Opie

The Wings will win. Trust me today is my day. I just came home (to check on the dog) from the hospital where my daughter (first child) was born at 3:59am EST. 6lbs 7oz 19 inch beautiful girl, mom and baby are doing very well. No way the hockey gods would let the Wings lose today, and make me have to deal with all of my friends(I live near Boston) for the next 2 months!

You are missing the point, he is a hero (as you put it) not because he blocked a shot. But the situation in which he did it. In front of an open net, Diving face first. What you are missing is that if he didn't get hit in the face we would be talking about the effort he gave, even if the puck went in. Now if they score and he dives, it is in the game day thread as a great effort. He dives and blocks it with his body, and the score was 4-1, or 5-2 or whatever at the time then it probably ends up still in the game day thread. He dives and blocks the shot during a one goal game that the wings go on to dominate and win the third period after his effort, probably a one page thread with a few posts. He dives and blocks the shot with his face, causing injury, and it is during a one goal game that the wings go on to dominate and win the third period after his effort. You end up with this thread. You got negged and I responded because you are acting like this happens 5-6 times a game, when in all actuality when was the last time you saw a player dive face first to block a puck in the crease. Let a lone a Wings D-man, think about how skilled( or unskilled rather) wings d-men have been around the crease the last few years. People on here have bitched for years about the Wings D and clearing the crease or dealing with rebounds. Even when Z does SLIDE into the crease from time to time he goes in feet first, other D go down on one knee to block it. He laid out for that one like very few players in the league do. This was not just another blocked shot, IMO. But don't take my word on it, take these:

Umm then what do you call diving face first in front of the shooter, while laying on the goal line. While at the same time the netminder was still turning to face the shooter. As in he was not even looking in that direction yet. White dove in front of an open net and got hit in the face for his troubles. Sure I bet his intention was to block it with his body, but the fact he laid it out, and didn't just try to use his stick, is what people are applauding him for. The fact that he took it to the face adds to the "glamour" or "mystique" of the play. But it was not like he was standing still and got hit in the ass while not looking. He PURPOSELY (meaning on purpose, therefore not an accident) dove in front of an empty net to save a goal. He did that, not accidentally, not by chance, not by luck. He dove in front of the puck with the intention (again on purpose not an accident) to block the shot. He did just that, just so happens he used his cheek (face not ass) to get the job done. Which indirectly led to two goals and a DET win. IMO if he reaches with his stick to poke check that, it is a tie game and the whole complexion of the game changes. These are the things we are celebrating. His effort, his hustle, and his commitment to the team. EDIT: Clarity

I think the biggest difference is that Stuart Kronwall being the real #1 pairing and Lids have a really solid D partner in White. White is solid on both ends, he is no Raf in the O zone, but then again he is no Raf in the D zone either! The top 2 pairings are better defensively than they have been in a long time, even before Schnieds I think. Sure they are not as offensively gifted, but Kronner is off to a great start. I do think though that the lack of another PP d-man with Lids is hurting the pp though.

I was watching online and not in HD, was it the puck or J-ho's stick that got White? Either way ballsy, gutsy, necessary play to stop the goal there!! I am very happy with Ian White on this roster, I only hope this is a quick and easy recovery but it looked bad!

The oilers were swarming at times, J-Ho was big and how about an "atta boy" for the D, did a good job clearing pucks! All around great win. J-Ho looked great

The B's put up 6 last night on the Oil, I think the young legs are hitting a bit of a slow down, I am sure they will have a resurgence soon. But Smyth was a driving force and the Oil had way too many late game turn overs coming out of their own zone. Marchand had three chances at that last goal, he stole the puck twice in a row almost in the same spot, skated down the left wing, waited for bodies in front and tried to snipe a corner, successful on his third shot of the two odd man rushes in about 45 seconds. They made sloppy plays at both blue lines. Lets hope their play continues!

Seriously, you are talking to the most stubborn poster on this forum, no matter what he will not give up his Hudler boner because between Jan 17th and Feb 5th Huds was on pace to score 8 zillion points. You expect him to give up on pushing Kopay down people's throat. That would be like asking GMR to say Enforcers are useless. (not trying to change subject or turn this into pro vs anti enforcer just using GMR's opinion to prove a point!) Might as well bang your head against the wall.

That is a lot of shooters on one line and not too many playmakers. I don't see that line being especially effective. I would have liked to seen a playmaker with Franzen and Nyquist or with Franzen and Bert, and Nyquist on another line.

I am really excited to see what this kid can do. I hope he is given a legit shot and sees some decent ice time in the next couple of weeks. I would just hate to see him bounce around from healthy scratch to on the ice. I think that would prevent him from gaining any kind of momentum. Either way excited to see another UMainer in the winged wheel! Maybe they will start sending more Swedes to UMaine and then more of them will end up on the Wings!!

