NHL 2023/2024

WeePat

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It's that time of the year again.

The new season kicks off in exactly 2 weeks.

Preseason well under way.



 

JJ12

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Let's go Leafs!

Fancy the Oilers this year.
 

Tribec

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What a difference a player makes!! A lottery win and within a couple of years, the Oilers go from perennial favourites to get last spot to being everyone's team to go all the way. Have to say I was in Edmonton during the summer, and went to the new arena it's stunning. The new place in Detroit is meant to be special, but my word I do like Rogers Place, I'm not surprised that the team last year were on a different level to the previous few, it had to inspire them more than Rexall which was on it's last legs (so much so it's being shut down completely now by the council).

As for the team, watched a prediction video last night which did pose the question what would happen if McDavid gets injured again, but I do think we are stronger than in his rookie year, we also have players with confidence and belief that we can win. With the two new contracts for McDavid and Dr Drai kicking in, this year could be the year we have to go at it as our cap space is going to be limited further. It's still a good time to be an Oiler fan, and who knows if we can get a break with the refs in the play offs should we make them, we might have a chance.
 

Jagga7

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Weeeee, it's been a long time without hockey, can't wait! Penguins for the 3peat?
 

Tribec

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Welcome back NHL regular season hockey and what a wonderful way to start it, with a shut out in the BOA. McDavid off to a flyer, only 97 more points needed to match last season!!
 

WeePat

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Yes please!
Matthews seems to be in great form this pre-season
McDavid has started in red hot form. The kid is just brutal. I hope the Oilers have another great year. Not at the expense of the Habs though :)
 

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Mcdavid's second goal was amazing. Sometimes it's hard to really distinguish between talent levels in the NHL but he's miles above most of the league and it's obvious.
 

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McDavid has started in red hot form. The kid is just brutal. I hope the Oilers have another great year. Not at the expense of the Habs though :)
Am new to it, is he a star player?
 

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Am new to it, is he a star player?
Sidney Crosby was the best Wayne gretzky and mcdavid is the next Sidney Crosby. They made him captain last year which is nuts for a second season teenager. He's the fastest skater in the league and just so fun to watch.

Scored this in his first game after an injury last year

 

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Only in his 3rd season but already in the top 2 if not the best player in the league. He has incredible speed, he just blows past players it's pretty amazing to watch.
Sidney Crosby was the best Wayne gretzky and mcdavid is the next Sidney Crosby. They made him captain last year which is nuts for a second season teenager. He's the fastest skater in the league and just so fun to watch.

Scored this in his first game after an injury last year

Got it, yeah I know S Crosby (was at the hockey World Cup final last year in Toronto!) heh

Ahh so McDavid is the golden child?
Matthews still much further behind him then?
 

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Got it, yeah I know S Crosby (was at the hockey World Cup final last year in Toronto!) heh

Ahh so McDavid is the golden child?
Matthews still much further behind him then?
Ok wait, he’s not a Maple Leafs player?! Boooooo!!!
 

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Got it, yeah I know S Crosby (was at the hockey World Cup final last year in Toronto!) heh

Ahh so McDavid is the golden child?
Matthews still much further behind him then?
Matthews isn't too far behind him, but I don't think he'll ever be as good.
 

Tribec

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The Pen's totally blown away by the Hawks... Not a great start for them is it, two games lost and 15 goals against. I know it's early days, but that's got to hurt them.
 

Tribec

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What did I do wrong this past week? What did I do to deserve to sit through first the United match and then to wake up at 3am to watch the Sens toy with my Oilers. Human rights campaigners would be screaming if prisoners were forced to watch them two games as punishment.

Simply put the Oilers are bereft of any confidence, lacking any offense and who would have thought anyone would say that of a team with McDavid in. As bad as they are right now, they are also missing that magical ingredient that all teams in all sport need a bit of luck. Passes bobbling over sticks, passes that last year were finding players open in front of goal are not reaching them. A bit of luck to bring back a bit of confidence to build something on. The upcoming road trip might be the place to find it. For now I need to go find something to cheer me up, perhaps I should watch the 99 season review followed by boys on the bus, to remind myself of the good old days for my two teams.
 

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What did I do wrong this past week? What did I do to deserve to sit through first the United match and then to wake up at 3am to watch the Sens toy with my Oilers. Human rights campaigners would be screaming if prisoners were forced to watch them two games as punishment.

Simply put the Oilers are bereft of any confidence, lacking any offense and who would have thought anyone would say that of a team with McDavid in. As bad as they are right now, they are also missing that magical ingredient that all teams in all sport need a bit of luck. Passes bobbling over sticks, passes that last year were finding players open in front of goal are not reaching them. A bit of luck to bring back a bit of confidence to build something on. The upcoming road trip might be the place to find it. For now I need to go find something to cheer me up, perhaps I should watch the 99 season review followed by boys on the bus, to remind myself of the good old days for my two teams.
Does that McDavid chap play for the Oilers?
If they flop, would he move - is it like football?
 

Tribec

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Does that McDavid chap play for the Oilers?
If they flop, would he move - is it like football?
I doubt he'll move, having just signed a new contract this summer which will pay him $12.5m for the next 8 years. If they flop, they'd flopped for the previous 10 years till last year, which has possibly raised expectations way to much, but we'll turn it around for sure. It's not quite like football in that transfer fee's are paid, more trades for players and picks. Rare for money to be included, though the Oilers did get a huge chunck of change in THE Trade.
 

