Hank

I'd hate it! Just like I dispised the Heatley penalty late in the game. That was a terrible call. But I hated it for 2 reasons: 1. It wasn't a penalty. 2. The ref used it as a make-up call. Essentially that tells every fan and player that "We've been f**king you over all game long so here's a freebie". It acknowledges what a poor job they've done. I really hope they call the standard evenly for game 3 and none of that ticky-tack crap like Howard's slashing or Abby's interference. And most of the shenanigans that are taking place out there will end the minute one of the zebra's grows a pair and calls the Sharks for diving. It embarrasses the officials and the NHL.

Does anyone have the replay of Howard's slashing call? A friend of mine refuses to believe how badly this game was officiated and I wanted to use this as an example. P.S. I though the Sharks played very well and out-muscled us for most loose pucks. But the soft calls at the beginning didn't help in the least.

Again, who's to say he hasn't? Some of these athletes do insane amounts of charity work we never hear about (Crosby included). If Crosby came out and said "I called Lidstrom to apologize" people would say "Listen to Sid brag about how awesome he is". EDIT: Beat me too it Micah. The only person that deserved an apology for that is Lidstrom and for all we know Sid already made it. How come it's alright to assume in favor against Sid, but not the other way? Call out Crosby for whining and diving early in his career. He deserves it. But the reasons provided by the OP are beyond ridiculous. It's hilarious to me that someone calls him out for being immature by giving immature reasons.

Excellent point. In my mind, Crosby doesn't have to earn anyone's respect. Yes, he was a whiner and diver in the beginning of his career. Big deal. So was Gretzky and Lemieux. And so was Forsberg. He's far more mature now and he's only 22. Just look at how insanely immature many act on this message board. Now imagine giving some of us $20M and a Cup. I imagine the douchery that would take place would eclipse anything we saw on Jersey Shore. I mean, look at this ridiculous thread. Who's calling the kettle black?

This is such a joke. Why not just create a thread that says "I hate Crosby because". There's no pleasing Crosby haters. None. The kid can't do anything right no matter how he acts. And let me get this straight, he was supposed to say "I got lucky with that goal"? Give me a break! First it wasn't luck, it was skill. Second, I wouldn't expect anyone on the ice to say that trash if they scored. And really, we're still on the handshake deal? Chelios went out of his way not to shake hands in 07 but that's okay. But Crosby gets stuck in an interview and genuinely forgets and he's vilified. Even after Lidstrom said it was an oversight by Sid, not a slight. I wish these haters wouldn't try to mask their reasons. Just say you hate him because you hate him. If anyone else in the league did these things (ie Ovechkin, Carter, Marleau, Savard) nobody would say boo. But everyone hates Sid. He didn't demand to be the NHL's poster boy. He didn't ask to be on every commercial. I can guarantee you people would hate him if he asked to stop being profiled. If he pushed a kid with a camera he'd be boiled and feathered. Why does AO get a pass on that? The kids insanely talented, has respect for the game and others and is humble. Stop nitpicking every incident trying to find dirt on him. Get a life.

So they have Tatar lining up the middle eh? I was wondering if he'd be better as a winger. And if he's on the 4th line, wouldn't it be better if they had him playing top minutes in Plymouth? Glad to see Emmerton finally explode for some offense.

Thanks for the insight. I remember reading and hearing so many of the Wings brass/scouts comment on how Emmerton was a steal in the 2nd round. They really felt he was first pick material. I know he contracted mono in his first year after the draft and that slowed him up. He also played for an offensively challenged Kingston team. But like you said, with all the mini-hype he's been given by the Wings staff I would expect him to be a point-per-game guy in the AHL by now. I also agree wholeheartedly with your assessment on Mursak. Seems he has a high ceiling but has had trouble reaching for it. I just hope Tatar develops like so many believe he can.

I have to say, I'm a little bummed that Emmerton hasn't turned out to be what I had hoped. I know he's young and could still turn into something good, but I was hoping he'd be on the top line in the AHL by now. I had heard Nill talk about how much he reminded him of Cory Stillman. That got me excited. But as of right now, for those who've seen him play personally, how far away from the NHL is he? Or does he even have a prayer of becoming a regular NHLer at this point?

