Jan 15, 2021 0:31:03 GMT CM Punk'd said:

I noticed that NHL Centre Ice is free for the first week (maybe two?) on my dish.

Any other Canadians know this?

Yeah NHL Center Ice is free typically for the first week of the season.  If I remember they might do the last week sometimes too.

@admin there's gonna be some rust for the first week since there was no preseason or exhibition games this year. I wouldn't judge the Rangers too harshly just yet. They have some awesome forwards and last year's #1 draft pick Alex Lafreniere. Their defence is trash but they'll still be a fun team to watch.

You're not allowed to pick the Islanders because they play the most boring hockey in the league. Their entire game plan is "score first, then play defence until the game is over." Slow is their mantra. It works, kinda, but like....ew.

...

As for NHL Centre Ice, I have it and had the stupid thing not auto-renewed I would have not bought it this year. It fucking sucks and they still blackout games. The website is terrible, the service will just randomly not work for some reason, the app is slow as fuck, and my wife can't watch her Canucks on it because we live in Sportsnet Pacific region and they still black out games. So we end up pirating those anyway.

Also on Wednesday I was listening to the radio broadcast on the app on my way home from work, and I missed most of the 1st period because they kept forgetting to end the ad break. I listened to like 10 minutes straight of Sirius XM commercials, realized something was up, then when they went back live to the game THEY WERE THROWING TO ANOTHER COMMERCIAL AND IT STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN. I ALMOST DROVE INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC TO END MY SUFFERING.

There's a "let's go flyers" chant happening right now in the flyer/pens game. WTF is happening?

Jan 16, 2021 1:23:17 GMT nazzer said:

There's a "let's go flyers" chant happening right now in the flyer/pens game. WTF is happening?

They're piping in crowd noise like other sports have been doing. They did it during the playoffs last year.

...

Leafs shit the bed for 10 minutes in the 2nd and that decided the game. Andersen sucked tonight. Glad Campbell is playing tomorrow because he's off to a slow start. Fred usually does that though so it is what it is.

Matthews still hasn't scored yet, which, meh. He will. He's still playing great and has hit the post a couple times. Not worried.

If Wayne Simmonds doesn't kill someone tomorrow I'll be surprised. He was pissed off tonight.

I'm glad so far that during the majority of gameplay the fake crowd noise is not constantly going on. After a goal fine, maybe a fake let's go chant as mentioned above maybe once or twice a game fine. I could not stand the constant fake noise during hockey and baseball. I really prefer the natural sounds of the game. The skates on the ice, pucks hitting the sticks, and you can hear the players sometimes. Much better than real noise being drained out by the fake noise. Baseball was the worst. There was a fake crowd reaction after literally every single pitch.

Rangers got their shit together. Noah Dobson had a rough night for the Islanders.

Jan 17, 2021 3:46:37 GMT Zappy said:

I'm glad so far that during the majority of gameplay the fake crowd noise is not constantly going on. After a goal fine, maybe a fake let's go chant as mentioned above maybe once or twice a game fine. I could not stand the constant fake noise during hockey and baseball. I really prefer the natural sounds of the game. The skates on the ice, pucks hitting the sticks, and you can hear the players sometimes. Much better than real noise being drained out by the fake noise. Baseball was the worst. There was a fake crowd reaction after literally every single pitch.

Rangers got their shit together. Noah Dobson had a rough night for the Islanders.

Figures I fucked up and left Lafreniere on the bench by accident. His +/- would have got me a couple points. Oh well.

Leafs placed Aaron Dell and Jason Spezza on waivers. Dell likely gets claimed, which is weird because with all the teams needing goalies I'm surprised they couldn't get picks for him. Maybe they're gambling a little in hopes he somehow clears and they have someone Seattle can steal. Probably won't work though. Edmonton really wants him, apparently.

Spezza wouldn't report to a team if they claimed him so he likely clears and gives Toronto more options on their taxi squad.

RT vs Foos Round 1. So far 0-0 half way through the 1st. Shots are 5-5. Been pretty even.

GLG

Jan 19, 2021 0:25:59 GMT RT said:

RT vs Foos Round 1. So far 0-0 half way through the 1st. Shots are 5-5. Been pretty even.

GLG

I'm watching!

What did you think about that studio guy's thought at the break that low scoring "boring" hockey is a good thing for Toronto? 

Jan 19, 2021 1:08:26 GMT @admin said:

Jan 19, 2021 0:25:59 GMT RT said:

RT vs Foos Round 1. So far 0-0 half way through the 1st. Shots are 5-5. Been pretty even.

