MadMan Mark

So even when the Pens lose (and lose badly, 2 SO's, no goals in 7 periods, Crosby pointless in 5 and counting) he is still the be-all, end-all of the NHL. Gotta agree about Malkin, have seen him very often not skate into the defensive zone. . . too busy not playing defense and would rather cherry pick for his breakaway opportunity. . . all the while his team is 5-on-4 in their own end at even strength Last night, seemed the Pens went out of their way to try and get Cindy a point, costing them quality scoring chances had they just shot the puck instead of the extra pass.

Hiller is UFA after this year. It will be interesting to see what teams throw at him. I think JSG stays in Anaheim.

You forgot about Chicago

Great move by Babs putting Drapes on the wing. Can anyone remember the last time Draper had so many scoring chances? Mickey could not stop raving about Helm. He seems to be everywhere and the part of his game I like the best is who ever has the puck near him gets a check after they pass. I hope DHE Express stays together. They can wreak havoc on opposing teams top lines. The forechecking can really take them out of sync. Regarding Williams, he looked as sluggish as the Sharks. It was apparent to me that SJ was playing for one point early in the 2nd and if they got the lucky bounce, they would skate off with a gift of a win.

I think Chi still lost that game if I'm not mistaken. Huet is very inconsistent and has never won anything. Also, IMO, playoff hockey is more of a defensive approach. Kane doesn't play D (unlike Selke finalists Datsyuk and Zetterberg) and I don't consider Chi's D to even be on par with the Wings D. Chi D cost them 2 games in the WCF due to untimely TO's. It's more likely we'll see a Huet of Game 4, a 6-1 drubbing in their own building.

all a reporter has to do is put the name "Crosby" in the title, and he gets attention. . . case in point, go to nhl.com. Pens lost in regulation last night 5-2, yet the #1 story on the right side of the page is "Sid a Shootout Star". I could see if they won in a shootout. or lost and he scored in the shootout. However, he had 1 shot, was -1, 2 PIM, NO POINTS. PS - he had a hollandaise sauce with his meal. . . no wait, that's not Hollandaise sauce, sorry

Not a homer statement, but I still see Detorit winning the Central and Chicago struggling to a 5th seed. Chi seems more prone to the injury bug already. Huet is barely average in net. Hossa's return will bring something, but team chemistry still takes time and he is one hit from the LTIR with his shoulder. I see an early out in the playoffs, conf semis at best, and then time to clean house and figure out how they can put a competetive team on the ice given all those high salaries. If the Hossa experiment doesn't pay off, and I don't think it will, Chi's future just went down the toilet. Also, Huet is under contract for 2 more years. If he plays well, they keep him and say what a deal they have at $5.6M. If he screws the pooch, no one will pick up that horrible contract. Nearly $13M tied up in Huet and Campbell for the next 2 years. Factor in Hossa money ($18M tied up) and none of the other 3 signed and this team is hurting, not to mention the inflated salaries of last year's RFA's that they still have to carry.

I didn't think the Pens would have a start like this. I stated they wouldn't win their division before the season started and I'm standing by that prediction, wrong or not. Too play at this high of a level for 82 games, just look at San Jose and the results they have from a great regular season. I hope the Pens have a great reg season and have to play at a higher level because they are the pretending, I mean defending, champs. I'm still not sold on Fleury and if an opposing coach has any sense, watch what Detroit did to Crosby. . . you can neutralize him. Malkin had better be 100% upon his return, teams will be checking him against the boards when given the opportunity. Now, factor in a reg season and an Olympic showing. . . Pens will run out of gas, I'm sure of it. No better than a 2nd round showing this year. Criticize all you want and it's not sour grapes.

Weekes is a joke. . . he also picked against Detroit in Round 1 vs Columbus and took the Hawks in WCF. It's tough to have a real perspective when your head is up your ass 99% of the time.

Wrong, took it where balls would be if he had them. It just deflected off his outer labia. . . if you listen closely, you'll hear him squeal like a *****. Sorry, but I hate all the press this guy gets. I'm going to laugh when they run out of gas after this fast start, preferably Round 1 in April.

