OT: Around the NHL: Welcome the Vegas Golden Knights!

[Gunnar Staal]

Caps fans are really starting to turn on Trotz.

Multiple different coaches have failed there, same core has remained. Yep, must be the coaches' fault for the lack of success.

Its obviously not because Washington still has no depth and their offseason moves have been duds. Nah, it's the coach.

 

[Koempel]

They have the potential to be such a dangerous opponent, but it seems that potential (especially Kuznetsov and Burakovsky) won't be reached. I didn't expect both of them to be that impotent offensively. Thank god for that Forsberg trade.

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

To be fair... I think they would have won the Cup last year if it weren't for us getting in the way.

I'm not certain they would have beat Tampa but yeah, they had a very good team. It must be frustrating for them though. We have complained a ton and we have seen two cup wins, a finals loss and made it to the eastern conference finals another time in recent years. 4 times in the last 9 years the Pens have advanced further than they have since '98. I'd hate to see what this board would be like if the Pens never made it past the 2nd round in the Crosby era.

In fact the Pens have been more successful in the Crosby era than the Lemieux era. Yet we still complain haha.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Just find the Caps find their offense almost entirely on the perimeter.
Thats not to say it couldn't click for them at the right time but for an opponent it's easier to shut them down.
Thats why JR's Neal for Horny swap was so great.
You watched that ECF vs the Bruins and they needed that net presence badly.
Imagine the Caps with a Horny or a couple of Horny type players.

 

[ColePens]

If the Flyers look to move in a different direction, Washington should do anything in their power to get Simmonds. Or I wonder if they could target JVR. Not the best, but tricky in front of the net.

 

[mpp9]

Caps need Kuznetsov to play like he did before he fell off last season. Simple as that.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Was watching some of the Buffalo/Boston game and heard a funny stat. The Sabres iced the puck something like 10 times today, and the commentators were chuckling about the Sabres' use of the stretch pass being the culprit.

Same ol' Disco Dan. Stretch pass, stretch pass, and if it don't work, stretch pass some more.

 

[vodeni]

If I remember correctly CBJ had some very Penguins-like injury sprees (and not the superstars to stay competitive despite) during the last two seasons. If they stay healthy I see them making the playoffs, but that is about it. Agree that Torts is a terrible coach (and person) with stubborn tendencies (Team America ). Still confused what MS picked up during his years under him. Maybe he just noted down what he shouldn't do?

I hope you guys are right. They look legit to me. They are fast and they hustle like crazy. I watched them against Tampa and they dominated them, from 0-60, they have great d-core even jack Johnson looks good, they have good goaltending, I saw the stats somewhere this morning their shots for vs. shots against is ridiculously good. Watch out for them!

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Seeing the Blue Jackets do this well after watching Team USA crash and burn really doesn't sit well with me.

The Jackets need to be doing horrible so guys like Tortorella are banished from hockey.

Oh well...I'm not terribly surprised that they're doing better considering that they're not missing half of their roster on a given night and Bob has bounced back in net...but I am surprised they're doing this well with that top six.

 

[BHD]

The most unforeseen thing of the season has to be the Kings' goaltending, where Peter Budaj (yes, Budaj) is starting his 23rd-straight game.

 

[Dying Alive]

If it wasn't for Torts and Dubinsky I'd be happy for CBJ and their fans. They had to get better sooner or later though with all of the high draft picks/talent they've been acquiring even with a hockey-ruiner like Torts in charge.

Then again, Buffalo and Carolina haven't managed to do it and it took the Oilers ten years to look like a real team, so maybe that's not necessarily true.

 

[Brandinho]

The most unforeseen thing of the season has to be the Kings' goaltending, where Peter Budaj (yes, Budaj) is starting his 23rd-straight game.

Is it, though? He's 26th in save percentage among qualified goalies. Seems like they're hiding him and he's playing just well enough to avert a crisis.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Is it, though? He's 26th in save percentage among qualified goalies. Seems like they're hiding him and he's playing just well enough to avert a crisis.

