Hockey, the coolest game on Earth!

[krazykanadian]

Football/soccer may be the most popular sport in the world, but hockey is the coolest game on Earth! In this thread, you can talk about anything concerning hockey, which if you haven't already guessed, is my favorite sport! :)

[Cisse]

Hockey isn't mine favorite sport but is second.
Who's your favorite player?

[krazykanadian]

Right now, I'd have to say Marcus Naslund. He's such a talented and smart player. Off the ice, he's a really nice guy. I also like Bertuzzi because he is like a train and runs over people!

Of course, my all-time favorite player is Wayne Gretzky.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Yep...Hockey is the coolest game on earth 8)

The best players right now(in NHL) are probably the swedes Peter Forsberg and Marcus Näslund.

Coyotes' goalie Boucher is playing excellent hockey the moment, 4 shutouts in a row....also Flames' goalies Kiprusoff and McLennan are playing a great season...

btw, Sundin got suspended from 1 game cause he threw the stick he had broken to the crowd....in today's Toronto - Ottawa game, Alfredsson tried to make a "joke" about that, so he also broke his stick, and pretended that he threw the stick to the crowd :)

[Cisse]

I'm detroit fan so my all-time favorite player is Steve Yzerman.
I like also Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lindstrom, Cris Pronger, Eric Lindros, Jarome Iginla, Eric Brewer and Patrick Elias.
Someday i want to go to Canada or US to see couple of games in person.

[jsk]

Who's your favorite player?
Jere Karalahti - HIFK (Helsinki, FIN)
He bought me alcohol when I was underage and grow up in same places :o
Played in Los Angeles and in Nashville. But because of drinking problems he´s not allowed to play in NHL.

Esa Tikkanen
Played in Edmonton with Kurri (5 Stanley cups) And Cretzky. Won five stanley cups.
Our moms are friends :D

Teemu Selanne, Jari Kurri, Jere Lehtinen, Saku Koivu.... yep.. Fins :wink:

[Thanasis]

In my country hockey is not well known.I have seen some games in Eurosport and i must say that i liked them very much.It i s a very intersting , quick and tought sport. :D

[Cisse]

When our national team plays at home is the most popular sport in our country!

[Riccardo]

For me i like that sport too because of the little fights and so lol but for me football/soccer is y fav sport in the world...

[Cisse]

I would like to play one on one against lindros i would crush him to the stone age :twisted:

[Nikodemus]

I like world championship hockey. National leagues are not that interesting althought Finnish league is very good. I watch the final games of NHL.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

ok, cause this is the hockey thread, so what do ya guys think of Hardy Nilsson's statement "Who wants to watch on Finns. We all hate them, and hope that they will be knocked down" or something like that (poor translation)

[Cisse]

I think he shouldn't say that! I like finns.

[Nikodemus]

I saw that yesterday in a newspaper and that's just terrible.
There should be fair play on and off the ice

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yep..he could watch what he is saying a bit....but if I have read correctly, they are investigating his statement...he will probably be accused for "agitation against an ethnic group" or what it's called in english

[Marcustro]

Hockey. Some kind will cause your backache?! *_^
I think they're pretty hard to keep the posture of that.

[Cisse]

Anybody plays nhl2004(or older version)?

[Nikodemus]

I play NHL 2003 on PC and I'm going to buy NHL 2004 Xbox version.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

well, I only play NHL 2002 (or haven't been doing that for a long time either) ....or sometimes I play NHL 2003 with my cousine on PS2, but that's it

[Petsku1]

Yep the finnish hockey players are great of course... but my fave is Jaromir Jagr ... or was when he played in Pittsburgh Penguins... (yep It's not going well for them both now WSH and PIT) :| (in finnish sm-liiga it's of course Jokerit...) :D

[krazykanadian]

It's unfortunate for Jaromir. He plays on a team where there are no other stars and he gets blamed when the team loses.

[Petsku1]

yep it's a shame... Lang and Jagr are still great though they play in team that is last NHL...

[Cisse]

God give power to Boucher tonight for his fifth shutout in a row!

[krazykanadian]

Looks like Boucher got his 5th shutout. I don't really care since the Canucks won tonight! Woohoo!

[Cisse]

I am happy for boucher and you.

[krazykanadian]

Yeah, good for Boucher, but can the Phoenix Coyotes make the playoffs?

[Petsku1]

yep... good for Boucher... unbelievable record :D

[krazykanadian]

Who do you think is going to win the Stanley Cup this year?

[Petsku1]

I hope it will be Colorado... Selänne needs it... :D

[AS Monaco]

Do you know the Adler Mannheim???

[krazykanadian]

I hope it will be Vancouver...Jarkko Ruutu needs it :D

[Nikodemus]

Do you know the Adler Mannheim???

Adler is one of the top ice hockey teams in German league if I'm not mistaking!

[krazykanadian]

I only know the Berlin Eisbären and I think Frankfurt has a team as well, but Adler Mannheim sounds familiar.

