chaps80

I just think they are inconsistent. They can play with the best when everything clicks, but when they suck, they really suck.

PP. Can they score?

Ericsson has had so many goals go in off his skate/body. Oh wow Howard. This game should be like 6-1.

Another post. Your friends love ya tonight Howie. And of course off Errorsson's skate. lol

Damn you Smith. LOL nice trip ref.

Damn Howard blows on one on one chances. f***!!

Post. That was damn close. Almost off Howard's back and in off the rebound too.

If Ericsson actually used his size all the time and dropped the gloves when needed, I could put up with his defensive lapses. But he only throws his weight around when he feels like it, which isn't very often.

When doesn't he? Man I wish we had guys like Howe and Lindsay nowadays. "Toughness wins championships".

I'd take either over Ericsson.

Won't find one here. Penalty??? LOL

Richards!!! f*** the haters!!!

Pens beat Philly 4-1. Least that's good....

Just tuned in.nLow shot counts for both teams. I see Errorsson gave the puck away and it led to a goal. When the hell is he going to be benched???

If he's sick, i'd rather him not play or be on the bench. With a goalie with as much skill and potential as Mrazek you don't want to take unnecessary chances with his health, especially with Howard and Coreau good to go.

Leapfrogged twice. By Mrazek and now Coreau. It's too bad, because he looked really promising at the time he was drafted. Then again, he hasn't even started an NHL game yet, so he hasn't been given a fair shot. I'd like to see him get it.

Missed the game. Glad to hear the Wings won. Much needed points! As someone who has struggled, and still does(it's something that will always tempt me) with an addiction to prescription narcotics, it's for the best that your doc is trying to get you off of them. Hope it all works out!!!

Yep. He'll be around until his contract is up. Depending on the situation and how his body holds up, he may even re-sign on a year by year basis like Yzerman and Lidstrom did. The organization is very loyal to it's captains. It will be his decision.

I'm sure he'll finish out his contract. Either playing however he can, or on LTIR if something sidelines him indefinitely. He won't retire early and leave money on the table. I know I wouldn't. lol

Never thought i'd hear those two names together. https://www.nhl.com/news/corey-crawford-primary-candidate-for-vezina-trophy/c-279605562?tid=277729400 Corey Crawford has already won the Stanley Cup twice with the Chicago Blackhawks, but individual awards have escaped him. With a strong finish to this regular season, that could change. With midseason favorite Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals sliding statistically since January, Crawford has emerged as a strong candidate to win the 2016 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. Although Holtby could still break Martin Brodeur's record of 48 wins in a season, he has dropped to the bottom or outside of the top-10 in the most significant statistical save percentage categories. Crawford, meanwhile, is near or atop most of those same lists, including the ones that adjust for the quality of chances he faces based on shot distance. "It's been a good year," Crawford told reporters after stopping 34 of 35 in a March 6 win against the Detroit Red Wings. "[The Vezina Trophy] would be a pretty nice honor, but we've got a bunch of games to play and it's always about the next game first." Crawford is second in the NHL in save percentage among the goalies that have appeared in at least 40 games at .927, and his .937 even-strength save percentage trails only New York Rangers star Henrik Lundqvist (.939) on that list. Holtby is 10th at .929. For those who argue Crawford's success is a product of the Chicago system, his adjusted 5-on-5 save percentage, which weighs a goaltender's workload based on shot distance, is .9367, again second only to Lundqvist at .9398, according to war-on-ice.com. Crawford's .9262 adjusted save percentage in all situations is second in the NHL, and although factoring in shot distance isn't enough to totally quantify the discrepancy in shot quality because it doesn't include pre-shot puck movement, it adds context lacking in the raw numbers. Of course, Crawford is doing pretty well in those categories too. He leads the NHL with seven shutouts; for those who would believe the shutouts have helped offset more bad games and are a sign of inconsistency, Crawford also leads the League with 40 Quality Starts, which are defined as starts with a save percentage above the NHL average for the season or above .885 in games with less than 20 shots, according to Hockey-Reference.com. Crawford's .715 quality start percentage is also tops among goalies to play more than 40 games. That helps offset Crawford's seven Really Bad Starts, which are defined as games started with a save percentage below .850, compared to five for Holtby and four for Lundqvist. "It's a combination of a lot of things," Crawford said when asked about his consistency this season. "You take care of yourself, have the right mindset, battling hard every game and making sure you are prepared to play every game the right way." Crawford also leads the NHL with a 19.70 Goals Saved Above Average, which tracks the number of goals saved compared to what a goalie with the League average save percentage would have allowed, according to Hockey-Reference.com. When analyst Nick Mercadante last broke that statistic down on March 10, weighing the shot difficulty based on location during 5-on-5 play, Crawford's 0.384 goals saved per 60 minutes trailed only Lundqvist (0.448) among goalies with 40-plus games played. In other words, Crawford's season is not all about the play of a Blackhawks team uncharacteristically ranked 14th in 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage at 50.68, just ahead of the 16th-place Capitals (50.38) but well up on the 24th-place Rangers (47.52). FINALISTS Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals ALSO IN THE MIX: Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning; Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils; Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings.

Yeah he is, which is funny. I'm not gonna get into the whole Osgood thing, but it's hilarious to see what some people think of him considering what he accomplished in Detroit.

If/when Howard is moved, Holland will look for an experienced journeyman backup i'm sure because there are tons of free agent options. Can't see him going with Coreau as full time backup yet. When Osgood was starting in 2009 he signed Conklin because he didn't feel Howard was quite ready. Same with Gustavsson last season. Didn't want to put too much pressure on Mrazek yet, but as we all know he ended up being the starter by season's end.

Well, I see the Wings lost this very important game. Once again though, it was only a one goal game at least.

Detroit isn't a place top free agents want to sign anymore, for one reason or another. Holland has tried to land the top guy they need. You can offer a guy more money than where he eventually signs, but if he doesn't want to play for you, what can you do? Most UFAs these days end up re-signing with their current teams before they even hit free agency, and those who do test the market tend to favour places where they have some kind of personal connection unless the money is just too good to turn down, but Holland also doesn't like to overpay for free agents. He'll overpay his drafted guys though. It's weird.

Yeah, misuse is the wrong word. Not much you can do when you don't have a top D in your system and can't sign one via free agency. MIGHT be able to trade for one, but that would take assets that Holland seems unwilling to give up.