Chunkylover

And people think Mickey is a homer.

My favorite Datsyuk/Sharks moment was when he vanished on Mike Grier and Grier ended up taking out Clowe.

I watched the Montreal vs. Tampa Bay game the other day and the post-game analyst said the Canadiens scored the first goal early then played like it was a guaranteed point. The last-place Lightning won. When the Lebda scored and the team struggled to shut down the low slot area I got the feeling this would be that kind of night. Maybe we'll lose tomorrow night and Babs will be able to grab the teams attention.

Who should have? None of the others led their team as far as Lidstrom has. Is it really that hard to believe that Nick has done more in two years than Iginla, Koivu, or Alfredsson? Koivu isn't usually the best player on that team and up until last season the Habs weren't being led anywhere great. Iginla got to the Finals once then led his team to mid-pack mediocrity with three straight first round exits. As evidenced in last season's drubbing at the hands of the Penguins it is clear how important Alfredsson is to the Senators, but again, his has been a record of mediocrity.

Lidstrom beat Crosby and is now trailing Yzerman. The winner will face either Gretzky or Clarke. Gretzky is leading that match-up.

I did know that Rafalski was the Wings defense scoring leader because I watched the game last night. I don't think I'm alone here in saying the stats don't tell the entire story. I'm just saying that based on their play right now, neither he nor Osgood belong in the ASG.

I don't really care that much anymore. Like many have said, why vote someone in if they don't deserve it? Hossa, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg easily belong there. Lidstrom too, but Raffi and Ozzie have not been playing like All-stars. For me, the less national exposure the Wings get, the better. We don't want people jocking our teams nuts like the Penguins, or Capitals, or Sharks. Let them soak up the spotlight during the regular season while we sneak into the postseason under the cover of darkness.

Actually, the "great Swedish drafting" is so called because of who they find in the seventh round not the first or second. Everyone knows about a player going in the first round. Our European scouting is the envy of the league not because we draft Ovechkin at number one, but because we draft Zetterberg at number 210.

I actually like their third jersey from 2003, black and purple with the stylized script "Anaheim". Has nothing to do with their mascot but it looks way better than what they have now. I also think the teams that exploited every option on the RBK jerseys (Colorado, St. Louis, Nashville, et al) should go back to their previous styles. +1 on the Sabres and Senators. My pick is the Canucks. I don't like the orca "C" and prefer the white "stick-in-rink" logo best. That and it brought them some postseason luck against the Stars in '07. Completely dropping the "Vancouver" from the jersey is assumed.

Yes this is the team I want to see go into the playoffs. I just don't want them playing this way. It's the same team that went to the Cup last year less Drake and Hasek. The Drake was a very important role player, but I can't see exchanging him with Hossa as a step backward. I actually think they're bored of these "meaningless" regular season games.

I give Cleary five minutes on that line before he's swapped with Samuelsson. Hopefully Sammy can keep from hitting Hossa with an errant shot. Filppula probably understands how Datsyuk thinks better than anyone (save Zetterberg) so it makes sense to put them together. Hopefully Homer can handle the work load a little better than Saturday.

I was so happy to see my boy Datsyuk knock over Campbell. That spin-o-rama is so annoying. Thanks for posting.

That's why we're off our game! I didn't even think about that. Bowman left and Osgood forgot how to tend the goal, Rafalski forgot he was supposed to be responsible in his own zone, heck the whole team forgot. This all goes back to losing Bowman. That fink! Aren't there laws against nepotism? At least he's not helping the Blackhawks that much.

Not totally disagreeing with you but I think the line with Drapes, Malts, and Meech has been on for more goals against or some crazy stat like that. They were out for one last night with Lebda and Lilja. It seems like a former Selke winner, a career grinder, and a converted defenseman should be a little better in their own zone. Of course they aren't the only ones guilty of such lapses but I expect better out of a "shutdown line" than what they're providing. Just hope they keep getting better throughout the season.

Sometimes I think Detroit fans are just crap. I've been to two games this year and made myself hoarse from yelling. I was the only one in my party to do so until late in the game after they drank enough liquid courage. During the televised broadcasts, many fans show more interest in jumping up to turn away from the play toward the camera than actually jumping up for the play itself. During the commercial breaks everyone gets out of the seats for a chance to get on the Jumbotron. The last and worst incident occurred at the Ducks game: some ****** in a suite actually had the Monday night football game on. That still irks me. And that is the problem. Detroit only has a handful of true hockey fans, a lot of casual fans and then a few bandwagoneers, but even they are too busy on the Baseball or Basketball bandwagon.

I think Kovie would probably be on the line with Datsyuk and would keep that line as one of the best. Losing Kronwall would hurt the most because even though we'd gain Ericsson, we'd lose some youth and depth on the blueline that we'll need after Lidstrom retires. Nice idea but it seems like a lot to give up.

I try not to vote for any of the media darlings from the Pens, Habs, or Caps but is it worth it to get Crosby or Malkin on the starting lineup just to screw with the Habs fans? Everyone definitely needs to vote to get Zetterberg back on the starting line.

It's too bad he has a no trade clause.

Done. Glad to see Stevie won for the '90's. It would be interesting to see Yzerman and Lidstrom match up in the semis. Sadly if Crosby beats Lidstrom he'll probably beat Yzerman only losing to Gretzky. I'm actually surprised Crosby isn't already ahead of Lidstrom. Do Pens fans not know about this poll?

Interesting that there are more hockey teams recognized than Baseball on that list and only two less in the top twenty than football. Not sure what that means. Maybe hockey and basketball aren't as unpopular as the media represents.

Wouldn't you rather see a 7-6 penalty-fest?

Yeah but it took him three years and he's had a lot of bad games since then.

The Ducks may be the only litmus test team the Wings have. If Anaheim gets physical the Wings will too. Hopefully the officials can keep from injecting themselves into the outcome of a potentially action-packed, high-tempo game. I'd love to see a Wings win but going into some practice days it might give the coach more ammo if they lose.

In Datsyuk's contract year there were many who wanted to trade him for Brian Gionta. After Turco's phenomenal playoff round against the Canucks in '07 I thought we could best secure our future by dumping Osgood and signing Turco if possible. If not him then make a move for Kiprusoff. The challenge we as fans have is being powerless to make any changes and that is a good thing because we also lack the insight to make any informed decisions. I'm not against speculation and endless trade discussions because that can be fun and stimulating. But my belief in this team's ability to win is unwavering and if you need something to buck yourselves up through this early season slog, just review some of the pictures from the final. Guys like Stuart, Draper, Cleary, Zetterberg, and Samuelsson in their bearded glory. When you saw them you just knew they were the guys who were going to come out on top! And the best part is they're all still here.

I can't disagree with the sad statistics you provided but our record is poor against a lot of the better teams because we've only played one game against them.