Official Hockey Discussion Thread

[M2nFarisFan]

Considering in all honesty that the Penguins should have both Crosby and Ovechkin and the Caps should have Malkin, I'm OK with it. I would really like to see Pens vs. Flyers more often on the Peacock....right now, the Caps are trippin' a little bit.

But yea, somebody (ESPN?) said America thinks the Caps have the advantage in this game. The Alumni game was tied 5-5, mostly because even though the Pens' roster was, by all means, rivaling the Islanders of the early 80s or the Oilers of around the same time, the Caps were younger. (IMO.)

Should be interesting, though. Will be kind of warm tomorrow, so hopefully it will be suitable for all the fans. (And the best news is the crew should have two weeks to clean up before the Mustard Bowl needs to be used again. But that's a topic for another thread. )

[racingchick1020]

Here are your games for January 1, 2011.

Toronto 5; Ottawa 1
Buffalo 7; Boston 6 (SO)
Carolina 6; New Jersey 3
Tampa Bay 2; NY Rangers 1 (OT)
Washington 3; Pittsburgh 1 (at Heinz Field)
San Jose 1; Los Angeles 0
Calgary 2; Edmonton 1

Okay, now you're really pushing it with times, NHL schedule guys. Here's what's probably going to happen:

• Washington/Pittsburgh will be the national game on Hockey Night in Canada.
• Toronto/Ottawa will probably be the secondary game. How does the secondary game start earlier than the national game?
• No idea if people watching the national game on HNIC will see Calgary/Edmonton. JIP?

Then there are other games as well. I'm pulling a tripleheader. Maybe a quadrupleheader if I'm lucky. Anyway... Yeah.

[M2nFarisFan]

I don't know, Mandy, I can't figure it out either, but I'm willing to bet my penny on not being able to catch the entirety of any of the CBC games. Here in Pittsburgh (and probably in Washington) you know what's on, which (for all practical purposes) is the only thing that matters. (Chances are I'm going to be asleep at 1 pm anyways. Thank your local meteorologist for summoning potential thunderstorms )

[racingchick1020]

I don't know, Mandy, I can't figure it out either, but I'm willing to bet my penny on not being able to catch the entirety of any of the CBC games. Here in Pittsburgh (and probably in Washington) you know what's on, which (for all practical purposes) is the only thing that matters.

That game's on CBC in Canada. Technically, you are seeing a full game in the Winter Classic.

[racingchick1020]

Here are your games for January 2, 2011.

Atlanta 4; Montreal 3 (OT)
Philadelphia 3; Detroit 2
Florida 3; NY Rangers 0
Nashville 4; Columbus 1
Dallas 4; St. Louis 2
Minnesota 6; Phoenix 5 (OT)
Vancouver 2; Colorado 1
Anaheim 2; Chicago 1

The weekend ends with games that are all going to finish before midnight EST. You have another Montreal game on RDS. For those Canadian viewers who don't speak French, you have Philadelphia and Detroit. All other games are on local stations. I'll be out and about later, so enjoy this Sunday of hockey.

[TheNewNeko]

How about the Caps handing the Pens their rear ends and Cindy "Crybaby" Crosby not doing the post-game handshake after taking one to the face? Sometimes it's good to have more than one team =)

[M2nFarisFan]

All that matters:

Penguins: 53 points, 1st in Eastern Conference
Capitals: 51 points, 5th in Eastern Conference

Crosby: 65 points (1st in NHL)
Ovechkin: 42 points (tied 8th in NHL)

I say Crosby gets the upper hand in that one, Neko. He may not be a good sport, but right now, he's the best player in the league. (And I'll admit, having 29 favorite teams is a bit strange to me. Maybe it's an Asperger's thing or something Flyers fans do....I mean, that's different to me. Not to be insulting or anything)

Rhetoric aside, I wasn't too happy with the game, win or lose. I was surprised with as bad as the ice was that no one was injured on it. Of course, yea, it's one game, and yea, it was a disappointment. But in the end, the Caps still aren't leading their division and (if the season ended right now) would be on the road, so they'll have to play more consistently in order to get back in the race.

