Echolalia

Overall the Coyotes have been outworking the Wings, and that's how they've scored all their goals.  When the Wings have turned on the switch, the game looks completely one-sided and its a wonder why Phoenix is in it at all, but unfortunately those moments are as often as they should be given its the playoffs.

It's a little premature, but wouldn't it be great to see one similar to the Dallas Drake one next year but instead of Drake, have Nick handing the cup to Howie and the text read:

"What if Hockeytown had never given Jimmy Howard a chance?"

This might be bad luck...

I'd rather FSN do that.  They're the ones with the archives of footage.

We believe in you

You should make these into a montage

1000 posts, huh?  On the event that we aren't close to our quota within 2 hours of puck-drop, we may have to use the trump card ie turn it into an enforcer/goalie/Crosby thread still under the guise of a 1000 posts for game 1 victory thread.  If we aren't at 10,000 by puck drop after pulling that stunt then I've lost all faith in the LGW community.

You Wings fans in Phoenix will have to look out!  Now that the Coyote faithful have taken to the internet to spread the word, all 250 fans might be at every game trying to drown out the 20,000 of you.

Well I was being sarcastic when I said "carried". Obviously Ovechkin is the main cog in that machine.

When it comes down to who is more valuable, I just think Ovechkin has a major advantage in scoring by playing with elite offensive talent and system when Crosby has Guerin/Dupuis/Kuntiz and a injured Malkin on the PP all year.

What does Guerin/Dupuis/Kunitz/Crosby/Malkin have to do with this thread, or half the threads you post in for that matter?  If you think Ovy is where he is largely because of the talent around him, that's fine, but please don't escalate this into another Crosby vs Ovechkin debate.  The internet has plenty of them already.

Post that comment up in the Wings' lockerroom and were all set.

I don't usually comment on grammar, but that post could really use some periods.

Agreed.

But honestly, if at the start of the season someone would've told me people would be discussing Jimmy Howard for the Vezina, I would've chalked it up to insane homerism instead of a legitimate discussion.  He won't win it, but I think he's worthy of mention in the Vezina conversation, and that alone is pretty incredible.

I really didn't know what to make of Howard based on his AHL play, but what a tremendous surprise he's been this season.  And a HUGE part of the reason the Wings are in a playoff spot.  

My main beef with him has been rebound control, but he's really improved it, makes himself big in net, and is aggressive without taking himself out of position as much.  He's made me a believer.

Hopefully he can keep at it next year, and work on his rebound control.  I'll admit that it has been getting better as the season progresses, but he still has some ways to go before I'll be completely comfortable with him in net without a defensman or two to bail him out.  If he can master his rebound issue a Vezina may definitely be in his future.

Also, I'm not updating this thread for the rest of the season.  My superstition was confirmed

Who knows how Jimmy will react to the pressures of the playoffs.  At the very least he will have more than competent defensman in front of him who should soften the burden.

Also, I would prefer Jimmy in net to Luongo, but that's just me.  I think Loo is quite overrated.

But don't you think that other teams deserve a shot to play in the Winter Classic as well??

It's not fair to other teams and their fans. This is just another way to shove Pitt and Crosby down everyone's throats.

I certainly think that other teams deserve a shot in the Winter Classic.  Ideally, everyone would get a shot at it before seconds started going around.  But like I mentioned, the NHL is a business and as a result their decisions are going to be dictated by what will be the most profitable for the league.  Ever since Crosby came into the league, the NHL has been exploiting his talent to develop a fan base of people who normally would be uninterested in hockey.  Whether that has been successful or not, Crosby is now beyond celebrity status, and when his name comes up, whether you love him or hate him (and you either absolutely love him or absolutely hate him), you're paying attention to what context his name was brought up in.  This is evident in every hockey forum and blog that has been in existence since he was drafted.  That makes him marketable.  Whether for you personally he's being marketed as a villain or a hero is up to you, but he still gets people's attention and that's all the NHL wants.  
Ovechkin does the same thing.  He get's people's attention, and one of the NHL's best moves IMO was marketing him as Crosby's rival, especially after they noticed how people responded to Crosby being shoved down our throats.  If you love Crosby, you're going to hate Ovechkin and take joy in his short-comings.  If you hate Crosby, then you're going to love Ovechkin and take joy whenever he can put Crosby in his place.  This has pretty much become law in hockey fandom (yes there are exceptions, but I'm pretty comfortable guessing that close to 99% of hockey fans fit this bill).  That's why a Crosby/Ovechkin battle is pretty much guaranteed to break profit records for a Winter Classic, and to capitalize on this opportunity, the NHL wants to get this WC out of the way before the rivalry subsides or one team falls from their peak.  
Additionally, with Crosby making a name for himself as the enemy of the US by winning the Olympic gold, its much more likely that the NHL could pick up a number of folks who turned into the gold-medal game but are otherwise not hockey fans, because they heard this Ovechkin guy stands for everything Crosby doesn't and might enjoy retribution in some manner.
Finally, I'm guessing NBC may have requested this match-up specifically because they have their own ratings to worry about.  I wouldn't be surprised if NBC even threatened to discontinue its partnership with the NHL if this match-up doesn't happen.  Bettman seems to take it up the ass when it comes to NBC, and I assume they're holding TV coverage over his head.

From a business standpoint (the NHL is a business first and foremost) this is an excellent move.  Crosby and Ovechkin are marketable, whether we want to admit it or not.  And while its just a hunch, I'm fairy confident that NBC had a lot to do with this.

I absolutely want to face Phoenix in the first round.  Out of all the potential teams to verse I think they rely on their goalie the most.  I see that series as one where the Wings will likely out-shoot them by a much wider margin than if they were to vs Chicago, San Jose, or Vancouver.  That bodes well for Howie's first round in the playoffs, imo.  Also, while Phoenix has been dangerous, the Wings fans are going to crowd the hell out of their arena, and they'll have strong crowd support in all 7 games.  Mentally, Phoenix might be facing 7 road games in that series.

Darn.  I was hoping they would have no hard feelings and just give us the game.