2009-2010 NHL Season

[The_Admiral]

I'm really shocked that the league didn't do Winter Classics between 03-04 and 07-08. Well, no I'm not, because the league is retarded, but it seemed like the Edmonton one was such a success that it would soon be an annual thing.

[oddball]

I was looking at the standings the other day and just was curious as to where the Ducks were, and noticed they were dead last. UGH! Well, I wonder how Duck fans are going to like the long off-season as they are toast. It's not how many points you're out of a playoff spot, it's how many teams you have move past and at 15th, they might as well start making their golfing reservations now. I don't have to worry about hating the Ducks, because they're a non-factor, but I said last year that Francois Beauchemin was the guy on the blueline for them as they were inconsistant when he went down and then when he came back they looked like a Stanley Cup contender with him. I know they had to make a choice between Neids and Pronger, but also letting go of Beauchemin and trading Pronger obviously made them weaker. Did I see that happening? No. The move that made me scratch my head and still makes me scratch my head, is the acquisition of that horribly excuse for a tough guy, Artyukhin. I bet Tampa was laughing when they got something for this joke of a player. How many offensive penalties did this moron take in the offensive zone against the Kings? 3? How many of those power plays did the Kings score on? 2. I've always wondered about the "great" Brian Burke, but now I start seeing the player evaluation of his predecessor and I now am starting to see that Brian Burke knows what he's doing and when he leaves, he just shows how smart he is and how not so-smart the guy replacing him is. The Ducks player evaluation this off-season can be described as horrible, and the thing is they have to make a choice on which of these two goaltenders to actually pay big money to and both of them have been average at best. How could the people evaluating the Ducks and other NHL players be so off and not learn something from Burke? I'm baffled by this.

[Still MIGHTY]

I was looking at the standings the other day and just was curious as to where the Ducks were, and noticed they were dead last. UGH! Well, I wonder how Duck fans are going to like the long off-season as they are toast. It's not how many points you're out of a playoff spot, it's how many teams you have move past and at 15th, they might as well start making their golfing reservations now. I don't have to worry about hating the Ducks, because they're a non-factor, but I said last year that Francois Beauchemin was the guy on the blueline for them as they were inconsistant when he went down and then when he came back they looked like a Stanley Cup contender with him. I know they had to make a choice between Neids and Pronger, but also letting go of Beauchemin and trading Pronger obviously made them weaker. Did I see that happening? No. The move that made me scratch my head and still makes me scratch my head, is the acquisition of that horribly excuse for a tough guy, Artyukhin. I bet Tampa was laughing when they got something for this joke of a player. How many offensive penalties did this moron take in the offensive zone against the Kings? 3? How many of those power plays did the Kings score on? 2. I've always wondered about the "great" Brian Burke, but now I start seeing the player evaluation of his predecessor and I now am starting to see that Brian Burke knows what he's doing and when he leaves, he just shows how smart he is and how not so-smart the guy replacing him is. The Ducks player evaluation this off-season can be described as horrible, and the thing is they have to make a choice on which of these two goaltenders to actually pay big money to and both of them have been average at best. How could the people evaluating the Ducks and other NHL players be so off and not learn something from Burke? I'm baffled by this.

Part of it is the coach, and I believe the bigger part is losing Pronger and Beauchemin.

Losing Pronger and Beauchemin makes the defense a little more suspect. They have some talent back there, but the Ducks can't play the game the way they did when the won the Cup with the roster as currently consistuted. On paper, it's a damn good roster: Getzlaf, Perry, Ryan, Lupul, Koivu, Selanne, Niedermayer, Whitney, Wizniewski, Giguere, Hiller.

One thing I have noticed it the team has lost it's signature grit. Yeah they have some tough guys, but its not a hard, grinding grit like they had. YOu dont have the Moen, Pahlsson, Niedermayer shutdown line that would just grind you down and physically wear you. You lose the presence of Pronger and Beauchemin on the back-end. Players are no longer afraid to go down into the corners agaisnt the Ducks or set up in front of the net.

I personally thought Bob Murray did a great job retooling this team, the problem is Randy Carlyle hasn't. The overall dynamic of the team has changed. The primarily defensive style and the dump/chase/grind method can't be done. There is a little more speed and more offensive skill than before, but Carlyle hasn't adapted. The Ducks can no longer score 1 or 2 goals and defend all game. They jsut can't do it anymore.

