Re: The NHL Thread
 

Aww, how sweet. If I have accomplished anything of value in this thread, I hope it's helping instill the absolute abhorrence for 3-feet-from-the-boards hits.
This was awesome to see. Seems like it's been a frustrating season for Dustin, so it was nice to see him doing what he does best and being rewarded for it.
I hate to see a warrior like Orpik go down, but that hit was about as clean as could be. Shoulder to shoulder, feet were down, no charging (I counted three strides before he glided into the hit). Hard, but not illegal. I sure hope Orpik is OK though. I love that guy.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

The bracelets thing is just so weird to me. Like that's YOUR fucking guy.

Also, not too surprised the Flyer fans couldn't stay quiet during Snider's moment of silence at Wells Fargo but very much made a big deal about the Pens fans at Consol last week.

:rolleyes

Re: The NHL Thread
 

I don't think this is a big deal. They played most of the season without him so are used to it. Alzner and the other top guys can easily get more ice especially at key times. This is where coaching will obviously be crucial.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

it was 1 idiot fan at Consol

many more than 1 idiot at Wells Fargo

Re: The NHL Thread
 

I agree I don't see much wrong with the White hit. Like I said, just really caught Orpik wrong.

In addition to Sarah I also thought of you when Orlov took his hit. My thought process was something like "holy god, did Orly just die? Man, Matty wouldn't like this hit at all" :lol

Re: The NHL Thread
 

It's amazing right

Re: The NHL Thread
 

What else can be said?......

I still love my team. Hate the fans and what they did. Becomes a mob mentality as was said. And I guess when you've been drinking, you do stupid things. (I wouldn't know) And the drinking probably got worse once Mason f'ed up two more goals in a row. That dude takes serious mental breaks during games. And it's not good.

Flyers will be fine. They just need 3-4 defensemen, 7-9 forwards and a goalie.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

The difference between deciding to play Chorney and deciding to play Weber is massive

Might not cost them a game or anything, but there's a clear winner/loser between those two

But Bobalew makes a good point as to why Trotz might pick the loser

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Let's not go overboard with this. Yes, I heard them. But neither of you know who did it. Could have been a Caps fan too. Probably wasn't. But just saying.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

hate to break it to you, Kev, but people are drinking heavily at every hockey game in every city...

don't blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol

Re: The NHL Thread
 

it's a huge deal

Orpik's Stanley Cup winning experience and his ability to calm down a situation by always making the simple, correct play, is invaluable this time of year

it can certainly be overcome with a team as talented as the Caps, but it's still a big deal

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Just don't even reply because anything you say will just be contorted into whatever they're thinking in the first place.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

oh stop it

we aren't making anything up here...

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Yes. And this stuff doesn't only happen in Philly.

A collective of throwing things isn't much different then when people jump the stands and run onto the fields whether being silly or malicious. It shouldn't be done, anywhere. But it happens everywhere.

Philly is just the easy target and that's because of people from the days of the decades of the 60s-80s. It's not like the Flyers fans (or other teams in this city) are doing this every other game...

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Capitals suck-off moment coming. Sorry guys not named Barbs or Bobalew.

I know it's only three games in, but the biggest thing I'm noticing from the Caps this year that's different from previous years is their composure. I think that comes from two things:

1) Coaching. Barry Trotz has really left his mark already on this team. He believes in them and they believe in him. I mean, I saw that Ovie had like 21 assists to go along with his 50 goals. Something like that. Crazy! That's a stat that would normally drive me bonkers. But you know what, despite that, he's still more of a complete player than he's ever been. That's the mark of a good coach - someone who allows a player to be himself, while still convincing him to play within the team system. And he seems to be that way with all his players. They're not a perfect team, but compared to previous years, the strides in the right direction have been immense.

2) The type of players they've brought in. A lot of people kind of scoffed at the Mike Richards signing, but he's been absolutely fantastic in his role on the Caps, earning every cent of that $1 million pro-rated contract or whatever it was. Not a superstar, but not asked to be. Perfect in the role they're playing him in. That's just an example of what makes the Capitals good, I think. Up and down the lineup, you've got guys that are asked to play roles, and they play those roles. There's not a lot of worthless baggage.

