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[W:279]NHL 2021

A lot of teams up and down so far this season - a lot of big wins followed by big losses against the same teams - a lot of new "rivalries" will develop under the new divisions - I don't think we'll see things shake out until about 30 games in and then it will be a dash to the end. Wouldn't surprise me if the final four teams, division winners, aren't the usual suspects.

Not sure what the official plan is for the playoffs, once they get to the final four division winners - where will the Canadian based team play? Will they go back to the bubble format? I don't think, in a couple of months, that the COVID situation will be sufficiently settle that the Canadian government will allow cross border play without quarantines and you can't have quarantines and have regular travel between cities.
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I agree, but here’s where I come back to all the time.

1) these are professionals who have been playing all their lives basically

2) most teams are working with same coaches and same players as last season- and multiple seasons before that

3) very few changes to rules

There should be little to no “adjustments” needed to play some kind of consistent hockey. They should fall into that groove just like you fall into the groove of brushing your teeth.

So when I see inconsistencies it’s rather bothersome regardless of the time of year or where in the season it happens. It’s even worse when it happens in the same game. One period is stellar, then the next period is complete dog crap.

Unfortunately I see this kind of thing too often with Flyers.
 
Whatever...so long as Detroit finally has a somewhat decent season, that's all that really matters.
I'm watching the game on NBC. They don't look so good against Chicago.
 
Are you forgetting Islanders were in Conference finals last year?

I see Caps, Bruins, Isles taking three places. The forth place is a toss-up for Flyers, Penguins and then a wild card perhaps from Rangers/Devils/Sabres.

Really too early to tell yet, but the division is surely going to be very tough.
We were a Nelson score on a breakaway in OT of forcing game 7. Hedman is the best defensemen in the league by far.
 
I don't know what to think of the Islanders - how do you beat the Rangers 5-0 and then lose to them 6-0 a day or two later? They had a chip on their shoulders last year with Tavares signing with Toronto but they don't see the Leafs at all this year, so no motivation there. I thought the Rangers would be better last year and they weren't, and worse this year, but maybe better. I agree with Redress though - that division has four pretty strong teams and three relatively weak ones. I could see the top teams feasting on the bottom three and then playing kind of even amongst themselves. In the Canadian division, I think six teams made the playoffs last year and those six all expect to make the playoffs again this year - with only four spots open, that makes it highly competitive and no room to have any kind of bad streak.
Varly got hit under the mask in warmups and was forced to leave the ice. Sorokin started and gave up some bad goals in his first ever start. Dobson also had a horrendous game which is to be expected from a 2nd year player on defense in a starting role. Their next 2 were much better. Varly has stopped all but 1 in 3 games, 82 shots.
 
That would be funnier if the Flyer were playing good hockey.

As it stands, the outright embarrassing 6-1 loss last night to Boston is a testament to how inconsistent this team still is.
I agree, it's early but can't ignore the glaring problems.
 
Flyers were winning in Boston 2-0 at start of third period. Gave up 4 goals then barely squeaked into OT. Rask was playing out of his head, then Flyers lost in shoot out.

So for anyone wondering if the 2021 Flyers are a big threat, I’d say about as threatening as they’ve been in last few years. Might luck into the playoffs 4th spot, might not.

They can still easily snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Isles were outplayed by Boston for 2 periods but Varly kept it scoreless. Played them even plus the 3rd and scored a baseball goal by Pageau late. Typical grinder game. Nice having Martin and Johnston active at the same time. Always someone on the ice willing to protect Barzal and company.
 
One of THOSE kinda fans huh? :sneaky:
I confess.

Crappy hockey isn’t too fun, and when O Captain, my Captain is mysteriously out, it makes it even less fun.
Plus, live hockey is where it’s at, and going to games is no longer a thing.

I mean... even beating the Red Wings isn’t that exciting.
 
Ugly win for Flyers against Devils.

JVR might actually be a decent part of the team this year.

The effects of no Couturier is reverberating very loudly. Need him healthy very very badly.

Biggest question now looks to be who is the number 1 goalie??? Obviously Hart is the future, but Elliott for the short term seems to be the safest bet for a best chance to win the next game. The other obvious part is that the defense in front of the goalies has been awful.

Flyers need to figure some stuff out quickly or they’ll dig a deep hole again.
 
Not always a thing of beauty, but the Leafs being 6-2 is a good start to the season and keeps them well ahead of the teams outside the playoffs. so far. Most importantly, for me, the Leafs have gone 5-0 when leading after 2 periods and that is critical for this team. Too often, in the past, they would get a lead and then fall asleep for a period or more and be unable to recover. Also important is that so far they've had 13 players with at least one goal - that's some pretty significant scoring balance and bodes well for when, as usual, players go into slumps.

