NHL 2023/2024

[RedDevilQuebecois]

I attended my first live NHL game in over 4 years yesterday. The Habs held the line and defeated the playoffs-seeking Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 4-1. Beyond the win and the scoreline, I have to talk about 2 players - Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Nick Suzuki, only aged 24 and already the captain of this team, reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career and is the first Habs player to score 30+ in a season since Brendan Gallagher 5 years ago. He's not only elite in point production as he will easily reach and exceed the 70-point mark before season's end. He is also playing big minutes against the other team's top line night after night. People compare Suzuki to a young Patrice Bergeron. If it is for me, he's the kind of player Team Canada would want to have on the 3rd/4th line come the 2026 Winter Olympics or the 4 Nations Face-Off before that (February 2025). Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper said after the final from 3 years ago that Suzuki would have a great future.

Ever since Juraj Slafkosvky was put on the top line, he really became a force of his own. He currently has a 9-game streak with at least a point per game. Back on last Tuesday though, he beat the record for most points scored in a season by a Habs player aged 19 or younger with 40 points (now 41 after the game against Philly and before his 20th birthday on Saturday). The previous record of 39 points originally belonged to Mario Tremblay (1974-75).Slafkovsky's transformation has been nothing short of spectacular, even though we weren't sure if the better option was to either stay with the team or go to the AHL in earlier stages of the season.

With a few more additions and one experienced teacher in the coaching staff, I think this team can start looking higher.

 

[londonredmaniac]

What the feck was going on at MSG FFS?

I'll be honest, can't fecking stand the sight of Rempe.

Edit: I wouldn't argue with him mind. 6ft7 and 17 stone odd at 21? The feck do they eat in Calgary?? Each other???

 

[londonredmaniac]

I attended my first live NHL game in over 4 years yesterday. The Habs held the line and defeated the playoffs-seeking Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 4-1. Beyond the win and the scoreline, I have to talk about 2 players - Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Nick Suzuki, only aged 24 and already the captain of this team, reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career and is the first Habs player to score 30+ in a season since Brendan Gallagher 5 years ago. He's not only elite in point production as he will easily reach and exceed the 70-point mark before season's end. He is also playing big minutes against the other team's top line night after night. People compare Suzuki to a young Patrice Bergeron. If it is for me, he's the kind of player Team Canada would want to have on the 3rd/4th line come the 2026 Winter Olympics or the 4 Nations Face-Off before that (February 2025). Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper said after the final from 3 years ago that Suzuki would have a great future.

Ever since Juraj Slafkosvky was put on the top line, he really became a force of his own. He currently has a 9-game streak with at least a point per game. Back on last Tuesday though, he beat the record for most points scored in a season by a Habs player aged 19 or younger with 40 points (now 41 after the game against Philly and before his 20th birthday on Saturday). The previous record of 39 points originally belonged to Mario Tremblay (1974-75).Slafkovsky's transformation has been nothing short of spectacular, even though we weren't sure if the better option was to either stay with the team or go to the AHL in earlier stages of the season.

With a few more additions and one experienced teacher in the coaching staff, I think this team can start looking higher.

I've a lot of time for Suzuki! I have a fair bit of time for the Habs too tbf. Probably as a result or this place.

 

[JPRouve]

Slaf has 4 games to get the 2 points he needs to reach 50 points. Very early I expected him to be very good but not that fast, I thought that it would take him 3 or 4 full seasons because he has this peculiar mix of size while being mainly a finesse player, this year he has added some power horse traits which puts his potential through the roof.

At this moment the Habs are in a better situation than people including many Habs fans may think. Newhook and Roy have been excellent, the current first line plays at a very high level while having some of the toughest assignments in the league, they largely play against top lines and play lots of minutes.

If the Habs can bring one more power horse or scorer through the draft/trade and a few big defensive forwards(Beck is likely to be one of them, Florian Xhekaj could be an other) for the bottom lines then this team could make some noise in a couple of years.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

It wouldn't be a Flyers season without an 8 game losing streak. It'll probably be an even 10 by the weekend. They went from 79% chance of making the playoffs to 8.3% in 3 weeks. I don't think even Spurs have ever Spursed that bad.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

It wouldn't be a Flyers season without an 8 game losing streak. It'll probably be an even 10 by the weekend. They went from 79% chance of making the playoffs to 8.3% in 3 weeks. I don't think even Spurs have ever Spursed that bad.

Including yesterday, it's now 9 indeed 8 in a row. I was expecting John Tortorella to go all out with fire and fury in his post-game press conference, but I think he has given up for this season. I wouldn't be surprised if GM Daniel Brière took a few minutes to ask "Torts" to not use the flamethrower on everyone just yet.

