2011-12 NHL Season

[Morgan33]

I wouldn't worry about the Canucks being a team to beat this year... This team is an absolute joke that will likely not get past the first round. What should have been the easiest homestands imaginable has quickly turned into an embarrassment.

[The_Admiral]

What went wrong for them, if I may ask? Injuries? Defensive lapses? Finesse team ill-suited to new realities of league?

[Still MIGHTY]

Injured/discombobulated/2nd of a back to back/Joey MacDonald or not, it's always damn fun watching the Red Wings get dismantled (especially when you're at the arena).

In what will probably be my only Ducks' home game this season, Anaheim shuts out Detroit, 4-0. Kyle Palmieri replaces an injured Perry with two goals, Teemu Selanne gets a goal for his 1,400th career point, and Hiller stops 23 shots for the Ducks' first shutout of Detroit since 1997 and their first ever home shutout of the Red Wings.

Go ahead Ducks. Finish strong. Show everyone that had you been 4-5 games less awful at the beginning of the season, you'd be fighting for or in the playoffs right now. Way to go, guys.

[zpqmaowl]

They can finish as strong as they want as long as they lose on Friday, Still MIGHTY.

[Still MIGHTY]

They can finish as strong as they want as long as they lose on Friday, Still MIGHTY.

No thanks, zpwowjskadjfkdslafdjsklafdjslafdncuernwiferejwnqtewjfwekwqlaol.

Also, for the record, Go Colorado. Rooting for the ex-Mighty Ducks Joe Sacco and JS Giguere, and for bringing down the other two California teams. If we started the playoffs today, it would be the first time since 1996 that none of the three California teams would make the playoffs in the same season. I think I'd be fine with this. The Ducks aren't getting there (totally accepted that fate), the Sharks can finally blow up their system, and the Kings "THIS IS OUR TIME" thing can blow up in their faces. Go Avs.

[charger77]

All right Wings... I'm giving you one more week to get healthy again and get your act together... This is really trying my patience.

Scheduling loss... no biggie .

Interesting though, the Wings have played 2 more games than Nashville and have 2 more points. There is a good chance that they could slip to #5 and start the 1st round in Nashville, if Radulov is back and worth a darn, it could make for a very interesting series.

[BigBubba]

I love how some of the Hawks/Bruins/Canucks fans keep b****ing and complaining how "bad" their teams are while you don't/barely hear a peep from Leafs/Blue Jackets/Habs fans (who seem to be more excited about the potential of winning the lottery than the aftermentioned fans seem to be about being top seeds in the playoffs)

[NEW.ERA]

Expectations stick with you. I'm sure if anyone's team was consistently a favorite and failed to live up to expectations, they'd be pretty cheesed as well.

It's called being a fan. Yeah they're in a better spot, but they want what's best for their team. The ones in the middle don't know what they want, and the ones on the bottom want to tank even more. That's how it should be.

[GFB]

All right Wings... I'm giving you one more week to get healthy again and get your act together... This is really trying my patience.

Scheduling loss... no biggie .

Interesting though, the Wings have played 2 more games than Nashville and have 2 more points. There is a good chance that they could slip to #5 and start the 1st round in Nashville, if Radulov is back and worth a darn, it could make for a very interesting series.

Back-to-back games on the west coast sure didn't help.

It's a shame because the team was really clicking well, but then to get this ridiculous rash of injuries where you are basically playing with one skill line, two checking lines, and then a line full of call-ups completely derails any momentum we were building. I don't care what team you are, losing your top 3 players all at once for a month makes it extremely tough to stay competitive... Which is why you have to understand that the team is going to struggle and have some patience with the situation. Things are just getting a little too close for comfort now without really any signs of them turning it around unless they start getting some major pieces back and quickly.

[BigBubba]

Expectations stick with you. I'm sure if anyone's team was consistently a favorite and failed to live up to expectations, they'd be pretty cheesed as well.

