Hockey 2010-2011
 

Hello fellow hockey fans!

Here is the official thread of hockey in the 2010-2011 season. It does not have to be NHL hockey, it can be anything from the international scene to the minors. Anything goes!

I cannot wait for it to start. I honestly feel that the Leafs will be a much improved team over last season(how can they not?) and it will be fun to watch. I will admit that I am worried about their defensive shortcomings, but I feel that their trade to get Versteeq will help out the offensive woes they had last season. Versteeq has already helped out Kessel, who has been excellent in preseason.

So come on in, hockey fans! Let me know who you are rooting for and how you (honestly) think they will do this season!

Go Leafs GOOOOOOO!!!!:)

Sorry no intrest in the NHL
:no: Jerseygirl Jen

looking forward to the Wild this year. but recent injuries are not looking good

Good Luck
 

Good luck to you and your team, whoever they are! Let's see some good games and have some epic moments!

In the off-season, I don't think they addressed their weaknesses, but they were such small weaknesses. There could still be some trades to come, but if we were playing poker, I'd stand with these cards.

Sharks for the Cup ! Our season starts in Stockholm! Cool!

The rivalry between Montreal and Boston is going to be a little more intense this season as both teams made some good off-season moves.

Montreal made the right choice picking Gionta as the Captain. He's a natural on-ice leader. Montreal made the wrong choice when they let Halak go. Price is a fantastic goalie, but he's not consistent enough to carry the team for a whole season, whereas Halak is a fantastic goalie and he's consistent.

Predictions for the seasons

Montreal will make it into the playoffs, but lose to Boston.

Chicago is still an unknown quantity right now, but they will still go far this season.

Vancouver will make to the finals although they may not win the cup.

Phoenix will lose its team. YEAH!!

I'm stoked and ready! I caught a Vancouver pre-season game the other night. I can't wait for "Hockey Night in Canada" in the coming months. I think most people know where I stand...I'm a fan of Montreal and Boston. I like it when either team does well, but in a head-to-head matchup between the two I'd have to root for Montreal.

I don't keep up with the news during the offseason...So ila's post informed me about the decision regarding goalies. That's sad...I really liked Halak. I don't know if Montreal will be as strong without him.

I also like the buzz surrounding Vancouver this year...I expect they'll go deep.

But to where?

To Hamilton or Winnipeg? Maybe Milwaukee or Portland or Seattle. Or somewhere non-traditional like Houston or Las Vegas!

My bet is on Winnipeg. Bettman doesn't like Hamilton and Jim Balsillie. The board of governors who at one time thought Balsillie was the greatest thing since sliced bread have decided to be sycophants to Bettman, therefore Hamilton will never get a team. Toronto and Buffalo both have vetoes on Hamilton and neither team will approve a Hamilton franchise. It's too bad because hockey would be a big draw in Hamilton and they deserve a team.

I shuddered when I read your remark about Houston or Las Vegas. That would be a nightmare to a true hockey fan. It's bad enough that Dallas has an NHL team; Houston would be a horror. I wouldn't be too upset if Utah got a hockey team. At least they have snow and it gets cold there.

You are most welcome, GRH, for the information regarding goalies. Halak I'm sure will be missed.

A little bit more information for you regarding Gionta. He is from New York (Rochester I think, but I could be wrong) and only the second American to be Captain of Montreal. The other one was Chelios.

I'm traveling with less time than usual for logging on, but wanted to make a few quick remarks. I will write a more extensive pre-season assessment later this week.

I am excited for my Bruins having signed Tyler Seguin, who already is making an impact beyond his years. The Bruins have some serious work to do to atone for their epic collapse against the Flyers in last season's playoffs. We shall see. Boston always looks good before the season begins.

More to come, including some views of other teams ...

Houston/Las Vegas - Well with Bettman you never know.

Does Winnipeg have the financial strength to get the franchise?

Toronto and Buffalo should show some balls and accept a bit of on and off ice competition from Hamilton. Local rivalry is good for sport.

This is so true and all so very possible with Bettman making the decisions; not to mention a true hockey fan's nightmare.

Reports are that both Winnipeg and Quebec City have the financial strength to keep a franchise. Both cities have about the same population draw and hockey is almost a religion in both areas. The only difference is that Winnipeg has a new arena and Quebec City wants to build a new arena.

