OFFICIAL 2010-11 NHL SEASON THREAD ... Regular season has ended. Visit Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread.

[proshares]

I may be wrong but I've seen Olli drop the gloves before.

Devils looking God awful. Thorton, Heatley and Marleau owned them. Parise is going to bolt, I can feel it.

 

[physicx]

yeah, you have

gagner is such a smurf at like 5'10" compared to olli but good for him

 

[proshares]

For some reason, I don't like Kesler

That's the perfect pictures, he looks just like the Panther on his jersey

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by Proshares

For some reason, I don't like Kesler

That's the perfect pictures, he looks just like the Panther on his jersey

I was thinking the same thing.  Mirror image to the logo. 

 

[frenchblue23]

Penguins Winter Classic jerseys are very nice...

 

[bjm5295]

The look like a flip of the first ones, kinda.

 

[DownByLaw]

Meh, I like the Caps winter calssic jerseys better.

 

[DeadsetAce]

not really feelin' the pens WC jerseys too much...but damn can't wait for that game

 

[addictedtofreshkicks]

those sleeve stripes ruin it

 

[dmxfury]

I like the darker blue though, already ordered a shirt.......

 

[DeadsetAce]

god i dunno how tim thomas does it, but god damn

bjm i owe you a beer if i ever run into you at the garden...im eating my words when it comes to thomas. i just dont get how a goalie who spends more time on his back than paris hilton can stop so many shots


EDIT:

horton...what's with the late punches? although dude threw at him after he went down, so it's understandable. and what's this BS about seguin going back down to the juniors? way to put an end to that BS, tyler. nice goal. bergeron's goal was sickkkkkk

 

[True Blues]

I am going to have a blast chirping Leafs fans all weekend. 

 

[proshares]

You guys are slacking, I picked up Timmy and Backstrom off waivers to add to Price last week

There are very few players in the NHL who are as feared, admired and hated as Flyers D Chris Pronger. He's led the league in plus-minus twice, he's helped three teams (Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers) reach the Stanley Cup finals, he's become the first D-man since Bobby Orr to win the Hart Trophy and some think he should have been the Conn Smythe winner in both 2006 and 2007.

The real value of Pronger, though, doesn't come from the awards or the lengthy postseason runs. It comes from how many different things he can do on the ice, and how he can consistently do those things against the best forwards in the game.

First, he stays on the ice -- a lot. The NHL started tracking ice time in 1998; every full season since then that Pronger has played, he's finished top six in the league. Since 2005, he's fourth overall in aggregate ice time, behind only Jay Bouwmeester, Nicklas Lidstrom and Zdeno Chara.

It's the roles Pronger fills during those minutes that add to his elite status. There are a few elite defensemen that can play both the power play and penalty kill and Pronger is the best of them. He leads the league in special teams ice time, which is impressive considering his most recent teams have had other all-star defensemen on whom to rely, such as Kimmo Timonen in Philly and Scott Niedermayer in Anaheim.

Above all though, Pronger plays against the best that other teams have -- and does it well. In Anaheim, Pronger was the nemesis of Joe Thornton; Thornton had the most head-to-head ice time with Pronger of any forward in both 2007-08 and 2008-09, and Pronger was the key man responsible for shutting Thornton down during the Ducks' upset of the heavily favored Sharks in the 2009 playoffs. Since moving to Philadelphia, Pronger's job description has changed to containing the three most dangerous forwards in the division: Sidney Crosby, Marian Gaborik and Zach Parise.

Last year, for example, Pronger logged 55 head-to-head minutes -- across six games -- against Marian Gaborik. Gaborik had a lone goal and a lone assist in those contests (for the season, he had 42 goals and 44 assists). Pronger logged 50 head-to-head minutes against Brandon Dubinsky; the Rangers' LW went for one goal and zero assists against him, as opposed to 20 goals and 24 assists on the season.

One reason for Pronger's success is simply size: Dustin Brown, Todd Bertuzzi and Bill Guerin are all known to play with an edge, but they also have quick hands and can put the puck in the net as well as they can check you. Pronger's imposing presence and long reach, benefits of his 6-foot-6 frame, mean he can cover a huge area of the ice, forcing opponents to skate around him. Skating through him has been attempted, but no one has lived to tell the tale.

But even to the rule of Pronger's dominance, there's an exception. And it should come into play Friday night when the Flyers battle the Penguins. Pronger logged a little over 43 minutes across six games against Crosby last season and The Kid fared well against him, going for four goals and six assists.

Another element to Pronger vs. Crosby 2010-11: Pronger has appeared in 85 playoff games since 2005 -- that's the most in the league during that span, two ahead of Brian Campbell -- and in that same span, he's the fourth-most valuable playoff participant, in terms of GVT, in the entire league and the No. 1 defenseman.One of the only three players in front of him? Crosby. (Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen are the others.)

The last time the Flyers and Pens knuckled up in the playoffs -- 2008-09 -- Pronger was a Duck. He may well get an Eastern Conference shot at Crosby this year after mid-April, but for now, we're looking at Friday night.

The bottom line: Pronger has had opponents watching their backs for over a decade in the NHL, and the way he's been playing, he still has a few more quality years left in him. With the big D-man patrolling the blue line, the Atlantic Division will remain a dangerous place for forwards for some time to come.

 

[physicx]

maaaan, speaking of goalies, i thought i got a good deal with marty at the end of the 2nd round. dude will post a SHO one day and ill be "

he's baaaaack" then he'll let in like 6 goals the next game

. rinne isnt doing too bad though

aaaaand we've lost 6 games in a row. the tough times of a rebuild i tell ya what. the good news is hall scored though

and i heard about the "thank you kessel" chants when seguin scored

 

[DeadsetAce]

The thank you kessel chants were

 

[doublejs07]

Just saw the replay of the Phaneuf/Horton fight....Phaneuf pulled a @*+*+ move and took a punch at Horton while they were both on the ice....that is why Horton tried to pummel him after the fact.

 

[proshares]

Do the actions of Phaneuf surprise anyone?

 

[DeadsetAce]

Originally Posted by DoubleJs07

Just saw the replay of the Phaneuf/Horton fight....Phaneuf pulled a @*+*+ move and took a punch at Horton while they were both on the ice....that is why Horton tried to pummel him after the fact.

yeah total *!@#% move...glad horton went in on him

 

[DownByLaw]

@ Hossa's injury, last night was downright terrible. It always seems that the injury bug is the main Achilles-heel for defending champs in all sports.

 

[doublejs07]

Originally Posted by FIRST B0RN

@ Hossa's injury, last night was downright terrible. It always seems that the injury bug is the main Achilles-heel for defending champs in all sports.

On top of it all, Big Buff has been a BEAST in ATL.  Shame that he got caught up in the #'s game in Chi.  Could have used him this year on the Hawks.  Oh well....

 

[DownByLaw]

I knew Big Buff was going to continue to do his thing when he left and I do agree it sucks that he was a casualty to our cap.

 

[physicx]

yall coulda used him last night

i kid i kid

 

[DownByLaw]

Originally Posted by Physicx

yall coulda used him last night

i kid i kid

 

[philballa09]

3 in a row for the good guys

Pomminville just went from DTD to IR just after i picked him up

i just need Nash to start going

 

[DeadsetAce]

we're rolling....