I suck at creative titles. The 2013-2014 NHL thread

[MartyFunkhouser]

I agree with Barry Melrose.

Spencer (NYC)

Barry, thanks for doing these chats, especially yesterday's trade deadline chat all morning! Now that the dust is settling, what are are your new predictions for the WCF and ECF? Do you think any potential playoff team significantly helped or hurt their chances?
Barry Melrose (3:08 PM)

It doesn't really change anything. Boston is still the best in the East. Tampa is stronger. I love Chicago. I don't think enough was done by the lesser clubs to change the pecking order at the top.

Central Division Finals, who wins: Chicago or St. Louis?
Barry Melrose (3:13 PM)

I think St. Louis will come out on top. They have a few games in hand. 20 games happens quick. I think they get more points in the next 20 games.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/50146

I think St. Louis wins the division, Blackhawks win the cup.

[OSUCougar]

Martin St Louis traded to the Rangers for Ryan Callahan, a 1st-roud pick, and a 2nd-round pick.

Helluva deal for a 36-year-old. This, combined with the Sens waiving Cory Conacher (whom the Bolts traded for Ben Bishop), shows how great a GM Yzerman is.

38, and yes, a pretty decent deal.

Still pissed about MSL, though. What a freakin' primadonna prick. I hope the Rangers never make the playoffs.

And yes, I'm bitter. Dude admitted in his post trade interview that his Olympic snub was part of the reason he wanted out. Great leadership demonstrated by our "captain". Way to bail on your team mates, most of them experiencing their first playoff push.....

Now with Stammer back, lets hope we can stop the bleeding, but we haven't looked good since coming back from the Olympic break.

[BoylenOver]

Seeing Sharks/Habs tonight. This will be my 4th NHL game.

I bought a white Canadiens alternate 7 years ago, but chose not to wear it. I'm excited.

[BoylenOver]

Blues/Hawks on NBCSN tonight. Should be a great game between two of the best in the league.

[Flystripper]

Blues/Hawks on NBCSN tonight. Should be a great game between two of the best in the league.

Blues are going to DIE DIE! Down with OSHIE!

[MartyFunkhouser]

Up 2-0 with goals by Leddy and Keith. Don't collapse again. We need this win.

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[cougjunkie]

Up 2-0 with goals by Leddy and Keith. Don't collapse again. We need this win.

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Called it!

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[BoylenOver]

Woof. Very flat effort.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Woof. Very flat effort.

How many days in a row can you take it?

[MartyFunkhouser]

FUCKING HELL.
http://espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/story...e-long-term-ir

This absolutely sucks. Say goodbye to home ice in the playoffs without Kane for the last 12 games. Glad to see thta he will be back for the playoffs.

Blackhawks were so fortunate with injuries last year and it is catching up this year. Saad, Kane, Roszival and Bickel all out with injuries. That is a ton of talent out.

I guess we will get to see that Teuvo Teravainen can do.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Things can get worse. Toews leaves the game today with an upper body injury.

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[BoylenOver]

Hockey has not been fun.

[BoylenOver]

Blues/Hawks in the first round. Forget about winning the series or even a game, it's going to take a lot of luck and hard work to keep the average margin of defeat to less than 2 goals a game. We've been awful over the last 3 weeks.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Blues/Hawks in the first round. Forget about winning the series or even a game, it's going to take a lot of luck and hard work to keep the average margin of defeat to less than 2 goals a game. We've been awful over the last 3 weeks.

You sandbagging son of a bitch. It is going to be a much tougher series than that. You seem to be forgetting that Toews and Kane are not at full strength. Kane hasn't played in nearly a month and Toews has been out for 2 weeks.

Despite the recent struggles, the Blues are still a very good team. The Corsi numbers for the western conference are really quite interesting. The 4 best teams in the west by Corsi are the Blackhawks, Blues, Kings, and Sharks. Honestly, although those aren't the 4 highest point teams, they are the best teams and those and they play in the first round. Those are going to be 2 amazing series. All 4 teams are great at puck possession.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-pu...202403797.html

The Kings, Blackhawks, Sharks and Blues may not be the Western Conference's top four teams in terms of points, but they remain the top four in even-strength Corsi and Fenwick percentages with the score close (tied or within a goal). In other words, these teams, more than any others in the Western Conference, play the game in their opponent's end. And while this doesn't guarantee victory, it does suggest it. On any given night, it's probably safe to say that a hockey team is much less at risk of being outscored when the puck spends most of the evening 200 feet from their net.

Meanwhile, the Division champions, the Ducks and Avalanche, are mediocre and abysmal possession teams, respectively. Both Wild Card teams should be jumping for joy right now to have drawn them. Anaheim's a 49.8% Corsi team, good for 14th in the NHL. Their opponent, Dallas, sits at 51.8%. In other words: if you're hoping to spot the first-round upset, this is as good a bet as any.

[DrumNFeather]

And now for my annual Washington Capitals playoff endorsement: (psst. they missed the playoffs). Well then...