stormboy

gotcha. like i said, relatively new to the game. wasn't watching in the late ninety's (i was ten, and i didn't grow up in a hockey family). i'm not sure if you said "it's been cited many times" to be ******-y or just to give the quote credibility. i'll assume the latter. i guess the point i was making was that he's not known for any other skills, including passing. on the team, i'd think that dats, z, flip, mule, lids, raffi, kronner, helm, and maybe even willy will be better at, from time to time, threading the needle and making a great pass, or dishing behind the back fora great set-up, or something like that. homer obviously knows the ice really well -- like someone else mentioned, it seems like he reacts to the play vis-a-vis positioning even better than the goalie most of the time. i just don't think he has the stick skills or agility to make that slick pass when needed. obviously, slick passing doesn't win championships: griding it out does. and that's homer. i wasn't trying to dig him. i'm just saying, you don't see homer making sweet passes the way that you see dats and z and our best d-men do it -- but, like i said, that's not the most important thing, and that's not his role on the team!

+1. babs gets pissed every now and then...i'm trying to remember the game where he was jawing with an assistant coach from the other team...you guys remember what game i'm talking about? anyway, sure, he gets upset. but part of the reason why any pro is a professional, whether they're a coach, player, or whatever, is because they can usually hold it together, except perhaps in the most extreme of situations. imagine if he did that as an NHL coach on an NBC game. oohhhh, the wailing and gnashing of teeth! but, yeah, i did kinda chuckle when it seemed like the players were trying not to laugh. you just. can't. do that. is that true? given his personality, it wouldn't surprise me.

yeah, for *all* individual stats, the game was a 0-0 tie, in which both goalies earned a shutout and no players had points or anything other than even +/- ratings. shootout goals are "team goals," in which one team or the other gets a goal added to their point total, but it is not credited to any player nor counted against any goalie, specifically. i also have a question, though. what i think is that SO (team) goals are counted in any given teams goals for average (GFA) and goals against average (GAA). is that correct? if you like a red wings stats, is our GAA inclusive of all the "team goals" scored against us in shootouts? that's one thing i'm not sure of.

is that true? i'm a pretty new hockey fan, so i never watched cicarelli play, so i can't really contribute to that discussion. i will say that while homer can't skate, can't pass, can't take faceoffs, can't kill penalties, can't deke very well (a few exceptions aside), and doesn't have much of a slapper, not only does he have great tipping ability/hand eye coordination, but -- and i've always thought this was his greatest asset, he pays the ******* price in front of the net, every shift, every game. if "crosschecks taken" was a stat they kept track of, homer would win it by a mile every season. while i, as a long-time filppula supporter, have *loved* seeing him thrive of late, i ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO EAT CROW when it comes to homer. i guess he was more injured than i realized last year, when he did not seem like himself. i honestly believed that he had not only lost a step, but could no longer compete in the NHL. i argued that our team would be better without him. :rotflmao: i couldn't have been more wrong, and i am SO happy about that. LONG LIVE THE DEMOLITION MAN!!! a beauty, for sure, but he probably wouldn't do that again in ten more shootout attempts.

i generally agree with your analysis and predictions, and though you can't get any closer than a wings in seven series against chicago (so i'm not disagreeing with you) that series could go either way so easily. i honestly wouldn't be too surprised if either team won the series 4-1 or 4-2. i don't get to watch many wings games because of my work schedule much less any out of town games (i think i've watched two all season), so i don't have as good of a read on our opposition. (when i watch chicago play, it's always against the wings, so if we loose, i see what we did wrong not what they did right, and visa versa if we win.) mainly, though, like you said, i am really looking forward to gearing up for a playoff from the other side of the fence (again, assuming we make it, which is *looks* like we will now, unlike a couple of weeks ago). it's going to be weird being the "underdog" that nobody wants to meet in the first round. it should be fun -- even more fun if we win! i think that any of the matchups will be fun -- phoenix the least, just because we have little rivalry with them and, personally, i have basically no feelings towards them. vancouver -- of course there's the sammy dynamic, wings always seem to make good goalies look great and great goalies look like jesus, and the sedin twins are creepy. chicago -- goes without saying: we knocked them out last year, we're divisional rivals, the hossa dynamic will be great. san jose -- every year it's all ZOMG THERE TWO BIG TO FAST AND TOO YUNG OMGWTFBBQ and yet, somehow, we send them packing. wouldn't mind putting a little more icing on the cake this year, though i'm sure they'll be motivated either way, and especially against us. i know everyone says "everyone says 'this is the year' every year, and it's never the year," but i still sort of feel like *one* of these years they have to go all the way, and every year i'm afraid it will be this one. i have those same fears this year: maybe this WILL be the season they actually realize their playoff potential. either way...really looking forward to it! it's been more dramatic this year fighting for a playoff spot rather than worrying about the prez trophy, that's for sure!

