Michigan Wins The GLI

I was excited to watch this game yesterday until I realized that it was being re-run at 12:30 am because the Wings were on at 9:00. On top of that, there is no good website that keeps up to date scores. Must have been a great game to witness....1-0 in double OT! Congrats to UM for finally winning one of these despite being down their top players, who are playing at the World Junior Championships. Also, congrats to Billy Sauer for an amazing two games in net, with two shutout victories.

Great Lakes Invitational (Friday)

I was really hoping for a UM vs MSU final in the annual pointless GLI tourney at the Joe, and MSU had to go lose to Michigan Tech..............disappointing.

Red Wings 4 Avalanche 2

The Wings had the Avs completely locked down in the third period until that ridiculous penalty call on Lidstrom with about 5 minutes to go in the game. The guy loses his balance in front of him and the ref makes the call on someone who spends about 6 minutes a season in the penalty box. Anyway, nice job winning tough back to back road games without 40, 96 and 18.

Red Wings 5 Blues 0

What a great way to win in St. Louis after the loss there last week. The Blues didn't even look like they came to play, and Manny didn't look sharp at all. The greatest thing is that the Blues sold so many tickets to this game, that they had standing room only tickets sold for the first time in years, and their team couldn't even put the puck in the net. Ha!

Holidays

Taking the weekend and holiday off of blogging

Blues 3 Red Wings 2

DAH! Another loss to the Central, despite outshooting them (36-24). Manny Legace was brilliant. I'm not so worried about the fact that all but one loss is to the central. Don't forgot that about every third game is against a central opponent. I guess the Wings just need to step it up a bit more against the division, because you can tell that their division opponents are brining more physical play than any other opponents. Can't wait for the next meeting on the 26th. Hopefully some of the frustration carries over and we see some throwin' down!

Red Wings 6 Kings 2

The Kings are the worst team in the league, it's now being revealed that Marc Crawford's whiny ass ordered the Bertuzzi hit on Steve Moore, and poor Dave Lewis is an assistant coach on this joke of a squad. Nice 4 assist game for Kronwall, the most underappreciated and least talked about Red Wing.

Leafs Blow It

With 1:25 left in the third period, the Leafs led Carolina 2-0. Final score, 3-2.
Wow...............

Things Of Note

Calgary's 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets tonight made them only the 3rd team in NHL history to win 6 straight road games on one road trip

Speaking of Central teams, the division has tapered off a bit, and Nashville's loss to Minnesota tonight put a central team under .500 for the first time since the opening weeks of the season

Now, other divisions are stepping up. The northwest, northeast and atlantic teams are all .500 or more

Red Wings 4 Capitals 3 (SO)

Around 4:30 yesterday, my buddy Tim gives me a call and lets me know he has a free lower bowl ticket to the game. Hours later, I get to see one of the best regular season games I've seen in a while in person.
Watching Ovechkin up close is a treat, despite my comments over the last few months about his ridiculous goal celebrations (which I also got to see up close and personal). However, there was a one-on-one play in the first where Zetterberg put on a beautiful move and skated right around him entering the Caps' zone.
The game was intense and fast. Washington kept up with the Wings in speed and shots on goal. I gotta give it to Hasek, he played great and made some huge saves, especially in the third. He needs a few more games like that to get off my shit list.

Saturday 12/15

In case you haven't noticed.....I like hockey on Saturday, even though lately I've been catching all the replay highlights because of work.

Phoenix 4 New Jersey 1: Brodeur took the day off apparently, stopping 18 of 22.

Dallas 4 San Jose 2: I was excited for this one. Two of the current top teams in the west. Always tough to win in San Jose. The difference in this game was power plays. Both teams took a lot of penalties, but Dallas was able to convert to tie the game at 2 and then go up 3-2.

Boston 2 Columbus 0: How about Alex Auld in net for the Bruins. Columbus outshot Boston 15-2 in the 3rd and Auld denied them 15 times. Boston is quietly off to a nice start this season. They have 39 points with an 18-11-3 record.

Buffalo 3 Chicago 1: Kane gets a nice early goal and then Chicago falls asleep. Actually, I almost fell asleep watching this one......

