Echolalia

The Sharks need to turn this series around. I don't want to face the Ducks in the 2nd round.

So why do people think there are better players than him again?

He looks like the Belle Tire guy with all that hand waving

Again, this whole "they cheated" mindset is absolutely ridiculous. Players cheat quite frequently throughout the game. You know, illegally hooking a player, holding a player, crosschecking, interference, etc. This is cheating, and when you get caught for it, you go to the penalty box. So if Hitchcock wants to ***** about the other team cheating, maybe he should look at the scoresheet and notice that his team was caught cheating four times last game, and one of those times resulted in the Wings scoring. It would probably be more productive of him to work on that aspect of cheating. Anyway, if Hichcock still wants to complain about cheating, he should complain about the refs for not catching anything. And while he's at it, he can ***** about the refs' noncalls against us for the second half of that game (ie charging Hossa, interfering with Homer numerously, etc). Or he can just play the game.

I really don't get all of this "two lucky deflections" nonsense that's been floating around through the media. Players score on deflections all the time, both from their team and the others. It isn't something new, and it certainly isn't something lucky and out of the ordinary. Especially if you're playing a team like the Jackets who have the desire to put five bodies between the goalie and the shooter. The puck is almost certainly going to be A) blocked or B) redirected. Nothing is getting through cleanly. Heck, I would consider it lucky if the puck didn't get redirected and made it to the net.

Wait a minute. Every team cheats. That's why penalties are issued. If Hitchcock wants to ***** about something, ***** about the refs not calling it. Or better yet, just play the game.

The kid has the potential to be our best defensman outside of Lidstrom since the lockout. Apparently his shot has been clocked in at 100+, he has great outlet passes, is a beast and knows how to use his weight, he fights when need be, plays solid defensively and is already showing confidence in himself and the players around him. Once he gets past some rookie mistakes here and there and feels a bit more comfortable in the lineup, he'll be a top 4 defensman easy, and pending what happens between Lidstrom and Rafalski over the next three or four years, I wouldn't be surprised to see him man the top line on a regular basis in the future.

The Red Wave will forever be the worst. The imagery. Good God.

Time to wake up now Wings, you've had your season's worth of rest from last year's playoffs.

1) Boil it to remove the smell 2) Contain it in a plastic bag or garbage bag fastened to your person, under your clothes (they technically aren't allowed in the Joe) 3) Let everyone around you in on the plan, because they're going to be a part of it. 4) Wait for an opportune moment, usually late in the game, just in case you do get caught and possibly removed from your seat. 5) Have all your neighbors stand up to hide you while you throw it. 6) Make sure you throw far. Folks in the front row pay alot to be there, and not to be slimed by octopus slime. Apparently it comes off, or so the nhl says.

Regardless of the "facts" I reserve my right as a LGW member to write farse comments aimed at Crosby, Malkin, Bettman, and the Penguins organization, using any information they decide to "give me" in context (or not). I would go so far as to say its my duty as a Wings fan, nay, a hockey fan to badmouth them whether justified or not. Besides, I hear there's a funniest comment award at the end of the year. That 55fan better watch out cuz I'm gunning for the championship

I wish our franchise was more like the Penguins, trading away three players and a draft pick for Hossa and Dupuis, an obviously model move the inferior Holland wasn't crafty enough to think up (he runs on pure luck, btw), and did it yield results or what! All the way to the finals and 6 solid games before bowing to some lesser franchise team (pure luck, btw). Definitely worth the cost, even though Hossa left to some lesser franchise team later (pure luck, btw). And how they managed to keep most of their core a year later! That's a model franchise! I mean, I need both hands to count all the players they retained! Lesser franchises would be lucky to accomplish that feat. And did you see who they picked up? None other than Fedetenko and Satan! Game-makers, that's for sure! I bet Holland was chompin' at the bits trying to land those guys, but alas: lesser franchise. He's also pretty mean to the players he signs, only letting them sign for 7M tops?? They won't produce reeling in that little! They need Crosby and Malkin contracts to elicit the big numbers! I mean, Malkin and Crosby were in the top 3 in scoring this year. Thats 18M well spent! It's no wonder Datsyuk finished 4th overall, he gets less than 7M. But the Wings don't run a model franchise. I suppose us poor fans will just have to settle for another Stanley Cup this year. Bummer.

