mjlegend

I saw it on TV when it happened and online here a few times today. Hossa takes a shove at a very vulnerable player from behind because Hossa got outraced to the puck. It wasn't from the side and he wasn't trying to take the puck off of him. Hits like that make me sick when I see them live. It's going to take a player taking Brad Hornung-like crash into the end boards after a shove for the NHL to get serious on checks from behind. On a close play with two players skating for the puck a careless shove from Hossa could have left Hamhuis a quadraplegic. It was inches away from happening as it was. Wonder how that would have played out if Hossa comes back on and scored the winning goal. Anyway, I guess we can all rest easy because Hamhuis wasn't hurt and he wasn't our guy. But what if he was, and what if he was? I'm positive an inch or two is all it would have taken to send him off on a stretcher.

So in our fantasy Volchenkov world, he gets less than Komisarek money ($21 million/ five years)? Right. He's the plum defenceman (not counting 36-year-old, already-retired-once Niedermayer or a 40-year-old Lidstrom who will only sign with Det). He's the best of a below average free agent D pool in a year where the cap goes up slightly. His old d-partners in Wade Redden and Andrej Mezsaros were overpaid in each of the last two free agent periods. Everything is pointing towards him being the subject of a bidding war. IMO, he gets no less than $5 million/year cap hit. If you're the Wings, you have to approach the free agent pool like by making sure you're taking care of the top six forwards and top four defencemen and then look for diamonds in the rough. Throw money at Volchenkov if and only if Lidstrom retires. He also didn't win a damn thing there and took dumb penalties trying to pick fights with Mike Richards. He looked really out of place there.

Yeah, but that was two lockouts ago. I think his teammates that year included Dollard St. Laurent and Jean-Guy Talbot. At some point, if you haven't won in the last 17 years as a player, the case starts to get stacked against you being a money d-man. Three teams have completely given up on his since the lockout - four, actually, if you count the Wings not re-signing him. Am I being clear? Schneider doesn't have the full game anymore. He spent most of the season in the AHL and until this afternoon, he really wasn't very good at all in the previous two games in the series.

54.3 per cent. Rounding up, of course.

If I seriously hear the name Keith Yandle one more time...

The NHL office clearly recognizes that it was a former Penguin doing the hitting.

Out of these three, Keith should prolly win. Best overall game, now in his prime, etc.. Puck Daddy favors Doughty: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Norris-Trophy-Finalists-Green-vs-Doughty-vs-K;_ylt=AikQ2RY1WTQc0VHh9VlA..3CfgM6?urn=nhl,236318 ...

Heh heh. Third overtime, Bob Cole. It was the third overtime. Game six in Ottawa should be a blast.

Leclaire is the first star, win or lose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkRwZ45Ju_k

Desperation + hockey = awesome.

Hey everyone, as the game wears on, fatigue will become a factor. Thanks for pointing that out, Galley.

Thank God that's over. Mark Lee has all the magnetism of a dead snake.

I don't know that I've seen an overtime period with four total power plays. One of the refs must have picked Jordan Staal in his league.

Foligno - two minutes for getting humped by Orpik.

Great shift for Regin. Hope he remembers it.

Not yet, but wait until the end of the night when the Pens strike on their seventh power play of overtime.

Nice World Series Tigers hat, Z.

It was also interesting to note in William Houston's column the other day that the Montreal-Washington series on TSN is getting more viewers in Canada than the Ottawa-Pittsburgh series on CBC.

Make it happen, Kenny!

I loved Jimmy's season, but a 19-year-old shutdown defenceman with 48 points, plus 13 and 23:44 of icetime a game doesn't come along every day. As depleted as the Wings were, we still had Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom and a lot of other talented players healthy for long stretches. Apart from Miller (during the regular season, at least), the Sabres have what on defence? Lydman? Montador? Rivet? That Finnish guy I can't think of right now? A great goaltender isn't the only key to a great defence. Jimmy had a great rookie season but in terms of shear rareness of talent, Myers was better. Put it this way: if Buffalo calls in the off-season and offers the Wings Myers for Howard straight up, wouldn't everyone say yes? Isn't that the true test of what the Calder winner should be?

I love that someone in Phoenix is apparently the one to say someone else is an embarrassment to the NHL.

Calder is always the hardest to figure out at the beginning of the season, but yeah Jimmy's had a surprisingly very good season. Myers wins it walking away but there's no reason Howard should be lower than second.

And it might have been the only Canadiens game this season that didn't have a 30-40 minute pre-game ceremony involving Jean Beliveau.

Greatest. Tagline. Ever.