any other Canadians out there, I haven't seen any hockey talk going on.
what do you think are the surprises so far for this year?
I would say Minnesota doing so well, I know they improved there team but wow do they look good
who will win the cup??
I am hoping for the leafs(as I do every year) but I believe the Rangers will take, shanny jagr and nylander are looking crazy good
who will be the surprise team for this year??
I would have to say NYI, just because there team is actually pretty decent and they could sneak into 8th, even though they have been the joke of the off season
I have alot more knowledge of the eastern conference then the west so ill just break down the eastern conference in my opinion
1 NYR- they solved there goaltenders health problems(grinding his teeth in his sleep) jagr+shanny=100+goals
2-Ottawa-alfredson-heatley-spezza-redden enough to cruise past anyone in the northeast but edged out by the rangers
3-Carolina- they still have strong depth on offence and a top goalie, there defense will suffer , but some relief will occur when kaberle returns
4-Buffalo- very solid talent all around, and a very good 1-2 combination in net
5-New Jersey- because Lamoriello plays dirty and got the players under the cap lol
6-Philly- the offense will get them in, they will be cycling the goalies all season trying to find someone who will fit
7-Toronto will win one of the lower spots, wellwood,stajan and steen will continue to grow offensively which will answer the question, where will the goals come from, raycroft will need to be a top ten goalie year.
8-NYI- the surprise of the year, yashin has a huge year with satan, there depth offence is strong enough to get them in the playoffs with blake,york,(hunter and bates will have a 50 point season)
potti,hill and witt will need to be healthy all 82 games and dipietro will continue to be a very good goalie
9-tampa bay- denis will have just an avg season
10- Atlanta-Lehtonen wont improve much
11-montreal- not enough offence to make up for the poor defence,quality over quantity(boston) , goaltending will rest on huet because aeibisher looked horrible in the preseason and wont be able to win enough of those 20 games he plays to push montreal into 8th.(oh yeah boston-higgins, plekanec who??Perezhogin will be the only youngster to improve, I see him with a 45 point season)
12-Washington-zednik and ovechkin will look amazing this year, but everything else is a flop
13-Pittsburgh-sid the kid will get it done but fluerry will give his gm and coach trust issues and he will not be able to handle the up and down between ahl and nhl
14-Boston- not enough depth in any position
15-Florida- wont be much of a team, beruzzi will have a big season, but I see lots of turnovers and bad positioning in florida's future
as a new york rangers fan, i can't disagree with you on that one. As much as i want them to win though, they've had a rough start to their season. The swedish rock in net, henrik lundqvist, has yet to show us one of his classic pull-through victories but i think they are a bit over cockey coming off of last season. as for who is going to win the cup, i would hav to say philly because of their solid team and relentless offense. new jersey looks good but i think that they will run into some devensive problems later on in the season. i am not canadian but love the sport and would love for there to be more hockey talk as well.
GO RANGERS!
| happypeso wrote: |
as a new york rangers fan, i can't disagree with you on that one. As much as i want them to win though, they've had a rough start to their season. The swedish rock in net, henrik lundqvist, has yet to show us one of his classic pull-through victories but i think they are a bit over cockey coming off of last season. as for who is going to win the cup, i would hav to say philly because of their solid team and relentless offense. new jersey looks good but i think that they will run into some devensive problems later on in the season. i am not canadian but love the sport and would love for there to be more hockey talk as well.
GO RANGERS! |
I just stated the canadian part because I assumed there were none because no hockey talk was going on, but hockey fans are hockey fans and lets get yappin about it lolI haven't been following the NHL for some years now, but for this season I've decided to try a bit more. I've watched three Blackhawks games so far, because they are mine favourites at the NHL. Havlat have been great so far, its sad that he's injured for 2-3 weeks now. Let's hope that the Blackhawks keep up their nice play so far. What I've seen their power play have been good. And soon Tuomo Ruutu will be back. The two other finnish players (Lasse Kukkonen and Toni Salmelainen) have played nicely in the games I've seen. I'm hoping they will make it this year.
As for other hockey series that I enjoy are the finnish Mestis, second higest serie here. In Mestis my favourite team is the local team named Vaasan Sport. Haven't seen any games this season but I've heard some of the away games on the radio.
