NHL Thread

[Paul Smeenus]

I think the best looking WHL sweaters are our cross-town rivals, the Seattle Thunderbirds, especially their road whites




Those Oil Kings sweaters are cool tho

[Paul Smeenus]

Silvertips took a share of the US division lead last night! Their second line (Winquist, Hayer, and Sandu) is on an absolute tear right now, by far the most productive line on the team. We (myself, Becky and her kids) are going again tonight against Prince George, currently 2nd from the bottom of the BC Division

[Ninetales]

Went to the oiler game last night. We scored! We really scored!

[Thom Yorke]

I've been watching a lot of Generals games lately. The team is stacked this year, and it's nice watching a top prospect in his draft year (Dal Colle).

[Paul Smeenus]

Originally Posted by Thom Yorke

I've been watching a lot of Generals games lately. The team is stacked this year, and it's nice watching a top prospect in his draft year (Dal Colle).

What's the cost of going to the Oshawa games, Thom? What's the venue like? How's the food? I swear going through the concourse at Comcast Arena in Everett is torture, in particular there's a booth that does wok stir-fry that smells so damn good, I've had some and it's excellent but I have to watch my pennies so I try to avoid buying the food. They don't make it easy, I'll tell you that.

What's so exciting here in Everett is that the Silvertips hae been awful for the past few years and this year they've totally turned it around. They whipped tarnation out of the powerhouse Portland Winterhawks for 2 periods, then managed to hang on against the reigning WHL champs and win 3-2 and claim a share of first place. Then last night they were beaten 3-1 by the second worst team in the league (Prince George). They outshot the Cougars 35-17 but their goalie was just outstanding, not much you can do about that (although I will say the Tips passing on their power play chances was pretty sloppy). Portland whipped the worst WHL team (Kamloops) like a rented goalie 7-3, so they're back alone in 1st place. Lot of season left, of course...

I love the CHL, best value in sports IMO.

[Thom Yorke]

Originally Posted by Laces Out Dan!

I dont see many outside of you and I talking Junior Hockey anyways.. Im sure it's good in here.

Reaaally awful to see Stammer go out like that...a huge blow for Canada, as he was a shoe in to play on the right side of Crosby in Sochi. But this opens up a giant spot for a young player like Matt Duchenne, who's had a fantastic start to the season. I hope for a speedy, full recovery for Stammer though. You dont see many players who carry themselves the way he does on and off the ice. Class act.

What does your Team Canada look like right now? There are a few players I don't know what to do with right now, namely Stamkos and Nash because of injury issues, and Giroux because of how poorly he's been playing. If they're all good to go and playing well, what I'd like to see is:

Forwards

Couture-Crosby-Stamkos
- Crosby to Stamkos, enough said. Couture is a versatile player that can do some of the dirty work on that line.

E. Staal-Tavares-Giroux
- Same type of set-up as the first line, but with Giroux being the main playmaker to Tavares.

Nash-Getzlaf-Perry
- Power forward, puck possession line. Throw them out when you want to milk the clock. I don't care about skating issues on the big ice, that line would still be tough to handle.

Toews-Bergeron-M. Richards
- Dominant checking line. All players are versatile and can play multiple positions if need be.

Extras - Sharp, Duchene
- Sharp is the ultimate jack-of-all-trades player and can be plugged in anywhere if need be. Duchene is there to provide a spark if the team needs it.

Defense

Keith-Doughty
- Chemistry from last Olympics, and are great at both ends of the rink and in transition

Pietrangelo-Weber
- Main shutdown pairing. Pietrangelo is adept at playing his off-side, which Canada really needs due to the excess of right-handed shots.

Bouwmeester-Subban
- An odd-couple pairing that should work very well. Bouwmeester is a steadying presence and Subban is the wildcard that can give you a lot on the offensive end. Should be dominant in transition.

Extras - Vlasic, Letang
- Vlasic is the steadying presence and a left-handed shot, which the team needs. Hamhuis would be great here as well, but I like Vlasic a bit more right now. Letang is there to provide an offensive spark and be a PP QB.

Goalies

Price
- Looks to have rebounded nicely so far, and I'm set on him being Canada's goalie for now and the future.

Luongo
- Has been pretty solid, and his reputation should be more than enough to secure this spot for him

Holtby
- Rough start but has really come on stong as of late. Has a reputation to play well in big games, and could represent Canada's best hope in the future. I'd like to see him brought on as the #3 for experience, where he wouldn't be relied on too heavily.


If Giroux is still playing poorly, I think St. Louis would be a logical replacement as a winger to set Tavares up.

If Nash isn't good to go, I'd like to see someone like Carter or Benn to be a part of that power-forward, puck possession line. Lucic is an option as well, if he keeps up his play.

Stamkos really can't be replaced. I guess you could move Duchene up, but RW would be the last position he'd play. Perry is a legit option, but it would suck to break him and Getzlaf up.

[Thom Yorke]

Originally Posted by Paul Smeenus

What's the cost of going to the Oshawa games, Thom? What's the venue like? How's the food? I swear going through the concourse at Comcast Arena in Everett is torture, in particular there's a booth that does wok stir-fry that smells so damn good, I've had some and it's excellent but I have to watch my pennies so I try to avoid buying the food. They don't make it easy, I'll tell you that.

What's so exciting here in Everett is that the Silvertips hae been awful for the past few years and this year they've totally turned it around. They whipped tarnation out of the powerhouse Portland Winterhawks for 2 periods, then managed to hang on against the reigning WHL champs and win 3-2 and claim a share of first place. Then last night they were beaten 3-1 by the second worst team in the league (Prince George). They outshot the Cougars 35-17 but their goalie was just outstanding, not much you can do about that (although I will say the Tips passing on their power play chances was pretty sloppy). Portland whipped the worst WHL team (Kamloops) like a rented goalie 7-3, so they're back alone in 1st place. Lot of season left, of course...

I love the CHL, best value in sports IMO.

Tickets are anywhere from about $20-30. It's actually a pretty incredible facility for the CHL because it was built less than 10 years ago. State of the art, really nice sightlines everywhere, and it looks really nice. Holds like 8,000 as well. I haven't had much of the food besides stuff like popcorn so I couldn't tell you that.

[Paul Smeenus]

Originally Posted by Thom Yorke

Tickets are anywhere from about $20-30. It's actually a pretty incredible facility for the CHL because it was built less than 10 years ago. State of the art, really nice sightlines everywhere, and it looks really nice. Holds like 8,000 as well. I haven't had much of the food besides stuff like popcorn so I couldn't tell you that.

That actually sounds exactly like Comcast Arena in Everett. In December me and Becky are going to make a "road trip" to Showare Center in Kent (About 45 miles) to see the Tips play Seattle. I'll report. I know everyone is just dying to hear the review

[Plankton]

Tracking a couple tornados just southwest of the Bears game right now. The GF's brother is at the stadium, and his house is in the path of the tornado. So are we. Game has been delayed.

The Bears weren't looking good anyway. 10-0 Ravens at the time of the delay.

Time to duck and cover.

[Paul Smeenus]

Originally Posted by Plankton

Tracking a couple tornados just southwest of the Bears game right now. The GF's brother is at the stadium, and his house is in the path of the tornado. So are we. Game has been delayed.

The Bears weren't looking good anyway. 10-0 Ravens at the time of the delay.

Time to duck and cover.

Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens. Two of my favorite NHL teams





*edited to add: tornadoes are nothing to joke about. My thoughts to all in the area