Montreal 4 Toronto 1: Toronto's fans must be so pissed these days. The Leafs just don't consistently come to play in games against rivals or tough teams. Highlights of this game have a theme: Koivu gets goal 1 and two, followed by Kostsitsyn and Kovalev.....oh and Kubina had a nice hit on Kostsitsyn as well in the 2nd

Ottawa 7 Atlanta 3: Atlanta has been outscored 11-3 in their last two. They're one point away from being the worst team in the east...when's the next time Atlanta plays Washington for the basement? Wait....after looking at the East standings, the bottom four teams are all from the Southeast division (everyone but Carolina). I'm pulling for Washington to rise to second in the southeast, and for Tampa to trade Vinny to Detroit.

Pittsburgh 3 Islanders 2: Nice job by DiPietro giving the puck to Crosby for an easy empty netter to make it 1-0. He recovered nicely and played well to make the game look closer than it was. On a side note, the FSN Pittsburgh play by play guy has gotta be the most lame, monotone presence I've ever heard. I'm glad I'm not a Penguin fan.

Carolina 6 Philadelphia 5 (SO): Hands down the game of the night. This was a fun one to watch. In fact, my favorite non-Red Wing game of the year. It wasn't just the high scoring. It was the great saves on top of all the goals, the tons of made scrambles in front of the net, and the finish; which involved former Flyer Rod Brindamor needing a goal to win, being booed by his former fans, and getting the goal via hitting the goaltender, the crowd cheering as they thought the save was made, and the puck flyer over Biron's head and into the net.

Washington 3 Tampa Bay 2: The Caps have a positive record in their last ten, which by their standards is an improvement, and the Lightning are fading hard. Did I mention Vinny Lecavalier would look great with a winged wheel on his chest?

Colorado 3 Nashville 1: Every Central team that played but the Wings fell tonight, which is good for the Wings. Goaltending was the difference....the Preds outshot the Avs 32-16 but fell, as Budaj steals one with a nice performance. Other than that, this game was a snoozer.

Edmonton 2 Vancouver 1 (SO): Not Luongo vs Roloson, but Sanford vs Garon, who both had shutouts going deep into the third until the ice was broken. This would've been a fun game to watch live. I like the games that are scoreless/1-1 deep into the third. Edmonton's been playing well after a rough start, and the Northwest Division, top to bottom, is separated by 5 points

Minnesota 2 Los Angeles 1: Excellent game for Harding who stopped 35 of 36. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Red Wings 5 Panthers 2

The point streak continues.....

What's with all the penalty shots these days? The Red Wings never have penalty shots, but now have had 3 in 3 games (two successful ones by Flip). Osgood continues to prove why he should be the Wings' go to guy in net, stopping 33 of 35. Caps on Monday. Nice to see some Eastern teams come to the Joe.

Cold War 2

Well....

According to the Detroit News, there are preliminary plans in place to have a "Cold War 2" game between Michigan and Michigan State, likely next year at Ford Field. There are also talks of making this part of a doubleheader, including a Wings/Leafs game. If this is true and happens, this would be unbelievable! The college hockey Frozen Four is coming to Ford Field in 2010, and this is going to be used as a "test run" if it happened. If that doubleheader occurred, I'd pay BIG BUCKS to be there (only if my seats were good).


Click Here To Read The Article

Oilers 4 Red Wings 3 (SO)

So it takes a shootout to beat the Wings these days. Wings outshot em 42-27, what can ya do? Nice job getting outscored 2-1 in the first when you outshot Edmonton 16-7. Dom?

Mark Recchi

And they thought he had nothing left. Recently, the Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways with Mark Recchi in their continuing attempt to make their team younger, with now less leadership and still an average win loss line.
Tonight, Mark Recchi scores 2 goals in 1:01, albeit in a losing effort to the Boston Bruins. At the time, it brought Atlanta down from 2-0 to tie the game.
I hope he gets a hat trick in his next game against Pittsburgh.
Go get 'em, Mark.

Red Wings 2 Rednecks...Er...Predators 1

The first period was the difference. Wings outshot the hell out them in the first and got the penalty shot by Flips. Second and Third period were fairly even in shots and Osgood was brilliant as usual. He needs to be the starter come playoff time, damn it. Nice win down in Nashville, where the fans hate the Wings and we continue to outlast them when it counts. Preds Suck!

