Graybeard

Your sig got me to thinking. Considering the joke about Chuck Norris and the other fist he has under his beard, and the way Draper scored that goal in game 6, I'm wondering has anyone ever seen Draper and Norris together?

You just nailed what will probably be the deciding factor in this series.

True to some extent. Yes the wings played at 75%, at best. But even at that they can pull of a win a good share of the time if they're not getting assraped by the officials at the same time. The no goal calls were just one part of the disaster they orchestrated. If no hustling was Sammy's only fault in that game things would have been better. Too many freakin turnovers from him at both blue lines. Why the hell didn't Babcock cut his ice time. The WCF is no damn time to be letting a skater "play through" their crappy performance. I say if he doesn't do something to redeem himself before the end of the playoffs he needs the boot.

STEP AWAY from the crack pipe son. You want to keep Sammy and put have him on the second line? Babcock should have walked into the locker room and ripped the wheel right off his chest and sent him packing last night. Having an off night is one thing, but saying that was bush league hockey from him last night would be an insult to bush league guys. If I got stuck playing pond hockey with someone playing that bad I'd take my skates off and go home.

Amen brother. Anyone who has been to see one single damn game live and got to set with their thumb in their ass waiting for a tv timeout knows exactly how much the league really cares about the "pace of the game".

I think every single call that any official makes during a game should be reviewed afterwards. Obviously not to affect that game as it's too late but their performance should be evaluated and made public record. Post the results at the end of the regular season, and again at the end of the playoffs. Hold them accountable for the disgraceful quality of work that has been going on. If I performed half as bad as the refs have this post season at my job I would have been fired a long time ago.

Exactly. Saying that this is somehow harder to review than anything else that is already reviewable is nuts. Like you say, sometimes it will be too hard to tell and a bad call will remain a bad call just because it's not irrefutable. Just like the Pens goal that was left as the same wrong call the ref made because it wasn't irrefutable. Don't use review for every interference call, but only when a goal is involved. This isn't basketball when a score doesn't mean much, a single blown call like this could decide the Stanley Cup champion. *cough* Brett Hull *cough*

Is it just me or did Sammy really blow goats last night? He was turning the puck over at both blue lines. Should have been benched early but it seemed like he got a lot of ice time.

I have 3 predictions. 1. The ice will suck. 2. Ott will spend time in the box but not near as much as he deserves. 3. Once again Turco will be a cheating *****, but that's ok because he's easy to score on when he more worried about being an idiot than stopping pucks. And does anyone else feel like Ozzie is a little overdue for a shutout?

The real question is, how bad is your D to get down 3-0 to those geriatrics in the first place?

Wtf, I thought pics had to be photoshopped to be in this thread? I've shot hundreds of rodents that look just like that.

It's not about age. Yzerman was a more level headed mature player from day one. I'n not even saying it's Sid's fault. Who on this planet could be put on a pedestal by the NHL and the press and not have it go to their head. Maybe he's a better leader in the locker room than on the ice, but what we see as spectators isn't all that impressive in the leadership department. The fact that you even brought up Yzerman amazes me. As if there was any comparison whatsoever. Edited to repair my blasphemous misspellings.

It's not about age. Yzerman was a more level headed mature player from day one. I'n not even saying it's Sid's fault. Who on this planet could be put on a pedestal by the NHL and the press and not have it go to their head. Maybe he's a better leader in the locker room than on the ice, but what we see as spectators isn't all that impressive in the leadership department. The fact that you even brought up Yzerman amazes me. As if there was any comparison whatsoever.

Amazing? But who have they been playing against? What team, besides your own, has forwards who will absolutely skate circles around these guys like Hank and Dats? The biggest offensive threat you've faced are two guys that are due for retirement with a punkass Avery as their 3rd. Our 3rd line guys are better skaters than those old timers are now.

