2023-24 NHL Season Thread.

[Lilcheeks]

Pretty sure they've already announced Luongo for game 7 anyway.

---------- Post added 2011-06-14 at 02:39 PM ----------

I think that just goes to show the lack of passion in the NBA fan base. Yes it gets higher ratings than hockey, but that is because it is a far more inclusive game than hockey will ever be. Far too few get to actually experience playing hockey when they grow up so there will always be a disconnect. Anyone with $3 can buy a basketball and find something to shoot it through especially when there are roughly 8 million basketball hoops per town. Every school has basketball programs from when you are 7 up until you graduate.

I've been a Celtics fan since I was young and these days although I watch, I certainly find it the least entertaining of the 4 majors. I find the refereeing to be disgraceful which seriously detracts from the competition. After the ref scandals, and some of the refs who were involved still being in the league under the same commissioner, its hard for me to take them seriously. Its a dirty league imo. The financial side of the league is a mess too which is part of the upcoming pending lockout.

[conscript]

I've been a Celtics fan since I was young and these days although I watch, I certainly find it the least entertaining of the 4 majors. I find the refereeing to be disgraceful which seriously detracts from the competition. After the ref scandals, and some of the refs who were involved still being in the league under the same commissioner, its hard for me to take them seriously. Its a dirty league imo. The financial side of the league is a mess too which is part of the upcoming pending lockout.

The officiating in the NBA makes the officiating in the NHL look amazing.

On a slightly darker front, I didn't see this posted yet and I am too lazy to go back more than one page, Mason Raymond apparently broke at least one vertebrae in that collision with Boychuk last night. I have to say I am fucking disgusted.

I am disgusted with Boychuk for driving a player in an awkward position into the boards when the puck is in the other side of the zone.
I am disgusted at the officials for not calling a penalty on that play.
I am disgusted with the Boston Gardens medical staff for not bringing out a stretcher for a clearly severely injured player.
I am disgusted with the Vancouver Canucks medical staff for not recognizing the severity of the injury and bringing out a stretcher to take him off.
I am disgusted with the Vancouver team for skating him off the ice and then walking him down the hall when it was obvious he was in a tremendous amount of pain.

[Zoma]

How about the 'Flopper' chants by the fans? Or the "Let's go Bruins" chant (with music) as he was being taken off the ice?

[Sykol]

Yeah, that had to be some manner of reverse boarding or something. He didn't piledrive him from behind into the boards, but that hit was...something. It was much, much closer to an intent to injure play than the hit on Horton, in my opinion.

[conscript]

How about the 'Flopper' chants by the fans?

Stay classy Boston fans lol.

---------- Post added 2011-06-14 at 11:27 AM ----------

Yeah, that had to be some manner of reverse boarding or something. He didn't piledrive him from behind into the boards, but that hit was...something. It was much, much closer to an intent to injure play than the hit on Horton, in my opinion.

NHL is not going to have a meeting with Boychuk and isn't looking into the hit any further.

Personally, I agree with them not having a disciplinary hearing about it. It was an awkward and stupid play, but Boychuk couldn't have know he would break the guys back doing that whereas there is one inevitable outcome to the way Rome hit Horton. Maybe in a different year Rome gets nothing but 2 minutes for interference, but in an era where the NHL is trying to remove headshots his sticks out big time when the players are warned throughout the course of the season and the guy delivering the hit was the victim of a similar play only two weeks earlier that results in injury. Boychuk's play was risky and stupid, but I don't think the intent to injure was there as that is at best a freak injury.

[Druxray]

How about the 'Flopper' chants by the fans?

Canucks cried wolf too many times to get the benefit of the doubt and they definitely would not get it in Boston period. Then any Boston fan that isn't completely wasted or has amnesia can probably remember back to game 3 and what happened to Horton. Sedin's are flopping all the time and its annoying. Vancouver is losing out on calls because their team has a bad rep and players like burrows or Lapierre could probably be mugged by the entire Boston team and not draw a penalty. Its not fair but to be expected and they only have themselves to blame.

For game 7 I think Vancouver will win. Last change is huge. I know its easy to be negative and think the Sedins are doing awful if you just look at their points but they played better in game 5 and 6. Hard to really analyze game 6 because it was over early and those games are just annoying for the winning team if they get hot too early and have to wait for the time to run out. The Sedins line should have had atleast 2 more back door open nets though. They know how to take advantage of Thomas. It might not be paying off yet but I am sure it will be important. Thomas is not good at moving lateral then combine his aggressive play that puts him in a bad spot to get across the net the way to beat him is side to side movement or hope he makes a mistake.

