Andy Pred 48

I think that Calder could be the guy Flames need to watch more than Bert when he's back. Kyle has a good record against the Flames.

well here we are at the start of the real season and it looks like we have a clean bill of health, except Kronner. So Babs is exp over rook or form over name? All will become clear on Thursdat night but I see one of our young stars watching from the press box, for the first game at least. This could be some of our senior guys last shot at winning a contract so it'll be worth watching the play of Lang, Maltby, Bert and Calder up front as the series draws on. So I see Babs going with these lines; Zetterberg Datsyuk Holmstrom Bertuzzi Lang Calder Samuelsson Franzen Cleary Maltby Draper Filppula sorry Huds, but I do think you'll get your chance.

Well you did well there mate, just been released; Jan Mursak, the Red Wings' sixth-round draft choice last summer, has agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract with Detroit. The deal is waiting league approval which is expected either Tuesday or Wednesday. Murask, who's from Slovenia, spent this season (his first in North America) with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League, tallying 27 goals and 80 points in 62 games. The 19-year-old will likely play another season of junior hockey next winter. Another top prospect with a low pick , future looking good.

I know the AHL aint the NHL but Huds was a stud in the playoffs last year for the Griffs, 22pts in 16. Flip got 16 in 16 as these 2 led the team in playoff points, hope it rubs off on them this year. Like it has been said earlier, Huds is a goalscorer and chances a going to be at a premium. If you get one you gotta bury it, that theory leans towards Jiri getting the nod, but the size issue will be what sways Babs I feel.

yeh been tough on the Rangers. have outshot the Whalers both games and lost both. 1st 55-34 lost 5-6 and then 47-29 lost 2-3. Now don't this sound all to familiar to Wings fans come the playoffs!!

Its which guys Stevie wants for Team Canada at the champs....hehe

He can't get cleared until Tue due to medical reason's. No panic guys.

All the stats point towards Nic picking up his 5th Norris in 6 years. Its between Nic, Pronger and Niedermayer really. Nic was 5th overall in points with 62. Niedermayer topped with 69. Pronger 7th with 59. Nic was joint top +- with +40 alond with Preissing. Pronger 8th +27 and Niedermayer way down in 68th with +6. TOI is closer with Niedermayer 2nd with 27.30, Nic 3rd 27.29 and Pronger 4th 27.05. A close run thing this year but I would say the Captain should get the trophy once more.

This is going to be one very tight series guys. Regular series tied at 2 each with 12 goals for and 12 against!! The difference will be that we could if need be roll 4 lines all night. Not sure that the Flames have the same depth as us. It'll come down to how the coaches match up the lines, can Babs outdo the rookie Playfair? I think he will and I fancy us to nick a win away on the first trip, and the guys that will make the difference will be the unsung guys. I'm going with Cleary Filpulla and Franzen to be the game breakers. LETS GO WINGS!!

All NY state teams thru to the dance is that a first?

ISLES WIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you just know they are going out on a shoot out loss., wait a mo pp for the isle

what a way to blow it 7/10th's of a second left!!!!!!!! Fancy the Devs now, the Islanders look deflated after that. SOOOOOOOOO close, bet the Leafs are nervous as hell!!

Sweet, I think Kindl is going to be a Wing next year. If Jan can add some size he'll have an outside chance next camp too. Maybe another year in Saginaw will help him better but you never know.

is he going to GR with Emmerton?

Now forgive me for being cynical, but how many of the big guns at Calgary are gunna be healthy scratches tonight? Are the Avs the sort of team to try and rough up the team that took their spot in the postseason or not? Do they have any guys who could do this on the roster, they'll want to put a show on for their fans on the last night of the season so what better way than to beat up on the Flames. Maybe they won't fall to that level of play but if they did the only winners could be us! Will be interesting to see if the Avs call up Parker for this one!

Which player has had the best playoff beard? I think Mike Commadore looked the part with his big ging afro and playoff beard with the Canes.

Yeah, this was the kid that went toe to toe with Chara back in the lock out season.

I believe he was also MVP of the tourny too.

So the reg's are over and we finish with 50 wins for the 3rd time in 5 years. Well done to all the players and backroom staff on a season that has more than better'd our expectations at the start of the season. Now the real hard work starts, so lets get behind the boys and Babs and cheer them on to hopefully a deep playoff run.

Lily warming up for the post season

could we beat that Yote score early season, 9-2? Ere Sammy has 5 points already!!???

I was just thinking that since the introduction of the cap system has supposedly put all teams on a level playing field, should the way the draft system is done be changed? I can understand that in years gone by the more richer teams use to finish higher and so the weaker sides got the first pick of the new batch of talent on offer, to eventually give them better and stronger roster's. In this new cap era, I think that the way this is done should be changed. Finishing lower in the overall standings shouldn't benefit you with a higher draft pick anymore. Everyteam started the season with the same budget and in my view whoever manage's that the best should get rewarded not penalised as is the case at present. The Penguins have been bottom feeders for the past few years, got themselves some top young players and now look set to be a force for a few years. You could say they timed it right ,not knowingly thou and by this are going to benefit more than most whilst the cap is in place at its current state. But I suppose how would you sort out the draft order would be a big issue. Final standings overall would be the easy way of doing it, but I would like it to somehow have a bearing on the season to. So I would have a seperate table with all teams gaing points in this way. I would award 2 points for a home win 1 point for a draw and 3 points for winning on the road. The score at the end of 3 periods would used for the table. No OT would be used and no points for losing a game. This may in effect finish not to different to the actual league but some teams will have higher points than teams that finish higher in the official standings. For instance at present Calgary are 12th in the table with Tampa in 16th but in the draft table Tampa have 114 points to Calgary's 109. In effect it could mean 3 to 4 places higher in the draft, which in the 1st round could be very valuable. What thinks you all, should it be changed to be fairer or is it ok the way it is? Yeah I was bored of all the Dats talk and just thought I would give you something else to rip apart

I really don't think anyone on these boards know's what Igor is feeling or his future plans. I would say that he is a family man first of all and if he has any doubts over his family wanting to make the move then he won't leave his homeland. At the end of the day hockey is a short period in your life as a player compared to one's marriage. So although I for one will be disappointed if he never come's over the pond, I would understand it. The only thing we can judge the guy on is his stats in the Russian elite league and compare them to guys who have made the grade in the NHL. The only guy who has better stats in his Russian days is the kid Malkin at Pittsburg. Even Alex the Great is behind Grigorenko in points per game. So here's some cud to chew over and see what you make of it. The guy Morozov also had better stats than Grigs before he came over, love to have him here with Grigs as well. But he is back in Russia at present so I didn't include him. Russian Elite League stats before becoming an NHL player; Malkin; PL132 36+55 91 82pm ave ppg .69 Grigs; PL228 63+61 124 290pmn ave ppg .54 Semin; PL139 37+29 66 168pmn ave ppg .47 Alex ; PL151 36+33 69106pmn ave ppg .46 Frolov;PL 84 22+13 35 22pmn ave ppg .41 And as a side note; Fedorov PL 169 41+33 74 87pmn ave ppg .44 Kozlov PL 116 31+31 62 98pmn ave ppg .53 Prof : PL 450 201+230 431 291pmn ave ppg .96

The Caps will beat the Sabres today. Pass me another Bud dude :beerbuddy: