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I had no complaints about Pando. That line played better than I expected. I don't love pairing him with Madden on the PK anymore, but put him with Gio or Patty and he's fine.

Yeah, I'm borderline nauseous.

I wish Pelley had played with the big club some this year, I liked some of what I saw of him last year. I don't love the idea of throwing him in with a bunch of guys he hasn't played with much, but he might be better than Rupp, and he's definitely more valuable than Lurch and PL3 IMO

I dreamed Clarkie got an assist on a Clarkaround. I forget who scored the goal, might have been Rupp. Stranger things have happened...

I did the same thing tonight. I've used e-mailed tickets from ticketmaster before and it went fine. Stubhub works with the NHL, so they should be able to deal with problems at the arena quickly. I'd say show up early in case something goes wrong, but don't worry too much.

And it's confirmed.

If they do lose Sutter, they should replace him with Johnny Mac and try to keep things as similar as possible. He's been there watching Sutter develop them into a forechecking team, and he won't kill it.

Just ordered 2 for $24 a piece in 209.

They need to start out with ZZPop. Those guys need to set the tone with an aggressive forecheck. I'd like to score in the first 5 minutes like we were a couple months ago. Then we can't ease off for a second.

I'd expect nothing less. Thanks for coming over here -- it's good to talk to the other side. Nothing personal, but I hope you die like a dog tomorrow.

Rupp was my top choice as well. Still would prefer these lines though ZZPop Elias - Zubbie - Gio Rolston - Madden - Clarkson Pando - Rupp - Shanny Elias and Parise double shifting for Pando to give the 4th line some punch. Either way, I hope Pando's the one who gets replaced when they double shift, that would leave him rested for the PK and hopefully he can keep up.

I don't love the quote, but we've always complained that the Devils don't work the refs enough, and therefore don't draw enough penalties. Marty just did. If the Canes get penalized for running Marty, that could help us a bit.

That has more to do with Ovie, Cindy and Malkin than VS

We're not gonna be happy with coverage in America, but ESPN is better than VS. Their cameras don't blow if nothing else.

My preference for who gets in, in this order 1) Rupp -- smarter than in the past, fewer dumb penalties, good physical play. 2) Pelley -- Faster than Holik, some NHL experience, not gonna give you much, but won't kill you. 3) Holik -- veteran, but bad lately 4) Leblond -- not ready, but better athlete than Holik If Bergfors can play, I'd like him to practice with them. If a scorer gets hurt, the big guys aren't going to replace him. I don't know that Bergfors can, but he's at least the right kind of player.

This argument is pointless. You agree. MadDog wanted the media to be tougher on Sutter. You admit he should answer the tough questions. Maddog doesn't think Sutter should have to answer to us, or that any of us could do a better job. You're both right -- none of us should run a team, but Sutter has probably screwed up, and TG and Chere should be asking him about it. Can't we all just get along?

I was wondering when someone was going to catch that. He may not be wrong -- I don't love this match up for us, but his analysis proves he hasnt actually seen this team all year.

The PK is fixable. When they make Zajac and Langs the top pair and put Madden with Elias instead of Pando they don't look slow. They need Sal and Oduya to pick it up and play up to their ability, but I think this team is capable of more than they were in '06. Hopefully they make it happen.

Keep in mind that Marty's numbers dropped during the slump.

That's not fair, I hate the Canes, but they don't deserve to be lumped in with other poorly moved teams like Nashville or Phoenix. My best friend moved down there from Minnesota, and he respects their fans, so that should tell you something.

Boston sweeps (Habs get worse when things go wrong, they'll fold after they fall behind) Washington in 6 (trapping won't work on Ovie and company) NJD in 6 (War, but we have more talent) Pitt in 7 (Classic, but home ice and refs make the difference) San Jose in 6 (Ducks vets cause trouble, but they're not good enough) Detroit in 5 (Jackets still a year away) Vancouver in 5 (Blues shot their wad getting in) Chicago in 6 (They're deeper, but tough series) Pitt over Boston in 6 (They're more talented, and they'll get all the calls, unless Thomas stands on his head, or Fleury chokes, I don't see Boston winning) NJD in 6 (Marty's better than Theodore, it's gonna matter) Chicago in 6 (Inexperience a problem, but less baggage than Sharks have) Vancouver in 7 (Luongo can carry a team, I think Detroit's gonna be a little tired, it's tough to win the cup 2 years in a row, even with an easyish first round matchup) Pitt in 7 (I hate this pick, I hate myself for making it, I hate Pitt, but they're talented, hot, and the refs love them and hate us. Please prove me wrong.) Chicago in 6 (I don't love the Canucks, they've had favorable matchups, but Chicago's better) Pitt in 7 (Crosby and Malkin vs. Kane and Toews could be special to watch) God I hope I'm wrong, I fvcking hate Cindy and company.

I haven't liked Greene for most of this season. I loved the Havelid pickup when they made it, and I liked Sal last year. My biggest problem with Havelid is how bad the Sal Havelid pairing has been. Sal played his worst hockey of the season when paired with Havelid, and got better when Havelid got hurt and he got paired with Greene again. I wanted Havelid to work, and I would love to be wrong, because I have no confidence in Greene. I hope that Sal playing badly was a coincidence and part of the team wide funk (like Oduya), but I don't have faith in it. Maybe Havelid could be paired with someone else (White? He could stay at home and really let Havelid play more aggressively on offense). I don't know what to do, cause the team's potential is higher with Havelid, but I don't want to lose a game because he and Sal are a weak pairing. While normally I'm quick (maybe too quick) to judge Brent's decisions, I won't complain no matter what he does.

What was the point of this post? We already said their would be a post about the schedule in a couple hours.

That's what Rod Pelley's for.

I don't think Greene's any better than Havelid, but Greene plays better with the rest of this d.