Running 2017-18 NHL thread

Vegas wins big again, 8-1-0. The target is 94-95 points so they aren't quite there yet but they are getting close to a point where they can play .500 hockey for the rest of the season and get in the playoffs.

 

Vegas has played the softest schedule in the league thus far. A correction is coming.

 

Djoos and Bowey actually have looked decent, and I was an advocate of playing them from the start. They need experience and to take their lumps early. What they couldn't afford was injuries up front. They have a ton of offensive talent but the dropoff from the stars to the replacement players on that end is astronomical. Take everything together and you've got a disaster.

 

My office colleague lamented that the Capitals let one offensive player leave for nothing. Was that Johannsen or someone else?

 

The play decent team defense and get good goaltending. I don't think it'll hold up past November but they already know how to ugly up a game.

 

Yeah, not saying they stink or anything like that. They just have a weird schedule. Seven straight at home followed by eight of nine on the road. Plus they've gotten Arizona twice already and Colorado at home. They're not as good as their record says, but they're not a typical expansion team either.

 

Read that story. Very cool. ... And very cool to see them bounce back and get a win last night, even if they fell behind 2-0. Desperately needed. I thought the Devante Smith-Pelley signing in the offseason was kind of a throwaway, but he's become useful and consistent.

 

Ducks lose at Florida, 8-3, on Thursday. Ducks win at Tampa, 4-1, on Saturday. The Sami Vatanen Factor?? Or did Ryan Getzlaf buy some clothes for a Tampa homeless person on Friday??

 

I heard Ottawa traded Kyle Turris Sunday.

 

Getzlaf has a fractured zygomatic arch (near an eye) and is out for 2 months. Major injuries for the Ducks right now are Getzlaf, Kesler, Fowler, Eaves. Hoping for a happy new year with an enhanced team in January.