Hockey Talk: The Official NHL 2008-2009 Thread (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

Nice analogy. They are both rare occurrences.

Actually, the hated Bruins have been off to a very surprising start this season. As much as it pains me to say so, they may be this season's Montreal -- i.e. picked to finish outside the playoffs, but instead finish very high in the conference.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Not surprising at all. They had a year to buy into Julien's system, which was solidified in their suprising series against the Habs in the playoffs. A series in which they effectively figured out how to shut down the vaunted Hab PP (and in doing so, clued in the rest of the league) by aggressively attacking the cross ice pass. In addition, some great prospects are now coming into their own: Kessel is an all-star after being benched last year, Lucic has continued the his stellar playoff showing, Krecji is seeming like a truly elite playmaker (on the third line!). Thomas and Fernandez are in the stratosphere right now, which IMHO has much to do with the system, but that's no discount to the effort they put forth. Combine these with veterans who now play a more complete game (Savard, Wideman) and the fully solidified "team" concept, and you can see how a team can be where the Bruins are today.

Maturity and a belief in themselves goes a long way in turning an inexperienced and raw team into a monster that is very hard to play against and is never out of a game. You can thank a playoff series that should have gone 4, but eventually went 7 for starting that.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It certainly is nice to see the Habs - Bruins rivalry heat up again, especially with Montreal's other traditional rival (Toronto) continuing to struggle.

The Canadiens power play has been pathetic this season, as you alluded to Jeff. While part of it may be a result of last season's playoff series, I think much of it can also be attributed to the loss of defenseman Mark Streit. He was the trigger on the point after Sheldon Souray left the year before, and did an excellent job anchoring the power play. Montreal has not been able to replace him like they replaced Souray.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Streit was the one they neutralized in the playoffs. As I remember it, he was a non-factor after they shut off the cross ice seam and pressured the points. Their PP needs a revamp, they have been figured out and they aren't getting the play from Kovalev, who was able to single handedly turn a weak scheme into a one-on-four tour de force. Unfortunately for the Habs, that Kovalev has disappeared quicker than Jagr's game after he left the Penguins.

 

[Randy_Sh]

Woot Woot. Pens end 3 game skid and score 9! Ok, it was against the Isles, but it was nice to find some offense. 3 PP Goals, Sykora's first career Hat Trick and one from Dupuis as well.

One game does not turn around a season, but let's hope it's a step in the right direction...

Next Game: Pens @ Flyers 12/13. Should be fun as games against Philly always are...

 

[Walter C]

I was hoping to see a shootout between the Capitals and Islanders in last night's game on VS, which almost happened, but Alexander Ovechkin scored the game winner with 10.7 seconds left.

The Flyers complete a perfect 4-game homestead, which included wins over the Penguins and ending a 5-game losing streak against the Avalance.

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

Yeah, your Flyers are on a pretty good run. They were clearly more up for the game than the Pens were last weekend. My question, did many Pens fans show up for that game in Philly? It always seems there are lots of pesky Flyers fans in the Igloo when they play here in Pittsburgh. Of course we treat them as respectfully as possible...(I almost said that with a straight face).

 

[Walter C]

I'm not surprised, as there always seem to be a large contingent of Flyers fans that travel with the team, mainly to opposing teams' building within the Atlantic Division.

I'm not sure with the Penguin fans, but I will find out when I go to their next meeting in Philly on January 13th.

It is early and a long season, so I'm being cautiously optimistic.

 

[Walter C]

The Flyers' winning streak ended, falling behind 3-0 and not able to recover against the Canadiens.

And who would have thought the Bruins and Rangers would be on a tear in the East.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I had a rare treat, being able to watch this game last night thanks to a special edition of "Hockey Night in Canada" on CBC. The game was closer than the score indicated, with lots of offensive action at both ends. It was nice to see the Habs win a game after struggling over the past week.

 

[Randy_Sh]

Pens win in Atlanta with Fluery returning to his spot in between the pipes - he made some nice saves and prevented Altanta from getting back into the game...nice 4 point night for Malkin - 2G, 2A - as well.

Next Game - Leafs visit the Igloo on 12/20.

