the Penguins are STILL gonna suck

All 30 teams are playing on opening night. Which game(s) are you going to watch? Here's the schedule:

Montreal at Boston, 7 p.m.
NY Islanders at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
NY Rangers at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Columbus at Washington, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Florida, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Carolina at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
St. Louis at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
San Jose at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Anaheim at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Calgary at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

Personally, I'll be flicking between the Mtl/Bos and Ott/Tor, then moving on to go between Col/Edm and Phx/Van.

I'm thinking of going to Bugsy's in Alexandria (the ONLY hockey bar in the area) so I can watch multiple games at once. That's why God gave you two eyes!

Originally posted by xcanuck:
3. There's too much parity in the west to make a prediction though I'd like to see Vancouver pull it out this year. I'm not happy that Bertuzzi is back in the league, but he'll make a difference.

Perhaps I'm just biased, but how is Detroit not far and away the best team in the West (assuming they resign restricted players like Kronwall, Datsyuk and Zetterberg)? They still have a talented HoF core (Yzerman, Shanahan, Chelios, Lindstrom), have great young players injected into their system like the above three, more speed on the blue line then last year (Andy Delmore, Schneider, Lindstrom, Chelios, Fisher, Kronwall), and a Stanley Cup winning goaltender.

I could see the Calgary argument, but they've lost stuff, and were more "hot" then actually "good" last year.

Originally posted by xcanuck:

St. Louis at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

if I can find it

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:
Perhaps I'm just biased, but how is Detroit not far and away the best team in the West (assuming they resign restricted players like Kronwall, Datsyuk and Zetterberg)? They still have a talented HoF core (Yzerman, Shanahan, Chelios, Lindstrom), have great young players injected into their system like the above three, more speed on the blue line then last year (Andy Delmore, Schneider, Lindstrom, Chelios, Fisher, Kronwall), and a Stanley Cup winning goaltender.

I could see the Calgary argument, but they've lost stuff, and were more "hot" then actually "good" last year.

I'll give you your point about Calgary. I don't see them repeating because they hit their stride at just the right time and were lucky when it comes to injuries (or the lack thereof).

When it comes to Detroit, they're definitely one of the top three but I worry about their goaltending this year (Osgoode and Legace?). I don't see Yzerman being the sparkplug he's been in past years. He'll be a great leader in the locker room but I'm thinking he's going the way Messier did in his last few years. Same with Chellios. It was amazing the number of penalties he took in the 2003-2004 season because he couldn't keep up.

Don't get me wrong. I really like the team Detroit has become but I think Detroit has lost a wee bit and that puts them roughly equal with alot of other teams in the West. The last few weeks of the season are going to be great to watch!

Originally posted by general grievous:

Originally posted by xcanuck:

St. Louis at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

if I can find it

NHL Centre Ice! The best $129 you'll spend.

Originally posted by xcanuck:
When it comes to Detroit, they're definitely one of the top three but I worry about their goaltending this year (Osgoode and Legace?). I don't see Yzerman being the sparkplug he's been in past years. He'll be a great leader in the locker room but I'm thinking he's going the way Messier did in his last few years. Same with Chellios. It was amazing the number of penalties he took in the 2003-2004 season because he couldn't keep up.

Don't get me wrong. I really like the team Detroit has become but I think Detroit has lost a wee bit and that puts them roughly equal with alot of other teams in the West. The last few weeks of the season are going to be great to watch!

Goaltending has never been the do-or-die thing for the Wings, and it won't be this year. The complaint has always been the wings are oooooold and they're injecting young talented guys like Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Fischer, Delmore and more into the mix. I don't think Yzerman will light the world up scoring wise, but he's a top 2 center on any team in the league, Toronto included.

Chelios is older then dirt, but they're only using him as a third line defenseman, so hopefully he'll stay fresh and keep his legs. I think the mere "teaching" aspect of what he can do for Kronwall, Fischer and DElmore is invaluable.

Other then Hull, I just don't see how the wings have lost much of anything, and in fact, they're positioning themself to actually have some longevity.

Originally posted by xcanuck:
All 30 teams are playing on opening night. Which game(s) are you going to watch?

