Dawgs

The Wingedwheel is instantly recognizable over the entire hockey world. It is the best logo in all of sports. It is associated with excellence. The history is storied. And this guy wants to change it? Makes me want to puke.

Detroit has played 13 games. Seven players have 10 points or more. Maybe you should do some more research.

Ok, who is overlooking the opponent now? Zetterberg and Datsyuk are easily on par with Malkin, Crosby and Hossa. In fact, Id say they are better. Fourth and sixth in points, second in assists, fifth in goals and both are Selke candidates. Datsyuk didnt only lead the NHL in takeaways, he lapped the pack with 140+ to 80 for second. Datsyuk led the league in +/- in the regular season with Hank not far behind. In the playoffs Hank leads in +/-. Crosby leads the playoffs in points but hes a +5. Doesnt scare me much. Ill take the complete package over the one dimensional player any day on my team. Detroits forwards are better than the Pens. You have some nice talent at the top but cant match Detroits depth. Our fourth line center has more points than anyone on your team not named Crosby, Malkin or Hossa. We roll four lines and they all score. Pittsburgh cant match that. Even with the top playoff goal scorer in the playoffs, a guy with 26 goals in 26 games, sitting. And please dont kid yourself about the Pens defense matching up with Detroits. That is a complete mismatch. Your best defender would be on our third pairing.

The refereeing in the NHL is terribly inconsistent. Whats not called one second is a penalty the next depending on the situation. Make up calls are rampant. Its very easy to point to bad officiating as a reason your team loses. But to an unbiased eye in any given game both teams get good calls and bad calls. It does even up. It doesnt make it right though and timing is everything. When you see a call go against Pavel in a one goal game with a minute left which turns the tide of not just the game but the series, it does cloud the eventual Cup win for Anaheim IMO.

Game 2 was really more of the same if less spectacular. A methodical beatdown is still a beatdown. The numbers prove it. 34-18 shots, 39-26 hits, 71% on faceoffs. A goal called back because of a handpass where the puck never touched his hand. The Stars did do a better job in the neutral zone and were able to get some zonetime. Thier top line though has 5 shots in the series after getting 4 in game 2. Hell, Hank had 7 himself last night. What Osgood did happens every day on rinks across the world. It was a goalie trying to slow down a forward about to lay a big hit on a vulnerable defensemen. That it led to a viscious baseball swing from a frustrated Ribiero is the only reason it was ever mentioned. What Turco did throughout the game, rabbit punches to the back of Homers head (which by rule should incur a match penalty, look it up) the trip on Filpula and the slashes were far worse. And Otts mugging of Draper from behind with 4.9 seconds left and then getting another 10 minute misconduct along with Ribieros match penalty shouldnt be overlooked. Ribieros main problem here besides the actual chop on a goaltender is that it happened after time expired. The NHL has said in the conference calls (per Babcock's post game presser) that s*** like that wont be tolerated. Please dont try to justify what Ribiero did because of a nothing play by Ozzie.

No offense taken here, no worries. Were just a little sensitive about it because its one of the main topics among hockey pundits when they talk about Detroit. Mitch Alboms uninformed article sent in from his digs in L.A. havent helped matters. I used to have season tickets. They were in my family since the 1949 season. I can no longer afford to keep them. I have a flatwork concrete business and there has been no work for 2 years. Its tuff when contractors are making bids that will lose them money just so they dont lose thier crews and therefore their company. Not to mention thier equipment and their homes. I bid a MDOT job at 3.85 a foot that in 2005 I would have bid 5.85 a foot. At 5.85 I make about 10% profit. Thats before fuel jumped over 1.00 a gallon in the last year. Ill lose at 3.85 but I cant lose my guys. The worst part is they had near 50 bids and I was middle of the pack. It seems every job I get is further and further from home. I did a job in Ohio last fall and in Florida this spring. Now Im considering an offer to go to Iraq as a rodbuster on a one year contract. Im 42 years old with a wife and family and a degree in construction engineering and I have to go back to laboring just to keep the things I have now. But 182k for a years work is awful tempting no matter if contractors are being kidnapped and beheaded or not.

Alot of the world learns English almost from birth. It is the language of business and politics. There just isnt one other particular language thats important enough to teach in the schools of English speaking countries. Learn Russian and your helpless in France or Italy or Spain. But learn English and chances are where ever you go in those countries you will find someone who you are able to converse with. I appreciate the article and translation and welcome aboard.

Doubt it unless they have absolutely no faith in Howard, meaning hes probably not far off from being done in this organization.

