shadow47

These two high profile analysts are on drugs today, some highlights: -MacKenzie calls Sean Avery "a little SOB". -MacKenzie calls the Philadelphia Flyers "the ultimate team". -E.J. Hradek says Cristobal Huet's play down the stretch for the Capitals was "just OK." He also says Huet hasn't looked good in the series despite saving 39 of 41 in the Caps game 2 loss. In other news, Mike Emrick calls Martin Biron's game "remarkable" despite facing only 24 shots. The world has gone mad.

Loved it when Wings scored right after Nash tied it...I'm all for competition but Zanon's taunting postgoal was pretty annoying and classless, you wouldn't see Lidstrom doing that. That Ovechkin GW the other night got me pretty excited but I've gotta say that goal off Z's skate today was the most pumped I've been this season after the Wings looked ready to crumble. Screaming and expletives ensued. BTW did this game not remind people exactly of the first game? The Preds were more physical and energetic but a number of similarities, other than the fluke goal off the glass Tootoo scores the only goal both through the legs with Dom looking similar on both falling backwards. Ellis giving up a million rebounds every shot and the Wings not capitalizing on many if any. The Holmstrom and Zetterberg goals in G. 2 and G. 1 respectively looked pretty damn similar from Ellis' perspective. Nashville falls behind, ties it, but ultimately loses. Let's hope for the same on Monday.

Agree, Wings=boring hockey. Hope they win anyway.

Clean hit, toughen up newbs.

Sure seemed more than 20 shots against tonight. Pretty entertaining game. I love the people that are like, "Well, it WAS tipped.............BUT IT'S STILL A WEAK GOAL!" Having played goaltender the tipped shot, particularly when a. you can't see the shot, and b. you can't see the person tipping the shot, is THE hardest save a goalkeeper can attempt. In that situation the Dom can only hope the puck hits him, and it didn't. The way he fell back reminded me of the '97 playoffs Game 3 against Ottawa, I was thinking we might have a knee sprain on our hands. Time to go root for the Stars/Flames.

My bracket is: DET 4-1 NSH SJ 4-3 CGY COL 4-2 MIN ANA 4-1 DAL BOS 4-3 MTL OTT 4-2 PIT PHI 4-1 WSH NJ 4-2 NYR So I guess the upsets are Colorado in 6 over Minnesota, Boston in 7 over Montreal, Ottawa over Pittsburgh in 6, and technically Philly is the lower seed but they will still blow by Washington in 5.

It really wasn't that great. It was a nice stop but nothing special as far as Dom is concerned. It was centered from the boards from Hasek's right, and he stacked the pads to his left and stopped it swinging his trapper while in stack position, again, it wasn't the hardest shot, just a tip by the attacker...as the puck twirled toward the net, Hasek noticed it in the air and smothered it with his gloves. Again, it really wasn't fluttering very fast or too close to going in the net. Here's a link to a pic of it: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/photo?slug=550...104&prov=ap Edit: I think the one goal the Hawks got was legit. Hasek fumbled the first shot, he reacted for the perceived rebound which never came, Kane picked it up and put it in. I may have to watch the play again but when I was watching the game nothing occurred to me like "Oh he was interferred with there".

So Belfour has a record-breaking regular season, five great playoff games, then loses one game, and gets pulled from the next, and he is suddenly Tommy Salo '08 (not to say Salo wasn't a solid goalie)? Sounds like you are buying what this chap is saying a bit too easily. Eddie was a great goalie in the league, put up great numbers and while I consider him a tier below your Haseks and your Brodeurs there are plenty who hold him even that high. You can't really pretend that a couple losses in a lower Euro-league at 40 years of age after savior-like play up to that point define a career, esp. one like his. I don't know what they expected, but maybe the team should take a little responsibility. They're the ones who were relegated in the first place. This thread fails.

Likely the last regular season game in the career of Dominik Hasek. Too bad he couldn't pull off the shutout and inch into the top 5 alltime, I'd imagine from a personal standpoint he'd rather be tied with Jacques Plante than Alex Connell What with his injuries and all I can't see Detroit resigning him with Howard's development and he won't go anywhere else. Thanks for the memories Dom. Related note, anyone who caught CGY/VAN it was a great little spontaneous ceremony honoring Trevor Linden's last game with Iginla et al shaking his hand and a few laps around the rink while waving, first star, etc., I'll never forget TL's '94 run to the Finals, a lot of heart in that guy.

Ovie has already hit two posts with slapshots...Anderson is playing his typical me against the world game for Florida. He has a 1.22 GAA and .950 sp in the last six for the Panthers. The Caps felt the adrenaline in the first, see if it continues. Two two-man-advantages killed by Florida but Washington had chances.

Forwards job=to score and skate fast, Goalies job=to save shots, so why exactly would they make the equipment smaller? What reason would there be exactly? Speaking of watching games on NHL Network, bothered much watching a game that WASN'T between the 1988 Edmonton Oilers and the 1974 Golden Seals? I didn't think so. Yeah, Jacques Plante's pads were smaller, but the games were still 1-0 and 2-1. So what's the point? Everyone has adapted to excel. Shooters are better, so are goalies. This "the equipment makes the save, not the goalie" argument is seeded by Bettman's cronies and the media and ignorant fans eat it up, it's quite similar to typical American politics these days. Just because there are not as many goalies as nongoalies, that is the only reason that they are constantly overpowered, both in opinion and by action.

