GoWings1905

Good lord Babcock, Ozzie should be starting this game. How can he even justify going to Howard again? "Well, we just gotta keep doing things the right way. I thought Howie was real good again last night and we need the points."

Very, very well-said and I completely agree.

Double Post

I am very confident the Red Wings will make the playoffs. I am not too thrilled with their recent habit of blowing leads and leaving valuable points on the table though. This week of games is huge. Phoenix, Minnesota, Nashville and then Pittsburgh. The Red Wings need to ride the momentum of getting healthy bodies back and win these games before another tough West Coast trip. Franzen coming back eventually, more home games down the stretch. The other Western Conference teams are collectively very displeased.

I agree. Although I think E deserves to keep playing, especially on a pairing with someone other than Lebda. Ericsson is still learning the game (first full regular season) -- Lebda has plenty of experience and we all know what he is capable of (not much, unless turnovers and getting caught up ice count). I actually think Meech has been quite solid. All you really want is to not notice a player like him and he's doing his job well filling in with Stuart. I notice E and Lebda EVERY time they step on the ice for the wrong reasons. Lebda has to go. He is that BAD even for a bottom pairing d-man.

Hopefully Chicago so the Red Wings can benefit from his generous defense.

Agreed. Lebda has to go. If Lilja can't come back this season, I would like to see a big, stay-at-home defenseman that can kill penalties and play on the third pairing with Ericsson. Essentially, a Lilja replacement that can be somewhat physical and clear the front of the net. Ideally, a pure goal scorer is the Red Wings most glaring need. However, those players are expensive and will come at a premium. Franzen is like a deadline addition in a sense, although it's a risk to ask him to come back after so long and start scoring goals like he typically does.

I'm far from a Jason Williams fan, but I don't think he was all that bad before the injury. Stick him on Fil's wing on the third line with Drew Miller and that's a solid unit at both ends of the ice.

How can anyone justify Leino playing over Miller? Leino doesn't do anything better than Miller, including scoring goals, which says something respectively about each player. Miller has also been a huge boost to the PK and he battles way harder than Leino. Meech over Lebda too.

What? Stuart has been the Red Wings best d-man this season and there are plenty of people that would say he has been the MVP to this point. Not to mention, Stuart has been terrific in the past two playoff runs with the Red Wings. Defensive liability? Are you sure you aren't looking at 22 instead of 23?

Friday: Montreal @ New Jersey Nashville @ Colorado Dallas @ Edmonton Saturday: Ottawa @ Boston Carolina @ Philadelphia NY Rangers @ Montreal New Jersey @ NY Islanders Phoenix @ Washington x2 Toronto @ Florida Los Angeles @ Detroit Atlanta @ Tampa Bay Anaheim @ St Louis Columbus @ Minnesota Chicago @ Vancouver Buffalo @ San Jose Sunday: Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia Boston @ Carolina Dallas @ Colorado

You're always so positive in every thread. Ericsson plays on a pairing with Lebda. While I agree E hasn't been great defensively this season, he has proven before that he can play quite well with more minutes especially alongside Nick. It was just a suggestion based on what I feel is a weakness in Rafalski.

It won't, but it keeps Rafalski off the ice more particularly against the opponent's top line.

Great news! Kronner was playing some of the best hockey in his career before the injury. I think Meech should stay in over Lebda. Lebda and Ericsson are AWFUL together as a pairing and have been the entire season. Meech isn't great, but I would say overall he is just solid and that's what you want from a bottom pairing guy. Lebda seems to make far more mistakes defensively than Meech does. I would like to see this when Kronner comes back: Lidstrom - Ericsson Kronwall - Stuart Meech - Rafalski I know Rafalski is an expensive third pairing player, but I think that spreads out the balance more and covers up Rafalski's defensive blunders that are fairly evident logging major minutes.

Ozzie must have been playing fine early on. Howard hardly got any starts until Ozzie got sick.

Why is Maltby playing defense and why do they all have "y's" after their names? EDIT: For the record, I would like to throw Stuart(y) into the discussion.

The sample size is slightly skewed in favor of Howard there. The odds of the team looking better with Howard in goal are pretty likely when Ozzie has only played twice in a month. The Red Wings looked pretty damn confident last night. They carried the play and I didn't sense any tentativeness until Bertuzzi took a stupid penalty.

Way to contribute to the discussion. Great comparision too of a fourth liner that can't skate to a goaltender nearing 400 wins.

I don't think a "backup" goalie at age 37 will fetch a solid return in a trade. Besides, if Ozzie is as rotten as some people here claim, what team would want him? Babcock doesn't seem to grasp the situation well, but Ken Holland sure understands the importance of keeping Ozzie around. This waive/trade Osgood banter is absurd. Who is our "backup" goalie then? Larsson? McCollum? That would be a wonderful idea to head to the playoffs with two goalies with a combined zero games of playoff experience. Talk about an irrational reaction to the situation.

That is very true. Franzen is going to be the best trade deadline acquisition possible. Theodore was pretty solid last night, but how many times this season have the Red Wings put up around 40 shots or more and lost the game? Especially since Pavel and Z aren't scoring goals like they can, losing the best finisher on the team stings even more.

Except if you are the Pittsburgh Penguins in the deciding game of the final.

I think that's just another prime example of Babcock mishandling a situation. Not to derail the topic, but Babcock never used Hudler properly either. You can't play well without an opportunity (or two).

Potent offenses rarely are the difference when it matters. Defense and goaltending are the biggest factors in the playoffs. 2008: 14-4, .930, 1.55 2009: 15-8, .926, 2.01 Ozzie, did in fact, carry this team to the finals two years in a row.

Points are valuable regardless of opponent; the proof being Howard started both games against the Islanders and Hurricanes from the Eastern Conference. Ozzie plays well against Dallas and it was a back-to-back situation. That makes more sense to me than tonight does.

How could Ozzie have his best stuff after not playing for a month? Do people really expect him to be on top of his game immediately? That isn't fair to any player. I agree with you -- Ozzie can play better, but he can't do that by sitting on the bench for another month. Washington didn't play well tonight (credit to the Red Wings), but the fact Ozzie was even in net for this game is puzzling. They aren't Carolina, especially on home ice. Howard let in three goals to the second highest goal scoring team, so why would it make sense to throw a rusty goaltender out there against an even better offensive team? It's relevant because it doesn't make sense. Start Ozzie in Dallas or Minnesota, but his chance comes against the Capitals? Babcock messed up badly here.