egroen

Yeah Lilja!

Flames fans complaining the CBC broadcast is a Wings lovefest.

I don't think Ken Daniels likes Bertuzzi...

Babcock gave Hudler all of two games to make it on that line, and despite that line having a lot of success in the preseason, he yanked Hudler pretty immediately in favor of Samuelsson.

I was a competitive swimmer through college (actually ended up quitting hockey for swimming), and swimming gets so little coverage and attention, except for every 4 years at the Olympics, that it is nice to see it generate some excitement. I honestly would not be suprised if Phelps was snubbed for some football player... it's happened a few times this year already. I was watching the Best Damn Sports Show and their top 100 sports moments, and to their credit, they actually had Phelps as #2. I was shocked.... but get what beat it -- The Miracle on Ice! I was pleasantly suprised, for a show that talks about hockey rarely and swimming never, to have them #1 and #2 really shocked me.

He flew back to Detroit because his daughter was in a car accident and needed surgery in the morning. They were saying yesterday evening that she is expected to make a full recovery.

You tube some Rick Rypien fights. This little guy might be the best pound-for-pound fighter out there. His father owns a boxing gymn and is a golden gloves fighter. Rypien is one of the best technical fighters I have seen.

Phelps is a freak of nature because of lactic acid tolerance or recuperation time. His body is able to completely flush lactic acid buildup in minutes when it takes most an hour. This allows him to train harder as well as compete at a higher level in more events than most can. A lot of top athletes have this ability, but Phelps is off the charts. Imagine sprinting 200 meters as fast as you can, and being able to repeat the same performance within 10 minutes. What he accomplished would be similar to Ussain Bolt winning gold and breaking the world record in not only the 100 m and 200 m dash, but the 400 m, the relays, the 110 and 220 m hurdles and the long jump. Or a decathlete breaking the world records in each individual event. Pretty incredible.

Three fights in a row won by the Red Wings! Toughest in the league yet?

I still am confused by that double-minor. Way to pull it out, though!

I thought it was a double-minor only when there is blood?

arrrgggghhhh

Here we go...

Huds!!! Man, I hope he is on the team next year.

Wings start getting lazy with a lead... other team scores. It's scripted.

Pronger (terribly inconsistent) and Neidermayer (very late bloomer) are definitely going into the Hall of Fame. Probably Blake (great early peak but has fallen a lot) as well. That's all I got. Zubov and Gonchar? I don't think they will make it.

I think it is fair to say that if Bourque, Chelios, Leetch and MacInnis were giving Lidstrom legitimate competition as 40 year-olds in the twilight of their careers for the Norris, that those guys in their prime would be giving Lidstrom a lot more competition than he has been facing. If we had not lost Konstantinov, he would have given Lidstrom a lot of competition as well. I just do not think Lidstrom is currently "better" all time than Bourque, but if he continues with the high level of play he exhibited last year he could get there. The other important thing to remember about Lidstrom is he missed an entire season due to the lockout in the middle of his prime Norris-winning years. It is not much of a stretch of the imagination to think Lidstrom might have won a Norris that year as well. But yes, Lidstrom has not faced near the competition guys like Bourque and Chelios faced in their primes... it is tough to argue against the pedigree and the sheer amount of Hall of Famers each faced.

Ray Bourque is third all-time in +/- with a +528 to Lidstrom's +381. Lidstrom was not outscoring an even past-his-prime Paul Coffey either when they were both on the Red Wings, now was he? Which Hall-of-Fame European defensemen are giving Lidstrom a run for his money in Norris voting each year? Salming, at least, was a great defenseman and Hall of Famer in Bourque's time. Your head-and-shoulders comment is out of pure ignorance. In '87 Bourque received 52 1st place votes for the Norris with Howe and Coffey only receiving one each. He was also runner-up to Gretzky for the Hart. In '90 Bourque received ALL 63 1st place votes for the Norris, and was runner-up to Messier for the Hart by only 2 points (the closest margin ever, in a sham in which he was left completely off the ballots in Edmonton). Lidstrom has never won the Norris by such a margin, or placed as high in Hart voting. We really can't make any statements comparing eras? I can't say the top forwards of the 80s were better than the top forwards today? Or that golies in the 90s were better than goalies of the 80s? That's no fun.

