The undisputed kings of the NHL

[Irishslappop]

Sharks > flames in third 5 to 3.

 

[imnotcrazy]

OOOOOOO HERE COMES ROUND NUMERO DOS


GO HABS GO

 

[ToKEN]

BRING EM!!! go flyers!!!!!!!

 

[the Rock]

sharks ROLL ON

 

[B4O2N0G]

Bring it on San jose,Its time for the stars to shine.

 

[nycdfan042]

any of you other guys have the NHL channel? not center ice, but just the nhl channel.. shows like nhl on the fly..and a bunch of 'top 10' stuff. it's a good channel. they show a lot of vintage games.



not only do I agree that it's the fastest game...but the roughest too. I remember a few years back umberger had gotten checked into the boards, got six stitches and came back the next period. where you at on that one football?

i dont remember what team or player hit the guy..but there was this hit where this guy a flyer got rocked mid ice, and he looked like he was having a seizure on the ground....his eyes were wide open and he was lookin all messed up...then theres this other hit i have on youtube where the guy (a flyer) gets hit so hard he tries to get up several times but is clearly rovkeed, he eventually made it to the bench but after a sad display of motor skills. Hockey has become my favorite game, since the strike i kinda slacked off watching but the very thing lots of you hardened old school fans find a death bell for hockey i find very interesting but i can understand where you all come from...cant wait for thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nycdfan042]

My argument ALSO applies to, what seems like a 90 year old, Dominick Hasek between the pipes for Detroit. Shit, I know ya love the game Dom, but let the kids get their time in..... (BTW, did you guys see him CHOKE in Game 4? Sorry Dominick, I know yer a pothead on the boards w/ us....But after watchin you DOMINATE for quite a few years, it was pretty bad to see)

hasek posts on icmag??? whoa!! cool!! i didnt know that!!!

 

[ItsGrowTime]

IGT: BIG is relative to the time period you look to. Is he as big as the other guys playin now, no. Probably only cause he's Comfortable playing in that equip after so many years. Roy, Fuhr and others didn't follow that trend either, I can only speculate that they wouldn't want to bulk up, thereby slowing them down (But it's an educated guess, being I dumped the larger equipment when I tried it for the same reasons). BUT they're ALL still bigger than the guys who played through the 70's and 80's. IMHO, NHL is attempting to resolve that issue, not by slimming them down, BUT by forcing the teams as a whole to play a faster, more upbeat game. AGAIN, IMHO, it's good for the sport, Devils fans just tend to rationalize that it's because the "Trap"/Marty's doing.

You're the one that made the physical comparison, not me. I just pointed out that Marty is a substantially larger man than Patrick is so of course he will have somewhat larger pads (especially chest). The equipment changes were because of guys like Giguere and Snow. That part of your comparison is moot.

BTW, the interference penalty was in effect for a long time, the refs just didn't call it as much. My impression is still the same, they were told to call it more often to speed up the game. What the NHL did iss not a conspiracy against the Devils OR Brodeur, they were about to have 4 BANKRUPT teams, a few of which are well performing, fun to watch teams....Like the Ottawa Senators because they tried to expand the league too fast in the '80's-'90s.

The interference penalty was NEVER called until the NHL decided they had to break the Trap. What put it over the edge was when Lemaire went to the Wild and started playing the same style. I dont think theres a viable argument between money and winning. The Devils consistently won while rarely selling out their own arena. Other teams lost and still sold out. That's more a function of marketing and fan devotion than playing style. Sure, they wanted to speed the game up but not because it made a "better game". Only because it appeased the NBA type crowd that the league was trying to woo into the seats after they lost half their fan base due to the strike, plus the expansion to areas not considered hockey towns. Gotta make the game appeal to the beer drinking NASCAR type that doesnt have a clue about the game and just wants to see guys skating real fast, high scores and fights. Bettman and Sterns are joined at the hip and have each turned their leagues into showboating skills competitions (shootout anyone?) that penalizes defense. Im still waiting for the NHL to pass that resolution to make the goal bigger.

