New England Hockey Talk

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by snid (original)

So, what team do I hitch my wagon to? I've been without a team to follow for quite a while. Growing up, it was the Bruins, of course. When Ray Borque went to Colorado, that was a no-brainer. Since Ray retired, I'm lost. Is Tie Domi still playing and acting insane (or did we find out at some point that he truly is insane?)?

He retired at the end of last season and is now embroiled in an ugly divorce and allegations of an extramarital affair with a member of the Canadian Parliament. So he's still acting insane, just not on ice anymore...

-Ricardo

[MGB Boy]

And the Buffaslugs win again... ho-hum.

-Ricardo

[bethandlouis]

It really amazes me the amount of minutia that you about the secret lives of hockey players. The only juicy tidbit of knowlege I have is that Brendan Witt drives a Ferrari. I also know that Alexander the Great drives an escalade (didn't take him long to assimilate into the american culture, eh?

[MGB Boy]

My brain stores useless trivia quite well (that's why I'm on your trivia contest team). Plus maybe you need to start watching more CBC/CTV! Do you get those channels? While all the media types down here are foaming at the mouth about stuff like Barry Bonds and T.O., up there it's stuff like the Domi affair. Big news!

-Ricardo

[bethandlouis]

What channel would it be? I have no idea. I didn't get Center Ice this year (I work nights) so all I have is NESN (as far as I know).

[MGB Boy]

Up here, we get CBMT channel 6 CBC-English (19 on cable), CBFT channel 2 CBC-French (22 on cable), and CFCF-12 CTV (21 on cable. CTV is Canada's largest private TV network, as opposed to the government-owned CBC). Grew up with "Hockey Night in Canada", including Coach's Corner with Don Cherry (and his amusing combination of high collars, ugly blazers, and xenophobia). So along with the Center Ice package, there's games on CBC every weekend, as well as the games on "Versus" (the artist formerly known as OLN/Outdoor Life Network), NESN, HDNet, and iNHD. Good stuff...

-Ricardo

[Actual Size]

Quote: Originally Posted by MGB Boy (original)

Grew up with "Hockey Night in Canada", including Coach's Corner with Don Cherry (and his amusing combination of high collars, ugly blazers, and xenophobia).

Grew up watching "Houckey Night in Canada" with a friend at a bar in Fort Erie, Ontario that had pints of Molson Ale for 50¢ all night. That's why I don't remember a thing the aboot the minutiae.

[faster,Tobias!]

Quote: Originally Posted by bethandlouis (original)

It really amazes me the amount of minutia that you about the secret lives of hockey players. The only juicy tidbit of knowlege I have is that Brendan Witt drives a Ferrari. I also know that Alexander the Great drives an escalade (didn't take him long to assimilate into the american culture, eh?

Theoren Fleury drives a Cooper S. Very apropos!
And, MGB Boy, you are right about the Flames leaning heavily on Kipper, and the stumble out of the gates due to his less-than-regular play shows it. But the Flames do have (and some of you will argue this) one of the best group of starting 6 D-men in the league. They are a team that are struggling with the change from a defence-first, hard-hat & hard work philosophy to a more offensive game.

[bethandlouis]

I forgot about Vs. There should be ultimate matchups on that channel like Man vs. Bear. That would be too literal though. Watching the Devils/Pens matchup now. 1-1 in the 2nd period. Oh Crosby just scored so it's 1-2 Pens. They've got Crosby on a powerhouse of a line. He's a good hockey player but it's more who you're put with because you alone can not win a hockey game. I was reminded tonight why my favorite position is goalie. You can subtley beat up on the offensive line that has creeped into your crease. Fleury flattened someone that got too close to him.

[faster,Tobias!]

Ok, so it was the tail-spinning Coyotes we played, but Calgary's 6-1 win last night at least had them showing improvements on special teams with 3 goals from the PP and a shorthanded goal. And Phaneuf, who seemed to be lacking confidence in the first few games with hasty and misdirected passes whenever pressured, is settling down. He laid major hits on Nolan and Comrie - love it! I hope that they can use this win to build on, but the Flames don't play again until the weekend.
As an aside, did anyone catch Malkin's goal last night? That was classic Lemieux. Any Pens fans out there take heart, because with kids like Crosby and Malkin you will be watching some exciting games for a long time.

[bethandlouis]

I did. I missed the Crosby goal though. It was a pretty sweet shot but I think that Broder could have stopped it if he hadn't come out so far to challenge.

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by bethandlouis (original)

I was reminded tonight why my favorite position is goalie.

Of course, what else is there?

Quote: Originally Posted by bethandlouis (original)

You can subtley beat up on the offensive line that has creeped into your crease. Fleury flattened someone that got too close to him.

My three favorites:

1) The whack to the back of the calves.
2) Kidney punch with the blocker.
3) Cup check!

A couple guys in my Monday night group could testify to the risks inherent in crowding my crease. I'm pretty certain my bud Brian will never forget his cup again.

Quote: Originally Posted by faster,Tobias! (original)

Ok, so it was the tail-spinning Coyotes we played, but Calgary's 6-1 win last night at least had them showing improvements on special teams with 3 goals from the PP and a shorthanded goal.

I forget, do wins against Phoenix still count in the standings? The only thing keeping them from being worst in the league is Philly (although Philly is only one point behind with two games in hand). As Dean Wormer said, fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go thru life, nor is giving up 44 goals in 10 games, like the 'Yotes have. I don't think Calgary needs to worry about the D. They've got a solid D, they've got a first class 'keeper. Just like last year, the key is going to be finding a way to generate offense, can't expect to win them all 1-0. If they truly can get the powerplay going, then they might get somewhere, see if they can be one of the four teams not named Anaheim, San Jose, Dallas, or Minnesota that make the playoffs out west.

Quote: Originally Posted by faster,Tobias! (original)

Any Pens fans out there take heart, because with kids like Crosby and Malkin you will be watching some exciting games for a long time.

When they get more of a supporting cast (and if Fleury turns out to be the sort of goalie he's been hyped to be for the past few years), Pitt will be a very good team down the road a bit. Crosby, Malkin, and Staal give them a great little pack of forwards to build around...

-Ricardo

[bethandlouis]

Is the great one still the coyotes coach?

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by bethandlouis (original)

Is the great one still the coyotes coach?

Yep. And if he wasn't A) part owner of the team, and B) Wayne Gretzky (and therefore granted a lifetime "free pass" by almost every hockey pundit on the planet), I have to think that more folks would be saying "he's on the hot seat this season" with a lot more vigor than they currently are. Finished last in the Pacific Division last year, and this year so far they look like they're trying hard to invent a new position below last. Ken Hitchcock just got fired for less. But it's Gretzky, so he'll get the benefit of the doubt longer than most coaches would, I suspect. And if he doesn't turn it around, will he fire himself?

-Ricardo

[bethandlouis]

Playing great hockey and coaching great hockey do not always go hand in hand. I don't know what the ratio is to pro NHL players turned coach is (although I'm sure you do ) but coaching is a completely different beast. You can't just tell the players to go out and score 1,000 goals. It just doesn't happen that way. You have to nuture young teams (and prune the old ones). I don't know if he is all to blame but I do think that other league coaches have been fired for less. Being that he is part owner it's difficult to give yourself a pink slip (as it's hard to look at yourself and find faults). But like I said before I don't pay any attention to the pacific (they don't even have ice in Phoenix)

Caps beat Avs!!! Woohooo C-A-P-S Caps Caps Caps!