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And my point is proven. You may have been unfairly attacked, but you bring it among yourself given your posting history regarding this. And you don't know when to stop, or you do and you just enjoy the show and continuously getting dumped on. I don't feel sorry for you one bit.

May 2007- Balsille is reported to have struck a tentative deal with the Predators. The Preds stop wearing mustard-coloured uniforms. Not only does he have the midas touch, he also has fashion sense.

The problem is the team wasn't even close to the defensively responsible team of old most of the year. Howard has done a lot with little.

You have no idea who you are dealing with here (in terms of Carman's attention whoring and trolling, not Frozen-Man). He brings any backlash towards him amongst himself and pretty much all of it is warranted, he doesn't know when to stop. And to the original poster, I can understand disliking teams and the like as it is natural, but your disliking goes to hatred and obsessive. The kind of hatred that I'd be afraid to be associated with if I was a friend of yours when quite frankly I don't feel that there is much of a hatred of the Washington Capitals in general from a majority of fans, if at all. Fans and team are not always necessarily mutually exclusive. And, you can simply not watch Capital games on TV or go to them live. Easy solution.

I cannot stand the Capitals because of one person, and one person only. Bruce Boudreau. I cannot stand how he looks, acts, speaks, whines, eats, and most of all coaches. He's never going to have successful in the playoffs until he instills at least some defensive mind into his top players. Backstrom could be so much better of an overall player if he had a different coach...

Don't wanna be a buzzkiller now that wings getting all the points and playing good, but i'm one of them who always look for things to improve... Facts (good and bad): - Wings top2 lines are probably as good as there is, we've seen since the olympics break that they can really dominate games - Wings third line has 2 underachievers and one brilliant player that succeeded all expectations and extremely important to the pk, this line has been caught up in their own zone many times, williams is very bad defensively not to talk about his mobility on the 2ndpp (SOOOO SLOW compared to kronwall) - Wings fourth line has two brilliant speedsters and pk player and one redundant player, the redundant player is draper of course. - Wings defense is really good, the third pair as it plays now is as good as one can expect from a third pair in the nhl, the offense from kronwall&stuart leaves some to be desired because the forward line that plays with lidstrom-rafalski usually end up scoring most of the points. - 2nd pp unit is baaaaaaaad, replace williams with ericsson or stuart? the right hand shot at point is overrated and the first pp-unit has a right hand so. Summary: It feels like teams like San Jose, Chicago, Vancouver has more depth at forward and will outplay the wings in a 7game series, especially the third lines. Solutions: - Come playoffs... Bring up abdelkader and replace him with Draper - Somehow pray and hope Cleary plays like last years cleary with 9-10 playoffs goals if i remember correctly and very good overall - Williams...a big questionmark.. .can he be replaced? Should miller play center even though he's bad at faceoffs and not a natural center? (I wrote this in a few mins spelling errors and whatnot might occur)

Hey all. Just cooked up a little GDT graphic (I need to get some practice in with Photoshop for a class I'm in, so I'm a work in progress) for the important games going on tonight. Very winnable games for L.A. and Nashville, but here's to hoping that these two teams on the outside looking in can lend the Wings a hand tonight. Edit: Included standings

Am I the only one who thinks there could be a good chance we see Ozzie in net tomorrow against the Oilers? I'd love to see Babcock continue to start Howard while he's on a hot streak, but with only a handfull of games left and Babcock's quotes about Ozzie seeing playing time before the season ends, I think we might see Osgood starting tomorrow. The implications of this could be puzzling. If Ozzie comes out and somehow realizes that this is his best chance to become a playoff staple again and really shines, do you think we could see Ozzie starting more games to close out the season or even become the starting goaltender in the playoffs? More importantly, considering what Osgood's done the past two playoffs, is it a foregone conclusion that Howard's the starting goaltender come the playoffs? I think we've seen a changing of the guard in Detroit this year and I'm ecstatic to see Howard playing so well. I just feel like he's much quicker on his lateral movements and gives the team the best chance to win now, but we also saw Ty Conklin really shine last year in the regular season, only to be surpassed by Osgood in April.

Cindy, Sandy, Candy.... He is a great player, yet a bad attitude and has a lot go growing up to do.

I'm not sure if you're being serious or not. Hell does anyone know when you're being serious? Like it or not you've built a reputation on here and you have to live with it. If you're really that passionate about discussion then you would simply hit the reset button, drop the shtick and get a new user name.

