The Definitive NHL 2012-2013 Season Thread

[Beamer]

You have a lot to be proud of. Red Wings looked to be the better team for much of this series. I think Game 6 was the one were Wings played their worst game and should have finished them off. Still, taking out Ducks and scaring the day lights out of Hawks is no small feat. Wings were never your typical no.7 seed. They have a great coach, two great players, superb complimentary players and a superstar goalie. Give the NE hell next year..

Now, the reffing is just too inconsistent. It almost became the biggest controversy of ages last night. That was horrendous. If anything, only Quincey should have been called for roughing, and the delayed penalty should have enabled the Hawks to keep playing. I didn't see why Saad was penalized. Walkom blew it and he knows it. For his sake, that didn't become the story, as it would have if Wings went on to win. Overall the refs have been so poor this year. The Game 6 penalty shot ( Frolic ) was equally terrible and I said it at that time. However, in the GWG from Seabrook, an obvious boarding penalty wasn't called, which freed Seabrook to skate down unmolested. Maybe, they were making it up for the earlier obvious gaffe. But, its shouldn't be. You would hate refs to decide such high stake games and Stephen Walkom almost did it. BTW, he is from Pittsburgh as the local paper noted this morning, which also interviewed Saad's parents who live not too far away from Walkom ! He also didn't call a penalty on Raffi Torres hit on Hossa...He is very well liked in Chicago, judging by the death threats he got...geez.

[Beamer]

Pens-Bruins have a lot of history without having too much playoff history ! Makes sense. This is the only third time we face each other in playoffs ( shocker ) and first since '92 when we swept them in ECF to win the second cup. In '91 we came back from down 0-2, to win the series as well en route to first cup. Kevin Stevens ( Boston kid ) guranteed a victory after being down 0-2 and he delivered . I was reading this morning on my commute the tidbits regarding the two franchises who hate each other. And, it goes back a long way.

1. Mario first goal came on his first ever shift in NHL when beat Ray Bourque.
2. Crosby first goal in NHL also vs Bruins.
3. Crosby first fight and only Gordie Howe Hatty was against Bruins ( Ference, who was drafted by Pens )
4. Jagr..( need I say more )
5. Iginla ( we all know )
6. Pens with Boston connection : Orpik ( BC ), Vitale ( North Eastern ), Adams ( Harvard ), Eddie Johnston ( Bruins cup winner with Orr ), Tommy Fitzerald- asst GM ( Boston kid ), Billy Guerin- player development ( Boston kid ), CEO of Pens ( Harvard , JFK school )..
7. Chia beat out Shero to be the GM of Bruins. Shero was hired by Pens later.
8. Cam Neely- Ulf Samuelssen ( accident but Boston doesn't believe so )
9. Matt Cooke- Savard ( not accident and Cooke was a major POS those days )
10. Bratkowski ( Pittsburgh kid who almost got traded for Iginla )

But the funniest of all, Boston sued Pens for wearing Black and Gold ( which is the color of all sports teams in Pittsburgh- color of steel ). Pens switched to black and gold from powder blue in 1980. Boston didn't want that ( again, complex issues ). However, they went back all the way to 1920 when the Pittsburgh Pirates hockey team ( not the baseball team ) wore black and gold, thus establishing prior precendence . NHL and Court allowed us to wear the city colors.

There were a few more funny ones. But, that will do for today..

[Sohel]

As disappointed as I am not to see the Red Wings here -- because we led 3-1 in the Chicago series and should've won it -- I'm looking forward to the conference finals. We have the last 4 Cup champions, each with a distinctive style of play, going at it.

Chicago is the best team in the NHL when it comes to offense/defense balance and lower line depth. They also have a hugely underrated goalie in Crawford and a coach who has just beaten his arch-nemesis in the playoffs for the first time ever. That being said, the Red Wings showed everybody exactly how to beat them in game 2, 3 and 4 of the recently concluded WCSF series. If the Kings can play that kind of speedy and aggressive puck pursuit and coverage game, they'll have a great chance to advance to the SCF with the best goalie in the world between the posts. True, arguably only Kopitar has the type of puck holding skill under the kind of huge, double and triple-teamed pressure Zetterberg or Datsyuk does -- but they are just as fast and strong in other areas in front of an outstanding defense much better than ours at the moment. While I see Quick stealing one in Chicago, I don't think anything can be stolen in LA. This series will go to the Kings in 6.

