Around Hockey XXV (All Non-Jackets Hockey Talk Here)

[CharlotteJacket]

The Capitals are going to have an Ovechkin problem next year or soon there after. It looks like all he wants to do now is wait in his office for a pass. How do you bench or part ways with a generational talent who is clearly lost his way and not come out smelling really bad.

 

[koteka]

The Capitals are going to have an Ovechkin problem next year or soon there after. It looks like all he wants to do now is wait in his office for a pass. How do you bench or part ways with a generational talent who is clearly lost his way and not come out smelly really bad.

They haven’t played to win for a couple of seasons. They are just playing for him to get the goals record. Sure, they were good enough to make the playoffs this season, but just barely. They have no shot to beat a halfway decent team in a 7 game series.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Uh oh Leafs

 

[koteka]

Uh oh Leafs

Weirdest thing about the Leafs - Max Domi looks like he cares way more about winning than any of their highly paid guys.

 

[VT]

I'm watching the Toronto - Boston series. Bruins defense is excellent. Players know exactly what to do, where to stand, fill the space. Their first pass is great. The forwards are doing excellent forchecking, backchecking. The team is playing aggressive. They just shouldn't take risks. After the Bruins focused more on defense in the third period, forwards like Marner had more space. And he is excellent on free ice.

 

[CharlotteJacket]

I know we CBJ fans like to sometimes wallow in self pity about the plight of our favorite team, but imagine being a Maple Leafs fan and knowing the the Leafs haven't beat the Bruins in a playoff series since 1959 and it's not looking good this year either.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

That Rempe hit wasn’t that bad at all. Can only imagine how many times that exact hit has occurred in the past in hockey games. He’s a big guy, yet, he didn’t seem to extend his arm/elbow up or out at all. And the puck wasn’t even gone very long, though the rules are changed now when it comes to “finishing your check” and interference, so the penalty is legit.

Maybe we need more guys who play with a f***ing pulse and go to the net like Rempe, not floating around the top of the circles and waving their sticks at everything.



For how much longer is unknown, but, as of now hockey is still a full contact sport. And the physical nature, and yes the actual fighting, has been an extremely unique aspect to the sport that has added to both the popularity and success of the sport, along with being a built in mechanism for the game to overall be better.

I think some of you guys would argue that some of the NHL/NFL players from the past deserve prison time. You think Scott Stevens AND Lindros didn’t hit people to HURT them?? And hundreds (or thousands) of others??

What about boxing and/or the popularity of mixed martial arts/ the UFC?? Should that be banned??

The issue in my opinion is you can't have it both ways. If everyone wants to be concerned with head injuries and the after effects, then you need to take steps to remove or minimize that risk from the game.

I'm pretty sure boxers and UFC fighters know that risk going in to the activity and accept it as part of the terms of their involvement. I was a HUGE Scott Stevens and Devils fan during the Devils cup years. I'm not going to retroactively chastise the past, just learn from it an evolve.

To your comment that hockey is still a full contact sport. it's not really but its inconsistent. They officiate the playoffs much differently than the regular season. The league doesn't even uphold their own rules on hits consistently in the regular season. They are trying to stop being a full contact sport to allow the stars to put big points without fear of reckless head shots. They just don't enforce it if we believe how they talk.

The Rempe hit itself wasn't really illegal but it was unnecessary and clearly interference. What he needs to learn is he is 6'8" and throwing his shoulder around on unnecessary late hits is going to lead to head contact. If the league wants to be serious about removing head shots like they talk then they need to step up calling it and have a lesser tolerance for it.

 

[Viqsi]

I know we CBJ fans like to sometimes wallow in self pity about the plight of our favorite team, but imagine being a Maple Leafs fan and knowing the the Leafs haven't beat the Bruins in a playoff series since 1959 and it's not looking good this year either.

They at least get to watch good hockey during the regular season.

 

[NotCommitted]

NHL defines a cross check in their Rule 59 as "The action of using the shaft of the stick between the two hands to forcefully check an opponent". That could be read so that a cross-check is basically an automatic penalty. Yet it is not at all so and seems entirely at the discretion of the ref to judge what counts as "forcefully". Slashing used to be another, though they changed that a couple years ago and now a slash to the hands at least is an automatic penalty, but it took quite a few broken fingers to get there.

And these are not even the worst examples, they are after all actions that are clearly prohibited under the rules, yet are somewhat allowed in practice. With hits it's even more ambiguous.

As far as I know fights and punching people in the face were never allowed in the rules, at least not in my lifetime. So it's really nothing like boxing or MMA or other actual combat sports where the "fighting" is the sport.

 

[koteka]

That Cale Makar fellow is pretty darn good at playing hockey.

