The Greek

He may have blown the second goal (and the shoot out), but you can't just sit back when you have a two goal lead. We managed to get only 7 shots in the third. Howard's contract is a good one. He's slumping for sure, but it happens to all players.

That's for shootouts, and it's not terrible. However, before this game, his season average is .429. Apparently, jimmy was pretty good in shootouts, prior to this season. If anything, it shows that his issues are mental.

I've defended jimmy a lot, but he misplayed that second goal. He should have been standing against the post instead of playing low. You reserve that move for wraparounds.

This gives me the warm fuzzies. I really didn't expect him to change his mind. I know the Internet has stripped the word of any meaning but... This game is going to be epic.

F. Michael, You're being a little disingenuous by framing your argument like that. You just declared that as long as hitting is in the game, then stuff like this will always happen. Therefore, we should either take out hitting or leave fighting to help mitigate these types of situations. Of course, almost no one wants to take out hitting, so we have to conclude that fighting must be in the game. However, the situation is not as you say it is. Look at Cooke. He has had his face punched in many times because of his cheap shots. What actually caused him to change his game? A lengthy suspension. When you go after these guys' paycheck, then they'll start paying attention.

I get what you're saying. A goalie's job is to stop the puck, just like a QB's job is to throw touchdowns. There are other variables at play aside from the goalie's performance. I'm not saying Jimmy is above reproach. He has not been at his best. However, to lay our losses at his feet would be a mistake. Watching monster play does not inspire confidence. He flops too much and he doesn't have dom's athleticism for it to be an effective style for him.

I've given up trying to defend goalies when talking to those who have never played the position. They don't understand the technical nuances involved. Howar has not been playing well, but he is far from the cause of our losses. Monster's record is fool's gold IMO. It's like valverde's 50 save season. When you watch monster play, he's not nearly as technically sound as Howard. Monster overcommits and he his recovery ability is very poor.

No one is demanding blind, unrelenting optimism. Is it too much to ask for a little class? Read some of the things people say in the forum. If you heard someone speaking that way in a sports bar, what woul you think of them?

You may not know this, but the world is ending.

Opie, what is the point that you're tryin to make? It's not really clear. At first, you were criticizing the cleary hate because the wings are in third. After that, you were saying that the eyeball test is not a good method for evaluating cleary. Now, you're saying there's no better option than cleary. Are you saying we shouldn't complain, about anything, because we're in third? Are you saying cleary is a capable hockey player? Are you just saying it's stupid to whine about cleary because, at the moment, there are no better options?

No. I'm saying the only reason a better option has not been picked is that there is no better option. When did I say action must be taken, now? I specifically said that the situation is going to be resolved when we get healthy. I'm really not even saying anything disagreeable. Cleary has been bad lately. That doesn't make him a bad person, nor does it mean he was never good. However, going by the eye test and statistics, it's clear, cleary provides nothing for this team.

The point I was making was that when you're in last place, there are more important issues than dealing with a plug like cleary. Since our top lines are playing well and the team is In a good position in the standings, making changes to our ineffective fourth line is a good idea. Babs has been playing cleary less and less. The only reason he sees any icetime is because we are short on forwards. As soon as we get Bert or Dats back, cleary will be in the press box. Once DD comes back, cleary is the most likely player to be waived.

What does our record have to do with cleary's awful play? We may be in a good position in the standings, but cleary has been really bad. If anything, you're point proves we should waive cleary once Pavs and Bert come back. If we were in last, there would be no good reason to dump cleary. As it is now, if someone, who can score, was in cleary's place, the wings may have won a few more games.

I would like to point out that you said retaliation is able to prevent cheap shots. I'm sorry, there's no way for me to make sense of that. I completely understand what youre saying about getting even. That's my first reaction too. But, it's not always the best course of action for a player to go out of his way to make a big hit. Ultimately, the objective is to win. If the wings tried to out-muscle the sens, then I feel we would have lost. The sens are better suited for a physical game. You should definitely lay a guy out when the situation presents itself. But not if it could end up hurting you. Pavs would agree, winning is the best way to retaliate.

Yeah, mine's flaring up a bit.

Are these your real thoughts? I'm not trying to be mean or rude. I've just never seen someone waiver in their convictions like this. You were saying, recently, that this is the worst wings team you have ever seen. Now, you're saying this team is better than the '02 wings, which is, arguably, the greatest hockey team ever assembled.

Is monster sitting in the crowd?

Awesome pass by smith.

Based on...? One guy dropped out and 200 have joined. The only way the league gets out of paying is if it defeats the claim at trial. The only other possibilities are settlement or a victory for the plaintiffs. There is no way this suit gets dismissed.

If I was an attorney bringing suit against the NHL, I would show the weber head-smash and the cowen elbow as evidence that the league has not done enough to deter dangerous hits to the head. How can the league, with a straight face, claim that they are concerned about player safety? I may be biased, but I was furious Emery wasn't suspended. This league is becoming a joke. Avery and torterella can be suspended or fined for their speech, but an assault is unpunishable.

Someone likes the islays.

If Quincey continues to play as he has this season, there is no way he gets half of E's salary. Q's current salary is based, mostly, on what he did before we traded for him. He's been on a pretty steady decline since. Either way, I don't see us re-signing him.

His cap hit is only .5 million more than Q's. That's roughly 13-15% more. Who thinks E is 15% better than Quincey? This is a great signing.

@ LAwings First, don't use the McDonald's coffee case as an example of a frivolous lawsuit. That poor lady deserved every penny she got (nowhere near $10 million). On the suit at issue, I recommend that you read the complaint. A lot of it discusses things not related to actual game play. The complaint argues that the league breached its duty to players by not having neurologists present at games, for not changing the rules regarding high hits, waiting until 2013 to mandate soft shoulder pads, changing from flexible to rigid glass, waiting to change its protocol for concussed players, etc. There are a lot of things the league could do that would make it safer and have ZERO effect on the game. It's crazy to me how people are so quick to jump to the defense of a multibillion dollar corporation at the expense of the little guy. Before anyone says the players are millionaires, not everyone is able to make a lucrative living while in the league. Several of the parties in the suit were only able to play for a year or two before their careers were cut short by concussions.

Basically, you're asking who is a better hockey player, at this moment. I would have to say Feds. He is the best skater I've ever seen. Even at his age, I'd say he's easily an average skater by NHL standards. Additionally, Feds has a far higher hockey IQ than cleary.