MulesWillFly93

Dumb and Dumber, bwahaha! Oh man, they shouldn't have let that one out in the open! That is going to haunt them for years, and I personally am going to make sure of it! Aww, Bert gets all warm and fuzzy about everybody - how cute!

I think they've been trying to make a lot of fancy plays lately that haven't been working out all that great, and without Datsyuk, our prime generator of fancy moves that work, we'll be forced to play more of a crash-the-net, grind-it-out style, which I think we've lacking here recently. If nothing else, I think it'll be good for them to get back to basics, and maybe when Datsyuk comes back, they'll be ready to take it up to the next level again. Gee, I always sound so hopeful in my posts...wish I really felt that optimistic.

1) I did think the officiating was crappy. I don't necessarily think it was biased, even if we didn't get a PP all night; it just wasn't good. I don't think it was as horrendous as the Sharks go-round, but I saw enough on both sides to make me wonder where all the calls were. 2) Howard did not lose this for us. Our 1 measly goal did. Sure, it's reasonable to think he could've kept it down to 2-1, but whether it was 2-1 or 8-1, unless you expected him to stand on his head and post a SO, this just wasn't going to happen for us. We needed more goals. He definitely didn't help matters at all, but he wasn't what ultimately sealed our fate. 3) I don't think Franzen is slacking. At least, I'm not convinced yet. Give me a week or two, and then ask me again. I honestly think he's got the flu or something...he looks like he's in a daze or something while he's on the ice. Everybody else just looked like they had a regular shade of dysfunction, but Franzen seemed a step behind them even. It might just be the world's biggest slack off, but he really looked less than fully alert during the last few games to me.

If playing the Leafs or Habs isn't possible (which really blows, but I've already ranted about that 100 times), I vote for the Avs or Ducks. I know it obviously wouldn't be as exciting as playing the Avs in 1997, but it'd be a good match-up for old time's sake. Then there's the Ducks, who make for a decent current rival, and since we're obviously not going to be able to play the Pens or Hawks, they're the next best thing. Actually, though, I think their games have been quite a bit more entertaining than the Hawks' games this year, so maybe that would work out pretty well. Ok, I vote for the Ducks, weirdly enough. And hey, that'd probably be right up Bettman's alley; it's a warm-climate expansion team with no fans, his favorite thing. I agree that I'd rather see it at Michigan Stadium than Comerica. Everything's just so much more epic when it happens there, and they did such a good job with the Big Chill. Dooooo it.

Really damn certain. They are masters of using negative energy to their advantage. With a loss like this, I expect them to come back absolutely blazing. Add that to the fact that it's Ozzy's 400th, and it's watch out, Stars. Of course, me saying that probably just jinxed the heck out of them, but I think they can even overcome my jinx for Ozzy's sake.

What makes you think anybody here cares about YOU? We didn't ask you to come here, but you came anyway, looking for trouble, and now you get miffed when you find it? You say a little trash talking never hurt anyone, yet you get "thin-skinned" yourself when someone gives you a little of your own medicine. Funny how that works. I don't know why I'm wasting my time, though...trolls never care about logic, and when confronted with it, all they can do is think up a lame comeback like "ass kisser." Anyway, at least we know we can bounce back from this; it's just a hurdle on a long road ahead. I don't exactly relish losing to the team whose fans are obsessed with chanting, "Detroit sucks," but it's so obvious that we're better than this that I don't even have to say it. Hopefully this will be the ultimate wake-up call, and it'll help them establish a rhythm and get a more consistent level of energy going in future games. I've said that before, of course, but this is kind of a bigger blow than losing to, say, the Preds. Yeah, what is UP with Franzen lately? During the Kings game on Monday I was thinking to myself, dude, is he okay? And it's continued on into this game...it's seriously kind of worrying me. I mean, everybody was struggling tonight, and Flip's been struggling for a while now, but it's not because they aren't healthy. Franzen, on the other hand, keeps looking like he's totally out of it, like something's really wrong and he's just trying his best to keep up. Whatever it is, I hope he gets over it soon.

Sounds like a good plan to me...I'd rather take a hot dog from Murph than any sort of "candy" he was handing out.

