The Anime Alley

While I'm a little hesitant to post this today given the event which happened in Russia nonetheless here is the 2011-2012 NHL season thread. I myself will be hard pressed to watch any hockey games due to the time difference but I'll do my best to catch a few here and there. Anyways, let us begin....

That was tragic indeed. The thing is that's the 3 tragedy to befall hockey this off season in terms of players passing on. Hope that's not some ominous sign for the upcoming season. As for the upcoming season the Caps are looking mighty fine. We've looked great the past 2 years on paper and during the regular season. Won the East 2 years in a row now and top team in 2009. We look even more stacked with depth, grit, and experience mixed with youth now then before in either of those 2 years. I do not doubt one bit we'll win our conference and maybe the East again entirely. I just hope we finally have the pieces needed to get over that playoff hump.

If the Caps don't make it to at least the Eastern Finals, Bruce Boudreau is going to be out of a job. At this point I think anything less would be deemed unacceptable by the management.

My pick for the winner of the East is the Pens. Assuming that Crosby and Malkin can stay healthy, they should be a forced to be reckoned with.

Out of the West comes the Canucks. They won't put up the same numbers they did last year, however they still have a majority of there team from last season intact.

Cup will go to the Canucks. Last seasons loss in the finals while heartbreaking may actually prove to be quite a learning experience for them.

The question a lot of people are going to be asking of the Flyers is if they can score enough goals to keep them competitive. If they can score goals while their defense and goaltending hold the other teams off the score board they just might be serious cup contenders. The first quarter of the season will determine if they are a serious contender or not.

I honestly don't think the Nucks can win the cup. Not with Luongo in net. He has plenty of talent but how many times in the playoffs in the past few years has he basically played with no heart as Derrick put it. You see goalies like Tim Thomas flying around doing whatever they can to make a save. Not simply going through the routines as it were. I honestly think Vancouver needs an injection of heart. I think they had the same problem the Caps had when the year before we won the President's trophy. It was TOO EASY and it showed in the playoffs. Teams played with more heart and grit and they won. The only time in recent years to win the President and the Cup are the Red Wings because for so many years they were just simply dominance personified. They were the Yankees or Patriots of the NHL. Hell they're still a force to be reckoned with but not like what they were a few years ago. If the Nucks, or my Caps for that matter, wanna win the cup they need to get grittier and have more heart and determination. The past several years the teams who played that way have won it. Boston this pst year. Chicago the year before. The Pens against Detroit. I think the Caps learned that lesson and screwed us last year was half our D was hurt by the time we faced Tampa. With their high scoring front end having half our D out with injury really hurt us. Plus we didn't play with as much heart and grit. Now we went and got players with heart and grit to compliment our young core. See if we can make it work.

I think the Pens are a force to be reckoned with but I don't think they will make it to the cup. They have some D issues themselves and we have yet to see Malkin or Crosby in a full regular season game. Malkin sure I figure will be ready to go but I doubt Crosby will. Plus if he gets hit hard again....might be the end of his career. I would not risk him until he is without a doubt 100%.

As for Philly.....good luck lol. I honestly still cannot believe you guys paid that damn much for Bryz for a 9 year contract. Wow....I think that's the most overpaid goalie contract out there now. At least one of them. Is he good? Sure. Better than Boucher for sure IMHO. But is he worth that much? HELLLLLLLL NOOOOOOO. He has done nothing but choke in the playoff series and in may big pressure situations. Is he better for you then what you got? Probably but at that price you're stuck with him and I cannot see you guys getting to the cup again anytime soon. Not after getting rid of your top scorer and captain. Something had to be rotten at the core to do that. You still got Briere and Giroux which saves your asses but it'll take time for the new additions to gel and work. I think you guys will need another year or two to be cup ready again.

