Lidstrom out of Game 4; Havlat playing
Posted by TimS on Sun, 05/24/2009 - 14:16
Red Wings all-star defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom was a late scratch Sunday afternoon for Game 4 because of a lower body injury.
Lidstrom skated Saturday, but it was reported he suffered some sort of injury late in game 3 on Friday.
Marty Havlat was in the Hawks' lineup despite the crunching hit he took from Niklas Kronwall in Game 3.
Nikolai Khabibulin did not dress. Cristobal Huet started in goal for the Hawks with Corey Crawford as the backup.
Pavel Datsyuk missed his second straight game for the Red Wings with a foot injury.
Chris Chelios took Lidstrom's spot in the Detroit lineup.
As much as I hate saying it the Wings are the better team and the Hawks just aren't at their level yet. I could deal with them loosing the series but not with an effort like today. I won't blame the refs either they did nothing to influence the outcome unless someone wants to blame them for calling a penalty on Detroit that lead to their short handed goal. The second goal Huet gave up was brutal and deflating but the rest of the team was so lifeless and undisciplined in front him that I can't place total blame on him either. What the heck was the deal with Versteg today. He should have been benched for the stupid penalties he took. Anyone put out an APB ON Kane? Anytime he wants to show up for the series would be fine by me. Besides the poor fans who paid top dollar for this game the most excruciating part besides the Hawks play was to have to sit and listen to that toolbox Pierre McGuire and Hawk color man Edszo. Are they part owners of the Wings? Pierre just couldn't hide his delight today. I expect that from him but the least Edszo could do would be to point out once in awhile that the Hawks are a little better than that sorry effort they put out today.
I am not a goalie expert, but I've learned a lot about goaltending over the past 13 years. My son played the position from Mites through Midget Major, and together we studied, watched, read, talked to experts, talked to coaches, etc., etc.
I understand there are a variety of ways to play goalie at every level of hockey. Depends on your height, weight, degree of athleticism, flexibility, quickness, emotional makeup and on and on.
There are a variety of ways to stop the puck in any save situation. But what is the common thread that weaves through every very good to great goalie, regardless of what style they employ?
YOU HAVE TO COMPETE!!!
And Huet doesn't. It's that simple. I've seen Mite-age kids playing shinny hockey in a meeting room in a seedy Wisconsin Dells hotel compete harder than Huet did today. For this he gets $5.7 mill? You need a big heart to be a champion, and Huet doesn't have it.
Buy him out, waive him, trade him, do what you must, but the Hawks will not drink from the Cup w/ Huet in the net. Case closed. And that doesn't bode well for Mr. McDonough's "One Goal" marketing slogan.
Out to lunch on the short handed goal....behind the Detroit net leaving Barker and Toews out to dry....completely out of position on the killer 4-1 goal that snuffed out any comeback hopes.....and -3 on the day. $8 million for MINUS/TURNOVER machine who rarely scores.
I've said it many times....he goes down quicker than Monica Lewinsky. How many times in a highlight hockey pack do we see a goalie beat top shelf because he went down prematurely.
Franzen's killer 2-0 was typical. Khabby is not as bad but he does the same thing. The Cleary goal in game 1 was brutal. If these goalies STAND UP a little longer...these pucks never find twine.
And you're right.....Huet's got NO HEART. If he did...he would have been breaking his stick or something when he got pulled....absolutely no emotion from him...HO HUM...i still get paid seems to be his attitude.
I want like hell for both of our goalies to succeed but Who-itt might be worse than T-Blow and i never thought we'd have a worse tender than him.
BTW....where are the Who-itt fans who were begging to insert him? Awfully quiet from that peanut gallery tonight.
Dan - Sunday, May 24th - 4:58 PM
Most hockey fans have not only had to watch this pansie hockey but are truly scarred by horrible images they have had to endure during these playoff's;Holmstrom(i dont know if he's a denist nightmare,a Swedish jackolantern ,but he is from the RETARDEDpart of sweden no doubt)Hudler(an extra chromosome,or from Outerspace,anyone's guess)Greesy haired Redwingfan white trashy Kid rock(a relative of Ted Nuget ,maybe)the only thing that could make this Horror show complete is if Darren McCarty was dragged from his alley,rumour has it Jimmy D got tired of him,maybe Sheldon Kennedy will join the wings in some capacity,he would fit in nicely
Dan - Sunday, May 24th - 4:40 PM
No wonder Probie wont admit to ever being part of this fruity organizations!!!Truly embarrasing"I'm telling on you you hit me"You can certaining tell Jimmy Devallano hand picked these little Sweet heart's not hockey at all it's a joke.No wonder they cant fill the jerry lewis arena,who wants to watch this version of Swedish Boys town(hockeytown;naw I dont think so)
And how about Valtterri Filppula. Straight out of the Bijou.
