Nightfall

The atmosphere was incredible last night for the pivotal game against Hamilton. It was good to see another sellout this year. That being said, I am a little disappointed with the Griffins effort in that game last night. The only reason why it was a close game was because of Jimmy Howard. The Bulldogs put almost 40 shots on net last night and it wasn't until they got the lead that they went back into their defensive shell. I don't know if the Griffins played below average or Hamilton just wanted home ice more than the Griffins. Either way, now Hamilton has home ice and I don't see the Griffins getting out of this series in the playoffs. Especially if they come to the rink with an effort like they had last night. I guess we will see what the future holds.

I wish people would realize this before they start cheering on ESPN. The problem is that people don't remember the crap ESPN would pull. I remember playoff games being started late or pre-empted for other news. I remember a golf tournament that went into extra holes and the Red Wings coverage, which they exclusively had for this game, was pre-empted for an entire period. At least VS is willing to go the distance for the NHL. The only gripe I had about their coverage is when Brodeur won game 552. The Red Wings second period was cut a bit while they showed Brodeur live and then showed a commercial. Other Red Wing fans on this board were not so forgiving as many bitched and complained. If they are complaining about missing 5 minutes of the second period, how do you think they will feel when ESPN broadcasts a bowling tournament that goes into extra frames instead of the Red Wings game they have exclusive rights to? I guess we will see if ESPN does get some games. I hope they do and I equally hope they redeem themselves by giving priority to the NHL.

Who cares. Since 1991, only 5 teams who have won the presidents trophy have won the Stanley Cup in the same year. San Jose has a lot to prove this year. I am predicting the Sharks won't make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

You never pick the team you want to play. I remember many fans here couldn't wait to play Edmonton the first round back a couple years ago. They were the #8 seed and just not that good to some people on this forum. What happened? Edmonton beat us decisively. So I am in the I don't care who we play so long as we beat them camp.

First, I wouldn't classify that as a slash. I have had worse in rec league hockey games. Secondly, the refs shouldn't be making calls off of what they see on instant replays. Reviewing goals is one thing. Reviewing penalties is something that shouldn't be allowed. If anything Avery will get a game or two. He was just trying to bring the B's off their game and he did that. Although I thought it was in poor taste, but heck, I am a goalie.

I didn't have any luck emailing anyone at jerseys-nhl.com. When I hear about people ordering things from Jack, how do you go about doing it? Does he have a personal email he checks?

Seems to me he is getting called up and being put back down to the minors a lot in the course of his career. He isn't missing games because of injury, at least not that I have seen. Mind you I would need to see injury data for the minors which is not covered on tsn.ca. If anything, he suffers from not having the skill for the NHL. Maybe this season is a turnaround for him on the Coyotes. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?i...ame=nhl-coyotes Yes, I fed into your question a bit.

This is the best explanation. A vast majority of the hockey players already do everything in #2. If they didn't they would be in the minors pretty fast. The best one is #3 though. There are a lot of players that are just prone to injury than others. Some are very injury prone like Gaborik and Havlat. Others are very resilient. Datsyuk and Lindstrom are just like this and will have long careers.

Yea, that was pretty funny.

Well, after watching this thread for a long time, I decided to give this a try as well. I ordered 4 jerseys from Light in the box after I tried emailing jerseys-nhl.com and got no response. I ordered a dats, zetterberg, lidstrom winter classic, and ovechkin jersey all in XL size which should fit me without a problem. Price came to $45 each for a total of $180 after shipping which is the best price I could have gotten for a fully lettered and numbered jersey.

Pens were 14-7 Wings were 16-6 I think the Pens were the 2nd hottest team since Feb. I thought Thorne and Clement were Avs fans. Besides, the ultimate Pens/Crosby fans are on Versus.

If you look online, you can find ESPN The Magazine Subscriptions for one year for $3.50 or so. I got a 5 year sub for $10 on a deal that I found. That includes your ESPN Insider subscription as well.

This discussion was brought about in another thread so I am giving it life here and to see what the Red Wings community thinks of it. The whole discussion started with someone saying that Osgood was a Cup winning goalie in 97-98 and 2007-2008 seasons. I corrected him and said Osgood won the cup in 96-97 as well. After all, he played over 40 regular season games. Just because he didn't win a game in the playoffs doesn't matter. His name should still be inscribed on the cup and he deserves to be a champion that season and have 3 cup wins by his name. Seems that some people don't agree and if you didn't win games in the playoffs you shouldn't be able to have your name put on the cup. So I got to thinking what notable names would be omitted from the stanley cup if this were true. Obviously, the backup goalie in almost every instance wouldn't be on the cup then. What about Konstantinov when his name was on the cup in 97-98 season without playing a single game? Should Konstantinov be considered a champion for that season? I suppose you could even be as selective as removing players such as McCarty last year for only playing selective roles. IMHO, anyone who contributes for half the games in the regular season or has played some games in the playoffs should be put on the cup and be considered a champion. That player has payed their dues so to speak and contributed in some way to the team winning it all. As for backup goalies, the backup should also be considered a stanley cup winning goalie. It doesn't matter if they rode the pine during the game for Brodeur or some other top goalie. That goalie has paid his dues by working out with the team every day, playing their role that they were signed to play. The NHL rule that dictates who should have their name on the cup has got it right in this instance. I believe its over half of the regular season games or at least one game in the finals. What are your thoughts?

Then is it disingenuous to call Vladdy a 2 time cup winning defenseman? What about Jiri Slegr who played 1 game in the finals for the wings back in 2002? Where is the line drawn here? Is the onus all on goaltenders here? It seems that when it comes to the goalie, some people think only the primary should have the distinction of being the "champion". The other guy IMHO should be considered a cup winning goalie as well. After all, he did everything that was required of him to bring a cup to the city. Osgood is a 3 time cup champion and will be remembered as such. Hasek a 2 time champion and the recordbooks show it. Gerber and Bryzgalov are considered cup champs as well. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?i...ame=nhl-coyotes http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?i...nhl-maple_leafs Anyone saying otherwise is disingenuous IMHO.

I think the NHL rule is spot on correct. What is disappointing are people who like to omit names from being champions. Take Osgood for instance in 97. Vernon played the games, and there are some people who consider Osgood to not be a champion that season. Same goes for Brodeur's backup, Roy's backup and so on. Same goes for players like Konstantinov who didn't play a game in the 98 championship.

There are people here that want to see ESPN get the NHL back and they pulled that crap all the damn time when the NHL was supposed to be on.

Yea, that was a 2-0 chance. The wings are VERY fortunate they didn't get called for a penalty on that play.

Wow, top opposite corner shot that hit the top bar. If Sammy could shoot like that it would be 2-1.

wow, hell of a shot.

I will drink to that one. Best post ever.

Seems that there are two extremes. The ones that defend Osgood no matter what and the ones like you who lambaste him at any opportunity. I prefer to think of myself as a realist and will call it as I see it honestly. I put that goal on the defense's shoulders.

Try telling that to the Osgood bashers.

Yea, he made that stop without defense. God forbid reasonable wings fans ask for some defense in front of their goalie.

He is playing well and seeing through the screens. At the same time though, Osgood had a good save on a partial breakaway. The Wings aren't going to win this game giving up scoring chances like that.

Why is it so hard to put most of the blame on the lack of defense?