the standings being what they are before play on 3-27, the wings are six points ahead of calgary, and both teams have eight remaining games. the wings have 89 points, while calgary has 83. that means that the flames can get a maximum of 99 points this season. as such, if we get to 100 points, they cannot overtake us in the standings even if they win all their games. therefore, our magic number is eleven (any combination of eleven points gained by the wings or "lost" by the flames secures our playoff berth). eleven points in eight games is a record of 5-2-1/4-0-3 or better. that sort of record is not that unfeasible considering our current level of play and our remaining opponents. if the flames win tonight and we lose in regulation, our magic number will still be eleven, but we'll have to go 5-1-1 or better to *guarantee* 8th seed. if we win tonight and the flames lose in regulation, our magic number will seven, with seven games remaining. that's a record of 3-3-1/2-2-3/1-0-6 or better. i did a rough rundown of our schedule this year, and -- correct me if i'm wrong here -- i'm pretty sure we have only not gotten seven points in seven games only three (sort of...more like 2.5) times in any given set of seven games. (that's not starting at one and counting to seven, then starting over -- that's finding the worst possible sets of seven games and adding them up.) the first was november 18-21, wherein we went 2-4-1 for five points. the second, or the 1.5th time, was november 23-december 5, where we also went 2-4-1 for five points. i say the 1.5th time because both of these sets involve the same 3-game losing streak (during which we got shut out at home in consecutive games). it should also be noted that during this three game losing streak, our roster forwards included: justin abdelkader, ville leino, brad may, and mattias ritola (no franzen, filppula, or williams); our roster defensemen included: doug janik, as well as BOTH lebda and ericsson getting full-time duty. the third (or second, depending on how you want to look at it) time was february 3-march 3, wherein we went 2-3-2 for six points. this streak included that AWESOME game against the kings where we went up 3-0 in the first and lost the game 4-3 IN REGULATION. (if we'd gotten to OT in that game, this streak wouldn't even be on the list.) tl;dr -- we need eleven points to guarantee a spot. if we win and calgary loses in regulation, we need seven points in seven games to guarantee a playoff berth. even at our worst, we have only not gotten that seven points in seven games twice this year, and both streaks featured a much weaker roster than we have now. edit: spelling

why not!? you = best. whywho...let's see here. best case scenario: boston over calgary phoenix over colorado dallas over LA obviously, detroit over nashville. all games end in regulation (no 3-point games!!) if that happens, wings leapfrog col and LA and are tied with nashville for 5th! actually, technically we'd be in fifth alone because of fewer games played. LA and col would still both have a game in hand over us, however. 5. det 91pts 7 GR 6. nsh 91pts 6 GR 7. LA 90pts 8 GR 8. col 89pts 8 GR - 9. cgy 83pts 7 GR if this happens (or really, if we win and cgy loses in regulation), cgy can gain a maximum of 14 points in their last seven games, giving them 97 points. thus, our magic number is 7 points. any combination of us getting seven points or cgy missing out on seven points in the last seven games clinches us a spot. worst case scenario: calgary wins. colorado wins. la wins. nashville wins in regulation. in that case, we're still in eighth, but in an even less favorable position than we are now. 5. nsh 93pts 6 GR 6. LA 92pts 8 GR 7. col 91pts 8 GR 8. det 89pts 7 GR - 9. cgy 85pts 7 GR if this happens, cgy can get as many as 99 points in their remaining games, meaning that our magic number would be 11. with seven games left, we'd have to go 4-0-3/5-1-1 or better (that of course assumes cgy wins every game). ignoring overall position, and just in terms of clinching, right now our magic number is 11. if we get eleven points in our last 8 games, we clinch even if cgy gets all possible points. eleven point in eight games should not be hard at all. but, damn, a magic number of seven with seven games left looks awesome. we could go 3-3-1 and still clinch. LET'S GO WINGS! edit: i looked through the wings schedule this year and, that i could find (i didn't spend too much time working it out) there have only been two seven-game stretches this year where the wings have not gotten seven points. one was feb 3-mar 3, where we went 2-3-2 (six points); the other was nov 18-28, where we went 2-4-1 (five points). unless i'm overlooking something, those are our two worst seven-game stretches this season, and if calgary looses only one game, even the worst of these skids will still grab us the playoffs if we win and calgary looses tonight. obviously, my figuring all of this out is a complete waste of time if that doesn't happen.