I'm tired of hearing all these 'experts' saying how the Penguins will win their division and probably have a shot at the Cup again. No they won't. They were lucky to have beaten us last year. We were physically and mentally drained from the previous season. Babock (and countless other coaches) have spoken about how winning the Cup makes for a short tiring summer because of the party's etc. And then when you start up you're reminded of how tough that climb is again. Pittsburgh will suffer the same fate. However, unlike the Wings, the Pens don't have nearly as much depth along the wings or defence. After their two 20-goal scorers in Kunitz and Guerin who's their next best wingers? 15-goal scoring sensations Fedentenko and Kennedy? OOOH! Yes, they have amazing depth down the center position (even though Staal is overrated), but their also thin on the blueline. After Gonchar and Letang they have a collection of 6th and 7th dmen. And lets not forget who just joined their division - Chris "F*** YOU" Pronger. How do you think Sid and Shrek are going to like tasting his elbows 6 times a year? You don't think that's going to wear on them? Or what if they meet them in the playoffs? I can't wait to hear Pens fans ***** and moan when they get to watch Pronger's 'physics' at work when he's body-slamming, elbowing or checking them into oblivion 80' feet away from the puck with no call. I know I had a blast watching Zetterberg receive more minor penalties than Pronger in last years 2nd round matchup with the Ducks. We're used to seeing that trash. Pittsburgh's players and their fans are going to have a stroke when they get to witness the Pronger double-standard in person. It also doesn't help that a lot of teams got tougher in the offseason while the Pens got weaker. Gill and Scuderi are both gone. That's quite a bit of sandpaper that flew the coop. I'm also not sold on Fleury being able to remain mentally stable for an entire year. In the end, I think Pittsburgh will make the playoffs but it won't be easy. And I see them getting bounced very early on in the playoffs. Too thin, too tired, and too many other teams got better around them.

I agree. After the top 4-5 teams in the East the rest are garbage. In the West, it really doesn't matter what seed you are, you're a good team. From 1-12 the West is extremely strong. There aren't any Islanders, Lightning, Senators, Thrashers, Leafs in the West to beat up on.

East Wash (weakest division) Bos (2nd weakest division) Philly Car NJ Pit Buf NYR (Lundqvist cures all) West Van SJ Det Chi Ana Cgy Min CBus

Yes Staal is overrated. He makes $4M to put up 45 points. And watching him on the ice his thought process is extremely slow. I couldn't give a crap if he's considered the leagues best 3rd line centre. Big freakin' deal. In the exhibition game on Sunday he was their best player. But he screwed up at least 8 quality chances from making poor decisions or hanging onto the puck too long. And when you consider he'll be dishing the puck to highly regarded players such as Matt Cooke or Pascal Dupius his threat as an offensive player diminishes even greater. I don't believe for one second that the Cup winner is automatically considered the best team in hockey when the next season comes around. It's a case-by-case scenario. I don't recall anyone singing praises for the '94 Habs. I recall New Jersey not even making the playoffs in '96. Pittsburgh is a solid team, no doubt. But they have a lot of holes. Guerin is old and will need Crosby to basically bank shots off his ass to score more than 30. They better rely on Fluery and a lot of PP goals to save energy over a compacted 82 games this year - not to mention the Olympics. If anyone truly believes that the Pens are still the favorite to win the Cup, I say put your money where your mouth is. Bet me a case of beer or $20 that they win their division or make it past the 2nd round.

That's the difference. The Wings suffered a bad 1st round exit after the lockout. But they've been near perfect the next 3 seasons. If not for fatigue and injuries we'd have 3 Cups in a row. Pittsburgh isn't nearly as deep as the Wings so I don't see them repeating this year. In fact, I'll be impressed if they even make it back to the conference Finals. The East isn't as defensively skilled as the West, but they're meaner. So unless the Pens draw an easy opponent in the 1st round it's going to be tough sledding. Imagine if they got Philly first? FINISHED.

Is there even enough booze in the Metro Detroit area to quench the alcoholic thrust that possesses Ed Belfour?

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I thought he played well at times, but at other times he really struggled to win puck battles - especially in the finals (as did a lot of players). There were a lot of moments where he'd be in the corner protecting the puck only to fall over as soon as anyone applied pressure to him. The thing about Filpulla is that he might be one of the only tradeable commodities. First, at this point, he's being overpaid. Second, he's still young so his trade value will be high. Third, he's not a vet that took a paycut to stay here. If you trade a guy like Homer, for example, what happens is maybe some of the other guys won't take hometown discounts because they're worried their trust will be betrayed and shipped out of town. That's how Holland's been able to keep this team together through a salary cap world. It's a fine line he's treading and he knows if he signs a guy to a discounted deal and then ships him out, others might not be so willing to take less. We could be facing a Cap that's $9M less than what it is now in the 2010-2011 season. If we resign guys like Hossa and still have Lids, Rafalski, Zetts and Dats on the books, we might have to shed $3M somewhere and that would start with Filpulla. And since he's young he'll be able to give us a sweet return. That's the point I was trying to make.