Red Wings 5 Hurricanes 2

Another solid win against a top team in another division. Have to give my whipping boy Lilja credit for a +3 night and a nice game winning goal. I still don't like two goals allowed on less than 20 shots, but thats vintage Dom these days. I'm assuming Ozzie will get the nod tonight on the road in Nashville. Let's keep this streak going and not fall to a division opponent again.

NHL Schedule Fails Again

Although the schedule is going back to it's old format next season (thank goodness), it's ironic that the two divisions in which all of their teams are currently over .500, Central and Atlantic, ARE NOT playing each other this year. Would've been fun to track their record against each other.

Boo........

Move Over Redhawks

......but I can't go to bed yet. I have to post on Michigan!

Two game sweep of the BGSU Falcons + Miami splits with Alaska = Michigan in first in the CCHA by 2 points over Miami and Notre Dame. Defending National Champ Michigan State (I ralph every time I think about it) is right in the mix but have played 2 less games so don't have as many points. I can't wait to see UM/MSU play this year.

Saturday 12/8

Late night at work.....but not stopping me from catching Saturday's game highlights on Center Ice Online!

Boston 2 Toronto 1: Always extra special when Original 6ers clash. Alex Auld was outstanding after his team went up 2-1 to win his debut as a Bruin. Did you know Auld has won every debut start with every team he has been on (6 maybe?)

Carolina 5 Montreal 1: Canadiens get rocked at home again. The fans continue to boo. Carolina is catching Ottawa. Big game against the Wings tomorrow! I'm working :(
Carolina's announcer has a good "They Score!" voice. Probably the best in the game.

Washington 6 Atlanta 3: Washington seems to be playing with a little more step since changing coaches. Still 2 points behind LA to get out of the NHL basement. I like this rookie Nicklas Backstrom (not the Minnesota goalie) that they have. He skates fast and shoots hard.

Minnesota 2 Columbus 1: Nice recovery by the Wild after being owned by Detroit last night. Zherdev's goal for Columbus puts him past last year's total already. He's one of the big reasons they are and will be in playoff contention at the end. Entertaining goaltending from two young stars Backstrom and Leclaire (must be Backstrom shoutout night)

Islanders 3 Tampa Bay 2 (OT): Islanders owned the OT session, outshooting TB 7-1. Brad Richards with 2 power play goals but no help from his teammates. I haven't really payed close attention, but the Isles actually have some decent looking white jerseys this year. Tampa is struggling. There are rumors of moving a big name this year. How bout Vinny in a Wings uniform. Won't happen, but I'd shit myself if it did.

Nashville 4 Anaheim 2: Preds came to play, outshooting Anaheim 19-6 in the first period. Ducks aren't playing like the defending champs of late. They need to get Scott Niedermeyer back in the lineup. The lack of Selanne has left a big hole.

Pittsburgh 2 Vancouver 1 (SO): I still haven't decided if I like Vancouver's new jerseys yet.
This was the game of the night and a long entertaining shootout. Sabourin made an outstanding save on Kesler to start the shootout, and then followed up with an amazing blocker save on Morrison. OK, after having plenty of time to analyze the jerseys during the shootout, I've decided I'd only like them if that stupid greenish stripe wasn't on the arm. Shame on Vancouver. Another interesting note: Pittsburgh vs Vancouver was the finals in my last NHL season on X-Box. Vancouver swept 'em. The Penguins sweep their Western trip.

Pheonix 4 Los Angeles 2: YAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWN. The bottom two teams in the conference. The only thing that gets me excited for Coyote games is Strader and Pang.

Buffalo 7 San Jose 1: I just don't understand Buffalo. They beat Carolina 8-1 last week. They get shelled 8-2 by the shitty Kings last night, then shell one of the tougher teams in the West. Good for them. I like the Sabres. Buffalo is a great hockey city. And since I've been babbling about jerseys tonight (and Backstroms)...I think Buffalo has the best in the NHL. Which means they'll change it next year.



Man it's late.....I should go to bed...............