Even if the Sedin line does not score by having them matched up against other D pair it will wear down Boston. Boston has played a short bench and been really conservative with match ups in Vancouver which cripples their offense so I would expect a low scoring game most likely. 2-1 Vancouver.

Of course I wouldnt mind if Boston won and supported Thomas with any type of offensive pressure. Marchane I think is hilarious and annoys Vancouver so I wouldn't mind if its more open and exciting if it means I see the mighty mouse antics. Its really too bad Vancouver does not have any fighters that is probably the only thing that could make this series better.

[Rennadrel]

Stay classy Boston fans lol.

That's ironic since Vancouver likes to dive and take cheap shots when they are losing.

[phazedin]

Tim Thomas is the reason Vancouver can't score shit, Luongo couldn't stop a beach ball.

Luongo fails under pressure, damn near cost us a Gold medal in the Winter Olympics, has pretty much cost Vancouver the opportunity to win the Cup quickly and effectively.

You said..'us'. Gonna have to stop you there. Pretty sure there wasn't a single Leaf on team Canada, and as you're acting like a complete douchetard, raging like an ignorant, and cheering for Boston, I'm going to go ahead and say, yeah..you're a lousy Canadian. Go cheer for swizerland or whoever your 'monster' played for....

Infracted. Do not flame our users.

[Bamboozles]

Bruins fans are generally classy people though. I don't have a problem against what they were chanting, it's Stanley Cup hockey. What do you expect?
(this coming from a huge Canuck / Cap fan. I hear their chants a lot.)

offtopic: I hate Montreal fans.

[phazedin]

The Ramond hit is just another in the litany of hits that mystify the fans about the Rome suspension. The real issue is the shoulderpads, just like Cherry mentioned, they're weapons that offer no other outcome than serious injury when a (previously legal and awesome part of the game) shoulder hit in open ice is delivered.

The series is already recognized as one of the worst for officiating, and sadly has probably contributed to the NHL losing this series as a potential market driver in the US. This type of great drama (US v CAN, Orig 6 v Van, 2 Vez candidates etc etc) is supposed to be a showcase, and it's ended up looking like WWE.

Obviously I'm biased Vancouver's way, but I can't see a casual fan watching this and having the first clue about what's allowed and what's not, or really caring after awhile.

I will say this, after seeing '94 first hand, i'm pretty sure Vancouver will burn if we lose game 7.

[koodledrum]

I think that just goes to show the lack of passion in the NBA fan base. Yes it gets higher ratings than hockey, but that is because it is a far more inclusive game than hockey will ever be. Far too few get to actually experience playing hockey when they grow up so there will always be a disconnect. Anyone with $3 can buy a basketball and find something to shoot it through especially when there are roughly 8 million basketball hoops per town. Every school has basketball programs from when you are 7 up until you graduate.

---------- Post added 2011-06-14 at 10:29 AM ----------



Sure thing crazy guy. Questionable at best. Laugh Out Loud. Luongo's GAA at home this series is .666. His save percentage is .978. When the hounds came a'calling in Game 5 about his prospects of starting, he pitched a dominant shut out. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind about who will be starting in net for Vancouver tomorrow night.

I might be crazy, but look at his line in the 6 playoff games v Boston this year, i know he's been good on home ice, but stats don't lie - SEVENTEEN goals allowed, i don't give a shit how good you are at home if you've let in 17 goals in the Stanley Cup finals you're a doubt. This isn't a regular home game either, this isn't Vancouver v Chicago in December - it's GAME SEVEN of the finals, if he has a bad game tonight (and well, lets be fair, it can happen) then it's not a game in the standings, it's the Cup, that's a crapshoot. Just saying he couldn't stop a beachball in the Garden and questioning if that's getting into his head!

[La]

Quote, from NHL.com, currently being quoted all over the news:

"Raymond suffered the injury (a broken spine, 6 months out, for those who don't know) on the game's first shift, when he got tangled with Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk. Raymond was bent at the waist when he fell back-side first into the boards."

Has anyone watched that replay? At what point did he fall into the boards? I know he certainly fell to the ground after his SPINE WAS BROKEN. Funny how there is never any mention of a Boston player being involved in hitting him into the boards, in a vulnerable way, with enough force to break his spine.

What`s even funnier? There was no penalty called for this, therefore, go ahead and break peoples spines. After all, Rome was hit in a fucking clean hit if I ever saw one, no shoulder raised, nothing, and what`s even funnier is Rome spent a night in the hospital and was crusing around seen in his car, the very next day.

