Coyote0106

Awesome! Thank you. I can't wait.

The ref was horrible! Hartford took a couple shots that were ugly, the ref let it go. Then we get a phantom hooking call. The ref blows the whistle for a penalty, a Hartford player goes to the box. He doesn't *****, or moan. Just straight to the box, the ref skates over, and kicks him out, and brings in a Griffin. WTF? But as for our players: Ericsson phoned in the first 2 periods. He wasn't skating, he wasn't making the passes. He was just lazy. He had 2 bad turnovers in one shift, and that led to the 2nd Hartford goal. He needs to play a full 60 minutes, period. You can't do that if you want to be in the NHL. Helm had another big night. He made at least 2 BIG hits, and was involved in almost every shift. He was creating plays, and killing penalties. It was a good effort from him Kindl also played a great game. He was really working the PP tonight, which is a good thing. He could still shoot a little more from the point, but that is alright. Good game for him. Galvin had a tough night on D as well, but he's only a Griffin contract, so I wont say too much about him. Haydar is day-to-day with a minor injury. It was good seeing Downey back on the ice. He hit a couple people, and Tardiff sacrificed the body alot to make the play. It was a great game by some, good game by most, and horrible game for a few. It was nice to see a win with the ref blowing the game.

I wish we had Downey for this game. Hartford is a very physical team. Look at their amount of fighting majors, and well just PIM in general. 366 PIM in 12 games means 30.5 PIM/game. That is a ton. We better be prepared to play a physical game.

So PJ Atherton has been called back up to the Griffs. Why? No one appeared to go down hurt that I can recall during Tuesday's game. Could someone (Ericsson) be getting called up? That'd explain a replacement D-man for us. Downey is rumored to have been placed on waivers again. This seems strange. I guess only time will tell. Edit: Here is the link to the callup. http://www.fan590.com/news/nhl/more.jsp?content=h111202A Edit2: Someone brought up when they talked to Aaron he said he wasn't skating cause he was in fact on waivers. So I take that as truth, the question is why?

Griffins called up a defenceman from Las Vegas. Downey didn't play on Tuesday and it rumored to have been put on waivers again. Change might be in the works.

Yes, explain. Someone else said they heard such a rumor. Why would he have to clear waivers again?

Our D was perfect. They had a couple of errant passes, but nothing bad at all. The completely shut down Houston. I don't want to take away from Larsson's shutout, but the shots he faced were all really easy. Our D just wouldn't let them do anything. Helm had a BIG hit in the first period. It was loud, and rattled everything. He had a really strong game, and the goal was a nice one. Kindl and Ericsson had big nights on D. They were blocking passing lanes, and doing a good job of keeping people to the outside. Ericsson was huge for us in the final minute. I was looking at Kindl's stats, and he is a -4, which shows me how useless that stat is. He has had a really good start, with only a few hiccups, while his defense partner has led to his negative stat. It's really unfortunate for him. Mursak had a couple big shifts, his penalty was bogus. It was a very weak call. He missed an empty net in the final seconds of the game, and even sacrificed his body to block a couple shots. His defensive skills are very good. Emmerton, to me, needs to bulk up a little. He is getting pushed off the puck easily, but when he does get open space makes nice plays. Leino looked alittle "slow" tonight, but after a couple games off, it's no big deal. As for Ritola, he had a good game being on a line with Abdelkader. They were creating Havoc in the offensive zone, and were just unable to score. All of our guys played the full 60 minutes. It's down right scare for the opposing team if they see us play like this all the time.

Well im at the game, and Downey didnt dress for warm-ups. I hope it isnt anything major.

Mitch Love is on the Houston team...expect some fireworks. Whatever team he has played for, he has stirred the pot against the Griffs. He STARTED our "rivalry" with Lake Erie last year. It might not be real bad as Quincey is gone (that was his main issue it seemed). Jon Insana also makes the return trip to the Van. People around here are under the impression that he is a good D man for some reason. Can't wait to prove 'em wrong.

