BlueMonk

That linesman just cost himself a job as an NHL official.

Okay, everything's back to normal. Whew, for a minute there, I thought the officials may have given a favorable call to Detroit on their last goal. But they straightened things out right quick there.

No ive seen it brought up here countless times that fights dont have an affect on momentum or anything and that it is completely pointless.

Not by anyone who has a nuanced understanding of hockey.

Bert's fights were important but so was the physical play of the team overall. Abby was hitting everyone in sight. O'Brien was right; Tootoo being out helped Detroit's cause. There wasn't as much of a deterrent. When you have tough guys, everyone on the bench grows an inch, as they say. Remember when Kronwall was laying monster hits all the time a few years ago? He had guys like Downey, Drake and Mac backing him up. Now those guys are gone, and how often do you see those big hits now?

Having a roster full of goons is not the answer, but standing up for yourself and your teammates is essential. As I pointed out on the GDT, once Detroit started standing up for themselves, fighting, initiating contacting, laying the big hits and not taking an s*** after the whistle, etc., guys like Weber and Erat weren't running around anymore. It was a pretty uneventful 3rd period. All a team has to do is serve notice that they're not going to be pushed around and the bullies back off.

It's frighteningly simple and obvious, but too many fans have their noses buried in fantasy hockey or something to appreciate the role that intimidation plays in the game.

Awesome comeback! Check out O'Briens comments on Abby on a Nashville news site:



Link

I came here to post that link but you beat me to it.

This game was Exhibit A for what standing up to physical play can mean to a team. The Wings came out and punched Nashville in the mouth first. They initiated the rough stuff and answered anything Nashville came at them with. The Bertuzzi fights, the big hits, the responses after the whistle... Detroit did all of it and they won the game. By the time the 3rd period came around, guys like Weber and Erat weren't making noise and running around anymore. The Wings stood up for themselves and the two teams settled into playing hockey.

O'Brien is absolutely right, by the way. The presence of a guy like Tootoo would have made a difference.

Okay so I watched the replay of Howard's "gave-saving" stop from the cross ice pass to Ward, and just as I stated before, the trajectory of the puck is going wide on the long side.  That's right, Ward's shot is going to miss the net if Howard wasn't there for the puck to hit him.  Ward has the entire short side open and Howard beat if he aimed correctly, but he just one times it to the long side.

As I said before, bad shot, not really a good save.  Props to Howard for the effort, but that's all I can give them for.

I'd love to get back the 20 seconds of my life I spent reading this post.

I'm pleased with the Wings' take-no-s*** attitude on the ice today. Come on and tie it up, boys.

This league disgusts me. A good goal waived off, and then call a penalty. And Abby throws a clean check, WITH THE PUCK THERE and gets a penalty. It's bulls***, that was probably the best period of hockey the Wings have played all year, and that's what we get.

In 2006, I watched the NBA become a joke as the Miami Heat were handed the title over Dallas by the officials. I haven't taken the outcome of an NBA game seriously since, and that was long before the Tim Donaghy scandal broke.

As I've said before, I'm beginning to feel the same way about the NHL. The league clearly mindf***s officiating to death. They seem to overreact to criticism and legislate "corrective" action that swings the pendulum too far the other way. Holmstrom plays on the edge in front of the goalie? Send a video to the officials and tell them to watch him extra-closely. Stats on prominent internet hockey forums show Detroit gets an edge in penalties for/against at home? Start "evening things out" at the Joe, even if the disparity is a reflection of Detroit outplaying its opponents and forcing opponents to take more penalties.

An effort like this isn't just disrespectful to Joey and McCollum, it's a slap in the face of the fans, who continue to sell out the arena despite watching horses*** like this. I know regular season games aren't what the season will be judged by, but the team owes it to its fanbase to at least work hard enough not to be embarrassed in their own rink. People are spending their hard-earned money to see lazy millionaires phone it in. Nice.

It was officiating like this that caused me to stop taking results of NBA games seriously. I'd rather not have to feel that way about the NHL. I'd really rather not.

I'm speechless. In all seriousness, there needs to be disciplinary action taken against these officials by the league. For chrissakes, they're trying to market the game and get a new TV contract, and this is how they showcase the game on national TV?

I don't get the big problem officials have with Holmstrom. The guy pays a brutal price to set up shop where he does. He takes a ton of abuse and has to work as hard as anyone to score goals. In a league that's so desperate to come up with new rules to increase offense, they crack down on one of the guys who gets his the hard way. What a f**ked up garage league this is.

Is this crew part of some enrichment program to get the sight-impaired jobs as NHL officials? This is bad even by NHL standards.

Friggin' Draper AGAIN with a defensive turnover with all the time in the world to not make a stupid play like that. RETIREMENT.

that hurts more then losing 4-0

Not to me. Shootout losses aren't real losses, they're silly. The main thing is, Detroit earned a point after being down 4-0 and looking dreadful.

That fish was unbelievable! How does someone sneak something that size in the building??