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flyingelvii {l Wrote}:I still don't understand what you were talking about. I think I just got tired and made myself a sandwich or something in lieu of responding. If the point is around the phrasing of defense versus "defense", then I think there just wasn't a lot of clarity. Regardless, Orpik would look like shit on a big ice surface but that is probably a moot point after Thornton knocked him into bolivian.

I said Orpik was going to make the team and then I said I wouldn't take anyone that played defense for the Pens. Those things do not contradict; I would not take Orpik because he is one of many (though not the worst offender) Pens defensemen that can't or won't play defense for shit - Letang is French for "overcommitted to the offensive zone", but I thought the US would. I made no statement about ice surfaces, and yes it is all a moot point now.

1) Glad we could clear that up.
ii) I made the ice surface comment on my own.
c) I don't hate Paul Martin. Don't love him, but like him more internationally but he got Maryland WR'd so he's probably out.

Schneider did not make the team, but as expected Orpik did.

interesting tl;dr on the process of getting the 25

http://espn.go.com/olympics/hockey/stor ... -was-named

Stepan's selection is baffling. He has been awful this year and the few good games he had were almost always the product of Kreider or Richards (depending on the line configurations) creating space and opportunities for him. Team USA wasted a spot on the 9th or 10th best player on the Rangers. Did Burke catch AIDS from his dead gay son? That is a Cville-level of poor thinking and dementia on display there.

Despite the shit Burke's getting for his comments on Bobby Ryan, he did include him on his final roster submission, which is by far the most glaring omission though he still may make it given Parise's injury.

If I can return to my favorite bugaboo, Derek Stepan's selection to the Olympic Team, I'd like to point out the following. Despite playing on a line with Kreider and Nash, he has failed to register a point in 13 games--Larry Brooks, who is usually a terrible writer, has an article about it today. However, during this drought the Rangers are 9-3-1. When you can suck balls and have no impact on your team's ability to win, it is a pretty good indication that you are not one of the top 15 players on your team. So let me revise my previous criticism, USA Hockey has selected the 15th best player on the Rangers--at best a middling team this year--for the Olympics. Yes, this should go well.

Quick between the pipes tomorrow morning.

Haven't seen but wouldn't shock me if Bylsma split the first two games between him & Miller.

Chara going to play about 40 minutes tomorrow?

claver2010 {l Wrote}:Quick between the pipes

this is what your boyfriends at bci used to call chaz b0mo during their college years

i hope walmart road gets iced in


solid showing by the czechs btw

edit: they must've heard me

Switzerland scores with 7.9 seconds left to take down Latvia 1-0. I guess their Latvian Orthodox faith failed them

Edit - I didn't even realize Czech Republic-Sweden was going on, is it on TV anywhere?? Why the fuck is MSNBC showing Latvia-Switzerland instead of that (OK, it's MSNBC, they're not exactly known for their judgement)

good job, good effort slovaks

How is Chara an even +/- in a 7-1 game? Depth problem on defense?

No clue about Chara, but yeah limited depth on the back end.

Apparently they weren't riding him to death either, 3rd on TOI for defensemen in the 1st

I normally hate shootouts, but that was awesome. Patrick Kane can suck it though.

Kane sucked the first two periods but was a beast in the third and OT, with an especially dirty cross ice feed right in Pavelski's wheelhouse for the second goal. For whatever reason he can't bury penalty shots this year so I imagine that creeped into his head during the breakaway. Really liked Pavelski today and holy shit TJ Oshie has some hands for a power forward. And keep Orpik off the ice please.

Shootout was awesome: Oshie is nasty. This ends the Oshie/Ryan controversy.

Still some personnel questions as far as I am concerned. Kreider would be so much better with the extra ice than someone like Wheeler. I know Wheeler is a center, but if he is sitting on the bench who cares???

it wasn't oshie ryan.

it was wheeler ryan.

commavegarage {l Wrote}:it wasn't oshie ryan.

it was wheeler ryan.

Not according to the boys at NBC. But I would take Ryan over Wheeler.

MaxxPower325 {l Wrote}:

commavegarage {l Wrote}:it wasn't oshie ryan.

it was wheeler ryan.

Not according to the boys at NBC. But I would take Ryan over Wheeler.

trusting mike milbury won't garner you much useful (or factual) information.

he misspoke and i think he later retracted that statement

Kreider would be good.

Kane skates pretty. Should figure skate

That worked pretty well for Kenny Wu.

he should not be on the team. (that said neither should stepan but i get the extra center) who are you taking off? wheeler? ok, but if you take him off you put ryan on as an extra. maybe saad.

and what line do you put him on?

not breaking up kessel & jvr, not breaking up parise & callahan (he's not a grinder as it were), not putting him on over dustin brown with kane. that hodge podge 4th line? maybe, but you're playing pacioretty over him - maybe he's better than oshie but oshie is on the team for a specific reason.

it'll be cool to see him on the 18 team though.

good job, good effort russia

You can't stop Ttuukkaa, you can only hope to contain him.

claver2010 {l Wrote}:good job, good effort russia

Who didn't see this coming, honestly? Some great top end forwards, but not much in the way of D and for some reason they opt not to start Bobrovsky.

My fiancee's family are from DC are and casual hockey observers. As in, they will go to 2-3 Caps games a year because they have been given free tix. I had a hard time explaining to them that Ovechkin isn't the best player in the world or even on the Russian team.

I also think that the US - particularly people in the media of a certain age - continue to hype Russian hockey as if they were still the equivalent of the Soviet-era pro teams. They're not.

b0mberMan {l Wrote}:

claver2010 {l Wrote}:good job, good effort russia

Who didn't see this coming, honestly? Some great top end forwards, but not much in the way of D and for some reason they opt not to start Bobrovsky.

My fiancee's family are from DC are and casual hockey observers. As in, they will go to 2-3 Caps games a year because they have been given free tix. I had a hard time explaining to them that Ovechkin isn't the best player in the world or even on the Russian team.

He's the best goalscorer in the world on an NHL sheet but that doesn't seem to translate to Olympics. I never understood having Russia as one of the favorites when Medvedev was in their top 4. You know it's bad when you can't cut it on the Isle's back line.

What ice dancing moves will Patrick Kane break out today? Or is he actually going to put the puck in the net?

Dagger!

With Nedved and Jagr, the average age of the of the Czech team must be around 35. At this pace it was only a matter of time before they started to run out of gas.