Dano33

Yes, speed is important unless you have amazing hands like Datsyuk (sometimes i wish he would speed up too). For guys like Helm, Eaves, Cleary, etc i think their best option is to come in at an angle with speed. It makes the goalie have to move laterally quickly opening up the five-hole and it gives them the option to go low blocker too. As for Zetterberg, I think he tries to get too fancy out there. He doesn't have the capability of Datsyuk to have two or three key moves and get away with it. Sometimes he just needs to go in and bury it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Palace_of_Auburn_Hills According to this the capacity for ice hockey games is 20,804 at the Palace. I understand what it's like to be at the Joe, but if we are gunna pay to temporarily rennovate it before we build another place, why not just play somewhere that is already in good shape for sporting events.

Interesting... The article claims that the "Hockeytown atmosphere" could be lost if they move to the Palace for a while. I don't get it, why? Do many fans who attend really live that close to the Joe. I live in Oakland county and I don't see it as a burden to have to drive down there when I go to games. I don't think that would be an issue, or maybe there's something that I'm not getting.

That would make the game more boring. The last 5 minutes of regulation + OT would be lockdown/trap hockey. It wouldn't help. You can't just not go with a system if it's messy/stupid looking. If it's the best system, thats the one they should go with.

Do you realize you have the board rules in your signature? Anyway, I think it could be a good idea. I'd like to see how it would effect the current standings.

I think that's his point. Nobody would.

Friday: Toronto @ Washington Nashville @ Calgary Saturday: Chicago @ Columbus x2 Detroit @ Dallas New Jersey @ Colorado Boston @ Los Angeles Edmonton @ San Jose Ottawa @ Montreal Buffalo @ NY Islanders Tampa Bay @ Florida Atlanta @ Carolina NY Rangers @ St Louis Minnesota @ Phoenix Pittsburgh @ Vancouver Sunday: Chicago @ Detroit Philadelphia @ Washington Montreal @ NY Rangers Calgary @ Anaheim

I'd like Howard to get the playoff experience while Osgood is still here and I would like it to be this year, so long as Howard continues to show that he is playing better than Osgood. We have to make a playoff run this year, and if Howard is the one who gets us there, then he needs to start.

Which player has a number that suits him the best? Steve Heinze wore #57

Ok yeah, Osgood had a solid game two months ago, but those solid games are few and far between. If he has confidence he certainly isn't showing it, it seems like every time he gives up a goal he has that "what am i supposed to do about that" look. I agree he needs starts so he can show us if he is going to improve, but we still have to make the playoffs and he can't be costing us too many games.

Who's bitching? Howard is playing MUCH better than Osgood right now, why wouldn't he get the playoffs if he keeps it up? And Osgood is NOT playing better than he did last year, I don't care what the numbers say. He lets in a weak goal, sometimes two, every game. He has no confidence and he isn't making big saves. He's getting old and he won't be able to flip his playoff switch on forever. If Osgood wants to start in the playoffs I think it needs to be made clear to him that the regular season is his playoffs. If he wants to play in the post season, he needs to play like a solid NHL goalie now.

I will. Howard has a future here, and the situation the wings will be in during the playoffs (likely a 6-8 seed) is the best situation to give the rookie some playoff experience. A low seed comes with less pressure and if he struggles we can fall back on Ozzie. We don't want to wait until Osgood is gone to let Howard play because we won't have a proven backup to go to if he struggles then. We have to see what Howard can do now, so we can prepare for the future if needed.

Not what I meant, i was talking about any random high stick, not on the follow through.

Think about it, if Gonchar had high sticked and cut Ponikarovski after the original shot went in they certainly wouldn't just act like it never happened.

I really hope this isn't true. This is the perfect year for the wings to switch to Howard as the post-season starter. I had as much faith in Osgood as anyone going into the playoffs last year, and I believe it's possible that he can turn things around again. However, the time will come when Osgood can't do it anymore and he's not getting any younger. The Wings will likely be a 5 to 8 seed in the playoffs which puts less pressure on the goalie than being a top seed. This is the year the wings need to take a chance, see what Howard can do in the playoffs because he has a future here and Osgood doesn't.

Friday: Tampa Bay @ New Jersey Colorado @ Carolina Toronto @ Buffalo NY Islanders @ Dallas x2 Columbus @ Calgary Saturday: NY Rangers @ Boston Colorado @ Buffalo Pittsburgh @ Toronto New Jersey @ Montreal Florida @ Ottawa Tampa Bay @ Philadelphia Washington @ Atlanta Anaheim @ Nashville Chicago @ Minnesota NY Islanders @ Phoenix Calgary @ Vancouver St Louis @ Los Angeles Detroit @ San Jose Sunday: Ottawa @ Carolina Dallas @ Columbus Anaheim @ Chicago

Easily my favorite. Obviously Yzerman's 2OT goal and Datsyuk on Turco are up there too.

I dunno, it could work in Chicago's favor. They're going to have to dump salary in the offseason anyway, why not get a great player that can help them win. It sucks to think about it, but if they can work something out it would help them tremendously.

My friends and I were talking about this recently and one of them came up with a pretty good idea (this might be a method used in some soccer leagues, but we weren't sure). Win = 3 points Tie = 1 point loss = 0 points Also, make the overtime 10 minutes, eliminate the shootout. We think this would make teams take more chances in OT and not just play for the tie. It would make games more entertaining and it wouldn't reward teams for losing the game.

Saturday: Carolina @ NY Rangers Vancouver @ Dallas Pittsburgh @ Tampa Bay Washington @ Los Angeles Atlanta @ NY Islanders Colorado @ Columbus Toronto @ Calgary Chicago @ St Louis Anaheim @ Nashville New Jersey @ Minnesota Detroit @ Phoenix Edmonton @ San Jose Sunday: Philadelphia @ Ottawa Buffalo @ Montreal Pittsburgh @ Florida Anaheim @ Chicago

You're thinking of ways to give up a goal, not score a goal. You can't honestly think that rushing both defensemen would help us rather than hurt us, can you? There's really nothing the wings can do right now. We have a bunch of guys who aren't skilled enough to take chances and recover when something goes wrong. We have to stick with our style of play and hope it worls out for us until we get guys back. Yeah, it sucks. Nobody wants to lose games, but right now we can't be taking chances.

I agree that it should be today. The winter classic is good for hockey fans, but on New Years day it's gotta be tough to reach out to other sports fans. If it were on Boxing day the NHL wouldn't be competing with top teir college football bowls.

You realize there are different types of separation, right? Just because you didn't have pain doesn't mean nobody does. Also, if I were running a professional franchise I would want to make sure my star player is fully healed so it doesn't happen again. I definitely wouldn't just throw him back out there and hope his shoulder stays in place. Football is a different story. There are so few games that players can't afford to miss a game. In Emmitt Smith's case, what does he really need his shoulder for, a stiff arm? Yeah, in that situation, I'd say the risk is worth taking.

Ribiero's goal sucks. It's unoriginal and he didn't even fool the goalie, he just got lucky. Malik's was awesome because nobody on the planet expected him to do that.

Friday: Ottawa @ New Jersey Toronto @ Buffalo Carolina @ Florida Tampa Bay @ St Louis Boston @ Chicago Washington @ Vancouver Saturday: NY Rangers @ Philadelphia Detroit @ Dallas Phoenix @ Anaheim Nashville @ Calgary Pittsburgh @ Buffalo Boston @ Toronto Minnesota @ Ottawa Montreal @ NY Islanders Florida @ Carolina New Jersey @ Atlanta Columbus @ Colorado Washington @ Edmonton Sunday: Detroit @ Chicago St Louis @ Vancouver