Yes I can’t figure the realignment at all. Yes Detroit wanted to be back in the East with it’s long-time rivals (though they’ll now miss Chicago of course), but if not Detroit, why Columbus isn’t in with the Chicago group I can’t fathom. It would equalize the East and West to 15 teams each and allow Quebec to be put into the new “Atlantic” division (or put Buffalo there and Quebec into the “Northeast” division and have the now 16-14 grouping. Yes they’d have to move Colorado to the Pacific, but that seems easier than now. Maybe this means that Phoenix is going to Seattle, but will Quebec scream if that happens.
As a Hawks fan, I don’t know who to hate now. Nashville? Dallas? Give me a break. I guess St. Louis (meh).
I’m not sure if I like the realignment, especially 7/8 teams per division. It’s too impersonal now and too many teams competing for a division title.
[QUOTE=tim-n-va]
Boston beat the Penguins. Soulmurk thinks the Devils would have matched up well and beaten them “too”. What is confusing about that?
[/QUOTE]
It appeared that soulmurk was equating Boston and New Jersey. I misunderstood, he clarified. Everything is good now.
Bylsma gets two year extension from Pens
Oh the humanity!!!
As a Kings fan, I have to say…Go Hawks!
AND ALL THE ASSISTANTS TOO.
WHAT THE *****?!?
No, seriously… what the *****?!?
I honestly…
I mean…
Am I wrong…? Teams fire hockey coaches all the time, that’s how hockey works. It’s Bylsma’s first gig and that’s how hockey coaches learn - being fired, being humbled, moving on.
In the last four years in the playoffs, Bylsma is sub .500 at home and has won only 3 series out of 7. Of the four he lost, in 2 they were down 3-0 and 1 they were winning 3-1 before losing it all.
Shero: “I’m not getting rid of MAF, provided he wants to be here.”
On why Byslma never adapted in the Boston series: “I can’t question Dan Bylsma because I’m not a coach.”
He also admitted that he knows nothing about coaching, so he askes the players if the coaching has been OK - the same coach who let’s them do whatever they want with no accountability. THE GENERAL MANAGER.
He also stated that Fleury “embraced” the idea of working on his game in the summer - as if he never had before.
This is like the ***** Pirates only worse because we have Sid, Geno, and a bunch of other talent guys. But it’s clear now that ownership only wants to sell out the arena and doesn’t give a ***** about Stanley Cups.
Why should I care more as a fan than ownership?!? This is just like Mario and Jagr running Bowman out of town in 93 because he was too “tough” and they had their hand held for the rest of their Penguin years and never won another cup. Never came close. That’s what I have to look forward to the next 3 years as a fan? Crosby with useless playoff wingers, Geno trying to do everything by himself, no accountability, a broken system, moronic line pairings, horrible use of young talent, and by the looks of it FLEURY IS THE #1 STARTER NEXT YEAR.
Can’t wait till they get to the playoffs next year and the very first team runs a 4-1 trap against them. That’ll be great fun, and since Shero doesn’t know anything about hockey, he’ll ask the players and they’ll him “they didn’t get to their game” and Shero will give Disco a lifetime extension.
I think my fandom just became a whole lot more casual…
It’s honestly painful to watch Game 1. Pen’s and Hawks are pretty similar in terms of systems, pretty similar in terms of talent levels, but universes apart in coaching and therefore execution. It took them three periods to figure out how to attack the Bruins (rather than 4+ games) but while they were figuring it out, they were patient and methodical, emphasizing puck possession, puck support, and smart defensive play to nibble away at the Bruins. Their first period was beautiful in how they mixed regrouping with methodical zone entries. If they chipped in, there were always two forwards that rushed to strategic positions at the boards to recover the puck. If they powered through the middle, there was always puck support right behind them. If they activated the defense, the forwards always, always backchecked to recover the puck.
Not to mention two Hawks were almost always screening Rask.
Of course, Bruins capitalized on the few mistakes given to them - which is why they’re such a dangerous team - but this shows that Rask is not unbeatable, that the dead-puck era is not back, that beautiful hockey can still be played, and that the Penguins (now that Bylsma and everyone is extended) are a level below true Stanley Cup contenders, even with Malkin and Crosby.
Going to be a great, great, great Finals, only wish I could enjoy it more.
COME ON, HAWKS!!!
Loving this game!
Big fun, but games like this really make me miss living on the West Coast. I’m up way past my bedtime.
I’m on the west coast and it’s getting close to my bedtime but DDAMN this is a helluva game!
Both teams are certainly setting one hell of a tone for the series, eh.
Okay, let’s start OT3!
That was an awesome goal ftw!
I’m on the east coast. 8 minutes left in OT3
Can’t see myself staying up for OT4
Can’t see myself going to bed and being able to sleep
I stayed up late with the intention of sleeping in and taking a cab to work this morning from Bucktown to the Loop instead of the L. Apparently everyone else had the same idea. No cabs anywhere - the closest car available at 7:30am was a black Town Car 28 minutes away! Maybe all the cabbies were asleep/hungover, too…
And Malkin gets $76 million for eight years. No doubt he’s worth it but it will make salary cap math interesting in Pittsburgh.
Alain Vigneault to be new coach of the New York Rangers. Now I guess Tortorella will be coach of the Cancucks
Ovechkin wins the Hart? After basically fucking up for most of the season? What a joke!
And Crawford gets a little help from the pipe one more time.
That is completely ridiculous. More valuable than Jonathan Quick? More valuable than Patrice Bergeron? More valuable than Jonathan Toews? Really? AWOL half the season and at least half the playoffs. Hah. Can’t wait to hear what Milbury has to say.
Saved again by the pipe in OT!
And FINALLY the pipe turns or Crawford!
God damn, this series is intense…how many freakin’ times did Jagr hit that pipe?!
Anyway, a funny image I saw posted that is relevant to tonight’s game:
