2007-2008 NHL Catch All Thread

[IlliniKrush]

And like I knew the instant it happened, he's apparently done.

 

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...0,2671124.story

[MurcieOne]

Looks like Toews got a cut on his mouth and a chipped tooth. (damn that hurts) He's gonna get 50 stitches INSIDE his mouth. (speaking from experience, its beyond hell) Hopefully he'll be straight.

 

Why do I think that Jonny T will be playing tuesday? It might be with a cage on... but this kid has huge balls.

[IlliniKrush]

Ovechkin has a hat trick...

 

in the first period, with 5 mins left.

[DBAHO]

Washington could do some damage in the East if they make the playoffs.

 

Ovechkin would have to get hot, and Huet to be pretty steady in goal though.

[SoxFanForever]

Ovechkin has a hat trick...

 

in the first period, with 5 mins left.

Jumpin jesus. Maybe he will hit 60 tonight.

[RockRaines]

When experts were asked who they'd choose b/w Kane and Toews, 9 out of 10 said Toews IIRC.

 

They said that Kane could get over 100 points in a season, but Toews is the type of player (a better offensive version of Rod Brindamour) that wins you a championship.

 

And I don't think it's any secret we've won 7 out of our last 10 with Toews starting to round into form.

It still doesnt mean that Kane isnt on the same level as Toews is. Kane's biggest knock is that he isnt big or aggressive enough. I know of another very prolific scorer who wasnt big or aggressive and he ended up quite the player......

[The Critic]

It still doesnt mean that Kane isnt on the same level as Toews is. Kane's biggest knock is that he isnt big or aggressive enough. I know of another very prolific scorer who wasnt big or aggressive and he ended up quite the player......

I think they'll both have All-Star caliber NHL careers, but I feel Toews will be the better player in the long run.

Kane is more exciting, but Toews brings a more well-rounded game.

We're lucky to have both of them in Chicago.

[CWSGuy406]

I'd say the only thing Kane has on Toews is his vision. Toews is better in the corners, better in his own end, better in front of the net, faster and has a better wrist-shot. I understand some of those are subjective -- especially the last two -- but I'd take Toews in all of those areas. I'm not meaning to s*** on Kane, either -- I hope both #19 and 88 are here for the next 15+ years -- but it'd be difficult for me to put Kane on the same level (or better) than Toews. The stats back this up, as Toews has a slightly better PPG, and I don't think we need to discuss who brings more to the defensive end.

 

Oh, and Alex O blows both of them out of the water. What an awesome player. What a wonderful time to be a hockey fan -- gobs of great young talent has been infused in the league over the past couple seasons, headlined by Crosby and Ovechkin, both of whom (IMO) are tough to root against.

 

Somewhat relating to that note, the NHL really needs to look at setting up another World Cup in the next five years -- it's a shame that it isn't a consistent event. It needs to be and should be like the WBC and the more popular soccerfootball World Cup.

Edited March 4, 2008 by CWSGuy406

[Steve9347]

I'd say the only thing Kane has on Toews is his vision. Toews is better in the corners, better in his own end, better in front of the net, faster and has a better wrist-shot. I understand some of those are subjective -- especially the last two -- but I'd take Toews in all of those areas. I'm not meaning to s*** on Kane, either -- I hope both #19 and 88 are here for the next 15+ years -- but it'd be difficult for me to put Kane on the same level (or better) than Toews. The stats back this up, as Toews has a slightly better PPG, and I don't think we need to discuss who brings more to the defensive end.

Toews is the better player, you're right, but I think they are close enough to be on the same level. They remind me a lot of Sakic and Forsberg as teammates in their first Cup run and "dynasty" era... where Kane is the Sakic finesse-type and Toews is the Forsberg power forward-type.

 

Both bring different aspects to the game, and on the same team are dynamite.

 

PS. f***ing Havlat! We all knew this would happen...

[DBAHO]

FWIW, right now from the draft 2 years ago I think it went like this for the 1st 4 picks;

 

1 - Erik Johnson (D) - STL

2 - Jordan Staal (C-LW) - PIT

3 - Toews © - CHI

4 - Nicklas Backstrom © - WAS

 

I wonder if the Blues would have that pick over again. It's a pretty damn good group though. Not on a Ovechkin - Malkin top 2 picks level, but still very good.

