eva unit zero

Comcast. Channel 206 in my area. If you really need to have VS, get Comcast because, well, VS is owned by Comcast and you are guaranteed to be able to get it.

Heatley plead guilty to vehicular homicide. Saying he is a convicted killer is stating no more of a fact than saying someone who received a speeding ticket has been caught breaking the law.

It wasn't "a punch to the head" it was "a punch to the back of the head of an unsuspecting person, followed by grabbing the head of the now unconscious person and driving their head into the ice." The pile-on may have increased the severity of injury, but the initial assault was the primary cause of all head and neck injuries Moore suffered. I still don't like the fact that he ever joined the Wings, or is one now, but it is what it is. I honestly think he is lucky to even be playing in the NHL after that incident; it's probably the single dirtiest act that has happened in my lifetime in the NHL.

It would only have been a too many men penalty had he interfered with the play before the player he was replacing left the ice, or the player he was replacing been an unreasonable distance from the bench, so if he got on the ice and all that happened was he took out a linesman, there's no penalty.

Osgood wasn't traded. The Wings had Hasek, Osgood, and Legace and Manny only cost $500k at the time, and had just come off an excellent season backing up Osgood. Osgood was left exposed on waivers because waiver rules at the time forced the Wings to expose one of the three, and Osgood made almost $3m more than Legace; given the contracts already on the team with guys like Yzerman, Shanahan, Robitaille, Hull, Fedorov, Lidstrom, Chelios, and Hasek, it made keeping Ozzie as the backup expensive and with a small talent downgrade in Legace who would provide large savings, Wings management felt they could take the step of risking Osgood on waivers.

The fact that #30 was kept out of circulation from the time Ozzie left until he came back, meaning Ozzie is still the only player to wear #30 for Detroit since he entered the league despite a four year absence, doesn't give you an indication of how the management might feel about it?

Chris Osgood owns more Red Wings goaltending records than Terry Sawchuk, and has backstopped the team to two Cups. His #30 belongs up there.

Looks more like it hits him in the chest or on the arm just below the shoulder, and rolls off; part of the reason I think this is the fact that it looks like it almost comes out of his pants while he completes his roll, but his blocker is already completely on the ice. It hit him somewhere between the gut and shoulder, most likely right in the chest based on the way it bounced. Had it hit him in the arm, it would have done one or more of these things: 1) Deflected off his blocker. 2) Forced his arm back. 3) Knocked his stick out of his hand. 4) Rebounded back towards Hanzal. 5) Slid inwards along the ice towards Howard. 6) Frozen under Howard's arm. It did none of those things, and instead was shot at Howard's upper body, deflecting towards and then off of his pants towards the goal, allowing him to freeze the slowly sliding puck with his glove as he completed his roll.

I was kinda hoping this wouldn't be the save that showed up in this thread, because while it looked flashy and he stopped it, it was not great. He was not square to the shooter and he gave up a really s***ty and dangerous rebound that he was VERY lucky to stop because if you really watched it, Howard rolled towards Hanzal and Hanzal fires the shot basically cross-ice and hits him in the chest. The second shot was never going to go in at all, goalie or empty net. It's like making a diving glove save on a shot that would otherwise miss the net and bounce to your defenseman. Great for the cameras, but no real danger of a goal on that shot. The first shot was the only dangerous one, and Howie played it poorly by allowing the rebound to go to Hanzal.

Let's look at this lineup from a cap hit perspective. Oh, and we're adding Ritola because he's out of options. 14 skaters currently signed for a $43,662,876 cap hit. F: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Filppula, Hudler, Cleary, Draper D: Rafalski, Stuart, Kronwall, Ericsson, Kindl G: Osgood, Howard So add RFA contract deals for: The next four are all PK specialists receiving small raises Helm ($1m) Miller ($750k) Abdelkader ($1m) Eaves (1m, his raise is likely slightly bigger than the other three due to his buyout ending) Ritola (650k, minor raise pluse a promotion to the NHL) and UFA deals for Holmstrom ($2m, he'll probably take a paycut if he doesn't retire) Bertuzzi ($2.5m, as he'll want some thing more than $1.5m because his buyout is ending - He is making $3m this season, half from the Ducks.) Lidstrom ($4.5m tops to allow for more cap space) Lilja (1m, if not less assuming he doesn't retire due to injuries) Let's see how that adds up. Overall, with these numbers, it goes over the cap by $363k. Without Ritola, obviously it does not. Probably some players' cap hits will be different to a degree, but the overall should be fairly similar if you try and keep all of these players. It's likely only one of Bertuzzi and Holmstrom return, which would solve the cap issue quickly and easily.

