NHL 2013-2014: Islanders sold, Wang stops losing money, on to the next save-all

Boo. First goal of the Wild season is from Matt Cooke. And, the asshole clearly kicked it in. Only time I've ever wanted a goal wiped away.

First game of the season looked a lot like most of the games from last season. Stupid Canucks.

And, the Wild are still the Wild. Playing quite well, pressuring all game, can't finish, give it up and lose a game they should have won. Now granted, it was the Kings so I'm not panicking yet; that's a pretty good team to take to the shootout. Sure looked like the same old same old though, we can make any goalie look like they should be a Vezina finalist. At least Quick is a worthy one.

ColdForged wrote:

Roy is going to work out well. He's this pissed off when up 6 to 1, imagine his destructive power when he's actually down.

And here I thought Tortorella was going to be the sideshow.

I still remember watching this game.

nihilo wrote:

A small correction: the opening of the goalmouth is not any smaller this year. Shooters have the same space to hit as before. What has been changed is the back of the net, which is now shallower, which creates more space behind the net to skate and maneuver. Wraparounds are slightly more effective because players don't have to go as far to pull that off, and there is more space to handle the puck behind the net.

In the games I've seen so far, it does appear to speed up play behind the net a bit, though I haven't seen anyone score on a wraparound yet. The shallower back does make the puck pop out of the net faster than before, but that's what video review is for.

Good clarification. I think we will see some changes with play behind the net but it might take a little time for guys to adjust. An extra 4 inches on each side is a lot of room.

I think there are going to be some growing pains in NY and Vancouver with the new style adjustments. The only thing that scares me is how much looser Vigneault's style of play is compared to Tortorella. It was obvious last night that Lundqvist has no one in front of him anymore. He's going to have be at the top of his game all year to make up for the safety net that was Tortorella's style.

When the Rangers dropped last night's game 4-1 I was a bit disheartened (despite Mike Smith making some inhuman saves) until I saw the Canucks lost 4-1 as well. Truth is stranger than fiction.

ColdForged wrote:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/Jxaweog.gif)

Roy is going to work out well. He's this pissed off when up 6 to 1, imagine his destructive power when he's actually down.

As an Avs fan who has watched his team turn into one of those background teams, I regard this as my reward. While I give us, at best, a 50/50 shot of making the play-offs this year, the journey is going to be entertaining.

I think the Ducks/Avs relationship might be become slightly more hostile as a result of that game.

I'm sick of watching Habs get carried off the ice on a stretcher. Granted, this time it was a total accident, but it's ruining hockey for me. Ruined the playoffs last year, ruined game 1. Obviously much worse for the players involved, but seeing player after player lie motionless on the ice is making me question my love of the sport.

Also, the following articles have convinced me it's time to eliminate fighting from the game. (I'm not saying the two are related, I'm saying that fighting is useless in preventing these kinds of injuries)

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/0...
http://www.coppernblue.com/2013/10/2...
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--no...

So I've been watching Football for the first time in my life quite regularly, and it made the experience of switching to Hockey peculiar. It's hard to tell if your team is doing well or not if it takes all of first period to score a goal when points are being scored left and right in Football.

That said, considering a well-rested Flyers lost to a tired-from-the-previous-day Toronto Maple Leafs, I'm going to assume that, no, they weren't doing well, and this is going to be a rough season to watch.

ccesarano wrote:

So I've been watching Football for the first time in my life quite regularly, and it made the experience of switching to Hockey peculiar. It's hard to tell if your team is doing well or not if it takes all of first period to score a goal when points are being scored left and right in Football.

That said, considering a well-rested Flyers lost to a tired-from-the-previous-day Toronto Maple Leafs, I'm going to assume that, no, they weren't doing well, and this is going to be a rough season to watch.

I'd say the Flyers outplayed the Leafs for most of that game, but the Leafs goaltender, Bernier, was the difference. He made the big saves when they were needed and the Flyers let the Leafs stay in the game until they got their legs going.

I'm not sure what to expect from Philadelphia this year - they have the talent to do well (Giroux is guaranteed to do well, Lecalvalier is still a top tier player), but the question is really their goaltending. Emery and Mason are a shaky pair to be relying on.

ccesarano wrote:

It's hard to tell if your team is doing well or not if it takes all of first period to score a goal when points are being scored left and right in Football.

Rate of scoring plays a huge role in how we enjoy spectator sports. Obviously it's all subjective but I find hockey is the sweet spot.

too few goals and the game feels like it has no momentum(ie: soccer)

too many goals and the game feels chaotic with arbitrary winners(ie: basketball)

GrandmaFunk wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

It's hard to tell if your team is doing well or not if it takes all of first period to score a goal when points are being scored left and right in Football.

