akustyk

man... I love it when Preds players go to the PP with the speed of light... er.... of Hatcher or a pylon of concrete

boring. Nashville clogged their blue line all the way and Babcock played a lot our 3rd and 4th line. Tootoo again refused to be a man and Nashville didn't have a single shot on 2 PP's

I didn't see this btu your description pretty much says it was Tootoo

Jesus, Predators play their powerplay having 1 guy forechecking and 4 other back behind red line? what the f* is this?

Preds seem out of fuel. they clog their blue line and play total defense against our 4th and 3rd line. not that the Wings were flying too much, although it's much about how Nashville just obstacles the way with 3+ players

sopcast, channel 38858. you might need to install VLC, too

anyone who talks about embarassing loss is either blind or didn't watch the game. Wings played a solid game. they lacked some creativity at times but were clearly outplaying Blues and creating more great chances. Blues had a lot of luck tonight and Wings seemed to have few. this could easily have ended 4-1 for Wings. refs have also made some questionable calls (I mean: slash on Datsyuk and a couple of minutes later no call on Blues player breaking Pavel's stick) but it wasn't a major factor here. solid game by the Wings. would like to see Oz a little more focused but it's just Blues and 5 games before playoffs so it really, really doesn't mattter.

Predators are just 2 points behind Canucks. with 5 games left to play for both. and the problem is it's Preds who have better chance of coming on top. see: Preds Fri, Mar 28 at Columbus 7:00 pm Sun, Mar 30 at Detroit 3:00 pm Tue, Apr 1 at St. Louis 8:30 pm Thu, Apr 3 St. Louis 8:00 pm Fri, Apr 4 at Chicago 8:30 pm Canucks Fri, Mar 28 at Minnesota 8:00 pm Sun, Mar 30 Calgary 10:00 pm Tue, Apr 1 Colorado 10:00 pm Thu, Apr 3 Edmonton 10:00 pm Sat, Apr 5 Calgary 10:00 pm I really, really don't see Canucks coming through here. and it frankly makes me happy about that. even more knowing that Wings are perfectly able to "give" Preds those 2 points and have them in 1st round rather than Bobby Lou

:hockeysmile: I don't mind Canucks (read: Luongo) being screwed out off the playoffs but this is nevertheless embarassing.

without Bettman's points Oilers would be dead last ar nearly dead last in West. do they deserve a playoff spot? hell no. can they make it? yes, but I certainly hope they won't make it. that would be hell unfair to such Dives who at least put some effort into regular season and played solid hockey despite being short on core guys like Sakic, Smyth or Stastny. I definitely want Dives to get the playoff spot ahead of Oilers. though, I don't mind if they screw cheater Burke from draft picks

1. Colorado tough call. they haven't been competitive in playoffs for a while but this is a team that can make some noise. they played depleted for a large part of the season and still managed to stay well within playoffs picture. Theodore doesn't look serious but you can never guess how is it going to be in playoffs. they look like a familiar and "safe" foe, though. if anything I'd rather have them. there's sufficient Wings with memory of old rivalry and sufficient skill to beat them. might not be as easy as it seems but this should be a series Wings are very likely to win 2. Calgary I'm not sold on them, although this year they seem to be better in regular season than last time. their core is pretty much intact, they have Kipper and they tend to show great spirit in playoffs. but then, they are also the team Wings know and ultimately this makes this series (at least theoretically) less likely to produce surprises. skill-wise we're a deeper team and if Wings show mental toughness this is a series we should win. Flames are not the best opponent from long stretch perspective (because they could wear us down and injure our players) but also one we could more likely win. though, I'd rather leave them to some Sharks or Burke's goons. 3. Minnesota honestly, I don't know. they look like a team that gathered lot of points in games against weak teams but are so-so against quality teams. and while Backstrom seems to be doing nice job for them in regular season it's all but sure he's gonna be a beast in playoffs. on paper they don't look so scary but with their collection of goons and fleshy young forwards they can as well beat the Wings. pretty much an unknown foe. what speaks against them is that they don't have playoffs experience. this could be of big help for Wings. still... too physical and too enigmatic to just pick them 4. Vancouver Bobby Lou scares the hell out of me. but neither their defense (even more with Ohlund and Krajicek off) nor offense look impressive. and the fact that they're Canadian team (sorry to say that, but I don't expect fair reffing here) and require a lot of traveling speaks against them. though, I'm leaning towards picking them here. Bobby Lou will be a problem but in the end Wings have enough dirty presence to get past him with gabage goals. should be enough. in the end... all of those team look beatable. Minny is dangerous because they're unknown and Flames are legit and tough to play against it. Avs and Nucks look relatively safer to pick, but they are difficult teams to play against as well. Nucks look to be a little bit more "floating" now while Avs move towards playoffs playing their best hockey. whoever it is, I want Wings to be focused and hungry. we're a deep team with excellent coaching and strong defense. if we show effort and heart we're able to beat all those 4 teams.

