Around the NHL 2023-24 Season

[LGR4GM]

9 hours ago, Norcal said:

Sounds like a coach who is getting absolutely every ounce of effort he can from his group

Maximum effort...

 

 

[LGR4GM]

Ruh, here comes Philly. 

 

[LGR4GM]

Philly came back and lost in the shootout. Good game. 

[SwampD]

***** the Rags.

Some unbelievable empty net play in this one.

[PerreaultForever]

Philly showed what they are. They do not quit. 

To the talk in another thread, Kane actually looked pretty darn good imo. One of Detroit's best offensive players most of the night. The talk of him being done might be mistaken. 

The goaltending was a little suspect on both sides but it was a good game. 

Bruins on the other hand are on a slide. Maybe that decline is finally kicking in. Winnipeg dominated them tonight.

[Flashsabre]

Nashville beating the Stars with 13 seconds left and Dallas scores to tie it. Then they score again with 2 seconds left to win it.😳

[Ducky]

22 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Bruins on the other hand are on a slide. Maybe that decline is finally kicking in. Winnipeg dominated them tonight.

Winnipeg hasn't let in more than 3 goals in any of the last 22 games.

A 5-2 loss to Vegas on November 2nd was the last time they let in more than 3 goals.

Vilardi has been on fire with 12 points in his last 5 games and has more points than PLD while playing less than half as many games. Actually, Iafallo has more points than PLD as well. Then there's the 2nd and Kupari that Chevy got for him.

I hear the LA fans aren't too happly with old PLD.

Edited December 24, 2023 by Ducky

[Quint]

Zdeno Chara  recently bought into a hockey tape company called Rezztek. It's a new kind of tape that acts like sandpaper. 

Quote

Instead of winding traditional tape around the blade of a hockey stick, Rezztek is a four-layer sticker that adheres to the blade and, according to Chara, weighs less and improves shot speed by three percent, shot accuracy by six percent and is water resistant. It also can be customized with everything from a team logo to Spider-man.

Maybe Thompson can shoot faster and Dahlin can pass more accurately with the tape. Some NHL players are already using it...you never know.

https://www.nhl.com/news/zdeno-chara-making-impact-with-innovative-blade-grips

[Doohickie]

4 hours ago, Quint said:

improves shot speed by three percent, shot accuracy by six percent

Color me skeptical.

[Quint]

23 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Color me skeptical.

I could see Rezztek increasing puckhandling and passing and shooting accuracy. Shooting speed, I'm not so sure. 

[PASabreFan]

Does anything go with hockey equipment, even tape? Does the league have a say in the use of a product that might enhance performance?

I'm thinking about pro golf and its various restrictions on balls and equipment.

[shrader]

37 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Does anything go with hockey equipment, even tape? Does the league have a say in the use of a product that might enhance performance?

I'm thinking about pro golf and its various restrictions on balls and equipment.

I feel like they’d probably restrict stuff after it has been shown to give an advantage in the games. At least with newer innovations anyway. They’re already going to have rules in place for things like stick length or flex. 

[Hank]

43 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Does anything go with hockey equipment, even tape? Does the league have a say in the use of a product that might enhance performance?

I'm thinking about pro golf and its various restrictions on balls and equipment.

If the product is available to every player/team it doesn't provide a competitive advantage. That's how I see it anyway, but I'm less smarter than some. 

[Contempt]

55 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Does anything go with hockey equipment, even tape? Does the league have a say in the use of a product that might enhance performance?

I'm thinking about pro golf and its various restrictions on balls and equipment.

So long as it's not rainbow colored tape. That makes them sad.

[Doohickie]

5 minutes ago, Hank said:

If the product is available to every player/team it doesn't provide a competitive advantage. That's how I see it anyway, but I'm less smarter than some. 

Also, as long as it doesn't violate the rules as written (including interpretation of the spirit of the rules), it's probably fine.  I could see where the league may disallow, for instance, product with graphics (similar to how they've banned rainbow tape) that might be viewed as an endorsement of something the league wants to not make a statement about, or if the graphics would obscure the puck.

Just now, Contempt said:

rainbow colored

Psych! 😄

[French Collection]

On 12/26/2023 at 11:59 AM, Doohickie said:

Color me skeptical.

