Guest mindfly Report post Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...very_night.html And osgood with possible conspiracy theory Red Wings' Babcock: Every night a grind in NHL by Ansar Khan Wednesday October 29, 2008, 12:15 AM AP Photo Marian Hossa, left, has helped the Red Wings win some close games early in the season.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With the presidential election less than a week away, Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock used a political analogy Tuesday to describe the state of the NHL, where poor clubs are closing the gap on the elite. "Since I've been in the league, we've gone from having a top and a bottom to a middle,'' Babcock said. "That's a theme in the U.S. now, helping out the middle (class). Same as the NHL. We're going to tax the rich and give to the poor. Isn't that the idea? "So we're all the same. It's amazing. Every night is a grind for your life.'' The standings might not reflect that, as the 7-1-1 Red Wings take a five-game winning streak into tonight's game in Anaheim. They are 5-0 on the road. But, the closeness of their games indicates more parity in the league. Every game has been decided by one score, excluding the two in which they scored an empty-net goal in the final minute. Goalie Chris Osgood has a conspiracy theory. "They want more goals and they want the games to be closer, because every time it seems a team gets a lead, the other team is in the (penalty) box three or four times, consecutively,'' Osgood said. "Power plays have a lot to do with (close, high-scoring games). If you look around the league, all the scores are pretty high right now. Our goals-against is obviously going to go down. We're going to start tightening up and play like we're accustomed to.'' Detroit has allowed more shots (28.6 per game, which ranks 12th in the league) and goals (3.11 per game, which ranks 18th) than anyone anticipated. Last season, it allowed the fewest shots (23.5 per game) and the least amount of goals (2.18 per game) in the league. "We're giving them way too many opportunities to score,'' Nicklas Kronwall said. "As soon as we get the puck in our zone, we have to go forward with it. Tape-to-tape first pass and off we go.'' Babcock counted 20 scoring chances his club allowed Saturday in the 6-5 shootout victory at Chicago. He said the team needs to keep it to 12 or less per game. "The game is so much different in the first two months of the year than it is after Christmas or even near the end of the season,'' Osgood said. "They're a lot more wide open, refs call tons of penalties, games are wild. You can have a 4-1 lead and you're in the box four times in a row and the other team's coming back and you're on your heels.'' As for his own start (4-1-1, 3.12 goals-against average, .884 save percentage), Osgood said, "I could play better. I feel a lot better than the amount of goals I've been giving up. For me, it's just about winning games this time of year.'' The Red Wings say officiating contributed to close games and increase in scoring. Detroit is the second-least penalized team in the league, but they have taken too many penalties in their past two games. "Some of the penalties we've been taking are lazy penalties -- hooking, holding -- situations where we're a step behind or just a little out of position,'' Brad Stuart said. Babcock said players must recognize early in the game the standard of officiating and adjust quickly. "What's obstruction one night and what's it the next night?'' Babcock said. "When the guys chips the puck past you as a D-man, are you allowed to bump him, or do you have to get out of his way? Some nights, you touch the guy and it's (a penalty), some nights you're allowed to bump the guy.'' Last season, the Red Wings did not fare as well in games decided by one goal (18-11-7) as they did in games decided by two or more goals (36-10). "At the end of the year when you've won 50 games, everyone thinks you won 5-1 every night,'' Babcock said. "But if you go back over the previous three years, you usually win 3-1, 2-1. Right now, we're winning 4-3. That's the part I don't like. But we gave up 19 shots last night (in a 4-3 shootout win in Los Angeles), which is a big step.'' Edited October 29, 2008 by mindfly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maltbymaniac 13 Report post Posted October 29, 2008 very good read. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T.Low 1,011 Report post Posted October 29, 2008 Thanks for the read, MF. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CopenhagenWing 38 Report post Posted October 29, 2008 Get out your wallets, guys. As much as I hate speculating in the conspiracy theory, I've watched games (non-Wings games) this season where the officiating was very inconsistent and did appear to favour the losing team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mindfly Report post Posted October 29, 2008 I like the players and teams in the NHL, but I think Bettman&co is in charge of too much just to gain as much money as possible... i miss the good old days Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XxGoWingsxX 0 Report post Posted October 29, 2008 Get out your wallets, guys. As much as I hate speculating in the conspiracy theory, I've watched games (non-Wings games) this season where the officiating was very inconsistent and did appear to favour the losing team. agreed....its all bettman's plan to create more offense, thus drawing in more crowds. Its no conspiracy against the wings...the officiating is being dictated by the suits in a way that helps them sell the sport...but in the long run they're going to alienate their true die hard fans...and then..what about when the bandwagon fans get over it? The sport of hockey will be ruined so bettman could gain more viewers...if only for a couple of years. And whats all this talk about banning fights? They just seem to want to transform hockey to figure skating with a stick...its starting to sicken me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
