The 2008-2009 NHL Video Games Thread

[the max]

Oh I've already decided that other lines are going to have to pick up the slack big time. I'm going to have to move some bruisers onto Bergeron's line as well to help him out.

 

You may not recognize some of the guys on my team since I'm five years in and have drastically changed the team. I will * players who don't exist that I drafted.

 

Troy Brouwer-Patrice Bergeron-David Krejci

Nick Antonio*-Pascal Pelletier-Lauri Tukonen

Roman Voloshenko-Joakim Lindstrom-Bryan Bickell

Cal O'Reilly-Freddy Cabana-Daniel Winnik

 

I'm thinking of making a Brouwer-Bergeron-Bickell line and setting that physicality loose. My second line has been struggling big time as of late, 0 points and a -6 in their last four games.

 

I'm not going to make a trade to help though. It does fuck up the timing on my Chara trade and I might be faced with not moving him but keeping him for the playoffs and losing him to free agency. If I do lose Chara to free agency it will be three years in a row that I have failed to retain my top free agent. Two years ago I lost Kessel to Nashville(!) and last year I lost Bernier to St. Louis. Kessel only went for 5.9 million after he sat out half the year. Bernier went for 9.5(!) and is currently 1-2-3 -15 in St. Louis. Guess he misses playing with the BZ.

[JJ Johnson]

Yeah, sometimes you have to bully other teams. I Lupe Velezed my way into a great player by missing out on my #1 draft choice in an ill-fated 1st round/Zhamnov for Holmstrom trade at the very beginning of the year, but then signing a guy with 95 potential in free agency. Then I managed to ship Franzen, Schaefer and Thomas to Colorado for Stastny and Budaj. Budaj has Tim Thomas Syndrome, but he'll be much easier to trade and Stastny was more than worth it. Lines:

 

Bergeron-Savard-Zherdev

Wolski-Stastny-Hejduk

Axelsson-Kessel-Bertuzzi

Lucic-Krejci-Nilsson

 

Chara-Johnson

Lashoff-Hamhuis

Wideman-Sigalet

 

Edited June 13, 2008 by JJ Johnson

[the max]

God is snipering my players one by one.

 

Two more games and Bergeron is hurt (lacerated arm) and out for about a month. Oh and Braydon Coburn hurt his knee. Out until the end of march. I'm in december.

 

*cries*

[JJ Johnson]

What do these bossy bastards want from me when they yell "wheel"? Also, I don't know what deke stick moves are useful and what aren't, and you're sorry you missed out on Tuukka Rask, because he's a beast.

[the max]

Wheel? I think they either want you to circle in the slot to look for a pass or dump the puck around the boards.

 

Deke stick moves are pretty fun. I suggest just messing around with them in practice. Practice mode kicks ass.

 

Ladies and Germmmssss...youuuurrrrrr Boston Bruins:

 

Troy Brouwer-Pascal Pelletier-David Krejci

Nick Antonio*-Joakim Lindstrom-Lauri Tukonen

Roman Voloshenko-Valeri Lisin*-Bryan Bickell

Cal O'Reilly-Freddy Cabana-Daniel Winnik

 

Had to call up Lisin who has 50 points in 27 WannaB games. I thought of bringing up Rick Spezza* who has 73 points in 27 games but the entire Providence offense would probably collapse on itself.

 

On defense:

 

Zdeno Chara-Aaron Johnson

Shawn Belle-Jonathan Sigalet

Trevor Daley-Luc Bourdon

[JJ Johnson]

Practice mode frustrates me because it seems way rigged towards the defense. I have to score to get a point, but they get a point if they touch it? Lame.

 

And they've decided that rather than earn goals with rebounds and one-timers and whatnot, they're just going to start potting them from wherever. Meanwhile, I probably couldn't score on an empty net, if I could ever put my opponent into such a situation.

Edited June 13, 2008 by JJ Johnson

[Angle-plex]

What difficulty do you guys play on? I'm on All-Star and I can't seem to score often as the goalies are impossible. In previous versions goalies and defense suck on pro though.

[JJ Johnson]

I'm on whatever one is below Superstar, the second-hardest. I concur on the goalies. When I do score, which isn't often, I feel like I've earned it.

[Matt Young]

I play on Pro, and aside from a few 3-4 goal wins, my games are all close.

[JJ Johnson]

In an unprecedented display of defensive prowess, I came within twenty seconds of shutting Florida out. A hard-earned 2-1 victory indeed. Now that I apparently have my defense together, I need to work on getting more pucks in the net.

 

 

EDIT: ... so, of course, the game freezes on the quit screen and I have to turn the game off and play that game again.

