The puck has already dropped in Toronto. Make your bold division, playoff and award predictions here. Talk shit here. Marvel at Jagr's mullet here and wherever appropriate (read: everywhere).

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

and by everyone, I mean all the Yahoo writers I read.

Caps are the hot pick out of the East, though a lot of people have Tampa repeating.

I can't see Chicago repeating. Even if Kane doesn't end up in jail. Guess I'll pick the Ducks too. In the East it's a coin flip between Tampa, Washington and Pittsburgh, IMO. I think Montreal regresses a bit. And fuck the fucking Rangers.

I think Kessel is going to have a huge year but I don't see him scoring more goals than Ovie.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/blackhawks-try-to-sneak-gary-bettman-past-boos-and-they-fail--video-004425212.html

You could dress him up in an elephant costume and people boo his ass anyway. Dude has the charisma and leadership of a snail without its shell. I get that he protects the owners' money but outside of those 30 guys, pretty much everyone should hate him. Three work stoppages on his watch and a general but comprehensive ineptitude in promoting the game and its players.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Art Ross Trophy: Sid, barring injury, he will win.

Hart Trophy: Getzlaf (Ducks will kick ass again in the regular season).

Richard Trophy: Ovie (if not I think Tarasenko or Stamkos. Kessell could have a 45/45 season though).

Norris Trophy: I am going Keith on this one, but there are a lot of guys who could win. If the Kings do OK, Doughty will get it because people realize he deserves one as sort of a career-to-date achievement. Subban got off to a nice start last night, too.

Vezina Trophy: I am going off the board and taking Sergei Bobrovsky. Rinne's health concerns me. Price is always a good pick. Some people are taking like Quick or Crawford, that is puzzling to me. Bob is my guy, I think the Jackets are going to score a lot of goals this year but also have to have him at his best. He is an excellent goalie, if he played in a major market more people would take him.

I also think Columbus can do some damage as a group. They had a great finish to last season after being totally buried by injuries early on. Sort of like Colorado, but better. I think they will make the playoffs for sure and have a pretty good chance of winning the East, especially if they can bring in an impact defenseman during the season. Their forward group is really strong and they have the goaltending. If not them then I like Tampa again; Tampa has a stacked team.

Everyone is taking the Caps but 1) everyone is generally wrong and 2) they are still the Caps. I do think five teams will probably make it from that division, Washington, Pittsburgh, Columbus, the Rangers and then someone from the grab bag. Maybe the Islanders again or maybe Philly. Boston could get in from the other division but I have some doubts; they don't have a lot of depth. Florida is another possibility but they don't have much in the way of consistency. I think Montreal, Detroit and the Lightning all make it there. Ottawa is pretty iffy, let's face it they had to really pull one out of their ass last year to make it. They will have to be better on a more consistent basis this year to get in again.

The West is a lot more interesting. Chicago will be back in the playoffs and I don't see any reason why they can't repeat. Panarov and Teravainen are legit top-six players to step in for Saad and Sharp. Their defense still has a rock solid top four. Ansimimov is an upgrade in most ways over Richards and the same way with Daley/Oduya. Anaheim has a lot on paper and might get to the next level (losing Game 7 of the Cup finals after holding a lead). St Louis is super weird and uneasy, they have to feel weird knowing everyone's ass in on the line but at the same time they did win the toughest division in the league last year. The Kings have some new faces but not much depth at this point. The Preds theoretically have a lot going for them, just on their back end alone and now they also push the pace and have forward depth. Dallas and Colorado should be improved from last season. The Canadian teams could all go either way, and Winnipeg is probably the most interesting to me. They were developing a strong identity and they got a bunch of young guys (Ehlers, Burmistrov, etc) to give them the scoring punch they lacked. I could see Maurice doing a nice job there. The Flames were overachievers last year but with Hamilton, Bennett, Giordano, et al in the fold, they should be substantively better. The Canucks are a weird team but they are a veteran enough group to make the postseason by default when some more volatile team screws up. It's hard for me to pick against Chicago here, to be honest. If not them then I think it will be someone random. Anaheim and to an extent Nashville seem loaded on paper but neither gives me a ton of fuzzy feelings as far as winning the conference.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

But if you're picking an unexpected team to do something, they're supposed to be unexpected. I also think they will definitely lose to the WC champ if they make it.

