Anybody here watch hockey?

[Red 11]

Add that totally classless act by Alfredsson -- intentionally shooting the puck at Niedermeyer at the end of the second period -- to the reasons why I hate that little puke.

As I wrote above, I thought Ottawa would win it but Anaheim has really taken it to them. The series has been every bit as entertaining as I thought it would be though... too bad 99% of the US hasn't even noticed.

[phishy]

Add that totally classless act by Alfredsson -- intentionally shooting the puck at Niedermeyer at the end of the second period -- to the reasons why I hate that little puke.

As I wrote above, I thought Ottawa would win it but Anaheim has really taken it to them. The series has been every bit as entertaining as I thought it would be though... too bad 99% of the US hasn't even noticed.

cant stand anaheim, so pulling for ottawa.

how has the spezza line done absolutely zero 5-5? there is just too much talent to not get it down w/out pronger in there. amazing job by anaheim.
as for alfredsson shooting the puck at neidermeyer... ehh... ******** neidermeyer.. i would hate it if he did it to my boys, but thats hockey dude.
probably classless, but that goes hand-n-hand with other hockey plays.
think about that prick for vancouver, who did a double barrelled slash on the back of morrows leg.. classless, but thats hockey.

[mhtwins113]

cant stand anaheim, so pulling for ottawa.
Hahaha, why does EVERYONE hate the Ducks? On all the hockey fan messageboards, the Ducks are universally loathed amongst non-Ducks fans, I have absolutely no idea why.

But if we're gonna be cast as the villain, then the bad guy is gonna be the winner in this story. And I'll be there in the Honda Center to watch Scotty Niedermayer lift Lord Stanley's Cup and confirm the Ducks' first championship on Wednesday night!

[phishy]

Hahaha, why does EVERYONE hate the Ducks? On all the hockey fan messageboards, the Ducks are universally loathed amongst non-Ducks fans, I have absolutely no idea why.

But if we're gonna be cast as the villain, then the bad guy is gonna be the winner in this story. And I'll be there in the Honda Center to watch Scotty Niedermayer lift Lord Stanley's Cup and confirm the Ducks' first championship on Wednesday night!

dallas guy, same division.. etc etc.

[mhtwins113]

dallas guy, same division.. etc etc.

Alrighty, your hatred is perfectly understandable.

Enjoy the Cup coming out to Orange County, where it will reside for the forseeable future. :p

[Red 11]

Hahaha, why does EVERYONE hate the Ducks? On all the hockey fan messageboards, the Ducks are universally loathed amongst non-Ducks fans, I have absolutely no idea why.

But if we're gonna be cast as the villain, then the bad guy is gonna be the winner in this story. And I'll be there in the Honda Center to watch Scotty Niedermayer lift Lord Stanley's Cup and confirm the Ducks' first championship on Wednesday night!

I don't necessarily "hate" the Ducks, I just thought the Sens would win it. Who would have thought the Ducks would win a Stanley Cup before the Kings.

cant stand anaheim, so pulling for ottawa.

how has the spezza line done absolutely zero 5-5? there is just too much talent to not get it down w/out pronger in there. amazing job by anaheim.
as for alfredsson shooting the puck at neidermeyer... ehh... ******** neidermeyer.. i would hate it if he did it to my boys, but thats hockey dude.
probably classless, but that goes hand-n-hand with other hockey plays.
think about that prick for vancouver, who did a double barrelled slash on the back of morrows leg.. classless, but thats hockey.

Yeah, the Spezza line has been a complete non-factor.

I have DirecTV and Center Ice, so I see Grapes every Saturday night on CBC (unless I'm out reffing a game). He brought up one of his favorite topics tonight on his appearance on NBC -- the NHL needs to get rid of that STUPID instigator rule. They'll never do it, of course, because Bettman is a pansy.

Having played and watched hockey for 30 years, I understand what you're saying about "that's hockey." But would you agree if Alfredsson had done what he did 20 years ago (pre-Instigator rule), the Zamboni would still be scraping up what was left of him off the ice after the severe ass beating he surely would have received?

