2016-17 NHL Season: Happy 100th Birthday, National Hockey League

[Sport]

Probably should've lost that one. 24 hours after the most emotional win of the season there was no way they weren't gonna be a little tired/hungover and they were. Got outshot 37-24, were basically dead in the 3rd period, and needed Bob to test his at-risk groins on a couple saves, but somehow they just don't lose. It's incredible. I'll take it because all I ask out of my sports teams is that they win every game all the time. 

 

I really can't believe it though. Winning games when you don't have even close to your best is the mark of a good team. 

 

http://www.puckgraphs.com/

 

59 minutes ago, OnWis97 said:

10 straight for the Wild.  And they're not the hottest team in the league.

 

Expansion brothers!

[The_Admiral]

9 hours ago, mamiller99 said:

The Jackets also beat the Habs, extending the winning streak to TWELVE games. Like honestly, I cannot believe it one bit, this Jackets team has already won 15% of the season's total games in this one streak alone. At what point can we stop being referred to as the Beej?

 

I guess they're the Blue Jackets for the rest of the year. It's only fair.

[mamiller99]

1 hour ago, the admiral said:

 

I guess they're the Blue Jackets for the rest of the year. It's only fair.

I see what you did there good sir

[HedleyLamarr]

Remember when the hirings of Tortorella and Boudreau were met with "Oh god" and other such groans?

[The_Admiral]

2 hours ago, mamiller99 said:

I see what you did there good sir

I don't even know what I did. 

 

1 hour ago, HedleyLamarr said:

Remember when the hirings of Tortorella and Boudreau were met with "Oh god" and other such groans?

Tortorella made a hash of the Blue Jackets last year (a year in which they were the Beej) on the heels of utterly disgracing himself in Vancouver. I think we were right to fear he'd sink the franchise, because up until this year that's what he was doing. As for Boudreau, I don't think anyone was groaning about him, just noting that he'll do what he always does. He has good regular seasons. I'm shocked Carlyle hasn't tanked the Ducks yet, by the way.

[The_Admiral]

 

S C H E D U L I N G     L O S S

[mamiller99]

8 hours ago, HedleyLamarr said:

Remember when the hirings of Tortorella and Boudreau were met with "Oh god" and other such groans?

Nope, I embraced Tortsy with open arms. Mainly because he was a great interview. But nowwwwww, he looks like not an idiot

 

And admiral, it's because the year is over in a few days

[The_Admiral]

In the absence of actual games to watch with your family, did anyone enjoy explaining the whole Las Vegas mess to the cazhies? I learned that people who like the Hawks but don't post here know there is going to be a Las Vegas team, but don't know about the trademark boondoggle, or how an expansion draft works, or why the league would expand to 31 but not 32.

[Sport]

This Christmas was the first time my family ever talked to me about the Blue Jackets. They're Steelers and Ohio State fans from Columbus so anyone who isn't a consistent winner isn't worth their time. Also, any sport that isn't football is kidding. Part of me felt like telling them to "f*** off this is my team from day one you bandwagon f***s", but I know they mean well, their interest is genuine, and the bandwagon needs to grow for the franchise's health. 

 

Also, their questions were all like "how did they get good out of nowhere" and my answer was "why it's working now and hasn't ever worked before? Uhh It's hard to be sure, but the short answer is that like 10 things had to go right and they all went right. Long answer..." then rattled off the ten reasons until they got bored or my grandfather, the real life Abe Simpson, started in on a story about his childhood in Hitterdal, Minnesota, which is every other thing out of his mouth. 

[IceCap]

1 hour ago, the admiral said:

In the absence of actual games to watch with your family, did anyone enjoy explaining the whole Las Vegas mess to the cazhies? I learned that people who like the Hawks but don't post here know there is going to be a Las Vegas team, but don't know about the trademark boondoggle, or how an expansion draft works, or why the league would expand to 31 but not 32.

My dad still doesn't understand why they only expanded by one team.

"Why would they only expand by one team?"

"Well they really didn't want to give Quebec a team."

"Why?"

"Well they don't want a team in a small, predominantly French, city."

"But it was the only other bid."

"Yeah."

"That's stupid."

 

He's not wrong.  

[The_Admiral]

Yeah, same. Conversation avec sister's boyfriend going to school for marketing, about Point #3 of mine up there:

 

"Well, the league wanted Las Vegas and Seattle to buy new teams, but no one in Seattle wanted to buy one, so it was Las Vegas and Quebec, and the league didn't want Quebec."
"But that's where hockey is from!"

"I know, they want to go where hockey isn't from."
"I guess that makes sense in theory but wouldn't they still want to go where they know it's popular?"

 

If nothing else, it's reassuring to know that people who really like hockey but don't deep-dive into NHL stuff can figure this self-evident stuff out. Used to be a time when the diehardiest of diehards were the ones banging the drum for Quebec/Winnipeg/Hartford, now the hockey nerds are the ones who are like "NYEEEEEERRRG, Canada sucks, PK Subban is much better off in a state that once fought a war to preserve slavery, in a city whose primary industry is making music for racists"

[IceCap]

Another gem, from my sister. 

 

"What's going on with the Las Vegas team?"

"They got their trademark denied. Some small university in upstate New York has the same name."

"Don't they have lawyers to figure this stuff out?"

"You would think."

*she rolls her eyes*

[The_Admiral]

Cousin's husband:

"Why do they have to be some kind of Knights?"

"The owner is really into West Point."
"But if they said no, he should just find something else he's into and call them that."

"Apparently that's all he's into."
"Well apparently he's an idiot."

[The_Admiral]

I regret to inform you that Ryan Lambert is at it again.

 

Highlighted in yellow are the only teams that appear to be legitimately on the bubble.

Dallas's 57 points: legitimately on the bubble. Winnipeg's 57 points: out of the playoffs for sure.

[Sport]

I half expected him to highlight the Blue Jackets as a playoff bubble team. 

 

Then got to this: 

" Columbus Blue Jackets: There’s a stat called “quality start” in which a goalie has a save percentage greater than the league average. Sergei Bobrovsky’s quality start percentage is 75. His career average is 60. Good lord. "

 

Breaking news: Good Team's Goalie Playing Well. Or in other words: "I looked long and hard to find an advanced analytic that supports my belief that the Blue Jackets are #ActuallyBad and this is the only thing I found." You have to be a special kind of stick in the mud to search for reasons to dump on a team and fanbase that has never been good. I need to stop giving clicks to this clown. 

[Kevin W.]

4 hours ago, the admiral said:

in a city whose primary industry is making music for racists

In fairness, Nashville's primary music industry nowadays is focused on pop country which has a much wider fanbase that doesn't necessarily correlate with stereotypical hicks.

[JayMac]

8 minutes ago, CRichardson said:

In fairness, Nashville's primary music industry nowadays is focused on pop country which has a much wider fanbase that doesn't necessarily correlate with stereotypical hicks.

Very true. The country fanbase now includes drunk suburbanites wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat pretending that they are all about the country livin'.

[Unocal]

Revenge of the 2000 Expansion teams!

[twi]

Here's to hoping both Columbus and Minnesota can keep their winning streaks going until they meet up soon. 

[FGM13]

18 hours ago, jmac11281 said:

Very true. The country fanbase now includes drunk suburbanites wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat pretending that they are all about the country livin'.

I call it Urban Country, both for the awful Keith Urban and it's generally enjoyed by, like you said, suburban wannabe cowboys or small town hockey moms. I hate it.