The Ice Hockey Thread

[KrisLetang]

I'm thinking all day that maybe Sully should put Crosby and Malkin together. They really miss Tanger moving the puck up. I'm steeling myself for a loss but you have to admit...wouldn't Caps losing tonight be the Cappiest thing in Cap land the Caps could do? I mean Jeez it would fit them perfectly. All the momentum. Healthier. Hotter goalie (I mean playing wise) home game. I have to wonder if they will come out tight? I have to hope. We need a few early bounces.

Rangers getting slammed up the yin yang on WFAN all day so far. Me loves it. I watched the post game on MSG last night. Ronnie Dugay looked his usual shocked/stoned (is there a cooler guy by the way?) while their ex Goalie Steve Valliquette was out for blood. And BTW did you chaps know Lundqvist has an identical twin who also played (forward) in the NHL?

[KrisLetang]

That being said there was definite cause to think the poster had similar concussive injuries.

Didn't you proposition him once in the bathroom of a Burger King in Amsterdam? That's what he tells people.

[BonnieShels]

All Caps so far. They need a goal though. Pens are good enough to use this scoreless first period in the second.

[BonnieShels]

47 years ago today

[BonnieShels]

I'm steeling myself for a loss but you have to admit...wouldn't Caps losing tonight be the Cappiest thing in Cap land the Caps could do? I mean Jeez it would fit them perfectly. All the momentum. Healthier. Hotter goalie (I mean playing wise) home game. I have to wonder if they will come out tight? I have to hope. We need a few early bounces.

I knew if WSH didn't score in the first that the Pens would grow. Ffs.

Fleury having a game and a half.

[CraftyToePoke]

You cant see the puck for long enough, it guesswork based on fellas reactions and movement as to where the f*uck the puck is at key moments.

[KrisLetang]

Years ago FOX got the NHL and they briefly tried this thing where they put kind of a comets tail on the puck for new viewers. It didn't go over well.

Well we have a Flower moon here tonight and it was a night for the Flower to say the least. Anyone else feel like WASH kind of quit around the 5 min mark? Caps are so funny. They just cannot beat the Penguins when it counts.
Anderson and his unorthodox style is going to be in serious trouble. Crosby looked great tonight. Rust and Horny put in a helluva game. Horny really raises his game. Love the guy. Leaves it all on the ice.

5th Cup for the Penguins Organization and Mario could be in the cards here. Would love to watch this next game but im exhausted after that.

[BonnieShels]

You cant see the puck for long enough, it guesswork based on fellas reactions and movement as to where the f*uck the puck is at key moments.

I was like that back in the day.

But the more you watch the more obvious it gets.

Imagine if you were watching your first game of hurling Vs now. Same deal.

[KrisLetang]

Oilers just not quite ready for prime time. Poor Gretzky (Or Gretsky if you are the actor James Woods) looked sad.

[KrisLetang]

[KrisLetang]

Quick turn around tonight as North Hollywood and Confederate Hollywood battle it out. Can the Preds keep it going? Will Crafty Toe Poke be able to follow the action? Does Nashville really have better BBQ than Texas? Serious questions that need answers.

[BonnieShels]

So after that absolute snoozefest on Monday here's hoping that we're served up with something as daycent as last night.

GO SENS!!!

[KrisLetang]

I think Pittsburgh are out of gas. Who do you start tonight? MAF or Murray? I'm kind of loyal to MAF at this point as he is the only reason we are still alive. And yet......

[BonnieShels]

I think Pittsburgh are out of gas. Who do you start tonight? MAF or Murray? I'm kind of loyal to MAF at this point as he is the only reason we are still alive. And yet......

How wrong.

Missed the drubbing as I was in Amsterdam. Not looking forward to tonight tbh.

[KrisLetang]

Amazing job by Coaches Sullivan, Martin, and Tocchet. Best staff in the NHL by leaps and bounds. Kudos to OTT. They were much better than I thought, though in fairness Pens outplayed them badly even while losing game 6. In case anyone will argue that the league was telling the refs they couldn't have an Ottawa/Nashville final, the officiating was awful vs the Pens in both 6 and 7. Even Pee-Air was saying that the whole game last night.

[BonnieShels]

Despite the result going against what I wanted, I though that the 3rd period was one of the best, tension-filled periods of hockey I have ever seen. Then it was followed by the 1st OT. WOW!

I then dozed off (cos it was 5am). Shame about the result but now I get to put all my eggs in the Nashville basket. Which, given my record is probably a blessing for the Pens.

[Real ale Madrid]

Next season will mark 25 years since the home of Hockey won Lord Stanley's Cup. A drought of epic proportions. Ah well there is always the Olympics.