 

Also Backstrom is back in the league for the rookie scoring title, he picked up a measly 4 points tonight. Helps when you have a guy named Ovechkin on your line though.

[MurcieOne]

Tony "O-MERLOT" and the Golden Jet Chardonay are now available at your local Binny's.... i think they are in the same aisle as Mike Ditka's Kick-ass-Red

[DBAHO]

Found this post on Hockeys Future regarding the draft;

 

The Hawks will most likely select a d-man, per Dale Tallon, as this draft is incredibly deep at defense.

 

Right now, the Hawks would pick 7th or 8th. Whether or not to trade down will depend on what is there when they pick. If there is a potential future #1 d-man, they should take him as they probably don't have that on the team or in the system now.

 

They could also use a big, true left winger, and they might want to draft 1-2 goalies with #1 potential, as that position remains a questionmark in the system.

 

With Sharp, Kane, Williams, Bolland, Makarov, Kontiola, Havlat, the Hawks have a lot of Filatov-type players. That and the transfer issue make me doubt very highly they will take him.

 

I think Bill Sweatt's gonna be a pretty good LW. Think Pat Sharp on the other side. Very similar skill set.

 

If a potential #1 d-man is there, more of a two-way, physical guy, they should take him.

 

There are no projected elite goalies in this draft, but they might want to grab another one who projects as at least an NHL netminder.

[DBAHO]

And a couple of other snippets about the Vancouver win from a blogger;

 

The Hawk youngsters have shown no fear so far and stuck to their game plan. The Hawks not only won the game but might have given their fans a look into the future. By a glimpse into tomorrow I don’t necessarily mean certain player personnel. I am referring to the style of play that the Hawks exhibited throughout the afternoon, it wasn’t pretty hockey but it was effective and I loved watching it.

 

The Hawks may turn into a team which features 3 or 4 skillful players who don’t need to hit anyone very often. The rest of the gang will have to display a blue collar worker ethic. The majority of players will have to bump and grind and get to the net with a purpose. The Hawks after about a dozen years or longer may finally have a few players that can form an effective checking line. I thought Bourque would never stay a Hawk if he had to be a Penalty Killer and a checking line player. I think that my previous thoughts were way off base.

 

I was glad to see Dowell called back up as he can be thought of in a similar way as Bourque. Both Kontiola and Dowell are smart centers who are also very good at the Dot. That is another talent that has been absent here for along time. Yesterday Kontiola was a winner at the Dot 78% of the time and his IceHog buddy Dowell was a very successful 75% to the good as well. Dowell is big, strong and smart as I have watched him play center more often this Season then Kontiola. I would be surprised if Dowell doesn’t make next years Squad and Petri may have a good chance also. They were both sent back to Rockford today as that team is short players.

 

The Hawks hit and drove to the net Sunday afternoon. They crashed the Canucks crease and had traffic in front of Luongo. Patrick Kane bounced back from a touch of the flu and had his best game of this calendar year. Young Patrick actually was in the dirty areas around the goal often and was able to use his shot effectively. Kane has not shot the puck well, basically for a couple of reason I believe. He has been pressing to score and has been missing the net often. He also has been guilty of not shooting from spots on the ice which give him the best chance to score. That wasn’t the case yesterday as he was around the Canuck’s net and in the slot all game long.

 

The Hawks were only leading the game 2-0 toward the end of the 2nd Period when the Canucks got a goal in the last 2 minutes. I hated to see that goal happen as the Hawks were in complete control of the game, as the 2-0 score was kind to the Canucks. The goal occurred because Wisnieski got beat at center ice as he then checked his man into Barker who was slow to react. The two Hawk defenders collided and took themselves out of the play, and the Canucks were in alone on Lalime, it was sort of fluky. The result was a Burrows assist as Kesler scored with a nice top corner shot.

 

What I thought is that Wisz and Barker shouldn’t be paired together at that time in the game. The Hawks were out shooting the Canucks about 18-5 toward the end of 2nd period yet only leading 2-0. Wisz and Barker were the 2 slowest dmen in the Lineup and I think it would have been best to not pair the two together at that time. Although not fast Wisz is much quicker to turn and react on the ice then Barker. Cam still doesn’t appear to be quick or fast enough to be a top 4 defensemen. Maybe he can improve his skating and foot skills in the off Season.