Unfortunately for us, the coaches and suits in Pittsburgh's front office probably know better than their fans. Fortunately for us, it's too late to do anything about it. You can't turn a boy into a man overnight, and there defense is what it is. On second thought, maybe their office doesn't know any better. They're the ones who put the C on a boys chest because of his physical talents instead of someone with maturity who could actually lead his team.

"Coolio....HAving a rah-rah guy in the locker room that has to keep the kids heads on straight is over-rated. " That statement right there speaks volumes. Having strong leadership is a hell of a lot more than being a rah-rah guy. It's more about watch me pry my broken knees off the ice and try to keep up. Detroit has it in spades and when games get tough, it's a huge difference maker. It's one of the intangibles you can't quantify with a stat but poo poo it at your own peril.

Both sides can argue back and forth aboout who may be slightly better in one are or another but there are certain issues that are going to tilt the ice WAY in the direction of Detroit. The Wings face off guys have been absolutely dominating opponents. Considering how bad the Pens are at face offs I think they might leave this series having a hard time remembering what a face off win is. This alone changes the whole game. Pens spend their time chasing us. Your top line is offensively gifted but that doesn't count for a whole lot when you don't have the puck. They have had a clear advantage in shots on goal, that's about to end. Detroit is a grittier team than previous years but it's still the physical teams we struggle with. We've dominated every skilled team that we've played all regular season and through the playoffs. I don't see that changing. That's why 8th seed Nashville has been our hardest series so far. Someone mentioned earlier they can't wait to see Kron flatten the kid. He's pretty shifty and may be hard to line up for a big hit. What I'm waiting for is seeing him hanging his head after Dats strips the puck and takes it down for a goal. The Pens get a lot of breaks because Malkin and the kid are constantly cheating up ice. If they don't get in there and mix it up more when we're in their zone instead of waiting back hoping to cherry pick, we're going to make them pay for it. Watching Pitt and Philly play it seemed like the Pens were winning all the battles along the board. I seemed like most of the time Philly isn't supporting their first man in at all. Time and time again there was one Philly player with to Pens on him. We have much better support than that and those battles are going to be a lot more hard fought. The biggest advantage we have right now is our game, our system, is simply better. We can win without changing a thing. Pittsburgh's coach is the one that's going to have to make some adjustments very quickly.'

It looked to me like they threw everything they had at us through the first two periods last night and by the third they knew this series was over and gave up. At this point the sweep may be likely but we're not out of the woods yet. I'm not going to be a naysayer like so many pessimists saying it's not over because for all practical purposes, it is. The main thing the boys need to worry about now is injuries. We don't need to be going into a series against the Pens with one of our star players being injured. They better keep their heads up at all times and have eyes in the back of their heads looking for shots coming from behind and after the whistles.

As much as I hate the Dives I like Sakic. He's always been a class act even when surrounded by scumbags. I'd hate for him to go into retirement with his last game being the ass whoopin the wings layed on them in game 4.

I might have to give the edge to Dats. Incredible as it seems considering just how easy he was pushed around on the boards a few years ago, I think it's his more physical play that tips the scales ever so slightly. He's a freakin hitter now, who'd have thunk it.

I think the Dives should hire Melrose as their head coach and Roy as his assistant. Wouldn't it be fun spanking them then.

Maybe so. But then again maybe it was a good idea for him to throw it out there to put the thought in the Dives managment's heads.

Keep everything the same until there's a problem. If they start to score on us too much then split Z and D so one can neutralize Crosby and one can take care of Malkin.

Just a reporter asking him a question. Who's to say that the Avs have even considered it. There's been some rumors going around that our old friend Patrick Roy is considering a job behind the bench in Colorado.

Pronger Tootoo Ott The question I have is how the hell does Ott get a free pass? I understand him doing the crap he does, that's his game. But how in the hell does it go uncalled? Running Dats well after the whistle is blown and chopping on Homer like he's a piece of lumber when he's nowhere near the crease.