If any of the young Wings goalies of the last decade had diplayed any kind of consistency, they would have had a shot. Neither Liv nor Howard have ever shown they can be consistent at the levels they have played, let alone in the best hockey league in the world. The Wings "goalie carosel" as you put it Osgod, has been one of necessity, not of a bias against young goaltenders. In fact, I think the Wings have done a pretty good job at a reasonable price, cobbling together as good a situation in net as they can with the lack of a true top young goalie prospect in the system. It will be good for Howard to be pushed by Larsson. And it will be good for Larssen to spend a full season playing North American hockey on a small rink. May the best man win. I fully expect one to backup Ozzie next season and maybe the season after and relegating Ozzie as back up in the last year of his contract.

Plain and simple Mitch Albom is a tool. He doesnt even live in Detroit anymore, he lives in L.A. WTF does he know about anything Detroit.

Empty seats are a combination of factors converging into the perfect storm. Corporate owners hold a large percentage of those lower bowl seats that are the only ones seen on TV. They are there entertaining clients who rarely have any vested interest in the actual game let alone the team. Ive been to two games this playoff year with my two brothers and we were willing to pay the 200+ bucks per ticket but have problems finding 4 seats together in the lower bowl unless we go to a broker or scalper meaning we pay even more than face value. The upper bowl is pretty much full even though they have to be the worst seats in the entire NHL. Its the economy stupid. The U.S. economy is bad but not nearly as bad as it is in Michigan. We are in a one state depression and have among the highest gas prices in the nation. Want to take your family to a game? For just the tickets you will be paying 400+ dollars for four. And thats for nosebleed. The seats ya see on TV will cost 900 bucks for 4. Add souveniers like a hat or tee shirt maybe a program and then concessions and your looking at a 500 or 600 dollar night for nosebleed and 1000+ for lower bowl. The choice becomes pay 100 dollars to fill up my tank so I can get to work or blow a weeks income on a 3 hour night of entertainment. Competiton for the entertainment dollar. The Pistons are in the playoffs and the preseason hype surrounding the Tigers have definately taken a large chunk of the fans who would usually attend the Wings playoffs. The Pistons ticket prices are much more family friendly and you can get a family of four into a Tigers game for less than 100 bucks. Not to mention the draw of three casinos in the city now. Concessions and bathrooms. If youve ever been to the Joe you know how bad the lines are. Alot of fans arent in thier seats until theres 5 minutes gone in the period and they begin trickling out with 5 minutes left, so you have a full looking crowd for the middle ten minutes of each period. Seventeen years of continued excellence has eroded the excitment of the bandwagoners. True hockey fans still go to the games in droves. Its the older monied set who used to go to the games to be seen more than to watch that no longer show up. And alot of these people still hold season tickets. Give em a s***ty team for 5 years and youd see the unbridled enthusiasm seen in cities that do not have the Wings record over the past two decades. The bandwagoners would jump back on. Mr. Illitch and his marketing staff have also missed the boat. They should have reduced ticket prices when payroll was reduced 50% after the lockout. They need to do more promotions that encourage families to attend. The Pistons have a 99$ family special. You can get your family into a Tigers game for less than 100. A hundred bucks can be justified in a families budget, 600 to 1000 dollars cant. With that said Ive been to 2 playoff games this year and the Joe has looked pretty full to me but when I watch on TV it looks empty.

I was at game 1 against Dallas and game 2 against the Avs. Those games were packed. If you know the situation with concession sales and bathrooms at the Joe youd understand why at the beginning and end of periods the place looks empty. The fans are all out on the freaking concourse. People dont get into thier seats until the 5:00 minute mark and start trickling out again at the 15:00 minute mark so you end up with a full looking house for about 10 minutes/period. Also the great majority of the lower bowl seats you see on TV are corporate owned. Those ticket holders often have much less of a vested interest in the actual game so spend more time away from thier seats. Pile on the economy here in Michigan which is by far the worst in the nation and among the highest gas prices in the country and your typical blue collar hockey fan must decide on 200 hundred bucks for a ticket or putting gas in your car so ya can get to work.

Detroit is the deepest team left in the playoffs. They have the most skill top to bottom. They have the best defense. 82 games in the regular season and 11 so far in the playoffs have demostrated this point quite well. If Detroit plays its game it will continue to make Dallas look bad no matter if Dallas plays thier game or not. Detroit is simply a more complete hockey team. Conversely, the two weak offensive teams that Dallas has played made them look so much better than what thier roster would indicate. Dallas hasnt faced this level of skill and speed. And do not doubt that Detroit is a level above Anaheim and San Jose. Just look at last years playoffs. If Kronwall and Schneider had been healthy and the refs hadnt stolen game 4 from Detroit with the chintziest penalty call Ive ever seen with 1 minute left in a one goal game, Anaheim wouldnt have won a cup.

I said Sammy. Hes been tremendous in these playoffs. If youd take the blinders off youd see it too. Hes made a couple blunders and his shot accuracy leaves something to be desired, but hes been a horse on the forecheck. He should have 4 or 5 more assists if Hudler and others had buried his passes into wide open nets in the first round. To me hes been instrumental in Franzens streak. Hes been the key to the second line and the second power play. Hes worked well with Hudler on that unit. This is the best 10 games Ive ever seen him play for the Wings. By far the best. Him stepping up has been one of the keys to this run so far.

Even NBA teams do this now. Its passe` and makes the fans look unsophisticated. Its like the wave now. Done that, lets move on.... please.

Dave Strader should be doing these games for NBC. Hes the best in the business.

Detroit was dominant most of the time in this game. Thier forecheck was strong and the Avs had a hard time stopping the transition game. The Avs had little forecheck going besides the last couple shifts in the third and a couple shifts in the second. They were dangerous in transition. The Wings speed exposed what looked like a slow Colorado defense. The Avs have no answer for Datsyuk and Zetterberg. They were the best two players on the ice.

In 2006 he played in the second tier of Swedish hockey (not sure what its called) and pretty much sucked. Last year he moved down to the first tier and won the scoring title. The Swedish Elite league team Farnstrumm (sp) picked him up for this season. He finished with 9 goals and 23 assists in 50 some games with about 12 minutes per game ice time. He led the league in points per minute played. Its been speculated he didnt get the big minutes because his Elite league team didnt have him locked up past this season and hoped he would fly under the NHL's radar. Hes a risk. His play has been erratic but he does have the tools and size necessary to compete for top 6 minutes in the NHL. No way that the Wings guarantee him these minutes. Hollands said he would get the same kind of deal Grigorenko did, on the team through October but after that he has to earn his spot. No mention of what line he would be on here.

Sammy played way better than an F. He was effective on the forecheck, played a gritty game for a guy that was never described as gritty before (watch the tape of game 6 and see Sammy in action at the end of period 1) and if Hudler had buried a couple chances at wide open nets he would have a nice stat line. He does turn over the puck more than Id like but you gave Rafalski a high grade and he turned it over more than Sammy did. Of all the Wings I thought Rafalski and Cleary played way below expectations. Ill give Cleary a flyer for now but he didnt do anything. Id at least expect him to initiate some contact but to me it looked like he shied away from it. My biggest beef about the first round was that in games 1-4 the Preds simply owned the boards in our zone. We were content to try and keep them to the outside which didnt seem to work very well. They were allowed to come of the boards and make nice centers resulting in some goals. This has been a problem since February. We improved in game 5 then in game 6 we did an excellent job preventing thier forecheck.

Hank doesnt look injured to me at all. But he hasnt been playing his best hockey either. To me, it looked like he was pressing a bit, trying to be the hero. Alot of one man rushes. The 2 on 1 with umm I think Sammy illustrates the point. Instead of getting rid of the puck early like we are taught in peewee he took on the defense solo by cutting back into the middle making it an easy play for the bad guys to stop.

I dont think anyone should sit for Maltby. His games degraded to the point of being worthless. No longer is he an agitator. He doesnt score and his forecheck is nonexistant.I love the guy for what hes done in past years but I dont see how you can sit a guy thats in game shape and contributing in favor of a PK "specialist" who will take 4 or 5 games just to get to his subpar level.

I think the new CBA makes it imperative to develop your own goaltending. Big bucks for a FA goaltender puts your team at a disadvantage concerning skaters.

Stay with the hot hand. Thats a hockey mantra as old as the game itself.

As a young man I lived in Chicago and then Denver. Denver wasnt too bad because I had Lord Stanleys, a bar over an ice rink that had every game on TV. Still the main reason I moved back to Detroit was the Wings.

This was the rule Maclean was citing last night: Is what Avery was doing designed to incite Broduer into commiting a penalty? Well ya cant read into Avery's mind but it sure looked to me like thats exactly what he was doing and according to the rule he could be assesed a 10 minute misconduct. He went outside of normal game action for the specific purpose of goading Broduer. Id rather see the opposing team handle this and am surprised NJ didnt whack him. The refs will have a memo today not to allow this to happen again Im sure.