Nightfall

Wings fans hated Cheli before we got him. Wings fans hated Hatcher before we got him. I guarantee that the Wings fans would embrace Pronger if we got him.

I agree. A goaltender can have a high save percentage if the goalie doesn't have to turn into a pretzel to make tough saves. If the defense keeps the shots to the outside and the shots are not screened, the goalie is going to have a high save percentage and make saves look easy. The two goals Howard allowed today were not his fault at all. Just as the 4 goals that Thomas allowed today were not his fault at all. All were the result of giveaways, blown coverages, or lack of defensive help. In the end, the result will be the same. Look on the hfboards for instance. The Boston fans are bitching at Thomas about two rebounds he kicked out that resulted in goals. I am convinced that any rebounds are going to be looked at negatively, but the fact of the matter is that even the best goalies give them up. The difference is the support of the defense on each team. The better defensive teams turn rebounds into a non issue.

Way too much bitching from members here. Especially considering that we outplayed Boston for the final two periods of play. The Wings played an excellent game and the stats of the game don't lie. Are there things they can improve on? You betcha! At the same time though, the blame game going around on Kindl and Howard really needs to stop. The "Wings fans" on this forum really need to get behind their team and stop with the senseless accusations and blame. Especially on things like "rebounds" which Howard was toasted for, but when Thomas gives up rebounds, they are naturally supposed to happen. The arguments make no sense. Ah well. Onto the next game!

Boston leads in hits 13-11. Yup, +2 hits usually means "manhandled".

I don't know man. After all, every goalie that lets up rebounds like that should be fired. /sarcasm (You might want to use those tags here. People may take you seriously.)

Wow, rebounds are a killer, even for the best goalie in the league. Who would have thought that. Nice goal by Dats.

Please name one, and make it a rookie as well. Won't find many rookie 3rd line defensemen with less turnovers.

I agree, especially the 2nd one. The Wings have got to start playing better. Boston came to play today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6_kQfqYJy8

Watch some other 3rd line d pairings on other teams, you would be surprised how good Kindl is compared to them.

I like how coach Babcock put Pierre in his place.

Man, that shot from Abdelkader was nice. Thomas must have s***ty rebound control. Did you see that juicy rebound? /sarcasm

I wonder if the Boston fans are saying the same about their 3rd line D pairing after that turnover. Everyone makes mistakes. Some more than others. Every defenseman on the team can't be Lidstrom.

Knowing my luck, that will happen to me when I ref the finals in some Midget Travel tournament in Chicago or something after I get 4-5 years of experience. That would be just horrible, but its the way the game is.

Dang, who was that player? That was funny. I remember seeing that movie back in the day and wondering how the heck that was possible. Then I really started skating out and figured it out for myself, its quite easy.

Since we are talking about changing the way things are happening on the ice when it comes to officials..... I think they should have one less official on the ice and more above the boards standing there watching the play. In my experience, the worst place to observe the play is on the ice. The best place to observe it is standing on high, watching from a protected area. They looked at this in the NHL Combines and it was successful. They really should think about doing this. I just don't see things changing like this. I have only reffed USA Hockey for a couple years now, and after 100+ games, I haven't had a puck go off of me and to a player who scores. If it does though, you can bet I would feel terrible about it as most refs would. I actually agree with you on that. Most Canadian fans are quite the hockey enthusiasts.

IMHO, the more Wings fans on this board that also have played hockey is a bonus. Those kinds of fans are hard to find. I swear that 75-80% of hockey fans haven't even skated.

Thomas on Sunday. Bank on it.

*GASP* Another goal on Rask! What crap positioning! Beautiful goal by Z.

As a ref, I have had pucks go off of me that result in a scoring chance. Trust me on the fact that refs don't like it, but its a possibility in any game.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=310211001 14-10 Boston

Hockeystreams.com is what I get, and I love it. Rebounds happen to everyone. You only remember when your goalie makes a save and lets a rebound up, and never the saves they make and no rebound happens. I will say that goalies can play consistently well in net and not let many rebounds up at all. Look at Osgood back when they won the cup in 2008. He was unbelievable. Remember Thomas last year when Rask took over the starter job? He sucked back then. I would really like to find a site that keeps track of rebounds per game given up by NHL goalies. A very in depth site that shows blown coverages that result in goals, mistakes from goalies that result in goals, etc. Let me know if you find one.

Wow, Rask was at fault for that goal. Perfect shot! I like Hudlers play as of late.

IMHO, people who have played the game seem to have more relevant analysis when it comes to hockey. Thats just my observation though. Do goalies let in weak goals or make mistakes on positioning? Yup. Just like defenses blow coverages and forwards turn pucks over. IMHO, if you are going to chew Howard out for crap positioning, then chew the D out for not covering the man in the slot. A lot of blame to go around on that goal, and the idiots blaming one party and only one party for that goal, is dumb.

Yup, its that simple. Thank you....here is a video that portrays your knowledge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q00Cau2Lb9c&feature=related