Not sure I like the back to back games so much this year - not home and home but two games in a row away at the same team or home twice against the same team. It's great when, like the Leafs just did, you win both games in the other team's rink and jump four points ahead of them in the standings. It's particularly good when that other team is a serious playoff contender. The opposite, like for Calgary, can be very difficult to overcome.

The other thing I don't like this year is that every game is in your own division so three point games are deadly. It's alright to give up the extra point to a non-division team, but if two of your opponents go to overtime they both get points. I still don't understand why the league doesn't make every game a 3 point game - simple - 3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an overtime win, and 1 point for an overtime lose. Maybe one day they'll come to their senses, but I'm not counting on it.
 
Ugly win for Flyers against Devils.

JVR might actually be a decent part of the team this year.

The effects of no Couturier is reverberating very loudly. Need him healthy very very badly.

Biggest question now looks to be who is the number 1 goalie??? Obviously Hart is the future, but Elliott for the short term seems to be the safest bet for a best chance to win the next game. The other obvious part is that the defense in front of the goalies has been awful.

Flyers need to figure some stuff out quickly or they’ll dig a deep hole again.

Flyer games - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Get to see very few Flyer games here on the west coast, don't even get the NHL channel because AT&T UVerse put the channel on the most expensive tier.

From what I've read Ghost looked decent in his return and we outshot our opponent for a change. Coughing up a 2-0 lead isn't so great and read we got abit lucky with 3 Devil shots hitting posts. Oh well, take the win and see what tomorrow brings us all.
 
Another one goal win for the Leafs, on the road, and 7-2 on the season. That's five one goal wins in 9 games and it took them over 30 games to accomplish that last year. Maybe they're finally cluing into how to play a little defense when the game is on the line - one can hope, anyway.

As for the officiating, hope they swap out these bad referees sometime soon - if we're stuck with these guys for the entire 56 game season it'll be brutal. I would have thought Canadian based NHL referees would have a better understanding of the game, but I'd be wrong.

P.S. - Wayne Simmonds having a nice week/road trip - three goals in three games - overall, nice start to the season and a good addition for the Leafs. Always liked his style of play and he's still got some left in the tank - good on the PK.
 
P.S. - Wayne Simmonds having a nice week/road trip - three goals in three games - overall, nice start to the season and a good addition for the Leafs. Always liked his style of play and he's still got some left in the tank - good on the PK.

Yeah, I was sad to see him leave Flyers. Going to Devils made it even worse. He struggled to be relevant there.

Glad he’s producing somewhere now. Especially when it doesn’t hurt the Flyers...for now.
 
Another one goal win for the Leafs, on the road, and 7-2 on the season. That's five one goal wins in 9 games and it took them over 30 games to accomplish that last year. Maybe they're finally cluing into how to play a little defense when the game is on the line - one can hope, anyway.

As for the officiating, hope they swap out these bad referees sometime soon - if we're stuck with these guys for the entire 56 game season it'll be brutal. I would have thought Canadian based NHL referees would have a better understanding of the game, but I'd be wrong.

P.S. - Wayne Simmonds having a nice week/road trip - three goals in three games - overall, nice start to the season and a good addition for the Leafs. Always liked his style of play and he's still got some left in the tank - good on the PK.

Man the refs were BRUTAL last night.

I'm life long leaf fan whos old enough to remember the glorious sixties, unfortunately that also means I remember the intervening decades.
Been excited about leaf talent for a couple of years now and despite the perennial "how bout them leafs now" this year feels different for some reason. Maybe because we aren't in the same div as Boston.

And for all the bad about the All Canadian division, we are going to see some serious combat hockey in the stretch run. I can't wait.

Simmonds has 500 points! Marner said he's reminded him 5 times that its okay to aim for his chest in front of the net. gotta luv that.
 
My Islander Facebook group shared this. I can't help myself.

Sanders and Toronto.jpg
 
My Islander Facebook group shared this. I can't help myself.

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"just you wait" takes on a whole new meaning as a life long leaf fan.
ergo, I'm used to the taunting.
I take it with appropriate "humbility" as Honest Ed used to say.
But just you wait. soon come.
 
"just you wait" takes on a whole new meaning as a life long leaf fan.
ergo, I'm used to the taunting.
I take it with appropriate "humbility" as Honest Ed used to say.
But just you wait. soon come.
I thought us Met fans had it rough with "wait till next year". Its a real shame I can't taunt "1940" anymore. Still 1 since 1940 is nothing to brag about even if "Potvin Sucks". LOL!
 
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