Apparently No Lidstrom = No D. Those were some pretty bad breakdowns and the goals weren't anything spectacular.

Originally Posted by n8rockerasu it's just really nice to have NHL hockey back!

Agreed. If things get too bad, there's always the compliance buyout at the end of the season. Bryz is either staring down a stellar season or a buyout, so either way I'll be satisfied when it comes to that.

Originally Posted by sendme Anyone else surprised at how Detroit played? I'm glad St. Louis won, but I never saw it being a 6-0 game unless it was the other way around. I never expected St. Louis to win. I would have thought the game would have ended 3-1 Detroit.

The absence of Lidstrom becomes apparent first game into the season. It's gonna be a loooooooooong 48 games...

That's true about Lindstrom, but they knew he was retiring. I'm sure they will make up for not having him later in the season. I'm also surprised with the Kings loss. I didn't expect them to have that big of a gap. I would have thought it would have been a closer game than the 5-2 it was. I stopped watching when I became sick of hearing the announcers blame the score on emotions. Trying to say that it was such and emotional deal that the banner was raised and they got their rings. They knew it was all going to happen so they should have got their heads in the game once it was over. I didn't get a chance to see any other games.

6-0 is embarrassing but let's wait like 5 games before we make some quick judgments. This team is very different from last year so lots of unfamiliarity with how the guys play will be a struggle in these early games. One thing that bothers me so far is that Quincy still looks like a bad defenseman. He hasn't been good since coming back to Detroit.

Right. Blues were tops in the West last year - Kings were murdered last night, but Quick can still show his potential. One game means nothing in terms of trends.

That said, of course I'm a Flyers fan who has already written off Bryz for the season because he's given up 3 goals across 5 periods and 40-some-odd shots.

Originally Posted by mykevermin Right. Blues were tops in the West last year - Kings were murdered last night, but Quick can still show his potential. One game means nothing in terms of trends. That said, of course I'm a Flyers fan who has already written off Bryz for the season because he's given up 3 goals across 5 periods and 40-some-odd shots.

Teammates not doing Bryz any favors today. Lots of penalties.

For sure. Puck control looking far better today than yesterday, though.

The goaltender interference call that resulted in a goal being taken away from Philly was utter ing garbage call. Makes me wonder what kind of review/accountability system the NHL has for its officials.

Also curious what the unsportsmanlike call on Ott (?) at the end of P2 was. Players do nothing *but* talk shit for the entire game - how bad must it get to actually get a call by an official?

Originally Posted by mykevermin For sure. Puck control looking far better today than yesterday, though. The goaltender interference call that resulted in a goal being taken away from Philly was utter ing garbage call. Makes me wonder what kind of review/accountability system the NHL has for its officials. Also curious what the unsportsmanlike call on Ott (?) at the end of P2 was. Players do nothing *but* talk shit for the entire game - how bad must it get to actually get a call by an official?

It was a bit ticky tack, but from the overhead replay it looked like the Flyers player knocked Miller backward, which you could argue would affect his lateral movement and his ability to make the save. He probably wouldn't have made it anyway, but that's just crappy timing for Philly. Still...can't expect to win when you're giving your opponent so many power plays.

The unsportsmanlike call was for taking a dive. Ott was channeling his best Manu Ginobili, lol.

I'm not one to say the refs are against one team or another... but todays ref crew for the Fyers game was bad. And most of the egregious calls went against the flyers. That interference call was silly. The flyer wasn't in the crease, was skating across the front of the goal, and the goaly skated into him.

So that's one score called off.

Then the Flyers just scored in a 6 on 5 advanage. But the Ref blew the wistle and stated the goal puck was trapped when it was actually crossing the red line. All because the ref was out of position.

That's two scores called off.

As for the unsportsmanship, they called Ott for flopping.

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Gonna be a long short season for Brz. Call up Boucher... ? lol... At least the Sabres are good for something.

Originally Posted by Admiral Ackbar I'm not one to say the refs are against one team or another... but todays ref crew for the Fyers game was bad. And most of the egregious calls went against the flyers. That interference call was silly. The flyer wasn't in the crease, was skating across the front of the goal, and the goaly skated into him.

That's one way of interpreting it. The other is that Miller was still in the crease when contact was made. The rule states that the goaltender has to be afforded the opportunity to make the save. If you don't like the call, don't rush the crease and run into the goalie. Cody Hodgson managed to do it on Vanek's rebound and he was coming in a lot harder. They can make excuses, but Buffalo outplayed Philly in this one.

