NHL 2008-2009 Thread

[Mauser98k]

Tampa needs a new goalie. Smith is too damn inconcistent in his plays, you can't rely on him. As soon as you think he's playing good, he fucks up. Tampa needs a goalie that can play a whole game, and not just the first two periods. I promise you that, if Tampa had a good goalie, they would be in the middle of the playoff race, if not fighting the Caps for the Southeast title.

crazy talk. the shootout is the only part of his game that he needs to work on. he needs goal support. we've lost 15 games by 1 goal. Smith has been the only consistent player on the team. he's kept us in nearly every game and the goal scoring has let us down. his numbers are:

.923 Save Percentage (7th overall) with a 2.42 Goal Against Average (13th overall). this from a man who's Win-Loss record this season is 8-12-9 (through very little fault of his own)

there has been talk of Smith being as good as, if not better than, Khabibulin was when we won the Cup and i have to say i agree. We've never had a goaltender be able to play the puck like Smitty. He should be our goalie for years to come.

 

[Dawn]

I haven't seen enough TB games to have a clear idea on Smith but his stats...

.923 Save Percentage (7th overall) with a 2.42 Goal Against Average (13th overall).

... while playing for an offensive-minded team like TB, and behind a pretty average defence corps is more than respectable.

Sounds like a solid keeper in my books. :dunno:


Yesterday, he did some miracle saves to keep TB in the game. If he is always like that, and keeps TB in the game, i would build my team around him without a doubt. It's an advantage over division rivals (Caps) who are stuck with... Theodore :1orglaugh

 

[Mauser98k]

Same here. Laraque is injured and stayed in Montreal. Next game!



That was a legit check. Of course, im sad that Tanguay was injured in the event (sounds like a serious shoulder injury, i should get better info this morning on the radio)... but i have to admit that i would love to have a Artyukhin or Lucic in my team. Last time i have witnessed such kind of bodycheck, it was in the '70s when Larry Robinson crashed a Philly player throught the glass.



He had to. After the hit on Tanguay, someone had to step up. A very courageous decision by Kostopoulos: he was aware he was gonna be killed but did his job. I really admire the courage of Kostopoulos and Begin: those guys are really selfless team-players with a huge heart. Tom conceded 5 inches and 45 pounds to Arty... and he faced him regardless. Kudos.




It was a good game overall. You guys are really lucky to have a player like Artytukhin in the lineup: that guy is a beast, somewhat like Lucic!

I've been impressed by the overall game of Steve Emingler too. That guy is a well-hidden secret in Tampa, right?

My team won but... i think Tampa deserved the win. A very impressive defensive performance by your team guys.

Artyukhin is turning into one bad dude. he seems to just be realizing his full potential as an asskicker extraordinaire.

Eminger is one of the guys we got in the Matt Carle trade to Philly. they seem to think they got the better end of that deal. Bull. Eminger is quite a defenseman and he'll be something to watch for a while.

another player i'm impressed with is Paul Szczechura. we called him up from Norfolk and he's here to stay. he's always buzzing around the opposing net and is a surprising threat every night.


as for fighting Arty, i figured Komisarek would give it a go

 

[Dawn]

as for fighting Arty, i figured Komisarek would give it a go

Komisarek no longer have the *ok* to drop gloves. The Habs direction really disliked loosing him 3 weeks following his last fight against Milan Lucic.

Without Laraque in the lineup, it leaved only Kostopoulos, Begin and Bouillon for the fighting game...

Begin still had a black eye from his fight yesterday in Florida.
Bouillon is very too small for Arty.

So basically, it left only Kostopoulos to adress Arty.


On Emingler: he was not even close to play like he does for TB prior to the trade. Maybe that having more responsibilities have made him develop to his full potential?

 

[Mauser98k]

Komisarek no longer have the *ok* to drop gloves. The Habs direction really disliked loosing him 3 weeks following his last fight against Milan Lucic.

Without Laraque in the lineup, it leaved only Kostopoulos, Begin and Bouillon for the fighting game...

Begin still had a black eye from his fight yesterday in Florida.
Bouillon is very too small for Arty.

So basically, it left only Kostopoulos to adress Arty.


On Emingler: he was not even close to play like he does for TB prior to the trade. Maybe that having more responsibilities have made him develop to his full potential?

:eek:

i know Komisarek was hounding Lecavalier all night. he seems pretty good at that agitator thing.

 

[Dawn]

:eek:

i know Komisarek was hounding Lecavalier all night. he seems pretty good at that agitator thing.

Yeah. Arty was looking for Komisarek, Komisarek was looking for Lecavalier, Lecavalier was looking ... to score That dynamic was one of the greatest thing to watch in the game.

Komisarek is an excellent physical defensive defensemen - always playing against the best lines. He is excellent at this. His physical play can lead star players off their game.

I'm just worried how not dropping gloves will affect his overall game.

If he isnt hurt, he will always finish in the top 10 in the NHL for blocked shots and bodychecks. The kind of guy everyone would love to have playing in his team, right?

 

[Dawn]

Alex Tanguay - Separated Shoulder, will be out for at least 3 weeks

 

[lost1dc]

Komisarek no longer have the *ok* to drop gloves. The Habs direction really disliked loosing him 3 weeks following his last fight against Milan Lucic.

Without Laraque in the lineup, it leaved only Kostopoulos, Begin and Bouillon for the fighting game...

Begin still had a black eye from his fight yesterday in Florida.
Bouillon is very too small for Arty.

So basically, it left only Kostopoulos to adress Arty.


On Emingler: he was not even close to play like he does for TB prior to the trade. Maybe that having more responsibilities have made him develop to his full potential?