Pittsburgh has the most explosive offense in the league and definitely one of the best ever to hit the the ice. Their offense includes Norris candidate Letang who can be a defensive liability for his team like the legendary Paul Coffey in the past, but their defense isn't as bad as many folks think it is. Orpik is a solid performer and the others have been getting better by the game. Both Vokoun and Fleury can do the job. Vokoun has a stable calming presence while Fleury is one of the best in one-on-one situations. The Pens have been hardened by their playoff losses ever since winning the Cup, and have the Western Conference-type speed that will eventually break the MUCH slower Boston's defensive and offensive zone puck possession schemes. I see lots of goals past Rask, an excellent goalie but not quite Thomas or Lundqvist-class yet. Boston's slowness will be their downfall in the series. I see the Pens winning in 6 and setting up a truly intriguing 7-game SCF that can go either way.

Here's Paul's blog about the CFs:

From Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail:

Boston and Chicago have the added cachet of being Original Six teams, with loyal fans scattered around the hockey world. Pittsburgh has Sidney Crosby, the face of the league, which will come into greater focus, now that he’s been medically cleared to dispense with the mouth guard he’s worn for two rounds to protect his broken jaw. Los Angeles is the hard-working interloper, sort of a modern-day answer to the New York Islanders’ dynasty.

These are all pressure-tested teams; their collective rosters include 56 players who’ve have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup, 19 of them playing for Los Angeles, 18 for Boston.

But the most talked-about player might be the one searching for his first Stanley Cup, Jarome Iginla, the popular ex-Calgary Flames captain, who joined the Penguins at the trading deadline, eschewing the option of going to Boston because he wanted to play on the same team as Crosby, his fellow Canadian Olympian. In Calgary, almost from the moment Iginla left town, Flames fans jumped on the Penguins bandwagon, in the hopes that he would be rewarded with a championship after his long and loyal service in the Stampede City.

READ MORE

[Sohel]

Well, our guys cleaned out their lockers but the season isn't over yet for Nyquist and Andersson. Gus and Andy will be joining the Griffins in the quest with Danny DeKeyser set to join them if they make it to the Calder Cup finals. Of course I'll be following that with great interest.

Datsyuk's contract is set to end in the summer of 2014 and because he had such a great time playing in the KHL during the lockout, we were concerned about him returning. He put an end to all such speculation and publicly stated his desire to stay a Red Wing until he retires. Of course we're thrilled about that and would love to see his number retired someday alongside Hank's. Still a lot of good, championship hockey left in both. Really looking forward to bringing our speed, energy and skillset to a significantly slower Northeast next year.

[Sohel]

2013 Locker Room Clean Out Day - Babcock

[Sohel]

Thank You Fans - Player Message

[Sohel]

What a terrible game 1 loss for the Pens at home. Vokoun needed to stop a couple and a pond hockey-type blown defensive coverage led to the third Boston goal. Fleury needs to get in there. I reckon he has had enough time to recover from his meltdown. Rask is an excellent but streaky goalie like Luongo who grows in confidence with each save he makes, including regulation saves on shots fired directly at his chest. Gotta get under his skin by crashing the net and creating screens in front of his face. Not easy with the Bruins D-men but not impossible either.

Malkin and others skated through their D but their linemates didn't arrive on time, allowing the slower Bruins D-men the opportunity to disrupt and neutralize developing threat. Unacceptable for a team as fast as the Pens. I hate seeing a superior team losing because it's being out-thought like this. The Pens need more desperation and discipline, and Bylsma MUST make some adjustments to disrupt their defensive schemes, rather than simply reacting to their attempts to disrupt the Pens' natural game. Bowman made the same mistake against the underdog Devils in the '95 Cup finals and we got swept, BADLY. I believe Pittsburgh to be more than capable of bouncing back from this and winning game 2 and then win one in Boston InshAllah.

The Kings need to realize that as great as Quick is, sitting on a 1 goal lead against the Hawks simply won't work 9 out of 10 times. Kopitar would be busy covering either Toews or Hossa at the boards, and someone else needs to find ways to get past an exceptional corps of Hawks D-men and the hugely underrated Crawford in Chicago. If not, we're in for another homer series here.

[Sohel]

BTW, what a great game by Patrick Sharp! He's so much better than Tony Amonte was, and needs to be recognized for it. The western Canadian speedster is skilled, fast and just oozing with hockey sense and intelligence. Only a team like Philly or perhaps Toronto would let someone like him go

[Beamer]

Yup. Agreed with everything you said. I thought we got frustrated when we didn't get the bounces in first period. It was incredibly unlucky. Three posts, few pucks straddled the goal line that didn't go in. But, you can't get frustrated. There are nights when things won't go the way you like or used to. Gotta deal with that. That is a problem with an offensive team that likes to score. Few of those go in and its an entirely different game. I don't think we played bad, so I am not worried. Yes, Vokoun is getting a bit iffy. Who knows, maybe flower comes in. Well, on to game 2 and one we must win somehow. And try to win the hard way, please...

