NHL Regular Season Thread

[JackTheRipper]

Honestly, I hope he doesn't return. He's my favorite all-time player, but if he can't play up to the level he's capable of, then he needs to walk away. He doesn't have much left to prove.

[Freak93]

Also, Mike Richards has been kicking mucho asso this season.

[JackTheRipper]

I would just like to say that I love the new NHL network. Hopefully, this isn't a short-term thing that will flame out because they lack the popularity here in the States.

[detroitbasketball]

I just wanna say the Wings have won 7 straight. K.

[JackTheRipper]

I just wanna say that I still hate the Wings. K.

[dkgojackets]

Canes first place. Still the only team to beat Ottawa.

[JackTheRipper]

I'd also like to say that I hate Chris Neil. He's a bum and doesn't deserve a spot on an NHL roster.

[Freak93]

I cannot wait to watch the Flyers-Rangers game on Monday. It shall be an interesting game, if the Flyers win that is.

[TJFOR3]

youtube.com/watch?v=7U7jUbKQYdw

Gem. Some of the hits are dirty....but holy shit.

[Freak93]

Scott Stevens is a robo-douche.

[TJFOR3]

Scott Stevens jacks guys up. Bruins have lost a couple in overtime recently. They're screwed without Bergeron, they already don't score enough when he IS playing. Randy Jones should have got a bigger suspension.

[Freak93]

I think the NHL needs to be more consistent in the suspensions it hands out.

And I know Steven's does, but he used to get the Flyers pretty good. That is why he is a douche in my book (and being on the Devils doesn't help anything).

[JackTheRipper]

Ok, am I the only one that knows what constitutes a clean hit? All but the hit on Lindros were fundamentally clean (and even on the Lindros hit, you could see him leading with the shoulder, mis-calculating and just sticking his elbow out). The only one that could be argued as a cheap shot was the Kariya hit, but Kariya shouldn't have been admiring his pass and should've had his head on a swivel. Oh and a note to Mr.Lindros: head's up, buddy.

[TJFOR3]

I agree with you Jack. Lindros hit was an elbow, Kariya was a little late, and the first was was low, but that's what Stevens did. He was willing to take a penalty to make guys be scared to go across the middle.

[Freak93]

jacktheripper said:

Ok, am I the only one that knows what constitutes a clean hit? All but the hit on Lindros were fundamentally clean (and even on the Lindros hit, you could see him leading with the shoulder, mis-calculating and just sticking his elbow out). The only one that could be argued as a cheap shot was the Kariya hit, but Kariya shouldn't have been admiring his pass and should've had his head on a swivel. Oh and a note to Mr.Lindros: head's up, buddy.

What is your stance on the Randy Jones hit?

[JackTheRipper]

tjfor3 said:

I agree with you Jack. Lindros hit was an elbow, Kariya was a little late, and the first was was low, but that's what Stevens did. He was willing to take a penalty to make guys be scared to go across the middle.

You're misunderstanding me. I'm saying that Stevens wasn't the dirty hitter most make him out to be.

The Kariya hit was perfectly fine, he caught Paul admiring his pass a half second after he released it. The only one that can be argued as being dirty was the Lindros hit and I don't think he intended to elbow, but when he realized he missed with the shoulder, he instinctively stuck his elbow out. And on the first hit, he threw his hip and the guy jumped.

All but the Lindros hit were clean, well timed and leading with the shoulder and he catches guys in the head because he's every bit of 6'2-6'3.

Simply put, he was one of the cleanest, most devestating hitters of all-time. You want to talk about truly dirty hitters, look at that big goof Derian Hatcher. Petr Sykora knows all about his elbows.

[JackTheRipper]

freak93 said:

jacktheripper said:

Ok, am I the only one that knows what constitutes a clean hit? All but the hit on Lindros were fundamentally clean (and even on the Lindros hit, you could see him leading with the shoulder, mis-calculating and just sticking his elbow out). The only one that could be argued as a cheap shot was the Kariya hit, but Kariya shouldn't have been admiring his pass and should've had his head on a swivel. Oh and a note to Mr.Lindros: head's up, buddy.

What is your stance on the Randy Jones hit?

After watching it a few times, I originally thought Bergeron turned into it. But I found another video that showed a different view and saw that Bergeron had his back to Jones the entire time and Jones should've known better than to hit a guy not even facing him.

You see guys pull up at the last second when guys instantly turn their backs at the last second, but Jones saw nothing but name and number the entire time.

I don't think he should get the max suspension because it can be debated that he anticipated Bergeron turning, but he still deserves a minimum of 10 games.

And by the way, what is with Flyers forwards and dirty hits this year? Jeez.

[Freak93]

jacktheripper said:

freak93 said:

And by the way, what is with Flyers forwards and dirty hits this year? Jeez.

I wish I knew. I don't think anyone in the organization is as embarrassed at the Downie/Jones hits. It was the Boulerice incident that was terrible.

[JackTheRipper]

Honestly, I felt Boulerice got off light. After the flack of the Chris Simon hit (which should've warranted a year, by the way), any hit like that where a play maliciously tries to harm another player should warrant no less than 40 games. It's a joke that some pundits are against the heavy suspensions because they feel it takes away from the physical nature of the game. The game is meant to be physical, but with clean hits and fair fights, not cross checks to the face. The league doesn't need it and the game doesn't need it. It's not how hockey is meant to be played.

[TJFOR3]

I though the hit on Bergeron was bad, but you could tell that Jones wasn't going after him. It happens all the time in the NHL, defensemen hit guys from behind when they're right next to the boards, but most of the time the guys are ready for it and it just seems to be a bump. Bergeron was caught off guard and Jones drilled him as hard as he could. I think Jones should've gotten a much bigger suspension.