WordsOfWisdom Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 The North division is where offence lives in the NHL so far this season: Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 2 hours ago, WordsOfWisdom said: The North division is where offence lives in the NHL so far this season Sure but defense wins Championships!!!! The two hardest to score against??? Tampa and Vegas is who is would model my team's game after.... ..with that said the Flyers have 38 goals without their top forward so i'll take it. But they have a long ways to go to be like the top two. The Leafs too. And WTF has happened to Vancouver is this because they don't have Markstrom?? And you know when we prorate because everyone hasn't played the same amount of games it looks less dominating. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 The North Division is where the most terrible defense and goaltending is. I watched a couple of games and sometimes that was really embarrassing, especially the Canucks, Oilers, Senators and the Jets to a lesser extent. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 (edited) 43 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: Sure but defense wins Championships!!!! And WTF has happened to Vancouver is this because they don't have Markstrom?? RE: Vancouver if I may... Canucks are a bit of a head scratcher at this point. They SHOULD be doing better than they are at the moment. Sure, losing Markstrom was big, but Demko was supposed to take steps forward, not backward like he has, and the combination of he and Holtby should have been more than enough to offset losing Markstrom. I think the real issue with the Canucks is on defense. They lost two underrated but solid veteran defenders in Chris Tanev and Troy Stetcher, and really only replaced them with Nate Schmidt, who is good too, but still, that is a two to one loss on the blue line, and it has forced Quinn Hughes to take on more responsibility (he is good but ideally, you'd want to bring him along more slowly), and it elevates bottom pair guys like Jordie Benn and possibly Tyler Myers into roles they aren't exactly suited for. Also, vet Alex Edler hasn't been his usual physically dominating self on the blue line either. Up front, Tyler Toffoli has proven to be a bigger loss than ANYONE, myself included, would have thought! As you know, he is killing it for the Canadiens, and the Canucks sure would have loved that kind of production to stay on with them with the up front talent they have now. Season is still young, Canucks are still moving in the right direction, stumbling and bumbling aside. I have faith they will finish in the top four and make the playoffs. If their defense and goaltending rounds into what it COULD be, then maybe even the "mighty" Leafs will have something to worry about in Vancouver. Edited February 5, 2021 by TropicalFruitGirl26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 14 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: RE: Vancouver if I may... Canucks are a bit of a head scratcher at this point. They SHOULD be doing better than they are at the moment. Sure, losing Markstrom was big, but Demko was supposed to take steps forward, not backward like he has, and the combination of he and Holtby should have been more than enough to offset losing Markstrom. I think the real issue with the Canucks is on defense. They lost two underrated but solid veteran defenders in Chris Tanev and Troy Stetcher, and really only replaced them with Nate Schmidt, who is good too, but still, that is a two to one loss on the blue line, and it has forced Quinn Hughes to take on more responsibility (he is good but ideally, you'd want to bring him along more slowly), and it elevates bottom pair guys like Jordie Benn and possibly Tyler Myers into roles they aren't exactly suited for. Also, vet Alex Edler hasn't been his usual physically dominating self on the blue line either. Up front, Tyler Toffoli has proven to be a bigger loss than ANYONE, myself included, would have thought! As you know, he is killing it for the Canadiens, and the Canucks sure would have loved that kind of production to stay on with them with the up front talent they have now. Season is still young, Canucks are still moving in the right direction, stumbling and bumbling aside. I have faith they will finish in the top four and make the playoffs. If their defense and goaltending rounds into what it COULD be, then maybe even the "mighty" Leafs will have something to worry about in Vancouver. Yes all great points the defensemen and the forwards along with the goalie had a negative synergistic affect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 32 minutes ago, Math said: The North Division is where the most terrible defense and goaltending is. I watched a couple of games and sometimes that was really embarrassing, especially the Canucks, Oilers, Senators and the Jets to a lesser extent. ^^^^^ this x100 ^^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 39 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: the combination of he and Holtby should have been more than enough to offset losing Markstrom. Holtby is done. It was actually painfully obvious last year that he was diminishing. It's why the Caps were okay going with Samsonov, even though there was no particular reason to think he was that good either. I agree with much of what you said but just wanted to comment on that part. Carry on. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 9 minutes ago, ruxpin said: Holtby is done. Is he?? I guess that would explain a lot this year i can say i have not watched another game the Flyers weren't playing in i just haven't had the time lately. Of all the goalies in the division Hell boy is my favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Holtby is done, and the North division doesn't have a lot of great blueliners OR goaltenders, for that matter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 (edited) "The North division is where the firepower is." If defined as "most scoring," yes. Not necessarily because of the best scorers. It's mostly because it has the worst defense and goaltending. It's like the headline "Necrophiliacs Anonymous is where the action is!" Edited February 5, 2021 by ruxpin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 14 minutes ago, ruxpin said: Holtby is done. It was actually painfully obvious last year that he was diminishing. It's why the Caps were okay going with Samsonov, even though there was no particular reason to think he was that good either. I agree with much of what you said but just wanted to comment on that part. Carry on. 1 minute ago, JR Ewing said: Holtby is done, and the North division doesn't have a lot of great blueliners OR goaltenders, for that matter. You two are making me VERY sad..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 3 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: Is he?? I guess that would explain a lot this year i can say i have not watched another game the Flyers weren't playing in i just haven't had the time lately. Of all the goalies in the division Hell boy is my favorite. Same, actually. I was going to say "followed, I guess, by Markstrom." But that may be because of the competition. LOL Gotta respect Price, but I can't say I like him. The rest...meh. Yeah, Holtby just doesn't inspire any confidence. Just kind of diminishing maybe over the last 2 years (I'm not sure I'd go back that far), but definitely starting last year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 You see the beauty of STAT's is that if you work hard enough they will always tell the truth. If you level the playing field one will find that scoring is relatively close among all the teams...straight up total goals is NOT a good indicator ..... Lets look at Goals/Game ...... Team GP GF/GP Montréal Canadiens 11 4.18 Dallas Stars 8 4.00 Florida Panthers 7 3.71 Toronto Maple Leafs 11 3.64 Tampa Bay Lightning 8 3.63 Washington Capitals 11 3.55 Winnipeg Jets 11 3.55 Edmonton Oilers 12 3.50 Colorado Avalanche 11 3.45 St. Louis Blues 11 3.45 Philadelphia Flyers 11 3.45 Vancouver Canucks 14 3.36 Vegas Golden Knights 7 3.29 Boston Bruins 10 3.20 Carolina Hurricanes 8 3.00 Chicago Blackhawks 12 2.92 New York Rangers 10 2.90 Los Angeles Kings 9 2.89 Buffalo Sabres 10 2.80 Pittsburgh Penguins 10 2.80 Minnesota Wild 11 2.73 Arizona Coyotes 10 2.70 Nashville Predators 10 2.70 Calgary Flames 10 2.60 New Jersey Devils 9 2.56 San Jose Sharks 8 2.50 Columbus Blue Jackets 12 2.50 Ottawa Senators 11 2.45 New York Islanders 9 2.11 Detroit Red Wings 11 1.91 Anaheim Ducks 11 1.73 The North really does not have all this fire power. Only the Habs are aver greater than 4 goals per game. AND ....if you prorate the number of total goals scored over 56 games ...it is even more even. GP GF GA DIFF Prorated Montreal CanadiensMontreal Canadiens 11 46 30 16 234 Dallas StarsDallas Stars 8 32 21 11 224 Florida PanthersFlorida Panthers 7 27 22 5 216 Toronto Maple LeafsToronto Maple Leafs 11 40 32 8 204 Washington CapitalsWashington Capitals 11 40 38 2 204 Tampa Bay LightningTampa Bay Lightning 8 29 17 12 203 Winnipeg JetsWinnipeg Jets 11 39 32 7 199 St. Louis BluesSt. Louis Blues 11 39 36 3 199 Edmonton OilersEdmonton Oilers 12 42 43 -1 196 Philadelphia FlyersPhiladelphia Flyers 11 38 35 3 193 Colorado AvalancheColorado Avalanche 11 38 24 14 193 Vancouver CanucksVancouver Canucks 14 48 55 -7 192 Boston BruinsBoston Bruins 10 34 23 11 190 Vegas Golden KnightsVegas Golden Knights 7 23 17 6 184 Carolina HurricanesCarolina Hurricanes 8 26 19 7 182 Pittsburgh PenguinsPittsburgh Penguins 10 30 37 -7 168 Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres 10 30 32 -2 168 Chicago BlackhawksChicago Blackhawks 12 35 39 -4 163 New York RangersNew York Rangers 10 29 28 1 162 Los Angeles KingsLos Angeles Kings 9 26 29 -3 162 Nashville PredatorsNashville Predators 10 28 34 -6 157 San Jose SharksSan Jose Sharks 8 22 31 -9 154 Minnesota WildMinnesota Wild 11 30 30 0 153 Arizona CoyotesArizona Coyotes 10 27 29 -2 151 Calgary FlamesCalgary Flames 10 27 27 0 151 Columbus Blue JacketsColumbus Blue Jackets 12 31 37 -6 145 New Jersey DevilsNew Jersey Devils 9 23 26 -3 143 Ottawa SenatorsOttawa Senators 11 27 50 -23 137 New York IslandersNew York Islanders 9 19 24 -5 118 Detroit Red WingsDetroit Red Wings 11 21 40 -19 107 Anaheim DucksAnaheim Ducks 11 19 28 -9 97 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 (edited) It looks the defenses in the North Division, are almost as bad as the offenses there...are great. Edited February 5, 2021 by FD19372 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, JR