Three teams and Huet consistently has been unable to NOT keep his team in many a game by allowing poor goals usually at very very inopportune times.
Maybe you bring in another young vet. I just think that even if Q was late to return him to the net, or if Q was so fed up that he personally decided that it didn't matter for the entire rest of that second period if he was in net or not, that he was no better than the youngster tells loads about Tallon's overpaying of Huet, where Huet stands with his coach, and where all that puts Tallon with the ownership.
as I said I have addressed complete a huge dissertation on the the future of the franchise but will wait until they are actually out of the playoff, out of respect for their efforts, and a complete evaluation of their needs.
It is pretty long, just need a place where it reaches many...
the first thing I thought of was, that was his way of telling the higher ups, especially Tallon, that he doesn't have a lot of confidence in huet.
listening to bowman every week on Toronto radio, it is pretty apparent to me that he is pretty in tune with Q - they are in contact at least several times a week during the season and at least daily during the playoffs - Bowman is a big supporter of Q - that was obvious from the press conference announcing his hiring when Bowman explained why Savard was replaced and of course, Savard was Tallon's guy.
I think this is setting the stage for Tallon being set up as the fall guy in the offseason, with all those "key" UFAs & core young RFAs needing to be signed but the hawks halmstrung by campbell & huet's bloated deals, and frankly, since Tallon got the job by default (he certainly wasn't the most qualified GM available when hired), I won't shed any tears when he loses it.
it will be like Savard being replaced with a bona fide proven person who can actually fulfill all the duties of a good GM, including cap management.
Well, I have to take a different route.
I have no love for Tallon especially.
I think that he may be the only Hawk organizational guy in quite some time that WILL be able to get a job elsewhere, so it is a little different.
He might have been in over his head at the beginning but he have put together very solid scouting staffs and organizational restructured well.
I don't think Stan Bowman was left outside the conference room when the UFA contracts were being discussed, weighed, or approved. So there is lots of complicity in the Bowman Tallon relationship, so do you think Scotty and son are going too? There lies the true nature to all the Tallon dumping. He's been acting on his own, unchecked by his possible replacement?
The stage is set to fire him if the ear of the owner has been filled and he sees fit.
Savard was fired because he was a loyal employee thrust into a job he wasn't ready to fill and he was replaced because he wasn't good enough. I don't see how good enough applies to the current teams issues, b/c a new guy can't make many outside changes or fix the inside ones right away either.
"I don't think Stan Bowman was left outside the conference room when the UFA contracts were being discussed, weighed, or approved. So there is lots of complicity in the Bowman Tallon relationship, so do you think Scotty and son are going too?"
i'm sure Stan provided input since he's supposed to be the cap/contract guy - but he doesn't make the final call - that was Tallon's & who is to say that Stan agreed with paying Huet & Campbell that much & taking up that much cap space. And don't forget those guys were signed before Scotty arrived on the scene, so even if Stan gave his "blessing" to those deals, if Scotty now points to them as being the problem going forward, who do you think is going to be the fall guy? Stan???
it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility that the scenario went something like this - McDonough wants some big news splash to pump the summer conference & seasons tickets sales - Tallon knowing this & knowing that if the team doesn't produce & make the playoffs to justify all of mcdonough's marketing hype, he is done, overrules Stan's objections that there isn't enough cap room to offer campbell an extra year to get him, tho they both agree to sign huet with the intention of moving khabi's contract.
In so doing, Tallon gives McDonough what he needs to get his marketing machine going in full gear, & enhances the team's playoff chances & his own job security - he'll worry about any cap issues later (or more accurately let Stan worry about them & if Stan can't figure them out, well that's Stan's problem - Tallon is only worried about this season & making the playoffs).
then everything changed with Scotty arriving - (thanks only to having Stan around in the front office).
no, Scotty & Stan aren't going anywhere, but I think Tallon just might - i'm sure he's learned a few things since he started the job, but the contracts & cap problems going forward are a millstone around this team & on Tallon.
the reason Tallon loses his job is because the hawks can't afford to have the same guy who got them into this cap mess, negotiate up to 15 RFA contracts & presumably 3 UFAs this offseason, & 5 more RFAs after next year, including the big 3.
as for the scouting staff, i think Dudley had more to do with the revamping of that than Tallon.
Tallon may get a job with another team, but i doubt it will be as a GM - too many other good, qualified candidates out there - Doug Armstrong, Nonis, Nill, etc.
if Tallon gets offers, they will be as a pro scout/advisor on trades, but he may as savard decide chicago ain't such a bad place to work & decide to stay with the hawks, learn from real pros, and maybe someday get another crack at the job.