I miss the good old days... enforcers, a good scrap in every game and the occasional bench clearing brawl... Ahhhh.... :)

[mhtwins113]

I don't necessarily "hate" the Ducks, I just thought the Sens would win it. Who would have thought the Ducks would win a Stanley Cup before the Kings.

*looks around*

*...slowly raises hand* :D

[mhtwins113]

These playoffs are officially the Anaheim Ducks Invitational. Save all other teams' fans the heartache of actually getting their hopes up and thinking they have a chance. Save all the players the energy and potential injuries, give them an early vacation so they don't end up potentially hurting themselves all in vain.

I am more and more prophetic by the day... :p

[holytoledo]

Hahaha, why does EVERYONE hate the Ducks? On all the hockey fan messageboards, the Ducks are universally loathed amongst non-Ducks fans, I have absolutely no idea why.

Because they play in fairweather hockey fan land. It disgusts me that another southern team is going to lift the Cup.
dallas guy, same division.. etc etc.
Thief.

[mhtwins113]

Because they play in fairweather hockey fan land. It disgusts me that another southern team is going to lift the Cup.

Wow. Just... wow. You can't be serious. You probably want to cull every team in every city that doesn't naturally receive snow every year. That's just brilliant, pure brilliance. Would you also like to cut every cold weather city from soccer because it's harder for them to grow grass?

[holytoledo]

Wow. Just... wow. You can't be serious. You probably want to cull every team in every city that doesn't naturally receive snow every year. That's just brilliant, pure brilliance. Would you also like to cut every cold weather city from soccer because it's harder for them to grow grass?

Soccer? No.

Hockey? Yes.

[Vermont Red]

Personally, I think hockey has lost something now that it has strayed so far from its roots. For me, hockey peaked in the 80s and part of that was that there were still so many Canadian teams.

[phishy]

Personally, I think hockey has lost something now that it has strayed so far from its roots. For me, hockey peaked in the 80s and part of that was that there were still so many Canadian teams.


go to a game, sit near the glass, come back and post that it sucked.
won't happen.

canada has lost quebec and winnipeg.. and added ottawa.
hardly a dropoff in canadian teams.

[bestbecks]

Hahaha, why does EVERYONE hate the Ducks? On all the hockey fan messageboards, the Ducks are universally loathed amongst non-Ducks fans, I have absolutely no idea why.

But if we're gonna be cast as the villain, then the bad guy is gonna be the winner in this story. And I'll be there in the Honda Center to watch Scotty Niedermayer lift Lord Stanley's Cup and confirm the Ducks' first championship on Wednesday night!
I like the Ducks. I've been watching hockey my entire life (19 years) and they play the game most similar to teams of the older days. I've watched hockey games from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's and Anaheim plays the most old school hockey in today's NHL. Hard hitting, score enough goals, gritty, determined and full of skill. Sounds like a Stanley Cup Champion to me. I am a fan of the way they play hockey. Add to that I'm a Leafs fans and the idea of Ottawa winning the Cup has me puking in my mouth.

Sure Ottawa is a really good hockey team, but do they deserve the Cup? Have they played every game with the intensity and drive as the former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim? I don't think so. They do not have the complete back to front depth as the Ducks do, they lack the goal tending required to wi n a Cup (although Emery, as much as I hate him, has gained a little respect from me for the way he's played in this series), and they lack the experience.

Daniel Alfredsson is a little prick who deserves to be suspended for the remainder of the playoffs and then the first 10 games of the regular season for shooting the puck at Scotty Niedermeyer like that. And to respond to the comment that stuff like that "just happens in hockey"... it doesn't. Hockey is not that kind of sport. You DO NOT fire a puck directly at another player. Alfredsson said after the game "I didn't really mean to hit him." Who the ******** does he think he is. Ottawa thought they had won the cup when they beat Buffalo in 5. Reality of it is they had won shit all. The West was the better conference with all but the 8th placed team reaching 100 pts or more.

