TheOwl

I think we all agree Holland is spending too much on D. Ericcson could easily replace Stuart. Hesitant to move Kronwall since he was in 10 top D scoring. It all depends what Nick wants to do. If he does retire, Rafa becomes 10x more valuable, but if Lidstrom comes back cheap could get rid of Rafalski if he waives his NTC. Getting rid of Stuart only frees up a total of 7 million, so probably no Hossa. Flipulla is too valueble to let go, same with Hudler. Rafalski would free up 6 million right their, yes Hossa, Hudler and Leino. We got the D, and could stand to lose any one. Replacing lilja with Erricson isn't a solution, you need to replace a top 4 guy with Ericcson to gain anything.

The Wings only have 4 million in cap space if you don't move anyone currently signed, or sign any of the UFA's. Someone has got to go, and I hope it's not Flipulla.

It was nice of Detroit to let Nash score a goal and give the fans some hope for a few minutes. Columbus could be a great team in a few years, they've done well but their task was impossible.

Good to see the old regular season Ozzie back! This is a perfect time for a break down, 3-0 in the series, can get all the bad play out of our system.

Personally the salary cap is the best thing the NHL ever did. But I think it's nonsensical to have these long term guaranteed contracts for tens of millions of dollars. A solution to this could perhaps be using more bonuses, like if your team wins the Presidents trophy, or the Cup, or makes it to the finals. For a team like Detroit, this would encourage players to sign for less, since they'll make big bucks if they PERFORM. Phaneuf is a perfect example, great rookie year, signs big big contract, now he's guaranteed his money, he has nothing to play for really. Players make too much money. It would be a great step in the right direction if players had more incentive to play well, with smaller contracts and bonuses that didn't count against the cap. The cap will never drop down significantly, imagine if the cap went down to 46 million. How would any team adjust to that? All the rookies and newer players would get screwed. Like Pittsburgh, they have almost 30 million tied up in 5 players, how can you fill a 20 man roster with 16 million? The NHL should adjust the salaries, so if the cap goes down 20%, players still get paid what they were guaranteed, but their cap hit goes down in a similar fashion. In a world with a static cap, you can't have all these guaranteed contracts. Bonuses that don't count against the cap, would encourage players to play better as a team as they get more money, but allows more discounts, especially for the top tier teams.

Seeing that they only won 10 games when the opposition scored 3 or more goals, they pretty much need Luongo or they wouldn't be close to the playoffs.

Canucks have a chance, but seriously, the Blues were not competition, neither were the Jackets. The problem with the Canucks is, theirs one way they will beat Detroit, Luongo shutting them out. Detroit's defense is far better, offense far better, face-offs better, powerplays better. Canucks are a one dimensional team, who gets every win the same way, Luongo. If Luongo lets in an average of 2 goals a game, it'll be a sweep.

Washington looks like Russia in the 2006 Olympics. Every pass across half the ice looking for a break away, every shot from the top of the circle. Ovechkin is getting a lot of shots, but no great chances. He's a one man army, just like Nash in the Columbus series. No support, can't win 1 on 3 battles. No goalie is worse then Theodore in the playoffs. How could they sign him. He hasn't recovered from the lock out, and melts down under even minor pressure. From Vezina to glorified back-up in only 2 seasons.

God I hate the Canucks. Without Luongo they'd be bottom dwellers like Colorado. And you best believe if Vancouver falls in the second round, no matter how good Luongo plays, he'll be blamed by every Vancouver sports writer. What bugs me even more is living in this town, being a Detroit fan. I mean seriously, I was a Canuck fan until Bure left, and became a Detroit fan when Hasek joined. I think it's retarded when people cheer for a team, regardless who's on it. I cheer for the team because I like the players on the team. Doesn't that make a lot more sense then cheering for the team closest to you? How could anyone not be a Detroit fan? Great offense, great defense but not a trapping team. Detroit relies on every area of the game to succeed, Vancouver relies on Luongo alone. Boring hockey, so why should I cheer for them just because I live in Vancouver?

Yep, lots of guys just like him, amazing minor leaguer but can't make the jump. Assuming Hossa doesn't return, Detroit could potentially have a better roster. Ericsson, Leino, Helm, Aldbekater (spelling!). Losing Hossa won't be as catastrophic as people think. Flipulla will be better, Cleary seems to be getting better, and Hudler MUST return. The question becomes, if Hossa wins a cup this year, will he return for another for bare minimum, or will he have achieved his goal and take more money? It's a guarantee Detroit will win at least one Cup in the next 5 years, something that can't be said for any other team.

