2011-12 NHL Season

[Lee.]

Yup: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=599197&navid=DL|NHL|home

Those dumbbells are made out of licorice. If look closely enough on the left, there's a bite taken out of it.

[cameroncrazie07]

I was going to post this in another thread but I'll share it here instead. I have a friend who loves to root for teams for the sole purpose to annoy another friend. He is a legitimate fan of the Yankees, Knicks, and Giants. But then last year he randomly becomes a Baylor University fan to annoy a friend I have who is a huge Texas fan. Then this year he decides to become an Islanders fan to annoy me and a few others who are big Ranger fans. After the Rangers lost to the Islanders early he was talking so much crap. But now that the Isles are returning to form and the Rangers look good, he hasn't said a word in like a month. It is really just hilarious.

[JQK]

I was going to post this in another thread but I'll share it here instead. I have a friend who loves to root for teams for the sole purpose to annoy another friend. He is a legitimate fan of the Yankees, Knicks, and Giants. But then last year he randomly becomes a Baylor University fan to annoy a friend I have who is a huge Texas fan. Then this year he decides to become an Islanders fan to annoy me and a few others who are big Ranger fans. After the Rangers lost to the Islanders early he was talking so much crap. But now that the Isles are returning to form and the Rangers look good, he hasn't said a word in like a month. It is really just hilarious.

The Rangers always suck...

[cameroncrazie07]

I was going to post this in another thread but I'll share it here instead. I have a friend who loves to root for teams for the sole purpose to annoy another friend. He is a legitimate fan of the Yankees, Knicks, and Giants. But then last year he randomly becomes a Baylor University fan to annoy a friend I have who is a huge Texas fan. Then this year he decides to become an Islanders fan to annoy me and a few others who are big Ranger fans. After the Rangers lost to the Islanders early he was talking so much crap. But now that the Isles are returning to form and the Rangers look good, he hasn't said a word in like a month. It is really just hilarious.

The Rangers always suck...

I have to enjoy it while it lasts before they lose 7 of 10 in a few weeks and end up fighting for a playoff spot.

[TFoA]

The Flyers basically just protested against the Lightning running the trap in a 0-0 game in the 1st period. Lightning went to the 1-3-1, the Flyers responded by keeping the puck in their zone for 5 minutes. The 3 Flyers who weren't in their own zone were busy chirping at the entire Tampa bench. Crazy stuff.

[See Red]

The Flyers basically just protested against the Lightning running the trap in a 0-0 game in the 1st period. Lightning went to the 1-3-1, the Flyers responded by keeping the puck in their zone for 5 minutes. The 3 Flyers who weren't in their own zone were busy chirping at the entire Tampa bench. Crazy stuff.

Yeah it was pretty bizarre. I looked up, saw the Flyers were holding the puck in their zone, went back to what I was doing on the computer, looked back up minutes later and they still hadn't moved the puck. I had the TV on mute so I didn't hear the booing until I un muted it to see what was going on.

[DaRadniz29]

The Flyers basically just protested against the Lightning running the trap in a 0-0 game in the 1st period. Lightning went to the 1-3-1, the Flyers responded by keeping the puck in their zone for 5 minutes. The 3 Flyers who weren't in their own zone were busy chirping at the entire Tampa bench. Crazy stuff.

Yeah it was pretty bizarre. I looked up, saw the Flyers were holding the puck in their zone, went back to what I was doing on the computer, looked back up minutes later and they still hadn't moved the puck. I had the TV on mute so I didn't hear the booing until I un muted it to see what was going on.

I get why Philly is doing it, and obviously TB is standing by their ways, but as a fan this pisses me off. Nothing of this delaying the game stall tactics on either side is good for the game or the fans. If this continues fans are going to start saying "Go ahead and do this, we just will stop attending games".