 

[CharlotteJacket]

Man, poor Nashville. Up 3-2 and Vancouver has their goalie pulled. Nashville can seal the game and the Preds player hits the post from fairly close then the Canucks get the puck and tie it up with 6 seconds left in the third. Now the Preds are down 3-1 in the series headed back to Vancouver.

 

[Viqsi]

Man, poor Nashville. Up 3-2 and Vancouver has their goalie pulled. Nashville can seal the game and the Preds player hits the post from fairly close then the Canucks get the puck and tie it up with 6 seconds left in the third. Now the Preds are down 3-1 in the series headed back to Vancouver.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Nice warm up round for the rangers. Wasn’t ever a series

 

[majormajor]

Nice warm up round for the rangers. Wasn’t ever a series

I don't think they got very warm. The Caps only squeaked in to the playoffs thanks to Lindgren standing on his head, and when that stopped they looked like a bottom five team.

The Rangers are a much better constructed team this year without Kane and Tarasenko.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

I don't think they got very warm. The Caps only squeaked in to the playoffs thanks to Lindgren standing on his head, and when that stopped they looked like a bottom five team.

The Rangers are a much better constructed team this year without Kane and Tarasenko.

The only teams in the East that can swing with the Rangers are the Panthers and Bruins.

I think they're winning the cup.

 

[majormajor]

The only teams in the East that can swing with the Rangers are the Panthers and Bruins.

I think they're winning the cup.

I could see the Rangers winning the East, but to me the best teams seem to be the Knights, Oilers, and Avs.

 

[CharlotteJacket]

You're all selling the Canes a little short aren't you?

 

[CBJWerenski8]

You're all selling the Canes a little short aren't you?

Maybe but they do this every year. Great regular seasons, maybe win a round, and then their goaltending goes away and they can’t score goals.

 

[NotCommitted]

Maybe but they do this every year. Great regular seasons, maybe win a round, and then their goaltending goes away and they can’t score goals.

I dunno, while they got swept by Panthers last season that series was bizarre. It was actually super close and they lost first two games with Andersen putting up .951 and .940... They seemed legit and probably would've done better against Vegas than Panthers did.

Panthers is another question mark to me, so far they don't seem nearly as dangerous or playing with the same intensity they did last year, yet they are up 3-1 vs Tampa. If that means they can still turn the wick up, they could be very scary.

But it's the 1st round and many of these series seem so lopsided it's difficult to say how good the winning teams actually are when facing another legit contender. There's always these teams in the 1st round who for whatever reason don't show up (looking at you Winnipeg & Toronto) or just don't have anything to give, like Caps.

 

[squashmaple]

The Rangers and Canes are paper tigers. The Rangers especially have no toughness, just an enormous stupid kid who’s already had his skull beaten in like nineteen times since the trade deadline. The Canes are good and annoying, but I don’t think they have another gear. I don’t think either team beats the Bruins or Panthers, and it’s a shame one of the two will reach the conference finals by default because of the stupid playoff format. That said, I don’t fear any of the Eastern teams. The good teams in the West are genuinely scary. The rest of the playoffs will be brutal.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

I don't think they got very warm. The Caps only squeaked in to the playoffs thanks to Lindgren standing on his head, and when that stopped they looked like a bottom five team.

The Rangers are a much better constructed team this year without Kane and Tarasenko.

AKA, the 2 aging veterans their meddling owner insisted they acquire.

But that's for a different conversation.

 

[Doggy]

Was watching the Preds game the other night. Had no idea they use the term "seventh man" to refer to their fans. It sounds so freaking lame!

That said, decided I love the bright yellow third jerseys. When all the fans are wearing them in the stands it really makes the stands "pop".

 

[Doggy]

Was listening to The Athletic podcast and got a good laugh out of this segment. I think everyone else might as well. Never knew Jake said what he said!

Here's the link to the podcast: https://theathletic.com/podcast/240-the-athletic-hockey-show/episode-801/

The timing in this episode to listen to is 46:30 to 51:50. If you go past this segment Ian Mendes and Mark Lazarus talk about Aaron Portzline and the kidney donation he received..

 

[squashmaple]

Was listening to The Athletic podcast and got a good laugh out of this segment. I think everyone else might as well. Never knew Jake said what he said!

Here's the link to the podcast: https://theathletic.com/podcast/240-the-athletic-hockey-show/episode-801/

The timing in this episode to listen to is 46:30 to 51:50. If you go past this segment Ian Mendes and Mark Lazarus talk about Aaron Portzline and the kidney donation he received..

I will never get tired of the video from that presser. Travis Konecny's spit-take reaction is absolutely priceless.

 

[Doggy]

I will never get tired of the video from that presser. Travis Konecny's spit-take reaction is absolutely priceless.

I like how Evander Kane handled it. Subtle and funny.