And yes, Artyukhin is a big bust. I was expecting for from him with his size and speed, but he has no hands. Dude has turned out to be a big dope.

The Ducks have lost their physical edge, some huge defensive cogs, and while the offense has picked up and that is great, the defense hasn't been fixed. Murray improved the team offensively like he said he would do, but unfortunately the defense has suffered, and Carlyle hasn't found a way to combat that.

Now the Ducks may have had a momentum shifting game with the 3-goal comeback against Dallas on Tuesday. Notice I said MAY have. We will see if the Ducks have truly found something and maybe newly called up rookie Dan Sexton adds that speed and just sheer determination. The Ducks have a big test here on this road trip to see where they are. Starting with Detroit tonight and Columbus tomorrow followed by another back-to-back with Vancouver and San Jose next week. then another home game against Phoenix and a slew of more road games. I hope the Ducks can find the spark and pull together here with these road tests. They are only 7 or 8 points out of a playoff spot, and if they can just finally come together, they might be able to climb back in. They have to jump several teams but they are in striking distance.

But if this thing isn't turned around by Christmas, I want Carlyle fired and I want players evaluated. One of the goalies needs to be dealt with (btw I also think it's become quite obvious that Jiggy is back to form and Hiller cannot carry a team for an entire season) and the defense needs to be addressed. Oh and Bobby Ryan needs to be re-signed. If this team isn't turned around by Christmas or the New Year, they need to retool as best as possible, set themselves up for the free agent season, and reload for next year.

[habsfan1]

A controversial ending to last night's game between the Habs and Penguins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvqA4VU_e1M

Keep in mind that this goal would have tied the game at 3 a piece late in the 3rd. I'm not saying it's biased officiating, but it sure as hell seemed that way.

[HedleyLamarr]

I'm really shocked that the league didn't do Winter Classics between 03-04 and 07-08. Well, no I'm not, because the league is retarded, but it seemed like the Edmonton one was such a success that it would soon be an annual thing.

Americans weren't able to watch the Heritage Classic.

[The_Admiral]

I watched it and I'm an American. I think it was on ESPN Classic.

[HedleyLamarr]

I watched it and I'm an American. I think it was on ESPN Classic.

It wasn't a live broadcasted event, at least not on any channel that's offered in your basic-to-intermediate cable packages.

[The_Admiral]

ESPN Classic was basic cable for me at the time, but I understand your point that it wasn't exactly easy to see, so I'm not going to argue it further.

[Breakwood]

ESPN Classic was basic cable for me at the time, but I understand your point that it wasn't exactly easy to see, so I'm not going to argue it further.

Is any hockey game particularly easy to see in the USA?

[Don]

ESPN Classic was basic cable for me at the time, but I understand your point that it wasn't exactly easy to see, so I'm not going to argue it further.

Is any hockey game particularly easy to see in the USA?

with regional sports networks, yes. Nationally, unless you have Versus...no. I have Versus so I dont have a problem, but I also have a cable company that had no clue what NHL Center Ice was and obviously doesnt carry NHL Network so that sucks.

Edit: Keep in mind I say this as a Caps fan, which we have Comcast Sportsnet DC and between CSN & CSN+ (which I dont get) every Caps game is televised, I cant speak for other regions that dont show all the games.

[NEW.ERA]

Well Jari Kurri take note Miikka Kiprusoff sure showed that he deserves the starting job for the Fins. Too bad the offense wasn't there so it kind of spoiled the night losing in OT.

[Neon_Matrix]

3rd string goalie or not, the first-place Capitals were just DISMANTLED by one of the worst teams in the league - the Toronto Maple Leafs - by a score of 6-3.

Washington lead the first by 2 goals, let the game get tied early in the second, scored a go-ahead goal in the and then let 3 unanswered in addition to letting a short-handed goal and taking a last-minute penalty to only yield yet another goal. By the end of the game they looked completely undisciplined and were making some questionable decisions. This has to be one of the better games the Leafs have played all season - it is not often you can knock a well oiled machined so far off their game. A complete upset that I am sure no one expected.

