NHL 2015-16 Season Thread

kaxfenix

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THat Kid did get another puck and the mascot for the pens brought him a Crosby Jersey .. So all is good... Still would of been nice if that "Fan" got punched in the face though.
 

Grimmlokk

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Saw you on t.v. last night Grimm!!
Look you motherfuckers weren't there. That little shit was hitting his mom and whining all game. She bought that fucker like 4 hot dogs and he just kept dropping them then screeching at the top of his lungs until she'd buy him another! He pissed his pants in the 1st period and refused to let her go clean him up.

I taught that fuck a lesson, you don't get everything you want. They didn't show me giving the puck to the little girl with ALS 3 rows over, her entire family crying and thanking me profusely. Oh no!

Then those bastards coddled him and reinforced that horrible behavior!!!
 

Merrith

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More goalie interference shananigans. Lupul brushing Lundqvist in the paint was enough to uphold a disallowed goal. Caps of course get the short end of the stick on a call when contact was made with Holtby but goal was allowed because Wilson was close to the guy so clearly it was his fault or something. Honestly I think when compared to the laughable wave off for the Beagle contact on Jones in the game against the Sharks, I think all of them should be good goals, I just know the Caps will get the short end of the stick on goalie interference calls 99 times out of 100.
 

Merrith

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I'm just looking ahead to the playoffs...the precedent they're setting with some of these (and not consistently) will cause a tremendous uproar if it ends up deciding a big playoff game.
 

Merrith

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Well hell, refs finally got one right on a challenge. Montoya initiates contact with Williams on a Beagle goal, and they allow it just fine. Kuznetsov...so hot right now.
 

Eomer

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I'm just looking ahead to the playoffs...the precedent they're setting with some of these (and not consistently) will cause a tremendous uproar if it ends up deciding a big playoff game.
Yup. The disallowed goal against the Flames on Saturday night was garbage, IMO. Yes, Letestu made extremely brief and light contact with Ramo, but it absolutely did not prevent him from getting across the crease to make the save. Pretty much no mortal goaltender could have gotten across on the play. It's going to be the 90's "toe in the crease" bullshit all over again, and it's going to end up significantly impacting a playoff series no doubt.
 

Merrith

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At least I can see a little more what the bitch would be on that goal. Letestu does kind of push into Ramo, although it's EXTREMELY light contact. I also don't see how it prevents him from making the save/doing his job. But at least in this case you have a guy skating right into the blue paint towards the goalie and pushing off him a little bit (stress little). They just better not call this much ticky tack shit in the playoffs...hell I'm even not in favor of this overturning goals in the regular season.
 

Merrith

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We'll have to see, scoring on the whole seems a little up at the start of this year. Minus guys who have played less than 7 games, there are 31 other skaters averaging over a point a game at the moment. Obviously, small sample size being only about an eighth into the season, but the additional effect of 3v3 OT might also be a push that see the Art Ross winner with 100+ points this year
 

Grimmlokk

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We'll have to see, scoring on the whole seems a little up at the start of this year.
Nope, it's down, as low as it's been in 12 years. Read the actual articles, they cover your thoughts pretty well. The second one goes in to the whole "Everybody slumps" part as well, to counter some of the negativity.

One of them touches on the fewer PP opportunities per game, which bears out.

NHL League Averages | Hockey-Reference.com

Those are per team average for the season. Before 2009 teams averaged over 4 PPOs per game all but one season since 1981. They've been under 4 since '09. And you can see PP% is pretty decent, teams just aren't getting opportunities like they used to and like they should if the refs call shit right.

Goalies being better than ever also bears out somewhat, with the historically high save %s. The LEAGUE has has a .910+ average for the last 6 years. That used to be a decent individual average. Of course the dump and chase and play it safe mentality contributes to this as well, as mentioned in one of those articles.
 

Merrith

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The goalie numbers are a big part of it, as is the PP chances, but I do think 3v3 OT will increase scoring some (I mean, really, how could it not?). Also again, there are a much higher number of players averaging over a point a game right now than there were through last season. Whether that stays true the rest of the year I have no idea, only a small sample size (only about 10-12% of the total season).
 

Grimmlokk

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It's not a trend based on 12 games this season. It's the last few years. Numbers are down where they were during the "glory days" of the Neutral Zone Trap. Except it's worse now because it's not just the Devils and a few other teams playing that style. It's 80% of the league. It's making for unexciting games. Which is a travesty with the talent in the league right now. And it's trending down. 3v3 OT will make avery smalldent in it. It's not like games were ending in ties as it was. The 10-15 games a team went to shoot out being cut down some isn't going to be a huge difference.

