2016/2017 NHL Regular Season Thread

[degenerasian]

Woo! Playoffs!

I didn't think there was a snowballs chance in hell this team would make the playoffs after the 5-10-1 start. See rant back in November.

[mister d]

Playoff appearance can only make them more appealing to Seattle.

[sancarlos]

Man, I'm glad the Sharks have clinched their playoff spot already. Lost 8 of the last 9 - all the losses on the road. We might get to see that Calgary/Edmonton first round matchup if the the Sharks fall all the way from first to the wildcard spot. That wouldn't be all bad - I wouldn't mind playing the Ducks in the first round.

[rass]

Yikes

[sancarlos]

Joe Thornton left today's game with a first period knee injury. No official update yet, but it looked bad. If he and Logan Couture are both still injured come playoffs... the Sharks' chances could get pretty slim.

[wlu_lax6]

Jack Johnson's goal against the Caps last night was pretty.

[brian]

So with the news that NHL players won't be participating in the Olympics, it sounds like Las Vegas is making a push for hosting an All-Star Game in 2018. Will be interesting to see what happens with that.

[sancarlos]

[brian]

Probably smart to announce it now actually. They're working on 17-18 schedule now. Has to come out during Finals basically. That would be worse timing.

[sancarlos]

I've been watching like a hawk for new information on Thornton and Couture's injuries and timetable for return to action. Today, we got a vague update that wasn't very helpful. But, I thought you guys would enjoy this excerpt:

Couture spoke about his ordeal immediately following his injury, when a deflected puck knocked several teeth from his mouth in Nashville on March 25.

“Right when it happened I went to the Nashville room and their doctors and dentists did a great job trying to basically save my teeth,” he said. “They had to move a lot of them around obviously from the impact of the puck. They were all shifted in my mouth. They did a great job at that time to try and save them.

“I went to Vanderbilt hospital, and they brought a guy in there to put what is called an arch-bar on my teeth to try and save them. …It wasn’t really a surgery, it was just kind of a procedure that they did.”

The damage to Couture’s mouth was not localized to his top or bottom teeth.

“They’re all damaged,” he said. “A lot of these teeth are going to be taken out at some point once the season is over. They’ll have to remove a lot of them from my mouth.”

“It’s basically temporary to have some teeth in my mouth. That’s pretty much it. If they took them all out now then I would be almost toothless.”

[mister d]

Is it weird that I can deal with teeth being knocked out but not teeth being partially knocked out?

[govmentchedda]

Hopefully, shitbag Marchand just fucked things up royally for himself and his team. 5 minute major and game misconduct, (and a call from the league office, surely) for spearing Dotchin in the pills. Kind of an important game for him to NOT do that.

[govmentchedda]

Two total shots on a 5 minute PP. This fucking team just can't make it easy for itself. Story of the season. Well, that and injuries.

[MaxWebster]

king shitbag. is he going to finally get a meaningful suspension or will they dock him ~$2500.

Hopefully, shitbag Marchand just fucked things up royally for himself and his team. 5 minute major and game misconduct, (and a call from the league office, surely) for spearing Dotchin in the pills. Kind of an important game for him to NOT do that.

[mister d]

I trust that's rhetorical.

[govmentchedda]

Boston clinched, they'll give him the season and say they finally did something.

[sancarlos]

Clarke MacArthur of Ottawa returned tonight after nearly missing this whole season with a concussion in preseason, which followed missing almost all of the previous season too, following a concussion in October, 2015.

Personally, I'd have retired while my brain still works.

[degenerasian]

Doesn't look good for Fowler. Blew out a knee. Hate to see that in last few games of season.

Too bad it wasn't kesler.....

[wlu_lax6]

Clarke MacArthur of Ottawa returned tonight after nearly missing this whole season with a concussion in preseason, which followed missing almost all of the previous season too, following a concussion in October, 2015.

Personally, I'd have retired while my brain still works.

I wonder if he has to get a few more games in to get certain tenure in the NHL pension plan but it looks like that is on 160 active games.

[brian]

Coyotes and Canucks battling for the second-worst record (29th out of 30) in the NHL. Why does that matter?

