1st Night: What did you think?

[Grinder 2]

It's time to weigh in, hockey fans. What are your thoughts after opening night?

After watching a full night of hockey, hockey, hockey, I think I like the new game. Without the clutching and grabbing, there were lots of rushes, forechecking, and dashes to the net. With the tag up offsides, there was plenty of pressure on defence, which made for forced turnovers. With the blue line moved back, the ice surface seemed bigger for the offense to work on and around. Shots were being taken from way out. The stars had the chance to show some dipsy-doodles without being tackled to the ground. The goalies had to stay sharp all game long, especially with the long passes making for some breakaways.

Generally, it looked like good hockey to me, with a pretty good flow to the game.

[warrior37 0]

i watched det and stl, i noticed one instance when stl iced the puck 3 times in a row, could never get a change, gave up to scoring chances, and took a penalty which im pretty sure they gave up a power play goal on, all because of the no change icing rule. all of the men on the ice when the puck leaves the "icees" stick must stay on for the next face off, how about give them 15 secs to change, i dont see this rule sticking around

[Bruin88 0]

ovechkin owned crosby ,canucks won ,saw heatly score in a shootout....it was beautiful

[Chadd 916]

Belfour looked really bad in the shootout.

Jagr line looks very dangerous, reminded me of the Russian 5 in Detroit.

I did see some of the "automatic" penalties ignored already.

The OLN intermission show sucks, they need a professional host.

15 games and none in HD for me, boo.

Much more entertaining than before the lockout.

[Jason Harris 31]

I think it will stick, Warrior, because that's the whole point of the rule -- to give a "penalty" to icing. The NHL didn't want icing to be used to get tired players off the ice. Their thinking is tired players give up more goals, and offense sells.

Regarding the game, I watched the B's - Habs and two things struck me. The play was very ragged; it was apparent that guys may have been skating last year but not with their linemates.

The second thing is some players just aren't getting the crackdown on obstruction because they've grown up playing that way. It was obvious that Fitzgerald thought the hooking call at the end was ticky-tack, but all he had to do was keep his stick to himself and there'd be no call. But, if you've played in the NHL for 10+ years, I guess it's hard to break the habit.

[kosydar 0]

I figured out today that I get OLN in the dorms. I'm very happy. Unfortunately my stupid roommate wanted to watch the Red Sox lose again.

[Chadd 916]

I figured out today that I get OLN in the dorms. I'm very happy. Unfortunately my stupid roommate wanted to watch the Red Sox lose again.

Look at the bright side, he won't be watching Boston next week.

[RadioGaGa 162]

There were a few tentative D-men from what I saw...not really sure how to play a rush (McCabe comes to mind). But once they figure it out, I'm sure they'll be fine. I did see some good hitting. A lot of people were afraid physical stuff would be toned down for fear of a penalty. But, again...once eveyone knows what they can & can't do...it'll be fine.

Not quite the huge penalty parade we saw in preseason (25+)...Most games had less than 20 total penalties called. (Pho-Van only had 10 total...and Calgary only took 4 in their game). Not too bad. Some teams are getting it already.

Attendence was great as well...I guess fans didn't hold the grudge people thought they might:

http://www.nhl.com/news/2005/10/237032.html

...and to top it all off...My Habs won a Division game. *woo hoo*

"Its a Great Day for Hockey" - "Badger" Bob Johnson

[Eazy_b97 1]

I thought the games were very exciting and had alot of flow. What scares me a bit is towards the end of the game they started to go back to the old "3rd period rules" late in the game.

[Rustybender 0]

I was really digging the games last night. My to favorite teams are the Flames and the Wild so you can guess which game I watched the most of. Minnesota owned Calgary for most of the game, I was stunned to see them forechecking. They seem to have adapted to the new rules pretty well.

Minnestoa really showcased their speed.

Very few whistles. The game seemed to flow really well.

Some really crappy penalties were called. (Calgary player carrying the puck along the boards, Minn player about to hip check Calgary player into the boards, Calgary player pushes the puck ahead a couple feet at the last second, Minn player hits him and gets a penalty. Total BS.) I like the crackdown on obstruction, but I hope checking doesn't become a thing of the past.

I saw a little bit of goalie confusion about puckhandling at one point.

I also watched part of the Pittsburg game and got to see Sid for the first time. He had a couple of nifty moves that amounted to zilch. Still, I see potential. I'll be keeping an eye on the Pens.

After the Calgary game I tuned into the Toronto Ottawa OT. Watched the shootout. Meh. I like the no tie aspect, but still don't find shootouts all that entertaining. What was up with Allison on the PS? He was in slow motion.

[jason37 2]

Jagr line looks very dangerous

Indeed

[chippa13 1844]

I'm a big fan of the icing rule. I also noticed that getting rid of the red line really helps powerplays. The puck gets up ice much quicker as teams try to catch the shorthanded squad in the change.

All in all, a much better product was on the ice.

[Dave 1]

An important factor in the new game is the moving of the blue and goal lines. I watched NYR/PHI and the added space in the offensive zone in combination with the reduced clutch 'n' grab really made the game fun to watch.

[DarkStar50 679]

My cable company gave me NHL 06 last night for free tease. I got home from the shop at 9:30. Saw lots of games, different looks. Good to see Canucks vs Yotes. I never see out west, here in NJ. Bert is a horse on the ice!! Who is 20 on Canucks, nice dipsy-do but announcer wouldn't shut up to id player. Oilers- Av's--- Oilers look good with 44 and team speed up front. Fast ice will help Edmonton again. Please send Igor Ulanov back to Russia!! Too old , too slow, sounds like me!! Rink is totally stretched out for long passes, works for me. Av's need some D' men. What's up with that? Sen-Leafs still no love lost, gotta love it. Did Big E get quality ice time or what? I'm flippin' channels, and never saw Sundin on ice. Ok Shanny vs Rivers -- nice right to shannny's noggin before shanny got in a few. No problem with extra 5 or 10 for shanny, once guy is on ice, respect him and stop swinging, show over. For D'men, whole new game in D zone. Will take some time to adjust. at the attacking blueline though, I love the extra room for D'men to keep puck in zone and play alive. Don't have to retreat and give up blueline so quickly. Good rule change. Penalties--- keep calling them! I have no sympathy for the guys that don't get it. Keep your stick on the ice and skate or go home! 20 years of tugging each other around the rink--- what a waste of time!! keep blowing the whistle and keep it moving. Just hope Ducks fans aren't waiting for second coming of Paul Coffey- just don't think Nieds is every everything everyone else thinks he is. And I have watched him since day one in Devils country. Good luck to him.

OK game on!! Remember that battle cry?!!

[ultraman7k 0]

My cable company gave me NHL 06 last night for free tease. I got home from the shop at 9:30. Saw lots of games, different looks. Good to see Canucks vs Yotes. I never see out west, here in NJ. Bert is a horse on the ice!! Who is 20 on Canucks, nice dipsy-do but announcer wouldn't shut up to id player. Oilers- Av's--- Oilers look good with 44 and team speed up front. Fast ice will help Edmonton again. Please send Igor Ulanov back to Russia!! Too old , too slow, sounds like me!! Rink is totally stretched out for long passes, works for me. Av's need some D' men. What's up with that? Sen-Leafs still no love lost, gotta love it. Did Big E get quality ice time or what? I'm flippin' channels, and never saw Sundin on ice. Ok Shanny vs Rivers -- nice right to shannny's noggin before shanny got in a few. No problem with extra 5 or 10 for shanny, once guy is on ice, respect him and stop swinging, show over. For D'men, whole new game in D zone. Will take some time to adjust. at the attacking blueline though, I love the extra room for D'men to keep puck in zone and play alive. Don't have to retreat and give up blueline so quickly. Good rule change. Penalties--- keep calling them! I have no sympathy for the guys that don't get it. Keep your stick on the ice and skate or go home! 20 years of tugging each other around the rink--- what a waste of time!! keep blowing the whistle and keep it moving. Just hope Ducks fans aren't waiting for second coming of Paul Coffey- just don't think Nieds is every everything everyone else thinks he is. And I have watched him since day one in Devils country. Good luck to him.

OK game on!! Remember that battle cry?!!

20 is Ryan Kesler on the canucks. He should be a solid 2 way player with wheels this year, with a little offensive upside. We drafted him cause Kesler reminded Brian Burke of a 'Younger Trevor Linden'.... Chris Cuthbert who was doing the play by play sucks ad Id'ing players...consistantly mistakes them for others...

[McCabe#1 0]

I thought the new rules were fantastic. The one thing I really noticed was guys skating through the neutral zone, and not getting that constant tug from behind. I watched the leafs-sens game(Being a big leaf fan), and I thought the flow was excellent. Very few icings and whistles. I love the new NHL, its played how hockey is supposed to be played. I think the no change on an icing is a great rule, make players work to get it out of the zone. Lots of goals scored from further out then usual, which is also good. The no redline really opened up the stretch pass, and allowed for some more breaks.

