2011-12 NHL Season

[charger77]

Lebda scores in his first game back lol

[Sport]

Lebda scores in his first game back lol

Lebda4Norris

[CS85]

Blackhawks couldn't score on Nashville tonight if they had an empty net. Bunch of uninspired frustrated bodies out there.

[RedRenesis]

Let's see what the Matt Cooke hate club has to say about his boarding penalty tonight.

[raysox]

Lightning win their 4th straight to go into the ASG, and jump from 15th to 11th in the standings, and gaining ground fast. Then the first 4 games after the break are at home, 3 against the top 3 teams in the SE division, then against LA. Whew. Should be fun.

Also, when it comes up, look for Mike Angelidis's first NHL goal. On his first shot of his second shift in his first game, he backhanded one that went through the CBJ goalie and his reaction was priceless.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2011020726

[slapshot]

I don't see where this ever became about his politics.

Only inasmuch as Thomas himself cited the fact that he exercised his right not to attend the event because the federal government "has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People... this is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal Government."

Thomas may have tried to state that it wasn't about one specific party. But when his statement almost explicitly details the mantra of the Tea Party (and knowing that he has the Tea Party logo on the back of his helmet, and is a big fan of Glenn Beck), then it becomes fairly obvious that this grandstanding had a political agenda behind it.

Had he just stayed absent without the commentary, or perhaps even put it a little more tactfully, it may not have been as big an issue as it became.

But once he publicly made his point, and everything became crystal clear, then he has to deal with the fact he turned a photo-op into a larger political issue.

To say management is furious with him is an understatement. Evidently, Cam Neely may be making the rounds trying to put out the firestorm involved with this.

People may state that Thomas is a "true American" for standing up for his beliefs. But there are ways to do so without using a harmless event to bring all this attention to yourself.

Just as many people may condemn the "Hollywood Elite" for their political views, Thomas is now no different than them, just on the other side of the coin.

[Kramerica Industries]

Lightning win their 4th straight to go into the ASG, and jump from 15th to 11th in the standings, and gaining ground fast. Then the first 4 games after the break are at home, 3 against the top 3 teams in the SE division, then against LA. Whew. Should be fun.

Also, when it comes up, look for Mike Angelidis's first NHL goal. On his first shot of his second shift in his first game, he backhanded one that went through the CBJ goalie and his reaction was priceless.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2011020726

It's a nice rebound from the seven game skid, but at 21-27 and nine points behind Florida for the #8 seed (and the Panthers lost another shootout game tonight), there is still a long ways to go.

Just glad they're watchable again.

[CS85]

Blackhawks played hockey for about 90 seconds in this game in the 3rd period.

This team blows, so many weak spots. Lot of young future for the blackhawks, no present winners. Guys are a bunch of candyasses.

[Brass]

Had he just stayed absent without the commentary, or perhaps even put it a little more tactfully, it may not have been as big an issue as it became.

Tactfully? Possibly. Staying silent? Now, that's just absurd, slappy. If he stayed silent, the backlash would be even more intense.

[The_Admiral]

The NHL is broken if the Predators are able to flourish under their system. How long did that crackdown on obstruction fouls last? Like a week in 2005? I hope the second season-cancelling lockout purges these bull artists out of the league for good.

[Still MIGHTY]

This team blows, so many weak spots. Lot of young future for the blackhawks, no present winners. Guys are a bunch of candyasses.

Says the team tied for 4th in the NHL in points and only two points from the 2nd overall record and three from 1st.

Would you like to switch positions so you can rightfully complain?

Ducks got some raw luck on the one Dallas goal tonight and fought like hell until the end. Bad result to go into the break, but in no means a bad game. Eh. Still playing miles better than earlier. Gotta hold the week break doesn't kill the momentum before they come back on the other side to meet me in Phoenix.

[speedy]

Had he just stayed absent without the commentary, or perhaps even put it a little more tactfully, it may not have been as big an issue as it became.

Tactfully? Possibly. Staying silent? Now, that's just absurd, slappy. If he stayed silent, the backlash would be even more intense.

I have to agree with Brass here, there was no way he could stay silent on why he was the only person missing and he wasn't hurt. You know the media around here would rip him a new one either way, though.

However, he definitely could have and should have chose his words better. It sounded like an "I'm better than you, suck it" kind of statement, at least to me.

[raysox]

Lightning win their 4th straight to go into the ASG, and jump from 15th to 11th in the standings, and gaining ground fast. Then the first 4 games after the break are at home, 3 against the top 3 teams in the SE division, then against LA. Whew. Should be fun.

Also, when it comes up, look for Mike Angelidis's first NHL goal. On his first shot of his second shift in his first game, he backhanded one that went through the CBJ goalie and his reaction was priceless.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2011020726

It's a nice rebound from the seven game skid, but at 21-27 and nine points behind Florida for the #8 seed (and the Panthers lost another shootout game tonight), there is still a long ways to go.