[Petsku1]

I hope it will be Vancouver...Jarkko Ruutu needs it :D

but Ruutu isn't thinking about ending his career... Selänne is... so many years has he played in a team which hasn't have a change to win the Stanley Cup... :D

[Petsku1]

yep the Mannhein Eagles (Adler)... :D

[krazykanadian]

That is true. I still remember Selanne's rookie year when he played for the Winnepeg Jets. He's a great player and it would be nice for him to get a Stanley Cup. That being said, it would also be nice for someone like Mats Sundin to win the cup.

[Petsku1]

No... the Swedes don't need it... :D

[krazykanadian]

Hehe....The Swedish/Finnish rivalry. :)

I think almost a quarter of our team (Vancouver) is from Sweden.

[Petsku1]

Heheh... :D Luckily there is Jarkko R. too... :D

[krazykanadian]

Didn't Finland get the bronze medal in the World Junior Hockey Championships in Helsinki? Canada lost to the United States in the gold medal game unfortunately.

[Cisse]

I hope that detroit will win it--->yzerman needs another one :D

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Yeah..Finland won the bronze medal.

oh, and San Jose Sharks will win the Stanley Cup this season :D :D

[Petsku1]

San Jose should had won it last season... when Selänne was there... :D I'm really hoping Selänne to won the Stanley cup... It would be a great ending for his career (if he ends his career after this season)... In a recent interview he said that winning a gold medal in World Championship or in Olympics isn't even near winning the SC... :D

[krazykanadian]

Winning the Stanley Cup is the ultimate goal of a hockey player. A gold medal in the Olympics is not as difficult to earn as a Stanley Cup ring. Luck is involved in winning a cup too, I think.

The Western Conference is cut-throat right now. There are so many good teams vying for top spot. It's between Detroit, Vancouver, Colorado and Calgary right now. It's crazy.

[Cisse]

Damn! detroit have lost :(

[krazykanadian]

Yes, but Calgary and Colorado both won :(

[Alizeefan]

Oh no ! :(

[krazykanadian]

Haha....Alizeefan, du bist aber sehr lustig :)

[Nikodemus]

Yes, but Calgary and Colorado both won :(

Avalanche's Selänne injured his neck in the game

[krazykanadian]

That's unfortunate! With Kariya and Selänne in the line-up, along with all the regulars like Sakic and Forsberg, not to mention Hejduk, the Avalanche is a very talented team. I hope the Canucks can beat them in the playoffs, but it will be a battle. It looks like the Avalance and Canucks are battling once again for top spot in the Northwest division. Last year, the Canucks were leading up to the very last day of the season until the Avs took over! Grrrr! At the same time, I think Forsberg overtook Naslund in the scoring race! GRRR! I don't Colorado very much. You can probably see why.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yes, San Jose won the game against Atlanta :thumbup: they now lead the Pacific division with 6 points, and is thanks to that 3rd in the Western Conference :D

[krazykanadian]

San Jose is a very good team. They seem to have a lot of speed. They beat the Canucks recently and are a tough team to play against.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Yep...but they had a pretty bad start to the season, was it 10 games without a win or at least near 10 games. But now they are playing if not great, then at least really good. And their goalie situation is good too. Both Nabokov and Toskala are playing great....

[krazykanadian]

With the way they are playing right now, they can beat any team in the league.

Here's a pic of Teemu Selänne:

http://members.shaw.ca/jemalizee/images/020218_ih_rusvfin05.jpg

[Cisse]

I don't like teemu very much, couse he's in the 'wrong' team(colorado)

[krazykanadian]

I don't like Colorado either. They are our (Vancouver's) division rivals.

Here's a picture of Mats Sundin:

http://members.shaw.ca/jemalizee/images/mh12-ap.jpg

[Nikodemus]

That guy has caused pain for Finnish hockey fans in Finland - Sweden matches

[Cisse]

http://www.canucks.com/images/players/jovanovski/jovanovski5_b.jpg
And who is this jemalizee :)

[krazykanadian]

Ed Jovanovski! :) His teammates call him Jovo for short. He can really skate!

[Cisse]

And hit. He's one of my favorite defenders.

[krazykanadian]

He's one of my favorite defensemen too!

[Cisse]

If u could, who will u choose for your 'dream line' (five players and a goalie)! At the moment!

[krazykanadian]

LW - Marcus Naslund
C - Brendan Morrison
RW - Todd Bertuzzi

D - Ed Jovanovski
D - Rob Blake

G - Martin Brodeur

They're pretty much all from the Canucks except for Blake and Brodeur! :)

These players are also all Canadian except for Naslund.

[Cisse]

and a goalie

[krazykanadian]

I was thinking about Curtis Joseph but I don't know what's going on with him right now. Martin Brodeur is a safer pick.

[Cisse]

G: Brodeur
D: Pronger
D: Jovo
LW: Naslund
C: Datsyuk
RW: Iginla

[krazykanadian]

Iginla was struggling at the beginning of the season. He's hot now though and so are the Flames.