This could have been a real costly loss. Howard got hit, Snitzer came out and looked at him, and he finished the second period. He was replaced to start the third. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

You know, it really is. McGrath had a really good game last night, so he probably got the nod tonight because of that. But then again, Mursak had a good one, too. It has to be hard to juggle all these offensive players.

I missed how the Downey fight turned out. The radio just made it sound like a one-hitter from Downey.

Yeah, I'm in 108, so I heard those Downey chants....and the "make my sheets soft" stuff, too. That was humorous. And that is interesting the coach ignored Ericsson. I don't pay much attention to the coach this year, but as long as he isn't like last years, I'm happy.

It'd be really nice to see him get a point, but I'm happy even if he doesn't. The element he brings to this team is amazing. It is very much like McCarty did last year. He might not have a C or an A but he is without question one of the leaders in the dressing room. He talks to the young guys that have had a bad shift, he rallies the troops....He then goes out throws a couple big hits, and stands up for his teammate. I'm THRILLED to have him on this team.

And it was posted in the general discussion that Leino was out with a "sore hip"

This game really was all Jimmy. He did everything in his power to win it. He made some great saves, and his one goal was just one helluva shot. I definitely don't blame him for not being able to stop it. In the 1st, Mursak had his most impressive shift. He got back defensively to prevent a rush, then made some nice passes and moves in the offensive end. He really does back-check well. He got a little too pretty in the 3rd, and ended up getting sat down, but that comes with the territory. He looked really good tonight. Abdelkader is great with deflections. He is in a pack of people, and is still able to get his stick on the puck to deflect it. Kindl made a couple nice plays to cover for his D partner. Ericsson made a lot of small mistakes, but nothing major. Overall, it was a good game for this team. They didn't let the goal get to them, and fought back for a big win. The have got much better defensively, and Howard isn't having any bad games (yet) like he did last year.

Here's a nice little article that pretty much sums up Lake Erie for us. http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index.ssf/20...miliar_opp.html

Kindl had a night to be forgotten. He was terrible. He needs to shoot on the PP, and stop getting beat when he pinches in.

Well, we lose in OT. Tonight we have Milwaukee at home. And don't forget, it's Obama-McCain bobblehead night.

I really didn't notice him that much. So he either A) Didn't play much, or B) Didn't make any glaring mistakes, or any spectacular plays. For some reason I'm leaning towards B.

I'm really happy with our D tonight. They all stepped up, and didn't make any bad turnovers. A lack of communication (and an eye on the PK clock) led to the one goal against. They had another good chance not long after that, and Kindl took the penalty to keep it at 1-0. Kindl played a really good game, it seems like he is over his bad start for sure. Helm missed a breakaway shot, hitting the post. Oulahen got pretty lucky on the goal, but it works. He stuffed it short side, but it didnt even look like he got the shot off. It's great watching this team, because we have so many offensively capable guys. I'm just happy our D showed up, and Howard stood on his head.

This is one of those games, that I've been looking forward to. The crunchberries have quickly turned into a rival. Their Captain was running to the media last year, taking shots at us. Hopefully Downey knocks someone out this game.

Kindl is doing really well. He has been on the ice for a couple goals, but they were not his doing. His D partner has made some bad turnovers causing the goals. He didn't have the slow start that he has had last year (and apparently in Juniors, too). I'd still say Howard is the man, but Larsson is going to be strong in a year or two. Howard will have to look over his shoulder, just not yet.

That's the two. Pyett and Kolosov are the only other RW guys on the D line. They are both not ready. Pyett is atleast playing most games. Kolosov isn't playing much. They both have made HORRIBLE turnovers (along with everyone other than Kindl and Ericsson). They are definitely 2 years out, atleast. Either that, or they are just having a really, really bad start to the season.

That's a really good point. Ericsson is out there a lot. Maybe these other guys are trying to make the big play to impress the coach because of playing time, and get burned. The season is young, I'm sure it will be turned around at some point.