Stevie4Pres

My wife and I got our engagement photos in Red Wings gear. She refused to watch most of the games in 09-10 because she was finishing her last year of nursing school and said she couldn't afford to be emotionally distracted. She's almost too emotionally involved because it gets to the point where she doesn't even want to watch if its an important game and the Wings aren't dominating. It's fantastic

BOS/PHI:4-3 PIT/MON:4-2 CHI/VAN:4-2 DET/SJ:4-3

SJS/COL 4-1 CHI/NSH 4-1 VAN/LAK 4-3 PHX/DET 2-4 WAS/MTL 4-1 NJD/PHI 4-2 BUF/BOS 3-4 PIT/OTT 4-3 Western Conference Winner: Chicago Eastern Conference Winner: Washington Stanley Cup Finals Winner: Washington

I will be in Paris as the Wings take to the ice in Sweden and I was wondering if the game will be covered by any European sports channels. My internet access is quite limited so I don't know if I'll be able to watch online or not. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!

Look at it this way. If the Wings were tired or lacked "hunger" then maybe this year will be motivation for next year. I'm sure the Wings feel as if they let this one slip away and next year they'll be ready to do everything possible to not have to feel this kind of disappointment ever again. I haven't heard it mentioned yet but Babcock is now 0-2 in SCF game 7's. That has to be a bitter pill to swallow. He is two games short of 2 cups. That's tough...

Pens definitely deserved those last two games. Great series and great season. Hopefully we'll back next year.

I was listening to some sports radio show today that mainly talks about basketball and football. One of the promos said something along these lines. "People call up asking why we don't talk more about Hockey, The French Open and Women's golf. We reply 'There, we just did'". It's no wonder the NHL has trouble marketing itself when non-hockey fans put it on the same level as tennis and women's golf. I doesn't bother me because I know how great hockey is. If it was popular I would have to listen to every idiot with a pulse try and give their opinion (kind of like I'm doing now ).

Let me try to understand this correctly. A non-american who "doesn't care who wins" is watching two American teams compete for the Stanley Cup and actively searching Red Wing message boards to try and incite flame wars? That is just about the most pathetic thing I've ever heard. Get a life dude.

I totally agree that the refs blew that call. It was blatantly obvious and it sucks but I don't think that it was some sort of Bettman/NHL/referee conspiracy nonsense. It was just a terrible non-call and it happens both ways.

All the penalties on Detroit were their own fault. If there is a conspiracy it certainly wasn't evident in last nights game. 1) Cleary holding: Bonehead move by Cleary on an innocent play 2) Franzen tripping: His stick got tied up in the guy's feet. It wasn't intentional but the ref has to call it. 3) Ericsson interference: Pitt never touched the puck, Ericsson got a little lazy and stepped into the guy. Obvious call, Ericsson's fault. Both teams got their non-calls. How 'bout we talk about the Red Wings inability to clear the zone and how Pitt's aggressive forecheck forced a lot of turnovers in our own end? They played desperation hockey and came out on top. This was essentially an elimination game for the pens (down 3-0 is near impossible to come back from, especially against a team like Detroit) so they threw everything they had at the Wings. No conspiracy. The refs were fine. Let's take the next game in Pittsburgh and come back to Detroit and win the cup on home ice!!!!

I'm not going to speculate about specific line combos but I think that he's referring to the fact that he will have to do a lot of changes on the fly. Considering the Pens will have the last change, he will have to put Z out against Crosby while play is going on. This causes lines to get somewhat jumbled. The Wings have been very good this year responding to different line combos.

I didn't see that cuz NBC would rather show stupid sidenote clips like "Team Leaders" than show the replay of what actually happened. If that is the case then you're right. I'll defer to you if you've seen clear video evidence of this.

Did Z cover the puck ON THE ICE? Cuz apparently that's what the rule states.

Nice catch. I completely missed that. I wonder if they think about changing the wording. As I understand it every other rule that applies to the goal crease extends the crease area upward, ie. interference (refer to numerous calls on Homer's ass in the crease).

I don't think it was a penalty because it didn't look like Z covered it. He initially put his hand over the puck but as Ozzie rolled over the puck came free from Z's grasp (as evident by the puck sliding away from Ozzie after the ref blew the whistle). Therefore, it was not Z that covered the puck but Ozzie. A player is allowed to shovel the puck away from the net from inside the crease aren't they? IMO this is why it was not a penalty shot. I do admit that there is a legitimate argument for a penalty shot and if that had happened to the Wings then I would probably be screaming for one also.

