The Great Canadian 2011-2012 NHL season discussion thread

[Coldrsx]

Avs will be a another good test tonight, two good young teams.

Betting 3-2 Edmonton.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by The_Architect

That Winnipeg-Philly game was ridiculous.. Apparently the 1980's Oilers-Canucks teams put on their jerseys..

Am I the only one that thinks games like that are a GOOD thing?

Wow, maybe I'm becoming an old fart. Mid-90s boring D-first hockey is so fucking tiresome. I'd love to see some good scoring like that, on a regular basis. At least that game seemed interesting, not "get ahead 1 or 2 then trap all night", which while the official "trap" no longer works well, is basically how most teams still play the game. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Cut the goalie pads in half and let's see some real scoring in this league again!

[Ayreonaut]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Am I the only one that thinks games like that are a GOOD thing?

I think games like this are fun every once in a while, but it would suck if every game had 15+, or even 10+ goals. The score usually isn't really indicative of the quality of a game though; one of the best games I can remember was a 1-0 Calgary win over Ottawa. I think both teams had close to 40 shots, and even more hits. There were great offensive plays, great defensive plays, and great goaltending.

That said, if I had to define a preferable norm, I'd say I like 5-7 goals/game. 3-2, 4-2, 4-3 are good score lines.

[Nicko999]

Love these games as well.

That was the highest scoring game in the NHL since 1996 (San Jose 10, Pittsburgh 8).

The craziest since Montreal-Boston last year that's for sure.

The Canadiens and Bruins gave the sports fan a little bit of everything - goals, saves and fights. The Canadiens and Bruins combined for 14 total goals and 187 penalty minutes. FROM ELIAS: The last NHL game which had at least 14 goals and at least 180 penalty minutes came on February 22, 1981 when the Quebec Nordiques won 11-7 over the Washington Capitals in a game that featured 182 penalty minutes.

There were 7 goals scored in a 6:19 span of the 2nd period between the Canadiens-Bruins (4 BOS, 3 MTL). The Elias Sports Bureau says it's the first time 7 goals were scored in that time frame since Jan. 6, 1990, when the Blackhawks and Flyers combined to score 7 goals in 4:40 (4 by PHI, 3 by PHI).

http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=310209001

To make things even crazier, these two teams were coached by Martin and Julien, two of the most defensive coaches. Not enough? Price and Thomas (2 of the best goalies in the league) were the goalies for that game.

[MrOilers]

The actual amount of scoring doesn't make a game exciting or not. A close game with lots of scoring chances does.

[240glt]

[Coldrsx]

Hell yes.

Schmitty good

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by MrOilers

The actual amount of scoring doesn't make a game exciting or not. A close game with lots of scoring chances does.

I dunno, this is the same excuse used to tell me why soccer is good, and quite frankly it puts me to sleep. When scoring is hard due to artificial changes (equipment vs skill, or small nets, or whatever), it just ain't fun anymore.

Call me crazy. I love goaltending, and shutouts. But I loathe the fact that scoring has basically dropped to pre-lockout levels. Hockey isn't about skill or flair or speed most nights. It's about getting a small lead and defending it. I can't even imagine a "next Gretzky" anymore, because he'd be useless most nights.

[MrOilers]

Originally Posted by freeweed

I dunno, this is the same excuse used to tell me why soccer is good, and quite frankly it puts me to sleep.

Who told you that? There are barely any scoring chances in soccer. And that is one reason it sucks, even if there is a high score.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Hell yes.

Schmitty good

The loudspeaker spoke up and said "Colorado is stupid, Colorado is stupid, Colorado is stupid, Schmitty is good. . ."

[Ayreonaut]

Originally Posted by MrOilers

Who told you that? There are barely any scoring chances in soccer. And that is one reason it sucks, even if there is a high score.

While soccer is one of my favourite sports, your first statement is certainly true.

It's not all that uncommon to see the shots on goal in the single digits.

For me, the appeal of soccer is different, but could you imagine a hockey game where the shots were 7-4?

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by freeweed

I dunno, this is the same excuse used to tell me why soccer is good, and quite frankly it puts me to sleep. When scoring is hard due to artificial changes (equipment vs skill, or small nets, or whatever), it just ain't fun anymore.

Call me crazy. I love goaltending, and shutouts. But I loathe the fact that scoring has basically dropped to pre-lockout levels. Hockey isn't about skill or flair or speed most nights. It's about getting a small lead and defending it. I can't even imagine a "next Gretzky" anymore, because he'd be useless most nights.

Some of the best games I've seen are 1-0. The score isn't really as important as the outcome and the effort that the team put forth on the ice. Lots of chances and a great game by a goaltender is more entertaining to me that a 9-8 goalfest as that means neither team was playing good defense and the goalie might as well have taken off the pads and joined the rush. lol

Close games are suspenseful, and that's what I like. I agree the defense first, trap when we're leading style is boring, but when teams are taking chances, it's entertaining.

[Nicko999]

I agree with you guys, the best Habs game I've seen quality wise last season was vs Chicago.

We won 2-1 in OT but the pace of the game was incredible with several scoring chances and amazing saves. Shots were 43-35 for Chicago at the end of the game.

However, high scoring games are just as entertaining even if the quality of play isn't as great. Add in some brawls and it doesn't get better than that.

[Xelebes]

They are entertaining once or twice a year (the double-goal game or 15 goals or more). The half-goal games (3 goals or less) are ok once every ten games, with more at the end of the season. I like games to be around six or seven goals a game.

[The Chemist]

Leafs are actually looking pretty good this season so far. Phaneuf looks like he's got his game back, and the team looks pretty quick too. Don't count them out.

[Ayreonaut]

I wouldn't be too surprised if they made the playoffs. I don't think they're too deep, so they won't be great, but they could be in the top half of the East.

[caltrane74]

Leafs Win! Leafs Win!

Kessel is ONFYR!

[Nicko999]

No Gomez, 3 straight wins!!!

Carey Price is now back above .900 sv %. This dude is a workhorse. Price has already played over 600 minutes which is more than any other goalie.

Also congrats to Kessel for his 10th in 10 games...the next step is 20 in 20.

BTW-We have given 26.6 shots per game on average so far which the third least in the NHL. Weird, because we are usually a team that gives A LOT of shots.
We currently have better stats than last year... 7th best team 5 on 5 (16th last year) and 12th best offence (22th last year).

Martin is finally playing Erik Cole on the PP!!! See the result???

[vegeta_skyline]

Damnit! Last night pisses me off. Sure I want the Leafs to do well, just not against my beloved Pen's.
If Staal or Fleury's in there the result is different, nevermind that other guy who's out, oh and one of our top 4 defensemen and top 6(arguably) forwards is out too.

On another note, I'm loving the skill Malkin is finally displaying once again out there but the man needs to stop taking so many damn penalties. The one category I did not expect him to be leading the team in is PIM's

[touraccuracy]

our trade deadline pick ups from last year were some of our better players in the playoffs and continue to impress...

fun game last night.