GLG

I'm watching!

What did you think about that studio guy's thought at the break that low scoring "boring" hockey is a good thing for Toronto? 

I didn't hear that but I'm torn on the subject. He's not wrong, because one of Toronto's biggest problems is not being able to control games. So many of their losses the last couple seasons are because they will dominate, score 1 or 2 goals, then lose their minds for like 7 or 8 minutes in the 2nd or 3rd period and let in 3 goals, then suddenly they're chasing a game they were dominating the first half of and it's over. So keeping the score low and keeping the momentum on their side only helps them maintain leads and be what they need to be to go far in the playoffs.

On the other hand, their previous coach Mike Babcock pissed a lot of people off (myself included) by preaching this kind of game style when all everyone wanted was for this new young talented team to go off on everyone and SCORE! and YEAH! and WOOO FAST HOCKEY GO NUTS! But he went about it wrong and tried to control things too much. He wouldn't put the most talented players together on the top lines like he should have. His line pairings didn't play to the strengths this team has and he refused to change.

SO....if we can keep the current lines that are working and make sense, and ALSO maintain leads, play well defensively, keep the score manageable and therefore control the game, then yeah. That's great for any team, so I'm all for it.

This game is a perfect example too. The Leafs went up 2-0 then Winnipeg scored right away to make it 2-1. I guarantee you every Leaf fan went "fuck here we go," and expected that the Leafs would let in multiple goals and collapse like always and UUGGHHH WHY CAN'T THIS TEAM GET OVER THIS HUMP???

But they locked it down and stayed cool and won. Woo.

Also fuck Pionk for trying to kill Marner at the end. Piece of shit. Nobody touches our Mitchell.

Jan 19, 2021 6:16:18 GMT RT said:

This game is a perfect example too. The Leafs went up 2-0 then Winnipeg scored right away to make it 2-1. I guarantee you every Leaf fan went "fuck here we go," and expected that the Leafs would let in multiple goals and collapse like always and UUGGHHH WHY CAN'T THIS TEAM GET OVER THIS HUMP???

But they locked it down and stayed cool and won. Woo.

Also fuck Pionk for trying to kill Marner at the end. Piece of shit. Nobody touches our Mitchell.

It felt like the penalty kill at the beginning of the third period was a big moment, Winnipeg were absolutely raining down the shots, but they managed to weather the storm and things were relatively calm for the final 10-15 minutes. Admittedly I've only watched a couple of games, but it seems like scoring when the iron is hot is especially important in hockey, because you need to take advantage of those situations when they arise as it's such a back and forth game without the ability to dominate possession/territory like in soccer. 

Looking forward to watching another Rangers game today. Hopefully this doesn't turn into a bad luck charm situation where they are crap when I watch and good when I don't.

Hmm, maybe I am. :suspic: Rangers dominated in shots but Blackwood had a huge performance, and a couple of sloppy mistakes really cost them. The first Devils goal set things off on a bad foot - is it really necessary to be making a change 20 seconds into the game?

There seems to be a lot of consternation among fans about Quinn's coaching and not giving the young/better players enough ice time compared to those who aren't performing particularly well. What do you think Zappy?

So the Washington Capitals have been fined $100,000 for violating player Covid-19 protocols. Apparently it's cause team members were interacting in close proximity of one in other without face coverings. You know, that exact same thing they do when their on the bench and ice when they play games.

I guess while it seems like splitting hairs, it's all about minimising risk. You obviously can't play hockey without being in close contact, so if you want to play, avoid doing it the rest of the time. It's no different than real life, obviously you have to leave the house at some stage to go shopping etc. but the longer you're out, the higher your risk.

Leafs/Oilers was a bit of a disappointing game considering the hype. Pretty scrappy and not filled with much action until the third period. Marner nearly got decapitated in this one RT - is he like the Spike Dudley of hockey or something?

I have no idea what Marner did to deserve almost being decapitated in back to back games. :lol:

That game was annoying. I'm not sure why Edmonton got twice as many power plays or why that tripping call on Muzzin was made, but whatever. Leafs should have been way ahead by that point and the refs terrible calls shouldn't have mattered. They spent 2 periods trying to be fancy and what shot went in? A garbage wrist shot from behind the goalie by Matthews.

Their offensive game plan was stupid and they paid for it. And they're down Joe Thornton too. Boooooo hopefully they win tomorrow.

Watching Colorado again, and boy MacKinnon is on tonight. Two beautiful moves to set up the first goal, and then did it all himself for the second. He's making the LA defenders look silly.