[conscript]

Quote, from NHL.com, currently being quoted all over the news:

"Raymond suffered the injury (a broken spine, 6 months out, for those who don't know) on the game's first shift, when he got tangled with Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk. Raymond was bent at the waist when he fell back-side first into the boards."

Has anyone watched that replay? At what point did he fall into the boards? I know he certainly fell to the ground after his SPINE WAS BROKEN. Funny how there is never any mention of a Boston player being involved in hitting him into the boards, in a vulnerable way, with enough force to break his spine.

What`s even funnier? There was no penalty called for this, therefore, go ahead and break peoples spines. After all, Rome was hit in a fucking clean hit if I ever saw one, no shoulder raised, nothing, and what`s even funnier is Rome spent a night in the hospital and was crusing around seen in his car, the very next day.

Your post makes absolutely no sense at all. By Rome's hit I assume you mean the one he took in the San Jose series that led to a minor concussion. IIRC that didn't result in a suspension and Rome never had to undergo anything but precautionary doctor checks. If your talking about Rome's hit on Horton I assume you mean Horton driving a car. Again, not that big of a deal. Severe concussion sure, but it wasn't like the guy was expected to stay in bed under his blankies for months. And no, I'm sorry that Rome hit was not clean. He delivered a late, unnecessary hit, as did Boychuk. The difference is Rome left his feet to deliver a hit to the head of an unsuspecting player. That is the exact hit the NHL is trying to eliminate. There is only one outcome to the type of hit Rome delivered and that is an injury.

Boychuk's hit while stupid, doesn't even come close to the Rome hit even though the injury is far more severe. He stupidly drove a player into the boards while that player was in a bad position. You can't predict that a guys back is going to break in that situation. No one could. Vancouver's medical team didn't expect that outcome. The Boston Garden medical team didn't expect that outcome. If they had, they would have had a stretcher out there immediately to take him of the ice. Considering that noneof those trained professional anticipated the injury was that bad I fail to see how Boychuk could have known that would have been the outcome.

By the way, hell yes it should have been a penalty for boarding if nothing else. While Boychuk didn't drive him into boards with much force, he still boarded a defenseless player.

---------- Post added 2011-06-14 at 03:47 PM ----------

I might be crazy, but look at his line in the 6 playoff games v Boston this year, i know he's been good on home ice, but stats don't lie - SEVENTEEN goals allowed, i don't give a shit how good you are at home if you've let in 17 goals in the Stanley Cup finals you're a doubt. This isn't a regular home game either, this isn't Vancouver v Chicago in December - it's GAME SEVEN of the finals, if he has a bad game tonight (and well, lets be fair, it can happen) then it's not a game in the standings, it's the Cup, that's a crapshoot. Just saying he couldn't stop a beachball in the Garden and questioning if that's getting into his head!

It is certainly a possibility. It was a possibility in Game 5 after he couldn't stop a beachball in Boston in 3 and 4. Result, shutout. It was a possibility in Game 7 of the Chicago series after he was benched for an entire game. Result, win.

You predicted that Luongo would have a dominant bounce back game in game 5. Why the change in tone now? Last night certainly wasn't any worse than games 3 and 4. It is nearly an identical situation to game 5 yet you are expecting a drastically different outcome. That is the definition of insanity. I expect game 7 to be close. I don't expect an offensive explosion from the Bruins as they simply haven't shown that on the road, and yes that does matter. The question comes down to is can Thomas hold up if the Bruins can only net a single goal? I think he can, but I feel like the only way Boston can take the Cup in Vancouver is if they find a way to break their offensive drought on the road. If they can net three, hell maybe two goals, I think they have it in the bag. If they come with another weak offensive road performance I don't think they win.

[Irony]

That was kind of the point. Someone brought up the fact that "I can counter your argument because Boston has more cups". I know it's a frivolous and terrible argument, that was kind of the point I was making with my post.

To completely dismiss past accomplishments is definitely the wrong mind set. It will always be about the next game, but that next game will soon be the previous game. Sadly the Vancouver fanbase only has the present to cling onto.

[conscript]

The Raymond hit is just another in the litany of hits that mystify the fans about the Rome suspension. The real issue is the shoulderpads, just like Cherry mentioned, they're weapons that offer no other outcome than serious injury when a (previously legal and awesome part of the game) shoulder hit in open ice is delivered.

The series is already recognized as one of the worst for officiating, and sadly has probably contributed to the NHL losing this series as a potential market driver in the US. This type of great drama (US v CAN, Orig 6 v Van, 2 Vez candidates etc etc) is supposed to be a showcase, and it's ended up looking like WWE.

