Opie

Sure there hasn't been a repeat cup winner but look at the final four every year since the first lockout: (EDIT: Dammit lost my format:) Eastern Conf: No Conference Finals played due to the lockout . 2006 Carolina Hurricanes vs Buffalo Sabres 2007 Ottawa Senators vs Buffalo Sabres 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins vs Carolina Hurricanes 2010 Philadelphia Flyers vs Montreal Canadiens 2011 Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning 2012 New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers 2013 Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Western Conf: 2006 Edmonton Oilers vs Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 2007 Anaheim Ducks vs Detroit Red Wings 2008 Detroit Red Wings vs Dallas Stars 2009 Detroit Red Wings vs Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Chicago Blackhawks vs San Jose Sharks 2011 Vancouver Canucks vs San Jose Sharks 2012 Los Angeles Kings vs Phoenix Coyotes 2013 Los Angeles Kings vs. Chicago Blackhawks Sure a couple of teams sneak in once an a while like the random Pheonix/Vancouver/Tamba Bay/Carolina appearance, but look at all the Pit, Det, Chi, Phi, SJ (even if they choke on it). And if you go back to the final 8, you will see that it also tends to be the same teams over and over again with teams like ANA and Van being there more often. It really is the same top 5-6 teams almost every year. Det and Pit being the top of the class since the lockout, maybe parity is working better in the east (other than Pit) but to me it is a joke!

Two words: Florida Panthers Three More: Columbus Blue Jackets What have either of these two teams done to get better lately? Oh Yeah C-bus Way over spent on Wiz! How many Marquee players in either of those cities, or Pho, Dallas, Win, Buf, etc... When was the last time Florida traded anything for a player that made them better immediately or in the future? Florida is the rest of the leagues developmental team. And the tight races at the end of the season are the product of faked points, since you can no longer tie, you should no longer get any points just for making it to OT! The cap and the 3 point game have faked parity, there is no real parity in the league. As to your point about 2 maybe three marquee players, Two more words: Chicago BlackHawks or Pittsburgh Penquins There are plenty of teams in the league with 3 marquee forwards and at least one D-man. Parity in this day and age of sports means one thing, Salary cap is in place. The NFL, the NBA (albeit a weak system compared to NHL and NFL) all have forced parity, and what happens the same top 6 teams are in it every year. Look at the teams in the final 5 this year of the NHL playoffs, it was the last 5 cup winning teams. Parity is being faked and forced, with little success, so why not just reward the teams that want to be on top, want to spend, want to win every year. Tired of your team losing(as a fan), get on the GM and owner and get them to get some talent and spend some money!

I think being down 3-1 to the Wings (a division rival) was exactly what the Hawks needed to go all the way to the cup! Along the way every championship team has that moment where either you strive and overcome or you fall by the wayside. Coming back in 3 very close (even games 5 was close for all but like 10 minutes of Hawks domination). That was a very tough series for the team and their Captain, just the sort of thing that will fuel them past LA with relative ease, and into the cup finals with a lot of momentum. I think the Kings were riding a hot goaltender and are just not getting enough scoring all season and the post season! The only line I see giving the Hawks trouble is the Penner - Carter - Toffoli (is that spelled right, prob not!).

The same people call Holland dumb every off season when he makes the same canned statement. "The player has an agent and they may want to test the market, we will make what we think is a fair offer and see how it goes from there. But the player and the agent have to make a decision this probably won't be quick." Go back to last off season or the one before that and tell me the same things weren't said about Abby, Miller, Kronwall etc... Why get upset, it is Holland's canned speech that he gives for all free agent Wings. Do you think behind closed doors he and dats aren't already close to a deal, he was really just letting people know this may not be quick. But the Holland haters are gonna hate no matter what! Look no further than the grief he gets over not getting Suter, even though Suter chose Minnesota for reasons not related to the offer given! EDIT: OH look, now he is saying he wants to sign Dats as soon as July 5th! http://sports.yahoo.com/news/datsyuk-hopes-sign-deal-red-000639700--nhl.html From Article:

Another story reporting the same: http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/31/datysuk-wants-to-sign-contract-extension-with-red-wings/

Babcock is now 11-2 vs the Q-stache in the post season, 2-0 in series, hopefully soon to be 12-2 and 3-0! That my friends is the definition of OWNAGE!

Doc Rivers tried to implement a no "You know" or "Umm" rule the year after the championship, all that happened was instead of players saying fillers, and everyone moving on, everyone started pointing at each other like "oooohhhh gotcha" and cracking jokes at each other for saying fillers. So Doc dropped the rule.

Watch the last game, watch him enter the zone standing up, both zones not just the offensive zone. Watch him as he floats between face off dot and blueline in both zones. Standing straight up, not defending a passing lane, just coasting around the zone. Sure it is not as severe as Ovies play but I said plays similar to that, if I was not clear that I meant floating then I apologize. Mule is playing very hard hockey most of the time but still floats too much for me. The point of my post was that players of all nationalities float, whether it is the game winning play or not or as obvious as Ovie's.