[Cisse]

BTW i'm playing short season with canucks(nhl2004). After 16GP, 9W, 6L, 1T=59.4%.
I had some problems at the start of the season (dallas, florida? and colorado), but now i'm on fire!

[krazykanadian]

Good luck in the season. Will there also be playoffs?

[Cisse]

I'm 5th in the west, so my playoff-dreams are still alive :D . I just hope that i not gonna meet colorado or dallas or detroit in a first round :twisted: !

[Cisse]

...and my best player is naslund 10G 5AST :) ...bertuzzi is most of the time in a penalty box :evil:

[krazykanadian]

It's good to see that you are playing as the Canucks!

[Cisse]

I like them cause they are very agressive on ofence - lot of goals

[Cisse]

Tonight Vancouver plays against boucher :) (Phoenix). Can Naslund & Co score against him? Canucks are only 1PT behind Detroit :roll: , so i don't want that they win.
Colorado, St. Luis, Calgary and San Jose----> i hope that they will all loose tonight :evil:

[krazykanadian]

I'm really afraid that Colorado will catch up to Vancouver. They are only two points behind us and they have played two fewer games.

[fernandito]

Good luck in the season!!

[fernandito]

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

[Cisse]

Colorado plays at home tonight against 'out-of-form' Anaheim. We can only hope that Fedorov scores couple of goals, but i'm afraid that colorado will win :cry: !

[Cisse]

Damn!!! I didn't make it to the playoffs and it's all my fault. I was short for one single point. I blew it against washington. I was leading 3-2 and i scored a goal 57s till end of the match, but they have pulled the goalie and scored twice(second goal 0.4s before the end)! I was furious :evil: !
But that's not all, i have managed to lost only after 4s of OT!

[krazykanadian]

That's too bad! At least the real Canucks are doing well. They beat Phoenix tonight and are currently 1st in the Western Conference.

[Cisse]

But Colorado also won :( ! San Jose, Calgary and St. Luis they have all lost last night :D . Yes Canucks are first, but tonight play detroit and i sure that they will beat Blackhawks at home and they will take back lead in the west :)

[krazykanadian]

I'm not so worried about Detroit as I am about Colorado. The Avalanche is a stacked team. They've got so many star players.

[Cisse]

Yes from Blake to Forsberg! They have many stars and expirience and two scary looking line-ups, but stars aren't always guarantee for victory.

[krazykanadian]

One possible weakness is their goaltending. Aebischer doesn't have much playoff experience. I hope he chokes in the playoffs.

[Cisse]

Yeah...he's no match for P. Roy

[Petsku1]

Yeah... Patrick Roy is a legend already... :D

[Cisse]

Detroit have won lastnight :D ! Canucks have difficult task against san jose tonight :( , but maybe will dallas beat colorado :twisted: !

[krazykanadian]

The Canucks will win tonight. I don't know about Colorado.

[Lycan Master]

I used to be a fan of the pittsburgh penguins, not anymore though.... used to adore jaromir jagr, such a good player

[Cisse]

^ are u now fan of washington?

[Cisse]

Can somebody please explain to me the transfer system in NHL? I wanna know if team can buy a player or still or what?
thx

[krazykanadian]

It is theoretically possible to buy a player but usually, a player is acquired from a trade or a draft. When Gretzky was traded to the L.A. Kings from the Edmonton Oilers back in the mid-90's, a significant amount was given by the Kings in the deal that involved many different players.

Usually, trades occur when the general managers of teams are in negotiation with each other. There's a trading deadline every season so there are usually many trades right before then.

[Lycan Master]

are u now fan of washington?

nope I can't follow the nhl anymore, our network doesn't show any nhl games anymore :cry: sometimes a watch a summary on cnn but it's always very brief

[krazykanadian]

That's too bad! I can't watch many European football games either.

Vancouver is in a slump right now. Colorado has already overtaken the Canucks in the standings. San Jose is also red hot. They beat Vancouver, Colorado and Detroit in succession!

[Lycan Master]

aaaaaaaaa good ol' sj :D nice to hear a little nhl news, me wanna seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Stupid belgian tv network :cry:

[Petsku1]

yeah SJ's shape looking good after beating the top three teams Western Division...

[Lycan Master]

cool, u guys can keep me updated then :D:D:D

[Cisse]

It is theoretically possible to buy a player but usually, a player is acquired from a trade or a draft. When Gretzky was traded to the L.A. Kings from the Edmonton Oilers back in the mid-90's, a significant amount was given by the Kings in the deal that involved many different players.

Usually, trades occur when the general managers of teams are in negotiation with each other. There's a trading deadline every season so there are usually many trades right before then.
thx for explaining the weird transfer market in nhl :D
I didnt't know that the team can buy a player for money :roll:

[Franka]

Well.........according to the title, I don't have to check who post this. Because I remember someone told me Hockey is Canadian's favorite!!!
But I've never played it, I remember the first time I watched Hocky is in a movie............Hockey isn't very popular in Taiwan

[Cisse]

I think it's about time that colorado loose a game or two :evil: !