The Ducks have it all: goal tending, defence, and offence. Neidermeyer is the best defenceman in the NHL. Giguere is a top 5 goaltender, Selanne was one of the best players of last season, Getzlaf, Perry, and Penner have been sensational, and McDonald is a top 30 player in the NHL. I picked Anaheim to win the Cup back in September... I should have played the lottery also.

[phishy]

Daniel Alfredsson is a little prick who deserves to be suspended for the remainder of the playoffs and then the first 10 games of the regular season for shooting the puck at Scotty Niedermeyer like that. And to respond to the comment that stuff like that "just happens in hockey"... it doesn't. Hockey is not that kind of sport. You DO NOT fire a puck directly at another player. Alfredsson said after the game "I didn't really mean to hit him." Who the ******** does he think he is. Ottawa thought they had won the cup when they beat Buffalo in 5. Reality of it is they had won shit all. The West was the better conference with all but the 8th placed team reaching 100 pts or more.


yer a kid.
it does. its gutless, but it happens.

[holytoledo]

The instigator rule is ruining hockey. Don Cherry and Brett Hull were spot on.

Not to mention the new expansion teams springing up mainly in the south instead of more northern states and Canada, places with a hockey culture. Hartford, Winnipeg, Minnesota (before the Wild), etc. The NHL has too many teams and the talent pool is diluted. They need to contract Tampa Bay, Florida, Columbus, Carolina, Nashville, Atlanta and stick up North. The California teams actually draw fairly well so they should stay. Dallas I despise for obvious reasons but they seem to draw well enough. The NHL tried to over Americanize and that's what is killing the sport.

What does becks being a kid have anything to do with it phishy? :rolleyes:

[Vermont Red]

go to a game, sit near the glass, come back and post that it sucked.
won't happen.

canada has lost quebec and winnipeg.. and added ottawa.
hardly a dropoff in canadian teams.

First of all, I didn't say that hockey sucked and I didn't say the entire decline was due to the loss of Canadian teams.

I admit that hockey is the most exciting sport to watch in person, especially if you sit close. (I was able to sit next to the glass for a game at the old Montreal Forum, if anybody remembers that place.)

For me, the last great season of the NHL was 1989-90. Twenty-one teams, including teams in Hartford, Minnesota, Winnipeg and Quebec. Gretzky, Messier and Lemieux were all playing. The playoff schedule was perfect; games in a series were every other night with the conferences alternating nights. Plus, the conferences and divisions still had the old wacky names.

Finally, that season featured the only Stanley Cup Final game I ever attended, game one in which the Bruins lost to the Oilers in triple overtime.

That was the end of the era in which the NHL understood its position in North America as a niche sport. Since then the guardians of the game have done their best to compete with the Big Three sports in North America and have succeeded only in make the NHL worse, culminating in the disasterous labor stoppage. It's a real shame.

[Achtung]

It was after the strike in 1991 that the NHL really tried to push itself as a major sport in the US, and it almost worked. Their big chance was in 1994, when Messier led the Rangers to the championship, Jordan had retired for the first time, and baseball was on the verge of a crippling strike.

There are definitely reasons that the NHL has fallen on harder times. Some of them, like the lockout and overexpansion, have been in the league's control. Others, like poor performance from traditional hockey markets like Boston, Chicago, and this season even Toronto, Montreal, and Philadelphia, aren't in the league's control so much.

Better enforcement of penalties, especially interference, as well as legalizing the two-line pass were good changes, but came about ten years too late.

[Stud83]

Hockey will die... soon, unless they do something dramatic. When half a million viewers see it on a public channel, it's just not worth whatever NBC is paying for it. Hockey is probably outside of top 10 in popularity among American sports.

[phishy]

The NHL tried to over Americanize and that's what is killing the sport.



well, when i am sitting at the AAC, watching the stars play.. the last thing i think about is that the sport has become Americanized. :rolleyes:

more along the lines of.. "what a great hit", "nasty deke by zubov" "sweet save with the cheater by turco" etc, etc, etc, etc...