Packer487

Someone gets it! (BTW, games 2 and 5 get ignored--so do the plays he made in game 4 vs. anaheim that helped keep our season alive--because it kills the argument....) Even if we are looking solely at stats, he's really not that bad (even without factoring in that he's likely hurt). 15 points, 4th on the team in scoring, 4th in goals, 1st in shots. With some more puck luck his numbers look a lot better. He's been snakebit at a bad time. He's had some bad games in this playoff run--tonight was one of them--but so has everyone on the team, Ozzie included.

Which is precisely the reason I'm convinced he's injured. It would make no sense for him to start slacking NOW. Except, ya know, helping to create two goals in our 3-1 win in Game 2, and helping to get us going in Game 5. I'm sure he's pressing. With the possible exception of Crosby, there's no player in this series with more pressure on him than Hossa. Maybe he's feeling the pressure, maybe he's injured, maybe some of both. I just don't believe that a guy with that much to play for just all of a sudden starts trying to ride people's coattails to the title. He's been good enough for us (and was good enough in the playoffs last year) to earn the benefit of the doubt. Osgod: He didn't play well tonight by any means. He also wasn't alone for the first 35 minutes of the game.

This is true, but our lead had evaporated. We HAD to have that game and he put us up two heading into the third, on the road. If we lose that game, our season is in all likelihood over. That alone should be enough to get people to cut the guy a little slack, especially considering he's fourth on the team in goals and points. It's not like he's been invisible. I'm sure he'd like to be playing better. I wish he was playing better. But it's stupid to suggest (as some have done) that he hasn't helped at all in the playoffs. It's simply not true. He was a big reason we got out of that Columbus series in four (and didn't risk sustaining even more injuries). He was a huge reason that we beat Anaheim. And even in the Finals, he played a huge role in the Game 2 win and helped to open the floodgates in Game 5. I don't have a problem with people saying that Hossa hasn't played up to expectations. I'm guessing he would be the first to admit that. I do have a problem with people questioning his effort (which has been fine...just because he isn't scoring doesn't mean he's loafing). And I think it's silly to make a "f*** Hossa" avatar or to call him a douchebag and tell him to go back to Pittsburgh. (This paragraph assumes Hossa is injured, which he more than likely is) I find it extremely amusing that at the suggestion the guy might be hurt, the response is "Well he shouldn't be playing then." Like any team's 13th forward would be good for 15 points in a playoff run. Whether he's playing great hockey or not, he's done more than any possible replacement would have. We're questioning a guy's effort and heart when he's playing through injury? It would be the EASY thing to sit down. He's still trying (he leads the team in shots by a wide margin) and he's still having a positive impact, even if some of these loons don't see it.

It was a s*** goal. It doesn't mean he didn't play a great game (he did). It means he gave up a s*** goal and it ended up being the game winner because our offense (meaning EVERYONE, not just Marian Hossa) didn't do jack. Him giving up a s*** goal and him being a star of the game aren't mutually exclusive events. Sweet. Be sure to print off a few extra copies to ruin. Yeah, clearly I didn't give Osgood any credit this year or last. I don't hate the guy. I've actually grown to like him fairly well. I can't hate on a guy that loves the Wings as much as he does. I don't like the fact that he's basically become untouchable and you can't even suggest that maybe, MAYBE, one of the goals he let up was even partially his fault without half the world throwing a Crosby-like hissyfit. That said, even if he gave up 7 and got chased the next game, I can assure you I would never make a "f*** Osgood" avatar.

I agree completely. I don't know what Samuelsson was thinking, and neither of our D were anywhere to be found. That goal was weak sauce for a lot of reasons. I just hate seeing quotes like that. There are plenty of ways to answer that question (which I assume was something along the lines of "Chris, what happened tonight?" without essentially saying something along the lines of "Don't ask me. I was amazing."

What words? He is one of the few athletes in history that put his money where his mouth was. He turned down upwards of seventy million bucks to come play for this team. You really think he just started dogging it all of a sudden after he worked his ass off all year? Even as "bad" as he's been, he's still top 4 on our team in points and one point away from being top 3. He hasn't been the worst player in the entire league at his position, or anything like that. Here's the list of Wings with more goals than Hossa in the playoffs: Franzen Zetterberg Cleary Here's the list of Wings with more points than Hossa in the playoffs: Zetterberg Franzen Filppula He must be a really goddamn good player if 4th on the team in goals and 4th on the team in points is a choke job and disappearing act.

He played well enough to win, no doubt. I really don't like reading comments like this, though: Maybe it's out of context, but that's kind of a questionable quote, especially given that the GWG wasn't exactly the greatest play in the history of hockey.

