Echolalia

I enjoy having it on new years day. At this point I think the winter classic is well established as an independant tradition, and changing the date for me at least would detract from the some of that.

Jackman definitely embellishes, but lets be frank: players have been diving as long as anyone can remember, and while the refs don't have the benefit of a replay, Shanahan does. It will be much more difficult to embellish a hit to get somebody suspended.

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that he's only playing well because I dropped him from my fantasy team

This upcoming off-season has a lot of high-end talent becoming UFAs, if memory serves. I can very easily see Holland sitting on his hands at the deadline in hopes of picking up someone on July 1st, after another likely playoff exit, and signing a top 3 forward or top 2 defensman to a long-term contract. Its an interesting option: Sacrifice some pieces of our future for a stronger shot at the Cup now (with Lidstrom, Homer, Stuart all still a part of the organization), with the possible risk of our acquisition leaving in the off-season, or go into the playoffs this year with what we have, keep the prospects, and go for a star player for cheaper in the off season to be a contender for years to come. The issue is whether years to come will include tough to replace pieces like Lids, Stuie, and Homer (regardless of what people's opinions of him are).

There's a table which distinguishes home-team v away-team statistics, and there's about a 50% chance of shooting more over the next three minutes compared to the rest of the game after a fight (ie "momentum") for both teams.

I don't know that anyone didn't think that fights can influence the momentum of a game. Folks just want to make clear that fights don't equal victory, which is something this study validates. Goals equal victory. Unfortunately its harder to find a fighter who can also score now more than ever, and "anti-fighter slappies" would rather have someone who is more likely to score than someone who has a 50% chance of increasing momentum for three minutes (while risking the other team also gaining momentum). Also: a HUGE flaw in this study design is how momentum was calculated. In that link, they say that momentum was determined by comparing a rate of shots on goal in a few minutes period to the league average for that period, and not the TEAM's average. If your team tends to shoot more than other teams, then your team will display momentum regardless of fighting or any other attributing factor and that will skew the data and hide what fights actually do to a team's momentum. Secondly, this study did not account for powerplay time. Many fights end with one team serving an extra 2 minutes for instigating. Guess what? The team on the powerplay is likely to get more shots over the next three minutes because they have an extra man. That would incorrectly be labelled as "momentum". Its a wonder that they only saw an increase in "momentum" for the first three minutes after fights. That's pretty darn close to the two minutes that a team is on a power play for. This study is bogus.

this is awesome!

I think what this team needs is a little less cap-space (wink wink)

Now we need someone to compare these numbers to the win rate when there are no fights.

Howard's favorite integer between 5 and 7?

Most likely, but Jimmy is also pretty young still. I imagine he can handle the work load now better than he will five years from now. Also, I can't imagine Babs rolling Jimmy as hard as he's been for the rest of the season. I expect he's hoping to separate the Wings from 8th place enough to give a backup goalie (whether its Conklin, MacDonald, Nabakov, or anyone else) a low-stress scenario to hop into a little ways down the road. I hope to see a 70-30 down the stretch, if possible.

Doesn't ring a bell

The guys have been playing amazingly the past month or so, especially the past two games. They've earned the time off, and it will be of extra benefit to those with injuries. Besides, a game against the Pens shouldn't be one where they need the extra motivation to play their best.

I thought this thread wasn't about Fistric, but rather Kronwall and Stuart. If you want to discuss the Fistric hit, haroldsnepsts was kind enough to point you to two other threads discussing the topic, including one you even made.

I heard Mark Fistric died, and this is the thread to check in on updates. My condolences to his family and friends.

One point for a win, zero for a loss. End of story.

That's why I feel a suspension is looming. It looks like the brunt of the contact was absorbed through the head, and Shanahan has really cracked down on that, which I can respect. At the same time, Nieddereiter needs to take at least some responsibility for getting caught with his head down. It may have been a hit to the head, but it was anything but blindside.

That is definitely the most challenging goal I have seen scored. I remember my jaw dropped when he scored that.

I don't see the Wings landing Iginla, because Holland is the type of GM to look at the future just as much as the present. He won't pay a whole lot for Iggy knowing he's well into the second half of his career and likely won't provide much for the Wings in the coming seasons. Other teams will easily outbid us wanting to win today, including some that Iginla will want to play for, expecting they have a chance at a Cup. Parise is a guy I can see Holland going all out for. We have the capspace, we have the prospects, we have the picks, and this guy can be a cornerstone for years to come. I don't know that we have a top three forward in our talent pool in Grand Rapids or elsewhere. Parise may be able to buy Holland a couple extra years once Dats and Z get into the end of their careers, which will be all the more reason to pull the trigger on this one.

Seriously? That's a scrum in front of the net. They happen every night.

I can't imagine how bad it would hurt to have an 80mph frozen puck drill into my ear. When a snowball hits my ear at 15mph I'm crying like a little girl.

The most surprising and imo telling pairing was Smith with Kindl. Neither player has more than a handful of NHL games worth of experience, but they've been playing a very simple, very tight game that it was a viable option for Babs without being a liability.

The first scenario is exactly what I'm proposing. Nullifying the icing rule when a defender is in his own zone makes the trap less effective. It doesn't make it weak, because the pressuring team still has to get on their horse and fight to gain possession (and you still have the issue of the opposing team's goalie coming out to play the puck, but that's a whole different talk), but it certainly allows for otherwise slow and boring game-styles to be effectively countered. As for scenario two, I don't think it will be that difficult for the attacking defender to leave their zone after dumping the puck, thus icing would go into effect should the trap defender get the puck and dump it right back down the ice. Or more specifically, it shouldn't be difficult for the attacking defender to leave the zone if they're close to their blue line and playing into the game, and not back at their own goal-line. If they play too conservatively at their own goal line when the other team is playing a trap, then yes, he's risking the other defender shooting it right back into his zone and losing that advantageous icing call by not being within skating range of center ice. And finally, this isn't a rule that's imposed directly at playing the trap so there is no issue with "ref's discretion" or interpreting what's occurring on the ice.. Its black-and-white. If your zone is occupied by one of your players, you are relinquishing your right to have an icing call against the opposition. But hey, I can respect if you don't agree with my idea.

I wouldn't be against adding an asterisk to the icing rule, where a team is allowed to dump the puck into the opposition's zone from behind center ice when the opposition's zone is occupied by at least one player besides the goalie. As stated above, icing was introduced to prevent teams from relieving pressure in a manner difficult to combat from their own zone. This punishes the defending team and prevents them from simply dumping the puck every time they gain possession after they get a lead. The trap is so effective partially because of the icing rule, but its punishing the attacking team, not the defending team. By eliminating the icing rule when opponents are playing the trap, dump and chase should become more prominent, and that run-and-gun style hockey might be observed more.

This is absolutely amazing! I really hope that any Wings' fans that go to this can come back to the forums and share their experience, and perhaps give us a glimpse of the softer side of Vladdy.