[Piece Of Paradise]

For me, there is only one good team in the NHL, and that's the Detroit Red Wings!!!!! Go Hockeytown!!!!!

[krazykanadian]

The Canucks were down 3-1 against the Lightning but came back to win 5-4 for in OT! Yay! :bounce:

[Piece Of Paradise]

The Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup at all. So you guys from Vancouver must be long suffering fans.

[krazykanadian]

I used to cheer for the Edmonton Oilers in the nineties when Gretzky was still playing for them so I haven't always been a Canucks fan.

[Piece Of Paradise]

When Gretzky played for the Oilers they won many Stanley Cups. But now you don't see a single team dominating the NHL anymore. The NHL is now more competitive.

[Cisse]

What a graet save from Kidd against Atlanta :surprise:!

[Cisse]

There were some intersting matches last night! Detroit beat Colorado in overtime, toronto beat Ottawa 5-4(ottawa had a 0-4 lead), Canucks and San Jose have also won without any troubles. It has been great day for hockey :D !

[krazykanadian]

I'm really proud of the Canucks tonight. They shutout the defending Stanley Cup champions 4-0 in New Jersey's own arena! Fans were booing the devils because the Canucks were dominating so badly. :)

[Lycan Master]

There were some intersting matches last night! Detroit beat Colorado in overtime, toronto beat Ottawa 5-4(ottawa had a 0-4 lead), Canucks and San Jose have also won without any troubles. It has been great day for hockey !

thx for the update...


I'm really proud of the Canucks tonight. They shutout the defending Stanley Cup champions 4-0 in New Jersey's own arena! Fans were booing the devils because the Canucks were dominating so badly.

i bet u r happy now :D

[krazykanadian]

The All-Star Game is this weekend! I just watched the YoungStars Game and the Skills competition. :)

[NightStalker62]

i missed both of them. i was at work ALL day. that sucks but im bringing in a lot of money. im definitely watching the all-star game tomorrow.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yeah....Lupul made a hat-trick in the YoungStars Game, and Cheechoo gave 4 assists :D

oh, and Tuomo Ruutu gave one assist :mrgreen: had to say that :D

[Creature]

Football/soccer may be the most popular sport in the world, but hockey is the coolest game on Earth! In this thread, you can talk about anything concerning hockey, which if you haven't already guessed, is my favorite sport! :)
I can not beleive guys, eventually i found the fellows who are in the same shit, i used to play that game 4 years ago for 5 years for junior team in my mother land. Amazing game, it will take a lot time and space here to describe what i feel and who are my fav players and teams. COOOL.

[ibanez]

Western Conference is going to win. :twisted:

[Petsku1]

hahah... Colorado-Detroit was.... heheh good game... they booed referee out of the game... after Colorado lost the game in extra time... Col played 3 on 5... cos the referee gave penalties to Konowalchuk and Foote 1,6 seconds before the extra time... :D heheh and yeah Lupul and Cheechoo was great combination... :D

[Lycan Master]

thx for the update guys :mrgreen:

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

hehe...just read that the Thrashers ran out of goalies in the last game against the Oilers :mrgreen:

they had to play the last 2 minutes with 6 players instead......Byron Dafoe got injured in the game, and in the end, when there was a mass-fight, Nurminen was sent outta the game :D :D

nothing ya see everyday? :D

[Lycan Master]

wish i did see that everyday :D

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

hehe...yeah...big fight are always fun to look at....sadly that's not happening very much in the Finnish league (btw, HIFK is da best fighting team too :D )

[Lycan Master]

hehe so both hockey as fighing.... i think we have an olympic champ :D

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

well, it's only da fact...HIFK is da best in everything 8)

[Lycan Master]

off course Ajax has a nice fighting team as well, but sry no hockey

[Nikodemus]

Nice big fight and Nurminen was in it. It was even nicer to watch

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Mika Noronen became the 8th goalie to score a goal in a NHL game. he "scored" the 6-4 goal yesterday to Buffalo, when they beat Toronto....actually Robert Reichel did an own goal, but since Noronen had been the last Buffalo player that had touched the puck, he was named to be the scorer (or Kalinin was announced at first, but they changed it to Noronen 10 minutes after the game)

[Petsku1]

hehehe... Way to go Noronen :D

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Todd Bertuzzi is suspended indefinetly after the attack on Steve Moore a couple of days ago. Moore got a concussion, and he passed out for some time....now they have got to know that he also got some neck fracture.

Bertuzzi attacked Moore from behind, and knocked Moore's head to the ice. This was probably a "revenge" on Moore, who had knocked down Markus Näslund a couple of weeks earlier. That time Näslund got a concussion and was away for 3 games.....that time Vancouver players promised a revenge, and now it came, it seems.