The Kings are notorious for playing a collapsing game when a back-up is playing and it's been no different with Budaj. He's playing well, but he's not facing a lot of quality chances and Kings games are about as entertaining as watching paint dry right now because of the situation.

Still...even as someone who has little to no faith in Zatkoff it's a bit absurd that they're still working Budaj this hard even with Zatkoff healthy again. FWIW Zatkoff did start a game last month, but didn't finish it...so I don't think Budaj has actually started that many games in a row (played in? yes). Zatkoff also did get a win in relief this week.

 

[KIRK]

If the Flyers look to move in a different direction, Washington should do anything in their power to get Simmonds. Or I wonder if they could target JVR. Not the best, but tricky in front of the net.

****, we should do anything in our power to get either of those two.

 

[Dying Alive]

The Kings have been boring for years though, win or lose. They remind me of the Devils back in the early 00s. Yeah, they're winning Cups...but is it actually any fun to watch them do it? Maybe it's just me but I'd rather watch an entertaining team that doesn't win championships than a hard to watch team that does.

 

[KIRK]

The Kings have been boring for years though, win or lose. They remind me of the Devils back in the early 00s. Yeah, they're winning Cups...but is it actually any fun to watch them do it? Maybe it's just me but I'd rather watch an entertaining team that doesn't win championships than a hard to watch team that does.

I think I'd take the championships.

 

[Dying Alive]

I think I'd take the championships.

I can understand that. For me, though, I'm not on the team so what do championships actually mean? Bragging rights? Meh. If the game isn't fun to watch why bother? The Pens under MJ bored me to tears. It was the first time I can remember when watching the Pens play hockey felt like a chore. A whole season of that just for a trophy isn't worth it to me.

 

[KIRK]

I can understand that. For me, though, I'm not on the team so what do championships actually mean? Bragging rights? Meh. If the game isn't fun to watch why bother? The Pens under MJ bored me to tears. It was the first time I can remember when watching the Pens play hockey felt like a chore. A whole season of that just for a trophy isn't worth it to me.

The Pens under MJ bored me too. They would've bored me less if they'd been a contender.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I think I'd take the championships.

I can sort of agree with DyingAlive on this. What good are championships if you can't even be bothered to watch the playoff run because your team bores you to sleep each time you try and tune in?

For me, hockey is entertainment. Sure, winning is fun, but so is actually enjoying the 60 minutes of game play, regardless of result.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I must be weird, because I enjoyed watching the Kings on their Cup runs quite a bit. But maybe that would change over a full season?

 

[Brandinho]

If I can't assert my masculinity by proxy through 23 men who happen to play in the same geographic area as I live, what's the point of life?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I must be weird, because I enjoyed watching the Kings on their Cup runs quite a bit. But maybe that would change over a full season?

Aside from the obvious Pens' Cup runs, I preferred watching a team like Chicago more than LA during their Cup runs.

LA is probably my least favorite Cup winner (in terms of watching them play) since the Devils.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Aside from the obvious Pens' Cup runs, I preferred watching a team like Chicago more than LA during their Cup runs.

LA is probably my least favorite Cup winner (in terms of watching them play) since the Devils.

that's fair. I don't know why I liked watching them, but I did.

 

[Shockmaster]

I must be weird, because I enjoyed watching the Kings on their Cup runs quite a bit. But maybe that would change over a full season?

The Kings were a higher-scoring team on their second Cup run. It was more entertaining than their first Cup run at least.

Outside of the goal-fest the Penguins and Flyers had, the rest of the 2012 playoffs was extremely boring. Everyone was trying to win 1-0 or 2-1.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

that's fair. I don't know why I liked watching them, but I did.

There are individual players on the Kings that I enjoy watching. Kopitar and Doughty are at the top of that list. But the team, as a whole, just isn't my cup of tea.