And funnily Hasek has hurt basically everything EXCEPT the groin this season...oh well, I'm sure he wouldn't say no to cybernetic groins.

Speaking of glove saves, Trevor Koenig for the Maine Black Bears NCAA made an unbelieveable save on his back in double or triple OT of the semifinal, he shimmied over on his back and just threw up his glove without really looking and the puck ended up there, it was pretty f-ing cool looking.

Roenick scored the gamewinning marker tonight against Anaheim, he now leads the league in game-deciding goals with 12. I've heard a lot of people slag him on his board, but he's more than proven his worth this season in the league and any team would be lucky to have his skill on the ice and his wit off it.

Can't have a saves discuss w/o the Glass Domino. Puckloo maybe will remember these, discounting the save on Bure in '97 (flopping) and the Oates save in Game 5 of the '98 playoffs since people will just argue that "he made those harder than they needed to be", there was a save on Yashin in game 1 of the '99 playoffs against Ottawa which was a 5-4 or 5-3 powerplay, the guy in the slot dished off to Yashin off to the left on his forehand, he had the entire net, Hasek puts his stick back and makes the save out of the air...with the way the timing and everything was, some announcers didn't even recognize he had made a save b/c it was so incredible, I would compare it to the Caron save def. Most improbable was one from 2001 regular season when a couple Maple Leafs fell on him and one of the Leafs wrapped it around and to free himself, he took off his blocker and with his d-man and a Leaf lying on his legs and blocker, with his trapper and barehand reached to the other side and snatched the puck out of the air...it was pretty ridiculous. Yep.

Only Wings fans could ***** about a goaltender giving up six goals over three games and three straight wins.

I don't see what the fuss is about, Jovanovski at 48 pts and Lidstrom at 57 is not much difference at all. Lids plays with an offensive juggernaut, Jovo with Phoenix, and still manages to stay close. He is also capable of physically punishing the opposition, something that Lidstrom has a surprising lack of. Not to take anything away from Lids but Cherry's statement of opinion (I'm guessing he said Jovanovski "deserved" the award as opposed to actually predicting him to win it) is not irrational. Lidstrom is the better d-man for me but someone who prefers that physical edge might not see it that way.

This is such a dumb thread...soooo dumb. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

You're so logical and rational, amazing. Vests have gotten smaller because that suits their purpose. And chest pads have gotten larger for the same reason, it is not a given that any advance in technology dictates a size decrease when that doesn't increase convenience. Why are goalies villains? Because what the players do to score is heroic and goalies (the minority) trying to stop them is not. Shouldn't players be the ones shooting the puck and not their sticks? Their job is to score, why let the equipment do it for them, since it is proven that players have a harder shot with the composites. Now goalies, their job is to stop the puck, their equipment serves this purpose. Why is a goalie's stick thicker, is it protection, or blocking coverage? Why are pads rectangular? Not protection, look at a lacrosse goaltender for proof here. Preachers who rattle on about goaltender equipment being ONLY for their protection are spreading the absurd. The goal of the position you play dictates the purpose of the armament.

Hockey has become such a bitchfest. Giguere's pads are not much bigger than any goalie's. Period. Maybe they're a little bigger, oh well. It makes as much difference as 12" pads made, and 13" and 14" pads made. There are still few goals scored compared to the out of shape players of the 80s, hockey has taken giant leaps since then in every area. Is having bigger equipment than the 80s "wrong" as someone put it? Hardly. Hockey has changed over the years, Bettman and the NHL PR has brainwashed people to believe that more goals will create a better game but it won't. When someone wants something now it is just an "I want this rule implemented/changed" argument instead of just adapting, playing hard, playing with heart. It's just stupid. "Hasek's undercutting should be illegal", "Goalies look like Michelin Men despite two different equipment shrinkings the past three years", "Giguere is still cheating even though he's not", "If he had one to two inches less padding we would score LOADS on him". This is absolute crap. Just play hockey. And on the 80s Fuhr/Giguere comparison, see: composite sticks, evolving position, better conditioned athletes

Czech poke is like Europorn slang.

Agree that this is anything but a "new" signature move. First time I saw it was '92 Cup Finals game 4 against Kevin Stevens. I didn't watch as many games then as now but there was '94 one of the middle games against NJ in the playoffs (was a goal), '95 vs Det on Draper I think, Zhitnik just saved the puck on that one, '96 a game on ESPN against Robitaille/Pens, '97 plenty of times, '98 many times including one late in the season where he cracked his ribs against MTL, '99 plenty, '00 was hurt, '01 didn't see much of the season, and so on. This move has been consistent for a long, long time is the point. The Czech Shutter

Pick #20 is not so bad, give or take a few slots.

Give some credit where it's due, Garon has been the man this season in Edmonton and has stolen many games for the Oil. He is hardly mediocre or a bum as has been said.

Really the only accurate word here is 'as'. 3ga, sub .900 sp, a save/a post/a ga in the shootout, and an overtime loss. Dear lord, Luongo-esque. He made some great saves but the performance as a whole was hardly anything special, but by all means lets exaggerate for no reason at all.