Discuss everything NHL here!

Last night (what i watched) Toronto Maple Leafs beat Montreal Canadiens 2-0 giving James Riemer earning his 1st shutout for the 11-12 season.

Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks also played last night. 3-3 at the end of the 3rd went through overtime and into a shootout! where Roberto Luongo let in the first 2 goals.

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bwahaha typical luongo.
im also kind of surprised that toronto got a W. im curious to see if they can keep that up this year.

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YESSSSS NHL FANS!!!

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Washington will probably win the East, especially with the addition of Vokoun in net. I'm looking to see Ovechkin bounce back from last season. Backstrom, Semin, Green, Knuble should bring supporting firepower, but it'll be interesting to see how far they get come playoff time.

Pittsburgh will probably contend for first place in the East as well, they've got a solid core of players and with a healthy Malkin in the mix, I not only anticipate them making a run for the playoffs, but challenging Washington for first overall in the East. If Crosby returns healthy, it's very possible they make a run for the cup as well.

Boston's core is largely untouched after winning the cup, they'll go far if Thomas can play the way he played last year and guys like Marchand, Lucic, Horton, Chara and Bergeron can continue playing the way they played last year. Looking to see what Seguin does as well.

Buffalo: LOVE THIS TEAM. Quite possibly my favorite team since I was a kid. So happy they got a new owner who isn't shy about spending. Erhoff, Reghler, along with Myers should be a good defense to a refreshed Miller. Factor in Leino who has displayed he's at least decent playing centre and guys like Roy and Vanek, and you've got a pretty good team going on here. Hoping they can bring in another explosive forward without losing much, but we'll see. Anticipate them to beat on Boston for first in North division.

Tampa Bay will go far if Roloson can play the way he played last year when he carried TB to the conference final. He's old, don't expect him to do that, and I dont know what the backup situation is like, so it's hard to say where this team will go. MSL, Lacav, and Stamkos should wreck up front, so it'll be interesting to see if their decent offensive will allow for a mediocre defense.

And yeah, all other teams in the East (TB included), apart from Ottawa, Islanders and Florida will contend for 4-8th place, I think.

Leafs will make it if Reimer can carry, but i really doubt he will. NYR, Carolina, Montreal and I'd say even New Jersey have better chances of getting into the playoff mix than Toronto.

-Phat

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PoopbaLL`

I had no idea you were such a hockey fan

...Even though I know they won't take the cup, my eastern team is still montreal haha

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Not a hockey fan, just an NHL fan I don't follow minor league hockey, KHL, international hockey or anything like that

The success of Montreal is based primarily on Price and how he plays through the duration of the season. I think he put up close to 70 games last season, and seeing him do that again has detrimental effects on the team come playoff time, especially with their weak offense. If Markov can come back healthy Cammarali (sp?) continues to put pucks behind the net, it's possible they qualify for 6-8 place. Maybe Gomez wakes up and starts playing like a Devil again, but i doubt it.

But even so, I think they've got a better chance than Toronto when it comes to making the playoffs.

The East is wide open, the only shoo in is Washington, with Boston, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh the next favorites to lock up a playoff spot.

-Phat

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PoopbaLL`

Price wont doin so well. right now Leafs are stompin the hell out of Ottawa 5-2 in the 3rd period. Dion got into a fight hahahaha

Canes lost friday 5-1 which made me sad lol

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I miss phaneuf....

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Stupid penguins

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Western Conference

You can argue that the West are home to better teams, and it's hard to say no when they've got Vancouver, Detroit, Chicago, and San Jose. Factor in L.A, Nashville, and Anaheim and you've got a batch of decent teams that can go pretty far.

Vancouver is still a favorite to win the cup, despite the fact they choke over and over again. Kesler is a beast, and if the Sedin twins and Luongo can actually play decent hockey come spring, they really shouldn't have any problems taking the championship... I don't actually like this team much, and I cant explain to you how happy I was to see Boston beat them in game 7 for the cup last season.

San Jose has been a perpetual let down come playoff time. They show so much promise in the season but flop completely come playoff time. Maybe this year it changes, but pressure will be on Thorton to lead the team to success. Been a SJ fan forever, but I cant say I'm proud of it

Chicago's roster includes Toews, Sharp, Kane, Seabrook, Keith and Hossa, so at they are, at the very least, decent on paper. I think they'll play much better this year than last, and expect them to comfortably make the playoffs.

Detroit is getting old but they've still got Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Lindstrom is staying around for another season, it'll be interesting to see how much gas he's got left in the tank. They'll be leaning more heavily on guys like Abdelkadar and Helm for offensive support, it'll be interesting to see if they can provide that.

-Phat

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PoopbaLL`

They really should just kick luongo out of net. Sned him to the CHL or something

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It's too bad he's earning way too much to be sent down to the minors.

But then again, you can look at Wade Redden...

-Phat

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PoopbaLL`

Red Wings, etc

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Toronto making me eat my words thus far, they're still leading the NE division. Kessel is playing well, Reimer is staying solid in net.

Boston is in a little bit of slump, as is Vancouver (yay!) and San Jose.

Dallas and Colorado doing surprisingly well thus far, props to both of them.

Finally, Buffalo letting me down big time with back-to-back losses against TB.. Very sad at that, but I'm expecting them to pick it up big time against the lowly CBJ.

-Phat

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PoopbaLL`

Reimer be back soon Kessel is number 1 for the all star ballot. Dem snipes!

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Blues have been looking real good under Ken Hitchcock.

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Captain Kirk Muller not doing good for the Hurricanes

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So half the season is just about over and this Sunday is the NHL all star game.

I took a quick look at the standings and I'm happy to say that a lot of my predictions are holding water thus far, but that does go without saying that a bunch of teams have surprised me..

The top 3 teams in the East are NYR, Boston and Washington. Boston's Timmy Thomas is playing well into the season and I see them finishing 2nd or 3rd overall in the East. Washington is a bit of a disappointment with only 55 pts, and they only have 3rd place because their division is full of relatively bad teams. Florida is only 1 point behind them for the division title, it will be interesting to see if the Caps can hold on to their lead. And the Rangers have taken the league by storm winning enough games for 66 pts, good for first in the East and 2nd overall.

Philly and Pittsburgh are both holding onto 4th and 5th place, and the last 3 spots are held by Ottawa, Florida and New Jersey. What gets interesting is how 7-9th place are separated by 0 points, and 3 teams are fighting for 2 playoff spots. Of these teams, I think (hope) New Jersey holds onto their playoff spot, maybe even making a run for 5-6th place.

Teams from 10th to 15th place will probably have to win 85%+ of their remaining games for a sliver of a chance to play in the playoffs. Of these teams, I think Winnipeg is the only one capable of that, but it'll definitely be a very steep uphill battle for them.

I figured Tampa Bay would have a little more fight in them this year, but they are lifeless and need a better goalie and defense. The Sabres are sitting in 14th place in the East when I figured they'd be challenging for the division/conference this season back a couple months ago. Pretty much dead wrong. What a let down, Leino was a flop, Miller isn't playing anything like the Vezina trophy winner he was a couple seasons ago and they've been having some injury problems all season. Islanders still blow, i bet no one is shocked by that one.

On a side note, anyone see the NHL all star draft?

-Phat

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PoopbaLL`

Its been made official. The Detroit Red Wings will host the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2013 Winter Classic

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Gooooo red wings!

Just cause toronto is lame

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2 original 6 teams 1 being the 1st canadian team to partake in the WC. should be a really good game.

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