And away we go NHL thread!!!!

[atomic charvel guy]

tonight could well mean nothing if they don't win again on friday.

[6string40]

Pronger has gotten away with murder pretty much everywhere he's been...I don't know why the NHL or its refs like him so much...most fans can't stand the guy

Looking forward to Game 1 of the Calder Cup finals tomorrow!! Go Bears!!!!!!!!

[goodwood]

Pronger has gotten away with murder pretty much everywhere he's been...I don't know why the NHL or its refs like him so much...most fans can't stand the guy

Yep...the crosschecks have been a staple of his game since WAY back! One particular one last night on Byfuglien was let go then Byfuglien gets called for one of those slashing penalties that took the stick out of Pronger's hands a few seconds after. It was almost like the BS 'retaliation' penalties that seem so rampant in the NHL.

Anyway, that's the way that it goes and you can't win 'em all. Everyone should be used to sh!t reffing because it has been front and center throughout the entire playoffs this year.

One thing that I think about the Pronger crosschecking Byfuglien is that for years the refs wouldn't really call things the same if the player who was 'fouled' was large...almost as if 'he can take it'.

A point of reference would be if anyone did anything near Gretzky it was called. If people slashed, hooked, crosschecked & held Mario it wasn't called but Mario was big (way bigger than Gretzky) so Mario would complain to the refs and got a reputation as a whiner-but he never got the calls so I could see his point! I think Mario should have dropped the gloves a few times and let opponents have it earlier in his career to keep them from pulling that stuff but...

Lindros was so big and tough that players could do anything to him and the refs would let it go almost as if thinking "he can take it". I think he may be the player who had most offenses committed against without calls in NHL history. Anyway, I think the point is that Byfuglien is likely suffering the same sort of ref mentality on that...they'd have to knock the stick out of his hands right in front of the refs or take a baseball swing to his face to get a call.

[Spivonious]

Prongs definitely gets away with crosschecks, but I think the refs are a little more forgiving to the defensemen "clearing the crease". If that happened away from the net it would be a penalty every time.

Hmm, I just looked up the rule, and it looks like it's completely up to the ref if it gets called or not.

59.2 Minor Penalty - A minor penalty, at the discretion of the Referee based on the severity of the contact, shall be imposed on a player or goalkeeper who “cross checks” an opponent.

As far as his style of play, I love it but I'm sure I'd hate him if he was on the other team.


Go Bears! If Alex Giroux is still in the AHL next year, the Caps need a new GM.

[Shawn Lutz]

don't fret on the ref's or you'll end up with high blood pressure I'm all for lettin the boys play but they need to be consistent. if you call one guy for a cross-check call it again on a different player if it happens in the exact same fashion. That is what frustrates the hell outta me, on eplay its a penalty, the next its not....

Pronger is no dummy, he knows the refs are not going to put him in the box every other shift so he takes advantage of. You can't blame him, he''s pushing the limits to see what he can ancan't get away with.

We have a series now. Chicago's goal is still to come out of Philly with a split, that hasnt changed. The situation is still the same for Philadelphia, game 4 tomorrow is another must win game. They can't afford lose that game and go back to Chicago down 3-1 with the Stanley Cup in the barn, champange on ice and crowd of 20k hungry for their first cup hoist since 1961..

[ZZB]

Blackhawks and Niemi for the win! My favorite team is long gone from the Cup picture but little ol' Finland is getting a Stanley Cup ring either way this last series goes. 2010 rocks!

[Spivonious]

Can you confirm how Niemi is pronounced? Is it Nee-em-ee, Nee-ay-mee, or something else?

[Endrik]

Ne-yea-me

and the "a" in yea isn't pronounced

[Spivonious]

Thanks E.

[Endrik]

I remember I had to teach how to pronounce Selänne to the workers in Newport Beach sports museum because the locals pronounce it like it's some kind of an Italian sausage.

[Spivonious]

Uh-oh, so it doesn't sound like salami?

[atomic charvel guy]

Endy,
how do you pronounce Endrik? is the r silent? haaa haaa haaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shawn Lutz]

its pronounced Knee-em-ie.

I think that the Chicago Mob has gotten to Simon Gange. That guy should have about 7 goals in this series. How many high quality scoring chances has this guy gotten that he just blew wide? He missed another one last night in primo scoring position and missed the net by a foot.

[atomic charvel guy]

c'mon Shawn, there is no Chicago Mob anymore, they're all in office now-lol

[Shawn Lutz]

ok...maybe he's being paid off by the Philly mob or Russian mob