NewUserName

I think if you read my entire post you would notice that I ended by saying that Howard played the PS terribly...but oh well. I also did not say the Wings lost because of PS. I just explained why I thought it was a bad call.

So before I get to the penalty shot, let me just say that I assume that most Wings fans if they were honest are more upset about losing a game that The Wings were the better team. I think almost every fan of every sport feels that way and it is magnified by the playoffs. I also think a lot of Wings fans wrongly feel that The Wings cannot win game 7 in Chicago, so that was almost a must win. I think that thinking is wrong, but I kind of understand it. To be honest Hawks players, Coach and fans and National "unbiased" broadcast have over stated the physical play by The Wings. Have they been physical? yes. But it is nothing compared to what the Hawks will have to face if they have to play The Kings. So as a Wing fan listening to The Hawks being kind of whinny has been somewhat irritating. Especially since the primary source is a well respected player like Toews. All the while the Hawks have been doing all the same things at a comparable rate. To look at the penalty shot in a bubble, it was a weak call. I understand the rules. But lets be honest, the NHL is famous for not being sticklers to the rules. To look at the call in context of the game/series it was a terrible call. What I found even more bothersome than it happening in a game 6 or whatever was that it happened in that game in particular. The refs had clearly decided somewhere along the line that calling things was not going to be a big priority on this series. Last nights game in particular was full of trips, slashes, interference, cross checks, holding the stick, and hooking. I am not pointing the finger at either team. Both were doing it and the only thing getting called was over the top blatant stuff. Heck Kindles interference that lead to the Hawks first PP was actually questionable if you look at it compared to what interference didn't get called the rest of the game. And then in the middle of the 3rd period that call is made. After all the stuff that was allowed to go on. Now did it cost The Wings the game?..no. They only got one soft goal while they were skating circles around the Hawks in the second. They made mistakes early in the 3rd. Howard had his weakest game of the series and was terrible on the Penalty Shot. That is why the Wings lost.

Except that 'effort' also gave up several quality scoring chances for Detroit including a goal. The Hawks just need to look in the mirror and remember why they are the best team in the league this year and do the things that made them the best team. Skate hard and fast, great back check, win face-offs, force teams to the corners in their zone, win battles in the corners, control the puck. They will win if they get back to doing those things. What they do not need to do is whine, try to play overly physical, get themselves out of good position to make hits and did I mention whine?

Which is exactly how most Wings fans feel about most Hawks fans

I still think The Hawks win in 6. I am just a little glad that some Hawks fans are going to have to eat a little bit of crow after the talking they were doing after game 1(not really here but some other places) Truth is that in 6 games this season the Hawks were far superior in 2. 3 games were about even and now the Wings have been superior in 1. This has not been as one sided as some Hawks fans think.

so you seem eager to suspend players more for revenge than player safety I take it:)

So I cannot think of a more lopsided loss the Wings have taken in a playoff game in the last 20 yrs. I sure I am forgetting something, but either way that was obviously one of the worse butt whoopings they have taken period

I do not think there will be any fights tonight. Neither team finds it important. Tootoo is a healthy scratch. Bertuzzi is not healthy and really not a fighter anyway.

http://people.stat.sfu.ca/~tim/papers/goalie.pdf it doesn't really matter what the likelihood of getting scored on is. you're already losing, you can't lose more I do not argue this. I actually have read and probably agree that teams should actually pull the goalie sooner then they do. 2 1/2 to 3 mins left. I just was wondering what the odds were for scoring two goals in the last min and a half with your goalie pulled without giving one up? And it being a game 7

As a Wings fan the Leafs implosion makes me happy. So I was looking around for this and couldn't find the information anywhere. What are the chances a team scores a goal pulling a goalie? What are the chances of an EN? I would think it would be at least 4 to 1 EN over goal. Also at least 4to1 no goal over goal. So what would the chances be of scoring 2 goals in the same EN situation? And then the chances of that happening in a game 7? I am no math guy so I would suck at even trying to figure this out. My guess is 2 goals with the goalie pulled happens twice a year tops.

You cannot. It must have been a Freudian slip. I do not think the Wings will beat the Hawks. I do not think the season series was as one sided as the "sweep" would indicate though. The main difference between the Hawks and the Wings is the Wings lack goal scorers. Since the Hawks are the best team in the NHL at preventing goals, this is not going to be a good match up for the Wings.

I have not been this juiced for a Wings game since 09 probably. Not sure why, cause I do think we can beat The Hawks if we do win. I guess it is my dislike for The Ducks

I think this would have been a good year for the Hawks and their media to really push for Seabrook as a Norris candidate. Seabrooks lack of a top notch offensive game will make it hard for him to ever be a candidate. But this year the finalists are uninspiring. The Hawks are the best defensive team in the league and Seabrook is one of the best defensive players in the league. It would been a good year to push for him to win The Norris. A lot of hockey media guys may have run with it this year.