I could write some more later.
Speaking as a Sens fan, I still like Ottawa's chances this year. Although I could've said this over this past few seasons, yet they continue to falter in the playoffs.
Personally, I don't think they'll win the division. They'll have to catch Buffalo, a team that looks like they running away with the division and it's not even a month into the season!
With all the parity in the league, I'd still like to see an all-Canadian team final. Calgary (or Edmonton, for that matter) vs. the Sens.
| chrisu wrote: |
I haven't been following the NHL for some years now, but for this season I've decided to try a bit more. I've watched three Blackhawks games so far, because they are mine favourites at the NHL. Havlat have been great so far, its sad that he's injured for 2-3 weeks now. Let's hope that the Blackhawks keep up their nice play so far. What I've seen their power play have been good. And soon Tuomo Ruutu will be back. The two other finnish players (Lasse Kukkonen and Toni Salmelainen) have played nicely in the games I've seen. I'm hoping they will make it this year.
As for other hockey series that I enjoy are the finnish Mestis, second higest serie here. In Mestis my favourite team is the local team named Vaasan Sport. Haven't seen any games this season but I've heard some of the away games on the radio.
I could write some more later. |
khalibulin and handzus went down aswell, chicago's depth is very young and have yet to be good enough to replace these guys on any level, this could cause them to lose any chance they had at making the playoffs | beerleague wrote: |
| khalibulin and handzus went down aswell, chicago's depth is very young and have yet to be good enough to replace these guys on any level, this could cause them to lose any chance they had at making the playoffs |
Yes that week was unlucky for the Hawks. But this gives more opportunities for the young guys to get more experience. So maybe this is for the best, because despite that there hadn't been any major injuries the Blackhawks haven't got a team that could make the run for Stanley Cup. Its better to get a good draft pick.
Only trying to see things from the bright side. | beerleague wrote: |
who will win the cup??
|
Sabres and Trashers have started their season quite well allthough I think Canadians and Senators will suprise later.go montreal canadiens go 
ok well maybe i just like the sharks... i am from san jose, but am in Kentucky right now, so i can't watch the games 
I'm fan of Detroit Red Wings but see that they cannot win the Cup. Sad...
Anaheim and Buffalo rulez in their new uniform. Minnesota is going well too. I remember my first forecasts before seasons (det has 3 matches in a row with min): "9 free points, bla-bla-bla"... It will'nt be so easy.
i'm a wings fan myself. always will be. nice to see zetterburg get a goal last night. he really hammered that baby home. sharks arent bad either. in the east, i also like the rangers, but look's like buffalo and carolina will be the top contenders again. season's still very young of course, anything can happen.
| beerleague wrote: |
I have alot more knowledge of the eastern conference then the west so ill just break down the eastern conference in my opinion
1 NYR- they solved there goaltenders health problems(grinding his teeth in his sleep) jagr+shanny=100+goals
2-Ottawa-alfredson-heatley-spezza-redden enough to cruise past anyone in the northeast but edged out by the rangers
3-Carolina- they still have strong depth on offence and a top goalie, there defense will suffer , but some relief will occur when kaberle returns
4-Buffalo- very solid talent all around, and a very good 1-2 combination in net
5-New Jersey- because Lamoriello plays dirty and got the players under the cap lol
6-Philly- the offense will get them in, they will be cycling the goalies all season trying to find someone who will fit
7-Toronto will win one of the lower spots, wellwood,stajan and steen will continue to grow offensively which will answer the question, where will the goals come from, raycroft will need to be a top ten goalie year.
8-NYI- the surprise of the year, yashin has a huge year with satan, there depth offence is strong enough to get them in the playoffs with blake,york,(hunter and bates will have a 50 point season)
potti,hill and witt will need to be healthy all 82 games and dipietro will continue to be a very good goalie
9-tampa bay- denis will have just an avg season
10- Atlanta-Lehtonen wont improve much
11-montreal- not enough offence to make up for the poor defence,quality over quantity(boston) , goaltending will rest on huet because aeibisher looked horrible in the preseason and wont be able to win enough of those 20 games he plays to push montreal into 8th.(oh yeah boston-higgins, plekanec who??Perezhogin will be the only youngster to improve, I see him with a 45 point season)
12-Washington-zednik and ovechkin will look amazing this year, but everything else is a flop
13-Pittsburgh-sid the kid will get it done but fluerry will give his gm and coach trust issues and he will not be able to handle the up and down between ahl and nhl
14-Boston- not enough depth in any position
15-Florida- wont be much of a team, beruzzi will have a big season, but I see lots of turnovers and bad positioning in florida's future |
Atlanta is currently doing amazing along with Lehtonen
Philadelphia is doing terrible. Last place in the league.