The OP's request is BS. I don't post here much but I read a lot on LGW and this takes the cake. It's a totally loaded request. So if the wings lose we're suppose to not discuss how injuries, penalties or bad bounces affected the output of the series?? Granted many will complain but if anyone so much as mentions that "if we had Lidstrom we might've pulled it out" then the OP can run back to Pitt boards and say "Check this out. I made this classy post asking their fans not to whine about losing and then all I heard was excuses about injuries and penalties!! What a bunch of class-less A-holes" That's a bunch of B.S. If you don't want to read about fans discussing their team then don't come to their boards. Lastly, like other people have said, every team has nutcase fans and reasonable fans. If it bothers you that people make excuses when their team loses then don't read their boards. Wings in 5!!! Keep the cup where it belongs, in Hockeytown!!!!

Why is it so hard for people to understand that Hossa was a a rental for Pitts. He's a rental for Detroit (unless Kenny works some magic of course). It boggles my mind that some fans can call a player "Judas" after he spends half a season with their team and leaves as a UFA the next year. Maybe the neurons don't fire as quickly in some parts of the country. Further, Hossa came to Detroit because he thought they had the "best chance" to win a cup this year. There is no guarantees of anything. He made as informed of a decision as he could at the time. Seeing as Detroit is now in the SCF means that he made the "right decision" even if Detroit loses. He doesn't have a crystal ball to know who would win in '09. If pitt wins this year it doesn't mean that his decision was wrong. He made a pretty accurate assessment last year by choosing one of the two teams that made it to the SCF in '09. If I had that kind of insight I would be on the first plane to Vegas.

WKLQ 107.3 FM is broadcasting all of the wing's games for the rest of the playoffs. That is the best option.

I agree completely. It's hard to hate a team that doesn't goon it up during the game and then whine about the reffing after the game (aka Anaheim). I'm not a big fan of Ben Eager because of his history of throwing some cheap shot elbows but he hasn't done any of that nonsense against the Wings so it's hard to truly hate the guy.

Obviously the Hawks fans haven't experienced horrendous reffing before. I'd like to see them play Anaheim and then hear their opinion about the referees in this series. Granted the calls have been inconsistent, which they have been for every game these playoffs, but they have not been skewed toward either team. It's actually been nice watching two teams playing hockey and not worrying about cheap shots and other goon-like behavior. I know it's frustrating when your team loses but complaining about conspiracy theories in this series is pretty unbelievable.

I never understood how "buying a championship" is an insult to an organization. Isn't the ultimate goal to win a championship? Wouldn't you want your team's management to do everything they can (within the league's rules) to get the best players? This makes no sense. Can you imagine Ken Holland saying "You know... we could go out and get the top players in the league and have a good chance for a cup. On second thought we better not because some neanderthal fans from opposing teams might accuse us of "buying a cup"." So anyone who uses the "buying a cup" insult, would obviously prefer that their team remain bottom feeders because that would be way better than other team's fans having the perception that their team used all their available resources to build a championship team.

When I think of rivalries I think of it more as a sustained hatred. I'm not saying that colorado wasn't a rival in the 90's but it's hardly on the same level that say the Hawks/Wings are rivals. These small flare ups with whatever team is the flavor of the day isn't so much a rivalry in my view. We all hated Colorado but now that they are nothing who really cares about them. The same will happen with the Ducks. It doesn't matter how good the Wings and Blackhawks are, there will always be that mutual hatred. My two cents

What I don't understand is that when it comes to hooking, interference etc... there is a huge level of subjectivity going on. Yet, when it comes to a play like this then the rules have to be black and white. This was a goal by any hockey standards (if you take Watson out of the equation). No one stopped playing, puck was loose, puck crossed the line before whistle sounded. There is no reason why the NHL cannot do what you suggested. Everyone keeps trying to come up with a black or white solution but there are huge shades of gray in every other aspect of officiating so why can't the top officiating dogs (Toronto) get together and say "That call was BS, I don't care if the ref 'intended' to blow a donkey... that was a goal".

This is exactly what I was thinking... Anyone sitting in the rafters could have seen the puck lying on the goal line, it's not like it was tucked up next to hiller's pad or the post. This leaves only one of two options. 1. Watson is in the tank for the Ducks (I don't buy into the conspiracy theory arguments) 2. Watson is completely incompetent. He obviously had no idea what was happening and didn't even take a half a second to look for the puck (in plain view for everyone to see). I've been watching hockey for over 20 years and never have I seen such an example of pure 100% incompetence. If any of us made a "mistake" like that due to lack of focus, judgment etc... we would be canned immediately from our jobs. Absolutely pitiful if the NHL keeps this guy around. As the rules are written, the call never had a chance of being overturned. Game over, ducks won... let's move on. But Watson should be held accountable for such a costly mistake.

Especially during a tie game, 1:30 left and your team is facing elimination. Definitely not the time for a leisurely stroll to the pine.