The Secret

3 more soft or "flukey" goals that Osgood needs to stop. What's with this guy? Is his goalie coach Bill Ranford? Stop playing him until he gets his mind back into the game.

I haven't seem him mess up and make a huge blunder yet. He might not have his usually perfect game going yet but he has far from been a liability or anything even remotely close. He's been our best defensemen despite not being at his normal level of play..... Yet. He's coming on, expect a Norris Winning second half and playoff run.. thats my call anyway.

No surprise to me. Nick has been so consistent his whole career. Even a sub-par nick is heads and shoulders above most players best performances. Arguably one of the smartest players thats ever played the game.

Here is a quote from this article:(http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=407534) from Ryan Clowe: "We have the puck a lot and we like to play in their end as much as possible. That's why the other team doesn't get as many shots. When we backcheck, it's not just to look around, either. ... But you're going to have breakdowns sometimes, so it's nice to have a goalie like Nabby in there." -- Ryane Clowe Confidence in your goalie goes a long way to improving the over-all confidence of the team IMO. We've shown offensively we can find the net with the best of them, Defensively we have struggled a bit compared to most seasons but we are still not that bad, Our glaring weakness is clearly the lack of quality goaltending. If Dallas can finally start to get their game back... and they have sucked large balls so far, then I believe we can and will find our 'A' game but it will have to start with getting solid goal tending consistently and I don't care who it comes from... Even if Kenny holland came out of retirement and gave it to us. Doesn't Clowe's statement sound like what has been said by Red Wings in the past when having that solid type of goal tending?

I would not make this trade in particular but I would definately be looking to trade Filpula and his $3M salary as he just hasn't been to impressive at all this entire season. Limited ice time on a 3rd line role could be a small factor IMO, Hudler seems to thrive in the same capacity. I think he should be showing more despite being on the 3rd line but so far he is not... at all. He should have taken my advice this past off season and got himself a Gold's Gym membership and a nice cycle of Decca Durabolin + Winstrol V... would have given him some added size, strength and maybe a bit of roid rage to fire up his game.

Helm would be a great permenant fixture right now if we could only keep him up. He could easily be an upgrade to 3 or 4 players on the current roster. I like what Helm bring to the game and hope he could possible be a similar player to what Hudler is developing into with a more physical edge.

There's a good responce. Better get back to your redneck class there guy, I bet they are teaching you how to make bombs out of the fertilizer in your shed. I never said Canada own's hockey, it was invented in Canada and it is part of our heritage. We are good at it and we have a right to be proud about it. We play a different game the europeans... you would know that if you could afford to watch more of the games I guess. Lucky for you the the Red Wings have become a perrenial playoff team, I'd hate for you to be denied of your national sport. I can argue that Football is our national sport because we have the CFL but it's not. It's an American sport and Americans are rasied with it and they are good at it and have a right to be proud. That doesn't mean we can't play it, everyone can play it, but americans are around it more and are there naturally going to be better at it. Keep the hate going buddy, I hear its good for your health.

This post clearly outlines the type of fair-weather fan you are. You are not a fan of hockey, and I doubt your much a fan of the Red Wings. I guess if they were a team that never made it to the play offs you'd have no reason to watch hockey at all.

What's the difference between Canadian an Swedish players? Are you sure you are getting up at 2 am to watch hockey man? 2 totally different styles, 2 totally different mind sets. We Canadians are ferociously in love with our national sport and it shows in the way we play, Similar to Soccer in England or Football in the USA.

You know where I stand on this point Hank. Although I enjoy what European players add to the game I Love the North American style far better. The blend of the 2 is the ideal we had in the past and what we need in the future. f*** 3 million Filpula getting pushed around like a little jail house *****, I'd rather see Lucic smashing players through the boards, defending his team and still putting up 47 points to Filpula's 21. Or Sammuelson pretending to hit people and high tailing it when there is the thread of actual confrontation. I have never been shy about the fact that I am proud of our Canadian boys, and how they play the game and how much more exciting it would be to have more of that in our line up. I'm not hacking on all euro born players nor and I wishing they would all be removed from our roster all I am hoping for is for a few good Canadian additions, a nice blend like we had in years past... no flat out goons but a true Power Forward or 2. People even on LGW crave Downey and he is barely a hockey player but they crave him because he has a bit of the edge that we miss.

Mike and Marion Illitch are awesome and IMO are the starting point for the type of team and organization we have today... the class of the entire league. I don't care if Mike Illitch wore a toilet seat on his head and thought it looked good, I would never say a bad thing about him after enjoying the fine product he has turned this organization into... Hmmm I might even try that if he were to pull it off successfully.

I have never thought of Osgood as a starter despite him having great career stats. He has times when he plays great but most of the time he plays adequate enough to get the job done backing a team like Detroit. This year his confidence is gone, maybe its his mojo thats gone... what ever it is he is playing AHL quality hockey and it will cripple us in the play offs. The defense this season hasn't been what we are used too seeing but come on folks, how is it that its the Defense's fault every time Osgood is in net? He never has a chance on any of the goals that get by him... except for the one's from the Red line. Get him a psychiatrist, send him back to goalie school, do what ever it takes to get him playing the way we need him to and in the meanwhile let Conklin get the starts and if possible let's see what our boys in GR might do with a game or 2.... they can't be any worse then Osgood.

