Heroes of Hockeytown

Helm and Flip getting their pockets picked early. That's enough of that, dudes.

It'll be interesting to see how the Wings stack up tonight and the next two games as well. All against opponents that will be fighting for their playoff lives in pretty much must-wins.

It would be marvelous if they could put the Hawks down for good. However, I think that will fall low on management's list of priorities, compared to resting their key players for the last two games. But as long as they don't ice a complete B-team they've got enough firepower to win one or both games. Still, being willing to lay out to block a shot, go hard into corners and to the net, etc, -- things that a team that has to win will do and things that a team that just wants to avoid injury won't -- could end up being important. But while it will definitely be impossible to match Chicago's intensity in those games, that's hardly the only determining factor in winning or losing.

I don't see why Nabokov should care at all about getting the Islanders' permission, seeing as he has no intention of playing for them. What are they going to do, slap with the dreaded secret double probation?

No more than icing it. It's easier, but not so much so that I prefer a real penalty to an icing-type infraction. If there were an intermediary punishment I'd use that, but I can't think of one, and a penalty has always been too severe for me. Anyways, hockey seemed to get along just fine without it for a century or so. I don't believe the product has been greatly improved by cheesy 5-on-3s and unlucky breaks off rolling pucks.

I hardly think it was an epidemic before the lockout. The same penalty as icing would be appropriate in my opinion.

The same guy it's been for the last, oh, decade or so.

It was a good show and I was happy to see it. However, I don't think the fight and the comeback are particularly causally related. The Wings were carrying the play before the refs bent them over and the bad times started. After they got out of Penalty City, USA, they pretty much got back to what they were doing beforehand.

There's two or three wins separating all the teams in the West besides Vancouver. There aren't any easy match ups; everybody is close, every team in dangerous.

Kronwall.

He really wanted a piece of O'Brien. I don't know if the second fight was the first time they were on the ice together since the first one, but he had the gloves off for 2-3 seconds waiting for O'Brien to oblige him.

Well that was out of nowhere. Great comeback, especially after that joke of a first period.

ALTGAP.

Oh my god. Please don't throw this game away.

No joke. I wonder how efficient they are at it relative to other teams in the NHL. They seem to bungle easy clears routinely.

Terrible, idiotic play by Salei. Preds were coming on strong anyways. Hold on a little longer, fellas...

Unreal. I thought for sure that was going in.

Hudler's had a few really nice hits(!!!) today.

Abdelkader, what a day.

You just know the Preds are going to clam up and try to hang on for the last 20 minutes. It's going to be tough to break through; fingers crossed for a good bounce or two.

Man oh man, I thought they had penalties they could've called against Cleary and Kindl about 30 seconds apart.

Yeah, that net bulge was tricky.

These guys have fanned on a lot of open passes.

Franzen cutting to the middle? Get out of here!

Draper you dummy.