Okay, my angry rant has passed... I think

[The_Admiral]

The trap is getting really bad again. Scoring just keeps going down, down, down each year, and it only serves to obfuscate where the league's real talent lies. It's time to crack down on obstruction again. Make them pay with penalties. Nut up and show that this isn't what the sport is meant to be.

[Don]

The Flyers basically just protested against the Lightning running the trap in a 0-0 game in the 1st period. Lightning went to the 1-3-1, the Flyers responded by keeping the puck in their zone for 5 minutes. The 3 Flyers who weren't in their own zone were busy chirping at the entire Tampa bench. Crazy stuff.

Yeah it was pretty bizarre. I looked up, saw the Flyers were holding the puck in their zone, went back to what I was doing on the computer, looked back up minutes later and they still hadn't moved the puck. I had the TV on mute so I didn't hear the booing until I un muted it to see what was going on.

I get why Philly is doing it, and obviously TB is standing by their ways, but as a fan this pisses me off. Nothing of this delaying the game stall tactics on either side is good for the game or the fans. If this continues fans are going to start saying "Go ahead and do this, we just will stop attending games".

Okay, my angry rant has passed... I think

If I'm a paying fan I'm blaming my own coach for the style that he is employing. Peter Laviolette is not dumb, and hes sick of watching the Lightning foot their way through games with their game killing strategy. I dont blame him one bit for telling his players to sit back.

[The_Admiral]

Can the NHL take after the NBA and start calling bench minors for illegal defense? What would it take to recognize a trap and call a penalty on the spatial aspect of the trap itself, and not just the ancillary obsctruction that enables the trap?

[DaRadniz29]

The Flyers basically just protested against the Lightning running the trap in a 0-0 game in the 1st period. Lightning went to the 1-3-1, the Flyers responded by keeping the puck in their zone for 5 minutes. The 3 Flyers who weren't in their own zone were busy chirping at the entire Tampa bench. Crazy stuff.

Yeah it was pretty bizarre. I looked up, saw the Flyers were holding the puck in their zone, went back to what I was doing on the computer, looked back up minutes later and they still hadn't moved the puck. I had the TV on mute so I didn't hear the booing until I un muted it to see what was going on.

I get why Philly is doing it, and obviously TB is standing by their ways, but as a fan this pisses me off. Nothing of this delaying the game stall tactics on either side is good for the game or the fans. If this continues fans are going to start saying "Go ahead and do this, we just will stop attending games".

Okay, my angry rant has passed... I think

If I'm a paying fan I'm blaming my own coach for the style that he is employing. Peter Laviolette is not dumb, and hes sick of watching the Lightning foot their way through games with their game killing strategy. I dont blame him one bit for telling his players to sit back.

Not sure if you thought I was siding with TB. If you thought so... I'm not. I think both teams are at fault. Neither team did anything illegal or against the rules. The trap isn't against the rules and maybe it should be. However regardless of the team I'm rooting for as I have no vested interest in either team, it's pathetic on both sides. I enjoy hockey for it's fast paced action.

if the trap isn't illegal why is Philly protesting? It's not Tampa Bay's fault if Philly doesn't want to skate into the trap. Part of me says that's good defense by Philly. For me it would be the same as if two baseball teams were playing and the player at bat doesn't enter the batters box because he's protesting the other teams defensive shift. Result: If the batter refuses to step into the box, and the pitcher throws the ball, the umpire has the authority to call the pitch a strike regardless of where the pitch ends up.

You want TB out of the trap - PRODUCE TO GET THEM OUT OF THE TRAP.

At the same time, the not going to attack the puck from PHI isn't good either.

And as I write this, PHI scores. Keep doing that and TB may not continue in the trap.

All in all though something has to change b/c if other teams start doing this cat and mouse game stall tactics on either side of the puck, fans may just stop attending and/or watching. Maybe teams are okay with that, I don't know.

