haroldsnepsts

hmmm, that's not the finger he usually uses.

So true. Maybe I should add that in the "makes you feel old" thread. I remember when they actually called travelling in the NBA.

Agreed. Lang was fulfllling that role less and less himself, so it was definitely time for him to go. But there's still the void there, though Flip and Hudler have done pretty well.

If you want to make yourself feel better about NHL refs, watch some NBA. I watched the Lakers/Suns game yesterday. Inconsistent, phantom calls, and ultimate star treatment. Kobe gets his own set of rules, which apparently don't involve travelling.

That's no reason not to say it!

awww... the Wings chased the ferret out of the net. I hope there's someone on suicide watch on the bench. funny how that Blues troll doesn't seem to be around...

Yeah, the inconsistency with how they call interference on Homer versus the rest of the league drives me nuts. I don't usually complain about refs because the bad calls tend to even out. But it's gotten ridiculous. That Blues player was a couple feet into the crease on the game winning goal. that's not interference anymore?? Imagine how many more goals Homer would have if he were allowed to do that (and hadn't had several goals called back and given penalties instead).

I don't know. West coast trips used to be kryptonite for the Wings. Now it seems to be our division, and back to back games.

As you know, trolls only show up after their team wins.

Did you actually watch the game? or are you basing it on the stats you read in the box score?

well that was craptacular.

Good god it's amazing how fast this stuff is posted on youtube. Crosby's fight: Visor didn't come off. Not much of a fight, but I still like that he's sticking up for himself.

It's good to see Sid sticking up for himself, but he probably shouldn't make a habit of it. Having him off the ice for 5 mins is a definite win for the other team.

If memory serves, you're not exactly the biggest Gretzky fan. so I though you might enjoy seeing Wayne try and stick up for himself back in the day.

An update on the Crosby fight (didn't someone post a pic earlier?). I didn't see it but apparently the gloves did come off (don't know about his visor) and he apparently bloodied Ference. Crosby's got a Gordie Howe hattrick tonight.

It's amazing to me how often this team scores in bunches.

Luc was good in '02. 30 goals, 50 points. Didn't do a ton in the playoffs with 4 goals and 9 points. the next year he was pretty terrible and in the doghouse a lot.

Not true. Physicality in and of itself won't win games, but it's a necessary component over a long playoff run. The ability to withstand physical play from other teams, and better still to subject physical punishment to your opponent over a 7 game series will win you games.

No surprise here. Babcock has said flat out he knows these guys (Cheli and Drake) don't like being sat. That they're hard-headed and competitors. Of course they want to play every game. But he knows he needs them to be fresh come playoff time. As I mentioned earlier, Cheli got a lot more minutes than usual last night. I'm sure he knew this was coming.

Exactly who has said that a goalie can't improve throughout the season? I think in virtually every post about Dom's performance, I say he can still get his game together. there's plenty of time. I've also said how he's been playing better. But he's not there yet. And again, this all started with me saying Dom made some big saves last night. But the second goal was not one he'd normally let in, and wondered if there was something technically going on. That's all. EDIT: I don't want to get into a goalie war, which is where this is going. We'll see how both of them are playing come playoff time. If the playoffs started tomorrow, I'd definitely want it to be Ozzy. But as I said, there's plenty of season left.

I made the mistake of saying Dom made big saves but is still showing some consistency problems with that wrister from the top of the faceoff circle. I wish you could actually talk about goaltending a little here without it becoming a war. But I should know better.

So you're basing your opinion of the goaltenders on performances from the past. Got it. Meanwhile, I'm making an assessment of how they're playing right now. I'm so tired of this "slow starter" crap. Yes, he may be a slow starter, but him starting this poorly is unprecedented since he became a starting goaltender. This goes beyond a slow start. If you want to talk facts, he's played 17 games and is the absolute worst among 43 goaltenders in save percentage. You seriously are saying that's a typical slow start for Dom??? I've never seen him start this poorly. As I said, Hasek can still come around. He's just not there yet. Of the goals he's let in that were questionable, I think a few have been similar to the softie last night. Which is why I wondered if his positioning was just a little off, or his glove hand was getting slow or something. Every goalie lets in bad ones. But this season obviously Hasek has let in more than his fair share. At the peak of both of their abilities, I think Hasek is a superior goaltender to Osgood. But Hasek hasn't been anywhere near the peak of his ability this season. He wasn't even last year, though he was very good. He still wasn't the Dominator. Meanwhile Ozzy is playing perhaps the best hockey of his career. Ugh. I didn't mean to get dragged into another goalie war, but calling Ozzy the backup is a joke. Wouldn't the backup normally start against a crappy team like L.A.? Everyone's just waiting to see if Hasek can get his act back together and maybe he will, but if it were anyone else, they'd be riding the pine. ps, you might want to check the definition of facts. Chris Osgood - .929 Sv % (#2 out of 43) = FACT Dominik Hasek - .882 Sv % (#43 out of 43) = FACT EDIT: Though I do agree that because the Wings are playing so well, it makes sense to start Hasek against a team like L.A. so he can get his game back together while starting Ozzy against the more competitive Blues.

The problem is that everyone else knows he's not going to get much better either, so you're not going to get much for him.

As I said in another thread, it will be very interesting to see what Holland does. I think he's spot on that Detroit can use some more size and toughness on D, and some help with 2nd line scoring. I don't see Holland being able to pull off both, but either one makes Detroit a much scarier team come playoff time. If I could only pick one, I'm not sure now which I'd want them to have more.

Agreed. It's not so much that they're not capable of stepping up. I just think they're more of a question mark than a proven scorer on the 2nd line. But trade deadline deals like that can end up to be busts too. It's a gamble either way. It'll be interesting to see what Holland does.