He turned down over $70 million in guaranteed money because he wanted to win so bad and you think he all of a sudden just said "f*** it, I'm not giving any effort anymore." There's an easy, easy explanation for this. He's hurt. He was hurt coming into the playoffs. He got dinged up again in the playoffs. And despite that, he still has 15 points. Maybe if he had sat out for a few games like Datsyuk people would be more forgiving. We scored one goal tonight and it was scored by a guy who raised his playoff total to 1. It's not like the other stars on the Wings were putting the puck in the back of the net. And as well as Osgood played tonight, he still gave up a s***ty goal that ended up being the game-winner. Kronwall and Stuart turned it over like crazy early on. Even Helm, who people have been blowing about his play tonight, had three or four good chances that went right off his stick. Lebda and Flip put Detroit in a bad spot on the first goal. I don't think I heard Hudler's name tonight--or for a pretty good portion of the playoffs. Franzen had a chance to tie the game and couldn't get the puck in the air. Cleary had a chance to tie the game and couldn't get the puck in the air. D and Z shot the puck into defensemen numerous times. Lidstrom had a bad turnover. Sammy mindlessly shot the puck several times and didn't make a hit on the GWG. There's plenty of blame to go around here. The Wings AS A TEAM had three shots on goal in the first period and something like 7 shots total in the latter stages of the second period. It ain't like Marian Hossa was the only one who didn't show up tonight. The guy has 15 points in the playoffs. A lot of them were big points in big games. From YoungGuns1340 about Hossa probably being hurt: Just so we're clear about this....is that the same Datsyuk that has one goal in the playoffs and fewer points per game than Hossa? And the same Lidstrom who had a turnover on the GWG tonight? Just checking. OsGod: I find it funny that you're calling out a (more than likely injured) player with 15 points in the playoffs and questioning his lack of effort when your favorite player was forced into a sabbatical for a lack of effort. Yak19: He was 3rd on the team in scoring in the regular season. He's 5th on the team in scoring in the playoffs and is likely injured. He was a BIG reason we didn't go down 3-1 to the Ducks. He was a big reason we were out of the Columbus series in 4. He got us started in a big game against the Blackhawks. Hell, in this series alone he had assists on two of our three goals in game 2 and had the primary assist on our second goal in game 5. (Which clearly didn't matter since we ended up winning in a blowout. ) Osgod: When Osgood played like ass in game 4 against Columbus, Hossa had a pair of goals to help us win. When we needed to score four goals to win in a crucial game 4 against Anaheim, Hossa had a pair of goals to help us win. (We lose that game, we're out...) He was in on two critical goals in game 2 of this series. Osgood, overall, has been really darn good in the playoffs, but the team has also picked him up for the most part when he's had a bad game or given up a bad goal or two. Again...he has 15 points in the playoffs. That isn't "just putting on the jersey". Osgod: And gave up a s*** goal for the game-winner, that you conveniently omit mentioning when you're slobbing his knob. Osgod: I'm sure having a good 2-3 weeks off while the rest of the team was playing playoff hockey isn't at all part of the reason Dats has had so much energy. Even as "bad" as Hossa has been, he's still what? 5th or 6th on our team in points? You can't seriously believe that Leino would help more. He has 15 points! It's not stellar, but he hasn't been invisible by any means. (It's also funny how this year you're beating the "the regular season means nothing" drum over and over when Osgood got sent home for a lack of effort, when last year it was all about "THE ENTIRE REGULAR SEASON MEANS EVERYTHING!!" in the great goalie debates.) Herr Hockey: Game 4, Anaheim? Turned a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead heading into the third period in a road game that we 100% had to have? He doesn't score those goals, we might not be in the Finals. Yak19: At least you didn't mention Kronwall. Of course, the first name you mention has one goal in the playoffs and did his fair share of shooting into people's shin pads tonight. Cleary had a chance to tie the game tonight and blew it. Franzen had 2 or 3 chances to tie the game and blew it. Lidstrom had a turnover on the winning goal. Rafalski has had his moments of brutality this postseason, as has Stuart. Helm had 3 or 4 great scoring chances that went right off his stick tonight. Filppula is the only guy on the rest of that list with more points than Hossa, and Hossa popped in two in a tied, must-win road game against the best team we've played in the playoffs.

Taking 7.5 million instead of 80 MILLION GUARANTEED?! You're goddamn right that's a sacrifice. It's not like he got an assist on an empty net goal in that game. He had the primary assist on the goal that made it 2-0. And if he had scored people would be like "So what? He scored in a blowout. Doesn't count." I must've missed the rest of the team showing up in the first two periods tonight. Again, do you like having Game 7 at home? Because he's a big reason that it's in Detroit...

