The Cats have hung their banner and continue to dodge any punishment from the league for anything, the Rangers have decided to skip game 1, and Colorado and LA are about to kick off their season.
Welcome to the new season. May the odds be ever in your favor
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Happy new season everyone! Excited to watch how it unfolds but wish I had a second team to adopt since there's a less than 10% chance my Flyers make the playoffs this year. The two week run in December where they give me hope is always fun though.
Fantasy-wise I went with the oops all handcuffs strategy of scooping all the first liners adjacent to superstars. Necas, Bratt, Hagel, Knies, Rossi, etc. and five Avs because that offense is too damn good
Well, you can join me as a Sabres fan and never have the stress of worrying about making the playoffs. I think this year is the year though.
And here I am just getting ready to hate myself following the Phillies or hockey, and by that I mean the Carolina Hurricanes. Extremely similar competitive arcs the last 20 years or so, too.
Oof...brutal way for Phil's to lose tonight and Iggles about to blow it against Giants makes for a drink the night away in Philly.
Yep. Flyers aren't good, hockey is still canceled. But at least there's a chance it might be uncanceled someday.
NBA basketball may never be uncanceled at this rate
They usually win like 3 or 4 in a row towards the end of January too. Then February rolls around and the wheels come all the way off
edit: switching things up this year, wheels coming off even faster than normal. Great greatgreatgreat
Had to accelerate things with the Olympic break coming up, obviously. It's pretty clear any option beyond Vladar is ass and they don't have the offense to compensate
No they don't, the whole team is more impotent than a Habsburg
I remember when Florida was where hockey players went to retire.
Excited to watch less than half the Caps games I used to before Monumental disappeared off Hulu. Guess I don't really have enough time to watch that much hockey anyway. Thanks, Ted.
Monumental is also gone from YouTube TV. I'm not paying for another subscription so I'm also only seeing nationally broadcasted Caps games.
Pens fan reporting for duty. Not expecting a ton of great results this year (though Tuesday was a pleasant surprise), but I'm probably more excited than i have been in a few years.
The last few seasons we were bad, boring, and old which is tough to watch. New coaching staff and a lot of young prospects to get excited about this year. Watching them grow and gel through the season should be something to root for.
I'm annoyed that the Pens hired Muse. He's going to be a good head coach from what I remember when he was brought onto the Rangers staff. I could see him being key to transitioning between the old guard within the next couple of years and whatever new talents come though (Let's be real, as long as the Pens don't make the playoffs they're getting McKenna)
Yeah that seems to be the report on Muse. That he should be very good to help usher in a youth movement and get the next wave ready.
I've never wanted to believe a conspiracy theory more
Let's Go Avs!
In case anyone wasn't paying attention, the upcoming FA class is already a complete joke. Everyone is re-signing with their respective organizations. Necas, Panarin, and Kempe are seemingly the top of the class for the most part.
Ovi will almost assuredly re-sign in DC or go to play in the KHL. Malkin and Kane are old. TSN is going to have to fill a full day with like skits
The Kaprizov deal followed by McDavid extension baffled me. Kaprizov getting $19.1M and McDavid extended at $12M ...just doesn't compute
I get it. McDavid said I'll give you two years to get us a cup with a team friendly deal. If you can't do it, it's two years and I'm still gonna be a top five player. I can walk with a clear conscience and not feel like I'm abandoning Edmonton and some other team will pay me boatloads. If we do get it done and win a cup, pay me my money then. The guy is doing fine and knows he needs a cup to be one of the greats. And he probably can't do that if he's gobbling up 18 million a year.
Any Phlyers fans know what's going on with Michkov and why he keeps getting benched? Defense? Effort? Attitude?
Tocchet hasn't been happy with his effort.
Last week Tocchet said this after benching Michkov in OT.
That's actually entertaining considering Michkov decided he wanted Philly when he was going through the draft process too
That was under Torts though right?
Michkov got benched alot in KHL too before coming over
Yeah, but even under the newer kindler and gentler Torts (happened midway through his CBJ tenure) he wasn't exactly someone that let people off the hook. That's part of the additional baffling nature of the situation
Torts benched him a bunch last year especially in January.
It got really ugly at end of January, shouting match on the bench.
Ovi with 899 tonight. Next to 900.
Love being a Canes fan living in NC, but 4 hours away from Raleigh. Been able to watch 0:00 minutes of Canes hockey so far this year
VPN and ESPN+ are your friends.
Seriously, just turn turn off location settings and clear cache, turn on VPN so somewhere like DC and turn on location again. The NHL package on ESPN+ will now let you watch the Canes feed
Works like a charm, been doing it for the last couple weeks. I already had ESPN+ as part of the Disney/Hulu package and the VPN was far cheaper than FanDuel.
Ovi 💣 💥 💥 💥 900 💥 💥 💥
Binnington was a gift that just gave on giving for the Caps tonight
Yeah three goals in about 7 minutes in 2nd period. Got ugly fast for Blues.
That last goal was a gift from the defenseman. Should've just let that puck be
Binnington got caught trying to keep the puck from Ovi's goal too.
https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/46864676 via @ESPN App http://espn.com/app
I'll tell ya what, its awesome being a Canes fan, living in Carolina, almost 4 hours from Raleigh. Haven't been able to watch a single minute of Canes hockey
Edit: just realized I posted this exact sentiment almost 2 weeks ago. Still true
Could be worse. You could be a Rangers fan that is able to watch them be the worst team at home that I've ever seen in my time on this earth
I wound up coughing up for MASN for the Nats this year for similar reasons, though at least they figured out how to federate into the MLB app so I could watch it there rather than in the disastrous MASN app. It is what it is. I don't judge anyone who sails the high seas but it's not for me.