Obviously I'm biased Vancouver's way, but I can't see a casual fan watching this and having the first clue about what's allowed and what's not, or really caring after awhile.

I will say this, after seeing '94 first hand, i'm pretty sure Vancouver will burn if we lose game 7.

Totally agree about the shoulder pads. Players are bigger, faster, stronger than ever before and now they have harder, thicker, stronger equipment which they often use with reckless abandon. The gear for both skaters and especially goalies needs to be trimmed down. Goalies take up something like 30% more space in the net in today's NHL thanks to increases in equipment size. Gear inflation has gotten insane.

I don't necessarily agree with this series being bad for casuals though. The casual fan is usually a moron. They would rather see the hitting than the fancy plays. Frankly, I don't think the officiating has been all that terrible in this series. It certainly wasn't even in the same ballpark as the San Jose/Vancouver series which was just terribly officiated for both teams. That series had more high sticks than a 400 foot tall tree yet about two were called. There have been some obvious missed calls, the Boychuk hit last night, and they have let it get way out of hand after the whistle far too often, but it hasn't been disgustingly bad like every NBA playoff series this season.

---------- Post added 2011-06-14 at 04:00 PM ----------

To completely dismiss past accomplishments is definitely the wrong mind set. It will always be about the next game, but that next game will soon be the previous game. Sadly the Vancouver fanbase only has the present to cling onto.

In terms of how past accomplishments can effect the outcome of upcoming contests, they should be dismissed. Detroit hasn't won a Cup in three years but has won 4 in the last 15. None of those Cups are going to help win in 2012. Performance in past seasons ranks slightly behind performance in the regular season and performance in previous playoff games when it comes to effect on upcoming games. I think that was what Kelesti meant.

[Agallochh]

What time is it in Vancouver? 15 past Luongo...

---------- Post added 2011-06-14 at 08:13 PM ----------

Off topic: Gratz everyone on 200 pages and nearly 4k posts.

Take that, 7 pages/131 posts of NBA Finals.

Would have been more like 213 pages by now if a lot of shit hadn't been deleted by mods lololol

[Fuzzzie]

Would have been more like 213 pages by now if a lot of shit hadn't been deleted by mods lololol

To be fair, only garbage was deleted.

[Epuration]

To be fair, only garbage was deleted.

For your efforts I would give your a cookie...
unfortunately I dont know where u live :P

[Rennadrel]

You said..'us'. Gonna have to stop you there. Pretty sure there wasn't a single Leaf on team Canada, and as you're acting like a complete douchetard, raging like an ignorant, and cheering for Boston, I'm going to go ahead and say, yeah..you're a lousy Canadian. Go cheer for swizerland or whoever your 'monster' played for....

Pretty sure people are allowed to cheer for the team that deserves to win, not because of loyalty to a certain country. Luongo doesn't deserve the Cup, nor do the rest of the Canucks who dive like a bunch of pansies and should be suspended for it. Why should I cheer for the Canucks when Boston has clearly shown that they are the better team in every regard? How many goals have the Canucks scored this series? 10 How many close games were there in Boston? Zero. How many goals have Tim Thomas and the Boston defence let in? 10. How many goals has Luongo let in? 22.

Fact of the matter is, Boston has been the better team in every aspect of hockey and hasn't had to resort to playing like a bunch of pussies by diving and trying to deal out tons of cheap shots. People like you make me hate fans of other teams, because you are ignorant and blind to the fact that you can't see the faults in the team you support. Boston hasn't done well playing in Vancouver, but not as badly as Vancouver did playing in Boston. Suffice to say that whoever shows up with their A game tomorrow will be hoisting the Cup, and if it's Vancouver it won't be because they were the better team, it will be out of luck. If Boston wins it will be because they finally pulled their heads out of their asses in a road game. Vancouver doesn't deserve it with the way they have been playing, poor offensive abilities where 90% of the guys who can score haven't done shit, horrible goaltending on the road and only squeaking by in their home wins doesn't constitute a team worthy of raising the Cup.

Also, enjoy your ban. Seems you can't be mature and have to resort to name calling in your pathetic attempts to defend the Canucks who have been mediocre at best while Boston has done everything right aside from steal a game in Vancouver. Try again, next time try and be mature and actually putting up a valid argument rather then pulling nonsense out of your rear end and stating it like it's fact.

[ketzil]

As much as I tend to agree with you, a win is a win. And the team that wins gets remembered for it, the losing team won't get remembered as the better team.