“goaltenders were brilliant all night long.”

Wrong.  One was.  Budaj deserved first star, but got third.  Selected by Frei.  Whoa.  Homer got the first star. 

Night all.

Posted by IwoCPO from Sunny San Diego, bitches on 12/27/08 at 11:47 PM ET

Aww, shoot (out). Looks like the tea leaves didn’t support our hopes. Homer with the first star in CO.

Posted by Seaner on 12/27/08 at 11:47 PM ET

Jeez I wonder how much time teams spend on the shootout. Some scouting would’ve let them know what kind of moves Wolski has and Zetterberg might have some new moves if he practiced…

Bah. Whatever. Stupid game. Lidstrom gone. Got a point. The important games haven’t happened yet. Move on…

Posted by Tyler from Arizona on 12/27/08 at 11:48 PM ET

Merry Christmas mother f%*&ers;!

Posted by rwhater on 12/28/08 at 12:17 AM ET

Karma.  If Wings fans weren’t such caustic mooks, perhaps their team would have better luck.

Posted by Jeffrey Beaumont on 12/28/08 at 12:59 AM ET

Hey Kookla,
How’s a shootout victory shoved up your fat unemployed Red Wings asses?
Cup hangover bitches - in your cases it’s Malt Liquor you can afford.

Posted by John on 12/28/08 at 01:13 AM ET

LOL, Ass Can, that’s funny. 2-0 Avs, b!tches. >:)

Wings really gotta pull it together sooner rather than later. Honestly, with the way they’re playing (especially the ass-quality goaltending), I’m surprised they’re still on top of the division. Plenty of time to turn it around of course, but still, this hangover is getting pretty long. Don’t lose in the 1st round again Wings, I’m looking forward to a rematch (if my sucky team decides to stop sucking and getting injured, that is).

Go Avs.

Posted by Mike from Denver on 12/28/08 at 01:51 AM ET

Hey Mike….3 words, Sunshine.

Statue of Liberty!

Back under your rock.

Posted by The Hurricane on 12/28/08 at 02:00 AM ET

Karma.  If Wings fans weren’t such caustic mooks…

Aw, you know we love the sweet talk.

Posted by Jennemy of the Skate from putting the b*tches in the box on 12/28/08 at 12:24 PM ET

I was at the game and had some really nice seats, just to the right of center ice, 19 rows up and behind the penalty boxes.  The Wings were really flat in the first period.  The officiating was horrible both ways.  I could not believe that interference call in the first, he didn’t even touch him.

Zetterberg looked off to me all game.  He was having trouble with passes and even put his hands on his head at one point because he knew he blew it. 

No goals were scored into the goal to the right of me.  I knew it didn’t bode well for the shootout.

Wings Nation was out in force last night.  I think about 1/3 of the crowd was pulling for the Wings so you really did hear “Let’s Go Red Wings!” coming through the tv.

Chief, this was my bday/Xmas present and it looks like it came out as well as yours did.  Sigh.

Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 12/28/08 at 01:22 PM ET

Hey Kookla, How’s a shootout victory shoved up your fat unemployed Red Wings asses?
Cup hangover bitches - in your cases it’s Malt Liquor you can afford.

1) This is not Paul *Kukla’s* blog. The banner on top would have told you as much if you could read or spell.

2) Making fun of a severe economic recession that the rest of the country is just beginning to experience and we’ve experienced for a few years now….awesome. Any other patriotic sentiments to share?

3) It’s a FUC$*@&game;in December you douche bags. Come back and trash talk in April.

Posted by Osrt on 12/28/08 at 01:30 PM ET

Damn I love having you in the Hasek Osrt.

Posted by The Hurricane on 12/28/08 at 02:32 PM ET

Wow.  Can anyone on this team so much as go to the bathroom without the captain there to guide them??  Better put bodyguards on him 24/7 when he comes back - and that includes on the ice.  Scary to know the WIngs are this dependent on him.

