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No Sympathy. Smyth: Out
by IwoCPO on 04/29/08 at 01:22 PM ET
Comments (33)
The hits just keep onnnnnnnnnn comin’ for the Dive. Check this out.
Peter Forsberg is questionable, and Ryan Smyth is out with a foot injury.
Headline says broken foot.
We’ll have the Game 3 Keys posted in a little while. But I have time, due to the 2200 start. Thanks Gary. Ass.
First...a few tidbits.
Is there a hockey game tonite? I’m just wondering because if you look at the online Freep this morning, be prepared to drag that slider bar waaayyyy down before you see a Wing story.
After the Lions, the Pistons, more Lions, a few more Pistons articles, then tenth story down the page? Oh. There’s a Wing story. Out of sight, out of mind, I’m guessing.
Triple Bravo. BBB. Remember that. Ponder on it for a moment. If you’re a Dive blogger, and you’ve been waiting for that first victory, you felt it was right there yet continued to elude you? Frustrating. Painfully frustrated. Blue, in fact. Get it? We’ll come back to that. Triple Bravo.
Hey, the Anti-Digger’s back. Nick and Pavel get the shaft while the Dive essentially take a day off.
It’s disappointing to see that neither Nicklas Lidstrom nor Pavel Datsyuk were among the three finalists for the Hart Trophy as announced today by the NHL.
Calgary Flames right wing Jarome Iginla, Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin are the three finalists.The Avs on on the ice right now for an optional morning skate. Peter Forsberg, who practiced yesterday, isn’t on the ice. I’ll update his status after practice. To give perspective, there are just nine forwards on the ice and six defensemen. Scott Hannan isn’t on the ice either.
What a tease. You went into this series expecting satisfaction and you just...can’t....get it. Triple Bravo. Pain you haven’t felt since your high school years.
Secret frigging weapon alert. Courtesy of the cheerful crew over at Mile High Hockey.
Peter Forsberg is still a maybe, as always, and at this point I don’t care. If he plays, great, if not, whatever. If he doesn’t, though, don’t expect to see Jaroslav Hlinka on the ice again. TJ Hensick skated with the team in practice yesterday and it wouldn’t shock me to see him in the lineup. Not that it would help, since he grew up a Detroit fan and could very well be a traitor in our midst.
For some reason, I thought Hensick was a Wing-hater. Could be wrong on that. Happened once, maybe twice before. No matter. Forsberg’s in tonite. There is no doubt in my simple mind.
MHH’s Joe won’t admit it, but he knows what Triple Bravo means. The kind of pain that BBB brings is second to none. It prevents all logical thought and the only relief is success. I’m telling you. I’ve been there. Triple Bravo brother. The worst kind of pain.
We’ll explain more later, unless somebody can guess. I’m telling you though, nothing hurts worse than the color blue.
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Comments
Adolescent humor of the first order Chief; it is why I love this sight!!
Av’s just can’t seem to get a catch a break—too bad, so sad.
Looking forward to 10 tonite—no Hab’s, you promised something more traditional!!
Av’s will be balls of tension tonite 
If Wings can get that first goal (or two), I foresee a meltdown of Chernobyl proportions!!!
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 04/29/08 at 12:35 PM ET
TSN says Smyth is “out with a foot injury” but “still hopes he will be able to play.” Hm.
Posted by Laura from Chicago on 04/29/08 at 12:36 PM ET
I caught myself feeling bad for the dive today, just for a moment and it went away. Come to think of it, that might have been gas.
Posted by Tuba Guy from Royal Oak, MI on 04/29/08 at 12:40 PM ET
MacLeod says he is out, I’m going with the “Highlander”.
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 04/29/08 at 12:41 PM ET
I’ll be at the game tonight, cheering the Winged Wheelers on. Boyfriend is going as bodygaurd but wearing an Avs sweater. Hmm, I must have done something wrong.... 
Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 04/29/08 at 12:43 PM ET
Excuses are like assholes. I do not want to hear it from the Dive or thier bandwagon fan base. I only wish I was going tonight. If Wings do win tonight, I just might have to get a ticket to the AssCan for game 4. Many used brooms to be discarded from my garage. Maybe the hockey Gods are going to make the Dive and their fans pay some dues.
MVP? Who cares. The boy’s and us just want the Cup!
Posted by Jeff from Loveland, CO on 04/29/08 at 12:44 PM ET
Thanks for the pointer, Jeff. The Quenneville quote sounds decisive. Let’s go Red Wings! No letting up, please.
