NHL discussion thread

[Adar]

The season is well underway and it is time that we get our own thread.

So lets get it one and discuss important topics like who's going to win the league, if Detroit Red Wings will be able to complete their long term plan of creating an entire team of Swedes and whatever the US dentistry coalition will make any profits when sequestration mean that more and more athletes manage their own dentistry work.

On ice dentistry compilation

[Achea]

The Lightning have been quite a surprise. Awesome forward depth on that team, plus Bishop has been a stud.

My money is on the Ducks to win the Cup. Selanne bowing out after winning a championship would be perfect.

As for the Wings creating the ultimate team of SuperSwedes, I think it's entirely possible.

[Adar]

I mainly followed the NHL in the 90s and early 00s so it feel almost surrealistic to see team such as Anaheim and Tampa Bay being major contenders. At least Toronto still sucks .

Daniel Sedin scored his 300th goal this week and to me it really look odd to see the impact of Swedes the history of Canadas (currently) greatest hockey team. Essentially all records except the number of penalty minutes are dominated by Swedes (the lists).

But I don't know what's worst for a Canadian. The dominance of Swedes in Vancouver or the fact that the bloody Canucks are doing better than the other teams

[brandbll]

Got the new NHL 14 and i like it a lot so far. Been in the middle of moving/finishiing up movign so haven't watched a game in the past couple of weeks. My Wild aren't doing so well though and now Parise is out.

[Jakethe_Snake15]

Honestly...the worst thing about being in residence in my University, is that I don't really get to watch the NHL, unless I go home on the weekend. Now, that being said, the good part of this is that I don't have to watch the Oilers play horribly.

I got tickets (long story) from a friend to go to the Oilers/Columbus game - the 7-0 blowout...was such a great game to be at...and then they...6-2 right now against Phoenix. I can't even act surprised at this point.

[I WUB PUGS]

We get the new thread just as the Leafs have gone into full tank mode. Sweet.

[Adar]

We get the new thread just as the Leafs have gone into full tank mode. Sweet.

Well both came much later this year than usual .

[I WUB PUGS]

LIES!

The Leafs collapse in February/March.

[Adar]

LIES!

The Leafs collapse in February/March.

Not every season is a lockout season...

[I WUB PUGS]

God...

http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/20...4-2013-badvent

[Adar]

So for how many months will Shawn Thornton be suspended?
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=504880

I would say that this is one of the worst assaults I've seen. The Bertuzzi more incident was an accident as Bertuzzi threw him onto the ice and everyone piled on top of him. But Thornton threw him to the ice and then knocked him unconscious with his fist.

In normal life that means jail time...

[Jakethe_Snake15]

I'm thinking Thornton will get around 10 games. 15 at the absolute max. This, after all, is the NHL where consistent punishment just doesn't exist.

[brandbll]

Gotta say, not high on Orpik or Paul Martin. Would have liked Erik Johnson out there for sure and to be honest, i thought Jack Johnson would have been a good pick considering how well he played in 2010(despite having a rough NHL season). Also can't believe they didn't bump someone for Bobby Ryan. A lot of people seemed to be pissed on that one. Cory Schneider probably could have been on there over Jimmie Howard, but i could care less about who our third goalie is since they probably will never see the ice.

[brandbll]

US Hockey team announced:
http://olympics.usahockey.com/page/show/1067902-roster

[Adar]

Is the US team comparatively weak this year or am I just out of the loop when it comes to American top players?

[I WUB PUGS]

Is the US team comparatively weak this year or am I just out of the loop when it comes to American top players?

Its basically the same team as last Olympics, but the players were all really young last Olympics. Team USA doesn't have star quality center depth, that's the big knock. Goaltending is also a question, but really, who the hell knows how good Ryan Miller is until he gets SOME defense in front of him and some scoring too. Leaving Ryan at home was dumb and Orpik is useless. I think Burke was a better GM, but meh, the team is largely the same.

The Canadians make a big deal about how good they are in comparison to Team USA, but they have goaltending questions too. Its just that their Center depth is undeniable. Team USA has better 2-Way players IMO and even with Crosby as the 1C, I'd still take JVR-Pavelski-Kessel as maybe the best top line in the tournament. You can't duplicate chemistry like JVR and Kessel have in the time given. Pavelski is a massive upgrade on Bozak or Kadri so that top line should make some serious noise.

Team USA is lacking in "star power" though. That BS star power though is something that mettles in Canada's roster decisions. I think they should ice their best roster in a long time, but even pretending to discuss putting PK Subban as a "depth defenseman" is retarded. He's arguably the best defenseman in the world. Definitely the best 2 way. I'd take Karlsson over him though just because, why play D when you're able to generate O instantly? But Subban will probably sit because Weber, Doughty, Keith and Bouwmeester "deserve" minutes. Saying that Vlasic or Petriengelo are better than Subban is a crime.

Canada usually flubs through the tournament anyway. Don't forget that Team USA didn't lose a game until the Gold Medal Game, they dominated the whole tournament until that game when Canada knew they had to win or see Vancouver burn.

There's no reason why Sweden and Russia shouldn't make easy runs, but who knows. Same with Canada. These tournaments are about who gels quicker. I like the chemistry on Team USA.

[Adar]

Its basically the same team as last Olympics, but the players were all really young last Olympics. Team USA doesn't have star quality center depth, that's the big knock. Goaltending is also a question, but really, who the hell knows how good Ryan Miller is until he gets SOME defense in front of him and some scoring too. Leaving Ryan at home was dumb and Orpik is useless. I think Burke was a better GM, but meh, the team is largely the same.