Which would be a good thing because then the rest of the league could stop babysitting one more franchise. Those franchises aren't fooling anyone... they are not profitable. If the NHL ever wants to stop being a Mickey Mouse league they need to first admit that they are... like how alcoholics need to first admit they have a problem before they recover.

Coincidence. While it's a topic of discussion: I think Balsille is an ideal owner for an NHL franchise. He has bottomless pockets, loves the game and a proper business sense.. something that got him in trouble when he approached the Phoenix situation somewhat underhanded. I just can't believe that guy doesn't own Nashville, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Atlanta, Columbus or one of the Floridian franchises yet.

Have you been to any other NHL arenas? What you describe is widespread, not just in Washington. Try attending a game in Chicago, or Anaheim. Your entire argument makes no sense to me. You are angry that the Caps have a substantial fanbase instead of a half-full arena. This entire baseless tirade screams of inane jealously more than anything else. You use false examples like the 'fans' (as if they are one singular entity, every single person shouting together [yet also say all the bandwagoners are on their blackberrys not paying attention])screaming for diving on a high stick. Did this actually happen? Or are you just creating the context of an overgeneralized example of the things that happen in EVERY single NHL arena? As I said in my earlier post... stop going to the games if you are this sensitive about fans being fans. Get over it, man.

Yet you love Crosby? I'm not one to say that Crosby is not talented, he is exceedingly talented BUT in my mind there is doubt he is a whiner. Remember when he asked the refs to make an announcement for people to stop throwing hats onto the ice after Ovechkin's goal?

Who knows how Jimmy will react to the pressures of the playoffs. At the very least he will have more than competent defensman in front of him who should soften the burden. Also, I would prefer Jimmy in net to Luongo, but that's just me. I think Loo is quite overrated.

Yeah, Kipper isn't that good, Calgary. Given his 70-plus game workload every year and the fact he hasn't gotten them out of the first round in five years, he's a bigger question mark than J-Ho if the Flames can't get into the playoffs. But there is nothing like Lames fans and their love of their acrobatic but perpetually tired goaltender. Bryzgalov hasn't played in the playoffs in three years and Luongo's last experience in the playoffs saw him Cloutier the Hawks into the WCF. I don't understand how any team in the West can claim their goaltending is any less of a question mark than anyone else's. Especially in an Olympic year where both Luongo and Kiprusoff didn't have the break that Howard had. If the Wings lose in the playoffs, I'm pretty sure it won't be because of goaltending. For me, at least, it really hasn't been an issue in the post-season since Legace left.

I live in Baltimore now and only go when the Wings are playing them. I absolutely hate going to that arena. I've been there before Ovechkin and it was truly a great place to see a game, but everything from the unruly, obnoxious, bandwagon fans, to the goal horn annoys me now. I also think Joe Beninati has a horrdenous voice. I'd rather listen to Mickey Redmond talk about those "gosh darn composite sticks" for the entire 60 minutes than hear anything that that midget has to say. I guess Ken Daniels has spoiled me

I hope it's not serious, that could make San Jose a real contender this year.

Completely different. I wasn't aware of the injuries Bertuzzi has struggled with on and off over the last couple of years. Iginla does not know how to play in the defensive zone, he has become really weak along the boards, turns over the puck almost every shift, and he can't skate anymore. The only thing he seems to have left is his ability to pass and his quick release (best in the NHL). Unfortunately his ability to pass usually leads to interceptions because he lacks the hockey sense he once had. I still love the guy, but it just isn't the same Iginla. He is not a powerforward, he is a sniper that has no one to pass him the puck, and even if he did he would still turn the puck over. I'm hoping it's an off year, I'm hoping it has all to do with a lack of number one center (confidence, motivation). It would be great seeing him go to Boston. Edit: Despite my absolute hate for Franzen, Holmstrom, Kronwall, and Stuart; I would probably cheer for the Wings if Iginla played for them.

Why this hasn't been done already is beyond me. The marketing practically writes itself.

Rangers vs. Devils, Yankee Stadium. Voilà.

Well that will completely suck if its the Pens again. You'll have a lot of upset GMs & Teams as well if this happens.

Minnesota vs. Colorado? I'd watch in a heartbeat. And I'm not particularly a fan of either of those teams. Pittsburgh vs. Washington? Nuh uh. And I'm an Ovie fan. But if Bettman does that, it's just more Pittsburgh bias showing through.

absolute bulls*** and just adds to the already stockpiling evidence that Bettman favors Pittsburgh.

I don't like the idea. I think everyone should have at least one shot before someone gets two. Minnesota would have been a great place to have it. I realize Buttman thinks he has to kiss his golden boy's ass, but this just isn't right.