I've been a NJ Devils fan for 38 years, and I have to say last season was exciting with a bummer of an ending. Las Vegas winning doesn't bother me one bit like it does other people, who blame Gary Bettman for giving them the Stanley Cup like people blame Joe Biden for stuff he didn't do. But I digress..
I admit I'm a bit wary when the Devils are picked as a "team to watch" or a "Cup contender," but what it is is what it is. Lots of high priced players and shaky goaltending is not the best combination. I hope it works.
The predicters predict many things before pre-season, and last I heard was:
Edmonton and Toronto facing players wanting out.
Calgary and Vancouver are collapsing from fan our team revolt.
Arizona moving from a 5,000 seat arena to anywhere but Quebec, and if Bettman has his way, staying in Arizona.
Tampa somehow circumventing the salary cap.
Detroit fans being disappointed.
Boston expecting more with less.
Columbus being on the rise but another disappointing season is approaching.
The New York Rangers having a decent season, and somewhere in December they'll talk about how the train station wants to kick MSG off of its back, then the story is forgotten about.
Pittsburgh maybe dealing stars during the season while they still have some value.
Montreal fans being bummed out again.
Another US-based team winning the Stanley Cup, adding to the cup drought in Canada, but people in Canada saying "most players on the (winning team) are from Canada!"
Seattle getting better and possibly challenging to go to the Cup finals.
... and lets not forget the silly rumor of Atlanta getting ANOTHER expansion team!?
I'm not a gambler, I like when my team wins and it's a bummer when they lose. I hope they have a good season.
Eastern Conference (Wales Conference)
Atlantic Division (Adams Division, Snowbird Division)
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Metropolitan Division (Patrick Division)
Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals
Western Conference (Campbell Conference)
Central Division (Norris Division)
Arizona Coyotes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
Pacific Division (Smythe Division)
Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
The New York Rangers having a decent season, and somewhere in December they'll talk about how the train station wants to kick MSG off of its back, then the story is forgotten about.
Okay, this isn't a prediction, this is just going to happen.
Matt Poitras is poised to make the Bruins roster. If so, he will be the first Bruin born after Patrice Bergeron’s NHL debut.
LA getting past the first round this year, just let them play someone other than Edmonton!
ESPN's consensus is the Hurricanes.
Rangers getting pas the first round would be nice. Also another year of being a black guy wearing a Rangers hat getting random white people to stop me on the street constantly. (It's amazing, it's like a superpower. I've been stopped by cops in NYC twice, just to talk to me about the Rangers. It's like a less offensive 'All Lives Matter' t-shirt.)
Also another year of being a black guy wearing a Rangers hat getting random white people to stop me on the street constantly. (It's amazing, it's like a superpower. I've been stopped by cops in NYC twice, just to talk to me about the Rangers. It's like a less offensive 'All Lives Matter' t-shirt.)
This reminds me of something I read recently, a black man commenting on how white women stay far away from him when he walks around the city, but when he walks his tiny dog, white women won't leave him the f**k alone.
Just have something visible that shows you like things that white people like, and suddenly you're a person!
Also, my preferred hockey team has a black player on it that I cheer* for, please dispense my Good White Person points over at that thumb to the right ===>
*: you better start scoring some damn points this year, we took you over Stutzle!
Kings give Todd McLellan a little bit of seat cooling with a 1-year contract extension, locking him in through 2024-25.
It was the ugliest of wins, but I'll take it Toronto.
I did not realize Connor Bedard was a legit 18.
*: you better start scoring some damn points this year, we took you over Stutzle!
One game played, one Byfield goal!
Fingers crossed that this is the light-turning-on season for Quinton.
At this rate Matthews should end up with 246 goals this season
Brock Faber couldn't slow down the Kings last night. 
Only way he could have done that would be to poison Fleury so he couldn't play.
I knew that would summon you to the thread. Only took 12 minutes!
You besmirched my baby boy.
The thing about me (and I think this is common among Minnesota hockey fans my age) is that I care far more about Gopher hockey than the Wild. I was 11 when the North Stars moved and 18 when the Wild started playing. So, for the entirety of my teens years, college hockey was the highest level of local hockey.
