Lou_Siffer

HAHA! Nice. I know exactly who you're talking about. Dutch was the dude that fought Daniel before he fought Bobby in the semis, and landed the beatiful head kick on our boy Larusso (and quite mysteriously, Larusso only gets one point but somehow is awarded the victory) I couldnt find a pic either, but i definitely see the resemblance.

You know, something i was thinking about earlier was that thread way back about Barry Melrose saying Rafalski was better offensively than Schneider, but worse defensively. He was ridiculed here for saying that. Funny though, Matt definitely had his fair share of gaffs, but it seems to be much more commonplace with Rafalski. I dont know how Schnieder is playing defensively in Anaheim....but could it be Melrose was right in his assessment all along?

Damn...it looks like somebody put Joni Pitkanen's head in a vice.

So i guess Nick's hoes would be called Lids' trim??

That Lurch/Datsyuk comparison cracks me up everytime i see it. Bobby Holik isnt exactly a handsome gentleman.

Sorry i cant help myself

Me too. Chris Gratton would be a great addition for this team. Franzen for Gratton!

I wouldnt say its luck running out, its just things starting to come back down to earth. There was no way he was going to continue on with a sub 1.80 GAA and near .930 sv%. Things always have a way of leveling out eventually. This is not a knock on Osgood at all, he's just not good enough to be maintaining those insane numbers over a full season.

Agreed. He has gotten more and more boring... this season especially. Every fight is the same, he throws a few lefts....then slams the guy down. It probably has a ton to do with the fact that he doesnt love to fight, he just views it strictly as his job and thats it. Laraque just wants to get every fight done and over with as quickly as he can with the least amount of effort possible. No different than one of us clocking in, doing only enough work to not get fired....and running out the door every day at quittin' time.

I wouldnt say dropped....as the punch Orr threw didnt even land to Georges' head. Looked to have just hit him the back as Laraque was losing his balance. He gets the takedown, but decision definitely to Laraque imo.

A young Joey Kocur? I dont know lol, but thats the first thing that popped in my head when i saw the pic.

I'll give you the chemistry reason, but thats it. Good on the pk? So are a bunch of other guys on the team. Hits hard? Definitely not anymore. Agitates? Again, nothing like he used to. Toughness? Heck no. Downey brings a dimension the team lacks, Maltby doesnt.

Agreed. Maltby wont sit just because he's Maltby, but he'd be my choice to sit for Downey....even ahead of Kopecky. Never understood why he got re-signed for that long either.

The Ducks are rolling since Neidermayer's return, and are just two points behind SJ after tonight's win i believe. Funny how a team that sucks and is of no concern to so many here may very well end up with the 2 seed.

On the downside, all we're going to hear about for the next 3 days is Romo's trip to Mexico with Jessica Simpson.

He's having a down year but still, he's had a 20+ goal scoring year under his belt and also fits right in with Anaheims scrappy forwards. On paper its a fair deal for both sides....as Ruutu is still only 24 and was a 9th overall pick. Beauchemin isnt exactly having a good year either so far by the way. Im not necessarily saying i'd make the trade, but considering for this season they have Neidermayer, Pronger, and Schneider on D.... that swap would make their team better overall imo. On top of that if Selanne were to come back, they'd be loaded once again.

Kopecky not scoring isnt a big issue if he's playing consistantly physical....but he's not. That needs to be his role on the team and it seems to be one that he's not natural at and/or not embracing. There was a small stretch of games, after being scratched and told by Babs he needed to be more physical, that he really started laying the body alot. It made you think there might be something there for a decent 4th liner. Now its totally disappeared again and he's once again looking totally useless and invisible. Others have thrown this name around but i'd love to see Chris Gratton have his spot.

Very true there as well. Hutchinson was a huge loss. Nice to see im back to being wrong again! No way did i think the Giants would ever make it this far. Might as well stick with my gut though, I think GB wins handily.

Yeah really, .015 is around 1/2 to 3/4 of a friggin' beer. Alcohol was no factor.

Yep, thats why i hate the hit stat...theres nothing more misleading than that. A little love tap into the glass counts the same as a guy getting steamrolled. It was clearly obvious Ottawa won the physical battle.

It doesnt happen often but occasionally i get something right! Time for fraud #2 the Giants to be exposed tonight.

Yep, up until last year's playoffs i wasnt at all sold on Cleary....but that changed! Agree on Hudler in the playoffs, i just dont see him being a producer then either.

- protect and defend teammates - change momentum (theres a Zetterberg quote that confirms this if you dont believe me) - lessens stick work and cheap shots ( yeah, its still obviously there...but if the instigator rule was removed you'd see its true impact in this area) - intimidation (yes, thats part of the game) - entertainment for fans - builds comradery amongst your team (the whole going to battle together thing..) - calms the storm (meaning, a guy who's running everyone and playing very physical tends to significantly quiet down after having to fight)

I believe the point is having someone to potentially counter Chris Neil as skacore mentioned, who is known for dishing out plenty of big hits and playing a very tough game. This is exactly the reason you carry someone like Downey on your roster. What the hell would Drake do if Neil gets out of hand...aside from taking a pounding? Its situations like this where i just hope Neil goes balls to the wall hammering every body in sight....just to make them regret not dressing him.

I'd go: 1) Hudler 2) Franzen 3) Flip 4) Cleary Hudler would garner significantly more than Franzen in a trade, and would need to go for something we lack throughout the organization. Hint: small, unphysical skill guy isnt it. Franzen before Flip is a no brainer...and i choose Cleary last because he's one of those heart and soul guys you absolutely need in the playoffs.