NHL Season 2005/6 Games Discussion *Spoilers*

noctambulist · Post by **noctambulist** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 3:08 am

That was an important win tonight for the Bs, and I'm glad Raycroft got the win, but I don't think he was really tested too often. The first shot on goal in the third he let in, though it was a really good shot. He really only made one great save that I can recall. The Bs defense played really well in front of him. I hope it's a good confidence builder for him. We really need to have 2 goalies working for the stretch run. Sturm's goal was probably the easiest goal he's ever scored - he just was standing there and it bounced off his skate and in. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

I hope Axelsson isn't out for too long, we need him. In the post-game interview he said he's day-to-day with a knee strain.

Post by **Minstrel** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:01 pm

Just to show what the "following" of the team is at this point, at Wednesday's Nashville game they had the smallest crowd ever at the United Center: Attendance: 9,333 (45.5% full).

Then for a friday night game against Vancouver they only had around two thousand more. There are rumors that the season ticket base under the Wirtz Dynasty has dwindled to under 2500. Tickets remain $250 a seat for the row against the glass, $150 and $125 for the other rows on the main level, and $75 for the club level.

Systemfel · Post by **Systemfel** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:25 pm

Wow, those ticket prices are INSANE. In Sweden the most expensive ticket doesn't cost more than $30. The cheapest one is $15.

eme · Post by **eme** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:45 pm

Yea, if teams here had those prices there would be no one left to watch the games. Prices are around 10-35e here, depending on a team.

Fortune · Post by **Fortune** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:56 pm

In Kosice the most expensive ticket for regular season cost $5, the cheapest one is $3 and for playoff most expensive $ 13 and cheapest one is $6

noctambulist · Post by **noctambulist** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:11 pm

I'd love to have ticket prices that cheap here in the States, but I think the players get paid a little bit more here than in Europe

That's why college and minor league hockey is such a good deal here.

Post by **E5150_ca** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:41 pm

Minstrel wrote:Just to show what the "following" of the team is at this point, at Wednesday's Nashville game they had the smallest crowd ever at the United Center: Attendance: 9,333 (45.5% full).

Then for a friday night game against Vancouver they only had around two thousand more. There are rumors that the season ticket base under the Wirtz Dynasty has dwindled to under 2500. Tickets remain $250 a seat for the row against the glass, $150 and $125 for the other rows on the main level, and $75 for the club level.

WHAT A BARGAIN!

I live in Toronto. Those prices are NOTHING! There's a rumour going around that every home Leaf game is completely sold out for the next 3 years. Scalpers can go up to $600+ for an average seat.

flea · Post by **flea** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 1:10 am

Back to action!!

Tonight a very imortant game between the Bs and the Sabres. Sadly we lost some days ago against the Sabres 3-2 in Beantown, so tonight in Buffalo hopefully we can take the revenge!!!

Right now the Bs are winning 2-1....but we were also ahead the other day and finally they beat us...

Go Bs!!!

flea · Post by **flea** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 1:25 am

....and the Sabres just tied the game again....it seems that we arent able to keep the lead against the Sabres

2-2 on a PP goal from Vanek (nice player this Tomas Vanek, btw....)

flea · Post by **flea** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:40 am

Well, we are certainly not very lucky this season....again a good game against the Sabres, but the same result....another 3-2 loss...

Its really sad, because we are not playing badly lately....but we cant finish the good work by securing the wins!!!

What to do??? I really would say to trade away Sergei Samsonov!!!

Dont get me wrong, I like this guy and hes a good sniper, but lets be honest: we wont make the playoffs this year and Sammy is a UFA this summer. If we trade him now at least we can obtain a good prospect or a draft pick in return. I also would trade away Glen Murray and his 4 Million$ per year contract, but I dont think that there is a team who would pick him right now....and I prefer not to talk about Zhamnov....

....I have to admit that Iam a bit frustrated right now, so dont take me too serious....

noctambulist · Post by **noctambulist** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 4:33 am

I agree with you on Samsonov, he's a great player but I think he's too injury prone. They said before the last game that he tweeked his knee in practice!! The guy can't stay healthy and at his price he's not worth sitting on the IR half the season.

If we beat the Canadian's tomorrow night we are still in the hunt. If they win our chances are very slim to get in the playoffs.

We have been playing well, but it's too little too late.

P.S. Someone needs to pound Briere for what he did to Thomas. You don't take a goalies helmet off with your stick and just get away with it. Back in the day Briere would be picking pieces of his nose off the ice. I was ready to jump through the TV and pound that guy myself

flea · Post by **flea** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:05 am

noctambulist wrote:P.S. Someone needs to pound Briere for what he did to Thomas. You don't take a goalies helmet off with your stick and just get away with it. Back in the day Briere would be picking pieces of his nose off the ice. I was ready to jump through the TV and pound that guy myself

Oh yeah!!! U are right....I forgot to mention it yesterday!!!

Very poor move by Briere....and hopefully he isnt that dumb to say it wasnt intentional!!!

I coulnt believe he did it when I saw it yesterday!!!

Boynton or Gill should have had two or three words with Briere there....

Post by **Minstrel** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:40 am

I actually saw that potion of the game live and yeah that was unreal. Nobody anywhere near him too, and additionally he didn't even get a penalty for it, right? I thought they had but I think it was just they'd blown it dead since he'd lost his mask.