 

Tallon should get his check book out now and sign Williams to an extension. He has looked better each game since returning from the groin and sports hernia problem that have plagued him for much of this Season. If he isn’t signed before the last game it may signal a problem for the Hawks. Even though Williams doesn’t have a bunch of points because of missing so many games, there will be teams that will go after him in the Summer. I would hope he can be retained for a fair value before then.

 

Speaking of fair value the Ladd/Ruutu trade seems to be helping both teams. It was good to see Ruutu score the other night, especially after receiving a nasty cut the game before that required 40 stitches to close. Ladd appears to have some decent hands and did also throw a couple of nice checks against the Canucks.

[SnB]

3-2 hawks w/ about 11 minutes left.

Could be a big win if they hang on.

[CWSGuy406]

Wow, what a victory. I didn't see the game but I had this as a loss, easy. Nashville's winning big so you gotta hope for the Vancouver/Colorado game to only dole out two points.

[SnB]

nice nice pass by bourque that led to the empty netter.

 

fun game to watch.

[DBAHO]

Suddenly this team has won 8 out of its last 11.

 

The playoffs are a distinct possibility right now.

 

Nice to see Ladd get another point, been a good acquisition thus far (even though Ruutu is doing great in Carolina).

[MurcieOne]

Rene Borque has stepped us his game at the right time for this team... he is playing the BEST hockey of his career.

 

Just gotta hope he stays healthy.

[Metz]

On the edge of my seat for most of the game. Really a good one to watch. I still think this team is the ultimate cock tease, but they are keeping me interested.

 

If they SOMEHOW pull a W out of their collective asses tomorrow, I am totally on the playoff bandwagon for the rest of the season.

 

amen Father Tony

 

---

 

Crawford was said to be in net tomorrow .. but I think Savvy has to think about this one .. Lalime was so good tonight. Ladd too I am behind him fully because I know people are going to "Ruutu this" and "Ruutu that" so good to see him having what? 3 points in 4 games now

[Mr. Showtime]

Watched the game at a sports bar tonight, so I was distracted by s***ty music. From what I saw, it looked like a damn good game. At the very least, they are keeping it interesting.

[Steve9347]

I really love how I was greatly chastised for claiming that Patrick Lalime was a better goaltender than Nikolai Khabibulin, have been proven correct, yet am still generally ignored by the two who flipped out on me in this thread for making such an "outrageous" point.

 

Classy.

[The Critic]

I don't know if I buy into Lalime being a long-term answer, but he's playing REALLY well and it's a good thing for the Hawks that he is.

They'd be up a creek by now if not for Lalime.

[IlliniKrush]

I really love how I was greatly chastised for claiming that Patrick Lalime was a better goaltender than Nikolai Khabibulin, have been proven correct, yet am still generally ignored by the two who flipped out on me in this thread for making such an "outrageous" point.

 

Classy.

You keep thinking whatever you want, you weren't around much when he got lit up by the Kings, Ducks, and Stars for 18 goals, were you.

 

He faced 10 shots sunday, too.

 

But he's SO much better than Habby, even though their stats are pretty much even right now as well.

Edited March 5, 2008 by IlliniKrush

[CWSGuy406]

I really love how I was greatly chastised for claiming that Patrick Lalime was a better goaltender than Nikolai Khabibulin, have been proven correct, yet am still generally ignored by the two who flipped out on me in this thread for making such an "outrageous" point.

 

Classy.

 

That's really not what the claim was -- you were insinuating that others said something that they didn't say -- which most of us have grown to expect from your brilliance -- and were called out on it.

 

And now you're back to poke and pry. Again -- not really a surprise. You played hockey though and worked for the Hawks, so always remember that your opinion >>>>>>>>>>>> ours. And keep mentioning it, too, please.

 

Also notice how you're the one -- to everyone's surprise, I'm sure -- digging up the old hatchet. So please -- never throw s*** my way ever again about being immature or anything of the like.

Edited March 5, 2008 by CWSGuy406

[EvilJester99]

I could see the Hawks sneaking in the playoffs and getting a prompt exit. It would be interesting to see the match up with Detriot though....Hawks have played the damn good this year.