I wasn't the one that said that, but I don't think it means you aren't a fan. I think it means you're clueless, but that's another argument entirely. Yup. Perhaps if he was trying harder, he would've hit the guy harder. And the statement in bold is about as stupid as it gets. Yeah, hits can never fire up a team. Silly Hossa not trying while the other 17 skaters out there were busy scoring goals tonight..... Do yourself a favor: Change your avatar and log-off while you still have the slightest bit of credibility around here.

Shut the f*** up. Seriously. He led the goddamn team in hits last game, set up our second goal while the game was still in doubt (and turned to give Ozzie his props for the long pass before he even celebrated the goal with the rest of the team), and has 15 points in the playoffs. And he's more than likely hurt. He's not a piece of crap. It is completely the same thing. Do you like having Game 7 at home? Because he did a helluva lot more to help the Wings to get home ice than your boy did this regular season..... (BTW, I freely admit that by and large, Osgood has been great in the playoffs...don't take this past sentence as me saying otherwise) At least Hossa hasn't gotten SENT HOME for a lack of effort. What's more likely? That he all of a sudden said "f*** this, I don't feel like playing hard anymore" after he was phenomenal all season, or that he got hurt late in the regular season (which is a fact) and is still injured. I'm going with the latter. And he still hasn't been that bad.

Points per game. Power play goals would be a pretty lame-ass stat to bring up. Though I apologize for that being unclear...

And as has been proven countless times, Mike Milbury is an idiot.....

Why, so then people can ***** about him not sucking it up and gutting it out when he came to Detroit to win the Cup? Wait, so you just poo-poo the fact that he has as many points as Crosby in this series because "He's not supposed to be Crosby" and then bring up that Kennedy has more points than him? Is he supposed to be Tyler Kennedy out there? By the way, that's false. They each have 3 points in this series, and Hossa is up 15-9 for the playoffs. Hossa also has more PPG (points per game, geezus....) than Datsyuk, just sayin....

Helm did the same thing. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, etc. didn't exactly score any goals. Kronwall and Stuart turned it over about 5 times apiece in the first period when we were running around. Osgood gave up a terrible goal for the game-winner. It ain't like Hossa was the only one who could have played better.

You seriously have an avatar that says "f*** Hossa"? Seriously, get a life. The guy has as many points in the Finals as Crosby does, he led the team in hits last game. It's not like he's been garbage. I'd bet quite a bit of money on him being injured. He got dinged up right at the end of the regular season and he got hurt again during the Anaheim series (if I remember right). If he is hurt, he's out there playing and people are questioning his heart. It's pathetic.

The funny thing is he has the same number of points as Crosby in this series, a better +/-, more shots, and probably no hits. I'm pretty confident he's hurt. He got dinged up right before the playoffs and again in the Anaheim (?) series. Wouldn't shock me if he's not close to 100%.

Better than Crosby's!

That is awesome.

I got my Hossa WC jersey on ebay for like 50 bucks. And it was a Rbk, not one of the korean knockoffs.

I'm sure my views on this are somewhere in this thread, but I think it got overblown: The first "waffling" was when his wife had cancer. Once she got a clean bill of health, he announced his return. Hard to blame him on that one. The next year he took his time after he had a terrible year, the team had a terrible year, they were bringing in a new staff, and they had already drafted his replacement. This was the only time he really waffled before the offseason where the train left the station. The following year he announced his return before the Super Bowl was played. He didn't leave them hanging. Also, it's not like other teams never gave their legendary QBs the space to make up their mind. Look at when Elway announced his return after they won the Super Bowl. Look when he finally announced his retirement. Look when Young announced he was hanging it up. You're talking late May/June.... The Packers used the leverage they had to put him with a fairly nonthreatening team. It's hard to blame Favre for manipulating it so he can go play for the best team in the league that doesn't have a QB. And yes, they happen to be a rival. So what? It's pretty unreasonable to say that since he's a Packers legend he can't go play for the Vikings, when just a year ago the Packers dumped a Packers legend.