I credit the guy for bleeding the Indian for most of his adult life whether it be as a broadcaster or GM. He deserves credit for transforming us from a soft, gutless European team (thanks Mike 'I've never owned a comb" Smith) to a bright, young, talented North American style team.
Great trades to get guys like Versteeg and Eager were clear cut wins as trades. However, where and when he got the idea to sign Who-itt for 4 years and $22 million was a brain fart of epic proportions. Just a terrible deal. Who-itt doesn't warrant $1 million/year let alone 5. Campbell at $8 mil was another fleecing that Tallon happily inflicted on the organization. I like the Hawks to be aggressive with UFA's....but these were egregious value signings.
Who knows if Stan Bowman's involvement was great or that he was just overruled when push came to shove.
Moreover, i can see why it took so long for the Hawks to bring Cam Barker to the Show. Despite being a decent point man on the pp.....he's a DEFENSIVE LIABILITY and doesn't seem smart enough to learn from his mistakes.
I'm one that still thinks we can go to Detwat and win one hockey game.....and the two days off will really help....but to win....we really need to think about starting Crawford.
and start him in Game 5.....this team has no confidence in Hewitt
For the first time all year I am embarrassed to be a Hawk fan. What a pathetic display of poor sportsmanship. Bitching and crying like little girls today. Makes me sick. I was so disgusted I had to take off the Indian head I was wearing halfway through the third.
What happened to the the drive, the determination, and the ability to impose their will and force themselves back into the game after a little adversity? I had learned never to count this team out this year...ever...but for the first time all year, this team had a serious melt down and for the first time, they just flat gave up. They quit on the ice today. Pathetic. This series is over in 5. No way they go into Detroit and win, not after that disgusting display.
It is now clear to me that Tallon's (or Bowman's) number one priority this off season must be to unload Huet, by any means necessary. He was brutal today. As were many others...Campbell...brutal, Versteeg....brutal, Kane...brutal, the Refs...brutal call on the PP to start the second. After that call though, the Hawks just played stupid hockey. And nothing the Refs did or didn't call forgives the atrocious display of childish pouting displayed by virtually the whole team late in second and in the third. I never wanted to believe that this team was too young and too inexperienced to beat the Wings, it's now obvious that it's true. Too bad, it was fun while it lasted. See you all next year.
with almost your entire post.
I still have hope that all the Blackhawks who played dumb, ineffectively, or with the idea they were going to lose will come back and understand that Wednesday is a day they can still oppose the champions from returning to the final by playing strong hockey, scoring, checking and flying like they have all playoff.
What a fitting way to repay your fans with a game filled with smart dedicated players and not the self-destructing bomb squad they just depicted.
especially one that has shown themselves to be a bit cocky on occasion, when they are confronted for the first time with the reality that they aren't quite as good as the team they are facing and are essentially beaten (even tho that other team was missing two of their best players)- they can't accept it and start to "challenge" the other team with dumb hits, retaliation type stuff, or trying to goad the defending cup champs into dumb penalties.
I think part of the problem might have been set up by Q at the start of the second, when it looked like he just learned of the penalty assessed at the end of the 1st to walker & lost his cool on the bench, screaming at the refs.
so not only did he not prepare the team's mindset for a big kill to start the second, his anger may have unintentionally set up his players to perhaps feed off that anger & lose their discipline & respect for the refs (especially if they still had kronwall's hit in the back of their mind). they give up an early pp goal, and when they get their own pp goal a few minutes later, I started thinking (until detroit replied 15 seconds later) they might do what detroit did in friday's game coming back from a 3-0 deficit early in the 2nd...
but huet never made a big save & the hawks went back into undisciplined mode for the rest of the game.
hopefully they get back to their previous mindset, but it won't be easy.
The NHL refs have a long history of bad calls.
The Hawks finally, I mean finally look like the young kids they are in this years playoffs.
They needed their veteran goalie to come up huge. He failed mierably and the young Hawks went to pieces.
it is a 2-1 hockey game if Huet makes money saves. He made zero money saves and it was 4-1.
Game. Set.................
The Phanotm has played poorly in this series too.
He and Huet are big time off season signings that will cost Tallon his job.
