2017-18 NHL (National Hockey League) Thread 2018

[sharkiesj]

I know. We always expect them to peter out and finally drivel away but they keep winning, and winning convincingly. I don't see how they can lose a 7 game series unless an injury to MAF or one of the top line guys.

 

If they make the finals they will destroy Was.

[thug the bunny]

Jets could still take it. I only watched them a couple times during the regular season, but when I started watching them during the playoffs I was surprised at how good they are. They could have won the last game but for the wizardry of MAF. I think the series will come down to how well their D/Helly plays. Vegas' offensive style plays into the hands of good backchecking which can lead to offense transition.

[sharkiesj]

Vegas. Keeps. Winning.

[thug the bunny]

Vegas. Keeps. Winning.

 

They just keep coming. They are like tenacious bulldogs. Really fast tenacious bulldogs. Jets applied a lot of pressure but MAF was just stupid and allowed the GKs to get back in it.

[Joe85]

Vegas a win away from winning the Western Conference in their very first season. Amazing.

[sharkiesj]

Vegas a win away from winning the Western Conference in their very first season. Amazing.

 

Yes, amazing, truly amazing. I'm stunned they've won 3 out of 4 against the Jets. I'll say it again, if they get into the finals, they will destroy either team and win the SC......barring any injuries.

[thug the bunny]

Vegas a win away from winning the Western Conference in their very first season. Amazing.

 

Yes, amazing, truly amazing. I'm stunned they've won 3 out of 4 against the Jets. I'll say it again, if they get into the finals, they will destroy either team and win the SC......barring any injuries.

 

I don't know, the TB Rangers are looking pretty strong the last few games including tonight. If they get past the Caps they are a very deep team. They might be able to beat LV if they are firing on all cylinders. But I want to see history in the making, I love the way LV plays, their team spirit, and Gallant's coaching.

[Joe85]

Vegas a win away from winning the Western Conference in their very first season. Amazing.

 

Yes, amazing, truly amazing. I'm stunned they've won 3 out of 4 against the Jets. I'll say it again, if they get into the finals, they will destroy either team and win the SC......barring any injuries.

 

I don't know, the TB Rangers are looking pretty strong the last few games including tonight. If they get past the Caps they are a very deep team. They might be able to beat LV if they are firing on all cylinders. But I want to see history in the making, I love the way LV plays, their team spirit, and Gallant's coaching.

 

 

Haven't been able to watch much hockey since I work a day/night type of shift nowadays but whenever I watch LV I love what I see - how they play.

[sharkiesj]

Vegas. I'm in shock. They crushed the Jets. In 5. Wow.

 

There is no way the Caps or the Bolts can beat this team 4 times. No way. Just give em the Cup already.

[Joe85]

Even if they don't follow through and get the Cup, winning the Western Conference in their very first season with most other teams' castoffs is something has never been done before.

 

 

Marc-Andre is just nutso good. He's like the literal version of Denis Lemiuex these playoffs - unstoppable.

[thug the bunny]

I love the way Vegas' lines are all the same. They get contribution across all 4 lines. They don't have a couple superstars (besides MAF) and a bunch of support. They are the definition of synergy. They prove that team momentum and togetherness can overcome technical talent. It's like a Disney film.

[sharkiesj]

I was on the Jets bandwagon since my Sharks were out, now I'm jumping on the Vegas bandwagon. Move over guys, I've been here all along. lol.

[thug the bunny]

I was on the Jets bandwagon since my Sharks were out, now I'm jumping on the Vegas bandwagon. Move over guys, I've been here all along. lol.

 

Welcome to the Golden Knights bandwagon. We're going all the way. I started watching them a few months before the playoffs and they have really opened my eyes as far as how the game can be played. 5 good players trumps 1 superstar and 4 meh players.

[SilverBullets]

As a CBJ fan I am very salty about the success of Vegas. The NHL absolutely screwed the Jackets and Wild in last Expansion Draft and overcompensated their error by virtually ensuring Vegas would be good. I'll give credit where it's due to Vegas in that they absolutely knocked the draft out of the park, but, the pool of players they had to select from was ridiculous in comparison to Columbus and Minn. I believe the player pool for Vegas was basically the same size (if not slightly larger) than the pool Columbus and Minnesota had to select from... So 2 teams had the same size pool to select from as Vegas had on their own.

 

This is made even more frustrating by the fact that Vegas is led by 2, young, Jackets cast-offs in Wild Bill Karlsson and Marchessault. Marchessault was the Jackets' fault as they traded him for virtually nothing after playing in 2 NHL games a couple of years ago. But Wild Bill was taken in the Expansion Draft as the Jackets had cap issues and he looked to be the least costly for the organization to lose. I don't think he near as good as production suggests this year (I mean he shot something like 23-25% this year after being around 10-15% for his career) but it's still eye opening.