Is he now? Well you know, Tiger Woods is the greatest player of all-time. He's also pretty good at golf.

Here's what I would go with: Cleary/Zetterberg/Franzen (This line has rocked in the past) Holmstrom/Datsyuk/Bertuzzi (Worked out well earlier this season) Eaves/Filppula/Williams (Solid third offensive line with good defense) Abdelkader/Helm/Miller (Very physical checking line with strong defensive ability and solid faceoff skills) Lidstrom/Lilja (Have shown very strong chemistry in the past) Kronwall/Stuart (Has worked well from day one) Meech/Rafalski (Meech is a swift skater and capable defensively. If the pair doesn't work swap Raf and Lilja.) PP: Holmstrom/Datsyuk/Williams/Lidstrom/Rafalski Filppula/Zetterberg/Franzen/Kronwall/Meech PK: Helm/Eaves/Lidstrom/Lilja Abdelkader/Miller/Kronwall/Stuart Cleary/Zetterberg

I don't get the Doan hate. He's a complete player, always has been a complete player, and is and has consistently been one of the best wingers in the league for a while now. Sure, he plays in Phoenix. Whatever. He's one of the few guys in the league that can play a strong physical game, contribute well offensively, and perform well defensively all at once. Mike Richards, Brenden Morrow, Z, and Pavs are the only other guys I can think of offhand who really fit into that category, and Z and Dats fit in more based on the fact that they are so difficult to push off the puck or beat in the corners than laying on powerful hits and such. Notable guys who could fit the bill with some work are Iginla, Thornton, Getzlaf, Franzen, Hossa, Ovechkin, Lecavalier. I have wanted Doan in Detroit for YEARS.

Ok, how's this for manipulating numbers: Howard's save percentage has dropped by .014 from the regular season to the playoffs, despite the fact that in game 4 he had a shutout and in game 5 he stopped 30 of 31 for a .968%. From the start of game 4 to the end of game 5, Howard posted a .983%. and a .50 GAA on a SAPG of 30. That's a stellar pair of games to be sure. But let's contrast that with his other four games, which work out to .875% and a 4.05 GAA with a SAPG of 32. What exactly was so different in the other four games? If you say the defense, I will point out the fact that at least three or four separate times in those four games the defense stopped the Yotes from putting the puck into an otherwise empty net while Howard was down and out. So while the defense may have made some mistakes, they also came to the rescue more than a few times. Was it how the Yotes played? Were they just not able to finish the chances like normal in 4 and 5? Well, if that's the case, then games 4 and 5 were statistical aberrations and don't reflect Howard's true level of play in those games, meaning his stats in 1-3 and 6 are more indicative of how he has been performing. Howard is a damn good goalie, and I have been saying he would be for years now. But he is not perfect, nor is he immune from criticism. And he certainly has not played well for most of this series. At this point I think Howard starts but is on a short leash with regards to quick goals and bad goals if the Wings are down, but Babcock likely rides Howard out until the end if the Wings have a good lead. But one final fact before you give me the "Howard's a rookie" thing. Jimmy Howard is an experienced professional, and he is 26 years old with a 37-15-10 record, which translates to a 32-18-12 record without the shootout, 3 shutouts, and a Calder nomination. Not including the part of the 98-99 season played when Ozzie hit his 26th birthday, he had a 132-52-30 record (W-L-T), 20 shutouts, a Vezina nomination and second-team All-Star selection, and had won a Cup as a starter and one as a backup. As far as the Calder, Osgood had the misfortune of having the same rookie year as Brodeur, yet still got votes for Calder and All-Rookie team. Howard shouldn't be making rookie mistakes, and he shouldn't be allowed the "he's a rookie" excuse; he played 186 games with the Griffins and 9 with the Wings before he joined the team full time. He played 30 playoff games with the Griffins also. It's not like he hasn't played under pressure, and he has had five years as a pro in the Wings' system, being specifically groomed as the Wings' goalie of the future. Anyone who blindly tolerates mistakes from Howard should be doing the same for Ericsson, Meech, and anyone else 26 and under. These guys have had years to develop, sure they will make mistakes, but they are not 20 year old rookies with under 100 pro games played who are being thrown into the fire of the playoffs like Ozzie was in 1994.