The shootout is alright, I would prefer the teams play at 4 on 4 until someone scores, but that is just not doable. I'm glad there will now be a definite winner in each game. I think the shootout should have 5 shooters as opposed to 3, I think 3 is too short. It can be over after 2 guys.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the game a lot more, and please try to refrain from complaining about all the penalties. I understand it is tough to sit through at first, but it will be way better for the game in the long run. It really opens it up, and lets guys show there skill.

[LkptTiger 1]

I'm ecstatic!

I taped the NJ/Pitt (big Devils fan, for those of you who don't know) and the Buff/NYI (live near Buffalo - the only team locals will talk about) games so I could watch them once I got back from a game of my own.

I'm going to be honest with you: I really enjoyed watching the old NHL, even with the congestion and the hooking/holding. There was still some speed and skill to the game, you just had to know when and where to look for it to be able to appreciate it. I didn't think I would be too crazy about the new rules and dimentions.

I couldn't have been more wrong. I LOVED what I saw when I got home last night and hit 'Play.' The game is much faster, and I really, really, REALLY like the new zone size - things were really stretched out and it seemed as though there was a lot more ice to be had. It was great to watch. I hope this continues throughout the season.

The big question: Will the casual fans come back? What do you guys think?

[rausch27 1]

i was impressed , i was thinking that there would be no physical play and it would all be end-to-end rushes, but i was wrong. i turned on the jackets vs caps game for 10 mins. before i had to leave , and ovechkin proved hes the top rookie , i knew he would be. his first shift he crushed a guy behind the net and the frame came off the glass, plus he netted 2 goals, i was amazed at his first game.

[DDude26 0]

The NJ vs Pitts game kept blacking out and back to normal and black out and on... and while i was watching the game it was like in slow motion like a crappy video game. but everything else was pretty cool. i liked all of the goalies trying to make the saves even after all of the goal nets size and equipment sizes changing. I'm very impressed w/ the new nhl :)

[chippa13 1844]

The NJ vs Pitts game kept blacking out and back to normal and black out and on... and while i was watching the game it was like in slow motion like a crappy video game. but everything else was pretty cool. i liked all of the goalies trying to make the saves even after all of the goal nets size and equipment sizes changing. I'm very impressed w/ the new nhl :)

They never changed the size of the nets.

[lee92 2]

i don't know if i like the new nhl or not. i watched the leafs game, and while i liked having very few icings and tons of chances, i think this was countered with the ton of stoppages for penalties. i don't think i really enjoy the shootout either. just the thought of who gets that winning goal bothers me. i'd much prefer the tie. shoot out focus' too much on individual play, rather then the team, and i'm just not a fan of that aspect of the game.

[McCabe24 0]

Leafs were surprisingly good and stayed in the game without Sundin, who could be out 4-6 weeks. Lack of speed will hurt them going forward but if the new guys stay healthy they should finish where they always do if they can survive without Sundin for a while. Shoot-out was exciting to watch but the finish was dissapointing, Belfour got owned twice and was lucky on the Havlat shot. Pierre McGuire is still an idiot, why he has a job is beyond me.

[jibby93 0]

ovechkin owned crosby ,canucks won ,saw heatly score in a shootout....it was beautiful

I don't think you can really compare ovechkin's night to crosby's considering that ovechkin with playing the mediocre Blue Jackets while Crosby and the Pens were playing the highly defensive Devils with arguably the greatest goalie of all time Martin Brodeur.

[Bruin88 0]

ovechkin owned crosby ,canucks won ,saw heatly score in a shootout....it was beautiful

I don't think you can really compare ovechkin's night to crosby's considering that ovechkin with playing the mediocre Blue Jackets while Crosby and the Pens were playing the highly defensive Devils with arguably the greatest goalie of all time Martin Brodeur.

yeah but look at ovechkins teammates and then crosbys ,it all evens out

[Eazy_b97 1]

I taped the NJ/Pitt (big Devils fan, for those of you who don't know) and the Buff/NYI (live near Buffalo - the only team locals will talk about) games so I could watch them once I got back from a game of my own.

How was the NJ/Pitts game? TSN teased us with the first 6-7 minutes from the game. I don't think NJ had a shot in that timeframe. I heard afterwards Thibault played BRUTAL. Was it a case of the Devils capolitizing on their few chances? or did they come back and outplay them after TSN cut the feed. I figured Pitts would come out like a house on fire, and they did, but I wasn't sure if they could keep it up. Also who is backing up Thibault?