Michael Hopcroft Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 We have threads for the other sports, so why not hockey? I admit that it's a niche audience around here, but why not? The regular season has started. In the first game I got to watch, the Jets (who are considered a team on the rise, as are most of the Canadian teams) got thrashed in their home opener by another young, hungry Canadian team in the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs, an Orinigal Six franchise with a proud history but recent woes, are certainly on the rise. If they can keep focused and keep their young superstar Austin Mathews healthy, they could be going places. Another team on the rise is Edmonton. The Oilers look solid and deep, and Connor McDavid is rapidly becoming one of the faces of the league, much less the face of the franchise. The Oilers also have a proud history, largely from the Gretsky era (I've now seen archive footage of Wayne Gretzky in full flight. How did a human being get so fast?). Comparisons are inevitable. Not everything is sunshine and roses up north. The Vancouver Canucks, the team I follow and root for (they're the only team in the Pacific Northwest), look like they'l,l be horrid. Every franchise needs a face, and they don't seem to have one. Hendrik and Daniel Sedin, identical twin former superstars, and going from the twilight of their careers into full-fledged night. It's sad they'll never win a Cup in their great careers, but what contender would take them? The Cancuks need to move on and have no coherent way to do it. I have yet to see any of the American teams play. Vegas has not yet started their season. Of course the Knights will be bad, and I think hockey in Vegas might be a mistake (who decided glitter has any place on a hockey sweater?), but you have to hand it to veterans like Marc-Andre Fleurey who take on the task of playing for an expansion team knowing they're probably going to lose and lose a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 My favorite preview of the upcoming Colorado Avalanche season: "Colorado will be 20 points better than last season and still not sniff the playoffs." Which makes sense, since the Avs were 22 points (as I recall) worse than the second worst team in the NHL last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 Vegas started their inaugural season by winning both of their first two games, and have yet to play a home game. They can't maintain that pace, obviously, and will lose a lot of games before the season ends, but it's encouraging sign of the desire to compete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2017 And the Oilers start 1-2-0. To reach their full potential will take some work. They have the talent (particularly offensively) to win the Cup, but they really need to commit to defense and have better discipline. Giving up five goals to Winnipeg is not acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted October 10, 2017 Report Share Posted October 10, 2017 Meanwhile, the Avs have won two of their first three games, all on the road and on the East Coast. Huh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted January 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Someone please explain the Vegas Golden Knights. They assembled a team of castoffs and minor-league veterans and are sitting, right now, as the top seed in the Western Conference if the playoffs were to start tonight. Much as I've enjoyed watching their amazing journey, the only way I can think of that they're doing it is if 30 other teams gad been horrible judges of talent. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Last season, the league-worst Colorado Avalanche finished the year with 22 wins and 48 points. This year, the Avs have 22 wins and 47 points right now. If the playoffs started today, Colorado would be in as the #8 seed in the West. What a great season so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 And the Avs keep winning! They won 4-2 in Toronto tonight, extending their NHL season-leading win streak to 10 games. Nathan McKinnon (the Avs' only All-Star) is a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate, and backup goalie Jonathan Bernier has yet to lose a game in nine straight starts. I am genuinely perplexed...but definitely not complaining! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt the Bruins Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 I don't know what to think about my Bruins' 12-0-3 streak over the last 15 games. I'm not used to them playing like an elite NHL team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted January 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 The All-Star tournament was actually enjoyable this year -- not because the games were competitive, but because they were eye-popping. Especially the goalies, who usually are made to look like idiots in these events but made a lot of spectacular saves. Connor McDavid in particular was robbed at least four times over the course of the day. Like everyone else, I'll be keeping an eye on Tampa and Vegas for the rest of the season. The Lightning play beautiful hockey, and Vegas is still a great story. If anything else, it will distract me from the terminal woes in Vancouver and the sad twilight of the Sedin twins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 They should do an outdoor game on a lake during the Superbowl. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 20 hours ago, Christopher R Taylor said: They should do an outdoor game on a lake during the Superbowl. It would give the Vikings fans, who truly believe their team should have gotten in, something to do. But pond hockey aside, whatever ice would form on a large body of water like a lake is far too unstable to play hockey on. Yes, I know you were probably joking, but when I haven't been joking myself I've been playing straight man a lot lately. The NHL has gone out of their way to accommodate hockey fans who want to watch the Super Bowl and still get their hockey fix. There are only three games, and they are all in the morning Pacific time.They are also all on the east coast, including what looks like a very good matchup between the Golden Knights and the Capitals in Washington. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 No, not joking. Lakes freeze all the way to the bottom up north, and I think it would be a nice publicity thing especially during what promises to be the lowest-rated Superbowl of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 Are the college teams doing anything? (I hear college hockey is a big deal in MInnesota.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted February 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 To follow up on my last post, college hockey in Minnesota IS a big deal. Last week Minnesota played an epic duel against the top team in the country, Notre Dame. The goaltending was really good quality, and regulation ended scoreless. (Apparently this is very rare at that level, to an "almost never happens" degree of rare.) The Gophers then scored a spectacular goal with a minute and a half left in overtime to secure the upset win and help them position for the Big Ten playoffs. And the arena was packed. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Apparently there is a serious effort launched to an NHL expansion franchise into Seattle. Seems to plan on using the former Seattle Colisseum (now referred to as KeyArena for basketball) as the venue. That's OK with me, but I am stone cold opposed to another publicly-funded sports facility here. My property taxes are already over $6.6k/year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted February 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Trade Deadline Day is tomorrow, ending at noon Pacific. I'm going to be out and about, so I will miss all of the speculative TV commentators that seem to live for trade deadline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 And Daniel and Henrik Sedin have announced their retirement. Top-line stalwarts in Vancouver for many years, they apparently decided to retire as Canucks rather than go elsewhere in search of a Cup. It's been 18 years since the twins from Sweden were drafted back-to-back by the Canucks (a feat which took some doing on the trade market) and they have been linemates ever since, with Daniel at center and Henrik on the wing. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 3, 2018 Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 Precarious playoff positioning for the Avalanche right now. They're currently number eight in the West. They have two games remaining, one on the road against the Sharks, who are ahead in the standings, and one at home against the Blues, who are also fighting for the number eight slot in the West. If they can win both of them, they should be in, no problem. If they can win one and tie one, they will probably also be in, especially if that win is against St. Louis. If they don't win either of them, they'll probably be watching the playoffs on television just like me. Going to be an interesting couple of days. (Of course, with the kind of season the Avs put up last year, it's borderline miraculous that we're even using the team name in the same sentence with 'playoffs' this year.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 8 hours ago, Pariah said: Precarious playoff positioning for the Avalanche right now. They're currently number eight in the West. They have two games remaining, one on the road against the Kings, who are five points ahead in the standings, and one at home against the Blues, who are also fighting for the number eight slot in the West. If they can win both of them, they should be in, no problem. If they can win one and tie one, they will probably also be in, especially if that win is against St. Louis. If they don't win either of them, they'll probably be watching the playoffs on television just like me. Going to be an interesting couple of days. (Of course, with the kind of season the Avs put up last year, it's borderline miraculous that we're even using the team name in the same sentence with 'playoffs' this year.) If an expansion team can be a favorite to win the conference, anything can happen! Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 I think Nashville is technically still considered the favorite in the West, but you make a valid point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Well, we'll soon find out what Vegas can do in a best-of-seven series. They will probably play the LA Kings, who gave them some trouble in the regular season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 With the Avs losing 4-2 to the Sharks last night, Saturday's game against St. Louis is now a playoff game--winner gets in, loser stays home. The Avs have lost three straight, but the game is in Denver. We'll see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 5 hours ago, Pariah said: With the Avs losing 4-2 to the Sharks last night, Saturday's game against St. Louis is now a playoff game--winner gets in, loser stays home. The Avs have lost three straight, but the game is in Denver. We'll see what happens. I'm not getting the NHL TV package anymore. Are NBCSN or NHL Network carrying this game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 On 10/5/2017 at 9:37 AM, Pariah said: My favorite preview of the upcoming Colorado Avalanche season: "Colorado will be 20 points better than last season and still not sniff the playoffs." Which makes sense, since the Avs were 22 points (as I recall) worse than the second worst team in the NHL last season. On 1/7/2018 at 6:51 AM, Pariah said: Last season, the league-worst Colorado Avalanche finished the year with 22 wins and 48 points. This year, the Avs have 22 wins and 47 points right now. If the playoffs started today, Colorado would be in as the #8 seed in the West. What a great season so far! As it turns out, the Avalanche are 47 points better than last season and are in the playoffs as the #8 seed in the West. Wow. What a turnaround. True, they get President's Cup winner Nashville* in the first round for their trouble, and could very well get swept. But hey, the Avs, by all predictions, should've been out of the playoff chase six weeks ago. Go Avs! -- *It pains me a little to type this. There's a part of me that still cringes at the thought of professional ice hockey teams in places like Nashville, North Carolina, and Miami. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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