I removed the one game because Drake was talking up how well Howard had played in games 4 and 5. So I removed Game 4 and showed what the overall stats were for Howard for the rest of the series, including his strong performance in Game 5. Howard hasn't been giving up no-chance goals either; many of the goals have been goals where he could have stopped them either by playing the puck differently prior to the scoring chance (tossing the puck out of his glove with forecheckers present, and seeing it end up in his net three seconds later for example) or by managing his rebounds better, let alone a goal or two where he has just plain been beaten from above the hash with no screen. Howard's four games where he has allowed 3+ goals have been poor performances by him. In some cases, the defense has made a mistake. In others, Howard has f***ed the team. There have also been cases where Howard screwed the pooch and the defense or a forward saved a goal; that has happened at least as often as the defense has been the reason for a goal against.

Two games against the other conference, four games against your own conference. No divisions. Top six in each conference get to the playoffs, plus the four highest remaining in points. "Wild Card" teams are divided up so that they will receive the highest possible seed for their points; if teams must cross conferences to fill spots the teams with the most points cross first. This could theoretically lead to the two top seeds in the West being Eastern Conference teams, or vice versa, if intra-conference play were very lopsided and one conference were very even 1-15 while the other had 10 strong teams and 5 very weak ones.

On the contrary, Crymson, I am more reminding the board that just because a guy is a big Canadian winger from the junior leagues does NOT make him the best pick, and just because a guy is from the NCAA doesn't mean he's not a good pick.

It does. The question is, why was he that good in games 4 and 5, but so bad in games 1-3 and game 6? What caused the difference? What is the likelihood that we see the Howard we want in Game 7? And furthermore, if we see the Howard who has played most of the series, does Babcock take the chance and go to Osgood with the chance that Osgood could still flip the switch and carry the Wings? Or does Babcock ride the horse off the cliff and hope there's a bridge?

Given the board's obsession with Abby? Yes. I was basically the only person who supported drafting him, pretty much the entire board was against it and I said it was a good idea. So yes, it must be brought up every time. When Abby is mentioned, I come bearing crow for those who were around.

Game 4 was the shutout. I removed Howard's best game statistically, to show how the rest of the series has been rather tragic. But to support my point, of all starting goaltenders in the postseason, there are still 12 playing. Howard ranks 10th in save percentage among them, ahead of only Luongo and Fleury. Howard's numbers look much more like Luongo's or Fleury's than they do Boucher, Miller, or Rask. The Wings' D has made some mistakes, but the D is taking the blame for a lot of stuff that should fall on Howard, while Howard is getting off almost blameless with the "he's a rookie" line. Howie makes a mistake and it's expected that the D cleans it up because "he's a rookie" and if it turns into a goal, it's on the D not Howard. Knowing Wings fans, though, Game 7 will see the end of that line. It's like 1994. Osgood came in to clean up after Bowman had started Essensa in the playoffs (despite Osgood having re-earned the starter job after Essensa being acquired) and led the Wings from being down 2-0 in the series against San Jose to being tied 3-3. But all people remember is one simple rookie mistake. Not the fact that the entire team failed to win, and that two other Wings could have played that puck before it got to Baker. We'll see how Howard does in game 7. If the Wings lose, he'll suffer the fires of hell for it from fans until he proves he can win in the playoffs, or he'll be traded. That's how it works, and always has worked. Whether it is right or not doesn't matter.

