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We are still here, but we lurk behind closed doors and meddle in new ways to unfairly single out the ones we don't like and torture them as much as possible. It's followed by at least a 3 hour session in front of the mirror flexing our muscles and telling each other how tough we are. Then we laugh. Hard. On topic, i'm pleasantly stunned by how well you little whipper snappers are handling yourselves in this thread, Carry on. Also Jimmy, thanks for the reminder, your new sig is incoming.

I think the sabres come out tomorrow looking to ruin the penguins season

Even nicer since the second longest streak just came to an end at 10 years.

I'm not a real fan, I'm a broom

Phaneuf is 30, and left handed.

The problem is that, when they were prospects, we were looking at Smith (and Kindl) with the same wide-eyed reverence that we now place on these other prospects you mentioned. No one knows if any of these four players will be good enough to take Smith's job.

Buffalo Sabres have been my long-time underdog team, one that I wish could have some success for the sake of their fans, especially. I have good friends who live there, great knowledgeable hockey fans - they deserve to have a team they can rally around and have some fun.

I really like Smith, but last nights bafoonery is even turning me off

He's not really super aggressive. He puts up points because he has skill with the puck and good hockey IQ with a great point shot. He doesn't really jump into the play a lot. Great hitter and protects his crease and is no slouch defensively With Kronner, Phaneuf and DD likely putting up 30+ points our top 4 looks respectable. Phaneuf-DD would be a really well balanced pair that can play shut down and score pretty well

I'll give Mrazek as pass because HE'S A ROOKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any chance we can call up Robin Big Snake just for this irrelevant game?

A real fan? You stick by your team through the good and the ugly, I sometimes wonder if some people on this forum remember the "Dead Wings" era. I loved this team during the dark 80's, was spoiled in the 90's, and will watch them lose before I dare root for another team. Am I a "real fan"? I don't know but I'm a Red Wings fan.

oooooooooooooooo Sounds like Smith is in trouble

People only agree about Smith because of the bonehead penalty last night. Not a month ago the general concensus on LGW was that "Smith's been our best defenseman lately". There were A LOT of people around here saying he should be put on the top pair lol. Of course, it wasn't smart then and it isn't now. It's just that the narrative has changed now. Reminds me of Quincey last year. He was "terrible" all season long, until Babs praised his play, and then suddenly he "turned it around". Which was silly too. Smith has been bad to mediocre all year. Anybody who'd bothered to look would have seen exactly that. But nobody bothered, for whatever reason. Now people can't say enough how "stupid" he is. And he is. And always has been. As Forrest Gump might very well have said on the subject, "Stupid is as stupid was".

How about someone who doesn't want the team to lose, just so it proves to everyone on a message board that they were right, and the team does in fact suck, Ken Holland sucks, Howard sucks etc. A real fan can say "Howard has sucked since coming back from injury" but isn't happy about it. The fan who gloats "see, I've always said Howard sucks, I told you we should have traded him whilst he had value, I told you we should have tanked", well......

I've actually been fine with his play most of this year. Obviously yesterday's game was atrocious though, even aside from the penalty I thought he made some rough plays.

I still think he's been decent this year. I just agree that he had a horrible last game.

Not only that, but now Pittsburgh is 2nd at 8 years and Boston 3rd at 7. One of them practically certain to end. Our streak is longer than the next 3 (almost 4) combined.

The problem is that Mrazek has not been by far the most consistent one. He can't seem to string together two good games. Lately it seems like neither one wants the starting job.

I think Smith is strong on the puck, has better defensive positioning than in previous seasons and is quicker than some of the other defenders on this team. What kills me the most are the turnovers. You can almost always count on Smith having the puck behind/around the Wings' net and putting it on the other team's stick two-three times in a game. Those bury your team. At some point, he should have realized how to make those simple plays. It baffles me that he's never been able to refine that aspect of his game. Then, of course, the stupid penalties... Either way, I expect him to play tomorrow. I'd be shocked if Babcock didn't give Kronwall a rest.

Brendan smith doesn't have a longterm future in detroit especially with marchenko ouellet jensen sproul waiting to get a shot He could very possibly be dealt to toronto this off season in a deal for Phaneuf ... Just watching yesterday's hockeycentral and there saying Phaneuf wanted to be a wing and was feeling like s*** when he wasn't dealt to the wings on deadline day Anyway you look at it smith will be gone in 1-2 yrs

I just assume they're too busy dredging through the miles of dross we create to be able to post much.

A real fan is someone who wants the team to win and is at least somewhat annoyed when they don't. That's it. That's the bare minimum of being a fan. Anything extra doesn't make someone less of a fan. I wish some of the numbskulls who have argued otherwise over the years would understand that.

Barely making the playoffs is always much better than barely missing them. Not the most ideal situation in doing so, but I'll take it considering the aforementioned alternative.