The games seem a lot more intense and high caliber when both teams handle the puck.

SJS/ANA 4-1 DET/CLB 4-0 VAN/STL 4-2 CHI/CAL 4-3 BOS/MTL 4-0 WSH/NYR 4-1 NJD/CAR 4-2 PHI/PIT 4-3 WCC: Detroit Red Wings ECC: Philadelphia Flyers SCC: Detroit Red Wings

There are only two things that can prevent the Wings from winning the Cup this year: motivation and the sequence of teams they verse. Motivation has been an issue for the team since day 1, despite so many articles saying the Wings managed to avoid Cup-hangover. Goaltending and defense are the most obvious, with the offense seeming to either boom or be completely absent. A couple points to relax about concerning this is the fact that, despite the horrible last 10 games played, Osgood seems to be, for the most part, stopping the ones he should stop. Defense and offense are still choppy, but hopefully we can attribute that to a bunch of old guys playing in games they know don't matter, verse teams fighting for playoff spots. Additionally, if any team can suddenly turn it on for the playoffs, its the Red Wings. And as for the sequence of teams: I like to stress my point by going back two years. I'm 95% confident that if the Wings versed a single opponent differently, they would've won the cup. Flying out to Calgary for a gritty series, followed by San Jose for another gritty series, then to Anaheim for another gritty series was way too much. Especially if you compare that to the roads that Anaheim and Ottawa faced. Last year the Wings were more fortunate. All the teams that frightened most of us the most (Anaheim, Dallas, San Jose) beat up on eachother and the wounded victor, Dallas, was picked off by the Wings. This year, so far by matching up against Columbus instead of Anaheim, I'm more comfortable, but who knows what will end up happening over the next couple series. Anyway, I'm more confident this year about winning the cup than I was a decade ago.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AtFK...p&type=lgns I feel like this is one of those something-had-to-be-done-even-though-it isn't-all-his-fault kind of things. The Avs were plagued with injuries this year. That's all I can really bring to the topic.

This is actually pretty interesting

I suppose I'm the only one feeling a sweep

I really hope the Blues can win this one. Not only will we not be playing the Ducks, San Jose versing them should reall wear them down

The more I think about this, the more I think that it would be better for the Wings to let Hossa walk, as much as it pains me to say it. Hossa's 6M approx. caphit could be used to secure multiple lesser, yet still solid players in our team. A good percentage of Hudler, Sammy, Kopecky, Leino, Ericcson, Conklin, Lebda, Chelios could be retained in the lineup next year without Hossa, and that depth is what wins Stanley cups. I haven't crunched the numbers in a while, but I do recall that having Hossa and Franzen for modest amounts leaves practically no extra money. Someone might want to double check that to be sure. Another thing that I've been thinking about is how the Wings are going to look ten years from now with 16M against the cap for 38-40 year old Zetterberg, Hossa, and Franzen, all of which certain degrees of health issues. I'm almost worried (and this will sound paranoid) that Holland is making one final push to secure the next three four years and retire, leaving the inherited mess-to-be with the next guy. Although I'm sure I wouldn't be thinking this had he not joked that the day Lids retires is the day he retires. Anyway, this is Holland we're talking about, so I'm sure something unbelievable will happen where he ends up keeping the entire roster plus bringing in Broduer for another Stanley Cup, then locking everyone up longterm for 11 years.

Why not Franzen?

This is ridiculous. If a team needs money that bad, they should set something up in a player's contract to where they would do a commercial for Subway with proceeds going to the club, or sign autographs at Subway instead. Stop bastardizing an already frail game.

I have no doubt in my mind that Datsyuk right now is the single best player in the nhl, yet he is one of many superstars in a loaded Wings team, so while he brings a lot to the table, his game is just one piece of the pie. The same could be said for Malkin and Crosby, although to a lesser extent. Ovechkin, while not the best player in the leage (imo), has had the biggest impact on his team than any other player, and that's what I expect the league to look at when considering who to vote for. Although it is interesting that all these articles are popping up advocating Datsyuk for MVP, despite the fact that everyone sees Ovie as the hands-down favorite for the award.

This year's Franzen.

Good read