hockey&beer

WIngs take the Central,Chicago and St Louis have the only chance to change that and both are missing MAJOR components to do so. If I could predict playoffs I would be a millionaire.

As long as McCollum continues to develop the Wings are sitting pretty. If he can pull a solid year in GR, look out. Young tenders rely heavily on confidence that's part of the reason that Ozzie became who he is, the org stood behind him at a young age. Legace was ruined by his lack of confidence and unfortunately, Howard may suffer the same fate.

Jimmy D is in Lala land. There is a reason that he isn't given much credit whenever a player/scout/trainer/coach has good things to say aboot the Wings

There isn't another GM that has put together a team that has made the playoffs for 19 straight years. So, who is better?? (he wasn't GM for every year but still part of the organization)

Honestly, is he any worse than Sammy? He's a better skater and can actually take a pass.

I have faith in Ville. I know this is not the consenus around here but he will put up 40 points this season.

If that's the case then I may make the drive down just to enjoy the gloating.

I would take a fair guess saying they would rotate Stuart and Big E. Stewie has the NHL PP experience while the Rig has recently QB'd the PP in GR. They both have one H of a shot. It may actually come down to who can do a better job at keeping the puck in the zone. That used to drive me nuts when Sammy was back there and just aboot everytime the D would clear it to his side it was guaranteed to get past him. Of course no one does as good a job as Lids.

Although one of his weaknesses, Leino skates better than Sammy and has better hands. Not going to say 40 goals but enough and with the ability to elude defenders he will cause others to get open. Helm's role in the playoffs is to run around and bang. But his little display of keep away during the SCF is just a flash of what's to come. He in no way is going to be a Datsyuk or Zetterberg, but with his acceleration and speed he's going to bury more than few with regular minutes.

I was reading a feature today on NHL.com and the "expert" said that Z is old. 28yrs is prime for a hockey player, just because he's not 21 does not make him old. Of course you have to take into account that after winning gms 1&2 old was "experienced" and after losing 2&3 experienced is "old".

Good call, that's perfect.

If RW player A skates 6ft in front of Pens player B, player A did not interfere with player B. If player A skates at an angle that forces player B on a different path (ie angled towards boards or net) then that is interference. And if for one millisecond you think that every team in the league does not do this than maybe you should keep your comments to yourself. NEWS FLASH!!!! Every player on every team stretches the rules to the breaking point. The higher the caliber of the player the better they are at hiding the infraction.

A drinking game involving Sid would be a little like Russian Roulette with alcohol. Although one could liken it to, this is a stretch but those who know will giggle, on Frasier when they decided to drink every time they heard the term "veneer" while watching Antique Roadshow.

Finally the misses and I are in town this weekend, we'd love to meet up. Saturday would work the best for us but we can accomodate Sunday.

Link Tells By Bruce MacLeod - Red Wings Corner / May 1, 2009 Two reads from today's move to put Chris Chelios in the lineup with Brian Rafalski injured. First, Derek Meech isn't getting into any more games as a Red Wing. Being put behind Chelios has to be depressing for Meech, who really hasn't shown a lot, but hasn't been given a lot of opportunity to prove himself as a defenseman. At least not as much opportunity as Jonathan Ericsson was given. And with Ericsson and Jakub Kindl on the horizon, Meech doesn't have much future in Detroit. Second, when Coach Mike Babcock discussed after the morning skate his power play without Rafalski, he talked about five defensemen — Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Mikael Samuelsson as the first wave, Ericsson and Brad Stuart as the fill-ins. The omission of Brett Lebda struck me. He's not going to get any PK time and if he's behind Stuart and Ericsson on the PP depth chart, that's not a vote of confidence. It seems, without being obvious, the Red Wings brass have already made a few roster decisions for next season. I can't say I'm surprised by either choice, but does either player really offer a lot in a trade. I guess it really doesn't make much sense to trade for players, just picks. I always thought Meech was a good asset because he can play O or D, but Big Rig was a forward up until a few years ago and has played up front more than a handful of times since (both AHL and NHL).

Here's mine so far. Have had the goatee for years.

We'll be in attendance, Sec 212B Row 15.

Well, the misses and I just secured our tix for Sunday. Unfortunately, I don't think we can make it anywhere on Friday. I'm pretty sure we'll be oot-n-aboot well after puck drop and have to DVR untill probably the second. Since we'll finish the Ducks in 6, hopefully we can get together for game 5.

The misses and I would be interested, But first we have to see which game/games we are getting tix for.

It's odd to me that the "experts" call Pronger a great defenseman. For his size, and he does skate fairly well also, he should be a much better defender without having to resort to his usual dirty tactics. I guess when it comes down to it, I am surprised that the experts do not see how dirty he plays the game.

For the few and very far between instances of doping in the NHL, its safe to say that players aren't going to suddenly decide to start shooting-up come game 1 round 1. On a side note, in other major professional sports do the players get paid for playoffs. NHL players play for free after the season concludes so that may have something to do with it.

Scoring is definetly part of the process, but should not be the defining factor. Last year THN tried suggesting new awards so that defensive defenseman and offensive defenseman could be separated, and to some extent they should. But the Norris is for best all-around. If scoring is the how the Norris ballot is picked, how come no one has mentioned Rafalski? Not only because he isn't the best defenseman on the Wings, but he isn't that spectacular on the defensive side of the game.

Green has no right to have his name even mentioned. Sure he can score, but the handful of Caps games I have seen, he is lacking a bit on the defensive side. The Norris is not a scoring race.

Well, unfortunately, myself and stellargirl21 will be unable to attend due to the earlier start time. Sorry guys (and of course gals), but the POs are right around the corner so we're looking forward to some roudy games!

Someone needs to throw a handful of smelling salts in the hot tub. I'm thinking that Lidstrom needs to step up and address this team to make some changes. After taking two pummelings in the past 2 weeks, you would think that there would be some major adjustments to intensity. The whole team fell asleep in the 3rd. At least I hope so because the Wings, the highest scoring team in the league couldn't muster a shot through 17 minutes of the 3rd.