The other team that intrigues me is Detroit. I don't think they are going to be that good but I am curious what their young guys do this year. A lot of guys seem primed to produce more (Tatar and Nyqvist continuing to establish themselves, Jurco; Pulkkinen, et al).

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

what a bed-shitting start. I knew their defense was weak but holy shit.

They made a coaching change. Good news. It's Torts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzQVA1c5eQU

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

not for them

the good news is that they made a coaching change, the bad news is that the new coach is torts. what an asshole.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

and lol'd the other day when a headline said, "no nhl team has contacted Tortorella for any vacancies"

After the start they had to last season, this disaster and, well, being the goddamn Blue Jackets, they did what any insecure, unsuccessful, mid-market team would do: made a hasty, overpriced and ineffective decision. Oh well, maybe Torts will work out in the short run. If he can install any type of defensive structure there, they should see better results. Not only can they not defend in their own end, they don't do a good job of getting the puck out of there either. I saw a game last week where an opposing just flat out said "We want to attack their defensemen; that's clearly the weakness of their team" in an intermission interview.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

yeah maybe Torts can stop the defensive bleeding.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

http://www.tubechop.com/chop/bVP_w1rQweE

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/7003453

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Steve Mason has had to put on a show and we're only ONE minute in. Then the Flyers had a penalty shot. The end to end craziness is maybe a bit much but we'll see how it plays out. Some of the preseason ones were wild but this has a lot more intensity.

Last night we also saw the first ever coach's challenge, taken and, fittingly, won by Mike Babcock.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

I cant even imagine what its gonna look like when every possession ends in a scoring chance

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

in that vancouver-calgary game (the second one) the canucks tried a conservative approach and managed to slow it down. it didn't work because eventually they took a chance and would-be breakaway turned into a turnover and the winning goal for calgary. a couple others have managed to go scoreless and get to the shootout, but i didnt watch either one.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Sharks looked good last night... But at the same time, LA looked bad... Same thing happened last year... Hopefully the Sharks can win some home games this year and make it back to the playoffs...

Pavelski is a great choice for captain... I would've loved to see Vlasic with the C on his sweater, too... Happy Couture got an A... He deserves it... Deserved it last year...

_____________________________________________________________
Everyone here hates pop music, but loves Michael Jackson... Okay Player...

They started well last year though. I like what DeBoer is trying to do; I mean not that it wasn't obvious that they had to be a much better 5on5 team. I think their defense should be improved and obviously a few of their forwards playing more consistently would be great (Marleau, Hertl, Couture).

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

I guess Eichel scored a goal but I didn't see any of that game. I wouldn't be surprised if he is actually the better player right today. McDavid is going to be a savage though. He plays with a lot of confidence. I don't know that he has the touch and sense that Nugent-Hopkins did at this age, let alone Crosby, but he's stronger, more aggressive and has a harder shot than either guy at this age. He would definitely be wasting his time in junior right now. It will be interesting to see who wins the Calder this year, some pretty strong candidates outside the obvious ones.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Against a team that sucked on D last year. Pittsburgh has had some decent possession, Niemi has been good against them, but not an auspicious beginning.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Down 3-0, now leading 5-4.

------

12 play and 12 planets are enlighten for all the Aliens to Party and free those on the Sex Planet-maxxx

XBL: trkc21
Twitter: @tyrcasey

Sick ass game, game of the night.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

And this team can not clear the puck when the other team pulls it's goalie.

But a win's a win.

