kipwinger

Sooooo, Cossa looked pretty good the other night. Do we think that's an anomaly or was he always the dude who dominated the ECHL last year playing behind a talent laden GR defense corps?

Agreed. This has "trap game" written all over it. It's a game the Wings probably expect to win, but the BJs have a ton of talent at all positions and we're going to have to stay focused and come into the game ready to play against some really good players. This is the type of game you want to see your role guys step up and lead the way. I'm looking for a big game from Walman, Ras, Compher, Copp.

Chirp him about his double chin?

I'm surprised how bad many of the "top teams" are looking so far this season. Carolina stunk up the building against Anaheim last night. Edmonton has lost of Vancouver twice in a week. Tampa looks sharp but beatable. Ditto for Toronto. We might be starting to see some new blood emerging around the league and I'm here for it.

Sweet one-time goal by Edvinsson tonight in GR. I thought his shot was the weakest part of his game the last two years but he's clearly been working on it because it looks SO much better this year. With how good his passing and transition game are, if he can develop a good shot he's going to absolutely tear the league up at both ends of the ice.

Another game and another point for Axel Sandin Pellikka. Beginning to look like we've got a budding offensive star on our hands. No points for Danielson last night in a lopsided win for Brandon. I would have liked to see him get on the score sheet a few more times with his playmaking in these last two games but I'm not pushing the panic button yet. Ideally he'd respond in a big way in their game tonight.

I’m happy for our resident short king, glad the transfer is working for him. Still think it’s a long shot he ever plays in the nhl. But I thought the same thing about Wallinder.

That's what I'm saying. Is Edmonton that miserable of a place to live?

Can someone explain to me why really good players aren't lining up to take pay cuts to play with McDavid and Draisaitl? Like, remember when every player in the NBA would have taken a pay cut to play for the dynasty Bulls? Scottie Pippen made half his worth for his entire career because Michael Jordan was THE MAN. If McDavid and Draisailt and Hymen and Nugent Hopkins and Kane and Nurse can't convince a bunch of dope players to join them on the cheap then what kind of stars even are they?

Yeah it was a sweet goal, Danielson is for real.

I think it's important not to get too carried away with expectations for very young players. The fact that Raymond made the team at 19 and scored like he did is insanely uncommon (league wide). Players do a lot of growing in their early twenties. Look at Rasmussen breaking out at 24 years old. Look at guys like Nyquist, Tatar, Franzen, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Kronwall not even making the team until they were the age Seider is right now (or older). Patience with development is almost always a virtue, which tends to be balanced out by the practical necessity to improve the team, sell tickets, etc. Expecting Raymond to take steps forward is fair. Expecting him to be a 70(ish) point player with Compher as a center, Fabbri as his other winger, and 2nd powerplay unit time is probably not. He clearly has the tools to get there (57 pts as a 19 year old has me confident), but I don't think this is some make or break year in terms of what Lucas Raymond is going to be. He needs to play correctly, continue to develop his body, and he'll get there when it matters.

Xhekaj bodies Reaves pretty good last night so maybe you're right. Reaves is a super tough dude, but the kid is clearly in his league.

Another day, another powerplay goal for Axel Sandin Pellikka. I'm beginning to notice a trend. Edit: Anton Johansson with a goal as well. Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper know how to draft...really...really...really...well.

I could have sworn everyone (since always) says that you need "elite talent" and "lottery luck" blah blah blah to win a Cup. I think the league should just award the Cup to Edmonton preemptively this year. I mean, they've got McJesus right? How could they possibly suck?

Xhekaj is legit. Very strong dude. Reaves is a better fighter, but not for long. Xhekaj can play too. He's pretty easy to like.

First game, first goal

Great game between Montreal and Toronto. TO’s defense is suspect.

Danielson bust?

Anybody know how to find out whether Nate Danielson is making his season debut tonight with Brandon? Edit: Nevermind, Danielson will be centering the 3rd line tonight.

Montreal takes a 3-0 lead over Toronto...but wait...the league steps in a overturns one goal and then the officials give Toronto three powerplays in a row in the 2nd period and now Toronto leads 3-2. Conspiracy? Anglo-Canadian bias?

Nice tilt between Ryan Reeves and Arber Xhekaj. The kid gave a solid account of himself.

Wait, are you under the impression that I don't think ALL religious people are violent, brain dead, hate- mongers? You're sadly mistaken. Muslims and Jews are killing each other in Israel RIGHT NOW because all of those religious people are violent, brain dead, hate-mongers too. The idea that religious people are peaceful is absolutely f*cking laughable.

Because their faith isn't peaceful. Everyone is allowed by law to have whatever beliefs they choose. That's their right (and one I fully support). But they have no right to be shielded from public scrutiny for having those beliefs. Especially when one of their central beliefs is "anyone who doesn't think the same things as me is evil and should/will burn in hell for eternity". Also, public figures making public stands against the status quo are A) absolutely polarizing (that's the whole point), and B) absolutely fair game for public scrutiny. Colin Kaepernick's actions (for example) were totally polarizing, and he was/is 100% justifiably scrutinized for it. Yet for some reason the very same people that want to see Kaepernick's feet held over the fire seem to think any criticism of Reimer, Provorov, or Staal is unfair. All of those dudes could have "gone along to get along". They chose to do something that they knew to be polarizing, in a public forum, and now they're going to have to deal with the fall out. But it's totally naive to think they didn't know that their decisions were going to create public discord...that was the whole point.

This Christian excuse is so transparent and flimsy. According to Christianity Jesus was brutally murdered in order to prove his love and compassion for sinners. Yet dudes like Reimer and Staal can't be bothered to wear a f*cking colored shirt in an effort to follow his example. They're so phony its unbelievable. And it's amazing how many half-assed Christian follow THEIR lead and not HIS because their bigotry trumps their faith on this issue...every...single...time.

It wasn't polarizing until a vocal minority of players polarized it. There are roughly 800 players in the NHL and you can only name about five of them who are against participating in Pride Night. 99.9999999999% of players, managers, etc. were perfectly fine with Pride Night last season. This includes the countless other Christian players (Michael Rasmussen for example) who had no problem wearing rainbow colors one night a year. Roughly five players had a problem with it because they're bigots, but instead of just saying "I don't like g*ys" they make it about their religion (which prohibits THEM from sinning, not others). The most egregious example is Eric Staal, who wore pride jerseys in Montreal, THEN claimed he would hasn't ever worn the jersey and would never do it because he's a Christian. This is demonstrably false and is the reason why people like me think he's just a bigot hiding behind his religion like a cowardly little weasel. Reimer is another example, he's a Jehovah's Witness and they're famously pacifists. So much so that they refused to fight in World War II, objecting to the military on moral grounds. Yet for some reason Reimer isn't opposed to Military Appreciation Night based on his religion. Wonder why that is? It's almost like the religious aspect is just a convenient excuse to sh*t on homosexuals.