Dabura

He's just not a Babcock player.

Philly's gonna win the rest of their games. Because that's how this season works.

One day it's gonna come out that the entire 3/26/97 game was staged. Like the moon landing.

I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT I STARTED FIGHTING FOR

About that power play...we're 0-for-11 in our past three games. Again, I didn't see this game, so I can't really comment. But I feel like we're really missing Z and D on the zone entries - and that's just getting into the zone and setting up, never mind the cycle. Also, I think Alfie is really missing Helm. He's gone ice cold. Unfortunately, I don't think we can count on Helm playing more than two more games for us this season, if that.

Didn't catch this game, but I gather it was rather ugly. Good that we got the two points, but these past three games (this one included) don't bode well at all for this upcoming stretch. We're gonna have to find another level, somehow, some way. As for Smith - I'd say keep him on a shorter leash, but Malik brought up a good point over at this blog: Kronwall and Ericsson are gassed. They were leaned on very heavily in Sochi, and it's showing, and, given our schedule, that's gonna be a major issue. Our other defensemen are gonna have to step up in a big way. Ohgodkylequincey.

That's what I like about this kid. He's not straightforward, cookie-cutter. He surprises you. I mean, what a statement. Tiny Euro sniper call-up steps onto our Big Men's League Roster and dishes one of the best hits we've put on all season. He looks like Kronwall there!

This has probably been posted: Pulkkinen's "stall" I love that the "To whom much is given..." sign is visible. lolz. Also, I didn't watch last night's game. Is it true that he threw an old-school open-ice hip check...on the power play?? If so, he deserves a spot on the roster next season just for that. EDIT: Just saw the video. That was awesome.

Nice try, Anthony.

I'm just saying we need a better top three. Kenny shouldn't be afraid to be ruthless about it. There's no rule that states you can only have one really good defensemen at any time. Load up! (If at all possible!)

I want to take shots at them, but, truth is, we're not exactly sitting pretty ourselves.

I was gonna say something here earlier today, but I lost interest. But, reading about Smith's latest screwup, I'm feeling interested again. There's a lesson in Smith's struggles. Actually, there's a few - but the one I'm talking about is the one I've mentioned before, which is this: Being a solid defenseman in the NHL is really hard. Point being, don't expect Sproul and Ouellet to ride into town on magical unicorns and be top-four defensemen right off the hop like it's no big s*** cuz they're just that good. They're not that good. Not yet, anyway. ("Not yet, anyway"? Oh man, it's that time of night when words look weird.) I'd like to see us sign Boyle and trade for Ehrhoff or Edler, someone good. The last time we won the Cup, our top three defensemen were Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall.

I read that as Ken and Mick. lolz.

One thing I really don't get is Babs' belief that we need to win games 2-1. Maybe that works for Team Canada (aka The Greatest Hockey Team Ever Assembled), but not for us. Not with our blue line and goaltending.

Ah, Kyle Quincey. On one hand, I feel I'm too hard on him. He's been playing like a legitimate #4, yet our blue line still kinda blows. Conclusion? The problem's bigger than Quincey. It's more our top three. And that's on Holland. On the other hand, Quincey's boneheaded mistakes singlehandedly cost us goals and games and points. If we miss the playoffs by a few points, it's his fault more than anyone else's. No worries, I wasn't attacking your post. Just a general point I wanted to get off my chest. WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING?! (Part of it is that my back pain is flaring up. I fear the kidney stones are back. (Pun?) Everyone tells me that passing kidney stones can be as or more painful than giving birth. Being a guy, I can neither confirm nor deny this. But I can tell you it's the worst pain I know. So, just imagine that I'm giving birth as I'm posting here. My stress level should make more sense then.) (Not that this whole trading our best prospect to help us keep the streak alive only to give away two must-win games and drop to a 39% chance of making the playoffs because a team of professional millionaire athletes can't be bothered to stay healthy or play a 60-minute game business isn't stressing me.)

He's got a long way to go if that's his goal. Not that I don't like Sproul, but Weber's pretty much one of a kind.

Have we sucked in the shootout because of injuries? Have we sucked at home because of injuries? Have we been unable to hold a lead because of injuries? Has Quincey singlehandedly cost us 20 goals because of injuries? Was Nyquist held off the roster for the oh-so-valuable Cleary because of injuries? Have we failed to play more than a couple 60-minute games this season because of injuries? Howard hasn't been anything close to what we need him to be, but is that simply because of his injuries and injuries to the guys in front of him? Injuries have hurt us. (Pun.) But there's more than that to our struggles.

But we've beaten the Islanders and Panthers. The Titanic never beat the iceberg. Not that I don't understand where you're coming from. Both those teams can f*** off and die.

It just occurred to me that we're carrying two of the Predators' most iconic players in Tootoo and Legwand. Why is this season so bizarro world?

Well, we know he's a no-talent thug. So, at the very least, he breaks Taylor Hall's arm. (Taylor Hall only has one arm.)

Which I think is probably the right way to go. Certainly better than selling the farm for Weber, who, as far as I know, didn't express a real interest in being a Red Wing when Holland sat down with him (which is, as far as I know, why Holland didn't bother throwing an offer sheet at him). I mean, don't get me wrong, I want Weber on this team as much as the next guy. But I think Dan Boyle should be our #1 target. Pour everything into landing him in the summer.

The one thing that should really work in Pulks's favor is that Babs has complained, quite explicitly, that we don't shoot the puck enough, and that that's a big reason why we're always hurting for goals. Given that, and the fact that we've scored all of one goal across our last two games (against the Rangers and Jackets, two beatable teams), and the fact that our PP hasn't been getting it done...to me, that should at least get Pulkkinen into game action. On a more general note - it's kinda weird to me that we've had all this success with rookies and call-ups, but we're so hesitant to give this kid and his ten-ton cannon a legitimate...shot. (Pun.) I mean, I can understand the reasoning. Bertuzzi's actually been reasonably productive (and a threat on the PP), so swapping him for a diminutive, defensively suspect call-up probably won't give us more than what we'd get by just keeping Bertuzzi in. But we won't really know for sure unless we try. And, again, it's not like our rookie forwards haven't been blowing away expectations all season long.

So what would our iceberg be? I suppose it would have to be a team that beat us 3-4 times and basically stole 2-3 points from us, because we suck, and now those points are going to come back to haunt us, like the gashes along the side of the Titanic. So, basically, f*** Tampa Bay.

I'm agreeing with you a lot this afternoon.

Didn't the captain of the Titanic kill himself? Or was that just the movie? Was that even the captain? These are serious questions and I need serious answers.