Posted by Laura from Chicago on 04/29/08 at 12:48 PM ET
A2Y 19 Noob guess: BBB=Bleed Burgandy and Blue?
No Smyth is good news. He won’t be going lumberjack on Jiri Fischer’s feet and ankles, nor taking swings as Ozzy’s noggin.
Posted by WingInTO from Toronto on 04/29/08 at 12:48 PM ET
BBB? Nothing hurts more than blue? I just have a feeling one of those B’s is “Blue” and the other is “Balls”. That’s some serious pain.
Posted by scsgoal31 from Huntington Woods, MI on 04/29/08 at 12:51 PM ET
Yes, double commenting.
The type of BB’s one might get when they hear Forsberg is taking pre-game skate and then his phone rings and he has to go home before he can..ok, well, you get it.
Posted by scsgoal31 from Huntington Woods, MI on 04/29/08 at 12:52 PM ET
Bruce (There can be Only One!) MacLeod has just posted an update on the Av’s status,and the Wings’ lineup:
Ryan Smyth (foot) is definitely out for Colorado. Scott Hannan (foot) and Peter Forsberg (groin) are probable, but Hannan was hobbled walking around the arena.
For Detroit, there are no lineup changes.
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 04/29/08 at 12:59 PM ET
You’re right, Nathan, the Smyth/Hejduk/Stastny line has been the Dive’s best line so far, so definitely losing Smyth, who’s probably bawling his eyes out as we speak, is a bigger blow (I said blow) to the team than Petey not playing. If indeed the Dive are without Smyth, Hannan, and Foreskin tonight, they’re screwed, and I just hate it for them. Wait, no, no I don’t.
I’m not surprised to see that none of the Wings were finalists for the Hart Trophy. The league doesn’t want the Wings winning all of the hardware this year, and as it stands already, we won the Jennings, the Presidents, and will win the Norris (Lids), Selke (Hank or Dats), and Byng (Dats again). God forbid Nick win the Hart, because, the league doesn’t want to acknowledge how good of a team the Wings are by letting them run the table on post-season hardware. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the boys nominated got screwed out of one the awards they truly deserve. I know we here are biased, but there’s no way in hell that any of the Wings nominated for awards shouldn’t win. It’s just too bad that both Hank and Dats were nominated for the Selke in the same season, because they both deserve it.
Posted by Chris from Columbia, Tennessee on 04/29/08 at 12:59 PM ET
Hensick was born in Howell, grew up in Lansing and played hockey for Michigan in college. In the first game he ever played against the Wings (this season), the Altitude TV announcers went to some length explaining how big a Red Wings fan he was growing up.
I don’t trust him.
And as for Triple Bravo, I don’t think I know what you’re talking about, but I’m sure it’s some kind of sexual reference that implies frustration of some sort.
Posted by Joe on 04/29/08 at 01:01 PM ET
You’re very close Joe. I was going to explain it further in the post then the Smyth news broke and I got so excited, so to speak, that I lost my train of thought.
When your team comes so close to winning and then doesn’t, when you’re anticipating chronicling their success, only to have it stripped away from you at the last moment?
Blogger’s Blue Balls. BBB. Triple Bravo.
Posted by IwoCPO from Washington, DC on 04/29/08 at 01:09 PM ET
I totally had two of the B’s down. Free drinks in the club car?
Posted by scsgoal31 from Huntington Woods, MI on 04/29/08 at 01:17 PM ET
Hey Chief, what’s the fervor like there in D.C. over Ovechkin most likely winning the Hart Trophy? I bet all those Caps fans are tweaking their own nipples in excitement, huh? There’s a vision for you.
Posted by Chris from Columbia, Tennessee on 04/29/08 at 01:21 PM ET
Chris:
I bet all those Caps fans are tweaking their own nipples in excitement, huh?
Yeah, a vision ala “The WaterBoy” disgusting!!!
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 04/29/08 at 01:23 PM ET
I’m thinking maybe we should cut the Vag fans some slack. Try to be the bigger person we all know we’re incapable of being. Toss them a bone like the Ducks faithful did with us last year.
Remember during the WCF how Ducks fans felt sorry for us because the Wings were playing without two of their top-four defensemen and Zetterberg was only running at about 50%?
B’wahaha...exactly.
Posted by O-Joe on 04/29/08 at 01:25 PM ET
Just had a thought; if Av’s fan is so jacked up about their team, you wonder why their MSM do not have any blogs reporting news from practice?
I’ve checked the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News to see if they had anything on Smythe, not a word.
They are really into their team in Denver, of course it could be they are all pouting about the Nugget being swept.
