lynxrattle

Out of reactions. Good post.

Though he is 25 or is it 26, it's only his second year in the NHL. I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing more from Niner, here and there.

I had to laugh about the Anticrosby Maybe one could go really overboard in the anticrosbyism, saying something like this: "Oh, I really hate it when I draw a penalty. It's so against the spirit of the game. I see myself as a sacrifial lamb that should be tormented and abused, like in that game Kick the Buddy. When my team mates see me hacked and whacked they just keep on yelling: '''Attaboy Buddy! You know you like it! Keep on taking it!" But then the refs start ruining it for me, the team and the fans. The fans pay good money to see me thrown around. They don't want to see me deking through four Rangers and scoring. Sometimes I wish the refs would just put their whistles in their pockets and turn a blind eye like they should." On a more serious note, I think it must be very difficult for McDavid to find his optimal style of play, because one knows that the refs are not going to follow regular season rulebook during the playoffs, but one does not know what each year's playoffs rule book will be like. He can't start adjusting his style to the playoffs until the refs are following playoffs rules. They don't typically switch to that rule book at all during the regular season.

Yeah, I noticed that. Perhaps it's easier for the organisation to claim that the player is not fit (his fault), than to say they drafted a player with weaknesses in skating (organisation's fault). I'm so happy we have Judd Brackett now. He seems to find those hidden gems.

Kaprizov hopefully fully back in track now. The one thing I didn't have any kind of hunch about was Rask. 1 goal, 2 assists, plus/minus +4. He's just so slow that he should not be able to play in the NHL of today, but somehow he just does. It's like a bumblebee flying. Impossible, but somehow it still flies.

The Stars are an old team over the hill, that has made itself worse by acquiring Suter. To make it worse, Hintz has not delivered. I don't know what is wrong with him. I hope Kaprizov gets over his slump in this game. Robertson finished second in the race for the Calder Trophy. Maybe that competition from last season will wake him up. 5-2 Wild win.

Tim Army's views on top prospects: https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/down-on-the-farm-army-111721/c-328055002

I hate to say it as I was defending Dumba when he was younger, thinking he'll learn by experience, but it is not happening. It's the same mistakes he did as a prospect.

Some of these guys will definitely have a seat with the pop corn for some games now - if the contract/cap space -conundrum does not make it impossible.

I now watched the 1st period. We do need some fire in the belly. Had to laugh about Pitlick's first period 2 min penalty, though. Definitely worth more than just 2

A fourth round pick? I'd take it.

Well that was flat. Maybe get some changes now as EmptyShelf wished.

Some enthusiasm added definitely in order now.

Not much to show here in the 3rd period for the home crowd.

Ferraro took a Dumba shot and went down the tunnel. They should build PP around Dumba's shot.

Yeah, we are.

A goal now or we're done. We might well be even if they managed to get one back. It seems to have been quite a feisty game, first two periods.

No Merrill, no Talbot

Oh ****

If he keeps on scoring we'll eventually see highlights clips from the KHL. Then we'll see how fast the feet are going. I remember when Vladimir Yursinov was coaching here in Finland. His first words in Finnish seemed to be "jalat, jalat, jalat!" That is "feet, feet, feet". He wanted to keep his players moving.

3-2 Wild.

It gets faster in the AHL and still faster in the NHL. They would have to build the line to compensate for Sokolov's slowness, and they probably want to have four fast lines. I haven't seen more recent clips of him, though. Maybe he's learned to skate better.

I've only seen Sokolov playing in his 2015-16 highlights clip. Fast hands, slow feet, huge shot. A bit like Granlund's hands and feet together with Teemu Pulkkinen's Brett Hull -like shot. Without fast moving feet in today's NHL it's going to be awfully difficult to be able to make it. One is always late from defensive responsibilities. Slowness is not that big a problem in an Olympic size rink. Sokolov's AHL stats are only half a point per game.

China is putting its minority Uighur people into concentration camps, slowly conquering Pacific islands from its neighbours, raping its tennis stars by politburo members, subdueing Hong Kong into a part of the dictatorship and threatening Taiwan by an invasion. They do everything Nazi Germany did from 1936 - 1938, but they do it slowly enough for the world to keep on turning a blind eye to it. Definitely there should be no Olympics in a country like that. There should be a world wide embargo against China. (And I also hate the idea of having the NHL pause for the duration of Olympics )

Another exception is Hartman, who's playing way above his pay all the time. Winger or center, no matter what line, PP or PK, doesn't matter to him. I wonder how he would do as a d-man or goalie...