The 2013 NHL Season Thread

[Orgo]

It's pretty amusing playing old NHL video games, and seeing how many players ended up being complete busts.

None more-so than Pavel Brendl.

Byfuglien was a white guy in NHL 07. A bit more recent, but EA's never been good with attention-to-detail kinda stuff.

[Kramerica Industries]

I'd be scared if he had been made skinny on that game.

Brendl is amazing to me. Drafted 4th overall in '99, old scouting reports rave about his shooting ability and his size (and his wrist shot on NHL 2004 is, indeed, unbelievable), but the real life Pavel Brendl yields a total NHL failure who bounced around from New York to Philly to Carolina, and could never stick anywhere. Someone with terrible work ethic and misused roles. He's only salvageable because he's 21 on that game.

[spartacat_12]

Some Canadians may disagree with me here (some may agree though), but I've just about had it with CBC. The Sens have 4 Saturday games in the month of March and only 1 of those is being shown on Hockey Night in Canada (I'm sure most people can guess who that game is against). It's not like they're even playing at the same time as the Leafs or Habs, they're almost all afternoon games. Do they really think that more people will watch downhill skiing than NHL hockey? Hockey Night in Canada has been coasting by on its name alone for the last decade and Don Cherry seems like he's getting crazier every week. I understand that it's a Canadian institution but TSN's hockey coverage surpassed it ages ago. I imagine one day (possibly once Don has retired) TSN will be showing the Stanley Cup Finals, and that would be just fine with me.

Actually I think HNIC will see something of a renaissance once Cherry retires. Most people I know my age kind of just tolerate Cherry because he's a cultural institution and yadda yadda. Once he's done I can see more younger people being excited at the prospect of watching the NHL on CBC. Which is a good thing. I really like TSN's NHL coverage but the Stanley Cup Finals not airing on CBC would seem really weird to me in the wrong sort of way.

As for the Sens, it is what it is. Sorry, the Leafs are just always going to get higher billing. I don't want to start an Ottawa/Toronto pissing match here, because Lord knows those are no fun, but the Leafs are the bigger national draw.

That being said I certainly wouldn't mind it in the slightest if the Sens got more of a presence on HNIC outside of their games with the Leafs and Habs.

It would be extremely naive of me to disagree with you there. Not only is Toronto the nation's biggest city, but the Leafs probably have the most far-reaching fan base. I completely understand when a Leaf game is shown over a Sens game, however these Sens games are all afternoon games meaning there is no conflict. I find it hard to believe that non-Olympic figure skating and skiing is a bigger national draw than any NHL game featuring a Canadian team.

[GO2HELL]

Personally, I'd love to see Bob Mackenzie take over for Grapes on Coaches Corner. Without a doubt, he's the smartest man in hockey.

[IceCap]

Some Canadians may disagree with me here (some may agree though), but I've just about had it with CBC. The Sens have 4 Saturday games in the month of March and only 1 of those is being shown on Hockey Night in Canada (I'm sure most people can guess who that game is against). It's not like they're even playing at the same time as the Leafs or Habs, they're almost all afternoon games. Do they really think that more people will watch downhill skiing than NHL hockey? Hockey Night in Canada has been coasting by on its name alone for the last decade and Don Cherry seems like he's getting crazier every week. I understand that it's a Canadian institution but TSN's hockey coverage surpassed it ages ago. I imagine one day (possibly once Don has retired) TSN will be showing the Stanley Cup Finals, and that would be just fine with me.

Actually I think HNIC will see something of a renaissance once Cherry retires. Most people I know my age kind of just tolerate Cherry because he's a cultural institution and yadda yadda. Once he's done I can see more younger people being excited at the prospect of watching the NHL on CBC. Which is a good thing. I really like TSN's NHL coverage but the Stanley Cup Finals not airing on CBC would seem really weird to me in the wrong sort of way.

As for the Sens, it is what it is. Sorry, the Leafs are just always going to get higher billing. I don't want to start an Ottawa/Toronto pissing match here, because Lord knows those are no fun, but the Leafs are the bigger national draw.

That being said I certainly wouldn't mind it in the slightest if the Sens got more of a presence on HNIC outside of their games with the Leafs and Habs.

