Nightfall

Yea, because referees who swallow their whistles when the puck is in the goalie garner so much respect. As a goalie, I would rather the ref err on the side of caution rather than have someone slash the hell out of me or jam his stick into my chest looking for something that I clearly have covered. The favored team statement you gave is pure nonsense and I feel dumber just reading it. It was obvious that the play was blown dead a good second or two before the puck went in. I don't see how instant replay or a coaches challenge is going to fix this problem. I know there have been situations that I have benefitted from the ref losing sight of the puck, just as there are instances of the opposite. In short, no easy way to fix them other than altering the way the game is officiated in some way, shape, or form that will probably involve removing referees from the ice surface.

When I read posts like this, I just shake my head. As a referee, I can tell you that this kind of thing happens at every level of the game. Puck hits the goalie, ref thinks the goalie has it, ref blows the whistle, puck goes into the net. The puck was laying down right next to him out of the refs view. It wasn't a case of crappy reffing. It was just bad luck. Human error is part of the game. The Wings and every other team has benefitted from this kind of play before. They have also been stung by it. It won't be the first time and it won't be the last. There is really no way to fix this issue unless you give the referee x-ray glasses or remove them from the ice entirely and have them sitting in a video booth where they can make every call from there. Now, what every hockey fan should be discussing is the fact that they had 40+ shots on net and couldn't beat Price once. As a Wings fan, that would terrify me because it shows that while Montreal was outhustled and outplayed, their goalie kept them in it like he has all season. He is probably going to win the Vezina trophy this season. For those who think that Tampa Bay was going to be an impossible team to beat, imagine playing Montreal. That is just as scary.

I watched the Griffins game on AHL live today and it wasn't like the Griffins didn't have their chances. They had a full 2 minutes of a 5 on 3 and just couldn't convert. They had about 8 chances and couldn't make it happen. Then, Toronto gets one chance on the power play a couple minutes later and converts. I do agree the Griffins aren't dead yet, but they have to win 3 in a row in Grand Rapids. I am going to be at the games on Saturday and Sunday if they make it past the Wednesday game.

Did the Wings just fall asleep the last 5 minutes?

I wasn't bashing him at all. I like Yzerman as a GM. Just a lot of people here are all over his nutz about being the best GM and better than Holland. Anyway, I digress..... These are two great teams that are a lot closer than most people think.

That was an insane goal. Wow.

Yea, the Wings only won 1 game last season but made it to the conference semi-finals and fizzled against the Hawks the year before. So far, the Wings have had 8 playoff wins in the last two seasons. The Lightning have 1.

Correct, my bad. I meant 98.

My point exactly. If you want to credit Yzerman for that conference finals appearance when he was hired a month before they made it to the conference finals, I am ok with it. Just give Holland the same credit.

If you talk about building good regular season teams, you are right. Last year and this year, great regular season teams. So far, only 1 playoff win in 3 years.

A team he inherited. If you want to give him credit for that team, I am good with that. No one will give Holland credit for the cup the team won in 02 when he inherited a great team as the GM.

Talking about Yzerman. His teams have done well in the regular season, but have fizzled in the playoffs.

This is the playoffs. For as many people here that like to kiss Yzerman's ass and praise him as the best GM in the NHL, he still hasn't assembled a team that can perform in the playoffs.

Here are my thoughts on the matter. First off, I have been a fan of hockey only since 1995 when I first saw the sport. I grew up in a area that didn't have hockey so I really didn't even see the sport. It wasn't until I went to college when I saw my team play and absolutely loved the sport. The pro game was just as much fun as the college game was. Fighting was a cool aspect, but I hated the clutch and grab era of hockey and the college sport. When the NHL changed to take that kind of buffoonary out of hockey, I was happy. Same goes for the college game as well. Now, I really did enjoy the enforcer era. Back then, the enforcers were there to protect the star players. Today, that is just not needed anymore. If you look at skilled clubs like the Kings or the Blackhawks, neither of them have enforcers that are playing on a regular basis. The Hawks signed Carcillo, and he has seen only limited action with the club. Kyle Clifford plays for the Kings and he has 87 PIMs which leads the team over 80 games. The game has changed, and I believe it is for the better. The fans as a whole agree as well. Ticket sales are up. Profits are up. The NHL is going to expand again in a few years. The days of the enforcer are over for the most part. The days of having Sherrif Parker from the Avs on the roster are gone. Why have someone out there who just wants to beat the crap out of someone when you can have someone like Brian Bickell who is at least an offensive threat while having the ability to hold his own in an altercation? I really feel for all the enforcers out there, but its just the way it goes. When the game changes, either you change with it or you phase out. All the players who could only defend by grabbing and clutching onto someone either dropped out of the league or adjusted their game. Same goes for the players who could really only fight. Scott Parker was drafted in the 1st round of the NHL Entry Draft back in 1998. He really knew how to fight and only had one strong season in the minors. He was drafted for his toughness, not his skill. After the NHL killed the clutch and grabbing, Parker saw his role reduced and eventually he was shipped out of town. The Avs did bring him back in 08, but he couldn't adjust to anything other than fighting. He dropped out of the league. Now, if you look at junior hockey, players aren't being drafted for their ability to fight anymore. Its all about the stats. Puck possession, goals, assists, points, plus/minus, etc. IMHO, that is where the game of hockey should be.

