puckloo39

oh, look, a 5-3...

so? j/k, I would love to see them capitalize on it. Really...

where is Datsyuk? Three points to 100, baybee. Shoot the danged puck, take a chance!

I told him you were bored, and it's too early to drink.

s'OK, Dom bailed him out.

are the pbp guys paid by Chicago? Now their talking up the Sharks (because Wilson was Blackhawk?) Maybe they don't know anything about the Wings, so they are talking about every other team but Detroit today. **spoiled by Ken and Mickey, I guess**

we need to score a couple this game... laying back on a one goal lead is not a great idea. I do like the fact that the Wings have actually gone to the net in front of Khabi a couple of times today. It has not been their habit this season, to go in on the other goalie and like, score? Rather shoot from the perimeter and make the opposing goalie look awesome. More offense, please, Wings. Show me you can do it.

no joke. I thought they were supposed to set up in front of the Hawks goalie and shoot at him. j/k

come on, Wings... puck in the net! You need to practice on the offense... two goals a game ain't gonna cut it at the big dance.

not too peppy, are they? Still sleepy, maybe. I hope Pavel gets his three points today.

not where the Red Wings are concerned. Ed Olczyk is showing his allegiance to good old Chicago, a bit, today. It's hard to tell from the pbp that the Wings are on the ice today. Kane, Toews, Khabibulin, etc. Only time they mention a Wing is when they score, so I guess that will do, eh?

Huddie, cruising through the crease... cool as a cucumber. Saw that one coming!!!

Hasek tested early with a couple of fluky pucks and a pack of players in front of him. Wings on PP are actually right in front of Khabi, trying to jam the puck in. I am thrilled to see that!

Cheli looked pretty fiesty with those seven crosschecks in a row the other night.

teeny....

this may be my favorite so far. You're very talented, scotvm!

can you believe this guy actually got "famous" over his little outburst? But, yes, be nicer to Pavel. We love him, yes?

Let me be clear(er). I don't think the Red Wings -- whichever ones draw the short straw and have to play tomorrow -- will care. Dom will work hard, and Pavel will shoot for 100 points (literally, quit passing and SHOOT!). The rest will hopefully do what they can to avoid injury. They're looking forward to Thursday, not to getting up at 8:00AM on a Sunday, to go get ready for a meaningless game -- even if it is the last game of the season and they should care, no matter what. I don't expect a win. Just get the heck out of there without anyone else missing the playoffs with an injury sustained in a useless game vs. a non-playoff team. Just my opinion.

hmm... I feel the same way, L11. see you soon?

what problems do the Ducks have, besides all those part time players? The NHL finally caught on and fired their refs? Poor Dallas. Losing Zubie is like us losing Nick.

You know, the tough part about this is that there is no way to say if Ozzie would have done better than Manny did in the playoffs. The team failed Legace, just as they did Cujo - not the other way around. There won't be any way this season to say definitively whether one goalie would have "won," if he didn't actually play. It's not even an argument. There is simply no way to know Ozzie would have been better than Dom or vice versa, so it's all conjecture. Dom came back last season and took that same Wings Manny had in front of him farther in the playoffs than any goalie had since he left in 2002. That's not for nothing, folks. There is a reason why the Wings got past round 1 last season. Perhaps some of the faith the staff and team show in Dom relates to that fact? For those who are still moaning over Dom laying in the crease last playoffs (with no defenseman around, or Lilja "helping" the other team out...) just remember that peoples' memories are long. Most here may recall being burned by a Cloutier-esque softie or two on Ozzie, with similar results -- even though it's not mentioned anymore. Don't worry, Oz-lovers. Ozzie's got teflon underwear this season... nothing negative sticks to him. If we lose with Dom, Ozzie's the saint who would have won, we just KNOW it!!! And if the team succeeds in front of Dom, Ozzie will be happy for him and he gets a Cup, anyway. If Dom goes down injured then Ozzie will be the hero if the team wins. You can always hope for that, as injury is the only thing that will keep Dom out of the crease. Or Ozzie will be excused for losing, since there wasn't any way he could salvage what Hasek messed up so badly, since Hasek plays alone without a team in front of him. << sarcasm alert. It's Dom -- not the lack of D or missing offense -- which causes us to lose games. Do I have that about right, from your perspective? Fans apparently feel compelled to pick a player to run out of town each season. Dom's the goat in Detroit for this season. Priceless. Dom's won a Cup within the last decade. He remembers how.