Well if you've got anything cool that you'd be looking to part with, let me know. I don't blame the guy a bit. I really don't. This all started because he DARED to change his mind and the Packers said "Choo choo! The train left the station!" They made their decision. They decided they didn't want him anymore. That he couldn't get it done in the playoffs. That it was time to move on. Well, the guy felt he could still play. He went to the Jets because the Packers had the leverage last year. They had the cap room to keep him on the roster and there was no way they were letting him go to Minnesota. The Packers used the leverage they had to move him to a situation that was good for them. An AFC team, fairly nonthreatening (coming off a 4-12 year), not on the schedule for several years. Now Favre has the leverage. The Jets didn't have the cap room to keep him and he played it perfectly to get his release, assuming he knew this was what was going to happen all along. I agree with you that this isn't just about sticking it to Ted Thompson. It's about going out on top. It's about winning another Super Bowl. If it was JUST about sticking it to Ted Thompson, wouldn't we have heard more interest from Favre in playing for the Bears or Lions last year? It was always the Vikings from the start, and why not? They're a PERFECT fit for him. They run the same offense he ran in Green Bay, they've got the best RB in the league, they've got one of the best OLs in the league, they play in a Dome (and he's been lights out in domes the past few years), they've got a very good defense, his old QB coach is the OC, and he's got his old golfing buddy in Ryan Longwell there. Why wouldn't any quarterback want to go to a team that's set up to make a Super Bowl run, save for a glaring hole at quarterback? I don't doubt that a good portion of this is a desire to stick it to Ted Thompson, but I don't think he's flipping the bird to Packers fans by playing there any more than the Packers flipped the bird to the fans by letting the train leave the station without him on it. The Packers made a business decision to move on without him and turn the keys over to Rodgers. Favre would be making a business decision by putting himself in the best position to accomplish the goals he wants to (Win another SB, go out on top, and yes, make the Packers regret moving on without him). It may seem childish, and it probably is, but I can't honestly say I would do things any differently put in his spot. These guys are competitors. When someone tells you you're not wanted anymore and that they've got someone they'd rather go with, it's human nature to want to prove them wrong. I think it's horribly unfair to be ok with the Packers trading the legend away and then at the same time say "These are the teams that you can't play for now without turning your back on the fans." You bring up Yzerman as an example. Let's take a look at that one for a minute. Remember when Scotty Bowman came in and there were all the rumors about him being traded to Ottawa, and then the crowd booed Bowman and gave Yzerman the longest standing ovation in history? Imagine if Bowman HAD traded Yzerman. After everything he gave to the organization, the new GM comes in and makes a business decision to trade him. Just like that. You're not wanted here anymore. Would it really have been so offensive if he came back to play for the Blues or Blackhawks to prove to the Red Wing organization that he could take a team to the Cup? Favre's earned the right to play for whoever he darn well wants to. He's not doing this to flip off the Packer fans. He's doing this to try to win another Super Bowl (and in the process make Ted Thompson look like the fool he is) with a team that puts him in the best position to do so. Do you really think we'd be hearing rumors about the Vikings if they sucked? I don't. Which means there's more to it than just getting to play the Packers twice a year. I really don't understand the viewpoint where the organization can cut the guy loose and tell him that he's not wanted, and he's supposed to curtail the list of teams he'll play for based on how it will look to the fans. Plenty of guys have played for multiple NFC North teams: Longwell, Sharper, Majkowski, McMahon, Anthony Morgan, Bill Schroeder, McMichael just to name a few. Longwell, Sharper, and Majik will all be in the Packer Hall of Fame. But because Favre happened to be better than all of those guys, he's not ALLOWED to go to the Vikings without it killing his Green Bay legacy? "He's a Packer legend. He can't go there." Well, what about "He's a Packer legend. We can't trade him." Remember whose decision it ultimately was that he not be a Packer anymore. It was Green Bay's call. How many other teams out there are A) A contender and B) Need a quarterback? The fact that C) Plays the Packers twice a year also applies to Minnesota is nice for Favre, but we wouldn't be hearing Minnesota talk if A and B didn't apply.

So I have to go to Vermont from tomorrow afternoon through Monday for work. I'm going to be in the air for Game 4 and I'm going to be working for Game 5 (awesome 6 pm - 6 am shift). I'm trying to figure out how I can watch the games and I'm not coming up with any good ideas. -BitTorrent was my first thought, but unless I'm not looking in the right spot, game 3 isn't even available yet. -I have a Slingbox and mreplay looked like a good option to record the game as it streams and then have my gf upload it to their site for me to watch it. But I'm getting some crazy error messages and it's not working. I'm DVRing both games here, but I really don't like my chances of being able to go four days without finding out the results of either game. I'd have to avoid the internet pretty much entirely and even if I could manage that, I don't like my odds of not hearing it from someone...especially since I'll have a layover at Detroit Metro coming home. So, wise people of LGW, anyone have any thoughts about what I could do here? Would it kill Versus to re-air the ****ing game? They were doing it in the early rounds of the playoffs.

That is EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thanks!

He got elbowed in the head. Oh and by the way he got hit in the ribs with a puck a few seconds earlier and was already doubling over in pain from that.....