[darthYENIK]

This is so sad. And the words coming out of various other enforcers past and present, are saying it's a much more emotional position to play. No one grows up wanting to be an enforcer. Everyone wants to be a great goal scorer, or a shutdown defenseman, or a brick wall of a goalie. But these guys come into the league, and the only NHL level talent they have is the ability to get under people's skin or pick a fight. They embrace it, and they love to play the game professionally but it still haunts them, the thought that the only way they get to play in the NHL is that they have to go out there a few times a week and punch someone. And sometimes, it's someone they are friends with. And at the end of the day, when they retire, they get reflective of their career, and instead of seeing a legacy of playing the game, they see a legacy of fighting, and "goonery".

Not to say that's what happened in Boogaard's case.

[trip]

I was gonna post this in the thread in GenChat, but thought I should just leave it here.

In case anyone missed the yahoo blog covering the game turned tribute in Russia.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_dadd...urn=nhl-wp12157

Very touching, and moving. Might bring a tear to your eye.

[darthYENIK]

Yeah, I've been mourning a player I've followed for the past fifteen years, but those fans lost their entire team. I can't imagine what they're going through. And this was supposed to be one of their best years, with a team that was almost a shoo-in for the championship. Think Islanders or Oilers in the early eighties, or the Ducks in 2007, or to a lesser extent the Canucks this past season. They were a team many predicted to do very well. And in an instant it's all gone.

Anyway, this is what's going on at the Honda Center...
http://yfrog.com/nwcnbcj
http://yfrog.com/khx3lzzj

I think they took some of it down since Wednesday.

[trip]

First regular season Flyers game is tonight. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!

Prongs is our captain, new goalie, no more Richards being a dickhead, and no more 'lost his way' Carter. Oh and Jagr had an amazing pre-season, so maybe he still has some good gas in him.

[darthYENIK]

Did you watch? Giroux's goal was a beauty.

Oh, and if anyone can change the title of this topic to the 2011-2012 season. Or just take the season thing off.

[Marlowe.]

QUOTE (darthYENIK @ Friday, Oct 7 2011, 13:46)

Did you watch? Giroux's goal was a beauty. Oh, and if anyone can change the title of this topic to the 2011-2012 season. Or just take the season thing off.

It was beaut! - And with the assist Jagr reached his 1600th point. Kudos - I've been under the impression Giroux is going to light it up this year, winning the Art Ross wouldn't surprise me.

And as OP, can't you change the title?

[darthYENIK]

Not on this board. That I know of.

[trip]

QUOTE (darthYENIK @ Thursday, Oct 6 2011, 23:46)

Did you watch? Giroux's goal was a beauty.

Of course I watched. The only games I may miss during the regular season are the west coast hosted games and a few of the weekend afternoon games.

We had to win last night's game just because it was Boston's home opener and they had that long banner raising ceremony and all.

I can't stress how much it sucked to have our first game on versus. To not have our local announcers for game 1 was painful.

[darthYENIK]

Yeah, I hate that. The versus/NBC guys aren't the best.

Anyway, IT'S FRIDAY!!! The Ducks are about to play the Sabres in Teemu's hometown of Helsinki. Which pretty much makes it a home game for the Ducks.

[Marlowe.]

So I assume ya'll noticed that Sid returned to the ice yesterday, and didn't appear to miss a beat - scoring 2 goals and 2 assists.

There were many people speculating that he would never play again, let alone return to MVP-form, I guess he proved many of those doubters wrong. He also makes the Penguins early Stanley Cup favourites.
Damn he's good.

[Scarface187]

Can't believe Claude Jullian started Tukka Rask today as the goalie against the f*cking Red Wings.....Oh well. It's one loss.


I'm so f*cking tired of hearing about Crosby.

[darthYENIK]

About f*cking time the Ducks fired Randy Carlyle. He's not a bad coach, he just hasn't had a handle on the team for a couple seasons now.

[hambones]

the blues have been doing good ever since they fired payne and hired hitchcock. they had a tough loss tonight but we're getting perron back against the blackhawks tomorrow, hopefully he'll have a good game and the boys will get a win

[claude1996]

I'm still in shock that my Bruins lost to the f*cking Stars!

[Scarface187]

QUOTE (claude1996 @ Tuesday, Jan 3 2012, 17:43)

I'm still in shock that my Bruins lost to the f*cking Stars!

Yeah, that was really unfortunate. It looks like Tukka Rask is starting to outplay Tim Thomas which I didn't think would happen so soon...

[darthYENIK]

The Ducks just won two in a row for the first time since like October. It's one of THOSE seasons. Of course I think Boudreau's coaching is finally sinking in for them. Carlyle's coaching is still somewhat noticeable, but they're slowly turning from a defense first team, to an offense first team. Which is much more suitable for the team. All of their super stars are forwards.

[Marlowe.]

Sam Gagner's 8 point night deserves a wee mention. It's a pretty frecking unreal accomplishment, especially for a guy like Gagner. And even more unreal is the fact that he did it only two periods, and then scored 3 more points in the first period of the next game. *jawdrop* 11 points in three straight periods has to be close to a record, same for recording a point on 11 consecutive goals.
I hope this a sign of things to come for Gagner and the Oilers- I have had a soft spot for them both for years.

[darthYENIK]

Yeah that was nuts to hear about. I don't think he's going to be a real legit star forward in the future? Not really.

The Ducks have had a good run since my last post in here. But I think they might cool down soon. The All-Star break came at the worst possible time for them. Although I think they're playing themselves out of the high draft picks, it's okay, I'd rather watch them go down in a blaze of glory, f*cking with the top 8, than watch them spiral out of control into a first or second overall pick.

[Ryan]

Anyone see that 5 on 1 the Winnipeg Jets had last night against the Florida Panthers? I've seen plenty of 3 on 1's, and a few 4 on 1's, but that's the first time I've ever seen a 5 on 1.



It's so nice to see the Jets doing so well, and the fans absolutely love them. They went from playing in a half full arena last year in Atlanta to playing every night for a sold out crowd, and its really helped motivate them. If I recall correctly, TSN (Canada's ESPN) did a survey a while back of NHL players and found that they now say the MTS Centre (Jets Arena) is loudest arena in the NHL. Assuming the Jets make the playoffs, I can only imagine what Winnipeg is going to be like.

This post has been edited by Ryan on Friday, Mar 2 2012, 16:13

[Marlowe.]

The Oilers strike it rich again; Edmonton win the draft lottery for the third straight year.

Hall - RNH - Eberle
who cares - Gagner - Yakupov *drool*

Poor Blue Jackets. There's a chance, however, that the Oilers could wind up drafting for need and pick a defensemen like Ryan Murray or Mathew Dumba. Time will tell.


P.S.
Rooting for a Blues v Panthers Stanley Cup.