I think Islanders are the dark horse of the East this season.

[mm11]

He also had 2 seasons where was +9 before that age which is better than all but one of Barzal's season (not that +- is a good metric anyways).

Agree. Not a good metric. Would be kinda fun to play the rangers in round one If the hockey gods allow it. Come to think of it, it may not be so much fun, unless the refs swallow the whistles.

 

[MikeyMike01]

Again, wins against Anaheim (who just lost to NJ of all teams) and the zero wins SJ is not a great argument for them dominating

True. But you feel a lot better about blowing out bad teams than squeaking out two wins.

 

[Rehabguy]

What is this dancing around Barzal’s number of playoff wins vs Fox and Zibanejad combined?

Barzal has 6. Zib has 4. Fox has 2. So the same? Not sure it matters, but that’s what it is.

The comparison is just off, the NYI need Barzal to score more but he’s never been much of a finisher while Zib is an assassin and a terror on the PP.

I feel bad for Barzal. Only got to play his game for 1 season 85 points winning the Calder and then it's say hello to your new coach Barry Trotz.

This is Barzal. You don't need to look at a stat book to know who he is. The shackles have been taken off. There may still be a leash but it's not as short and heavy as the last one.



Here's Zibanejad's highlight reel first season with Rangers. It's all but a little over 2 minutes long. It takes 40 minutes to show all the highlights from Barzal's Rookie year.



Yes he's good player, but skill wise Barzal's twice the player.

 

[Peltz]

Do I think Islanders are a contender? No. But are they so abysmal that they can't surprise the hockey world? No.

Dark horse until proven otherwise is an okay stance to take. But I'm not exactly worried that they're going to make the playoffs or have enough depth to advance to the second round. It's early so we'll see how they do.

 

[rangersfansince08]

I feel bad for Barzal. Only got to play his game for 1 season 85 points winning the Calder and then it's say hello to your new coach Barry Trotz.

This is Barzal. You don't need to look at a stat book to know who he is. The shackles have been taken off. There may still be a leash but it's not as short and heavy as the last one.



Here's Zibanejad's highlight reel first season with Rangers. It's all but a little over 2 minutes long. It takes 40 minutes to show all the highlights from Barzal's Rookie year.



Yes he's good player, but skill wise Barzal's twice the player.

Shame on Barzal for being outproduced so badly by a guy who is half the player he is. Also TIL shooting is not a skill. Barzal hasn't even eclipsed 22 goals yet. Tell me Barzal is twice the skilled player Mika is when he does that.

 

[Rehabguy]

Shame on Barzal for being outproduced so badly by a guy who is half the player he is.

Time will tell...

 

[Rehabguy]

Shame on Barzal for being outproduced so badly by a guy who is half the player he is. Also TIL shooting is not a skill. Barzal hasn't even eclipsed 22 goals yet. Tell me Barzal is twice the skilled player Mika is when he does that.

Has he? Alright. Twice is an exaggeration, a figure of speech so to speak, but again we have to be comparing apples to apples. Stats don't tell the whole story. I say give it a couple of years with Lambert as his coach and then look at the numbers again. Remember, Barzal has only been in the league for 5 full seasons while Zibanejad has been around for 10 full seasons. In Barzal's first 5 seasons he produced 314 points. Zibanejad only put up 187 points his first full 5 seasons. It also took Zibanejad 6 full seasons to match Barzal's 22 goals and Barzal's not really a goal scorer. Needless to say Barzal's hands were handcuffed- he had a defense-minded coach talking in his ear and yet he still nearly produced twice the points at the same point in their careers. Let's see what Barzal does with the next 5 years in the NHL unshackled and then we'll talk again. I'll even spot you Panarin and ignore his effect on the numbers. Barzal's just warming up and for now only a point per game player.

 

[nbwingsfan]

True. But you feel a lot better about blowing out bad teams than squeaking out two wins.

Also true, but it certainly isn’t proof that NYI are some kind of offensive juggernaut

 

[NYI365]

Well when we wear these bad boys we'll be unstoppable.

 

[Pure Slaughter Value]

Last night's game is a perfect example of why burning down village threads should only be made after double-digit winning streaks.

Even me, the biggest proponent of the Isles D could only shake my head watching Pelech/Pulock be overmatched, Romanov making a brain-fart that cost a goal and Scotty Mayfield being on the ice for 634 high% shots for the Devs.

