puckloo39

4-1 Kings, 4 minutes remaining. Burke lost his shutout, too bad. But Nashville's gonna lose!

I heard (maybe read in another forum?) that he skated but didn't take any shots. Hurry back, Ozzie!!

I can't see that one (Nashvl/LA) on Center Ice, wonder why? I have Atlanta/Vancouver and the end of Carolina/MN. But not Nashville/Kings. I don't get it, literally. Watching the scoreboard. That's scary... hope he's OK!

Let's hope people don't over-react and make assumptions about a minor injury turning into a season-ending disaster.

Yay, Buffalo!!! 3-2 in SO. They have to be the kings of shootout wins in the NHL. I watched most of this one, going back and forth between it and Leafs/ Pens. In other news, Florida is beating Phoenix, 5-1 with 5 minutes left in the third

4 on 4, jeez, penalties in SD OT. Wow... Penguins win, Malkin to Stahl... 6-5 Wow!

I'm watching it, too... looked like a punch or two did the damage. They kept showing Petrovicky in the box, shaking his hand and wincing, so he's probably messed his hand up. Hope it was worth it. Here's hoping Newbury is OK. 10 goals so far in this game... wow. OT at the moment. Are we headed for a shootout?

nutmegger... I love that term! Kinda spicy, like the Goalie. I remember that game. Jagr knew Hasek from playing against him in Czech. When Keenan pulled Belfour and sent Dom in, Jagr reportedly skated to the bench in a panic and said, "We have to beat this guy, we have to!" Perhaps no one else knew who Hasek was on that bench, but Jagr did. Dom didn't win it back for the Hawks, the game was too far gone when he was sent in, but he made an impression. Literally.

Hey. Just let me get my astronaut diapers on, and I will be right over. Bettman's major failing is that he makes weak decisions and then doesn't have the brass to step up and change them when he's wrong. To make an analogy, a certain world-leader is forever saying that he's made executive decisions about Iraq, and he plans to stand by them, despite the obviously incorrect nature of most of the plan. Some call that posture resolute. I call it stubborn and stupid. Bettman is the latter. Now certainly the state of the NHL has little to do with the seriousness of the Iraqi predicament, but you know what I mean... ** sorry for the political reference.

Don't you imagine Babcock and Lids have had a little chat with Dom about this? He'll do the right thing for the team, never fear!

silly boy! Hope they are both back in the next week or so. Wouldn't that be nice?

Ironic, at least. Hasek was supposed to be the fragile one, and he's been a horse.

I didn't expect to see Dom back in nets until Dallas anyway. He'll be fine by then, knowing him. Is Ozzie ever coming back? I think the guys will play better for Joey Mac tomorrow, since it could hardly be worse than the last game... hoping to see him get his (well-deserved) first win! I wouldn't be surprised to see Mac play back to backs, depending on what happens with the Calgary game. I kind of hope he does get to play again on Monday.

Perhaps a "challenge" to Hasek is seeing only 16-20 shots per game, half of those legitimate scoring chances that he has to stop even when he's cold and has had no work. Perhaps his way of revving up the recently sloppy play in the neutral zone and covering for the normally great defense that hasn't been so great lately, is to play differently, to take more chances, to change it up. Dom hasn't cost the Wings any more goals than the other players who've made unforgivable turnovers, allowed odd man rushes, made bad passes, and kicked or accidentally bounced goals into our own net. To believe that Dom is responsible for goals against the Wings, any more than any other player, is just plain silly. Of course, Dom is expected to be perfect every time out. Anyone who is a long-time fan knows he has little rough patches, like every other player does. As someone said, with Hasek's level of play and pedigree, I really don't think we should be questioning Hasek's decisions. Babcock, Lidstrom, Lang... they all say he's fine, and seem to have no problem with Dom's play. Opinions are fine, though. Just don't expect anything to change Hasek's play, unless Hasek decides it should happen. He is still the best chance the Wings have at a Cup, not that he will be able to pull it off alone. The Wings haven't been particularly stellar in the last few games, either. Most of us are not big enough homers to believe the rest of the team has been playing that well, and that Hasek's "mistakes" are costing the team. I expect all of the Wings to be playing better down the stretch, and that includes Dom.

