NHL 15-16: wife-beaters, adulterers, cokeheads, rapists, pill-poppers, AND METHODISTS

[Almighty]

If there is one player that deserves to hoist the cup, it´s Ovechkin !

NHL is now full of boring Canadian stiffs, not like the good old days in the 90´s .

[Brass]

If there is one player that deserves to hoist the cup, it´s Ovechkin !

NHL is now full of boring Canadian stiffs, not like the good old days in the 90´s .

[IceCap]

If there is one player that deserves to hoist the cup, it´s Ovechkin !

NHL is now full of boring Canadian stiffs, not like the good old days in the 90´s .

[Sodboy13]

"Oh yeah? Well what about that one time four seasons ago when he didn't engage on defense?" said the very-not-offended Canadian at the notion of someone of another nationality being the best at his country's sport.

[The_Admiral]

Milestone aside, is Ovechkin the best player in the league right now? I feel like he definitely was circa 2009-2011, arguably at points before and after, unsure about now.

[IceCap]

"Oh yeah? Well what about that one time four seasons ago when he didn't engage on defense?" said the very-not-offended Canadian at the notion of someone of another nationality being the best at his country's sport.

You'd have something if you could provide any sort of evidence to suggest that Ovechkin "deserves" to win the Stanley Cup.

Right now? The fact that he hasn't won it seems like all the "evidence" I need to suggest that he, so far, doesn't "deserve" to win it. Which is really the only point I was making anyway.

That and Crabcake's "OMG CAPZ R WINNING IT ALL" routine after every Washington victory is getting old. The Capitals always do well during the regular season. I don't think I'm being unreasonable when I say "let them prove they can accomplish something in the post-season first."

I feel the same way about the Sharks. Last season's hiccup aside. Which was mostly funny for their pre-season declaration of teal at home in the post-season.

But no. Continue with your "damn Canadians having the audacity to like Canada" schtick. I'm sure you'll hit a legitimate mark eventually when you're not insulting Quebec City for being excited at the prospect of possibly getting a team again or accusing Mannitobans of not liking black people.

[Unocal]

The Rangers will still come out on top the East when all is said and done.

I have zero faith in the Caps. Ever.

Give me King Henrik over the Choking Caps and everyone else in the East.

[Almighty]

Just saying that Ovechkin shows passion for the game, even after all these years, and the numerous disappointments his team has endured.

He gets even more excited when a teammate of his scores. You want a charismatic player as the face of your league, and he is the only one now imo.

Back in the day we had tons of them: Roenick, Lindros, Roy, Scott Stevens and so on....

[The_Admiral]

The proscription of any sort of genuine emotion comes from the same place as the no-mistakes-whatsoever philosophy of system hockey at early ages. To be brash or spontaneous is to risk a human-condition, rather than spatial, mistake. Sadly, I'm pessimistic about either problem getting fixed.

I like Ovechkin a lot and always have but I, too, am confused about what makes this Caps season different from others.

[Crabcake]

On the surface, this season is no different: Caps doing really well in the regular season. But watching this team, they are different. There is more to this team than Ovechkin and Backstrom. They are coached well. They have secondary scoring. They have a Vezina candidate in goal (which is something we haven't had in a VERY long time), and they're good on defense.

But yeah, I agree with all of you guys: the way the Caps can really prove that this team is different is by winning in the postseason.

And I'll try to stop with the OMG CAPZ R WINNING IT ALL #ROCKTHERED2016 stuff. My bad

[CS85]

It's that time of the year:

Here’s the event info note that appears on the team’s website for the Hawks game:

“To better serve Nashville Predators fans, a restricted sales area has been implemented for this Nashville Predator game at the Bridgestone Arena. Sales will be restricted to residents of the Nashville Predators television viewing area – Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside the viewing area will be cancelled without notice and refunds given.’’

Further, if Hawks fans think they can get around this amateurish policy on the secondary market, the Predators are enforcing credit card rules that require the original purchaser to produce the credit card used for purchase and a photo ID with a matching name before being allowed into the arena.

Granted this is from a Steve Rosenbloom article (he makes the admiral appear almost cloyingly optimistic by comparison), but Nashville, you never cease to amaze.

