The 07-08 National Hockey League thread

[Spacey]

Who looks like the premier team this year in Hockey?

[Yoda]

I got ya.  I\'m just giving it back.  The rangers still suck though.

[kindm's]

Rangers looked really good early then quickly went back to being lazy. Although I have to give credit to Florida they were playing really good hockey for the first half of the 1st and the entire 2nd. Then the rangers exploded with offense. Kind of a scary team in a way. If they can get past being lazy and play tough for the full 60 they will be a pretty nasty team. The offensive fire power is kind of silly

It reminds me of the kind of teams we used to see pre-expansion.

[tyzack]

Who looks like the premier team this year in Hockey?

TSN (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/) says Detriot in the West and the Rangers in the East.

Based on what I have seen so far, I would tend to agree. However, there is still about a third of the leauge that hasn\'t played.

The Rangers, yes, looked very good last night, but they were playing Florida. The Leafs had two "Good Losses" against the senators.

As for which team I cheer for; first and formost, the Bruins. However, it is well known that they will not do very well this year, so after then I cheer for the Rangers and the Leafs, then any other Canadian team.

Seriously, folks, the last 3 Stanley Cups have been won by cities in which there is no natural ice. Does anyone else see something wrong with that?

On the Whalers...I remember being at the Meadows in \'06. On my way into the venu, I passed a car with a life-size replica of the Stanley Cup on the roof and the banner "Hartford Whalers, 2006 Stanley Cup Champions."

I cheered.

[tyzack]

Hot topic on TSN of late has been the crack down/ non crack down on head shots.

This has resurfaced in the wake of the hit on Bergergon this weekend. Personally, I am for hard hitting. Favourite current Bruin though he may be, Bergergon should have protected himself - one hand on the glass, head not fully down - against the possibility of a hit which he should have known was coming. After the game Jones was very apologetic and obivously did not mean to hurt Patrice as much as he did....there have been a number of these hits recently...thoughts?

PS: WTF has happened (or not happened) to the Rangers?

[kindm's]

Hot topic on TSN of late has been the crack down/ non crack down on head shots.

This has resurfaced in the wake of the hit on Bergergon this weekend. Personally, I am for hard hitting. Favourite current Bruin though he may be, Bergergon should have protected himself - one hand on the glass, head not fully down - against the possibility of a hit which he should have known was coming. After the game Jones was very apologetic and obivously did not mean to hurt Patrice as much as he did....there have been a number of these hits recently...thoughts?

PS: WTF has happened (or not happened) to the Rangers?

It looks like the same crap as last year. They cannot or will not play a full 60 minutes. I keep trying to come up with reasons and always come back to coaching. They make a lot of bad defensive zone decisions with the puck, and the biggest reason is they get cute with the puck.  The young guys are willing to grind it out in the corners but the older vets just don\'t do it and that kills the offense. They do these limp dick passes that get picked off and turned the other way all the time.

And the biggest reason is that they need a really good defenseman. They have Staal but he is a rookie but they do not have any high caliber defense. They are stocked with forwards so I am hoping they try to unload some for a decent defenseman but if things keep up they should fire Renney. I don\'t think they should wait very long to can his ass. He has all the talent in the world and cannot make them win.

[ChrisPitch]

Holy shit! The Rangers won a fuckin\' game and had an offensive explosion to the tune of three goals.

[Wolfman]

Going to Bruins v Canadiens next week...will have a full in-depth postgame review.  If the Bruins can somehow rise from the ashes Boston will complete the first ever 4-sport city sweep in American sport history.

[tyzack]

2007 Hockey Hall of Fame:

Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Al MacInnis, Scott Stevens and Jim Gregory

Ron Francis was a long-time Whaler, for all you Hartford cats.

[jocelyn]

any sport with a puck \'sgot to be \'bout the best

is this english or hockey talk?

Zappa, Honey Don\'t You Want a Man Like Me.

[Inner_Score]

Anyone still watching this sport?

Come on, there has to be a few breakfast/hockey fans out there?

[Yoda]

Yup.  I watch the Devils when I can.  They seem to be finally getting their act together.  

I\'m not too happy about the new arena though.  I live about 10 minutes from the old Brendan Byrne Arena and refuse to concede to the fact that I have to take a train to get to the game.  From my house, you either drive into Newark where there is no parking or you take a train to Secaucus where you can catch a transfer to Penn Station and walk a few blocks to get to the arena.  I\'ll be watching it from hom, especially since the baby is coming in less than a month.

[Inner_Score]

Yup.  I watch the Devils when I can.  They seem to be finally getting their act together.  

I\'m not too happy about the new arena though.  I live about 10 minutes from the old Brendan Byrne Arena and refuse to concede to the fact that I have to take a train to get to the game.  From my house, you either drive into Newark where there is no parking or you take a train to Secaucus where you can catch a transfer to Penn Station and walk a few blocks to get to the arena.  I\'ll be watching it from hom, especially since the baby is coming in less than a month.

Congrats on the baby, even if you\'re a Devils fan.

Go Flyers!

[Yoda]

Thanks.  It could be worse - I could be a Rangers fan.  I love watching Ranger fans, like my father, cringe every time we\'re at a Yankee game and they pipe Kate Smith\'s God Bless America through the PA; it brings him back to the days when she used to sing that national anthem for Phili.

[Inner_Score]

God. I hate the Rangers more than their friends though. That franchise has tried for the past ten years to buy a championship but all they do is overpay people out of their prime by about 5 years.