Me, too. I first saw Dominik when he was sent to the minors in 1991, no room in Chicago for him behind Belfour and Jimmy Waite. I had never seen anything like Dom. He didn't just came up with the sliding tackle/death challenge, I first saw it in some of the wild games I saw in Indianapolis where Dom guarded for the Indy Ice, before he got traded to Buffalo. You went to games just to watch him perform magic tricks out there. He's always wandered, always directed traffic, always done things his way and very successfully. The other guy on the Indy farm team who made it in the NHL was Frank (Frantisek) Kucera. Remember him? Don't change a thing, Dom.

You've watched Hasek for more than just this season, obviously... as have I.

You don't need to actually say something in this forum to have it attributed to you anyway. Welcome, by the way!

that's not what I saw last night at all. The forwards couldn't keep the puck long enough to shoot it, due to turnovers and the Blues breaking up every play they tried to make. I don't think Mac had anything to do with it, he just stopped everything except the unlucky (yes, Manny, unlucky) bounce off of Cheli into our net. I haven't seen the Wings shut down like that in a while, but I don't know that it would have been any different with Dom in net. royedwards, I tend to agree with you, but I am not allowed to say such things. Many people do believe the Wings play a different, more confident, game in front of Hasek, but that's their (the Wings', I mean) problem rather than Ozzie's or Mac's... edit: clarification

heck, yeah... I'll bring the Swedish meatballs.

Who? Me? Overboard about The Goalie? I happily admit it, he's the best. What makes him fun is that he IS human on occasion. And other humans (i.e., fans) love it, too, because it gives them a reason to feel superior, if just for a moment. Truth is, no one except another NHL goalie could ever do what Hasek had done, and so far, even that's debatable. As for starting Joey over Hasek, I have to assume the poster who implied that was joking or very misinformed or perhaps both of those things. Joey put on a great show last night, one that he could not have delivered without some real skills. Taking nothing away from him at all here... Joey was great. I am partial to most goalies, and Joey could easily become a big favorite of mine, with his attitude and abilities. He's a blessing to Detroit right now, and will be in the future (hopefully) as well. Other goalies are not the only ones who respect Hasek, so do the Red Wings players. They are confident with him in goal and play a diffrerent game because he's there. His value isn't calculated by salary, since he is woefully underpaid for the results. But money isn't the issue. Results are, as you say, Drake. Last night's game was what it was, not an indication of things to come or a trend. Just a little embarrassing, and bound to happen at some point. Too bad Joey got the short end, but I think the result might have been about the same with Ozzie or Dom in there.

I am all over this concept. Even Whine thinks Hank's the best! We knew that already... he's amazing.

Dom's OK, it's just the circumstance he's in at the time whether the gamble works or not. Nothing to do with his age, or abilities, he plays the same way he always has as far as I can see. Risks bring consequences, sometimes, along with the rewards. It's the life of a goalie, you are a hero when the play works and the goat when it doesn't. Dom's still the biggest bargain in the NHL this season, in goal. JMO, but the Wings did the right thing bringing him back for one more rollercoaster ride. I can't see why anyone would complain, but I know they still will http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/...8-goalies_x.htm

When Joey wins, and he will win one soon, it will be all that much sweeter. I love his attitude and his patience, what a good kid he is. He was great last night, and even made one save where he gobbled up the rebound! Good on ya, Mac. You deserved the win, but the guys just couldn't do it for you last night. Next time out, they will!

Dom can't hear the fans' critiques of his goaltending habits... perhaps it's because he's got a Hart Trophy stuck in each ear (to para-phrase Patty Wahh). Lang and Babcock think he's just fine, evidently. Dom's not going to change, and thank goodness for that. It's just a little blip of bad luck that he's been burned on a couple of plays lately, more often than not, his gambles pay off. He just needs to save that trick for when the other team isn't looking.

Joey's biggest fan is Dom, from what I've read. I think that is very special, that Hasek has taken an interest in him. Joey's got nothing to feel bad about at all... It's been a long time since I've seen the Wings so thoroughly shut down by another team, and I for one don't think the Blues suck at all. I can't stand them - UpChuck, Googles Guerin, Jackman... I could go on and on. That's why I am mad, the Wings let them have their way and didn't answer even once? I am perplexed.