Official NHL 2005-2006 Season Thread

[Matrix XII]

Why are you saying no that Vancouver won? lol.....

Phoenix definitely is NOT one of the worst teams in the league, they totally revamped their lineup and are quite formidable now. It was a great game and I was happy to see ole Bert back on the ice :)

[bigbluepride35]

w00t!! Nice goal by the Rangers!! Only 1:05 into the game. BE-A-U-tiful passing. This is opening night for me since I was out all night last night and missed the game lol. I plan on enjoying it thoroughly

[R-Flex]

Why are you saying no that Vancouver won? lol.....

Phoenix definitely is NOT one of the worst teams in the league, they totally revamped their lineup and are quite formidable now. It was a great game and I was happy to see ole Bert back on the ice :)

586633648[/snapback]

I just hate Vancouver and I want them to lose as badly as possible. I hated to see Bertuzzi back, and I hated how the TSN announcer made the whole line as the winning factor when it was all Naslund. Just like last season, the only way that the line was so successful was because of Naslund. Just him. The other two are average or slightly better players.

Phoenix has been projected by everyone as one of the worst, with an unreliable goalie, shaky defence, and an offence with talent but no real #1 player. Even Shane Doan cannot fill that capacity.

[bigbluepride35]

Uuuuugh. Ugly game penalty-wise (talking Rangers' game here). I think it has to do with the Rangers being old and slow lol. Oof.

[bayrider]

That could be part of the reason. Weakes had some impressive saves during the PP, especially on that 5-3. U guys outplayed us the first half of the 1st period and part of the 3rd more than we did the entire 2nd period.

[R-Flex]

I don't know if it was the long break or simply if the game is better, I'm loving every second of every game.

The rule changes seem mostly appealing to fans, an entertainment sanction. Yet, I have to feel for some players. Defencemen are being sacrificed for higher goal production. I would absolutely detest being defence in the new NHL, especially since the stick has been deemed useless. Might as well just leave it on the bench, because all the NHL wants is goals.

I don't feel for the goalies. Boo hoo, smaller pads! Oh no, you are going to let in more goals! Try the '70s pads, which were for protection, not blocking shots. I would love to see anyone model after Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito. Nowadays, even the most agile goaltenders are nothing compared to those two goalies.

[robertobaggio2k]

damn leafs cant ever keep their lead..and wats up wtih this shootouts im not used to seeing that is that soemthin that was added since the lockout..can someone explain i was outta the country so i dunno wth went on

[Matrix XII]

Thats pretty sad that you live in Vancouver, seem to like hockey, and hope against the canucks man. :no:

[bigbluepride35]

damn leafs cant ever keep their lead..and wats up wtih this shootouts im not used to seeing that is that soemthin that was added since the lockout..can someone explain i was outta the country so i dunno wth went on

586636263[/snapback]

No more ties in the NHL. If it's tied after OT they go to a three round shootout. If it's still tied they go to a sudden death shootout. Sudden death shootout means whoever scores first without the other team scoring in the same round is the winner.

[bayrider]

Thats pretty sad that you live in Vancouver, seem to like hockey, and hope against the canucks man. :no:

586636273[/snapback]

I lived in Vancouver for 10years but never rooted once for the Canuckleheads... even during that '94 run. Not everyone in Vancouver is from Vancouver. Like me, I am from Montreal, lived in Vancouver. Heck, when i went to watch the Habs at GM Place i could easily say a 1/3 was supporting the bleu-blanc-rouge

[bayrider]

The rule changes seem mostly appealing to fans, an entertainment sanction. Yet, I have to feel for some players. Defencemen are being sacrificed for higher goal production. I would absolutely detest being defence in the new NHL, especially since the stick has been deemed useless. Might as well just leave it on the bench, because all the NHL wants is goals.

That was the original intent, to make it more appealing. Goal production so far is up 30% in the first 2 games, but thats short term. Im guessing it will average at about 20%. We need to realize this is just the begining. The same way defensemen adapted to bigger, faster, stronger skaters is by hooking, grabing, clutching etc. Now its time for them to adapt again to a more 'clean' style of play. Once the teams gain more experience and coaches and staff figure out techniques and styles to counter the offensive-style rules we should see a much more enjoyable game with less penalties, less hooking and grabbing, basically a more open style of play which should be enjoyable for all.

[Matrix XII]

I hated the amount of hooking calls, it was really rediculous. I bet it'll taper off later on in the season.

[Tokar]

it seems as if having penalties is a bad thing...

Ken Hitchcock said that the teams who had the most penalties on opening night lost...thats all 15 teams!...

Flyers included :angry: :angry: :angry:...

[Matrix XII]

I'm probably one of the only ones who thinks that the flyers are going to struggle a bit this year. I don't think Eshe is amazing, and losing Roenick, LeClair, and Recchi really hurt your squad imo. I don't think that Forsberg can shoulder all that offensive production.

