egroen

So +\- is more important than the fact Visnovsky is several levels lower than Lidstrom in defensive play?

Visnovsky should need about 20 pts more than Lidstrom to make up for the defensive gap between the two.

Most of the big, skilled North Americans are taken so early, and gone before the Wings draft. Wings do draft a decent amount of big guys, just few actually make it. It's usually the smaller skilled guys who end up making the team.

Mursak and Janik shoul be the first call ups for any injured or sucky players.

Win it for Modano! And Mike better play like a man possessed dammit.

Hossa played hardball with Holland and Kenny went with his backup. It's too bad (for us) Hossa did not start out with what he eventually signed with the Hawks, as he would have been a Wing. I think Franzen still could wow us in the playoffs, so I'm really not crying too hard over it.

Well at least something good came out of this game. I kid, I kid.

Murphy looks awful! Like he just got stung in the throat by a bee.

Who the helll put Fleury up there as a Hart candidate???

I love drinking angry

Wings played the game for a full 2 minutes there! Bravo!!!!

About how I figured this one would go... Almost didn't bother watching. Keep reminding myself: playoffs, playoffs

I want Chicago out of the playoffs for the sheer hilariousness of it.

The rules clearly state a goal is only allowed from a kicking motion if it then hits any players' stick other than the goalies. You can pretty much eliminate anything else - post, other player, dead octopi, etc... I believe the NHL did issue a statement that the puck hit Hossa's stick and fully crossed the goal line. You're trying to make sense of something that does not make sense.

I will be shocked if the Wings win a single game - they are coasting, most likely resting players, without Zetterberg, and the Hawks are playing for their lives.

I would give it zero games (very similar to Bertuzzi's recent hit)... Wouldn't gripe much over 1 or 2. 2 + 2 playoff games is ridiculous.

The whole idea that there has to be "conclusive evidence" to overturn an on-ice officials' call is actually bogus. Which is interesting, as it is always presented to us in this way. The actual rules concerning goal reviews: http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26326 Once it goes to review, Toronto makes the sole decision - completely regardless of what the on-ice call was. The war room is not "over-ruling" anything, as once it goes to review the on-ice call is void. Every single called goal should be reviewed to ensure the puck was indeed in the net. In this case, every angle showed Hossa kick the puck. No angle showed he made contact with his stick and no angle showed the puck over the line. 100% no goal, according to NHL rules. The video review judge does •not• need to overrule the on-ice official in any way or show conclusive proof something did 'not' happen. The decision is the review judge's alone. EDIT: So if I am reading this right, the impetus on the reviewer's part is to prove it •was• a goal, not that it was •not• a goal. Big difference. That's exactly the opposite of how it is always presented to us "War room needs conclusive evidence to overturn an on-ice call". There is zero video evidence in this case that was a goal. That is what is important. IMO, this just makes this debacle worse.

The best angle: You can clearly see Hossa whiff and the reason the puck has a miniscule chance in trajectory is because it bounced off the post rolling on it's side before Whobbling and leveling off. Both Hossa and Sharp have stated they did not believe it was a goal. These botched no-goal/goal/intent to blow calls infuriate me and have really made the sport less enjoyable for me. I am literally at a point where I just wish they would get rid of instant replay and the overhead camera angle as I would be happier in ignorance. What is the point in having it if the NHL refuses to use it to correct poor on-ice calls (on goals)? Malik recently posted this topic actually came up at a GM meeting, but the idea of reviewing calls such as when a whistle was blown after the puck was in the net was turned down because they do not like taking decisions away from the on-ice officials. In other words, the officials' ability to make incorrect calls is something they feel the NHL should go out of their way to protect. Wonderful.

In one of the worst calls anyone has ever seen, benefitting a division rival, you come in and spend a lot of time and energy arguing... For what exactly? It's your MO. Wings get blown out? You can always count on Nightfall to appear out of the blue to belittle and argue with Wings fans who are upset and understandably guilty of hyperbole. Maybe I am the only one, but it is annoying and takes away from the site.

Basically O'Halloran, Nightfall and a handful of Chicago fans.

Chara's already robbed Lidstrom of one Norris, I'm not sure he will rob him of another. There will be a spread this year - for Chara, Weber, Visnovsky, Yandle, Letang - but I think/hope those votes will cancel each other out with Lidstrom not needing a clear majority to win it. He is a definite choice for votes, whether 1st, 2nd or 3rd - while the others will be all over the board.