If it goes bad for Bertuzzi, he can be suspended from the whole season that remains, which is the 13 games in regular season, and all the games that Vancouver will play in the post-season

[Bismarck]

As a strong Vancouver Canucks fan, I must say that I was disgusted by that game. I lost a lot of respect for Bertuzzi. I, like all fans, was angered by the Moore hit on Naslund, my favourite player, and the captain of the team. I wanted to see some revenge, but only in the form of a few clean hits and a few goals scored. I sure as hell didn't want to see Moore get his neck broken. Even when Moore was down on the ice, Bertuzzi tried to hit him again. Head Coach Marc Crawford was smiling. It really was disgraceful. The Vancouver police are investigating Bertuzzi. Two careers could be over because of one stupid mistake.

Vancouver plays Minnesota tonight. They're just a bunch of little guys, and Vancouver has a lot to get revenge for in that game too. Minnesota eliminated them from the playoffs last year. The Minnesota players are probably pissing themselves. Vancouver has a reputation for playing rough hockey and injuring players on occasion.

[krazykanadian]

:cry:

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yet again another "incident" in NHL.

This time it is Toronto's Wade Belak. He hit Colorado's defender Ossi Väänänen with the stick to the head and neck.

Seems like the Colorado players are some special targets in NHL....

[Petsku1]

"incident" for sure... that guy should just concetrate on playing hockey...
instead of hitting those who really play it....rrrr

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Wade Belak was given an 8 games long suspension tnx to that "incident"

[krazykanadian]

Oh man! Oh man! The playoffs are just around the corner and it's so exciting!

[Petsku1]

would be exciting if I had Canal Plus :D

[Lycan Master]

yeah i can't see anything of the po....

[Piece Of Paradise]

Hope the Red Wings win it.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

^no way...This Year is the Sharks Year 8)

Go San Jose.

I hope I can catch a channel that shows the games

[Petsku1]

soz... It's gonna be Avanlanche 8)

[Piece Of Paradise]

Western Conference
RK GP W L T OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY L10
1 y - DETROIT* 79 46 20 11 2 105 248 181 30-6-4-0 16-14-7-2 6-3-1-0
2 x - SAN JOSE* 79 41 20 12 6 100 211 176 23-7-7-2 18-13-5-4 8-1-1-0
3 x - COLORADO* 79 39 22 13 5 96 227 189 19-14-6-1 20-8-7-4 4-5-1-0

x - clinched playoff spot y - clinched division z - clinched conference

Hehehe, guess who's on top of the Western Conference.

[Petsku1]

but playoffs are playoffs. 8)

[Piece Of Paradise]

We shall see. 8)

[Petsku1]

indeed... the real games are just about start.

[Piece Of Paradise]

And I'll be watching closely.

[krazykanadian]

The Canucks are only 1 point behind the Avalanche. If we can catch up, the Avalanche will drop to 5th in the conference.

[Alw]

indeeed hockey is a great game :) i play it every friday.. :)
and the water breaks are great too! :mrgreen:

[Petsku1]

I said this earlier.... Selänne needs to win the SC :D

[krazykanadian]

indeeed hockey is a great game :) i play it every friday.. :)
and the water breaks are great too! :mrgreen:

do you play ice hockey? or something similar like roller hockey, floor hockey or floorball?

[Alw]

floorhockey :mrgreen:

[UNS]

Yeah hockey is the best game on Earth.
My favorite players are Bondra and Satan.

[Alw]

omg Satan :D what a name ;D

[UNS]

Satan ??? Buffalo Sabers C..

[Petsku1]

yeah Miroslav Satan.... but UNS how about Jaromir Jagr my fave player... though he's a Czech...

[Lycan Master]

Jaromir Jagr

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thum bup::thumbup:

[krazykanadian]

Yes! The Canucks just jumped ahead of Colorado in the standings.

[Bismarck]

Very nice last minute goal.

[krazykanadian]

I'd say the remaining two games of the Avalanche are against easier opponents though. They play against the Blue Jackets and then the Predators. The Canucks have to play against the Sharks and then the Oilers. We'll see what happens.

I also watched the Oilers play against the Stars today. Edmonton is so desperate right now that they are playing as if their life depended on it and they are willing to go to any length to win a hockey game.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yey....Calgary got to the playoff sfor the first time in 8 years I think it was...... What a season Kiprusoff has had so far :)

[krazykanadian]

There's a good chance Vancouver might end up playing Calgary in the 1st round of the playoffs.

[UNS]

yeah Miroslav Satan.... but UNS how about Jaromir Jagr my fave player... though he's a Czech...
Yeah, Jagr is good player, but I prefer Slovak player 8).

[Petsku1]

yeah I assumed so :D

[Ceaser]

I know this is a stupet Q but i dont realy now about hockey that much but what country is the best in it.

[krazykanadian]

Welcome to the forum, Ceaser!

