BlueMonk

Voros!!

I really like the Wild, but they're going to lose this game. I've been watching hockey for over 30 years, and the power play they just had (that led to the shorthanded goal) was the worst power play I've ever seen. No team that has even a single power play that bad in a game stands any chance at all of winning it.

It's odd coming from Drew Sharp. His analysis is usually really strong. Oh, wait....

There's no chance Holland gets fired. Is his idea of how to build a roster responsible for a team that struggles to get out of round one? Absolutely, to my mind. But nobody will fire a GM whose team is at the top of the standings every year.

Inspired!

Marty Brodeur hasn't had a good playoff series since they last won the Cup in 2003. When are the Devils going to wise up and stop working this guy like a horse? Every year he starts almost every single game. What was it this year, 77 games? And last year, 79? Then he craps out in the first round.

Predators 12, Red Wings 3 Despite allowing 12 goals on 15 shots, Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek insisted his struggles have nothing to do with his age. "People think because I'm 42 years old, I'm slipping. That's not it at all. It's just that my reaction times are much slower and all my joints hurt." Nashville's Jordin Tootoo complained after the game that the Red Wings have hurled racial insults his way throughout the series. Detroit forward Jiri Hudler vehemently denied Tootoo's allegations. "That's a pretty serious accusation, and it's completely untrue. I called him 'Igloo Boy' and 'Eskimo Pie' a few times, but nothing at all about his race."

Dallas can take some positives out of how they came back in the 3rd period.

Yow. Well, this is good for Dallas going into game 4, if nothing else. Give the Ducks something to think about. They have a PP now, could get real interesting if the pot one now.

WTF happened in Dallas? I stopped watching the game.

Don't switch yet, Lou! Shelley just mixed it up with Kiprusoff (!) and took a stupid penalty in the process.

This isn't true, though. Osgood's performance dropped off sharply down the stretch. His post All-Star numbers are not good: 7-6-2 record and a .893 save percentage. Hasek's numbers were better during the same stretch, although still not stellar by any means.

The Sharks look friggin' awful. They look like they've already given up. Calgary has had about 4 or 5 unbelievable scoring chances already, with Iggy converting on one of them. 1-0 Calgary.

I hate goaltenders thanks to this place. All of them. I'd rather see 6 skaters and an empty net with game scores like a basketball game just so I wouldn't have to read about goalie controversies. F**k goaltenders. They all suck. They're just the guys who couldn't skate well enough to be forwards or defensemen.

People complain about how boring Minnesota's brand of hockey is, but they've got nothing on Boston. That is the most brutal offense in the history of the NHL. I don't care if there are other teams that scored fewer goals this year, none of them played a less appealing style than the Bruins.

This looks like the Ducks team I expected to roll through the playoffs. I have no doubt they'll win this series now. Yes, even after just one period of hockey, while they're still down 2-0 in the series. Mark my words!

For me, the real story of this game is how the Predators initiated all the physical contact tonight. The Wings appeared to me to be shying away from the contact late in the game. I don't think that's a coincidence; I think the Preds wore 'em down. The Wings need to start finishing checks and taking the body when they have the opportunity. They've done that, just not tonight. I believe this was really their undoing because it led to what appeared to be a random late game collapse, but was really a logical progression from the tone Nashville set up to that point.

Hey, there's an upside to losing this game. At least all those Nashville goals meant we got to hear more of the Tim McGraw song! Ba-dum CRASH Thank you! Thank you! We'll be here all week. Try the veal, and don't forget to tip the waitstaff!

Now here's a strategy I can get behind!

Sorry, the Wings were awful tonight.

Just plain bad game by the Wings. They were outmuscled, outskated and generally outplayed. They were hanging on whenever they had leads rather than continue playing. Did they win a single battle for a loose puck? The Preds took the body and took it to 'em all night long. The Wings played defense like it was an All-Star game, trying to get by with stickwork instead of laying hits. You can't win in the playoffs like that. A couple extra saves would have been nice.

Predators 16, Red Wings 2 Against all odds, 14 of the 16 Predators goals are scored when Red Wings players "accidentally" knock pucks into their own net. A fuming Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, is seen making a beeline for Red Wings GM Kenny Holland's JLA office after the game, apparently suspecting foul play on the part of the Red Wings. Detroit coach Mike Babcock, wearing a grin from ear to ear, was asked how such an outrageous number of pucks could have been shot into the net by Detroit sticks in one game. "I have no idea. Just one of those crazy things. You boys wanna come outside and see my new Maybach?" Babcock then led a cadre of reports out of the dressing room to see his new super luxury automobile. Reports that $100 bills were falling out of his suit pockets by the dozens could not be confirmed. Nashville country music star Tim McGraw was on hand for the game, but was nowhere to be found after the 2nd intermission despite a scheduled TV appearance in the 3rd with VS. McGraw was later found outside the arena near a dumpster, next to Predators forward Jordin Tootoo's sense of honor and coach Barry Trotz's neck.

Because it's farce. One of the things I love about hockey is that there's some dignity to it.

Whatever rule needs to exist to make that display a penalty, they should invent it.

Reminds me of when I was at the playoff game last year in Detroit when the Sharks went up 2-0 quickly and then went on to lose. This is who the Sharks are. And this is who Joe Thornton is.