yave1964 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 And the opposite of yesterday, quarter turn which teams are the good surprises NORTH The Canadiens are among the biggest and best surprises of the year at 9-4-2 with Allen keeping Price fresh and actually outplaying him for stretches. Anderson and Toffoli also brilliant adds. CENTRAL Panthers have the best record in the division at 10-2-2 with Huberdeau looking like a man among boys with at least one or more breakaways every night and two goalies both 5-1-1. Verhaege looks like the steal of the offseason. EAST Gotta be the Devils at 6-3-2 after beating the Bruins last night. Doing it in spite of ravages by covid. Too young and skilled to not know they arent supposed to be good. WEST none/ Just like nobody is a bad surprise as the bad teams are all what they are supposed to be, the good teams are all playing well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 3 minutes ago, yave1964 said: CENTRAL Panthers have the best record in the division at 10-2-2 with Huberdeau looking like a man among boys with at least one or more breakaways every night and two goalies both 5-1-1. Verhaege looks like the steal of the offseason. In the central I have got to go with Chicago's netminder ....Kevin Lankinen: 7-2 with 2.29 GAA and 0.931 SV%. Nobody and I mean Nobody saw this coming. He was considered an after thought. The Blackhawks currently tied in 1st place at 9-5-4 with 22 PTS (Though Florida has 4 games in hand) but you get my drift .... This has got to be one of the biggest surprises in the League ...... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted February 19, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted February 19, 2021 First off, I want to acknowledge @yave1964 for his CONSTANT contributions on various NHL items throughout the site. Lots of people talk about "knowledgeable" and enthusiastic overall NHL fans, well, this man is a textbook example. Just putting that out there for those that may have been living under a rock and still don't know. His postings and opinions may not always be right, and they don't have to be, but they are well educated posts, come from an honest viewpoint, and from a man who really does pay attention to what goes on in the league. Thank you, Sir.... Ahem....onto my post: Pleasant surprises, eh? NORTH: Hard to come up with any real surprises....I think many expected both Toronto and Montreal to be where they are given the division. And a team like Ottawa to be where they are, given their place on their rebuild timeline. Perhaps Edmonton as a pleasant surprise? Although, things didn't start out that way, it seems the Oilers have started to gain traction, currently sit behind only the Leafs and Habs, and certainly have some players that can help carry them, despite the team still having glaring needs in many areas. CENTRAL: Hands down the biggest positive surprise here are the Chicago Blackhawks, AIAEC!! No Jonathan Toews? Delia and Subban are your netminders? Defense looking old n slow? Other forwards not quite as advertised? No problem, says the Hawks. As mentioned, Kevin Lankinen has taken over the crease, while lesser known players like Pius Suter, Phillip Kurashev, and Nicolas Beaudin have helped out regulars Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, and Dominik Kubalik in propping this team up. I don't know how this will all end for Chicago when all is said n done, but from the looks of things right now, you gotta figure they are in the mix for a playoff spot...and just may even grab one for sure! EAST: Pleasant surprise for me has to be the Flyers, believe it or not. Honestly, I had them fighting for a 4th spot in the division, possibly even MISSING the playoffs, as I thought the team overall didn't have the required depth to compete with the likes of the Islanders, Caps, Bruins, or even the Pens and Sabres (at the time anyways....since then, both THOSE teams have ended up on my disappointment lists). And while Philly still does have some depth issues, there they are, hanging around the top of the division, still look reasonably dangerous on the ice, even if frustrating to some Flyer fans, and look like a team that STILL won't roll over for anyone, even if outmatched in a facet of the game or three. With them, it really does look like a team that is just willing to 'take their lumps', but continue onward with the goal of making the playoffs...and they just might do that, warts n all! WEST: Pleasant surprise for me are probably my Minnesota Wild. Ok, call it a mild surprise, as they still aren't exactly knocking down doors and taking names.....and yes, they are at the bottom of the division, BUT, right now, that is due to mostly Covid lost games. I really expected the Wild to look completely lost on the ice, inept, still "finding the right chemistry", and while some of that may be true to a degree, they have also impressed with the likes of Kirill Kaprisov, Kaapo Kahkonen, Joel Eriksson-Ek, and Jordan Greenway playing well enough to give fans a bit of hope that the franchise is at least going in the right direction. Hell...even some of the minor league plugs they have called up have played pretty well. Given that I expected the team to be a complete dumpster fire, I will take the team being competitive most nights any time! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post pilldoc Posted February 19, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted February 19, 2021 5 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: First off, I want to acknowledge @yave1964 for his CONSTANT contributions on various NHL items throughout the site. Lots of people talk about "knowledgeable" and enthusiastic overall NHL fans, well, this man is a textbook example. Absolutely agree! I love reading all his yearly recaps among other things. Here is a toast to @yave1964! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 @TropicalFruitGirl26 You make me blush madam, lol I love this forum because if i feel like doing a writeup on a child hood favorite like Danny Grant passing last year or on the Griffins or on whatever I feel like, essentially i have a free hand to do so. Appredicate the kind words. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 (edited) 19 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: First off, I want to acknowledge @yave1964 for his CONSTANT contributions on various NHL items throughout the site. Lots of people talk about "knowledgeable" and enthusiastic overall NHL fans, well, this man is a textbook example. Just putting that out there for those that may have been living under a rock and still don't know. Plus, his posts contribute to (and promote) the entire forum rather than trying to monopolize the forum inside one team's section, exclude others, and drive away fans of other teams like certain unnamed orange muppets here do. (I think I've got that out of my system now.) One more reason I enjoy reading yave's posts. Keep up the good work! Edited February 20, 2021 by WordsOfWisdom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 1 hour ago, WordsOfWisdom said: like certain unnamed orange muppets here do. Lighten up Francis. The place was founded by Flyer fans. That's it, that's literally the entire story. I agree on @yave1964he's fantastic. 3 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.