Here is the link to an article in the yesterdays Windsor Star about the suspensions of Lidstrom and Datsyuk. http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/spo...1b8f2c6&p=1 I fully support both Datsyuks and Lidstroms decision to sit the ASG out due to injury/recovery. I do also see the necessity for having players at the ASG to help promote the league in such fan driven event. IMO the 2 best teams for the league to promote are the most loved and the most hated teams.... unfortunately for us the Red Wings are both! Being a Red Wing fan amongst Red Wing fans is great but being a Red Wing in Calgary while I was there and now in Montreal, I get to hear all the stupid comments about cheating and being lucky and having things fixed and how we suck and blah blah blah. I wear my Red Wing with pride everywhere I go, been a fan since the early 80's and nothing will change mind. So, let the league exploit us to promote the league as the most loved or most hated... there is a reason why its the Red Wings, we make them money and set the standard for the rest of the league to attempt to follow.

I sometimes think he tries to do too much... maybe make an extra pass rather then shoot or vice versa, tries to fight through too many players... but he's really giving a hard effort. Watch him back check too. He really isn't the flashiest player but I really think he's digging in each and every game. IMHO, he seems like he is made for this team. To me is sounds like the OP was started on rumour and has yet to be validated. However, if there is any truth too it, I think Zets is home grown and should be priority BUT if he wants too more then what we can give in order to keep competitive then I would LOVE Hossa to become a permanent fixture. I agree also with you that to each his own. I just will encourage you to focus on hossa for a game or two and watch him closely without being tugged by what other say.... even if its your Dad. If you watch a game with me and listen to what I say you will soon discover that Samuelsson is the anti-christ's abandoned son, while others on LGW love him!

Man, I must be watching a completely different Marian Hossa on a totally different team. That guy busts his nuts every night. Obviously some nights work out better then others but him not hustling is completely not true. If I am not mistaken he has even been voted the #1 star of several games that his efforts had not produced any points... you don't get that by not hustling I will tell you that. I think he is worth every penny spent on him!

Ryan Getzlaf is awesome. He is exactly the type of player I want to see join our squad. I've always liked this kid!

No way!

First off I f'ing hate the Habs almost as much as I hate the Leafs. I've been living in Montreal for almost 2 years now and I hear day in and day out how the Wings suck and the Habs are the greatest team off all time. Oh, and because it's their 100 year anniversary they apparently will win the Cup...It's been arranged. Hahahaha, there are those here who believe that. Anyway, I think they have a decent team and thats about it, there are some strong points about their team but definately 2 things I call into question is their desire and their consistency. It's been pointed out that they are only as good as their PP. My feeling is that they don't have enough to go all the way, there are way better teams out there. Who the hell riots after barely winning the first round of the playoffs... retarded Habs fans, thats who. Man, I would LOVE to see The Wings crush the Habs in the SCF, that would be a dream come true for me... did I mention that I Hate the Habs! GO WINGS!

I miss Stevie... I grew up watching him and there will never be another like him. He'll always the MVP in my book. I don't think there has ever been a player thats done more or been more valuable to a team then our Captain! The Illitch family are the greatest owners in the NHL and are the biggest reason for the success and class of our team.

I wonder if this article has lead to the fall of his job? Or maybe the fall of his pay cheque at least. Hey we were all worried about how the team would look a feel without Stevie and Shanny and Dom but to write an article like that prodicting that all would be lost completely is pretty stupid.

This is true. It was a Bruins fan that was ejected from a game for pissing on a Canadiens fan during the playoffs last year in Boston. I hate the Canadiens as much as the next guy but that is way over the line!

Well its no secret that I would like to see some good ol' Canadian boys make their way onto our roster but in this scenario I would definately pass.

With Osgood healed and ready to play and Conklin on a nice roll right now how would you play the goalie cards? I would like to see Conklin continue to get the majority of the starts and let Osgood work at earning the spot back.... if he can. 4 Shutouts for Conks, not to shabby!

Ryan is doing pretty good with the 24 games he's gotten under his belt this season. Give him some more time in the NHL to develop and see before. Dats and Zet took sometime to become the players they are today and I for one was a promoter of trading them early when they were taring up the reg season and then becoming ghosts in the play offs... thank God I am not calling the shots because look what we'd be missing out on and they took some good time to develop.

What ever excuse works for you! Having 2 capable goalies, I think that a healthy competition brings out the best in each competing goalie and saves the wear and tare that a long season dishes out on mules like Kipper and Luongo. To go along with the Larsson thread, I wish we could see him in action on the Wings even just a few times to see how he currently fairs in the grand scheme of things. God forbid either Conks or Ozzie goes down for the count, who would we bring up? I'd like to give Larsson a chance first to see how he'd do because he is already showing to be a better option in GR.