Yzerman191

One thing a lot of people overlook is the fact that had Hossa resigned in Pittsburgh, they wouldn't have been able to resign Orpik, sign Fedotenko and Satan, and deal for Kunitz and Guerin. They'd be very limited, and Hossa forced them to opt for depth over a powerful top six, which worked out pretty well for them.

Malkin deserves it without a doubt. The guy had 36 points, including 14 goals, in just 23 games. The last time a guy scored at least 36 points was during the Kings' trip to the finals where Gretzky got 40 points in '92-'93.

Don't blame the officiating. It wasn't perfect, and there were more than enough calls missed. However, we didn't lose just because of the referees. We lost because we took dumb penalties. We lost because we couldn't finish. We lost because we played lackluster defense. And last but not least, we lost because the Penguins capitalized on the chances that they didn't in the past two games. I doubt many of you predicted a sweep, so don't be surprised that we lost a game. Predicting a win in five, six, or seven games requires a few losses. It sucks, but Pittsburgh got this far for a reason. The Red Wings are the better team, and they'll prove it before all is said and done.

I'd like to see: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom --> always has worked in the past. If they're not scoring, they'll be shutting the top line down for other teams. Franzen-Flip-Hossa --> sure as hell worked last game. Cleary-Hudler-Sammy --> could be an effective third line at shutting and grinding other teams down, with a pinch of a scoring touch. Maltby-Draper-Helm

Are you guys kidding about Ovechkin being a complete player? I would argue, of the three, he plays the least defense. In fact, you'll often see him floating around the blue line for a pass, even when the other team is applying pressure. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy; he's the most fun to watch, he's the best goal scorer, and he's the only one of the three that has a definite physical edge, but he is by NO means a complete player.

They're so hard to rate 1-2-3 because you feel bad putting any one of them in third place. If I were building a team, I'd pick Ovechkin first, then Malkin, then Crosby. How can you argue with picking a guy who is able to rack up more than half of his points in goals, while coming in 3 points behind the league leader (with a point per game pace higher, missing those three games due to a sick family member)? Also, he's got twice as many shots as the other two do! Many people use that against Ovechkin, with the argument that, "anyone could score that many goals if they shot as much as he does!" but that's simply not true. How many players in the league can, all by themselves, generate 528 shots on goal? One. The next closest comes in right around 370. I believe it was Gretzky that said that you miss all of the shots you don't take (someone tell Flip).

Are you kidding me? Neutralizing Getzlaf? Getzlaf has six points in three games, compared to Zetterberg's three, two of which came on the powerplay. I'd hardly call that working, much less "awesome."

"Let Kalifornia and all the homos there have this watered-down, corrupt, bettman-fied version of the NHL" Good riddance.

To sum up the first period, we played terribly. In my opinion, the referees actually made a few calls in our favor, yet we squandered our powerplay opportunities and we've continued to struggle even strength. Also, we can't win a series when our superstars don't play like our superstars; Getzlaf is doing it, Ovechkin is doing it, Crosby is doing it, the Sedins are doing it, but Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Hossa haven't stepped up. Osgood can keep us in the game, but he can't score the goals for us. We have to break their smothering defense, get some traffic in Hiller's face, and shut down their top line. We can beat this team; with the talent we have, this series should not be as close as it has been. C'mon guys, wake the hell up.

Whether the hit was late or not, Brown still hit him in the head with what appears to be his stick (refer to the pictures on the second page of this thread). Even if he had the puck at the time, that's still a dirty hit and intent to injure. I definitely think it should get a couple of games. And to be honest, if we see much more of this type of play out of Anaheim, stop with the suspensions and give the coach a hefty fine. They're a notoriously dirty team that just doesn't seem to learn.