------

12 play and 12 planets are enlighten for all the Aliens to Party and free those on the Sex Planet-maxxx

XBL: trkc21
Twitter: @tyrcasey

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/buffalo-sabres-make-hip-hop-classic-their-unlikely-new-goal-song-134404671.html

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2015/10/10/alex-ovechkin-scores-another-classic-goal-gif/

Like I get how he can bring the puck from inside to outside but he does it in such a way that he just opens up the defender so wide that he can slip it back inside cleanly and through the five hole or to the far side even.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

it was infuriating.

Three years ago was during the neutering of Ovie though. I have never seen a team with such a warped approach to anything. Let's see, we have the best scorer in the league, a great offense and a great power play. But it hasn't won us a Cup. Let's turn into a checking team! It was like a three-to-four-year fog of stupidity. I love the balance they have now, this is the most complete team they have had in the Ovie era IMO.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

that playoff run remains the crowning achievement of halak's career.

one of my favorite things about ovie is how he can pull a low wrist shot from 40+ feet and the fucking thing goes in. kovalchuk had that weird kind of seeing-eye shot, too.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Way harder than all the game 7 losses to the Rangers.

(three in a row and counting....)

Habs-Pens is fun so far

Wings-Lightning feeling each other out

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

Talbot is another young goalie playing very well but he gets nothing to show for it.

The Pens got fucked but they have bigger problems than losing three games in a row. IMO some of these guys are full of themselves. Too much cute shit and trying to make the perfect play, then way too much pouting when things go wrong. The guys who I think have a good attitude are Hornqvist and Letang but those are not really their leaders.

This Wings-Bolts game is pretty cool. Larkin with another great play, Abdelkader doing his thing, Hank obviously. I thought Callahan was going to score twice in about a minute there to tie it. Hot finish to come.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

yikes

Not that it mattered, but the Caps had a goal called off on total bullshit.

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/even-nhl-coach-s-challenge-can-t-save-us-from-tim-peel-012038293.html

Tim Peel is the worst.

Giroux with a hat trick to cap a comeback win. Philly down 4-2, wins 5-4 in OT. Mark Streit with three dimes. FAMILIAR FEELING, BOSTON!?!

The Oilers are whipping the Red Wings' ass right now. The second goal by McDavid was a beauty.

Anthony Duclair is the real deal and so is Domi. Once Strome arrives they are going to have a sick top six in the desert.

Calgary was bound to take a step back (essentially a statistical anomaly what they did last year) but they are in shambles. Hartley's job is safe but I don't know about the front office. If you look at it, most of their best moves were made by Feaster anyway. I think it's too soon to freak out but they look pretty bad early.

The Ducks have had a slow start but they are kind of a streaky team by nature. They could rip off seven or eight wins in a row and be right back in the saddle.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

seems like it would be a big mistake.

Firing him would mean changing the whole culture of their room and probably some personnel, too. They were pretty active this offseason and have a lot of new players. They had some losing streaks last year, too. Obviously the fact that they are not scoring for shit is troubling but how long are Getzlaf and Perry going to stay quiet? One point each, that won't hold.

I wouldn't rule out a performance based firing but I think the situation would have to be really dire. If they have like 2 wins through 20 games or at midseason they look way out of the playoff picture, maybe. Then again they don't really have an assistant waiting in the wings, though two recent hires (MacLean and AHL coach Dallas Eakins) have head coaching experience.

I think his job is safe and so is Darryl Sutter's. Things will really have to get fucked up for him to be canned, I mean more than they already are. Lombardi is very loyal to him, plus he knows he is dealing with a lot of turnover and not much depth.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2015/10/21/gif-recap-caps-go-into-beast-mode-against-the-flames/

I mean:

http://i.imgur.com/BMN89Gr.gif

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2015/10/24/gif-recap-the-kuznetsov-show/

http://i.imgur.com/VwT93QI.gif

al montoya has played surprisingly well for the preds. he and grubauer were both good last night.

but it's like they were hanging with that cycle and then they just him walk right to the front of the net. maybe campbell was gassed or something because he stopped skating and didn't even extend his stick.

