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Listen to Eddie crying

olczyk?

I picture Olczyk sitting in the broadcast booth in a Hawks jersey as he calls the game.

Well, I think this is exactly about some people trying to correlate fighting to winning. Of course, there isn't one, so the enforcer slappies have to duck behind vagueness like "grit". They insinuate that there's some special, intangible "toughness" that can't be measured or specified in any way, but is possesed by all Cup winners, and lacking everywhere else. Anything contradictory is dismissed as "not what I mean by toughness". In 08 our forward with the most hits in the playoffs was Datsyuk. In the regular season we were 25th in the league in hits. 13th in hits/game in the playoffs. 1st in playoff hits was New Jersey, then Anaheim, who both lost in the 1st round. In 02, we were 26th in the regular season and again 13th in the playoffs. So far this year we are 24th, ahead of Boston, Chicago, and San Jose. Last year we were 19th, ahead of both Boston and Vancouver. Columbus, Dallas, and Carolina were all in the top 5 in hits last year and missed the playoffs. Abby is a gritty, physical player. Gets in on the forecheck, finishes his checks. Defensively responsible, wins battles down low, drives the net, etc. He is a lot like Drake, except for the near mythical proportions Drake has taken on since the Cup win. Helm and Cleary are still Helm and Cleary. Miller and Eaves also play hard, battle down low and in the corners, play good defense, etc. Emmerton and Conner aren't very physical, but Hudler was also in our bottom 6 in 8. McCarty played mostly in place of Maltby, then in place of Cleary when he moved up to take Mule's place. Not much of a net gain in physicality, especially considering he only played about 6 minutes a night. In the 08 regular season we had Draper, Drake, Maltby, Kopecky, Sammuelsson, and Downey. This year we have Helm, Abby, Bert, Miller, Eaves, and Emmerton. In 08, those guys combined for 397 games and 538 hits. This year, our 6 have 246 hits in 188 games. Using last years numbers (but this year for Emmerton), it's also 397 games, and 632 hits. There is no correlation between toughness and winning. We were soft in 08, were soft now. We can still win. Of course, it would be great if we could be just as good while also being tougher. It would be great if we could be just as good, and everyone was also a better goal scorer. Or just as good and 15% faster. Sure, there are players that are as good as some of our players who can also fight or are more physical. No one is suggesting that we should avoid those players. I for one am not even saying those players are that hard to find. I would even like someone physical for the top 6 (I think our bottom 6 is fine). What I have a problem with is the veiled (or sometimes open) insinuation that replacing someone like Miller with a similar player who can fight is what will put us over the top. It's silly.

i think you underestimate the douchebaggery of chicago fans...

What has Cherry won exactly?

Don Cherry is cute.

while conklin gave up that softie early, he totally redeemed himself with solid play through the rest of the game. this was the kind of game he needed to show the team he can still bring it.

Eddie Olczyk does a good job of hiding his bias

Olczyk is a ******* joke.

wanna take bets? I say Conks stops it

Anyone paying attention to Cleary lately? He is a ******* liability out there. Has to have double digit turnovers in the last 2 games.

This is seriously the most unprofessional broadcast crew. Eddie O should never be allowed to do Blackhawks or Penguins games.

******* CONKLIN. Why am I bothering with this game again...?

Agreed. Any predictions on how long it'll be before he start talking about how good detroit is at "subtle interference?" or maybe pointing out penalties that should've been called on Detroit. GAME ON! No brain farts like last night boys. Let's go!

Have you people not seen the commercial? Conks is THE go-to guy for making crap go away. He'll be fine.

If you think Bobby Ryan can be had for a 3rd liner and some picks, you need to get your head checked...

Nothing. He's loud, obnoxious, and draws attention, so CBC lets him rant for ratings, basically.

Cherry has always disliked the Wings because he hates Euros. If you have some sort of evidence that not having a tough guy prevents you from winning it all, present it. Otherwise stfu Don Cherry. I mean come on....the guy claims Datsyuk is a dirty player.

I'll just summarize the responses for you here: Crymson: "NO! The Wings are perfect and Holland had nice hair! They do not need a tough guy." Konnan: "You're all just xenophobic euro-haters. They score plenty of points with 'soft-euros'." Various: "Fighting in hockey is useless. You should just watch UFC, you don't even like hockey." Holland: "The right deal just wasn't available, but we're confident that some players will take that next step..."

Isn't there a Wings feed on? I'm sick of watching the Hawks feed.

edi is going to lose it.

All I can say is STFU EDDIE!

Which cheap shots have caused the Wings to be "hurting" in the playoffs? You guys are looking for grit in the wrong places. The team as a whole needs to allow for a grittier offensive mindset because they do not have the talent they had on that cup winning team. They have to be able to grind out wins and push back as much as they get pushed if they want to make a serious run at the cup. The team's problems at grit would be pretty much non-existent if they could do that. Right now they can't. Someone to keep the flies off isn't a be all end all for the success of this hockey team, just like it wasn't in 2008. That team was talented, but could crash and bang when it needed to. Two wrongs don't make a right, pal.

But meanwhile, guys like Lou Lamiorello and Brian Burke who have gotten lucky a couple times are HOCKEY GENIUSES. Right.