55fan

Kill it, guys. I'm getting heartburn.

no shaved anything- not even chocolate. I'm going to do the beads again. Each goal gets the initials of the guy who scored on that particular string. If the goalie gets a SO, he gets his initials on there too. Hearts on each string that is the final game of each series- 1 heart for each round. I'm going to try to find a way to bundle them this year since they got all tangled last year. Here's how it ended up last year: (Actually, I think this was after round 3) I'm excited for this! Get your threads on, girls!

ya know... another Wings goal before the end of the period would kind of get rid of that bad taste in my mouth from the first 16 seconds of this game. Just sayin' Wings.

nm...brain fart. Thanks Ozzie30.

Excellent. Carry on, boys. Flip needed that for confidence.

well, Chicago certainly came to play today. I'll give them that. PP, let's do it!

Has Cheli ever played forward? Seriously, I have no idea. If they need a d-man at forward, why not Ericsson? He started as a center.

Yeah, It's a come-from-behind-victory drill. I hope. Come on, guys.

So Cheli will be in the running for the Selke?

Buy that Porsche, Johan!

nhl.com said Lemaire is mulling retirement.

I am absolutely phobic of automatic carwashes- at least the kind you drive through. I'm good with the ones where you put in your quarters and have the soap coming out of the brush and all that. The person below me is kind of disappointed that Nashville didn't make the playoffs- just to have all the central teams in.

The CBA states: If I'm not mistaken, even in these situations where it is allowed, possible bonuses are still counted in the cap. I could be wrong on that. Let me do some more research. If I'm wrong on this, correction would be much appreciated. EDIT: I tried to download the CBA again, but it is so dull that it put my computer to sleep- literally froze it up. If anyone has it, I believe the section involved here is 50.2 -sorry I couldn't be more help.

They're plotting to join the Leafs.

Maybe they'd have to start out slowly. Burger King takes over the LA team, which is now the Burger Kings. Blue Cross and Blue Shield move into St. Louis, which keeps the St. Louis Blues name, but with a different logo. See how those work at first. Then let Buffalo Wild Wings confuse the heck out of us. I hope it never comes to logos on the uniforms or corporate team names. I'd rather they ran little blurbs running across the bottom of the screen like they do on sports stations giving score updates. Not that I want that; just that I don't want to see it on the uniforms. As far as audio sponsorship, Belle Tire is annoying enough. I don't want to hear another corporate name during play.

Wings score 6 goals in the first period. (Pashax2, Drapes, Hank, Lids, Mule) Late in the third a Chicago player comes barreling in, literally carrying the puck in his gloves, and crashes the net. The goal is originally waived off for goaltender interference, but upon further review, it is ruled a touchdown. A penalty shot is awarded. Chicago scores the extra point despite the distinct kicking motion, and wins the game 7-6. Lids, Hank and Pasha complain that he used his hands, but Drapes reminds them that this is North America and we define things differently here. Retribution is achieved in next year's season when free agents Hossa, Mule, Sammy, Koko and Huds suit up for the Lions, leading them to a Superbowl victory. They then join the Wings at a pro-rated salary at the trade deadline, replacing the GR rookies with waiver exemption we've had up on the cheap for the first part of the season, keeping us under the cap, and we win the Cup. Bettman resigns in confusion. Still no Arby's.

Because the others are reserved for goalie/enforcer arguments. One can never tell what will happen in the playoffs. You have teams that may be bringing up people (like we are reported to have Helm and Leino) which changes things from the regular season. There is also more time for preparation against a certain team. If you know you will be playing them for the next several games, you can focus more on that one team than if you are playing in a back to back against 2 different teams or have 3 games in 4 days like often happens during the regular season. Likewise, teams are on a more even playing ground. You don't have one team on the tail end of a back to back when the other has been resting for days. You might have a discrepancy during the first game depending on when each team finished its last round or due to travel, but after that, it's even. There is also a tendency to underestimate teams during the regular season (see Detroit vs Nashville). No one makes this mistake in the playoffs, at least not after the first game of the series. I'm sure there are a number of other considerations, but these occurred to me off the top of my head, and I must be off for work now.

Nope, I got my sister's old one when Episode 3 of the Star Wars movies came out on DVD only. I just about died. No VHS? Grrr. But my sis had just bought one of those big TVs that could house a family of wallabees so she gave me her old one with the DVD player. My old TV was old enough to drink. The person below me has a harmonica.

I don't eat real Mexican food. I don't mind some of the so-called Mexican food that Americans claim is Mexican. Having worked at a Taco John's, I did get addicted to it. The person below me has recurring nightmares.

That bolded part there is pure poetry and the solid truth. I realize that we're getting away from the Downey topic here, but it kind of fits in with team toughness. If you consider that there are different kinds of toughness, we're lucky to have a Captain who shows his toughness by playing night in and night, leading the team and making few mistakes. Sure, there have been some lately, but I say that because they are by Lidstrom himself that they are more noticable than if they were by say, Lebda or Meech, or someone where you expect it. Mental toughness, that's what Lids brings to the table. That's half the battle. Add Downey and those like him who add physical toughness, and you have the complete picture. A guy like Downey brings a sort of mental toughness as well. Players like Lids and Z have said they feel better with their game knowing Downey is out there playing his (paraphrase). I guess it goes to show that if everyone does his part to the best of his ability, that we have a complete team. Dazzling moves by Dats. Scoring aces in Dats, Z, Hossa, Mule. Net presence by Homer, Franzen, and, to some extent Cleary. Add to it the physical play I expect out of Kronner in the playoffs, and the improvement we've seen from Ozzie, and this team will have a lot of things going for them. Even with all of that talent, I'll still feel better knowing that Aaron Downey is there to answer the call if anyone we meet in the playoffs starts gooning it up to the point that they are threatening the health and safety of our skill players. We may not need Downey during the playoffs. The other teams may decide that the playoffs is not a good time to take stupid penalties, but if they don't behave, we have Downey. And I feel better for it.

My mom was the Avon Lady! The person below me remembers "Love's Baby Soft" perfume for girls that smelled like baby powder.

Don't get me wrong. I love Cleary, but you're right. Mule, Flip, even Drapes would have been a better choice. I might even have gone with Lids or Raffi. I know, d-men, but heck, I'd have taken them over Cleary.

Thanks to everyone who called the shootout for me. Too bad it didn't work out the way we planned it. Well, at least we're still in the playoffs. Any further word on Hossa?

OK, I gave up on my feed. You guys are my eyes. Pease call them for me. thanks. GO WINGS!!!!!

We'll all put Lids on it. Speaking of which, it looks like another Arby's-free night.