He's a great goal scorer. The best, per career stats. but in almost every other metric, Gretsky is the GOAT, and it's not terribly close. Just looking at season pts, Ovi's had 4 seasons over 100 pts. Gretsky has 17 seasons over 100 pts.

4 seasons over 200 pts.




Case closed.


Edit: Ovi's had one season over 60 goals. Gretsky has 5.



And just to be clear, I'm applauding Ovi breaking Gretsky's total goals record as much as anyone. It's great for hockey, and I like Alex both as a plyer and as a hockey character. The game and the fans will miss him when he's gone.


But he's not the greatest offensive player to ever play in the NHL. He's just not.

Vancouver down 3 goals with less than a minute remaining in the game.

They won. :eek:

Oh I have to see that shit.

First team in history to ever do it.

LMAO **** the Stars...

LOLOL couldn't happen to a better team

Didn't stay up for the 3rd and OT/SO, but good to see the Avalanche get out of their funk after Vegas' shorty and complete the comeback.

And always good to see that angry confused DeBoer face, heh...

<blockquote class="reddit-embed-bq" style="height:500px" data-embed-height="566"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/1juw6gq/the_canucks_score_three_times_in_54_seconds_to/">The Canucks score three times in 54 seconds to tie the game and then go on to win it in overtime</a><br> by<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/catsgr8rthanspoonies/">u/catsgr8rthanspoonies</a> in<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/">hockey</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://embed.reddit.com/widgets.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gabriel Landeskog has been loaned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL) on a conditioning assignment. <a href="https://t.co/FgEu05vIiY">pic.twitter.com/FgEu05vIiY</a></p>&mdash; x - Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) <a href="https://twitter.com/Avalanche/status/1909984196598149123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hasn't it been like 3 years since he's even played?

And he's gotta be 32(ish) by now. Even presuming the injuries didn't diminish him, time certainly will have done so.

I mean I guess as a 3rd liner who can provide some leadership he might be handy in the playoffs, but this feels more like hope than a plan at this point.

Yeah, he hasn't played since the SCF in 2022... the original injury was in 2020 and they finally opted for surgery in May 2023 as a last resort, because no one has ever returned from it.

Not sure what happened last season, but there was some hope he'd return and then it didn't happen... and apparently this season he had an unrelated setback (and even then, I'm sure the plan was to LTIR him into the playoffs), but has been a full practice participant for a bit now.

Definitely still just hope he could contribute some meaningful minutes or like you said, lockeroom presence and leadership.

It's kind of like Travis Kelce coming back next year. No one expects him to be the same player as before, but his presence alone will give the team a boost, and hopefully he's at least better than a random 4th-liner.

In the long-term, the question is just whether his knee is stable or not. If it is, he's got a shot at getting back up to being a legit contributor by next season. 32 is old, but it's hardly ancient.

Leafs/Lightning OT was nuts.

Shoot, I wanted to watch that one. Was it worth finding a replay of the full game?

Its been a bad run for Pennsylvania teams. I used to love the rivalry when they were good as PA is my home state and I was a Flyers fan in Pittsburgh academia.

But wow, PA hockey has turned into a prison love story.

I skipped forward a decent amount due to time constraints, but even just extended highlights would be worth the watch (and the entire OT if you can find it).

I've always liked the Pens for some reason... and more recently because I watched Guentzel (who I know got traded) in college at Nebraska-Omaha.

Penns are a good team and I would like them if I didn't spend 4.5 years at U Pitt as a Flyers fan. I shit you not, I've grown to dislike them more than the Raiders who I really shouldn't give a rat's butt about in this era but rivalries die hard.

I did get to see the Johnstown Chiefs before they ceased operations as my roommate was from Johnstown and Slapshot is one of my favorite movies of all time not only because it's great but I was able to experience the Chiefs culture. The movie depicts it very well. So some love came out of hockey in that era and I can also pick out a Pittsburgh native from accent almost immediately.

"WTF, hows cums yins a Flyerz fan". :D

This was a series that really got me into hockey (sorry:( )... a buddy of mine is a Devils fan and I remember a few of those games being insanely intense (even for someone with no real rooting interest).

https://www.hockey-reference.com/pla...ce-finals.html

Frozen Four on ESPN2 right now.

Hockey is such a cold hearted bitch. LMAO

WMU hits the crossbar on an early wiiiiide open net, probably could have been up by a couple goals after 1, but it's scoreless.

WMU completely dominates in the 2nd, shots are like 32-8 after two periods... several clean breakaways, even when short handed. WMU deserved to be up 5-0, but only up 2-0.

DU scores on a flukey second chance goal after almost completely fanning on a shot... they finally wake up after that (and WMU was probably a bit winded as they were freakin' flying for 2 periods) and get the game to OT.

Perfect shot by WMU to win it in double OT, on their 47th shot of the game.

I was hoping for an Ovechkin hat trick the other night to break the record, but it turned into 3 nights of celebrations for the Caps... tying the record, breaking it, and going back home... and that's been pretty neat to watch.

It's pretty funny how much they're hyping Landy playing tonight, but I get it. I would be there if I had tickets before they instantly sold out when they announced he was up there.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It&#39;s go time. See you tonight ��<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EaglesCountry?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EaglesCountry</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoAvsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoAvsGo</a> <a href="https://t.co/3WXcx78f6o">pic.twitter.com/3WXcx78f6o</a></p>&mdash; x - Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) <a href="https://twitter.com/ColoradoEagles/status/1910753523123318913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

If anyone's interested...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have a gift for you ��<a href="https://twitter.com/TheAHL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAHL</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FloHockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FloHockey</a> have worked with us to let you watch tonight&#39;s game for FREE! You can watch all the action on the AHL&#39;s Facebook page, or FloHockey&#39;s X and YouTube.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EaglesCountry?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EaglesCountry</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoAvsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoAvsGo</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q1XYgQbCVb">pic.twitter.com/Q1XYgQbCVb</a></p>&mdash; x - Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) <a href="https://twitter.com/ColoradoEagles/status/1910756428534386979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

For as many of your players I hope die in a fire (and almost entirely because of a guy who is no longer your player and then shit that irritated the hell out of me in the 90s), Landeskog was never one of 'em.

Hope he can still play a bit and get a few years relatively healthy.

I mean that's a lie -- I hope he's still little more than a sucking sound and dead cap space for you. But I actually kinda like the guy. So I guess I'm torn.

Thanks for the heads up!

Landy gets a goal and an assist tonight. You couldn't ask for much more out of a trial run.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="no" dir="ltr">Gabriel Landeskog, net-front tip-in <a href="https://t.co/wA9j9xTo0L">pic.twitter.com/wA9j9xTo0L</a></p>— Meghan Angley (@megangley) <a href="https://twitter.com/megangley/status/1911263057558327391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

100%. The best thing for me was the interview after last night's game where he said his knee didn't hurt at all. And if they're playing him in back-to-back nights it must be true.

He might actually be more than just a motivational force in the playoffs, he might actually be an asset on the ice. Which is crazy considering how he looked less than a year ago when it looked like he could still barely skate.

Jonathan Huberdeau is one of the worst players in the NHL. STILL.

I'm thinking he alone will put the Avs over the top in the playoffs. At least in the first round. What a journey he's had to get back on the ice

Hate the way the NHL has their playoff system. Go back to 1vs 8 2 vs 7 and so on

Yeah, never understood their logic of wanting to force playoff rivalries with this format... watching the Oilers and Kings in the first round for the 15th year in a row isn't making it more intense, it makes it kind of boring. And then when you have a stronger division, you can easily see a Finals contender get knocked out in the first round when it's two 105+ point teams going at it.

I get why they like it in general. It just sucks when the Central division has been such a powerhouse in recent years.

I was watching the Devils/Flyers game when Scott Stevens just wrecked Eric Lindros.

Brutal!!!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7JC7xyBuHrc?si=AMWjkC9m_c0eSY0n" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Having spent a few hours on the ice over the years, Stevens is going to keep doing it until he's dealt with by other players with equally legal hits. The Flyers have an enforcer, they just need to arrange the ice time. But Stevens knows that, will be ready for it, and as long as he is, he'll skate a little less effectively.

I remember watching that one live, and many others... Stevens would be in the DOP(e)S' office every week if he played today.

It never stopped him, from what I remember (besides the concussions he dealt with, I guess), which kind of made the whole enforcer thing in the NHL silly, even if it sounded good in theory.

Habs choking their playoff hopes away but that Demidov kid looks real good he looked like the best player on the ice with the puck on his stick .

A good hard check is just that, a good hard check, but the sport has moved beyond it IMO. Having a dude out there to level people means you're usually skating a man down because bruisers weren't usually the best puck handler. But shit like that is silly, even if it was, technically, a legal hit.

Very few people were ever willing to say "Hey, maybe Eric Lindros should stop being a dipshit..."

I mean good lord, man -- you're coming into the offensive zone with your head down when Stevens is on the ice? WTF are you thinking?

