themcityblues

Is Z even an asset out there... at all... or is he more liability at this point? Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but wow, a bad game 7 from him already. I honestly wonder if the team is better without him.

Sheahan baby... saved a goal

Stamkos looks dangerous tonight. He's getting that puck as close to Mrazek as quickly as he possibly can. Nearly assisted and scored already.

Wings have dominated the first 10 minutes, IN Tampa Bay, in game SEVEN. That's huge. There was hardly any push from Tampa. Good sign. Wings look calm, not rattled at all. They are taking their time with the D-outlet passes. They are connecting with the open D standing right where Mrazek is, like they've done all season long. I like what I'm seeing.

Haha, good luck Flames. The Ducks are for real this year.

Minny is a difficult out, no other way to slice it. I wouldn't be surprised if they beat Chicago, but I wouldn't say they are favored.

I want to pipe in and say that I think it's sad when people chant the negative stuff. I wouldn't even chant "Tampa Bay sucks!" I don't think they suck. I don't think any team or player in the NHL sucks. They are all competitors in a difficult league. I saw a post here that said "somebody should injure Tyler Johnson". I mean, really? When he scored the two goals and carried his team, I felt happy for him. Of course if the Wings lose, it would be major heart-ache, but that's not going to make me "hate" other players or teams. I just cheer, cheer, cheer for the Wings, and try to feel good for other teams and players when they have success. I would like to see Joe Louis Arena focus on positively impacting their team and let go of the silly "Bulls***", etc. chants. It's not going to happen, though, "the mass" just doesn't operate that way.

The crowd was great tonight ... but gosh were there a lot of empty seats.

Probably my favorite trophy. I love all the players that win the Lady Byng. It'd make me proud to see Datsyuk receiving his 5th Lady Byng. I wonder how much of it depends on his post season success.

Where can we see it?

So for everybody who said Smith would choke the puck up and blow our lead, it didn't happen. What did happen is Smith contributed to offensive puck-position time with good skating, outlet passes and offensive pinches. Thatta boy Smithy!

Bring Abby, sit Weiss Bring Cleary, sit Andersson Bring Smith, sit Marchenko Team looks a lot better, IMO

So who takes Smiths' spot and who'm has a better chance at "stepping up"? Marchenko? He's solid but he's timid and won't change the series. I think Smith could be a factor in a series-critical goal. Unfortunately we may never find out. This team is rolling over and dying and that's something Smith doesn't do. Babcock cares about the "system", but we won't win low-scoring games against this team.

Smith is a bit gritty (gets emotional and invested in the game) which would be great for game 3. Maybe he doesn't hit, but he's involved in big moments. Now that I think about it... why the f*** isn't he in this series? I guess it's similar to the point above. People say he doesn't hit, so he must not be physical. Likewise, he doesn't put up points, so he must not be an offensive asset. I disagree with both of those beliefs. I see Smith skate well, make good carry-ins, make the occasional stretch pass, involve himself in scrums to protect himself and his teammates, and jump into the slot in the O-Zone when everybody is down low and the puck squirts out. He creates space for other players and creates opportunities even if he doesn't end up on the box score. I admit Smith is dumb and makes terrible plays, but I think what he does offer is vastly underrated. But eh... yeah... bench Smith as if it will magically solve this teams' defensive woes so we can all fantasize that the Wings will win the next game 1-0. Good luck with that.

Smith needs to be in for his offensive abilities. I've always thought that when Smith made the cringe-worthy pass, he was still valuable for how much he influences the game in the offensive-zone. I doubt this team will win the series with 2-1 games. Put Smith in and hope it helps the offense. That penalty he took on the bench was not an indication of an unmotivated player, just a dumb player. Smith may be dumb but he has talent and deserves to be out there, regardless of how awful he is with the media, and even if he makes the terrible pass every now and then.

The reason I have respect for (and like) Subban is that he can handle the pressure and attention. In fact, he thrives off it. He's a super athlete and you have to respect that. His slash was terrible, but he's still fairly young and he will learn. Ottawa just seems done. Outclassed. I thought Hammond would stand tall and the Habs' dependency on Price would show. Boy, I was wrong. My bracket is pretty much done already.

I want the same ice size, permanent 4-on-4. Yes.. I'm a nut job

Ericsson is a big, shut down defenseman who fights for space and cancels out forwards. His value is diminished to virtually useless when his offensive linemates and defensive pairing are irresponsible with the puck. But yeah, easy to point the finger at the slow fat guy when the whole system breaks down rather than acknowledge the team's plethora of problems. All you would have to do is put him in front of the net and he'd be valuable. This team desperately needs net presence. I expect to see Abby in front of Bishop in game 3. He'll probably create space and chances for our little worker bees (Tatar, Nyquist).

Looks like I'm the minority. I thought they were dominated and atrocious today. I saw more holes than plugs. I'm not sure what I missed that makes people feel positive about this team. They weren't great in game 1, either, but they had the necessary pieces to win (depth from Glendening, star player stepping up in Datsyuk, and fabulous goaltending by Mrazek). Today showed me... uh... what exactly? That they can't score and that they can't stop Tampa from scoring? I thought today was brutal for their playoff run chances. I am glad Petr is starting again, since I felt the entire team collapsed like a wet bag.

Abby has continued his linear development. He hasn't stopped getting better. He's good -- he's not the Abby of 3-4 years ago. I bet 30 teams in this league would love to have a guy like him. He deserves to win cups, either with Detroit or not. Let's hope the rest of the team has the desire to win like Abby. We need competitors right now.

I thought he's been pretty good lately? Except for the last game.

We'd be a far different team with Franzen, Cole and Abby. Agh, makes me sad to think about

Ouch.

Only 7 pages? Wtf? I guess when this team wins, the trolls go away. And some people who do stay say stuff like, "Welp, atleast we won't get swept!" Lol, Red Wing fans? Glendening was incredible. Great game from Helm. Glendening, though... he may be the X-Factor. Mrazek was awesome. I felt his aggressive goaltending was perfect. Cut off a lot of net from the puck-moving Bolts. Great game all around. If Wings win game 2, Tampa's say "Ruh roh!"

Wow those are unprofessional and cringe-worthy comments from Dave Cameron, a coach in the NHL.