Two disallowed goals by the officials - you're out of your ing mind if you think that interference call was even remotely close to a plausible call, let alone a good call. The second disallowed goal was a poor stoppage of play by an official who was at a poor angle to correctly see the puck and (incorrectly) assumed Miller was in possession. Poor positioning + poor angle + poor assumptions = Poor officiating. There isn't a single reasonable hockey analyst who thought that the call was even potentially reasonable.

There's certainly room for a lot of inconsistency in terms of how rules are enforced in the NHL, there's room for missed calls. That's fine, and that's life. That said, both of those calls were far below the level of professionalism for someone earning what NHL officials earn as a salary. There's bad calls, and then there's BAD CALLS. Both of those were BAD CALLS; I don't expect to see the NHL come down hard on any official for a terrible sequence of calls, but those should certainly come into play when deciding which officials get placed where (if at all) in the postseason. None of the refs from today's game should be working in May, unless it's a scrimmage.

Originally Posted by Nifty_Shark 6-0 is embarrassing but let's wait like 5 games before we make some quick judgments. This team is very different from last year so lots of unfamiliarity with how the guys play will be a struggle in these early games. One thing that bothers me so far is that Quincy still looks like a bad defenseman. He hasn't been good since coming back to Detroit.

Bertuzzi's out for a while now, too.

So happy for my Pens and Blue Jackets! Watching the Pens/Rangers tonight at 7!

Originally Posted by shieryda Cup winner? I'll take Pittsburgh this year.

I'll take the Rags, they are deep as hell except maybe at forward. They have the best D and goalie though, so I like their chances.

Originally Posted by mykevermin Nope, for the same reason Philly won't win it this year. Bryzgalov being a flake in the goal is pretty well documented, but Fleury is a head case, too. When he's good, he's good - but he can get psyched out far more easily than people give him credit for. Pens and Flyers are very similar teams - their offense is so good that it offsets the fact that their D is weak and goaltending fluctuates from great to awful, with little in between. I have to say it'll be the Rangers winning this year, as much as I loathe Tortorella as being the most ungrateful, bitchiest, New Yawk-iest, whiner of a coach I've ever seen. Also, Rick Nash is another case of something I despise - a player who whines their way off a team and onto a championship team (you saw that with Jeff Carter last year). That drives me nuts (though I think that the Blue Jackets actually got the better end of the trade, to be honest). Clearly I'm the cantankerous grouchy old man here, but I can't fathom rooting for a team whose owner was clearly among the shitheads in the lockout. I couldn't stomach rooting for the Capitals, Bruins, Predators, etc. knowing the evidence that those teams owners were the minority who kept the lockout going. And the Blackhawks' owner in an interview today flippantly disregarded any notion that he should apologize, saying “Labor is labor, and that’s just the way it is. It might be very distasteful for the fans, but, unfortunately, when you have unions involved, that’s the process you have to go through.” Now, considering all of what we know about the lockout, that's a really shitty, ballsy thing to try to do - blame the players for the continuance of the lockout. him, and the Hawks.

Amen (especially the Hawks part)

Originally Posted by Admiral Ackbar I'm not one to say the refs are against one team or another... but todays ref crew for the Fyers game was bad. And most of the egregious calls went against the flyers. That interference call was silly. The flyer wasn't in the crease, was skating across the front of the goal, and the goaly skated into him. So that's one score called off. Then the Flyers just scored in a 6 on 5 advanage. But the Ref blew the wistle and stated the goal puck was trapped when it was actually crossing the red line. All because the ref was out of position. That's two scores called off. As for the unsportsmanship, they called Ott for flopping.

Lousy officiating, but what else is new? Not sweating the Flyers 0-2 start (which could easily be 0-4 when it's all said and done). As we all know, ya just have to make the playoffs. This team has too much talent not to make it.

Originally Posted by VipFREAK Gonna be a long short season for Brz. Call up Boucher... ? lol... At least the Sabres are good for something.

I feel like I ask this every year, but why do you hate Philly so much again? You're on the other side of the country for crying out loud.

Originally Posted by Jimbo Slice Not sweating the Flyers 0-2 start (which could easily be 0-4 when it's all said and done).

Devils and Rangers this week, ugh. We're terrible against the trap, so this week is gonna be hell on my nerves.

1 second into the Islander v Lightning game: 2 fights, and another penalty. Another penalty before we even hit the 1 minute mark

New Lightning goalie is awful. Guy looks like a statue out there with no lateral movement. Our search for a goalie who doesn't suck continues

Watched the Bruins, Jets game. Bruins deserved that win.

I'd say that Tarasenko is here to stay in St. Louis. Amazing. Calder?