akustyk

I'm tired of homers who flood this board this playoffs and attack people who dare to mention Wings can do something wrong or have weaknesses. I was virtually crucified after saying Hasek needs to go in Preds Game 2 only to see same people claim Oz should have started 2 weeks later. I'm off to hfboards for a while. being able to read opinions of ppl who are critical of Wings and able to praise the other team is really refreshing. this has been a very civil forum during 2003-2007 period when Wings were considered underperformers and were lucky to escape bandwagon fans. this year they're right on top and so is the number of cocky as* who discovered Wings team 2 weeks ago. my take: just not get to involved into discussions with bandwagon. let'em talk and just watch the games. hfboards is also a good way to keep clear vision of what is happening.

hell yeah! nuff siad

let's win it and then think of parades. it's bad jinx to look to far ahead and call it done. not that I could foresee Pens winning this series but I'd rather wait once this is sealed and done.

Cherry lives in 70-80's when Euros were not yet in NHL. the thing is, over past 20 years the game changed. take your glasses of grapes and see the real world

send him a tape of Babcock's or Tippet's press conference. let him look at guys who look for themselves to blame and give credit to other team when it's due Therien is clueless and whining is the only thing he can think of now. that's good. let him think it's all conspiracy and his team is capable. I'll take the cup on saturday and let him whine as much as he likes on the golf course

can we scratch Sindy and Malkin of the candidate list? honestly. they do jack when it comes to real hockey

dead on! I don't think Scotty's name goes on. honestly, does he really need to be there yet again? as if there were people who he had to convince he has an idea what hockey is about? Al Sobotka on the other hand...

I'm not gonna do with literal translations because it won't work here. but "pozdrawiam i pije za zdrowie czeskich przyjaciol! belgijskim piwem, bo czeskiego tu nie ma" means in Polish something like: greeting to Czech friends and I'm raising a toast for their well-being. with Belgian beer because I can't but Czech beer here. which my Czech buddy replied with "here's one for you". those cheers actually refer to health in Slavic languages but as I said: literal translations make no sense here. I wrote in Polish he answered in Czech but we understood each other without (much) problem na zdrowie, amerykanscy przyjaciele :beerbuddy: (I think you get it )

that is indeed a great news for Oz. I still don't see him being first in the row but knowing that NHL marketing geniuses don't have a say here is relieving. I was basically prepared to see Sindy walking away with Conn Smythe even if Pens didn't make it to the finals but it definitely looks fairer to me now. thanks for clarifying this!

yeah, that's right. and it's even worse for you because generally speaking life starts earlier in your part of the world. I lived in Poland until last October and I remember very well playoff games ending after sunrise this really gave little time to take sleep and get some rest before going to work/study/etc. here in Netherlands the time zone is the same but the sun comes a good hour later. so at the end of Game 1 it was good 40 minutes before sunrise here. not that the bloody Dutch weather gave any chance to see the sun actually anyway taking into account the fact that business starts here around 8-9 (not 7-8 like we used to have it in Central Europe) there's a little bit better chance to be fresh for work pozdrawiam i pije za zdrowie czeskich przyjaciol! belgijskim piwem, bo czeskiego tu nie ma (hope it's understandable, but ask me for translation otherwise)

I think Malin just had a bad game. expect him to come out flying next time and be a threat. like many Pens he was over-trying in Game 1 but once they simplify their game Gino will be a problem for our D

sorry to spoil the Oz party here, but as great as he's been playing there's just no way in hell league acknowledges him with Conn Smythe trophy. what Bettman's people are (rightfully) trying to do is promote young stars and draw new people to the game. it's either Zetterberg or Crosby. period. if Pens lose badly it's gonna be Hank but otherwise you sure like hell bet Sindy will be given this hardware. just look at what NHL does with game stars. Crosby may suck like hell but it suffices for him to fart and he immediately gets 1st star or at most 2nd. Oz definitely deserves consideration (although I personally don't see him winning it ahead of Hank or Nick - only to name Wings players) but it simply won't happen. Bettman wants to capitalize on Wings-Pens grand finale and bring NHL to broader audience. he's hell right but for us die-hard fans it definitely does mean no non top-tier player gets the hardware. of all candidates Crosby is best selling idea (Canadian, young, skilled, etc.) and the league will do everything to bring spotlight on him. and it may definitely go beyond ridicule (see: game stars example). and honestly, I agree with Bettman here for once. if this league is supposed to crack US top-3 market (like it was in 80s) they better sell it correctly to North American audience. they have perfect opportunity here and I want it to happen. not at the expense of my Wings, though.

what feed? I only get Sopcast and it's either Versus or CBC or NASN. and of all this I'd rather have Versus than NASN which annoys me terribly with the same station-identification clip which is brutally bad. US/Canadian ads are mostly way too dumb for my taste but I can live with that.

this was a monster game from Wings. a huge statement of a champion in the making babies were taught a lesson. and they've been clueless in 3rd.

here we go. dirty b* Ruutu hurting Wings players again.

finally! congrats, Cleary! we've been waiting for this quite a while. glad this wait is over!

shut the * off. don't jinx it

OK, who's willing to bet Sindy Crosby will be among game 3 stars (if not the 1st)?

we're playing like b*es. clogging neutral zone and capitalizing on their frustration to only put effort in sending pucks back in their zone... and Pens have no effin clue what to do about it :hockeysmile: :hockeysmile: :hockeysmile:

can I have pepper for my crow

Jesus... I laughed my heart off when I read this simulation prediction that Wings will win it with Sammy scoring 2 goals in Game 1. a big crow for me! holy cow! this is simply unbelievable

there's but one thing you omitted in this consideration. Gino M is 20 years old. literally: twenty. and ripping the league with no signs of concern he'd not be getting better. this gives him realistically 15-20 years of further NHL career. with what looks like a complete package delivering timely points in playoffs. add to this the fact that his English is further going to improve, hence making Malkin even bigger presence in locker room. to some point you're right because in current situation Thornton definitely deserves a higher wages than Malkin. but lets move forward to 09/10 when Gino M will have his new contract. will it be more or less than Joe's $7.2M? will he be worth this money? at current pace of his development I'd say Malkin will be worth similar money with a long term contract (very likely to happen) or go for soaky >$9M and a 1-2 season contract. I'd say - at this moment there's still no comparison. but at Malkin's development pace (he's in his 2nd season only!!!) in a couple of years (4-5 at most to me) he'd go for league maximum. and rightfully

so if Malkin wants say $10M/yr he's a greedy Russian, but when Joe "playoff no show" Thorton wants say $7M/yr it's OK, although Gino M is at this moment probably the most potent forward in the world? excuse me there were some dumb and greedy Russians in this league a while ago (e.g. Yashin) but the same goes to other nationalities. but unlike many others, some Russians actually have incredible skill package which brings fans out of the seats. they demand money they deserve. just as all other players

in F1 you have certain Max (Von) Mosley who's Brit but does everything possible to piss poor british F1 teams and favorize Fiarari or Renault. so the "he's from" factor isn't always positive

now bring back the long-time Av Ray Bourque whose jersey is hanging in Pepsi and go for the cup. honestly, you can do this... and Uwe Krupp also.. Giguere must be smoking something or got some "GM-ing for dummies" book which shows Holland as example, making Francois think he's smart and know what the thing is about...