The Hockey Thread

[The Sultan of Swank]

It is definitely not a good year to be a fan of an Eastern Canadian hockey team.

Sacrement mon estee, fucking Brian Gionta... out indefinitely, broken foot. Fucking Foppa.

Edited November 18, 2009 by The Sultan of Swank

[caucasianheat]

I actually can't believe how shitty this team is. No lead is safe.

edit: I would be remiss not to mention the garbage call that handed Carolina the goal to tie 4-4. White's stick was never near Kostopolous' face, and they should have run the video back to check since the ref clearly didn't see the play at all.

[Clawson]

They were also one of those bullshit intent to whistle things in OT when the puck was in the net before the ref even started raising his hand. I feel so fucking jobbed right now.

[Gabriel]

Terrible night for me... here the Leafs get up 3-0 and I think that they're turning shit around. Turns out, not so much.

Then the Flames completely fail to show up against the Blackhawks... we can get away with that kind of shit against lesser teams, but if you don't show up ready to play 100% for 60 minutes against Chicago, then you may as well have just forfeited the game.

[The Sultan of Swank]

3-0 and 4-2 and then with 30 seconds left... I will repeat myself, I'm pretty sure that Toronto has the worst record in blowing third period leads since the lock out.

[The Sultan of Swank]

BWRAWR Alex Who?

Spacek and Hamrlik hold him to 4 shots and no points. Another awesome outing by Price. Furious finish, wow, when Washington made it 3-2 with 3 to play, they turned it onto a whole 'nother level.

Feel sorry for Toronto tomorrow. You get angry Ovechkin who had no points and was pretty invisible and a Caps team that got out played most of the game. I'm guessing A8 with a hat trick.

Also... I've noticed that when Ron Wilson talks to the media... he genuinely looks like the worst coach in the league. Cracking jokes about Kane in Chicago (and losing), complaining about the phantom high stick (The Leafs managed to give up a 3-0 lead all on their own), he often times belittles his team, which can't feel good.

At least at the end of the season the Leafs will pull a Gainey and clean house.

Edited November 21, 2009 by The Sultan of Swank

[Toe]

When I look at the people on the team, I do not see a team with only 3 wins. Yes, the team lacks talented forwards after Kessel and arguably Grabovski, but the defence is good, the powerplay is good, and the goaltending is improved. This Leafs team might not be a playoff team, but it should not be sitting in dead last.

I think some of the blame has to fall on the shoulders of Ron Wilson, and some also falls to Burke. The team did look good at times last season and managed to overachieve for small periods of time. This year, everything has fallen apart. After this many games, I think Wilson has failed to properly utilize his players.

Edited November 21, 2009 by Toe

[Clawson]

CONGRATULATIONS MONTREAL ON TYING TORONTO FOR REGULATION WINS ON THE YEAR!

[Toe]

Well, that was unexpected. Seeing Toronto win in a shootout - especially with Toskala is goal - is always a bit of a shocker. The lack of skill up front is really showing. Toronto had long stretches of possession, but constantly shot into blocks or missed the net completely.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Clawson... seriously? Is that what it takes to make you feel better because you've got a team on pace to be slightly better than the 14 win 1994 Senators? I mean Toronto only got to 4 wins 2 games and 4 days faster than the 11 win 1993 San Jose Sharks... annnnd last I checked, while unfortunate to give up the extra point (but still wildly exciting), a win is still a win. So at essentially 11-12, I'm not pleased but I'll take it for now and hope for better when we get some bodies back. At 4-17 I understand if you're frustrated at the fact that Boston will likely take the 1st overall pick this year.

Awesome game last night. Detroit finally snapped our undefeated extra time streak. If not for that idiot Laraque taking 6 min in penalties in one shift(should have been tossed anyways for his knee on knee), we may well have won it in regulation. At 5 on 5, we kept up, we played solid D like we did against Washington and we got our chances from their mistakes. Cammy scoring 9 seconds into the third was awesome. His playing with Plek and Big Tits seems to have woken up the beleagued Belarussian a bit. He's making good passes, shooting well, hitting and skating hard. That's all we've wanted him to do.

Edited November 22, 2009 by The Sultan of Swank

[Gabriel]

To be fair, he was just commenting on your remark about the team "pulling a Gainey" (which I'll get to in a second) and being cellar dwellars, when in reality, their performance hasn't been much worse than the Habs. Points-wise, Montreal's out in front, but really, a couple of those one goal games end differently for both teams, and the situation is totally reversed.

Now, "Pulling a Gainey"... this will not happen in Toronto. Brian Burke builds hockey teams. He doesn't let pivotol pieces go for no return and then just sign the best players that he can get his hands on. Burke could very well have done just that this past summer, but it doesn't make sense. It's a big risk to do that. Sure, you end up with a bunch of really good players, but are you going to end up with a good TEAM? The jury's still out on that one.

The Leafs are going to stay the course. There may be a few moves here or there, but nothing like the mass exodus that Gainey allowed to happen. Toronto is only a piece or two away from being a completely different team.

Scenario: the Hawks need to clear cap space for their extensions of Kane, Toews and Keith. That means that some of the other guys are available. Toronto has plenty of room to add pieces, and plenty of young kids in the depth chart who can get a fresh start with the Leafs. Makes sense to me. So here's a name, just, to throw ideas around: Patrick Sharp. He's Canadian, he has good hands and he's not afraid of getting physical and gritty. He's a better playmaker than the Leafs have on the front end, and he finishes well too. Seems like a move that works for everyone involved, to me.

[Clawson]

To be fair, he was just commenting on your remark about the team "pulling a Gainey" (which I'll get to in a second) and being cellar dwellars, when in reality, their performance hasn't been much worse than the Habs. Points-wise, Montreal's out in front, but really, a couple of those one goal games end differently for both teams, and the situation is totally reversed.

Egg-xactly. Compare Toronto and Montreal's records in one-goal games and it's easier to see their situations could easily be reversed.

As for Patrick Sharp, I'd love to have him but we're probably getting Brent Sopel and a high pick for Exelby or something.

[Toe]

If Toronto could get Sharp, that would be fan-dabi-dozi. He would be a good compliment to Kessel. However, the Blackhawks need him because scoring depth is key in the playoffs. They can afford to lose Sopel and suffer no ill effects.

[Toe]

Bwahaha! Once again, Toronto outplays a team and fails to come away with the points. Dwayne Roloson faced more the 60 shots and yet, the Islanders still won. Except for a lapse in the second period, Toronto dominated. This is just a horrible season to be a fan of this team. They play poorly and they lose. They play well and they lose. No matter what happens during the course of the game, they find a way to lose.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

TOE CLAWSON BEATNIK ANYBODY ELSE WHO REMEMBERS TSN CIRCA 1996 I'VE FOUND A GEM

[Pizza]

Holy fuck I miss that song. I don't remember that anchor though.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

You don't remember Brendan Connor? When I was a kid he was on every night with Landsberg!

[Toe]

That was pretty awesome to see.

Toskala and John Mitchell have been placed on IR. Joey Mac and Christian Hanson have been called up from the AHL. I've updated my blog with my opinion on Christian Hanson coming up. I hope they give him the chance to excel and don't use him as a 4th line player.

[Plubby]

Spoilers: Toronto Los...

Wait, i'm getting something through on my headset..

holycrap!

Now if Colorado can just manage to not have another late second/third period meltdown, we can get the Habs lose/Toronto+Colorado Up hattrick >_>

[Clawson]

I already got my Toronto wins, Ottawa and Montreal loses hatty.