The 2013 NHL Season Thread

[Kramerica Industries]

Well, the joke misfired.

"If the win the Cup this year I hope they do it at home...I already have the red jersey!"

I'm certain you meant white, since they clinched the Cup in Philadelphia.

I hope they win the Cup at home because I already have the red jersey and it will only cost a few bucks to put the patch on it as opposed to buying a new white one if they win on the road again.

Oh. Wow. Never thought of that.

Well, tail-between-the-legs time.

[The_Admiral]

These West standings are positively goofy. Everyone from 4 through 8 has 24 points. the next two have 23, then LA at 22. Phoenix beat Anaheim and went from 11th to 6th, then got bumped down to 9th with someone else's win(s). The Kings, with a win, would jump from 11th place to 4th with one win. What the hell does any of this even mean. Can we please have a hockey season where a large number of games can tell us which teams are better than others?

[NEW.ERA]

No one should ever take anything, anyone says at ESPN seriously. It's just funny when it's Stephen A. Smith, resident tool. How does this guy keep getting work?

[The_Admiral]

He didn't say anything I can disagree with, right down to incredulity that Columbus has a team.

[Sport]

Because his and Bayless' ratings are ridiculous, sad to say.

If we're going to debate this sillines, and it sucks that the NHL didn't even get a voice in SAS' argument, the Blackhawks streak is far and away more impressive because it happens in a league with legitimate parity coupled with the fact that the sport's rules create parity within individual games so it's harder to win (and not lose) a bunch of games in a row in the NHL than it is in the NBA. If you look at the basic numbers, there's been plenty of 14 game win streaks in NBA history but only one team has ever done what the Blackhawks are doing.

Further, the Blackhawks were a team that was built legitimately. The Miami Heat were a collusion disaster that embodies everything that is wrong with the NBA. God that league sucks.

He's right about getting a point for an overtime loss being dumb. A lot of hockey fans would agree with that, but only we're allowed to say it.

I also doubt that Columbus is the only NHL city he doesn't know and I think the whole thing is more embarrassing for espen than it is for hockey.

NBCSN should counter with Milbury. He's almost as low as SAS on credibility.

[The Six]

These West standings are positively goofy. Everyone from 4 through 8 has 24 points. the next two have 23, then LA at 22. Phoenix beat Anaheim and went from 11th to 6th, then got bumped down to 9th with someone else's win(s). The Kings, with a win, would jump from 11th place to 4th with one win. What the hell does any of this even mean. Can we please have a hockey season where a large number of games can tell us which teams are better than others?

That's why we need expansion. The league clearly isn't watered down enough. Too many good teams!

[The Six]

Further, the Blackhawks were a team that was built legitimately. The Miami Heat were a collusion disaster that embodies everything that is wrong with the NBA. God that league sucks.

Nonsense. Collusion? How were the Heat not built "legitimately?"

[Brass]

Stephen A. Smith is ignorant beyond words when it comes to hockey. He's an insignificant zero who's thoughts, insight, and logic are useless if we're talking hockey here.

[The_Admiral]

But the Hawks' streak would be cheapened if they had a significant number of non-shootout overtime losses. At least shootouts are regulation-overtime ties with bonus points, and so the Hawks can be said to be 16-0-6 with the game clock running. If they just got fat on overtime losses and had an actual record of, say, 9-5-8, that wouldn't be something to celebrate. That would be the Florida Panthers.

[Still MIGHTY]

That Stephen A video was a waste of my brain cells.

Even if Stephen A actually knew there as a hockey team in Columbus, or which Columbus it was, or that THERE ARE NO MORE TIES SO STOP SAYING THA, of course he was going to side with basketball. He initially covered basketball. He is friends with D-Wade and LeBron and the whole crew. Even if Stephen A knew the history of hockey or what any of it actually meant, of course he's going to side with basketball.

As far as actually comparing the streaks, Miami SHOULD be winning 14 straight games. And yeah 22 games "without a regulation loss" isn't the same or have the same oomph as being "undefeated" or winning 22 straight, but in hockey, it's something. It's history. How many NBA teams have won 14 straight? Many. How many NHL teams have gone 22 games with a point to open the season? One. And it's not like its 22 OT losses. It's 19 wins and the best record in the league.

STFU Stephen A. Go back to me not hearing about you.

[BLUELANDbeliever]

Pretty sure i've said this before, but if it weren't for John Buccigross, ESPN would not know that hockey existed (as if they even do anyway). They could spend 5 hours on how many beads of sweat are on Lebron's forehead and give 10 seconds to hockey (which would just be a clip of a fight). ESPN is a joke of a reporting organization. Sidney Crosby could be traded and here is what ESPN would put as their top story: **Breaking news! Kobe just used a different brand of shampoo!**

[dbadefense1990]

No one should ever take anything, anyone says at ESPN seriously. It's just funny when it's Stephen A. Smith, resident tool. How does this guy keep getting work?