In my opinion, the player that fits the Red Wings' needs the best is Ovechkin. He's got golden hands and can put the puck in the net better than anyone in the league; pure goal scorers are so hard to find. Defense (the biggest knock on Ovechkin) can be learned, but Ovechkin's ability to put the puck in the net can't. Out of Crosby and Malkin, I'd choose Malkin. Honestly, I think he's the most talented of the bunch. One surprising statistic that most people don't know is that Datsyuk was second to only one person - Evgeni Malkin - in takeaways. He's got tremendous offensive talent, and he's got the ability to have one of the best two way games in the league. His personality also seems to be in line with most of the Red Wings'; Malkin seems to kind of sit back and quietly lead the league. Improve his defense and faceoff percentage and I'll have no problem calling Malkin the best player in the world.

I think the Ducks are very underrated this season. They've got a blueline studded with Pronger, Neidermayer, Beauchemin, Whitney, and Wishneiski; that's definitely comparable to the Red Wings' defense corps. Add a hot goaltender into the mix, and they're a legitimate threat to any team in the playoffs. The Sharks on the other hand have been riding a hot powerplay for the entire second half of the season; they've got just over 50 even strength goals since the ASG. And taking away Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau (rumored injury) from an already slumping team with a reputation of choking when it counts definitely hurts their chances at success.

San Jose over Anaheim in six - as much as I'd love to see the 'Ducks come out on top, I just don't think it's going to happen. Either way, it's win-win. I hate the Ducks and I hate the Sharks. Interesting statistic here though: since the All-Star Break, 28th place Colorado has 49 even strength goals, 26th place Los Angeles has 52 even strength goals, and President's Trophy winning San Jose has 53. Shut down their powerplay and the Ducks might have what it takes. Detroit over Columbus in six - this one is completely up to the 'Wings. We split the season series 3-3, but honestly I think this team just has too much talent to lose to such an inexperienced team. Vancouver over St. Louis in five - people underestimate Luongo's effect on his team's post season chances. I'm not sure how many people realize this, but at Luongo's age, Brodeur had a similar amount of shutouts behind one of the best teams in recent years. St. Louis may take their foot off the gas now that they made the playoffs. Chicago over Calgary in six. EAST: Boston over Montreal - no brainer. There's something wrong in Montreal, and everything is going right this season for the Bruins. Washington over the Rangers. New Jersey Devils over Carolina Hurricanes in six - this one may turn out to be the battle of the goaltenders. Cam Ward has been on fire over the last few months, and Brodeur has been his usual self. Overall, the Devils will be too much for the 'Canes. Pittsburgh over the Flyers in five - For the most part I think the Penguins aren't getting the credit they deserve here. They've got a legitimate chance at returning to the finals since Crosby's line has been on fire and Malkin has been his usual self. Also, Fleury demonstrated that he is capable of handling the post-season pressure in last year's playoffs.

I don't like this deal. There's no denying he's got a natural knack for goal scoring, and he's pretty defensively sound, but 11 years? And 3.9M per year? He's missed at least 10 games a year in each season since his rookie season, and he's 29 years old. Kind of scary. Don't get me wrong, it's far from terrible, and the guy is clutch, but overall I think it's a little too long.

I'm always amazed at the argument that Ovechkin scores so much because he shoots so much. That's the game his coach asks him to play. He generates so much offense with those shots that don't go in that many of his line mates score on the rebounds. His hard, fast shot is extremely difficult for a goaltender to hold onto, and Semin, Backstrom, and Green certainly benefit from that. Also, don't try to scale the shooting percentage of others to Ovechkin's; it's common knowledge that statistics deteriorate when taking a larger sample size. For example, if you took Kyle Wellwood's 20% shooting percentage and scaled it to Ovechkin's 496 shots, he'd have 99 goals. Playing the "if" game just isn't a valid argument. Aside from Ovechkin's 55 goals (10 of which being GWG), he's got 49 assists, and he's top ten in the league in hits. He's definitely Hart-worthy.

I'd say Ovechkin too. The guy is going to finish the season with around 60 goals, which equates to well over one-fifth of his team's goals, and generates many more with the sheer quantity of shots he hurls at goaltenders. They'd be fighting for a playoff spot without him.

