Refs are handing the Devils this game at the end here…very one sided penalty calling.
That’s puting it mildly. 
48, all in conference.
Found the #, didn’t know about no interconference games.
Boy, the Sens miss Jason Spezza more than I thought they would. I didn’t think it was THAT big a deal, but it really is. His absence has a cascading effect down the lines that really exposes the team’s weaknesses.
Yup. The biggest problem that I see is that Ottawa has no stars at forward beyond Spezza (Alfredsson at 40 really can’t carry the team anymore). We have some nice complimentary pieces like Turris and Michalek but they’re all faltering when they’re the focus of the opposition’s checking. And Zach Smith has got to be one of the stupidest player to ever get significant minutes in a Senators uniform. The guy has absolutely no conception of how to play defence in this league.
It doesn’t help that the blueline is an absolute horror show beyond the first pairing.
Alfredsson just isn’t an elite player anymore. I love the guy but he’s really a third line forward at this point.
Paul MacLean’s ability to turn lemons into lemonade is unmatched in professional sport, as far as I’m concerned, but there’s a limit as to what you can do with a very talent-thin roster. With the exception of Spezza, Anderson and Erik Karlsson, who is some kind of superhuman hockey android, there’s not a player on the team who wouldn’t likely be one line/pairing lower on the depth chart on most other teams.
They have lots of young guys who could be awesome in a year or two but they aren’t there yet, and are surrounded by guys like Zack Smith and Peter Regin who are filling jerseys basically because the rules say you need twenty guys suited up for a game.
Sweet ending for the Wings/Kings game 
Wings gave up a 6 on 5 goal with 40 seconds left. But managed a go ahead squeaker with 3 seconds left.
Looking at he replay they got away with a little bump on the goalie, but the Kings defensemen shoved his leg pretty good right as the puck slipped under it.
Does any really think of Crosby as a bad guy? He’s the second best thing to come out of Nova Scotia - the singer Cookie Rankin is tops IMHO. I want to see the Caps beat the Pens with a healthy Crosby and Malkin, not with them injured.
Two former Caps started for the Panthers. People looked at me like I was An idiot for applauding when they were introduced.
As to this, I find it a fascinating idea.
The NHL will almost certainly go to their 4-conference idea, which is flawed but a bit better than the current system. I can’t see expansion coming, though, because you just don’t have the markets for it.
There are, realistically, room for 3 more teams in Canada right now; two more in the Toronto area, and Quebec. But the NHL won’t put two more teams in the Toronto area; it will be like pulling teeth to add just one, and will only happen if the arena is built, as apparently will probably happen in Markham. If you assume that those are placeholders for Phoenix and Florida, then you’d struggle pretty hard to come up with where you’re going to put two more teams. Seattle is a possibility I guess, but I know of no interested ownership group there.
The Blackhawks just finished a 6 game road trip going 4-0-2. Barring major injuries (or jackass cheap shots), this team looks like a Cup winner.
I think Quebec City, Markham, Seattle, and Kansas City will end up with teams, 2 by relocation, 2 by expansion.
After that, I think they’ll hopefully close the door to expansion for a long time, although I think they’ll inevitably try a return to Phoenix and Atlanta way down the road.
Hogwash. The Devils were carrying the play for the majority of the game, and the Pens got frustrated and took legit penalties.
I mean no disrespect to the good people of Kansas City, but I cannot imagine why it would be seen as a viable expansion market. I’d much rather see them put a team in Saskatoon, London, or a second team in Montreal.
I like the London idea. Very interesting…
The cream is definitely rising to the top…already you can see the contenders. Boston, New Jersey and Pittsburgh in the East and Chicago, San Jose, Anaheim and Vancouver in the West.
Chicago definitely looks the best right now, though. We’ll see if they are just as strong when the playoff starts, but they are really clicking.
Sidney Crosby’s hated BECAUSE he’s the best out there. It’s jealousy. That and he’s on the opposite team – he’s the enemy.
Stupid penalties, that we should have avoided. If we’re going to win, we need to keep focused, not act out once things turn against us. Geno especially tends to get rattled.
And while it didn’t affect us in the long run, I still don’t know why the refs didn’t call interference when Fleury’s helmet was knocked off in the Caps game on Thursday. That was ridiculous.
Perhaps for some, but for most of us he’s hated because he does crap like this.
That does seem to be the book on them: stifle them, frustrate them and hope none of them kills one of your players while they start a parade to the penalty box.
Matt Cooke goes for the slewfoot, misses, and instead slices Karlsson’s achilles. Awesome.
At least it’s a deep draft this year. 
Whoa. I’m not watching it on TV. Really! That’s fucked.