Scoring is down and it's staying down. This is a problem. 3 teams scored 3 goals a game last season. 3-6 teams average that every year now max. '05-'07 when they made an effort to get away from the clutch and grab boring awful shit there were 10+ teams in that category. And that's why I think actually calling the penalties is probably the most obvious and immediate fix. It doesn't have to get back up to 2005 level where every team had 400+ PPO's, but the last few years no one even hits 300. Call those fucking interference penalties FFS! Teams will either get more power plays, or players will adjust and the games will open up some. As it is there's very little incentive not to play that grindy clutch and grab type game.
 

Merrith

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It's not a trend based on 12 games this season. It's the last few years. Numbers are down where they were during the "glory days" of the Neutral Zone Trap. Except it's worse now because it's not just the Devils and a few other teams playing that style. It's 80% of the league. It's making for unexciting games. Which is a travesty with the talent in the league right now. And it's trending down. 3v3 OT will make avery smalldent in it. It's not like games were ending in ties as it was. The 10-15 games a team went to shoot out being cut down some isn't going to be a huge difference.

Scoring is down and it's staying down. This is a problem. 3 teams scored 3 goals a game last season. 3-6 teams average that every year now max. '05-'07 when they made an effort to get away from the clutch and grab boring awful shit there were 10+ teams in that category. And that's why I think actually calling the penalties is probably the most obvious and immediate fix. It doesn't have to get back up to 2005 level where every team had 400+ PPO's, but the last few years no one even hits 300. Call those fucking interference penalties FFS! Teams will either get more power plays, or players will adjust and the games will open up some. As it is there's very little incentive not to play that grindy clutch and grab type game.
Grimm, I wasn't saying it was based off the first 12 games this year, I know PP chances are way down since right after the 2004 lockout. I was stating that through 12 games this year, a lot more players are averaging over a point a game than guys did through last season. As you note, only 3 teams scored 3 goals a game or more last season, but currently there are 8 teams scoring 3+ goals a game this year. This is what I meant about small sample size. It seems like there are some higher scoring teams and guys this year vs. last, but we're only talking ~12 games so it's hard to trust the sample size.

Take Jamie Benn, won the Art Ross last year with 87 points in 82 games (35 goals, 52 assists). Currently he's got 18 points in 12 games (10 goals, 8 assists). That's a 123 point pace over 82 games, with 68 goals and ~55 assists. But again, small sample size. So we'll have to see if the top end scoring keeps up at this pace or not.
 

Eomer

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Goalie equipment needs to be shrunk significantly. How you go about doing that fairly, I'm not entirely sure. But at the very least, their leg pads, gloves, and blockers should be shrunk significantly.
 

Eomer

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Didn't they already do that as well as making the net bigger?
They shortened the leg pads a bit:NHL goalies to use shorter leg pads in 2013-14 season - NHL.com - NHL Insider

That was to try to open up the five hole a bit more. The pads should also be made narrower. Not sure if they can be made any shorter, as the concern there is that shorter pads would expose the top of their knees when they're doing a butterfly. Taking a puck there does not feel good, no question. As far as blockers and gloves go, there's not legitimate safety concern there. Make them significantly smaller. Cutting down on the pants, chest protectors, and arm pads needs to be looked at as well. The fact is, 99% of goalie injuries has nothing to do with being hit by a puck. Shrinking their pads is not a legitimate safety concern, except for a couple areas.

They experimented with different kinds of bigger nets, but no, they never brought any in. I'm pretty firmly opposed to that, as would most hockey fans.
 

lurkingdirk

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I dunno. They seem right to me.

IP5U4BY.png
 

Braen

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Grimm, I wasn't saying it was based off the first 12 games this year, I know PP chances are way down since right after the 2004 lockout. I was stating that through 12 games this year, a lot more players are averaging over a point a game than guys did through last season. As you note, only 3 teams scored 3 goals a game or more last season, but currently there are 8 teams scoring 3+ goals a game this year. This is what I meant about small sample size. It seems like there are some higher scoring teams and guys this year vs. last, but we're only talking ~12 games so it's hard to trust the sample size.

Take Jamie Benn, won the Art Ross last year with 87 points in 82 games (35 goals, 52 assists). Currently he's got 18 points in 12 games (10 goals, 8 assists). That's a 123 point pace over 82 games, with 68 goals and ~55 assists. But again, small sample size. So we'll have to see if the top end scoring keeps up at this pace or not.
And he has another point tonight already