NHL 2013! Game On!

[Average American]

Since there are no longer any ties,...

I'm with you,.. the Hawks are having a killer season, but they have taken three losses, no matter how they are credited.

& I think, the point about the ties is valid (both for and against their 'undefeated' streak). Yes, under the old scoring the BlackHawks would technically be undefeated (18-0-3), but that record doesn't carry the same weight or stature as 21-0.
Would the '72 Dolphins carry as much status if they had finished their season 16-0-1 (?) It's not the same, someone proved they were your equal at some point with that record..

 

[jaxvid]

I'm with you,.. the Hawks are having a killer season, but they have taken three losses, no matter how they are credited.

& I think, the point about the ties is valid (both for and against their 'undefeated' streak). Yes, under the old scoring the BlackHawks would technically be undefeated (18-0-3), but that record doesn't carry the same weight or stature as 21-0.
Would the '72 Dolphins carry as much status if they had finished their season 16-0-1 (?) It's not the same, someone proved they were your equal at some point with that record..

Yes but ties have always been a big part of hockey. It's a game where often not a lot of scoring happens so there are going to be a lot of tie game situations. You cannot compare it to football that has 4 different ways to put points on the board. That's why there is a point system of 2 for a win and 1 for a tie. It shows that the tie game has some value.

 

[Average American]

Yes but ties have always been a big part of hockey. It's a game where often not a lot of scoring happens so there are going to be a lot of tie game situations. You cannot compare it to football that has 4 different ways to put points on the board. That's why there is a point system of 2 for a win and 1 for a tie. It shows that the tie game has some value.

that's a good point about the higher probability of ties in hockey (especially in the historical context of previous NHL rules).
My point is simply 18-0-3 is not the equivalent achievement of 21-0 (in any sport)..
& I think some of those 18 Ws were OT wins (?), so the Hawks record would be even heavier in the tie column under the long-standing pre-OT record keeping.
Watchin' the Habs-Bruins last night, I think NBC was doing a more fair characterization, 'point in every game streak', as opposed to how it's been labelled 'undefeated' streak (which is still technically true tho).

 

[Freethinker]

that's a good point about the higher probability of ties in hockey (especially in the historical context of previous NHL rules).
My point is simply 18-0-3 is not the equivalent achievement of 21-0 (in any sport)..
& I think some of those 18 Ws were OT wins (?), so the Hawks record would be even heavier in the tie column under the long-standing pre-OT record keeping.
Watchin' the Habs-Bruins last night, I think NBC was doing a more fair characterization, 'point in every game streak', as opposed to how it's been labelled 'undefeated' streak (which is still technically true tho).

Good points AA as well as Don and jaxvid too. I looked up the Blackhawks full schedule and they have won alot of OT and shoot out games. Their record would be 12-0-10 under the former standings that included ties after regulation. While I'd still consider that an impressive record, it pales in comparison to 19-0-3.

 

[Don Wassall]

Yes but ties have always been a big part of hockey. It's a game where often not a lot of scoring happens so there are going to be a lot of tie game situations. You cannot compare it to football that has 4 different ways to put points on the board. That's why there is a point system of 2 for a win and 1 for a tie. It shows that the tie game has some value.

Not anymore, there are zero ties in hockey now, which is why the standings of one win column and two loss columns is bogus. If an overtime loss doesn't count the same as a regulation play loss then neither should an overtime win. I don't understand the football comparison; there's only one way to score in baseball and basketball, and baseball is also relatively low scoring. Ties now occur only in football, and only very rarely, about once every five years or so, but the other three sports have an honest wins and loss record keeping system, unlike the NHL.

 

[Matra2]

The game was on the NHL Network, courtesy of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada's feed, now in its 60th season as continuously hypnotically noted during the broadcast. One of the four employees on set was black (Kevin Weekes), and the guy interviewing players between periods and after the game was also black. That's two out of five or 40% in a league where 98% of the players are White.

Those guys must be new. Last year it was an all white line-up on HNIC (I think).

Canada's main media centre is Toronto, known as Canada's most American city. That is, Torontonian elites take all their cues from the US - actually from New York, Washington DC, and Hollywood. They see the rest of Canada as "bush league" and often ridicule the country's only real pro-sports league, the CFL. I used to listen to a Toronto sports station online but got tired of them kissing up to US jocksniffers from SI.com, ESPN, etc, too much NBA talk (it's ratings are in the toilet in Canada), as well as their constant references to American pop culture - Beyonce, Letterman, Kimmel, various US network reality TV shows, etc. And then there was the Obama cheerleading.:icon_rolleyes: As long as "diversity" is the in-thing in New York Torontonians will crave diversity.