WeePat

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The Habs have started the season in a slump. They've played quite well in some of the games, but they've lost 4 games on the bounce, having won the first game. Drouin scored his first goal on Saturday, which was nice. First of many, I hope. We've started previous seasons on fire, peaked too early and then faded as the season progressed, so I'm choosing to look at this as a nice change. Perhaps we can begin to peak at the right time this season.
 

JJ12

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Loving the beginning of the new year for the Leafs.

Every game has goals and they are never dead. Have 3 scoring lines but D needs improving. Freddie had been up and down between the pipes too.

Interesting year ahead.
 

Jagga7

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Loving the beginning of the new year for the Leafs.

Every game has goals and they are never dead. Have 3 scoring lines but D needs improving. Freddie had been up and down between the pipes too.

Interesting year ahead.
They have to be a contender, they have incredible depth and with Nylander and Matthews on the top line, not many teams can match them.
 

WeePat

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Loving the beginning of the new year for the Leafs.

Every game has goals and they are never dead. Have 3 scoring lines but D needs improving. Freddie had been up and down between the pipes too.

Interesting year ahead.
Judging them against the Habs the other night, the Leafs were faster, better puck control, and generally more cohesive in every phase, and deserved the win, even if some of the goals were a bit flukey. Was quite disheartening to watch tbh. Leafs will go deep this season.
 

OnlyTwoDaSilvas

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I've taken the plunge on NHL.TV after not watching much hockey in the last 4 years. Probably a terrible time to do so as I'm a Red Wings fan, and the team doesn't look likely to do much this season, despite a decent start.

I usually only watch Red Wings full games, and highlights of other games. I should probably get my moneys worth by watching as much hockey as I can. Who are likely to be a good side to watch as a neutral this season? It doesn't necessarily have to be the best team, just entertaining, with a good style of play, good fans/atmosphere, most physical etc.
 

Eboue

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I've taken the plunge on NHL.TV after not watching much hockey in the last 4 years. Probably a terrible time to do so as I'm a Red Wings fan, and the team doesn't look likely to do much this season, despite a decent start.

I usually only watch Red Wings full games, and highlights of other games. I should probably get my moneys worth by watching as much hockey as I can. Who are likely to be a good side to watch as a neutral this season? It doesn't necessarily have to be the best team, just entertaining, with a good style of play, good fans/atmosphere, most physical etc.
Edmonton
 

WeePat

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Another loss for the Habs. This time 5-1 in LA. We played pretty well in the first 40 minutes, thought we were the better team even. It was 1-1 after two periods, but completely fell apart in the last period, 6 consecutive losses now. One positive throughout this losing streak has been young Victor Mete. He has been very, very good.
 

JPRouve

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Another loss for the Habs. This time 5-1 in LA. We played pretty well in the first 40 minutes, thought we were the better team even. It was 1-1 after two periods, but completely fell apart in the last period, 6 consecutive losses now. One positive throughout this losing streak has been young Victor Mete. He has been very, very good.
It's depressing, you always have the impression that they are the better team but the lack of physicality in defense and speed in general is infuriating.
 

WeePat

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It's depressing, you always have the impression that they are the better team but the lack of physicality in defense and speed in general is infuriating.
It's extremely infuriating that the team plays well, dominates the puck in phases and yet never really look like scoring.

Our PP was horrendous against the Sharks, it wasn't much better last night, we barely put teams under pressure, let alone create shooting chances, yet we generally concede at least one PP goal per night. .
 

JPRouve

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It's extremely infuriating that the team plays well, dominates the puck in phases and yet never really look like scoring.

Our PP was horrendous against the Sharks, it wasn't much better last night, we barely put teams under pressure, let alone create shooting chances, yet we generally concede at least one PP goal per night. .
What is your take on Galchenyuk, first line center? And Tavares yay or nay?
 

WeePat

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What is your take on Galchenyuk, first line center? And Tavares yay or nay?
With our current squad, he should be the top line center. Management seem to want to shoehorn Drouin into that position without really having played there much before he moved to Montreal. I want Chucky to succeed there. It's difficult to nail down that spot if you keep being shoved into different positions and different lines. Therrien was terrible for his early development.

EDIT: And yes to Tavares. I would have him, but not at the expense of Galchenyuk.
 

JPRouve

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With our current squad, he should be the top line center. Management seem to want to shoehorn Drouin into that position without really having played there much before he moved to Montreal. I want Chucky to succeed there. It's difficult to nail down that spot if you keep being shoved into different positions and different lines. Therrien was terrible for his early development.

EDIT: And yes to Tavares. I would have him, but not at the expense of Galchenyuk.
I think that Drouin plays center in the first line because Pacioretty needs a playmaker, if you put Drouin at his logical position(LW) then Pacioretty has to be moved on a lower line and if you do that there isn't really any playmakers to support him.
 

Tribec

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I think we'll be looking at EA to be including the latest McDavid move in NHL20 as it will take so long to be able to put it in. What a play, apart from the hatty on the first night he's been decidedly ordinary since then, as have the whole of the Oilers. The Cambot seemed to back in goals tonight, which is always a good thing and the bounce of the puck apart from the Blackhawks goal went our way. Onwards and upwards is all I can say.

 

WeePat

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I think that Drouin plays center in the first line because Pacioretty needs a playmaker, if you put Drouin at his logical position(LW) then Pacioretty has to be moved on a lower line and if you do that there isn't really any playmakers to support him.
Can Drouin be that guy though? It seems like an odd experiment, when you already have an exciting center in the squad. I don't think Bergevin has done/is doing a good job of managing the squad.