The Definitive NHL 2012-2013 Season Thread

[Leafs PWN]

Words cannot describe how good it feels to lay a beat down on our beloved rivals. If I had a penny everytime we had an odd man rush, I would've had a dime right now. At one point, we went on a 4 on 1 rush. Price got pulled within the first 4 shots of the game. That didn't seem to make a difference though, as Budaj let in the first shot he faced. Really hoping the Habs go on a slide and end up 4th.

We are rolling right now - 7-1-2 in our last 10, and only one regulation loss in our last 13. We are once again protecting our leads, and getting top notch goaltending from Reimer. Gunnarson also seems to be back to 100% (returning from Injury), giving Dion an effective dman to play with. Gunnar is good positionally, and usually makes the smart plays in both zones. He's a good #4 dman on a team with a great defence. For Dion, that's still a massive upgrade over what he was playing with earlier.

Lupul has been cleared for contact. All but confirmed that he will return before the playoffs. It feels like all the right things are happen for us at this time. Hope we can carry the momentum into the playoffs.

[Beamer]

Yet another quality win for TO. Couple that with Habs losing, the #4-#5 matchup between TO-Habs is a real possibility. In fact, it is more than likely. I see Boston taking the #2 spot.

Positive news on Pens front : Crosby, Neal and Martin all have started to skate. I expect Neal to be back this week, followed by Sid the week after or so. I think we will eventually end up with no.1 spot. Now, it becomes a game of who is going to be at no.8. Rangers or Isles? Maybe even the Jets..

[cricman]

Even though I don't like the Fishes, The Nassau Coliseum will easily be the loudest venue in the playoffs.

Sad to see them move to Brooklyn

We just dropped pts against the flyers

[Sohel]

Another important game for us tonight against the deconstructed Flames.The Flames give us the opportunity to get a lot of tactical things straight before facing Van, Pho, LA, Nash and Dal to finish this truncated season. Rather than trying to hold on to this 8th place and looking over our shoulders, we should aim to capture the 6th place still in our sights.

Our defense has been coming together nicely in front of a confident Howard, and I have faith in Kronwall, Ericsson, Colaiacovo, Smith, Kindl, DeKeyser and Lashoff to get even better as we head into the playoffs. Quincey is the only shoddy defender we have at this stage. I wish Colaiacovo had his speed and he had C's better but not great defensive hockey sense and passing accuracy. VERY proud of Kronwall for the way he has been guiding our young defensemen. Beginning to overcome the loss of Lidstrom and Rafalski this quickly has been no small task.

The offense remains problematic because other than Pasha and Hank, our other guys aren't taking the type of quality shots necessary to beat good NHL goaltenders. Franzen has been scoring of late but not Filppula and that fact is continuing to hurt us offensively. Brunner suddenly losing his scoring touch made things worse. The less said about Cleary and Sammy the better. Abdel Kader has been a pleasant surprise with his unexpected scoring ability. The grinders are doing well along the boards but we need far better presence in front of the net and get our timing right when crashing it. Helm's return will certainly help. We're no longer the puck cycling kings we had been from '94 to 2008, and need to play the net far better than we usually do.

Now, I understand most of our guys are tired because almost all of them played in Europe and the AHL before the season started, but that's life. Time to find and use that second wind.

[Leafs PWN]

I caught some of the Sharks vs Wings game the other night, and I was very impressed with Kindl's skating ability. He's very smooth with the puck, and has a nice first pass breaking out of the zone. He has the potential to be a Kaberle-lite puck mover.

We had our worst game of the season last night against the Caps. The boys looked tired, and had nothing going for them. Thus, the Caps skated circles around us, and feasted on our backup, scoring 5 goals within the first 40 minutes.

It was a nice wakeup call for our players before the playoffs. Reimer has been spectacular over the last 5+ games and that was, to some extent, hiding our certain weaknesses. A game like this lets Randy see what the real issues are, other than consistency in effort levels.