3on3 really puts it all out there, lots of one-on-one play with guys protecting the puck for long stretches and guys taking other guys off their skates without any momentum, kind of like a wrestling match. pretty fun.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

that drew the entire defense, rightfully so.

Especially on the power play but just in general, he is not only very productive but having them out as a decoy opens up a lot for the rest of the team. That is when they are at their best. I also liked when they had that prick Ribeiro because he was good distributing the puck, though Ovie was more in fire-when-ready mode then, not asked to play as much of a nuanced game.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

everyone goes to Ovie, even the guy trying to back check

http://i.imgur.com/itpDHSz.gif

Hardly fair.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

I watched portions of both games. This was one of Columbus's better games but they let the lead slip away. This was not one of Anaheim's better games, like they would have a decent shift and then like two brutal ones. I cannot explain what is happening there. Nashville put it on them, 5-1. Late power-play goal averted another shutout.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Right now the Ducks have a goalie and not much else. Not very good moving out of their end, not a strong possession team in any area (I am eye-balling this, Boudreau and I share a disdain for fancy stats), and it shows in the results. Losing a lot, scoring not at all.

There is something about this team that is overly nice and kind of soft in some areas. You also have to figure the guys that have been there for any length of time have some psychological things to get over the way they keep losing. They can't think ahead though, they need to get back to Boudreau's specialty, the regular season.

I like what I am seeing from the Flyers. Better defensive structure, more depth all over, pretty good goaltending and so forth. They should be beating the Rangers comfortably but Lundqvist is making some great saves; Mason has also been solid. They obviously had that disaster against Florida but overall I like the way they have come out of the gates and think Hakstol will fare fine in the big leagues.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

The goal he gave up there was nothing that could be done. Anything he can stop tonight, he is stopping. I think this one is headed for a shootout, but with this new OT format you can't say that so confidently. The Flyers-Rangers OT was sick. Gagner should have ended the game but then he and G scored in the shootout. Lundqvist had 46 fucking saves in defeat.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

They don't have like huge stars just a bunch of guys who can play. You can really never relax against them.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

in the entire league.

I can't think of too many other guys who clearly have more speed with it. Maybe Jeff Carter. I think he is at least as fast as Kane. He also plays really well without the puck. I give him until the end of next year to be a top five forward in the NHL.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/43E1D9D8731270267081203523584_38fb6d19ed5.1.5.6300352150964024307.mp4?versionId=WzgM6PiG9TB5loHvr8VtAzIZRT3g0QrZ

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

The Kings and Bruins ain't dead yet. Two of the hottest teams in the league, especially the Kings. The Kings are winning without their big guns firing for the most part. Carter had a big goal today but he's just been decent, the guy carrying the mail for them has been Toffoli. Hopefully he can avoid the usual November injury or falloff after the latest in a series of explosive Octobers. These guys still need a little more, but with Richards and Voynov gone they can add it in season. The Bs have it going now with Bergeron-Marchand-Connolly clicking, Z looking rejuvenated and Krejci remaining one of the hottest players in the league. Connolly is finally getting a good opportunity and he is getting it going. Beautiful for him to get the game-winner against his former team tonight.

The Central Division is just filthy, pretty much good from top to bottom. How good is Winnipeg's goaltending? Their No. 1 guy might be the fourth best goalie in their system. Hutchinson has been stellar, even better than his numbers suggest. Hellebyuck and Comrie have both been outstanding in the A. Why does every Minnesota game turn into a track meet. Jacques Lemaire must be spinnin' in his grave (c) Charles Barkley.

Detroit had a nice start and then won one out of seven games. They won the back end of a home-and-home with Ottawa big today. I don't think they have a very good team and people are seeing just how great Babcock was. They have plenty of forward depth, I will give them that.