It’s like golf equipment companies claiming their driver hits the ball 10 yards farther. After 10 years of upgrading you should be able to hit the ball 100 yards more.

[PromoTheRobot]

The Atlanta Sabres has a nice ring to it.

 

[Contempt]

5 hours ago, French Collection said:

It’s like golf equipment companies claiming their driver hits the ball 10 yards farther. After 10 years of upgrading you should be able to hit the ball 100 yards more.

True, but since 1980 the average driving distance on tour has gone from 257 to 297 so some of those claims on clubs, shafts, and balls have been at least partially true.  If you grabbed equipment from 1980 and 1990 you'd have only seen a 5 yard increase 1990 to 2000 was 10, 2000 to 2010 was 15, 2010 to 2020 was 10 more.  By that logic, if you switch gear once a decade you are getting 10 yards better.  The problem is during that decade you got 10 years older which generally doesn't help your distance. 😄

For hockey, the average shot speed has gone up over the last decade with stick technology.  For the sake of argument, let's say the average is 100mph.  They are saying this thing adds, on average, 3mph. Could a surface with higher friction cause the puck to stay on the surface of the stick fractionally longer, thus imparting more energy to it? Maybe. Could it impart a higher revolution rate to the puck as the rough surface grabs the rough edge of the puck better? Would a higher rev rate cause the puck to fly slightly differently? Maybe. Rev rate certainly matters in baseball. Could a higher rev rate stabilize flight better and take some wobble out of the flight, thus making the puck more aerodynamic? If it's more aerodynamic in flight it would then possibly be less impacted by wobble and the forces that wobble creates and ends up being more accurate? Maybe. If it's more aerodynamic in flight, it will fly faster.

Either way I feel like it's something that could be fairly reliably tested with a robotic rig that you can swap between a selection of the same type, flex, kick, and curve of stick, some taped normally, some with this thing. Take the averages to account for variances in manufacture. You'd also need a radar gun, and a high speed camera. Bring the rig to a sea level rink, then somewhere at relative altitude like Denver. That's the sort of YouTube content I'd love to see.

Does it matter to the average kid or beer leaguer? Hell no. To a top end guy? Maybe.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Contempt

[LGR4GM]

8 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

The Atlanta Sabres has a nice ring to it.

 

I get that it's a joke but you realize they don't want to move Buffalo, they want that sweet billion dollars in expansion fees.

[French Collection]

6 hours ago, Contempt said:

Does it matter to the average kid or beer leaguer? Hell no. To a top end guy? Maybe.

That’s like golf equipment, the pros gain way more benefit from the technology but it’s the average hacker who pays for the development.

Fitness has also helped these guys hit it farther. Like any sport, today’s athletes are better than the previous generation.

The numbers for driving distance that you use indicate a 40 yard increase in 43 years for tour pros. This is a far cry from the 5-10 yards promised by the advertising every year.

I don’t get caught up in that stuff, I like my 20 year old clubs, they fit me right and I know my distances and where they are going. 
I feel like the ball has been the greatest leap forward in that 43 year period.

[bob_sauve28]

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I get that it's a joke but you realize they don't want to move Buffalo, they want that sweet billion dollars in expansion fees.

All true, but you just can never say never. Imagine the NHL creating a relocation fee to make up for lost expansion revenue. It might be a little less but at least other teams won't have to go through another expansion draft. Then there's the market upgrade from Buffalo to Atlanta. Not that I want to give the suits at One Manhattan West any ideas. 

[PerreaultForever]

Watched Philly shut down and dominate league leading Vancouver tonight. Weird what happens when you actually teach a team to play defense. 

[Broken Ankles]

Florida beats the Rangers tonight following wins over Tampa and Las Vegas.  Could be the best in the East. Reinhart with two more tonight. Playing with Barkov is obviously the most important factor in his goal scoring.  Sasha with another primary assist….case in point. 
 

The third player on that line?  Evan Rodrigues. 

[repster]

Oh wow, watching the Leafs collapse in Columbus was priceless.
Dangle should be awesome tomorrow.
I mean, they even had Friedman and Kypreos arguing during the 2nd intermission! 😆

Hopefully CBJ are all happy and satisfied heading into Buffalo tomorrow… early start too.

Rest advantage.  Can’t take them lightly.  We need to come out energized and score first.