Usually only countries with snow and ice play hockey. :) The best two countries used to be Canada and Russia, but nowadays, there is also talent from many other countries including from the United States, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and Slovakia.

With that being said, Canada usually expects to win gold at every international tournament and silver is disappointing for us. But the truth is that many countries are good now and that any country can win.

[Bismarck]

Not any country. Ukraine is terrible in hockey. Sweden, Finland, and Slovakia are good, but not good enough to compete with the big 4: Canada, Russia, the USA, and the Czech Republic. Canada definately has the best fans.

[Bismarck]

Not any country. Ukraine is terrible in hockey. Sweden, Finland, and Slovakia are good, but not good enough to compete with the big 4: Canada, Russia, the USA, and the Czech Republic. Canada definately has the best fans.

[krazykanadian]

I miss the days when it was Lemieux and Gretzky at the Canada Cup. Those were the days...

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

hmm...I wouldn't count Russia into the big 4. Although they probably have one of the worlds best team, if you just see on the names of the players, but hockey is so much more. It seems like all these big stars in Russia don't really know what team-playing is. They always try to do everything the most complicated way.

But if they can get all their superstars to work together, they are pretty much the best hockey team in da world

[Petsku1]

yeah.... very true... Russia is way out of its "red machine" golden years although it has superstars...

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

and there is probably no "terrible" teams anymore....even the weaker teams can beat the top teams.....for example Belarus' win over Sweden, Denmark's win over USA and Denmark's draw against Canada. of course there is teams like Slovenia that doesn't really try to win the games they play against the better teams, and if ya go to a game with that attitude, ya have no chance. I would say that hockey has developed pretty much in these "smaller" hockey countries.

[krazykanadian]

What?! Denmark has a hockey team?! :)

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

hehe...yeah...but that Ya knew, I bet.....it had to be all over the news in Canada, that Denmark played a draw with ya guys last year. And that they beat USA, one of the biggest favourites.

if I remember correctly, Denmark even was the only team that managed to take a point from Canada :)

[Petsku1]

haha....yeah... but still the 5-6 is in our minds.......rrrrrrr :D

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

hey....Don't remind me.....ya don't have to take up that terrible game again.....loosing a 5-1 lead, just to go and lose 5-6!!

[Nikodemus]

And against Sweden it hurts even more

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yeah....that hurts even more

but we have to think on the good games.....like Sweden's loss against Belarus in SLC

oh man, Salo gave away that last goal really easy 8)

[Petsku1]

haha......just thinking of that makes me laugh... :D

[krazykanadian]

I have to admit, it's good that Canada didn't have to play Sweden in the semi-finals, thanks to Belarus.

WOOHOO! THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS HAVE OVERTAKEN COLORADO AND ARE NORTHWEST DIVISION CHAMPIONS!!!!!! It was quite emotional when Todd Bertuzzi walked onto the ice at the end of the game and received a standing ovation.

[Bismarck]

Great game. Would have loved to have tickets to it. Vancouver-Calgary should be a good series.

[krazykanadian]

There's still a chance that it might be Vancouver-Dallas but I hope it's Calgary that the Canucks play.

Something tells me you live in the Lower Mainland. Hab ich recht?

[Bismarck]

Near there.

[krazykanadian]

First round playoff matchups are set.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Detroit (1) vs. Nashville (8]
San Jose (2) vs. St. Louis (7)
Vancouver (3) vs. Calgary (6)
Colorado (4) vs. Dallas (5)

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Tampa Bay (1) vs. NY Islanders (8]
Boston (2) vs. Montreal (7)
Philadelphia (3) vs. New Jersey (6)
Toronto (4) vs. Ottawa (5)

[Lycan Master]

thx dude

[krazykanadian]

Here are my predictions:

Detroit in 5 (Nashville has no previous playoff experience) San Jose in 6 (The Sharks are too good for the Blues right now) Vancouver in 6 (Calgary doesn't have enough depth) Dallas in 7 (Tough grueling series. Dallas is playing really well right now.)
Tampa Bay in 6 (The Lightning are inexperienced in the playoffs but should prevail against the Islanders Boston in 5 (THe Bruins are too strong for the Canadiens.) New Jersey in 6 (The Devils have playoff experience and solid goaltending. The Flyers don't.) Toronto in 7 (The Leafs are a better playoff team than the Sens.)

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

hmm...

I would say that Detroit will take 4 straight wins...leaving Nashville no chance....Detroit surely don't wanna do the same as last season, loosing against Anaheim.

otherwise yoyr predictions are pretty close to mine, only that I think that Colorado will win over Dallas after 7 games, not that Dallas will win

[Bismarck]

Vancouver 5-3 over Calgary in Game 1 tonight. :)

[Piece Of Paradise]

Detroit won the Presidents' Trophy (best record in NHL).

Red Wings 3 - 1 Predators in Game 1.