Friday: NY Islanders @ New Jersey Toronto @ Carolina Philadelphia @ Buffalo Washington @ Florida Vancouver @ Dallas Chicago @ Colorado Saturday: Nashville @ Los Angeles Buffalo @ Boston Detroit @ Toronto Tampa Bay @ Montreal New Jersey @ Ottawa Atlanta @ NY Islanders St Louis @ Philadelphia Florida @ Washington Carolina @ Columbus Dallas @ Minnesota NY Rangers @ Calgary Phoenix @ Anaheim Pittsburgh @ San Jose Sunday: St Louis @ Atlanta Edmonton @ Colorado Have to close that 3 pt gap

Friday: NY Islanders @ Washington Pittsburgh @ Columbus Toronto @ Buffalo NY Rangers @ Minnesota Montreal @ Chicago Florida @ Dallas Vancouver @ Anaheim Colorado @ San Jose Saturday: Edmonton @ Boston Carolina @ Philadelphia Atlanta @ Ottawa New Jersey @ Tampa Bay Toronto @ Montreal Buffalo @ NY Islanders Minnesota @ Pittsburgh Florida @ St Louis Dallas @ Nashville Anaheim @ Phoenix Detroit @ Calgary Sunday: Boston @ NY Rangers San Jose @ Carolina Columbus @ Washington Colorado @ Vancouver Time to crawl a little higher up the ladder

Hawks are stuck with these two for the duration of the contracts. If Huet somehow gets it together, Hawks fans will view it as "worth the money", same with Campbell. If they both screw the pooch (which is how I feel), no one will take those contracts off the Hawks hands. Regarding the 3 RFA's, Hawks should let Kane go and sign Toews and Keith. However, since the Hawks made Kane their poster boy. They will keep him and his one-dimensional game. They should keep Keith, D-men like him and at that age are tough to find, thus leaving Toews out there. I may be wrong, but I see NO WAY, given the current situation AND they fact they most likely will overpay on bonuses, the Hawks re-sign all 3. If the cap drops significantly, Hawks may have to part with 2 of the 3.

Strangely enough, his own player is to blame. I don't recall but it would be very interesting if the same defenseman that sent Bertuzzi into Luongo also left Williams wide open on theleft side of the net for the game winner.

Friday: Florida @ Pittsburgh Minnesota @ St Louis Carolina @ Colorado Saturday: NY Rangers @ Montreal Boston @ Ottawa Washington @ NY Islanders Florida @ Philadelphia San Jose @ Atlanta Toronto @ Vancouver New Jersey @ Pittsburgh Buffalo @ Tampa Bay Dallas @ St Louis Carolina @ Minnesota Nashville @ Chicago Detroit @ Colorado Los Angeles @ Phoenix Edmonton @ Calgary Columbus @ Anaheim Sunday: San Jose @ Philadelphia Columbus @ Los Angeles Edmonton @ Vancouver Time to close in on the lead

Both Phx goals were garbage goals. . . but they counted and kept them int he game enough to get the extra point in OT. This piss-poor start is very frustrating. I expected to see better hockey from Detroit this year, but their game is dull. It's as if teams that play us know there will be a lapse in concentration and they can climb back in at any time. The mystery surrounding Detroit and how good they are (were) has disappeared. If I'm correct, Wings were outshot, outhit, and lost the face-off battle.

My biggest concern with the team this year is their inability to finish a game. How many leads have we lost in the 3rd. Most recently, we were up 2-0 on Col at home with a little more than 10 min to go, lost the lead, regained it, and then gave up another goal ultimately leading to a SO loss. Up by a goal in Phx late in the 3rd, lose in OT. I told my son last night with about 5 min to go that the Wings need to fore-check more and take the game to Phx instead of sitiing back waiting for the win. All we need is to disrupt the urgency that teams have against us when they are behind. Too often, we let them inthe zone and they just throw the puck at the net. Time to bury teams when we have them down. I don't know, but of the 8 games, how many have we been tied or had the lead in the 3rd only to blow it?