Two options to cut that issue off right quick: steel 'marsh' pegs back in the nets or abolish the instigator penalty and let the players police themselves. Neither of which will ever happen but I think if you just used a more substantial 'peg' for the nets one with less give that would hold firm a bit more than the current ones just so peple get the me ssafe

Post by **E5150_ca** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:01 am

I haven't seen the play in question but Briere doesn't seem like the kind of guy to go after a goalies helmeet with his stick...

Is it really clear that he did it it intentionally?

Post by **Alessandro** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:52 am

HABEMUS THEODORE

noctambulist · Post by **noctambulist** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:36 pm

E5150_ca wrote:I haven't seen the play in question but Briere doesn't seem like the kind of guy to go after a goalies helmeet with his stick...

Is it really clear that he did it it intentionally?

Briere never seemed like that type of player to me either. But on two other occasions he chose to slam into Thomas and push him into the net - both nothing uncommon in the game these days. But on the occasion in question, he was alone in front of the goal and made a move across the crease to go after the puck on the far-side boards and his stick came up and whacked Thomas on the side of his head and knocked his helmet off. No Bruin's player was even near him to cause his stick to "accidentally" hit Thomas. And an accidental bump on a goaltender's mask wouldn't cause it to just fly off like that. He did get a high-sticking call, and Boynton got a matching roughing minor, but the correct call would have been 4 for Briere for high-sticking and goaltender interference and 2 for Boynton. Was there malicious intent? I think if you asked Briere he would say it was an accident, and he's not known as being a dirty player. But in the heat of the game ... who knows.

As Andy Brickley pointed out, a ref has to assume that a player is going to defend his goaltender when something like that happens. The Bruin's should have had a powerplay from that. Brickley also pointed out and correctly I might add, that Briere was really playing within what the rules allow (not on that particular play however). And unfortunately the rules as they stand allow for too much goaltender contact without retaliation. I like Briere as a player, I think he has tons of skill, I just didn't like what he did and how it was handled by the refs.

Post by **Minstrel** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:25 am

I didn't like the handling of that Briere situation either...

An interesting counter-point to that argument though is today's Preds/Sharks game. There was pretty much a "clear from the blue line in" break by Cheechoo (the defense was a few steps behind him...) and Vokoun came out about ten feet to try and pokecheck the puck away. He totally wiffed though so instead he just threw himself at him causing Cheech to go crashing to the ice. Using all his giant pads; and Vokoun isn't a small guy either... it was like running into a brick wall. No call. So why can a goaltender come out and blast someone a dozen feet from his net? I mean he took him out...

That was probably the best game I've seen all year; what a war! Two guys got thrown out in the first for being "third man in" on a fight and then Parker elbowed Tootoo in the head away from the play later (though it was a serious acting job by Tootoo also

) and got tossed for arguing with the refs from the penalty box. When he got back to the Sharks bench I think it was Hordichuk who was chirping at him from the Preds bench and Parker just loses it!! He jumps up onto the boards between the benches and start scaling the dividing glass and Witt come jumping up from the other side and they're throwing punches at each other over the top of the divider

(I believe they have that picture labeled wrong since it was Witt who was thrown out for tangling over the glass like that not Webber).

One of those games where every inch of progress was paid for; just a great game...

flea · Post by **flea** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:43 pm

Nice picture Minstrel!!!

It must have been really scary for the people on the first lines behind the glass!!!!

I agree with u that Vokoun should have been at least penalized for that move on Cheecho!!...and more if u consider that he wasnt even in the crease!!!

....but on the other hand I think the league also should do more to protect the goalies, this year there have been a looot of goalies injuries due to players skating in them.

BlackCats101 · Post by **BlackCats101** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:00 pm

You can check that Preds-Sharks vid here on ESPN-check the videos on the right-hand side of the page-they take a while to load, plus the ad as well...but well worth watching...

flea · Post by **flea** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:27 pm

Thanks BlackCats101!!!

Just saw it!!! Hohoho....Parker and Witt

Joe Thornton: 20 points in his last 10 games....snif, snif....again, good job MOC....sorry to post that, but Iam frustrated every times when I see JT in his Sharks jersey...

Post by **Minstrel** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:29 pm

I told you those morons at Yahoo had it labeled wrong...

but yeah, that was one of the craziest things I've ever seen with them throwing these wild haymakers over that partition with one arm and hanging on to it with the other...

Fortune · Post by **Fortune** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:20 am

Another Buffalo win against Boston 6-2

Post by **Minstrel** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:50 am

Fortune wrote:Another Buffalo win against Boston 6-2

Another spectacular non-win for my Hawks against the Wings... it's that time of year where I'd rather see them improve their draft slot not their points total to be honest.

This is actually a yearly event for Hawks fans

noctambulist · Post by **noctambulist** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:05 pm

Fortune wrote:Another Buffalo win against Boston 6-2

It's that time of year for me when I start picking the team I'm going to root for in the playoffs, since it won't be the Bruins.

So far, I really like this Buffalo team. They are a bunch of scrappers and play good team-based hockey. And I like the fact that they don't have a real superstar on the team. The Boston announcers were talking about how spread out the scoring has been for them and how everyone pitches in to win games. I like that.

So for now, Let's Go Buff-a-lo

BlackCats101 · Post by **BlackCats101** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:18 am

Carolina set some new records in beating the Rangers 5-3...
Story