Posted by Woobie from Wild, wild West on 12/28/08 at 02:52 PM ET

Not true Woobie. Conklin went to the bathroom during a commercial break last night…

Tell you what, when the Stanley Cup makes its way ANYWHERE west of the Mississippi, you can offer tips on how to build a team/franchise.

Until then, go blow snow in your driveway with Joey.

Posted by The Hurricane on 12/28/08 at 03:20 PM ET

Hurricane, sweetie,

1)  I make that assessment as a Wings fan, and you know it’s accurate, unless you’ve forgotten the fan panic that took place while Nik was out last winter.  I forgot about Ty’s potty break last night, though.  Now we know where Lidstrom was during the game.

2)  Last time I looked out my sun-drenched window, there wan’t any snow to be seen.  Perhaps a climatology-slash-geography lesson is in order for you if you think “west” equals snow.  Speaking of which ...

3)  I’m pretty sure Dallas, Anaheim, Edmonton, Calgary and, yes, Colorado are west of the Mississippi.  Be a hockey fan - a rabid one, even - but please, for the sake of all of our reputations, be an informed one.

Posted by Woobie from Wild, wild West on 12/28/08 at 03:57 PM ET

My implication was a RETURN anywhere west….it won’t happen. Surely not to Colorado anytime soon.

No…you are not accurate. The team didn’t melt last Feb BECAUSE of Lids being out. Nor has it of late. Lidstrom has been acceptable at best lately, so blaming any sort of team dependence on him is ludicrous.

Win as a team, lose as a team.

Are you suggesting Sakic’s run-in and subsequent ass whipping by a snow blower somehow magically happened elsewhere?

Anyone who would make a comment like “Now we know where Lidstrom was during the game” doesn’t sound like any one of the 19 hockey fans that I know.

I would submit that the Red Wings rally was far more important than losing 1 point in the Gary lottery. A team that comes back after not showing up for 20 minutes in a mean nothing December hockey game is a team with a hope to hoist the cup….

Put the C on Lebda for all I care, that cup’s going nowhere near the Ass Can.

p.s. I did make the assumption that you were a Vagilanche fan, or at least lived in Colorado. If that is incorrect, than I apologize for the insult.

Posted by The Hurricane on 12/28/08 at 04:20 PM ET

The way I see it, Lidstrom’s been playing incredibly well lately.

Posted by Tyler from Arizona on 12/28/08 at 04:50 PM ET

After looking deeper:

Lids is +13 with 5 goals.

I realize not a lot can be viewed through the ‘stat’ angle, but if ANYONE is carrying the team on his back it has to be Pavel.

Lidstrom’s a great D man, but he’s been more than that for this team in years past, and just isn’t where I would expect the greatest defenseman in the game to be.

Our defense is not doing the job.
We are tied with Calgary at 21st in the NHL with 104 GOALS AGAINST.

His play, however incredible, isn’t showing up in any numbers.

Posted by The Hurricane on 12/28/08 at 05:10 PM ET

Yeah, I dunno why you’re looking at the numbers. Pav is 1 higher than him in +/- and has 11 more goals (makes sense since he’s a forward).

Posted by Tyler from Arizona on 12/28/08 at 05:33 PM ET

Who the heck said the Cup was going to Colorado?  Thanks for reminding me why I rarely venture onto message boards.

As great as he is statistically, that doesn’t even tell half the story with Lidstrom. They are a different team without him out there, even if he’s been playing “acceptable at best.”  That is the single point I’m making. 

Anyway, apology accepted for the assumptions and insults.  Peace.

Posted by Woobie from Wild, wild West on 12/28/08 at 06:17 PM ET

Zetterberg looks like a guy who has finally realized how woefully underpaid he is.  Especially given the money Ho$$a is making this year.  Good for Z, he should be up for a huge raise sometime soon, he is a better all-around player than Ho$$a right now and certainly was better in the playoffs last year.

Posted by rwhater on 12/29/08 at 03:13 PM ET