Only in Florida. Anyone else notice that as soon as players leave Florida they almost all tear it up, or become the player they were before going to FLA or the player they were supposed to be before being drafted by FLA. Examples (I am sure there are counter examples too) N. Horton J. Bouwmeester O Jokinen T. Vokoun (from washed up to very early Vezina candidate) etc.... Florida, where a hockey player's skill and old people go to die!!

2 days later???? In the real world I get 2 weeks to spend with my baby, I am actually taking almost a full month with PTO and I work from home. If my boss said I need you back to work in two days I would have to really consider telling him to shove it. Luckily I work for a really good company. Just because these guys play a sport does't make them something other than Human. He is a first time father (a stress you could never understand unless you have been there and I am still experiencing pre-birth stress), give the man a chance to appreciate the moment and get to know his baby before he is off on the road for weeks at a time. Speaking of family, does the FMLA have bearing in the NHL? So if Howard wanted the two weeks Paternity leave FMLA affords, could he take it? Sidenote and has no bearing on the topic! It used to be you avoided this board in the off-season to miss the BS, then it was off season and trade deadline, then off season, trade deadline, and after a loss. Now it looks if you want to read intelligent posts (which used to be 90% of the posts on here) you need to pilfer through, I need a filter for LGW like I have for my inbox, crap, and then stuff I want to read and actually debate, if I were to disagree. For the love of me I can not figure out why anyone would say he should have been in net over spending time with his Newborn. This happens almost every year, and the Wings consistently give their players time to be with their families, and members of this board continue to act like they would be there for the birth in skates, and then bolt to practice the minute the baby comes out! Hell why not just tell him to skype to the hospital and he can watch it via webcam and not miss a practice or morning skate. They could put it on the jumbo tron if it happens during a game!

This would make me put one on!

Pure Pavel!!! Great read, I loved this bit:

Or a kick save!

I'll give you that. In fact I also gave you +1 (I know you probably could care less). I am one of the people on here who really values the game Stuart brings. I liked the way White played when the Wings faced the Sharks. Either way I was really trying to complement White, as I see more of him I guess I will see more of his qualities that you pointed out. But I really have only seen him since he was a Shark and only when they faced the Wings, so my opinion is based off of a small sample size. Short story: I agree and I am really happy with this signing and hope they extend him long term (4-6 years @ ~3 would be a steal).

Ian White is very similar to Brad Stuart, a very very solid D-man, will lay a hit or two, sneaky shot. He won't produce like Lids or Kronwall, but will be a very important cog to the success of this team.

I can't wait for her to be here. Because; 1) I can't wait to see my baby girl, and 2) my wife has had a rough pregnancy. She is so worried something will go wrong that she waits to the last minute to complain. So what happened was I came home from a week long business trip, to be home for a half an hour only to end up in the ER (2nd trip to the ER during pregnancy btw) with her leg 3x its normal size, only to find out she had a blood clot. She thought it was a pulled groin so she was going to tough her way through it. Apparently some women are susceptible to them while pregnant. Mom and Baby are 100% fine, and Mom just has to stay on an anticoagulant for a while. Stressful experience to say the least.

As someone who is weeks away from his first, I say congrats Jimmy. You must feel so relieved and so excited! Good to hear Mom and Baby are well!

Eva looking to set the single day + record! I know I hit +1

Loved the PP design, I can see that working better once the guys get used to it. When Z let that puck go through his legs, the dummy play in soccer, while faking the shot I thought that was going to be a fo' sho' goal!

I have noticed that with the new guys on the ice and behind the bench the Wings seem a little more interested in doing new things. They seem to also start games better which was a huge problem last year, the other thing is once they start to dominate only one game (albeit out of 5) did they relinquish control. Granted they were up 5-1 on Ottawa before giving ground. Not sure if it is new staff or the fact that guys want to win one more before # 5 hangs them up.

Oh by all means if Ericsson is playing better than I think he gets the time, I just think Commodore looked better in the preseason. I am by no means looking to place blame or scapegoat Ericsson, I think the entire D has been very good this year, the White signing looks like the best move this Red Wing offseason. Maybe letting Modo walk.

It will be very interesting when Commodore is back. From what I have seen, right now Ericcson would be on the outside looking in. But it is still very early in the season.

To me Miller and Eaves have always been redundant, so when working in games for homer and later Murs it is either to sit one of Miller or Eaves. And that is their collective problem. Miller will come out and have a couple of great games and a thread like this will pop up again. To me it is a great problem to have, they are pushing each other to be better and better. I think eventually these two and Emmerton will be the steady fourth line, but it is tough to leave homer out all of the time. He brings a very specific skill set that no one else brings. Plus they can always re-unite him with D and Z and know they will have chemistry. When Murs is back the problem becomes even larger, but depth is always a good problem top have.