I missed that. I'll have to check it later.

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Bruins and Stars games always seem to get chippy.

That one was on at the bar too. looked like a good game

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So far so good. Lehtonen has been fantastic for the Stars, really fun to watch.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

Welcome to the oilers Scrivens. Your GAA is going no where but up!

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

1) It's not the media's job to try and coach for Quenneville. You honestly believe that Q doesn't know that stat about Kaner? You think because some schmuck that's never played hockey in his life that has a microphone in Q's face says that and all the sudden Q will say "HOLY SHIT REALLY?! NEVER AGAIN WILL THEY SKATE TOGETHER!!"

2) Why is it our fucking business to know why Q lost faith? It's not. Who honestly gives a shit about the media? Who?

3) Pirri is injured. The fact that you don't even know that at this point says a lot.

4) This is what I hate HATE HATE HATE about fucking Corsi and Fenwick. It makes people look at these fucking numbers and draw ridiculous conclusions based on that. Yes, Corsi and Fenwick have their place. More than + fuckin' - does. BUT, every stat needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Just because Morin had a solid Corsi doesn't mean he was doing the job Q needed him to do or was asking him to do. Which leads me to:

5) This is a hard concept that lots of new fans can't seem to grasp, but in today's NHL, more so than ever before, you need to build a team where players play ROLES. This isn't an all-star team, and can't be. You need guys like Bollig, like Kruger, etc. Bollig isn't there to score goals or be an offensive force. That's not his fucking job. His job isn't to control the puck, or shutdown Stamkos. It's to bring an edge to the team that is made up of 95% straight edge players. You think Saad, or Bickell, or Kruger is going to lay out a big hit when the team needs a jolt? Or drop the gloves if some guy is taking liberties with Patrick Kane? No. Bollig plays his role extremely well, is rarely if EVER out of place defensively, and yeah can rarely score goals. Even the 2010 team had Eager and Burish. Let's not be idiots and pretend like guys like Shawn Thornton and Brandon Bollig are some new concept to winning hockey squads.

6) Bickell WAS hurt and Q was worried about his potential to slow down that line. You wanna know how bad he was hurt? He's still wearing knee braces because of the injury he sustained in the last game of the WCF. He's playing hurt right now. He only scored one goal in the SCF (albeit an important one), and was largely invisible. It was the right call.

7) I'm not positive about how long you've been a fan, but based on your posts about Seabrook and Q lately, I'm going to go ahead and assume you weren't around for much of the Steve Sullivan/Arnason/Ruutu days. But lemme fill you in on a little secret...this franchise was fucked. More ways than one. The diehard Blackhawk fans were 1000000x more positive they would never see a Stanley Cup champ for the rest of their lives than even the most diehard Chicago Cub fan is about the possibility of seeing a World Series. To say the fanbase was in shambles would be painting a beautiful picture compared to what it actually was. Then this man takes over for Savard and not only brings this organization back to life, but brings it two Stanley Cups in 4 years, creates a winning atmosphere, and makes Chicago THE destination for NHL free agents. 6-7 years ago Tallon literally had to beg free agents to come here by handing out absolutely insane contracts because no one fucking wanted to be here, now guys are praying to end up in Chicago. Obviously it was more than just him that had a part in that, but he's played a huge part. Is the guy flawless? No, he has some head scratchers (his love for Kopecky comes to mind), but he's one of the best hockey coaches in the world (and all-time). Do I understand what his love is for Zeus? No. Not at all. But I do understand that there is a method to this man's madness, and considering where this organization is, I don't question it. No need to be a spoiled brat about a couple losses and start questioning the coach of a team that over the past 4 years has done things that no other organization can come even close to since the salary cap has been put in place. Understand that he has access to a hell of a lot more information, knowledge, etc. than we do, and that his track record basically says that he knows what the fuck he's doing.

Sorry, but it pisses me right off when people have the gall to bitch about things like Q using short sighted stats as their backup when 7 years ago I literally dreamed about having a team like this at a fucking bare bones empty United Center.

When you've coached a NHL team to a couple Stanley Cups, have almost 700 career regular season wins and almost 100 post season wins...then feel free to question the man. Hell, if you coached a bantam team to 10 wins then feel free to scratch your head. Until then, sit back, relax, smile, and enjoy one of the greatest hockey teams in the world that has a real legit chance to win it's 3rd Stanley Cup in 5 years in the salary cap era. Or, ya know, go root for some Chicago baseball team if all you want to do is complain. I'm sure there will be plenty there to keep you busy.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

Did you see the sound off he had on Twitter with that reporter?

Nothing quite like being told how to be a fan of a team I've watched my whole life. I'll just think whatever you think.

The Committed Indian, Cheer the Anthem, Jay Zawaski and a bunch of others....I'll stop reading them. I don't pull these opinions out of the sky; they're out there all over the place.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

I see the points you are trying to make. No doubt the Blackhawks have done amazing things from where they were ten years ago....like get on tv for example. However, the bolded is where I have issues. Yes the Hawks have won 2 cups, but to say no other team has even come close is just false. The Bruins have had a very similar success story from where they were. When I first moved to Boston I remember going to opening night against Calgary to a very empty arena. Now when I go back up to Boston I need to order tickets well in advance. On top of that, they were very close to being the team with two cups in 4 years.