Yes both teams should allow competition from Hamilton. Their is a huge fan base around the Hamilton area and these fans would rather cheer for a team than split their loyalties between Toronto and Buffalo. I have no doubt that Shadows would agree with me on this.

I will always be hoping for the NHL to have a team in Halifax!

Stars 4-3 Devils (OT)
 

Damn, first game of the season and the Devils suffer an OT loss. :frown:

Although it is nice to see Jason Arnott back in a Devils jersey. I can't believe it is over eight years since he last played for the Devils - the trade took him to Dallas.

Only a few hours to go before face off between my Bruins and the Coyotes in Prague. I think it's a great idea the NHL had to have a couple of games in Europe. Had I not already had tickets for my annual weeklong trip to the San Francisco Bay Area with the first weekend of October in the middle (for the big music festival in Golden Gate Park), I would have figured out a way to go to Prague, but the combination would've meant flying San Fran to the Czech Republic and missing even more school at the beginning of the semester!

Anyhow, on to a great season, I hope, not only for the Bruins but for all the hockey fans here on the Forum. I look forward to picking up our discussion where it left off in the Spring.

Ugh! Two periods gone and the Bruins trail 4-0. They're playing the way they did in the last games of last season, when they lost to the Flyers after being up 3-0 in the playoff series. Breakaways by the Coyotes have killed them. Lethargy by the Bruins have killed them. Yes, it's early in the season, but if this doesn't change soon the season will soon be all but over.

I've had to change my mindset during the break by posting some old pictures of beautiful Tara Emory! She lives in Boston, and that's as much of a connection as I can take back to the Bruins (at least for a few minutes).

Well, Nathan Horton has scored 2 goals for Boston in the first 10 minutes of period 3. Boston is back in the game. Clearly, the Bruins got whatever message Claude Julien gave them during the break!

Ah, but as I write the Bruins will now have to kill a penalty to keep it a 2-goal game!

Devils 2-7 Capitals
 

On Saturday the last Devils update I heard was the score at the end of the 1st period: Devils lead 2-1.

But conceding straight 6 goals for a humiliating 7-2 defeat - at least ESPN-UK weren't showing the game yesterday.

I hope the Devils are just having a bit of a rusty start to the season.

Well, the Bruins split the Prague series with Phoenix by winning today's game 3-0. I can take some consolation in the fact that over the course of the two games the score was 5-5.

For my Maple Leaf fan friends on this site, from the Boston Globe (October 11, 2010):

The Maple Leafs Saturday improved to 2-0 with ex-Bruin Phil Kessel contributing his second goal of the season. If they make it 3-0, Cup-starved Leafs fans (1967 and counting) might have to consider pulling their kids out of school for the full academic season, lock the doors, and gather ‘round the computer to stream nhl.com 24/7.

Devils win...
 

Yeah! The Devils claim their first win of the season with a 1-0 OT demolition of the Sabres.;)

The Maple Leafs are now 4-0 to start the season! I will admit that I did not see this great start coming at all. They beat the New York Rangers 4-3 in Overtime. Phil Kessel had 2 goals and an assist in the victory. Giguere was excellent in net. I am so glad the Leafs picked him up last year.:)

It sounds like the Rangers lost both Gaborik and Drury to injuries. I am not sure how severe their injuries are.

Here are the other finals from October 15th:

1. Montreal beat Buffalo 2-1. Price played well in this game, although he wasn't overly tested by a rather weak Buffalo offense. If he continues to play like he has been the past couple of games, then the Habs should be fine and may not miss Halak overly much.

2. Colorado beat New Jersey 3-2. The Devils peppered Anderson with 43 shots, and he showed the same kind of play he did against the Sharks last year in the playoffs.

3. Pittsburgh beat the Islanders 3-2 in Overtime. Malkin and Crosby were limited to 1 assist apiece, and that is something they need to change if the Penguins want to do well this season. They have both been slow getting out of the gate, and Marc Andre-Fleury has been average at best(he was not in net this evening).

4. Chicago beat Columbus 5-2. Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist in the victory(he now has 4 goals and 4 assists). Now that he is fully healthy, it looks like he is going to be worth it for the Blackhawks.

The other two games are ongoing. Atlanta has a 1-0 lead over Anaheim in the first period, and Vancouver vs LA starts later.

It's the much anticipated return of shadows' famous NHL round-up.
Clearly boosted by the Leafs' 4-0-0 start.