Can't view the video outside of Canada? That sucks. I voted anyway. At least they let me vote outside canada.

There are players like this in the NHL, but they aren't 50 goal scorers. Milan Lucic is a good example of a player who can do all those things. In fantasy hockey, I would call them stat stuffers. Lucic can score 20+ goals, 30+ assists, and get around 100 penalty minutes. Then you have Scott Hartnall from Columbus who can score and fight as well.

There were no responses to this because there are no answers. As you pointed out, if Jonathan were a 4th D-Man, this wouldn't be a discussion. Because he is playing on the top line, everyone is watching him much closer. I suppose you could bench him for Smith or keep Marchenko in the lineup for him, but I think we are making the team weaker with Jonathan out of the lineup.

Little Bert is working his ass off for a roster spot next season. So far, I love what he is bringing to the table with the Griffins. As for the Griffins, despite losing on Saturday, they took the Midwest Division and are 2nd in the conference. I believe they are 3rd overall in the AHL. This team is going to make some noise in the playoffs with Blashill behind the bench.

I have been watching the Griffins all season and they really are on fire right now. This team is going to make some serious noise in the playoffs.

Agreed. An eye for an eye is so prevalent in our society. It wasn't like Subban was trying to injure him. The right call was made on the ice to give him 5 and a game. Now, if the Sens players want to do something in retaliation, they better be ready to pay the price for it. You know the refs will be watching and the penalties will be dealt out quickly. The coaching staff should have just kept their mouths shut about it and just let the series play out. Yes, Cameron is upset that he lost one of his better players. I get it. When Draper had his face crushed against the boards by Claude, Bowman didn't promise retribution or threaten. He let his players handle it, and they did. It took a few months, but it did happen.

Right wrist microfracture for Stone. If he plays he will probably be not as effective. Sucks to be honest. http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/12702449/mark-stone-ottawa-senators-right-wrist-fracture-slash-pk-subban-montreal-canadiens

IMHO, if I saw a slash on a player like that, I would call it as well and it would be 5 minutes and getting tossed from the game because it resulted in an injury. I know in USA hockey rules, if it results in an injury its an automatic 5 minute and a game misconduct which means the player is tossed. The NHL rules are similar when it comes to slashing. I don't think it was an intent to injure which would have been a much harsher penalty. I think 61.3 applies here. 61.1 Slashing - Slashing is the act of a player swinging his stick at an opponent, whether contact is made or not. Non-aggressive stick contact to the pant or front of the shin pads, should not be penalized as slashing. Any forceful or powerful chop with the stick on an opponent’s body, the opponent’s stick, or on or near the opponent’s hands that, in the judgment of the Referee, is not an attempt to play the puck, shall be penalized as slashing. 61.2 Minor Penalty - A minor penalty, at the discretion of the Referee based on the severity of the contact, shall be imposed on a player who slashes an opponent. 61.3 Major Penalty - A major penalty, at the discretion of the Referee based on the severity of the contact, shall be imposed on a player who slashes an opponent. When injury occurs, a major penalty must be assessed under this rule (see 61.5). 61.4 Match Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent by slashing.

Yea, Franzen is a good player. Not like the Wings won't miss him.

Its part of the reason Marc Savard is still drawing a paycheck from the Bruins. The good news is that injured players don't count against the cap. Now, if he retires, then there is a cap hit. If you are a Wings fan, you want him to stay on LTIR and not retire so there isn't a negative cap implication.

I am just glad we didn't #tankit At the beginning of the season, many here thought this team sucked and we should just write the season off. Before the trade deadline, we were competing for top spot in the division. Then the trades we made were very solid and added depth. Of course, March sucked pretty badly. I think this season was a great overall success. Made the playoffs and a 100 point season again. I agree with this. The measure of a team in the regular season is only a small part to what happens in the playoffs. Look at Colorado and Tampa Bay last season as two examples. Both teams had great regular seasons but fizzled in the playoffs.