gcom007

Aside from this being Todd Bertuzzi's 1000th game, this will be his 153rd game in a row. Incredible considering how injury prone he's been in the past. I don't think anyone would've thought that he'd be among our most durable guys for the next 2 years in the summer of 2009...

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that Bleacher Report is just a giant collection of amateur blogs? Legitimate (if you can still even call them that...) are bad enough, but some of the blogs on that site are just dripping with stupidity; armchair drivel at its best. I'm fine with the idea of people having a blog and a voice, but I think it gets fuzzy when they start trying to pass themselves off as proper journalists when they blatantly are not beholden to the same standards of integrity and accuracy.

Pathetic. This team has to give Howard a chance to get something going. He had a solid outing last game and they should've gone above and beyond to help him get another tonight just to get some positive momentum going. It's a real shame. There's no way he's going to get back into last years form if the team doesn't up the ante to help him get his confidence up a bit.

Good to see the consistency returning.....................I just love it.

I'm actually bummed out by this news. If we were to face and beat the Penguins in the Finals, I wouldn't want to have to hear excuses for why we won.

I spent more time on skates growing up then in shoes. Plenty have. But this is the NHL. If you're a goalie in the NHL, let alone a starting goalie on one of the top teams, it is reasonable to expect a goalie to be better than Howard has been this year. I don't care what team you're playing for, what injuries said team may have and what defensive issues may exist, when you have to go into a game expecting that 4 goals will be scored against you, there's a real problem. That said, the defense has been terrible, sure, but the reality of the matter is that we are not the only team that has defensive issues. Plenty of other teams struggle far more than we do with the stupid mistakes and they don't have the talent to at times compensate for it. Yet somehow, even the terrible teams seem to have goalies outplaying Howard more often than not lately. I'm not one of the one's calling for his head, and I've got faith that he'll recover in due time, but let's be honest here...defensive breakdowns or not, Howard's had a rough year, and if he can't get it going, unless Babcock goes with Osgood, we're toast come playoff time. It is stupid to blame every goal on him, and he isn't getting much help, but any way you shake it, he hasn't played well and he's absolutely got to play a lot better. You need your goalie to compensate for some of the inevitable defensive breakdowns. Again, I really like the guy and I'm not throwing in the towel by any means, but this year, he's simply not playing well at all.

I think this season's a wash for Howard at this point, but let's not get too hasty about the guy in general. When you look at last year and this year, you obviously see 2 very different goalies with profoundly different numbers. Look at the situations though and you see that last year he was a rookie, with that coming a bit of a wave of enthusiasm and a more "fun" experience with it all. But come playoffs and season 2, the pressure builds as you begin to realize what it takes to be a starter. That's a tough thing to learn especially after having such a great rookie year. It's likely that he's not as great of a goalie as he showed last year, but there's no way that I believe he's as bad of a goalie as he's been this year. I think the reality is somewhere in between, though I don't think it'll be really noticeable until next season.

Helene St. James over at the Free Press also gave him an A- for his "winning" play this year...news media is a joke these days.

I can't help that they're playing an absurdly predictable game tonight...

Like I said, I'm thinking we win 7-6 in OT.

So how many goals will be scored in this period? Judging by the first two, I predict that we win in OT 7-6. FRANZEN HAT TRICK!!! WEE!!! Up next, Senators score on the next shift...?

This is just absurd. Completely absurd. I was just saying in reference to the 1st period, "Ottawa will probably come right back and score though..." I didn't even get the full sentence out. Absurd.

This is what happens when people ride a rookie hype wave. 2nd year is almost always a different story. It takes guys time to develop. I'm not convinced that he couldn't return to last years form at some point in the future, but this is just another example of a young goalie slipping up and another reason to be patient with a guy's development. I think this year is a wash for him at this point; I don't expect him to recover this season. But again, I do think he's capable of returning to form in the coming seasons.

Yep. It's been bad the last few years. It was just less noticeable last year because Howard was playing like a man possessed. Team defense has been a joke since the coaching change. Maybe he's got nothing to do with this problem at all, but you simply can't ignore the correlation at this point. What's really scary though is that if this defense played half as well as they're capable of, who would be a sure bet to beat us on any given day? Anyone? Bear in mind, we're still one of the top teams in the league, defensive issues and all.

Man, our defense is effing AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm just glad we're less "terrible" than almost every other team in the league despite injuries. At least that's what the standings show. Defense and goaltending will have to tighten up to do anything in the playoffs, but we've got a few months until then and we should be a lot healthier by then. So long as Osgood stays on target to return and we don't have any other major injuries, I think this team is in good shape heading into the playoffs.

Anyone want to still try and suggest that Howard's not skating on thin ice with the Wings? As I've repeatedly said, this absolutely has at least something to do with Howard's play of late. It may not be the only reason, but it's no doubt part of the reason. They weren't too vocal about it before, but Babcock couldn't be more clear with the message he's sending in that quote. That said, I repeat, I think it's very good that we didn't land Nabokov. Sure, Jimmy's struggled this year, but we know what he's capable of. This year will probably end up a wash for him, but it's experience, and even if he were to lose the starting role to Osgood, it'd be far more likely that the Wings would still sign him next year, and likely at a better price than we were expecting earlier this year. If he lost the job to an outsider, he's gone. I don't think either party would go above and beyond to make a deal happen. But if he can hold it together well enough and doesn't chase starters money over the summer, I think he'd likely be a much better goalie in his 3rd season. He's learning a lot about the ups and downs of the NHL this year. He's got to be aware of the fact that he's got some glaring fundamental problems that he needs to improve upon, and after this year, he might be more likely to put in a hard summer working on them. I really believe that we dodged a bullet by not getting Nabokov. He's not a long-term solution for this team, and our best chance at a long-term solution would most likely have been boxed out in the short run. It's just not worth it.

Didn't see it coming? The Islanders were one of the most obvious if not the most obvious team that would claim him. What do you think these guys get paid for, to be more ignorant of the situation than a bunch of fans on Twitter and a message board???

Why would he do that when his agent came out yesterday and said that he would report to any team that claimed him??????????

"We tried something, and he's been claimed by another team. We move on. It's the nature of the rules and the league." -Ken Holland

Everyone knew yesterday before he even signed that he'd have to clear waivers and it'd be virtually impossible for him to do so. All is well as well can be around here. Then today, he is indeed claimed on waivers and everyone's pissed, shocked and offended. Classic LGW reaction...

Why does that moron have to score 2 goals against us?

What a mess.

Like earlier in the week when he said he would not be pursuing a new goalie?