Me personally, I'm sure there have been missed handshakes or whatever before....it seems like the only time people want to complain about it is when Crosby does it. Truth is, when you're a leader of not only one of the best franchises in the league, but representative of the NHL, people take potshots at you. (I can guarantee that the same people who post such blasphemy most likely would take Crosby and place him on their favorite team. Sadly, it's the state of posting on the Internet - but that's fodder for another discussion.)

[racingchick1020]

^ Wait. What do points and conference standings have to do with handshakes? If I'm not mistaken, didn't someone refuse to shake hands after a playoff series two years ago and catch flack for it? Don't make checks you can't cash, my friend.

----------------------------

Now then... Here are your games for January 3, 2011.

Florida 4; Carolina 3 (OT)
Boston 2; Toronto 1
NY Islanders 5; Calgary 2
Chicago 4; Los Angeles 3
Vancouver 4; San Jose 3

We're going late with the game on Versus. A little Western Conference tilt is in focus. Hawks and Kings. I'll be watching it after a divisional matchup - yeah, you guess which one I refer to; it's easy - and then I'll give you scores and such afterward.

[M2nFarisFan]

^ Let it be said you need to read the entire post before responding. A lot of people simply like to harp on everything Sidney Crosby does, mostly because they have nothing better to do. When it was Stanley Cup time, it was understandable, because, well, if I won the most prized championship in a sport I played, I might make a gaffe like that. Truth is, people skip handshakes every day in sports....they get one day in the limelight. Crosby does it? Stop the presses! Extra, extra! (Pardon the sarcasm; it's after midnight )

If you read what Neko posted, I answered both sentences in my response. Frankly, it's typical of Flyers fans to say what he did; I spent a good four years of my life (most of them with Crosby in the league) and he's just barking back company policy, so I shouldn't take it so personally. (Perhaps I need to think of another poorly spelled and punctuated catch-phrase to counter the TYTLEZ!!!111!one! )

[racingchick1020]

A lot of people simply like to harp on everything Sidney Crosby does, mostly because they have nothing better to do.

No. Let's do it this way - say two different teams were in the playoffs that year. Pick two teams that didn't make the 08-09 playoffs, just for ha-has. Now what happens if the Eastern Conference team won the Cup and the captain of that team didn't shake the hand of some guy on the team from the West? Would we be having this same discussion? Probably not. Why? Because certain players have their every move literally documented.

And I don't think I've seen any critiquing of a non-handshake from anyone not named Crosby before. It's probably just me.

[M2nFarisFan]

^You need to go and Google skipped handshakes, Mandy. I'm 100% sure it's happened before....I can recall Belichick (in all his glory) not shaking Eric Mangini's hand a few years back, skipped handshakes in a college game (I forget who it was; you can do the sleuthing if you wish; it's nearly 1 am here). Truth is, there's no one more reviled in this league than Sidney Crosby is, and Flyers fans are just about the biggest haters of them all. Some have an unhealthy, voodoo-like obsession with hating him....that's why I said what I did.

[racingchick1020]

You need to go and Google skipped handshakes, Mandy. I'm 100% sure it's happened before....I can recall Belichick (in all his glory) not shaking Eric Mangini's hand a few years back, skipped handshakes in a college game (I forget who it was; you can do the sleuthing if you wish; it's nearly 1 am here).

If I didn't hear about it, I technically say it didn't happen. The last thing I want to do is Google when I could be procrastinating.

Truth is, there's no one more reviled in this league than Sidney Crosby is, and Flyers fans are just about the biggest haters of them all. Some have an unhealthy, voodoo-like obsession with hating him....that's why I said what I did.

I'm not a fan of the Flyers (in fact, they're one of the four teams I will probably never root for; Penguins, Canadiens, and Leafs are the others), and I have just as much hatred for Sidney as any other Flyer fan does. Hell, you could even group in fans of the other teams in the Atlantic Division with them.

