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grimmie

Official NHL 2011/2012 thread!

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None of the teams I normally root for made it to the playoffs this season. So I feel somewhat disconnected from the 2012 playoffs. But due to what happened after the finals last year, I will definitely be adopting an "Anybody but Vancouver" attitude.

I noticed the "ESPN Classic Canada" cable TV channel was playing a number of different "Montreal Canadiens vs Quebec Nordiques" games this weekend mostly from the 1980s (an '82 playoff game, two games from '84, a playoff game from '85 and a playoff game from '93). So I DVRed all the games and have begun to watch them. I grew up in an English part of Montreal in the 1980s, so I remember all these games. But it is interesting watching hockey from 25-30 years ago (amazing how time flies). For sure the modern players are bigger and faster these days. But one thing that also stands out is the high number of Frenchies both the Habs and the Nordiques fielded in those days. Of course in the 1980s the Iron Curtain was still up and besides the Stastny brothers and Petr Svoboda (all Iron Curtain defectors), there really was nobody from Russia and Czechoslovakia in the NHL yet. So the Canadian born players still dominated and it was easier for Montreal and Quebec to have more than half of their respective rosters full of Frenchies. Just something you don't see these days. Maybe that is why Quebec lost their franchise. Simply not enough Frenchies in the league to field a team full of Frenchies. LOL ... I know it was more than that. :)

Anyway watching these old games are fun, they bring back memories. But the modern day players are bigger and faster. Back to the games ...



Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

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Look at the goalie pads of that era, tiny.:)



That's for sure. It also explains how the 80s era was able to produce more 50+ goal scorers than the modern era. There were also a lot more fights in the 1980s. I just finished watching the end of the 2nd period in the '84 game six playoff game between the Habs and Nordiques where there was a blench clearing brawl with 14 separate fights that broke out. Yes the players of the modern era are bigger and faster. But the 80s was still a good era. The Islanders dynasty of the early 80s. The coming of age of Gretzky and the Oilers with their dynasty. The great rivalry of the Habs/Nordiques, rivalry of the Habs/Bruins and of course the great rivalry of the Oilers/Flames. The only teams that seemed to miss the 1980s were the Wings and the Leafs. Of course the Wings made up for their poor performances in the 1980s with their wins in the 1990s and 2000s. The Leafs? LOL ... 1967 and counting.


Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

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Do you recall when Datsyuk first came to Detroit? All he'd do was pass the puck! WOW! Look at him now!



Yep. And now he's probably the greatest all-around player ever to lace 'em up. Hard to make an argument to the contrary.


Don



Although he didn't get a ton of ice time, I had the privilege of watching him play during last Saturday's game which ended up a shoot out loss to Chicago at The Joe (attached). He did contribute to tie it up late in the third.

Amazing to watch him handle the puck!



aloha.

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I'm a Kings fan, so I'm looking forward to the series against Vancouver. Quick has not been himself the last week, so I'm concerned about that. How healthy will Sedin be (and how healthy will he stay) and could we PLEASE have you back, Jeff Carter?

My wife is a Philly fan (see attached). And even aside from her Philly fandom, the Philly-Pitt series has it all. The star power, the fans and home arenas, and two teams that really really hate each other. Fans hate each other. The players and coaches hate each other. Teams are evenly matched. It doesn't get better than this.


My wife is hotter than your wife.

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My wife is a Philly fan (see attached). And even aside from her Philly fandom, the Philly-Pitt series has it all. The star power, the fans and home arenas, and two teams that really really hate each other. Fans hate each other. The players and coaches hate each other. Teams are evenly matched. It doesn't get better than this.



That series should provide some great hockey!

And, I'll take the Kings over the Canucks.

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I am watching the 3rd period of the Pens/Flyers game and they just showed Mike Tomlin at the game with rink side seats wearing a Penguins jersey. Mike Tomlin is the head coach of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. I love it when people from other sports support hockey. :)



Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

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I'm still blown away by the Penguins' remarkable ability to choke on a big lead.

And even though Vancouver is thus far -2 for 9 on the power play this series, I'm still biting my nails.

And it's 3-1 Kings off a power play. Two short handed goals and one on the power play. Just hold on, Kings.....


My wife is hotter than your wife.

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How did I miss this thread???

Sharks finishing up the season well, I hope they keep this momentum going!!!

Nice work Kings last night.... I dislike the Kings but hate Vancouver haha....

Sharks play game 1 against the Blues in just a few minutes, I can't wait!!



For you and skybitch!
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=172469&cmpid=nhl-rxl-fb

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Yeah Yeah Yeah. That was sure painful to watch live.

The game tonight was brutal, the refs let a lot of things slide, we should have had quite a few more power plays.

We also had tons of very close shots, I think we hit the crossbar like 3 times and fanned on empty net opportunities... It was a bad luck night.

At the start of game one, I was saying to myself that I hope we win just one of the first two away games, because I can sure see winning both home games coming up.

Time will tell!!!!

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Yeah Yeah Yeah. That was sure painful to watch live.

The game tonight was brutal, the refs let a lot of things slide, we should have had quite a few more power plays.

We also had tons of very close shots, I think we hit the crossbar like 3 times and fanned on empty net opportunities... It was a bad luck night.

At the start of game one, I was saying to myself that I hope we win just one of the first two away games, because I can sure see winning both home games coming up.

Time will tell!!!!




Very painful to watch but I thought Niemi had one of the best performances of the year, dispite the 2 pp goals.

A split was still a pleasant surprise considering they were winless at St. Louis all year.

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