VM1138

I'm a sap I guess, but Bertuzzi must feel really great here in Detroit. He's spent the last few years being treated like trash or crapped on by fans, playing for mediocre teams and frustrated that his game seemed to be gone. Now, he's found a solid place on a great team where he's relied on and appreciated by fans and his coach, that's gotta feel good.

It was pure accident that it hit Selanne in the head. Not trying to be a homer. It was a bad hit for Selanne to take, no question, but it wasn't illegal.

Datsyuk was beyond human last night. I know he's always impressing us, but it never gets old saying how crazy good he is. He just never ceases to amaze, I don't know how he does it. He should have had way more points last night with how he played.

Yes it is. Last time I checked (a game or so ago) he was tied with Datsyuk in points. He's just not scoring as often as usual. He's still the world class all around player. Count in having a history of slow starts, I don't see the issue here. Realistically we've got 3 or 4 more more years before he really starts to decline, if we compare to similar players.

I liked the one person's comment about knowing Lebda came from the Red Wings system, it almost made the Leafs fans seem like they'd never seen a player actually complete a long-distance pass before, haha.

I think it's kind of funny. Maybe a bit unsportsmanlike (especially in the adult leagues) but come on, they're kids.

What a dumb statement. If I play great I could carry any NHL team to the championships. The key word is "if."

There aren't a lot of options, but I think they should mix up the bottom two lines. I'd rather not mess with the top two because they're going well, and the 4th line is good but Miller, Eaves and Helm are good pretty much any line they play on. How about...Eaves-Modano-Cleary? Hudler-Helm-Miller? Speed, net presence and shooting for the 3rd. I know Hudler's feelings will be hurt being bumped down but there's nowhere else for him to go. Maybe Helm's can feed Hudler for some goals.

It's time to mix the 3rd and 4th. Modano just seemed to stand around a lot tonight, with a few bursts of decent chances. Hudler, per usual, just sort of disappears, which is good if you're disappearing and scoring, like Brett Hull used to do, or if you're on defense, like Lidstrom tended to do.

I like the idea of 2 points for a win, no points for any kind of loss. But honestly it's just a number, if they go for a 3 point system it's unnecessarily complicated but it's still just a number.

Not a fan of the logo but the jersey isn't too bad. Not among my favorites but it's better than what they have. I just like having colors other than blue/white, red/white for jerseys.

It's not just the physical activity (which was WAY out of line) but the NHL can't resurrect its image if it's players start manhandling fans. Just on that alone Rypien should get more than 5 games. Factor in it was a teenager, that could factor in a few games, too I would think. Just a stupid, stupid move on Rypien's part.

Aren't they like 1-4?

Let's not get too excited for Leafs fans, every year a few teams go undefeated or have really hot starts and often completely miss playoffs. I don't expect Toronto to have THAT great of a turnaround year. However, I do really like how the Leaf fans stuck with their team through so many years of terrible teams. They're really excellent hockey fans.

This just seems way too random. 8 minutes of OT? If they want to change it so much and open it up, why not just do 5 minutes of 3 on 3?

The difference between Lilja and Lebda is that while Lilja got better over the years, Lebda got worse. Lilja improved from the days of his terrible turnovers and brainfarts. Maybe he passed them on to Lebda? I remember being much more excited about Lebda in the early years than Lilja, but Lilja endeared himself to fans by being an overall solid defenseman. Lebda just pissed us off.

Way to go Holland, Kopecky has 6 points in 6 games. I'm absolutely kidding by the way. Does anyone know if he's playing on a line with Hossa?

I gotta go with the audience on this one, Kessler would be a nice fit. I always wanted to see Selanne here during his prime, as well as Chara. To go back a few years, Al MacInnis would have been freaking awesome to have on the Wings.

Wow, what a game last night, eh? I felt refreshed watching them. It's hard to explain but they all just LOOKED better than they have in the past. Quicker, crisper, healthier. Anyway, let's talk first impressions not just about our new guys, but about the "old guard" on the team. Who impressed? Who disappointed? First up, Salei. He will go down as a solid pickup for the Wings. "Solid" is really the best word for it. He was a good anchor back there. The one mistake I remember was him pinching up too far, almost resulting in a 2 on 1 but he seemed to realize his mistake and it may not have been entirely his fault. Modano: Wow he can skate! He's going to be a force. The line of Hudler-Modano-Cleary is going to be insane this year. He's really putting in a serious effort. On a plus note, he's got to be the most articulate Intermission interview I've ever heard. He doesn't say "um" a million times and when he talks he actually says something. Hopefully they interview him for his thoughts more throughout the season. Eaves-Helm-Miller: Kind of disappointing. We come to expect speed and crazy hard work from them, and while they worked hard it just didn't translate to much. Not indicative of the whole season, of course but I was hoping to see more from them. Cleary: Best player on the ice not named Datsyuk. He looks like he used to back in his peak years. Those injuries must have really hampered him the last season or so. Datsyuk + Zetterberg: Yes, they have to be included together. They continue to amaze and with Datsyuk's fight and overall energy I think this will be a very good year for those two. Thoughts?

We need a new defensive coach to remind these players they are some of the best defensemen in the game and they need to play like it.

I definitely think Ericsson should be re-signed. Think about it, there's still a chance he may end up being a solid defenseman. If we resign him cheap we at least keep a 6th D-man who may someday turn into something much better. That's better than getting rid of him and having him suddenly turn out great. We put up with Lebda for years we can run with Ericsson for a while to make sure of whatever he is.

It seems like hardly anyone is taking shots anymore. THey all want to be playmakers. Babcock needs to sit them down and tell certain players to just shoot the puck, including Hudler. I'm not going to be too hard on him yet, because he's not making any glaring mistakes out there, but he's been largely invisible to my eye. He doesn't suck as bad as Williams but at times I'm reminded of how invisible Williams was. Frankly I think the Hudler-Modano-Cleary experiment has failed. It's early enough to where Babs could switch up the lines.

I think Kindl looked great tonight. He makes a few small mental mistakes but overall he's very impressive out there. He seems very comfortable and he jumps right in to carry the play. What impressed me most is how he didn't screw up on plays Ericsson absolutely would have, for instance on some of the fast-paced, hard passing plays.

I'm talking year-to-year goals. You better believe that Anaheim knows they're not going to win the Cup. So they set other goals, like making playoffs, or performing above a certain level. THey'll never SAY their goal isn't to win the Cup, but it's reality. Teams that are early in rebuilding don't seriously make a goal to win the Cup, their goals is to take strides toward winning. San Jose, while they COULD win the Cup, knows they can't attract more talent if they get rid of Thornton. They can't win without more talent and thus, they resign Joe.

Look at it this way, if they didn't resign him, they wouldn't make playoffs and wouldn't sell tickets. Their goal isn't to win the Cup, it's to stay in playoff contention, even if they get eliminated due to Joe's choking.