I think the east finals will come down to a matchup between either Washington, NYR, Tampa, and Boston. Boston has the core that got them to the cup and even if Thomas is not as stellar as last year they have Rask who is damn good now and will only get better once he takes over as the new franchise goalie for them when Thomas is gone. Tampa has their core back like Boston and I think Vince and Marty are hungry for one more win before they retire. Big question there is can Roloson reproduce this year. My Caps have once again added depth in all areas and honestly I think on paper we have on of the best lineups in the NHL. I'm being objective here but honestly on paper....show me a better team. Now like the past 2 years paper and reality have been 2 different things for my Caps. If the new additions do what they are there to do and Nevy and Vokoun do what they can do we will be hard to beat. Need to go back to more scoring though and leave the defensive play to lines 3 and 4. The Rangers I think are one of the teams who did the best with acquisitions in the off season. They are stacked and have a lot of gritty players. Like the Caps though the question is will the additions produce or not. One BIG question is Gaborik and if he will score or suck. The Pens COULD make it but only if they get both Crosby and Malkin back. They did good without them last year but I still think they rely too heavily on them like the Colts rely on Peyton Manning. With them they are still good but they lack that extra....oommmphh as they're reliant on them. Hard not to be when they are that good but still, you gotta have ALL your lines scoring and making it work. At least that's how I see it.

As for the West I think it will come down to Vancouver, LA, Detroit, and Nashville. I think last year was just the start for LA and Nashville. They got young cores and I think they will only get better. I think Renne is really coming into his own as well and if he produces like last year I think Nashville will go further then they did last year. You can never count out Detroit plain and simple. I think Vancouver has plenty of talent and I think they will be top contenders again but the question remains if they can find their heart or not. I think despite the perfect pre-season record so far San Jose will choke like usual. Just like the Eagles in the NHL they seem to just choke in the big ones time after time. I also think they lost enough of their scoring talent that it will hurt them some there. Plus I think in net Niemi is not as good as Rinne or Luongo.

I think some teams to watch that might surprise people are Buffalo, St Louis, and Minnesota. Just by going on player acquisitions, attitudes, and my own gut feeling I think these 3 teams might surprise people with how good they do. Sort of like how the Lions and Bills are shocking the NFL right now like I said they would. Maybe Buffalo as a city is just gonna bust it out this year heh. Until they meet Washington teams anyways.

We may not have won the game, but it's pretty clear that the Penguins are clearly the tougher of the two teams here. Go CM Punk, Go Penguins, and go to sleep!

You gotta also consider freeze the guys fighting. Beagle hardly ever fights vs someone like Asham who is no stranger to it. Honestly I wondering wtf Beagle was thinking. But like ya said who won the game? Oh yea, we did. That makes like 9 straight we've won against the Pens too. We making you our bitches yo. And now we're starting 5-0 which is a team first. Woohoo. Oh and if you're the tougher team shall I start listing off your injured players you have already for ya lol? Might wanna take those words back heh. You can add Kennedy to the list of injured Pens now.

Flyers play the Caps tonight. The Caps are one of four teams I think the Flyers need to have success against in order to solidify their chances of being a Cup contender. The other three are Pittsburgh, Boston, and Buffalo.

On a side note, the last three teams to win the Cup have played in the Winter Classic the year before.

In that case it's our time heh. And sorry Doug for the ass kicking. That must have stung a bit heh. Was close and tough right up until the third period when the caps decided enough was enough. Granted you guys did get the second goal with like 20 seconds left but that goal just serves to raise someone's point totals really. Was nice to see Ovey getting his swagger on finally and getting back to what he does best. I said it when you guys made the deal and I'll say it again.....I think Philly screwed themselves with Bryzgolov. You're stuck with him now and he's not worth the money. He is good don't get me wrong but too inconsistent and he buckles when it counts most. Should've spent the time to bring up your young rookie (forget the name) and save the cap space. That signing reminds me of the Devils and Kovolchuck. Great player but too inconsistent and not worth that price tag which has hurt them.

Had class on Thursday night, so I didn't get a chance to watch the game. Looking at the stats on the NHL website it looks like the Flyers were shorthanded 6 times. Even if the Caps only scored once, that many times on the PK just takes you out of the game offensively.

Should've spent the time to bring up your young rookie (forget the name) and save the cap space.

Sergei Bobrovsky is who you're thinking of. He'll be a good goalie given some time, but like the Caps, the Flyers are a team that's expected to win. Now. That's why both teams picked up "good goalies" despite both not being proven winners.

Which will happen first by the way, a Caps loss or a Blue Jackets win?