Don't feed the troll, all. I think the team has given a lot of signs to show that Zetterberg is the next captain of the 'Wings. I think Zetterberg just isn't as offensively talented as Datsyuk, and that's not a knock on him either. He's among the best defensive players in the league, he's a perennial 30 goal scorer, and he can dish a sweet pass when it's needed. Also, his English is pretty good, and he seems to deal with the media better than Datsyuk. Two great choices, but I think the poster that said to let Datsyuk stay in the background is right on this one.

I think you're being a little overly hostile; he's generally a respectful poster, and a genuine fan of our team. I guess whether or not you laugh has to do with how you feel about this pitiful effort. I felt like laughing too, because if I got depressed after each pathetic showing this team has given us this season I'd have jumped off a building by now. Honestly, we're 77 games through the season, and there's SO much uncertainty. Our goaltending has been terrible as of late, regardless of who has been in net. And with 5 games remaining until the playoffs, our defense looks the same as it did in game 1. I would absolutely love to see the press conference after the game, as I missed it, because Babcock needs to lay into this team. When your defense is being paid a total of about 25 million dollars (highest in the league?), you expect it to be the best in the league. Both of our goalies are good, but not great. They're not the type of goalies that can steal a game like the goalies they'll be going up against in the playoffs (Kipper, Nabby, Roloson, etc). Last year we won because of our defense, but that's this year's achilles-heel. How does that happen?

At this point, we're behind San Jose by two points, but they have two games in hand. We could very well win the last six games, and it's not at all out of the question that San Jose could drop two more games of their remaining seven. But at what cost? I think Babcock should really think about saying screw it and settle for second place. Is there really a difference between the 7th and 8th seeded teams? How likely is it that we meet San Jose in the WCF? How beneficial would having a well-rested Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Franzen, Zetterberg, Hossa, etc. be? What happens if somebody gets injured in the push for first place (I heard Marleau wasn't on the bench last night)? What do you all think?

How do you know Detroit can't score three or more goals against Mason or Rinne? They're about as proven in the playoffs as Conklin is, meaning they have next to no experience. We've got the best offense in the league; one that features Hossa and Zetterberg on our SECOND line! We've got as good of a chance as anyone at winning the Cup, and a much better one than most. And just FYI, this thread isn't about Osgood. Keep your thoughts in one of the ten other threads about Osgood that are sure to surface.

At what point do the moderators label "TheOwl" a troll? He can't post without mentioning Osgood, and frankly, I think we're all sick of it. Meh, I guess that's what the ignore button is for.

I never know what to expect when I watch a game anymore. Last year, we played like a well-oiled machine, and I almost always expected a solid effort, and usually a win. This year, I feel like there's a 50/50 shot at winning, even when they're up by a goal or two (or three, or four, sadly).

Am I the only one that wants to avoid New Jersey at all costs? Brodeur scares me.

I would've loved for us to get the couple of points tonight, but there are definitely some positives to take away from this loss. Look at it any way you want, Osgood gave up three soft goals today, and the referees were completely against us (absolutely BRUTAL). And even with Kipper having a great game, we came within one lucky bounce from tying it up. I'm not too worried about Osgood; I just hope he doesn't let this game go to his head. He's proven lately that he's getting back to his previous form, so I think people shouldn't come down too hard on him for having a bad game.

I just saw the goal celebration. That was a little too elaborate, but I'm still not against his celebrations. I didn't like this one, but just look at the fans during his celebrations; they absolutely love how Ovechkin actually interacts with them. He bangs against the glass, looks at the crowd, points at fans, points to the sky (presumably for his brother), etc. Really charismatic. As long as he stays away from things like stick-guitaring I don't have much of a problem with it. Also, I think Ovechkin is more valuable to his team than Malkin is. Malkin is one of my favorite players, but if he doesn't show up for a game, the Penguins can usually count on Crosby for a point or two. Of his fifty goals, Ovechkin has TEN (!) game winning goals. Ovechkin doesn't spend much time playing defense because his coach hasn't asked him to. When you've got a player that talented, with that much raw goal scoring ability, do you really want to waste his energy on the PK? Of course not (especially with the Caps system).