[GDT] The HANGOVER Part 1: Vancouver Canucks @ Las Vegas Good-Night-Irenes, T-Mobile Arena, TODAY APRIL 2, 7PM PST (10PM EDT), Pull out the Slap Stick Game Game

[Rocket-68]

A Random Hockey Story

Spoiler

The 25 best NHL defensemen of all time

Posted March 21, 2019  |  By Adam Gretz

 

Evaluating defensemen can be a tricky subject because defense in hockey has always been a difficult thing to quantify. Is it just about keeping the puck out of your own net? How much should offense be weighed in the discussion? How much does the change in eras impact how we compare players from one generation to the next? The reality is that being an elite, all-time great defensemen in the NHL is about equal amounts of offensive and defensive dominance while also factoring in that the game has changed drastically from one decade to the next in how it is played. We take all of that into account here as we rank the NHL's top 25 defensemen of all time.

 

25. Duncan Keith

Chase Agnello-Dean

He's maybe the most underappreciated of the Chicago Blackhawks during their mini-dynasty from 2010 until 2015 when they won three Stanley Cups in six years. The list of defenders in NHL history with two Norris Trophies and a Conn Smythe Trophy includes only Bobby Orr, Larry Robinson, Brian Leetch, Nicklas Lidstrom and Duncan Keith. Out of that group, only Keith, Robinson and Lidstrom have also been members of three Stanley Cup-winning teams. He often gets forgotten about amid everything that's said about Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks' other stars, but he should be considered a slam dunk Hall of Famer and one of the NHL's all-time greats on the blue line. 

 

24. Tim Horton

 

Durability was the name of the game for Tim Horton, at one point playing in 486 consecutive games, an accomplishment that is nearly unheard of in NHL history for a defender. He won four Stanley Cups as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs and played in 1,445 regular-season games during his Hall of Fame career. 

 

23. Phil Housley

 

One of the greatest offensive blue liners ever, Housley is currently fourth among all defenders in total points and has seven 20-goal seasons to his name. He never won the Norris Trophy or a Stanley Cup, but few defenders in the history of the league were more dangerous or consistent with the puck on their stick. 

 

22. Sergei Zubov

 

His induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame is long overdue and needs to happen. Zubov was an elite defender and offensive force during one of the NHL's worst-ever offensive eras. His numbers, individual accomplishments and overall resume stack up favorably with any defender from any era in the history of the league. His point per game mark of 0.72 is 19th in league history among all defenders with a minimum of 500 games played, even though he spent most of his career in The Dead Puck era. He was a top-five defender during his time and a top-25 defender all time. 

 

21. Al MacInnis

 

The owner of one of the NHL's most devastating slap shots, Al MacInnis was a monster on the blue line for the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues throughout his Hall of Fame career. He was consistently one of the league's most prolific blue liners offensively and is one of just a small handful of defenders to have a 100-point season on his resume. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy during the Calgary Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup season and finally won his first Norris Trophy as the league's top defender at age 35 as a member of the Blues. 

 

20. Borje Salming

 

Borje Salming was legendary for being one of the first European-born stars in the NHL, helping to pave the way for generations of players after him. He was a gifted, skilled defender for the Toronto Maple Leafs who was consistently one of the league's best players and is still the owner of several Maple Leafs franchise records today. 

 

19. Rob Blake

 

Like Ray Bourque, Rob Blake was an all-time great for another franchise (in this case, the Los Angeles Kings) who was finally able to hoist the Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. Blake was a heavy hitter with an even bigger slap shot who played more than 1,200 games, scored more than 240 goals and topped 700 points with a Norris Trophy added on top of it. 

 

18. Zdeno Chara

 

The New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators both have to be filled with regret for allowing Zdeno Chara to get away. During his time with the Boston Bruins Chara has been one of the NHL's most physically dominant players, and during his peak years was the focal point of one of the league's best defensive teams that appeared in two Stanley Cup Finals in the salary cap era. He boasts a wicked slap shot that is one of the hardest ever recorded, scored at an elite level and was perhaps the most dominant defensive players of his era. 

 

17. Brian Leetch

 

Leetch was an all-time great Ranger, one of the greatest American-born players ever, and a favorite in New York for being a key cog on the 1994 team that ended the Rangers' decades long Stanley Cup drought. A smart, savvy player that always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to make the biggest player when the Rangers needed it most. 