Again it looks like the Devils are competing and also outshooting their opponents, but they've forgotten how to find the back of the net.:frown:

Well it looks like prediction #4 may not happen this season. There is a reported buyer for Phoenix. Rumour has it that as part of the deal Glendale may be responsible to cover any losses the team might have this season. If that is the case the taxpayers of Glendale are going to end up with a whopping bill.

It's good to see that Montreal is off to a good start this season. They can't expect Price to carry the team for the season though. The offence is going to have to play better hockey and start scoring more.

Wow, how did I miss this prediction made while I was away?!

ila, my friend, are you feeling okay? ;)

I was in a rather gloomy mood when I made that prediction. As of right now I'm going to stick with that prediction. I think Boston has the better team this season.

As Montreal proved last year, the better team doesn't necessarily mean going onto the next round. A hot goalie and all bets are off.:)

So they are basically putting a bandaid on top of their sucking chest wound? That just means that they are putting off the inevitable.

It may not happen for a couple of years, but hockey is NOT a viable market in Glendale.

The Coyotes are off to a crappy start so far, with a 1-2-1 record. They've never had great attendance, but a slow start will really make them stay away in droves.

Haven't watched a game yet this year or even know if the Flyers won a game yet,

:no: Jerseygirl Jen

How come you are not a hockey fan anymore Jennifer? I remember how much you enjoyed the Flyers last year, and I can't understand why you wouldn't like them anymore.:(

And they are currently 2-2-1 this season.

Baseball is and always has been my fav sport and with the Phillies making the playoffs the NHL and Flyers has gone by with out me paying any attention plus last years cup loose took a lot of the spirit out of me

:yes: Jerseygirl Jen

I truly hope that someday your love of hockey will return.

Well, I caught a bit of the Montreal game this Saturday. I was glad that they got the win.

shadows, an OT loss :frown:, what a bad way for the Leafs' perfect 4-0-0 start to come to an end. Looks like Dwayne Roloson (29 saves) had a good game for the Islanders.

I blame the refs for this one. Two goals taken back and a bullshit call in overtime? The Leafs should have won it in regulation.:frown:

I will agree that Roloson played well, but he still should have gotten the loss.

---------------------------------

Ottawa lost again, 5-2 to the Penguins. They are now 1-5-1, and seem to now be in freefall.

Does that mean Toronto will be Ontario's #1 team this season? ;)

They always were, my friend, they always were.;)

Darn it! The Leafs appear to have forgotten how to score goals.:( They lost 2-1 to the New York Rangers.

In other games of relevance to fellow members:

1. Boston beat Washington 4-1. Boston has now won 4 games in a row(two against Washington). They are playing well in every aspect of the game right now(yikes!).

2. New Jersey beat Montreal 3-0. While GRH and Ila won't be happy with this score, dauls will be very happy.

3. Anaheim beat Philadelphia 3-2. I am holding out hope that we will someday have Jennifer rejoin our hockey-loving ranks.

4. Dallas beat Florida 4-1. I am pretty sure we have a fan or two of Dallas here.

San Jose is currently beating Colorado 3-1 after two periods of play.

Devils 3-0 Habs
 

So shadows, looks like this week was a bit of a New York curse for the Leafs.

Second shutout of the season for Brodeur, second win for the Devils. :)

Outcomes like the above sure won't help
:no: Jerseygirl Jen

Hopefully just a little blip on their part.

The Bruins really look sharp, once the season started for them at the beginning of the third period of game 1 in Prague.

Devils 1-6 Sabres
 

Spanked 6-1 by the Sabres, the Devils sink to a new season low. :frown:

It's going to be a long, long season if things carry on like this. :(

With the poor coverage of the NHL in the UK, I haven't had to suffer too many minutes of the Devils' season thus far - highlights are less painful.

Went to a flea market today and i found something that made me think of you, found an old hockey card of Bobby Orr from the early 70s
:yes: Flyersfan Jen

That's really sweet, Jen. Thank you. What's even sweeter is that you haven't abandoned your Flyers. :)

Well i watched my first hockey game the other night and it was a good game Flyers vs Maple Leafs and for those that didn't see the score it was Flyers 5 Leafs 2 a very good game that didn't end in a dame shootout
:yes: Flyersfan Jen

Games that don't have a shootout are the best. I, too, hate those damned shootouts.

I couldn't aggree more.

Dump the shoot out rule!!!!
:hug: Flyersfan Jen

I would love to see that rule dumped.