Agree that the Wings could beat the Pens right now for sure (© Homer), and I agree that winning streaks do not make a team good or ensure a good result in the playoffs, but I do think the winning streak is a result of them (or at least Crosby) being good right now, and I think as long as Crosby stays healthy, they'll keep doing well, even if they do slow down. I just think that if you're going to look at how a team is doing now and make a playoffs prediction based on that, you're going to want to take the team's past history into account as well as their current play. So yeah, on one hand, past winning streaks by themselves didn't predict zip for the Caps because it didn't take their history into account, but I think the Pens' current streak, coupled with their recent playoffs history (and that's the important part), can be somewhat insightful for how they'll do later on in the playoffs.

I agree. And nothing, not even the Avs' jerseys, can make your eyes bleed quite like lime green and red, if you ask me.

True, but the Caps have their own special issues...as in they're chokers. I know the Pens didn't exactly dominate last year, but they're not habitual chokers. This streak may or may not take them all the way, but I do think they're a pretty good team (but not with as much depth as us, obviously) that has confidence from having done it before.

The Pens are definitely having a hot streak, and it can't last forever, but at the same time I think they're good enough to compete for the top spot after their streak ends and Crosby slows down. I agree that we have a definite advantage with our depth, though, and that the Pens are relying really darn heavily on Crosby, so I quite like our chances, too. I haven't been paying a lick of attention to Philly this season, I have to admit, so I'll take your word for it that they still look strong. Washington...I think they're going to do worse in the standings this year and make another 1st round exit (and this is coming from somebody who kind of likes them). I can see where they would still have hope in the last couple years, but this year I think they're going to start seeing a pattern and be a little more pessimistic.

Hehe, Coyotes. vs. Ducks FTW!! Even though I agree that a Southern team match-up is not going to happen in the near future, I do think the idea of a Minny vs. Dallas game is a good one, and I'd like to see it at some point down the road. If the Rangers are serious about getting in there, I say Rangers vs. Devils. The Islanders would be just about the last team I let in, even if the two are supposedly cross-town rivals. Rangers/Habs wouldn't be bad for an O6 match-up, though, if the Habs don't go down the tubes. Rangers/Bruins would've been good if the Bruins hadn't just played. Not complaining, though; it was a nice prologue to the ECSFs. Of course I wouldn't mind seeing the Wings again, but even though it'd be an O6 game, I'd rather wait a couple years and play someone we actually care about. They're pretty much the last O6 team I'd want to see the Wings play, Leafs included (well, other than the Hawks since we already played them).

To save Ami a little time here: if you have Cox Cable, it's on channel 333. I'm from San Diego, too.

It's on the NHL Network instead. I don't know, I feel like I should have a bad feeling about this, but I don't. I've been nervous about the last 3 games - yes, even the Preds game - but for some reason I think we can pull this one off. Like chrisdetroit said, this is a game that matters to them, and they'll come out fighting for it. I KNOW we need to care this much about every game, but obviously that doesn't always happen. This game, however, will be one of those games we want to win in a bad way.

Aside from them just not putting much effort in, the passing seemed really slow, too. Franzen would be the most obvious example, but it seemed like a lot of the guys struggled with it to some extent. Except for Hudler, ironically...he was kind of on it tonight. I have faith in Franzen...whenever he gets in a funk, he usually realizes he's in one and recovers halfway quickly. The goal was a nice start; hopefully that translates over to his passing, too.

PANGER'S A RACIST!!! Just kidding. Of course he didn't mean to say that. In fact, I don't even think we all need to say we don't think he's a racist, but I guess that's for the benefit of the PC police lurking out there. Hehe, can you imagine if this had happened in NASCAR instead of hockey? Nobody would EVER believe the person didn't mean to say it. I still like the "excellent sex" incident better, though. Such a great mental picture, heh.

I know the Kings haven't been playing so well recently, but I'm still slightly worried. They do have that 9-2 record at home... I hope it follows that if we shut out the Ducks and they shut out the Kings, then handling the Kings should be no problem, but unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way. I'm nervous about Ozzie like everybody else, but I'm more nervous about generating enough offense. Let's just keep the shots coming, so Ozzie isn't put on the spot too often. And of course, some smart moves in our end would be nice, too.