Rate of scoring plays a huge role in how we enjoy spectator sports. Obviously it's all subjective but I find hockey is the sweet spot.

too few goals and the game feels like it has no momentum(ie: soccer)

too many goals and the game feels chaotic with arbitrary winners(ie: basketball)

One of the things I enjoy about hockey is that it really does pay off to start learning about how the game is actually played, rather than the "ZOMG GOALZ POINTZ! LOL!" mentality of certain other sports. While the NHL has made some changes to increase the number of goals in a given game, it's still (at least in my opinion) necessary to really watch the ebb and flow of offense and defense, as well as goalie activity, to really grasp how a game is going. I've tried to explain to some folks how a 2-1 game was one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever seen, but it's tough to translate when they're fans of sports where a goal/point is expected every 10 seconds (basketball) to 10 minutes (football).

Coldstream wrote:

I've tried to explain to some folks how a 2-1 game was one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever seen, but it's tough to translate when they're fans of sports where a goal/point is expected every 10 seconds (basketball) to 10 minutes (football).

I'm a football fan to an extent but frankly I find the pace of NFL football to be glacial these days. There are so many stoppages it's painful to watch. I can see where it's rather appealing to the attention-span deprived though, as you can get distracted for large periods of time and not miss a thing. :p

imbiginjapan wrote:
Coldstream wrote:

I've tried to explain to some folks how a 2-1 game was one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever seen, but it's tough to translate when they're fans of sports where a goal/point is expected every 10 seconds (basketball) to 10 minutes (football).

I'm a football fan to an extent but frankly I find the pace of NFL football to be glacial these days. There are so many stoppages it's painful to watch. I can see where it's rather appealing to the attention-span deprived though, as you can get distracted for large periods of time and not miss a thing. :p

Heh. One of my favourite quotes about NFL Football is that it is the quintessential American sport: violence punctuated by committee meetings.

Speaking of glacial sports, a dear friend that I introduced to hockey (and subsequently became a fan of the Caps, *sigh*) is trying to get me into baseball.

I'm trying. I'm really trying.

At least I was, until hockey season arrived.

Coldstream wrote:
imbiginjapan wrote:
Coldstream wrote:

I've tried to explain to some folks how a 2-1 game was one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever seen, but it's tough to translate when they're fans of sports where a goal/point is expected every 10 seconds (basketball) to 10 minutes (football).

I'm a football fan to an extent but frankly I find the pace of NFL football to be glacial these days. There are so many stoppages it's painful to watch. I can see where it's rather appealing to the attention-span deprived though, as you can get distracted for large periods of time and not miss a thing. :p

Heh. One of my favourite quotes about NFL Football is that it is the quintessential American sport: violence punctuated by committee meetings.

Speaking of glacial sports, a dear friend that I introduced to hockey (and subsequently became a fan of the Caps, *sigh*) is trying to get me into baseball.

I'm trying. I'm really trying.

At least I was, until hockey season arrived. :D

Well there is a reason baseball is falling in popularity. It doesn't hold up well in the HDTV era.
The most avid fans I know love the stats surrounding the action more than the action itself. I don't care for that angle which makes me struggle to care. Much of the intrigue comes from talking about and analyzing the numbers rather than the visual spectacle of the action (see: Sabermetrics, Nate Silver). With that in mind it's probably the only major sport that really holds up when described over the radio.

Baseball is terrible.

I actually love hockey because it feels fast-paced, few goals or no. In fact, that's another thing I love about it: that you can have much closer scores because of how low the points tend to be. To me, as you said Coldstream, 2 to 1 sounds like an exciting game to me. It's when the spread becomes 3 to 1 or 2 to 5 that it becomes less interesting.

Hockey has a lot of those "Oh man!-oh sh*t they didn't make it..." moments, or "Oh sh*t!-thank God they didn't make it...", and that's what makes it so awesome. More time to be excited.

Solid win tonight for the Avs. I'm personally going to enjoy the fleeting moment that I can see my team listed as the top team in the league. Two games obviously makes it way too early to make any predictions about season performance, but it's a nice change to see people talking about the Avs and have the team mentioned on the NHL website as something other than an afterthought.

Was a close one last night, 'Canes played really well last night and put on alot of pressure.

Fastmav347 wrote:

Was a close one last night, 'Canes played really well last night and put on alot of pressure.

The last 10 minutes of that game was excellent hockey. I'm really liking the depth the Wings have been able to get back. Once Helm is back(is he ever coming back?), we will have 3 solid lines. What's going on with Nyquist?