Here's a list from someone I know who keeps a database where points are awarded for accomplishments (please don't make me try and explain it) - it's not too bad, actually. 1 Gordie "Mr. Hockey" Howe RW 6376.50 2 Nicklas "Lids" Lidstrom D 3000.00 3 Ted "Scarface" Lindsay LW 2500.50 4 Terry "Ukey" Sawchuk G 2370.00 5 Red "Cornflakes" Kelly D 2355.00 6 Steve "Stevie Wonder" Yzerman C 2027.50 7 Alex "Fats" Delvecchio C 1896.10 8 Sid "Bootnose" Abel C 1440.50 9 Sergei "FedEx" Fedorov C 1389.50 10 Jack "Black Jack" Stewart D 1320.45 11 Ebbie "Poker Face" Goodfellow D 1257.25 12 Norm "Noisy" Ullman C 1248.00 13 Marcel Pronovost D 1121.20 14 Syd Howe C 996.00 15 Pavel "Dats" Datsyuk C 944.00 16 Brendan "Shanny" Shanahan LW 786.50 17 Chris "Ozzy" Osgood G 730.00 18 Harry "Apple Cheeks" Lumley G 723.50 19 Bill "Quack" Quackenbush D 696.20 20 Marty "Goal-a-Game" Barry C 695.00 21 Larry "Little Dempsey" Aurie RW 661.00 22 John "Mum" Mowers G 655.50 23 Norm "Normie" Smith G 617.00 24 Glenn "Mr. Goalie" Hall G 576.00 25 Henrik "Hank" Zetterberg LW 569.00 26 Chris "Cheli" Chelios D 558.85 27 Roger "Roger The Dodger" Crozier G 556.50 28 Herbie "The Duke Of Duluth" Lewis LW 542.00 29 Kris "Nails" Draper C 530.50 30 Marty "Sabu" Pavelich LW 516.00 31 Tomas "Homer" Holmstrom LW 505.00 32 Modere "Mud" Bruneteau RW 495.50 33 Earl "Dutch" Reibel C 459.50 34 Carl "Lefty" Liscombe LW 448.00 35 Igor "The Professor" Larionov C 445.50 36 Vyacheslav "Kozzie" Kozlov LW 439.00 37 Darren "Big Mac" Mccarty RW 426.50 38 Leo Jr. Reise D 418.75 39 Bob "Golden Boy" Goldham D 413.20 40 Vladimir "Vlad The Impaler" Konstantinov D 408.85 41 Paul "Coff" Coffey D 405.20 42 Mickey "Mick" Redmond RW 387.10 43 Kirk "Captain Kirk" Maltby LW 386.00 44 John "Long John" Sorrell LW 380.00 45 Johnny "Iron Man" Wilson LW 367.50 46 Frank "Flash" Hollett D 363.40 47 Joe "Dad" Carveth RW 363.00 48 John Ogrodnick LW 341.50 49 Metro Prystai C 340.50 50 Bruce "The Redheaded Rocket" Macgregor RW 328.00 50 Mike "Vernie" Vernon G 328.00 52 Frank "Big M" Mahovlich LW 315.50 53 Dominik "The Dominator" Hasek G 299.00 54 Marcel "Little Beaver" Dionne C 292.00 55 Vic "Yogi" Stasiuk RW 291.50 56 Jim "Lefty" Mcfadden C 289.50 57 Douglas "The Gleichen Cowboy" Young D 285.20 58 Gerard "Spuddy" Gallant LW 282.00 59 John "The Port Perry Woodpecker" Roach G 277.50 60 Martin "The Bulldog" Lapointe RW 272.50 61 Bill "Gads" Gadsby D 269.00 62 Don "Count" Grosso C 266.50 63 Benedict "Benny" Woit D 264.15 64 Doug "Brownov" Brown RW 263.00 65 Parker Macdonald LW 260.00 66 Glen "Big Sam" Skov C 257.00 67 Tony "Tough Tony" Leswick RW 250.00 68 Larry "Murphs" Murphy D 248.15 69 Reed "Otis" Larson D 238.85 70 Gary "Bergie" Bergman D 235.50 71 Viacheslav "Papa Bear" Fetisov D 234.85 72 Floyd "Smitty" Smith RW 234.50 73 Nick Libett LW 233.05 74 Alex Motter D 231.70 75 Warren "Rocky" Godfrey D 225.10 76 Bob Rouse D 221.50 77 Wilfred "Bucko" Mcdonald D 219.25 78 Shawn Burr LW 217.00 79 Ralph "Scotty" Bowman D 213.00 80 Gord "Gosh" Pettinger LW 212.50 81 Eddie Wares RW 212.00 82 Jimmy Orlando D 211.40 83 Hec "Hurricane Hec" Kilrea LW 209.50 84 Brett "The Golden Brett" Hull RW 208.00 85 George "The Western Wizard" Hay C 203.50 86 Ray Sheppard RW 201.00 87 Mathieu "Dandy" Dandenault D 195.60 88 Gerry "Doc" Couture RW 192.00 89 Bill "Foxy" Dineen RW 190.00 90 Doug Barkley D 183.70 91 Dino "The Dinosaur" Ciccarelli RW 181.50 92 Carson "Shovel-Shot" Cooper C 178.50 93 Joey "Bonecrusher" Kocur RW 176.50 94 George Gee C 172.50 95 Peter Goegan D 170.70 96 Keith "Preems" Primeau LW 168.50 97 Hal Jackson D 167.90 98 Dale "Chief" Mccourt C 162.50 99 Wilf "Petch" Cude G 162.00 100 Jim M. Sr. "Shakey" Peters RW 161.00

Awesome!

I think it would be awesome to see a female player in the NHL.... It just seems the odds will be very stacked against her. In high school, girls are completely mature and grown, while many boys continue to grow into their early 20s. Strength will be an issue, and speed - a lot to overcome, but it will be incredible when a woman does finally do it.

I have legit complaints about this team, but I still think they have a fair shake at the Cup this year. Other than last year, I am usually pretty pissy with the Wings play at the end of the regular season. It's still the same team that was dominating the league in the first couple months, I think this team is a bit disinterested at this point of the year and they do conserve strength for the playoff push, IMO. It's why they often do not perk up until down a point or two and fall asleep with a good lead. As annoying as that is to watch as a fan, there is some wisdom for conserving energy and not risking injuries this close to the playoffs. I probably would not really want this team going 110% every game and going hog-wild for the President's Trophy.... They're a savvy team of veterans and probably give themselves every advantage going into the playoffs. So I think they have a decent chance this year, but I wouldn't be completely shocked if they went out in the early rounds, either. I just, at this point, believe they are capable of playing much better and that the proverbial switch does exist for this team.