NHL: 2011-2012 Season Thread

MrJoeSoap

48 hours to lift off...!

Some talking points to get the ball rolling:

• When will Crosby return? Who will be the next concussion victim and how will Shanny's iron fist affect the intensity of the play?
• How will the Flyers trades turn out?
• Will anyone in Winnipeg sleep this year?
• Who is the best in the West?
• Which player will the surprise package this year?
• How will Boston and Vancouver cope with the level of expectation upon them this year?
• What can/will be done about the tragic events of the off-season?
• Where will Sean Avery end up?

As with most Pens fans, I believe the season hinges upon when Crosby returns and how he performs when he does get back. I hope, for his sake, that he isn't rushed back, and I really don't think he will be. It's too serious an injury to take risks. If Malkin can carry his form into the regular season it'll be a huge boost until Sid does return. I'd be happy with top 5 in the East in the regular season and a fit roster to hit the playoffs full-steam ahead.

Stanley Cup Betting (not in proper order):

Washington Capitals
6/1
Buffalo Sabres
18/1
Toronto Maple Leafs
50/1
Pittsburgh Penguins
13/2
New York Rangers
25/1
Colorado Avalanche
50/1
Chicago Blackhawks
8/1
Anaheim Ducks
25/1
Minnesota Wild
66/1
San Jose Sharks
17/2
Montreal Canadiens
33/1
Columbus Blue Jackets
66/1
Vancouver Canucks
17/2
Nashville Predators
33/1
New York Islanders
66/1
Philadelphia Flyers
10/1
Edmonton Oilers
35/1
Dallas Stars
80/1
Boston Bruins
10/1
Calgary Flames
40/1
Phoenix Coyotes
100/1
Los Angeles Kings
12/1
Carolina Hurricanes
40/1
Winnipeg Jets
100/1
Detroit Red Wings
14/1
St. Louis Blues
40/1
Florida Panthers
100/1
Tampa Bay Lightning
16/1
New Jersey Devils
40/1
Ottawa Senators
150/1

krissovo

Being a flames fan I am not holding out for much, still not much depth to the team and Iginla must take a sickie soon. Still there are quite a few players who can get the puck in the net and a few players who if they pull out a performance like their hype I think they may make the play off's.

Canucks will take the Western Conference, Pens or flyers will take the East.

Looking at the odds for the Stanley Cup I am putting a tenner on both Flyers and the Wings, beers are on me if one comes in

MrJoeSoap

krissovo wrote: »

Being a flames fan I am not holding out for much, still not much depth to the team and Iginla must take a sickie soon. Still there are quite a few players who can get the puck in the net and a few players who if they pull out a performance like their hype I think they may make the play off's.

Canucks will take the Western Conference, Pens or flyers will take the East.

Looking at the odds for the Stanley Cup I am putting a tenner on both Flyers and the Wings, beers are on me if one comes in

I'll need a beer if the Flyers win... :P

The puck drops tonight at midnight:

07/10 Flyers vs. Bruins 00:00
07/10 Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs 00:00
07/10 Penguins vs. Canucks 03:00
07/10 Ducks vs. Sabres 18:00
07/10 Rangers vs. Kings 18:00

Izy

crosby wont play this side of christmas

i hope the flyers sent their organization back at least 5 years with trading away richards and carter

the pens to win the cup ( as every year for me :cool: )

the jets will struggle under the fan pressure

the canucks (they beat the pens tonite :mad: )

erik johnson ( colorado d ) will finally live up to expectations

both boston and vancouver get to the play offs easy but wont go too far

the tragedy... i dont know man, being from slovakia its extra hard... loosing demitra is tough, grew up idolising every player from every team... hockey is the hurling of the nation...

avery... seriously who cares

TechnoPool

I see sid coming back after xmas on absolute fire but he's going to get lit up , he wont fancy any 50/50's. I really hope it isnt the case. But one more monster hit and his career could be over.

Shanannigan

it begins again... not a great start for though... bittersweet night for me

MrJoeSoap

Pens almost blew a 2 goal lead last night, but won it in a shootout thanks to Geno and Letang. Whoever has Matt Cooke in their fantasy team, if anyone, should be happy this morning. He had a PP and a SH goal.