Edited June 13, 2008 by JJ Johnson

[AntiLeaf33]

In an unprecedented display of defensive prowess, I came within twenty seconds of shutting Florida out. A hard-earned 2-1 victory indeed. Now that I apparently have my defense together, I need to work on getting more pucks in the net.

 

 

EDIT: ... so, of course, the game freezes on the quit screen and I have to turn the game off and play that game again.

 

Never celebrate an achievement before it is official and saved young grasshopper

[Matt Young]

I just held Nashville to 6 shots (1 in the first period) but they scored 2 goals, 1 on a power play. I still won 3-2. They scored the first goal with 0.2 seconds left in period 2, and then my 3 goals and their second were all scored in period 3.

[the max]

I held Manchester to 0 shots in a game two or three seasons ago. My defensemen must have blocked 15 shots that game.

[JJ Johnson]

Apparently every goalie sucks high glove side. Obviously, the key to offense is to go do shooting drills until I can hit those in my sleep.

[the max]

It took me a few months to figure out that I controlled where the shot went. Eventually I noticed on replays that goalies were always playing me to go high glove. It's one of the greatest things about the skill stick.

[JJ Johnson]

I'm 1-4-1 on the season thus far, but, aside from the first two games of the season where Ottawa and Buffalo hung me out to dry, I've been losing 5-3 and 3-2 and so on, so it's really an offense problem now. Savard's really stepped up his game, though, he has three or four goals already.

[JJ Johnson]

I broke the four goal mark in a 5-2 rout of Dallas, with every one of the Av line getting a goal. One last West Coast game (against San Jose with Brian Boucher in goal) and then I finally get a stretch of home games. Seems like it's easier to score in the away orientation, coming down towards the goal. Has anyone else found that?

[Matt Young]

I don't think so. I have my visual settings on "Home Team: Always Up" when I'm at home and "Home Team: Always Down" when I'm away so I always move toward the top of the screen.

[JJ Johnson]

You can do that? Holy shit, it's like Christmas.

[Matt Young]

Yeah dude. You can always go down (LOL2008) rather than alternating between periods, if that is what you prefer.

 

Oh, and you should add me on Live. I haven't gotten to play with TSMers on NHL yet, but I'd like to. I would suggest a short league, but NHL 08's league system seems unorganized and shitty.

[JJ Johnson]

Fuck small, fast teams that are somehow impossible to knock off the puck, by the way. I'm looking at you, Philadelphia and Buffalo.

[JJ Johnson]

If I play as the WannaBs or, in my new Dynasty, Norfolk, and win, do my prospects get any better than they would if I just left them alone?

[the max]

I think so.

 

I've never tried to leave them alone to find out the other way, but I've had guys have huge years in The Divine City and had their overall jump by four or five points.

[JJ Johnson]

Rask and Stuart took 5 point jumps and I didn't even figure out how to play AHL games until the offseason, so who knows. I'm going to hope so, because Tampa Bay's prospects are pretty sad.

[the max]

That's what trades are for. I never end up keeping my draft picks in my first season. They're an easy way to stock up the farm system.

[JJ Johnson]

Good call. I'll probably end up dumping off people like Tim Taylor near the deadline, too, the really old guys with decent ratings that'll net me some prospects and are probably on their way out.

 

Lost my first Lightning game to New Jersey 4-3, but outshot them 60-24. Looks like I'm going to have to call up Marc Denis to play goal. I don't know why their best goalie is in the minors anyway.

[the max]

You have the updated roster, right?

 

Denis was sent down for being 1-5 with a 4.05/.859 in 10 games. He cleared waivers.

 

 

 

 

David Krejci has been a house of fire since Bergeron and Zherdev went down. In the 25 games since, he's gone for 20-25-45. He's making a superstar out of Troy Brouwer. I went 1-4-3 through my first eight without Bergeron and Zherdev, but am 14-1-2 since with Krejci being unstoppable. I might be able to deal Chara anyway.

[JJ Johnson]

Those numbers are fairly ugly, I can see that. Beats the shit out of Mike Smith, though. I'll have to give this Ramo chap a try first. Who do you have in mind to deal Chara for, or are you just going to find whatever team will give you young, fast defensemen?

[the max]

For Chara I want 1st/2nd/prospect.

 

It would leave me with a defense of:

 

Belle-Johnson

Daley-Sigalet

Bourdon-?

 

? = Probably Mike Egener, though I would have to call up someone with a two-way deal which Egener doesn't have. I have a bunch of young defensemen that I drafted.

[JJ Johnson]

I have a bunch of old, slow, crappy defensemen that most certainly won't last the season. January and the accompanying trade willingness can't come soon enough.