Leroyog wrote:
Fastmav347 wrote:

Was a close one last night, 'Canes played really well last night and put on alot of pressure.

The last 10 minutes of that game was excellent hockey. I'm really liking the depth the Wings have been able to get back. Once Helm is back(is he ever coming back?), we will have 3 solid lines. What's going on with Nyquist?

Cleary took his spot >.<

Fastmav347 wrote:

Was a close one last night, 'Canes played really well last night and put on alot of pressure.

I actually thought the Red Wings looked much quicker and much more aggressive for the whole game. I was shocked that we had a 2-0 lead. That was mainly due to some pretty solid play from Cam Ward.

I think the Canes were lucky to come away with a point.

So the Blues are pretty good.

Bah, the stupid Ducks allowed the Wild to get a point.

imbiginjapan wrote:
Coldstream wrote:

I've tried to explain to some folks how a 2-1 game was one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever seen, but it's tough to translate when they're fans of sports where a goal/point is expected every 10 seconds (basketball) to 10 minutes (football).

I'm a football fan to an extent but frankly I find the pace of NFL football to be glacial these days. There are so many stoppages it's painful to watch. I can see where it's rather appealing to the attention-span deprived though, as you can get distracted for large periods of time and not miss a thing. :p

It's why I've never really been a football fan. I only watch football to see how my fantasy teams are doing. A study was done in 2010 by the Wall Street Journal. They meticulously dismantled 4 broadcast games and compared their results with independent researchers. The result? There is on average only 11 minutes of action in a typical football game.

Hockey? I can't tell you how many times I ran...not walked...actually ran to the fridge to grab another beer and came back only to see that I missed a goal or a big play. It's just non-stop action. How anyone couldn't like that is beyond me.

ccesarano wrote:

To me, as you said Coldstream, 2 to 1 sounds like an exciting game to me. It's when the spread becomes 3 to 1 or 2 to 5 that it becomes less interesting.

3-1 is actually many times more exciting than 2-1. In hockey, a 2 goal lead is known by many different names. I know it as the "kiss of death". Between the team in the lead tending to play a more defensive style and the ability for the team behind to pull the goalie and gain an extra attacker, I can't tell you how many times I've seen a team with a 2 goal lead end up losing the game.

FSeven wrote:

3-1 is actually many times more exciting than 2-1. In hockey, a 2 goal lead is known by many different names. I know it as the "kiss of death". Between the team in the lead tending to play a more defensive style and the ability for the team behind to pull the goalie and gain an extra attacker, I can't tell you how many times I've seen a team with a 2 goal lead end up losing the game.

Last night's Canucks/Flames game for example. Grrrrr.

Laviolette has apparently been fired from his coaching job in Philadelphia. I'm pretty surprised - it's 3 games in. Typically you do it that fast because you have another guy ready to be brought in and you want to minimize the damage to the season.

I just can't think of anybody they would be hiring on short notice.

Evidently the Assistant Coach or some such. I didn't get all the details, but he was already on the coaching line-up it seems. I can't help but wonder if it'll really make all that much of a difference myself, but we'll see.

ccesarano wrote:

Evidently the Assistant Coach or some such. I didn't get all the details, but he was already on the coaching line-up it seems. I can't help but wonder if it'll really make all that much of a difference myself, but we'll see.

Probably not much of a difference... It's a desperation move by Paul Holmgren who is trying not to get booted.

A double-speaking Paul Holmgren wrote:

"Right from the first day of training camp I was concerned with how our team looked," general manager Paul Holmgren said at a press conference Monday. "Things have to get better and they will.

"I think Peter did a good job and he's a good coach."

"You've done a good job, Peter. But better you than me."

imbiginjapan wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Evidently the Assistant Coach or some such. I didn't get all the details, but he was already on the coaching line-up it seems. I can't help but wonder if it'll really make all that much of a difference myself, but we'll see.

Probably not much of a difference... It's a desperation move by Paul Holmgren who is trying not to get booted.

I think you nailed it. I thought Laviolette was one of the better coaches in the league but just got dealt a crap hand with Bryzgalov underperforming and constant injuries to Giroux, Hartnell, Briere and not to mention Pronger out for the past few years. How many teams can lose their top two scorers frequently, one of the best defensemen in the league for 2 seasons, and have a headcase for a goalie and still be competitive?

2 games, 3 points. Canes get The Cup this year.

ColdForged wrote:

2 games, 3 points. Canes get The Cup this year.

Canucks - Hurricanes Final. Book it!

Just going to leave this here. From last night.