[The_Admiral]

if the trap isn't illegal why is Philly protesting? It's not Tampa Bay's fault if Philly doesn't want to skate into the trap. Part of me says that's good defense by Philly. For me it would be the same as if two baseball teams were playing and the player at bat doesn't enter the batters box because he's protesting the other teams defensive shift. You want TB out of the trap - PRODUCE TO GET THEM OUT OF THE TRAP.

Well, hey, you make it sound so easy!

[Still MIGHTY]

Video of the Flyers' "protest" and the subsequent TSN discussion:

[Don]

The Flyers basically just protested against the Lightning running the trap in a 0-0 game in the 1st period. Lightning went to the 1-3-1, the Flyers responded by keeping the puck in their zone for 5 minutes. The 3 Flyers who weren't in their own zone were busy chirping at the entire Tampa bench. Crazy stuff.

Yeah it was pretty bizarre. I looked up, saw the Flyers were holding the puck in their zone, went back to what I was doing on the computer, looked back up minutes later and they still hadn't moved the puck. I had the TV on mute so I didn't hear the booing until I un muted it to see what was going on.

I get why Philly is doing it, and obviously TB is standing by their ways, but as a fan this pisses me off. Nothing of this delaying the game stall tactics on either side is good for the game or the fans. If this continues fans are going to start saying "Go ahead and do this, we just will stop attending games".

Okay, my angry rant has passed... I think

If I'm a paying fan I'm blaming my own coach for the style that he is employing. Peter Laviolette is not dumb, and hes sick of watching the Lightning foot their way through games with their game killing strategy. I dont blame him one bit for telling his players to sit back.

Not sure if you thought I was siding with TB. If you thought so... I'm not. I think both teams are at fault. Neither team did anything illegal or against the rules. The trap isn't against the rules and maybe it should be. However regardless of the team I'm rooting for as I have no vested interest in either team, it's pathetic on both sides. I enjoy hockey for it's fast paced action.

if the trap isn't illegal why is Philly protesting? It's not Tampa Bay's fault if Philly doesn't want to skate into the trap. Part of me says that's good defense by Philly. For me it would be the same as if two baseball teams were playing and the player at bat doesn't enter the batters box because he's protesting the other teams defensive shift. Result: If the batter refuses to step into the box, and the pitcher throws the ball, the umpire has the authority to call the pitch a strike regardless of where the pitch ends up.

You want TB out of the trap - PRODUCE TO GET THEM OUT OF THE TRAP.

At the same time, the not going to attack the puck from PHI isn't good either.

And as I write this, PHI scores. Keep doing that and TB may not continue in the trap.

All in all though something has to change b/c if other teams start doing this cat and mouse game stall tactics on either side of the puck, fans may just stop attending and/or watching. Maybe teams are okay with that, I don't know.

I wasn't necessarily saying you were on one side or the other. I'm on the side of the Flyers (did I just say that?) and the paying fans here. The Caps played right into Tampas hands last year in the playoffs and it led to our 4 game unceremonious sweep in the 2nd round. I'm pretty upset Bruce didnt tell our guys to do the same thing, actually. Its hell to play against but whats a good coach for if not to find a way to get them out of it? Laviolette did the right thing for his team. Tampa has some skill guys to play some wide open hockey but they just flat out choose not to do it and its to the detriment of the game on National TV.

[DaRadniz29]

if the trap isn't illegal why is Philly protesting? It's not Tampa Bay's fault if Philly doesn't want to skate into the trap. Part of me says that's good defense by Philly. For me it would be the same as if two baseball teams were playing and the player at bat doesn't enter the batters box because he's protesting the other teams defensive shift. You want TB out of the trap - PRODUCE TO GET THEM OUT OF THE TRAP.

Well, hey, you make it sound so easy!

Lol. If I was a Flyers player/coach I'd be upset about the trap as well, but yeah Im sure it isn't that easy to figure out what to do unless the NHL implements a NBA style of Defense - Man on Man and Limited Zone defense only and call illegal defense penalty (shot?) if teams play other defenses? And if teams stall by what the Flyers did - refs can call a two minute Delay of Game/Stalling penalty.

