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2015 - 2016 NHL Season Discussion (1 Viewer)

Scott Merryfield

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The Habs ruined Mike Babcock's coaching debut in Toronto last night with a 3-1 victory over the Leafs. Carey Price looked just as sharp as last season when he won the Vezina, Hart, Ted Lindsay and Jennings trophies. Galchenyuk has been moved to center, on a line with Semin and Eller (who has moved from third line center to forward). Desharnais has been demoted from 1st line to 3rd line center, and Plekanac is centering a line with Pacioretty and Gallagher.


Galchenyuk looked comfortable at center, scoring the game winning goal and just missing another goal off the post, but Semin looked slow on that line. We'll have to see over time if that pickup helps the team, but they only signed Semin for one year at $1M, so even if he washes out it doesn't hurt the team against the salary cap.


The hated Bruins visit Montreal on Saturday night. NHL Center Ice has a free preview from now until October 27th, so I should be able to catch the game even if CBC shows the Leafs in this area.


Go Habs!
 

Aaron Silverman

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Good to know about the free preview. As for the Bruins, well, all I can say is "Go, Panthers!" I do not have high hopes for this season. :(


Then again, this could be the year that the Panthers finally put it together. Miracles do happen. . .
 

Scott Merryfield

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Aaron,


Yes, things do not look good on paper for your Bruins. It was not a good off season for the franchise. I think that getting rid of Hamilton will end up hurting as much as dumping Seguin did a couple of years ago. As a Habs fan, I do get some joy watching the team heading downhill, but having both franchises competitive makes for a better rivalry.


On the plus side, Lucic is no longer a Bruin, so you can laugh at his caveman antics now. I heard he ended up punching an opponent on the bench last night and is facing a suspension.


On a side note, USA Hockey's National Development Team Program makes its home debut this weekend at our hometown arena -- newly renamed as USA Hockey Arena (from the previous Compuware Arena). The U18 team plays twice this weekend -- once against the USHL's Chicago Steel, and then against the University of Notre Dame. USA Hockey replaces the previous owners of the arena -- the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League -- who were sold by Pete Karmanos and relocated to Flint. My wife and I decided to get our same seats as season tickets for the NDTP, and I am looking forward to the games this weekend. I may take my camera to the opener, and will post some photos.


FYI, the preseason favorite to be next year's first overall pick in the NHL draft is Auston Mathews, who is from the NDTP.
 

Aaron Silverman

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In their defense (sorta), it sounds more like Hamilton decided to leave than that the Bruins got rid of him.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Your Bruins did not look impressive last night against the Canadiens, Aaron. The Habs dominated the entire game, skating circles around a Boston team that looked very slow. Their only bright spot was Pastrnak -- he looks like a fine young player. That means that Boston will probably trade him away, too. :lol: The announcers said that Rask has never beaten Montreal in Boston, which I found amazing. I know he has a horrible record against them, but figured he would have won at least once on home ice. I wouldn't be surprised if Claude Julien gets the axe sometime during the season, as the front office has already changed last off season.
Pastrnak
Pastrnak

Pastrnak
Pastrnak
 

Aaron Silverman

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Claude's doing what he can with what he's got. The team is kind of a mess. On the plus side, moving Kelly to Spooner's line appears to have paid off in a big way (as did giving Tuukka the night off! :) ).
 

Scott Merryfield

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The Habs have their home opener tonight after winning four straight on the road to begin the season. It's the 4th time they have started a season 4-0 -- the previous three times, the team went on to win the Stanley Cup. Let's hope that's a good omen!


I made into the local paper again after getting interviewed during the home opener for the NTDP at USA Hockey Arena last weekend. The same reporter interviewed us last season regarding the sale and relocation of the Plymouth Whalers, the previous owners of the arena.
 

Scott Merryfield

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DavidJ said:
I'm so glad hockey is back.

Same here, David... except for one thing. It also means that winter is just around the corner. Other than that, I always look forward to the start of hockey season.


The Habs are now 5-0 for the first time in franchise history after beating the Rangers 3-0 in a duel of goaltenders Price and Lundqvist. It was a pretty even battle of great saves until Lundqvist let in a weak goal to Weise late in the third period to allow Montreal to go up 2-0 and effectively ice the game.


The best part of the game was when Carey Price knocked public enemy #1 Kreider flat behind the net as Kreider tried his typical run at the goaltender. Price then stood over the sprawled Kreider and stared him down. FYI, Kreider has a reputation for taking runs at goaltenders and is the guy who knocked Price out of the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago on such a play.


Aaron, I agree with you that Claude Julien is not the problem with the Bruins, but it is usually the head coach that gets canned when a team struggles, and Julien has no ties to the new GM, which makes him a likely sacrificial lamb. The real problem in Boston is Cam Neely. As long as he's in charge of the team, I think the Bruins will struggle to rebuild.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Aaron Silverman said:
It's amazing that the Canadiens have NEVER been 5-0 before!

Yes, I found that quite amazing, too, considering the great teams of the '50's and '70's, including one that went 60-8-12. Another impressive fact regarding their start this season -- the team has not trailed in any of the five games played so far. Saturday night will be another tough test, though, as they face the unbeaten Red Wings. They do have the advantage that Detroit also plays tonight, so they will get the Wings on the tail end of a back-to-back.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Former NHL star Teemu Selanne sat next to us tonight at the USNTDP game. His son Eetu plays for the visiting team -- the Madison Capitols of the USHL. He had people coming up to him all night asking for autographs and to take pictures, and handled all the requests with class. :thumbs-up-smiley:


The Canadiens are now 6-0 after beating the Wings tonight. They did finally trail in a game, though, falling behind 1-0 before scoring the final four goals.


Go Habs!
 

Scott Merryfield

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Habs rookie goalie Mike Condon lost his first game last night after starting the season 4-0. Hopefully Price will be back soon, as he is supposed to be out for a week or so.

I see Tyler Seguin netted a hat trick against the Bruins last night. I bet he really enjoyed that.
 

DavidJ

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Bummer about McDavid. He was becoming a "must watch" kind of player.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Krejci did a great Lucic impression with a little over two minutes left tonight, taking a stupid cross checking penalty and costing the Bruins the game versus the Habs. Interesting that Rask did not even get the start in goal -- I guess Boston is finally admitting that the Canadiens have his number.


And one big boo to Julien for sending Rinaldo out there in the last 30 seconds with the score 4-2. Rinaldo charges at Beaulieu to deliver a late hit (the puck was well gone), who puts his stick up to protect himself and gets a match penalty. What was that goon Rinaldo doing on the ice in that situation? It sure looks like an obvious attempt to stir up some crap with the game over.
 

Scott Merryfield

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My former hometown team (Plymouth Whalers) which relocated to Flint this season is making national headlines after the entire team quit after the coaching staff was fired, reportedly because the new owner was upset with the amount of playing time his son was getting. FYI, the son is at best a 5-6 defenseman, not a top talent. The story has hit ABC, ESPN, and TSN.


What a messed up situation. Even if the coaches are re-hired, who would want to work or play for such an owner? I am now glad this owner did not decide to buy our local arena and keep the team here. We have a much more stable situation with USA Hockey owning the arena to house the National Team Development Program.
 

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