Looked hopelessly lost. Devils looked pretty good, should give their fans some optimism for the future after Ruff is eventually replaced.

 

[njdevil26]

Last night's game is a perfect example of why burning down village threads should only be made after double-digit winning streaks.

Even me, the biggest proponent of the Isles D could only shake my head watching Pelech/Pulock be overmatched, Romanov making a brain-fart that cost a goal and Scotty Mayfield being on the ice for 634 high% shots for the Devs.

Looked hopelessly lost. Devils looked pretty good, should give their fans some optimism for the future after Ruff is eventually replaced.

That was the best Devils performance in YEARS. Not even close. But given how things usually go here in Jersey, they will host the Sharks tomorrow... a team they should beat... and absolutely blow it.

 

[GlassesManbad]

That was the best Devils performance in YEARS. Not even close. But given how things usually go here in Jersey, they will host the Sharks tomorrow... a team they should beat... and absolutely blow it.

Devils have some fantastic analytics this year. If they get decent goaltending they should be a major contender for a WC at least.

Last night's game is a perfect example of why burning down village threads should only be made after double-digit winning streaks.

Even me, the biggest proponent of the Isles D could only shake my head watching Pelech/Pulock be overmatched, Romanov making a brain-fart that cost a goal and Scotty Mayfield being on the ice for 634 high% shots for the Devs.

Looked hopelessly lost. Devils looked pretty good, should give their fans some optimism for the future after Ruff is eventually replaced.

Islanders do not have the offensive abilities to be a contender. And they have so many aging forwards it won't get better. I don't see them making the playoffs. Lou could very well get fired. The leash is short now due to that new arena.

 

[njdevil26]

Devils have some fantastic analytics this year. If they get decent goaltending they should be a major contender for a WC at least.

Two games in a row Blackwood was fantastic... Vanacek looked really good in pre-season and just had a clunker in the Detroit game last week... so that goaltending might actually be decent.

 

[GlassesManbad]

Two games in a row Blackwood was fantastic... Vanacek looked really good in pre-season and just had a clunker in the Detroit game last week... so that goaltending might actually be decent.

I picked Devils for the WC. like the team a lot.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Devils have some fantastic analytics this year. If they get decent goaltending they should be a major contender for a WC at least.


Islanders do not have the offensive abilities to be a contender. And they have so many aging forwards it won't get better. I don't see them making the playoffs. Lou could very well get fired. The leash is short now due to that new arena.

I don't expect NJ to make the playoffs but they're headed in the right direction. They look like Carolina before they broke out a few years ago. Their analytics were excellent before the results caught up to them.

 

[Flying Dego]

Do I think Islanders are a contender? No. But are they so abysmal that they can't surprise the hockey world? No.

Dark horse until proven otherwise is an okay stance to take. But I'm not exactly worried that they're going to make the playoffs or have enough depth to advance to the second round. It's early so we'll see how they do.

I think the Islanders are pretty easy to project, no need to label as a dark horse.

If they overachieve can finish 4th in the Metro. I wouldn't be suprised if they finish between 8-12 in the East. That seems more than fair.

Canes, Rags, Pens are the top 3 until injuries or something proves otherwise in the division this year.

 

[nbwingsfan]

I think the Islanders are pretty easy to project, no need to label as a dark horse.

If they overachieve can finish 4th in the Metro. I wouldn't be suprised if they finish between 8-12 in the East. That seems more than fair.

Canes, Rags, Pens are the top 3 until injuries or something proves otherwise in the division this year.

I’m still not sold on the Pens but I think the Caps are done as a playoff team so that opens up a spot for for one of NYI/Detroit/Buffalo/Ottawa/NJ

There’s a LOT of competition in the East this season

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I’m still not sold on the Pens but I think the Caps are done as a playoff team so that opens up a spot for for one of NYI/Detroit/Buffalo/Ottawa/NJ

There’s a LOT of competition in the East this season

Barring major injuries (plural) to their top guys, the Pens would be a surprise to miss.

They have the same roster as last year's team that was good enough to make the playoffs, but the addition of Petry on defense has given them another dimension they didn't have previously. He gives them a defenseman who can actually anchor a second pairing instead of last year their D-corps being Letang and then hope and pray the other two pairings can at least be dependable.