 

So yeah, I'm super salty about Vegas and the NHL handing them the keys to a Stanley Cup team because they desperately want Vegas to work as a hockey/professional sports market. Everyone predicted they would be terrible but I think that was solely based on the fact that they were an expansion team. Not based on their actual roster which included a 3 time Stanley cup goalie, some very solid veterans and some young talent like Marchessault. Throw some unexpected young stars in there like Karlsson and it makes perfect sense why they are here.

[Joe85]

As a CBJ fan I am very salty about the success of Vegas. The NHL absolutely screwed the Jackets and Wild in last Expansion Draft and overcompensated their error by virtually ensuring Vegas would be good. I'll give credit where it's due to Vegas in that they absolutely knocked the draft out of the park, but, the pool of players they had to select from was ridiculous in comparison to Columbus and Minn. I believe the player pool for Vegas was basically the same size (if not slightly larger) than the pool Columbus and Minnesota had to select from... So 2 teams had the same size pool to select from as Vegas had on their own.

 

This is made even more frustrating by the fact that Vegas is led by 2, young, Jackets cast-offs in Wild Bill Karlsson and Marchessault. Marchessault was the Jackets' fault as they traded him for virtually nothing after playing in 2 NHL games a couple of years ago. But Wild Bill was taken in the Expansion Draft as the Jackets had cap issues and he looked to be the least costly for the organization to lose. I don't think he near as good as production suggests this year (I mean he shot something like 23-25% this year after being around 10-15% for his career) but it's still eye opening.

 

So yeah, I'm super salty about Vegas and the NHL handing them the keys to a Stanley Cup team because they desperately want Vegas to work as a hockey/professional sports market. Everyone predicted they would be terrible but I think that was solely based on the fact that they were an expansion team. Not based on their actual roster which included a 3 time Stanley cup goalie, some very solid veterans and some young talent like Marchessault. Throw some unexpected young stars in there like Karlsson and it makes perfect sense why they are here.

 

 

The two players the Wild released to them have been instrumental in their success as well. Not sure how Haula and Tuch would have fit in the cap had Vegas not come along (we might have moved on from both of them either way) but who knows. Both of them, like the players your team moved on from, have had career-best numbers this season.

 

 

I will say though that the Wild made it to the WCF in their third season. The Panthers made it to the SCF in their third season (if I recall correctly). So teams have had success in the Modern era relatively quickly.

[SilverBullets]

As a CBJ fan I am very salty about the success of Vegas. The NHL absolutely screwed the Jackets and Wild in last Expansion Draft and overcompensated their error by virtually ensuring Vegas would be good. I'll give credit where it's due to Vegas in that they absolutely knocked the draft out of the park, but, the pool of players they had to select from was ridiculous in comparison to Columbus and Minn. I believe the player pool for Vegas was basically the same size (if not slightly larger) than the pool Columbus and Minnesota had to select from... So 2 teams had the same size pool to select from as Vegas had on their own.

 

This is made even more frustrating by the fact that Vegas is led by 2, young, Jackets cast-offs in Wild Bill Karlsson and Marchessault. Marchessault was the Jackets' fault as they traded him for virtually nothing after playing in 2 NHL games a couple of years ago. But Wild Bill was taken in the Expansion Draft as the Jackets had cap issues and he looked to be the least costly for the organization to lose. I don't think he near as good as production suggests this year (I mean he shot something like 23-25% this year after being around 10-15% for his career) but it's still eye opening.

 

So yeah, I'm super salty about Vegas and the NHL handing them the keys to a Stanley Cup team because they desperately want Vegas to work as a hockey/professional sports market. Everyone predicted they would be terrible but I think that was solely based on the fact that they were an expansion team. Not based on their actual roster which included a 3 time Stanley cup goalie, some very solid veterans and some young talent like Marchessault. Throw some unexpected young stars in there like Karlsson and it makes perfect sense why they are here.

 

 

The two players the Wild released to them have been instrumental in their success as well. Not sure how Haula and Tuch would have fit in the cap had Vegas not come along (we might have moved on from both of them either way) but who knows. Both of them, like the players your team moved on from, have had career-best numbers this season.

 

 

I will say though that the Wild made it to the WCF in their third season. The Panthers made it to the SCF in their third season (if I recall correctly). So teams have had success in the Modern era relatively quickly.