And with that, I like that they followed the old mantra of bringing in the "right" players rather than the "best" ones. Guys with championship experience like Richards, Orpik, and Williams. Orpik has lost a step or two, but his experience goes a long way in keeping things calm on the back end. And Williams, I think, is perhaps one of the best signings of this offseason for any team. What an excellent, understated addition to the team.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

yes but this happened last night which is why we're talking about it

and it's more of a trend in Philly than in most places

edit: @Kev

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Yeah, it was not an illegal hit (though the head to head contact could make a case for charging) but it was a dumb hit to make at that point in the game - he did not have to follow through like he did. Flyers were on a PP, down only a single goal with over half of regulation time gone. He should have pulled up once Orpik released the puck but instead he followed through on that hit instead of peeling off and trying to keep it one goal game - possibly tying it up on the PP. What he did was essentially ruining any remaining PP momentum out of the power play by halting the game

Re: The NHL Thread
 

:rolleyes

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Idiotic post.

You also can't ruin momentum for something that isn't moving in the first place.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Agreed, it can happen everywhere. What I do not get is how the fans didn't grasp the rather simple concept that anything thrown on the ice has as much a chance of injuring a Flyer as a Cap - your skate hits a foreign object on the ice and you are more than likely going down. Just happy no one got hurt due to that debacle.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Ask the rangers if they were an easy out in 10-11, the loss to Tampa was in the conference semi's. They have lost 6 game 7s (God that's painful to write) in 8 seasons. 3 in the second round. Not an easy out.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

because Flyers fans don't think logically

Re: The NHL Thread
 

getting swept is the definition of an easy out

they were an easy out in 2011 & missed the playoffs in 2014

not that long ago

Re: The NHL Thread
 

What? It's true. Because I root for the Flyers and because those fans acted like jackasses last night, I get lumped in with them by default. Nothing either Kev or I say will change your opinion on Flyers fans. Now I can go blue in the face arguing about this with you all but I know better. I don't know the 19,000 fans that were at the game last night. I'm not connected with them. I can't control what they do and how they act. I'm just there to watch my favorite sport.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Great post. The thing about this year's group, and especially Ovie, is it's all about the team. It was like that last year too, but the additions they've made took them over the top (read: my hard on Brian MacLellan). They seem to have the right attitude. They really genuinely seem to like each other a lot and enjoy playing with each other. You'll never hear any of these guys talking about individual stuff and when asked, they'll say it's only about team success. And no they aren't the first to have said it but I sure do believe them.

You make a great point about no baggage. Everyone has a place on this team. I think that really adds to that team chemistry and that balance comes from great coaching. There's a lot of star power and very little ego in that room. It's all Trotz, man.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

no one here thinks YOU personally are an asshole, man

but history speaks for itself. Philly fans, in general, have a tendency to do things like this more often than other fan bases

also, no one is saying it doesn't happen in other places either. but, this happened last night. it's fresh in our minds which is why we're talking about it

it sucks that a few dozen? hundred? thousand? people can give a city a bad name, but it happens. and it happens a lot in Philly

Re: The NHL Thread
 

:lol YES. You know me well, my friend.

I was laying in bed watching the replay, and I said to my wife, "holy crap... I'm actually agreeing with everything JR is saying right now. This is insane."

My wife: "Wait... I thought you liked that guy?" (meaning JR)

Me: :lol
Charging in the NHL is simply defined as an overly violent check. Usually that includes too many strides, leaving your feet, etc. This was not an instance of charging in any way. He took three strides, glided, then delivered the shoulder to shoulder hit. Any head on head contact (I didn't see much from the replays I watched) was incidental to the hit.

Also, there was absolutely no way White could have pulled up from that check after Orpik released the puck. Simple physics.

This was the clip I used for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twpX25aVKUs

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Oh please, I've literally said like 4 or 5 times that what happened last night was not a representation of the Flyers fanbase as a whole

Should I go find the posts and quote them?

Re: The NHL Thread
 

It certainly did not help the team at all though. If anything it probably galvanized Washington. I get that he was likely trying to fire up both his teammates and the fans but it ended up having the opposite effect.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

No because I'm a Flyers fan and don't know how to read.