Comments on: PHT Oddsmaker: Let’s gamble on the NHL

By: danphipps01

danphipps01 — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:16:15 +0000

… you know, I’ll wait on Bruins-Canucks. Chicago’ll manage to get a quality goaltender before season’s end, be it in the form of a Crawford who’s remembered what a save looks like or an outside acquisition. And they’re looking a lot better this year than last – and even last year’s barely-in-the-playoffs Blackhawks forced a game seven and wrecked Luongo’s shit in three consecutive games.

The Sharks, I’m not worried about. Nor is anyone, really. Detroit would be interesting, but I can see the ‘Nucks winning that sooner than the Wings. Assuming Chicago can’t fix their goaltending, the ‘Nucks have best odds, but that’s a mighty big assumption and one I’m not willing to make.

By: danphipps01

danphipps01 — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:11:09 +0000

You’re blaming the forwards for the fact that Tim Thomas is the second coming of Christ? How the hell do you figure a team that emptied HUNDREDS of shots into Boston’s net wasn’t trying hard enough offensively? The combination of Thomas being an invincible death-engine and having Boston’s extremely high-quality defensive corps in front of him kept Vancouver to a low number despite them attacking pretty much all the time. Those first two games were won by a goal each, granted, but you forget that Boston was under siege for the whole of both barring rare breakouts. Until game three, the best defensive team in the league was standing on its head trying just to survive the sheer firepower hitting them – and they fared pretty fucking well, to their credit, but they only managed to get two goals of their own in response because they barely got to leave their own end before being driven right back in again. Don’t blame the forwards in Vancouver for not scoring. Worship at the altar of Tim Thomas for actually being able to STOP them.

Meanwhile, in Vancouver’s end, practically as soon as Boston’s forwards actually managed to get in and stay in for longer than five seconds, out broke the seven-goal blowouts. Yes, this was more or less every player’s fault in part, but don’t credit Luongo for good play when he was lit on fire pretty much as soon as Boston started getting more than one or two scoring chances a period. As soon as their guns started firing, Luongo fell over and died.

By: taytay099

taytay099 — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:15:57 +0000

Not sure how people still blame Luongo. I’m not a fan of his, but he did pretty amazing to get the Canucks into game 7 when they only scored 8 goals. Yeah, what a screw up he is.

By: petriskriko

petriskriko — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:21:16 +0000

$100 on Bruins-Canucks. Can buy Luongo a plane ticket to Brazil if he screws it up again.

By: loinstache

loinstache — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:09:16 +0000

I’m a Canuck fan but I’m hesitant about the West, judging purely by how things are right now. We have a poor history against the Wild, and if they keep the success of their trap game going I can quite plausibly see them grinding the Canucks out, especially if key players on the Wild get their game going more than it is (looking at you Friend-Murderer)

By: greatminnesotasportsmind

greatminnesotasportsmind — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:31:28 +0000

A run to almost make the playoffs, means as much as the worst team in the NHL winning their last 2 games and finished on a high note. Means nothing

By: lonespeed

lonespeed — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:00:16 +0000

I don’t think Carolina finishes last. Two years ago they started god-awful and ended up making a run to almost make the playoffs. I think they’ll eventually pull it together. They won’t make the playoffs, but they’ll finish middle of the pack.

They are the worst team in the league right now, but right now and March are a long way apart.