Well done, makes up for the stinkers in Boston!

[Don]

3rd string goalie or not, the first-place Capitals were just DISMANTLED by one of the worst teams in the league - the Toronto Maple Leafs - by a score of 6-3.

Washington lead the first by 2 goals, let the game get tied early in the second, scored a go-ahead goal in the and then let 3 unanswered in addition to letting a short-handed goal and taking a last-minute penalty to only yield yet another goal. By the end of the game they looked completely undisciplined and were making some questionable decisions. This has to be one of the better games the Leafs have played all season - it is not often you can knock a well oiled machined so far off their game. A complete upset that I am sure no one expected.

Well done, makes up for the stinkers in Boston!

Kudos to the Leafs, they weathered the storm early on, fought back, and just took it to the Caps. I'll ignore the fact that the Caps got into town today and played in OT yesterday, no excuses, this is the NHL.

[BigMac12]

How's the condition of San Jose's Boyle? He had to be helped out after the Coyotes game.

[BrySmalls]

3rd string goalie or not, the first-place Capitals were just DISMANTLED by one of the worst teams in the league - the Toronto Maple Leafs - by a score of 6-3.

Washington lead the first by 2 goals, let the game get tied early in the second, scored a go-ahead goal in the and then let 3 unanswered in addition to letting a short-handed goal and taking a last-minute penalty to only yield yet another goal. By the end of the game they looked completely undisciplined and were making some questionable decisions. This has to be one of the better games the Leafs have played all season - it is not often you can knock a well oiled machined so far off their game. A complete upset that I am sure no one expected.

Well done, makes up for the stinkers in Boston!

Kudos to the Leafs, they weathered the storm early on, fought back, and just took it to the Caps. I'll ignore the fact that the Caps got into town today and played in OT yesterday, no excuses, this is the NHL.

Found the problem Don. Typically, whenever the Caps have a 2+ goal lead, they always tend to go into "relax mode" which gives the opponents a shot to beat them. Plus, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I am fearful of their PK Unit and tonight the flaws were shown on how to beat the Caps.

[Don]

3rd string goalie or not, the first-place Capitals were just DISMANTLED by one of the worst teams in the league - the Toronto Maple Leafs - by a score of 6-3.

Washington lead the first by 2 goals, let the game get tied early in the second, scored a go-ahead goal in the and then let 3 unanswered in addition to letting a short-handed goal and taking a last-minute penalty to only yield yet another goal. By the end of the game they looked completely undisciplined and were making some questionable decisions. This has to be one of the better games the Leafs have played all season - it is not often you can knock a well oiled machined so far off their game. A complete upset that I am sure no one expected.

Well done, makes up for the stinkers in Boston!

Kudos to the Leafs, they weathered the storm early on, fought back, and just took it to the Caps. I'll ignore the fact that the Caps got into town today and played in OT yesterday, no excuses, this is the NHL.

Found the problem Don. Typically, whenever the Caps have a 2+ goal lead, they always tend to go into "relax mode" which gives the opponents a shot to beat them. Plus, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I am fearful of their PK Unit and tonight the flaws were shown on how to beat the Caps.

They do go into relax mode. What they need to do is find some defensive structure. It doesnt seem like they have any organization beneath the blueline. I understand what theyre staying tho, puck possession is a good defense itself, however, they get burned in transition too much. There needs to be a happy medium with this team where they arent going balls out for the next goal all the time.

Plus I dont think I have to mention this, but the pairing of Milan Jurcina and John Erskine has to be the slowest and dumbest pairing in all the NHL.

[Don]

Oh this just brightened my weekend feelings on the Caps:

Caps assign Michael Nylander to Grand Rapids, cap hit to go with him

[BrySmalls]

Oh this just brightened my weekend feelings on the Caps:

Caps assign Michael Nylander to Grand Rapids, cap hit to go with him

His $4.875 million salary comes off the books!

[The_Admiral]

How does Washington assign a player to Detroit's affiliate? Unless I missed something and the Caps are no longer affiliated with the Hershey Bears.

[Shumway]

How does Washington assign a player to Detroit's affiliate? Unless I missed something and the Caps are no longer affiliated with the Hershey Bears.

I'm not sure how it works, but the one article I read said he's "on loan" to the Griffins.