2008/2009 Hockey Thread v2.0

[SeanDMan]

And if tonight was any indication it looks like the Canucks win the division while the Flames battle for a lottery pick.

[Gabriel]

And if tonight was any indication it looks like the Canucks win the division while the Flames battle for a lottery pick.

I have no excuses. Kiprusoff was horrible... and we're only going to be as good as he lets us be.

I was hoping they'd play him for all the pre-season games, to speed up the process of him finding his positioning and game earlier than usual... but they played the young guys, despite knowing that McElhinney will be the backup this year anyways.

I'm still not sold on the Canucks though... it's possible for them to make the playoffs and do well, but at the same time, it's the Roberto Luongo show again this year. They didn't upgrade anywhere over the summer, and if they don't re-sign or deal the Sedins for a first line player or two, they're not likely to do any better than they did last year.

Just a quick question though... when the Vancouver defenseman bowled Luongo and the puck into the net, how come that wasn't called as a goal? The whistle hadn't blown... nobody shoved him into Roberto... and then they just ignored that it happened. Cuthbert and Ferraro made no mention of it, and neither did the panel during intermission.

[SeanDMan]

I'm still not sold on the Canucks though... it's possible for them to make the playoffs and do well, but at the same time, it's the Roberto Luongo show again this year. They didn't upgrade anywhere over the summer, and if they don't re-sign or deal the Sedins for a first line player or two, they're not likely to do any better than they did last year.

I think you're wrong, and here's why.

The Canucks addition in this offseason was by subtraction. Brendan Morrison was too hurt to be consistently ineffective and Markus Naslund was too inconsistent to truly lead the Canucks. With them both gone, the Canucks have some room on the roster and under the cap to bring in guys like Pavol Demitra, a guy who was stiffled under the Wild's trap system but still managed to put up point totals similar to Markus Naslund's numbers over the last two years. By losing Dave Nonis, and getting Mike Gillis, the Canucks have changed philosophy. They're not going to be the left wing lock/let's win 1-0 games team you saw the last two seasons. The big guns are coming out this year. The Sedins no longer kill penalties, they want Kesler and Burrows to be more aggressive in the opposition end, Demitra is going to play without the need to backcheck... the Canucks two strongest assets last season, their defense core and their goaltender, are back (minus the late Luc Bourdon, who would probably have deposed Krajicek) and their forwards are younger and, importantly, faster. Add in the addition of Bernier, a right handed gritty shot, to play with the Sedins, and they might be back to the days when they made Anson Fucking Carter look like Brett Hull. Expect this team to play for 5-3, 6-2 scorelines as opposed to the 1-0, 2-1 you got used to. They want to run and gun and while they're not as skilled or fast up front as the Oilers, they have a better goalie.

I'm predicting that three or four teams will make it in the Northwest. I think Detroit is probably the only team who makes it in the Comedy Central, and that Sharks and Ducks make it from the Pacific. Add in a dark horse, a Phoenix, a Los Angeles, a Columbus, a Chicago, and that still leaves four spots. I think the Canucks, the Oilers, and the Flames are all basically locks and only really lose points against each other. That leaves one of the Wild and the Avalanche to duke it out for the last spot. That's my prediction, I might be wrong, but I think all three Canadian northwest teams made steps forward while the Avalanche remained pretty stagnant, and the Wild regressed.

Just a quick question though... when the Vancouver defenseman bowled Luongo and the puck into the net, how come that wasn't called as a goal? The whistle hadn't blown... nobody shoved him into Roberto... and then they just ignored that it happened. Cuthbert and Ferraro made no mention of it, and neither did the panel during intermission.

I didn't get to watch the entire game, so I didn't see it. Out of curiousity, do you know which defensemen it was? Luongo has been bowled over by players on his own team a couple of times now and I am getting horrible Dan Cloutier/Sid Vicious flashbacks.

[Gabriel]

That was the best argument I've heard for Vancouver this season. Kudos on that one. I can already tell they're going to be a much more exciting team to watch this year, and who knows, maybe I'll change my tune on them after a month or two.

I can't remember for sure who it was, but for some reason, I want to say it was Edler.

[Plubby]

The Avs team was pretty exciting on paper last year, only to be fucking decimated by injury. It was getting Vancouver-defense-bad (not saying their D is bad, but it was pretty badly ravaged by injury either last season or the one before) at one stage.

[Clawson]

I don't know what Plubby is saying but there is no way in hell you make the playoffs with Andrew Raycroft as one of your goalies.