Didnt' see the Hawks vs Kings. Kings are bad on the road..

[Sohel]

Quality game 2 win by Chicago with the underrated Sharp and the HUGELY underrated Crawford making some key plays . Quick had an off night although the defense played well in front of him, allowing only 17 SOG with 4 going in. They outshot the hosts but not with the quality necessary to beat Crawford. Not the way to try and steal one on the road. I'd be very concerned heading back to LA with this kind of performance. They'll be done if Chicago wins one there.

[Sohel]

My playoffs All-Star team to date (strictly based on playoff performance, hence some notable emissions):

Goalies:-

Starter: 32 Quick, LAK/USA
Backup: 30 Lundqvist, NYR/SWE

Defensemen (all pairings in PP and PK):-

I. 33 Chara (A), BOS/SLO -- 7 Seabrook, CHI/CAN
II. 58 Letang, PIT/CAN -- 55 Kronwall, DET/SWE
III. 8 Doughty, LAK/CAN -- 4 Hjalmarsson CHI/SWE

Forwards (lines I and II in PP, line III and IV players in PK):-

I. 71 Malkin, PIT/RUS -- 87 Crosby (A), PIT/CAN -- 18 Neal, PIT/CAN
II. 10 Sharp, CHI/CAN -- 13 Datsyuk, DET/RUS -- 81 Hossa, CHI/SLO
III. 40 Zetterberg (C), DET/SWE -- 37 Bergeron, BOS/CAN -- 12 Iginla, PIT/CAN
IV. 65 Shaw, CHI/CAN -- 14 Nyquist, DET/SWE -- 67 Frolik, CHI/CZE

Reserves:-

35 Howard (Goalie), DET/USA; 2 Keith (Defenseman), CHI/CAN; 46 Krejci (Scoring forward), BOS/CZE; 23 Brown (Checking forward), LAK/USA

Coach: Babcock, DET/CAN

GM: Shero, PIT/USA

How about you guys?

[Sohel]

Craziness in Pittsburgh as Boston leads 4-1 after 1. Awful defensive mistakes from Letang directly led to two goals and the decision to play Vokoun backfired. Fleury gave up a tough one also. The Pens are in serious trouble but there's plenty of hockey left tonight.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Sissies, bunch of sissies! Well, this might be it for Vokoun this year.

Chicago to win the Stanley Cup again. Obama to call Toews on the ice again.

[Sohel]

My heart goes out to dear friend Beamer and all of the Pens fans. I'm still in shock. What do you say to one of the most potent offensive teams in the history of the game after it concedes 9 and scores just 1 in two home games of the effing conference finals? Doesn't help either when you keep hitting the post. What a terrible way to be dominated in one's own building by a group of "basic hockey", meat-and-potatoes guys who do their job extremely well. The Bruins are like the Flyers with a brain and a plan they can execute perfectly night in and night out in the playoffs (can't wait to face them next year in the Northeast). Bylsma MUST be proactive, not reactive, and disrupt the way they set up, slow down and play their game, or he's toast.

I don't know where the Pens go from here

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
Sissies, bunch of sissies! Well, this might be it for Vokoun this year.

Chicago to win the Stanley Cup again. Obama to call Toews on the ice again.

Fleury wasn't too hot either and the horrendous defensive lapses in front of him didn't help none.

Let's see how the Kings do at home. They're a different, unbeatable team in LA. The Hawks need to win one there because game 7s can always go either way. Also, they won't have an easy time beating Boston if they face them in the SCF.

[Beamer]

Every Pens player last night embarrassed themselves, their fans, their city. We deserved better than this cow dung they have been treating us with. If Bylsma can't control these guys with their free willing style then he needs to be removed. I have said all along, MT system never allowed this to happen, but under Bylsma, against good defensive teams in playoffs we will repeat the same mistakes. Once we are behind a goal or two, we abandon common sense and basically give the other team free shots at goal. This series is pretty over. I have seen nothing that says we can fight back. Boston has deserved every thing they have gotten this far. They play as a TEAM. We play as individuals. This will not win cups.

[Beamer]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
Sissies, bunch of sissies! Well, this might be it for Vokoun this year.

Chicago to win the Stanley Cup again. Obama to call Toews on the ice again.

Yes, it was that bad. Letang just started the whole rot. Crosby possibly played the worst game of his career.

[Beamer]

Originally Posted by Sohel
My heart goes out to dear friend Beamer and all of the Pens fans. I'm still in shock. What do you say to one of the most potent offensive teams in the history of the game after it concedes 9 and scores just 1 in two home games of the effing conference finals? Doesn't help either when you keep hitting the post. What a terrible way to be dominated in one's own building by a group of "basic hockey", meat-and-potatoes guys who do their job extremely well. The Bruins are like the Flyers with a brain and a plan they can execute perfectly night in and night out in the playoffs (can't wait to face them next year in the Northeast). Bylsma MUST be proactive, not reactive, and disrupt the way they set up, slow down and play their game, or he's toast.

