Leaderboard

Mantha and Lark combined together on two goals #thefutureisbright

Just wanted to throw this out as a little tickler... Matt, any chance your schedule will allow you to make the wallpapers this season? I, for one, greatly enjoy them... I totally understand if you don't have time though.

Seriously, though. During the summer, my desktop background is a gallery of random video game wallpapers. October through April is the only time my girlfriend doesn't think I'm a man-child.

Wings win 1-0... They play Chicago tomorrow at 4

I cant blame Howard for this, he just echoed what his coach said. Any team guy will do the same. For this I blame Babs.

Nosek gets the Wings on the Board 40 seconds into the 2nd AA and Svechnikov with the assists

Matt, please just continue to make wallpapers available. I resolution maters not... I will assimilate

Wait you're telling me you're clueless as to who our backup is?!?! I second this. But I doubt they gained any weight. I don't think this is true. In his recent interview he mentioned that this summer he was actually able to condition and workout and last year he spent most of his time in rehab and couldn't workout as hard. He was bound to run out of gas if that was really the case

A rare glimpse at future lines

That second line is going to be sick. Hopefully Larkin and Nastasiuk will keep Mantha honest with their work ethic and pace.

wings will beat crap out of leafs 4 times this season. babs cry, blash laugh.

This is a very good point. I hadn't thought about it. There should be a learning curve for a lot of coaches, particularly non-offensive minded coaches, for about a year or so.

Don't forget about 3-on-3 play in OT. Hopefully the Wings can win more of those than they lose. One potential advantage Detroit has over a lot of other teams is that Blashill gained experience with this last year in GRs. Something many coaches in the league can't say.

Hopefully, we can have at least a .500 record in shootouts. That may avoid going on the road to play a game 7. Babcock and Howard had a childish attitude last year towards shootouts.

Red Wings brand a big selling point for Richards http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2015/09/red_wings_brand_a_big_selling.html

Gee. I wonder who this backup goalie will be.

I believe this team is a lock to finish top 3 in the Atlantic Division, baring major injuries to key players. I see the Wings and Lightning fighting neck and neck for number 1, and Montreal finishing number 3. There is a huge drop off after those 3 teams, and I wouldn't be surprised if all 5 of Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, Buffalo and Florida miss the playoffs this season, with the Metro Division taking up the two mild card spots. My projection for the East looks something like this... Atlantic 1. Tampa 2. Detroit 3. Montreal Metropolitan 1. New York R. 2. Pittsburgh 3. Washington Wild Card 1. Columbus 2. New York I. I expect a pretty seamless transition from Babcock to Blashill, and a rejuvenated group under a new coach. Their coaching styles are very similar, but by all accounts the way they treat the players is night and day, which should make a huge difference. I think Datsyuk and Zetterberg can maintain the level they played last season, hovering at around a point per game pace or slightly under. The question isn't how they'll play when they're healthy, it's how many games they'll be healthy for. Nyquist and Tatar should continue to develop into key players for this organization, putting up 60+ points each. I expect all three of Sheahan, Jurco and Pulkkinen to surprise a lot of people this season, all eclipsing the 40 point plateau. We have an extremely deep forward group, and I think we will see major improvements on the back end as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see DeKeyser - Green emerge as the number one pair by Christmas. I think our power-play will be lethal again this season, and will only improve with the additions of Green and Pulkkinen (used properly). We have two really good goaltenders that should push each other all season. I think this team is legit and they will finally be able to prove it in the post season. Anything short of 2nd in the division and Conference Final will be a disappointment to me...

Green on the wall could be deadly