AROUND THE LEAGUE - 25-26

[donlever]

Speaking of goal scoring.

Shane Pinto has 7!!

[Tciso]

I dunno if this fits here, or in the "League Punbching Bag" thread, but...once again we are the asterix* beside a new record.

Crosby sets Penguins all-time points record in win against Canucks
Forward gets goal to pass Lemieux for most total points with franchise in regular season, playoffs

https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canu ... er-21-2025

*againt Canucks.

[Blob Mckenzie]

So what.

[donlever]

I dunno if this fits here, or in the "League Punbching Bag" thread, but...once again we are the asterix* beside a new record.

It feels uncanny really.

But it has to be the same for other teams?

Doesn't it?

We just notice because it is us.

Right?

Also.

Mëds, Mëds, hey Mëds.

Tciso spelt Punching incorrectly!!!

[Meds]

Tciso spelt Punching incorrectly!!!

I've given up on him, Chef, and Blob, when it comes to any sort of proper grasp on spelling and grammar.

But, don't worry Thy Moderatorness, there is still hope for you!

[Chef Boi RD]

Mëds is OCD when it comes to speling mistakes. I’ve felt his wrath in the past and it ain’t pretty. He starts going Muay Thai on you with the knees.

[Meds]

Mëds is OCD when it comes to speling mistakes.

[Tciso]

I dunno if this fits here, or in the "League Punbching Bag" thread, but...once again we are the asterix* beside a new record.

It feels uncanny really.

But it has to be the same for other teams?

Doesn't it?

We just notice because it is us.

Right?

Also.

Mëds, Mëds, hey Mëds.

Tciso spelt Punching incorrectly!!!

Fubck you. Everyone knows the "b" is silent.

My typing skills on my phone really suck. I miss my blackberry for texting.

[Chef Boi RD]

Celebrini is a far super player than Bedard.

Bedard is Trevor Zegras 2.0

[2Fingers]

Celebrini is a far super player than Bedard.

Bedard is Trevor Zegras 2.0

I don’t know you thought that RD.

[donlever]

Celebrini may be better than Bedard in the end (long, long way to go) but Bedard will not be Zegras 2.0.

[Chef Boi RD]

There is a major difference when watching the Sharks and Blackhawks games. Celebrini you notice all the time, always doing something impressive almost every shift no matter what part of the ice, the absolute complete package. Bedard, you hardly notice him 5 on 5, he’s easy to handle (to take out of the game) and the only time you really notice any affectiveness from him is on the PP or on 2 on 1’s, breakaways. I don’t know, every time I watch Bedard I find him to be very underwhelming. The same cannot be said of Celebrini.

5 on 5 seems to be Bedard’s biggest problem. He can’t seem to separate himself. He’s definitely not a play driver like Celebrini. Macklin seems to dictate the play every shift. Very smart. Bedard will impress you in practices, drills and skill competitions.

[donlever]

Thanks for the more thorough explanation of your point.

Far better than the Celebrini rules Bedard drools option.

I am not debating your theorem, Macklin appears the long term better player currently.

I do see improvements in Bedards game and a player who is more involved so far this season.

I'm going to.give him some time to figure it out.

Hell, we waited over 100 games for EP40 to find his form at 25/26 y/o.

Bedard is only 20.

[Meds]

Thanks for the more thorough explanation of your point.

Far better than the Celebrini rules Bedard drools option.

I am not debating your theorem, Macklin appears the long term better player currently.

I do see improvements in Bedards game and a player who is more involved so far this season.

I'm going to.give him some time to figure it out.

Hell, we’ve been waiteding over 100 games for EP40 to find his form at 25/26 y/o.

Bedard is only 20.

Fixed for accuracy (5 games does not a return to form make).

[UWSaint]

The bigger picture looking around our corner of the league...

Vegas looks good, kind of like everyone thought they would. Seattle's 12 points in 9 games is a nice start, but they haven't scored more than their opponents, haven't looked as good as the 5-2-2 record, and while Daccord could lead the team to the kind of year the Flames had last season, its really hard to imagine anything better. The flaws stalwarts like the Kings and Oilers have shown are the ones objective observers preseason would have stated as "constructive criticism" for teams that *should* be playoff teams but are imperfectly constructed and it could bite them in the butt. (Especially the Kings). The Ducks are 4-3-1 -- not bad, right? -- but are 0-2 against teams that were in the playoffs last year and still have more question marks that answers when it comes to being considered a playoff team. The Sharks know that their only role this season is internal improvement and spoiler -- and with those low "outcome" expectations fans get their kicks off of seeing their young players show glimpses of what they will do once the team has enough experience and horses to care about wins and losses again. The Flames, well, ouch.

My point in all of this is that as Canucks fans and the media and what not deconstruct the flaws of this team, bear in mind that the team is playing in a division where every potential playoff team outside of Vegas can be similarly deconstructed, and has roster gaps and patterns of play that could get in the way of a playoff spot.

I think it typically takes until about American Thanksgiving before teams adjust to who they've brought in (players/coaches), who they've lost, guys with improved skills, guys with diminishing skills, and how to put it all together to play about as optimally (and in the regular season, sustainably) as injuries will permit. During those first 20 games or so, some teams find themselves taking advantage of this process and stockpiling more points than they would otherwise reasonably expect, some teams dig themselves a huge hole. But in the Pacific Division it seems to me that "so far" no one is really taking advantage of growing pains and building themselves an advantage that they can fall back on as the rest of the league sorts itself out (as the Canucks did as a developing team in 2019-20). And honestly, the start the division has had seems to confirm this is a pretty crappy division, and some shit floats and some shit sinks.

That's good fortune for the Canucks, who have been hit square between the eyes with injuries to the thinnest parts of the roster -- down the middle (Chytil, Blue Gill) and secondary scorers (Hoglander, Chytil again, and if one of your secondary scorers are down, Sushi....). If the Canucks can figure out their line combinations, weather this injury bug, and stay in striking distance, they might just come out the other side a far deeper team than they've been in years. Yeah, they are flawed, but they aren't playing like a broken group and can you imagine what they might look like if these injury adversities build resilience -- the character attribute this club has always had in short supply?