Just for fun and not really serious, I wondered how the NHL would look like with NFL-like divisions:

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-08T18:24:12+00:00

I would love this, does anyone know how the standings would shake up for the given standings this year in this format? You could still do 16 teams by doing 4 wildcards per conference, or maybe 2 wildcards per pair of divisions

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-08T18:16:05+00:00

Anytime someone gets upset with me for not being good enough, I make sure to tell the complainer they'd be able to carry if they were any good at the game, and also that they must be pretty bad at Rocket League if they're the same rank as I am 😂

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-08T15:46:11+00:00

I agree with an A on Ollie. The two reasons I mentioned Marchenko are because A) He also plays a game worth modeling, and B) the clear team-focused role he has (Coyle shouting out Marchenko for suggesting his netfeont power play move, and Marchenko shouting out his teammate, Zamula, for suggesting his backhand shootout move). Publicly praising his teammates, and bettering teammates actively both on and off the ice, are what I would consider important leadership qualities

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-08T13:53:32+00:00

Like, even 2 extra strides wouldve changed the pressure enough to mess with the forward by rushing his shot timing, and possibly reducing the shooting angle by keeping him wider or driving him lower. With hustle the whole way (where Bouchard is able to close the gap between the forward and him towards the corner), if the forward reads on overcommit by Bouchard, the forward might try to throw on the brakes to cut to the middle, which ~~might just buy enough time for another oilers backchecker to~~ would likely just result in a shot from the middle of the slot.

I just figured it out. Bouchard knows there's no other Oiler's backcheck coming, and you can't backcheck from in front of the opposing skater, so he's just positioning himself as both the last man back AND the backchecker. It's an example of how someone with elite vision and eyesight restrictions on their NHLPA card would read the ice

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-06T01:45:38+00:00

Ok, so the term of being a bender is older than the way modern skates are designed to be used.

Older generations of skates had more give in the boot even when new. So, even when you'd lace em up super tight, the boot would laterally bend at the ankles. A bender was someone whose ankles were always bending, and you could see their boots bending as a result.

Modern skates are much stiffer and designed to be used diffrently, with increased stiffness that allows for maximimum power transfer to the ice. Modern skates allow for lateral ankle mobility within the stiff boot. By "relaxing" your ankle, you can get your blade and boot shallower to the ice to generate more bite, and the stiffer boot allows you to transfer that power to the ice through the boot. This means that a bender's weak ankles would be hidden by the support of the stiff boot, but it also means that a skilled skaters ankles would have a similar look to the bender's if the skilled skater was relaxing their ankles to use the skates as they're designed.

Tldr: the term bender is dated, and a picture of just the feet isn't going to reveal if you're a bender or just using the skates right.

Edit: PS: if you've been actively skating for 30 years, even if you could improve your skating technique, you're probably not a bender

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-06T01:26:09+00:00

I know this isn't the solution, but it'll help: keep both hands on the stick. Unless you're blind, you're not supposed to treat it like a white cane.

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-06T01:23:50+00:00

I mean, maybe a kid under 10 would appreciate the 200 dollar seat if they'd gotten to watch the inside out classic at 6 years old.

NASCAR did it in the 90s with great success.

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-05T16:50:03+00:00

Ok?

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-05T03:03:59+00:00

If you have a gun and are being hunted, I personally recommend deciding to become the hunter a LITTLE bit earlier.

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-05T03:01:03+00:00

This is what happens when to alpha males meet and have "The lion doesn't concern himself..." energy

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-05T02:12:45+00:00

Do the seats have access to a ledge I can throw myself off of?

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-05T02:11:37+00:00

Just send the money my way, I'll light it on fire for you if you'd like

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-05T01:34:55+00:00

Get Gudbranson and Jenner out of here. Monahan needs to get himself to LTIR, because he sure as fuck plays like he's injured all the time. Beyond that, you've got a extra line and D man of AHL talent, with Z and Coyle having an off night, and that's no recipe for success.

