haroldsnepsts

That's exactly my point. Guys miss all the time. And Neil was gonna miss, until he threw the shoulder up to catch Drury in the face. That's a penalty. Guys at this level know very well that when you line someone up and miss, you don't throw out an elbow or a knee or a shoulder to try and catch a piece of them (especially their head), because you could seriously injure that player or yourself. If you look at the replay, it's not llike Drury is still bent over admiring his shot. He's not looking for an incoming hit, but he's standing almost straight up. It took an extra effort to make contact with Drury's head. I found a realtime replay on ESPN, and honestly, you may right about the late hit. It was pushing the lateness a bit, but maybe not a penalty in and of itself. Had it been a solid check to the body, it likely would've been a highlight hit of the night. But the biggest reason it was a penalty to me was the intentional shoulder to the face when Neil was otherwise gonna miss Drury. Neil just didn't line him up right. He was too far in front of Drury, so he threw his shoulder and elbow up high to catch him.

The refs in the Wings game didn't call a penalty on the Drake hit on Lebda either, then he got a two game suspension. To me the hit was late, but you're right that it wasn't egregiously so. But what makes it clearly worthy of a penalty is the lateness combined with the blow to the head. Like I said, it's one of those instances where a player is trying to throw a hit and is gonna miss, so he throws a shoulder or an elbow or a knee out, or hits a guy from behind. That's a penalty.

The hit was far from clean. If that had been a Wings player, no one here would be saying it was a clean hit. It was late. And he threw his shoulder up to catch Drury in the face. Basically he wanted to check Drury and didn't have him lined up well. When you go to hit a guy and don't have him lined up properly, at some point you have to pull up and not make the hit. You don't throw out a knee, or an elbow, or a shoulder. Barry Freaking Melrose, who of course loved the ensuing melee even said it was a late hit and should've been a minor penalty. And as for Murray's response, in a tight game you shouldn't have to make your line decisions based on the other teams goon tactics. You can't coach out out of fear. I like a good fight now and then, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather watch guys like Heatley on the ice actually playing hockey than see a bunch of goons trolling for a fight.

It was a shoulder, but wasn't the puck already in the corner by the time the hit was delivered? My beef was the late hit. And honestly, even though it was a shoulder, it looked like he threw it up in Drury's jaw. There was no attempt to play the body. He was trying to catch a piece of Drury's head as he flew by. Shoulder or elbow, that's still a penalty when you go headhunting. And as for the code crap, going after the other team's stars isn't "the code" as far as I'm concerned. I wouldn't want the Wings operating that way. But I would want them to put a beat down on the guy that did it.

Wow, what a cheapshot on Drury. As I was on hockeyfights.com, I decided to check out the Wings fightcard over the years. It's amazing how the number of fights drops off after 2004. I'm not a rabid fight fan by any means, but it's a pretty clear indication of where the Wings are at. What do you think would've happened if someone cheapshotted Lidstrom like they did Drury? The Wings have had 6 fights so far this season (according to hockeyfights), and all but two of them are by Norton. and the other two were really more scraps than actual fights. It's hard for me to imagine the Wings meeting up against a team like Anaheim in a playoff series and making it to the next round. Certainly not with their key players healthy.

no kidding. I couldn't even tell what started it.

nope. people were already making jokes, yet you still managed to be completely inappropriate. Nice work. You must be a real charmer at parties.

I second that. why have I not heard of this before????

Wow, it's funnier and funnier every time you say it. As Flip pointed out, it's not about sensibilities, it's about time and place. This is a hockey forum. I'm betting most people here don't really want to wade through stuff like that in a thread. :rotflmao: oh my god! just when you thought it couldn't get any funnier, that you had already reached the pinnacle of funny in your previous genius posts, you go and take it up another notch! please! stop! Let me catch my breath! Oh my god I can't stop laughing it's so freaking funny! you're killing me! encore! encore! do you poop jokes too? please tell me you do. you should totally be on last comic standing.

My wisdom and maturity? Perhaps you need to look up the word irony, then re-read your posts. Yes, that post was hilarious if it was 1987, you were Andrew Dice Clay, and I was 15 years old. Unfortunately, none of those are true. I promise to grow a sense of humor if you promise to grow up.

really? that's fascinating. really. tell me more... kid, you're an idiot. just calling 'em like I see 'em.

I figure he's going to stay home and eat some old, mushy, european-style leftovers because all the good takeout will cost too much.

It's not that I expect Turco to crumble (though he has a history of shaky playoff performance). It's more that I think the Wings match up better with Dallas than those other opponents.

Seriously, couldn't this whole thread have gone in any of the other threads about Holland?

I agree on all points. Plus I feel like the West Coast has been kryptonite to the Red Wings. The longer they stay away, the better.

I know any thread with ESPN or Buccigross in it will usually get some bashing, but I don't care what anyone says, the guy knows hockey. In his latest column, he evaluates his pre-season predictions. Here's his thoughts on the Red Wings and the rest of the West. and his thoughts on the West overall:

Drapes was a monster on the faceoffs tonight. He won 13 out of 15. (86%) Hank wasn't too shabby either at 13 out of 20 (65%).

I love statements like this one, because they have built into them the logic that if you disagree with the statement, it therefore must follow that you are not anyone who has followed hasek throughout his career. so simple. such an elegant pre-emptive strike on any dissent. genius. I think Hasek is a great goalie and generally gets plenty of credit and praise for his abilities and performance. I guess I must not have followed him throughout his career then.

did anyone really think they'd both be retained??? These headlines make me laugh. More bloggers and hockey writers providing profound insight into the NHL trade season. If they are in fact traded, I make the bold prediction it will be in the next 6 days.

As soon as I read that quote from Holland, I knew there was going to be at least one thread about it. Words are meaningless. Actions are what matters. Let's see what happens by the deadline.

Bad idea. Why would the owners want to screw with this? I thought the idea of overtime was trying to decide an eventual winner. Shortening a power play isn't going to help that. Unless they're trying to create more shootouts.

you can't see it from that angle, but he actually wrote his hotel room number on a puck that he's pushing towards her with his stick...

Honestly I'd take Lapointe back, but not at 2.4 mill. It seems like you hate him a little beyond his actual performance. yes, he was -14 on the 1997 Wings, but I don't remember the situation well enough as to why that would be so. Lapointe isn't a selke candidate, but he never struck me as a massive liability. and for what it's worth, he was a +17 on the 2000 wings and a +12 on the 2002 Bruins. He's posted both good and terrible +/- stats throughout his career. I don't think you can tell a whole lot from that stat alone. He loves to plant himself in front of the net, he's tough, and he'd be good for around 20-30 points on the Wings. He's just been way overpaid since he left Detroit. Lapointe is a good role player who's been paid like a powerforward.

To me his body language says he's using every once of stength he has not to glance at their... skirt. The Wings used the Score-o girls back in the mid to late 80s when they had trouble selling tickets to games. and as I said before, I'm guessing he stays there because he doesn't want anyone scraping the shavings out of his crease.

No, it hasn't been that alone, but it's definitely a big factor. And I think we've made some goalies look better than they were. In the playoffs everyone sits back and collapses around the goaltender to block more shots. So the ones that do get through often aren't quality scoring chances. They're low percentage shots from the perimeter. It's the same old song and dance, but the Wings need to be able to cycle the puck in the corners and have guys crashing the net if they want to score in the postseason. They're not gonna be able to dipsy-doodle around in the offense zone like they can in the regular season.