It's awfully hard to get nailed THAT hard with a legal hit if you're actually paying attention. It still happens from time to time, but a guy like Lindros just tempted fate way too often.

Oh, and Lindros was more than happy to blow someone up when THEY weren't paying attention. Lindros lived by the sword.

I dunno, man. The strict 'enforcers' is one thing -- guys like Tony Twist who could barely skate but were there for the punchin'...

But a guy like Stevens? Trouba? Those guys get your attention when you're coming into the offensive zone. You know where they are and it keeps you from being too aggressive with the puck -- you get it off your stick pretty quickly. And a guy like Jeannot (or that dirty ****stain Tom Wilson) are guys on the forecheck who you absolutely remember if you're going into the corners for a loose puck. And you maybe take a half a heartbeat setting up for a hit that gives someone time to get there before you.

I think physical players still absolutely have a role -- at least the guys like Stevens.

It’s not 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7 etc? Why?

Hell, I think Stevens even had a couple 20 goal seasons, even if he wasn't much of a scorer in the 2nd half of his career. He wasn't just a goon.

The Blues deciding they've had enough of this shit and stepping on Utahs throat tonight has been fun. ****ing sucks that they ended up gacking the 1st wild card slot but even 4 games of playoff hockey is better than none.

You know what was fun? When the NHL flat ****ing took him away from the Blues and awarded him to the Devils.

It really has been a garage league for most of its existence.

Wow, I'd forgotten about that! Crazy deal with Stevens and Shannahan, draft picks, and a weird arbitration system.

I've known of it, but hadn't ever really read up on it... I know contracts can sometimes be wonky with 'future considerations' and so forth, but how ****ing bizarre to know you can't compensate the first round draft picks, but you say **** it anyway, we'll figure it out... sign here?

What was so crazy is the thunderous amount of firepower that went around in all that.

Sign Steven (young future HoFer) and lose 5 picks. One of those picks is Sergei Gonchar who really should be in the HoF, IMO.

Then the blues lose Stevens a season later as compensation for signing Shanahan (after offering Brindamour and Curtis Joseph and both of THOSE guys are borderline HoFers).

Then 4 years later you trade Shanahan to get Chris friggen Pronger.

Somehow in all that NOBODY missed anywhere on a talent evaluation.

Rules were weird then. I don't really think anyone expected the NHL to make the Blues give up Stevens. And Brind'Amour/Joseph was very obviously fair compensation.

But again - garage league. The rumor is that the NHL owners were pissed at the Blues for offer sheets and salary escalation so they were essentially trying to bury them.

I can buy that.

If you're a repeat offender who tries to decapitate someone, you get to rest one game before the playoffs start and uh, think about what you did...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse has been suspended for one game for cross-checking against Los Angeles’ Quinton Byfield. <a href="https://t.co/mZDe51ynMz">https://t.co/mZDe51ynMz</a></p>&mdash; NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLPlayerSafety/status/1912331391133507636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Department of player safety is just laughable.

Had Shanahan still been in the room and that had happened to a Red Wing, Nurse would've gotten 10 games for it.

And things aren't much better now.

The NHL still just feels like a league that wants to be self-contained and make decisions based on their gut. There's just too much money involved for that shit these days.

I don't know how the NHL could possibly be doing this shit and not be blatantly making a complete mockery of player safety.

If hiring a goon to make these decisions wasn't enough, how the hell could anyone in the front offices look at a suspension like this and think.... he won't do that again, huge win for player safety, LFG!

And I've seen people blame the NHLPA... they agree to the policy and if they don't care enough to demand long suspensions and so forth, then why should fans care. I'm sure some players care a lot more than others, then I'm sure there are trust issues with giving the league the green light to hand out lengthy and/or playoff suspensions and then it backfires after a bang-bang play.

....but I dunno, how hard is it to look at that cross check to the head while dude is on the ice and the play is over and say maybe we don't want that shit in the game. :facepalm:

If a guy get blows up it’s usually his fault or a player made a sacrifice to make a play , still technically his fault but acceptable, I met Lindros and he was a dick so karma caught up to him .

It will go 6

Oh surely Winnipeg can force it to 7...

Blues/Jets followed by Avalanche/Stars on Saturday night to kickoff the playoffs...


https://i.imgur.com/TU1R4qL.png

Golden Knights vs Caps

And just for side bet...


Devils vs Stars

I haven't watched the Knights much, but I know in the past couple seasons they finally have some scoring... not that it seemed to matter much when they were going deep into the playoffs with three 3rd lines and a 4th.

The Caps are tough... I somehow managed to watch quite a few of their games and it seemed like every game they'd have some 2-4 goal spurt in a matter of like 5 minutes. Everything seems to be working for them this season and I don't think anyone expected it.

