2011-12 NHL Season

[Still MIGHTY]

Ilya Bryzgalov contemplates the universe on HBO's 24/7

[Funky Bunky]

I love Bryz. Always so funny and cheerful.

[Maz]

I was kind of disappointed in 24/7 tonight. I don't know what it was missing, it just seemed off...

Could it be that it involved the Rangers and Flyers?

/obligatory inner-division trash

[JQK]

I was kind of disappointed in 24/7 tonight. I don't know what it was missing, it just seemed off...

Could it be that it involved the Rangers and Flyers?

/obligatory inner-division trash

That's why i'm not watching it.

Rangers suck. Flyers swallow.

[The_Admiral]

Three straight regulation losses for the Coyotes. Remember last year when the Thrashers fell off the planet once word started getting around that it was time to pack up? I wonder if that's going to happen again.

Hell of a game by the Blackhawks last night, though their continued inability to step on a team's throat galls me. I'm worried that the Hawks have gone to overtime 11 times in 31 games, and to the shootout 7 times in those 11. I won't turn down the points, but I can tell that they're playing over their heads. And that's fine, I'll take the points, but it might give people the wrong idea. As presently constructed, this isn't a Cup-contending team. Those would be the Bruins, Rangers, Flyers, Red Wings, and Canucks. I'm reminded of my offseason assessment, which is that they got good enough to keep their names in the papers all year while waiting for a wave of prospects to ripen for the coming years, at which point the serious contention would begin. At about the three-eighths point, that's more or less what this team is, though the development of Smith, Morin, Beach, and Olsen has been severely lagging. (Nick Leddy and Marcus Kruger, though, hey.) So it'll be tough to decide how to approach shopping season in January, because while the right addition or two could loft the Hawks into the league's elite, it can't come at the cost of the farm system, unless the Bowmans know something I don't about those guys. Even then, secondary scoring is virtually non-existent, the third pairing can't be trusted, and the goaltending is terrible. Other than getting Tim Gleason to replace the Lepisto/O'Donnell/Scott platoon, no trade is going to fix any of those problems, so what's the point?

But hey, that Kane goal in the shootout, damn!

EDIT: To wit, regarding that "no secondary scoring" thing, the Hawks have 99 goals on the year. Toews/Kane/Hossa/Sharp account for 55 of them. 197 assists, and those four + Keith have 92. This team is Anaheim with good luck.

[GFB]

Three straight regulation losses for the Coyotes. Remember last year when the Thrashers fell off the planet once word started getting around that it was time to pack up? I wonder if that's going to happen again.

Hell of a game by the Blackhawks last night, though their continued inability to step on a team's throat galls me. I'm worried that the Hawks have gone to overtime 11 times in 31 games, and to the shootout 7 times in those 11. I won't turn down the points, but I can tell that they're playing over their heads. And that's fine, I'll take the points, but it might give people the wrong idea. As presently constructed, this isn't a Cup-contending team. Those would be the Bruins, Rangers, Flyers, Red Wings, and Canucks. I'm reminded of my offseason assessment, which is that they got good enough to keep their names in the papers all year while waiting for a wave of prospects to ripen for the coming years, at which point the serious contention would begin. At about the three-eighths point, that's more or less what this team is, though the development of Smith, Morin, Beach, and Olsen has been severely lagging. (Nick Leddy and Marcus Kruger, though, hey.) So it'll be tough to decide how to approach shopping season in January, because while the right addition or two could loft the Hawks into the league's elite, it can't come at the cost of the farm system, unless the Bowmans know something I don't about those guys. Even then, secondary scoring is virtually non-existent, the third pairing can't be trusted, and the goaltending is terrible. Other than getting Tim Gleason to replace the Lepisto/O'Donnell/Scott platoon, no trade is going to fix any of those problems, so what's the point?

But hey, that Kane goal in the shootout, damn!

I think you are being a little hard on a team that, thus far, is getting results. Though it may not be in as convincing manner as you hope, you are right there in the division and your team has plenty of upside... If the Hawks can hang around until the deadline, I wouldn't be surprised to see some good help brought in. The Bowmans know what they are doing...

[Sport]

Patrick Kane's shootout winner, in case you missed it.

[The_Admiral]

Man, that was so almost a stop. You can hear Olczyk grinning, too. That goal was so amazing that it warped the time-space continuum and turned Doc Emrick into Joe Buck.

[GFB]

Patrick Kane's shootout winner, in case you missed it.