Shanannigan

wow i haven't been keeping track at all, didn't realise that Alex Kovalev had gone back to Russia... he'll be missed in the NHL methinks

Shanannigan

Sabres are out of the blocks quick smart so far.. wonder if they'll take that form home from Europe with them..

in other news.. Thomas pulled off another wonder save take a look!

Shanannigan

Habs have the honor of welcoming the Jets back to the NHL tonight when we visit them in Winnipeg... looking forward to this matchup... that barn is gonna be electric tonight methinks

B00MSTICK

Shanannigan wrote:

Sabres are out of the blocks quick smart so far.. wonder if they'll take that form home from Europe with them..

I liked how they adapted to the Kings strong forechecking after a shakey 1st period. Looking forward to a season with Roy back and hopefully a Vanek firing on all cylinders.

Kessel was on fine form for the Leafs in an 11 goal thriller last night.

Looking forward to this one and it's on early enough too!

MrJoeSoap

B00MSTICK wrote: »

I liked how they adapted to the Kings strong forechecking after a shakey 1st period. Looking forward to a season with Roy back and hopefully a Vanek firing on all cylinders.

Kessel was on fine form for the Leafs in an 11 goal thriller last night.

Looking forward to this one and it's on early enough too!

Great tribute to Rick Rypien and an electric atmosphere as expected. Pity Camalleri had to spoil the party.

B00MSTICK

Spacek and Camalleri gone now...

MrJoeSoap

Camalleri's one looked really bad, he was panicking a lot. Still waiting for that huge first WPG goal...

Shanannigan

dammit... i got cammi in my fantasy lineup..

MrJoeSoap

Shanannigan wrote: »

dammit... i got cammi in my fantasy lineup..

Least he got the goal I guess. Still no word on his injury.

Shanannigan

Don Cherrie seems certain about it... could that be Winnipeg bias?

Shanannigan

Plekanec is always a threat when he goes forward!!! great goal

MrJoeSoap

Pity the game has probably now been ruined by such a bad call against Byfuglien when WPG had all the momentum.

B00MSTICK

Very harsh call alright, there's been a few questionable ones that went the Habs way.

Price has been a stone wall though

B00MSTICK

It's not WPG's night, unlucky bounce off the linesman.

Very well taken goal all the same.

MrJoeSoap

B00MSTICK wrote: »

Very harsh call alright, there's been a few questionable ones that went the Habs way.

Price has been a stone wall though

He really is so calm and cocky, very funny to watch. Good night for Montreal, gets their season up and running.

Shanannigan

Patchy's back!!

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

He really is so calm and cocky, very funny to watch. Good night for Montreal, gets their season up and running.

couple of high shots looked like he was yawning or stretching to save them... he makes it look effortless

MrJoeSoap

Shanannigan wrote: »

Patchy's back!!



couple of high shots looked like he was yawning or stretching to save them... he makes it look effortless

Jim Hughson said it was like he was playing against pee-wee teams, thats a great way of describing his style. Certainly wouldn't mind having him in my Fantasy team if he keeps this up.

Shanannigan

he's especially valued with the habs defensive problems.. its a bloody skeleton crew they're working with right now.. but some of them have played out of their skins.. Desharnais in particular

Shanannigan

2 weeks for Cammi... dammit!!

MrJoeSoap

7 points from 4 games now for the Pens, a flying start given that Malkin has missed the last two and Crosby... well, we all know about Crosby. Thats the Penguins best start in 17 seasons.

4-2 win against the Panthers last night, with Matt Cooke getting his third of the season (already!) and Joe Vitale getting a couple of assists. James Neal is also stepping up to the plate in the absence of the big guns.

In other news, Rich Peverley has signed a 3 year, $3.25 million per season deal with the Bruins that will kick in after this season and run through the 2014-15 season.

JONJO THE MISER

Going for Vancouver to beat Philly tonight.

JONJO THE MISER

Match just starting now, my first match of the season to watch.

MrJoeSoap

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Match just starting now, my first match of the season to watch.

Joining it in-progress. As expected, Claude Giroux is turning into an animal this season. Devastated I didn't get a chance to pick him for my fantasy team.

JONJO THE MISER

Goal vancouver 4-3 come on the cannucks.