In the case of the CBC they are probably extra sensitive to diversity issues because they continue to employ Don Cherry. The former Bruins coach is regularly embroiled in xenophobia controversies and is seen as an embarrassing relic by most at the CBC. However, awkwardly for the mostly liberal TV network, Cherry has been the CBC's, and indeed, the country's, biggest TV star for decades.

 

[Rebajlo]

The Blackhawks have lost their first game in regulation time this season: a 2-6 belting at the hands of the Avalanche. Chicago conceded four unanswered goals in the second period...

In my opinion, if the score is still level after 60 minutes plus one period of overtime, the game should simply be notched as a tie. Each team receives one point and everyone goes home. Nothing wrong with that - and there'd be less clutter on the standings table sans the shootout wins / shootout losses columns...

 

[Don Wassall]

In my opinion, if the score is still level after 60 minutes plus one period of overtime, the game should simply be notched as a tie. Each team receives one point and everyone goes home. Nothing wrong with that - and there'd be less clutter on the standings table sans the shootout wins / shootout losses columns...

Agree completely. I'm old school I guess, don't get into gimmicks and pro sports has lots of them. I don't like that so many teams make the playoffs, cheapens the regular season and demeans and punishes the accomplishments of the best teams as it is very difficult to win three or four short playoff rounds. But pro leagues are now purely corporate enterprises that are set up to have as much parity as possible, which makes them more profitable, which is all that counts.

 

[Rebajlo]

Agree completely. I'm old school I guess, don't get into gimmicks and pro sports has lots of them. I don't like that so many teams make the playoffs, cheapens the regular season and demeans and punishes the accomplishments of the best teams as it is very difficult to win three or four short playoff rounds. But pro leagues are now purely corporate enterprises that are set up to have as much parity as possible, which makes them more profitable, which is all that counts.

Don -

There's nothing wrong with being "old school". :icon_wink: Unfortunately, the number of teams qualifying for the playoffs perforce has to be four or eight from each conference.

The corporate machine's nightmare of "only" four teams in a streamlined playoff format would obviously be bad for business (i.e. not raking in nearly as much dough from ticket sales and pay-per-view). Another Jew-unfriendly by-product would be too many potentially "meaningless" (therefore "unprofitable" - see previous parenthesis) games in the latter half of the regular season. On the other hand, the current quota of eight playoff berths per conference allows just over half of the whopping thirty teams to make the cut - which, in purely sporting terms, is ridiculous...

A central issue, of course, is the size of the NHL. In my opinion, the league should never have expanded beyond 24 teams. For that matter, these "Eastern" and "Western" Conferences - regardless of their geographic composition - should be known as the "Prince of Wales Conference" and the "Clarence Campbell Conference", complete with Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe Divisions. This may sound absurdly trivial, but the name changes have provided one of my major gripes over the past two decades. Needless to say, I'm also rather "old school"...

Funnily enough, the Blackhawks have lost their second straight game in regulation time: 5-6 against the Oilers. Yet again, Chicago conceded four unanswered goals in a single period, but this time it was the first twenty minutes, not the second.

Sidney Crosby provided five assists in Pittsburgh's 6-1 demolition of the Islanders - which gives him 45 points in 26 games. Yet ESPN has Eldrick Woods' ugly, smashed-mollusc mug on its home page...

 

[Freethinker]

Agree completely. I'm old school I guess, don't get into gimmicks and pro sports has lots of them. I don't like that so many teams make the playoffs, cheapens the regular season and demeans and punishes the accomplishments of the best teams as it is very difficult to win three or four short playoff rounds. But pro leagues are now purely corporate enterprises that are set up to have as much parity as possible, which makes them more profitable, which is all that counts.

Unfortunately, the number of teams qualifying for the playoffs perforce has to be four or eight from each conference.

The corporate machine's nightmare of "only" four teams in a streamlined playoff format would obviously be bad for business (i.e. not raking in nearly as much dough from ticket sales and pay-per-view). Another Jew-unfriendly by-product would be too many potentially "meaningless" (therefore "unprofitable" - see previous parenthesis) games in the latter half of the regular season. On the other hand, the current quota of eight playoff berths per conference allows just over half of the whopping thirty teams to make the cut - which, in purely sporting terms, is ridiculous...

I agree on 16 teams being far too many. The NBA suffers from this problem, in addition to a myriad of other problems, as well. I would propose they adopt the NFL model of 6 teams. The 3 division winners and 3 wild cards. The 2 teams with the most points would then be rewarded for their excellent regular season with a first round bye.

