NHL Season Kicks Off

[mechanic]

I'm still waiting to see if they are going to make the net bigger?
or were they going to make the puck smaller?
Maybe they can just make the goalies wear blinders for half the game to get the scoring up?
Sorry for the rant like comments,I'm just sick of hearing from people who mistakenly think that how many goals scored is the only important thing in a NHL game.
Not to mention how changing the rules in favor of offence makes a complete farce of the record book.
But hey whatever, Go Habs Go!

[just strum]

I'm not a hockey fan, but rather than kick off, isn't it puck off?

Sorry Rev.

[R_of_G]

Marnold - I agree with you that Roy was the single biggest factor in that 93 final series. Of all of his Cup heroics, I think only 1986 was a better display than 1993, and he was only 20 for that one! Despite being a Flyers fan, I have always been a fan of the game itself, particularly of goaltenders and Roy is my single favorite player of all time. His records may fall (Brodeur can get many of them this season), but there will never be another goalie quite like St. Patrick.

However, back 1993 for a second, I do think that L.A. team was better overall than the Habs that year, and a better coach would have designed a strategy to take advantage of their strengths. Melrose tried to ride #99 all the way to the Cup. As the series went on, Montreal shut down Gretzky. If memory serves me correctly, didn't they hold him to zero shots in Game 5 (the deciding game)? It's where I first developed my theory that Melrose believes a single star is all it takes, a theory that his career as an analyst bore out.

As for Stamkos, I don't really mind that they are talking about the kid, he was the #1 pick afterall, but I think they are walking a fine line of putting too much pressure on an 18 year old. The team will be lucky to not finish dead last again this year.

Mechanic - I couldn't agree with you more. I am not a fan of the recent moves to add scoring to hockey. The casual fan may not understand anything beyond "goal=good" but I have seen 1-0 games that were a LOT more exciting than 5-4 games. It should be as difficult as possible to score so it has that much more meaning when it does happen. I feel the same way about all sports; well-played defense is exciting to me.

Robert - that particular trophy is much more than just a symbol, at least to the guys who have raised it in victory. When I got to see it in person (at the expo prior to the all-star game in tampa) I stood there in absolute awe of the thing. It has an aura about it. It IS the Holy Grail.

[just strum]

Again, not being a hockey fan, I can relate and understand the scoring issue. I love a 1-0 baseball game. It's not how much was scored, it's what was done to prevent the scoring.

I'm sure that applies to hockey.

[marnold***]

Despite being a Flyers fan, I have always been a fan of the game itself, particularly of goaltenders and Roy is my single favorite player of all time. His records may fall (Brodeur can get many of them this season), but there will never be another goalie quite like St. Patrick.

As a Red Wings fan I loathe Roy and will forever rejoice in his "Statue of Liberty" play in the 2002 Western Conference finals, to say nothing of his bouts with Mike Vernon and Chris Osgood. Having said that, he's one of those guys that you have to have grudging respect for. He is very likely the best goalie I will ever see with my own eyes. Terry Sawchuk died when I was very young and his glory days were before my time.

Robert - that particular trophy is much more than just a symbol, at least to the guys who have raised it in victory. When I got to see it in person (at the expo prior to the all-star game in tampa) I stood there in absolute awe of the thing. It has an aura about it. It IS the Holy Grail.

Agree 10,000%. I'm actually surprised that I haven't heard a lot more about this. Except I did hear it referred to jokingly as in "There goes that NHL again; they can't do anything right."

I also agree with the rest of you about a 1-0 game. The only thing that I'm glad they addressed is the size of some of the goalie equipment. We don't need Garth Snow looking like the Michelin Man. I do like some of the other recent tweaks like the removal of the red line for anything but icing and bringing back the offsides touch-up. I don't think the goals themselves need to be touched.