Third Man In

Oh come on! "No touch icings blah blah blah...Don't wave your stick in front of a shot blah blah blah...(and back in the day) Dougie Gilmour and Kirk Muller blab blah blah..." That's insight! btw, I really hope for Price's sake that he never saw that shot. Because otherwise that is a really soft goal to give up.

Colorado: First, play Budaj (looks too late for this one). He's got a lot more confidence right now. Second, don't complain about injuries. If you think the reason you were blown out 5-1 in game 2 involves Peter Forsgerg (or Wolski and Hannan for that matter), look in the mirror. Those players don't account for a 4-goal differential. As a team you need to play much better. Third, generate much more of a forecheck in the offensive zone, especially if you're going to dump the puck in. Too many times in the first two games the Avs dumped the puck in without anyone going in to pursue it, so the puck went directly onto one of the Wings defencemen's sticks and one pass later it was out of the zone. Detroit: Be prepared for a much tighter game, more along the lines of the games you played in Nashville. Be very patient, especially if the game is 1-0 Colorado or tied late in the game. Be prepared for a low scoring game. Use your gameplan from game 6 against Nashville as a blueprint for both games in Colorado. Oh yeah, and:

Yeah, it's not that uncommon.

lol or just bic your head.

That was the best PP in the league this year?!?

The bright side for Philly, it looks like they've finally found a solid goalie after all these years. Biron's looked pretty impressive so far. After years of aging Hextalls and Burkes, and let's not forget Garth Snow, he brings some much needed solidty on the back end for them.

Excellent! This game just got more interesting. Sidenote: Way to sell it by taking off your mask while you're lying on the ice, Price.

I agree. That's what I was referring to when I said that despite this series being 1-1 Philly looks like the better team when they decide to be. But you're right, Philly doesn't look that good either. Montreal's strategy seems to be to ride their PP as far as they can. Although even that hasn't looked too good in the playoffs either.

No kidding. Game 6 against Boston aside, what's with Montreal and boring playoff series?

I don't think anything is ever safe to assume with the Sharks. But yes, one would hope. I think the RW and Marleau compound each other's ineptitude. I've never been impressed with RW as a coach nor with Marleau as a captain. Doggy's right--jumping to avoid that shot in game one really summed up his leadership abilities. He played well in the middle of the Calgary series and seemed to finally be establishing himself, but then he promptly disappears for the next 4 games. Hard to believe he's the captain when you have much more capable leaders like Thorton and Grier on that team. But Marleau is RW's guy. And way to lump together all of Canada with TSN. Prick.

This will be an interesting game. Despite the series being 1-1, it looks like Philly is the better team when they decide to be.

Maybe you're right. As I said, I don't recall the city, but I distincly recall the Chrysler hats. And I also remember them taking the nets off the pegs, and then going around with squeegees, shovels, and trash cans to clear the ice.

Opie, I think you are right about the Franzen-Sammy thing: considering that Mule is exactly 3 years younger than Sammy (just looked that up--how weird is it that they share a birthday, Dec 23?), his potential upside has been higher for some time, even before he went on his tear. And I agree that Cleary when he is on his game (and likely not wearing the jaw guard) is a top 6 forward for this team. But Sammy's not been a place holder, as he's been playing on the second line with Mule and Flip. As much crap as he takes here (admittedly, some from me for his PP "prowess"), he's the type of player that allows players like Cleary and Huddles to play on the third line and, considering how well Helm-Mac-Drake have played, really gives this team the ability to roll four solid lines.

I remember a game once several years back (I think it was in Montreal but I'm not sure) where Chrysler had a hat promotion. They game out white hats with their logo to the first 10,000 fans. Sure enough, a player for the home team gets a hat trick and 10,000 hats litter the ice. The announcer cracked, "They can use those hats for another promotion."

Nicely done, Matt. If the Wings and Rangers ever happened to play in a Cup final, I could see a Mule v. Jackass (Avery) shirt

I think the first two games of this series really underscore the importance of the Wings and Stars getting it done in 6 games in the first round. SJ looks like it has nothing left in the tank.

I disagreed with this at first obviously, but the more I see where these two teams are at right now and how they match up with one another, I think you're right. If SJ doesn't come back here, it's only a matter of time.

Nabby way out to challenge and still gets beat rather easily. But that was also a pretty good shot by Richards.

Turco, it is traditional to attempt to pokecheck with one's stick, not one's skate.

Yes, great backcheck. But considering that Daley let not one but two passes across on the 2-on-1, that puck's gotta end up in the back of the net.

I agree it's a potential explanation. If you're tired the fundamentals are the first thing to go, which is exactly what happened on that play. Edit: And he looked so slow doing it. It took him 2-3 movements to get into postion, just enough time to give Ribero (as NFM says) a nice target for a bank shot.

lol Nabby. Horrible job getting back to the post there. That can't happen in a game this big.

No, of course I jinxed it, but I still stand by my statement. SJ's powerplay never looks as dominant as it should considering the personnel they can throw out there. Except against Detroit, who the pick apart like no other team. If Dallas can get out of this period 1-0, with the PP time the Sharks have had, they will be in pretty solid shape.

SJ's PP never looks quite as potent as it ought. Always makes me wonder why they seem to fair so well against Detroit's PK.

You think so? The Sharks were much better on the road than at home for most of the year.