One thing that really stands out to me about the Avs on offence compared to all the other teams I've seen is how fast they are in transition. They're not afraid to pull the trigger when there's a shooting opportunity, and they're quick to pick up on rebounds and blocks to fire off a second and third shot if necessary.

Wow, the Kings came back to win - looked like they were going to get completely blown out after the first period! A combination of some stupid penalties by Colorado, some great saves by Quick, and impressive hustle from the Kings. The Avs #1 line that can look so good at times gave up the game winning goal too.

Big win tonight. Down Matthews and Thornton and the Leafs pulled it off. Big defensive game, minus the fucking 4 odd man rushes in the first 5 minutes. Andersen was awesome. Marner was sloppy but pulled it together. Tavares is a legend. Loved seeing Brodie using his experience against McDavid from his Calgary days. Huge game. Keep it going.

We have a trade! And the Jets are involved! Foos

Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 3rd round pick go to Winnipeg for Patrick Laine and some guy I've never heard of.

The Jets give up their 2nd overall pick from 2016 and an absolute sniper for the 3rd overall pick from 2016 who is a grinder type forward and pissed off his entire team before leaving.

Laine doesn't play defence and his new coach John Tortorella won't put up with that.

This gonna be interesting.

I am so depressed

First, Tortorella handled this perfectly.  You don't want to be here anymore ok you are not playing.  The press asking about Dubois' ice time to Torts was hilarious.  I wonder why he only got 3 minutes of ice time guys.  Torts said Columbus does not have an elite player, well now they do.  Laine has 50 goal potential.  This is a win for the Blue Jackets.  But, at the same time Laine was probably not going to resign and the Jets did get a 22 year old in return, and same draft class too instead of nothing.

Jan 20, 2021 5:19:37 GMT @admin said:

Hmm, maybe I am. Rangers dominated in shots but Blackwood had a huge performance, and a couple of sloppy mistakes really cost them. The first Devils goal set things off on a bad foot - is it really necessary to be making a change 20 seconds into the game?

There seems to be a lot of consternation among fans about Quinn's coaching and not giving the young/better players enough ice time compared to those who aren't performing particularly well. What do you think Zappy ?

To start off I'm not a big fan of rookie head coaches.  It is just for management to control them like Boone on the Yankees.  Quinn is surrounded by veteran coaches like Ruff and now Martin.  It really should be at the very least Quinn being their assistant coach and one day being head coach like Mike Sullivan.  So, it was really weird to see a fantastic head coach like AV get sacked for a rookie coach who apparently would do a better job at coaching younger players. 

With that said, I have not noticed any issue with ice times.  I think the players get enough ice time.  All the top guys get between 18 to 23 minutes.  If anything their top players are not doing enough led by Kreider who is absolute overrated bum.  I don't know why Rangers fans love him.  It can't be Zibanejad and Panarin every night.

Their issue is their lack of urgency.  They let their opponent control the game.  It keeps them on their heels, react instead of initiate.  I think a lot of the players can learn a thing or two or a hundred things from Panarin.  He always goes into the dirty areas and uses his body all time.  Panarin has the mindset this is my puck you have to work for it if you want it.  Not the mindset of oh well I lost the puck I will just get the puck back eventually in 20 seconds.  It really shows why Panarin is an elite player, and the fastest Ranger to 100 points (beat Messier by one game 73 to Messier's 74).  I wish if someone like Kreider who is such a bigger guy than Panarin can play like that.

Their defensive coverage is not good enough and when Shesh and Georgiev are not Lundqvist it becomes almost impossible to win.  They scored three goals in three minutes against Pittsburgh and lost.  That is bad.

The Rangers are the youngest team in the league though.  I just hate to watch them get out worked, blow leads, and not generate any offense.

Jan 23, 2021 19:14:54 GMT Foos said:

I am so depressed

There's a bright side here. Dubois made the Leafs his bitch in the playoffs last year. You have that to look forward to now.

I was so excited about the Canucks after the fist game of the season. It's all gone downhill since then. We suck again@!

Jan 24, 2021 13:24:18 GMT nazzer said:

I was so excited about the Canucks after the fist game of the season. It's all gone downhill since then. We suck again@!

Tell me about it, they picked up a big 5-3 win over the Oilers, kicking off the season with a big win and I was really hoping they would carry that momentum, but outside of an overtime win against the Canadians last Wednesday, it's been loss after loss this season.