There were definitely a ton of us there, and we were LOUD. Don't know what's wrong with the Ducks fans, but even before we buried them, they weren't exactly the most enthusiastic of crowds. Meanwhile, we were chanting it up. Of course, in the last few minutes, they all starting leaving, so then we REALLY took over the place, and if you ignored the logo on the ice, you would've thought you were at the Joe with everybody cheering for the Wings' win. God dang I had a good time. I had great seats with a bunch of Wings fans around me, and HOT DOGGIE was revenge sweet for that last game at the Suck Pond! You da man, Howard! Edit: Can I also just say how nice it was to not have to hear Bro Hymn at any point tonight? If there was ever a good reason to get an SO, that's it. Here's hoping for another you-know-what at the next Hawks home game...that's even worse. PPS: I'd also like to say that you can poke fun all you want, but you will NEVER get me to say the S-O word before a game. Case in point: before the game, a Ducks fan in front of me said Hiller was going to get a shut-out. I couldn't believe it. I kinda stared at the guy for a while like he was nuts, and I then thought, "Oh well, works for me - the guy just totally jinxed the Ducks." And wow, did he ever. Not only did Hiller let in 4, but OUR goalie got the S-O. Never will I be so bold. Scoff if you will, but the only time you will hear me say the word shut-out will be in reference to one that's already happened.

Eh, I think he's going to stick around for a while. I'm pretty pissed at him, but I agree that he's out of shape and will in all probability get stronger toward the end of the season, so at least there's a little hope.

Like (when they're not playing the Wings):1. Kings - Geographical influence, sort of. As a San Diegan, I should in theory be a Ducks fan, but AHAHAHAROFLYEAHRIGHT, so the Kings are my "California Pride" team. 2. Lightning - Stevie bandwagon 3. Caps - General bandwagon 4. Bruins - I don't know...if I had to be really honest with myself, I think it may be because I like their jerseys Hate: 1. Pens 2. Ducks 3. Avs 4. Blackhawks The Flames are also starting to piss me off, and I have an interesting relationship with the Canadiens. I like their past history, but I agree with 55fan, their current bunch of guys really are arrogant pricks.

Thanks, guys! Yeah, the blade I was using wasn't very sharp at all; otherwise I would've definitely waited until today. Good times...had me some nice German Oktoberfest beer, watched basketball for the first time ever (curiosity got the best of the bandwagoner in me...had to see the Heat's home opener), and got my pumpkin on!

These aren't pictures of me, obviously, but I did make it tonight! This is the first time I've tried to do anything besides carve in triangular eyes and a half-moon mouth with a couple of square teeth, so not bad for a first attempt (plus I was drunk). I'm a little mad that the holes between the spokes at the bottom are so much bigger than the ones at the top, but I had a hard time just drawing that part on there, so whaddya gonna do. The wing came out a lot better than I thought it would, though, so yay!

I like the Caps' one for what it is - a throwback jersey. For something that came out of the '70s, it's pretty spiffy (especially after recently watching the Flames and Kings play in their throwback gear...I had to stop watching the Flames before I went blind). If they had just come up with it now and announced that it was going to replace their current one permanently, then I wouldn't be such a big fan. The Pens' jersey is just plain fug. It doesn't even have the excuse of being retro because they just threw a bunch of old elements together. Major Frankenjerseyitis. Even if it was authentic, though, I'd still think it was ugly. I agree with Nev that they should've just gone with the early '90s Lemieux-era one.

I don't want to hear a dang thing out of Selanne about biased officiating after they allowed the Ducks' 3rd goal. You can say the reffing sucks, and I would agree, but don't sit there and pretend like there was any way you would've been headed toward OT before Datsyuk's last goal without some serious help from the refs. Get. Over. It.

I'm against the logistics of cheerleading at a hockey game. It just doesn't work out with the way the rink is set up. No sidelines, plus you can't get too carried away on the ice during intermissions or else you'll fall on your face and crack your head open. Plus, I'm not really against cheerleading in general, although I think there comes a point where there's a fine line between cheerleading and looking like you're performing the pre-strip portion of an exotic dance (take the Panthers' cheerleaders, for example). Also, since I wasn't really up on what cheerleaders do these days, I looked up the Cowboys cheerleaders on YouTube, and I have to say, I'm kind of unimpressed. I mean, they're good dancers and all, but at my high school they used to do flips and those human pyramid things and all kinds of acrobatic stuff. These girls just dance. I was going to say that it would be lame because hockey cheerleaders couldn't do anything very acrobatic because of the surface they're on, but I guess football cheerleaders don't do that kind of stuff either. In that case, meh, I think the whole thing's kind of boring. If they want to do it, fine, but if they wanted to save money, I could live without it. I mean, baseball doesn't have cheerleaders and they play on grass, which is much more conducive to being danced on than ice is, so why try to force it when football's really the only sport that does it?