Washington are doing ok thanks to some help from Ovechkin and Zubrus. With much young talent the caps will likely miss the playoffs another yaer.
Buffalo has been amazing. 10 straight wins to open the season. Great cup contender.
NYR have been ok. Shanahan and Jagr have been up to what has been said. But Lundqvist has been a .500 win percentage and Weekes has been ok with a 2 and 1 record. Goaltending will need to play a big factor in their season.
Boston what can I say positive? Without Raycroftor others from last season, their season needs to be turned around.
Pittsburgh With the addition of Malkin, the Penguins with Crosby and others will have a great season. 1st in the Atlantic division
Toronto After handing the Sabres their first loss in regulation and superb play by Sundin, the Leafs look like a cup contender
OttawaThe Senators are near the bottom of their division. Not a cup contender the way they are playing. Taking a 3-0 lead against the Capitals and then losing 3-4?
NYI 1 point out of first place in the Atlantic division and great play recently by Jason Blake, look for the Islanders to turn their season around. Non-consistent goaltending is hurting them though.
Florida With Bertuzzi on the IR and poor play by the Panthers, their season isnt looking so hot. With the loss of Luongo, Alex Auld will need to step it up.
New Jersey Broduer has kept the Devils alive with many good nights. The offense has been poor and needs to step it up.
Carolina The defending stanley cup champs need to work on their defense. Cam Ward has been exceptional but the defense has left the goaltenders in trouble. With amazing play by Eric Staal and various other potent forwards, the Canes have some life.
Tampa Bay St. Louis and Lecavalier will need to provide the team's offense and the defense has to pick it up or Tampa's Season will quickly be over.
Montreal Huet has been especially good. A potent offense and a strong defense will keep the Habs above others.Those Sabres are the real deal aren't they?
I'm a Habs fan so it bugs me to say, but I've been really impressed with their team. I think it all boils down to coaching and also being comitted to the "new NHL" idea.
They'll be tough to beat
I agree about the Sabres (as I may have said earlier). They won another close one today - in OT. I truly think that this is what makes a team successful...this is someting the Sens weren't able to to do last season and they still are not able to do it this season.
So far, the Sens have been a dissappointed. I'd saw play Emery more as soon as he gets healthy (he has a sprained wrist at the time of this post), as I think Gerber has not regained his form of last season.
The season is still young, however, and I still believe the Sens will surprise later on this season.
Sabres do their best this season. It will be cool, if they repeat last year Detroit's trick - win conferention and lose 1st round of playoff.=)
Anaheim also doing good. All teams with new uniform are cruel 
Sabres 15-1-1 baby. cup crazy 07' were takin what should have been ours last season.
| xframe wrote: |
| Sabres 15-1-1 baby. cup crazy 07' were takin what should have been ours last season. |
the leafs are off to a great start, id like to see buffalo struggle against the leafs for once instead of vise versa lolAtlanta is on fire, no doubt. Especially Marian Hossa and Kovalchuk - hot streak. I don't understand the richest club Rangers, they can't get their feet off the ground with such a team + this year my red wing star Shannahan.
Anyway NHL is the coolest game on the Earth 
| bzuko22 wrote: |
Atlanta is on fire, no doubt. Especially Marian Hossa and Kovalchuk - hot streak. I don't understand the richest club Rangers, they can't get their feet off the ground with such a team + this year my red wing star Shannahan.
