Kira

I'm sorry for the double post. I didn't know it had posted twice until late tonight. My abject apologies.

That's kind of like biting the hand that feeds you, you know. Of course he's not going to marginalize him.

1) The Red Wings game is a team-oriented approach and not the individual. No egos, no hot dogs, no conceit. It's team first, individuals second (a distant second at that) 2) Pasha is a humble, shy, soft-spoken fellow. Meet him and you will see that. He is unpretentious, and sweet. To tell you the truth, when you meet him off the ice, he's one of the gentlest souls. When he's on the ice, his game is intense. And he knows when to hit that internal switch. 3) Think of this: He plays his 500th game Friday night in Columbus. He's 7 points away from 500 career points. And by either the end of this season or early next, he will crack into the top ten of all time Red Wings scoring leaders, knocking out John Ogrodnick, and joining the likes of Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio, Sergei Fedorov, Ted Lindsay, Brendan Shanahan, Nick Lidstrom, Reed Larson, and Norm Ullman. That, to me, is pretty heady company. Not bad for only seven seasons in the League. If he flies under the NHL radar, that's okay. We know what a treasure we have in him, and we appreciate it. And in the end, when he carries that Stanley Cup again, we will know that every diss and every slight he suffered through was vindicated in the end.

He also said the next time he went out to play golf, they gave him a bucket of golf balls. He came back with two. I could see in my mind that old couple in "Caddyshack", and I couldn't help but laugh. The nicest thing about all this is, it's honest...comes from the heart. No pretentiousness, no ego, no conceit. It's the real thing.

That's what Crosby's whining voice reminds me of! Note to Sid the Wonder Slug. The same advice we gave Brian Burke in Vancouver. SHUT UP. LOSE. GO HOME.

Vladfan, my heart goes out to you for your loss. It is never an easy thing to deal with, but you have a lot of family there with you to help, and your online brothers and sisters as well. Hang in there, kid...it's never easy, but love and faith do help.

If you have the NHL Network, it is on tomorrow at 2PM.

You know the old saying, he who laughs last laughs best??? Well, I think we had a real chuckle fest. Talk about putting the screws to them...their ex-goalie throws a shutout, and their best ex-player scores on them. Not to mention that one of the best in the League hits them up for two, and is now 10 points away from 500 career points. How much better can it get? I'm with y'all on the Crosby overload. I swear if we'd had a Sidney Crosby drinking contest, I would have been under the table before the pregame bulls*** was over and done with. One lousy shot - this is hockey's golden boy??? As far as Sid the wonder slug, you got schooled. Class dismissed. Suck it up and go home.

I think it's that awkward style that endears him to us...because you know it isn't really a put-on. It comes from the heart. It's the way he is, and it's just an absolutely endearing quality. This is not a guy with an ego, he's not a hot dog, he's just a really human person. When I get the chance to talk to him, he comes across as a very shy, soft-spoken fellow with a wicked sense of humor, if you really give him the chance to let it out. He's very humble, very appreciative of us fans...he's gracious and kind. It's just all those things that make him such a treasure. If the league wants to fawn over Crosby and Ovechkin, let them. We know what we have here.

When he was playing one on one with Trevor Thompson, Trevor said, "Let's see what you got." Pasha looked at him and said, "I don't have nothin'." As to a favorite player growing up, although he didn't admit to it, it was actually Igor Larionov. From "What it Means to be a Red Wing"... "I had my first experience playing golf! I was so good I sent the ground flying everywhere." "Henrik Zetterberg is a very good friend of mine. He's a good guy, he could only be better if he spoke Russian. Maybe he would consider changing countries?"

They're welcome to him. Happy headaches, New York.

From one of the first interviews he gave... Q: Why did you want to play in the NHL? A: Because my team in Russia fire me. I cracked up when I read that. And then there is the quote from when they went out with the police in Southern California last year. "Shoot first. Ask later who is alive." I saw the interview on the logo. He said, "You want to try it? You have good insurance?" My personal experiences have always been fun. I finally got to meet him in 2006 at training camp. I took a picture with me that a friend had taken of him signing a puck in Nashville (I have the picture on the wall next to my bed. The puck sits on a shelf above my bed). I said to him, "I don't know if you remember doing this, but you signed a puck for a friend of mine in Nashville." "I do remember. And isn't that a nice picture?" But it's not only his sense of humor that endears him. When asked how he felt after winning the Cup the first time, he said, "It is a feeling you cannot explain. Like seeing the sun coming up in the morning." How poetic.

Absolutely not...Loo, you're way cooler than I am. I'm sorry that you had to miss the funeral this weekend. I know that the person meant a lot to you, and you wanted to be there to support your friends. It sucks when nothing goes right. TPBM liked seeing the sun today.

It all depends on whether we can keep them healthy...anything is possible.

It's a very tough thing to accept, and it doesn't matter who you are. My heart goes out to him, and wherever he lands, I wish him well.

You and me both. I could never stand him and now it's even worse. I swear to God, he needs a cheese factory to go with all his whines. I love watching him blow a fuse on tv, but it's absolutely hilarious to watch it live. Suck it up, ya bum...you're a loser.

We got some pretty chintzy calls tonight, but the worst was that phantom icing call. You had to be there to hear and see the uproar that place was in. Oh boy, that place went ballistic. I love watching Gretzky blowing a fuse on tv, but it's absolutely hilarious to see it live. I swear to God, he needs a cheese factory to go with all his whines. Well, unfortunately, the six goal charm didn't work tonight but the winning streak still is intact. Four games, four wins. Not half bad. And I was also one of the people who were wondering why we didn't put Ty in. Ozzie was abysmal tonight.

I will be there tonight, so let's hope that the six goal charm is in effect again for us. And Pasha, I'd be very tickled if you'd throw in a goal or two for me...three would be nice, but I won't be greedy... Oh hell, yes I will...go for the hattie, baby!

Those throwback jerseys were terrible. I wasn't sure whether I was watching a hockey game or a prison chain gang circa 1930's. Hopefully Robert will be alright. That looked extremely painful.

If that goal doesn't make the highlights tonight something is definitely wrong. The only word I can think of for that was "Wow". And now Pasha is 17 points away from 500 career points. Not bad, kid. Not bad at all.

A lot of the success comes not only from the camera but the person behind it. A lot of the best pics I've taken are a bit of dumb luck as well as the subject matter and the composition. Anything learned from another photographer is good to have, but never discount dumb luck as well.

My only question is, how much money changed hands over this??? There had to be some bribery involved for a stat that high.

I'm willing to give Justin the benefit of the doubt and see what he can do. Though I have to admit, I loved having Aaron here.

I have a Panasonic digital that fits in my pocket but has a 40x telephoto on it. I can be sitting across the arena and get some pretty nice closeup shots on the bench with it. As long as it doesn't look professional they won't bug you. Of course, my cell phone has a 4gb memory card in it too and I could conceivably take pics with that.

I haven't changed my viewing habits. I still watch and record every game...that will not change. I think for me it's been more fun this season, because I've been able to go watch a few games live (coming up Wednesday will be game #4 for me to see live this year). That makes a difference to me. But that's only me.