GMRwings1983

This last week and a half has been atrocious. The 8 goal games and now this chokejob to boot. At this point both goalies suck. Whatever Conklin did earlier in the season doesn't matter with the way he's playing now. Unfortunately, one of these clowns will be in net for the playoffs, and I can't see either goalie all of a sudden playing at a Stanley Cup level.

There is truth to what you're saying, but you have to realize that the league is trying to get closer to eliminating fighting altogether. They'll never come out and say so publicly, but that's still what's going on. In the end, you have to be careful what you ask for. I'd rather have it be the way it is now, rather than see fighting gone from the game completely. WHo knows, maybe in a few years you'll be begging for those staged fights that you hate so much now.

Good. Then we'd be forced to dress a tougher lineup.

Are you saying that hockey existed before Cindy Crosby came to Pittsburgh? There's way less fighting now in hockey than there used to be, so I don't know if I agree with you that it's gotten out of control. The lack of hitting is a problem, but the league has become more European, which is why it isn't as physical as it was in the 70's and 80's. As a Wings fan, I wish fighting was getting out of control, but maybe my opinions are biased since I hardly watch any other teams play.

This was a pathetic thing to say about Lidstrom, but in all honesty as others have pointed out in the past, here on LGW we also tend to overrate certain players that other teams fans wouldn't. For instance, the arguments that Ozzie should be a Hall of Famer only seem to come from Wings fans.

Because I've accused him before of coming here just to start crap. And you know what, he proves me right every time. Don't worry, he won't last for long with his attitude around here. BTW, I actually prefer the first movie over the second, but you're entitled to your opinion if you've seen both.

It's all just technicalities. The league has wanted to rid itself of fighting for quite some time. Eventually they will altogether, and this is just a further step towards that. Despite what that Pens fan said, this is not good for the majority of hockey fans. It's a way for the league to tell it's fans to f*** off. Much like the lockout.

Go for it. I don't mind the attention. I'll probably just put you on ignore eventually, once I get too tired of you. Of course, it'd be easier if the mods would just ban you.

I don't care if you "licked" The Dark Knight or not. Unless you're 10 years old and you have a moustache, it's not in the same league as The Godfather. Your pathetic responses are getting worse each time.

I do. Get rid of the instigator rule. Instead the morons are going the other way on this issue. The NHL has this sadomasochistic obsession with pissing off its own fans. Keep up the good work Bettman.

Since Markov isn't even one of the 10 best defensemen in the league, I'd hate to think where that puts Lidstrom on this moron's list. Laughable comparison. This must be one of those people who goes on imdb to tell everyone that "The Dark Knight" is better than "The Godfather".

Or it could mean that Dabura just doesn't like me.

No, but when a guy goes down and then immediately gets back up, there can be no argument that it was a KO. Brashear wasn't on the ice long enough for anyone to reasonably argue that. Otherwise, there's no difference between that and a TKO.

I agree. It was a wonderful post on his part.

Sorry guys, but that wasn't a KO, it was a TKO. And yes it does make a freaking difference. Brashear got off the ice on his own power. What makes that fight amazing is that Brashear has been in the league 10 plus years, and that was the worst loss of his career. Truly amazing what he's accomplished as a fighter. Then again, it's only recently that he's opened up more as a fighter, so I could see it coming when he ditched his hugging style.

I was hoping these dumbf**ks would work on eliminating the instigator rule, instead they came up with this crap. I can picture how these meetings go. Hey here's an idea. Let's eliminate the few fans of our game that we still have left. Then nobody in America will like hockey. These GM's are living in their own dream world, and they're only going to piss off more hockey fans.

There's too many posters here who think that enforcers are completely useless in this "new NHL", and their argument is flat out wrong, since other teams don't happen to agree with that. Those are the people I was referring to. And I do actually think enforcers do more than enforce. I just made that post to explain why so many of us fight fans are fed up with seeing this team lacking behind in fighting majors. As far as a Lucic type player, that's a pipe dream. That's not the kind of player this management ever scouts for.

You seem to be forgetting that the 4th line has stunk this season. You can blame those guys that we don't have more points, although a lot of it is also the defense and goaltending's fault. The 4th line can't really cost a team points, unless that 4th line has done a piss poor job all season of showing up physically, thus being less of a physical motivator for the rest of the team to follow. And guess what, that's pretty much what has happened this season. I think we'd be better off if Downey had been on the roster all season. Then maybe we'd see a little more grit and work ethic out of the other grinders. It just hasn't been there, though. And personally, I don't think having the President's trophy is going to make or break us. Yeah, it'd be nice to finish first so that we can have home ice against San Jose, but that's too far off to speculate. Unless the guy sitting for Downey would be a Robitaille or a Larionov, like we had in 02, there's nothing wrong with keeping a guy like him on the 4th line.

Don't tell me you've lost faith in Sammy also? Et tu, Opie?

Your team has never won a playoff game on the road from what I remember. Neither has Columbus, of course, but with Mason in net, they could be dangerous.

I say it was a clear win. Phaneuf was scared and Lilja landed on top of him. That's enough for me. Phaneuf was probably wondering during the squareoff whether Elisha Cuthbert would ever have anything to do with him again, if Lilja was to decimate him.

I don't know about Kocur, but Probert would do just fine in today's game. He wasn't just some angry goon with no skill. The guy could put up points. Anyway, I guess you and I disagree, but I don't see how you can deny that there are enforcers out there in the NHL who don't do much else besides fight. I see plenty of them all the time. I just don't understand why we can't have a guy like that too. We can spare a roster spot for a goon better than less skilled teams can.

But how can you say that, knowing that there are many players like them all around the NHL. Downey is one of many enforcers who can't do anything but fight. BTW, Brashear is a good player for an enforcer, as is Laraque, so I wouldn't call either of them meatheads who can't play hockey. But there are plenty of others who fit that description, who play regularly in the NHL. Downey wouldn't be any different than most enforcers in that regard. You alluded to Kocur earlier, and guess what, Kocur couldn't do anything but fight. It's always been that way with enforcers, with very few exceptions. If you were a fan of fighting and enforcers, you wouldn't be saying these things about Downey or how he doesn't belong on the roster.

Basically, he should just give Ericsson that spot right now and permanently keep him there. Meech sucks, Quincey is gone, and Lebda isn't ever going to be better than what he is now. Also, I doubt Chelli will be back next year. I don't see how anyone can argue for any of those other guys over Ericsson right now. Even after Lilja returns, Ericsson should still be a permanent starter.