NGKEIB

Sorry but I don't think Downey will see much time in a Wings uniform... Maltby has 1 year and Draper has 2 years left on their contracts. I think that Helm will be a Red Wing next season, but due to depth, cap etc. it seems likely that Abdelkader will be in GR to develop for another season, as opposed to playing 8 minutes a night in Detroit. Draper is still quick and a great defensive forward with good face-off skills. I thought that Maltby's regular season was pretty crap, but he's impressed me this post-season. Maybe they'll think about retiring after this post-season if we're successful. I think that we'll see Leino, Ericsson, Howard and probably Helm next season, but I don't think Abdelkader will play in the D. In terms of a future grind line, Helm and Abdelkader will be great. Maybe with Kopecky as the other winger?

That makes sense...

These guys aren't Red Wings, but in my opinion deserve mention due to their stellar international play: Tomas Surovy hat-trick: 1. Be shut out by arch rivals 2. Make several bone-head plays that lead to goals by arch-rivals 3. Slash own goalie in head (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0emzMJ6FiwQ) Philippe Furrer hat-trick: 1. Score a goal... 2. An own goal... 3. Shot in when you tried to bank the puck around the boards after a face-off... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJ8R4yCbhI)

I find it strange that Abdelkader is wearing 8, since I thought that while not retiring his number, his number was like Larry Aurie's and Konstantinov's in that nobody used it out of respect for them. He still has a stall in the locker room, so I figured that his number would be off limits, especially for a youngster like Darth.

Mickey Redmond hat-trick (as commentator): 1. Rant about composite sticks 2. Rant about the 'new NHL' 3. Have blood pressure soar when a fight breaks out (Other options could include: 4. Regularly use words or phrases like 'donnybrook', 'johnny-on-the-spot', 'bingo-bango' etc. 5. Be caught in elevator when biggest brawl in recent RW history breaks out)

I use nhltorrents, but I think that you can also find them on ustream.

Darren Helm hat-trick: 1. Rack up 20 hits in his first 3 shifts 2. Score a break-away goal 3. Make Scott Niedermayer look as slow as Larry Murphy

Joey Kocur hat-trick (as player): 1. Break someones jaw/orbital bone/helmet with a huge right 2. Score a goal on a nice backhand move 3. Cut hand open on opponents helmet/teeth Joey Kocur hat-trick (as assistant coach): 1. Salivate whenever any on-ice rough stuff gets going 2. Intimidate opposing team's players 3. Throw a chair on the ice Bob Probert hat-trick: 1. Goal 2. Fight 3. Have a pot of coffee and a pack of cigarettes before each game, and do lines of coke between shifts Robert Lang hat-trick: 1. Give the word 'pylon' a new meaning 2. Conveniently lose helmet in order to show off mullet 3. Score a clutch goal but fail to earn any respect from fans

Great stuff! Aaron Downey hat-trick: 1. Get a point 2. Fight 3. Be voted man of the match by crazed Wings fans Niklas Kronwall hat-trick: 1. Big open ice hit where Nik leaves his feet 2. Big open ice hit where he doesn't leave his feet 3. Goal Jonathan Ericsson hat-trick: 1. Flukey soft goal on weak slapper from blue-line that is deflected in by one of the opposing team's defenders 2. Deflect puck in own net with foot 3. Rag-doll one of the biggest ******* in the league and earn praise as the second coming of Bob Probert Brian Rafalski hat-trick (regular season): 1. PP goal (via Holmström) 2. Give puck away in front of own net 3. Nice outlet passes to forwards Brian Rafalski hat-trick (playoffs) 1. PP goal (via Holmström/opposing defender) 2. Block several punches with eyes 3. Nice outlet passes to forwards

Though I can't say I feel bad for them (except maybe PÃ¥hlsson, because he's new to the team and it's not making gelling with them any easier) - anyone think if Walker's crosschecks on Draper were made with the knowledge that Draper was coming off of an injury? Or was it just plain ol' frustration?

Havlat sat out practice, and was seen limping around. PÃ¥hlsson, Walker and Keith also missed the practice. Keith missed the practice before game one too. PÃ¥hlsson wouldn't say why he has sat out so many practices, but hinted that it wasn't the mono he had had earlier. Several other players apparently had ice bags and wraps too. Taken from MLive: http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/05/bl...lat_on_the.html Havlat is probably hurt from the Kronwall (mis-)hit, but I assume that the others are from injuries/fatigue sustained in their earlier series. I guess going through Calgary and Vancouver has a price...

