Dabura

Thanks! I don't know why my link stopped working. OP has been updated.

Wait, maybe it's just the second one that's not working...? At any rate, one of my big takeaways from this is that a wrestling match between Darren McCarty and Steve Yzerman literally almost killed the latter. Mad crazy irony right there.

So...the links are working for you all? Because, for whatever reason, they're not working for me at the moment.

At this point I just feel really bad for the guy, no hard feelings against him. I don't think it's a matter of trying harder, wanting it more, etc. His body is simply done with this sport called ice hockey. It's had enough, and it wants out.

So, there's a good chance Pavel Datsyuk - one of the very best and most admired and respected and well-liked hockey players on the planet, and one of the current faces of the Detroit Red Wings and Russian hockey - could miss this season's Winter Classic (Detroit), aka The Biggest Hockey Game Ever, and possibly even the Winter Olympics (Russia). Awesome.

Datsyuk still iffy with concussion [Malik]

*March 26

My big issue with this vigilante justice that many of you are clamoring for is that it might very well re-write something of an unwritten rule in the NHL, which is: Do not try to get to the Detroit Red Wings *that way*. The way it is now, we play the Hurricanes, Muller scratches Westgarth; we play the Bruins, Julien scratches Thornton; we play the Sabres, Nolan scratches Scott; we play the Canadiens, Therrien scratches Parros (and Murray). It's an unwritten hockey code unto itself. It's a show of respect. It's a pretty good deal. On the other hand, the Bruins play the Sabres...and Scott crushes Eriksson. Because, hey, fair game. Sure, every now and then something is going to happen. Weber almost took Z's head off, and Cowen caught Dats "on the button." But, you know what? I'd rather we take our chances with a once-every-two-or-three-years occurrence than basically tell the rest of the league, "We are the Detroit Red Wings and we will fight you!!!" That's what opposing coaches and thugs want us to say. They want us to give them the green light. They want us to dress a wildly out-of-place enforcer on our skill-centric team. They want us to get away from our game. That's why a guy would take a calculated run at Z or D in the first place. It's a bigger picture strategy thing. And it doesn't work. If anything, it generally makes us better. I mean, just look at how good we've been since we lost Dats (and he'll be back soon enough, and we'll be even better). You could argue that, if the goal is to establish supremacy over us and soften us up for the rest of the league, taking out our best player was the single most stupid thing the Sens could've done. I don't think they go to bed last night thinking, "Ha! Datsyuk's still out! The last laugh! Haha!" Don't get me wrong. I'm all for sticking up for yourself and your team mates and your team and your organization. I'm all for this team being tougher, more physical, grittier, harder to play against. But you have to be at least halfway reasonable about it. It can't be, "Datsyuk got caught with an elbow in a regular season game, in November. Accordingly, we must sign and dress at least three enforces and re-enact March 27, 1997 or else we suck and should just forfeit the season." This isn't the '80s, this isn't the Norris Division. Nor is it Lemieux-on-Draper. It's a deliberately careless elbow and a choppy, chippy game from a floundering, ultra-frustrated division rival that might not even make the playoffs. And last night we beat them in their own building and further strengthened the notion that, if it was a better chance at a Cup that he was looking for, Alfie made the right choice in signing with the Red Wings. We're second in the division and third in the conference, just a few points back of the Bruins and Penguins. And that's without our best player, our third-best defenseman, an important part of this season's first line, last season's Jimmy Howard, and, basically, our second-line center. So, at the moment, I'm pretty damn happy with, and proud of, this team.

I would also like to give props to Brian Lashoff. He had a strong game, and has, generally, been solid and invisible (in a good way) for us.

I feel like even the boos are kind of a show of respect. Not intentionally, of course - but the idea is that he meant and means enough to them that he's worth booing. Or maybe I'm really reaching. Overall, I thought the reception was a bit more positive than I had been expecting. I had thought there'd be some really heavy booing during the actual game. But, like Mike Johnson said, it was kind of middling.

So happy! Very close game. Very big win. Alfie's empty-netter was the perfect ending/transition point for his story. Monster is clutch. Tatar was very impressive. Franzen is delivering. Miller's stepping up. Love it.

Remember, folks, this one starts at 5:30 (EST). So, half an hour from now. Actually, more like 20 minutes.

I guess the official story is that we've been high on Edler for a long while now. We were going to take him in the draft (Hakan liked him), but we lost out and took Franzen instead. Then, years later, we tried to trade for him, but the Canucks wanted four pieces (one of them being a first-round pick), which was one or two too many for Kenny. I do think trading for Edler is something we should very seriously consider. He wouldn't come in and replace Kronwall as our #1 on the back end, but he would give us an actual top four, which we don't have right now. As I've said before, we have a top three and a black hole. If winning (the Cup) now is something we want to be truly serious about, we need a solid top four. We seem to have sort of the "inside track" on Edler, which is great because it's virtually impossible to acquire a top-four defenseman these days. So, to me, this seems like it might have the potential to be kinda sorta maybe a gift from The Hockey Gods. Or a slightly Babcockian Opportunity/piece of cheese that's there for the taking, if you want it enough. Or something. One thing to consider about Edler: he's 27. So, probably heading into his prime. (Ericsson didn't come around until he was 28ish, which is pretty much normal for defensemen.)