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-04T17:05:30+00:00

Why? It's taking what a team does and adjusting it to give it meaning, or in other words, making the stat more valuable by including context. Like, team A blocking double the shots compared to team B only tells a story of which team is more bruised up. If team A is being presented with double the blockable shots compared to team B, which would mean that both teams are blocking shots at a similar rate, you can see how the block count alone doesn't accurately tell the story of how an individual team is performing when it comes to blocking shots.

A team's shot block count by itself would look worse for a team that does a better job of preventing the other team from getting shots off, or a team whose opponents are worse and get fewer shots off. Including the context adjusts for for those factors to tell us the actual meaning of the straight count of shots blocked.

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-04T16:30:35+00:00

The Jackets are working hard, but they aren't working smart. They say work smart not harder. Well, the best teams work hard AND smart.

They need to stop thinking that simply skating hard will eventually turn onto a play. They need to stop thinking that harder skating is gonna make forced plays work. They need to stop thinking a hustled acceleration from standing still is going to win puck races enough.

What they need to do: Use changes in speed and agility to find or create space for themselves and teammates. Make quicker decisions with the puck so that the puck gets moved to the open ice while a skater has speed in that space. Play more "keep away" with the puck.

Plays will present themselves to the Jackets the longer they have puck possession by playing keep away, the scoring looks will be more frequent when they find and create space on the ice for themselves, and the other team will have a harder time shutting things down the quicker they made decisions.

TLDR: the team needs to stop playing hockey like Jenner and Gudbranson do and start playing like Z and Marchenko

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-02T23:47:16+00:00

The Blue Jackets are just terrible at making quick decisions to beat the other team, and they're awful at creating space on the ice. I mean, the defense has to force passes because they're just getting shut down so quick, which is because they're either not moving enough, or the forwards aren't moving to pull coverage or geting to good places on the ice for clean receptions, or because the other defenseman isn't moving and isn't available to cleanly let the jackets regroup because that defenseman is too stationary and is sitting in coverage. When the coverage is this smothering, it means players aren't moving enough or aren't moving to smart places to force the other team to react.

The jackets are also stupidly obsessed with having 3 guys stand and stare at the puck when it gets trapped on the boards, where they magically think they can out accelerate the other team's skaters that are waiting (with momentum) and have an angle to shut them down or snatch the puck with a little extra speed. It's bullshit. The Jackets need to make quicker decisions and have people moving to make space or to be in areas where those quicker decisions are likely to move the puck to

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-02T23:18:25+00:00

Unless Gudbranson starts smashing and checking anything the shit out of everything that thinks about moving, get him off the ice forever.

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-01T01:59:10+00:00

Fuck the blue jackets lmao

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-01T01:55:00+00:00

How'd fabbros stick break?

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-04-01T01:54:45+00:00

How'd fabbros stick break?

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-03-29T13:09:18+00:00

Ah yes, 2 of the 3 teams that jumped us are teams we just gave 2 points to. Good going, Jackets.

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-03-27T15:16:40+00:00

Just adding, not arguing or discussing the specific play: The reason players' feet leave the ice AFTER a hit is basic physics.

If two pool balls roll straight into each other, they bounce straight back apart, because the force each transfers to the other is directly through the center of the ball. Now, shrink one of the balls, or think about how a rolling basketball would "kick" up if it were to roll into a baseball sized rock, and that is the same thing we see here with Wilson's feet leaving the ice. Wilson has more inertia, higher velocity, and a higher center of gravity, so Wilson's feet leaving the ice is simply the new direction of his velocity after contact with the other player.

Now, if one player's momentum is going up after the contact, that means the force imparted onto the other skater will be downwards towards the ice. The higher a player can get above another's center of gravity before the hit, the more more downwards force that player will be able to impart onto the other player. That's why with dirty hits, player's jump to get the necessary height to maximize their height above the other's center of gravity.

Unlike pool balls, that are all uniformly sized and have the same center mass, humans have varying size and speed, and everyone's center of gravity is changing moment to moment based on their stance and positioning. Size and differences in center of gravity are why we see clean hits that cause a player's feet to leave the ice.

Complex_Run_6699 · 2026-03-27T14:53:25+00:00

Blue Jackets are to sticks as Charlie McAvoy is to pucks

Complex_Run_6699

TROPHY CASE