Ewing said: Holtby is done, and the North division doesn't have a lot of great blueliners OR goaltenders, for that matter. It only seems that way because of the immense, almost limitless firepower from the forward lines. Edited February 6, 2021 by WordsOfWisdom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 2 hours ago, Math said: The North Division is where the most terrible defense and goaltending is. You see what it does to a team's GAA when they have to face the Leafs 3x per week? 2 hours ago, Math said: I watched a couple of games and sometimes that was really embarrassing, especially the Canucks, Oilers, Senators and the Jets to a lesser extent. The Leafs forwards have a way of doing that to opposing teams I know. (Sorry, I can't help myself. My bad.) 2 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: RE: Vancouver if I may... You're so polite. I want to hug you! 2 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: maybe even the "mighty" Leafs I see what you did there. That kind of sass talk gets hug privileges revoked lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 1 hour ago, ruxpin said: "The North division is where the firepower is." If defined as "most scoring," yes. Not necessarily because of the best scorers. It's mostly because it has the worst defense and goaltending. It's like the headline "Necrophiliacs Anonymous is where the action is!" I hope nobody will try to taint Auston Matthew's Rocket Richard trophy victory this season when it happens, or McJesus's Art Ross trophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 2 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said: I hope nobody will try to taint Auston Matthew's Rocket Richard trophy victory this season when it happens, or McJesus's Art Ross trophy. Yeah, well, the Canadian teams are the worst at getting COVID. I wish I had thought of this when drafting in fantasy (draft ONLY northern division players). It makes sense and should have been apparent, but it just didn't occur to me. @pilldoc's numbers really put that fact in stark relief. To take your side a little, the criticism of the defense and goalies really does amount to a chicken/egg argument. It's certainly arguable that the defense looks bad because the offense is good. Though I don't think the defense bring played is good on its own. Probably a mixture of both. Given the numbers Doc posted, I'll be interested in seeing if the average bear out as the ICU divisions catch up with number of games. The make up games presumably will make a very tight schedule later on with less rest. That will likely affect the scoring but I can't get my mind around which way. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 1 hour ago, JR Ewing said: Holtby is done, and the North division doesn't have a lot of great blueliners OR goaltenders, for that matter. I disagree. I just got rid of Holtby in my Conn Smythe FHL, so now he'll probably go on to win the Vezina. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) 6 minutes ago, FD19372 said: I disagree. I just got rid of Holtby in my Conn Smythe FHL, so now he'll probably go on to win the Vezina. Nope. He's simply done. It's not that his defense stinks (though it does). He's slowed a bit in his reactions. I don't know if it's physical or cognitive. If it's the latter, maybe it can improve some, but I don't know. It was becoming noticeable last year and I think that's why the Caps --aside from cap space--didn't blink on moving on from him. He was a bit of a fantasy disaster last year, too, even on the Caps. No way I'm touching him this year, right out of the gate. Edited February 6, 2021 by ruxpin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 JVR is really playing well, and playing aggressively (for JVR). Trade him now...his trade value will never be higher. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 52 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said: It only seems that way because of the immense, almost limitless firepower from the forward lines. Did you really post a Vid about Spezza and firepower... (SMH) ...... He has been a middling forward for years except for one notable year (2011-12) ....... His past 3 years in Dallas have been complete suckage ........ thanks for the chuckle ...... it made me smile on an otherwise quiet night here at work .... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 11 hours ago, ruxpin said: It's like the headline "Necrophiliacs Anonymous is where the action is!" I just came here to say, "Damn it's good to have Ruxie back!" 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icechipper Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 I grew up just south of the border, playing puck and watching Hockey Night in Canada. Big Jets fan, attended many games in Winnipeg, will again we can. I find myself watching a lot of Canadian games these days. Announcers don't coddle players when they make terrible plays. Plus new national story lines daily. It's a lot of fun, and throwing in the NHL's Ugly Christmas Sweater contest this season just adds to the aura...Go Jets Go! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 And some of the most putrid goaltending and defense in the NHL. It's like the new Q 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.