Plus they've got Rakell for a full season. He's given them another legitimate top six winger so they don't have to plug in some miscast 3rd liner next to Sid or Geno.

 

[Pens x]

Lou is well rested after hibernating this summer - watch out.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Barring major injuries (plural) to their top guys, the Pens would be a surprise to miss.

They have the same roster as last year's team that was good enough to make the playoffs, but the addition of Petry on defense has given them another dimension they didn't have previously. He gives them a defenseman who can actually anchor a second pairing instead of last year their D-corps being Letang and then hope and pray the other two pairings can at least be dependable.

Plus they've got Rakell for a full season. He's given them another legitimate top six winger so they don't have to plug in some miscast 3rd liner next to Sid or Geno.

The problem is Malkin and Letang are usually injured. Even Crosby is a good bet to miss some time.

Letang 35
Malkin 36
Crosby 35
Carter 37-soon 38
Petry 34- soon 35

That’s some major miles on those players that I’m not sure how well that’ll hold for an entire season. There’s some very good teams in the East this year on the way up too.

We shall see

 

[severian]

Barring major injuries (plural) to their top guys, the Pens would be a surprise to miss.

They have the same roster as last year's team that was good enough to make the playoffs, but the addition of Petry on defense has given them another dimension they didn't have previously. He gives them a defenseman who can actually anchor a second pairing instead of last year their D-corps being Letang and then hope and pray the other two pairings can at least be dependable.

Plus they've got Rakell for a full season. He's given them another legitimate top six winger so they don't have to plug in some miscast 3rd liner next to Sid or Geno.

Isn’t overcoming major injuries to their top guys sort of the Pens calling card? You really want to take the over on Geno playing 50 games?

 

[Rehabguy]

I was surprised at the speed of the Devils. Possibly the fastest team in the league. Incredible. They are definitely headed in the right direction. That said, there are ways beat such teams and teams like the Isles don't have to face that team every game. If they were to meet in a 7 game series the only way to beat them would be to wear them down physically with big hits and play a grinding game along the boards. The Isles turn up the physicality during the playoffs and they were built to play that style. Can the Devils withstand that onslaught? I wouldn't go by the results of 1 game to determine a season. This was a good conditioning game for the Isles so early in the season to see what they are up against and to get them in shape for bonifide contenders like the Panthers. The rest of the league has to play them too, but do the Devils have the complete game. Time will tell. Every dog has his day. The other night the Isles dominated the winless sharks 7-2 and the Rangers fall to them. Doesn't mean the Rangers are a bad team. It happens.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

The problem is Malkin and Letang are usually injured. Even Crosby is a good bet to miss some time.

Letang 35
Malkin 36
Crosby 35
Carter 37-soon 38
Petry 34- soon 35

That’s some major miles on those players that I’m not sure how well that’ll hold for an entire season. There’s some very good teams in the East this year on the way up too.

We shall see

Right. And the same was the case last year, and the year prior. Yet the Pens just keep on making the playoffs despite every off-season people on HF predicting the new flavor of the month with their young rosters will overtake the aging Pens.

When guys like Crosby, Malkin and Letang no longer perform at an elite level is when I'll start to believe they might miss. But as long as they continue to be elite players -- barring multiple long-term injuries -- I don't see them missing anytime soon.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Right. And the same was the case last year, and the year prior. Yet the Pens just keep on making the playoffs despite every off-season people on HF predicting the new flavor of the month with their young rosters will overtake the aging Pens.

When guys like Crosby, Malkin and Letang no longer perform at an elite level is when I'll start to believe they might miss. But as long as they continue to be elite players -- barring multiple long-term injuries -- I don't see them missing anytime soon.

And each year they keep getting older.

I’m not saying they’re going to miss, but I’m not convinced on them making it again this year. Other than Washington they’re the playoff team in the East I have the least confidence in

 

[Pure Slaughter Value]

And each year they keep getting older.

I’m not saying they’re going to miss, but I’m not convinced on them making it again this year. Other than Washington they’re the playoff team in the East I have the least confidence in

Regardless of age there's no other team outside the obvious that's ready to surpass them yet. Crosby and Malkin could both miss 40 games yet they still find a way to make the playoffs. And when they're back you and I could play on their wings and contribute enough

Can't see the Isles overtaking them and everything would have to go right for a team such as the Wings or Devs to get in over the Pens.