 

Yeah the Jackets were horrendously mismanaged until 5ish years ago. They missed on virtually every expansion draft selection and if you look at their early draft selections they missed on all of those as well. The Rick Nash pick was great but beyond that it was years before they really made a good pick. So the Jackets would have screwed it up even if they had a pool of players which was double the size to select from.

 

And in the case of William Karlsson, the guy scored 6 goals last year and like 9 goals the year before. He was a 4th liner whom had some potential but never looked like he would be this good. His breakout was completely out of nowhere.

 

It doesn't make any of this feel better however lol

[Joe85]

As a CBJ fan I am very salty about the success of Vegas. The NHL absolutely screwed the Jackets and Wild in last Expansion Draft and overcompensated their error by virtually ensuring Vegas would be good. I'll give credit where it's due to Vegas in that they absolutely knocked the draft out of the park, but, the pool of players they had to select from was ridiculous in comparison to Columbus and Minn. I believe the player pool for Vegas was basically the same size (if not slightly larger) than the pool Columbus and Minnesota had to select from... So 2 teams had the same size pool to select from as Vegas had on their own.

 

This is made even more frustrating by the fact that Vegas is led by 2, young, Jackets cast-offs in Wild Bill Karlsson and Marchessault. Marchessault was the Jackets' fault as they traded him for virtually nothing after playing in 2 NHL games a couple of years ago. But Wild Bill was taken in the Expansion Draft as the Jackets had cap issues and he looked to be the least costly for the organization to lose. I don't think he near as good as production suggests this year (I mean he shot something like 23-25% this year after being around 10-15% for his career) but it's still eye opening.

 

So yeah, I'm super salty about Vegas and the NHL handing them the keys to a Stanley Cup team because they desperately want Vegas to work as a hockey/professional sports market. Everyone predicted they would be terrible but I think that was solely based on the fact that they were an expansion team. Not based on their actual roster which included a 3 time Stanley cup goalie, some very solid veterans and some young talent like Marchessault. Throw some unexpected young stars in there like Karlsson and it makes perfect sense why they are here.

 

 

The two players the Wild released to them have been instrumental in their success as well. Not sure how Haula and Tuch would have fit in the cap had Vegas not come along (we might have moved on from both of them either way) but who knows. Both of them, like the players your team moved on from, have had career-best numbers this season.

 

 

I will say though that the Wild made it to the WCF in their third season. The Panthers made it to the SCF in their third season (if I recall correctly). So teams have had success in the Modern era relatively quickly.

 

Yeah the Jackets were horrendously mismanaged until 5ish years ago. They missed on virtually every expansion draft selection and if you look at their early draft selections they missed on all of those as well. The Rick Nash pick was great but beyond that it was years before they really made a good pick. So the Jackets would have screwed it up even if they had a pool of players which was double the size to select from.

 

And in the case of William Karlsson, the guy scored 6 goals last year and like 9 goals the year before. He was a 4th liner whom had some potential but never looked like he would be this good. His breakout was completely out of nowhere.

 

It doesn't make any of this feel better however lol

 

 

Well, same thing with Tuch, for us. Haula - I was high on Haula. I've watched him a lot longer prior to his being a Wild because as many know he played on a line with Bjugstad at the U of M for several years. I always liked Haula.

 

Tuch was more of a question mark.

 

 

A lot of these castoffs are just having great year's in general - a lot of them might not play like this for the foreseeable future.

 

 

I like that Vegas is like 4 fourth lines that all just work hard. They're a fun team to watch.

[HackinNut]

Caps take it to a 7th game!! Yes sir! Ovi feels it, this is his last chance at the Cup

[SilverBullets]

Caps take it to a 7th game!! Yes sir! Ovi feels it, this is his last chance at the Cup

 

Last chance at the cup in Wash at least.

[sharkiesj]

Pulling big time for Ovi. Hope they can win game 7. It'll b tough on the road but would love to see Was- Vegas final. More storylines with Was in the finals.

[thug the bunny]

Pulling big time for Ovi. Hope they can win game 7. It'll b tough on the road but would love to see Was- Vegas final. More storylines with Was in the finals.

 

Ovi really skated his Word not allowed off and he made some big hits. Wonder if he can keep it up. Getting old...

[MountainGoat]

Pulling big time for Ovi. Hope they can win game 7. It'll b tough on the road but would love to see Was- Vegas final. More storylines with Was in the finals.

 

Congratulations to Ovi and the Washington Capitals! I can't believe it. So many years; so many crushing disappointments. Finally...success!