It was a very weak call also. I guess it was high stick, but it is a play that happens all the time and Ovechkin sold it well

I know you Hawks fans have a hatred for everything Canuck...but the Sharks are some diving fools, especially at playoff time

I just finally watched the line brawl from the Habs/Sens game. The Canadians started it, got their asses handed to them in almost all the fights and got killed in the game. Including an add on goal after the fight. Cannot think they feel that great about what happened

I think Saad will also lose votes because The Hawks were considered an elite team before this year, even though they were not a top 4 team in The West the last couple of years. Montreal was not considered an elite team, and Gallagher will get a lot of credit for them doing so well this season. I think with a little thought, The Hawks were probably the most improved team in The NHL this season and Saad is a huge reason why. I just do not think anyone in the media will see it that way. I think all 3 players are going to be real good players going forward. Really no shame in losing this vote.

I am kind of scanning todays game and have not seen the other games of this series. I did see a couple of Isles/Pens games during the season and the Isles really matched up well against them in both games. I am confident the Pens will win still, but this is a much tougher "match-up" than the Hawks have in their series. The Hawks are playing a team that is trying to be a skilled team but does not have the depth to be that team, especially with their injuries. There are a lot of lazy people in the media who look at teams getting new shinny objects and then over-rate them(Dodgers and Blue Jays being good examples in baseball). No doubt that is what happened with the Pens at the deadline. The Hawks on the other hand ended up acquiring a player that really has helped them, maybe as much as Iginla has helped the Pens, but he was of a lessor name so the lazy media did not really do their work to understand a teams needs and how much a certain player will add to the existing team. On another subject...Adelkaders hit last night is a much more easier to read than the Gryba hit. I think he should be suspended and it is rather cut and dry. However, I think this is good news for the Wings....getting a 4th line center off Datsyuk/Zetterburgs line can only help the team, unless of course Babcock replaces him with Cleary or some dumb ass thing like that. If Bertuzzi is healthy he is the easy pick to play on that line.

It's not entirely clear, but your stance sure suggested you thought it was. I really don't see how the head would shoot back like that if he wasn't hit in the head. It's not necessarily dirty, but its' on the players to not hit heads. I also think it's pointless to point out hits that don't draw suspensions in response to ones that do. There are a lot of suspendable hits in this league. If they all actually drew suspensions rosters would dwindle in a hurry. I see nothing wrong with suspending a guy on a hit like that that draws an injury. You don't get in trouble for every crime/infraction you commit in your life, just the ones you get caught doing. If the guy you hit gets injured that's a good way to get caught. So keep blindly shooting your gun and we will not punish you until you actually shot someone? My bigger issue with NHL suspensions is not that they suspend the outcome as much as there is clearly a different standard for different players. But it would be best if they had a set standard for punishable hits that was easy to understand. Then a set table of suspensions for such hits/plays. Kind of takes out the whole wheel of justice perception that the NHL currently has. I said it earlier, Gryba got suspended more for his status as a player as for the actual hit.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=422303 From Kerry Frasor. He points out a hit last night in another game that will not be suspended but was an actual dirty hit. I haven't seen it but other places I have read point out that Subban left his feet to hit someone high/head last night and was not penalized or will be suspended. I also have not seen where he was clearly hit in the head first? I re-watched the video several times and froze it at 2:58. I do not think it is clear at all. I do not think Shanahan's suspension video is out yet.

I'm sorry, watch the video posted above at 2:56. His shoulder hits the head first, simple as that. As I said before, the proof is in the fact that he was out cold when he went down. You don't get knocked out like that from taking a check to the chest. His head went flying after being hit by the shoulder. Again, I'm not saying he intended to do that. It wasn't an elbow. Not dirty, but reckless. You are right that he wasn't going for the head. But he did hit it first. I can't believe the entire Canadian media (who I listen to too much of, by the way) is missing that. Well just surfing the nhl web world and it would appear that you are in a huge minority who saw it that way. I will check out Shanahans video explaining the incident. But except for Canadian fans, there are very few out there that think he should have been suspended

what did he hit first? Chest. Gryba is a big boy. He made a play on a stupid pass as Eller's head was down. It is unfortunate but not dirty, illegal or even reckless. What is Gryba supposed to do? let Eller have an easy break out.

Ok...someone is going to have to explain why it was a dirty hit. I can easily explain why it wasn't, he did not hit his head first and was clearly not going for his head. Diaz should be suspended by his team. There are plenty of hits that are much more dirty than the one on Eller last night that get no attention whatsoever. Gryba is getting suspended for the outcome not the hit....normal NHL crap. Edit: watching the video again the ref doesn't even put his arm up until he sees Eller laying out. If Gryba was a top pairing dman he would not have been suspended

I could see The Wild being dangerous and somehow winning. I do not think it is going to happen though. They lack scoring depth and are weak at the 5th/6th dmen also. They do have several elite players, Backstrom can be great, and they have a couple of potential big time playoff performers. I said if anyone was going to make an LA King type run this year I would predict Minnesota and I will stick with that. But I still think Hawks win in 5 or 6. Kings and Blues is going to be a fun series. San Jose/Canucks will be boring. This is probably a pure homer pick, but I think Detroit is going to beat Anaheim and it will not even be that close of a series. 4-2 Bottom line is The West should be won by the Hawks. I think The Kings are the only other real Cup contender.

I think your bigger beef may be with San Jose. Finished 2 points behind them but they only had 17 ROWs. I may be biased though cause I hate shoot outs. Anaheim's point total received a nice boost from being really good at shoot outs also.