It's probably the Red Wings fan in me, but slowing down like that seems really cheap... . Todd Bertuzzi employs that same technique, but it's just far too difficult for a goalie to hang with a shooter THAT long when the shooter comes to an almost-complete stop in front of the net.

Nothing against Kane's sick handles, of course.

[CS85]

I replicated that move in NHL 11 afterwords in celebration. That was ridiculous. My first thought was "was that legal?" Then I realized I didn't care.

[The_Admiral]

I think you are being a little hard on a team that, thus far, is getting results. Though it may not be in as convincing manner as you hope, you are right there in the division and your team has plenty of upside... If the Hawks can hang around until the deadline, I wouldn't be surprised to see some good help brought in. The Bowmans know what they are doing...

I know I'm hard on the Hawks. It provides a good counterbalance to my not giving a damn about the Bears.

Right now, I'd say they're among the ten best teams in the league, somewhere between 6-10 from day to day. I'm just in a tough spot as a fan, because in the long run, I don't want to see point inflation give anyone the wrong idea about what this team is and could be, and make them gut the farm for rentals. At the same time, I want the Hawks to win a Stanley Cup again, despite knowing in my heart that they don't have the pieces to do it and can't get the pieces to do it, but hey, show up to the playoffs and see what happens. Like you said, just gotta hope the Bowmans can fleece bad teams again. Cam Barker for Nick Leddy should have been blocked for hockey reasons.

[GFB]

I think you are being a little hard on a team that, thus far, is getting results. Though it may not be in as convincing manner as you hope, you are right there in the division and your team has plenty of upside... If the Hawks can hang around until the deadline, I wouldn't be surprised to see some good help brought in. The Bowmans know what they are doing...

I know I'm hard on the Hawks. It provides a good counterbalance to my not giving a damn about the Bears.

Right now, I'd say they're among the ten best teams in the league, somewhere between 6-10 from day to day. I'm just in a tough spot as a fan, because in the long run, I don't want to see point inflation give anyone the wrong idea about what this team is and could be, and make them gut the farm for rentals. At the same time, I want the Hawks to win a Stanley Cup again, despite knowing in my heart that they don't have the pieces to do it and can't get the pieces to do it, but hey, show up to the playoffs and see what happens. Like you said, just gotta hope the Bowmans can fleece bad teams again. Cam Barker for Nick Leddy should have been blocked for hockey reasons.

As long as the Blackhawks' front office isn't getting sucked into the hype, I don't see a problem with fans buying into the team and getting excited. What's the harm in buying in now? Go along for the ride... You have a young, exciting nucleus of players, and the West is relatively weak this year compared to years past. If things don't work out this year and you get bounced in the first or second round, then remind yourself that the team is young and still a year or two away from really peaking. At this point, you have just as good of shot at making the Finals as anyone... (yes, even Wings included. ). Take it from experience, don't let your cynicism put a damper on a exciting season for the Hawks.

[BigBubba]

That was a sweet goal, but it looks kind of like the goalie gave up once Kane had the open net. Not that it would have made much of a difference, but he could at least have jutted his stick out to try to desperately block it instead of just sitting there for about a second or two giving up.

[Don]

Flyers announce Chris Pronger out for the rest of the season and playoffs.

[Don]

Ilya Bryzgalov contemplates the universe on HBO's 24/7

Sometimes I think Bryz lays at night in one of Phillys wonderful parks that Winnipeg doesnt have and just looks at the stars wondering how we were created and that the aliens are not worrying and being happy out there.

[charger77]

Pronger is out for the year and playoffs, start the Weber to Philly talk.

[The_Admiral]

Weber definitely has to wind up in Philly. Nashville's never winning anything, so rent him out and try to develop forwards who matter. For once.

[TFoA]

Weber definitely has to wind up in Philly. Nashville's never winning anything, so rent him out and try to develop forwards who matter. For once.

And break the Predator Way^TM? BLASPHEMY!

Seriously, it seems as if they're content w/ just having an above average blueline, good goaltending, and a bunch of scrappy fellas who just sort of float pucks towards the goalie and hope for the best. Not one of their forwards would be on a first line outside of Columbus, yet there they are. If Polie can get some forwards in there that can actually score on a regular basis, they'd start making some postseason inroads. But for now? Doubt it.

EDIT: Almost as if on cue, Weber scores twice late in the 3rd to help beat the Wings. Wow.

[zpqmaowl]

Kings win 2-1 in Columbus...scoring twice against the worst team is an improvement, right?

[Maz]

The new curse of the Winter Classic.

Originally, the winning team was doomed to lose in the finals.

Now, the home team's captain gets knocked out with a season-ending concussion.