Just glad they're watchable again.

Oh yeah, no doubt they have to still show everyone stuff. I just wasn't ready to give up on them after the 7 game skid to start 2012. But I've been saying just take each game one game at a time and gain ground. I've been studying the standings for the past week, ahahah. But this team got confidence in the Bruins game, and it's showed in the last 3 games having grit that they were missing, and not giving up cheap stuff early.

If Garon&Rollison play this good down the stretch, and the team gets healthy as a whole, we still have a shot at being a tough team come May.

Have you been to the Forum this season? Imagine the atmosphere in the playoffs if we get there. It shall be legendary.

[slapshot]

By "without the commentary" I meant that if he said he wasn't going to be able to go, for whatever reason, like he had a conflict or something, I don't think it would be as bad. We all might make assumptions based on the public knowledge of his political affiliation, but by adding the commentary, he removed any doubt as to the reasons behind his absence.

I could have lumped "without the commentary" with "more tactfully" instead of separate thoughts.

[Brass]

By "without the commentary" I meant that if he said he wasn't going to be able to go, for whatever reason, like he had a conflict or something, I don't think it would be as bad. We all might make assumptions based on the public knowledge of his political affiliation, but by adding the commentary, he removed any doubt as to the reasons behind his absence.

I could have lumped "without the commentary" with "more tactfully" instead of separate thoughts.

Now, I don't know Timmy personally, but judging from his personality on both television and meeting him in person, that doesn't sound like the guy I'm pretty sure he is. He's a straight shooter who calls them like he sees them. Lying really isn't part of Thomas' repertoire.

[Kramerica Industries]

It does help the Bolts that the Eastern Conference is playing like it's 2009-10 again, where the bottom playoff seeds could very possibly be sub-.500 teams.

Not that I'd want that, since my biggest pet peeve in sports are sub-.500 playoff teams, but that's how the system can work, for better or for worse.

I've thought all season that the Bolts D and G issues went hand and hand with each other because the D core, especially without Hedman the past month, is a pile of mush. Not really any quality D's in the lineup on a regular basis. And in goal, Dwayne Roloson is washed up as hell and Mathieu Garon has always been better as a backup than as a starter. In truth, Yzerman was being sentimental in bringing Rolie back - at his age, it should've been obvious he could not repeat his successes of 2010-11, especially after a deep playoff run where he gave every last ounce of hockey he had in his body. At the same rate, not bringing back a playoff hero would've seemed devilish to most fans, I imagine.

Garon is a fine back-up. But it should come as no surprise he is now the starter due to Roloson's not-so-surprising decline. Hopefully, those two + the D can put enough together to finish strong and make something of this season. When you consider how well they've done in coming back from 2+ goals down in a game, they could easily be in a worse spot standings-wise. Fortunately, they play Winterpeg, Washington, and Florida, who are at 50, 55, and 55 points respectively, after the break, so if they want to make a move, this is their chance. Especially since they don't play Florida again this season.

[CS85]

This team blows, so many weak spots. Lot of young future for the blackhawks, no present winners. Guys are a bunch of candyasses.

Says the team tied for 4th in the NHL in points and only two points from the 2nd overall record and three from 1st.

Would you like to switch positions so you can rightfully complain?

Ducks got some raw luck on the one Dallas goal tonight and fought like hell until the end. Bad result to go into the break, but in no means a bad game. Eh. Still playing miles better than earlier. Gotta hold the week break doesn't kill the momentum before they come back on the other side to meet me in Phoenix.

The Blackhawks are irrationally successful at the moment. They started out incredibly hot and have piddled down these last couple months into a team with 0 power play, no offensive synchronization, little physical presence, and a minimum of hockey intelligence. Couple that with injuries and you've got a maddeningly inconsistent identity and this makes the hawks one of the most frustrating teams to watch in all of hockey. When they're on, it's amazing.

Unfortunately they're on for only about 4 minutes or so a game.

[BigEd76]

I'm watching CSN Philly's feed of the Flyers vs. Rampant Point Inflation, and I have to say that their play-by-play guy is very good. Very exact, rapid-fire delivery.

That's Jim Jackson. He also fills in occasionally on the radio for Phils games, and I think he did a Versus game once or twice

Hard to believe the Flyers won a shootout. I guess facing an even-worse shootout team and winning 1-0 works. BOB finished it off with a dance

Also it's great to see Hartnell got his well-deserved All-Star invitation

[Kevin W.]

you Vancouver.

[Corvus]

Blackhawks played hockey for about 90 seconds in this game in the 3rd period.

This team blows, so many weak spots. Lot of young future for the blackhawks, no present winners. Guys are a bunch of candyasses.

Cripes dude, put down the razor blades. It's not like you're a Blue Jackets fan or something.