Sidney Crosby provided five assists in Pittsburgh's 6-1 demolition of the Islanders - which gives him 45 points in 26 games. Yet ESPN has Eldrick Woods' ugly, smashed-mollusc mug on its home page...

Yes, what a great game for Sid the Kid. I especially enjoyed how Chris Kunitz was on the receiving end of 3 of those. He's an especially underrated player. In his last 82 regular-season contests, Kunitz now has 83 points (34G, 49A) and a plus-34 rating. He's also carrying my fantasy hockey team this year.

 

[Tannehill17]

I've been going to the Panthers games this year even though they have disappointed. The lack of a training camp led to injuries and really decimated this team. I see good things in the future for them though. This kid Jonathan Huberdeau looks like the real deal and looks to be the favorite for the Calder trophy this year. Plus, the Panthers have a pretty good prospect pool thanks to GM Dale Tallon. Here's to another high draft pick to add to that pool

 

[jerseypinebarrens]

Devils fan, but just got done watching the Penguins beat the Bruins. I think hockey is the only sport I'd watch without my team involved unless there's a football team with alot of White players....

 

[Don Wassall]

Regular season Penguins games have been on a lot more on the NHL Network and NBC Sports Network out this way this season. Their offensive skill level is off the charts; as good as or better than the great teams of the early '90s with Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tochett, Joey Mullen, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy and others. But I don't know how it will translate in the playoffs. Without strong defensive play and consistent goaltending, it's hard to feel confident after three straight years of losing in the first round.

 

[jerseypinebarrens]

Regular season Penguins games have been on a lot more on the NHL Network and NBC Sports Network out this way this season. Their offensive skill level is off the charts; as good as or better than the great teams of the early '90s with Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tochett, Joey Mullen, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy and others. But I don't know how it will translate in the playoffs. Without strong defensive play and consistent goaltending, it's hard to feel confident after three straight years of losing in the first round.

You couldn't help noticing the crowd's involvement during the game. The Penguin fans were making ooze and ahhs the whole game......

 

[Don Wassall]

I haven't watched a Penguins game yet this season that wasn't highly entertaining. They beat the Bruins in Pittsburgh the other day with 3 goals in the last few minutes of regulation to win 3-2 after being throttled by Boston's excellent defense the entire game to that point. I didn't see today's game, but following up by beating them in Boston had to really sting the Bruins and their fans.

 

[Tannehill17]

Just wanted to add to this thread, the NBC broadcasts and announcers are absolutely terrible (Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire are torture to listen to) as are most of the ones by Fox Sports. Being that I have Center Ice, I try to watch the Canadian broadcasts when I can if there is a Canadian team playing. The production, analysts, and announcers are night and day better than the ones here in the states, especially the ones from NBC.

 

[Rebajlo]

Sidney Crosby is out "indefinitely" after the puck busted his jaw and knocked out a few teeth in Saturday's game against the Islanders. The bloke certainly hasn't had much luck on the injury front over the last couple of seasons...

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=663113

To top things off, the Penguins have signed that Negro arsehole Jarome Iginla. :mad2::mad2::mad2:

Here is a gut-turning excerpt from the article linked below:

That’s the kind of guy Iginla is, a quality human being – “one of the top human beings you’ll ever meet,†said Brenden Morrow – beloved and revered throughout the league. Iginla’s not just a seven-time NHL All-Star, a 500-goal and 1,000-point scorer and a two-time Olympic gold medalist – he’s a leader. Chris Kunitz put it best when he said “it’s going to be great to have him on the ice, but maybe even better to have him in the locker room.â€

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=662959

 

[Don Wassall]

Sidney Crosby is out "indefinitely" after the puck busted his jaw and knocked out a few teeth in Saturday's game against the Islanders. The bloke certainly hasn't had much luck on the injury front over the last couple of seasons...

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=663113

To top things off, the Penguins have signed that Negro arsehole Jarome Iginla. :mad2::mad2::mad2:

Here is a gut-turning excerpt from the article linked below:

That’s the kind of guy Iginla is, a quality human being – “one of the top human beings you’ll ever meet,” said Brenden Morrow – beloved and revered throughout the league. Iginla’s not just a seven-time NHL All-Star, a 500-goal and 1,000-point scorer and a two-time Olympic gold medalist – he’s a leader. Chris Kunitz put it best when he said “it’s going to be great to have him on the ice, but maybe even better to have him in the locker room.”