@JPRouve Speaking of Slafkovsky, I also didn't think he would become this good just yet. There was a time earlier in the season when I remember Slaf having a hard time playing because Kirby Dach was already injured while the Suzuki/Caufield duo had a tough time finding a suitable linemate. I was begging for Slaf to play with Suzuki and Caufield because it was the only way to find out whether or not Slaf's development course still is better in the NHL or in the AHL instead. It took a while for that line to be put up together, but, oh boy, they are just this good together.

Looking at this quick summary of his first NHL hat-trick, it's really impressive to see him go and score in 3 different ways - tip-in, one-timer slapper and a silky wrister.


And he's barely 20 years old while knocking at the door of the 50-point and 20-goal milestones for a single season already. I have never been happier to be proven wrong after doubting so much on a high draft pick.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Including yesterday, it's now 9 in a row. I was expecting John Tortorella to go all out with fire and fury in his post-game press conference, but I think he has given up for this season. I wouldn't be surprised if GM Daniel Brière took a few minutes to ask "Torts" to not use the flamethrower on everyone just yet.

Habs annihilation was the 8th loss. NBC Philly coverage spent a good part of the 1st period talking about the 7 game streak, and that soon turned to "and it's looking likely to be 8".

It'll be 9 on Thursday, because the Rangers are actually good, and the Flyers are already on the beach.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

You're right: it is 8 in a row after I went down the results further back.

I honestly can't remember such a collapse for a team that was in playoff contention not that long ago.

 

[USREDEVIL]

It wouldn't be a Flyers season without an 8 game losing streak. It'll probably be an even 10 by the weekend. They went from 79% chance of making the playoffs to 8.3% in 3 weeks. I don't think even Spurs have ever Spursed that bad.

bottle merchants

 

[MrMarcello]

Stars have been roaring down the stretch and hopefully carry it into the postseason.

 

[JPRouve]

Which GM has more issues than Kent Hughes? All the young defenders that are brought up in the past 2 years look like they belong in the NHL, the entirety of the league knows that the Habs won't be able to use all of them. I don't see a scenario where the Habs don't lose several of them for less than their actual value.

LD: Matheson, Ghule, Struble, Xhekaj, Harris, Hutson
RD: Savard, Mailloux, Reinbacher, Kovacevic, Barron

Hopefully there is a possibility to package picks and players to either get an elite prospect, a top 6 forward or a high draft pick.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

So the first round is set and it kicks off on Saturday:

*EDITED ON FRIDAY APRIL 19.

Dallas Stars v. Vegas Golden Knights
Winnipeg Jets v. Colorado Avalanche
Vancouver Canucks v. Nashville Predators
Edmonton Oilers v. Los Angeles Kings

New York Rangers v. Washington Capitals
Carolina Hurricanes v. New York Islanders
Florida Panthers v. Tampa Bay Lightning
Boston Bruins v. Toronto Maple Leafs

Speaking of that last matchup, I read that Toronto have not eliminated Boston in the playoffs since 1959 (!!!). Meet Steve Dangle as he realized who the Leafs will meet for the 4th time in the last 11 years.

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[Kristjan]

Kings and Vegas can still swap places in the standings in the final game.
Although both should win their final game, you never know in the NHL

 

[MrMarcello]

How good is this Dallas team?

They accumulated the second most points in team history trailing only the great 1998-99 side (by a single point) that won the Cup, granted there were no shootout wins back then.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

How good is this Dallas team?

They accumulated the second most points in team history trailing only the great 1998-99 side (by a single point) that won the Cup, granted there were no shootout wins back then.

On paper, they have about everything that any elite team can ask: solid goaltending, very balanced attack, talent oozing on all 4 lines, solid defense, top notch special teams (6th on the PP, 5th on the PK). But the real question mark is about the head coach because Peter DeBoer has always been known as someone who will make the team look very good in the season until his own tactical stubborness will end up costing a series later on.

 

[Kristjan]

Playoffs let's go!
Should be some cracking games, most matchups will be close I think.

 

[MrMarcello]

RIP Leaf fans, I feel for ya. Looks like the same 'ol again.

 

[MrMarcello]

Vegas is a bad match-up for Dallas having won all three contests in the regular season. Shades of 97-98 perhaps when Dallas had the top seed and let the Oilers dump them out. Though this Vegas team is better than their record indicates and they have their star man back. Game 2 is probably a must win for Dallas.

 

[calodo2003]

Decent save.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

Vegas is a bad match-up for Dallas having won all three contests in the regular season. Shades of 97-98 perhaps when Dallas had the top seed and let the Oilers dump them out. Though this Vegas team is better than their record indicates and they have their star man back. Game 2 is probably a must win for Dallas.

It IS a must win.

