MulesWillFly93

I feeeeel good (duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh), I knew that I wooould! (I agree, in case you couldn't tell.) More great teamwork. I mean, you can't get much more of a wide range of offensive contribution than that (unless you got Franzen in there...man, am I on his butt lately), and everybody was on it defensively, too. Granted, Minny didn't put up much of a fight, but this isn't a 3-2 win we're talking about, this was 6-0! Now THAT'S the kind of score I like to see against a struggling team! Especially when we're missing our star forward and d-man. Good stuff. Yeah, our young guys are doing great - I love having Mursak and Smith with us now, and our regulars always have a ton of heart, especially Helm. You can tell he's trying really hard, and I'm glad it paid off for him tonight.

Probably Claude Lemieux. I mean, I mainly hate him for being such a little turd, but it's pretty annoying that he was a good player and won multiple Cups with 3 different teams, yet he STILL acted like a total goon whenever he got the chance. On the other end of the spectrum, the better Corey Perry gets, the more I like him. I like it when he plays hockey instead of wasting time taunting Datsyuk (and consequently getting a nasty surprise from him, heh). Also, now that you all mention it, Marian Hossa. That's a pretty cut-and-dried one - I dislike him for no other reason than that he's good, plain and simple. Good call.

Okay, so we know Franzen floats a lot in the regular season. Frankly, all I can say about that at this point is too bad for us, but I DO expect him to look alive when a key player like Datsyuk goes down. And he's not. THAT makes me mad. If he can't even look interested when the team really needs him, I've got a huge problem with that. Oh well, there's nothing to be done about it. I hope he decides to wake up for the playoffs, or else he's really no good to anyone whatsoever. I'd like to see Conner back in the lineup, too (Babcock can figure out the lines). He seems like a hard-working guy, and he'd actually be excited about playing for the big team in March, unlike certain regulars I could name. Sorry I sound so bitter - I know that end-of-the-regular-season stretch is grueling, and we're in WAY better shape than we have been the last two years at this point, but I don't know, these games where we just don't give a flip kind of bum me out a little.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Quincey and Commodore on a line - I like it for the toughness factor, but Ericsson had been a lot steadier lately, and having the two new guys playing together opens the door for potential mishaps. I hope they end up meshing well together, but we'll just have to wait and see. Get better, Ericsson - don't like to see guys hurt.

Thank you! It came in handy for those times when Ducks games are blacked out on Center Ice yet not shown on local TV, or when I'm away from home. Bummer it has to stop, but we understand.

That's fine with me! I can't believe how well this has worked out (knock on wood). Didn't relish the thought of who we'd have to trade to get a decent backup goalie. I'm with you all on getting Howard and JMac into a regular rotation so Howie's ready to go in the playoffs.

Detroit is Hockeytown. New York is Baseballtown...and heck, it can be Footballtown for all I care, but Hockeytown? I don't think so. New York is the center of the universe for a lot of things, but you have to earn that. I don't see the titles, the hardcore and widespread following, or the modern day heroes that stand as tall in the fans' eyes as heroes past. Nope, none of that. Also, being the center of the universe works against them a little - they're known for so many things that it's hard for a hockey team to stand out. Hockey in Detroit, on the other hand, is like beaches in Southern California. It's what we DO. As an outsider myself, I've seen it - even out here where ice is for little trays in my freezer, and white Christmases are only in a song, we KNOW. If you want hockey, you get it in Detroit. End of story.

Put me on the list - I already have a hotel room, so I'd hate to not be able to go to the game (that's an understatement). Hopefully, out of ~110,000 tickets, I'll be able to get just one!

Drew Miller is good friends with Jeff Petry of the Oilers...Kenny and Mick were talking about it the other night. They played together at MSU and I think in high school, too, if I remember correctly.

OH GOD, NOOOO, WHY, WHYYYY?!?! Ahem, sorry, I know Howard's only going to be gone 2 games, but I just thought I'd make it clear how much I appreciate the way he's played this year. :shrugs:

I don't think it can be fixed - there's only so much excitement you can inject into a game that pretty much doesn't matter. It's just an exhibition game, and it doesn't really showcase the players' skills all that well, at that. As far as "big games" go, I like the Winter Classic 100 times better, and I think it shows what hockey's all about a lot better, too - teamwork, rivalry, tradition, that sort of thing. I think it was wise to find a format that's better than the ASG and just go with that, rather than trying to artificially pump up something that's just not all that exciting or representative of the sport. I do like the changes Shanny & co. have made; I like how the draft lets you see a different group of guys playing together each year (I'm kinda glad that Malkin's playing with Datsyuk this year - wouldn't have happened under the WC-EC format), and the show gives you at least a little insight into the players' personalities, which is no small feat considering what tough nuts hockey players are to crack in general. I think the skills comp changes make it a little more fun and a little less serious, so I'm cool with that. The game itself is just going to have to stay the same - it's probably my least favorite part of the whole weekend, but I don't know what they're going to do about that. I'm happy with their efforts to make the weekend more fun, and I don't blame them at all for not finding a way to fix the actual game.

