kipwinger

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not scared, but it's obviously better to not be killing penalties than to be short handed. It's a bonehead penalty to take when the stakes are real high. That's all. If we kill it, good, but I'd rather we didn't have to.

Well then what's your judgement on putting your team shorthanded in the biggest game of the season, in retaliation to a clean hit?

but...but...but...he almost punched a guy.

Beginning to?

Minny taking it to Colorado right now.

Good work boys! Hell of a hard working goal!!!

I'm almost as excited for the Minny-Colorado game to start as I was for ours. God I hope those pussi don't make it to the playoffs.

Not sure I like Brunner and Nyquist out there against Nystrom and Cole. Those are a couple of big boys with some serious hustle. Could be a pretty big mismatch for our guys if this game gets chippy.

I'm fine with Renney

good heads up defensive play by Andersson there. Atta boy kid.

I'm not mad because we've been playing well. But man do I want to see Bert hit the ice sometime soon. It would kill me if we somehow managed to win a cup and he didn't have much to do with it. I've been looking forward to seeing him get handed the cup first for about four years now.

Agreed. Insert Bert and Helm into this lineup and we'd arguably have another 5 or 6 points.

I've always loved Doan. He's just like Backes. Everybody hates playing against him because he's often borderline. But he's a force, and anybody who wouldn't want a guy like that is crazy.

There is no way in hell that Franzen plays until he's 40. Just not going to happen. So stop sweating the small stuff fellas.

When and where did Doan say this haha?

I generally save all of my most serious fanboying for any game seven in the playoffs. Typically this involves me getting loaded and listening to Motley Crue all day until puck drop. But considering this is a HUGE game, and it's a Saturday, I might have to make an exception. C'mon Red Wings...KICK START MY HEART!!!!

I can respect wanting to see the original six play each other. That would be pretty cool. However, I want nothing to do with Chicago in the first round. Also, because of how tight this has been down the stretch I've been watching a lot of Columbus' games and they're a real fun team to watch. They work their asses off and never go away. They're obviously not as talented, but they remind me of the 2010 USA Olympic hockey team. They don't have the star power of their competitors, but they'll nickel and dime you to death with their work ethic.

Did they perform well when together? I don't recall that line but I definitely like the nickname.

I do. Just not at our expense.

Franzen, Flip, and Bert might be a hell of a line. Problem is, if you put Bert in that spot then what do you do with Cleary? The third line is playing well as it is and so is the fourth.

It's good to see Franzen and Filppula heating up. However, I don't think that it's some sort of miracle or something. With Datsyuk and Zetterberg on the same line, teams have to put their best defensive units on the ice against them, and Franzen and Filppula end up taking advantage of the mismatch. Also, having Filppula back at his natural position does wonders as well. I'll admit I wasn't a fan of having D and Z back together at first, but the proof is in the pudding and it's working for both lines. Kudos to Babs for finally getting the lines sorted out. I do sort of wonder if it's worth putting Bert back in the lineup now though. On the one hand I think he's probably better than Abby OR Cleary on their respective lines, but on the other hand I'd be hesitant to mess with success.

Jakub Kindl = B- He's shown considerable progression in all aspects of the game and easily won a spot on this team's defense. However his very good offense has been offset by inconsistency in his own end. I don't expect him to be a shutdown guy, but I would like to see him stronger on the boards, and use his size more to his advantage when defending.

I really hope that Minnesota loses out and both us and Columbus make it in. I think Columbus is exactly the type of team that could upset Chicago and lord knows I'd love to see it. That team does not go away.

It's amazing how much better Filppula looks at his natural position. It's also amazing how much less aggravating it is when you're not expecting him to shoot a lot.