GoWings1905

I feel bad for Conklin mostly tonight, but my goodness he can't make a timely save for anything. Change your lines or something Babcock. Could have gone three points up on the Predators heading into Friday, but couldn't even show up on the road against the worst team in hockey.

11 shots on goal. Nice effort guys against a goalie that would fold with any sustained pressure. The defense is atrocious. It feels like basically any shot against has been a quality scoring chance for weeks now.

That's three blatant calls missed in this period alone. Haha Babs is pissed. I love his interviews.

Please get Nyquist back with Datsyuk. I will cut Franzen some slack for now just coming back, but I haven't even noticed him once. He can play with Abdelkader and Miller until his conditioning improves. Nyquist's skill is being wasted on a 4th line.

Some teams just matchup better with others. Even having a down regular season, I still think the Sharks would give the Red Wings fits in the first round. That's not a series I want any part of between the travel and the history of the past two meetings. San Jose plays a very similar game/style to the Red Wings and for whatever reason, they have done it better head-to-head lately. The 1-2-1 record against the Sharks this season is just another indicator that the Sharks have the Red Wings number. With Havlat healthy again, their top six is as good as any in the league. They have the size and speed combination to forecheck hard and that has given the Red Wings all kinds of trouble before. Niemi has been their weak link compared to obviously a potential series with someone like Rinne instead. I look at the Sharks as a team that if they just find a way into the playoffs, they could turn out to be very dangerous. I don't think they are destined to win the West, but I would rather Chicago deal with them in the first round and get one of those two out of the playoffs immediately. I guess with the West being as strong as it is, you can come up with pros/cons of any potential opponent. I still strongly prefer the Red Wings to finish 4th and get home ice advantage in the first round. They are a different team at the Joe and with a tough draw likely looming against Nashville, that extra game on home ice could be the deciding factor.

Give credit where it's due. The Red Wings have looked WAY better the past two games. There is certainly room for improvement, but they are making strides and getting healthy in the process. I know you are an advocate for finishing 6th, but these two wins certainly do mean something. The Wings are 4th in the conference now and five points ahead of Chicago.

I completely disagree. Brent Burns is nowhere near the class of Ryan Suter or Shea Weber. Those two aren't "media darlings" -- they get attention because they are the best shutdown pairing in the league.

^ That's hilarious. I saw that story the other day and laughed. The irony is "minor league guy" is actually the Cardinals second highest rated prospect. I get maybe not knowing some random non-roster invitee, but I would expect a Tigers broadcast to be able to identify Nick Castellanos during a game.

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Have a pretty solid third pairing of Quincey-Ericsson? I don't quite understand why E would play forward. Smith is in Grand Rapids and Ericsson is better than Kindl.

I want the Red Wings to keep winning and develop/reacquire good habits going into the playoffs. You can't pick your poison. What happens when the Sharks finish 3rd instead and the Red Wings end up drawing the team that gives them the most fits in the first round? Nashville or Chicago would be much nicer for travel purposes as well. The Red Wings are as strong as any team in the West when healthy and when they turn up their intensity. If they can continue to build off last night's win, they could very easily secure 4th in the conference and get that potential extra game on home ice where they have flourished all season. If it means playing Nashville instead of maybe the Sharks, I will take that trade off. No disrespect to the Predators, but if the Red Wings can't beat them they sure as hell aren't getting through Vancouver, St. Louis, Pittsburgh or the Rangers to win it all. Wanting to lose games is playing with fire. The Red Wings have struggled enough for the past month. Play hard for seven more games and go into the playoffs with some momentum.

Incredible comeback -- the Red Wings deserved two points and their desperation level came through even when the Hurricanes went up by three goals. You could just sense many of the guys were sick and tired of losing and weren't going to let it continue any longer. They still have some major kinks to work out defensively and certainly on special teams over the final seven games, but they did many positive things that can translate to playoff success as well. Henrik Zetterberg is dominating. He has been far and away the Red Wings best player since the Pavel injury. Filppula was also sensational and the chemistry those two have developed is a treat to watch. They dominated the play almost every shift they took and man did they ever take a lot of shifts. Z is in playoff mode and once Pavel gets back up to speed, the Red Wings 1-2 punch down the middle will be clicking again at the right time. Nyquist needs to keep playing. He brings skill, speed and creativity to the top-six that meshes perfectly with Datsyuk. I don't care who has to sit, but Nyquist is definitely NHL-ready and can be a huge asset to this team going forward. If Franzen comes back healthy soon and doesn't just float along the perimeter, he could be the net-front presence Babcock prefers on each line with Pavel and Nyquist. I won't get my hopes knowing the Red Wings philosophy, but I think you can easily find space for Nyquist when Emmerton and Holmstrom are still dressing every game.

Excellent team at even strength. Complete garbage on special teams and getting worse. The puck just goes into the net too easily and the Red Wings spend all their energy playing catch up.

Z is killing it tonight. Hopefully the other three lines wake up soon.

I feel like White is on the ice for every goal against lately.

Pathetic. What the hell did Homer do?

He's back!

If Nick does play, what's the purpose of Kindl being in over Smith? Smith is better than Kindl already.

The Tank is doing quite well proving the answer is a resounding "no".

Little brother syndrome and jealousy at the Red Wings success. Blues fans have come down with it too since their team is relevant again.

Well, one more point than expected. Conklin was surprisingly strong. Need Nick back on Saturday really bad. Schedule eases up the next three games -- huge opportunity to get some points before it gets tougher at the end.

Sorry Homer, but please please retire.

Haha, very true. It won't take long. Although, I will say I hope E gets back soon. He takes a lot of heat, but he's actually pretty responsible defensively and that's something the Red Wings are sorely lacking lately. Quincey hasn't been as solid in that regard as I anticipated.

I see Cleary has replaced Ericsson as the board whipping boy. Usually by the same people that have bashed Cleary for years, but are extra vocal now. Anyways, not a bad period overall. Nyquist looks really comfortable out there. Too many sloppy turnovers they need to cut down on, but at least they are in the game. I wasn't too sure that would be the case.

Yeah, it will probably be Conklin but like that really inspires much more confidence. Regardless, a 3rd/4th string goaltender against the best one in the league isn't a real favorable matchup. Hope you're right, though.