Beamer bhai, you guys will take the #1 spot. Both the Habs and Bruins are playing like crap recently, and the Caps really have no chance to catch you guys. I think the Rangers will end up with the 8th spot. The Isles are playing far too well to fall off from their 7th spot. In fact, I think they might move up to 6th.

[Beamer]

I would agree. I think its gonna be either Rangers or Jets for us. Isles are playing very well. Sens have picked up their play after a mini funk. We are playing the Habs tonight. They must be a very motivated team after two terrible losses. Their speed always give us trouble. I won't be shocked if they beat us comfortably tonight. After that, we have Bruins on Friday in Boston.

What do you guys think of the additional six outdoor games next year? Overkill? cash grab ? If Pens and Hawks meet at Soldier Field as proposed, that will be a terrific game and ratings bonanza.

[Leafs PWN]

Please beat the Habs! That'll put us in a very good situation to face them as long as Boston doesn't fall off too much (we face the Habs one more time in our last game).

I think they are watering them down. 6 is just an absurd amount. Two would make sense (1 for each conference), but 6 is just making it a cash grab/major gimmick imo. We'll see though. If this makes the sport more popular in the States, then I guess it makes sense.

[Sohel]

Just lost to the Flames in a game that featured 3 of the most ridiculous goals I've seen. First, against the run of play, a routine clearance from Ericsson pinballs off an unsuspecting Howard's left skate, then the goalpost and finally his right skate into the goal. 2-1 Flames. Then Howard fans on a routine clearance, albeit of a slowing puck, and they wrap it around into an empty net for the SHG. 3-1 Flames. Finally Franzen's harmless, backhanded flip from center ice short hops MK between the pads. The Flames win 3-2. Heartbreak for the RWN as MK makes his share of great saves

The BJs have come back to tie the Ducks 2-2 in the third.

[Sohel]

2-2 at the end of regulation as the BJs move into 8th place.

[Beamer]

CBJ's win in OT eventually. They have come out of nowhere this year. It is a two team battle in the West for the final spot as I look in the standings. I know Dallas is lurking, but they are little but too far behind. Its between Red Wings and CBJ. I think the experienced Red Wings will seal it eventually for a possible showdown with Chicago, something I am sure the Hawks will not like right off the bat.

We just physically beatdown the Habs, The Habs can be physically intimidated. With top goal scorers like Malkin, Neal and Crosby out, we decided to play extremely physical brand of hockey with straight line players like Kunitz, Morrow ( man..he is some tough dude ), Iginla, Cooke, Adams, Glass, Vitale and co. It was so evident that Habs have overachieved. They are a fine team still, but I don't think they are built for playoff hockey ( sorta like the last year Pens..skill but lacking toughness ). Toronto will do the same thing if they face Habs in a 4 -5 matchup. TO is a tough team too. They miss Emelin. But, we miss some good offensive players too. Not to mention, the no.2 D men in Paul Martin..

[Leafs PWN]

The Habs are exactly the team I talked about - fast, but super soft and they fold under physical play. The game last night was similar to the Leafs/Habs one on Satuday - crappy goaltending from Price, and way too many blown defensive coverages from the Habs. The Pens played a nice simple game, used their size to their advantage, and utilized their chances. As Beamer bhai is saying, once their skill guys return, the Pens will be absolutely deadly. They are the clear favorites from the East, given Crosby and Malkin stay healthy.

Home ice advantage for us is a real possibility now. With the craptastic play from the Habs, their and our schedule, and the 1 game reamining between us, we can steal home ice from them. I hope it comes down to the last game of the season (Leafs vs Habs) to determine home ice, and we can beat them to further demoralize their soft *** team. You can tell how much I love the Habs

Beau Bennett has looked very good everytime I've watched the Pens. He has great instincts in the offensive zone (finds the open man often, uses open lanes to drive through) and he seems to make the right plays in the defensive zone. He just does not make too many mistakes in any part of the ice. This guy has a very bright future ahead of him if he keeps on developing his offensive skills.