Red Wings 5 Wild 0

Great night tonight. Got to go to the game with thanks to my wonderful lady and witness my first hat trick in person via Hank Zetterberg. The Wings looked like a well oiled machine tonight against a defensive minded Wild team out to attempt to prove themselves on the road against the top team in the west. It's becoming more and more fun to watch Downey deliver punishing checks and get in a fight now and then. Downey is becoming one of my favorite Wings quickly. He's like Darren McCarty with less goals and more sugar.

Whatever happened to....

.....Dave Strader?

Well...

I noticed is that Dave Strader, former Red Wings and ESPN announcer, is now doing the same job for the Coyotes with Darren Pang as his color commentator. At least the Coyote fans get some high quality play by play while their team misses the playoffs every year.

Great Games Tonight

There were some great games in the NHL tonight that I had the pleasure of watching highlight reels of on Center Ice Online after work late this evening!

- Devils, who are on fire right now, rally from 3-0 to win 4-3
- Atlanta, in their hideous home uniforms, take out Islanders in a shootout
- Jackets score 4 in the 3rd to take down the Avs 5-4 (Central Power!)
- Penguins score 4 in the 3rd to take out Edmonton 4-2 in a rare west appearance by Crosby and his fellow underachievers (poor Recchi, Pittsburgh released him today)

Red Wings 4 Canadiens 1

The Wings are rolling and the Canadians are reeling. Hasek needed a win to get back in to the swing of things and he got one. Nice tackle-from-behind by Dandenault in the third. What a little pussy. I was also hoping this would be the night that Datsyuk gets his first career hat trick, but it wasn't to be. It's always excellent to watch to original 6 teams battle it out with the great voice of Mike Emrick calling the game. Montreal is definitely struggling. I've never heard their fans boo them before!

Down and Out

I've been breaking bones and having fevers the last few days. It sucks typing with a broken finger!

C'Mon Phoenix

How do you give up 5 goals in the first period to Chicago.

Bettman Approves Schedule Change

Thank God. It looks like the old schedule format is coming back next season, with the teams playing their division opponents 6 times each and all opponents from the opposite conference. This is a very smart move, as some of the names in the East like Ovechkin, Crosby, Lecavalier and the like have more opportunity to play in the West and draw some crowds.

Red Wings 4 Lightning 2

Total domination in the first period, and a game of people stepping up when the top line has an off day. Kopecky's fake on Denis to give the Wings their 3rd goal was sweet. Detroit could have easily won this won 7-2 if a few posts had gone their way. Also, a nice performance by Hudler as the team played well without Drapes and Malts.

Toronto vs Montreal

In my opinion, the best rivalry in the NHL. Tonight, they went to their 6th shootout in their last 7 meetings. I love that I get to watch the non Hockey Night In Canada games with this Center Ice Online package! After about a 20 minute delay because of teams arguing with each other and the referees about how the zambonis resurfaced the ice between the end of overtime and the beginning of the shootout, Montreal won in 5 rounds. It was also the first NHL game I've been able to watch on Canada's TSN.........great coverage! I think they're an offshoot of ESPN.

Red Wings 5 Flames 3

What can I say? Pavel Datsyuk is amazing with the puck. Although I continue to rip on him and will continue to do so until I see some consistent positive play, hats off to Lilja for standing up to Phaneuf after he laid out Jiri Hudler.

Saturday 11/24

Observations while doing laundry and cycling through the games on Center Ice Online........


Phoenix 5 Toronto 1: Two teams going in opposite directions early in the season. Phoenix has been playing well since acquiring Bryzgalov, who was solid again tonight, and the Leafs look like they need some major changes because they did not come to play...again

Calgary 5 Colorado 2: The Avs have looked either really good or really bad in their games so far. Calgary had no problem skating around their defense

Buffalo 3 Montreal 0: The Sabres definitely have the best play by play announcer in the league. This guy sounds about 70 years old and screams and sounds like he has a heart attack everytime the Sabres score. Thibault was brilliant in a must win road game for the struggling Sabres

Philadelphia 4 Ottawa 3: Best game of the night. Philly started to show a little more step than Ottawa midway through the second after taking the 4-3 lead.

