MafiaMan

I think they're out at the golf course with smokey the cat in Phoenix right about now...

Like shootin' fish in a barrel sometimes, Goon...

Say something negative about the Bruins, siouxsweet, and Goon's Spidey-senses go crazy within about 3.2 seconds, prompting his lightning-quick replies.

Groan...

Moore just tried to slew-foot Goc...Goc took the bait and gave Moore a stick to the face. Cheap play, Moore.

Cleveland and Kansas City hav bombed so far considering they had big expectations coming into this season...Chicago and Minnesota are mediocre at best...Detroit should have this thing wrapped up by the All-Star break.

I'm actually in agreement with you that Crawford is a pretty solid goalie. But I bet Bryzgalov would have the same numbers if he had Chicago's four lines in front of him as opposed to his own team.

NHL Rivals on NBCSN right now...1992 Patrick Division final between the Penguins and Rangers...those white Penguins jerseys were fabulous. Mario, why, oh why, are you still putting your team in that Vegas gold crap?

So you're saying that as long as Chicago keeps on winning, Crawford has got what it takes...what happens if Chicago starts losing? Does that meam Crawford suddenly sucks?

Really? How so?

This is the same Corey Crawford who has battled it out with Antti Niemi and Ray Emery for the starting job over most of the past four seasons, right? For a second there, I thought we were talking about Vladislav Tretiak.

That reminds me of my all-time favorite taunt from years gone by...Montreal defenseman Patrice Brisebois (pronounced breeze-baugh) had been beaten like a mule so many times one year that the fans taunted him by chanting slightly mis-pronounced BREEZE-BY at him. Not the road fans...the HOME fans!

I'm confused. Teams like the Wild and Devils trapped their way around NHL ice for years...I only WISH the NHL of the mid-to-late 1990's and early 2000's had Olympic-size venues.

Wow again! Anze Kopitar is worth the price of admission. What a player.

Wow! How did the Ducks not score there?

Jersey watch: Ducks: So much potential with that name and those colors. But we get a hot mess of Minnesota Wild and St Louis Blues random piping. More orange would be great. Kings: I like the return to the Gretzky-era black, silver, and white (still think yellow and purple was better) but the stubby pencil logo just kills that jersey for me.

Totally agree on the scholarship/no scholarship issue. ESPN loves to make a big deal out of nothing. Little Giants...great movie. Fumble-rooski!

He played a pretty important role in the Anaheim Ducks Stanley Cup title season, too. Giguere played in the finals and got the most attention though.

It's called sarcasm...I know Union isn't exactly Rick Moranis' "Little Giants" as opposed to Ed O'Neill's big bad Cowboys... On the flip-side, Minnesota's "Pride on Ice" doesn't exactly expect to lose to Union.

You're kidding, right?

How many current Wild fans here were former fans of the North Stars?

Wow! I called in a favor to a buddy and was told that while the Wild had to cut corners somewhere in order to pay a couple of $98 million salaries, they were able to fix this injustice somewhat by offering you a waffle cone. Beggars can't be choosers, right?

...and if in 5 years Dillon Simpson captains Edmonton to back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cups, North Dakota will be known as "Oiler Country" for a very different reason than it is today...

Any truth to the rumor coming out of Dinkytown that Minnesota is considering dumping hockey scholarships altogether so they can compete better with the Harvards and Union Colleges of NCAA hockey?

I don't want to use the term 'desperate' in describing the Wild's goaltending situation, but Wilbur's getting $500 and an authentic jersey with his NOB to suit up as the back-up for game 2.