NHL 2015-16 Season Thread

Yeah, I was more talking about his availability with the concussion. He's looked good most of the year from what I saw.

Maybe this year he'll even make it past the first round and get an actual chance to choke for old times sake!

Wouldn't be surprised if they Lightning are done in the first round. Only thing they have going for them is Bishop playing out of his mind still a lot of talent on the roster even with the #1 scorer and #2 defenseman out.

Fadaar_sl said:

Wouldn't be surprised if they Lightning are done in the first round. Only thing they have going for them is Bishop playing out of his mind still a lot of talent on the roster even with the #1 scorer and #2 defenseman out.

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I think Tampa can still beat Detroit in Round 1 (assuming the Wings edge out Boston for the #3 seed in the Atlantic and Tampa ends up the #2 seed)

I kind of love all these models coming out only weighing team's play over the last 25 games as a predictor of the playoffs. Caps have been in full coast mode for awhile now, and everyone is picking the Pens or LA to win the Cup now. Caps not even making top 10 most likely to win it in some of these predictions. Love the idea we're the underdog more than all the pressure of being the consensus pick.

Look at this adorable shit. Poor little guy doesn't know how to handle his team being legit, has to hunt down excuses to cast himself as the underdog. It's like a little Patriots fan climbed up your urethra and started posted for you. Awwww. "Waaah no one believes in us!"

It is a little baffling. Like seeing power rankings where they bump up a team with 20 less points for a week, just so the Caps aren't #1 every single week. I think it's all to generate talk, because no one wants to just hear about how the Caps are the team to beat.

Looking like the Rangers are next in line to fall victim to injury. Not official yet, but heavily rumored and pretty obvious besides that McDonagh broke his hand last night... as if our defense didn't suck enough. Thank jebus that we didn't move Yandle at the deadline.

Injuries in the east :
Pittsburgh: Malkin, MAF, Maata
Islanders: Halak, Hamonic, Grabovski (Berube?)
Rangers: McDonagh
Tampa: Stamkos, Stralman
Florida: Mitchell, Trocheck
Philly: Del Zotto, Neuvirth

Pretty significant names on that list

Grimmlokk_sl said:

Look at this adorable shit. Poor little guy doesn't know how to handle his team being legit, has to hunt down excuses to cast himself as the underdog. It's like a little Patriots fan climbed up your urethra and started posted for you. Awwww. "Waaah no one believes in us!"

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Oh no it's a real thing. It's not just the Caps getting pushed down either, includes Chicago. I don't follow a lot of the advanced stats guys enough to know who's who, but one recent one released % chances for all teams currently in the playoff spot to Win the Cup. Philly was 4th at ~8%, while Chicago and Washington weren't even listed at somewhere less than 5% each.

Hedman and Callahan out tonight for Tampa. Holy shit their injuries.

AND their backup is playing AND the Rangers are still getting their shit pushed in. This might be the worst period of hockey I have seen them play in the past 3+ seasons and i'm not even joking.

Please tell me they are tanking intentionally cause this is pathetic.

Edit: This league is a fucking joke. Rangers don't need help from the refs to lose this game, but they'll be damned if they don't do their part.

Holtby manages to blow his chance to tie Marty with 48th win by giving up a couple of softies.

Girardi hurt late in Rags win over Tampa.

Thats gotta be a concussion.... Love how it took two players falling on top of him to get a whistle, yet glass gets an instant match penalty for a CLEAN hit in the first.

Solid turn around turn around effort though. Kreider and Stepan getting hot finally.

Stupid Rangers can't even lose right !

Edit: Swaglin gets two for Pittsburgh... breaks my heart

StoiCynic_sl said:

Edit: Swaglin gets two for Pittsburgh... breaks my heart

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And the Caps lost for the first time all year when Ovie got multiple points(17 games). Wheels are coming off!!!! NO ONE BELIEVES IN YOU MERRITH!!!!

Grimmlokk_sl said:

And the Caps lost for the first time all year when Ovie got multiple points(17 games). Wheels are coming off!!!! NO ONE BELIEVES IN YOU MERRITH!!!!

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Oh Grimm, I was merely pointing out that I'm selling hard on a model that has the Flyers as the 4th best chance to win the Cup and Chicago and us not even in the top 10 among the 16 playoff teams.

Wheels came off for Holtby last night, that's for sure. With Backstrom out, Marcus Johannson stepped up to 1C duties (kept Kuznetsov with his intact 2nd line) and all they did was put up 8 points combined (Ovechkin 2G, Oshie 1G 2A, Mojo 3A). Holtby gave up a soft goal glove side to Tavares to let the Isles tie it at 1 in the 2nd, and promptly after Oshie and Ovechkin extended the lead to 2 in the 3rd, he whiffs on a really simple poke check to move the puck to the corner, letting it slide right into the slot for an empty net tap in. Deflection goal a minute later and it's tied, then he overplays a rebound in OT and we lose. We controlled the majority of the game, Holtby just had a bad one.

Pens/Rags/Isles all winning keeps spots in the Metro at least semi up for grabs. Boston managed a point but they're really hurting in the wild card/#3 seed in Atlantic hunt. Florida clinched Atlantic title. Assuming Flyers do anything with their games in hand, likely match ups in the East are Was/Phi, Fla/NYI, Pitt/NYR, and TB/Detroit. Pretty good story lines for all of those series save the Florida/Isles, but I think it would be a decent series to watch save for all the injuries the Isles have.

Boston is pretty fucked, tied in points with Detroit and Philly but Wings have a game in hand (and an extra ROW), and Philly has 2 games in hand. I think Julien gets fired if they miss the playoffs again.

Wooo, some good games on tonight! This has been a fun week for hockey.

Sounds like Backstrom might be back in for us tonight.

I don't even know who to root for anymore. Isles need to pick up 3 points on us in 3 games for us to play Florida, BUT if we win the next two and Pens lose the last two (very possible v. Caps and Philly) then we get home ice on them. Unfortunately for that to happen Holtby would need to break Marty's record and fuck that noise!

StoiCynic_sl said:

I don't even know who to root for anymore. Isles need to pick up 3 points on us in 3 games for us to play Florida, BUT if we win the next two and Pens lose the last two (very possible v. Caps and Philly) then we get home ice on them. Unfortunately for that to happen Holtby would need to break Marty's record and fuck that noise!

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As a Rags fan, I find it weird you would be rooting against Holtby breaking Marty's record. Guy kind of deserves it, especially when you look at the Games Played for Marty and everyone else on the top 5 wins in a season list. Everyone else is north of 70 games, Holtby likely to top out at 66.

I got into hockey around '93 and was a HUGE Devils/Brodeur fan until I jumped on the Ranger band wagon the following year. I was in jr high and didn't know any better... anyway, I never stopped admiring him but that's not the reason for me rooting against Holtby. Mostly just being a hater.

Merrith_sl said:

As a Rags fan, I find it weird you would be rooting against Holtby breaking Marty's record. Guy kind of deserves it, especially when you look at the Games Played for Marty and everyone else on the top 5 wins in a season list. Everyone else is north of 70 games, Holtby likely to top out at 66.

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Curious but too lazy to look it up. How do modern OT/shootout rules effect this? Taking ties out of the equation helps some I'm sure. But it's not like goalies are smashing the Wins record yearly.