Pittsburgh at New Jersey (assuming that I can even find it on TV) for as long as I can, but at some point I'll be heading to 930 for the stellastarr* show. There's just way too much going on that week.

Originally posted by xcanuck:
NHL Centre Ice! The best $129 you'll spend.

no cable, is there a hockey equivalent to mlb.tv?, i watch all the Cardinals games online

Originally posted by xcanuck:
Which game(s) are you going to watch?

Probably game one of the ALDS or NLDS.

Originally posted by xcanuck:
All 30 teams are playing on opening night. Which game(s) are you going to watch?
Columbus at Washington, 7 p.m.

I'm going to this game. should be excited. I hope to see the Jackets in the playoffs this year. :) (and watch my signed Rick Nash hockey stick sky-rocket in value!!)

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by xcanuck:
Which game(s) are you going to watch?

Probably game one of the ALDS or NLDS.

you wanna get swept by the Sox again this year?

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:
Goaltending has never been the do-or-die thing for the Wings, and it won't be this year. The complaint has always been the wings are oooooold and they're injecting young talented guys like Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Fischer, Delmore and more into the mix. I don't think Yzerman will light the world up scoring wise, but he's a top 2 center on any team in the league, Toronto included.

Chelios is older then dirt, but they're only using him as a third line defenseman, so hopefully he'll stay fresh and keep his legs. I think the mere "teaching" aspect of what he can do for Kronwall, Fischer and DElmore is invaluable.

Other then Hull, I just don't see how the wings have lost much of anything, and in fact, they're positioning themself to actually have some longevity.

Looking back on it, you're quite right about the goaltending. Even with mediocre goalies, the problem for Detroit was that they couldn't score against the hot goalies they faced (eg. Kipper, Giguere).

I think the assumption is that kids like Datsyuk, Kronwall, Zetterberg, etc will be able to pick up the slack. And maybe they will. We'll just have to wait and see…only 50 days until they drop the puck for real!!

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
you wanna get swept by the Sox again this year?

No Pedro, no Schilling, no sweep.

Originally posted by xcanuck:
I think the assumption is that kids like Datsyuk, Kronwall, Zetterberg, etc will be able to pick up the slack. And maybe they will. We'll just have to wait and see…only 50 days until they drop the puck for real!!

Well Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been second liners together and very successful already, although they're going to have to prove they can do it without Hull. I think the Wings biggest problem is they have a glut at center (Yzerman, Lang, Datsyuk, Draper) and only a handful of great wingers (Shanahan, Zetterberg, and then, uh, yeah). I'd have liked to see them pick up another wingman.

Defense is the question. I like Fisher, but Kronwall and Rivers being a top-4 and top-6 defenseman respectively worries me. I think Delmore has huge upside, though.

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
you wanna get swept by the Sox again this year?

No Pedro, no Schilling, no sweep.

WHAT!!!!!!!!! Your not scared of Arroyo or Wade Miller? :roll:

Originally posted by Rob_Gee:

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
you wanna get swept by the Sox again this year?

No Pedro, no Schilling, no sweep.

WHAT!!!!!!!!! Your not scared of Arroyo or Wade Miller? :roll:

actually in a sweep, you wouldnt even get to Miller or Arroyo. it would be Clement, Wells and Wakefield (if Schilling doesnt start)

and i didnt say which "sox" did i?

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
and i didnt say which "sox" did i?

It's pretty much implied by "swept again" that you meant the Sox who swept them last year.

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
and i didnt say which "sox" did i?

It's pretty much implied by "swept again" that you meant the Sox who swept them last year.

are you assuming?

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
are you assuming?

Yes, but it's a fair assumption, based on several threads of evidence.

Originally posted by general grievous:

Originally posted by xcanuck:
NHL Centre Ice! The best $129 you'll spend.

no cable, is there a hockey equivalent to mlb.tv?, i watch all the Cardinals games online

I just read this. It was in today's news regarding the NHL/Comcast broadcast agreement:

The deal with Comcast goes beyond just television rights. Comcast will bring the NHL Network to cable systems in the United States, and provide on-demand game broadcasts and computer streaming of live games.

You read about it here