12/19 GDT: Red Wings 6, Kings 2

[VM1138 1,921]

I looked into the NHL Network and Center Ice (we just switched services) because i wanted to get one of them, but when I looked at the details, what is the point?

In the long run it seems like I'd get to see more games just on FSN Detroit and VS.

[Mudvayneowns91 0]

I think it does make the most sense playing the two the way they are. The Kings through this part of the season are in last place in their division. Whereas the Blues are second in ours and 8 points above the Kings. Just makes sense having your best goalie playing the best team.

Edited December 19, 2007 by Mudvayneowns91

[Earthhuman 8]

Wings win:

Kopecky, Kronwall

Kopitar

Happy Robert Lang's Birthday, everyone!

Going with K's this game?

Are you the one that wrote that Wings song to American Pie? If you still have that, can you PM it to me?

I thought it was pure genius.

[puckloo39 5,686]

DRAPES IS BACK!!!! YAY!

Wings win 5-1 (Cleary, 2 by Huds, Flip, Cheli)

GO WINGS!!!!

We get Drapes but no Downey? Sadness.

But, yay for the return of the Barbasol Man. Can't wait! Homer and Drapes are back, now all we need is for poor Malts to feel better.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

We get Drapes but no Downey? Sadness.

But, yay for the return of the Barbasol Man. Can't wait! Homer and Drapes are back, now all we need is for poor Malts to feel better.

Omg. I totally forgot Downey was out. Nooooo. SIT OUT SAMMY!

[JoePuckster 4]

I just sent the following email to Gary Bettman (gbettman@nhl.com) and went to the NHL.com site and sent it as well. I recommend that every person on here copies it and sends it along to them as well... power in numbers! just make sure to edit it to fit your situation. Here it is:

------------

Dear Gary,

At the beginning of this year's NHL season, I paid an additional $145 to my cable provider to receive the NHL Center Ice package... which was advertised as allowing me to be able to watch every NHL game this season. It has been great, and I really love being able to watch so much hockey... especially my favorite team, the Detroit Red Wings, since I no longer live in Michigan and cannot get the local television feeds.

However, over the past couple months since the NHL Network has been introduced in the United States, there have been games that I have not been able to watch on the Center Ice Package... because they are only being shown on the NHL Network. I called my cable provider (Time Warner), and the friendly customer service representative told me that they do not offer the NHL Network to their subscribers yet. Even if they did -as I assume based on the way it is with the cable/satellite providers that do offer the NHL Network- it would cost me an additional monthly amount to subscribe to the NHL Network.

This does not make sense at all to me and I think it is ridiculous, and ultimately, going to hurt the NHL fan base. Why should I have to pay more money than I have already paid, to watch NHL games, when I had already been told that I would be able to watch them all? Why isn't the NHL Network part of the Center Ice package??? Or why aren't the games shown on the NHL Network also shown on Center Ice??? Even if I could subscribe to the NHL Network, I wouldn't, because I feel like I am being completely ripped off. I am a huge hockey and NHL fan, and this whole TV debacle really makes me think twice about giving any more of my money to the NHL... to television subscriptions, to tickets to games, to apparel, or to anything NHL related. I know that many other fans are starting to think the same way. Look at a lot of the popular hockey markets... Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey, New York, etc... attendance is down this year because the game is just getting to be too expensive to be a fan of. These ridiculous bait and switch tactics with your television contracts is only making the situation worse. Your average hockey fan just can't afford to spend this much money, just to be able to watch the games at home on their television!!

Wake up!! It really turns people off when you rip them off by pulling a bait and switch and not providing them with a product that was promised, and then to make them pay more for what they originally thought they would get.

Every hockey fan would truly appreciate any and every effort you could make to straighten this situation out and let fans watch the games that they were promised...

Sincerely,

A very concerned and upset hockey fan...

and maybe not one if this injustice to the fans continues

[wingslogo19 281]

Finally a game I can see on tv.. Wings win 5-2

[gcom007 1,465]

why dom? i thought they were alternating.

Dom's got better chances of winning against the Kings seeing as they're one of the worst teams in the league.

[puckloo39 5,686]

I just sent the following email to Gary Bettman (gbettman@nhl.com) and went to the NHL.com site and sent it as well. I recommend that every person on here copies it and sends it along to them as well... power in numbers! just make sure to edit it to fit your situation.

