Last night in or around Canada...

Fleury was Halak and Malkin was Malkin.

Thornton was alive and Rafalski, I think, misplayed the final 2-on-1:



What happened to taking away the pass?

I hope the Wings rip off 4 straight.

What you missed this past weekend

Thank you Nemy for finding this and putting this in my life because if he hadn't, I never would have known that Guerin did this ridiculous pose in a pic.

This is all you missed this weekend so get some.

Great seats at the Ranger game last night...me and Nemy were cashew nuts on a super sunday night. I'm tired today and the game was very uneventful except for the 5 minute 5 on 5 powerplay that Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Rafalski and Lidstrom had. It was truly great to watch even though they didn't score.


Msgless Scotty

Crib Notes - Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings
Finished 1st in the Central. Lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to Pitt in 7 games.
Signed F Jason Williams
Picked up Patrick Eaves from the scrap heap
Signed lazy/injured F Todd Bertuzzi
Marian Hossa took his act to rival Chicago
Steady F Mikael Samuelsson signed with Vancouver.
Lost Backup G Ty Conklin

Questions going into 2009-2010:
I think the biggest question going into this season is about goaltending. The rest of the team is pretty stacked even without Hossa.
Can Todd Bertuzzi keep up with this lineup?
Can this team top 51 wins?
Was Hossa the jinx keeping Detroit from repeating last year?
Which unheralded Euro will be the next great Red Wing?
Again, Chris Osgood?

Poised for a breakout season:
Mattias Ritola. I randomly picked a young Swede from this lineup because I'm pretty sure with some playing time any one of them will have a strong year.

If you had to buy one Red Wing sweater:
Talk about a timeless, classic logo and jersey. I used to own an Yzerman when I was younger. I think I ruined it when our basement flooded. I'd go with a Draper jersey now but would really like to have my Yzerman back. it had a fight strap and everything.

Player whose game you like and you can't figure out why he isn't considered a superstar:
Okay, maybe not a superstar per se but Rafalski is quietly one of the best defensemen in the league. The trouble is that he's not the best defensemen on his team.

Player who reminds me of Brian Rafalski:
Larry Murphy

Member of the Red Wings tv broadcast team whose fat neck refuses to fit in the confines of a collared dress shirt:
Larry Murphy

Old guys:
Lidstrom is 39
Draper is 38
Osgood, Maltby and Holmstrom are 36
Rafalski is 35
This team is like the older squad in your mens league that doesn't waste energy, moves the puck really well and beats your ass despite having 2 guys on the bench.

Young guys:
Helm and Abdelkader are 22

Tough guys:
This team proves to people who are anti fighting that you can be successful without having a cop in the lineup.

Favorite old school Red Wing:
(tie) Bob Probert and Joey Kocur.
How cool is it that Paul Ysebaert and Steve Yzerman were in the same lineup?

Custom jersey that I may buy Bressler for Hannukah:



Goaltending coach:
Jim Bedard with his 17-40-13 NHL record with a 3.94 GAA. Sick.

Nostalgia:
47 year old Chris Chelios refuses to age and is looking to jump on with the Predators.

Interesting?:
Is the line of Franzen /Datsyuk/Holmstrom one of the scariest in the league?

NHL 94 players:
Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Dino Ciccarelli up front. DIRTY
Paul Coffey and Steve Chiasson (over Nik Lidstrom!) on D with Tim Cheveldae in net.
Tim Cheveldae - what a name.

Prediction?
Osgood proves me wrong again and has a solid season in net. The Wings lift another Cup.

YouTube:
This is one of the coolest highlights in the history of sport. What a pure slapshot. Goosebumps 1,000. Listen to the Gary Thorne call, "Yzerman moving. Blueline. Chance. SCORE!". So simple and powerful.


- Nemmy

Weekend Wrap Up OR There was only one game, so its pretty much a what you missed

Well that game sucked. I guess not, for Detroit fans. Or fans of shut-outs. I can't remember a less competitive game in Stanley Cup Finals since Ed Belfour was on cold meds and NJ put in 7 in a game 1 a few years back.




Some cool things from the Red Wings:

Rafalski's shot is perfect. If you don't hit Holmstrom and put it on net, its going in.
The slap pass to Zetterberg makes me feel tingly.
The Red Wings know to go upstairs from the hash marks in. Its simple hockey.


The Penguins embarrassed themselves with stupid, immature penalties.

Lets get a better game 6.

What you missed last night

Canucks beat the Blackhawks, 3-1 (VAN leads series 2-1): Hey, Chicago, you are allowed to score first. I just wanted to give you the heads up. Its kind of a problem, but another problem is Dustin Byfuglien being your best player. Brian Campbell did about 17 spin moves in the third period. How come only Shane O Brian laid him out?


Ducks beat the Red Wings, 2-1 (ANH leads series 2-1): Man oh man, do the Wings miss Rafalski. I'm not sure what Rafalski would add specifically, but I do know he could probably catch up to Teemu Selanne. Chris Chelios, not so much. Please don't call Scott Niedermayer a defenseman. Did you see how he scored his goal - crashing the net. He's a rover.