first part: so true. after that game, crosby refused to gives props to Z, while Z talked about how crosby was fighting hard, etc. etc., even though ZETTERBERG OWNED HIM. you'd think that in that situation, the loser would be giving props to the winner, and not the other way around. just shows how cool Z is, IMO. second part: also true. i feel like most of this year i've seen him not being himself. but he's been challenging the goalie like he ******* owns him as of late. this was one big turning point i saw: on the brian rafalski goal very late in regulation against edmonton, look at his work in the corner against -- i think -- peca. roughing him up, a little cross check when he wouldn't get off the puck with a few seconds left. desperation. will. that's what i saw in Z on that play. and that will has continued on in recent games. with 44-40-51 playing the way they are, if 93-13-96 get going we will be really deadly. i agree. no better time for zetterberg to be gaining form. he's not the fastest, he's not the strongest, he's not the quickest, and he's not the smartest. but he's damn close in most categories, if not all. he's slower than helm, but stronger on the puck than even crosby. he doesn't have as good of a shot as ovechkin, but he's much better defensively than him. when Z's on, he's one of the better overall players in the game, even though he's not the best in any one category. plus, when his backhander is working, goddam me if i'm a goalie. so. much. win. say "what" one more goddam time!!

what the hell? weren't we wondering if fil was going to hit 40 this year? i skipped page to to see reactions after tonight's game, and we're comparing kovie and huds? what the f*** happened? anyway, val is now 11+23=34, and is now +1. he is 4+4=8 and +8 in his last three games. yes, one was EN, but another was shorthanded, so i think they make up for each other... are you kidding me??? i mean, he obviously won't keep this up all the time, and a lot of that has to do with him playing with zetterberg, who is playing *much* better of late, but it seems like they're making each other much better, which is the point of a good line. in our current 3-game winning streak, datsyuk has 1 goal and no assists, franzen has no points, and homer has no points in the last five. and yet this one line is playing amazingly. if filppula and z can at least maintain half their recent level of play, and datsyuk and franzen get going again (they were hot a while ago, and can come back any time), and if we get some odd goals from cleary/eaves/miller/helm, we will be in great shape, IMO. so, to the point, i could see flippula hitting 40 this year, if he keeps it up! let's hope for good confidence and 60 points next year!

that vid is the first i've seen of it. looks like his move was really fast, and the goalie bought it. i think that in SO/breakaway type plays, a lot of it has to do with what decision the goalie makes. in that dats v turco clip, turco made a decision, and made it with conviction; only it was the wrong choice. kinda seems like the same thing here. theo might have thought, "well, he could be taking the shot here or waiting for one more move; i'm going to gamble that he's taking the shot," and, by chance, he was just wrong. crosby was quick as hell and made him look foolish. so, props to syd, but i also think a bit of it has to do that the goalie just absolutely gambled and lost, hard.

hey everyone. i posted this in the GDT but i thought i'd make a topic for it in case anyone wanted it. it's an mp3 of kenny's call of z's GWG the other night. also, while i'm at it, i thought i'd post a link of an mp3 i made of helm's OT GWG in the WCF last year. great moment, great call (doc at his finest -- he's not saying "drive" or "waffleboard"). enjoy. ps if someone wants a smaller size file for a ringtone or something PM me.

while i'm at it, here's a couple more some folks might like. the goal counts. wings win the cup in 2008.

http://h1.ripway.com/stormboy/clearyg7.mp3 amazing play. another wings moment i'll never forget. hopefully we'll get some more of that cleary play this playoffs (assuming we make it)! btw, i edited out some silence between a few bits from kenny to try to get it under 30 seconds (in case anyone wanted to use it as a ringtone), so i hope it doesn't sound too choppy. http://h1.ripway.com/stormboy/hlmcbc.mp3 i think this is the one you're talking about. i don't know the guy's name, but this is the CBC clip i have from the game. to nitpick, i like the way doc says "scoooores!!!" more than this clip, but i do love how the CBC guy (hughson, i now know) says "darren helm! darren helm!" that's sweet! as a sidenote, i think watching wings games, we assume that fans at the joe suck -- they don't cheer loudly, etc. but listen to how loud the goal horn is in this clip. you can *barely* hear it. even in the VS clip it's loud -- at the joe, it's damn near deafening. so it stands to reason that if the horn is X amount of loud, and we hear it being Y loud on TV, that if we hear the crown being Y loud, they're probably X loud in reality. i know the only game i've been to this year (vs. buff, raffi win in OT) the joe was rockin'.

