CenterIce

Including the Stanley Cup!

How so?

This thread covers basically what I was posting last night in another thread. The unfortunate thing is that the NHL has a habit of making things set in stone, once they have happened, rather than trying to get it right. A couple of examples are only reviewing a limited set of circumstances and not allowing the officials to take back a penalty once they have called it (especially if the other officials had a better view).

Agreed. This is basically what it has come down to.

The league has ultimate ownership. The teams are not independent. You could form your own new league, but it would have to be with all new teams, players, logos, etc. Two examples to prove my point are, as I stated, Phoenix being taken over because of the bankruptcy situation and NYR suing to not have to make their website conform to NHL standards (a suit they lost because the NHL has the final say. It is not possible.

The NHL won't allow this because, just like what they did when Phoenix declared bankruptcy, the league can take over a team, if they feel it is not being run to "their" standards.

This is why goalies are not allowed to use black tape on their sticks, because it blends in. However, as someone alluded to, it is not the color of his pads that should be changed, it is the extra pad length at the top, that allows him to close his five hole, when he drops into the butterfly style.

I like this quote from the NHL.com review of the game: Hiller also got a break with 1:04 remaining when he was unable to control a loose puck in his crease after a misplay by Scott Niedermayer -- only to have the play blown dead, an instant before Marian Hossa jammed it into the net, because referee Brad Watson had lost sight of the puck. The puck was actually next to Hiller, in clear view of almost everyone in the Honda Center except Watson.

Agreed on all counts, and you can add all the no goals from various Holmstrom body parts some were in the vicinity of the crease rule.

Yeah, I am waiting for that quote to be seen sometime, tomorrow.

It is not the lines that are the issue. It is finishing plays, getting an offensive pressure, and taking the play to the Ducks. As Redmond said during the game, Datsyuk has had up to four guys on him at a time. You think putting the ZDH line together is going to change that? No, it would increase it. When one line is being defensed so heavily, you need your other lines to produce. You have to out hustle your opponent. If the Wings played all of game 3, like they did the 3rd period, they probably would have won.

Gary Bettman has his radio show Thursday afternoon's, I think still, but the call screener probably wouldn't filter you through.

My thoughts exactly. Why can't you let these plays go, and then, review them. If the goalies shows on the review that he had it long enough, you say no goal. If it is still live, you let the goal stand. The inconsistency of the NHL officiating is horrible from missed calls, to extra calls, to officials calling something that they are not in a good position to see. Amazing.

At the time with a 1-1 series, going into game 3, why would you want to mix up lines? The games were close. Tonight's game showed it is not the lines, but the will. Where was the drive they had in the third period in the other two. Yeah, the official cost us the game in the end, but they may not have been in that situation in the first place, if they had played the whole game like the third period. Talent can only get you so far. You have to outmatch your opponents determination.

And, Manny Legace can thank him for a few concussions and knee injuries.

I like to dangle, dangle.

Agreed.

Unfortunately, starting next season, TV timeouts will be allowed again, after an icing.

I would rather have all defensemen on the PP point. They have the right instincts, when you have to skate back the other way, There are very few forwards I have ever liked on the PP, Yzerman and Fedorov are on that short list.

Nill is under contract, and the Wings have stated as long as he is under contract, don't ask.

Yep, if they kept it where it was, it would be in a fold on the new jersey.

This is playoff hockey. Keep it the way it is. You don't want to cut corners, when the Stanley Cup is on the line. I was glued to my set for all five hours. If you think that was boring, then switch to baseball.

By reading between the lines in the story, I think the groin theory for Rafalski is true. They say he has an upper body injury, but he didn't skate, today. I think the Wings have to assume that they have to win this series without Draper and Rafalski. The coach keeps saying they are coming soon, but as we have seen with Draper, that is not much. They can win without them, but they have to have everyone step it up another notch. They played better as the game went along, Sunday, so that is a good sign for tomorrow. They need to get the intensity back that they had from the Columbus series. They have to take the play to Anaheim and not let Anaheim set the tone.

This is actually a more important point than everyone is thinking. Because, while the Griffins are still playing, we can only have 4 non-emergency call-ups.

The league is trying to elimanate hits to the head and hitting guys in vunerable positions.