Around the League 2018-19 v2

[Spawn]

I just noticed that Maroon is lining up next to ROR and Tarasenko on the Blues top line.

Say what you will about him as a player in a vacuum, but the guy has a hell of a knack for complimenting elite players in this league.

 

[backhandsauce]

Knights lost tonight. They are 1-3. As stupid as is sounds so early on in October and only playing one game we are in good shape still. Haha.

Beat the Bruins and we are in the middle of the div with games in hand.

PP

 

[Soundwave]

It is extremely hard to win playing offense first. Only Pittsburgh has won a cup doing so in the last 10, 20, ??? Years.

Even making the post season is difficult and more than a few teams that do get swept.

It's getting better for those types of teams but I don't think it will ever be a good idea to build your team that way again. Especially since players generally get paid by points and in a cap world that is unsustainable.

Pittsburgh has won 3 Cups and could very well win another or two before their window is closed. Washington just won and they had more goals against than Toronto did in the regular season.

That is the way the league is going and good on the league. All this trap/defence/goalies with 90 foot pads is bull shit. That's not real hockey.

I welcome a return to a more 80s style of game. That's how hockey should be played. Screw "grinding your way to a win".

 

[Soundwave]

Vegas is possibly this years Oilers/Flames/Avs ... a team that looked a lot better than they actually were due to goaltending playing way above their heads for a year and then coming back down to earth.

 

[Del Preston]

Anaheim is getting dominated again but John Gibson is keeping them in it.

 

[MessierII]

Ducks finally lost in the shootout so they get a point. Yotes win their first.

 

[BlackDogg]

Just have to beat the Bruins.

 

[McCombo]

Vegas is possibly this years Oilers/Flames/Avs ... a team that looked a lot better than they actually were due to goaltending playing way above their heads for a year and then coming back down to earth.

That happens when every single thing isn't going your way. Last year they had everything going their way.

 

[McCombo]

Anaheim is getting dominated again but John Gibson is keeping them in it.

And they have played 2x Arizona (probably a bubble team, with a lot of injuries at the moment) and Detroit. San Jose outshot Ducks 33-15 and in that game they had Getzlaf. We will see that kinda domination when they start to face playoff caliber teams.

Kesler came back, but I think it is matter of time when he gets injuried again.

 

[frag2]

Pittsburgh has won 3 Cups and could very well win another or two before their window is closed. Washington just won and they had more goals against than Toronto did in the regular season.

That is the way the league is going and good on the league. All this trap/defence/goalies with 90 foot pads is bull ****. That's not real hockey.

I welcome a return to a more 80s style of game. That's how hockey should be played. Screw "grinding your way to a win".

For every successful high octane team you have like Pens, you also get teams like Dallas and struggle to make the playoffs

 

[Jumptheshark]

Curious to know if leaf fans are slightly worried at what either Matthews or Marnier will want in the off season

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Curious to know if leaf fans are slightly worried at what either Matthews or Marnier will want in the off season

I hope its more than McDavid

 

[Ritchie Valens]

Vegas is possibly this years Oilers/Flames/Avs ... a team that looked a lot better than they actually were due to goaltending playing way above their heads for a year and then coming back down to earth.

Last year, the Knights had these three massive motivators for each game:
1) Inaugural season
2) The players wanting to shove it down their former teams' face for exposing them in draft
3) The Mandalay Bay shooting

They had a lot to play for last season-not only themselves but the city of Vegas and now that these three things have "faded" from the front pages of news and sporting websites (I mean zero disrespect to the shooting victims and their families in saying that) the super-motivated team we all saw last year appears to be settling into expansion team normalcy. It's not the total reason why they are 1-3 to start but I really believe these three things are playing roles in it from what we saw last year to this year.

They had one hell of an inaugural season though and no one will ever take that away from them.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

I hope its more than McDavid

Friedman was on Tim & Sid yesterday and he thinks Matthews will get between $11 & 12. He made it clear he was strictly speculating...and a small part of the reason why he believes he won't get more than McDavid is because of what McDavid has already accomplished (personal accolades-Ted Lindsay, Art Ross x 2, etc).

 

[RegDunlop]

Telus' free preview of NHL Centre Ice was supposed to end last night but it's still working for me.

Damn I was enjoying that!

Hopefully stays on for me too

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Curious to know if leaf fans are slightly worried at what either Matthews or Marnier will want in the off season

If they have a Cup I doubt they'll care.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Curious to know if leaf fans are slightly worried at what either Matthews or Marnier will want in the off season

No worries, they'll both take large home town discounts just for the privilege of playing in TO... just like Tavares did and how Nylander did as well.

 

[joestevens29]

I just noticed that Maroon is lining up next to ROR and Tarasenko on the Blues top line.

Say what you will about him as a player in a vacuum, but the guy has a hell of a knack for complimenting elite players in this league.

Would've been nice to keep him. Really don't know if it was ever going to be an option, but he's exactly the type of guy we need in our top 6.

Vegas is possibly this years Oilers/Flames/Avs ... a team that looked a lot better than they actually were due to goaltending playing way above their heads for a year and then coming back down to earth.

They lost two key players as well and while they replaced them with equal talent it's not always an equal fit.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

For every successful high octane team you have like Pens, you also get teams like Dallas and struggle to make the playoffs

and the NYI last year

 

[CupofOil]

It warms my heart that Vegas is 1-3.
The Vegas Story became nauseating after the first few months of last season.

With that said, I do think they will bounce back at some point especially when Schmidt comes back.

 

[joestevens29]

It warms my heart that Vegas is 1-3.
The Vegas Story became nauseating after the first few months of last season.

With that said, I do think they will bounce back at some point especially when Schmidt comes back.

I've never been too excited about Fleury. He is good at falling apart. That team really needs him.

They like to play a fast pace game, but one that can result in their own goalie having to work.

 

[snipes]

Auston Matthews has forced himself into the greatest-player-in-the-world conversation | The Star

It never ends with these idiots

 

[StevenF1919]

Auston Matthews has forced himself into the greatest-player-in-the-world conversation | The Star

It never ends with these idiots

He hasn't even finished a season with less than a 30 point gap between him and McDavid. It's going to be hilarious when the Leafs get swept in the first round after allowing 8 goals a game.

 

[Del Preston]

Auston Matthews has forced himself into the greatest-player-in-the-world conversation | The Star

It never ends with these idiots

Lol. If he played anywhere else he wouldn't even be ranked as a top ten player.

 

[Aerrol]

Lol. If he played anywhere else he wouldn't even be ranked as a top ten player.

I like Ferraro's game by game analysis, but his overall judgment of stars has always been lacking IMO. Super heavily driven by team success, like most media guys.

It's a more ridiculous version of Ovechkin vs Crosby back in 2010-2012 or so. At least at that time, Crosby probably was better than Ovechkin overall, but the amount of hate Ovie got because his team didn't get a cup was absurd. It's now flipped the other way - the media is just non-stop hailing the 'resurgence' of Ovie, and his 'newfound defensive commitment'. It's bullshit. Ovie has been backchecking since the Dale Hunter days just fine. Just no one noticed because all they saw were the usual highlights of him one timing 50 goals a year.

Now with McDavid, the fact that he plays for a tire fire of a team means Matthews gets way more credit for 'two way play' despite his team bleeding way more chances against than the defencely suspect Oilers. It's even dumber than Ovie-Crosby because McDavid is better than Matthews in pretty much every way except goalscoring. It is what it is. I just hope we start winning so we don't get too much more of this stupidity.