[R-Flex]

I have never really liked the Canucks, so when it came down to the '94 finals (my Rangers versus the Canucks) and friends rooting them on while I wanted the other team to win, I developed a hate for them.

Don't worry, I don't root for the Rangers anymore. The team that I loved is gone, every single player and coach.

[Steffan]

Ilya Kovalchuk and the Thrashers have finally agreed to a 5 year contract. The league has to sign off on the contract first.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2184498

[Ayepecks]

Now that everyone's seen a little bit of the new NHL, what do you think?

Personally, I hate everything new except the removal of the two-line pass. The new trapezoid area that the goalies can play the puck is stupid, moving the goals back just made it easier to create bottlenecks behind the net, the increased scoring has not made the game more thrilling, and OLN's coverage is horrible.

I'm sorry, but as a die-hard NHL fan, I think the game has change significantly for the worse. There's very little excitement anymore -- like I said, I prefered the more defensive game. Goals are no longer exciting. And seeing teams come back so quickly (like the Stars did when they came back from being down 4-0 to win 5-4, and when the Blues came back from 4-1 to 4-3) is just silly -- it seems like there's more luck involved in the game than anything.

The penalties have been insane, too.

I don't know if I'll watch the season the whole way through... I probably will I suppose, but I won't watch as much as I used to. The game's been ruined. The news about how the league screwed over the players with another 10% rollback (they made a clause in the CBA that the average payroll of all the teams had to be around $30.XX million or something, and however much over it was the players had to pay back from their salary) just makes me even more mad -- the league ruined the game, not the players, as far as I'm concerned.

[robertobaggio2k]

No more ties in the NHL. If it's tied after OT they go to a three round shootout. If it's still tied they go to a sudden death shootout. Sudden death shootout means whoever scores first without the other team scoring in the same round is the winner.

586636513[/snapback]

that sux how can u not have ties ....and these damn leafs cant keep a good score more then 2 mins they were winning 2-1 and now losing 3-2 grrr 5 damn goals in 1 period (2nd) in like 12 mins

[mitch00]

once again....go habs go! man, when toronto scored their second goal i was almost crying, now we're up again so its all good :D

[Matrix XII]

That was an intense scoring 2nd period!

[Sub_Zero_Alchemist]

that sux how can u not have ties ....and these damn leafs cant keep a good score more then 2 mins they were winning 2-1 and now losing 3-2 grrr 5 damn goals in 1 period (2nd) in like 12 mins

586644322[/snapback]

How can you say it sux, having games ending in a ties suxs. if i pay to go see a nhl game i expect to see a winner, not seeing a game in a tie. i think games ending in a tie are worthless. im glad the ties are gone, but that just a personal opinion of mine.

[mitch00]

what a game! 5-4 montreal!!!

[R-Flex]

Now that everyone's seen a little bit of the new NHL, what do you think?

Personally, I hate everything new except the removal of the two-line pass. The new trapezoid area that the goalies can play the puck is stupid, moving the goals back just made it easier to create bottlenecks behind the net, the increased scoring has not made the game more thrilling, and OLN's coverage is horrible.

I'm sorry, but as a die-hard NHL fan, I think the game has change significantly for the worse. There's very little excitement anymore -- like I said, I prefered the more defensive game. Goals are no longer exciting. And seeing teams come back so quickly (like the Stars did when they came back from being down 4-0 to win 5-4, and when the Blues came back from 4-1 to 4-3) is just silly -- it seems like there's more luck involved in the game than anything.

The penalties have been insane, too.

I don't know if I'll watch the season the whole way through... I probably will I suppose, but I won't watch as much as I used to. The game's been ruined. The news about how the league screwed over the players with another 10% rollback (they made a clause in the CBA that the average payroll of all the teams had to be around $30.XX million or something, and however much over it was the players had to pay back from their salary) just makes me even more mad -- the league ruined the game, not the players, as far as I'm concerned.

586644040[/snapback]

Agreed. The game has changed for the worse. I will watch it for the love of hockey, but I found nothing wrong with the game before.

I hate the trapezoid, I hate the penalties, I hate the lack of ties, I hate the ticket prices (owner's fault and greed), I hate the OLN deal, I hate Gary Bettman, and hockey itself has changed for entertainment's sake. It is not a sport, but a reality show. Keep hockey in the north and you get your fans! Putting hockey in Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta, and any other southern city was idiotic and ruined the sport's fandom.

By the way: YES! Vancouver lost! The whole team is being carried by Naslund, he goes down in injury and they are one of the worst.

[Boffa Jones Veteran]

I think the new rules are amazing. Now a team can't just manufacture a team with money. Another good thing is that now teams who have little skill will lose. I mean teams with **** players can't just play the trap anymore and expect to do well. Also now players who have more skill have room to make magic.

[Ayepecks]

I'm all for a salary cap, too, but I still think it should have been $42 million. So, I take back what I said -- I like two rules, the salary cap and the "removal" of the red line.