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=662959

"Beloved and revered," "one of the top human beings you'll ever meet." Whites can't just respect blacks that carry themselves like most Whites do, they have to be oh so gooey icky in their unrequitted love for the race that will never respect them for their gross and despicable guilt-filled behavior.

 

[jh4]

"Beloved and revered," "one of the top human beings you'll ever meet." Whites can't just respect blacks that carry themselves like most Whites do, they have to be oh so gooey icky in their unrequitted love for the race that will never respect them for their gross and despicable guilt-filled behavior.

I thought Iginla was mulatto, Nigerian father and white American mother?

 

[jaxvid]

I thought Iginla was mulatto, Nigerian father and white American mother?

You mean like Obama?? What do people consider his race to be? When was the last time anyone you know or anyone in the media called Obama a mulatto?

 

[jh4]

You mean like Obama?? What do people consider his race to be? When was the last time anyone you know or anyone in the media called Obama a mulatto?

The modern day PC term for mulatto is "biracial."
Google Jarome Iginla biracial and see what comes up.
In 1995 Obama wrote a book about being biracial called Dreams From My Father. It was a number one best seller and it has pictures of his white grandparents and his mother as a child and his black Kenyan grandmother and his father as a child on the cover.

 

[Average American]

The modern day PC term for mulatto is "biracial."
Google Jarome Iginla biracial and see what comes up.
In 1995 Obama wrote a book about being biracial called Dreams From My Father. It was a number one best seller and it has pictures of his white grandparents and his mother as a child and his black Kenyan grandmother and his father as a child on the cover.

what kills me (often) about the bi-racial upbringing.. Obama as an example, is that the White side of the family did all the heavy lifting in the raising.
Which in my experience, isn't unique. White girl's parents provide the emotional & financial support for the mixed kid.. but the mixed kid grows up identifying with the Black culture, that was completely MIA for him. It's lame.
The naive White girls are putting a heavy load on their parents, who often receive little to no recognition, or legacy, for their efforts, I think, by Obama's own admission his deadbeat dad only bothered to meet Barack once (no ?)

/in fairness, I'm not sure if this situation applies to Iginla.. but spend an afternoon @ the WalMart, you'll see plenty of White grandma's carting around their mixed grandkids./

 

[Tannehill17]

I don't have anything against Iginla. He seems like a genuinely decent human being and is a Christian. I just hate the double standard when it comes to guys like Tebow who is decent and Christian and is sh*t on by the media, where a guy like Iginla can get a pass simply because of his skin color.

 

[BoxingSpecialist2]

Here where I live in Toronto, our hockey team the Toronto Maple Leafs are like the most famous thing in our city. Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens are very much the hockey capitals of the world, and both teams are easily the two most profitable and highest valued teams in the entire NHL. Pittsburgh has been coming on strong in recent years, as well Detroit, New York Rangers, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Boston have notably successful franchises.

The price to attend a hockey game in Toronto is the highest in the entire league. Ice level would be $1,500+ and I think the absolute cheapest ticket you could get to go to a Leafs game would be like $150. That would be the "nosebleed" section, high up in the stadium, like the worst seats imagineable. Every game in Toronto is sold out at about 20,000 fans. The demand for hockey in Toronto is so high the NHL has even spoken about putting a second team in this city because there clearly would be enough demand to support it.

Just as the NFL is in USA, that is how the NHL is in much of Canada.

The only sport I really follow closely is boxing. Hockey I watch a bit here and there, its impossible to escape in Canada. I do watch the playoffs and the teams I support is the Montreal Canadiens (where I first lived in Canada) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (where I now live). I'm happy that this year both Montreal and Toronto are playing well... they are saying Montreal may even play Toronto in the playoffs and if that happens its gonna be brutal! Montreal-Toronto have the worst rivalry in all of hockey so that playoff series will be brutal if it happens.

Toronto Maple Leafs havent made the playoffs in like 10 years, so everyone here in Toronto is excited that they're finally doing good this year!

I'm hoping Leafs play the Canadiens in the playoffs! If that happened I would watch all the matches.

 

[Matra2]

What a poor display by the Flyer organisation last night against the Boston Bruins. What did they do? Because 'Sweet Caroline' is identified somehow with the Red Sox and, well, the Bruins and Sox play in the same city, and, if you're still following, Boston is now the city we must all throw our arms around and give a hug to, they kept playing part of that Neil Diamond song during the game. That's even cheesier than your cheese steaks, Philadelphia.

As you can probably tell I hate all these contrived displays of solidarity orchestrated by the corporate entities now known as sports franchises.