under_par_00

Good news! That article says he will begin playing in Grand Rapids immediately? Hopefully he can make an impact on the end of this year and playoffs.

Didn't Hudler look real good playing on Zetterberg's wing last game? I think that is a combination that Babcock does not use nearly enough (in fact, I don't think he has ever used it before for longer than a game). They compliment each other well, and Hudler is like a Datsyuk-lite out there with his playmaking abilities. The return of 40G Z? I absolutely love these combinations: Franzen - Datsyuk - Bertuzzi Hudler - Zetterberg - Cleary Modano - Filppula - Abdelkader Draper - Helm - Eaves/Miller Why can't it stick like this? Why (once healthy) are we going to see a line of Cleary - Zetterberg - Bertuzzi?

Jiri was the best player on the ice against the Canucks.

Blame Canada!

Yes, fantastic game by Filppula tonight. Are you sure they didn't stick Datsyuk in the #51 jersey? He was making some sick dangles tonight. This is not totally out of the question. Filppula has always stepped up his intensity level for the playoffs and generally played well. With more confidence and experience, this might be his year. The only time he sucked in the playoffs was last year against the Sharks. Remember how hot his line with Z was until that series.

I was at the game too. I couldn't believe the amount of Pens fans there, all wearing Crosby jerseys. It was so quiet and boring for the first 2 periods, then the 3rd was insane. Great game overall to attend. Wings got screwed in the shootout. Great save by MacDonald on Kovalev, that was a pretty nice dangle.

Kindl has been great so far, and is improving as he gains confidence and experience. I've said this before, but Kindl > Ericsson. Kindl can see the ice better, and read plays a lot better than Big E. Kindl is our best skating dman. Ericsson has an advantage in the physical side of the game, but Kindl will grow to be the better player by far.

It wasn't so much lack of effort as it was lack of 'defensive' effort. Leino was here to score, that's all he wanted to do. I guess it's hard to teach a 26 year old offensive dynamo to buy into the defense first mentality. Also, it's not like Leino is gritty, or added anything new to this team.

Yes, it looks like Datsyuk's left leg/ankle gets tweaked when he gets hit. It kind of gets pinned to the boards by Nash.

Get this kid in GR now! Tatar will dominate next year, and it would be an interesting team if Gustav, Pulkkinen, and Jarnkrok join him.

You should be happy if there is a lockout. You do not want to give this Packers team a chance to repeat. They'll actually have a running back this year and their pro-bowl tight end. Youngest team in the league last year as Super Bowl Champs.

I really hope Pacioretty is OK though. On TSN they were saying that he was concise in the hospital and able to move his limbs. Hopefully he is back for the playoffs.

Those of you saying that Chara knew he was hitting him into the stantion are crazy. At the pace this game is played, Chara was simply trying to not allow Pacioretty to get by him and grab the puck. This was not a dirty hit. Interference maybe, but Chara certainly did not plan for this to happen. I remember my days playing hockey, I hit someone the exact same way. It was not on purpose, I had no idea the stantion was there, but it was one of the biggest hits of my hockey career *The kid I hit was not injured

What happened to Pulkkinen? From that video, it looks like his left knee got a little twisted up. That is not good. What was going on? Pulkinnen was skating out infront, from behind the net, and the goalie tripped him on purpose? What the hell? OH I see what happened, WOW, he took a 2-hander from a goalie stick right to the side of the knee! Jesus Christ, how is that allowed? That is disgusting. To do that to a young player, hopefully there is no serious damage, although it didn't look good

I think Kindl sees the ice better than Big E, and this is why some of you are saying he is a better player. Ericsson has more of the physical tools needed to be a defenceman, and that is why he plays a better game currently. As long as Kindl keeps learning and improving, he should end up a better player than Big E IMO.

It's been posted here before, but it's a great read and I enjoyed the re-read!

What could the Wings give up to get Ladislav Smid? He would be a great 5th/6th defenseman who can play top 4 if needed, and still has potential to improve (he is 25). He is signed for 1 more year at only $1.3 mil and then RFA. I guess we don't have cap room though, even with Datsyuk and others on LTIR?

INDUCE!!! INDUCE LABOR!!!! Haha, seriously tho, I want to see Mule out there kicking on Monday. If he has a kid, send him on the West Coast swing and let him tear it up as he anxiously awaits his homecoming. Can't play any worse than he has recently! And of course, hope all goes well with the birthing of a BABY MULE!!! Ahhhhhh

Here is a report from TSN: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=355082 Good that it's "everything but his knee," or bad?

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=354819 What a steal for the Penguins if this is the complete trade.

This

Duchene was hit in the hand by a shot. Malkin was very unfortunate that Myers slipped and hit him the way that he did. Parise's injury was just a freak accident that aggravated a previous condition with his knee. Markov just had a bummed out knee to begin with (thank you Matt Cooke). Only Markov's injury might apply to "lack of respect" but that occurred last playoffs and it wasn't really a dirty hit. I cant think of any other big name players to go down, maybe you could provide some that were a result of a 'lack of respect'. Closer to home we have Datsyuk, Modano, Homer all going down due to accidents that caused injury. Only Stuart's broken jaw was a result of a "lack of respect".

Hudler has been really great recently. He has been much more noticeable in a lot of games, making plays. He has great control of the puck and can make sick saucer passes anywhere. That backhand feed to Cleary tonight was a thing of beauty.

Great read. When will the other parts be posted?