 

[Mark Klaus]

I always forget that I can get HNIC on NHLHD now. Back in the day, I used to watch on Channel 9 in Windsor, but the Dish doesn't go there.

Hey Scott, I see you live in Michigan. How is it you're not a Wings fan? There's been a lot to cheer about the last 11 years, 4 cups that is. Nice pummeling we put on the wannabe Sharks last night. Up until then, they'd been going through the motions. The real concern is in goal, Ozzie seems to have lost something since last year and won't be able to give up the kinds of goals in the playoffs that he is now.

Looking forward to Jan 1 at Wrigley. Any Chicago or Wings fans on the board going to that one? Should be a hoot.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Stupid Versus. ESPN doesn't even cover NHL games on SportsCenter anymore! (They will show goals on Plays of the Day though.)

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

I'm psyched for the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field this year on New Year's Day. Nice midwest battle with Blackhawks vs. Red Wings. I hope it snows again like last year, but not so hard that they cancel it. Between that game and the Rose Bowl, I'm gonna be sitting in front of the screen all day!

 

[Walter C]

And the Winter Classic is an Original Six matchup, with the Blackhawks being a respectable franchise again. I look forward to watching the game, even though I'm not a fan of either team.

I caught a clip of the Penguins game on NHL Network, and man, those blue jerseys are ugly.

 

[Ockeghem]

The Blackhawks are looking good these days. [Ockeghem looks around to see if Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Keith Magnuson, and Tony Esposito are still playing for the Hawks. ]

I just learned that the Bruins are now #1 in the Power Rankings. I think they owe a bit of this to the Red Wings victory over the Sharks.

ESPN - NHL Hockey Power Rankings - National Hockey League

Although the Bruins have scored the most goals at this point, I'm more impressed with them having given up the second fewest goals thus far.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Mark,

I started watching hockey as a kid around 1970. My grandfather used to repair TV's as a hobby, and he would give me ones he had fixed for free for my room. However, these TV's would be VHF (Channels 2-13) only, so I grew up on Hockey Night in Canada on Channel 9 out of Windsor. I fell in love with the Habs due to their playing style ("The Flying Frenchmen"), and they were the first team I ever rooted for in any sport that won a title (in '71 over the Blackhawks). I was hooked for life after that.

Meanwhile, the Wings were on one of the local UHF stations (either Channel 20 or 50, cannot remember), and were being run by a disinterested owner. So, I didn't watch them much, and didn't become a bandwagon jumper when the team finally turned it around under new ownership many years later. My dad and uncle were hard core Wings fans, but they grew up with the Howe, Abel, Lindsey, etc. teams of the 1950's.

 

[Ockeghem]

Mark,

First, the Red Wings are awesome. I just wanted to mention that.

I moved to Michigan in 1993 (for my current job, which I love); but I'm a Boston fan (all sports) through and through. I like the Red Wings, and was happy to see them win their Cups. I also like the Lions, Pistons, and Tigers. But my heart belongs to the Boston teams. I've been a Bruins fan since 1969, back in the days when it was very common (and a heck of a lot of fun) to play street hockey. Esposito, Orr, MacKenzie, Hodge, Stanfield--they really put hockey on the map for us Boston kids back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Street hockey in the Boston area in the 70's? Now, you are talking my childhood. Two movies come to mind when I think of that: Mystic River, which had a street hockey net (homemade of course) right in the middle of the street in Southie, and Wayne's World; Wayne and Garth were playing street hockey and someone yelled "Car!!!", which meant they had to move the net out of the road. Classic memories.

 

[Ockeghem]

Jeff,

It's nice to meet a kindred spirit. Those were awesome memories. Heck, I can recall taking the plastic puck down into our basement, and playing hockey on the cement floor. The puck really glided nicely along that smooth, cement surface. I use to do this whether my friends came over to play or not. Just shooting the puck toward the goal from all different angles (and using the walls as ricochets) was a ton of fun.

BTW, I should qualify that I am not from Boston proper; I usually just say that because people then have a reference point. I lived in Foxborough, Mass., and then Mansfield, then Attleboro, and then Cape Cod. But hockey was all over Massachusetts at that time.