Green is like a diet Dan Boyle, not as cool, not as effective, but people like him because he's new. Green is not the best defensemen in the NHL, put Zetterberg on D and he'll win the Norris. It should be all about defensive ability. The best D man in the world could have 0 points and be a minus 0 for the season. That's a perfect defensemen. This whole award thing is completely f***ed. Why should it only include the regular season? I mean seriously. The regular season is more or less meaningless. You could be a 50 goal scorer a year, but if you can't score in the play-offs, your useless. Sure, hand out the Hart, Art Ross, Jennings and whatever stat based trophy, but things like the Selke, Vezina and Norris should be decided after the play-offs. How good could you be if your team doesn't make the play-offs anyways? Look at Lidstrom, perfect so far in the play-offs. How's Green doing? Terrible. How's Chara doing? Just fine. A D-man who disappears in the play-offs shouldn't be a Norris candidate. He obviously can't play real hockey. The play-offs are for men. And Green is no man, and shouldn't win the Norris just because he scored 30 goals in the regular season.

But here's what it boils down to, assuming Detroit wins, here's how it goes: San Jose beats Anaheim: We get Vancouver in the second round Anaheim beats San Jose: We get Anaheim in the second round I don't know if we can beat Vancouver in the second round, their too confident and playing better then they should be. If Osgood and friends could crack rookie Mason, Hiller shouldn't be too much tougher.

But didn't you actively hope for Columbus instead of Anaheim?

Why are you guys cheering for San Jose!! This is horrible!!!! Who would you rather face, Anaheim or Vancouver! Definitely not Vancouver, GO DUCKS GO DUCKS, GOOOOO!

Great to see different lines dominating the games, shows Bab's got the combo's perfect. And the D is playing amazing, Ericcson and Stuart were rock solid tonight!!

We need to put everything in perspective. Osgood did have a terrible regular season, easily blowing at least half the games he played single handedly. He played good in Game's 1 and 2, but remember it's Columbus, and our D is playing a lot better. Osgood looks really good because the defense is really good. We'll have to wait until a team with some real offense takes over a game, and see how Osgood holds up. When the puck is only in your end of the ice for 20% of the game, you don't need to be fantastic. But we'll have to wait and see how he does. I'm not hating here, I'm just saying we shouldn't assume Osgood's game is back to 100% until we get a team who can actually turn it up (Anaheim most likely).

Exactly. People go on and on about Roy and Brodeur, but who was winning all the Vezina's in the 90's, when all 3 of these guys were in their prime? Hasek performance in the 98 Olympics also far surpasses anything Broduer and Roy did on the international level. Hasek is one of the top 5, maybe even top 3 goalies of all time. Not to mention he was actually exciting to watch. Loungo and all those butterfly goalies are boring, their like robots. Hasek on the other hand had a completely unique style. Osgood does though deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, but that should depend on these playoffs. Most goalies retire before they completely break down. If Osgood breaks down and costs the Wings the cup this season, he won't be back next year, and he won't be in the HOF. SO hopefully he keeps playing the way he does. Remember Hasek last playoffs? Great for Game 1 and 2, horrible for Game 3 and 4. What? Winning 40% of the Vezina's in your career isn't dominant? Who is dominant? Broduer? What about Roy? How many Vezina's did they win? Hasek won more then Brodeur, and twice as many as Roy. Not to mention all those Hart, Pearson and Jennings trophies. Not to mention the fact Hasek's career GAA IS FAR better then Roys or Brodeurs career averages. Hasek statistically, and award winning wise, is the most dominant goalie in the last 20 years.

The +/- is meaningless for defensive play. The - though tells the whole story. If less even-strength goals go in when Datysuk is on the ice, he's better defensively. And really I don't know if Mike Richards or whoever else is nominated for the Selke is on the penalty kill, but if you don't or can't kill penalties, you are not a defensive forward.

If Tennis can have a video challenge system, why the hell can't hockey? Give each coach 3 challenges, any penalty call, any questionable call, any thing, goes on the big screen, everyone and the refs watch it. The refs huddle, review the call, change their mind or stick with the original call and move on. Simple, solves so many problems, and only takes 30 seconds.

Their is no doubt that Osgood is playing amazing, but the D and offense by Detroit has been perfect as well, Osgood doesn't have to face sustained pressure since Columbus can't match the Wings intensity. A better team may be able to crack Osgood, but if the Wings keep playing the way they are, they should be able to cruise to the western final.

Detroit is a BEAST!

Canucks are mad boring to watch, their such a one dimensional team. It's all goaltending, goaltending, goaltending. Without Luongo they'd be nothing.

OH DID YOU SEE THAT?

The depth is amazing, they can shut down Datsyuk, Hossa and Homer, but the other 3 lines can role it out. The Flippula-Hudler-Sammy line was amazing tonight too!

I knew you could do it Ozzy, never doubted you for a second!!