The Coyotes promptly turned into a pumpkin. Domi is a legit player, some of these other kids (Duclair, Strome) will be very good in short order. They still don't have a ton of depth or experience and I think they need to start looking for a replacement for Mike Smith.

I like watching the Panthers. It hasn't all come together for them yet and they also need to start looking ahead in net even though Lou and Montoya are playing well. But they are playing with better structure and their guys are getting a little more consistent. Losing Barkov was a setback and Huberdeau is cold but you see guys like Bjugstad getting a little better with each passing game. He is going to be a very good player. He's big, he's fast, he's got a great stick and he knows how to play a simple game but improvise at the same time. I have been very impressed with his play.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

But it's been nice to see anyone other than Krejci play well, because he was completely carrying them the first two weeks.

-----------------------------------------------------------
BOSTON BRUINS, 2011 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

2010 OKAY COLLEGE FANTASY CHAMPION

At least the guys that are close to coming up. Maybe they can make a deal but they didn't really set out to compete this year. They traded for a bunch of first-round picks. Chara is giving them something now but with him and Seidenberg making a lot I don't know how much they can add immediately.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

McDavid is going to be the best forward in the league, probably within about three seasons. Best 18-year-old rookie I have ever seen, as obviously I was very young when Lemieux entered the league. Outside of maybe Teemu, he might be the best rookie period. Nurse has put on a little weight and all in his balls, very competitive on defense and willing to take risks on offense. Dude is going to take the mantle from Chara as the ubiquitous, "ah fuck, this guy again?" defenseman. Obviously Hall was a legit player. Nuge may not be all he was hyped up to be but he's good. Some of the other guys may still come around. Draisaitl looks improved, faster, stronger and more confident than last year for sure. Talbot is the best goalie they have had since Roloson and maybe further back than that. They have an actual coach and some semblance of structure now. It only took a solid decade of sucking giraffe ass but they seem like they can generate some legitimate hype now finally.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

They are starting to pick it up amid all this "dreaded vote of confidence" stuff. I don't like when reporters make a GM's endorsement sound like a negative thing. Yes, they say it and then the guy gets fired the next week with some regularity, but more often than not they mean it and even if they don't what are they supposed to say? I am going to fire him if we don't win six out of the next ten? You asked the question, so making a big deal out of the answer (or non-answer) is like wacking a bees' nest with a can of Raid in your hand ready to go.

The Blues have a bunch of guys out or playing hurt right now with Tank, Stastny, Schwarz, Shattenkirk, Paryako, Elliott and Berglund all with varying degrees of owies. They still seem to be playing well. This team has taken over the mantle from San Jose as the regular-season world-beater, I guess.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

.

...I'm from the era when A.I. was the answer, now they think ai is the answer - Marlon Craft

hopefully not a long term thing though.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

.

...I'm from the era when A.I. was the answer, now they think ai is the answer - Marlon Craft

In the end, we learned everyone involved was a total asshole.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

And they happened maybe three minutes apart.

The 'Canes stormed the Sens goal and Skinner got a nice one with 3.3 seconds left.

I flipped to the Caps game (they had a tying goal disallowed earlier) and they scored with EIGHT TENTHS of a second left to go to OT.

Carolina got the W in OT, I think the Caps will, too.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

incredible play by the Caps to get that goal.

Ovie's disallowed goal was insane. Backhand, no look. Can't believe they disallowed it. Would've made him the all time Russian goal leader.

the disallowed goal was tough, i dunno, i mean williams was definitely interfering with the goalie but he was also being pushed in by some schlub defenseman. i would have to take a better look at it (i flip away during the reviews often) but seeing it live i was pretty sure the leafs would win the challenge.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

The current rule is extremely stupid.

