2011-12 NHL Season

[CS85]

Dull shootout win for LA vs. the blackhawks.

[njmeadowlanders]

Can someone please stop Pittsburgh?

Thanks.

Well the Rags will be the next team to try on Thursday

Well hopefully they'll dispose of Carolina on Tuesday and have a nice 6 point buffer entering that one.

[Morgan33]

In fairness, either of the last two Sharks teams very well could've gone to the Stanley Cup had they not had the misfortune to run into the conference's deepest teams, which presented a terrible matchup for a team that doesn't emphasize depth. But then you have to question the ultimate strategy of building a team that can dominate a regular season with ease, but wears down fast over the course of a best-of-seven against a team that doesn't have to put such heavy workloads on its top players. In doing that, they basically had to wager that someone else would dispatch Chicago '10 and Vancouver '11 first, and then they lost those wagers and lost those series. At any rate, a painful rebuilding awaits these guys eventually.

They didn't just lose those series, they didn't even put up a fight. Their game 4 against the Canucks in particular was a disgrace... three straight 5 on 3's leading to 3 straight goals against. Btw I seem to remember lots of people predicting that the Sharks would win in the Conference Finals against both the Hawks and Canucks. The cold hard truth is that for all the elite talent the Sharks have stockpiled over the years, they have always lacked that one intangible aspect... HEART. I've bandwagoned on this team plenty and it's always the same damn story

[ninersdd]

Dull shootout win for LA vs. the blackhawks.

Well the Sharks are falling even deeper into the hole. If we can't beat the Oil tomorrow, we might as well forget the playoffs with squads like the Preds, Wings, and Bruins coming up on the 'sked.

[The_Admiral]

I didn't watch Canucks-Sharks, but I know that in 2010 the ice time for Thornton/Marleau/Heatley/Pavelski was so high that their fate was sealed by the time the games shifted to Chicago. It's not so much a matter of lacking heart as it is that when you frontload as hard as they do, you can bank lots of wins in the regular season with one-shot deals against inferior competition with plentiful rest, but when you can't roll lines in the playoffs where it's game/rest/game/travel/game/rest/game/travel against teams that are just as good or in some respects better, you are destined to break down. What looks like heartlessness is probably just being simply gassed.

Also, the Blackhawks went to the Mike Quade School of Sequences, I see. Give Viktor Stalberg his second chance in the game and millionth on the year to face a goalie unopposed and piss down his leg, go with Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger at 5 and 6, and don't use Dave Bolland, the guy who piled up shorthanded breakaway goals once upon a time, at all. smrt!

[ninersdd]

In fairness, either of the last two Sharks teams very well could've gone to the Stanley Cup had they not had the misfortune to run into the conference's deepest teams, which presented a terrible matchup for a team that doesn't emphasize depth. But then you have to question the ultimate strategy of building a team that can dominate a regular season with ease, but wears down fast over the course of a best-of-seven against a team that doesn't have to put such heavy workloads on its top players. In doing that, they basically had to wager that someone else would dispatch Chicago '10 and Vancouver '11 first, and then they

lost those wagers and lost those series. At any rate, a painful rebuilding awaits these guys eventually.

They didn't just lose those series, they didn't even put up a fight. Their game 4 against the Canucks in particular was a disgrace... three straight 5 on 3's leading to 3 straight goals against. Btw I seem to remember lots of people

predicting that the Sharks would win in the Conference Finals against both the Hawks and Canucks. The cold hard truth is that for all the elite talent the Sharks have stockpiled over the years, they have always lacked that one intangible aspect... HEART. I've bandwagoned on this

team plenty and it's always the same damn story

Game 1 we were slightly the better team through the first 2 periods, and led 2-1, then we s**t the bed in the 3rd completely and lost 3-2. Game 2 was a joke. Game 5 should've probably been a win if the refs hadn't called icing when it hit Sedins' helmet. When disheartened me even more was how Bruins absolutely slaughtered you in their wins. As of now for SJ, the very best they can reach is the 2nd round, and if we draw say Dallas instead of the Wings or Nucks.

[FiddySicks]

Chicago smells like piss. The real scene's in Naperville!

I took Amtrak from Reno to Chicago last summer. It definitely smelled like piss by Naperville.

[The_Admiral]

That was your seatmate.

[Morgan33]

Game 1 we were slightly the better team through the first 2 periods, and led 2-1, then we s**t the bed in the 3rd completely and lost 3-2. Game 2 was a joke. Game 5 should've probably been a win if the refs hadn't called icing when it hit Sedins' helmet. When disheartened me even more was how Bruins absolutely slaughtered you in their wins. As of now for SJ, the very best they can reach is the 2nd round, and if we draw say Dallas instead of the Wings or Nucks.

The Canucks weren't the same team by the time the Finals rolled around. Far too many injuries to key players. What's more surprising is that they were able to win game 5, let alone with a shutout. For all the criticism Luongo gets (from myself included) you can't take that away from him. He's the only reason the series went to 7.

[RedSox44]

Game 1 we were slightly the better team through the first 2 periods, and led 2-1, then we s**t the bed in the 3rd completely and lost 3-2. Game 2 was a joke. Game 5 should've probably been a win if the refs hadn't called icing when it hit Sedins' helmet. When disheartened me even more was how Bruins absolutely slaughtered you in their wins. As of now for SJ, the very best they can reach is the 2nd round, and if we draw say Dallas instead of the Wings or Nucks.

The Canucks weren't the same team by the time the Finals rolled around. Far too many injuries to key players. What's more surprising is that they were able to win game 5, let alone with a shutout. For all the criticism Luongo gets (from myself included) you can't take that away from him. He's the only reason the series went to 7.

It's not outlandish to say the series would've been a straight sweep without the way Lou played in Vancouver. At least in Games 1, 2 and 5.

/Bruins Bias

[-kj]

Things that make me happy:

- Blues in first overall.

- Panthers leading their division and getting the deserved third seed. (You get a reward for winning your division. This is only a problem now because there are teams y'all don't like in those spots.)

- Jets not in a playoff spot.

- Coyotes in a playoff spot.

Yup, some of these make me happy mostly because they upset people who like to whine.

Also: You can keep repeating the standings as W-(L+OTL), but that doesn't make it accurate.

[The_Admiral]

Yeah, see, I didn't really mind it when IronChefShark did it to me, because he couldn't ban me.

[maz]

- Panthers leading their division and getting the deserved third seed. (You get a reward for winning your division. This is only a problem now because there are teams y'all don't like that suck in those spots.)

Fixed.

The way I see it is, yes, reward teams for leading their division, but don't make it one-two-three. Make it a guaranteed spot in the playoffs, or a spot no lower than fourth so at least one better team can get their just desserts. And make it so the team with the more points gets home ice, not the higher rank.

To be quite honest, if the Pens don't catch the Rags and end up playing Philly in the first round, yeah I won't like it, but it's nothing they can't handle, so it wouldn't worry me that much.

[IceCap]

I have to admit Mockba, it takes a dedicated man to stick with the "NO NHL IN WINNIPEG!" line even after it's happened while still spreading the Gospel of the Great Arizona Hockey Experiment.

[-kj]

I have to admit Mockba, it takes a dedicated man to stick with the "NO NHL IN WINNIPEG!" line even after it's happened while still spreading the Gospel of the Great Arizona Hockey Experiment.

I'm just bored by the fellating of the Jets. Cool, a mid-sized city in the middle of nowhere Manitoba (well, that's redundant) got an NHL team at the expense of a much larger market. Good for them. When the Jets moved before, it was a travesty. When they got someone else's team, it's the second coming. YAWN.

I also don't think the GAHE is all that good... but it amuses me to see people all upset that they might make the playoffs. I'm an ass that way, I guess.

Also, TCR: What, only you can have opinions? Or am I not insulting enough people while I post mine? Oh, right, it's the mod thing; mods are only allowed to be mods, and can't post anything else. Right.

[STL FANATIC]

I have to admit Mockba, it takes a dedicated man to stick with the "NO NHL IN WINNIPEG!" line even after it's happened while still spreading the Gospel of the Great Arizona Hockey Experiment.

I'm just bored by the fellating of the Jets. Cool, a mid-sized city in the middle of nowhere Manitoba (well, that's redundant) got an NHL team at the expense of a much larger market. Good for them. When the Jets moved before, it was a travesty. When they got someone else's team, it's the second coming. YAWN.

I also don't think the GAHE is all that good... but it amuses me to see people all upset that they might make the playoffs. I'm an ass that way, I guess.

Also, TCR: What, only you can have opinions? Or am I not insulting enough people while I post mine? Oh, right, it's the mod thing; mods are only allowed to be mods, and can't post anything else. Right.

It may not be POTD material because it won't resonate with everyone, but I LOVE this post.

Especially the acknowledgement of something we all know but can't prove but that's kinda okay because I actually feel like we get along now...

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

I have to admit Mockba, it takes a dedicated man to stick with the "NO NHL IN WINNIPEG!" line even after it's happened while still spreading the Gospel of the Great Arizona Hockey Experiment.

I'm just bored by the fellating of the Jets. Cool, a mid-sized city in the middle of nowhere Manitoba (well, that's redundant) got an NHL team at the expense of a much larger market. Good for them. When the Jets moved before, it was a travesty. When they got someone else's team, it's the second coming. YAWN.

I also don't think the GAHE is all that good... but it amuses me to see people all upset that they might make the playoffs. I'm an ass that way, I guess.

Also, TCR: What, only you can have opinions? Or am I not insulting enough people while I post mine? Oh, right, it's the mod thing; mods are only allowed to be mods, and can't post anything else. Right.

to further this, i want to see a Dallas Stars team devoid of any real talent make the playoffs on a 3 seed and make a run to the finals against a, yep you guessed it, Winnipeg Zombiethrashers Jets.

[IceCap]

I have to admit Mockba, it takes a dedicated man to stick with the "NO NHL IN WINNIPEG!" line even after it's happened while still spreading the Gospel of the Great Arizona Hockey Experiment.

I'm just bored by the fellating of the Jets. Cool, a mid-sized city in the middle of nowhere Manitoba (well, that's redundant) got an NHL team at the expense of a much larger market. Good for them. When the Jets moved before, it was a travesty. When they got someone else's team, it's the second coming. YAWN.

I also don't think the GAHE is all that good... but it amuses me to see people all upset that they might make the playoffs. I'm an ass that way, I guess.

Also, TCR: What, only you can have opinions?...Oh, right, it's the mod thing; mods are only allowed to be mods, and can't post anything else. Right.

Hypothetical. Say by the end of the season the Jets make the playoffs and the Panthers don't. And I post something along the lines of "the Jets making the playoffs and the Panthers not making the playoffs makes me happy." How would I be any worse of a fan/board member then you?

I don't give a hoot that you have biases that may run counter to mine. And despite being a mod, you're more then willing to air them! I don't recall anyone ever saying otherwise, but whatever. All I really want is for you to admit you have them. You've brushed my points aside plenty of times, declaring that I simply have to strong a bias. Well, no offence, but you do to. We all do, actually.

I have them, and I admit to them. I've spent plenty of time here defending the possibility of a seventh Canadian team. Plenty of posters, yourself included, brushed it off as mindless patriotic yammering. My criticisms of the Coyotes' existence in Glendale were hand-waved away by people who swore that if the team was allowed to succeed on the ice the the fans would come out and support them and that the full glory of Phoenix as a profitable NHL market would be realized.

Then it happened. A sunbelt team in a large market left for Winnipeg, and came out of the move in a better financial situation. Meanwhile the Coyotes, despite having one of the top teams in the league for years now, still draw flies. Now their continued existence as greater Phoenix sports franchise is forcing Glendale to cut civic services to keep the team around. I've celebrated the Jets' return, but I haven't done what I'm about to do.

I'm going to gloat. I was vindicated. Twice in fact. Both in the ability of a team to find greater success in a smaller Canadian market then a larger American one, and in the Coyotes' total lack of fan support. In fact the Coyotes have bombed to such an extent as a business entity that they're harming their community. So I consider that a bonus.

Or am I not insulting enough people while I post mine?

No, you've done just fine in the "insulting people" department.

[Morgan33]

Game 1 we were slightly the better team through the first 2 periods, and led 2-1, then we s**t the bed in the 3rd completely and lost 3-2. Game 2 was a joke. Game 5 should've probably been a win if the refs hadn't called icing when it hit Sedins' helmet. When disheartened me even more was how Bruins absolutely slaughtered you in their wins. As of now for SJ, the very best they can reach is the 2nd round, and if we draw say Dallas instead of the Wings or Nucks.

The Canucks weren't the same team by the time the Finals rolled around. Far too many injuries to key players. What's more surprising is that they were able to win game 5, let alone with a shutout. For all the criticism Luongo gets (from myself included) you can't take that away from him. He's the only reason the series went to 7.

It's not outlandish to say the series would've been a straight sweep without the way Lou played in Vancouver. At least in Games 1, 2 and 5.

/Bruins Bias

Without question. Had the Canucks been healthy however, they would have won the series in 5. Canucks bias

[habsfan1]

NHL's Top Prospect Nail Yakupov possibly sustained a concussion.