Matt

Welcome, Black Aces.

No, no.... But they could toss Jimmy Hoffa out there...

Just a reminder, guys, that this is a Photoshop War, so please refrain from posting unedited photos. If you want to *link* to the original source, that's fine, but all embedded images should be of photoshopped images. Thanks!

Chills, baby! CHILLS! Hopefully this direct link works: http://gameradio.nhl.com/cc/playa.php?url=...udio_050909.asx

It's a nice win, but we're just halfway home.

Quoted for Truth. ----------- [attachmentid=401] ----------- As an aside -- and i know it's easy to say this now -- but for some reason I wasn't getting worked up tonight, or worried. I don't know... it was weird. Still in shock, though.

Please continue the discussion in the Post-Game 4 thread here: http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=42733 @#%@#^@#^@#$#&$%*$%&!!!

Shoot -- I've got to go on the RADIO early tomorrow morning, too... I'll be dragging for sure.

Well, I called Franzen in Game 6 of the Calgary series (in the chatroom)... And I have the distinct feeling this is going to be a grind-it-out game. I think that fits Dan-O to a tee.

Looks like he got a case of Hudleritis, eh? Maximize those minutes? (I have to admit I cringed a bit with him on the ice in the final minute.) I can just imagine Nabokov thinking "WTF! LANG?" (shot) "OMFG!"

Wow. Make it count. Make it count. Sharks are flustered. Sharks are flustered. If I say it enough does it mean it's true? OT WINNER PICK: Dan Cleary.

It's a sign. Be sure to lose the signal at least two more times in the third period, please.

Or you could blame it on Markov... You know, the defenseman that was up playing with the forwards at the blueline and left Chelios to fend for himself with Thornton and Cheechoo flanking him.

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&am...&gameType=3

Hmmm... I don't tend to look at it as a case of "well, that's how the cookie crumbles" -- I mentioned near the start of this thread that after Clowe's goal the Red Wings started reacting instead of acting. It's funny -- the harder the Sharks work, the "luckier" they get. The same goes for the Red Wings. Coincidence? I think not -- and the team does deserve to get criticized when they get outworked and that's exactly what happened in the second half of Game 3. Ask captain Lidstrom: "We were almost just standing around out there." Ya think? This series is going to boil down to a battle of wills. Goaltending, depth, skill -- it's all a wash. It comes down to who wants it more and when the chips were down in Game 3 that Sharks called the Wings' bluff. They wanted it more and that's why they're leading this series right now.

See, that's what happens when you smoke too much product. At least it wasn't dog shiat. Have you taken a look in the mirror, fella? There's a distinct difference between "hating" and constructively critiquing how the team played last night. I suggest you look up the differences.

Oh, really? Is Brent Sopel or Bryan Smolinski being a hero in Vancouver? How about Brad May in Anaheim? Or Mattias Norstrom in Dallas? The point is this: Not every player is acquired at the deadline to walk on water. They're needed to fill a hole and be a piece of the Stanley Cup puzzle. Based on Bertuzzi's skills he's a calculated risk due to his recent injury history. Do you honestly think if Bertuzzi was playing like he was three years ago Florida would've traded him? And if they were, that Detroit would've even had the assets (or willingness to part with the recquired assets) to get a deal done? Not likely. Bertuzzi was asked to fill a role here, not be a superstar power forward that dominates games.

He was never brought in to be a "superhero" -- a player that has missed five months of hockey isn't going to dominate much of anything. What he *was* brought here to do was to use his size, go to the net and be a presence on the ice. Has he been all of those things? Only in brief flashes -- and not so far in this series. Unfortunately him missing time with his concussion/strained neck handcuffed the timing and chemistry he was trying to build prior to the injury... and the injuries to the Wings' lineup in the playoffs has led to a lot of line shuffling and virtually no opportunity to grow any kind of familiarity with the center he's playing with. (Not that Lang really makes it easy for him, anyway.)

Since when?

No.

Honestly, I don't think he actually intended to slewfoot him, that's just how it happened. It looked like Bertuzzi intended to bullrush and shove off the defender but as both players started leaning back (briefly losing balance and trying to maintain it), his foot came up behind the San Jose player. It's still a penalty -- but I'm pretty sure Bertuzzi didn't intend it because it's such an easy call to make as an infraction.

It definitely wasn't a good game for him. (Understatement of the year?) Both penalties were easy calls to make... ... Personally, I don't think he fits at all on that top line -- there's no chemistry at all -- and the good thing is that'll change for Wednesday's game. Lang played better, but that's not saying much.... I guess your best bet for him (still) is to keep him with Franzen and Lang on the 2nd line.

Again, slew-footing is a penalty. It's one of the easiest plays to call a penalty, actually. FWIW, I thought he should've had Clowe's goal the whole way.

Oh, I'm sure by the end of this playoff run and the *real* injury reports come out there'll be some dropped jaws around here.