Aethernum

That's my issue with the Trouba trade - it doesn't make sense for either team. It's a gross overpayment of talent on our end, and it's a massive cap hit on their end for players they aren't looking for. Some parts of that roster might be workable if you assume Datsyuk's cap hit gets moved but it bothers me when people aren't realistic about what people are going to be paid. It's as if people think Detroit is the only team that exists and we can pay whatever we want and all the league's best talents will simply flock to play here. (That's the mentality that makes Toronto fans so irritating.) This isn't the early 2000s anymore. I disagree with your opinion on Lucic and Backes - I think they're a pretty significant upgrade over Nyquist/Tatar - but overall your point about the roster is dead on. I didn't want to harp on that point too much given that I was trying to de-construct the numbers, but putting Mantha, Svetch, Jurco, and AA in your Top 9 is most certainly not a recipe for guaranteed success. That roster is, at best, a moderate upgrade over what we have now, and it makes zero sense within the context of the cap.

So many things wrong with this. Lucic's current salary hit is already $6M (Boston retains $2.75M of his salary). You think a 27-year old winger is taking a pay cut to come play here? Or that St. Louis won't match $5.5/yr to keep their captain? For our guys: I don't know why you think Miller is going to take a pay cut to be a healthy scratch every night. Marchenko's agent doesn't let him sign for less than $2M/yr if he knows he is a second pairing defenseman. Sheahan at $2M is maybe somewhat more reasonable, but still unlikely - I'd say Sheahan signs for between $2.5M-$3M. Mrazek at $3M is also pretty laughable if he's our starter. This is also assuming no retained salary for three players with a combined cap hit of $10.25M, and that we could trade a player (Pulkkinen) without, you know, resigning him. Come on. The lineup looks fantastic - minus throwing Svechnikov and Mantha into Top 9 roles and just assuming it works - but there is a salary cap and other teams with money do exist. No one is just going to take $10.25M in dead weight off our hands and give over their best players in return.

I agree. I'm just trying to imagine what the state of this board would be if that happened to Howard.

I would like everyone to pause for a moment and contemplate a brief thought experiment. Imagine if this were Howard:

Yup. “We lost two games that I would say were very winnable and close,” coach Jeff Blashill said Saturday after practice. “We’ve got to find a way to turn the tide in our favor in this next game." “It’s going to be a hard game. They’re going to come out and play real well." “We’ve got to make sure we make one or two plays offensively and defensively better than they do." “Each team is trying to win four games as fast as they can. We’ve got to win our first one here tomorrow. That’s our focus.” --- I despise the PR machine mentality these days that says nobody is allowed to say anything meaningful or worthwhile to the media. The first game in this series was winnable, and close. The second game was winnable, but close? No. Everything else up there is meaningless word salad.

I also think people are underestimating the learning curve for a rookie head coach in today's NHL. With a year under Blashill's belt and young players better adjusted to his system, I see no reason why next year won't be a significant improvement. It's easy to forget that we went from the best coach in the NHL (probably) to a rookie who - however well groomed he may have been - is not yet adjusted to the NHL level of play. Obviously Datsyuk will be an enormous loss, but if his ice time goes to guys like AA, Larkin, and Mantha, I think we can bear it. This season has also made clear that Nyquist and Tatar don't do well as secondary scorers - they need to be the go-to guys and get top line minutes on a regular basis in order to develop and play their game. They have had bad seasons, for sure, but I put that as much on how they were used as I do on any sort of slump on their part. If Z were moved down to third line duty and those two were asked to carry the load along with Larkin and AA, I think they could handle it and even thrive. But back to the topic of the game: If Abby is suspended (doubtful but possible), does Blashill put Mantha in, or Jurco?

That was my initial reaction, as well, but upon reply it was obvious that the Tampa player turned into that hit in a way that made it an order of magnitude worse than it otherwise would have been. In the lingo of the Department of Player Safety, he "materially changed his body position" immediately before the hit. DD won't get anything for that hit.

So, any thoughts on possible supplementary discipline after that game-ending brawl? I'm hearing a lot of chatter about an Abby suspension, which would be the wrong call, but then perhaps we could see the return of Mantha?

All six Red Wings on the ice for the game-winning goal were within a stick's length of the puck when it went in. It's not just Howard. That said, I wonder if Holland would consider starting Mrazek in Detroit just to shake things up. Remind Tampa of how hard things were last year and make a statement to the team that we have to re-capture that mentality.

And the second goal scored by the guy with the most punchable face in the NHL. Between our game and the Chi/StL game, NHL officiating has had a very rough night.

If I were a St. Louis fan I would be livid at those two calls.

The utter havoc wrought by their top line has to stop once we have last change. If it doesn't, it will either be because our coach mismanages the change, or because the skill gap between the teams is larger than anyone thought. Either way, we get swept if their top line keeps dominating this way. Their team is wrecked by injuries right now - we have to exploit that lack of depth or we're done.

Yes. Because travel, travel, and more travel. Imagine what our record would be if we were in the West this year.

Referees making sure they get all the penalties right. Because that really matters now.

Howard should have crossed center ice. He would have been killed, but it would have sent a message and possibly sparked something in this lethargic team.

Even if we had the offensive talent to score consistently against Bishop, stupid mental mistakes like that giveaway would kill this team. There's nothing that our GM or coach can do when the whole team refuses to focus and execute at a high level. Tonight is on everyone.

That one is on Kronwall and Howard. Can't have your veteran players making rookie mistakes in the playoffs. You just can't. That goal is a killer. We need to respond quickly or we're in trouble. Tatar...what the hell is that? Stuff like that deserves a benching - and for more than two minutes. You just can't do that.

Putting elevation on your shots might help when the goaltender has limbs that are five feet wide. Who knew?

We have to score the first goal, and we have to settle down the play and stop trying to be something (physical) that we're not. Use the skill and speed to your advantage - that's our style of play. Force that on them. If we go down 2-0 in the series that is probably it for us.

Yup. Ericsson didn't deserve a penalty - the Tampa player clearly let go of his stick on purpose - but that wasn't interference. This game, and this series, is a mess.

He turned around right before the hit. Nothing DD could do. It's an unfortunate hit, but not a dirty one.

Not a slash, but you KNOW that call goes the other way if that were a Lightning player.

That celebration by Larkin was glorious. So cool to see that from the kid. A tie game is a gift for us right now. Have to capitalize on the momentum, now!

Agreed. Abby was being interfered with, but not enough to make a call. What he did in response, though, was the kind of thing you have to call. If we can get out of this period down one goal, it will be a good thing. Not pretty right now.

Welp, I had the Rangers upsetting the Penguins, but that won't happen without a healthy Lundqvist. After the first set of games, I'd probably also switch my SJS/LAK prediction to six games, too. But this is what I had going in: Western Conference: Wild v. Stars in 4 Hawks v. Blues in 6 Sharks v. Kings in 5 Predators v. Ducks in 7 Eastern Conference: Islanders v. Panthers in 6 Wings v. Lightning in 7 Flyers v. Caps in 4 Rangers v. Pens in 6