Let me guess the NHL instituted the salary cap and C.B.A. cause of the Neutral Zone Trap as well.....
OR is it to level the playing field a bit? Obviously teams like the NY Rangers and Montreal have $$$ for days due to Montreal Packing the stadium every game and NY just being a $$ city

Of course not. NJ has always had a low payroll, even during the Cup winning seasons. Im not sure what your point is? The Rangers strategy of throwing shitloads of money at free agents hasnt worked out too well so far, salary cap or not.

AND BTW:
ROY CARRIED Montreal to the cup in '85-86 and was a HUGE part in '93 AND with the Avalanche in 95-96 and 00-01. Whereas, the LOCKOUT helped carry the Devils to their first.
The regular season was shortened because of a 103 day lockout, which ended on 11 January 1995. The season finally got underway nine days later.
It can be speculated that those 103 day made all the difference.......

Were there scab players playing? If not, then they won fair and square. Swept the Red Wings even. Lockouts are copouts. And then another 3 Finals, winning two, between 2000 and 2003. Then the NHL changes the rules to break the Trap and neuter Marty's puck handling ability and the Devils havent been the same since. Well played NHL. Funny that Marty has won all of his Vezinas SINCE the rules changed. Can't keep a great goalie down no matter how hard you try. Btw, I dont think playing with Forsberg and Sakic in their prime would be a bummer for too many goalies. Didnt they need 7 games to beat the Devils that year?

 

[imnotcrazy]

The trapezoid was specifically instituted because of Marty.

YEAH OK, cause Marty is the ONLY tender who can move the puck?!?!?!?

AGAIN, Ron Hextall was the FIRST to play the puck AND score as a 'tender, and that's when the game started to go downhill/lose fans.

Recognize this, EVERY goalie has to deal with the Trapezoid, therefore the playing field is EVEN

The interference penalty was NEVER called until the NHL decided they had to break the Trap.

So you're insinuating, that in 89 years of the NHL, that the interference call was NEVER MADE ONCE?? Now your just grabbing straws. These rule changes were made to speed the game up and make it more exciting. Low scoring, BORING games is why they eliminated the 2 line pass and instituted the Trapezoid (AND why the NJ Devils couldn't fill the stands at home). It's pretty OBVIOUS, now in the playoffs, that the games have once again got the speed and excitement of the old days, and it's drawing in a new generation of fans which is going to help keep the NHL alive and kickin.

 

[cocktail frank]

the rules were changed to attract more fans, not cuz the devils were winning.
nobody wanted to pay good money to see a 0-0 tie.
i like the new NHL personally.
the definetaly raised the bar and fans have been flocking to games since.

and yes, in the past for the most part, the rangers threw big money towards "has been" allstars, ie lindros.
cant say that about jagr, washington is still paying most of his salary
i think management has done a fine job lately w/ spending.
drury had a (few?) game winning goals last series.
and gomez smoked his old team for 6 points in 5 games.
now they just need to pay avery.
even tho he is an asshole, im still glad he's on my team. he can be a thorn in your side

 

[imnotcrazy]

Avery was the SPARK the Rangers needed. I'm certain the Rangers would NOT be in the position they are without him.

 

[smokedoja]

yea he got good once we got rid of his ass.....go figure

 

[ItsGrowTime]

YEAH OK, cause Marty is the ONLY tender who can move the puck?!?!?!?

AGAIN, Ron Hextall was the FIRST to play the puck AND score as a 'tender, and that's when the game started to go downhill/lose fans.

Recognize this, EVERY goalie has to deal with the Trapezoid, therefore the playing field is EVEN

No, but he was the one that was constantly winning in large part because of it! No one could argue that Marty's puckhandling ability didn't give NJ a HUGE advantage every night. Penalty killing. The trap negated dump and chase, esp. with Marty there to get the puck first, etc. You are right, every goalie has to deal with the trapezoid. But does it really matter when few, if any, are good enough to handle the puck outside of the trapezoid anyway? If not, then it's clear that only one goalie is truly affected by it.

