bruins30 Patrick Marleau's hot start is something that hasn't been accomplished in more than 30 years. Through 3 games, he has three multi-goal games, making him the first player to pull that off in a season's first three games since Peter Stastny of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1982-83 season.
Like They Were Never Gone
Sick snipes, grousing fans, and all the story lines from NHL Week 1
By Katie Baker on January 24, 2013
Grantland.com
We live in an age when news cycles are measured in minutes and hype cycles in seconds, when today's rollicking glee is tomorrow's rolled eyes and yesterday's scoop is, well, just so yesterday. And yet I never imagined how quickly it would feel like the NHL had never even been gone.
It's been less than a week and already we've had rookie sensations, season-ending injuries, rejuvenated veterans, that old tired debate over the role of fighting, and even, as of Wednesday, a Shanaban. We've had fan bases who have given up on their teams after watching two games and those who are certain their franchise is destined for dynasty status. We've sold out arenas and set recent ratings records. Perhaps it's not how things ought to be, but the fact remains: Don Fehr has quickly become a distant memory.
The only thing distinguishing the start of this season from any ordinary NHL mid-season January is a look at the numbers on the box scores and stat sheets: a few sloppy, rusty 7-3 or 6-4 games here, a few 66.7 percent shooting percentages there. (Not that I'm suggesting that Daniel Winnik and Brad Marchand can't keep that pace up!)
Part of why we've gotten back into the swing of things so quickly is our pent-up excitement after so many months without NHL hockey. (There were plenty of substitutes, yes, but no central repository for the world's finest talent.) Part is due to the condensed NHL schedule, which has teams playing only within their respective conferences, leading to far more rivalry-driven matchups. (In three games, the Bruins and Rangers have already played twice; with the exception of a few teams, most fans get to watch games in their home time zones.)
But a lot of it is just the comfort of the familiar, the safe haven of falling back into a routine — a routine that, for most tried-and-true hockey fans, relies as much on rancor as it does on respect. It took all of 30 seconds for everyone to get angry over the L.A. Kings' banner-raising ceremony; when I looked at my Twitter feed and saw nothing but rage in the opening minutes of the NHL season, I felt the same blissful calm that usually presents itself on, say, a beach or the top of a mountain or in a bar Friday night after a long week of work. It all made perfect sense, even the ugly was beautiful, and everything felt right with the world.
Hey so I was wondering did this technique worked for any of you for the openers? I'd like to make sure this works before I pay for gamecenter, since I'm technically in the market for 90% of my teams games, but don't really want to pay for cable.
I've heard of this strategy working for many people Read more...
There were widespread reports today from paying subscribers that they were unable to load any of the promised live video from opening night. The league acknowledged the issues in a Twitter posting Saturday night.
“We know you’re having issues with GameCenter and elements of NHL.com,” the league said. “We’re working hard to fix & thank you for your patience!”
This is just inexcusable in my mind, after the lockout and then not giving fans GameCenter for free, as was often rumored during the NHL lockout, THE LEAST THEY COULD DO IS MAKE SURE IT FREAKING WORKS ON OPENING DAY. Like seriously, be prepared for the traffic, you're a multi billion dollar business. Read more...
Scott Gomez will no longer be a Montreal Canadien. "Scott Gomez will not take part in the 2012-13 season and his contract will be bought out this summer," said Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin. The Habs will be paying Gomez to stay home this season (a la Wade Redden) as the contract will count against the cap. Needless to say Gomez hasn't done much offensively for the past couple of seasons even when he was healthy.
Does that have to be the worst feeling in the world, you're so bad that a team pays you not to play? Read more...
Boston Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli confirmed that Tim Thomas will not be coming to camp or playing this year. "We'll end up suspending him. He will be on our cap unless I trade him," said Chiarelli. However, he did mention that Thomas wants to play next season.
Source: Official twitter account of the Boston Bruins
The question is, will the Bruins want Thomas to play next season if Rask excels this year? Read more...
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