i'll make and post any clips that people want. i just need a link to either video or audio of the clip in question and i can edited it and upload it as an mp3. later today, i'll do the CBC call of helm's goal and cleary's game seven goal. i can't find audio of ken cal's call from the game but i know sometimes they post the audio from the game recaps. my favorite call of all-time is actually not from hockey, and i've never been able to find it in the years since. i love dan dickerson, the pxp guy for the tigers. i was listening to JV's no-hitter a few years back live on the radio when it happened, and i listened to the call of that game about a million times in the following days. i was too dumb to save it, and have not been able to find the audio since then. the end of th game call is really good, but the call on that big double play is, for me, the holy grail of all sports calls. "...gobbled up by nifi perez, flip to second throw down to first --- THEY GOT HIM!!!" best. ever. so, yeah, make all the requests you want. moots, if you want to change the subtitle of the thread to something along the lines of "request mp3 versions of great calls here" or something like that, more people might get in on it.

i think the penguins are a fine NHL team, and look forward to friendly competition full of sportsmanship!

wow, mindfly is a linguist! if mindfly indeed were a linguist, he would say things like, "well, the correct pronunciation is such-and-such, but you'll probably say it wrong and some angry drunk guy will stab you with a beer bottle." on a serious note, that actually is pretty interesting. i've seen a couple of youtube vids where a russian was calling the game (in russian, obviously), and when he said datsyuk's name, it sounded...a lot different than how i or TV announcers say his name. i wonder i that's weird...always having people say your name wrong. but, then i guess...when i spend a semester in west africa, all the ghanaians said my name, which is matthew, like "MAH-chew." it didn't bother me...it was just how the said my name. i guess that's probably how it is. that being said, i HATE when people say FRAN-zen. FRON-zen just sounds so much better to me...maybe that's just because it's what i'm used to.

zetterberg.mp3 delivered.

i'm sure this has been said on here a lot...but i'm late to the game. i had never even heard of the guys who scored on us. never. we have pavel datsyuk. i'd never even heard of their goalie. we have a calder contender. how in the f*** did we lose this shootout? i seriously wonder why we even take the ice for these things anymore. i mean, than god we at least got one goddam point out of this game. BUT HOW DID WE JUST LOSE TO EDMONTON!?!?! i only got to watch the second half, and that at a bar with no sound. but it really seemed like we were carrying the play for the entire third period and all of OT. and yet we come up with a loss.

can i feel free to agree with this, too? they'll have home ice, and the last thing they want is to get knocked out by the wings two years in a row, *especially* when they're the higher-seeded team. i think you've got to give the edge in terms of drive to chicago in that series: wings have been to the finals the last two years, won it two years ago, whereas chicago has not been recently and got beat by us last year. to me, that's HUGE motivation on their part that the wings just won't have. i'm not saying our guys won't be motivated...but i think their guys will be incredibly driven. either way, i sort of hope that series happens (hopefully in the second round) just because it will be great, great hockey.

yes. i'm very glad the subtleties of my post weren't lost on OP.

i wish you could turn water into wine, but you ain't jesus.

wait, is selke "best defensive forward" or "best two-way" forward. because that makes a hell of a lot of difference IMO. but, no, dats won't win it this year. if he hadn't won the last two, maybe. but they're itching to give it to someone else. and with the lack of media hype and lack of team success (and lack of personal success at times throughout this season) they'll be sure to get a fresh face in.

huh. i've always thought campbell was a little overrated, but he's still a significant part of their team. it'll be interesting to see how they respond to this.

oddly enough, we're in exactly the same position we were last time we played calgay: up by one point in the standing with the chance to put a little distance between us. or we can get leap-frogged again. we're not going to get too many chances so we better take advantage of the ones we have.

this. if we were in, say, third place, i'd be more in favor of giving ozzie and ericsson some starts. but when every game is nearly a must-win, you have to go with who's getting it done *right now*.