jpfalcon09

I felt the Wings were largely outplayed in the game. The shots didn't tell the tale of the game, Nashville seemed to have the better of the chances and definitely controlled the puck well in the Wings zone. The game showed me that the Wings need a guy who can hit and another scorer, this one line team is in trouble come playoff time if Hank and Dats get shut down. Beat Chicago on Tuesday.

For those who can't watch the game on TV, it'll be online via Comcast's hockey online broadcast. Just a tip! Wings 3 Hawks 2

4 games in 6 nights, give them a break guys. Teams have their off nights, it happens. Might as well trade the whole damn team with the mood on here right now, sheesh.

NHL on ESPN will never happen again. Bill Clement was on the radio last week and said the fact that ESPN got the NBA meant that the NHL would be greatly scaled back in terms of games shown, and even told the NHL there wasn't a guarantee the playoffs would be picked up. It's pretty obvious that once the lockout happened and ESPN got the NBA, the NHL was on death knell in terms of a suitor and OLN/NBC/Versus offered them the best deal. I've always been a big supporter of the NHL talking to Spike TV about a deal. With the UFC and TNA Wrestling on, I think they could market to a younger audience who obviously likes violence (real or fake). Most people get Spike on basic cable and they get good ratings for the UFC and TNA, about 1.7-2.0, so why not carry that over to the NHL? Just a thought.

Game 1: After the disappointment in 1995, my dad had a feeling the Wings were going to win this one. He took off work that night and we called my brother to come over to watch the game at our house, basically a ritual we do for every big Wings game. After the game ended, my dad told us this would be a sweep, and of course we thought he was nuts. Game 2: We all went to Fricker's in Toledo to hang out with about 60 Wings fans to watch the game. The atmosphere was electric, even for a city 60 miles away from Detroit, the passion of the Detroit fans that night has yet to be matched in my book. We were doing "Let's go Red Wings" chants all game, and whenever the Wings scored we would slap total stranger high fives. Simply an awesome experience. Game 3: Basically a repeat of Game1, but after the game my dad devised an awesome plan for Game 4. Game 4: I got home from school at 2:30 and my dad shocked me with the news: We were going to Detroit that night to watch the game and party with the Wings fans at Mac's on Third. The place was full to the brim, they actually had to stop people from coming in and put a TV outside so people waiting to get in could watch the game. The beer ran out midway through the game so the owner kept making repeated runs to the nearby carryout to pick up cases of beer, and it was needed since that place was probably close to 90 degrees inside. When the game ended, champagne was popped and sprayed everywhere and we all hugged about 40 people that were total strangers. My dad started crying because he never thought he would see the Wings win (as he did in 2004 when the Red Sox won), it was a really touching moment as a family. We then poured onto the streets, partying with people, shouting at passing cars as they honked, and just had an awesome time. Since then, we made a pact to get to Detroit whenever the Wings were playing in the Cup clinching game. In '98 we went to Marge's Bar and in '02 we got to Hockeytown Cafe. But as far as me, '97 was the best time by far.

I really hope Lapointe doesn't end back up in a Wings uniform. People tend to forget his blow up in the 2001 playoffs vs. LA that ultimately led to the Wings losing Game 6 and the series. He's older now too, and while he was a gritty player and all, I'd rather not have the Wings bring back a re-tread like him just as a stop gap. I wouldn't mind seeing Jeff O'Neill end up in a Wings uni, I've always liked his game and especially how he plays in the playoffs. Although, it'll be interesting to see where the Leafs are at the deadline.

Lang and Kronwall? Way too much. Max is a helluva player, but Biron isn't a tested goaltender...Kenny's throwing away the future of our defense if he pulls this off, definitely bears some watching.

A close friend of mine who lives in Boston says that the Shanahan deal is pretty much all but dead. There's been a lot of talk on WEEI (850 AM) stating that the Bruins feel that he's asking for too much and his best years are obviously past him. The "Boston Herald" deal is being reported on there as bogus since such a big contract to Shanny would put the B's very close to the cap limit, something that interim GM Jeff Gorton doesn't want to leave for his eventually replacement. My best bet would be that he's coming back to Detroit, only because they may be the only team who's actually willing to fork up the $$ to him. There is a lot of posturing going on by Curran, but when you're playing the market you don't want to tip off that your client is signing anywhere. I'd say right now it's 70-30 that he'll be back in a Wings uni.

I'm glad that Shanny will be moving on and that Boston will yet again overpay an ex-Wing. I thought they'd learn their lesson from Lapointe, but I guess not. I think if indeed this is true, Ken's gonna have to pull some sort of deal to compensate for depth at forward. Things are looking very thin and with the likes of Hudler or Filppula, the depth isn't going to get much better.