The Hockey Thread.

[Wildor]

This probably shouldn't belong here, but hey! We got a meat loaf thread!!! So...


Any hockey fans around here? The season is starting. What's your team and predictions??

Let's talk hockey people!!!!

[Milonius]

Go Redwings!!!!

[Wildor]

Go Redwings!!!!

Is that all you have to say, Milou?

[Milonius]

Oui. Go Redwings!

[KOOPS95]

Go Redwings!!!!

I here that!

Oui. Go Redwings!

That too! Detroit FTW!

[Kalent]

GO CANUCKS!
I'm a Canuck, and I very close to Vancouver!
GO CANUCKS!

[Kalent]

GO CANUCKS!
GO CANUCKS!
GO CANUCKS!
Soo... Ya yanks think ya know hockey.
Well, we drink beer that you can actually taste.
jk, I haven't drunk a beer in my life.. Of course because of the law.

[Wildor]

Alright.


So you people have more to say and more cogent arguments to make about meat loaf than hockey.

Enough to drive me to drink...

[KOOPS95]

Alright.


So you people have more to say and more cogent arguments to make about meat loaf than hockey.

Enough to drive me to drink...

I haven't heard you say much about hockey, good man. I say, yes. *Trails off in British accent*

[Wildor]

I haven't heard you say much about hockey, good man. I say, yes. *Trails off in British accent*

You asked...

Montreal has such a rich hockey tradition! Those great teams of the 50's, 60's and 70's are practically worshiped here! In fact, it's a common thing to debate about which was the better team. I personally tend to favor the 70's team, with an unprecedented, and never duplicated, record of only 8 losses in 80 games in 76-77! That team had more draws (12) than loses!!That has never happened again. To be sure, the 50's team won 5 Stanley Cups in a row between 55-56 and 59-60 and that hasn't been done before or since! So really, it's a toss up between the two.
I have to say,however, that the best team I ever saw was not a Montreal team but rather a Canadian national team, put together for the 1987 Canada Cup tournament. OH MY GOD!!! Gretzky and Messier in their prime. Lemieux young and healthy. Raymond Bourque and Paul Coffey on defence. Grant Fuhr at his best in goal. And so many others... Coach Mike Keenan had a stroke of genius playing Gretzky and Lemieux on the same line! The sheer joy of watching those two together on the ice at the same time... The finals to that tournament, to me, was the best hockey ever played anytime, anywhere. Three games against the Soviet national team, who had probably their best group of hockey players ever at every position with the exception of goaltender, as no-one ever replaced Vladislav Tretiak (and I ask you, who could?). Larionov, Makharov and Krutov was probably their best forward line ever and Fetisov on defence was so good, he played something like 12 years for the Soviets and then about 12 more in the NHL!!!
A best of three games final with ALL games finishing with a score of 6 to 5. One to the Russians, the last two going to Canada with the middle game going to double overtime to end on a Lemieux goal (assisted by Gretzky) and the last, deciding game won with less than 40 seconds to spare with, again, the winning goal scored by Lemieux (assisted by... yeah, you guessed it, Gretzky).

It's really cruel to have been privy to this. No other hockey game was ever that captivating again. And today, NHL hockey is much like meat loaf (had to place it, you understand...) with the occasional T-bone steak of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red-Wings to liven things up a bit. Aaah nostalgia!!


I could go on and on, and will in a later post but for now, I'll take pity on you meat loaf lovers.