Datsyerberger

I'll be quite happy for the Pens and their fans the day that happens. But only if Yeo goes with him.

There's a quote from Keith Tuh-kuh-tchkakhachuk at the end of that season that describes how clutch Ozzie was for them and how they don't make it into the playoffs without him (he was VERY solid for them in the game they needed to win to become the 8th seed). Also, I remember reading a quote from an Isles fan about when they picked up Ozzie, that everyone's (that is, Isles fans) phones were buzzing as they called eachother exclaiming "We got Ozzie! We got Ozzie!". Sometimes its hard to appreciate greatness until you've had your face smeared in s***. Us DRW fans can be a bunch of spoiled f***s as of late.

Turtle Power! Isn't D-Mac due back from IR by then? Heheh.

Not really. He did let a shot like that in... more than one, in fact. He's been known to let in the occasional long range stinker. But, if you dig for dirt, you can find some stinkers that almost any great goalie has let it, be it due to their depth perception or attitude (Patty Waaaagh Statue of Liberty, anyone?). Again, the Wings got rid of them simply because they had a chance to grab Hasek, who at his peak, is probably the most impressive goaltender to ever play the game. Ozzie, meanwhile, dragged a horrible Islanders team kicking and screaming into the playoffs. Ozzie has never had a losing season, even playing on garbage like the Isles and St Louis.. in fact, he put up a respectable .910 SV% on both of those teams, which is rather impressive if you realize the quality of scoring chances he was facing on those teams as opposed to what he had faced in Detroit. He also played a career high 67 games on that St. Louis team, and had a 2.24 GAA. That's comparable to Brodeur's 99-00 season, where he posted a .910 SV% and a 2.24 GAA in 72 games, on a NJ team that was, frankly, a lot better. But anyhow, enough with the pointing out that Osgood has actually had an impressive career.. LGW might overload. Besides, this thread is about how he's doing now, which.. well, isn't up to those levels, but fortunately is improving.

I don't see them winning anything or even getting to the 2nd round, for that matter, but if the BJs squeeze into the playoffs and Mason is still hot, they'll probably give the high seed team they face a bit of a hassle.

Thought it'd be interesting to start a thread where they simple state any opinions they have on the Wings players or such, particularly statements that could be perceived as homerism (even if that isn't the case). I'll go first. Osgood should not only make the HOF, but be considered as a top 20 goalie all-time. Datsyuk is currently the best forward in the league. Datsyuk is better than Zetterberg, but only a little. Zetterberg and Hossa is too close to call. Lidstrom will be a Norris finalist (again) if his current level of play continues. Hudler has the potential to be a first line player if his physique continues to develop. (Thanks to egroen for reminding me of these) Hasek is the greatest goaltender of all-time. Chelios is the greatest American player of all-time. Lidstrom is the greatest Swede of all-time. Howe may very well be better than Gretzky for best hockey player of all-time. Probert is the greatest enforcer of all-time. (/end copy-paste) I will edit my list as needed.

If we're going to move a team, I'd much rather it be an eastern team. Atlanta would seem to be the prime pick, because.. well, it's frigging Atlanta. Not because it's in the south. Carolina, TB, and FL are in the south and I'm okay with them. I'm in the south. It's because it's Atlanta. Which cares about as much about hockey as death metal cares about a banjo. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn the vast majority of that team's fans are transplants from other areas. Also, this is partly motivated by self interest.. an eastern team being moved to the west means the Wings get moved to the east.

Osgood was traded away because the Wings had an opportunity to sign arguably the best goaltender ever for a stacked cup run. If you don't recall, Ozzie had been one of the best and most successful 'tenders of that era when he was traded, and he continued to prove such with winning records and SV%s of around 9.10 on god awful Blues and Islanders teams. I'd like to say we're seeing that Ozzie right now.. we aren't, we're seeing about a 9.0% Ozzie, with the 8.85 SV% attributable to the defense giving up huge scoring chances in front of him. Hopefully, by playoff time, we see playoff Ozzie, which is capable of being a 9.25-9.30 SV% monster.

???? They just won the Stanley Cup, didn't you hear the Shark Tank?

I don't see any need for an enforcer. I don't recall any Wing getting absolutely dominated in any of those scrums (though I do remember Raffi on top of someone). What I -do- see the need for is a frequent hitting, grinding, defensively responsible energy player on the 3rd/4th line. You know, the kind of player we all wish Kopecky would be.

Wisdom. To YG: Conklin beat several goaltenders out of their starter position with his excellent backup play in Edmonton. He summarily crapped the bed. He had excellent backup play there, excellent backup play in Pitt, and excellent backup play thus far in Detroit. Keep him in such a position; it's where he can succeed.

To be honest, I think Conklin's play will drop sharply if he gets too many more games than he's getting now. He's a great backup, but not a starter. Osgood is capable of being a 40-50 game starter if he gets in his groove, and is a proven (hell, even clutch) playoff performer.

Simplified: Detroit vs Dallas: *****-worthy loss. Detroit vs San Jose: Close, exciting game.

Well, seeing as the #8 seed always gives us a bugger of a time, being #2 instead of #1 could be nice. Besides, I still fully expect the Sharks to choke in the 2nd round. Maybe it won't happen, but that's my plan of attack. In all seriousness, the Wings have been hotter in this half of the season than the Sharks, and I expect that trend to continue, and for the Wings to overtake the Sharks. This isn't the ultimate game, and while I don't think we should ever be fully satisfied with a loss, I think we should be far less than disappointed for a good performance against the current top seed at the end of a long road trip.

Someone makes an indirect post about "whiny *******" and you come back with that... Is it possible to be more self-incriminating than that?

For me, none of the Sharks-Wings games have been the biggest of the season, simply because the loser in every situation has been at the end of a horrendous road trip. I think, atleast in the West, the back-to-back Chicago/Wings games were bigger, as both were rested, and the games were highly touted.. and look how those turned out.

No, but I'm trying to add some positive outlook to this bitchfest. Keep in mind that all 3 of the times these teams have played eachother, the loser has been at the end of long roadtrips. The Sharks one 4-1 and 6-5 respectively on the Wings roadtrips, the Wings won 6-0. To me, that indicates an advantage to the Wings in performance under a more equal scenario.. one such as, say, the playoffs?

Posted immediately after my first one there It was just a bit of dark humor at the reaction in the Sharktank plus their homer announcers declaring the Sharks the best team in the league. As another person pointed out, they still have to play in the playoffs.

In all seriousness, we just went 6-5 on the end of a west coast road trip, 3rd game in 4 nights, against the #1 team in the west, despite a 5-3, and 2 breakaways. Sometimes people around here ***** too much. This was a close game, and a great one. And if anyone cares to do the math, Wings outscore the Sharks in their matchups this year.

The Sharks are the 2008-2009 Stanley Cup Champions!

We can argue all day long over whether Osgood has been horrible or not, but there's no arguing for the D giving up 2 breakaways within that time frame, even if one of them was offsides.

Very exciting game so far, but, apologies to any Sharks fans we may have around here, but their announcers are some of the hugest homers I've ever heard. They're like on the opposite side of the spectrum from Mindfly.

I would now like to quote a passage that expresses my feelings on this idea. "No." -- Me

Yea, Savard is rather massively underrated. Actually, it's not even that he's underrated.. he's just not talked about much at all.

I don't know if I'd take him over Crosby, Malkin, or Ovy (if we're talking long term and not just this season), but in my mind, he is clearly the best forward. That said, Crosby/Malkin/Ovy are all better ASSETS, but not better players. Not yet.