I didn't think Filpulla played all the well. He lost a number of puck battles and at times it seemed that he could be knocked down with a hard sneeze. I like the kid, but I wouldn't be disappointed if he were shipped out of town. He could develop into a better player down the road, but right now he's too weak and doesn't shoot enough. I think Helm could rack up more points in the same situation as Filpulla and he's a fraction of the price.

Neither have our players or coach. P.S. Watch that first step off the bandwagon. It's a doozy. P.S.S. I remember a heck of a lot of crying coming from Therien last year regarding the officiating. "Waaaa! Waaa! Call penalties! WAAA! Our players aren't used to backchecking or defensive systems! WAAA! We're from the Eastern Conference where we don't play defense! WAAA!!!"

LOL!

You must have a lot of them troll.

I don't think we lacked toughness. Look how we played against Columbus and Anaheim. And even Chicago. We were just too banged up from those teams to be as physical against the Pens. However, I'm always looking to get a bit more sandpaper on the Wings. And to me, that starts with jetisoning Filpulla. I like the kid but too often he could be pushed off the puck with ease. And I think he has too much talent to be wasted on the 3rd line, but not enough (at this point) to be on our 2nd line. This team would be better off with Dats and Zetts centering their own line and then giving the keys to the checking line to Helm. Franzen-Zetterberg-Leino Cleary-Datsyuk-Hossa Abdelkaeder-Helm-Homer Kopecky-Draper-Maltby With that lineup, all 4 lines have grit and hands. Plus, we added 3 youngsters who are full of piss and vinegar. We could deal Filpulla and get some picks/youngsters. He could probably fetch a good NHLer right now, but we're tight against the Cap if we resign Hossa. I know that this opinion won't be a popular one, but this would help our Cap situation and possibly give us room to gain more grit or just save that cash for a deadline deal.

In truth, the turning point was when Lidstrom had a ******** speared from his body and Datsyuk sustained his own serious injuries. Pittsburgh deserves the Cup because they outplayed us over 7 games. However, I have a feeling it's a completely different outcome if both Datsyuk and Lidstrom were at least marginally healthy. Same with Cleary, Rafalski and Homer. I know that Gonchar was playing on a bad knee, but I don't think the Pens were even remotely as banged-up as the Wings. That's the benefit of playing in the Eastern Conference where it's a glorified pond-hockey tournament. The West is a war, while the East is a paintball tournament. I've been saying this for years, but the only time an East team has a shot at the Cup is if the West finalist is too banged up from the previous 3 rounds. I believe that to be true this year too. The Wings had more depth in every position but we simply ran out of gas. Making it as deep as they have 3 years in a row, and sustaining some pretty serious injuries will do that to you.

I know we didn't win the Cup. But I can't help but be proud of this team. We nearly pulled off a repeat (nearly impossible in today's era). And if it weren't for some of the horrific injuries our star players had I believe we would have done it. Give me even a 70% Lidstrom and Datsyuk for all 7 games, and we win this thing. With the exception of one or two players, I think everyone gave 100% and did all they could. We were just too banged up and physically & mentally exhausted. I hope the boys can rest up and try to enjoy their summer. It'll be a long road next year after playing so much hockey over the past 3 seasons. See you in September!

Can anyone tell me how Satan's slewfoot near the end of the period on Cleary wasn't the exact same play that Kronwall made, and was CALLED FOR, on Malkin? It's really, really getting ridiculous with how much teams are allowed to get away with against the Wings. Anaheim could do whatever they wanted, Chicago couldn't breath on us, but now we're back to the Anaheim standard with Pittsburgh.

I agree with you. But I don't know how even Ducks fans couldn say that our non-calls were as flagrant as theirs. On XM this morning they played a sound bite from the Ducks radio duo that were commenting on how Pronger got away with the Hossa bodyslam. And these two guys are giant homers. And the Pronger interference in Game 6 was absolute horsecrap. There was a ref right near by. If Stuart's was an interference call (borderline - in real time it looked like he had simply finished his check. the ref didn't blow it down until he saw Selanne was lying in a pool of Stuart destruction), then surely Pronger's should have been one. In the end, Detroit and Anaheim probably both got away with some hooks, grabs or picks. But the blatant crap was all on Anaheim's side. Pronger interferred so much in this series that I thought I was watching 2001 hockey. The refs not blowing calls for them, helped them a lot more as they were able to dirty it up and prevent a lot more chances. Not calling interference and body slams doesn't help the Wings. It helps a team like Anaheim and it's the only reason this went 7 games.

LOL! Dr.Gin now owns the internet for the day. Great post!