Because his and Bayless' ratings are ridiculous, sad to say.

Stephen A. Smith is ignorant beyond words when it comes to hockey. He's an insignificant zero who's thoughts, insight, and logic are useless if we're talking hockey here.

Even in his specialty sport, basketball, there is no logical talk between he and Skip. It's all about Kobe v. LeBron v. MJ, or what the Miami Heat did, or why Smith hates the Lakers, or that there's not enough Black people in other sports. McCarthy said it best; it's all about the ratings. For every masterful (OTL, 30 for 30, PTI) and funny (ATH) show ESPN has, they have the one ratings' sure fire show (First Take), dedicated to the lowest common denominator of sports fans.

And I haven't even started to talk about Smith's hockey approach.

[CS85]

Is it dumb that overtime produces points? Yes

Is the point streak only semi impressive because of shootouts? Sure.

Do I have a lot of posts where I ask then answer my own questions? Frighteningly so.

But during this streak they beat lowly teams like the Kings, Cavs, 76ers, Bobcats, (at the time struggling) Lakers, and Raptors in a league where talent is polarized.

The Blackhawks have pulled this off in a league where only 7 teams in 30 are below .500, and only one of those teams is slipping away (Columbus, who still isn't a rollover team). They've done it with two goaltenders who nobody expected to be performing at such a high level and a roster which is 95% similar to last year's roster which could barely forge an identity for itself. They've done it with no training camp and endured a condensed schedule.

Not to mention the Blackhawks broke the record for consecutive points 6 games ago and are still rolling. The Heat have won 15 in a row, but are 18 games away from tying the NBA's regular season win streak record.

The NHL simply isn't as glamorized a league as the NBA and the Blackhawks aren't even remotely comparably as interesting to the sports public than the Heat. Plus Stephen A Smith would never watch hockey, much less give it credit over basketball in any way, shape, or form. They're probably just setting this up for an embarrassing "ESPN SHOWDOWN" between him and Melrose on First Take or whatever crappy thing.

[Lights Out]

It's a dumb comparison considering Miami's winning streak isn't the longest streak any team's had this season, nor has it been historical. If anything, the Clippers' undefeated month would be a better comparison to the Hawks' streak, because that's only been done two other times in the history of the NBA.

[Kramerica Industries]

No joke - the dunk Lebron had to finish yesterday's game against the Knicks was actually being hailed as "the iconic dunk of the season" by Stuart Scott. A dunk that, by Lebron standards, was absolutely nothing special.

This was at around 5:00 in the morning, and I nearly puked. Why are they focusing on the Heat's 14 game streak, anyway? At this point, that's not even the longest winning streak in the NBA this season! And not only are the Blackhawks on a historic run, but they're doing it in a strike season that nuked them out of any kind of training camp, which makes this even more impressive. I mean, I think SAS is on to something when it comes to talking about "ties", but he didn't have to dry-hump the Heat to make that point.

[ninersdd]

I mean, I think SAS is on to something when it comes to talking about "ties", but he didn't have to dry-hump the Heat to make that point.

Is LeBron a Blackhawk? Of course not. He would blow the Heat since James plays for them.

[Kevin W.]

They're probably just setting this up for an embarrassing "ESPN SHOWDOWN" between him and Melrose on First Take or whatever crappy thing.

Please tell me it ends with both of them lacing up some skates and dropping the gloves, ending with Melrose breaking Smith's jaw thus preventing him from talking for a while.

[Kramerica Industries]

I mean, I think SAS is on to something when it comes to talking about "ties", but he didn't have to dry-hump the Heat to make that point.

Is LeBron a Blackhawk? Of course not. He would blow the Heat since James plays for them.

Well, yeah. All I'm getting at is that this is once again a case where Item A is torn down to make Item B seem more impressive, when Item B's merits speak for themselves. It's unnecessary and proves nothing more than sheer ignorance.

[dbadefense1990]

Stephen A. Smith would be the one person who would waste his time, researching a possible link on the sport of hockey, and Afro-American slavery in cotton plantation fields in the South.

By the way, if there was another non-Barry Melrose ESPN-person to address the question later, it should've been Michael Wilbon. His specialty is basketball, but knows enough of Chicago sports for how the Blackhawks are doing.

[dbadefense1990]

Do basketball fans even care for regular season winning streaks? CCLSC is polarized for hockey, so the 'Hawks streak is big news to all of us, but the NBA's regular season is a joke, because nothing really matters until the postseason (and even then, you can predict about 90% of the matchups in the 1st two rounds).