Truth be told: another Dallas failure should mean the end for Peter DeBoer because he always has that very bad habit of fecking things up with all teams he's been working with come playoff time. The man is just so stubborn in his tactics that he becomes very predictable for the other side.

I can see UrinatingTree making a video to feature DeBoer in the the new entry of the "Legacy of Failure" series sooner than later. While he's a Penguins fan, Tree was also following the Sharks for years and saw how DeBoer always comes up short because of the same mistakes.

 

[MrMarcello]

PK Sabban just dropped a sexual innuendo on live studio commentary. Holy cow.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

PK Sabban just dropped a sexual innuendo on live studio commentary. Holy cow.

This?

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[MrMarcello]

This?

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ESPN execs...

 

[JJ12]

I was so confident of the Leafs winning game 3, I really should've learned by now.

This tie is going 7 and we are going to lose in pathetic fashion. What's new.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

As some of you may have heard or read the news, legendary broadcaster Bob Cole passed away yesterday at age 90. For all of the great moments of magic on the ice, there was often this very recognizable voice in the background to describe those moments - the Soundtrack of Hockey. The Newfoundland native began his play-by-play career in the very late 1960s and carried on to the very last day of the 2018-19 season.

Here is Michael Farber telling us what Cole's voice meant for many of us who ever had any contact with Hockey Night in Canada.


He called many great moments in hockey such as Bobby Orr's Cup-winning goal in 1970, The Soviet Red Army leaving the Philadelphia Spectrum's ice in 1976, Patrick Roy's phenomenal performance at Madison Square Garden in 1986, Wayne Gretzky's 500th career goal, Mario Lemieux bursting through the North Stars defense in 1991, Éric Desjardins scoring the overtime/hat-trick goal against Los Angeles in 1993, and many more. But I think his very best call has to be on the moment when Joe Sakic clinched the 2002 Salt Lake City gold medal for Canada and then as the final seconds ran down with the Canadian fans singing Oh Canada loud and proud in the background.


Unlike how I feel by listening Martin Tyler in recent years for football, I don't think I was ever bored at all whenever Bob Cole called a hockey game. Even in his last few years as a broadcaster, I knew he would come up with something funny, enjoyable or even memorable.

 

[Stobzilla]

Decent save.

Indeed, was aight.

 

[Tribec]

Another year and another Oilers v LA series. Another year and the Kings go all goon like very quickly. As with Moore's attempt to injure in the first game the NHL will ignore the antics in game 3, if the Oilers can repeat the scoreline in game 4, I can't see anyway back for the Kings.

 

[Tribec]

As some of you may have heard or read the news, legendary broadcaster Bob Cole passed away yesterday at age 90. For all of the great moments of magic on the ice, there was often this very recognizable voice in the background to describe those moments - the Soundtrack of Hockey. The Newfoundland native began his play-by-play career in the very late 1960s and carried on to the very last day of the 2018-19 season.

Here is Michael Farber telling us what Cole's voice meant for many of us who ever had any contact with Hockey Night in Canada.


He called many great moments in hockey such as Bobby Orr's Cup-winning goal in 1970, The Soviet Red Army leaving the Philadelphia Spectrum's ice in 1976, Patrick Roy's phenomenal performance at Madison Square Garden in 1986, Wayne Gretzky's 500th career goal, Mario Lemieux bursting through the North Stars defense in 1991, Éric Desjardins scoring the overtime/hat-trick goal against Los Angeles in 1993, and many more. But I think his very best call has to be on the moment when Joe Sakic clinched the 2002 Salt Lake City gold medal for Canada and then as the final seconds ran down with the Canadian fans singing Oh Canada loud and proud in the background.


Unlike how I feel by listening Martin Tyler in recent years for football, I don't think I was ever bored at all whenever Bob Cole called a hockey game. Even in his last few years as a broadcaster, I knew he would come up with something funny, enjoyable or even memorable.

I remember his call for the Cujo save against Dallas for the Oilers, and still shake my head at the save no matter what. What a legend Bob Cole was, the love and appreciation coming from the Canadian hockey world and the NHL shows the respect and esteem he was held in. Never heard a bad word about him from anyone either. RIP Bob.

 

[londonredmaniac]

feck me did we need that last night.

Can't help thinking if we do get through (I think it'll go 7 games if we do) it'll all come apart in the second round without Demko.

Oilers terrify me, sweep or not, even more so without Demko.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

I remember his call for the Cujo save against Dallas for the Oilers, and still shake my head at the save no matter what. What a legend Bob Cole was, the love and appreciation coming from the Canadian hockey world and the NHL shows the respect and esteem he was held in. Never heard a bad word about him from anyone either. RIP Bob.