"Horse teeth" doesn't count for excitement?

Nice! I'm glad our boys aren't on the Ottawa Suck Club team, and congrats to Pavel for getting picked first! I'm surprised that Jimmy was the last goalie picked, but as long as he's on the Charas, I'm happy (although I think it'd be kind of cool if they were on different teams next year, just to see what moves they could put on each other). I wish we could've gotten Weber, but we did get Suter, so that's pretty cool. Stamkos would've been nice, too...I thought he'd go sooner.

I'm going to go with neither. Cooke looks like he's trying his best to avoid any contact and pretty much does, and I don't think Jackman meant to go face first into the edge of the boards. I'm glad other people think this was a bad call - I couldn't believe how much the Blues announcers were whining about the hit, but I thought maybe I was just losing my mind for defending Cooke.

Dodge Ram: menacing grille. Jimmy Howard: shoving his glove up in your menacing grille.

I don't know...if we trade, we better be damn sure we're getting a good deal. I don't want to see all of Hudler's improvement (for example) go to waste for somebody who's got their own set of problems (I mean, this is someone another team was willing to give up, after all), and who doesn't have any experience playing with our guys, to boot. I'm not convinced the Ducks are actually considering getting rid of their top players, anyway...I still think that was just a wake-up call. Parise would be nice, but if he's just going to sign somewhere else next season, I don't want to give up a bunch of guys just so he can play here for a half a season. As for the big, abrasive 4th-liner, we could definitely use one of those, but I don't want to lose a guy like Nyquist just for some throwaway player. Since we actually have some cap space for a change, I'd rather keep our prospects and spend the money this summer. I know it's possibly Lidstrom's last season, and I'd love to make one last Cup run with him, but not so much that I'd want to sacrifice the future of the team. I'd like some fresh blood, sure, but l want to wait until we get a nice, juicy FA pool to choose from.

Well, *gulp*, I made hotel reservations. Hopefully out of 110,000+ tickets, I'll be able to find one that doesn't cost a zillion dollars. This is such a dream come true! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven just to get to go to Detroit and see the Wings play at the Joe last March, but this is a whole other plane of bliss!

Hehe, I like watching your local ads, although I agree that there could be a little more variety...I'm just a little bit tired of the Sam Bernstein commercials. I like the Spartan Stores one, though, just for the way you guys say "Spartan." Sparrrrtan. It's cute. Then there's Tim Horton's...I'm a tad, shall we say, enthusiastic about their ads. Doesn't matter if I've seen it 50 times, I still act like Murph on dollar hot dog night when it comes on. I really miss their coffee.

Congrats, Tiberius! I'm so happy he's doing well - not only because it helps the Wings win, but also because he seems like a really nice guy who deserves to have things go his way. What a win #100 was - against the team he'd already left an impression on in the playoffs for the past couple years, and in a shootout, no less. Nice going, Jimmy, and here's to many, many more! Freudian slip, perhaps?

Haha, was just about to say the same thing. What was TSN's first clue? edit: helps if you get the entire sentence in.

If I had to pick a favorite game so far this year, this one would be it. That was a WIN, by god! We didn't give up when we were down, we fought hard even though it was the second game in two nights, and we didn't let them get back in it at the end of the 3rd. THAT is how it's DONE. I'm so proud, hehe. P.S. I had no idea how much I disliked Jackman until last night. Echhh.

I could be wrong, but I have this theory that Commodore playing with Ericsson adds a little stability to E's game. When he plays with Kindl, they both look like a couple of rookies out there, but with Commie out there, at least he's got some experience in the NHL, and Ericsson seems more confident in his game by having someone else with a little confidence playing with him. I like Kindl, but I wouldn't mind going with Commie for a while. I wish he would play up that aggressiveness a little, but we'll see what happens on Friday.

James Tiberius Howard, everybody. Like a baws. Datsyuk and Lidstrom have also been playing their guts out, White's been a great surprise, and Filppula has definitely taken it up a notch. Also, I wouldn't give them year-long MVP awards, but lately Miller and Zetterberg have been playing better, which I'm really glad to see.

Aw, man. Well, at least they made the game worth sticking around for, but argh. So many woulda coulda shouldas.

Exactly. Sorry, my post didn't make much sense - I agree that the refs got it right tonight, but I just felt like commenting on the fact that Homer was involved, and that they sure seem to be able to pick up on it when HE'S involved, so why kind they figure it out more often, etc.