Your opinion is a valid one, I'm just debating it. I think Lidstrom had just about as much of a leadership role in the Wings' previous Cup wins as he did in '08. You do not have to be the captain to lead the team. I just don't think Boston compares very favorably to the teams Detroit was able to ice. I think Hasek is a much better goalie than Roy, but many would not even consider that because Roy has more Cups. I tend to place less value on that than others, when rating them overall as a player.

Coffey and Housely especially were not anywhere close to being elite defensively. Bourque was. Like Orr (and Lidstrom), Bourque's defense did not suffer from also being involved offensively. Pronger and Neidermayer are the only sure Hall of Famers Lidstrom has been competing with this decade. Bourque was competing against (and beating) Langway, Robinson, Potvin, Coffey, Chelios, Murphy, Stevens, Leetch and MacInnis -- All Hall of Famers -- and Mark Howe (who should be). The level of competition is not even comparable. I am not sure if Pronger or Neidermayer is better than a single other defenseman I listed. Ok, they are better than Murphy. In 2001, a 40 year-old Bourque was runner-up to a 30 year-old Lidstrom for the Norris*. He was a first-team all star the year he retired and has a total of 13 first team all-star selections (more than any other player that has ever played in the NHL). Lidstrom is a bit of a late bloomer, but so far, Bourque has far exceeded him in longevity, having been excellent from the start of his career to the finish. First-team all star in both his first, and his last years in the NHL. * A year later a 41 year-old Chelios would narrowly lose to Lidstrom for the Norris -- Just think how good these guys were in their primes!

Ok, Messier is not better than Lemiuex because he led his teams to more Cups? More fair comparison? Bourque led the Avs defense in points his final year, was awarded as an alternative captain and made the first team all star that year. I think it was fair to say he was one of the guys who led that team to a Cup. Just as Zetterberg and Osgood had a fair share in leading the Wings to a Cup last year. The Avs certainly thought so and retired his jersey (as ridiculous as I think that might be). So far Bourque has had a better peak, as well as better longevity than Lidstrom. I consider Lidstrom slightly better defensively than Bourque, but Bourque was a lot better offensively (and also could play physical). Bourque had 1,579 points to Nik's 938; 5 Norris Trophies and 6 runner-ups to Lidstrom's 6 and 3 runner-ups; 13 first-team all star selections to Nik's 8 and 6 second-team all-stars to Nik's 0; and despite Nik having better teams, Bourque leads him in playoff points 180 to 149. While Bourque's points get a boost from playing in the 80s, he was also competing against a lot more Hall of Fame defenseman (in their primes) than Lidstrom has, for those Norris trophies. Hopefully Lidstrom has a ways to go, and his Conn Smythe trophy is definitely more impressive than Bourque's Calder. Bourque was legitimately robbed of of a Hart (left off the ballots in Edmonton, when Messier won by the smallest margin ever), and Lisdtrom I think has been unfairly overlooked in Hart voting until just recently.

I've never been too fond of the end-all be-all argument of Stanley Cups. Is Henri Richard better than Rocket because Henri won more Cups? Is Fuhr or even Osgood better than Hasek? It's tough to argue against 13 first team and 6 second team all star selections.

A friend of mine who is a Tootoo fan: "Tootoo isn't dirty, he's just... energetic."

Spitz never did what Phelps did, and Spitz is the only one even close to Phelps' level (8 vs. 7 gold this year and a total of 14 olympic gold medals to 9). If this wasn't an olympic year and we did not just have the greatest olympic performance ever, than I would love to see Lidstrom win... but he does not deserve it this year. Regarding the article: There are plenty who think Bourque is still better than Lidstrom, and they definitely have a good argument.

Getzlaf looks like that guy in high school wearing the pink American Eagle shirt with the collar up.