FWIW, Malik thinks we might try for Edler again, at or around the trade deadline. http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/red-wings-senators-set-up-and-overnight-report-its-also-about-us I believe we're a top-four defenseman away from being a legitimate contender. The concern, of course, would be what we'd be parting with.

This is a really good read: Daniel Alfredsson Returns [silver Seven] It covers, among other things, Alfie's ealy trials and tribulations as a Sen. I had always assumed it was smooth sailing from the very beginning, but apparently it wasn't... Makes me think the seeds for Alfie's departure were planted long ago.

I want this win so badly.

That stretch pass up the middle to Alfie was gorgeous. That's the kind of thing we need more of from our D and maybe especially from Smith (whose big thing is puck movement, offensive instincts).

If I could have my way, they (the Sens) would play the absolute best game they're capable of playing, and we'd demolish them on the scoreboard and in the face-punching department. But if I have to choose one of the two forms of "payback," I want the win. And, really, we don't necessarily have a whole lot to prove by punching faces. If anything, gooning it up would probably make us seem weaker. Everyone knows we don't do it. We just don't. No team has really been able to change that for awhile now. Why give the Sens the bragging rights there? Maybe we beat them in a fight or two, but, ultimately, they might claim bragging rights. They might say they were the team that broke the Wings' principle, that got them to cave, that really, really got to them. Then we'd probably be cheap-shotted even more, if teams found out they could really get us off our game and help their cause against us. Then maybe a team like Boston starts dressing Shawn Thornton against us. But putting that to the side - Why did Alfie come here? Because he felt he needed more protection on the ice? No. He signed here because he felt he'd have a good shot at the Cup here. So if we really want to make a statement tomorrow, in a game that is absolutely 100% about 1) Alfie and 2) finding out which team really does look like more of a contender, we'd be wise to do our very best to blow these guys away, on the scoreboard. Or on the scoreboard and in the face-punching department. But if only one, the scoreboard. We shouldn't alter our game, our strategy, our philosophy - not for tomorrow's game, at least. Especially with how well we've done the past couple games, without having to face-punch. IMHO

I heard Cowen was healthy-scratched for the past game or two. I don't think I saw him in the Canucks game. It's probably just because he sucks (most Sens fans will tell you he's the worst defenseman they've ever seen and the sole cause of their poor start. Or, at least, the ones I've talked to and read), but I kinda wanna believe MacLean is also mad at him for possibly lighting a fire under this team's collective ass and perhaps making the Sens sort of The Bad Guys in this blooming division rivalry. Because, seriously, who elbows Pavel Datsyuk in the jaw? I could understand if it was, like, Kronner. But Datsyuk? Really?

So, maybe this is kind of a retread of a thousand threads that have come before. But I'm gonna try to make it unique-ish, because I think we may be in new-ish territory. So, here's what I'm thinking/wondering. It's pretty simple, really. Basically, we've been going on and on about how this team needs more pure skill, more speed. We're too blue-collar, too cement-handed, too pluggy. Too many garbage "grinder" scrubs. But, in the wake of last night's s*** show, many people seem to be saying, "See?! THIS is why we need to get bigger and tougher and meaner! No more of this Euro-skill crap! Big Bad East!" So which one is it? Say we target an impact player or two. Are we looking for a Shanny '97 effect? (Maybe that's a stupid question. Of course we are.) Do we want a Steve Ott instead of a Joakim Andersson, a Colton Orr instead of a Drew Miller? Or do we just need someone who can put the puck in the freaking net, e.g. a ("soft") sniper like Gaborik? Or is this whole debate a non-issue? Is this just a matter of our defense and/or goaltending not being where it needs to be? (Certainly I feel we'd be infinitely more formidable without Kyle Quincey shooting us in the collective foot every game. And certainly Jimmy has to be better.) Or is it a combination of things? Or, more correctly: Is there no one glaring issue here? Is this perhaps an everything-that-could-be-wrong-is-wrong situation? What do you think?

How about a first line of Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Jurco?

So is the blue part supposed to be a cape? Because if you look at it that way, the stupid v dealy at the neck makes sense.

Jimmy's starting against the Islanders. Monster's starting against the Senators. Why go that way? Well, consider: - Monster is 6-0-1. That one loss came against...the Islanders - Jimmy has had some rough games. At least one of them was against...the Senators I assume that's more or less the logic Babs is using.

Oh, we definitely have a bright future waiting in GR, no doubt about it. I'm just talking more about the here and now and immediate future. If Smith could flip a switch and own the #4 spot, I'd be happy. I just think a big UFA signing would be preferable because it'd give us solid depth, which we definitely lack right now, and it might take some pressure off of Smith. I would say so. And he's our #2, who's entering his prime years now, so it really is a good deal.