dicksmack

Wrong. Not this year he isn't. Rafalski is outscoring him and Lidstrom has looked mortal all year long.

Damn it must be nice to be the best in the world at something.

Ovechkin's obviously the greatest goal-scorer around. Most complete? That'd be Datsyuk...

He should make if it if he keeps scoring at his current 1.24 ppg clip. 13pts in 11 games is 1.18ppg. Datsyuk sure took that game over last night!

To you that definition means that the award must go to a "shutdown" forward. The years a high-scoring, two-way forward won the Selke (Fedorov, Gilmour and Datsyuk) the field of candidates playing a strictly "shutdown" game and HAVING STRONG seasons was sparse. To say these two-way guys didn't deserve the award is kind of laughable. And last year, Hank played a similar style of game as Pav but Pav was MUCH BETTER at it... Hands down, forwards and backwards (literally). Hank is not a "shutdown" forward. He's too good offensively to play that role to the benefit of the team.

Pav doesn't need help obtaining pucks, yet I don't mean to diminish Homer's ability at mucking and winning puck battles but if he gets caught up ice, or even in a race, he's toast. Homer's main role is on the pp in front of the net. I think he has more skill than he gets credit for but as far as five on five play goes, he isn't going to inflate anybody's +/-...

Art Ross Trophy - Malkin, PIT Lester B. Pearson - Ovechkin, WAS Hart Trophy - Thomas, BOS Vezina Trophy - Thomas, BOS Norris Trophy - Chara, BOS Calder Trophy - Mason, COL Lady Byng Trophy - Datsyuk, DET Selke Trophy - Datsyuk, DET Rocket Richard Trophy - Ovechkin, WAS Jack Adams Trophy - McLellan, SJS I picked Datsyuk for the Selke again due to the following: Unlike other elite scorers, Datsyuk thinks defense first at all times. His back-checking is the best I've seen. He doesn't need to cherry pick as he can stickhandle past guys with ease. That his +/- is at the top of the league is amazing given the performance of the goalies and the D this year. His line-mates have varied this year aside from that SPEED DEMON Holmstrom, who's been with him all year. This cancels out any advantage in terms of linemates, I think. Datsyuk's +/- is due to his defense-first approach, not his linemates. Pav's high takeaway/low giveaway ratio, his faceoff win %, his high +/-, his strength and his ability to clear the defensive zone with mind-bending moves are all in the "Win" column for the Selke. There is no "shutdown" line on the Wings top 2 lines. They go against the league's best interchangably, which is quite a luxury for Coach Babcock. You just can't put Datsyuk in a primarily defensive role because of his elite scoring ability--it's strategically silly; however, if you did, he be the best at it. Last year, Datsyuk's league best two-way ability trumped the whole "primary shut-down role" argument. He's that good. For me, it comes down to Datsyuk and Richards. Somehow, I think the Wings' being famous for poor defensive play this year may undeservedly taint Datysuk's reputation for a great two-way game. But how many nights when the Wings gave up 6 or move goals did you see Pav even or +1?

Very proud of the Wings today! What a complete all-around game that was... on back2backs no less... Satisfaction!

Geez... would it kill the NHL to give us a back to back game at home?

Exactly. Most teams will get grade A scoring chances on a 5 on 3 and even when you execute it right you can still hit the crossbar like Lidstrom did (btw, USED to be good on the one-timer?) or have a goalie like Kipper come up big. Due to Lidstrom's great shot, the Wings like to collapse the pk'ers a bit and he shoots the one-timer at very acute angle, which is harder to do. It's clear though that the 5 on 3 has been a big factor in the Wings playoff fortunes the last couple of years... It seems as though the team with the pivotal 5 on 3 advantage had the harder task due to the pressure. The Wings missed their final chance against the Ducks and the Pens missed theirs against us. You see alot of times the Wings don't score on the 5 on 3 but get it 5 on 4. As long as they get it... Still, with Hossa on the 2nd unit, I don't think other teams will want to be down 5 on 3 against the Wings.

Add Lidstrom as well... This is basically nonsense. It's jealousy pure and simple. I wouldn't pay much attention to it at all. Scoring more goals than your opponent is the name of the game in hockey and the Wings score the most. Aside from the lack of fighting (the Wings have Kronwall and Stuart to land the big hits but the whole team can play physically in the playoffs as we've seen) and the tactic of shooting the puck into the goalies chest or glove to get the offensive zone face-off, there's nothing to discuss. And since the Wings are so good on face-offs, in terms of the latter issue, it often makes for scoring chances, so it kind of cancels out.

Rafalski has been prone to a lot of costly giveaways this year.

Kopecky thinks he's Hossa! And Franzen can finish...

Hey Pittsburgh homer, Datsyuk can score points like these guys and has a Selke.

Lilja got smoked, no question.

Yeah, Lilja's no enforcer as I've said all along. At least it sounds like he won't be out that long.

The only attempt to injure I saw was Giguere involving himself in something that didn't concern him. Those types of cross checks happen in just about every game in the NHL.

Kindl? He's depth alright... he's so deep he's up to his neck defensively... This kid would get eaten alive in the NHL, let alone the playoffs. He's nowhere near ready.

Listening to Don Cherry is like having a bigoted elderly relative at a family gathering who still calls an Asian person a "Chinaman"--everybody cringes when he speaks. As for the Wings being a boring team, that's the typical viewpoint of a jealous Leafs fan... Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Hossa, Hudler are boring players to watch? If you find the most skilled team in hockey boring there's no pill to help you. I don't care if the Wings play Minnesota-style hockey, they wouldn't be boring because of the skill level.

It's a good thing the Wings rule in the month of March!

Maybe he should switch to forward? I kid... But he could still anchor the 2nd pp unit in that case... As I said, I've seen him in only 10 games so far and I have to be honest... he's been brutal defensively at times. I can't think of another highly touted rear guard, prospect that has shocked me with how bad the defensive game is... You're right about him being kinda soft too. Then again look what the Wings have done with Lilja this year! if they can straighten that cat out, they can fix anybody! In which case, he'd be great.

Which other elite scorer will challenge for the Selke other than Datsyuk?

Five goals, 25 assists and a -12 in the AHL... Mind you, I've only watched him play ten or so games but he's usually in the minus and his defensive game is not good. His offensive potential is clear but he needs confidence here too. He's not an impressive player to me so far, I can't see why he's at #1. Clearly the Wings are hoping that when he's as old as Franzen and Leino when they started, he might be able to make an impact. He won't even get a sniff of the NHL till then any way.

Pavel Datysuk, it's not even close.