It's hard to be a hockey fan sometimes, I really hope the Canucks can turn things around, cause they really need to bounce back and pick up some wins. They've got a three-game series coming up this week against the Senators, before taking on the Jets on Saturday so here's hoping they turn shit around.

Holy shit were you two watching that? Unbelievable finish! Oilers were up 2-1 with about 10 mins to play, looked like they'd blown it by conceding two in as many minutes, managed to pull it back level almost straight away, and then scored the winner with literally half a second on the clock.

Jan 24, 2021 2:07:21 GMT Zappy said:

Their issue is their lack of urgency.  They let their opponent control the game.  It keeps them on their heels, react instead of initiate.

I think you're definitely right about this. Another game tonight where they coughed up leads and ended up losing. You'd think getting a goal to go up 2-1 right at the end of the first period would give some momentum but they seemed to completely go to sleep for the next 30 minutes or so. I'm no tactical expert but there seems to be way too much dump in and chase used on offence which doesn't appear to be a particularly effective strategy.

Got absolutely destroyed in the faceoffs tonight by Buffalo as well which connects to your point about allowing the opponent to control the game. Zibanejad in particular seemed to really struggle in that department, there's a bit of a theory that he's still struggling with the effects of Covid.

Jan 27, 2021 2:41:58 GMT @admin said:

Jan 24, 2021 2:07:21 GMT Zappy said:

Their issue is their lack of urgency.  They let their opponent control the game.  It keeps them on their heels, react instead of initiate.

I think you're definitely right about this. Another game tonight where they coughed up leads and ended up losing. You'd think getting a goal to go up 2-1 right at the end of the first period would give some momentum but they seemed to completely go to sleep for the next 30 minutes or so. I'm no tactical expert but there seems to be way too much dump in and chase used on offence which doesn't appear to be a particularly effective strategy.

Got absolutely destroyed in the faceoffs tonight by Buffalo as well which connects to your point about allowing the opponent to control the game. Zibanejad in particular seemed to really struggle in that department, there's a bit of a theory that he's still struggling with the effects of Covid.

Yeah that is pretty much a good summary of the game.  Rangers started well, but took their foot off the gas.  Once again not enough sustained offensive pressure.  Rangers were horrible on faceoffs.  Dump and chase is ok as long as you forecheck, create turnovers, and pretty much go to work behind the goal line.  But, other than Panarin and Buchnevich no one else is putting in the work.  The Kreider excuses were coming from the MSG commentators already in game six.  Kreider is a bum.

I think it is time to demote Lafraniere.  The AHL is starting up soon.  He needs to be the player he has always been his entire life.  First line, top scorer.  The player everyone looks to when the team needs a goal.  Not being stuck on the third line with kids worrying about not making a mistake.  That is not his game.  He needs to play his game at every level in order to grow properly.

Seems like the Rangers are treating Lafreniere like the Leafs treated Mitch Marner his first season, only not having the results they expected. Marner somehow managed to perform well on a line with Matt Martin and I forget who else, then got promoted and moved around all season. Lafreniere isn't clicking with who he's paired with in the same way so they should play him with a better skilled line if anything. At least try to make him succeed before demoting him.

...

I'm still laughing at Jake Muzzin absolutely disrespecting Matt Tkachuk to his face, and the hissy fit he threw afterward. Elliott Friedman theorized on the panel last night that Tkachuk was upset because his team didn't come to his aid, which has got to be worrisome for Flames fans. If there's any truth to it then it seems like the Flames are fed up with his bullshit.

It makes sense. Tkachuk had that shit with Doughty last year that ended up working in the Kings' favour. I think they beat the Flames once or twice after that. Now you have Tkachuk pulling his bullshit on the Leafs, and they've lost two in a row after being undefeated. Tkachuk was ass in that game too. Seemed to have fighting on his mind all game and nobody bit, and it cost them because he had like one scoring chance all game and didn't do fuck all the rest of the night.

...

Looking forward to Matthews vs McDavid II tonight, then again on Saturday. Should be fun games in Edmonton. I really hope the Leafs keep the streak going, because they have the Canucks 3 times next week and could really do some damage if they pull away in the standings early.

It'll be war in our house next week. Mrs RT being a Canucks fan, we've got a best of 3 series to look forward to. Might make a little wager of some kind.

The Canucks having a pretty great week so far. Twelve goals in two games against the Senators, including Demko with forty-two saves last night. Hoping tonight will be more of the same, with the Senators getting their asses handed to them.

As for Saturday's game against the Jets though, I don't see Vancouver taking it.