Are there NHL (Ice Hockey) fans here?

[pinkpotato]

I've heard rumors about that before and it didn't surprise me at all. the Rangers have all the money to pay for Jagr's huge salary and they pick up players even if they don't really have to.

I heard an interview of Wings GM Ken Holland and he said 'no way' to the Jagr rumors. and yeah, they need a center, not another winger.

anyway, the Stars and Marty Turco finally agreed on a $12 mil, three-year deal.

[pagan]

start na ng pre-season games kanina. panalo Canucks ko 1-0. hehe.. grabe ha. they outshot the Wild 43-12 pero ganyan lang yung score. ibang klase si Manny Fernandez kanina!

other games included:
Bruins d. Canadiens, 1-0
Kings d. Ducks, 4-2
Thrashers d. Lightning, 2-1
Avs t. Stars, 2-2
Oilers t. Flames, 3-3

[leftwinger]

I wonder who'll Detroit get for that center spot, as for the Rangers, great names on their rosters, but like most hockey fans say, a bunch of underachievers. If a deal breaks trhough with the Rangers and the Caps, the latter will be in the losing end.

Good thing Turco got to his senses soon, and Dallas has it's hopes alive again. Let's just hope he maintains or surpass the feat he done last season.

I hope the Thrashers play well this season, we might see them as the most improved team. Their more promising than the Lightning, made good moves in the off season.

Pinkpotato, got somethin' else from the grapevine? How about the goalie issue at Detroit, are there any progress?

Thanks for the exhibition game summary Pagan, I'm having a hard time connecting to sports sites the past few days.

Which team do you think will be the surprise this season? Last year it was the Minnesota Wild, will it be Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus?

[leftwinger]

Latest on the Minnessota Wild, they still haven't signed wingers Marian Gaborik and Pascal Dupuis. Sources say the two might hold out for the whole season. Gaborik is in his native Slovakia playing in his coutry's elite league, and has already missed 7 days of training camp. Pagan, if Gaborik and Dupuis were on the team, it would've be more exciting, the game could go either way. Guess they miss the two, that's why they were outshot 43-12-grabe daming scoring opportunities ng nucks.

[Garret3333]

malakas avs this season. their only weak spot as of the moment is at goal kasi with the departure of patrick roy, medyo hilaw pa yun goalie nila. pero they have the top 2 lines in the NHL i believe.

yun detroit naman over-saturated ang goalies nila. the dominator has returned and they have two back ups in cu-jo and manny legace.

they will have a hard time trading cu-jo since he is injured right now and because of his 8M salary. even though he's a good goalie, medyo may reputation of not delivering when the post-season comes along.

lagace on the other hand is a force to be reckoned with. with save percentages as consistent as .92-.94 over the last 3 or 4 years, this goalie has what it takes to be the #1 goalie of any team. alala ko pa dati nung nasa LA kings siya matigas na in front of the net.

marian gaborik is asking kasi for a much bigger salary that's why he's opting to sit out the training camp in hopes of getting a fat paycheck. considering his skills, magaling siya pero fame already got to his head. bata bata mo pa, laki na ng ulo.

about the canucks win, it is impressive. they are an offensive team and has arguably the best line for the last 2 years (naslund, bertuzzi, morrison) i thought they would loose touch after loosing pavel bure and alexander mogilny to other teams, but that's not the case. if only they could lure manny legace and replace dan cloutier...heheheh inconsistent kasi si dan.

[pinkpotato]

leftwinger, I haven't heard anything about Cujo yet. the man is still rehabing and might start skating by next week. trade talks might resume after he starts hitting the ice again. I don't know who they'll get for that center spot. if trade talks don't work out well, they might just stick to what they have, like Zetterberg. but I want him to stay with his linemates [Hull and Datsyuk]. they played so well last season. Hull even compared the two to his former linemate Adam Oates who he considers one of the best out there, even with his age.

I am positive that the Kings will be better this season. they got Luc back and some of the guys seem to have recovered from their injuries already. they got no excuses for having a bad season right now. as for the surprise team, I hope it will be Atlanta. hehe! I love Dany Heatley! we might see a better Columbus team this season coz of the good trade they had this summer. but then again a certain Ray Whitney is not in their lineup this season. pero they have Todd Marchant, Rick Nash et al naman so they should be fine.

[leftwinger]

Here are the games on openning day, Oct 8, and 9:


Oct 8, Mighty Ducks vs Stars
Wild vs Blackhawks
Devils vs Bruins
Oct 9, Canadiens vs Senators
Sabres vs Flyers
Mighty Ducks vs Predators
Sharks vs Oilers
Islanders vs Capitals
Blue Jackets vs Thrashers
Flames vs Canucks
Hurricanes vs Panthers
Kings vs Red Wings


Too bad for some of us who follow the NHL here, walang coverage eh.

[pagan]

hindi rin naman pinapalabas yung pre-season games dito. nakikinig lang ako sa radyo. nakakainis!

buti na lang hindi naggive-in yung Wild sa demands ni Gaborik. i believe they can still be a contender even without him. ibang klase magcoach si Jacque Lemare. imagine taking a team composed of so-called "nobodys" into the conference finals.