Good job! I sent a letter to him, with a very similar feel. Don't know where you are, Joe, but central Texas is out of luck, and out of bucks, to boot. Even if Time Warner was planning to offer NHLN-US, I don't plan to pay twice -- or at all, if this keeps up.

I can afford a couple more "live" games in Dallas for the CI and digital cable bills I pay. Maybe I will trade that for whatever I can scrounge online for free, and the odd Dallas vs. ___ game on Fox SW out of Dallas. What a rip off.

Oh, well... is it game time yet?? Yahoo, here I come!

[Offsides 21]

Dom's got better chances of winning against the Kings seeing as they're one of the worst teams in the league.

Well, when you put it that way.

No, I just am frustrated seeing Dom twice in a row with the way Ozzie's playing. B2B games makes it irrelevant I guess...but .. yeah.

[Cicada 4]

just found out the game i get to see tonight..

it's wednesday night which means hockey night on channel 5 (UK here btw)..

all the great matchups and what do i get?

the ******* blackhawks vs the preds....URGH

[puckloo39 5,686]

Dom's got better chances of winning against the Kings seeing as they're one of the worst teams in the league.

Thanks for the update.

If the WIngs do their little trick of not showing up against bottomfeeders, then Dom will get the "L" in spite of how he plays.

[gcom007 1,465]

More or less is right.

again....

"… Ansar Khan reports that Dominik Hasek will start tomorrow night versus LA, while Chris Osgood will start Thursday. While that goes against the rotation policy, it’s not an unusual move as the Wings prefer that Dom go through the same day-long warm up process before every game he plays and that’s just not possible on the second day of a back-to-back, particularly when they have to fly to another city."

There's a team involved in the wins and losses. Ozzie doesn't win every game on his own, any more than Dom loses them alone. If you care about the Red Wings (and not just Ozzie, as is the case with some here), then you support and acknowledge BOTH goalies. The sad-sack comments and ill feelings toward Hasek are getting a little old, esp. when Hasek is playing better every game.

Moving right along...

Yeah, he's playing better than he was. Now he's at least playing like a decent middle-of-the-road goalie. Whereas Osgood is playing like a league-leading goalie with league-leading numbers to back it up. It's cool that Hasek struggles to hit a .900 sv% every game though if he gets there at all. I mean, it's progress, except it's not helping his still league-worst sv% for relevant goalies. I mean, it's not like Ozzie's 2nd or anything in that department. I support whoever's playing, but there's still no question as to who's the better goalie right now. And I don't see that changing as the season progresses nor do I see how he's improving every game. He's looked about the same since returning...a decent middle-of-the-road goalie who struggles to hit a .900 sv% game to game let alone overall.

Thanks for the update.

If the WIngs do their little trick of not showing up against bottomfeeders, then Dom will get the "L" in spite of how he plays.

Yes! Truth!

But what you gotta love about Ozzie this year is that he still manages to find a way to get the "W" when the team doesn't show up. And you know what, I bet that fact stings you a lot more than it stings me to see Hasek get starts so don't even start with a "front of the jersey" lecture. I'm sorry if my use of facts confuses you into thinking that I'm not a team-guy, but I will not refrain from basing my statements and opinions on them.

Well, when you put it that way.

No, I just am frustrated seeing Dom twice in a row with the way Ozzie's playing. B2B games makes it irrelevant I guess...but .. yeah.

I could care less personally. Sure, I'd rather see Osgood starting as I think he's the better goalie, but he doesn't seem to be affected whatsoever by any outside factors. He brings his A-game whenever he starts and if he keeps it up, then things will fall into place. I mean, let Hasek have his chance to prove to everyone and himself that he should be starting. He hasn't so far by any stretch especially compared to Osgood's outstanding play. Even if you want to play with biases, in the long-run I don't think the Ozzie camp stands to lose any ground based on more Hasek starts. Hell, if it keeps up like this, it only helps your chances of getting the recognition come playoff time.