Imagine if Kilkenny went 25 years without a hurling all Ireland ?
England going 60 years without winning a football world cup? (lol)
New Zealand going 25 years without a RWC?

One of sports greatest stories.

[BonnieShels]

Next season will mark 25 years since the home of Hockey won Lord Stanley's Cup. A drought of epic proportions. Ah well there is always the Olympics.

Imagine if Kilkenny went 25 years without a hurling all Ireland ?
England going 60 years without winning a football world cup? (lol)
New Zealand going 25 years without a RWC?

One of sports greatest stories.

The reorganisation of conferences has had some doing for it. Plus the removal of 2 Canadian teams (Jets, Nordiques) in that period and the reinstatement of a Winnipeg team in 2012 has shown the sham it has been for Canada in the NHL since.

In 1992-93 when the Habs won it all, there were 7 Canadian teams in the league with the addition of Ottawa that year. In the subsequent years the Great White North lost Winnipeg (to Phoenix) and Quebec (to Denver). So from 1995 onward there were only 5 Canadian teams.

In 1993-94, the Canucks (who beat Calgary and Toronto along the way) were beaten by the Rangers 4-1 in the Stanley Cup final.

In their last season of 1994-95, the Nordiques would finish top of the newly re-organised Eastern Conference but would be defeated in the first round by the reigning champions New York rangers. Of the 4 teams qualifying for the Play-offs that year, only the Canucks got past the first round only to be swept by Chicago.

The controversy of the Nordiques relocation was further compounded by the Avalanche's victory in 1995-96. The Nordiques had been on a rise as could be seen in the previous seasons so it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that they would have won the Cup considering how it did actually pan out. Coupled with the Avs win in 2000-01 there is certainly a case to state that without the upheaval the Nordiques could have won more. They had Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy at this time!!!

It's obviously taken very hard in Canada that they haven't won a Cup in so long but tbh Toronto, Edmonton and Ottawa are making great strides and one of them will win a Cup in the next 5 years.

Looking at the stats since the Habs' last victory:

1993-1994	2 (VAN, TOR)	1 (VAN)	VAN beat TOR 4-1 in conference final. NYR beat VAN in game 7 of final
1994-1995	0	0	QUE were top-seed in Eastern conference. Lockout shortened (48 games) season
1995-1996	0	0	COL win cup in first season since move from QUE
1996-1997	0	0	COL beaten in game 6 of conference final by eventual champions DET
1997-1998	0	0
1998-1999	1 (TOR)	0	Beaten 4-1 by BUF in conference final
1999-2000	0	0	COL got to a conference final losing in game 7 to reiging champions DAL
2000-2001	0	0	COL won Stanley Cup against reigning champions NJD
2001-2002	1 (TOR)	0	COL beaten in game 7 of conference final by eventual champions DET
2002-2003	1 (OTT)	0	Beaten in game 7 by eventual champions NJD
2003-2004	1 (CGY)	1 (CGY)	Beaten in game 7 by TBL
2004-2005	Season not played	Season not played	Season not played
2005-2006	1 (EDM)	1 (EDM)	CAR beat EDM in game 7
2006-2007	1 (OTT)	1 (OTT)	ANA beat OTT 4-1
2007-2008	0	0	COL swept in conference SF by eventual champions DET
2008-2009	0	0	COL failed to make play-offs
2009-2010	1 (MTL)	0	Beaten 4-1 by PHL in conference final
2010-2011	1 (VAN)	1 (VAN)	BOS beat VAN in game 7 which preceded the VAN riots
2011-2012	0	0	PHX were beaten 4-1 by LAK in the conference final
2012-2013	0	0	Lockout shortened (48 games) season
2013-2014	1 (MTL)	0	I was living in Ottawa at the time. I was petrified that the Habs got so close after sweeping a highly fancied TBL and the reigning champions BOS in a game 7. *shudders*
2014-2015	0	0	TBL got revenge on MTL in the second round, defeating them 4-2
2015-2016	0	0
2016-2017	1 (OTT)	0	OTT beaten by PIT in game 7 of conference final

---

Excluding 2004-05:
23 seasons played
Giving 11/23 where at least one Canadian team has qualified for a conference final
12 teams in total qualifying for conference finals (TOR and VAN in 1993-94)
And 5 years where teams got to the Stanley Cup final


So yeah... #bringstanleyhome

[KrisLetang]

I think Toronto will have the best chance in a few years time for glorious Canada. Maybe sign Tavares as a FA next year? Or trade for him? I'm not 100% sure Lou still has his eye on the ball though.

Lot's of opinions this morning about last nights game. Getting 0 shots in the second period was troubling. But everyone is like well, Nashville outplayed them. Who cares? They still lost. Subban is a helluva player though.

[BonnieShels]

Not going well at all at all..