The Canadians make a big deal about how good they are in comparison to Team USA, but they have goaltending questions too. Its just that their Center depth is undeniable. Team USA has better 2-Way players IMO and even with Crosby as the 1C, I'd still take JVR-Pavelski-Kessel as maybe the best top line in the tournament. You can't duplicate chemistry like JVR and Kessel have in the time given. Pavelski is a massive upgrade on Bozak or Kadri so that top line should make some serious noise.

Team USA is lacking in "star power" though. That BS star power though is something that mettles in Canada's roster decisions. I think they should ice their best roster in a long time, but even pretending to discuss putting PK Subban as a "depth defenseman" is retarded. He's arguably the best defenseman in the world. Definitely the best 2 way. I'd take Karlsson over him though just because, why play D when you're able to generate O instantly? But Subban will probably sit because Weber, Doughty, Keith and Bouwmeester "deserve" minutes. Saying that Vlasic or Petriengelo are better than Subban is a crime.

Canada usually flubs through the tournament anyway. Don't forget that Team USA didn't lose a game until the Gold Medal Game, they dominated the whole tournament until that game when Canada knew they had to win or see Vancouver burn.

There's no reason why Sweden and Russia shouldn't make easy runs, but who knows. Same with Canada. These tournaments are about who gels quicker. I like the chemistry on Team USA.

Cheers for the update. I have a lot of respect for USA as they play a lot like Canada but without being a bunch of s when it comes to hockey. But my coverage of NHL is limited so it is hard to keep track of good two way players who aren't Swedish or located in New York (we have an eccentric correspondent covering Obama and Henrik Lundkvist living there).

Also, congratulations to Finland for winning the juniors. Their deep defence and a good goalie really allowed them to soak up pressure and make the most out of their star players. It's rare for me to see tactics so clearly in hockey but Finland was very impressive in how they carried out their tactics.

[King_Porus]

Cheers for the update. I have a lot of respect for USA as they play a lot like Canada but without being a bunch of s when it comes to hockey. But my coverage of NHL is limited so it is hard to keep track of good two way players who aren't Swedish or located in New York (we have an eccentric correspondent covering Obama and Henrik Lundkvist living there).

Also, congratulations to Finland for winning the juniors. Their deep defence and a good goalie really allowed them to soak up pressure and make the most out of their star players. It's rare for me to see tactics so clearly in hockey but Finland was very impressive in how they carried out their tactics.

Damn, shots fired why are Canadians wubs at hockey and what makes the Yanks different? But I'm in agreement with you, I prefer the North American style of hockey. Although I always feel a bit sorry when Canada or the US stomps some low tier European country like Latvia, if that's what you mean by us being pricks then I get what you mean, but hockey isn't a gentleman's sport I just hope we don't blunder through the qualifiers and quarters like we usually do, just to make it hard for ourselves it seems.

I definitely didn't predict Finland winning the juniors, I was betting Russia since our team was weak and the Swede and American junior teams seemed off IMO, so congrats to them

Anyone catch the Spengler Cup? I don't really like the way they run it, the Swiss always win because the other teams are either from bush leagues or just random players that were brought together at short notice. Canada vs Rochester was a pretty good game though

[Adar]

Damn, shots fired why are Canadians wubs at hockey and what makes the Yanks different? But I'm in agreement with you, I prefer the North American style of hockey. Although I always feel a bit sorry when Canada or the US stomps some low tier European country like Latvia, if that's what you mean by us being pricks then I get what you mean, but hockey isn't a gentleman's sport I just hope we don't blunder through the qualifiers and quarters like we usually do, just to make it hard for ourselves it seems.

I have great appreciation for Canada as Canadians tend to be some of the best partners in international projects, but your hockey team and associated personnel are a disgrace for the country.

It's not only on the ice where Canada is notorious for injuring opponents in friendly pre-tournament matches and running over the goalkeeper. But the people outside the rink are almost even worse. During the Canadian tournaments serious competitors (Russia and post 2008 Sweden) get the worst on ice training times and there also those minor annoyances such as when Canada somehow ended up with the Ottawa Senators home locker room despite Sweden being supposed to be the ones selecting locker room first (from a map lacking that particular locker room...).

And that kind of shoddy sportsmanship makes me dislike the Canadian hockey team despite being hugely appreciative of Canada and Canadian collaborators.

[Adar]

This article on the US team selection was very interesting. But I must say that I am very surprised by how little involvement the coaches had in the selection process. In Sweden we have Pär Mårts as "Förbundskapten" which mean that he is responsible for both team selection and coaching the team. I understand that the US coach position isn't full time but from a national perspective I think it is a major advantage to have a coach who can take responsible for both team selection and coaching.

It is also interesting to note that 3 of the 4 top goalies in the Swedish and American teams are in in direct competition with each other in their clubs.

Detroit
Jonas Gustavsson GP 17 Sv% 0.914 GAA 2.39
Jim Howard GP 24 Sv% 0.911 GAA 2.65

Ottawa
Robin Lehner GP 19 Sv% 0.922 GAA 2.68
Craig Anderson GP 29 Sv% 0.904 GAA 3.16

Buffalo
Jhonas Enroth GP 13 Sv% 0.91 GAA 2.6
Ryan Miller GP 30 Sv% 0.927 GAA 2.64

Current rumours are that Sweden will select Jonas Gustavsson and Jhonas Enroth as our 2nd and 3rd goalkeepers so we would pretty much mirror the US team in our selections. But personally I would even rate Robin Lehner as our first goalkeeper considering Henrik Lundkvists lack of form so I really hope that the experts are wrong on this matter.

With Jonas Gustavsson and Robin Lehner we would also have two players who according to their stats are outperforming their American competitors despite the American goalkeeper getting more game time.