the Islanders last night. Tampa Bay is up 3 games to 2.