[leftwinger]

well pagan, you just have wait till the league opes shop, less than three weeks na lang yun.

wish i could watch selanne and kariya again, especially their moves and passing plays in the attack zone. it's really exciting to watch the two play.

[pinkpotato]

you're not alone, leftwinger. minsan lang nila pinapakita yung preseason games and most of the time we all have to rely on the radio. but when the regular season comes, at least they televise all of the games. yun nga lang, yung sa local team lang. the only way I could see some action from the other teams is if ABC or ESPN shows their games on TV. too bad I don't have the luxury of having Center Ice package from my dish provider. mejo mahal eh pero it'll be worth it naman. they show every single game that's going on around the league. kakainggit yung mga meron eh!

[leftwinger]

Pinkpotato, in less than two weeks, it's show time on the ice. dami pang unsigned: Gaborik(Min)+ Dupuis(Min-though his agent countered an offer to the Wild for consideration), Satan(Buf), Mike Comrie (Edm-hasn't signed yet), Bryan Berard-hasn't signed yet, expensive arbitration award nya.

[d_broken_arrow]

i like the sport, pero i can't understand some of the calls. can you guys enlighten me or something, on the rules and calls. napapakamot ulo ako eh.

[pagan]

ako din, mejo clueless pa sa ibang rules of the game. di ko pa rin maintindihan kung ano yung offside na yan!

[leftwinger]

Offside is a call where in the opposing team must first have a man with the puck inside the blue line or attackzone.

If an offensive player is way ahead of the puck or the man with the puck in the attackzone, and got a pass, it's offside. Even if all 5 players are in the attack zone, and then the puck went out the blue line, all five players must move out and let the puck in first again. basically it's the puck in first rule. Nakakalito ba?

[pagan]

mejo magulo pa rin. hehehe... thanks a lot for the explanation.

[leftwinger]

Okay ito, to start with here is a description of the rink and it's areas or zones para may idea kayo kung saan tinatawag yung offside. There are 3 zones: 2 defensive or attack zones and the neutral zone, which is between the two zones. The neutral zone has blue-lined bundaries with a red line at center.

| (attack/def zone) | (neutral zone) | (attack/def zone) |

An attacking player (from the other side) can't enter the opponents' defending zone until the puck is past the defending line. The puck or player carrying the puck must be in the attack zone first before his other team mates.

Offside is a violation which occurs when both skates of an attacking player cross the opponent’s blue line before the puck is passed or carried into the attacking zone.

This is also called when a player passes the puck from his defending zone to a teammate across the red center line or the neutral zone, known as the two-line pass. This is the most common call made in a hockey game and results in a face-off depending on the area where the call is spotted.

You'll notice in games when the attacking player with the puck is moving in to the attack zone, his team mates are still outside the blue line or attack zone to avoid the offside call, and will only enter the zone once the puck crossed the blue line.

[pagan]

gets ko naman yung two-line pass dati pa. pero yung offside, talagang naba-baffle ako. ngayon.. hindi na mashado. konting nood pa ng actual games, i'm sure things'll get a lot clearer. thanks ulet!

[pinkpotato]

I tried to look for a better... or I guess a simpler explanation for the offside rule pero mas okay pa rin kung kay leftwinger. pagan, watching actual games really helps. I know nothing about hockey when I watched my first game years ago. natutunan ko lang lahat dahil sa kaka-panood.

[leftwinger]

Originally posted by pinkpotato
I tried to look for a better... or I guess a simpler explanation for the offside rule pero mas okay pa rin kung kay leftwinger. pagan, watching actual games really helps. I know nothing about hockey when I watched my first game years ago. natutunan ko lang lahat dahil sa kaka-panood.

thanks pinkpotato! definitely watching the games and observing the calls and plays on the ice will give you an idea, and soon get familiar with it fast.

what other hockey lingo are you guys familiar with, and is a gray area to you? try namin sagutin and explain.

[leftwinger]

# Just how desperate is Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland to move Curtis Joseph? The Toronto Star reported Holland is willing to listen to an offer from anyone, and that includes the archrival Colorado Avalanche.

That doesn't mean the Avs have made an offer, but it's obvious Holland understands moving "CuJo" could take a while and possibly create an uncomfortable situation for his team. The Wings hoped to move Joseph before training camp, but his ankle surgery killed that notion.

If they hope to trade him, they must give him playing time to further entice potential suitors. What further compounds this is Joseph's obvious unhappiness over this situation.

Another way Holland could rid himself of his "CuJo" dilemma is to make the goalie available in the Oct. 3 waiver draft. While that's likely to happen, it's also unlikely any club will select him, given that remaining $16 million on his contract.

# Why is it some wacky rumors just refuse to die?

Speculation is still floating around that the Wings, Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals could embark on a three-way deal that would ship Joseph and forward Alex Tanguay to the Caps, Robert Lang to Detroit and Olaf Kolzig to the Avs.

Obviously it's been a slow month for trade rumors when this one takes on the life of a vampire!

This deal serves no purpose for the Caps except to pare down some salary. Tanguay doesn't address their blue-line concerns, and moving the popular Kolzig would fly like a lead balloon for Caps fans, which in turn could translate into more losses at the gate.

Hope well get answers next week.

10 days to go!!!!!