Season is finally here! Just too bad the long awaited Seattle Kraken first game was marred by Covid, but they definitely made it a game which I didn’t expect after the early goals by Vegas.
I’m furious at TNT for using Charles Barkley. I get that you’ve been known for basketball coverage for years, but trying to shoehorn the NBA into the NHL isn’t what I was expecting.
Ovechkin scores two in the opener. One of the TNT announcers quipped “He’s on pace for forty.” In the postgame Gretsky got closer with on pace for 162.
And one was a SHG, no less. His first SHG in like almost 13 years. He now has a whopping 5 of those in his career. Only 69 more to go before he breaks Gretzky’s record.
In the Vegas/Seattle game one of the goals was controversial but the NHL is being consistent about allowing the puck to be kicked in as long as it’s subtle,
The Kraken did win game 2 vs the Predators though,
This is insane.
The Maple Leafs have to use a college kid as a backup goalie tonight because of the salary cap.
There needs to be some solution to this rubbish. An NHL team and fans paying NHL prices shouldn’t have to deal with a situation in which some completely unprepared player is forced into an NHL game
Nah - saw the replay, and even that little movement of the inside of his skate blade was easily a distinct enough motion, even if it was more of a guiding than kicking one. The decision to call it a goal, I find, was almost as, yes, insane as the Leafs’ call-up for the university goalie. Heh - maybe if he gets injured they can call up 42 y.o. zamboni driver David Ayers, who if anyone recalls had to suddenly go betweeen the pipes two seasons ago for the Canes against supposed offensive juggernaut Leafs.
Canes won the game 6 - 3. 
ETA:
The following recent tweak made by the NHL pisses me off:
“Goals are allowed to stand where the attacking player directs the puck in, even via intentional movement of the skate. Their line is more around propelling the puck when it comes to kicking motions.”
The bolded part was exactly the situation with Stephenson, and the fact that the league is ok’ing that has rankled me to the heavens, down to hell, back up a couple stratospheres, and then finally resting down in either Newark or Fresno.
Further ETA: this is 
I feel like it’s really the fault of the GM – too many super stars. The point of the salary cap is to avoid situations like having so many super stars on one team. If they are going to put all their money on scorers, they won’t have enough for the goalie.
Unless you’re saying to get rid of the salary cap?
I’d be fine with lifting a salary cap for one day to allow an AHL goalie to serve as backup, but only in that situation. If you’re short a skater, too bad.
Edit: you can make it tougher to require that the backup only enter in case of injury.
I would go the other way – get tougher on the salary cap. The Bolts basically arbitraged LTIR to go way above it last year.
Does Evander Kane play in the NHL this season, or ever again?
Fraudulent vaccine card?? I wouldn’t want him on the team. I don’t want to work with people who commit fraud in my real job either.
I doubt Evander Kane plays this season, the Sharks are a bad team with or without him and he seems to always find himself in some sort of mess. Why bother with that headache just to finish out of the playoffs regardless?
Probably the grumpy old man in me, but I’m annoyed that I have to buy ESPN+ to see some hockey games.
At the risk of having to admit I’ve been badly wooshed, I’ll ask this question:
Shouldn’t the year mentioned in the thread title be 2021?
I imagine (I hope!) that any local games that aren’t on ESPN can still be found on MSG (in my case), right? That is, having MSG and ESPN (not plus) will be sufficient for me to watch any Islanders game. Please tell me that’s true.
The local games that were on your regional sports network are still there. What’s changed is out of market games, you used to buy a subscription from NHL center ice, now it’s being handled by ESPN +.
I reported the wrong year in the thread title and a friendly mod fixed it.
The Caps games have been TNT, the local sports (same as last year) and tonight is listed as ESPN+/Hulu. Looking ahead most are back on the local sports. I might have panicked too soon.
Whew!
Anyway, maybe the Isles will finally pick up a win tonight, although they are playing my wife’s favorite team.
Ohh well, mark the time of death of the Red Wings good start at the time of this post and the inevitable curse of my saying something about it.
But 5 out of 6 points, and should be 6, except for pure panic for 4 minutes against the defending champs, without their captain on the ice.