skacore

thanks for the recap man, I really appreciate the fight reviews

wow weird.. I love it though close to Toronto I can go to more of the games... best of luck in Buffalo

I think Hossa will REALLY come alive with Datsyuk. Tonight he had some chances, looked OK but not 7 mill worthy, but he was playing with Homer and Filp, 2nd tier guys. When Datsyuk comes back and starts feeding passes tape to tape, setting up shot opportunities for Hossa to use his quick release.. it'll be unreal. Filp is more of a plugger who can create low quality opportunities but he can do it consistently... Hossa will thrive off of a centerman who can create high quality opportunities and take advantage of his skill level, at least that's how I feel if Hossa showcased anything tonight it was that he is rock solid physically.. he had the Habs 2 biggest D men bounce off of him tonight when they had him in the trolly tracks at full speed

taking Helm off that line would have been just as bad, he was usually the best forechecker night in and night out and created the most turnovers, Hudler was great but it was both of them combined that created opportunities... you can't just assume the line would be effective still because of Hudler

I thought Chelios looked really bad tonight also, almost like a coach trying to play instead of being behind the bench... hey... wait a minute....

I agree with theman19 on some points, but at the same time that's why the team is so competitive every year and does so well, but where should they draw the line? It's irritating to hear Babcock constantly say that the best players are going to play, because they're not, why lie to everyone? It may not be Babcock's decision, but clearly other things factor into the equation like waiver eligibility, salaries, reputations/past achievements, etc. There's no way Darren Helm isn't a top 12 forward on the team, most nights in the playoffs he was one of the best players out there. To a lesser extent, Quincey did the same the year before. Samuelsson scored 11 goals last year on 249 shots playing with elite playmakers and getting quality PP time. 238 unsuccessful shots (give or take) AND he misses the net more than anyone else on the team, that's a lot of wasted opportunities on an elite puck possession team. His cap hit isn't bad at all but am I the only one who feels like he's been a placeholder until something better comes along? I can't say because I haven't been able to watch training camp or the preseason yet, but is Ville Leino that guy? I'd say he'd have to go WAAAY up and beyond to drop Samuelsson down on the depth chart, very unlikely. Then there's Ericsson, "the best players will play" will be a joke when he's in Grand Rapids while Lebda, Lilja, Meech, Quincey, and Chelios are all seeing time in Detroit. I understand it's because he's protected from waivers and he'll get a lot of ice time which is probably best for his development, but quit lying and telling everyone that the best players will play, because they likely won't. And again, I haven't seen training camp so I can't really chime in but Jimmy Howard is another guy in the situation, he'd have to be incredible to bump Ty Conklin to #3 in the system, not gonna happen.

You honestly watched last night's game on Sopcast? Where did you find the stream?

That's kind of a dumb thing to say, you're just asking to trigger another 10 page thread about the same old debate, with the same old posters. Fans, coaches, and managers all have different opinions on enforcers, yours is quite clear, doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way.

http://www.rds.ca/video/visionneuse.html?video=14565 Might need a Canadian IP? I don't know

Laraque but he's not playing, I think AHLer Ryan Flinn is dressed tonight

These are the same intrasquad games as last year when Downey was causing a ruckus and trying to get Cleary/Kopecky/Keefe to drop the gloves, right? I remember hearing a lot about that, I wonder if a guy like Jordan Foreman is going to act up a bit to try and get noticed (2 assists today, nice), I guess time will tell.

here's one of me after winning a mini stick tourny, i'm on the left

I wouldn't be suprised if he is eventually, would be nice!

Bell, Mayers, Hollweg, possibly Newbury... will at least provide some entertainment. Hollweg was a great pick up though, he'll get plenty of untimely penalties to lose important games, and he couldn't score to save his life... he's a huge step towards Tavares.

Probably for the best.

You know you've been beaten in an argument when... OMG not the F BOMB! There's probably censored message boards out there somewhere, keep looking.

A better shot should tally up more points then... what are you really trying to argue here? Hull in his time in Detroit is a better all around player than Hossa in his prime...?

Point totals aside, Hossa blows Hull out of the water in every other aspect of the game.

Hossa in his current form is so, so, so much better than Brett Hull in the form he was in Detroit, who cares about comparing their careers..?

Kopecky's waiver status granted him a spot on the team, Helm had no legit shot whatsoever

What is the right, civilized way to go about it then? If all 5 guys on the ice pummeled Kindl I'd tip my hat to them. Don't say challenge him 1 on 1, because the entire team did.

He's also 5'9 at best and has fought the heavyweights of the OHL the past few years, I'm sure if he ever makes the show he'll settle in as a decent middleweight.

Jakub Kindl knocked out their team captain with a brutal elbow to the head, but I'm sure that is fine. What Foreman and Beaulieu did was 100% appropriate and Kindl should have to pay the price for what he did.

I saw a lot of Fischer, I always thought of him as a much more powerful Lilja with a bit more offensive upside. I loved having Fisch on the team and realize he was young and on the up rise, but I think he gets a lot more credit now that he's no longer playing. He used to make bone head plays as often as Lilja does now, and he wasn't as big of a hitter as he gets credit for. I've only been following Ericsson for 2 years (obviously) and he's still such a raw talent and yet he seems so composed and mature on the ice, still so young too. Only time will tell but I think this kid is the real deal, I'd be very, very shocked and disappointed if he didn't pass "Jiri Fischer status" after 5-6 seasons in the show. He's such a stand out in Grand Rapids and the way Babcock raves about him in press conferences makes me think he's a stud during practices and off ice too.

what!?! have you even seen him play aside from his couple of call ups? He's just as skilled as Fischer was, very very similar in size, he's not as punishing physically as Fischer but he is much better at keeping guys to the perimeter and as good defensively, and a better shot than Fischer, he has an unbelievable shot. I can definitely see him getting top 2 minutes in the future, he's really that good and only 23-24.