It would be extremely naive of me to disagree with you there. Not only is Toronto the nation's biggest city, but the Leafs probably have the most far-reaching fan base. I completely understand when a Leaf game is shown over a Sens game, however these Sens games are all afternoon games meaning there is no conflict. I find it hard to believe that non-Olympic figure skating and skiing is a bigger national draw than any NHL game featuring a Canadian team.

Honestly I don't think figure skating would have gotten the coverage it has this year if Patrick Chan hadn't been going for his third World Championship. I live in the town where the World Championships are being held and I've barely noticed they're happening.

[troy_3223]

This is the first step to the re-alignment:

This solution solves a lot more problems than just the NHL realignment.

[FGM13]

They're happening? I didn't even notice.

[sportstar1212]

Lupul scores in his first shift back after missing 26 games.

[OMMF]

The rare alt vs alt matchup today in Boston. If only the Bruins one was better looking.

Re: NBA schedule. The NBA schedule has nothing to do with the NHL one as far as this year goes. When I wrote that, I was looking at years past and even then you can see that Wednesday and Friday nights have 9-12 games per night. It probably just makes it easier on arena operators and schedule makers to know that those can almost always be used as travel days.

[NEW.ERA]

Since that early Leafs goal they've really regressed into playing that old Leaf style of game. Winnipeg has pretty much taken over.

[The_Admiral]

The Panthers elevated their camera angle so you can't see as much of the sea of empty seats between the blue lines, trololololol

[Island_Style]

The Panthers elevated their camera angle so you can't see as much of the sea of empty seats between the blue lines, trololololol

You mean like Chicago before Toews and Kane?

[TorinK29]

I bet the reason that the First Niagra Center broadcasts are so dark is so you can't see any empty seats with those dark jerseys, so every game looks like a sellout.

[The_Admiral]

The Panthers elevated their camera angle so you can't see as much of the sea of empty seats between the blue lines, trololololol

You mean like Chicago before Toews and Kane?

No, the rest of the building is well-attended, but the best seats in the house sit empty because they're just throw-ins for the Michael Yormark Crapulence Club.

[Funky Bunky]

I have a question for those of you who are well-versed in NHL stuff... (Admiral, Ice_Cap, Still Mighty, et al)

Why is it that there are so few games on Fridays? Is it due to the 48 game schedule this season? Or has it always been this way? (I can't remember if it was like this before I walked away in 2005) .Does it have something to do with the NBA or something? Is it because damn near everyone plays on Saturday and Sunday? I'm just curious because Friday seems like a night where there should be more games.

You know.....I never really thought about it. Traditionally Saturday night was always the big night for the league (Hockey Night in Canada and all that) so if there is a historical trend to have only a few games on Friday that's probably the reason, to save the marquee match ups for Saturday.

It's just this year (because of the shortened season).

Friday is NBA night. On almost any given Friday, there are 9-12 NBA games. GIven how many teams share arenas, Friday becomes the NHL night off. Same goes for Wednesday, which is how we end up with Minnesota vs Detroit on NBCSN for "rivalry" night.

So, I guess the answer to my question is all of the above?

Well, I know for a fact there are at least less Friday games than usual.

[JackieMoon]

So, what exactly is the job of the War Room in Toronto? Why is it whenever something happens to the Blue Jackets, it is simply ignored??? Guy for Phoenix keeps skating backwards and knocks Bobrovsky right over with no incident from anyone else. No Interference is called...

[CS85]

Blackhawks are playing NHL 13 out there tonight on rookie difficulty.

[Kramerica Industries]

Lightning improve to 5-0-0 vs. Florida and Carolina this season.

If only they could keep playing those two schmucks.

[Still MIGHTY]

So, what exactly is the job of the War Room in Toronto? Why is it whenever something happens to the Blue Jackets, it is simply ignored??? Guy for Phoenix keeps skating backwards and knocks Bobrovsky right over with no incident from anyone else. No Interference is called...

None of that is the War Room's job.

They review goals. None of which has happened in the Yotes/Beej game.

[JackieMoon]

Oh yeah, I forgot. Pretty bad though that three officials can't see it.