I don't know where the Pens go from here

Ha ha...thanks. But, I don't take games too seriously these days. I used to back in the days. I move on pretty quickly . Bruins are more than basic hockey bro. They are tremendously coached on defense. There is no room. Once they lead, its over. No space, no room, three people sit back and wait for you to turn it over, then in transition they are awesome. Have the forwards to bury it too. Of course, we have helped their cause with our shitty play. But, still, they are good. Must give props to Toronto. They had them on their heels.

[Sohel]

^Hope I didn't come across as mocking your home losses and shedding crocodile tears bro. I can see how you may still think that in light of our online jousting matches in '08 and '09. My sympathies are genuine as is my belief that the Pens have what it takes to still make a series of it. I like to see "our kind of hockey" win games, as simple as that. Definitely an uphill task for the Pens, but not impossible if Fleury is at his best and Letang remembers that he's a defenseman, not a winger. He has had a defensively appalling series so far and needs to bounce back NOW. Byslma needs to get more proactive and not let Julien out-think him with the match-ups out there.

"Basic hockey" is a compliment when planned and tactically executed well. A Team like the Devils has won 3 Cups because of it. Goaltender coming up big, tenacious but calm players with crystal clear understanding of their individual roles, owning the boards in both zones and dictating the tempo of the game as a cohesive team, and scoring timely, meat-and-potatoes rather than nouvelle cuisine goals. Heck, that's how we made our playoff run this year and almost made it to the conference finals with our weakest albeit spirited young team in 22 years despite rebuilding on the fly. Arguably that's how LA won the Cup just a year after Boston showed them the way.

Boston is a slower version of LA from last year with an outstanding coach who knows how to win the Cup with a group of strong but relatively unheralded and still underrated players. They are a tough bunch but not impossible to break with a proactive approach and error-free application at high speed.

The team you guys are playing now is a much better version of the team that played Toronto in the first round. Teams like Boston, unlike many teams that start strongly and then fade away, tend to get better and more confident after each playoff round they win and these guys are doing just that. The Pens have to shatter that confidence with their superior TEAM skill and speed, and use their size and grit with aggression and poise.

Gotta score on Rask as early as possible and as many as possible. Need lots of shots at the top corners for that. Need to crowd him and get under his skin. Bylsma has to start responding rather than just reacting to Julien's zonal play with a proactive plan of his own, and proven leaders like Crosby, Malkin, Iginla and Morrow must bring the team together to do it. Perhaps Mario can also light a fire under their @$$es. Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay still visit our locker room in good times and bad.

Gotta win game 3. Then win game 4. Boston won't blow a 3-1 lead the way our spirited but inexperienced group of guys did against Chicago. They've learned not to do that and have a recently won Cup to show for it.

[Sohel]

LA won at home as expected. Home ice DEFINITELY means something to that team. Now they must win game 4. Quick's save with the inside of his blocker late in the 3rd was HUGE. Not many goalies can keep that kind of perfectly placed, elevated shot out of the net from an awkward position. What a player!

[Beamer]

Holy..Moly..No, I didn't think you were mocking. Lets clear that out first and foremost.

Even if you were mocking, I am with you, as I have been mocking them anyway..lol. I just meant that game outcomes don't bother me that much anymore. Four/five years ago, I used to get all riled up. Happy when my team wins. Get upset still when they lose, but nothing that lasts more than half an hour or so. It is still a GAME.

I applaud your enthusiasm. But, I am not optimistic at all. I think we might get swept which should usher in some much needed change that is due, or overdue. Fleury is done as a goalie here. Letang will be allowed to walk or traded. He will make too much to remain a defensive liability. Most importantly, we need a tough coach who will implement a defensive structure and system. Too bad Mike Babcock is not available.

Vokoun in net. That says all about what they think of Fleury. His fate has been sealed.

[Sohel]

Damn this Internet. My bad bro. Anyway, I'd say being Bangladesh cricket fans has helped us mellow out and take our losses in stride.

[Beamer]

Originally Posted by Sohel
Damn this Internet. My bad bro. Anyway, I'd say being Bangladesh cricket fans has helped us mellow out and take our losses in stride.

Lol..True. And, fatherhood, in my case! When she cries for attention, I have to abandon whatever I was doing ( that includes watching Pens ) and soothe the little princess

[Beamer]

..She cries even more when she has #87 shirt on...true story..lol

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by Beamer
..She cries even more when she has #87 shirt on...true story..lol

She won't with #66 or #71, worth a try?