And a goal disallowed because Coleapparently pushed Gill into Fleury.

Hmm... Pray tell, good sir, what is rocket surgery? As Norrisnick pointed out, Datsyuk and Hossa aren't our 'shutdown' line. Toews and Kane are -3 because they were playing Franzén-Zetterberg-Cleary. Not only did that line shut down the Blackhawks' top scorers, they also scored goals of their own. Which brings us to the next point - Cleary should not move down to the 2nd line (yes as far as I'm concerned Hossa-Datsyuk-Holmström is our 2nd line...) because he's been great where he is. I think that the only replacement for Holmström (as a sort of player who will hit and go into traffic) is Abdelkader, but Holmström is still better than him at what he does. Helm is fast and all, but not very big, and wouldn't do a great job at screening the goalie - he is small and would get moved easily. The other option would be to put up a playmaking type such as Filppula or Hudler, but that's a different story.

Because Draper is the best on our team at faceoffs, and spends time on the penalty kill... If anyone sits it will be Abdelkader, barring injuries.

I think that cutting his teammate's throat was a pretty s***ty thing to do.

He's a c. 20-goal guy who costs around 1.25 million, and plays a solid game. Also scores big goals. I'll take that any day.

Rick DiPietro is a great puck-handler, we should definitely try to sign him. Turco is a bit too old, other than that I think it's a good idea. But I'd say go for DiPietro. He's had some small injuries but that shouldn't be a problem. Best thing is that we wouldn't be locked into a long contract if we traded for him!

Quite a few... But why are there people in front of you? You should have pushed to the front

If you get hit by Byfuglien and Eager (both of whom are much bigger than Ericsson), chances are you go down. He doesn't look injured so that is fine. First goal was kind of flukey, and the interference was a bad penalty to take. It looks like he's being a bit rushed out there, but I'm sure he'll be better next game. Going from Lidström to Lebda as a partner is obviously going to be different, and the Hawks play a much quicker game than the Ducks.

'Like it or lump it', but techno has its roots in Detroit. House shouldn't be played as it is from Chicago. Country should not be played anywhere. If they wanted to play Swedish music to honour the Swedish Red Wings, they could choose from a nice selection of crappy Eurodance and melodic death metal. My point it I guess that as long as the music makes the crowd happy, and ideally has some reference to the current situation (Sweet Caroline should we meet Carolina in the SCF, Living on a Prayer when we've won two games of a series etc.), what's wrong with it? I don't watch hockey or go to hockey games to listen to music. In Sweden there isn't much music and instead the fans have drums/banners/etc. and sing chants the entire game. That is quite nice - definitely better than cheerleaders.

Eager is even going after his teammates now... Close call, but he looked none the worse for wear later, even if his neck was a bit red.

I'm not from Detroit, but I've read somewhere that it's fairly obvious that Journey aren't from there either, because the southern area of Detroit isn't referred to as 'South Detroit' but as 'Downriver'. I have no idea whether this is correct or not, could some Detroit denizen enlighten me?

Teemu Selänne's rookie season is always amazing to me... GP G A P 84 76 56 132 It may not be one of the top 10, but has to be one of the very best rookie seasons ever.

It cracks me up whenever he plays Living on a Prayer (Oh, we're halfway there...) - he did it after we won game 1 and 2 against Pittsburgh, and did it when we knocked out Anaheim. I like heavier stuff, but I'm glad he sticks with the 80s feel. I'd rather listen 80s hair metal and arena rock than some crap nu-metal. If you want to play some heavy pounding metal, at least take death metal or thrash or another respectable genre (in my opinion), but I'm not sure that's what you need at a hockey game. I wouldn't mind Rossini (William Tell Overture) or Wagner's Walkürenritt, overplayed as they are. And some happy trance etc. would be acceptable. Then again, I don't actually go to the games, so it prob affects other people more. I just hear stuff through my computer speakers...

His defensive play is often questionable, but he doesn't shy away from throwing checks. By Samuelsson checks I mean skate halfheartedly into the opponent who got rid of the puck ages ago and tie him up for a half-second. I wouldn't mind seeing Leino play, but there is no way it will be at the expense of Samuelsson!