Lord. The Clint Malarchuk worst-case scenario happened in England.
Watching Jacob Lauko take the tail end of a skate blade straight to the face the other night was pretty horrifying, based on the replay I thought I had just watched someone lose an eye. Thankfully it was “just” a really bad cut and broken facial bone near the eye.
Sometimes, good things do happen.
f**k Evander Kane and f**k any franchise that would still employ him in $CURRENT_YEAR.
Also, having just checked the standings
1 - Rangers in first baybeeeee!
2 - The Bruins are doing it again
Lord. The Clint Malarchuk worst-case scenario happened in England.
Yes, this is a terrible tragedy. Understandably, it's received a lot of coverage over here.
But I was surprised to learn that neck guards: 1) exist, and; 2) are mandatory at junior level, but aren't currently mandatory at senior level across the UK. They're mandatory in Scotland, and mandatory if you play for the GB teams. But not in England and not for the top level, the Elite League.
English Ice Hockey is changing its rules on this from next year (and is encouraging players to use them immediately), but this seems to be a terrible policy by them. The Elite League haven't said what they're going to do.
Hopefully, all the governing bodies and league operators will also ensure that face guards (and pretty much every other bit of protection) are also mandatory.
It shouldn't have taken the death of Adam Johnson to have got English hockey here...
My nephew plays in the USHL - his team (not the league) is mandating neck guards as a reaction to this. But the team and the league still allow players to wear half-shields….go figure.
Prederick wrote:Lord. The Clint Malarchuk worst-case scenario happened in England.
Yes, this is a terrible tragedy. Understandably, it's received a lot of coverage over here.
I hadn't followed this closely, so I discovered today that
A.) The player whose skate killed Johnson is black.
B.) In what I'm sure is an entirely unrelated coincidence, people online have declared this an intentional murder.
detroit20 wrote:Prederick wrote:Lord. The Clint Malarchuk worst-case scenario happened in England.
Yes, this is a terrible tragedy. Understandably, it's received a lot of coverage over here.
I hadn't followed this closely, so I discovered today that
A.) The player whose skate killed Johnson is black.
B.) In what I'm sure is an entirely unrelated coincidence, people online have declared this an intentional murder.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson, whose neck was cut during a match.
The Nottingham Panthers player was hit in the neck by a skate during a match against the Sheffield Steelers on 28 October.
The 29-year-old was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A post-mortem examination confirmed he died as a result of a fatal neck injury, South Yorkshire Police said.
The force said detectives arrested the suspect on Tuesday, adding that he remained in custody.
Does manslaughter in the UK distinguish between intentional and unintentional acts of harm, like in the US?
*Legion* wrote:*: you better start scoring some damn points this year, we took you over Stutzle!
One game played, one Byfield goal!
Fingers crossed that this is the light-turning-on season for Quinton.
13 points in 14 games.
Still not as many as Stutzle 
and that number is HEAVY in assists (2 G, 11 A), but the anxiety level in LA around the Byfield pick has decreased dramatically. And his +9 is the best on the Kings roster.
According to the playoff probabilities at hockey-reference, the Kings currently have the highest playoff probability of the entire league, and at 12.6%, the only double-digit Cup win probability. THE REBUILD IS COMPLETE, WE BACK BABY!
please stay good Cam Talbot, please stay good Cam Talbot, please stay good Cam Talbot...
It's very irritating seeing a .930 save% on Jonathan Quick in New York. Where the f*$k were you last 5 years dude?
*Legion* wrote:*Legion* wrote:*: you better start scoring some damn points this year, we took you over Stutzle!
One game played, one Byfield goal!
Fingers crossed that this is the light-turning-on season for Quinton.
13 points in 14 games.
Still not as many as Stutzle
The assists have turned into goal scoring, and now Byfield’s at 8 goals and 13 assists, for 21 points in 23 games. The light is turning on…
Canucks are a damn wagon this year. It's amazing and not expected at all.
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