[TheNewNeko]

Truth is, there's no one more reviled in this league than Sidney Crosby is, and Flyers fans are just about the biggest haters of them all. Some have an unhealthy, voodoo-like obsession with hating him....that's why I said what I did.

I can dodge a flamethrower just like everyone else. My dislike for Crosby has little, if anything to do with the fact I'm a Flyers fan. In fact, I'd dare say that I would dislike him regardless of whatever team he played for, with a few exceptions. How can I say this?

I used to watch basketball fanatically when I was a lot younger. It was fast paced, exciting and I could play my own version at the school during P.E.. Why did I stop watching? It was about 20 years ago when the NBA tried to make their entire league about Michael Jordan. Literally, Jordan was on everyone's back, lunchbox, wall, and the NBA was hyping him up to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. Before that, you had full teams of people that you knew practically the entire starting line if you were a casual fan: For instance: A.C. Green, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Byron Scott. Literally, the concept of a team was non-existant once the NBA tried to make Michael Jordan the entire team. Maybe 1 in 4 "fans" of the Bulls knew Scottie Pippen, and if you asked to name any other player, forget it. Now they're doing the same thing with Kobe Bryant.

The NHL doesn't need to take lessons from the NBA. It's doing fine on it's own. The other thing that ticks most people off, Steve, is the simple fact that many fans of Pittsburgh's "sports team fanatics" didn't even give a flying you-know-what about hockey until Crosby was in the Cup Finals. I've shown you the web page with average attendance, and I don't find it a coincidence that Pittsburgh was struggling with attendance before Crosby was signed up.

The same level of ignorance and blunt stupidity that many people accuse the Steelers fans of having also applies quite a bit to Penguins fans. You've met Glen. One reason for his disgust of the Penguins is that a guy once told him to shut up and go back to Canada with his hockey after the Steelers won the Super Bowl. The same person then made a huge deal about the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup. Another Pens fan was saying that he hoped all the Canadians would die... You can probably figure out why this is extremely funny and stupid at the same time. If you want the exact quotes where this happened, ask him. I'm sure he won't give it to you.

Penguins "fans" haven't had 30 years of made-up legends to go back upon. The days of the "Dynamic Duo" were long gone and now the NHL is trying to do the same thing to Cindy "Crybaby" Crosby that the NBA did with Michael Jordan. No player should ever be bigger than the team. That's as true now as it's always been.

[M2nFarisFan]

I can dodge a flamethrower just like everyone else. My dislike for Crosby has little, if anything to do with the fact I'm a Flyers fan. In fact, I'd dare say that I would dislike him regardless of whatever team he played for, with a few exceptions. How can I say this?

Here's the catch (and it's typical of Crosby haters): If Crosby were to play for the Red Wings or Flyers, you'd be right on board with him. In truth, that's the main reason why most people hate him - he's too good of a player. In truth, I can tell you that he's probably the most selected fantasy player in the NHL, and there's a reason why.

I used to watch basketball fanatically when I was a lot younger. It was fast paced, exciting and I could play my own version at the school during P.E.. Why did I stop watching? It was about 20 years ago when the NBA tried to make their entire league about Michael Jordan. Literally, Jordan was on everyone's back, lunchbox, wall, and the NBA was hyping him up to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. Before that, you had full teams of people that you knew practically the entire starting line if you were a casual fan: For instance: A.C. Green, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Byron Scott. Literally, the concept of a team was non-existant once the NBA tried to make Michael Jordan the entire team. Maybe 1 in 4 "fans" of the Bulls knew Scottie Pippen, and if you asked to name any other player, forget it. Now they're doing the same thing with Kobe Bryant.

And how many Chicago Bulls fans did you interview for that statistic? Or is it just another one of those made up ones you conveniently formed to make your point? That aside, I grew up in the 90s, and I only saw Michael Jordan in Hanes underwear ads (and maybe Ray-O-Vac batteries). It must have deflated a little bit, because I sure didn't see it.