That Flames/Kings game last night was incredible, and it wasn't even playoffs.

Hoping the Kings can finally find a way to solve the Oilers. It feels like a Bills/Chiefs situation, but I do think the Kings are a better team with a better goalie and tough to beat at home. But McDavid/Draisaitl.

Dallas lost their last 7 games, didn't rest any of their forwards, and lost their best player with a knee in the last game of the season. Pretty bad personnel management to say the least. Good for the Avs though. I could definitely see the Avs come out of the West, which is about as big a gauntlet as there is in any major sport right now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Jason Robertson is week-to-week and will not play Game 1 vs Colorado<br><br>Robert Thomas practised for STL today and is available for Game 1 vs Winnipeg</p>&mdash; Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1913285381912506709?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It's been a pretty solid season for us tbh. Dorofeyev was always a much hailed prospect and had a breakout regular season last year. This season he's been incredible scoring 35 goals. Eichel has been a great two way guy getting tons of points and Hertl had been excellent. Our four centers are the best group in the NHL imo. Eichel, Hertl, Karly and Roy. They have everything.

Other guys like Kolesar and Howden have been a big surprise with their offensive numbers too. All in all we've been on a great run since the league started again, we're finally fully healthy and the boys are ready to go. Looking forward to this playoffs. Last year we had injuries and gave up a 2-0 lead to Dallas. Can't help but wonder what would have happened if we'd won game 3 after it went to overtime. Oh well. We're in a much better place now and hopefully that shows in this first series against the Wild.

This conference is gonna be interesting. We had some troubles with the Kings although many times we played them shorthanded. We beat up the Jets mostly bar one game. Avs we did OK against too and we had some back and forths with the Oilers and Dallas. The Blues could be a wildcard tbh. I'm not sure there's a clear favourite to win the cup right now. The first round should paint a better picture I guess.

I actually get blacked out from Knights games now that the Yotes are in Utah (****in' NHL :shake: ), but their game against the Avalanche was nationally televised a few weeks ago... hard to tell from just one random game, but they seemed pretty evenly matched, both teams had the ice tilted in their favor at times. The Knights had that short handed goal that seemed to get the Avalanche in a funk for a while before they pulled out of it.

And yeah, I think you could make a case for the Caps, Panthers (assuming Tkachuk is healthy), or Lightning in the East while every other team is in that 'gotta prove it first' category.... and in the West there's the Knights, Stars, Avalanche, Oilers.

Granted, seeded 1-8, the Avalanche and Panthers are actually the 5th seeds. :shrug:


https://i.redd.it/fyxy0c00mlve1.png

I was really hoping that series was going to get a weekend time slot, because it's always on the later side and I end up missing good chunks of it... it does suck for the Kings to run into the Oil every freakin' postseason, but I guess OTOH if it wasn't them this season, it would be the Avalanche. :shrug:

The puck has dropped for the fight for Lord Stanley. Toughest trophy to win in my opinion

Nice shot, but looked like Hellebuyck wasn't in a good position there... postseason form!

Wow, huge goal there to tie it up before the end of the period.... some great hockey bounces so far on both ends.

Time for some Playoff Hockey.

I managed to buy tickets for a concert tonight. That was unfortunate. Hoping Landy plays, but Bednar says we have a healthy group, so it might actually be tough for him to crack the lineup.

Guessing he plays game 3 if not tonight though. The home crowd would go nuts.

What a great period by the Jets

Poor Blues. LMAO

A little Colorado Rye for game 1, LFG! PBJ


https://i.imgur.com/3Vmbrgp.jpeg

Refs seem to be in their typical early-playoff 'we're gonna call penalties this postseason!' mode... a couple soft calls in the Blues game and that first trip against Dallas was even softer than those.


This game is significantly better 5 on 5 so far, too.

Avs score!

Blackwood playing very well too...

Never seen that before... glad they didn't call that a kicking motion. LMAO

Yeah, the biggest question going into the playoffs with their complete lack of playoff experience.

I've got a bottle of that at home. Definitely one of my favorite Colorado whiskeys.

Whatcha mix that with? Diet coke? 7up?

:D:bolt:

Tried it for the first time at The Stanley Hotel a few years ago (that one was 126 proof while this one is "only" 114) and ordered a bottle online from the bar... toured their facility in Colorado Springs a couple years ago, too, and nerded out on their processes and what not.

It's been my undisputed favorite ever since... I even have a hard time trying anything else from them because this one is so damn good.


Tears of our enemies.