It will all work out, one way or the other. If Dom wins the Cup as starter, dedicated haters can hoot that he didn't really contribute to the win, as they did in 2002. Despite a Conn Smythe worthy playoffs -- he broke a couple of shut out records -- he was counted by many as a non-factor. Those of us who "knew" he had it in him will get to be right if he succeeds. Ozzie gets a Cup one way or the other. If Dom has the misfortune of "losing" because there is no offense and the D leaves him out there to kill penalties alone, then all the Ozzie Cultists can squeal with delight, and say if Ozzie had played the Wings would surely have won.... as if there is any way to know that. And, of course, it wouldn't be true. Dom still gets a Cup if Ozzie takes the team all the way. Happy times. I don't care, honestly. If Ozzie takes over at some point, I guarantee that at least in these forums, there will be no blame or doubt cast on him if he loses. It's not allowed, I don't think. He's had that sort of year where nothing negative sticks to him. He's cute, he's funny, no one says one word against him (for fear of losing their heads here). No goal he lets in is ever his to account for. He's had bad games, but you wouldn't know it from reading this site. Hasek and Ozzie could (and sometimes do) play pretty much identical games, but the attitude is completely different when it comes to people's reactions. Ozzie would have gotten a tickertape parade and a press conference for last night's game. Hasek got a collective "meh" from the LGW troops, and criticism for at least one of the goals against (despite winning the game and a star). Neither goal would have been faulted to Osgood, I am willing to bet on that. If you can't see the bias against Hasek, you're not looking very closely. It's not just in Detroit, it's everywhere. It's like people want him to fail, it's fun! As lots of posters are fond of saying, you should root for the team not the goalie. In my mind, rooting against Hasek is a form for non-support for the team. Ditto, if you're an Ozzie basher - not that there are any who still post here. Some people love to accuse me of not liking Ozzie, because I am so staunch in my support for Dom. It couldn't be farther from fact, if you know me (but you don't, so there). I over-estimate people all the time, and expect them to be more fair than that. So, sue me for giving people the benefit of the doubt, I guess. Just keep in mind, for those who hope Dom craters in round 1: if Hasek gets hung out to dry and doesn't win every game, neither do the Wings. That's not a good thing, or something to wish for unless you're rooting for the opposing team. I would think Wings fans would support either goalie, but that's not the case. Regardless of which goalie ends up with the majority of games in the playoffs, win or lose, the entire Red Wings team will be involved in the games, instead of just one individual.

Both, but right now it doesn't matter. Abby for sure, since Kopay is out til next season at best.

Well, the way they played last night and the game before, they all need all the work they can get. You can't really hope to win a Cup based on a last-second, freak goal by Zetterberg. Let's hope they are "saving" all the goals for the playoffs. I suspect at least Zetterberg and Cleary to be MIA, and probably Lids, Raffi and maybe Cheli. Personally, I'd sit Pavel, too, but he only needs 3 points to 100, so he will be out there, for sure. Additional factors to the last game slide: they've clinched, it's a noon-time game (gross...I hate day games) and no one will care about this game since they are looking toward the playoffs now. Chances are, we're looking at a disinterested effort from a bunch of guys you don't normally see out there -- Griffins, in our case. Sorry, Dom. You get this one on your resume, good luck! You're probably gonna need it. PS - I went (all the way to San Jose) for the last game of the 2002 season. There were so many missing players that I spent the entire game trying to identify who was out there for Sharks fans... some of the players I'd never seen before and some, I wish I hadn't. Kuznetsov, for example. The few veterans who "had" to play were pissed off, Manny got shelled and embarrassed, and the Sharks fans thought they'd won the Cup. I wanted to tell them, those were not the "actual" Red Wings.