So you're insinuating, that in 89 years of the NHL, that the interference call was NEVER MADE ONCE?? Now your just grabbing straws. These rule changes were made to speed the game up and make it more exciting. Low scoring, BORING games is why they eliminated the 2 line pass and instituted the Trapezoid (AND why the NJ Devils couldn't fill the stands at home). It's pretty OBVIOUS, now in the playoffs, that the games have once again got the speed and excitement of the old days, and it's drawing in a new generation of fans which is going to help keep the NHL alive and kickin.

Stop being so literal. You know exactly what I meant by never. The definition of interference was changed to include pretty much all contact away from the puck, especially in the neutral zone. Then the refs were told to call it tight. Bye bye Trap. Several years later its funny that the Rangers now play the trap but never get called on it. Come on, NJ can't fill the stands at home b/c they are competing with two long established franchises, all within 20 miles of each other. The Rangers MSG fan base is CORPORATE. If anything, it goes to show that success doesn't breed interest. Marketing does, and yes NJ has been terrible at marketing. Guess they didn't sell enough season tickets to big NY and NJ lawfirms and banks

Dont get me started on Avery. I love him on my fantasy teams but the guy is a disgrace to the league. You want to impress me Avery? Stop crying to refs everytime you get hit and back up your shit talking with your fists once in awhile instead of skating away behind a ref like a bitch. He's pure 100% pussy.

 

[ToKEN]

hey guys, appreciate all the positive vibes you guys sent my way, and I'm really glad flyers at least made it to the 2nd series...been waitin years..

it's been a great playoff so far and it can only get better. glad I can share it wiith you dudes...ice on brothers!

 

[backwoodburner]

Time for the sharks to show who the real stars of the nhl are!

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Time for the sharks to show who the real stars of the nhl are!

Nabokov is the heir to Brodeur's throne, as Brodeur was the heir to Roy's throne. Start looking for the Sharks to win some Cups soon.

 

[imnotcrazy]

Honestly, the reason NJ cant fill the stands is the face value on the tickets. Off ice level seats sell for $100 (one mezzanine off ice level). They think they can rape people on the price of a ticket because of a new arena near mass transit.

Comment on Avery: No he's SMART, I HAVE seen him back up his actions. BUT, the playoffs isn't the time or place to be taking a stupid penalty. Avery RECOGNIZES THIS FACT and lets the other team come after him for legal actions. AND AVERY is the only player that the NHL ever adjusted a rule because of his ability OR actions. He was creative enough to pull the stunt he did, and I really don't see why someone didn't try something similar sooner. If you've ever PLAYED the game at ANY level, shit like that happens between teams all the time; especially when those teams have a rivalry such as the one the Devils and Rangers have.

ALSO, some of the adjustments are being made, IMHO, because MANY talented players play a lot more Roller Hockey (because, obviously, you don't need ice) throughout the year. Thats were some of the more finesse oriented, younger players are coming from. USA hockey stipulates: RH is a NON contact sport. Which allows the player to develop better puck handling/deke-ing ability. Again, IMHO, the NHL is adjusting the rules to use this trend to their advantage to make the game more exciting again.

And as far as the trap goes: Eliminating the two line pass and adding the trapezoid (which you seem to agree that this also affected the trap) didn't kill the neutral zone trap, it just made it less effective. The NJ Devils were affected more by the loss of the 3 Scott's, Stevens (one of the best, most effective defensemen to play the game), Niedermayer and Gomez (IMHO, his play this year w/ the Rangers showed a lot of people that the Devils either, were holding him back or the role they wanted him to play, really hurt his game).

 

[ToKEN]

game 1 second series!!! gooooooooooooooo flyers!!! I'm sToKEd!!!! let's see how the boys in orange do!

 

[etncrew]

Loving the reads in this thread!

Between watching my girls flower, and watching the playoffs, my nights are totally taken...

oh, can't forget posting here.


i'm really blasted right now so my thoughts are going to be short and sweet.

Detroit over colorado in 6
Dallas over the sharks in 7
montreal over philly in 6
penguins over rangers in 5

peace from the land of beef

 

[Endo]

LETS GO PENGUINS!!!!!!!!! 4 would be better, my best friend is a rangers fan and im a pens fan, so if i could get the sweep, id have bragging rights for a while!!!!!!