I sure wish we had drafted Guillame Latendresse instead. Wait...that's not right. I remember now, it was everyone else on the board saying that during the draft and me saying Abby was the better pick.

Or more likely, Miller fits on that third line and Ritola is the 13th forward.

It comes down to this: Howard's numbers if you take out Game 4: Saves/Shots, Sv%: 122/139, .878% GA, Mins, GAA: 17, 296:01, 3.45 SAPG: 28 Osgood's regular season statistics: Saves/Shots, Sv%: 498/561, .888% GA, Mins, GAA: 63, 1252:02, 3.02 SAPG: 27 So regular season Osgood was better than Howard has been for most of this series. If you assume you're getting regular season Osgood, or playoff Howard based on what he's done so far... what kind of risk are you willing to take? If you go further and add Game 5 into it, you're either looking at getting a strong goaltending performance from Howard, or you're looking at him allowing two or more weak goals, often killing the Wings' momentum. He has a GAA of 3+ in four games, and allowed two+ weak goals in all of those games. Yes he had strong performances in 4 and 5, but this has not been a pretty series for Howard. Based on his playoff performances, at best there's a 40% chance you get a strong goaltending performance. Regular-season Ozzie both this year and last year was consistently as good or better than the other 60%. So looking at it from a purely statistical standpoint, logic dictates Osgood. Now considering the fact that Howard had momentum behind him, two strong performances, and home-ice, and he came out and folded in Game 6 with a chance to close out the series... that suggests he is still nervous in his first series. I hope Babcock is willing to pull Howard in Game 7 if he starts s***ting the bed, rather than watch the Wings get eliminated but keep "his guy" in net.

I don't get this. Lidstrom plays the left point, Rafalski plays the right. They're clearly not on those points for their shot, or it would be reversed, with Lids on the right and Raffi on the left. You ask why? A shooter is more dangerous from the point on the off-side. It's a clean, straight-on shot coming at the net. Left-on-left and right-on-right is for playmaking, to allow the D to cycle back and forth with forehand passes while keeping their backs to the neutral zone and sticks along the boards. Babcock may be obsessed with his perfect PP system, but to come back to reality it doesn't matter worth a s*** whether your defenseman is left-handed or right-handed on the point on the PP. The only time that shooting hand has an effect in general is when you are talking about passing on the rush, such as between wingers. It's why Yzerman's scoring winger was typically played on his left side; because he is a righty. It's one thing that makes Adam Oates unusual; he played with and had a noticable effect on many skilled scoring right wingers, but he himself was a right hander. But regardless, the only time your shooting hand really matters is when you are shooting on the goalie or crashing the net; it's times like these where a one might score a goal in the same situation the other would not be able to get to the puck in time (a loose puck by the post, skater at the top of the crease?), or perhaps different shooting angles would result in one being able to score over the other. That's it. There's no "strategic" situation you can really play that has any significant effect. A left-hander on the right point can effectively cycle with a lefty on the left point. It's not a significant issue.

Howard isn't solely to blame for most of the goals that he has given up. But the fact is, he has made some serious mistakes and his rebound control and decision making have been piss poor, which have led to "good" goals or at the very least great chances by the Yotes. Remember Howard's "great second save" on Hanzal's breakaway in game five? The only reason Hanzal got a second shot is because Howard wasn't square to Hanzal to begin with, and didn't properly direct the rebound towards safe ice, but rather put it right back to Hanzal, who was about to turn up ice. Howard's rebound control had greatly improved as the season went on, and his decision making was much better in March than in November. But in this series, it looks more like Jimmy from November than from March. He's dropping rebounds in the slot, tossing the puck out of his glove when there are forecheckers around, and not positioning himself as well as he should be. And it's shown in the results. Many of his teammates have not played up to par, but Howard honestly should not be back in net for Game 7.