Caps been burned by it twice so far.

it's heading toward the old rule of not allowing anyone in the paint. now especially with reviews, people will get pissy about the subjectivity of the current rule and that'll probably be the solution. brett hull wept.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

just let refereeing be subjective sometimes.

refereeing is *always* subjective, just accept it.

9 out of 10 times a ref will be able to make a pretty clear call on if the goalie was interfered with.

basically the same rate of success as this or any other garbage rule.

he's never going to score again

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

shit is crazy.

Williams said he's up for the Selke for preventing Ovie's last two goals.

not that it mattered. fuck the flyers are yoohoo thick asswater this year.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

A lot of teams with disappointing starts are either thinking about getting better or cleaning house.

You have to think the Lightning and Flames want to make a move to get things going in the right direction. I don't think the Bolts should be pressed. The Flames have had bad goaltending, I think the rest will work itself out.

The Avs, Blue Jackets and Flyers are probably going the other way. Their bad starts don't seem to be turning into anything more than bad finishes. Teams are definitely looking at Duchene and Johansen but the prices are going to be astronomical given the lack of impetus to make a deal. I liked what the Avs did with Beauchemin and if they get another player like him, they will be in better shape. They have a lot of pieces and just need to solidify IMO. Meanwhile the Blue Jackets and Flyers pretty much need a whole defense corps and the Flyers could use other stuff, too. Philly doesn't have a whole lot to trade but it's time to start shopping Mark Streit. They could get a lot for him at the deadline, he is a very good power-play guy and a good skater, he is also under contract for next year at a reasonable cap hit and an even more reasonable salary. He is still good but he's too old to be part of their plans, which have to be about the future, unfortunately, because they are terrible.

The Hurricanes have had some fight but the general direction of their team is toward a blowup. I think only Faulk and Lindholm have strong job security. Skinner is playing a lot better, I would be surprised if they were to trade him now. Jordan Staal has kind of picked it up too but his contract is prohibitive. The rest of their veteran guys could all be had and I expect the competition for Eric Staal to be pretty heavy. He is still a big, No. 1 center with a Stanley Cup on his resume, even if he is not quite the player he once was.

The Blackhawks should have Duncan Keith back this weekend and Rozy is coming back now, too. That doesn't seem to deter their interest in adding a defenseman. We shall see what they come up with, I think the market is thin now but some possibilities could hit the market.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

but they really took it to us. That goal by Tank that made it 3-2 was amazing. Dude can do something incredibly anytime he gets the puck. Good to be 14-4 with all the injuries we have had, so I'm not complaining.

...I'm from the era when A.I. was the answer, now they think ai is the answer - Marlon Craft

and this parayko dude is for real, he and klingberg on dallas have both really been outstanding.

like i thought for sure they'd fizzle at the end of their last road trip but they had a strong finish. good work by hitch.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

3on3 is supposed to avert shootouts? Not in Ottawa!

This was their SIXTH shootout of the year. That has to lead the league by a huge margin. They have split those games. Bobby Ryan scored again today, 5/6 in the shootout this year, but they lost anyway.

There were a bunch of crazy chances in OT but nothing went on. Ottawa had three chances to win it and Rick Nash was like 2 centimeters from ending the game.

It's also crazy how tight that division is, after Montreal every team is basically .500.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Half their games go to overtime and I've never seen a team flub more chances from point-blank range. Their structure is pretty good but then random softness on the back end ruins it at inopportune times. Honestly they have the talent to be a playoff team but they need a couple more useful players. It would help of McDonald, Lecavalier and Umberger were not all eating substantial portions of their cap.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Glad we don't have to play him again in the reg season.

as it turns out he will end up with a better season than either due to mcdavid's injury, eichel playing for buffalo and larkin being a beast.

i knew he'd be good but he has been maybe their best forward wire to wire this year and they have a lot of good ones. he leads the league in plus/minus on a team that isn't like running away with its division or anything. helluva season, will easily get 25 goals.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Every time he and Zetterberg were on the ice I was crossing my fingers.

sitting in 5th.