[TerpFangolfer]

As a CBJ fan I am very salty about the success of Vegas. The NHL absolutely screwed the Jackets and Wild in last Expansion Draft and overcompensated their error by virtually ensuring Vegas would be good. I'll give credit where it's due to Vegas in that they absolutely knocked the draft out of the park, but, the pool of players they had to select from was ridiculous in comparison to Columbus and Minn. I believe the player pool for Vegas was basically the same size (if not slightly larger) than the pool Columbus and Minnesota had to select from... So 2 teams had the same size pool to select from as Vegas had on their own.

 

This is made even more frustrating by the fact that Vegas is led by 2, young, Jackets cast-offs in Wild Bill Karlsson and Marchessault. Marchessault was the Jackets' fault as they traded him for virtually nothing after playing in 2 NHL games a couple of years ago. But Wild Bill was taken in the Expansion Draft as the Jackets had cap issues and he looked to be the least costly for the organization to lose. I don't think he near as good as production suggests this year (I mean he shot something like 23-25% this year after being around 10-15% for his career) but it's still eye opening.

 

So yeah, I'm super salty about Vegas and the NHL handing them the keys to a Stanley Cup team because they desperately want Vegas to work as a hockey/professional sports market. Everyone predicted they would be terrible but I think that was solely based on the fact that they were an expansion team. Not based on their actual roster which included a 3 time Stanley cup goalie, some very solid veterans and some young talent like Marchessault. Throw some unexpected young stars in there like Karlsson and it makes perfect sense why they are here.

 

Just saw this thread - and agree 100% with what you said - although, compared to what the Caps got in '74 then you guys were the equivalent of LVG this year!

We set what still stands as the all-time record for futility in the NHL - 8 wins! And I know - I was attending games in 75-76...so been waiting a long time

 

I guess the league has realized (or at least it's what they think), that they can no longer just invite a city in to get their asses kicked for 5-6 years...and they way overcompensated for Vegas.

 

Anyway...LET'S GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Been waiting 20 years!

[Joe85]

That heater from Ovechkin was cold blooded.

 

 

Vasilevskiy wants that back though. That was a nervy goal he let in.

 

 

I like Washington - my heart is totally pulling for Vegas. I won't be mad if Washington wins it though. I guess a cousin of Niskanen is in my dad's bible study. lol.

 

Vegas will still have captured the Western Conference in year 1...either way.

 

You will have to think that 7 game series took a lot out of Washington...though Holtby could carry them through the Finals. We'll see.

[Joe85]

Pulling big time for Ovi. Hope they can win game 7. It'll b tough on the road but would love to see Was- Vegas final. More storylines with Was in the finals.

 

Congratulations to Ovi and the Washington Capitals! I can't believe it. So many years; so many crushing disappointments. Finally...success!

 

 

It's not success yet. And that 7 game series had to take something out of them. Maybe Holtby can steal a couple games though.

[thug the bunny]

The GKs will be nice and rested while the caps will still be recovering from their wounds. And add MAF vs Holtby, I'll take Flower all day long.

[sharkiesj]

So jacked for this series. I know long-time fans are rolling their eyes but this is a new era of hockey. Sort of like the old vs the new. I'm so torn here, I want Ovi to get his SC, along with Trotz, Oshie, Holtby and all the other pretenders on that team from years on past. Don't want to let the new kids on the block have a SC so early but I said it before and I'll say it again, I can't see anyone beating LV 4 times. They play tight as a group and they can strike quickly, from any line.

 

Vegas in 6.

 

I'm a Sharks fan but if they win, I'm going to the parade. Biggest bandwagonor EVER!!! lol

[ceejay81]

I am so jacked for this series! Been a lifelong Caps fan and grew up wearing my Dino Ciccarelli jersey everywhere. It's been an unbelievable run so far. I think it's a cool storyline having the Caps face GMGM (McPhee) for the cup. He has direct involvement in building both teams. I'll keep an eye out for a deal on tickets, but I'm not dropping a grand to see a game in DC. I don't think, lol.

[sharkiesj]

I am so jacked for this series! Been a lifelong Caps fan and grew up wearing my Dino Ciccarelli jersey everywhere. It's been an unbelievable run so far. I think it's a cool storyline having the Caps face GMGM (McPhee) for the cup. He has direct involvement in building both teams. I'll keep an eye out for a deal on tickets, but I'm not dropping a grand to see a game in DC. I don't think, lol.

 

I'm looking for tickets too at T-Mobile. I'll take the last row but I'm scared those will be $900+ too.

[Joe85]

Vegas for the sweep??

 

Holtby will grab a win or two. Vegas in 5 or 6, I reckon. Sucks the series starts on Monday...