TSM

Zetterberg: "Ah, it's the blue and white; it's Finland." LOL

Vladimir, still an inspiration. I'm very grateful to seen such a fierce competitor play this game. It's a sobering reminder of how one irresponsible person can affect the lives of so many people. Vladimir's tenacity and good spirit is humbling to behold. I'm grateful that he will always be a Red Wing and that his misfortune can be helped in the slightest of ways by the Illitch's who have shown so much class in helping him since that terrible day. This situation makes it easy to be a Red Wings fan.

Well, after Danny sealed the deal against the Ducks and scored two goals tonight, this comment makes you look like a ****** nozzle.

Thank you very much for gathering and subsequently posting these jollymania. MUCH APPRECIATED!

You have a funny definition of clean. I'm not "homering" either. If Datsyuk did this sort of play, I'd call him on it as well. My objection to this suspect kind of hockey isn't a matter of relativism; it's more about principle. Alexandria did nothing to avoid that in any manner (he moves his right skate inside of Gonchar's right leg from that angle), hence my contempt for his indifference to the aftermath. Has he apologized to Gonchar? NOPE! I'm all about physical hockey; strong checking and the like. Fights where players actually man up as Kopecky did (minus the lefty surprise). But I never justify cheap shots, head hunting, or anything of the cowardice type. Ovechkin is gutless, and someone is going to expose his ineptitude in the guts arena. When that day happens, it will be both long overdue and justified.

Thanks for posting the new angle. That should shut up the defenders of Alexandria around here. To me, the fact that he makes his leg rigid at that point and flares it after says it all to me. There is plenty of man love around here for Ovie because he plays with Fedorov or something, but I see the rat for what he is: DIRTY! His day will come and I will laugh about it.

AMEN! I've never understood the pure malice from some of our fanbase in terms of how good or bad a player is when they forget to recognize that these guys play in the NHL as compared to some scrub weekend league. I get tired of the fickleness around here, especially pertaining to guys like Draper and Maltby who were INTEGRAL to our attaining the first three cups in the past 12 years.

First off, make me. Secondly, there are unspoken rules in the game of hockey when it comes to mutual respect between players. Alexandria is FRIENDS with Gonchar, yet he intentionally injures him? The fact that Gonchar is out for the rest of the playoffs tells me that if there was no intent, then the injury wouldn't be this severe. Like the rules about headhunting, the same should apply to the wheelhouse of EVERY Hockey player. Whether you're Alexandria or not, you're done for a good period of time after threatening a man's career. Tell me that Gonchar will be the same skater after this incident and that will paint you as the ignoramus that you are. We talk about being a classy organization as players and fans, yet we give a "blind" pass to a knuckle dragger like Alexandria? BS

To me, the coincidence of this play is suspect, leg out or not. I personally cannot stand Ovechkin; he's a dirty rat and knuckle dragger. Imagine the outrage around here if he had pulled this play on Lidstrom (when at the age of 39, could be a career ender). I'm sure that Gonchar won't be "friends off the ice" anymore with this monkey. The fact that he didn't do more to avoid injuring a so called friend makes him all the more deploreable to me. Pittsburgh has the momentum, so Ovechkin decides to take it out on someone's knee. Keep it classy chiclet brained Alexandria.

I would follow this advice if I were you. In my mind, it's not beyond expectation to believe in a reasonable amount of security in situations like this. I can't believe that security or law enforcement of any kind would not come to your rescue in this situation. I understand the validity of being quiet while at an enemy's arena, but given who you were sticking up for, I don't see anything wrong with it. As was said before, "cowards roll in packs" and I'm disappointed that the Wings fans you stood up for didn't show you the same respect. If I had witnessed this, I would have been more than happy to file a report in addition to being hard pressed to stand by and watch two people get ganged up . I say, keep it classy Anaslime and with all of the frivolous lawsuits in the world, there has to be a smidge of culpability with the arena worth capitalizing upon in this situation. Good jabbing is expected between fans, but goonery from a group of 300lb cowardly gorillas is unacceptable to me. They would have to show up on security cameras during the game at some point. Get one of the goons and he will roll over on his cohorts. I would say the same about Wings fans doing the same to our opposition's support in our building.

I have so much respect for all of these guys given the nature of all of their injuries. Playing through pain and not bitching about it or demanding special press because of suffering related to their craft. After Yzerman retired, I never thought that I would have the sort of pride in the team that I do now. Hockey players and the sport in general deserve so much more inside press related to these quiet stories of overcoming obstacles. Winning in this sport is so much more about heart as compared to the most talented team. As Wings fans, we are lucky to have a team and organization that represents both.

Given the lack of respect or coverage regarding the Wing's recent Stanley Cup Championship, it is nice to see Osgood get some well deserved air-time and respect from Jim Rome. I've not always been a fan of the guy (Clarify here: I mean Rome, and not Osgood), but he respects modesty and honesty when he sees it. I'm so happy to have Osgood back with the Red Wings. Like any goalie for Detroit, it can be a rough road playing for this team. Kudos to Osgood for maintaining class and dignity. This interview sure beats the "skit" on Leno: http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/06/os...is_burning.html

LOL...Quote of the year in my book! In all seriousness, I love both guys. Great people, hockey players, great for their respective times. Steve is always number one to me, he is the heart of the franchise to me. But Lidstrom is the product of the lifeblood that Yzerman supplied. I think that Lidstrom would even concede to this point. It's been great reading the arguments both ways though. How lucky we are to have such an unfortunate dilemma. :-P

I've always felt as though Osgood was the guy quietly getting things done in the shadows, whether or not he was the "starter" so to speak. I really hated it when he left, despite all of the uproar that the Wings needed a legitimate number one goaltender. As I said above, it has to be one of the hardest jobs in all of sports in the last fifteen years or so given the success of the Wings over that time period. From a fan's point of view, I think many of us can be "fair weather" when it relates to a player having a bad performance and when it pertains to goalies, the "soft goals from the blue line" are tickets out of Detroit. But these guys are human; I never forget that. And I'm happy to hear that Chris has gotten some respect from fans, press, and is overwhelmingly aware of it. I'm happy to see him back, happy that he's the number one guy now, and ecstatic that he can be all of this without an ounce of bitterness. He deserves every bit of success that he has attained by maintaing a good work ethic and remaining humble as well. Much like the guy who wore that #19 that hangs from the rafters.