haroldsnepsts

I don't think the Ducks announcers are terrible during the regular season, but they've turned into super homers here in the playoffs. just awful.

Wings got away with a couple there from Smith and now Lashoff.

People who think Cleary sucks and doesn't do anything need to watch him in front of the net.

thankfully the war room gets one right.

Ref waved it off, but I could see that counting under review.

Kings Blues go to OT again. tied 2-2

Some people seem to think so but he assisted on both goals and had a great play to Dat's shot that rang off the post right at the end of the 2nd. He's not looking dominant, but he's doing things out there.

They just let Getzlaf walk in between the hash marks. Wtf were the forwards doing?

Seriously? Even when someone is supporting the team you still feel compelled to tell them they're wrong? On another note. LGW!! Obviously a huge game tonight.

If you go by spending alone then according to Capgeek the Flyers are the highest. Factoring in bonuses and LTIR it has both the Canucks and Wild at the top with zero cap space.

That was hysterical. The look on his face was like "that's not gatorade!"

Hopefully they'll finally move Luongo, for his sake. He really has handled this whole debacle as a total pro. And it'd never happen but I'd still love to have Kesler on the Wings, in spite of his antics there's a great player under there. But they'll need to make some serious moves. I forgot the Nucks have the highest cap in the league at over $70 mill. They're already over next year's cap with their contract commitments.

I haven't seen all the series but compared to the crap that's gone on in other games I've seen, I'd agree. I have to wonder if part of it is that even with Brown and Perron in the lineups, there's a lot less diving in this series than some of the others. After game 3 I was a little worried that the series would turn back into dead puck era hockey but overall it's been very good. It's kind of a shame these two teams are meeting in the first round because it's been such a great battle.

That is awesome. Too funny.

But on the flipside Karlsson just won it and he doesn't have the greatest all around ability at the position either. He's an amazing offensive defenseman but still has to develop his game in the defensive end. Last nights game was more evidence of Karlsson's suspect decision making. After the game Maclean made comments about how they'd go over the mistakes Karlsson made and talk to him, and that sometimes he plays for the other team, but when he plays for their team he makes them better. Stevens actually used to be more of an offensive defenseman. He has the skillset, they just reigned that in in Jersey under Lemaire's system.

Exactly. The last call was pretty weak but do people really think that the Canucks somehow got screwed by the officials this series because of the Sharks diving? Both teams have done more than their fair share of diving this playoffs (and in their previous matchups). The flopping both ways when these two teams get together is disgraceful to watch.

I've always been a supporter of E's, or at the very least someone who didn't bash him regularly and thought he deserved to be in the lineup, but he's stepped in to an even bigger role than I would've guessed. I figured he'd be a decent middle pairing guy, but he's second in TOI to Kronwall and has become the Wings key PK defenseman. He's always had a good first pass but he's had more and more good stretch passes. And the part I'm happiest about is him being physical around the net and along the boards. More than once I've seen him bury a guy after Jimmy freezes the puck. The only thing more I'd want in that regard is him to beat the hell out of a player when they crash into Howard.

From just a cursory search: Should I keep going? Like I said, I understand getting upset when a team is losing or not looking good, then feeling more optimistic when they actually play well. But spare me the lectures on how people should post just because you're feeling good about the team. One last one. You claim: But...

True, but the other two in the top three were Byfuglien and Campbell. Fugly is not a very good defenseman and if memory serves spent part of the season literally playing as a forward, not just as a defenseman who essentially acts as another forward. Campbell only had 4 goals and got 30 of his assists on the PP. I was obviously exaggerating in that it's not always literally 1,2,3 like this season, but it seems to be getting closer to that. And if you pick the top 3 "name" defenseman with the most points you have a great chance of being right about the nominees, regardless of whether they actually had a solid year defensively as well.

Agreed. And the nominees are literally the top three point getting defenseman. Here's the likely 2013 Norris winner showing why he deserves the award! (I'm not talking about Boyle. Note the pylon he blows past)

I've seen Ericsson do it. I think it was just a few games ago actually. Kindl and Smith are capable of it but it depends on how rattled they are under the forecheck. Quincey, honestly I don't know. He's got a decent first pass but I can't remember him making a big stretch pass like that. Honestly though I can't remember Kronwall having one and it seems like he should have the skills to do it, so maybe it's just my failing memory.

I'm sure a big part of it is those goofy glasses but I didn't even recognize him. I had to read the post to figure out who it was.

Agreed. That kind of forecheck has given the Wings fits for the last couple seasons now. And with our current defensive corps they're even more likely to get rattled. Against the Kings the Blues have been leaving someone like Oshie out at center ice cherry picking and tried long stretch passes to try to capitalize on the forecheck. I almost wonder if the Wings should try some of that. If it even leads to one breakaway it might back the Ducks off a bit. Otherwise it doesn't seem like they have a lot of set plays for breaking out of the zone under forecheck so it requires the Dmen to make a quick decision, probably take a big hit, and make a good pass.

Do I need to go dig up all the posts of you complaining? Just because you've decided to be all sunshine about the Wings now that they've evened the series doesn't mean everyone here needs to fall in line with whatever way the winds have blown your opinion today. Your newfound optimism is no different than people venting saying the Wings suck after a tough loss.

Quincey standing there by his net with the puck in his skates. Kindl with the horrible pass across the blueline that Getzlaf picked off for a breakaway. Smith scrambling. Many of the D men had their bad moments tonight. You gotta remember that Lashoff was playing in his second ever NHL playoff game and only 33rd NHL game total . He'll likely get better.