vOrophin

Until he learns discipline he will always be a potential risk on the ice, taking silly penalties is not a benefit to your team in the least. I hate conspiracy talk but I have to wonder what would be said of a team that participated in the same kind of behavior Pittsburgh did tonight, if they were playing against the Penguins.

I wouldn't say sweet, but outside of the tripping call I was content.

DET/PIT 4-2

At least he's honest that he's got nothing outside of Crosby and Malkin's point totals to justify it.

"Lower body injury" for Nick is code for "Give the Pens hope, only to crush it later."

If their status is somewhat up in the air I would almost like them to not play in game 5. If the team can put together an effort and close out the series without them it will just give them that much more time to rest and not risk re-injury. I would like nothing more than to see Pavel come back from injury and absolutely dominate though.

Osgood right now. He's been solid through the entire playoffs, and fantastic at times. Franzen, Cleary, Lidstrom, and Zetterberg would be behind him for me. All of them have been good for most if not all of the playoffs and have come up big during times we needed them. There is still a lot of hockey to be played though, it's not out of the question for even Datsyuk or Hossa to jump into the picture if they absolutely dominate from here out (hoping, hoping).

DET/CHI 4-2 PIT/CAR 4-3

Actually, if by the hand of god any players DO get suspended, I might start believing in the whole "league is out to make game 7s" idea.

I was going to post that same quote, but add in a small fact. I got it actually from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...on/?eref=sircrc , an article about how Scott Walker got off with only a fine after something which clearly fits the criteria of this rule. I would give any of the Ducks players under a 1% chance of being suspended, and probably a 10% chance of being fined. The moral of the story is the NHL needs to get their s*** together, if you're not going to adhere to rules then remove them so that you don't look terrible when you get called out in a dozen places after incidents.

And this is why Ken Holland is a genius.

I was looking for Meech in at the start of the game, he seemed to make fine plays. Not outstanding but he didn't seem to screw up at all so I feel fine with him in. I thought Abdelkader looked pretty good, noticed his presence more than I usually notice Kopecky, and not in a negative way. An assist didn't hurt his appearance. Ericsson and Helm played their usual good games, fanstastic for guys who were pulled up.

2000+! Lets go Wings!

While obviously not good news, there is positive potential. Obviously negative too, if he gets a bunch of penalties or makes stupid mistakes. Still hope the best for Kopy.

Funny how things change after one game. The number one candidate now has a 2.39 GAA and .919 SA%, compared to 1.74 and .955 when the article was written, not to mention being pulled for the backup during the game. I agree with the fact that Franzen should be up there though. The Mule is made of clutch and win.

So, what kind of accountability is there on the refs in this kind of situation?

Detroit is Detroit's kryptonite. If the effort in the third period was given in each and every period the Wings play, this would not be a series. The reffing through this game would be a moot point with our players paying at the top of their game.

My changes? Don't give any breakaways and hope the refs do their jobs. That makes today's game a 2-0 win. Playing our "3rd period hockey" from the last 2 games for the rest of the playoffs would be nice too.

WOW WHAT A ******* WHISTLE jesus

Sucks that a guy has to get injured on a play like that. Niedermayer has nothing to complain about though, he doesn't hook Homer the elbow doesn't go up like it does.

He's definitely a goon, although it's tough to appear dirty when placed in a list with Pronger.

Getz has played outstanding so far, but I think Hiller has done more for their team. I'm interested how much he has in the tank though. He's playing a lot of minutes with a lot of intensity, and that line is getting pretty much everything done for the team, I wonder how far they can carry the team.

Totally no skill on the pass from Cleary to Zetterberg to Franzen, and no skill with the reception, stickhandling, and shot.

This is just another test in the long run to the cup. If this team cannot come back from 1 loss, albeit and extremely long and tiring loss, then it's unlikely they would be winning the cup anyway. I have faith that they will come back harder after this and win one, if not both games in Anaheim.

Zata Cleary Franzen line is getting stuff done, no reason to break that up. I'm not sure how the Ducks are matching up to our lines but I would guess they have their top defense against the Hossa Datsyuk Holmstrom line, which could be one of the reasons for the decreased productivity.