Nice! I only follow NHL and the International Ice Hockey Championship ...
My favorite teams:
NHL : San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Phoenix Coyotes
International : Finland, Sweden and maybe Slovakia (I live in Slovakia, so bit support for the team)
For NHL ... LA won it all the way, they only had around 4 or 5 lost games ...
For the International ... Russia won (as expected), but great performance from Slovakia and France was good too ...

I hope San Jose will win next year : )

Hahah, so looks like this season will be locked out. Bummer. .deli.

It doesn't seem like there are too many hockey fans here. :p

The lockout sucks, yeah. But we'll just have to live with it.

I cheer for the Leafs (laugh all you want!), because I live in Toronto!

I don't dislike any team to be honest, because there are lots of good players on every team. It's just when they play against the Leafs, I want them to lose, haha.

I follow SJ peripherally. That is to say, i follow hockey peripherally. My boss, who is from Massachussetts, is a huge, no surprise, Bruins fans. He says SJ is suffering from the Joe Thornton curse. Guy produces nice regular seasons stats but just can't seem to do it when it really matters...

hmmm..... definitely not many hockey fans here at all... anyway, I'm a Tampa fan. I know, many don't even consider them a real team but I've been following them since I started playing hockey a few years back.

Sucks that Marty St Louis requested the trade but at least we got Callahan from the Rangers.  Anyway, almost playoff time and the teams (other than Boston and Pittsburgh) in the East are bunching up something fierce to earn their respective spots... good luck to all supporters, unless your team is playing against Tampa haha.

I didn't expect this thread to exist... mainly because people in this forum are from the Asian countries.... but glad to say that it exists.

Like Pluto, the team I'm rooting for is the Leafs... but it is extremely frustrating being a Leaf fan because of how inconsistent they are... for that reason, I don't usually watch hockey as much as I used to since I've inherited my dad's rage and I don't like screaming or hitting things xD... (This only happens when they lose games when you THINK they're going to win... Remember Boston Game 7 in the 2013 playoffs?)

Oooo, looks like this thread is picking up again haha.
I'm actually Hawks fan although I used to really like the Canucks and Sens when I was little. Looks like the Hawks will be nicely escorted into the playoffs this year but I doubt they'll do as well as last year; so many other teams are much stronger this time around.

The Hawks are good yes... and they may be another Stanley Cup contender this year as well. But something about them makes me not like them... not because they're cocky or whatnot but I just don't like seeing the same teams winning the Cup over and over again.

The Sens... well I will never like them because of the rivalry they have with the Leafs ahaha. The Canucks... well... they're not the nicest people around when the Leafs come to town. (But then again, I'd say Toronto has the worst fan base in the NHL LOL)

Which brings up an interesting idea... what do you guys think of having a Fantasy Hockey Pool for the upcoming season?

Yeah, I'd be interested in doing a fantasy pool with you guys. I've only done it once, but it's fun to see who's team rises and falls throughout the season haha.

I used to watch the Sharks quite a bit, but hockey kind of dropped off my radar as I got busier with school. Now that I'm in Massachusetts, I get exposed to the Bruins a lot. That and the Olympics (argh Carey Price!) has made me want to get back into hockey. I'll probably pay more attention when the playoffs roll around.

Thread definitely picking up some steam... so close to playoff time too so there will bound to be lots of rage haha.

Must say not the biggest fan of Boston never knew why until they knocked out Tampa in Game 7 of the conference finals a few years back - they are a good team though.  Also the hawks have been one of the most consistent teams along with the pens these past few years.  Teams like the sharks etc always do well during the regular season but somehow forget how to play hockey during the playoffs.

I understand the hockey rage oh so well as a follower of Tampa - sure they are doing ok this year but normally it's watching them sit back, not play defense for a few periods, let the other guys score a few goals then come out in the third to try a comeback from behind. Sometimes it works but in the long run, is just abysmal to watch them keep losing like that.  This year, they've reversed it as they can't seem to hold onto a lead for the life of them.