Anyway, the Rangers have really started to turn towards the good finally! Hank is back to his old self I see.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

:lol Yeah he's just a little pissed. I would be too if I had to play for the Oilers though.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup Especially the last part. I know hockey pretty well, but I'm a fan. I might wonder why Babcock or Holland do what they do, but I have complete faith in them. Why? Duh. Yeah things don't always work out when they, or anyone, makes a move, either a coach in game or GM with a trade/signing. Also as fans we tend to get pretty emotional. We get too high and too low at times. I remember after the first loss to the Hawks in the playoffs, fans and media were freaking out. I'll never forget Babcock's presser the following day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV-rWykEgGM

And to any Hawks fans bitching right now, I will, at least in the short term, trade spots with you. My team hasn't had ONE game all year, where they everyone was in the lineup. Getting closer, but they were close a month or so ago too and then lose someone else.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

Agree with Lockman.

Bozo wrong about basically everything.

Predicted that the Blues wouldn't make the playoffs :lol, Springsteen fan, enough said.

This is why there should an NHL thread... and a blackhawks thread.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

:shrug:shrug

Reporters are just doing their job. I'm sorry you don't understand.

Hahahaha when did I say Blues weren't making the playoffs? I did.....last year.

It's obviously amazing the position the Blackhawks are in, but does that mean they can't be better? No.

I won't question Lord Quenneville again though.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

I wish the Oilers were half as good as the Hawks.

All ya'lls complaining falls on deaf ears over here :P

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

ok you did have them in the playoffs but still a pretty poor prediction

I won't try to determine what could make the Hawks a better team either.

I've been meaning to ask an Oilers fan, how's Ference been doing? I miss him in the spoked B.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

:lol swordo I hate to remind you of this but on those same pages where bonzo was predicting the west would be weak you were arguing with him that the oilers were a playoff contender

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

To be honest, he's been pretty unnoticeable. Which isn't a bad thing for a d-man in my opinion. I don't catch a lot of games because I live in Ontario and don't have the CentreIce package, but from what I've seen I like. I mentioned a page or two ago that I consider him one of the very few untouchables on the team, trade-wise.

I do a lot of drugs. :lol Seriously though, on paper, at the beginning of the year, under ideal circumstances, and if a lot of teams crapped the bed, we had a chance. G'damn they are awful.

Can't wait to say the same thing next year. :thumbsup

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

Remember when everyone was saying how much easier it would be to make the playoffs in the West just because it had fewer teams?

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

Too late to edit; For fun, was just looking at the +/- of the Oilers. Our best (for a regular player) is a 0 (Ryan Jones), and the worst being a -31 (Yakupov). Ference is middle of the pack at -5

-31 is the worst in the entire NHL by a cool 10 pts.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

As a fan of the Buffalo Bills and Columbus Blue Jackets the pre-season potential is one of the best things about sports :lol

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

Everyone is a contender then. Go Lions! lol

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

Nice post, Chris. Not gonna quote it all, but agree with your points. Mike, Chris isn't saying you can't question Q or that you have to agree with everything he says. But with his track record and with the lack of knowledge we have of what's going on behind the scenes, give the greatest mustache in all of sports some credit.
:thumbsup:thumbsup
Not really an Oilers fan, but in the games I've watched he's looked ok. Even a pearl doesn't look that great when it's embedded in a pile of shit though (sorry swordo :shrug). He was never an all star, but as you know he's a solid, team first guy who's a good example for the youngsters and stays in touch with the community. They can't ask for much more of him at this point. I agree with what swordo says below. NOT noticing a stay-at-home d-man is usually one of the better indicators that he's doing well.
Totally man. :thumbsup By all accounts based on talent and the depth chart, this Oilers team should be sniffing at a playoff spot right now. I could've named a couple deficiencies before the season started that needed to be addressed, and I certainly didn't think they'd win the Cup or anything, but this bad? No way would I have predicted that.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

I'm not one to put a whole lot of stock into the +/- of guys as it's a very misleading stat but if it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck...well, you've got yourself a shitty-ass team!

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

It can be misleading. But yeah, if you've got that many guys in the minus....

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

Ant, if you're reading, I REALLY enjoyed the Avs/Devils game yesterday. Much better than I expected. The Devils offense is still pretty anemic, but - as is tradition with the Devils - I was impressed by their team defense, particularly close to the net. The Avs have a penchant for creativity in tight spots around the net, but they were getting zero space from the Devils. The Avs gained the zone quickly, as they usually do with their speed, but were immediately stifled anytime they got close to the slot or face-off dots. Sticks in the lane, guys back-checking, clearing the crease, etc. It didn't matter if Schneider (who had a great game BTW) gave up rebounds, because there was instantly a Devil or two to take care of it. Pity they don't have much of a breakout system, because down low they were doing their job to perfection.

Underrated defenseman boner of the night: Andy Greene. I don't watch a ton of the Devils, so I never noticed just how solid he is. Good in all 3 zones.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

I just checked the second-to-last page and there are 3 more Oilers. That's half our fucking team :BANG

Yeah, no one in the NHL thought it was going to be this bad. This team is in for a major overhaul between now and September. Look for 1 or 2 of the young guns (hopefully Yakupov, Gagner, maybe even 'nuge (would get a great return)) to get shipped out for some help on the back end, and the signing of a solid goalie. For the love of god though, please don't trade away Eberle or Hall, that's all I really ask.

Re: The NHL 2013-14 Thread
 

:lol oh Tyler Myers.