[The_Admiral]

When I was in high school, there was this really stupid kid. No, it wasn't me for once! It was this skateboardy douche named Brad. Of course he was a Brad, he looked like a total Brad. Anyway, Brad liked to drink a lot, and would show up to school hung over a lot. One time he was reputed to have gotten so drunk on a Saturday night that he could still blow over the legal limit by 1st hour Monday morning. Anyway, he showed up to the ACT on Saturday morning hung over and shoeless. The teacher acting as the proctor initially wouldn't let him in, saying you needed to have shoes to take the test. However, Brad successfully argued that there was nothing in the handbook that explicitly said one needed to wear shoes in order to take the ACT. Whether outwitted or apathetic, the proctor let Brad take the ACT with no shoes. Possibly no brains, too. Ultimately, Brad got a 12, which is reputed to have been lower than a chimpanzee scored. Having known the guy, he wouldn't have pulled much higher than a 14 sober, so it was just as well that we all got a story out of it.

The point I'm getting at, however circuitously, is that apparently it was easier for a drunken shoeless bro to get into a highly regulated standardized testing environment than it would be for one of us to go to a hockey game, and that's so stupid that I think a chimp could also do a better job running that team.

[Almighty]

The proscription of any sort of genuine emotion comes from the same place as the no-mistakes-whatsoever philosophy of system hockey at early ages. To be brash or spontaneous is to risk a human-condition, rather than spatial, mistake. Sadly, I'm pessimistic about either problem getting fixed.

I like Ovechkin a lot and always have but I, too, am confused about what makes this Caps season different from others.

So it´s the youth training camps, and junior hockey that teaches kids that no mistakes are allowed and there is no room for fun and joy in hockey ?....that really needs to change then !

[Still MIGHTY]

Perds, look. The problem isn't Blackhawks fans driving down from Chicago or elsewheres. It's all the Blackhawks fans THAT LIVE IN THAT SPECIFIED VIEWING AREA.

Hell, it just happened over the weekend with the Ducks and Kings and the Red Wings. First Red Wings fan I saw on Sunday wore a Wings t-shirt and a Ducks season ticket holder lanyard around his neck.

It sucks, but it happens, and Nashville just really needs to get over it. Are they going to keep Blackhawks fans out of the All-Star Game too?

[Alex Houston]

Hell, it just happened over the weekend with the Ducks and Kings and the Red Wings. First Red Wings fan I saw on Sunday wore a Wings t-shirt and a Ducks season ticket holder lanyard around his neck.

That sounds confusing to me. Unless he follows both teams, why would you be a STH for a team you don't follow?

[Still MIGHTY]

Hell, it just happened over the weekend with the Ducks and Kings and the Red Wings. First Red Wings fan I saw on Sunday wore a Wings t-shirt and a Ducks season ticket holder lanyard around his neck.

That sounds confusing to me. Unless he follows both teams, why would you be a STH for a team you don't follow?

Transplants that live here and are still big hockey fans. They root for the home team until their team comes to town.

There's a season ticket holder in front of us that just wears his Team Canada 2010 Olympics jersey to every game.

[Sodboy13]

Avs losing the week 10-3 so far, and it's only Tuesday!

[FiddySicks]

Hell, it just happened over the weekend with the Ducks and Kings and the Red Wings. First Red Wings fan I saw on Sunday wore a Wings t-shirt and a Ducks season ticket holder lanyard around his neck.

That sounds confusing to me. Unless he follows both teams, why would you be a STH for a team you don't follow?

I had season tickets to the Diamondbacks in 2013, and I really didn't (and still don't) have much of a rooting interest in the D Backs. I did it though because I love the sport regardless of the team, and it was a cheap way to get to see every game vs the Giants. I think I paid less for a full season ticket package to the D Backs than I would've for a six pack of Giants games in San Francisco.

[Alex Houston]

Hell, it just happened over the weekend with the Ducks and Kings and the Red Wings. First Red Wings fan I saw on Sunday wore a Wings t-shirt and a Ducks season ticket holder lanyard around his neck.

That sounds confusing to me. Unless he follows both teams, why would you be a STH for a team you don't follow?

I had season tickets to the Diamondbacks in 2013, and I really didn't (and still don't) have much of a rooting interest in the D Backs. I did it though because I love the sport regardless of the team, and it was a cheap way to get to see every game vs the Giants. I think I paid less for a full season ticket package to the D Backs than I would've for a six pack of Giants games in San Francisco.

I know we've discussed this topic before, but in your case Bucfan, that would make sense because you'd be rooting for two teams in the same division. You think you'd be the same way if you were in Miami and the Marlins were inexplicably doing well?

[T-ROY]

Nobody "deserves" to win the Cup. It's a team-earned award. If you're so worried about your personal performance, go for the Art Ross or Hart.