haroldsnepsts

I may be done with the Western Finals. The East is so much more entertaining. Less flopping, more hockey.

In a perfect NHL, they'd call D. Sedin for diving on that play even though it was a legit hook around his hands. Want guys to stop diving? Only call the dive and let the penalty go when they flop like that.

No s***. I was busy typing about Kesler diving, then someone on the Sharks dove right at the end there too. I think it was White?

god. a nother dive by Kesler behind the Sharks net. I need stop watching this series if I want to remain a Kesler fan.

Honestly the set play is another factor. They're intentionally turning the puck over to get a call. To me the borderline calls like that too many men get made if they're going to lead to a good scoring chance by the guy who hopped on, or if a guy hops off the bench to make a defensive play when no one else is back. But on the replay, it looked like when the puck hit Couture's stick, the guy he was replacing was at the door to the bench. And the Sharks have the long change to the offensive zone so it's not like he was busting in all alone. With the margin of errors they give guys when changing, this seemed to be pushing it a bit to me, but not outrageous. Could've gone either way IMO. Anyway, this game is such a mess in terms of officiating that's hardly going to be the one deciding factor. I'm still hoping for a bunch of penalty shots in the third.

honestly on the replay the too many men looked marginal. The Sharks player was right at the door to the bench. So his skates were on the ice, but he wasn't a factor in the play. Could've gone either way. If the Sharks had been the ones called for all the penalties in the first, it's probably let go. Like I said, horribly managed game by the officials.

This series is a mess. god. a period of marginal calls in the first. Now the refs handing the Nucks 5 on 3's in the second. Wonder what the third will bring? Penalty shots?

Really? On the replay the Sharks player was right at the door to the bench. Couture didn't help himself, but I've seen worse let go. Again though, it's makeup time.

Probably should've been a penalty for hooking the hands, but what a dive by Sedin. Funny how being hooked on the wrists caused his legs to come out from under him. And I'm a Kesler fan but just before that he dove in front of the net, then had a very late hit rubbing a guy out along the boards. This game is a mess and the Sharks are paying for not scoring on the PP.

You know the tide had to turn eventually. Let the makeup calls begin. The refs are making a mess of this. That Ballard hit was more of a penalty than half the other calls they made.

Lots of soft calls by the refs. I can't think of a nicer team for it to happen to though. Both teams getting a taste of their own medicine. Love it.

Fischer had much more potential than Ericsson does though. Jiri played with an edge, and was more skilled too. He just couldn't seem to get it together for a couple seasons. Sadly, the year he ended up having the heart incident was when it looked like he was finally putting it all together. People also forget that Lillypads was the whipping boy here for his first couple seasons on the Wings. Soft, slow, not physical, terrible turnovers. Then he simplified his game and became a solid shot blocker and PKer, and an occasional (though terrible) fighter.

He took four pretty good strides before throwing the hit. They should've let it go, but since it's that dirtbag Torres, I don't mind so much. Holy hell Sharks need to capitalize on one of these chances if they want to win this game. Anyone seen Heatley lately?

A couple of Swedish fans on hfboards posted this article about Ericsson: http://www.nt.se/nyheter/?articleid=6837553 I'm relying on google translator, but according to it and them, Ericsson has not even started negotiating with Holland on his contract.

It's dreaming to think the Wings will be able to lure Doughty away from LA, but if I'm understanding your numbers, you're also saying the Wings will sign him for $4.3 mill?? Doughty is a RFA, so the Kings get to match any offer sheet made to him by another team and there's no way they let him go for that little. Actually there's likely no way Doughty signs for that little unless they sign him until he's 45 to reduce the cap hit. But after Kovalchuk I don't see teams pushing their luck that far.

Exactly. You dance with the girl who brung ya. And Roloson is a big part of the reason the Bolts are in the Conference finals. I'd expect him to come back with a strong performance.

Isn't Eric Brewer a UFA? I didn't see him on the list.

Hopefully Holland will change gears and make some big moves when it comes time, but I'm worried that he will "tweak things" for the next few seasons until the wheels finally come off this team. As was mentioned, the tweaks have worked up to now largely because of guys like Z, Dats, Kronwall that helped the transition.

You must be new to sports? Your attempts at diminishing Crosby are hilarious. He's a career 1.323 PPG in the postseason. Of active players, only AO is higher. Of course because of the Caps postseason flops his stat is based on 25 fewer games. None of the other guys you mention are even in the ballpark for career PPG. So yes, Crosby missed being #1 last season to Franzen by .04 ppg, but if I had to choose I'd rather have the player who averages 1.32 PPG in the postseason for 62 games in his career than the one who manages to lead it for 12 games one playoffs. And for the regular season, Crosby averages 1.388 ppg, which puts him top among active players and behind only Gretzky, Lemieux, Bossy, and Orr. Some Red Wings playoff ppg, by comparison: Zetterberg: .952 (he's the only active Red Wings in the Top 50 all time) Franzen : .867 Datsyuk: .752

I don't see the league touching this at all. They likely just want it to go away, because it's not a huge leap from concussion to depression to substance abuse to death. It's just a grim reminder of how hard making a living getting punched in the head can be.

Sad to hear. According to the NY Post he apparently was apparently receiving counseling in the NHL substance abuse program in the weeks prior to his death. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/tragic_ranger_boogaard_was_in_drug_Od9dn6fgV06QZ5ZBOP2EdK

I like how you guys are saying what's the big deal it's only boobs, but that's what this entire thread has become about now.

I gotta say.. It's so much nicer to watch this series than the Western Conference. The Sharks Nucks series has so much diving and whining to the refs it's frustrating to watch.

No kidding. A player can skate backwards with their head down as they turn up ice, and know that the ref will call a stupid penalty when they get cranked.

There's a correlation between concussions and depressions in athletes. So if they do find evidence of concussions, it definitely could have been a factor if he also was suffering from major depression.