 

16. Larry Murphy

 

Consistent. That is probably the best word you can use to describe Larry Murphy, a standout blue liner for six different teams over two decades. He won four Stanley Cups in the 1990s as a member of back-to-back champions in Pittsburgh (1991 and 1992) and Detroit (1997-98). One of his big contributions to the sport was "The Murphy Dump," a play in which Murphy would clear the defensive zone by lofting the puck high in the air and having it settle at the far end of the ice before reaching the red line, negating what would otherwise be an icing call.  

 

15. Pierre Pilote

 

A mainstay at the top of the Norris Trophy voting throughout the 1960s, Pierre Pilote either won the award or was a runner-up every season from 1961 through 1967. Along with the Norris Trophy love, he was an eight-time All-Star and a Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks in 1960. 

 

14. Rod Langway

 

He was never the greatest offensive player from the blue line, but there have not been many players in the history of the league who were better than Rod Langway defensively, having earned himself the nickname "the secretary of defense" during his time with the Washington Capitals. He was a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the league's top defender, a Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens and is a Hockey Hall of Famer. 

 

13. Scott Niedermayer

 

One of the slickest, smoothest skating defenders to ever play in the NHL, Scott Niedermayer was the complete package on defense with his combination of offensive brilliance and defensive dominance. He spent the bulk of his career paired on teams with the likes of Scott Stevens and Chris Pronger to help form defensive duos who made their teams almost impossible score against. Between his time with the New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks, he won four Stanley Cups, a Norris Trophy and a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with the Ducks during their 2006-07 championship run. 

 

12. Scott Stevens

 

Perhaps the most feared open ice hitter to ever play in the NHL, Scott Stevens was more than just a physical presence on the blue line. He also posted consistently dominant offensive numbers and along with Scott Niedermayer and Martin Brodeur was the foundation for the New Jersey Devils' glory days when they won three Stanley Cups between 1994 and 2003. Amazingly, though, for as dominant as Stevens was all over the ice, he never once won the Norris Trophy. 

 

11. Brad Park

 

Brad Park simply played in the wrong era. At the start of his career when he was a member of the New York Rangers, he was constantly in the shadow of Boston Bruins defender Bobby Orr and a consistent runner-up to him in the Norris Trophy voting. When Orr retired, Park ended up moving on Boston to replace him as the Bruins' new franchise defender only to then be stuck behind Denis Potvin. He was a runner-up in the Norris voting six times (to Orr or Potvin every single time) and a top-five finisher in the MVP voting three different times. He was consistently the second best defender of his era, and honestly, there is no shame in being second to Orr and/or Potvin. 

 

10. Chris Chelios

 

The name Chris Chelios is synonymous with durability. He did, after all, play until he was 47 years old. Chelios was one of the most intimidating and frustrating players to play against in NHL history, winning three Norris Trophies and helping to lead three different teams to four Stanley Cup Final appearances. His name is on the Stanley Cup three different times, once as a member of the Montreal Canadiens and twice as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. 

 

9. Erik Karlsson

 

He's the most dominant defender of his era, and I think one of the top five players of his era after Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and eventually Connor McDavid. He is one of the most impactful offensive players the position has seen since the days of Bobby Orr if you take into account how low the scoring has been in his era. He is already a two-time Norris Trophy winner, but there is a strong argument to be made that he probably should have won at least two more. He took an undermanned Ottawa Senators team to within one game (a double OT Game 7 loss on the road to an eventual back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion) of the Stanley Cup Final while basically playing on one foot. He was so good that year he actually earned Conn Smythe Trophy votes despite not even playing in the Stanley Cup Final. 

 

8. Chris Pronger

 

The best way to describe Chris Pronger's dominance is like this: Every team he joined after his first two years in Hartford became an immediate Stanley Cup contender. The Blues were one of the best teams in the league throughout his tenure there, only to lose every year because their goaltending was never good enough. He went to Edmonton in 2005-06, and the Oilers went to the Stanley Cup Final. The next year he went to Anaheim and led that team to a Stanley Cup championship alongside Scott Niedermayer. Two years later he went to Philadelphia and immediately helped lead the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final. He's a mountain of a man who could score, play the most physical game in the league and log massive minutes every night. 

 

7. Paul Coffey

 

Paul Coffey put up numbers as a defender that really only Bobby Orr could match. Coffey also had the luxury of playing behind two of the greatest forwards of all time (Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux) throughout his prime years in the league, but don't mistake that as him just being a passenger riding shotgun alongside some hockey legends. His arrival in Pittsburgh to join Lemieux is one of the biggest turning points in that franchise's history and gave No. 66 his first-ever superstar teammate to help put the organization at a championship level. 

