Grateful Gadsby

Totally agree. He reminds me of a gold-plated Sandis Ozolinsh. He creates great scoring chances - at both ends of the ice.

Good god does Lebda suck. I won't blame Chelios, he's old and slow and everyone knows it. As someone else said, Lebda has to be extra careful on plays like that.

Ha! Great point, and so true. It also would be nice to see Hrudey or one of the other CBC types call out Perry for just standing there with his thumb in his orifice while Lids steps up and bangs home the GWG. I won't hold my breath, however.

Big E was the unofficial No. 2 Star last night, in my view. Sole reason: forcefully putting that little ***** Perry in his place. I loved the way the expression on Perry's face changed once he realized that Ericsson was all too happy to oblige. Perry starts off, as usual, with his cheap, post-whistle jab while hiding behind the ref. As soon as Ericsson clocks him and basically says "You're on, punk," Perry's look immediately becomes one of fear, and you can tell he's hanging on for dear life from that point forward. Great stuff -- especially the way the CBC guys were all over this very point when one of them said that the Wings "will not be intimidated!" Only thing better would have been if he had done some real damage to Perry - i.e., broken nose or something. On second thought, I guess that's not likely since Perry pulls that BS while hiding behind a visor.

Exactly. Timing is everything in life, and now is certainly not the time to get one's hopes up that government/taxpayer dollars will be a big part of any plans for a new arena. And you are spot-on about the Joe. I love Wings games as much as anyone, but the Joe is a relic of bad 70's design. Worst of all are the cramped seats - and I'm not fat.

Now THAT is some good stuff! Well played, sir.

LOL. I missed the game, but it's never hard to figure out how a Blues loss ends. Let me guess: the crybaby Blues gooned it up to "send a message!" Still haven't figured out exactly what "message" the Blues have been trying to send for the last two decades of this BS.

Well said. If there is anything that Wings fans should have learned from the last 8-9 years, it's that confident predictions about the Wings' early round success are worth very little. Sure, we all hope that the team will play up to its potential, etc., but 2001, 2003 and 2006 (all years when the Wings were believed to be Cup favorites or close to it) should never be far from anyone's mind. One potential reason for optimism: Babcock. Having just won a Cup and coached a team that's stunned the Wings with a first-round sweep, hopefully he's got the right playoff coaching skill set to get the Wings playing their best now that the games really count.

That's one of the blessings of being North of the Border (or at least close to the border) when it comes to talking hockey: very limited chance of having to listen to St. Louis/Nashville -type fans (and/or stare at their hilarious mullets)!

Gag. It's great to see the team do well, as it has some great young talent, and John Davidson is a great guy and a class act. I could never congratulate their "fans," however. Having lived in St. Louis for a while, I can say with firsthand experience that Blues fans are the biggest idiots you'll find in any NHL city. Half of them couldn't care less about their team winning hockey games, let alone a Stanley Cup. As long as the Blues goon it up and send other teams' players off the ice on stretchers, they're happy. (No coincidence that BS like WWF "Smackdowns" always draw sell-out crowds in St. Louis.) Slugs like Reed Low are worshipped down there like gods, simply because they sport 1:1 shift-to-fighting major ratios (never mind that Low could barely skate, let alone shoot or score). The other half of their fans do nothing but whine about how the Blues never get enough attention from the media or "respect" from fans of other teams -- despite the obvious (to the rest of the world) fact that the franchise has never accomplished a damn thing in its entire history.

Exactly. A quick tour of other teams' boards shows widespread applause for Staubitz's beatdown on Tootoo. There is a reason for that.

Always love that clip, and not just for the play on the ice. How about the rack on the bouncy fan in the white sweater?!

How can you not like Keating? His ... delivery ... is so ... profound ...

Completely agree with this assessment. I was at the game last night, and I had the exact same reaction. Lost count of how many times I said something like "wow, check out Kopecky tonight," or "was that Kopecky?" Games like last night certainly leave me thinking that he could blossom into a solid, physical, 3rd/4th liner yet. Also agree about Flip. He obviously has the skill set, but he can be really frustrating to watch. It's almost like he's a full second behind the play with his decisionmaking sometimes. Hopefully it's just one of those things that is cured with experience. Gotta be tough when your play is evaluated against the likes of Pav, Z and Hoss every night.

We have a winner. Two words: Dallas Drake. No, I'm not suggesting that we haul him out of retirement, but the Wings desperately need someone like him. He was huge last year down the stretch and all throughout the playoffs. Not huge as in big numbers on the scoresheet, but huge with regard to the big, timely hits and aggressive forecheck that kept the other teams honest and created the space needed for the Wings' skill players to shine. That element is completely missing so far this season. (Sorry, Kopy doesn't count.)

Exactly. Screaming "cheap shot" (in all caps) in the title of the thread is totally misguided. Ovechkin did nothing wrong. Just an unfortunate accident.

That is a great point. Having spent a few God-forsaken years in St. Louis, I can confirm that they're about the most deranged bunch you'll find amongst all the NHL cities. A significant percentage don't even care about the score, or even about the game of hockey. As long as the Blues rack up the PIMs and leave the other team bleeding, they're happy. It's really quite bizarre, and probably helps explain why the team has never achieved anything in its 40+ year history. The best thing that could happen to the Blues franchise is probably a relocation to another city.

LOL -- exactly. Looks like the Blues are well on their way to enjoying a second decade as the Wings' *****. That guy truly represents the typical Blues fan: couldn't care less about the score, or even the game of hockey. As long as the Blues goon it up, rack up the PIMs, and leave the other team with "blood spurting from noses and ears" (as Blues fans love to say), Blues fans are perfectly happy. (I lived in St. Louis for a few God-forsaken years, and I know whereof I speak. They still worship Reed Low down there like he's some kind of God. Doesn't matter that the guy could hardly skate.) This no doubt goes a long way towards explaining why their team has never achieved a damn thing in its 40+ year history.

Just once I'd like to see the Blues attempt to take their losses to the Wings like men, instead of like crybaby ******* who have to goon it up every game. For some real laughs, check out a Blues board, where their fans go nuts over how the Blues have to rough up the Wings in order to "send a message." Not sure what the message is, other than the Blues are gearing up for a second decade as the team otherwise known as Detroit's *****.

Whose groin is he out with?

Anyone got a YouTube link for the Dats hit in OT? Missed the game, but caught Ken Kal and Paul Woods raving about it on the radio post-game show.

Well, no. That said, even though the entire team defense has been horrible so far, aren't you getting tired of Lilja's boneheaded turnovers leading to at least one goal virtually every other game? It's getting to be as predictable as the sunrise. Chelios can't get healthy fast enough. Pair him with Ericsson, and pair Lilja with Lebda again -- in the effing press box.

Ship Lilja's ass out of here. ASAFP. Amazing to me how an NHL-er can so closely resemble one of the slugs in my beer league on regular basis.

Should have won. Geez. Bugs the crap out of me when people who make otherwise semi-intelligent comments come off looking like they flunked a GED exam.

Just got home from the game. Don't have much in the way of thoughts/impressions, because I sat right behind Emma Andersson (a/k/a the future Mrs. Henrik Zetterberg), and thus had a difficult time paying close attention to the game. I heard the goal horn go off a few times, and I know the Wings won, but I was really distracted for much of the contest. Hank is truly one of the luckiest guys on the planet. Cup, Conn Smythe, prospective contract worth probably $7 mil+, and Emma.