NHL 2011-2012 season

I too cannot wait for the start of another season of Habs hockey. Fuck yes.

When do the Avalanche come to Raleigh?  Since I can't go to the ATL to catch them anymore.  Fucking losers.  The Thrashers, not the Aves.

I was an Avs fan for a few years when Patrick Roy left the Habs to play for them

I got into hockey during the '96 Cup.  I still have my ticket from the fourth home game of the opening Thrashers season which was of course the Aves.  It's in a nice protective plastic with some other memorabilia from the game.

 

One day to go!

 

 

Three games in October on National TV.  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot kinda broadcast deal is the NHL running?

 

Then it appears there will be about 2-3 a week and that is it.

*EDIT*  Jesus, Thanksgiving before I can watch a game on NBC?  Luckily it looks like after the first of the year NBC will carry a game every Sunday at least.

 

Are those Hurricanes games you're talking about? Do you have Versus?

 

The Philly/Boston(Boo!) game I can watch later on NHL Gamecenter Live but tomorrow night is a great double header of the Leafs/Canadiens and Canucks/Penguins to kick off the new season.  Then there's two televised games on Friday night and three on Saturday. So yeah I'd probably die a little inside if I had to live in the U.S. during hockey season for any amount of time. 

 

 

I've switched allegiances this year. BUFFALO SABRES!! I bought five games worth of Buffalo Sabres tickets (Phoenix, Toronto, Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, Minnesota) and I can't wait! They open their season tomorrow against Anaheim in Helsinki.

Go Habs Go!

 

Brendan, weren't you a Canadiens fan?!

No, that would actually be awesome.  Those numbers are TOTAL nationally televised games on VS. until January when NBC begins a once per Sunday broadcast.  The NHL in the late 90's/early '00's seemed to have games aplenty on.  Wonder what happened to those deals?

I have watched trailer.

that's sooo true

I've never been a Canadiens fan. I switched to Buffalo from Ottawa. I maybe cheered for Montreal during the playoffs last year but that's the playoffs. Once my team is out, I start rooting for 2-3 other teams.

Weren't they being goons in the Cup earlier this year as well?

My Stars are looking good, but I have still yet to determine who the "star" is on the team. Benn? Ribiero? As of now, Lehtonen.

So... Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Florida and Minnesota are rocking it while Detroit, Vancouver, Montreal and the defending Stanely Cup Champions Boston are tanking. What's going on in the NHL?!

 

And the Sabres won last night in a shootout that saw I think 13 players take the ice! And Toronto finally lost a game at home in good fashion losing 7-0 to Boston.

Sidney Crosby is back in action tomorrow after being sidelined last January. I'll be late home from work but hopefully I can catch the third period. Still no time table on Ryan Millers return, as far as I know.

Some interesting news:

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Latest-NHL-radical-realignment-plan-breaks-up-So?urn=nhl-wp18932

 

The proposal for the new NHL alignment that could happen for the 2012/2013 season. No divisions and four conferences.

 

 

To the few NHL fans on here, check this out.  It's a topical hockey talk web show in the style of PTI.  You know, since ESPN ignores it and Versus/NBC Sports Network isn't on top of things quite yet...

 

http://www.muckandgrind.tv/

Any Verizon 4g customers in NHL Land?

 

That Canucks/Bruins was worth getting up for. Watched the first two periods at home and caught the third in the lively local pub.

 

Redemption has never felt so sweet.

So Vancouver and Boston have finally turned things around and are back to being hot again. Ottawa is on fire, which I never would have thought. I figured it'd take a season or two for Ottawa to rebuild and compete again but wow.

 

My team, Buffalo, has collapsed since December and have fallen apart. Miller hasn't been on his game since coming back from that concussion and Enroth is fucking useless in net.

 

Toronto is still hovering around a playoff berth but like usual with them once they get going they quickly slide back.

 

And Minnesota started shitting the bed after being hot for so long.