 

6. Denis Potvin

 

The captain of the 1980s New York Islanders dynasty, Denis Potvin was an offensive force, topping the 20-goal mark nine different times in his career, including three 30-goal seasons. He also scored at least 17 goals three other times, including a 19-goal season in only 77 games. Potvin is one of the most dominant offensive blue liners ever. 

 

5. Larry Robinson

 

Say whatever you want about plus/minus as an evaluating tool for players, but when you are a plus-120 like Larry Robinson was during the 1976-77 season and a plus-722 for your career, there is a good chance you were a truly dominant player and an all-time great. Robinson won six Stanley Cups with the Canadiens, including four in a row as part of their 1970s dynasty.

 

4. Nicklas Lidstrom

 

He was the foundation of the Detroit Red Wings organization for two decades, a four-time Stanley Cup champion, a seven-time Norris Trophy winner and a Conn Smythe winner as playoff MVP. His all-around play is what every young defender who enters the league strives to be but will never be able to duplicate. His retirement marked the end of the Red Wings' run of dominance in the NHL, and they have never been able to come close to replacing what he provided. 

 

3. Ray Bourque

 

Ray Bourque was a nearly unmatched combination of offensive dominance, shutdown defense and incredible longevity. He scored at least 10 goals in 20 of his 21 seasons in the NHL (he scored seven at the age of 40 in his last year in the NHL, when he was still playing more than 26 minutes per night) and won seven Norris Trophies. The only bad thing Boston fans can say about his career is that he never had a chance to lift the Stanley Cup as a member of the Bruins. He finally earned that chance as a member of the Colorado Avalanche after accepting a trade at the age of 39, two decades into his career. 

 

2. Doug Harvey

 

Before Bobby Orr took over as the NHL's dominant defender, Doug Harvey was the player at the top of the league's hierarchy among blue liners. The Hall of Famer won seven Norris Trophies on the Canadiens' blue line and was the focal point of six Stanley Cup winning teams in Montreal, including five in a row from 1955 through 1960. His skating and passing ability were ahead of his time for his era and made him one of the best and most dangerous players in the league. 

 

1. Bobby Orr

 

There is no way a list of the top defensemen of all time can have anybody other than Bobby Orr in the top spot. No player changed the way hockey is played more than Orr did, no defender dominated the game the way Orr did, and there is a strong argument to be made that he might even be the best player of all time because of those previous two statements. He finished as the league's leading scorer as a defender two different times, he topped the 100-point mark in six consecutive seasons and won the Norris Trophy in eight consecutive seasons. Nobody won it more than him, and no defender has more 100-point seasons. The rest of the defenders in NHL history combined for only eight such seasons (five for Paul Coffey, one each for Brian Leetch, Denis Potvin, and Al MacInnis).

 

Source: https://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/the_25_best_nhl_defensemen_of_all_time/s1__28691828#slide_25

 

Overview

VEGAS BABY! ROAD TRIP!!!! Normally that involves Black Jack, copious amounts of alcohol, certain ballet performances and bouncing from show to show to show on the Strip. None of that for our guys please Tocchet - eyes on the prize, eyes on the prize. Take down Vegas again in Vegas, get inside their heads ... Magic 8-Ball predicts none of the lacklustre "just enough to win" Quackers game ... 5-2 for our Beloved Canucks with goal scorers:

 

JT "TJ Really Dude" Miller with 2

Petey with 1 plus 2 apples

Dak with 1

Mik with 1

 

Canucks have won 4 out of their last 6, with the losses easily turning into wins with a bit of luck/effort/etc., while being quite stingy on GA allowing 3 or less over their last 7. Defense has tightened up once Demko went down. Goalies look to be:

 

Casey DeSmith (11-7-6, 2.71 GAA, .901 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Logan Thompson (22-12-5, 2.63 GAA, .911 SV%, 1 SO) ... Go Canucks Go!

 

Get a win today and Canucks will record their 22nd road win of the season good for 6th most in franchise history - which is held by the 2010-2011 iteration with 27 road wins. Vegas clearly could be an opponent in the post-season so winning will get the Canucks further down the "playoff mode" road but will need a full 60-minute effort to do so.

 

Quotes of the day:

“Maybe it’s good that we’re going on the road,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “A nine-game home stand is probably not ideal. We saw a lot of staleness. And sometimes as a coach, you think of what you could have done different. This trip will help us have that road mentality in play."