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 04/29/08 at 01:26 PM ET
Lidstrom hasn’t been himself since February--that’s what cost him the Hart nomination. Datsyuk had a weak October, but has been strong pretty consistently since then, so he’s got a better case, but he won’t get a nomination until the media outside Detroit begins to realise that Zetterberg’s goals come from Pavel’s assists, not vice-versa. Plus, there’s just no way Ovechkin and Malkin don’t get nominations this year, and Iginla isn’t a bad choice, so I’m pretty unsurprised.
Smyth out? Holey crikey. If the Wings win this if four or five (a sizeable but shrinking if), we better prepare ourselves for the “lack of adversity” line from the MSM as they fall over themselves to pick Dallas in the conference finals.
Posted by Ryan from Toronto on 04/29/08 at 01:27 PM ET
When your team comes so close to winning and then doesn’t, when you’re anticipating chronicling their success, only to have it stripped away from you at the last moment?
Uh, what team are you talking about? It’s not like the Avs started this series with a 2-0 lead and then blew it. They’ve sucked from game 1. And honestly, the fact that they’re even in the second round after the regular season they had is pretty amazing to me.
Sure, I’d prefer to chronicle their success, but after last year’s didn’t-even-make-the-playoffs debacle, I’m just happy they made it this far. Sad but true.
So if I have the dreaded Triple Bravo, it’s probably not as severe as the case you had last season.
Posted by Joe on 04/29/08 at 01:29 PM ET
Correct Joe. You wouldn’t have nearly as severe of a case of BBB. Your expectations are lower than ours.
You tell me if that’s good or not.
Ryan, you’re right. Lidstrom’s injury probably knocked him out of the running. He really didn’t get back to being himself until the postseason started, and obviously that has no bearing on how the votes are cast.
It’s a shame that one of the all-time greats will probably never win the Hart, but worse things have happened. It’s probably a fitting way for Lidstrom’s resume to pan out, considering how humble he is. I’m sure he’d much rather be the first European captain to win the Cup than any other award hanging out there.
Posted by Nathan on 04/29/08 at 01:37 PM ET
I’m simply gobsmacked with grief over this news… just terrible.
Oh well, at least Theodore is gonna look AWESOME!
Posted by TeamDub from The gratch. on 04/29/08 at 01:59 PM ET
Yeah, cause he’s feeling a little better. He no longer has the flu… again.
Posted by cementslinger from Midland MI on 04/29/08 at 02:49 PM ET
Just a broken foot?!? Thank goodness it isn’t something serious like a clogged tear duct.
Posted by Hockey1919 from Montreal on 04/29/08 at 02:59 PM ET
“Just had a thought; if Av’s fan is so jacked up about their team, you wonder why their MSM do not have any blogs reporting news from practice”
Since when has the MSM done anything to appease the fan base?
And Dater does have a piece up about Smyth being out. It shows in my reader as coming out at 12:21, a full two hours before your post.
But I’ll chalk it up to time zone differences and not to you pissing and moaning without checking your facts 
Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 04/29/08 at 03:37 PM ET
Re: All of the references to “the Dive?” When did the Avs sign Hasek?
Posted by Bob from Boulder on 04/29/08 at 04:33 PM ET
Shane: If you are interested in “facts” about the Series, you should look at the FORUM. Prior to everygame, all of the numbers are posted. Additionally, I try to get both teams MSM included.
Goodness knows I checked and rechecked the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News about the status of Smythe, and for that matter all the Av’s skaters. All I can say is that the DET MSM “broke” the news well before COL did. (As I am at work, I might have “missed” the article).
The point is, DET MSM most generally have at least one report from the practice (even during the regular season), COL MSM do not seem to be so regularly inclined.
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 04/29/08 at 05:05 PM ET
Great news. I HAD to have the first (and so far only) comment on the freep article: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080429/BLOG09/80429066/1048/sports
Posted by original6dan on 04/29/08 at 05:18 PM ET
Don’t cry Dives.
Kansas City Scouts weak= didn’t survive.
Nordiques GREAT TEAM = great support…
way to go DIVES FANS!!
Posted by Drake on 04/29/08 at 05:38 PM ET
Actually T.J. was born in Howell and grew up in Howell. He went to Howell High and graduated in 04 at Howell High. He has always lived in Howell or so i do hear.
Posted by Smith on 05/31/08 at 10:05 AM ET
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Even if both Forsberg and Hannan are back in the lineup, this is still good news for the Wings because Smyth has been their best forward by a longshot.
Posted by Nathan on 04/29/08 at 12:31 PM ET