Are you seriously telling me you have never seen mule float through either offensive or the defensive zone? It doesn't have to be as obvious as with Ovie, but Mule floats his way around the ice very very often! I can show you countless examples of him floating all around the ice, I just have a hard time believing you have never seen it!?

Lack of skill or execution is excusable, lack of effort is never excusable. Putting yourself out of position because you are trying to stop a goal, is a hell of a lot different than not trying! Two strides between the blue line and the goal and he is in range to lift the Rags player's stick. If he does that much and the goal goes in still, hey at least he tried. I remember a failry similar play with Feds against LA in the playoffs, but I also remember a few plays like that from Mule, Nash, and many other players of different nationalities! Russian born players are no more hard working or lazy than any other generalized nationality in the game!

I thought this was going to be about Daryl Reagh using 25 cent words that don't really sound like the belong in a hockey game. But I guess drinking every time and athlete uses a filler in an interview would get me smashed a hell of a lot quicker though!

That video was very enlightening, thank you for posting!!

I thought Fil showed real strength on the puck last night and helped create quite a few opportunities!

It is not very often you and I have the same opinion, I have to tell you, that last statement was dead on. Ryan was off his game, he was a force the previous 3 games. Perry had good chances, but he seemed just off to me too, I think they may be who he was referring to as "passengers" in his post game interview.

Well that is one way to get more pucks to the net!

I know these threads always pop up when we think the refs are garbage, so I thought I would make one for them doing a better than crap job. I think the officials are doing a great job of letting them play "playoff" hockey. There have been some no calls that I think both teams can be pissed about (more the ducks than wings after last night). But all in all, they are letting them play, the game is becoming physical, it is getting faster and faster with each period. There haven't been a lot of whistles (or lack of whistle) that have left me wondering what in the hell. The refs seem to be on their game early in the playoffs which is a good sign! Thoughts?

This may be why I think the officiating is decent, because it hasn't been atrocious! I guess it is all perception and expectations!

Ray Lewis' special Deer Antler Thoat Spray ©

LOL, and I will repost my reply, I guess we could have just done this in the Dekeyser injury thread! But I think the WIngs got away with a lot early on, a few hits from behind, a slash on a stick, a few tackles that would have drawn a flag in the NFL!

I would argue the Wings got a way with a lot, especially early!

This worries me a hell of a lot more than I thought losing a rookie who was with the team for ~2 months ever could. This kid is becoming the rock of the D, Kronwall is the leader, the big hitter, and offensive d-man, But Danny has been the rock. This hurts more than losing anyone not named Howard, Kronwall, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen! But it is the playoffs so as matt198913 said, "Next Man In!"

This draft is a bit deeper than most recent drafts so I agree with the top 15 that others have said, in a normal draft this kid is probably top 7. As said he would have been the 2nd best d-man behind Popeye, err umm Seth Jones, the league is starting to look a d-men a lot different than it used to. With the growth and stellar play of guys like Doughty, Weber, Suter, Hamilton(I know not same class as the others mentioned, but damn impressive as a rookie) etc... young studs on the blue line are becoming more and more valuable. He is NHL ready, and he is defensively solid, not an offensive minded guy who needs sharpen his D game (The aforementioned Hamilton comes to mind). But like I said this is predicted to be a deep draft of NHL ready players, so he is probably top 15. Had he played in a major tournament before the draft and played as well as he has played for the Wings so far, that probably puts him top 7 even in this draft. Now if he scored as well as played this well defensively he probably gets picked right after Jones. Instead, he is a WING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH M****R F****R!!

The scary part of that video for me is that the toe of the skate turns the mask and with it the neck guard. Luckily the blade never made contact, because the neck guard was on the side of his shoulder!

In regards to #3, there is a real easy way to see what kind of game he is going to bring real early on in the game. When Franzen comes in on the Wing, and tosses it down the boards like he is flicking a booger he is in Johan mode. He doesn't chase it down, he doesn't try any moves, he just crosses the blueline standing almost straight up, legs barely moving, and flip goes the puck behind the net! We he does the things above, then he is in Mule mode! Edit (clarity): that last sentence is confusing, I meant when he dumps and chases his own puck (which he started doing late in the game), puts a move on the defender, or is even at least skating hard in the zone, not just coasting!

I voted nothing, while I agree he did kick Howard in the mask, I was surprised he got a penalty at all. He was checked into Howard, I didn't see any intent, but the fact he kicked him in the mask not the chest made all the difference in the world to the Refs. I thought the refs did a great job of letting them play. There were a couple of no calls both ways that I could see as frustrating, but I didn't see phantom calls. When you see the replay, Howard's mask spins around, to me this is akin to Howard losing his mask, the whistle had to be blown. I thought that was the original whistle was a stop due to his mask, then I was pretty surprised to see a penalty called. Again, I think if he kicks Howard in the chest, Howard falls, and the refs would have let them play. I should also note that I use the word kick loosely, I think it was more his leg flailing from the contact from the Wings defender.