Saw some of the CBJ ANA game, and I was very impressed with the speed and skill these two teams were playing with. I would love to see Columbus in the playoffs. Their youth and change in net seems to have rejuvinated the entire franchise. It would be an exciting series to see them try to fend off the Hawks.

[Leafs PWN]

Depressed.

[Beamer]

Isles are climbing up. Playing exceptionally well behind red hot Tavares. They are knocking on the door of no.5 seed. Looks like the Pens-Bruins might get cancelled considering the evolving situation in Boston in a state of lockdown. Just read on the Pens twitter feed that team is locked up in hotel. No morning skate. They should just cancel it. Its minor compared to what that city is going through.

[Sohel]

No alternative to looking ahead and winning every game one shift at a time. Tough task with a 2.5 man offense.

[Sohel]

Looking forward to our do or die game in Vancouver. In fact, all of our remaining games are do or die affairs from this point on.

Also looking forward to the Bruins-Pens game in a couple of hours. We'll see how the the recent tragedy has galvanized the Bruins to win it all for their great city.

[Sohel]

Down 0-1 to Canucks early in the first. Babcock looks like he's ready to swallow his own tongue out there. Soon afterwards, Cleary failed to bury a breakaway as expected. Actually MISSED THE NET ... pond hockey stuff.

[Sohel]

Emmerton deflects one past Schneider with seconds left in the first, 1-1. Not a bad first period so far. We had the better chances. Lost momentum because of the penalties but recovered well.

[Sohel]

Tied at 1 after 2. Danny DeKeyser's adjustment to the NHL from college hockey has been nothing less than spectacular in such a short period of time. A definite elite and I mean Norris class defenseman in the making alongside Brendan Smith. We're lucky to have great scouts who always find such diamonds in the rough.

[Sohel]

1-1 at the end of regulation and the Canucks, thoroughly outplayed today, clinch a playoff spot.

[Sohel]

Going to a shootout. Our inability to score continues to plague us.

[Sohel]

Canucks take the SO win. This is why I hate shootouts.

[Beamer]

Great great win by the Pens. Considering the emotion in Boston and once again playing w/o Sid, Malkin, Neal, we prevailed in a very physical game. We responded every time when challenged. This is a much much tougher team. You can say that TD Garden is second home to Pens. Six in a row there. We have also beaten Bruins home and away almost every game in last few years. Anyway, no.1 clinched. Time to give some breaks to some players. Injured players should be getting ready by next week.

[Leafs PWN]

Officially in the playoffs for the first time in 9 years - feels great! Now to take home ice advatange away from the Habs! Habs need to go 1-2 at best, and we need to go 2-1 at worst, with at least one of those wins being a ROW.

[Beamer]

Originally Posted by Leafs PWN
Officially in the playoffs for the first time in 9 years - feels great! Now to take home ice advatange away from the Habs! Habs need to go 1-2 at best, and we need to go 2-1 at worst, with at least one of those wins being a ROW.

Congrats !! I remember when we first made the playoffs in Crosby era after five-six years of sucking. Its an exciting time. Best of luck. In a day or two, the match ups will get more clear. No.5-8 in East are lumped together. However, I do think that the teams that are in right now in East will eventually be the playoff teams with match ups sorted out later. Jets did themselves no favor by losing in OT and sit three pts behind Rangers. I think they are done even though I very much wanted them to make it.

We got Sens tonight. They want to ghetto it up tonight. There could be some shady stuff and I would actually sit Matt Cooke for the night. No reason to have him exposed. Pens called up Steve McIntyre from wilderness for the game...lol

[Beamer]

In the West, Wings have TWO games in hand. That should do it. As great a story the CBJ's have been, I think they miss out by a single point. Bob for Vezina though..