Travis

I was at the game last night and Ilari played great. He's definitely been one of the hottest Griffins lately (even if his stats aren't through the roof) and he is a big reason for their drastic turn around as of late in quality of play. In the 3rd period alone he created plenty of chances, back checked well, had a couple of takeaways and was clearly one of the top Griffins on the ice last night. Obviously, there isn't a direct correlation between the way he - or anyone in Grand Rapids - is playing and NHL success; though. The Griffins as a team are finally coming together and are beating teams convincingly that had previously crushed them. The whole team is finally reaching their offensive potential and are, as a team, making a lot of defenses look pretty silly while they do it. That then begs the question: how much of the top producers' success related directly to what the Griffins have been able to do lately? For what it's worth, Tatar also had 3 helpers last night. I am a fan of Jakub Kindl, but I'm pretty disappointed that he is the 'call-up' at the moment. Obviously, they're trying to give him some NHL time with their new roster opening but, as someone else stated, Draper isn't going to be the answer. The Wings need to fill Pasha's roll by committee, and it'd be great to see one of the Griffins get their shot. Moreover, I'd rather see Kindl continue his work in the AHL because he needs the playing time and stability right now - he's playing strong in GR and I think a lot of it has to do with the larger role he has within the team.

Great collection. For those interested, I just found those All-Star Game Datsyuk jerseys on eBay for $120 shipped (Buy It Now). http://cgi.ebay.com/CCM-AUTHENTIC-WEST-ALL-STAR-PAVEL-DATSYUK-JERSEY-46-/400174601045?pt=U_Hockey_Fan_Shop&hash=item5d2c43d355 http://cgi.ebay.com/CCM-AUTHENTIC-WEST-ALL-STAR-PAVEL-DATSYUK-JERSEY-48-/400174600985?pt=U_Hockey_Fan_Shop&hash=item5d2c43d319

Red Wings have a game in hand over Dallas, though. For anyone with DirecTV who might be trying to DVR it from their computer like I did, it won't show up in The Guide. Here is the direct link for the game: https://www.directv.com/entertainment/program/details/SP002373600000_42?format=SD

I believe he and Lecavalier both go largely under-discussed due to their market.

Love Ozzie's mask. Is it just me or does he look 1,000 years old there?

Agreed. I like the concept behind Fleury's. Johnson's is okay, does he usually reference Led Zeppelin, though? And what are those 01.01.11 things in the background? Scarves?

My gripe with the snippet on Jimmy was that they failed to mention the significance of the numbers which, in my opinion, push him a little higher on the list.

Glad I'm not the only one that thought, 'fat Kovalchuk'.

LINK

I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see him perform much better. The dude is fast, can't play defense, and couldn't possibly be any worse on the wing.

As in, the free agent market? I would consider them a second-tier team, everyone knew they wouldn't be going after the big names like Crawford or Lee, but there were rumblings of Werth and we did sign Joaquin Benoit away from the Tampa Bay Rays, and Victor Martinez. We still have money to invest in another bat or solid lefty, but compared to our Central Division opponents - we've probably had the busiest off-season. So far the Tigers signed / re-signed: 3B Brandon Inge SS Jhonny Peralta RHP Joaquin Benoit C Victor Martinez RF Magglio Ordonez So far the Twins have signed: 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka So far the White Sox have signed/re-signed: DH Adam Dunn 1B Paul Konerko C A.J. Pierzynski Counting acquisitions alone, it appears as though the Tigers had 'won' the off-season; especially considering the fact that the Twins and White Sox have lost key pieces to their bullpen this off-season while the Tigers have only lost Ryan Perry. The Twins will likely re-sign Jim Thome and will potentially re-sign Carl Pavano. Even without re-signing either player they're still technically the team to beat, but it's surprising that they aren't making any noise. The White Sox have stepped up pretty big and will definitely push a lot of runs across the plate, but I think the White Sox are done making big noise, whereas I feel the Tigers still have a big signing left in them.

The prospects the Tigers gave up for Cabrera alone make Dombrowski look like a genius. I'm not a huge supporter, but he has made some strong moves. As a Cubs fan, I want nothing to do with Zambrono. He makes it hard to root for them sometimes and I'd hate for his volatile personality to do clubhouse damage in Detroit, too. I'd love to see us get a strong arm to round out the rotation; and while we have a lot of money on the payroll we have to keep in mind that you have to offer guys lucrative deals to come to smaller markets. Additionally, Illitch used to play shortstop, had his career cut short, and would spend all the money he had to bring a World Series Championship back to Detroit.

I didn't see the game or the 'ceremony' until this morning, but I received texts about Chicago's "fans" booing Cheli last night and my feelings towards the Hawks went from apathetic to disdain. Even with the 'Detroit Sucks' chants, they'd never really done anything that got under my skin because I was able to brush them off; but that was unacceptable. Glad Chelios was able to take it in stride like a professional.

Haha. Awesome. Don't get me wrong, the aftermath was scary looking - but I'll be damned if it isn't one of the most beautiful hits I've ever seen. It was at that point that Kronwall became my favorite Wing.

I still remember when Kronwall laid The Hit on Havlat. I was living in Pittsburgh at the time without Versus and NHL.com's radio broadcast was from Chicago as it was the home radio broadcast. The Chicago announcers were, obviously, going off about how dirty it was; but the thing I remember the most is that they were livid that Kronwall wouldn't fight. They actually said something to the sort of, 'that's what this team does, they refuse to get involved after the whistle' as if it was abhorrent.

I would LOVE this. Then again, I guess that's a really obvious statement for any of us. Rangers would be nice as they're the only US O6 team left, but for rivalries sake I suppose we say Ducks, Sharks, Avs, or maybe the Blues, Wild, or Devils?

Seems like getting unscheduled runway clearance in New York would be next to impossible.

Thought someone might be interested in pursuing this guy: Detroit Red Wings Pavel Datsyuk TEAM RUSSIA jersey The photos have that weird blur to them, but it might be worth looking into further.

The game was last night. He didn't get in.

At least it's a start. You have to wonder if they'll be forever tainted for the Burns family.

I am also into he and Price's triple low 5 post-win celebration. http://video.canadiens.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=83935

That was my first assumption when I saw the thumbnail, hard not to assume when you see that big, dumbass C at center.

Yeah, they just interviewed the guy on SportsCenter and he said he signed an unpaid 1-game tryout contract, but that he got to keep the jersey and that's enough for him.

Seems to be a pretty common occurrence for minor league hockey teams. The Griffins do an annual Teddy Bear Toss for charity as well.