My main complaints are the following: 1. Off-season, Holland and company talk about a drastic, improved defense. . . haven't seen it yet, and we didn't lose any D-men 2. Goaltending is reminiscent of 08-09 reg season (yeah, only 5 games, but WHO is really comfortable watching Ozzie in Buffalo or Howard in Sweden?) 3. Offense has not kicked it into gear. Team looks confused and disorganized in the O-end and rarely can sustain an attack at even strength 4. PK still gives me worries, Buffalo scored way to easy and early on their first PP goal Thankfully, we haven't lost our Power Play. I can give them a little more time, but not 20 games. We have LA and Col coming to the Joe. IMO, we HAD BETTER win both of those games.

Friday: Atlanta @ New Jersey NY Islanders @ Buffalo Philadelphia @ Florida Boston @ Dallas Vancouver @ Calgary Minnesota @ Edmonton Saturday: Atlanta @ Buffalo NY Rangers @ Toronto Ottawa @ Montreal Carolina @ New Jersey San Jose @ NY Islanders Nashville @ Washington Colorado @ Detroit Los Angeles @ Columbus Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh Dallas @ Chicago Boston @ Phoenix Minnesota @ Vancouver St Louis @ Anaheim Time to start climbing up the standings!

Or a Festivus Miracle. . . now I don't have to hear those damn tooting whistles every time he touches the puck when we play in Nashville

IMO, the only way Bettman saves his ass is with a "real" TV deal. If you're going to cater to VS and NBC, why not just sign up with the obvious choice. . . NHL Network! Is it just me or shouldn't that be where broadcasting in the US begins. I am envious of our neighbors to the North, they have TSN, TSN2, CBC. We get VS (not any more since I am on DirecTV) NBC and Pierre McGuire (with kneepads on for Crosby and Malkin). Pull the plug on VS, get a deal done with NHL Network allowing CBC broadcasts. Hell, they could have alternate channels of NHL Network to cover multiple marquee games on any given night. What the hell am I doing. . . this makes sense, therefore the midget won't even approach the idea. Thank God for Center Ice and online streaming!

I thought Bert did great with Dats and Z. Two things I know, keep Dats and Z together, keep Filp and Leino together I am really excited about Helm's return. This guy creates chances and wears down opposing players. Until something fails, we should be taking a look. I mean, come on, we are looking for a 3rd linemate for Dats and Z. I like Holmer, but give Bert a chance and keep Holmer fresh for PP.

You said it, brother. . . as Dats and Z get warmed up, a 2.00 GAA from Ozzie is Golden. I would like to see the D step it up and limit the quality shots on Ozzie. Chicago had way too many shots on net. Wash was pretty much neutralized until late in the game. Ozzie's save on Ovechkin was awesome!

I have to agree about Franzen. . . keep him on LTIR as long as possible to take advantage of the freed-up money. Get him some games right before the playoffs to get his legs back. I say give Howard 3-4 more starts If he can't muster a win or a very good effort, dump him and go after a solid, veteran backup. Let Larsson develop in GR and write him in as a backup for 10-11. The morons dissing on Ozzie must be on crack. He may not be consistent in a short period of time, but look at the success of his career. Also, be no worse than a 4 seed and I love Ozzie in goal. He is the man in April/May/June for this team. His record proves it. Holland and company, I'm sure, have backup plans in place if Howard screws the pooch (as I expect him to). No offense, but I have never been sold on this guy and his lackluster effort against St Louis only reinforced my opinion of him. 3-4 more starts and he's either with us or replaced.

I agree that we'll see more one-goal games. . . but PLAYOFF mode? (I can hear Jim Mora now, "Playoffs?, Playoffs?") Wings will be just fine. This team is resilient and Babcock can coach on the fly. He will put the best combinations together for what they need on any given night. I must admit I was pissed after the 2 Sweden games, but what they did to Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom was great and they grinded out a win with goals coming from Leino, Williams, and Holmer. We'll never know who the star will be each night, but this team will be no worse than a 4 seed. With that said, Chicago has not impressed me, St Louis is too Jekyll/Hyde, and Columbus just doesn't have the depth. Wings should still take the Central, even when Marion "my shoulder hurts" Hossa returns for the Hawks.