Because Las Vegas is getting the same lottery odds as the 28th best team (third-worst) and is guaranteed to pick above the 28th best team unless that team wins a lottery spot, it's WAY better to be 29th than 28th as seen here.

29th best team has a 70 percent chance of picking fourth or better. 28th best team has a 33 percent chance of picking fourth or better.

ETA: Made it more clear that LV picks above 28th worst team only if it is a non-lottery (non-top 3) spot (or unless LV wins one of those spots).

[mister d]

Sabres just announced Opkoso is in intensive care without any other details.

[wlu_lax6]

Interesting article on the fact that having the minor leagues focus on development of players is hurting the game....i.e. reduced fighting is hurting attendence.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/minor-leag ... 16?tesla=y

[govmentchedda]

Interesting article on the fact that having the minor leagues focus on development of players is hurting the game....i.e. reduced fighting is hurting attendence.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/minor-leag ... 16?tesla=y

Didn't read the article yet, but one of my main hockey reads is Bolts Prospects, a site that goes pretty deep on junior, minor, and overseas Lightning draftees. As such, I read a lot out of Syracuse, and it always strikes me how different the comments from Crunch fans are than what I'm used to with minor league baseball fans. There's way more, "goddammit Lightning, why are you doing this to us?" when there's a call up, than I ever remember hearing from minor league fans, in say, Durham re: the Rays.

[degenerasian]

Interesting article on the fact that having the minor leagues focus on development of players is hurting the game....i.e. reduced fighting is hurting attendence.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/minor-leag ... 16?tesla=y

Didn't read the article yet, but one of my main hockey reads is Bolts Prospects, a site that goes pretty deep on junior, minor, and overseas Lightning draftees. As such, I read a lot out of Syracuse, and it always strikes me how different the comments from Crunch fans are than what I'm used to with minor league baseball fans. There's way more, "goddammit Lightning, why are you doing this to us?" when there's a call up, than I ever remember hearing from minor league fans, in say, Durham re: the Rays.

We used to hate that in Calgary when the Cannons were the Mariners AAA team from 85 to 95. Mariners were awful in the 80s and early 90s and while 20+ games back in the old AL West would always call up the Cannons best players to fill out the 40 man September roster. They did it once when the Cannons were in the PCL Final.

Just looked it up:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_C ... ant_chases

1991 marked the fourth playoff appearance for the Cannons, who posted a 45–24 record in the second half. The Cannons swept the Portland Beavers in three games to claim the second Northern Division pennant in franchise history. They also won their first playoff road-games in team history in setting up a championship clash with the Tucson Toros. Calgary won the first two games of the best-of-five series at home over Tucson, giving them three chances to win the title.The Cannons, however, dropped the final three games in Tucson, losing the title in the process. In the fifth game, the Cannons were forced to start Dennis Powell on two days rest after the Mariners unexpectedly recalled intended starter Dave Fleming prior to the game. The move left Russ Parker "upset" and "dumbfounded".The relationship between the Mariners and Cannons was never the same.

[wlu_lax6]

I feel like the Caps have had a very good relationship with the Bears and Stingrays over the years. Especially with roster impacts as the Bears were chasing the Calder Cup (guess it helps when the Caps got knocked out early in the cup playoffs and could send young guys back)

[sancarlos]

With the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL playing in the same city as the Sharks, and also owned by the Sharks, it is a way different relationship than it was in years past. About six young guys have been shuttled between the two teams all year long, and after a quick call-up to The Show, a guy can go back to the Barracuda and hardly even miss one of their games.

The Barracuda don't draw too well, but I don't think the Sharks care much, because they are saving so much on travel between the clubs, and have such an easy back-and-forth system for player movement between the teams.

[degenerasian]

Jarome Iginla got his 1300th point last night.

These would be very good numbers to retire on

GP 1554
G 625
A 675
P 1300
PIM 1040

[Nonlinear FC]

I feel like the Caps have had a very good relationship with the Bears and Stingrays over the years. Especially with roster impacts as the Bears were chasing the Calder Cup (guess it helps when the Caps got knocked out early in the cup playoffs and could send young guys back)

You can take the gut level "feel" out of this. The Caps and it's affiliates work incredibly well together, regardless of when the Caps bowed out of the playoffs.