edicius

Intriguing technicality. And we all know how selective the league can be when it comes to "automatic" suspensions...

It's hard to say. It LOOKS like intent to injure, but Crosby really looked like he was selling it when he was looking up toward the rafters. The boards being in the way don't help much, so I can't really say one way or another. Crosby obviously finished the game none the worse for wear, which is more than we can say for Savard... I can't help but wonder if this is what Pittsburgh has opened themselves up to with the whole Matt Cooke situation.

Great defensive play by Backstrom leads to an OT win for the Caps. Hey, Chicago? (with apologies to whomever normally uses the Nelson image )

Wow. I love it when teams other than Detroit choke away 3-goal leads. Especially in the 3rd period. And especially Quenneville-coached teams like Chicago. Niemi to blame for any of them? Please say yes.

As much as I like Osgood, I have to think that Babcock goes with Howard as the #1 the rest of the way, including - if we make them - the playoffs. If Jimmy falters at that point, we have a Stanley Cup winning goaltender to fall back on. I don't foresee Ozzie getting any more than perhaps two more starts this season. He'll have to wait until next season to get his 400 wins. Quenneville would be stupid to play Huet over Niemi in the playoffs, seeing as Huet doesn't have playoff success in the first place - how much worse could Niemi be, even as an unknown postseason quantity? But this is Joel Quenneville we're talking about, so anything could happen with them.

Well, when you compare him to Huet, he looks like the second coming of Paterminik Broroychuk.

Exactly. Ovie should have known better and let up a bit, at least until Campbell got to the boards. Love Ovie, but I can't deny that he makes some dangerous, boneheaded hits.

Unless you're Matt Cooke, of course. Even other players around the league acknowledge that he has a history of dirty hits. Double standard in the league disciplinary offices.

Stupid play by Ovechkin. And proof that the league isn't afraid to suspend stars in the league...as long as they're the "right" stars to suspend.

I don't think he would have reached 50, but I firmly believe he'd be in the top ten goal-scorers in the league. At least 40 on the season.

I'm genuinely shocked. Thought that would have been worth at least three games. Has the disciplinary committee been asleep since the Olympics?

That's because Grier's a good guy and Cooke's a piece of trash.

Well, good then, because I'd have to share my 3lb container of Jelly Belly jellybeans.

Recchi just made a fan out of me. Sadly, the league will probably fine him now.

The non-suspension of Cooke has given the Pens carte blanche to cheapshot whomever they want.

New jersey from DHGate today. I know the timing is a bit...odd, considering tomorrow's game.

That's what it comes down to, honestly. And while Andreas won't make ALL players that play with him better (Ericsson being a prime example), it seems to work with Lebda. Yeah, sure, Lebda's still prone to his boneheaded mistakes, ill-timed pinches, etc. but now he has Lilja on the back end to cover for those potential errors, making such plays less dangerous and in some cases, even beneficial. It allows Lebda to take more chances, knowing that he has a capable D-man with him. EDIT: And with that, I shall edit my sig to remove 'BENCH LEBDA'. I've been a vocal Lebda basher this year, but Lilja's return has made a world of difference in his play on the ice.

It's all about who he's paired with. Lilja makes Lebda better simply because Lilja defensive responsibility can make up for any boneheaded plays by Lebda. Of course, Ericsson is a whole different type of bonehead.

I still think Lidstrom - at least present day - is more important to the Red Wings than Brodeur is to the Devils. Brodeur showed last postseason and, more recently, in the Olympics that he isn't the be-all, end-all of goaltending anymore. Was he great? Of course. The debate will always go on whether or not it was because he played for the defensively-minded Devils his whole career, but that's not important here. Right now, I think Lidstrom is more of a team MVP than Brodeur is and that if the Devils succeed in the postseason, it won't be because of Brodeur - it will be in spite of him.

Back in 8th. Off to bed. Good, complete 60 minutes. Can't even complain too much about that one goal against, just the timing in that period was unfortunate.

I'm curious how his current scoring pace would project out to a full season. He's been on fire since he returned.

And in OT. That's what they get playing for the shootout.

Imagine if we'd had Mule in the lineup all season.

MULE X2!!!

I still think this awful autotune commercial is hilarious.