Detroit will win it in 4 games.

http://www.detroitredwings.com/images/banner/playoffs_04/DRW_2003_04_redlight_01.gifhttp://www.detroitredwings.com/images/banner/playoffs_04/DRW_2003_04_redlight_02.gif
http://www.detroitredwings.com/images/banner/playoffs_04/DRW_2003_04_REDLIGHT3.jpg


http://www.detroitredwings.com/photos/{8971312C-21CE-4435-8DB5-83E0AE51FB31}.jpg

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

San Jose - St. Louis 1-0 OT in the first game 8) .....pretty tough game for the Sharks....but they win the serie easily 8)

[Bismarck]

Why do some Europeans follow the NHL, and better still, why do they have a favourite team?

[Piece Of Paradise]

Because the NHL is the best professional domestic hockey league in the world?

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Yeah......and I also like to follow how the players from me own country are doing.....think the name should be International Hockey League 8)

[Piece Of Paradise]

Nah, only N. American teams play in that league. Foreign teams don't play there and so it can't be called international.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

well...kinda half international...there is 6 Canadian teams 8) :mrgreen:

can two countries be "National"??

[Piece Of Paradise]

Well, the Canadians and Americans are close to each other, and share common links, so why not?

[Petsku1]

and international cos half of the players are from another country than USA or Canada

[Piece Of Paradise]

Maybe. Call it the National Hockey League Of International Players.

[Bismarck]

Well, the Canadians and Americans are close to each other, and share common links, so why not?
If you said that on the streets of Canada you'd get the crap kicked out of you, and that's if you're lucky. There is no more offensive statement to a Canadian than that.

I live in a very tourism-oriented area. Believe it or not, in the summer, American tourists are involved in a large percentage of the bar fights. They say to me "Well Officer, I was just explaining here that there's really no difference between us..." and right away I can guess what happened.

Canadians are very mild-mannered people compared to their American counterparts, but there are exceptions.
1. When hockey is involved.
2. When they're compared to Americans.

[Piece Of Paradise]

Well then maybe they aren't close to each other after all. But you guys do share close links with each other. Sports teams from both countries play in the same league and the border is quite unguarded.

[Cisse]

Our national team have won world group B champ. with ease and now we're back in group A!!!
I hope that we'll play better then last time.
Results
Slo - Romania 8-0
Slo - Estonija 7-2
Slo - Italia 4-0
Slo - Korea 10-2
Slo - Poland 4-1

[Bismarck]

Vancouver forced Game 7 last night in triple OT. The deciding game will be Monday.

[Cisse]

i hope that Vancuver will win

[krazykanadian]

That last game was a great game, the best I have seen so far in the playoffs. I can't wait for Game 7.

[Nikodemus]

Yesterday Finland won the Euro Hockey Tour. Sweden had won the first final 3-1 but on Sunday Finland was better 4-0 and 1-0 on the extra time.

[Piece Of Paradise]

Hope Detroit has an easier time in the semis.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Our national team have won world group B champ. with ease and now we're back in group A!!!
I hope that we'll play better then last time.
Results
Slo - Romania 8-0
Slo - Estonija 7-2
Slo - Italia 4-0
Slo - Korea 10-2
Slo - Poland 4-1


also Belarus has advanced to group A, after beating Norway 5-2 in the last game. (in which Norway was the much better team, but Shabanov played very well.....)

[Petsku1]

yupz... can't wait for the world championships to begin... so great 8)

[Alizée00471]

Has anyone seen this Russian Alexander Ovechkin play? He is coming to the NHL next season and he is supposed to be really good.

[krazykanadian]

He played for Russia in the World Junior Hockey Championships, right? Which team drafted him?

[Alizée00471]

They havent had the draft but he is a lock to go with the first pick and the Capitols have first pick, so I guess you could say he is playing for the Capitols.

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yeah...I saw him play y-day, when Russia played against Sweden....he wasn't at his best in that game though.

[Apophis]

Well well.....SVK won its first match. :thumbup: Finally something good because the school drives me crazy.

[Nikodemus]

Ukraine sure wasn't so tough opponent.

also today: Finland - USA

[Apophis]

And the next match will be.... :wink:

[Thanasis]

I cant understunt how this topic is still alive :?:

[Lycan Master]

the wc hockey perhaps :D

[Piece Of Paradise]

... and the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. :)

[Nikodemus]

hahaa. Finland beated USA 4-2 after great match.

[Lycan Master]

damn, this is strange... i thought Petteri would have posted that straight away.... maybe he prefers the usa ;)

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yeah...the Finland - USA game was great....

next we play against Ukraine...they can be a pretty tough opponent...that they showed against Slovakia...only 2-0 to Slovakia that game...

[Petsku1]

Lasse Pirjetä was on fire 8)...2 goals...just like "hockey study book style"...Yeah U(k)r(a)ine can be good if they powerplay 5 on 3 all the time :mrgreen:

[Lycan Master]

Lasse Pirjetä was on fire 8)...2 goals...just like "hockey study book style"...Yeah U(k)r(a)ine can be good if they powerplay 5 on 3 all the time :mrgreen:reminds me of Britney.....