[puckloo39 5,686]

Yeah, he's playing better than he was. Now he's at least playing like a decent middle-of-the-road goalie. Whereas Osgood is playing like a league-leading goalie with league-leading numbers to back it up. It's cool that Hasek struggles to hit a .900 sv% every game though if he gets there at all. I mean, it's progress, except it's not helping his still league-worst sv% for relevant goalies. I mean, it's not like Ozzie's 2nd or anything in that department. I support whoever's playing, but there's still no question as to who's the better goalie right now. And I don't see that changing as the season progresses nor do I see how he's improving every game. He's looked about the same since returning...a decent middle-of-the-road goalie who struggles to hit a .900 sv% game to game let alone overall.

Hasek was league-leading all last season in GAA and between 1st and 3rd in other stats. No one made a big deal of it then, oddly, although it was mentioned repeatedly during the post-season that Hasek took the team to the third round for the first time since he won a Cup with them.

Constantly harping and complaining about Dom getting to play doesn't and won't change the situation, and things can - and probably will - only get better for him. We get that you don't like him. Hooray.

Assuming that people in here are fans of the team and not just rabid Ozzie slappies, then you support the players, including Hasek. You support the decisions of the coach and management, as well, as to who plays and who sits.

PS - your sarcasm doesn't make you clever. It just makes you sarcastic. And I can out-do you any day, trust me, but I won't bother. This forum is for fans to express their opinions, and hopefully be respectful about it. Try it!

Edited December 19, 2007 by puckloo39

[puckloo39 5,686]

Back on topic of the games:

Here is what we can look forward to with NHLN- US and NHLN-CA game schedules:

NHLN-US

NHLN-CA

if this is accurate, 12/19 - this game - is the last game we will lose in the US, due to NHLN-US. The NHLN-CA games (where I assume those of you in Canada also lose the Wings game?) are all also on Versus, so hopefully you have that option. I have to wonder if they just haven't updated the schedule, since I can't believe this is the last one we are losing. But I can hope!

Here's another reason Hasek is in tonight:

NHL.com game preview

Dominik Hasek made 27 saves before the shootout for his 371st career victory, moving within one of tying Andy Moog for 12th all-time. Hasek has won five straight starts against the Kings, and is 14-4-0 with two ties and a 2.03 goals-against average in 20 career games against them.

Edited December 19, 2007 by puckloo39

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

According to The Free Press, Draper is in tonight and Downey will sit. As much as I love players who earn everything they get, I do not understand how Ellis brings more to this team than Downey.

Bull.s***. I want Drapes back, but why not take out Ellis or Kopecky? They havent been doing much lately either. I like having him in the line-up so the guys feel safe. If someone gets run tonight, no one will even look at him.

Anyways, 7-1 tonight. Cleary and/or Zetterberg get hat tricks and Draper scores.

[gcom007 1,465]

Hasek was league-leading all last season in GAA and between 1st and 3rd in other stats. No one made a big deal of it then, oddly, although it was mentioned repeatedly during the post-season that Hasek took the team to the third round for the first time since he won a Cup with them.

Constantly harping and complaining about Dom getting to play doesn't and won't change the situation, and things can - and probably will - only get better for him. We get that you don't like him. Hooray.

Assuming that people in here are fans of the team and not just rabid Ozzie slappies, then you support the players, including Hasek. You support the decisions of the coach and management, as well, as to who plays and who sits.

PS - your sarcasm doesn't make you clever. It just makes you sarcastic. And I can out-do you any day, trust me, but I won't bother. This forum is for fans to express their opinions, and hopefully be respectful about it. Try it!

I'm not complaining about Hasek starting nor have I so once again, many irrelevant statements in context to my thoughts and opinions. I'm not complaining about Hasek last season either nor did I. I was perfectly fine with the way he was playing. I had no beef with him starting in the playoffs. I thought as things went on that Osgood began to show signs of looking better than Hasek, but he hadn't played enough games to give any credence to the idea of starting in the playoffs. Thus, I supported Hasek fully despite my distaste for him in general. This year, before things got ugly, before there was hype involved, before the regular season started, I felt as if something wasn't quite right with Hasek. I still can't quite peg what exactly that is and can only assume that it has something to do with age finally catching up with him. I don't think it makes him a terrible goalie but it was worrisome to me before the season started and so far this season he's given me plenty of cause for more concern. It doesn't make me hate him. I don't. I don't like him, but it's not as if I hate him. I supported them resigning him in many ways.

It's just about facts at this point, and the facts say that Chris Osgood is the far superior goalie who has been nearly unbeatable for a long while now against plenty of tough teams in games where the skaters didn't show up. Hasek hasn't put up solid number and hasn't showed near the poise that Osgood displays day in, day out. When will you at least admit this? It's what's entirely frustrating about you.

I generally liked Robert Lang and oftentimes found myself playing the role of the apologist, but as things went on, I was objective about the reality of the situation. Sure, I would've loved for it to get better, but for the sake of discussion on a discussion board, I was objective about the current reality which was fairly abysmal. You'd be more respectable if you could take off your fan-girl hat and be objective about the situation. It doesn't make you less of a fan, just more of a person.

PS - Any sarcastic statement that I've put out has been beyond calculated and restrained. I've been banned a couple times for being too "opinionated" so the last thing I'm going to do is to freely tap into the sarcasm. If I wanted to go for the throat, I could, and it'd humor me. But alas, the moderators probably wouldn't appreciate it.

[puckloo39 5,686]

there's no reason for you to go for the throat as you put it, just tone down the sarcasm. It's uncalled for, and it makes you less credible. This (above post) is the most reasonable you've been in a while, and I appreciate it.

Of course, I know Dom hasn't done well earlier in the season. I know that. He was injured and played anyway, and he shouldn't have. The fact that Ozzie has worked his butt off and improved his game is admirable and I am very grateful to have him, as I always have been. What I disagree with is the slamming, personally and professionally, of Hasek because he got a rough start. I don't mean you, 007 -- there are plenty who are far less reasonable about their opinions. Yes, I am a fan of the Dom, so are a lot of people. We react to the constand dismissive attitudes toward a player whom we all know can and will contribute to this team.

We can continue this in PM's if you like, but know that I respect your opinions. I would like to know what you would do with Dom in terms of game time, which would be any different than what Babcock is doing? All the decisions about who's in goal thus far have been reasonable, and make sense if you look at schedules, track-records, all the factors. That is what I assume the coaches and staff are taking into consideration. Not playing Hasek as a favor to him, but because they believe it's the right thing to do?

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Woooo! Wings on TSN

I'm watching Molson That's Hockey right now and egarly anticipating the game!

Here's to Zetterberg getting a hattie and at least an assist

I'm sick and tired of seeing Iginla put up stupid amounts of points in a single game.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

another game lost to the ******* nhl-network. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!! nothing pisses me off more than getting home from work, sitting down on my couch, propping my feet up, and turning the tv on to watch the game i've been looking forward to all day, only to find that this ******* pirate network has stolen yet another game. I'M SO PISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[puckloo39 5,686]

another game lost to the ******* nhl-network. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!! nothing pisses me off more than getting home from work, sitting down on my couch, propping my feet up, and turning the tv on to watch the game i've been looking forward to all day, only to find that this ******* pirate network has stolen yet another game. I'M SO PISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Join me on yahoo live feed, I guess. At least we have that tonight, or NHL radio...

[tazzer82 0]

I imagine Ozzie wanted the start against his former team on Thursday.

Should start the one after that too if you ask me

[Earthhuman 8]

I hate to bring up the goalie thing when it seems finally on the verge of death, but I didn't get to throw my two cents into the cesspool that is LGW forums (not a knock against Matt, layout is perfect).

Dominic Hasek is here to carry the team to the Stanley Cup. He wants to play in the playoffs. The fact is, though, that he has numbers comparable to LA goalies. In my opinion, he should be playing 20-30 games a season, and we should be riding Oz to the Cup.

The problem that management faces is that Hasek would not put up with. He's playing for one reason. No other coach in the league would snub Ozzie like that. Good thing he takes what he gets.

I do get hope, though, when he plays a bad game and has a fire in his eyes, like, "You just wait until the next one."

Also, Babcock is right about older players. They've played 15+ seasons. Hasek isn't fired up for every single game. Approaching the playoffs, I'm sure we'll see someone who at least thinks about starting him in the playoffs.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

Join me on yahoo live feed, I guess. At least we have that tonight, or NHL radio...

what is yahoo live feed? i just wrote bettman a very nasty email, btw. lol

[Earthhuman 8]

Should start the one after that too if you ask me

Definitely. If Hasek is the starter, let him prove it. The team has given him plenty of chances to win.

what is yahoo live feed? i just wrote bettman a very nasty email, btw. lol

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl

Down a little way on the right is tonight's games. If you have anything other than dial-up, it should work ok.