was it not for shooting contest (aka penalty shots) Oilers would be dead last in conference or at most 14th. they definitely don't deserve to be above 14th place in conference. Yotes at least put some effort towards winning it. plus: Yotes in playoffs mean fair Vegas stakes and a lot of soaky f* bombs from Wayne

Jesus... have you ever played some hockey in goal? bounce is no excuse. you are supposed to cover the net with your own body and not try to catch the gum in your gloves. the main point here is not that it was a lucky bounce, but that this is a clutch game for Leafs and the goalie is not focused and understimates the situation. seriously... this is a must-win situation for them and you can't just relax and hope everything is gonna be fine truth being said, I never understood players who from their own will join teams like recent Leafs or Hawks and sign long term contracts. sure there's always some chance these will change and those teams will blossom. but it really is difficult to imagine this with teams managed so poorly like those two. this really doesn't make sense

that's what makes them main favorite. the sole fact that the reffing and Campbell have no balls to call the game as it is supposed to be and put Ducks players into the sin bin regulary. instead, players know that the refs will be artificaly equalizing the number of PP's per team and Campbell will gladly excuse Ducks goons from suspensions. or just hand them 1 game for trying to kill opposing player as disgusting as it sounds this is the truth and this is what makes Burke's goons favorites.

if we're talking about draft pick selection then Bure goes before Fedorov. if we're comparing players they've eventually become and their careers - it's Sergei, hands down

the only thing that this proves is that without the puck Sergei has once beaten Bure on a margin of 0.1 s which would about a fraction of 1/160 of the speed difference.

Simon just says what everybody else knows. but this doesn't matter because Campbell is licking Burke's ass

you're comparing different types of players. I too like all-around players more, but discarding those who have immense scoring touch only because they miss other factors of the game... there may be some analogy in comparing Bure and Fedorov to the current pair: Ovechkin and Crosby. most people pick Crosby because his all-around play, but it's not unfair if someone picks AO first. and it's not exactly his fault that he plays for Caps where there's little hope of post-season success

except, Bure at his best was a beast and skill-wise was a monster. you can compare him to Ovechkin but I'm not sure if Alex win this comparison. does he top Fedorov? hands down he does skillwise. Lidstrom? tough call. I like team players and leaders more than just skilled scorers so my nod goes to Nick but that's everything but obvious. Bure was unlucky to end his career early. but he is definitely the top crop of what Mother Russia ever delivered.

just listen to the video on TSN. at the very end there's Burke saying something like: "this is Pronger, he's not going to change and we want him like this" and Campbell, as usual, has zero balls to call THIS bulls*** and suspend Pronger for what he deserves. instead, he lets him virtually free and just asks the Ducks to continue their s***. I'm sick of this. it's disgrace to hockey

gimme Dives and definitely no to Canucks. Wings aren't the best team in scoring garbage goals and against Luongo it could be a long series not necessarily won by the Wings

yeah, I know it but I'm also aware there are some prospects that need ice time in the NHL to develop further. be it to grow into good trade asset or to help the Wings. and the question with Chelli is whether he can be signed to not play on regular basis in the lineup. if I was Holland I'd never ever though of asking Chelli to be with partially with Wings and partially with Griffs because it's just below some moral standards to ask this guy if he would make room for other players and get demoted (literally) to AHL. if he'd be fine with being healthy scratch then sure, sign him. he's worth much more to this team than his salary will be. but he doesn't have to agree on that and has right to do so in the end I guess it's a question of Wings staff evaluation: whether it's worth to have Lebda, Meech and Quincey continue under Chelli's wings or better put some new blood on the ice. my impression is: depending on playoffs performance - keep 1 or 2 of the above and trade the rest (or keep in AHL and trade at trade deadline) then make room for Ericsson/Stafford. they deserve it

Lidstrom, Kronwall and Rafalski stay. then Stuart if he want's to stay. Lilja: if he has as good playoffs as last time - he definitely stays. I loved him against Flames and *ucks Lebda: if he has playoffs as good as this regular season and wipes out the bad memory of playoffs 2007 (he was miserable) - he definitely stays. he's signed for small money and bring solid defense and excellent speed. he's keeper unless he screws playoffs miserably Chelli: with all sympathy to the old man but it's time to lace'm. Wings need roster spots for youth. as much as I'd love Chelli to have yet another season, Holland can not afford to block the development of his prospects. period Quincey: I liked him last playoffs. never seemed off-place and was responsible in his end. he's not flashy but gets the job done. it'd be good to have him in AHL to call him up when necessary Meech: dunno. seems fine but I need to watch more of him Ericsson: keep him as 7th defenseman to let him develop in AHL but also taste the big man league. he looks promising

yeah, I'm surprised with Canucks, too. they have definitely very passionate and proactive fans who love to follow hockey and show their support. they might not be above Canadiens fans but still rank high in my chart. definitely closer to #2 than #6. not surprised about Wings fans missing here

and he's good at it!