Other NHL games 2014-2015 season

[columbia]

I just checked the standings for the first time this season and see that the Flyers are 12th in the East.
tsk tsk

[Skatingpen]

how legit is Montreal? They seem to be doing well.

[Idoit40fans]

Until christmas i try to avoid making any judgements like that.

[meow]

I'm not buying them. More games played than most East teams. -8 goal differential. 3 shootout wins.

[mikey287]

I've been buying Montreal for the last few years, this year is no different. Turtleneck Plek for Prime Minister!

[pcm]

Yup, as soon as they hired Therrien, I said I wouldn't be surprised to see them win a cup in a few seasons. Last year they were the best team in the East... and with their crop of young talented forwards, they're only going to get better.

[AricM]

Parise sustained a concussion against the Pens. Anyone recall the specific hit or play?

[MRandall25]

They just said he left the game. I don't recall seeing anything out of the ordinary happen to him.

[Great58]

Nisky got smoked at the far blue line on the Hawks first goal. This is my first Caps game of the year. Anyone have an opinion of how Brooks and Matt have been doing?

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

Man, looks like Gustavsson hurt his shoulder there

Out for 2 months

[SolidSnake]

Remember when Brooks Laich was actually decent? Thank God Shero didn't sign him

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

So much for the BJs being a good team

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

Also, man Brad Richards is an idiot. Less than a minute, down by one, Hawks pull Crawford and the Caps ice the puck except Richards stops skating and let's a Cap blow by him nullifying the icing and killing about 10 seconds off the clock.

[MRandall25]

So much for the BJs being a good team

A team is bad when they're missing half their lineup. Who knew?

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

So much for the BJs being a good team

A team is bad when they're missing half their lineup. Who knew?

Yeah man, its impossible to overcome injuries. Like the Pens last year...

[MRandall25]

Lot easier when you have your entire 1st line, plus your starting goalie, and most of your forward lineup still able-bodied.

Jackets are missing:

Jakc Johnson (suspension)
Dubinsky
Horton (well aware he may not play again, but they'd rather have him)
Anisimov
Ryan Murray
Letestu
Cody Goloubef (who was filling in on D for other injured guys)
And, the kicker, Sergei Bobrovsky.

They're missing half of their top 6 forwards (and until recently had also been missing Boone Jenner and Matt Calvert, so that's 4 of the top 6 and one from the bottom 6), their starting goaltender (who is being replaced by a rookie and Curtis effing McElhinney), and pretty much their top D pairing (and they don't even have a 100% James Wisniewski, who just returned from a broken finger).

So yeah, the Pens may have had a lot of injuries last year, but the people missing from the Jackets lineup now are way more important to the overall well-being of the Jackets as a team than the people who were missing (and remained) in the Pens lineup. I'm sure if the Blue Jackets had Sidney Crosby and Ryan Johansen centering lines 1 and 2, they would be doing just fine.

Just to prove my point, these are the players the Pens had to go without during that stretch in December:

Kris Letang
Brooks Orpik
Tomas Vokoun
Bennett
Scuderi
Martin
Malkin

Yeah, see, the Pens had this thing called "depth" and "talent". The Blue Jackets don't really have either, when you compare them to last year's Pens team.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

But the "depth" part of it is what defines a good tram imo. Every team deals with injuries...as you listed, last year we were without 4 defensemen and a top 5 world player and yet were still maintaining first in the east. In 2011, without both Sid and Geno we were a win away from beating a team that made it to the conference finals (that's two top 5 plahyers out).

Injuries are no excuse. They're the second worst team in the league right now. I don't think their injured players are THAT important that they'll go from 29th to 15th or whatever.

[MRandall25]

After watching them the past 4 years, I'd have to disagree. Those players that are out (especially Bobrovsky) are the kind of guys who make them tick. Dubinsky is a leader on the ice, Johnson eats a lot of minutes (my thoughts on his play aside), Murray may be their most steady d-man (when healthy), Letestu is one of their best PKers, Anisimov's (who is also one of their better PKers, along with Dubinsky and Letestu) absence means Boone Jenner is moved down to 2nd line C (because he can play at C) instead of having Jenner in the much more preferable position on Johansen's wing...

It's a trickle-down effect for them. They don't have the talent the Penguins have. They won games last year because they had guys who went out there and played hard for each other. They're missing half of those guys, and it's pretty much killed the chemistry that made them so successful last year. Injuries affect every team differently. Unfortunately for the Jackets, they guys they are missing are pretty much the guys who make them tick. It's a noticeable drop-off.

[MRandall25]

And I like Ryan Johansen, but he can't make Brian Gibbons look somewhat competent.

[Kovy27]

Depth does define a championship team...not just a good team. Jackets are a good team when healthy, but they are throwing jobbers from a beer league in and struggling. Their back up goaltending could use an upgrade...Marty Brodeur anyone?

[Idoit40fans]

The jackets just arent that good.

[profpolisci]

Avs go down 3-0 to the Flyers. All that talent not coming together this season

[profpolisci]

...Avs coming from 4-0 to make it 4-3 with 3 in the third.

[shmenguin]

The jackets just arent that good.

Fully healthy, they're a marginal playoff team. Mediocre overall.

[bhaw]

HNIC mentioned Ovie threw another head shot tonight (2nd game in a row) and *gasp* the NHL might actually punish him this time.