Islanders 2 Boston 1: Poor teams with ugly jerseys that get no publicity. Former Michigan Wolverine Andy Hilbert nets his first goal of the year

Washington 5 Carolina 2: The Caps, who are 2-0 since firing their coach, net 3 power play goals against the division leaders. One thing I'm starting to notice about Ovechkin is that he overdramatically celebrates every single goal he scores. Settle down buddy and make the playoffs

Pittsburgh 5 Atlanta 0: This is the first time I've seen Atlanta goalie Ondrej Pavelec in action this season. Yup...................

New Jersey 3 Tampa Bay 2: Brodeur was absolutely brilliant in this one and the Devils fed off of it in the second period with 3 goals. I personally hope the Devils miss the playoffs again this year. It was nice not having them around.

Minnesota 4 Nashville 3: Always nice to see the Preds lose and their mostly ignorant fans go home unhappy

Edmonton 3 Chicago 2 (SO): Dwayne Roloson punches Patrick Kane in the waning seconds of overtime, then stones him en route to victory...HA! It's weird having an interest in Blackhawk games now that they're actually competing.

Los Angeles 2 San Jose 1: California teams.....yawn.......Oh, didn't one win the cup last year?

Michigan Still Rolling

BIG weekend for the Wolverines, as they sweep the annual college hockey showcase with a 3-2 win over Wisconsin and a 5-1 win over Minnesota today. That's right, MICHIGAN BEAT MINNESOTA, the team that has seemingly owned them over the past decade in regular season and NCAA tournament play. This win also avenges Michigan's only loss this season thus far. Miami (Ohio) swept a pathetic Canisius team this weekend, so the Redhawks and the Wolverines are still battling for the top rank in the country.

Blue Jackets 3 Red Wings 2 (SO)

Well, the first long run of Central Division matchups is over, and the Red Wings come out with 4 wins, 4 losses and tonights shootout loss. The Wings will also be on top of the division by either 6 or 5 points, depending on the outcome of the Hawks/Oilers game, which is going on right now. Osgood, again, stood on his head in this game to get the Wings a point. I still think he should be the starter all season long with Hasek filling in when Ozzie is tired.

That fight between Downey and Boll was phenomenal! I loved when Downey was waving off the linesman when they were trying to come in to break up the fight.

Flames come in to town next. They haven't been playing to well lately and are under .500, but they did bitchslap Colorado tonight. I'll be at the Tampa Bay game on Thursday.....

Predators 3 Red Wings 2

Close game. The difference? Mason > Hasek.

Red Wings 3 Blues 0

Total domination from the start! Ozzie made a few nice saves on the few shots that came his way, and the Wings score in the first minute.

Take that, St. Louis a-holes.

Red Wings 5 Blue Jackets 4 (SO)

The greatest thing about this game was not the fact that the Wings ended their losing streak, but that Aaron Downey WAS in the lineup and Dallas Drake WAS NOT. Drake has been, for the most part, a waste of space and a poor pickup for the Red Wings.

Andres Lilja, who is my current least favorite Red Wing, took an unbelievably stupid penalty in this game. On a positive note, Pavel Datsyuk got a much needed goal, tying the game late in the third, and Johan Franzen, who has struggled all season offensively, got the shootout winner which could spark him over the next few weeks.

On another note, I posted a message in the letsgowings.com forum on this game predicting that this game will end up in a shootout. Yeah, I definitely will beat my drum when I'm right about something.

Blues next......can't wait to see that one

LET'S GO BLUE!

No, not the underachieving, overhyped football program that once again proved its at-best mediocrity among the alleged powerhouses today after laying down to the Buckeyes, I'm talking Michigan Hockey! After being eliminated last year in the NCAA tourney and losing a strong senior class, I thought this season would be a tough one for the Wolverines.

But in the words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friend!"

Michigan is off to an 11-1 start and 8-0 in the CCHA and are ranked #2 in the country behind Miami (Ohio), who swept Michigan State this weekend. We'll see what this team is made of next week when they play Wisconsin and Minnesota, who gave them their only loss this season thus far.

GO BLUE!