Hockey Night in Canada published this tribute video a little more than one hour ago and it will be broadcasted during the Bruins/Leafs game tonight.

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What a voice. And the onions are well and truly cut here.

 

[Tribec]

feck me did we need that last night.

Can't help thinking if we do get through (I think it'll go 7 games if we do) it'll all come apart in the second round without Demko.

Oilers terrify me, sweep or not, even more so without Demko.

DeSmith isn't to bad, he's a step above Pickard in terms of back ups. However, the Oilers should be scaring every team, look where they ended up after giving everyone a 20 game start. With respect to Kris Knoblauch for the work he's done, it doesn't take away that the Oilers stunk the ship so much they lost 2 good men the jobs in November. The change of voices in the room helped turn the ship around, but they were one of the pre-season favourites. The addition of a few vets in the forward line has helped as well.

Glad to see the Stars pull a game back in Vegas this morning, keeping that series interesting, as well as meaning that Stone hasn't got days of rest as he slowly gets back up to speed. Another cheer for the Isles for the double OT win to keep themselves alive, I'm not sure why I want Roy to succeed as a coach, one of the greatest ever goalies, but him as a person ain't great which usually means I don't want any success for a person like that. However Roy is the exception.

 

[Tribec]

Hockey Night in Canada published this tribute video a little more than one hour ago and it will be broadcasted during the Bruins/Leafs game tonight.

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What a voice. And the onions are well and truly cut here.

Yeah it's a good one, all the rememberance and tributes to him are well deserved, it has got me a bit nostalgic though. Once the internet made watching highlights, listening to games and even watching games a thing, I caught the back end of Rod Phillips career in Edmonton, all talk about Bob Cole, sent me down the rabbit hole of listening to some of his famous Oilers calls (being an Oilers fan, why not?). They don't make commentators like the used to in any sport do they..

 

[MrMarcello]

Stars may have found their way back in the series but they tried to give it away.

 

[londonredmaniac]

DeSmith isn't to bad, he's a step above Pickard in terms of back ups. However, the Oilers should be scaring every team, look where they ended up after giving everyone a 20 game start. With respect to Kris Knoblauch for the work he's done, it doesn't take away that the Oilers stunk the ship so much they lost 2 good men the jobs in November. The change of voices in the room helped turn the ship around, but they were one of the pre-season favourites. The addition of a few vets in the forward line has helped as well.

Glad to see the Stars pull a game back in Vegas this morning, keeping that series interesting, as well as meaning that Stone hasn't got days of rest as he slowly gets back up to speed. Another cheer for the Isles for the double OT win to keep themselves alive, I'm not sure why I want Roy to succeed as a coach, one of the greatest ever goalies, but him as a person ain't great which usually means I don't want any success for a person like that. However Roy is the exception.

DeSmith is a very very good goalie. I think he's one of the best number 2 in the league.

Just feel Canucks need all their pieces top of their game to go deep. Demko injured and Petey a bit anonymous makes me worry.

Yeah incredible the run Edmonton went on. Their first line looks dialled in as well. As they should but...

Yeah Stars biting back makes that series really interesting.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

The Leafs are now on the brink of elimination against the Boston Bruins.

Whenever the Leafs lose, Steve Dangle's LFR videos are enjoyable like AFTV of old. Regardless THIS one will go down as a classic.


I at the Charizard Fire Blast reference when he described the Leafs goalie (Ilya Samsonov) on yesterday's opening goal scored by James van Riemsdyk (a former Leaf). The angry promo at the beginning of the video was gold too.

"You've got a five-hole the size of the Pyramids of Giza."

 

[londonredmaniac]

The Leafs are now on the brink of elimination against the Boston Bruins.

Whenever the Leafs lose, Steve Dangle's LFR videos are enjoyable like AFTV of old. Regardless THIS one will go down as a classic.


I at the Charizard Fire Blast reference when he described the Leafs goalie (Ilya Samsonov) on yesterday's opening goal scored by James van Riemsdyk (a former Leaf). The angry promo at the beginning of the video was gold too.

I watched that earlier. Was brilliant tbf. He's very watchable

 

[londonredmaniac]

And now Casey DeSmith is out. Did we offer our medical team for the fecking playoffs?

feck football. feck hockey. I'm cursed.

 

[Tribec]

Well hello ugly performance from the Oilers, but still managed to shut out the Kings who played the 1-3-1 system to near enough perfection... After 92 minutes of penalties in the last period on Friday, only 4 minutes total on Sunday, well I say 4, more like 3 as the Oilers scored on it's only PP. I like the fact the Oilers win ugly, it's the play-off's you need that in your pocket as you ain't going to be playing champagne hockey every game.

Nashville threw away the series, losing that lead, that late and then coughing up a goal so early in OT, it's game over....