GoWings1905

Columbus loses in a shootout, but still gets a point. The Red Wings have to get two tomorrow against the Oilers.

The good or bad thing is the Wings have games remaining against most of the teams they are competing with in the standings. Even Toronto, if they lose in LA tonight, is still fairly catchable. The Wings have three games in-hand and play the Leafs twice still. So, they somewhat still control their own destiny, but that requires actually winning the games.

The Sabres would never give up their first for Howard. That goes against everything that organization is trying to accomplish right now. They want to give Enroth a shot to start, Matt Hackett is a pretty promising goalie still and they have other prospects in goal too. No way they deal what could be the first overall pick for Jimmy Howard. Especially since there seems to be a consensus he is "average" anyways.

Where did anyone stop supporting the team or bail on them? We wouldn't be here if that was the case. There's a difference between giving up and realistically assessing the Red Wings current troublesome position.

Those ugly stretches at home are really looking crucial now. I think a nine game winless streak and maybe another one of five games too. All of the OT/SO losses hurt too. Although, maybe those are just a glimpse that the team is indeed just not quite good enough to get it done.

The playoff streak was doomed once Z had surgery. He's the heart and soul of the team. Probably could have willed them in again, but losing him was the backbreaker (no pun intended). Especially with all of the other injuries in addition to Hank's, it's just tough to overcome for a team that was going to be fighting for a playoff spot with even decent health. It's not over yet, but things don't look promising at all.

Clock is ticking, injuries keep piling up and the Wings are losing games to teams they are in direct competition with in the standings. Plus the schedule is brutal if they were healthy, let alone with this AHL roster.

Had a chance to jump all over Columbus in the first and ended up tied. Beyond that, hasn't been very pretty and you knew how the third period would end up with this team. If Nyquist and Franzen aren't scorching hot, it's a struggle to score goals and the defense is nowhere near strong enough to compensate. The other two lines besides the kids are black holes.

Abby takes Jurco's spot or otherwise the Wings are up 2-1. Then the Jackets score because Emmerton is a plug.

Great pass by Tatar and of course it ends up on the stick of the guy with the worst hands on the team.

Brad Watson is so terrible at his job. In a league of incompetent officials, he's among the worst.

No penalty for that cross check on Jurco earlier either. They never miss a slight hook and overlook something like that.

The Wings are on their heels right now. They need the puck back.

What else are they going to hang up? That one playoff appearance banner would be mighty lonely.

I agree. He needs to be better with so many forwards out. His linemates aren't good offensively, but he's the type of player that should elevate everyone around him. With the logjam at forward next season, I'm not sure I want Alfie to take the roster spot of someone like Jurco who can go back down.

Why would the retaliation affect the original call? That had no impact on the boarding. Great period by the Wings. Shame it's tied, but if they keep up that effort, this game will go in their favor. Mrazek looks sharp.

It was irrelevant. The cross check was negated by the dive. The refs were only calling two for boarding, so Smith having balls didn't cost the team at all.

Ugh, dominate them the entire period and it's 1-1. Guess Columbus got too many penalties in a row because that was goaltender interference. Oh and Quincey did something dumb. That's new.

If he didn't, there would be moaning about the Wings never defending themselves. I'm glad Smith stood up for himself. One of the few on the team that actually would.

Kid line looks excellent. This could easily be 3-0 already. Much more jump than at any point on Sunday. That should be five and a game.

It seems like the Red Wings have hardly been utilizing Alfie's shot lately on the PP. They just need to shoot more and hope it hits someone. Not going to skill your way to PP goals without the Euro-Twins.

Gotta take advantage of these chances on the PP. Not enough firepower in the lineup to rely solely on scoring at even strength.

E was never going to be relied on for point production obviously. I was using it as a barometer for how pathetic Quincey has been offensively. Why wouldn't Quincey be expected to contribute offense? He did with other teams and he sure as hell isn't close to earning four million dollars for his defense (unlike E). Quincey has no value -- that's ultimately my point. You can't be a four million dollar player getting 20 minutes per game and have ten points while also being poor defensively.

Quincey plays 20 minutes per game and has ten points. E, who is the furthest thing from being an offensive d-man, has more points in 20 fewer games. Quincey is a massive failure in both ends. He produced offensively before coming back to Detroit and has contributed nothing since despite playing decent minutes. Smith should get PP time and for some unknown reason still doesn't get an opportunity. Quincey doesn't get PP time because he hasn't shown a lick of offensive skills.

10 points and minus 7 from a player making nearly four million dollars. The Wings desperately have to find an upgrade for either the top or second pairing this summer. Ideally someone that can move the puck and chip in offensively because they get nothing from the defense in terms of point production outside of Kronner.