Blackhawks 5 Red Wings 3

This goes beyond a vintage Red Wings loss where they outshoot the hell out of the opponent and either lose or win a close one. Giving up 3 shorthanded goals in a game is ridiculous. Hasek also is not looking sharp at all this year thus far. Oh, and speaking of sharp, they allowed Patrick Sharp to score 3 in the third period to lose their 3rd game in a row and 4th to the Blackhawks. It was clear to me in the last two Blackhawk wins that they were much faster than the Wings.

Wake up, boys. The Blackhawks own you this season like Ohio State owns Michigan

Saturday 11/17

Saturday nights are the best hockey nights of the week, but I missed all the games (worked 4-2 tonight). Thank god for NHL Center Ice Online, which I purchased yesterday. It streams all the highlights I missed in a format 20 times better than the free Yahoo (see earlier post). Plus I can watch any game at anytime live or replayed on the computer when I'm bored.

Phoenix 1 Los Angeles 0: I don't know what it is about these west coast teams that bore the hell out of me. Nice job by Bryzgalov with a shutout in his first game in a new uniform

Toronto 3 Ottawa 0: If there were no Red Wings, I'd be a Leafs fan (thanks to exposure on CBC in Detroit) HUGE win against the top team in the east and rival.

Montreal 7 Boston 4: Montreal's offense is outstanding. 7 goals on 52 shots, and they outshot the Bruins 25-8 in the 3rd. It'll be fun watching them play Ottawa in the Eastern Finals this year (little prediction)

New Jersey 6 Philadelphia 2: The Devils scored 2 goals on 2 shots this period.....terrible.

Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 3 (OT): Rough start this season for the Penguins. Rangers have won 9 of 10 and got all 4 goals from defensemen........What makes me laugh is that Malkin and Crosby are a combined -3 this season

St. Louis 3 Nashville 2 (Shootout): Every Central Division match up this week has gone down to the wire. Wings better wake the f**k up because these other 4 teams are playing for real. Hannu Toivonen should get credit for a win and a half, as Nashville out shot the Blues 37-20

Calgary 3 Edmonton 1: Oilers Suck

Anaheim 2 San Jose 1 (Shootout): Best game of the night from two of the best in the west. Great goaltending! There were some unbelievable saves in this one. On a side note, I think the Sharks have the good-looking-jersey think finally figured out

Central Division.....Powerhouse?

Central	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
Detroit	18	13	4	1	27	61	41	7-1-0	6-3-1	8-2-0
Nashville	18	10	7	1	21	53	52	6-2-0	4-5-1	8-1-1
Columbus	18	9	6	3	21	47	42	6-2-1	3-4-2	5-3-2
Chicago	19	10	8	1	21	57	58	6-5-0	4-3-1	5-4-1
St. Louis	15	8	7	0	16	39	37	5-3-0	3-4-0	4-6-0

There's the Central Standings thus far. That's a big start for this division, which is usually a cakewalk for the Wings. The last few seasons have come down to Detroit and Nashville, with the Wings pulling away in the last month or two to win the division; and St. Louis, Chicago and Columbus haven't come close to contending for the playoffs.

Currently, the division is the only one with all teams with a .500 or better winning percentage. Every other division has at least two teams under .500 right now. This will make this current run of division games for the Red Wings, which is already off to a rough start, HUGE this early in the season.

Also, don't forget, that even though the St. Louis Blues are in last place they have played 3 or 4 games less than all the other teams, so they are right in the thick of it as well.

One team that I am surprised with is Nashville. They lost some key players in Tomas Vokoun, Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg in the offseason, but have still managed a solid start thus far. Guys like Martin Erat, Vernon Fiddler, David Legwand, J.P. Dumont and the young Alexander Radulov have stepped it up on the offensive side thus far, and goalie Dan Ellis has an impressive 1.35 goals against average in 4 wins as a backup.

Columbus is getting big contributions from superstar Rick Nash and goalie Pascal Leclaire, who already has 5 shutouts this season. Chicago's big start is thanks to rookie sensations Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, who have a combined 37 points to start the season. Furthermore, former Red Wings Jason Williams and Robert Lang are in the top 4 in team scoring.

As for the Red Wings, well.....they always seem to find their way to the top of the Central early, but unlike previous years, there are 4 teams good enough to hunt them down and catch them.

