betterREDthandead

There was a baseball player named Rex Hudler, back when the Expos were still around. The paper probably just mixed up the two. But it is a great nickname. Way better than Huddles.

I like Olczyk's take....guys who haven't been out of coaching or playing for long give you some good insight because they still see the game with their players' eye. And when he says "pitchfork" he means when players scoop the puck and lift it up in the air on purpose, like to clear the zone. Same motion you'd make with a pitchfork and hay. (Insert lame redneck joke about Pred fans here.)

Doc Emrick is not such a bad commentator but his voice is all nasally and I don't like listening to it. Thorne, Clement, and Pang made a great bunch to listen to. Gary Thorne calling a game - especially a Wings playoff game - is one of the great underrated experiences in hockey.

Just a reminder. Trotz isn't the only one who should be roasted here. David Poile is also crying. Very ironic, too. From the Freep: Hmmm. So Bonk was in the net, let alone in the crease, and the goal should have counted. But Homer's goal should have been waved off?

Funnily enough, no matter how lucky the headline writers call it, the league won't be reversing the outcome. Also: Need I remind anyone that if not for two other "lucky" bounces, this game is a shutout. That's playoff hockey for ya.

Yeah! They keep calling penalties on him. 'Course, the turnovers leading to odd-man rushes, that's his own fault, but the penalties, that's the refs all the way. All the way.

If you think Trotz is whiny now, wait'll next weekend when his tee shot finds the only tree in the fairway. Man, I hate when that happens.

Agreed. I think we just saw Nashville's Sunday best for the first half of that game, and still they couldn't even come out with a tie score let alone a lead. And I think now they know it. Now we have to worry about the Preds getting a boost from going back home, but they just gave the Wings all they could in the first period and couldn't get a puck past Dom. And they got the lucky bounces in the second and still they couldn't get the scoreboard their way.

Because 1, Legace didn't just let in one weak goal, he let in one weak goal per game, and 2, Legace couldn't steal any saves the way Hasek did today. I think you'll find you're completely, 100% alone in claiming Hasek blows.

Second goal was kind of weaksauce. First goal, crazy bounce, what are ya gonna do? These things just sort of happen. And Hasek was stellar in the first, which more than makes up for it.

Which is far more impressive than the Canadiens' many Cups when you consider that baseball has had at least 16 teams since the beginning of modern record-keeping - the Habs, for most of their Cups, had only six to deal with. Anyway, if you're gonna get mad about the Wings being compared to the Yankees, you gotta see what context. In some senses it's a compliment. I hate the Yankees as much as anyone, but they've been so consistently successful that it can't be all bad being mentioned in the same company. They're probably the world's premier baseball club, and I consider the Wings the same in hockey.

Should Kronwall be suspended for leaving his feet? Or should the Predators quit their goddamn whining? You decide.

You think? I think it's the scoring. Actually I think all the problems you mentioned are exactly the ones I'm least concerned about. I'm more worried about the secondary scoring (been a question all year, really) and the health of the defense, which is only now getting to be full strength again.

*ahem* the Jennings Trophy. Congrats to our two stellar goalies, who have done what everyone thought was impossible: make a tandem system work in Detroit. We're lucky to have two starting goalies when some teams can't even muster one.

I was just thinking the same thing. Minny's very beatable. Calgary could slide up to 6th though, and I think I like it better your way.

Exactly....Extra Innings and Center Ice are basically the same package on the same channels that the cable company switches on and off. There's no way to separate the two, so when they "turn on" the free Extra Innings preview, you get Center Ice too.

You could not possibly sound any dumber given that his "little podunk soccer team" probably plays in the English Premiership. Just to make you sound as dumb as possible, I hope his favorite is Manchester United, which has a followership of about 330 million.

Not gonna get my hopes up, not with the Kings. Looks like tomorrow is a better shot at that President's Trophy.

i did just now just some lady singing O.o The first documented instance of a telephone rickroll?

From hilarious webcomic xkcd.

We'll see if Rafalski stays a Wing long enough. He'd probably have to sign another contract. Kronwall, I don't really see him passing the top 8 on my list but I could definitely see him giving me a reason to make him a solid #9, moving past all those other guys I listed.

Sorry you don't think this place is legit enough for you.

Bowman's exact words were, "I knew your father before you did." Said, most likely, in such a way as to spin Crawford up as high as possible. And yes, I fully agree that there is a good reason that high-profile goonery follows Crawford around. It's not just coincidence. Most classless coach in the NHL. I don't think Crawford got any league sanctions from his tantrum, though.

Game 4 of the same series, I believe. The Wings won 6-0 and at some point when the game was out of hand, things got very chippy, over 200 PIMs were assessed, and Crawford went bats*** insane. Leaned over the partition between the benches and screamed bloody murder at Scotty. Repeatedly called Scotty all the nastiest names you can think of for the orifices on either side of a woman's legs, and used the word f*** about 17,325 times. Just made a complete spectacle of himself at the Joe. I vividly remember this too. The poor photographer in his tiny little box where Larry Murphy now stands was leaning back as if he was in a phone booth and the phone started chomping at him, the look on his face saying OH GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING. The transcript of the tantrum is in the book Blood Feud. It's the highlight of the book, IMO. No. Blood Feud actually has the answer to that question too. I quote: Great book.

Actually I haven't heard the age thing much at all this year. Much less than in previous years. Our star attractions (Zetterberg and Datsyuk) are not yet 30, so it's not something people pay attention to any more. Anyway it's quite easy to counter the age argument. We don't have to say "yeah but...." any more when people bring up the age issue - just point to the rising core of younger, faster players.