You must luv the Habs for having an enforcer in the line-up after Laraque. Was talking to my buddy and commented that other players would step up and try to fill the void. They did and got their asses beat. And Arty is not a tough guy in my books. (Unless I get some of his minor footage)

 

[Thunderbolt]

Tampa needs a new goalie. Smith is too damn inconcistent in his plays, you can't rely on him. As soon as you think he's playing good, he fucks up. Tampa needs a goalie that can play a whole game, and not just the first two periods. I promise you that, if Tampa had a good goalie, they would be in the middle of the playoff race, if not fighting the Caps for the Southeast title.

Smith has been very good all year long .... I don't think you have been following the Lightning very well. The problem the team has is not scoring enough goals.Smith is a great goalie and will be Tampa's goalie for years to come.

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

crazy talk. the shootout is the only part of his game that he needs to work on. he needs goal support. we've lost 15 games by 1 goal. Smith has been the only consistent player on the team. he's kept us in nearly every game and the goal scoring has let us down. his numbers are:

Isn't Smith the one who always has Tampa leading in the first, but in the second he lets the other team tie it up? He keeps you in the games, maybe, but he loses you the games when it is the shootout. Granted, the second-worst offence in the league (85 goals) isn't going to help anything, but you guys lose way too many shootouts because of that guy. Tampa's defence seems ok, but everything else (expecially offence) could be worked on.

 

[Mauser98k]

Isn't Smith the one who always has Tampa leading in the first, but in the second he lets the other team tie it up? He keeps you in the games, maybe, but he loses you the games when it is the shootout. Granted, the second-worst offence in the league (85 goals) isn't going to help anything, but you guys lose way too many shootouts because of that guy. Tampa's defence seems ok, but everything else (expecially offence) could be worked on.

we allow the most shots on net per game of any team in the league. Smitty is not the problem. he needs to work on the shootout, but other than that, he's an all star.

we need to score more and not go to the shootout so much. we've already been 9 times this season. win it in regulation and we don't have that problem. and FYI, we can't score in the shootout either. It's NOT Smith's fault

i don't see how anybody could possibly blame Smitty for anything that's gone wrong this season unless you only watch sportscenter highlights

 

[Thunderbolt]

Isn't Smith the one who always has Tampa leading in the first, but in the second he lets the other team tie it up? He keeps you in the games, maybe, but he loses you the games when it is the shootout. Granted, the second-worst offence in the league (85 goals) isn't going to help anything, but you guys lose way too many shootouts because of that guy. Tampa's defence seems ok, but everything else (expecially offence) could be worked on.

Smith is not very good in the shootout but he is the only reason tampa gets to the shootout in the first place. most of the time when the team has a lead , they start playing sloppy and they allow a ton of shots on goal and eventually , even if you have the best goalie one shot ends up in. The real problem is the lack of goal support from the offence and the fact that Tampa always finds a way to let the other team back in the game even when they lead by at least 2 goals. Mike Smith has NOT been responsable for any of the losses , he is the only reason why the Lightning have only lost their games by 1 goal instead of 3 or 4. Tampa is ranked 14th for goals allowed and I can garantee you that without Smith they would be dead last.

 

[Mauser98k]

And Arty is not a tough guy in my books. (Unless I get some of his minor footage)

really? you don't think he is tough? you're nuts.

 

[jaintro]

Lindy Ruff threatens to sit top players like Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht

His quote "I'll sit em, and thats not and idle threat. If Adam Mair and Ellis (Matt) want to compete harder than my top guys than I have no problem giving them the ice time"

Also Kaleta out 3 more weeks after sucker punch by gautier

Ive notice alot of lightning fans on here. How about that hecht/Lecavalier fight. :thumbsup:

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

:dunno: Ok, then Tampa should jsut start shopping around for some offensive talent, then. Whatever allows them to pull themselves out of the basement. Tampa has some bonafide talent, but for whatever reason they aren't producing.

One game is being played right now, Islanders and Panthers. Second intermission, Isles are leading 3-1.

Not a lot of games on tonight. Calgary/Edmonton should be an entertaining game, but I want to see the Colorado/Phoenix game myself. It's all just the calm before the storm, anyway, since the Winter Classic is tomorrow (Go 'Hawks!)

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

^ To add on to what I said earlier, maybe it's not the fault of the players, and just the fault of the coach.

 

[Mauser98k]

^ To add on to what I said earlier, maybe it's not the fault of the players, and just the fault of the coach.

we're on the right track after having replaced Melrose with Tocchet. the team looks better and we're slowly, but surely, improving. you have to have watched every game this season to see the differences. they're not subtle, in fact, they're quite significant changes. as i said, we're on the right track but it takes a while to get back into the groove after getting new owners, a new GM, new coaches and at least 14 new players from last year alone.

 

[Thunderbolt]

we're on the right track after having replaced Melrose with Tocchet. the team looks better and we're slowly, but surely, improving. you have to have watched every game this season to see the differences. they're not subtle, in fact, they're quite significant changes. as i said, we're on the right track but it takes a while to get back into the groove after getting new owners, a new GM, new coaches and at least 14 new players from last year alone.

I think if Tocchet could have had the team right from the begening , they would have had a much better start to the season. Also I think Stamkos would have more points than he has now. Melrose was really on the verge of destroying his confidence and he is still having some problems adjusting because of that.We are on the right track and the team is going to get better each game untill the end of the season.

 

[member979979]

This winter classic game is great! No bullshit playing, they are getting rough out there.

 

[titsrock]

Those 2 uniforms are fucking gorgeous! Dig that Detroit D but that Blackhawk oldschool uni....:bowdown::bowdown:

C'mon Blackhawks!!!!