Jackets/Blues tonight.

The Shootout

It's great to watch.....but after watching highlights of last nights Edmonton vs Vancouver game which was still scoreless heading into a shootout, I felt bad for the goalies. Garon (29 saves) and Luongo (19 saves) put on an incredible display of goaltending through 3 periods and 5 minutes of overtime, and to reward their efforts they each get three breakaways heading their way. The shootout to me is kind of anti-climactic after a close game. I wanna see who will score next in a regular flowing game. How about a continuous 4 on 4 overtime in the regular season? No ties, someone will eventually score and it will likely not go all night with less players on the ice. Disagree? Well then kiss my ass.......


......just kidding


No really I hate you

Sidney Crosby.............

.............WHO CARES

The best player in the NHL is Vincent Lecavalier. He passed Sidney Crosby and my boy Henrik Zetterberg last night for the points lead with an amazing hat trick against Carolina in a 6-1 victory. I think this guy should be put right up there with all the big names in the NHL and no one pays attention because he plays in the unpopular, yet Stanley Cup Finals producing (Carolina, Tampa Bay, Washington since 1998) southeast division. Plus, he has had one thing that Sid the Kid doesn't have.......THE CUP. I'm not a Crosby hater at all, he is awesome to watch. Just bringing to light those that don't get talked about in the shadow of "The Kid"

Yahoo! Sports

For those of you who are unaware, Yahoo! Sports compiles and streams all the relevant highlights from the original game broadcasts of almost every regular season game. They also have a schedule of games that they stream live throughout the regular season. Check it out.

Post #1

Good day all,

I decided to start this blog for a few different reasons

1) Wings game just ended and there's no other game on (there would be tons of games on if WOW carried NHL Center Ice, but thats a whole different story)
2) I like to talk about hockey but usually can't find many that know what the hell is going on in the league, mainly because of the declining popularity (even here in "Hockeytown")
3) I'm really digging deep to find something to do

So anyway.....here's some of my hockey interest background and where I stand on teams and such

- I'm a pretty hardcore Detroit Red Wings fan, although my intensity in rooting for them declined a little bit following the 2002 cup. It's gaining again, especially after they were an Andres Lilja terrible-f***ing turnover away from going up 3-2 in the Western Finals last year, but it's not the same as it was back then. I think I kind of peaked as a fan at that time because I didn't think it could get any better. It was really the dream season and playoff run... I mean, they had a team full of superstars that all gave up time for each other and it just worked perfectly; they came back from being down 0-2 in the first round and won games 3-4 in Vancouver; they chased the then-hated Avalanche and Patrick Roy out of town in Game 7 of the Western Finals and shut down Carolina in the Stanley Cup finals. However, I am excited about the emergence of some of the players around the stars and how last year's playoff experience will help them evolve this season.

- I love college hockey as much as the NHL. My team is Michigan, and there is NO BETTER place to watch a game than at the age-old Yost Ice Arena.

- I have every single Stanley Cup Finals game on tape all the way back to Colorado-Florida 1996, and several 1st, 2nd and 3rd Round games. I also have highlight tapes off all goals/good fights from Red Wings wins or ties all the way back to 1996

- Teams I dislike are tough to call in the NHL........... I used to hate the Avs back when the teams hated each other, but that's all but dead. The only time I hear about them is when my roommate, who's an Avs fan, watches or talks about them and reminds me they exist. I can't stand Predator fans after going to a game down in Nashville and having snowballs thrown at me by their fans for wearing a Wings jersey, but the Wings knocked them out in the first round that year......I guess that leaves Chicago and St. Louis, mainly because they always chant "Detroit Sucks" at their games and that's all they have to show for it....Chicago hasn't made the playoffs since the fall of the Berlin wall (they probably will this year though) and the Wings have knocked out St.Louis in their last 26 playoff meetings

As for college, I naturally hate Michigan State, and it makes me sick that they came out of nowhere to win the National Championship after getting hot late. I personally think college hockey should have at least best of three playoff series in the NCAA tournament because of the nature of the sport

So that's a little bit of intro.....feel free to comment, talk shit if you hate the wings/michigan, and whatever else

-Dan