The NHL doesn't need to take lessons from the NBA. It's doing fine on it's own. The other thing that ticks most people off, Steve, is the simple fact that many fans of Pittsburgh's "sports teams" didn't even give a flying you-know-what about hockey until Crosby was in the Cup Finals. I've shown you the web page with average attendance, and I don't find it a coincidence that Pittsburgh was struggling with attendance before Crosby was signed up.

And yet the bulk of Penguins fans are all obnoxious, stupid, ignorant, etc. Even if there were 200 fans in attendance at every game, they should be respected. Most Flyers fans are so vanilla, they simply lump all Penguins fans (and on some sites, any sports fan in Pittsburgh) as a bandwagoner. For people like me, who played hockey, went to Pens games every year (up until the true bandwagoners bought up the tickets), this is the worst slap in the face of any.

The same level of ignorance and blunt stupidity that many people accuse the Steelers fans of having also applies quite a bit to Penguins fans. You've met Glen. One reason for his disgust of the Penguins is that a guy once told him to shut up and go back to Canada with his hockey after the Steelers won the Super Bowl. The same person then made a huge deal about the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup. Another Pens fan was saying that he hoped all the Canadians would die... You can probably figure out why this is extremely funny and stupid at the same time. If you want the exact quotes where this happened, ask him. I'm sure he won't give it to you.

A bit of friendly advice, Big Steve: Distance yourself from Glen. The real reason why he dwells on there is because he can't hold an interpersonal relationship that isn't marriage (or a conversation, for that matter). You can't help but wonder why he's a "caretaker" if he's as smart as he chalks himself up to be. He can't do math, swears incessantly, talks about things that I'm sure his lovely wife and kids really enjoy. He even has you type responses to my posts because he's gone so far in the toilet with communication. Problems aside, I don't give a rat's rear about Glen because I've already moved beyond his type. He can be upset all he likes, mostly because he inflicts it upon himself. You're going for a Master's degree in accounting, Big Steve....I'd hold a lot more respect for you if you didn't have him as a cheerleader.

Truth is, if you think I have a disgust for blue-collar work, I don't (I live in a family with people who installed auto glass, poured cement for gravesites, and work on cars for a living). I have a disgust for people who simply have no meaning or purpose in life other than to get others angry and act like a 5-year old. Let's be honest...what does Glen do other than click "like" and simply mimic back all the literature about how much the Steelers suck? I contend if you get that Master's degree, you should make a pledge to yourself to leave people like that behind. You can still enjoy people who may not have as much money as you and I will, and they may be janitors, or plumbers, or whatever. But you have to be more selective of the people you hang out with, on- or off-line.

Penguins "fans" haven't had 30 years of made-up legends to go back upon. The days of the "Dynamic Duo" were long gone and now the NHL is trying to do the same thing to Cindy "Crybaby" Crosby that the NBA did with Michael Jordan. No player should ever be bigger than the team. That's as true now as it's always been.

This is partially true, although I think the Pens themselves have the heritage. If you're really bold, Big Steve, go look at the state of the NHL in the 60s and 70s. Many teams could not draft or sign popular players because the original six had a rule that they could hoard the best farm teams and prospects. Truth is, there were good players for many years, just not as many as today. And I never understood why many call Crosby a "crybaby". Mario Lemieux was labeled a crybaby at times. So was Gretzky, and Pavel Bure, and Eric Lindros, and Jaromir Jagr. There wasn't as much attention paid to it as now, and let it be said that there were many teams who would clutch, grab, hold, slash, and otherwise bend the rules to their liking, and nothing was called.

One of the things the NHL promised after the lockout was that there would be less interference tolerated, and for the most part, there has been a renewed focus. Crosby's "crybabying" may be the manifestation of his superior play drawing a lot of formerly oft-missed penalties. Pronger and Briere probably could draw that many penalties, too, if they played well enough. I would thus be very selective on why you think Crosby is so repulsive.

[racingchick1020]

And how many Chicago Bulls fans did you interview for that statistic? Or is it just another one of those made up ones you conveniently formed to make your point?

You could ask any bandwagon fan now the same question (make it more 2011ish so it fits with today's times), and I bet the statistics are the exact same. Besides one or two of the top players, how many other players could that person name?