I was at the AHL Outdoor Classic this past weekend in Hamilton. The alumni game was Friday night and that was fun seeing some of the Leafs greats play (even though I'm a Sabres fan). I wore a Leafs Doug Gilmour jersey to the game. The Leafs alumni team won, 6-5 over the Canadiens alumni. What made the game more special was that in the third period it started to snow.

 

The Toronto Marlies vs. Hamilton Bulldogs AHL game was on the Saturday afternoon. That was a good game too. The Marlies ended up winning 7-2 after scoring three quick goals in the third to increase their lead.

 

It was a lot of fun seeing a semi-professional outdoor hockey game. Can't go wrong for $40. It's one step down from the NHL. If they do it again next year, I'll try and go again.

They say it couldn't be done, there were the detractor's who tried to bring you down...

Congrats Scott Gomez, you did it! Wooooooo..........

Good weekend for the Leafs. Yes, there's a Leafs fan here <braces self>

So did he?

Live shot of Montreal right now...

So Rick Nash is on the market as a trade. How many contending teams are willing to lose huge chunks of their roster for him, and take on his large salary?

Canucks fans I know are drooling at the thought of Nash/Kesler/Booth line, with him doing double duty on the pp with the twins. It would be too much of a hit to what's currently working right now. Hell no to gifting Hodgson, Schneider, and Raymond/Ballard away. Schneider has proved himself so many times when Luongo isn't on his game. If we were to do a trade I'd love a beefy defenseman to help out the team because our backend was barely holding it together, wrapped in scotch tape, by the time we got to Boston. You never really know when Salo is going to breakdown, and Ballard has some medical issues going on right now too. The shell game that tanev/alberts/rome get played with doesn't bode well for consistency being switched out here and there. Just looking for another solid d-man into the stretch. In fantasy land that d-man would be Shea Webber.

BOOM goes the dynamite:

 

Ron Wilson fired!

 

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2012/03/02/sp-nhl-maple-leafs-wilson.html

No surprises there. Alas, Randy Carlyle doesn't seem much happier with the squad he's been given.

What's with St. Lois quietly winning all the things?

Yeah, I have a friend who was looking at the standings the other day and his reaction was, "holy shit, St Louis is leading the league." St Louis has a five game win streak going while Pittsburgh has a nine game streak going! My Buffalo Sabres are flirting with the post-season. They seemed to be turning things around and are making a decent push to the end. However it seems that once they get going they mess it up and fall back a bit.

The Leafs are, as usual,  in 12th right now and poised to play their best hockey of the season and ruin their draft pick.

So the 2011/2012 NHL regular season is complete. The Vancouver Canucks have claimed the President's Trophy for the second year in a row and Steven Stamkos became the 20th player in NHL history to get at least 60 goals in a season.

 

April 11th is when the playoffs start. Here are the match ups:

 

Eastern Conference

 

New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators

 

Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals

 

Florida Panthers vs. New Jersey Devils

 

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

 

Western Conference

 

Vancouver Canucks vs. L.A. Kings

 

St. Louis Blues vs. San Jose Sharks

 

Pheonix Coyotes vs. Chicago Blackhawks

 

Nashville Predators vs. Detroit Red Wings

 

 

Since my Buffalo Sabres shit the bed in their final four games and they were eliminated, I'm jumping on the NY Rangers bandwagon for the East and the Nashville Predators bandwagon for the West.

Not a fan of Vancouvers chances in the 1st round.  They are going against the top goaltender in shut outs this year.  Plus I hate their fans so I hop the Canucks lose.

 

Go Hawks.

 

I agree. If Vancouver gets kicked out in the first round, it'll be because of Jonathon Quick. He's pretty much been the top goal tender all year and while Luongo is good he still has more off days/off moments that cost the Canucks. I think this could be an interesting Stanley Cup playoffs.

Time to lay the smackdown on some Flyer candy asses.

Or not...

 

plus side is that Nashville won.

Well fuck that shitshow.

And the Canucks are down 0-2 and one of the Sedin sisters is out for game 3.  46/48 saves for Quick game 2.  Luongo 22/26.

 

Please go 4-0

-looks to see if Hurricanes made playoffs-

 

Know your role and shut it.