YoungGuns1340

Some weak icing calls this game..

Looks like Hossa, Hank, and Franzen have run dry. Would be nice for one of those guys to restore a multi-goal lead.

Nice job to ice it, guys. Look at the freaking clock.

Is it just me or has Filppula been good for quite a few ill-timed penalties this season?

Poor Ozzie can't keep fewer than 3 out of the net...

Annnnndddd here we go again.

Jumpin jeez....Gagne had all the time in the world to take the shot.

Ehh lame penalty. I don't like all these penalty calls for us when they arent worthy. Devalues the score, in my opinion.

Yeah. He did a decent job of it last year in his time in the big leagues. Hes just as good as Sammy on the point, and thats without a ton of experience. Better than Lebda out there.

Nice job HEDLER!

Man the Oil are lucky they didn't get the extra call. They laid a bit of a beat down on Kopay

Damn there are some great battles now. Credit to the Wings - goal against and instead of letting it get out of hand, they catch fire. Good stuff.

I want a goal from one of the big three now...

Ehh Yuck. Bad goal. Bad defense. I won't complain though. That was really only the first or second time that the Oilers have been able to walk in like that, which was not the case up until about a week ago.

AWESOME deal for us though. Lilja in exchange for Souray...

Ehh not much of a fight.

Ozzie with a masterful pokecheck.

But a 10-15 second PK should help our PK%

Souray has a bomb.

Wow. Moreau got SCREWED. Draper should've been called there.

The Wild have had really impressive stretches over the past few years it seems. Seems like they always go for about 20 games where they get a point in about 18 of those 20. But I also don't believe in those cross-season generalizations, so I'm not going to say "oh the Wild always do well for X amount of time and then end up blowing it." They've got the look of a contender, but anything can happen in the playoffs.

Hossa accepts 6.7 when Paul Stastny can nab 6.6? Franzen won't command 5 because Kronwall is only making 3M? And I supposed the fact that Zetterberg is only make 2.65M on average stopped Filppula and Cleary from making more than Hank this year? Thats a nice little fantasy world you live in there. If Filppula can nab 3M per without hitting 20 goals or 40 points, at the rate Franzen is going, hes damn well going to get at least 4M per, and that is a very hopeful estimate. 5M is VERY plausible for Franzen at this point and if its coming down to spring and Franzens staring down 30 or 50 goals and 50 or 60 points unsigned, he'll have a market value of some 6M - nearly twice what you project.

I could see him ousting Datsyuk for the Byng, easily. As for the Norris, hell Kronwall might have a better chance than Lids this year. Overall, I'd take Boyle, Pronger, and Kuba over Lidstrom so far, but thats just me.

And then when Hossa, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg are all 35, 36 years old combining for 20+ million, its going to be awfully sad to see all those young guys let go in the midst of their prime...

I know people are all hung up on Hossa and how amazing it is to have a top 3 guy in scoring, etc, etc. But look at the stats. Sammy is on pace for a career year. So is Hudler. Franzen is picking up right where he left off. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are right up there where they need to be, on pace for 80+ point seasons, and both players seem to pick it up in the 2nd half. Its not like Hossa is burning up the statistical standings and everyone else is stuck in his wake. His stats are indicative of a team that scores nearly 4 goals a game. And the offense of guys like Hudler, Sammy, and Franzen has nothing to do with playing with Hossa, obviously. This is all just to remind people that the RED WINGS are playing amazing offense right now. I get this "how did we ever live without him!" feeling from people which simply isn't accurate. Hossa is a luxury, not a necessity.