Official 2012 St. Louis Blues - Stanley Cup PLAYOFFS Thread

[longhornbaseball]

INTERNATIONAL ICE THEO! INTERNATIONAL ICE!!!!!

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[Popeye_Card]

You look at the teams that are left in the NHL:


New Jersey - 11th in Goals (and the most boring 11th in goals i've ever seen)
NY Rangers - 13th in Goals
Washington - 15th in Goals
Phoenix... - 17th in Goals
Los Angeles- 29th in Goals

Goals Against:
Los Angeles - 2nd in Goals Against
NY Rangers - 3rd in Goals Against
Phoenix - 7th in Goals Against
New Jersey - 8th in Goals Against
Washington - 19th in Goals Against (Who changed their approach mid-season to be more defensive)


That's a sure-fire way to ensure that nobody watches your sport. They have to do something to make offense more rewarding in the NHL.

The problem is it's really cheap to clog up lanes and have a defense-oriented hockey style. It's really expensive to have a high-offense team that is generally bested by a cheaper more defense-style hockey.

If "opening up the game" means that every series looks more like the Pens vs. Flyers (without all the fighting), then no thanks.

I don't mind low scoring games at all. I guess I wouldn't mind sizing down goalie pads a bit. But I like that games end 2-1, etc. and a single lapse on defense can cost you the game. Ramps up the intensity.

[TheoSqua]

You look at the teams that are left in the NHL:


New Jersey - 11th in Goals (and the most boring 11th in goals i've ever seen)
NY Rangers - 13th in Goals
Washington - 15th in Goals
Phoenix... - 17th in Goals
Los Angeles- 29th in Goals

Goals Against:
Los Angeles - 2nd in Goals Against
NY Rangers - 3rd in Goals Against
Phoenix - 7th in Goals Against
New Jersey - 8th in Goals Against
Washington - 19th in Goals Against (Who changed their approach mid-season to be more defensive)


That's a sure-fire way to ensure that nobody watches your sport. They have to do something to make offense more rewarding in the NHL.

The problem is it's really cheap to clog up lanes and have a defense-oriented hockey style. It's really expensive to have a high-offense team that is generally bested by a cheaper more defense-style hockey.

If "opening up the game" means that every series looks more like the Pens vs. Flyers (without all the fighting), then no thanks.

I don't mind low scoring games at all. I guess I wouldn't mind sizing down goalie pads a bit. But I like that games end 2-1, etc. and a single lapse on defense can cost you the game. Ramps up the intensity.

I think there's a balance between those two extremes. The Flyers - Pens series was ridiculous, but you can have disciplined hockey without having no scoring. I think Hockey is most successful when the average goals scored per game is above 6. You should average at least 1 goal per period per team. I don't want 8-7 scorefests that look like all-star games, but I do think having some of the amazing skill in the league become more prominent would be nice.

And yes, INTERNATIONAL ICE WOULD BE NICE.

[TheoSqua]

And really, even the number of goals per game really doesn't matter to me. Just teams should be able to win in hockey by focusing on offense.

In the NFL you have amazing offensive teams that go far and teams like Baltimore that win on defense. In Baseball you have teams with stacked lineups and 4 HoF pitchers. In Hockey right now you have teams that play good defense and teams that play more good defense. There's no balance and I think that detracts from the game.

[Popeye_Card]

And really, even the number of goals per game really doesn't matter to me. Just teams should be able to win in hockey by focusing on offense.

In the NFL you have amazing offensive teams that go far and teams like Baltimore that win on defense. In Baseball you have teams with stacked lineups and 4 HoF pitchers. In Hockey right now you have teams that play good defense and teams that play more good defense. There's no balance and I think that detracts from the game.

I think there's enough balance. Many of the recent successful teams in the playoffs (Bruins, Canucks, Hawks, Redwings, Penguins, Sharks) are more offensive than defensive. Some of those teams also had great goalies, while others had just OK goalies. I don't think this one year where defensive systems are winning out should carry that much weight.

[longhornbaseball]

Will the Kings lose again this season? Including playoffs, they are 24-6-3 since the Jeff Carter trade.

[TimeForGuinness]

Will the Kings lose again this season? Including playoffs, they are 24-6-3 since the Jeff Carter trade.

They are steamrolling over the #1, #2, and #3 seeds...I think they'll be lifting the cup in a few weeks.

[cardinalkarp]

Kings look pretty much unstoppable at this point. They now won 8 straight & I'd be surprised if they don't sweep Phoenix, which was almost inevitable. What a juggernaut of a team. Quick has led them, but good god I don't think i've seen a team hit on all cylinders like this in the playoffs for a long time. Whichever teams represents the east better be ready.

[JackofDiamonds]

Spoiler'd for playoff metaphor:

[SHOW]

[Popeye_Card]

Spoiler'd for playoff metaphor:

[SHOW]

What was up with his full-on tackle last night? I've never seen a d-man just drop and tackle an attacker before.