[Petsku1]

Lasse Pirjetä was on fire 8)...2 goals...just like "hockey study book style"...Yeah U(k)r(a)ine can be good if they powerplay 5 on 3 all the time :mrgreen:reminds me of Britney.....

urine or powerplay 5 on 3? :mrgreen:

[Lycan Master]

yeah both.... :D

the first one....

and that second one.... well i think both brit and x-tina would enjoy such a thing

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

oh man...France had pretty big probs in the first period against Switzerland...but still tnx to Huet in goal, the game is still 0-0....

[Nikodemus]

Austria almost won Canada yesterday. They played very well. Result 2-2. After two periods Austria was still leading but in the last period Canada scored twice.

[Lycan Master]

so what about finland - ukraine?

[Nikodemus]

watching it right now. ATM: FIN 2-1 UKR
GO Leijonat!!!

[Petsku1]

yupz... Finland won Ukraine 5-1... great combination in the last goal... Pärssinen ("found")/assisted .. N. Kapanen scored 8)

yeah Ukraine played faithful for their style...cross checking...hooking...bad tackles...so penalties all the time
but i have to say that Ukraine's goalie Simchuk played really well... over 50 saves

[Nikodemus]

Great victory! Finland's next game will be tougher.

[Lycan Master]

my money's on Belgium wahahahahahaha.... one day we'll rule the world of hockey :thumbup:

[Nikodemus]

right after Latvia. They have Finland's 1995 champion team's Swedish coach Curt Lindström

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

^^hehe...I saw one of the games that Belgium played in the B-WC...they lost to Norway 11-1 :)

your goalie had almost 80 shots shot at him :)

[Petsku1]

well then he had quite good save percentage then :D

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

yep....one of those few games that a goalie lets 11 goals in, and still have almost .900 the save percentage.. :)

[Petsku1]

So the problems are somewhere else in the Belgium hockey team...haha

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

heh...yeah..maybe..but hey..they got 1 goal....better than 0

[Lycan Master]

i'm proud of my team..... i mean c'mon letting 11 goals in.... now that's true skill, ignoring and surpressin your instincts and reflexes... and letting everything pass,

great players :thumbup: .................. :mrgreen:

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

hehe...

today...Slovakia - Finland...big game..

[Petsku1]

idd...the big clash...time for some real hockey...C'MON Finland! 8)

[Alw]

icehockey is indeed the greatest sport!!

and denmark just beated Japan :D:D:D

[Bismarck]

and denmark just beated Japan :D:D:D

That's not something to brag about.

[Alw]

well who said that? i just mentioned that, and ofc i support my own country in some sport i like........


well AlizeeInMyHeart said Fin vs svk
isn't that bragging too then? :J well no he just mentioned that too

[Lycan Master]

i used to be for Sweden...... but since i can't watch it anymore.... no team :cry:

[Nikodemus]

Sweden! grrr...

Finland lost against Slovakia. It felt like Finns lost all the face offs.
SVK 5-2 FIN.
and of course next game is against...Sweden

[krazykanadian]

I haven't been paying too much attention to the World Hockey Championships because I've mainly been paying attention to the Stanley Cup playoffs! I'll definitely be keeping a closer eye on the elimination rounds though.

Sweden! grrr...

Finland lost against Slovakia. It felt like Finns lost all the face offs.
SVK 5-2 FIN.
and of course next game is against...Sweden

Finland vs. Sweden. It sounds like bragging rights are on the line. Hmm...Why didn't the Sedin twins or Naslund play for Sweden?

icehockey is indeed the greatest sport!!

and denmark just beated Japan :D:D:D

Did you see how the Japanese defenceman shot the puck into his own net? I don't know what he was thinking! :D

[Alw]

no sry, i didn't see the match ^^ course i forgot to turn on my tv :S
but someone told me =)

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

Hmm...Why didn't the Sedin twins or Naslund play for Sweden?

Näslund refused...and the Sedin twins didn't get an invitation from Hardy Nilsson I have read somewhere

[krazykanadian]

I think Näslund deserves a break after the way the Canucks lost in the playoffs and the things that the Canucks had to go through concerning the Bertuzzi incident.

[Nikodemus]

Do you if Forsberg will join team Sweden if Avalanche loses in the NHL playoffs? I hope Teemu Selänne will come to the team Finland

[AlizéeInMYHeart]

I think that Forsberg will come....yeah...I also hope that Selänne would come....maybe also Väänänen...

[Orion]

People, people, You will never beat Canada at full strength. They are the best in Hockey. The women win and the men always win. Its in the blood.

I am watching the leafs play the flyers. what a series. Hitting left and right.


I think that Forsberg will come


I think he is hurt. Not sure.

[Lycan Master]

Finland vs Sweden :thumbup: weyhey..... go Sweden :D

[Petsku1]

^go to hell :mrgreen: