Draper4$1

Great news for the Draper family! Congrats!!!

my reply.

DET/ANA - Detroit in 6 BUF/OTT - Ottawa in 7

I grew up in a samll town of about 4000 named Melville, Saskatchewan. It was back in the mid to late 80's (don't remember exactly) when my parents first got cable television. All of our American affiliates (NBC, CBS, ABC, etc) were from Detroit, so naturally I was exposed to coverage of the Red Wings and Tigers, which was a nice break from all Leafs all the time on CBC. With no professional team anywhere near Melville (the closest would have been the Winnipeg Jets, about 500km (300 miles) away) it was easy to latch on to the Wings and the Tigers. Especially after getting a chance to watch Stevie Y play. And I remain a huge fan of both teams to this day. Plus Tim Cheveldae was born and raised in Melville, too.....

Missed round 1 too, but why not..... DET/SJ - Detroit in 7 ANA/VAN - Anaheim in 6 BUF/NYR - Buffalo in 5 NJD/OTT - Ottawa in 6

I wouldn't say that Kipper is overhyped, he's the only reason the Flames had a chance in this series. But Dom was definitely awesome last night, and I agree he did in a way steal the game for the Wings, if thats possible when they had 50+ shots. If Dom continues to play like this and doesn't get any press, that's still fine with me......

I gotta say I'm not feeling good about things right now. I was at game 3, and the only Wings that showed up were Cleary/Draper/Maltby. The rest of the team looked sluggish. I really hope they can turn it around, but right now it looks like the Flames just plain want it more. I really think that Dom needs to step it up and steal a game for us, otherwise I fear it's probably gonna be the Flames in 6......

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starting to get pretty concerned about Z's status for the playoffs.....

Couldn't agree with you more. They are playing unbelievable right now, and all signs point to them being just as tough this year as they were in 2004. And with the goaltending they're getting, coupled with the Wings lack of secondary scoring lately (excluding Saturday afternoon) I'll be VERY VERY worried if we see them in the first round.

The last team I want to see in the first round is Calgary. The are playing great right now, while the Wings, in my opinion, are not. Anyone else in the first round please.....

I've got no real interest in Lapointe, but I'd love to see Guerin come over.....

I wouldn't say that. Last year during this trip they lost to Atlanta and Florida, then beat Tampa Bay. But nonetheless, I still think it's a great idea!

I agree completely. There is nothing wrong with trying to grow the game outside North America. What better way than letting the people of Europe experience the greatness of a live NHL game themselves??

While I agree that an enforcer would not be the be all end all, I do think it is a necessary addition. When watching the Calgary game, I couldn't help but notice that when we were up by a bunch guys were taking liberties with Zetts. Case in point, I don't remember who it was, but when he and Hank met in the Calgary corner he punched Hank in the head about 3 times and took a penalty. But nobody on the Wings did anything about it. Last night, Gagne takes a hit, and immediately there's guys there to defend him. If the Wings don't bring in a physical presence that will make opponents step up to the plate if they choose to take liberties with our stars, then we will see another early exit.

First off, the Blackhawks will never be 21-10-0..... The NHL standings are based on a points earned system (2 per win, 1 per OT/shoot out loss). Baseball does not use a points system. So if the wings are 21-10-1-1, they have a total of 44 points. The team with more points is listed ahead, regardless of the number of games played.

I would love to see Sundin come over as a rental, but I doubt that the Leafs will be out of it by the deadline. And even if they are, I think it's unlikely that they move him. Man, he'd look good on the PP with Dats, Zetts, Lids, and Schneids though......

I hope that the Wings keep battling Nashville tooth and nail for the division title all the way up until the start of the playoffs. It always seems that the teams that have to battle to get in for the last month or two are on a roll when the playoffs start, while the Wings have been coasting for the last month, and come in cold. If they have to battle all the way to the wire to avoid San Jose in the first round it may help give the Wings a boost going in......

I'm sure it won't happen either, but a friend in Calgary tells me that a rumor out there is Luongo for Manny and Zetts.