Jump to content

The Quasi-Official NHL Thread


Recommended Posts

the Canucks injury list is disturbingly long right now... hopefully it's not a sign of a trend for the season. On the bright side, we actually have a decent number of good looking prospects who have a chance of cracking the line up for the first time in... maybe ever. Oh, and we still have that Luongo guy.

What do you think of the new uniforms?

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 330
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

So for all Bruins fans (which are in alarming numbers on this board), I was at the Leafs v. Bruins preseason game tonight, and on my way in saw Johnny (effing) Bucyk. So I thanked him for his contribution to the Bruins, to which he replied "you probably remember them better than I do". Classy guy, and a legend.

Link to post
Share on other sites
yeah, that's great!

 

Did you guys see the Downie hit? Just youtube it...

 

It was a borderline clean hit, but it was completely uncalled for in the pre-season. If he didn't launch himself, it wouldn't have been a problem, but since he did he's gonna lose quite a bit of playing time.

Link to post
Share on other sites

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Flyers rookie Steve Downie was suspended 20 games by the NHL on Friday for his hit on Ottawa's Dean McAmmond that gave the center a concussion and knocked him out of action indefinitely.

 

McAmmond was taken off the ice on a stretcher in the second period of Tuesday's preseason game. Downie received a match penalty and was automatically suspended until Friday's hearing.

 

Downie has not played an NHL game with the Flyers and was expected to start the season in the minor leagues. The 20-year-old said after the game he thought it was a clean hit.

 

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said on Thursday that Downie was remorseful.

 

"He's a good young man. He's a good hockey player," Holmgren said. "Part of what makes him a good player is his aggressiveness and his willingness to fight for things.

 

"The incident in Ottawa the other day, he was doing what he normally would do there. He was going to finish his check and, well, it really was an ugly incident because of the nature of the injury."

 

McAmmond had lost possession of the puck and was skating behind the Philadelphia net when he was sent to the ice by Downie's flying body check at 2:39 of the second period. Downie's feet left the ice before the violent collision.

 

Senators team doctor Don Chow immediately went to McAmmond's aid even as players from both teams squared off in the aftermath with Ottawa enforcer Brian McGrattan going after Downie.

 

McAmmond did not move his hands or his feet while he was strapped onto the stretcher and taken off the ice. Downie called McAmmond and apologized, but Ottawa coach John Paddock called for Downie to be suspended "for a long time."

Link to post
Share on other sites
It was a borderline clean hit, but it was completely uncalled for in the pre-season. If he didn't launch himself, it wouldn't have been a problem, but since he did he's gonna lose quite a bit of playing time.

 

 

there wasn't really anything borderline about it. never mind the fact that he went out of his way to make it a head shot, once you leave your feet when delivering a check it's automatically boarding.
Link to post
Share on other sites

sorry, what i was trying to say was, once you leave your feet, it's no longer on the border of anything.

 

if you just hit someone in the head, it's up to the discretion of the ref to make the initial (probably intent to injure) call, and up to the league after the fact... that's borderline. anyhow... i was being nitpicky.

 

i do think he would've done time if he left his feet or not. his elbow came up and the nhl was looking to make an example out of someone who wasn't chris pronger.

Link to post
Share on other sites

from ESPN.com little Wilco reference:

 

11. Boston Bruins

 

Maybe the sun will shine today

The clouds will blow away

Maybe I won't feel so afraid

I will try to understand

Either way

-- "Either Way" by Wilco

 

The most under-the-radar advancement man has made in the last 10 years has been the percentage of dollar bills that are accepted in vending machines. This has not been discussed enough, actually at all, on "Meet The Press", talk radio or "Oprah." There was a time when, if you wanted your Snickers out of a vending machine, your dollar bill had to be as crisp as Don Cherry's collar. Today, you can roll up a dollar bill, shove it in Abe Vigoda's hairy ear (Yep, still alive at age 86), take it out, unroll it and the vending machine will accept your bill. This is very satisfying.

 

About the time this technological advancement quietly crept into everyday life, sans the proper fanfare, the Boston Bruins began to become irrelevant. They had OK regular seasons, but they slowly began not to matter.

 

I think I can safely proclaim that no NHL franchise has been stripped of its vibe and relevance more than the Boston Bruins. The Blackhawks are close, but they've won one Stanley Cup since the invention of fiberglass in 1938 and, while wildly popular, I don't believe they've ever been a cultural phenomenon like the Bears, Cubs and Bulls have been at various times in their histories.

 

In the early 1970s, the Boston Bruins were what Red Sox Nation is today -- a phenomenon. The B's were wildly popular within their region, the most popular team in New England. The Bruins had national appeal because of their toughness and star power. They were also popular throughout Canada because they were mostly Canadian men led by Bobby Orr, perhaps Canada's all-time hockey icon.

 

Today, the Bruins are in danger of being surpassed in cultural relevancy by the New England Revolution of the MLS. (OK, slight exaggeration.)

 

Since the mini-lockout in 1994-95, the Bruins have won one playoff series. ONE! On the verge of slowly building toward a productive five or ten season run as Joe Thornton was entering his 27-32-year-old prime, when youth and experience intersect for big athletes, the Bruins traded Thornton in 2005 after he lost a faceoff late in a game against the Devils in New Jersey.

 

Back to last season. A 1-8-1 finish put the Bruins 16 points out of the final playoff spot and Dave Lewis was fired. Adding coach Claude Julien, goalie Manny Fernandez and two-way center Peter Schaefer makes Boston a better team because they are defensive players.

 

The Bruins had too many forwards who looked the same last season. They were especially soft, accumulating a measly 29 fighting majors, including zero for Zdeno Chara. (The Ducks led the league with 71 majors.) In that famous Bruins-North Stars brawl-fest in February 1981, referee Dave Newell handed out 26 fighting majors in one night! Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli signed Shawn Thornton (12 fights last season) to a fourth-line, three-year, $1.55-million contract.

 

Marc Savard is a first-class offensive player with fire; but, after him, there is a substantial, proven offensive drop off. Getting 30-plus goals from Marco Sturm would be nice, but he's never done that in his career. The Bruins need 80-90 points from Patrice Bergeron (22-48-70, minus-28 last season!), who had some minor knee problems in 2006-07 and says he feels better so far. They also need one or two of their young forwards to outperform their expectations. Phil Kessel says he has dropped about 10 pounds and added muscle after working out four or five days a week with a personal trainer this offseason. This is an important part of the Bruins offense.

 

This all could happen and the Bruins could make the playoffs as a 40-win/90-point team, but there are too many "ifs" to say the B's will finish within the top 8. Savard disagrees. He said in early September: "I think that the playoffs are where we're going to be this year, for sure."

 

We'll see.

Link to post
Share on other sites

yeah, we'll see. I am caution ally optimistic this year, hey can't be any worse than last year ?.

 

I like the added toughness, and a few young guys who look good so far. Although a 1-4-1 pre-season

hasn't been very positive.

 

Bruins start the year with 5 road games, that might give us fans an idea of what we're made of.

Link to post
Share on other sites

yeah, Julien says he's happy with what he sees, and I do trust this guy. I was never too keen on Lewis, or even Sullivan. I feel like Julien can make something of this team, we will see.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...