I think a Blue Jackets win lol. I ean did you see what we did to Detroit tonight? Jesus....I hate Detroit and even I felt bad. Felt like we prison raped them. Poor Red Wings lol. We're now the only undefeated team. Though based on games played we have the same points as The Penguins going into tonight lol. I think Vokun has proven himself though btw unlike Bryz. I mean Vokun is year after year one of the top goalies with one of the top save percentages and GAA's in the league. The Panthers have just been shit for so long he doesn't get credit. On the other hand Bryz has shown his capacity to choke come playoff games much like Luongo. Talent sure but where's the consistency when it counts? I think now that Vokun is with a team that can score and win games he'll finally get some credit which he does deserve.

Funny how many of the teams expected to do well are starting horribly. San Jose, NYR, and even the Pens honestly. They're only on top due to playing the most games and sucking slightly less then the rest of their division. Boston isn't doing near as well as expected nor is Tampa Bay. Where as Dallas and Buffalo are both kicking ass. I said it though watch out for Buffalo. They're a good team and they added some key players like the Caps. They're paying off and Miller is playing like he did back in 2009 not 2010. Be interesting to see where the teas are at come Christmas. I'm surprised Florida is #3 in our division behind Carolina and not at the bottom which is Winnipeg. Feel sorry for the. Given how much the fans there fought to get a tea back I hope they bounce back and do better. Obviously we'll take the division me and my caps hehe but they can be #2. Would be fitting.

Minnesoata Wild sign a 51 year-old. Mind you it was just to serve as an emergency backup goalie and the contract was a one day amateur tryout. This does happen from time to time. I was at a Canucks game many years ago where they signed a goalie from a local university (UBC) to a one game amateur tryout contract because their regular backup was out of the lineup suddenly and they couldn't get anyone from the farm team in time. That guy from UBC actually stayed for the whole game. Didn't play though.

Well the axe has fallen in MD. Boudreau is now the ex-coach of the Washington Capitals. Some of the wags are saying Ovie should've been fired instead of Bruce. Whatever. It's now Dale Hunter's job to get the team back on track.

I'm surprised they fired him so soon. Thought they would give Boudreau a full season to see if he can take the Caps deep into the playoffs.

He's had enough time and not gotten it done. Part of the issue is given his success with Hershey a lot was expected of him and he just didn't deliver. And I think honestly the Caps have lost their heart. Dale has a tough task ahead to help them find it again. Ovey doesn't need to be fired, he needs to be let loose. Have him get back to runnin and gunnin and worry less about being the Captain. Honestly being Captain has what has screwed him. He's too worried about doing the Captain's job I think instead of runnin and gunnin. Kudos to him for trying to do it but he needs to be a bit more selfish and shoot more.

Agreed that he should relinquish the captaincy. However, I don't think his lack of shooting the puck is the reason he isn't scoring. His shot totals may have tailed off a bit, but the rest of the team should step up and try to make space for him. The fact that their Goals Against is 3.17 doesn't help either.

No it doesn't help. At the end of the day though he's playing the point more and more and passing more and not shooting. Hell lately he and Backstrom seem to have changed roles. o_O At least tonight he was getting more shots on net even if he only got assists. There however has been A NOTABLE increase in hits by the Caps. We all but decimated the Pens in hits. Again tonight tons more. I was right when I figured Hunter would instill a tougher attitude in them.

Despite the fact that the Caps are ninth in the Eastern Conference I still think they are one of the teams to beat. Watch them barely make it into the playoffs this year, and then go on to win the cup. I can imagine Boudreau sitting there yelling at the tv going: WHAT THE FUCK GUYS? WHAT THE FUCK? ALL THAT TIME I WAS THE COACH AND YOU COULDN'T GET PAST THE SECOND ROUND. NOW YOU WIN THE CUP.

^ I'd die laughing if the Ducks become the Cinderalla team who beat the Caps for the Cup.

That means they'd beat your Nucks to get there. Sure ya wanna wish for that pops heh? I was joking with Crista though about imagining if the Ducks and Caps did face off in the Cup. That would be interesting. Especially since Corey Perry played for Hunter in the OHL so he might have insight into him just as Boudreau would with Cap players. We won in OT over Ottawa though so perhaps the candle has been re-lit. We are continuing to play tougher though which we have to do if we do want a deep playoff run. Just gotta score more.