Dabura

This is exactly what I was going to write.

I think we all saw that coming.

Gotta be smarter, Smith.

White's hurt?

Were we this solid in the first period? We look damn good right now.

LASHOFF

Just got home. Sour that I missed the 1st, but oh well. What did I miss? No goals, apparently.

I took it to mean, Franzen is most comfortable (and performs best) when he's not the #1 Guy. Hossa is a known, and was a known at that point. He's one of the most consistent players in the league as far as production is concerned (and I'd also say as far as all-around commitment goes). Like I've said, maybe not a lamp-lighting force in the playoffs - but Franzen is? Put another way: "Hossa is a great regular season player but a playoff no-show" - take away Franzen's '08 run, and the statement's a pretty good fit for him as well. The guy plays like a big-bodied Brett Hull, minus the stuff that made Hull an elite asset. Hossa >>> Franzen. Kenny got the wrong guy. I know, hindsight blah blah blah. But, again, Hossa was a known. Franzen was still very much a question mark. Has he done anything since the signing to really make you say to yourself, "Thank GOD Kenny picked Franzen!"? You could say, "He scores 25-30 goals for us every season." So then why get on Hossa's case about disappearing in the playoffs and only being valuable in the regular season? And then there's the contract. That big blessed albatross.

No such thing as too much depth this "season." Or, if you're the Red Wings (who crumple when the wind blows, and slip on pucks in practice, and get their arms lacerated by skate blades), any season, really.

All true.

Lashoff's first response: "Do I have to?"

Trotz had grown weary of him, for reasons no one - to my knowledge - has really unearthed. (My theory? The whistles.)

We kinda sorta need to jump on Subban, methinks. Maybe someone could get Kenny really, really high. Slip him something, I dunno.

We need more people complaining about the complaining.

7-4 Wings. Three stars: Zetterberg (2G,1A), Brunner (1G,1A), some Blue Jacket (1G, 1A). Larry Murphy fights three Blue Jackets at once. I'm not sure how or why. (New crystal 8-ball has some kinks in it. ******* IKEA.)

Barnbrunner.

Sexy.

What's Dom up to these days?

As I said in the Kings-'hawks GDT - Hossa always tries. That's what I like about him. This Wings team needs more Hossas, fewer Franzens. It needs heart, effort, consistency, dogged determination. It needs some kind of edge, spark. It needs legs, speed, jump. How much is Franzen helping on these fronts? I'm not harping on what could've been. (Well, alright, maybe I am. A little.) I'm saying Hossa >>> Franzen. Another thing (and it's not necessarily in response to anything you just said, Playmaker): I don't really buy this "Franzen is a playoff beast, Hossa is not" line. Franzen had an amazing run way back when. And it was glorious. But, for the most part, he hasn't exactly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the postseason. I realize Hossa hasn't done much better, and he certainly hasn't had a run like Franzen did in '08, but, overall, and pound-for-pound, Hossa is the better player. Just sayin'.

Good point.

I guess the question is, Did he? Not that I really care, and not that it really matters at this point - I just kind of wonder why everyone seems to accept that everything and more was done to get at least one of these guys on our side, and in the end it just came down to them wanting to go to the Wild. I mean...was our Ultiimate Pitch the exact same as Minnesota's? (*Not saying it necessarily should've been.*) The way we talk about it around here, you'd think it was. I dunno. I don't consider the Wild a true contender. But, knowing our luck, I could see them bouncing us out of the 1st or 2nd round, and Parise lighting Howard up, and Suter demolishing us. And I imagine I'd cry a bit.

...and Datsyuk & Zetterberg combined for a whopping 0 shots on goal. Really hoping this game is not a sign of things to come.

'hawks just scored on a 5-on-3. Kane with a wicked shot. Hossa is buzzing. Engblom with (for once) an interesting tidbit. I guess Quick was battling terrible lower-back pain last spring. Could barely get out of bed, only felt "good" on the ice. Hockey: The Ultimate Drug.