Just saw the highlights of the Tampa Vs Buffalo game, Stamkos scores on his own net on a delayed penalty... good thing he redeems himself by scoring the overtime winner.  How bad would he feel if that was the losing goal.  Interesting though - he scored two goals, so the goal in his own net will technically mean he had a hat trick that game.

Playoffs coming around quick - anyone getting excited?

^Stamkos is a great player and I'm not really surprised that he redeemed himself with two goals. Tampa has been consistent for the past couple of years and is quite the scary team. Will they win the cup? Who knows. I think Boston is another contender again... they may win the whole damn thing!

Well... being a Canadian it saddens me that majority of the Canadian hockey teams will not make the playoffs, the Habs being the only exception... maybe it's time to join the bandwagon?

I'd be excited if the Leafs were making the playoffs but... NOPE THEY HAVE TO SOMEHOW LOSE 8 GAMES IN A ROW... .ehem.  

They still have a chance, but it's very doubtful. I guess I'll be watching in the playoffs... at the golf course >.>

Yay playoffs! About the Canadian teams yeah...They're either inherently bad (Alberta's teams) or just decided to tank these last crucial games. Ouch.

Definitely agree with the statement about the Canadian teams.  I was really hoping the Leafs would secure a spot for once but then, like you said, lose 6 in a row at crunch time.  Tampa is very much like that normally, a good team, but lack consistency in the way they can't seem to play 60min (either come out hard and out of steam or come out dreary then try to catch up).  They used to also like losing crucial games in a row.  Just glad this year they are going to make it (the last time was a fluke considering how they played).

Also agree with Boston yet again being the one the beat. As much as I'ld like Tampa to take home another cup, truth is, Boston is such a good team.

The hockey media over here has been buzzing quite a bit with the firing of Canucks' GM + president Mike Gillis and the hiring of Trevor Linden as president. I remember watching Linden when he was playing, pretty cool guy.

Also, Leafs are officially out of the playoff race. Again.   

.wew. Leafs... they always find unique ways of losing. I guess it's time to join the Habs bandwagon.

As for the Canucks GM, I'm not surprised that he was fired because the fans want his head on a pike xD. Also, it's really surprising to see a Stanley Cup contender team fall from grace in two or three years.

Don't know why, I just hope either St. Louis or the Sharks get the cup (The cup going to the Habs works too! But I have doubts.)

If anyone wants to see what the playoff bracket looks like, here it is!


Go Jackets! #TheDream  

Canucks did have a really bad season this year and when things get that way, changing something is required so the team can refocus. Feel for Canucks fans, especially with the news of Sedin getting targeted and taken to hospital after scoring two (being targeted is purely my thoughts on the incident). Dirty dirty play. Hope he is ok.

Also, Detroit pairing with Boston is actually good as regardless of where Detroit ended up in the standings, they are a good team and are probably one of the few in the East capable playing Boston without feeling outclassed. Should be an interesting matchup.

And yes baby, bring on the playoffs!!!!

Btw, I normally don't get to see a game until two days after the event so to avoid spoilers, I may be prowling less regularly.

Good luck to all the teams but go Lightning!!!

Anddddd there goes my hope of watching any playoffs games again. As a diehard Leafs fan, I can't root for any other team. Though I have to admit neither my dad nor I have ever seen the Leafs win the cup in our lifetimes....(He arrived in Canada in 71, last Cup was 68 if I remember correctly).

Regarding our fanbase....they are the worse in the NHL, they *oooops bad word detected* when we win, they *oooops bad word detected* when we lose. Though they are right for the calls of Fire Carlyle....

It appears that the Leafs, Habs and Canucks all have a very passionate fan base.

First game starting soon... it's so hard to wait almost two days before being able to watch games and having to go into media shutdown so I don't get spoilers. Hopefully will be able to watch the games sooner but most likely not...

Welp... the Habs swept the Lightning...

Yup! Bring out the brooms!
Do you guys want to see Habs and Bruins or Habs and Redwings next round?

Habs and Bruins I dislike both teams equally