Scoring patterns

The Wings score 6 goals in 6 games, and then against the Ducks and Avs, they score 5 in each game. 6 for 6, and then 10 in 2.

I love, and also hate, the unpredictability of hockey.

Agreed! Hockey can leave you feeling at the top of the world one minute before swiftly dumping you in a trailer and leaving you to rot.

Try being a Leafs fan!

An unusually great start to the season, everyone in the mad Leafsnation getting over excited, then the wheels have started to fall off and the bickering and infighting starts between all the 'fans' about the goalies!!!

We beat the Flames, Habs, Rangers and Penguins and Devils (all games we MUST win to make it past April but usually drop), then we get battered 7-0 by the Bruins, followed by last night's disaster with the Panthers!

Give it 24 hours, everyone will be calling for Wilson's head again! And yet, we are still in a really really good position! After all these years, I'm finally getting my head round this stupid 'expectation' thats always talked about with the Leafs! Or maybe I'm not.....................

What's wrong with this picture?

Dallas, Edmonton, Minny, Leafs make up 4 of the top 5 of the league. It appears we've entered some sort of hockey twilight zone this season....

Wrong? I would say that picture is all very right

Don't think the Leafs will be part of that picture for much longer

mc_homer wrote:Wrong? I would say that picture is all very right

Yeah, I'm not surprised. But I imagine after what happened last year you're a little cautious? Better to finish strongly than start it...

Stars have been great but what about those Oilers? What a turn-a-round.

Yeah the Oilers have been a big surprise.

On the Stars I am not gonna get ahead of myself and begin calling them the upcoming champs or anything but I do feel we have a great chance of making the playoffs (last year was about as close as you can get at the end of the day!).

I do feel much more confident about this team than I did last year because last year Crawford played a high risk up tempo game. The problem with that is when the offence dries up a bit you end up leaving yourself wide open at the back. Gulutzens style is much more about defensive coverage and limiting quality chances the other way and that kind of style is much more successful at winning games where the players are not playing well on an individual level. Just look at the first couple of weeks of games, the Stars were horribly outshot in most of them but were still pulling off wins because the chances against were not odd man rushes and high quality chances.

I don't think we will win the division but I do think we will return to the playoffs.

Divisional rivalry aside I do think it's pretty cool that the Stars have put together such a competitive team whilst barely scraping the minimum salary cap. Show's what can be done with good coaching and management.

Certainly glad I drafted Benn in the yahoo fantasy league!

Haha wise move sir! The last few games in particular, you can tell Benn and Eriksson are having so much fun out there and I think that is why they are doing so well. As soon as you lose that aspect of having fun it gets a lot tougher. I hope they can keep it up all season!

I bet the Ducks can't wait to get home, they have had a rough road trip eh?

I know 'one swallow doesn't make a summer', but it was a much improved Blues performance last night.

The key appeared to be the new 'dale farm defense' that has been adopted by coach Hitchcock.

Everytime the Hawks got near our net, the whole team crashed their own goal, bundled Halak out of the way and held a sit/lie down protest in the goalie crease.

It may not be in the 'spirit of the game' , but who cares. It was certainly effective, as the shut out proves.

I wonder how Halak felt, having been trashed by the players who were supposed to be protecting him

Yes, Homer - a rubbish road trip it certainly was.

Classic, Ducks - another slow start and a total over reliance on the RPG line + Teemu for scoring; and as the top line have been pretty slow and the PP well below par the team just aren't scoring! I think they're ranked dead last in the league for goals average.

I won't panic yet as the tendancy of the club is to get stronger as the season goes on but these issues from having an imbalanced roster keep rearing their head.

DRIZ wrote:

Everytime the Hawks got near our net, the whole team crashed their own goal, bundled Halak out of the way and held a sit/lie down protest in the goalie crease.

It may not be in the 'spirit of the game' , but who cares. It was certainly effective, as the shut out proves.

Spot-on, Driz. It's ugly but certainly effective - bit like Wayne Rooney. Very frustrating to play against a team protecting a lead that collapses in the d-zone like that.

I saw a stat last week that said the Ducks had scored I think it was 8 goals in 4-5 games and that Selanne had a point on every single one. Impressive for him but does beg the question what are all the other players doing!

Like you say they typically get stronger as the season goes along but these slow starts are sure to catch up on them at some point.

The Blues tactics certainly doesn't bode well for us as I think we will struggle against them tomorrow night.

Despite our fast start, I could see cracks a couple of weeks ago, which have started to develop now, and I think teams can watch the videos and work us out very easily. Also, a couple of injuries and our lines have fallen apart. Oh God, why does history have to repeat itself EVERY season?!!!!!

Ah the hockey rollercoaster. Don't you just love it?!

I'm hoping that the last three Bruins games are a sign that the Stanley Cup hangover has been shaken off and they're going to drag themselves out of the basement and into the playoffs.

Calamity Jane wrote:Ah the hockey rollercoaster. Don't you just love it?!

Yes, I think I'll love it right up until the heart attack I get from last minute OT winners, your team entering a game on a winning streak and then being pummeled into allowing 10 goals, shootout goals being given when they never crossed the line (Sorry Steve Ott, I'm not letting it go), poor offense and defence suddenly coming alive and firing 80 shots in 2 games and forcing both starting goalies to be pulled, and the unexplainable mystery of the reason for Don Cherry's existence.

rocknrollnobody wrote:shootout goals being given when they never crossed the line (Sorry Steve Ott, I'm not letting it go)

You sound like the Wings commentators

Oh and Sabres fans