 

Media

You know the drill, BUY A TICKET and go support our Boyz, bring your Trombones, Tubas and Xylophones, sadly the Cowbell section will be lacking, and see if we can't raise the decibel level to 140dB's.  Otherwise go to your local watering hole to support your team and swill some beer.

 

TV: Sportsnet Pacific, SCRIPPS

Radio: SportsNet 650

Streaming: lots on various Reddit threads, here are a few sites (results may vary)

https://reddit.nhlbite.com/live

https://nhlwebcast.com/

https://v2.sportsurge.to/nhlstreams

https://nhlstream.net/

 

By the Numbers

Spoiler

 

 

Source: https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/teams/vancouver-canucks-players-2023-24-nhl-stats.html

 

Source: https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/teams/vegas-golden-knights-players-2023-24-nhl-stats.html

 

 

What the Bookies are Saying

Spoiler

Canucks vs. Golden Knights Prediction: Who Will Win, Cover the Puck Line

We have used innovative machine learning and data analysis to simulate the outcome of Tuesday's NHL matchup between the Canucks and Golden Knights 10,000 times, in line with our coverage of NHL picks.

Our proven predictive analytics model gives the Golden Knights a 57% chance of defeating the Canucks.

According to our model, the Canucks (+1.5) have a 65% chance of covering the puck line, while the Over/Under total of 5.5 goals has a 54% chance of going over.

Canucks vs. Golden Knights Odds

We have researched the best betting odds in America for this game, which are listed here:

 

All odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

Canucks vs. Golden Knights Picks

Our probabilities, matched with the available odds, reveal the top betting picks to place on every game, including Canucks vs. Golden Knights. Detailed in our NHL best bets, each and every play is crafted from expert modeling and analysis.

Dimers Pro unlocks +EV bets daily. Join Dimers Pro now to get exclusive access to hundreds of data-driven bets daily across thousands of games, including the ability to see any potential picks or props in this matchup.

Canucks vs. Golden Knights Player Props

Who will score the first goal in Canucks vs. Golden Knights?

According to our model, Vancouver's Elias Pettersson is most likely to score the first goal in Canucks vs. Golden Knights.

Our projections give Pettersson a 7.7% chance of scoring the first goal at T-Mobile Arena, while the Canucks star is a 36.8% chance of netting an anytime goal.

First Goal Scorer Predictions

Vancouver Canucks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.dimers.com/news/vancouver-canucks-vs-vegas-golden-knights-prediction-odds-nhl-picks-422024

 

Matchup Info

Spoiler

 

 

Demko making the road trip but won't be in net tonight, DOH! Casey "0.911 Sv Ptg" DeSmith it is then with Silovs tomorrow

 

 

Da Roster

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Da Zebras

 

Now for some fun stuff

 

 

 

[Rocket-68]

   

 

$50Mill Baby! Ya Feel Lucky Punk, well do ya?!

Standard rules apply, carry over from the last game as this ticket hasn't been drawn yet so combining the two threads to determine winners split if the big one hits ... my ignore list members will forego the chicken and be satisfied with a 5 lbs bag of prime grade fertilizer .

 

Rules review, just in case:

Spoiler

 

Edited April 2 by Rocket-68

[Barnstorm]

I’m betting on a big Vancouver win in the gambling city.

 

 

[Screw]

Let’s go boys!  Big night for EP40.

Edited April 2 by Screw

[Goal_thecup]

Time to put on the Big Boy Pants.

Remember the beatdown Lost Wages put on us in The Bubble?

Retribution Time 2024:  Git Sum!!

GO CANUCKS GO!

[Bounce000]

All the Knight IR players 3 hours before game 1

 

[BPA]

Just win

[OldFaithfulcap]

 

 

I don't care how, get the win.

Edited April 2 by OldFaithfulcap

[JayDangles]

I just want to see some goals! Team needs to start scoring in bunches and get some confidence going. That might happen with Joshua back and spreading out the scoring threat.

 

Let's go boys! Start this trip out with a Dub!

 

GCG!

[Canadian_Kanga]

Game day!

 

Let's see some crisp passing and lot's 'o goals (and great defense)

 

go nucks go!

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[Rip The Mesh]

               Help, Help! The Canucks are coming.  

     

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[Googlie]

Interesting take - can Vegas overtake Canucks?

 

 

[DeNiro]

50 minutes ago, JayDangles said:

I just want to see some goals! Team needs to start scoring in bunches and get some confidence going. That might happen with Joshua back and spreading out the scoring threat.

