Creasemonkey

Kronner CRUSHED him. Eat that, Morrow! (edit: thought I should note that I know Morrow wasn't the one hit, but more of a "you're not the only one that can hit somebody")

Excellent first period. As usual, the announcers attribute the Wings successes as Dallas' lack of their "#1 penalty killer" Lehtinen. Buncha tards.

No more itching, that stopped about a week ago.

My home Howe jersey will be 8-0. Changed to Yzerman white for game 3, Hasek white for game 4 during the Nashville series. Started wearing it during road games because I couldn't argue with a winning shirt, that and my wife started asking me "why aren't you wearing your Howe jersey? It's undefeated".

Whatever he's done has worked like gangbusters. I'd like to know how to write to him, so I can thank him for the win in Game 3 tonight. If he wasn't #1 star, he deserved to be.

Anybody listening with a 5.1 system can just unplug the center speaker (at least when they're on NBC), and it's like you're sitting in the Joe. Every once in a while you'll see Emerick or McGuire talking and you won't hear anything, and if you're like me that'll make you smile.

I don't even know what to say. This is just ridiculous.

He's a disgrace to the game. I don't know who his favorite team is, but it's obviously not the Red Wings. "WELCOME TO SMASHVILLE!!!" Seriously. He said it, and he felt good saying it. I don't think even Nashville's superhomer announcers have ever spewed that junk forth during a game, at least not one I've been watching. National coverage should be unbiased, it's as simple as that. He doesn't need to slurp on the Wings, what he needs to do is slurp on the other team less. A LOT less. As a Wings fan, I get tired of hearing the broadcasters say 10 things about what Nashville's doing right to 1 obligatory quote on the play of Nick Lidstrom. A friend of mine who is a casual Preds fan sent me an email yesterday that said one thing: "Is the N in NBC for Nashville?" You can't make this stuff up. The man gets paid very well to do his job, and he doesn't even bother to check his facts before he goes on national television and informs the casual hockey fan (who doesn't know any better) about everything hockey related. That does not, and will not ever sit well with me. I watched him on Tradecentre '08 on NHL network, and you can tell even his TSN colleagues can't stand him. Nobody likes the guy. I hope somebody pegs him right in his shiny phallus-like dome with an octopus at the Joe.

I turned on NBC and , as usual, something trivial is more important. Are there REALLY any golf fans that need to follow every single shot? Aren't they all napping by now? I'm so sick of feeling like nobody gives a damn about hockey. I love it, I consider it the greatest of all sports, and yet most of the country (and the networks that carry it) could not care less about the sport or its fans. Considering horse racing pre-race coverage was so damned important that they'd cut away during overtime over an HOUR before the race was going to start, why doesn't hockey get the same treatment merely 10 minutes before puck drop?

I officially question your manliness. If anybody were offended by the scruff, you should simply feed them to your beard. That's what I do.

I'd gladly chip in on the fine. I bet most of you are with me on that.

BPDNews.com Found at the website withleather.com. Favorite comment there:

I spent half an hour looking for a good Bruins fan (in jersey) picture to photoshop R. Kelly's face on to. No luck.

Interesting take. For the record, Babcock has yet to win a championship at any level. I like that he demands that his players work hard. All of them. He doesn't coddle the stars, nor should he. This is only his fifth NHL season as head coach, but he's off to a good start. I like his style. He knows how to win, and it's hard to blame a loss on the coach if the players aren't doing as they're told. Bowman didn't win a cup until his sixth season. Not a comparison, just food for thought.

Playoff beard update: Itchy, borderline raw feeling in some spots. Gameday jersey selection: Yzerman white. Prediction: Red Wings 5 (Datsyuk, Cleary, Franzen, Cleary, Filppula) , Predators 2 (Who cares?). Most Wing goals come in the third when Nashville starts to get desperate. Cleary responds to being demoted by knocking two in.

Oh, so you've never wanted to smack an announcer for mentioning the word shutout in the last few minutes of a game? Same "retarded" concept. It's not any more retarded than assuming a team people were fearing a week ago is done when they're only down two games. Detroit was just the first team that came to mind as an example, and you just aren't worth the time for me to look up every other team that won a series after going down 2-0. The Ducks have a few future hall of famers themselves, and Giguere won the Conn Smythe while on the losing team in 2003. We all know firsthand he can steal a series or three. This isn't even up for debate. Unless they're playing a secret best of three configuration I don't know about, the series isn't over. The smug is getting incredibly thick in here. Would we all be so quick to laugh at the Ducks if we'd lost even ONE of our first two games?

Babcock has stated his love for Downey over the course of the season, and it's his decision. He isn't doing it to be mean. Aaron Downey understands his role. Somebody goes down, he might see some time, but McCarty's proven himself enough to be in there instead.

Throw all the bleedin' stats you want at me, I'm not getting excited until Dallas has won another game, preferably the next one. Even then it'll be reserved optimism. If Dallas pulls it off, count me in the "point and laugh at the Ducks" group, but only when it's actually over.

Detroit went down 2-0 to Vancouver in a series once not so long ago, and a lucky goal changed everything. Relax. Don't jinx it.

If Kronwall gets suspended for that hit, it will show even clearer than Pronger's 8 game pre-playoff vacation that the league office is unfair and biased in the way they hand out discipline. No harm, no foul. If Pronger had gotten the 5 he deserved last season (twice), I'd say Kronwall might deserve one or two. He didn't need to jump. But he got a penalty on the play, fair justice is fair justice.

By all means, send your feedback to feedback@versus.com. Here's a copy of my letter:

I just noticed that myself. Same for DirecTV. Horse racing pre-race, Masters 1st round post-actual-golfing coverage, what the f*** is next? Those of us with CI MIGHT get the FSND feed, but I doubt it. And standard def looks like s*** on my HDTV. I got the HD specifically for hockey, and every year something retarded happens where the game is shot in HD and yet I'm watching pixellated hockey.

Oh, just the octopus I'd stuff in a heartbeat. Problem is there's only so much room in there. Take that however you want.

Yikes. Even if I was going to the Joe, I wouldn't be stuffing all that dead seafood down my pants. Perhaps a photoshopped sign depicting the same scenario would do, yeah?

Mood: Nervous wreck. Playoff beard: Itchy. Shaved for last time Sunday. Let's see some other beard updates! Don't be skeered, it's just a beard! Prediction: Red Wings 3 (Zetterberg, Franzen, Holmstrom), Predators 2 (Dumont, Radulov) Mac or Downey will pound Tootoo if he tries any funny stuff. Hasek will play spectacular. LET'S GO RED WINGS!