As a Canes fan in VA with ESPN+, mostly what you've missed is defensemen going down like Spinal Tap drummers. Nikishin looks like he's been playing in the league for 10 years though, confident and steady -- Maniscalco and Tracy commented last night that they were already forgetting he's just as much a rookie as Nystrom/Legault/Fensore that are on the ORD-RDU shuttle.
Ehlers looks like he's finding his feet finally, and Svechnikov might be waking up.
You missed a crazy first period against the Wild last night. With the ensuing penalties after the cheap shot on Chatfield and fight there were 3 goals in less than a minute (Canes-Wild-Canes). Then just 3 minutes later Canes got another goal. 3 goals in 5 minutes to go from down 1 to up 1.
Whoa, big trade just happened. Quinn Hughes going from Vancouver to Minnesota for Buium, Rossi, Ohgren, and a 1st. His name had popped up recently for NYR and WSH.
I guess Vancouver is tearing it down
Wild need to do something after the contract they gave Kaprisov.
Would not be shocked to see Elias Pettersson end up in Carolina. They kicked the tires on a trade previously and they really need a 2nd line center, and they have tons of pieces to provide in a trade.
What kind of package do you think the Canes would put together?
They want futures and prospects and that is the one thing we have gobs of. Not really sure who we would float but I don't think it would cost someone like Nikishin, but maybe a package around Nadeau or Unger Sorum, and a 1st is probably likely.
Would appreciate a goalie at some point as well. I'm still unsure of Bussi and Freddie looks not great.
Bussi just keeps winning though. Has to be worth something even if only for this season
The other trade today was kind of funny when compared to the Hughes one:
Edmonton gets: G Triston Jarry, F Sam Poulin
Pittsburgh gets: G Stuart Skinner, D Brett Kulak, 2029 2nd round pick
Both teams may be banking on resurgences for the goalies, but it's kind of moving one trash heap to the other
Pens have a couple of young goalies they're really high on, specifically Murashov. So Skinner isn't a huge part of their future I don't think.
They needed to trade Jarry while his stock was high.. He cleared waivers last year so getting some players and a pick back is a nice return.
The Panthers are such a dirty team and the refs just let them get away with it. Glad Slavin was OK and hope Jarvis can be back for the Olympics at least. Looked like Broken ribs though.
Also Svech can't play with the puck like that 5 on 6. Shoot it or dump it to the corner for a change.
Chinakhov escapes Columbus around the same time the team did today. Traded to Pittsburgh for Heinen, a 2026 2nd, and a 2027 3rd. From what I remember, I don't like this deal because it helps Pittsburgh, but he made it known he wanted out of Ohio earlier this year.
Man I miss having monumental sports to follow caps hockey, so fing happy ESPN bought up rights to the NHL only to never broadcast any of the games.
Yeah I think they put a lot of it on ESPN+ instead of ESPN. Thankfully I got ESPN+ bundle with Disney+ and Hulu, so I've gotten to watch some Caps games that way
I think you can buy it standalone. Not sure what your situation/locality is.
Yeah I know I can get monumental streaming but ted can kiss my ass, I'm tired of having to feel pressured to have a whole slew of overpriced streaming services just to follow a local sports team. When youtube tv lost monumental sports due to a disagreement on terms I had enough and canned a bunch of the ones I had. Pigs will fly before I pay what ESPN thinks their poorly performing streaming service is worth.
Definitely a valid opinion
I dont mind paying if I feel I am getting quality in return but every time I use ESPN app to watch a ACCNX game the streams alwyas suck and the UI is a pain, mainly what ABC and the mouse have done to try and force consumers to their owned products has made me even mor against buying their stuff.
ESPN+ plus a VPN is your friend. Just set your VPN region to somewhere not in the region of the teams playing, turn on airplane mode and clear cache on the ESPN app, turn off airplane mode and you're set. ESPN+ carries the Center Ice package.
This is how I watch all the Canes games here in Raleigh because I just have never been able to get the FanDuel app to work.
Mika Zibanejad had himself a night in the Winter Classic. 3 goals, and 2 assist for the first hat trick and first 5 point game in the WC. Shame the Rangers have been an inconsistent mess everywhere except outdoor games
Two weeks later and Mika had himself a day against Philly who enjoys just going nuclear on. Another hat trick and I think the only win since the Winter Classic. Rangers pulled out the "retool letter" yesterday in case you didn't see so Panarin and anyone without a NMC or considered a top prospect is on the table. Necessary, but sucky that we are already at this point again.
Hmmmmmmm
WOW! If true, that's awesome.
The folks at Bristol Motor Speedway aren't afraid to pony up the money to put on a show!
Unfortunately it looks like that this one is untrue
yeah. went to looking around after posting. most likely untrue for 2027. However, may get the powers that be thinking about a future year.
It would be very cool. But as someone who's gone to a Winter classic and the Battle of Bristol, I think it would realistically be a mediocre fan experience.
Seeing a hockey rink/puck in the middle of a football field is really hard because the stands are so far away. Seeing a football field from the speedway stands was already difficult, so putting a playing surface roughly 1/3 the size there would make it that much harder.
They'd have to think about orienting the rink in a different direction and only using some of the seats to make it viewable at all.