 

Let's go boys! Start this trip out with a Dub!

 

GCG!

Still think we have too much of our scoring in the top 6. Need to spread some of it down to the bottom 6. Otherwise we’re much easier to shut down.

 

We were successful earlier in the season because we were getting scoring from our third and fourth lines.

 

Time to move Hoglander back down there. He’s already shown he can score from anywhere. 
 

 

Edited April 2 by DeNiro

[HKSR]

Y'know... the way the Canucks have been playing, I haven't felt very confident in their game... but then I look at the results, and in the last 12 games, the Canucks are 8-3-1.  They're getting the job done.  Of those 12 games, in 9 of them, they've let in 2 goals or less.  At some point, you gotta figure the offence is gonna start clicking again.  Add that up, and I think the boys are actually in better shape than we think. 

[27 Percent]

Let's dagger this team. Want to see Petey with some jump and some more success on the PP.

 

Big game before playoffs. Lfg

 

Also no injuries pls.

[Googlie]

59 minutes ago, JayDangles said:

I just want to see some goals! Team needs to start scoring in bunches and get some confidence going. That might happen with Joshua back and spreading out the scoring threat.

 

Let's go boys! Start this trip out with a Dub!

 

GCG!

 

Vegas has conceded just 1 goal in 5 of their last 8 games as Hanifin and Mantha have absorbed their systems.

 

You're right ... we need to learn how to score again !!

[Barnstorm]

7 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Y'know... the way the Canucks have been playing, I haven't felt very confident in their game... but then I look at the results, and in the last 12 games, the Canucks are 8-3-1.  They're getting the job done.  Of those 12 games, in 9 of them, they've let in 2 goals or less.  At some point, you gotta figure the offence is gonna start clicking again.  Add that up, and I think the boys are actually in better shape than we think. 

Gotta accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative!

 

 

[MathIsFun]

9 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Y'know... the way the Canucks have been playing, I haven't felt very confident in their game... but then I look at the results, and in the last 12 games, the Canucks are 8-3-1.  They're getting the job done.  Of those 12 games, in 9 of them, they've let in 2 goals or less.  At some point, you gotta figure the offence is gonna start clicking again.  Add that up, and I think the boys are actually in better shape than we think. 

Yes you're correct. We want every game to be a 5-0 shutout or we're not happy!

[Redhdlois]

 

 

[RJCF96]

1 hour ago, HKSR said:

Y'know... the way the Canucks have been playing, I haven't felt very confident in their game... but then I look at the results, and in the last 12 games, the Canucks are 8-3-1.  They're getting the job done.  Of those 12 games, in 9 of them, they've let in 2 goals or less.  At some point, you gotta figure the offence is gonna start clicking again.  Add that up, and I think the boys are actually in better shape than we think. 

According to Money Puck, we dominated the month in xGF, Corsi, 5 on 5, Expected PP (yes, that's a shocker) and Expected PK. We pretty much had an all-around good analytics month, except for finishing, which we are 23rd in the league (we ranked top 6 in the league each of the category above). This is the reverse of earlier in the season, the PDO regression that the analytics community was talking about. If we can start finishing off of our play/chances, we can be a dangerous/lethal team.

 

Edit: Including screenshot

Edited April 2 by RJCF96

[Alflives]

Empties are predicting a big win for us tonight. 

[HKSR]

8 minutes ago, RJCF96 said:

According to Money Puck, we dominated the month in xGF, Corsi, 5 on 5, Expected PP (yes, that's a shocker) and Expected PK. We pretty much had an all-around good analytics month, except for finishing, which we are 23rd in the league (we ranked top 6 in the league each of the category above). This is the reverse of earlier in the season, the PDO regression that the analytics community was talking about. If we can start finishing off of our play/chances, we can be a dangerous/lethal team.

Excellent.  Let's hope the results catch up to the analytics in Round 1 Game 1.

[JayDangles]

35 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

Still think we have too much of our scoring in the top 6. Need to spread some of it down to the bottom 6. Otherwise we’re much easier to shut down.

 

We were successful earlier in the season because we were getting scoring from our third and fourth lines.

 

Time to move Hoglander back down there. He’s already shown he can score from anywhere. 
 

 

Exactly. I do think part of the reason the top 6 is only giving us 1-2 goals a game (max) is that our 3rd line disappeared when Joshua went down, and our 4th has never been a threat.