gcom007

So Howard didn't even touch the puck on that "incredible diving save?"

This has been a stupidly bland period so far for both sides...especially for a 1-0 game...

4 PM in one game for Dats the bruiser...

"HOW THE f*** IS THAT NOT A PENALTY?!?!?!"

Interesting stat there... Quality Chances: Detroit: 8 on 19 shots Kings: 7 on 37 shots

Howard's stopping the shots, but he's giving up so many rebounds and doing next to nothing to control the puck after the shot that it's making the defense look a lot worse at some points as they're left scrambling. When you give up a rebound and you're out of position, you've got guys diving in to cover the net. While the other team crashes. It becomes a giant clusterf*** real fast. Howard's doing a good job of stopping the shots, but he wouldn't have to stop near as many if he'd just do a better job of controlling the damn puck after the first shot.

Definitely. For as well as he's played, he really does get a lot of help from the skaters bailing him out when he can't control the puck. This is an issue he can improve on though, it's just technique. He's doing a lot of other stuff right that's not so easily improved upon if you ask me, so if he busts his ass, perhaps more in the off-season, he's got the potential to become a real complete goalie in this league.

Well s***...hideous turnover by Howard there and a glorious save by Meech. He really sacrificed the body there... Our guys are playing tougher defense around the crease this season than we have in years if ever. Really great to see.

Starting to? Ha, well, I mean, I have been one of the few encouraging people to be patient and defending him, but I definitely can understand why so many are frustrated with him. My patience is wearing thin, however, I'm far more apathetic about the matter on whole. It'll be hilarious if he gets shipped off and suddenly gets something going. I'm sure we'll still have a good number of people turning this into Kyle Quincey Part II...

Wow! Close. Did Bertuzzi see that coming?

We need to start taking more penalties.

Rafalski's havig a good game. Set up a goal and just saved a goal.

You have no idea how much I love that sentence. One of my favorite words (infuriating) combined with creative modification of another one of my favorite words (*****). Bravo.

Nice setup there by Lids and Rafs, welcome back Cleary!

Nice to see some consistency in our power play................ Oh wait! We actually took a shot! Progress......

I don't expect too much from this game to be honest. Losing Holmstrom and getting Cleary and Z back means more adjusting. We haven't gelled real fast so far this season. I'd love a win and it's not out of reach or anything, but I'm not going to really be surprised or upset if we lose this one.

When I see 20 out there I hurt a little inside because I think it's Robert Lang. I didn't even hate him like some, but everything about the situation was so ugly by the time it was over that it still evokes negative thoughts.......

Diet Coke has been around far longer and has more experience than Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, so it's still never a bad bet to go to it at any time of year. They make a great 1-2 tandem though day to day. And if Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi keeps it up, it's bound to have a solid career in my garage.

I may be a guy, but I ******* love Diet Coke.

I'm just waiting for the announcement that members of our management are coming down with injuries as well. "Red Wings Assistant GM Jim Nill out 1-2 weeks with a broken ankle suffered while slipping heading into the office." or... "Ken Holland's secretary to miss a minimum of 2-3 weeks due to an unspecified wrist injury. (UPDATE) EMG tests performed Monday morning revealed the issues to be related to a moderate case of Carpal Tunnels Syndrome. New timeline: out 3-4 weeks."

We'll need it tonight too...LA's no slouch and after all, they just finished smoking San Jose a few days ago. 5-2 or 6-2 I believe...

Interesting.

I'm still not worried, but wow...what else can you say? Good thing we're getting guys back now...

I'm not saying Hasek was the bad guy. I think he played really well considering his age. I think perhaps Babcock didn't pay enough mind to the fact that Hasek was slipping though, and thus I think he was less than prepared in general in icing a team most likely to win. That doesn't mean pull Hasek either. That means have a plan for dealing with the issue should it arise and do all you can to have Dom ready. I don't think he did either. He talks about goaltending being so "simple" in that you ride the guy who's winning. And sure, that's part of it, but there's a lot of other stuff to consider that I think he fails to factor in. Again, I think we've seen numerous examples of this the entire time he's been here.

Oh yeah, this is still a stupid ass question. You're out of your mind if you think Osgood wasn't a huge part of our success both years. I don't think we would have won with Conklin. I certainly don't think we would have won with Hasek. Aside from giving us a chance every game, Osgood gave the team a tremendous amount of confidence last year. When you've got the best goalie in the playoffs playing for you, it helps every aspect of your game. Make no mistake of that. 2008: Predators: Tough to say considering Hasek and when Osgood came in, but probably not as Ellis was solid for the Preds so it would've balanced out as opposed to Hasek utterly s***ting the bed. Avalanche: No. Stars: Good chance. Imagine if we had Turco and then had to face Osgood. They'd score a lot more and we'd score a lot less. It would've been a lot closer than it ever was and I think Dallas very well could've pulled it off if Osgood played as well for him as he did for us and Turco did what Turco does more often than not... Pittsburgh: Yes. We got the best of Fleury in his first outing and Osgood got us off to a great start posting two straight shutouts in games 1 and 2 against a very potent offense. Pittsburgh went on to play a lot better as did Fleury, but what ultimately set us up to beat the Penguins was Osgood's two shutouts in the opener. If Osgood was able to pull off such a feat for Pittsburgh in the same year, I absolutely believe we would lose the series. Again, Osgood posted two shutouts to open up the Cup Finals against Pittsburgh. I guess that's no big deal... 2009: Blue Jackets: No. Ducks: Probably not, but maybe. Osgood never s*** the bed in the playoffs sans that weird game 4 against Columbus in which something was wrong. I don't remember what the deal was, but it wasn't like he just had a bad game. There was some strange injury or dehydration issue if I remember correctly and we still won. But he never dropped the ball the rest of the playoffs whereas Hiller really had that one rough game. In a series that goes to 7 games, you need your goalie to give you a chance in every game. Osgood did that, Hiller didn't. So do I think there's a chance that Anaheim could've beaten us? Yeah. Unlikely, but more possible than you want to think. Blackhawks: Probably not. Less likely than Anaheim, but possible. Don't forget, 3 of the 5 games were one goal games, and there was the blowout win when we faced a cold Huet after Bulin when down. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh would have won either way. They might've won in less games with Osgood though, who again, was the only goalie to post a shutout in the series.