[charger77]

No clutching, no grabbing, just a complaint about a defensive system? Play through it Philly.

[Don]

No clutching, no grabbing, just a complaint about a defensive system? Play through it Philly.

No doubt, when the Lightning play that system to a tee their damn hard to beat (Caps fans know this), I dont blame the Flyers for countering that with just waiting it out.

[Kramerica Industries]

The Flyers basically just protested against the Lightning running the trap in a 0-0 game in the 1st period. Lightning went to the 1-3-1, the Flyers responded by keeping the puck in their zone for 5 minutes. The 3 Flyers who weren't in their own zone were busy chirping at the entire Tampa bench. Crazy stuff.

Yeah it was pretty bizarre. I looked up, saw the Flyers were holding the puck in their zone, went back to what I was doing on the computer, looked back up minutes later and they still hadn't moved the puck. I had the TV on mute so I didn't hear the booing until I un muted it to see what was going on.

I get why Philly is doing it, and obviously TB is standing by their ways, but as a fan this pisses me off. Nothing of this delaying the game stall tactics on either side is good for the game or the fans. If this continues fans are going to start saying "Go ahead and do this, we just will stop attending games".

Okay, my angry rant has passed... I think

If I'm a paying fan I'm blaming my own coach for the style that he is employing. Peter Laviolette is not dumb, and hes sick of watching the Lightning foot their way through games with their game killing strategy. I dont blame him one bit for telling his players to sit back.

Not sure if you thought I was siding with TB. If you thought so... I'm not. I think both teams are at fault. Neither team did anything illegal or against the rules. The trap isn't against the rules and maybe it should be. However regardless of the team I'm rooting for as I have no vested interest in either team, it's pathetic on both sides. I enjoy hockey for it's fast paced action.

if the trap isn't illegal why is Philly protesting? It's not Tampa Bay's fault if Philly doesn't want to skate into the trap. Part of me says that's good defense by Philly. For me it would be the same as if two baseball teams were playing and the player at bat doesn't enter the batters box because he's protesting the other teams defensive shift. Result: If the batter refuses to step into the box, and the pitcher throws the ball, the umpire has the authority to call the pitch a strike regardless of where the pitch ends up.

You want TB out of the trap - PRODUCE TO GET THEM OUT OF THE TRAP.

At the same time, the not going to attack the puck from PHI isn't good either.

And as I write this, PHI scores. Keep doing that and TB may not continue in the trap.

All in all though something has to change b/c if other teams start doing this cat and mouse game stall tactics on either side of the puck, fans may just stop attending and/or watching. Maybe teams are okay with that, I don't know.

I wasn't necessarily saying you were on one side or the other. I'm on the side of the Flyers (did I just say that?) and the paying fans here. The Caps played right into Tampas hands last year in the playoffs and it led to our 4 game unceremonious sweep in the 2nd round. I'm pretty upset Bruce didnt tell our guys to do the same thing, actually. Its hell to play against but whats a good coach for if not to find a way to get them out of it? Laviolette did the right thing for his team. Tampa has some skill guys to play some wide open hockey but they just flat out choose not to do it and its to the detriment of the game on National TV.

This very same style of play got the Lightning within one goal of playing for the Stanley Cup last year. There's nothing in the rules against playing the 1-3-1, and they can maximize their ultimate potential by utilizing it and sticking with the system, then how can you really blame them? Smart disciplined hockey wins in the playoffs, not Washington Capitals style river hockey which can result in continual 50 win seasons and #1 seeds, with no conference titles or Cup titles to show for it.

[charger77]

Well 1-3-1 worked as Tampa won 2-1 in OT and the Lightning fans go home happy.

[The_Admiral]

There's nothing in the rules against playing the 1-3-1

maybe there ought to be because it makes hockey :censored:ING :censored:TY