JONJO THE MISER

what a game get the hotdogs out 4-4 vancouver

JONJO THE MISER

2nd pp of the period for the cannucks, come on:mad:

JONJO THE MISER

Waste of time could not do it./

krissovo

Last nights game appears to be a bit of a classic, I am glad I have a tenner on the Flyers as they are looking like a team who will dominate this season and already 3 & 3 plus on the road against some strong teams.

MrJoeSoap

krissovo wrote: »

Last nights game appears to be a bit of a classic, I am glad I have a tenner on the Flyers as they are looking like a team who will dominate this season and already 3 & 3 plus on the road against some strong teams.

The off-season trades threw a lot of people off them, but the core of their team means they can definitely be big contenders again this year. Giroux is an absolute animal, love how he plays. He could very well get close to 100 points this year. Bryzgalov should be a 40+ win goaltender this year too. Jagr and Briere aren't really firing yet, so the thoughts of how good they'll be once they are up and running is a bit scary.

Looking forward to the first Pens-Flyers game this season, December 8th.

MrJoeSoap

Los Angeles at New Jersey 7:00 PM
Tampa Bay at NY Islanders 7:00 PM
Washington at Pittsburgh 7:00 PM
Calgary at Montreal 7:30 PM
Colorado at Ottawa 7:30 PM
Vancouver at Detroit 8:00 PM
Phoenix at Nashville 8:00 PM
Edmonton at Minnesota 8:00 PM
Winnipeg at Chicago 8:30 PM
St. Louis at Dallas 8:30 PM

All are ET, add 5 hours for Irish time.

Looking forward to the latest installment of the Pens-Caps rivalry. Anyone else watching it tonight?

MrJoeSoap

Arrom Asham is coming in for a lot of negative press today after his fight against Jay Beagle last night. I have to say that "celebrating" after a fight is a pretty awful thing to do, when your opponent is flat out on the ice. But the fight was warranted and there was nothing wrong with Asham coming to Letang's defence.

Thoughts?

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/11792/capitals-penguins-clash-marred-by-fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoBXfD2oHRg

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Certainly wouldn't mind having him in my Fantasy team if he keeps this up.

Allowed 4 off 21 shots last night against the Flames... think I'll stick with what I've got.

Shanannigan

Habs can't seem to catch a break these last few seasons when it comes to injuries... it was a mistake to let Roman Hamrlik go, especially with the defense lineup so depleted and Markov still being a doubt.. fingers crossed that we can plug the holes before too long!!

B00MSTICK

Good man Gerbe

MrJoeSoap

B00MSTICK wrote: »

Good man Gerbe

Just about

Pens started well though.

MrJoeSoap

Bah!

B00MSTICK

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Bah!

Tactical slip by Vanek to set up the goal there!

B00MSTICK

Game on

MrJoeSoap

Loving James Neals start to the season!

B00MSTICK

Vanek, you're killing me dude...

TechnoPool

i dont think asham didn much wrong, he defended a team mate, they really cant afford for letang to be hurt.

Beagle acted the hard man and got KTFO

MrJoeSoap

Citizens Of Winnipeg Realize They Hate Hockey Now

WINNIPEG—After hosting the first game of the newly relocated Winnipeg Jets last week, Winnipeg residents realized they have actually lost all interest in hockey in the 15 years since they last had an NHL team and in fact now despise the sport. “It was nice of them to think of us when they were moving the team, but when we look back on all those years we watched this dumb sport, it’s just embarrassing,” said local man Bobby Dolan, cringing at the sight of a Jets logo. “I checked out about half a period before I realized how much better my life has been without hockey.” As of press time, the Winnipeg-based investors who bought the team had left the deed to their arena and all of their 23 players with a sleeping homeless man curled up on a sidewalk.

Not often they get around to hockey, but I do love The Onion. :P

B00MSTICK

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Citizens Of Winnipeg Realize They Hate Hockey Now

Nice of ye to give them the W :P

My Sabres are taking on Shanannigan's Habs tonight, should be a good one.
Enroth to start I think, and Habs still without Cammi and Spacek.

MrJoeSoap

B00MSTICK wrote: »

Habs still without Cammi and Spacek.

And the rest!

Pens really need Sid or Malkin back, preferably both.

Letang got a pretty ridiculous two-game suspension for this last night on Alex Burmistrov:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsLrko9zE8s

JONJO THE MISER

Toronto are a dead cert to beat Winnipeg tonight at 10/11.