NHL 2014-2015 regular season running thread

Boos.

 

http://www.tsn.ca/video/th2n-maple-leafs-forgo-fan-salute-after-win-1.140722

This is one of the dumbest things I've in a real long time.

 

Fairly typical. Asked before the game how being booed will affect him, Kesler said it would make him more excited and fire him up.
Asked after the game about the boos, which crescendoed during his shootout attempt, he said it was hurtful considering how much he gave to the team and the community the 10 previous years.

 

That the Leafs didn't do a salute or that we're supposed to care?

 

Loved the exchange with Phaneuf after practice yesterday: "So this is what you are relying on to win hockey games? Why don't you just get it over with and bite the head off a chicken?"

 

That the media are making a big deal out of this. Who gives a shit if they don't salute the crowd?

 

The fans were going apeshit about it on Twitter as soon as the game ended.

 

Da Islanders are hot. 15 wins in first 21 games of a season is a franchise record. Hail the Halakness Monster. This team reminds me of the first Los Angeles cup winner. Don't know the Isles forecheck is as tenacious as those Kings but the high-octane offense seems similar, IMHO.

 

Anybody questioning the Ducks on transitioning from Hiller to Andersen/Gibson got a first-hand look last night when Hiller let in a horrible goal with 16 seconds left in the second that made it 3-0. Flames had come back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Ducks last week in Calgary and are something like plus-16 in third periods this season. But this time, Kyle Palmieri dumped it in, jumped around the defenseman (Engelland) and beat him to the puck in the corner. Engelland rammed him into the boards, but Palmieri took the check, gathered the puck and pushed toward the goal. He shoved it toward Hiller and it went through his legs.
Flames scored 2 in the third, but the Ducks hung on.
The two ex-goalies doing commentary for the Ducks -- Brian Hayward and Guy Hebert -- glossed over it, saying Hiller would probably like to have that one back. Hell yeah. Why can't they just say it was a really, really bad goal and it cost the Flames dearly ... something the Ducks know all about.

 

Which of Hayward/Hebert is doing the PBP?

 

Always smart to judge a goalie on one goal. :

 

Been watching Hiller for 7 years. He was my wife's favorite player, but even she noticed that he was different after having vertigo. Also noticed that he rarely smiled, even after good games for the Ducks. He was beaming after beating the Ducks last week. We all thought that his play tailed off after the Olympics. He was great in Sochi, not so good the rest of the season.
Hayward is the commentator on the TV broadcasts (Dan Ahlers is play-by-play). Hebert does pregame, between periods and postgame analysis. In my opinion, he started the season kind of shaky, nervous. He is getting much more comfortable and is pretty good now. This is his first year in that role.