It's called being a fan. Yeah they're in a better spot, but they want what's best for their team. The ones in the middle don't know what they want, and the ones on the bottom want to tank even more. That's how it should be.

To be fair, the Hawks fans have complained less and there was only one Bruins fan complaining, but it seems kind of "spoiled" to me. My team's (second) best player is done for pretty much the year, we've won like 2 of God knows how many, and we were expected to finish at or at least very near to the 8th seed. Now, we're a point out of third last, haven't made the playoffs in 8 years/seven seasons, and haven't won a Cup in 45 years. We didn't come close to expectations, and several players like Connolly/Reimer/Kulemin failed horribly to meet theirs, as did the team standings-wise. We didn't have a fully healthy lineup until halfway through the season, too. Pretty much the only time I've complained was when the losing streak hit 5, 6, then 7 games, then I just didn't bother. It's kind of annoying to have a few fans fresh off Cup wins/finals visits who are almost guaranteed top-4 seeds to complain about such things, but oh well.

[Sport]

Expectations stick with you. I'm sure if anyone's team was consistently a favorite and failed to live up to expectations, they'd be pretty cheesed as well.

It's called being a fan. Yeah they're in a better spot, but they want what's best for their team. The ones in the middle don't know what they want, and the ones on the bottom want to tank even more. That's how it should be.

To be fair, the Hawks fans have complained less and there was only one Bruins fan complaining, but it seems kind of "spoiled" to me. My team's (second) best player is done for pretty much the year, we've won like 2 of God knows how many, and we were expected to finish at or at least very near to the 8th seed. Now, we're a point out of third last, haven't made the playoffs in 8 years/seven seasons, and haven't won a Cup in 45 years. We didn't come close to expectations, and several players like Connolly/Reimer/Kulemin failed horribly to meet theirs, as did the team standings-wise. We didn't have a fully healthy lineup until halfway through the season, too. Pretty much the only time I've complained was when the losing streak hit 5, 6, then 7 games, then I just didn't bother. It's kind of annoying to have a few fans fresh off Cup wins/finals visits who are almost guaranteed top-4 seeds to complain about such things, but oh well.

Kind of annoying? It's incredibly annoying. I basically stay out of this thread because of it.

It's like listening to people bitch about a dent in their beemer while I'm over here driving a Yugo with way more dents.

[NEW.ERA]

Expectations stick with you. I'm sure if anyone's team was consistently a favorite and failed to live up to expectations, they'd be pretty cheesed as well.

It's called being a fan. Yeah they're in a better spot, but they want what's best for their team. The ones in the middle don't know what they want, and the ones on the bottom want to tank even more. That's how it should be.

To be fair, the Hawks fans have complained less and there was only one Bruins fan complaining, but it seems kind of "spoiled" to me. My team's (second) best player is done for pretty much the year, we've won like 2 of God knows how many, and we were expected to finish at or at least very near to the 8th seed. Now, we're a point out of third last, haven't made the playoffs in 8 years/seven seasons, and haven't won a Cup in 45 years. We didn't come close to expectations, and several players like Connolly/Reimer/Kulemin failed horribly to meet theirs, as did the team standings-wise. We didn't have a fully healthy lineup until halfway through the season, too. Pretty much the only time I've complained was when the losing streak hit 5, 6, then 7 games, then I just didn't bother. It's kind of annoying to have a few fans fresh off Cup wins/finals visits who are almost guaranteed top-4 seeds to complain about such things, but oh well.

Kind of annoying? It's incredibly annoying. I basically stay out of this thread because of it.

It's like listening to people bitch about a dent in their beemer while I'm over here driving a Yugo with way more dents.

It is annoying for sure, I stay out of it. I'm in no place to judge or whatever. Just be happy you're in the playoffs.

You can't compare you're regular season results to playoff success. Yeah, sure higher the seed the better, but I've seen an 8, 7 and 6 all make a strong Cup run in the last decade. So if you're having a bit of a slump in March, just be thankful you collected those points in October, November and December, don't be scrambling for your lives come late March.

[WJMorris3]

-As it stands the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the East face off in the First Round (Pittsburgh v Philly), this is why the division winners automatically getting the top 3 seeds is stupid.

Until teams in a conference play the exact same schedule (instead of being division-heavy like they are now), it's not stupid to award a division winner with a top-3 seeding in the playoffs.

When they have nine less wins that the team "behind" them, then, uh, yeah...it is.

Would you rather the NHL just change the procedures on making the playoffs in the middle of the season, a la Nascar?

Assuming you're talking about the BOG meeting, it's not like the new hypothetical rule changes would be implemented mid-season, so yes.

Possibly the only tweak I could see is division winners being guaranteed a top 4 seed, so the brackets would look like this:

1) NYR v 8) BUF

2) PIT v 7) WSH

3) BOS v 6) OTW

4) FLA v 5) NJ

1) STL v 8) COL

2) VAN v 7) PHX

3) DET v 6) CHI

4) DAL v 5) NSH

[The_Admiral]

I love how some of the Hawks/Bruins/Canucks fans keep b****ing and complaining how "bad" their teams are while you don't/barely hear a peep from Leafs/Blue Jackets/Habs fans (who seem to be more excited about the potential of winning the lottery than the aftermentioned fans seem to be about being top seeds in the playoffs)

Because they've more or less checked out for the year. The stakes are higher. I think it was a little different when the Blackhawks went from being first in the league to an unmitigated dumpster fire in like two weeks. That'll screw with people. Now they've stabilized and might make the playoffs, but there was a stretch there where what they were doing didn't even resemble hockey, such that screaming MOTHER OF GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FAVORITE TEAM was perfectly justified.

[BigBubba]

As I mentioned before, it's fair to note that the Hawks fans have all but stopped the complaining. It was two specific posts about the Bruins and Canucks that set me off...

And on a completely unrelated note, some Leafs fans suggested we trade Kessel. I lol'd. Our fanbase is harder to put up with than the team.

[zpqmaowl]

I know Colorado swept LA in the season series (Kings got one loser point though), but how did they do against San José?

[ninersdd]

SJ is 2-0-1 against the Avalanche.

[Morgan33]

I wouldn't worry about the Canucks being a team to beat this year... This team is an absolute joke that will likely not get past the first round. What should have been the easiest homestands imaginable has quickly turned into an embarrassment.

Luongo

I love how some of the Hawks/Bruins/Canucks fans keep b****ing and complaining how "bad" their teams are while you don't/barely hear a peep from Leafs/Blue Jackets/Habs fans (who seem to be more excited about the potential of winning the lottery than the aftermentioned fans seem to be about being top seeds in the playoffs)

Fair enough, its just frustrating to see all these blowout losses to inferior teams right before the playoffs start. We ARE spoiled fans though, happy?

To be fair, the Hawks fans have complained less and there was only one Bruins fan complaining, but it seems kind of "spoiled" to me.

That's a laugh... I remember a time not too long ago when this entire thread was about how badly the Blackhawks suck because they were on a similar losing streak. Every second comment belonged to Hawks fans trashing their own team. The only Canucks complaining I've seen on here was my ONE comment...

[RedSox44]

And on a completely unrelated note, some Leafs fans suggested we trade Kessel. I lol'd. Our fanbase is harder to put up with than the team.

Why...would...fans...of...the...Leafs...want...to...trade...Kessel...I...don't...get...it...

[GO2HELL]

That's a laugh... I remember a time not too long ago when this entire thread was about how badly the Blackhawks suck because they were on a similar losing streak. Every second comment belonged to Hawks fans trashing their own team. The only Canucks complaining I've seen on here was my ONE comment...

What he obviously meant was hawk fans have complained considerably less than they were a month or two ago.