akustyk

the only thing that I actually stated was that Burke gets more credit than he deserves for the very same reasons some ppl are judging Holland - Burke inherited an extremely talented young core and completed it with other ingredients. he did not built this team which is what some writers try to credit him for. and by similar logic I pointed to Bertuzzi and Weight as dumb trades. if Holland's deal for Bertuzzi is used here as justification why he's #3 why not considering Burke dropping bold $7.5M for two players which are currently average at best? why in this situation am I supposed to get the minus for Holland for Bertuzzi trade. at the moment he pulled the trigger it was a solid young prospect for a guy who once had a huge skill package, was exactly filling team's needs and had also a lot to prove. eventually, Bertuzzi wasn't that huge factor in Wings playoffs but there were lot of reasons to do the trade Holland pulled the trigger. I just don't buy this neat-picking when there's zero mentioning of mediocre moves made by Burke Burke is proactive and often makes highlight because of quick trades. but there's been situation when his decisions weren't exactly the best that's it. this is not saying Burke is bad or suck. it just is my opinion that he also made some mistakes and in addition that he's yet to show ability to keep the team good for longer time. Holland has his Wings on top of the league for a number of years already. despite lack of high draft picks, despite salary cup which significantly undermined his effort of developing team, despite huge changes with long-time Wings veterans retiring/moving, etc. seems like this "missing data" was irrelevant for the reviewer. well, it is for me.

won't happen. Caps are great team in development and Pens are already a set-up team, not just a good collection of promising players. Pens teamwork will most likely make it a short series. and I too would love to see Caps going deep. but this team is not there yet

ditto. and as a fan of Caps I'd also love to see the team at least having some taste of playoffs. they have plenty of skilled young players who deserve the chance. the team lacks polishing but there's immense talent which could be pleasure to watch in a best-of-seven

signing Bertuzzi for grand $4M and trading for so-so Weight and his $3.5M are bright moves? ooops... Burke is overrated. let's see how his dirty team fares in a couple of years when the stream of high draft picks will cease and Burke hits the wall of signing seasoned youngsters who'll demand big bucks. Holland did great in this situation even though he faced a big problem of fitting the team of veterans under the cap when the later's been introduced. so far the only thing Burke did is properly develop the young crop of high picks he inherited. and was kissed in his ass by Campbell who has no balls to enforce proper justice

hell froze over. I mean: does it mean that this team will finally raise from cellar dwelling and have a chance to be a proud Original Six franchise again? great for their fans. and for Central Division which can only get better now

the right question is: is there a defenseman in this league who remotely deserves Lidstrom Trophy ahead of Nick? highly doubtful

tough call actually. their closest competition is Philly and B's, and those play against Devils, Penguins and Sens, while Caps could win this only to face Panthers and Bolts. on paper this is a much better road

go Caps!

people talk a lot of BS. like the good old argument about Wings stats being inflated because they play in Central Division honestly, who cares? if the other teams understimate us in playoffs - the better for Wings!

yeah... I know what you're talking about. it's the way the refs swallow whistles when they continuously abuse the rules and how the league lets them escape with murder while similar acts get lengthy suspensions for other teams... this "it" factor is league approval for Ducks endlessly violating rulebook. if Campbell had balls and refs were fair Ducks would be nowhere close to what they're believed to be

I kinda like the fact that many analysts and fans underestimate us bringing dumb arguments about Central Division etc. I'd like other teams to think this way, too. this is a good team. better than last year and with some chance to pick a better path towards WCF. anything can happen but I really like Wings chances here. more than last year

you know... it's all so easy to do on Playstation that people quickly forget real life is no free lunch and you have to pay to get something. seriously... some ppl really need to get away from their gaming consoles and do some thinking.

where's Homer? try: Pavel-Homer-Hank Flip-Franzen-Cleary Hudler/McCarty-Draper-Kopecky Sammy-Drake-Maltby ? this assuming McCarty is back into fine shape

I wouldn't draw too much conclusions of this game. at least not by judging Wings play 3 games before the playoffs start. keep in mind that we really didn't have to win this one and that O'Halloran was extremely helpful to Predators this time. he swallowed the whistle on at least 2 obvious slashes on Wings and sent our players for some weak calls. but answering your concern: I like the determination these Wings have and I like the skill package and desire they have to fight for the pucks in corners. they missed it severely in Oilers series and IMHO this cost them a lot of chances. and unlike 2006 and before we're now much better in scoring dirty goals rather than just try nifty plays. Holmstrom has always been excellent at that and with Franzen growing into another guy who plants his ass so effectively in other teams' crease.... that's a big difference to what we had before.

I think Zetterberg had a much better day this time but Pavel didn't stuck me as playing way below his usual self. then again, with the way Preds were preventing us from getting any flow, neither of the Wings looked too flashy...

it looks like we're doomed for Nucks or Preds. neither look overly sexy too me. Nashville excels in playing most boring kind of hockey against us and Vancouver has Bobby Lou who might be a problem in playoffs. both teams look like having no serious offense and skill so it's quite obvious we'll likely see utterly boring 1st round of Wings. and plenty of perimeter shots from our team I was hoping for Dives but Preds and Nucks seem to be really going for low place and play so s***ty that it must be one of them to finish 8th

not exactly. or we're watching another game. there was a good number of shots from the side of the goal where Wings players got ahead of Preds D-men and had a go for Ellis goal. he was perfectly positioned for each of them and left no chance for nifty shots close to the pipes. he's also maintained good focus with some crowd in front of him which doesn't happen that easily. he got a lot of help from the team which for most of the game played total crap... pardon, I mean trap, and clogged all skating lines going in his direction. but he made those necessary saves even if these were not looking spectacular. if it doesn't count in your book it's your problem. this is the kind of play that could give Ellis excellent run if this team advances into playoffs. QFT. and what's most disgusting about this is that it was them who was supposed to be gunning for a win. instead, they looked like they were falling asleep at times, especially in period 1. I mean... it's really strange to see a team that is fighting for final playoff spot clogging blue line with 4 players when being on PP. it just fits like Mike Ricci dating Jesica Biel...

the only count I care isss 16 to "my precioussss"

they should have shown up for a game that might have cost them playoff spot rather than whine about phantom kick. they're disgusting. was it not for Ellis they'd not exist in this game

Franzenstein! holy cow!

Hasek and... Patty Wah?

Ellis looks good. the team around him is miserable but this guy alone might be a big deal in playoffs. with the mess Canucks are right now I'm leaning towards having them in 1st round

what is it with goals getting off the mouring that easily this game?

dear God, please make it Avs qualifying for 8th spot so we could play them. I'm gonna puke if we'll have to play those Preds who desperately try not to generate any offence, clog their blue line and seem to plant 3 defensemen and goalie in the crease. this is not hockey I want to see in playoffs

seriously... neither am I. it's disgusting to watch this. looks like 2 months with Floppa is enough to learn diving like babies EDIT: nice work, Nashville's son of wood-chopper!