NHL 2011-2012 Thread

[Lord-Barrington]



poor gibson. i like how ferarro said he would probably end up with PTSD after this game; he should've been gone after 4 or 5. 8 is just nasty.
hell of a game to go to stazy

Yeah, not pulling your goalie after 4-5 unanswered is kind of bush league.

I facepalm hard when Canadians get excited over WJC blowouts though. Finland isn't exactly a good junior club.

This tournament realistically has three potential winners (Sweden, Canada, Russia) with the USA being a real distant possibility. Everyone else is just cannon fodder.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

Well, haven't been following this thread, but my Rangers are in first in their division at XMas, and I was at some Garden Party tonight...fit pic:

 

[jarude]

awesome. good to see your boy cleared for contact, too. have you been following 24/7?

 

[Stazy]



poor gibson. i like how ferarro said he would probably end up with PTSD after this game; he should've been gone after 4 or 5. 8 is just nasty.
hell of a game to go to stazy

Yeah, it was fun. Totally different atmosphere than the NHL. What surprised me the most was the 50-50...It was close to 70 grand.

Yeah, not pulling your goalie after 4-5 unanswered is kind of bush league.
I facepalm hard when Canadians get excited over WJC blowouts though. Finland isn't exactly a good junior club.
This tournament realistically has three potential winners (Sweden, Canada, Russia) with the USA being a real distant possibility. Everyone else is just cannon fodder.

I know the manager for the Ilves hockey club in Tampere, Finland (3 of his players on on the team) and his opinion of their junior program is that while their players are skilled, they're easily intimidated by the more physical play of Canadians. Definitely rang true today. They were quite literally run over.

 

[Lord-Barrington]



Yeah, it was fun. Totally different atmosphere than the NHL. What surprised me the most was the 50-50...It was close to 70 grand.
I know the manager for the Ilves hockey club in Tampere, Finland (3 of his players on on the team) and his opinion of their junior program is that while their players are skilled, they're easily intimidated by the more physical play of Canadians. Definitely rang true today. They were quite literally run over.

Finland has won some bronzes in the past but they're basically in the Czech Republic category -- not as bad as Latvia or Switzerland, but still not nearly good enough to compete with Canada, Russia and (depending on the year) Sweden and the USA.

WJC will be the same thing it usually is this year -- Sweden, Canada, and Russia rolling over teams until the finals and then Canada blowing a lead to one of those two teams and everyone melting down and questioning our fortitude as a country based on the play of a bunch of 19 year old kids.

 

[NewYorkIslander]



awesome. good to see your boy cleared for contact, too. have you been following 24/7?

Yea, he's still a was out, especially with our d playing so well. No need to rush him back and risk another injury because hes not in game shape. 24/7 RULES. Best scene in the first two episodes so far is when Avery was the first to walk into the dressing room after Anisimov's Sniper celebration against TB. He just looks at him smirking shaking his head and Arty is sitting there with that "I'm a kid who just got yelled at by the teacher but I still think its funny smile" on.

 

[L.R.]

For those who watch hockey on CBC: [VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[Tck13]

lol

 

[Lord-Barrington]

Hahahaha! Don Cherry -- giving us great material even when he doesn't intend to.

 

[Lord-Barrington]

Watching the Habs play and, yes, they are awful. But an interesting thing I've noticed when trying to put my finger on why they look terrible and the most glaring thing -- and I think this is shared by every team playing bad hockey -- is that they've stopped skating. It's as simple as that but it's amazing the difference it makes when a team doesn't move its feet.

EDIT: They're actually up 2-1 but that's on 3 shots and they still look terrible. And they're not moving their feet.

 

[Tck13]

What does everyone think of Dion Phaneuf?

 

[Lord-Barrington]



What does everyone think of Dion Phaneuf?

Good question. I've always had a mixed opinion of him, frankly. I love his skillset but he always struck me as lacking the intelligence to be a good defenseman. I think a guy like him who skates well, is physical, and has a good shot can do well in the league but the elite defenders are all either physically overpowering (Chara, vintage Pronger) or very intelligent players (Lidstrom) which is why I think Phaneuf still isn't at that level and probably never will be.

With that said, I'd written him off at the end of his time with Calgary as a headcase bum but he's really turned the corner with the Leafs. He's better in his own zone and he's been putting up good offensive numbers as well.

 

[NewYorkIslander]



What does everyone think of Dion Phaneuf?

Good question...I actually asked John Bucciogross at ESPN if he saw Marc Staal becoming as good a defenseman as DF is with Calgary. It got in his blog at ESPN.com and he basically said, "Nope." As a Ranger fan, I'm glad he was wrong, because if you asked me who I'd rather have on my team, it'd not be Dion.

 

[Lord-Barrington]



Good question...I actually asked John Bucciogross at ESPN if he saw Marc Staal becoming as good a defenseman as DF is with Calgary. It got in his blog at ESPN.com and he basically said, "Nope." As a Ranger fan, I'm glad he was wrong, because if you asked me who I'd rather have on my team, it'd not be Dion.

Phaneuf is far more naturally talented than Staal but Staal's understanding of the game seems to be better and he doesn't have the potential for ego tripping that Dion does. It's a tough call, because when he's at his best he is (and forgive me for saying this, NYR) a far better defender than Staal when you consider what he brings in all three zones. But some of the BS he pulled in Calgary was ridiculous and he's always had a reputation as a locker room cancer, even back in junior.

 

[NewYorkIslander]



Phaneuf is far more naturally talented than Staal but Staal's understanding of the game seems to be better and he doesn't have the potential for ego tripping that Dion does. It's a tough call, because when he's at his best he is (and forgive me for saying this, NYR) a far better defender than Staal when you consider what he brings in all three zones. But some of the BS he pulled in Calgary was ridiculous and he's always had a reputation as a locker room cancer, even back in junior.

That's the problem, I'd rather have a guys like Staal who you can count on the be very good. Phaneuf can be great, and is, but a lot of the time he isn't. Kind of like the Alexi Kovalev of Canadian defensemen.