[Toe]

I also think the Canucks did a good job of moving away from Naslund and Morrison. They have a good defence (if it can stay healthy). Up front they are not too deep and won't be top five in goals, they will score more. With Luongo in net, they only need to bump up their goals scored by a little bit for it to make a huge difference. Like SDM, I think Bernier will be good with the Sedins - good for at least 20 goals. I am not sold on Demitra but Kesler and Burrows are two of my favourite young players in the league.

[Plubby]

Sure there is. Budaj plays 60-70 games

[SeanDMan]

I wasn't sure about Demitra either until I saw him play. He has looked like a bona fide superstar, and with Raymond and Pyatt on his line, like he has asked for, you have a great combination of a dynamic playmaker with deft hands in Demitra, a blazing young horse who can just burn people alive in Raymond, and a guy who throws people around and isn't afraid to go to the danger zone in Pyatt. Honestly, it reminds me a lot of the West Coast Express, and they're our SECOND LINE. I really like the way our forwards look, the front nine, with Bernier and the Twins, the Pyatt/Demitra/Raymond line, and Kesler and Burrows with Jannik Hansen or maybe Kyle Wellwood... you have three good lines that have a good amount of up tempo ability, and at least one guy, or in the Kesler line, three guys who can forecheck really hard and make people back off. The defense staying healthy is really key, because the Canucks backend was savaged last year and wasn't able to produce like it did the year previous, but with guys who can go, Bieksa, Edler being the two keys to that, they can help create and make plays too. This team is going to be a lot different from last year, and I think is markedly better.

[Toe]

I know Edler has a cannon. He is going to be good.

Toronto plays three in three nights. Detroit tonight and tomorrow, then Columbus on Sunday.

[Toe]

For Americans with the NHL Network...

Hockey Night In Canada!

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

...okay. I was initially expecting the NHL Network US to start using the old HNIC theme (as they're both owned at least in part by TSN).

This, on the other hand, isn't gratuitously stupid overkill, and is actually pretty cool. I could almost tolerate being an NHL fan in the US now.

[Toe]

Unlike the game against the Blues, Toronto actually looked competitive tonight against the Wings. The Red Wings just seem to punish you on every single mistake, every single mismatch.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Anybody else watch the surreal spectacle that was the Hockey Night In Canada Anthem Challenge special? My vote went to #4 - I like vaguely Quebecois sound - but I'd be okay with #3 or #5 winning. The other two sucked.

[Guest Grapehead]

So a game into the season and I already remember why I hate how much Jason Spezza tries too much, and I'm really tired of watching him cost us games. In other news Ottawa looked pretty good killing penalties today, I was pretty pleased. Also Jarko Ruutu rules.

The HNIC theme challenge was really awful, but I did enjoy the 4th entry, I sincerely hope that kid doesn't win and also the fifth one was a little... no my taste... 3 same thing... one was meh... really 4 was the only good one.

[Toe]

Toronto didn't beat Detroit, but they managed to compete against the best team in the NHL.

I watched the Rangers vs. Tampa game. Gomez looked fantastic at times, and both Lundqvist and Mike Smith were great in goal.

[Guest Grapehead]

On a much happier note tonight, Ottawa disposed of Pittsburgh in a somewhat easy fashion today. Pittsburgh looked way off their game, and I think they may need a few games to get in a rhythm with some of the new secondary scorers on the team. 0/13 on the powerplay is not what you'd expect from Pittsburgh, I mean they ended up making it 1/14(over the two games) but it was a flukey last second(literally) goal so I wouldn't take much confidence from it. Ottawa didn't look amazing, but the key guys were getting in on the action, Jesse Winchester looked really good forechecking in the game, and Vermette also shined on the forecheck. I don't really think Auld played as good as the score indicates, but he looked a little more solid than Gerber, but in the long run Gerber should obviously hold onto the starting job for now.

[Clawson]

So we get the Leaf roster tomorrow and I'm really not sure if I want Schenn to be on there or not.

[Guest Grapehead]

So we get the Leaf roster tomorrow and I'm really not sure if I want Schenn to be on there or not.

You do not. Realize that this season for the Leafs is a throw away, a chance to take a real hard look at the future of the team and move in a better direction, perhaps lay the ground work for Brian Burke ... Having Schenn will in no way improve your chances this season of making the playoffs, in fact it will probably just ruin the kid. Leave him in Juniors(if elligible) or AHL(where they might stand a chance) and bring him up next season.

[Clawson]

He would have to go to juniors, but he's easily been our best defensemen in every game so far. It's definetly a tough decision.