Anyway NHL is the coolest game on the Earth |
ny will start going and eventually take the eastThe lfs are back to there winning ways, with sundin out leafs are 3-0-1, which is really good considering they are missing there best player not to mention one of the best players in the world.
the poni-welly-antro line is starting to click again , which seems to the story of whether the leafs will win or lose.
tucker has a surprising total of 13 goals so far, its looking like its going to be harder and harder to sign tucker,he is going to half to want to stay in toronto in order for the leafs to afford him with the new cap system
raycrofts return wasnt really impressive but he did enough to win, hopefully he has the feel of the game back into his system and he can pull of a win for the leafs in buffalo who is coming of a blowout against tampa, hopefully they didnt save any goals for the leafs lol
And Red Wings is not on a wing. They're normalized from start of season, but without Stevey they're playing ugly.
I'm a huge Flames fan, and have been since I lived out there for a few months last year. Heh, I went to my first NHL game out there (CBJ Vs CGY).
They REALLY started out this season badly, but have since picked up pace. I always thought that getting rid of Darryl Sutter would have been a good thing, but I was mistaken. With the addition of Jim Playfair to the coaching staff, they just plain went to hell. Kipper wasn't acting like a Vezina winner, Tangs, and Iggy weren't playing up to par, and the d was brutal.
His job was literally on the line, but, in the last few weeks, it looks like they were able to turn things around. Just too bad that they last to Edmonton last night. 
I'd like to say that they will win the cup, but after losing to the Ducks last season in 7 games in the first round, I don't see it happening this year. They need another great forward, and a new coach to make it a bit further. calgary seems to be playing alot better recently , I think if calgary keeps there play going as of recently they will easily lock up the northwest
| Arseniy wrote: |
| And Red Wings is not on a wing. They're normalized from start of season, but without Stevey they're playing ugly. |
they are starting to get results with hasek and they have at least the top 2 defensive ,zetterberg has to start going, and if they can keep cleary going they will be made in the shade,but stevie y and shanny leaving has left the hurting, they've drafted well enough they should still be a playoff teamCory Stillman watched yet another game from the press box Friday as his Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 5-1.
It's getting old.
A long recovery from off-season surgery on his right shoulder is heading into the stretch run. He's eyeing a mid-December return.
His absence has left a huge void up front for Carolina. The native of Peterborough, Ont., had 76 points (21-55) in 72 games last season and added another 26 points (9-17) in 25 playoff games, second in playoff scoring, en route to capturing the Stanley Cup.
Stillman hasn't worn the Hurricanes uniform since sipping champagne out of the Cup following Carolina's Game 7 win over Edmonton last June.
The next critical step in his recovery is dropping the blue, non-contact jersey he wears in practice. A checkup next week could clear him for contact.
Stillman says the shoulder wasn't bothering him much in the playoffs.
He had minor surgery in early July but then realized in August he needed a more serious procedure done.
at the same time, he doesn't want to rush it.
Stillman, in the second season of a three-year deal that pays him US$1.75 million per, believes he'll be returning to a team that remains a contender.
I used to be a hardcore fan on the NHL but in the past few years my ardor towards the sport has faded. I still watch highlights occasionally on shows liek Sportscenter. My favorite team is the Rangers and I like to occasionally see how they are doing. I hope your predictions of the east are right and if so, I'd probably watch the Rangers playoffs games.
leafs have been in a huge slump recently but as of now they have a 2 goal lead over montreal, hopefully they can get some wins going.
new york just lost another to buffalo , losing the last three to them after regulation and losing all four of them to buffalo for the year, I think this would make a very entertaining eastern final, 7 game series and 7 ot's, that would be cool
It's starting to look like a logjam already in the East...and the season's just past the quarter mark! Buffalo has slowed down a bit, but still are at the top. Toronto's heading in the opposite direction, while Ottawa is on it's way up over the past 10 games.
Speaking of Ottawa, it looks like Rayzor is the No. 1 goalie, unless Gerber can prove his win against Carolina last week was no fluke.
Hmmm... New York Islanders are going oouuch... They defeated NY Rangers and Shanny with Jagr by Kozlov and now are on first place in their division.
And favourites now are Anaheim and Buffallo. They're going extremly well and undefeated, especially Buffallo.
New uniform and logos are doing their job=)
| Quote: |
| Cory Stillman watched yet another game from the press box Friday as his Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 5-1. |
Carolina is going not great. I don't like their play and I don't like this team=) Dude it's alla bout S.J.
ok maybe i'm biast, becasue i live there, but still. haha ok wel maybe that is a lame argument. Still gotta stand up for the S.J. team. Good luck guys.
