Mckinley25

I haven't watched Chicago at all, but with Detroit, in spite of any point totals, the defense is not good at helping the offense gain and sustain pressure. Particularly at 5 on 5. I don't know what Detroit's defensive numbers look like outside the man advantage, or if it even matters, but something was amiss with their transition game. I agree Kronwall is a #1, and I honestly forgot about him when I stated our best offensive d-men were average. Everybody but him are average. I think Babcock can be credited with the shot suppression and possibly also with the transition game.

It's partly because our defense is terrible at offense. Every game I watched I was cringing at our transition attempts. Sustained pressure starts with defensemen who can move the puck forward and be relied upon to be part of the offensive cycle. It felt like there were always 3 players trying to create instead of five, the forwards never even looked comfortable passing back to the defense, which results in poor angle shots and turnovers. I'm certain there's more to it than that, but our best offensive defensemen are average at best.

I'm getting impatient waiting for league parity to make Chicago garbage again.

It seems big splashes at the trade deadline can be tricky because chemistry is so important. Although as Bowman used to say, good players should be able to play with anyone.

You can't make babies by taking other men into the closet. Though I suppose you could fill out adoption papers in there. Which is cool.

Which team matches up better against Chicago?

Doesn't want anyone to know he still uses VHS?

When did Michael Bay start directing sporting events?

http://www.nhl.com/ice/m_news.htm?id=751077 He seems to have stated the opposite.

What is it with McGrattan and taking men into closets? Does his girlfriend know?

Tarasenko is going to make 8 million?

Remember in the 90's when they'd throw their gloves in the air then shoot at them with their sticks? I used to love that.

Oh, football. He's not doing well? I thought he was the second coming of Scott Mitchell or something.

Who's the other?

That laffy taffy thing really upset you, hey? I never had them but I feel like I really missed out.

They want someone who already has the skill, hoping they'll bulk up (like Datsyuk), because size can be added after they're drafted, but it's less likely the skill will be. That being said, the last draft they certainly focused on size, and centers.

I don't know that he prefers that, it's just your best chance at getting a steal late in the draft. He did try to get Phaneuf, arguably the best D man on the trading block (besides Yandle I guess) he just likely didn't want to give too much, which is good.

What's the DH?

I like it, white is generic, let the away team be the generic team and home team show their colors.

Sounds like something Crosby would say.

I think it was less Stamkos sucking and more the Wings being awesome.

I'm going to go with the default Red Wings prospect description: Helm with hands. I'm just really really waiting for that guy.

I don't know, did they really not have it? I wasn't around then but I've talked to people who were and even read some things that suggested that there were a lot of players back in the day who were less than ethical, as it were. It's easy to think of those times as the glory years because we are so far removed that we only know them from the exceptional moments that still get talked about. The majority of games weren't televised, there's limited footage and almost no way to interpret what does exist. I mean, even our golden boy Stevie Y had a Crosby like reputation for a while. I could even buy that there was less whining, but we know the cheap shots were worse! They were brutal, Redmond always talks about Gordie's famous elbows! Again, I wasn't there, so this is just a mildly educated guess, but I would bet embellishment happened frequently, (I mean, it's not like these people are known for being the bastions of morality) and if it didn't, it seems logical that it had more to do with how the officiating handled diving. It's likely that if fewer penalties were called, there would be no benefit to embellish. That's my issue with the games that I see, (which unfortunately aren't many) players are being rewarded for diving by the resulting penalties to the opposing teams. It's in their best interest! The league needs to put their collective thinking caps on and find the best way to solve these problems. ( for the record, I think the league does a great job overall, with the increase in speed and skill comes an equal increase in the challenge to maintain a fair balance of officiating on the ice.)

Didn't holland trade for a extra pick to get him too? Or am I thinking of Emmerton?

I totally agree that there's a lot of inconsistency in how the game is officiated, but we can't ignore that the players are getting stronger, faster and more skilled. That above all else is the cause of change we see in the NHL. They did put restrictions on goalie equipment size, while still keeping them protected. Remember, not a single goalie would've been ok being maskless with Weber shots flying by eye level at 100 mph.