Give credit where credit is due. The Euros are the best in the business and played like it today.
blaming this loss on the officials is lame.
the hawks wasted a great opportunity today to tie & stay in this series - momentum from OT win, getting a lift from havlat back in the lineup & detroit not only missing datsyuk, but lidstrom & draper.
then an early pp opportunity, but their pp looked weak in game 3 & I suspect the young hawks perhaps were a bit overconfident knowing they wouldn't have to face lidstrom & didnt' bear down early.
they promptly give up a 2 on 1, barker again fails to take away the pass (as every Dman is taught in junior) and hossa beats a startled huet that gives detroit a lot of confidence & has to shake the young hawks in front of a shaky goalie.
as i posted on another thread, i'm not knocking huet, but anyone who thought he would be as good as khabi was dreaming & not paying close attention the entire season or playoffs.
the young hawks for the first time lost their discipline - some really, really dumb penalties - either trying to goad detroit into them or retaliation penalties. if they were still upset with or distracted by the kronwall hit, they only shot themselves in the foot.
might be a lesson learned too late - game 5 will be tough on several fronts.
still, its been a very successful season & if they can regroup over the next couple of days, get back to focusing on how they need to play to give themselves a chance, get a few bounces & huet stands on his head (or khabi fully recovers), they might be able to extend the series another game at least - they certainly have shown a lot of bounce back in these playoffs just when you thought they might fall apart.
then again, detroit isn't calgary or vancouver - & today the hawks showed the youthful indiscretion & lack of discipline i thought we might see earlier against those other two teams.
lets hope for a good solid effort next game.
Hawks came out as if they were headed to a wake. Absolutely no spark like they showed the 1st three games.
BUM.....A BIG TIME BUM......trade his sorry ass in the off season....he is...was and always will be a LOSER.
Khabby is the MVP on this team and the glue that holds it all together. He makes his whole team better with his desire to win. He will give anbody who is not doing their job a piece of his mind and keeps them all hustling.
Just like second period in Game 3, these f'n quiffs have a hard on for Detwat and are handing the game on a silver platter. Every call against Chicago. Once again...this league has a bunch of queers leading it....bunch of left wing tutu wearing queers.
This reminds me of refereeing in Europe when one of their teams were playing the U.S. or Canada. Would be nice if Huet could play up to Warren Skorodenski or Bob Janecyk's standards, though.
It's like every ref was raised a block from Joe Louis arena....that's how pathetic and one sided the game was. The offsetting penalty to Buff was a joke as was interference penalty to Walker. The Hawks picked the worst game of the year to lay an egg.
I flamed a buncha Red Wings fans on the freep site after Game 3 and I have to come back and read this from my hometown? Pathetic. If you seriously think the refs had any bearing on this game other than keeping it from spiralling out of control you're mistaken. 4th graders blame the refs. The refs didn't hand Hossa a goal 12 second after we scored. Nor did they cause the turnover that led to Hossa's first. Or Sharp's compulsive blowouts that led to Franzen's. The few chances we did create we didn't have the focus to bury. This game should have ended 10-1.
The fact is the Wings make you pay. They were without two of their best players and handed us our heads AT HOME when we were supposed to be fired up about a questionable hit on one of our stars.
The refs? Grow up.
3, 5 and 6 one goals....what about the mystery penalty to Walker at the end of the first that Coach Q didn't even know about 'til he came out for the 2nd period....what about the offsetting penalty to Buff after Holmstrom cross checked him near the bench that should have been a Chicago pp....what about the 3 straight penalties in the 2nd period of game 3.....don't tell these pricks haven't had a hard on for Detwat.
for not checking the sheet. maybe his composure was blown and his team followed him down the road ...
Can't stop a beachball...first time he's tested....GOAL.....then he's down on his knees way too early looking for a saw-zeech....predictably beaten upstairs from a bad angle....CBC cuts to Dale Tallon who's saying Geezus Peace....
Kane and Barker messing around the puck inside their own zone again all period....and this team is flatter than a keg of stale beer....brutal choke job through the first 20 minutes.
The bumf*ck referees send Buff to the box after Holmstrom cross checks to start something...this league is a f'n joke. They blow the Wings year after year.
Then those r'se holes give us a mysterious late penalty that HANDS Detwat a pp to start the 2nd....3-0 Octowussys.
Buy out Huet and move on. Resign the Bulin Wall for a two year deal. One year would be good enough but I don't think he would take anything less than two years. On the other hand it is quite likely he will end up in Washington or Philadelphia as a starter anyway. No disrespect to Huet but I have never been a fan, same goes for Jose Threeormore in DC. I love the look in Khabby's eyes when he goes to battle. He is big, strong, plays with an edge and loves to win. Let's face it, Patrick Roy would have sucked in Chicago the previous couple of years. To be a great goalie you also have to have a pretty good team in front of you.
Sign Havlat too if you can, very under rated hockey player and that is probably based on the fact he is not a physical player as he is all skill and speed and losing him would be a huge loss.