Dabura

Also #3: the Leafs lost, so we're both 6-2-0, right? Huzzah! Also #4: I really hope Kronner's gonna be ok. *very worried face* Also #5: DAN GIRARDI Also #6: Seriously, I am LOVING the Alfredsson signing right now.

Huzzah! Like I said after the first goal: Franzen loves the Avs. Some incredibly terrible play, and we really do need to pick up a solid, veteran defenseman with a great first pass (with or without Kronwall) - but I'll take this win! Also: Daniel Alfredsson is the s***! Also #2: we won by more than a one-goal margin! P.S. Trembly gets the last laugh?

They're out-hitting us by 13. Ouch.

We really need to win this game. Which is now 20 mins. long.

He's in that weird place where it could go either way. If he doesn't score tonight, he kinda sucks. If he scores tonight, he has as many goals as Datsyuk, and two more than Franzen, and all three were big goals.

I hope Holland is working the phones re: a high-end defenseman. Which we needed even before Kronwall got hurt. Because our blue line? Not looking good.

Brutal period.

Good, solid period for the good guys.

Franzen loves the Avs.

Bury these bastards.

f*** THE AVS

No you're right. I just thought you were talking about Turtle Day.

Ah, didn't know that. Thanks.

LGRW!!! Wasn't it in March? Oh wait, I think you're talking about a different time. (?) No Redmond?

OK, maybe I just haven't read enough.

Interesting: I haven't seen or heard anything about Lemieux-on-Draper in the press, media...anywhere. I guess people sorta forget (or don't want to mention?) that that's really where it all began, what fueled the hatred. So Gusty's in net tonight?

Yup, true. Is he? Didn't know that. I learned something today!

Full circle stuff. Love it.

Agreed. But I think I like Zetterberg as a scoring force more.

Also agreed. Except, I think it was more bad decisions than anything else. But maybe that's why I'm not the head coach. I'd be really surprised if Holland traded Smith.

I like that Roy's been very humble about things. ("We have to earn back respectability, we're not on the same level as the Wings" - something to that effect.) I guess that makes me a big homer - but he's probably talking with his fingers crossed anyway. I really can't put into words how awesome the rivalry was. For a few years, it really was a blood feud. These guys absolutely hated each other, and so did their fans. I was, again, just a kid way back in the mid-90s, and I absolutely detested everything about the organization with all of my heart and soul. Healthy? Maybe not. But awesome? Yes. Remember, what was it, the '97 series?, when we won 6-0 at home, then went into their barn and lost 6-0? Just great narrative stuff like that, that's what really made the rivalry great, IMHO. It was like stuff out of a book or something.

I miss the rivalry. Big part of my childhood. Mackinnon was talking about watching clips of those classic games on YouTube. It made me feel old. LGW

Overall, I'm happy with where we're at. I do miss the old ways of the old days, when we could snooze for an entire game and still win by a four-goal margin, relying on our obscene collective skill level alone to carry us. But those days are long gone, and you know what? In a way, it's a good thing. Because it means every man has to really bring it every game or we're in trouble. I'm not necessarily saying our, say, blue line is better without Lidstrom, Stuart, and Rafalski (it's not), but you get the point. There can't be any coasting (unless you're Franzen) (OH YES I DID), and I like that. It brings out the best in the guys. It keeps them honest. Same idea with Helm and Nyquist being out. We're having to find a way to get things done without them, and so when they do finally return, it should - like Holland says - be like adding two big acquisitions to an already formidable lineup. I think the biggest and/or most plesant surprise - at least for me - has been Daniel Alfredsson. We're all expecting him to be a secondary or tertiary contributor, but so far he's been one of our most valuable players. (Alright, maybe not from the beginning of the season - but certainly over the past several games.) It's funnny because, the way Holland framed it, Alfie is supposed to be more of a goal-scorer and Weiss is supposed to be more of a playmaker. But it's sort of been the other way around, no?

1. DAN GIRARDI 2. Looks like a cheap shot, at least on the surface of it. I can see how maybe he was just focused squarely on something on the bench and for that reason he might not have really seen Stepan. But that does seem like a bit of a stretch. 3. Brouwer's not known as a dirty player, is he? My impression of him is that he is what he says he is - an honest, hard-working guy that's not prone to this kind of thing. That's the big thing that makes me think this might not be as clear-cut as it seems. Now, if this were, say, Ovechkin....

To be fair, Cleary is much better defensively, and he does still provide a good degree of "grit and such." I am, of course, a big Tatar fan, and I hate that he's not playing - but he is, at present, a smallish, one-dimensional scorer. Not necessarily saying I'd take Cleary over him, mind you. Just sayin'.