VM1138

Missed the first period, but the Wings played really well. I especially liked how they managed to shut down breakaway attempts without falling apart. Defense played amazing this game, and Franzen hit so many posts and near-misses that he's bound to score soon. Good to see Hudler continuing to put them in the net. All in all, despite the loss, I'm happy. MacDonald is proving to be a very, very reliable goalie so far and the guys are finally tightening up their game. All it took was having to rely on a backup-backup goalie to get them to play defense. Everyone looked good tonight, except Howard I'm assuming. Didn't see the goals but two quick goals against with Howard in net didn't entirely surprise me. At any rate, I can feel good about this because A) the Wings get a point, B) they played well, C) Without Howard starting we could have won, and D) If Datsyuk was back he would have buried the shootout goal. At any rate it's kind of hard to blame someone for a shootout loss. Wings didn't score in the shootout but I felt they were the better team in the actual game. Count on a win tomorrow night.

What the hell? Stuart was bent over when he was hit? The Douchebag practically jumped into his face when he clearly didn't have the puck.

Why does everyone think he knows hockey so well? He says the same things every broadcast and usually doesn't even talk about hockey during them. I'm assuming we're going off something else when people say he's hockey smart? Writings or something?

Honestly, rest isn't a factor, I don't think. It's the ASG, nobody actually tries to play, so I find it hard to believe it's tiring. My only concern with Zetterberg is that he's obviously fighting off his back injury and even goofing around at an ASG he could pull something. But it is strange to have so few players from the top teams in the league.

I say treat MacDonald like Ozzie, only with more starts, haha. Until he proves he can't handle a 50/50 split, roll with him.

I honestly half-expected to see the Pittsburgh logo on there, or at least the colors. Meh, not the best jerseys, pretty generic.

Crosby's probably the reason he didn't get into the ASG. He probably pissed and moaned that he didn't want to get showed up.

I have a hunch he's suffering from his back injury, but can't sit out due to Datsyuk missing time. They don't want him to over-exert himself or risk an injury at the all-star game. No big deal.

The skills competition is the only thing worth watching during the All-Star game weekend. I guess if they have to include someone from every team it makes sense why so many crappy players were picked over better options from all teams. No Luongo, Zetterberg, etc. is just a crime if this were a real "all-star" lineup.

I don't understand this whole mentality. The Wings didn't lose to San Jose, the series was stolen from them by refs. We beat San Jose in that series way worse than they ever beat the Wings, and almost all of San Jose's goals came off of powerplays (including several 5 on 3s) from terribly weak penalty calls. Worst reffing I've ever seen and yet people still act like the Wings turned in a 2006 style performance.

Do the Wings have a 1st round pick this year?

Draper has been good, but if Helm keeps putting in the goals once in a while and improving on faceoffs I don't think we need him. I do, however, favor signing him until he retires, which I think he will do either next year or the year after. If Lidstrom retires, I agree that they need an impact defenseman, preferably a young one who has put in respectable minutes and stats for more than one year. (i.e. not the flavor of the week) Kindl, I agree. He's been good for us but not good enough to really hurt us if we lost him, especially if we got something in return. Salei has been fantastic, I would absolutely offer him a 1 year or 2 year contract. If Ozzie retires I would love to have Conklin back as a backup who can carry the load if need be. He certainly allows less than 4 goals a game... Or we could trade Howard + Hudler +3rd round pick for Ryan Miller. As much as I like Miller and wanted him back this year, he's been pretty redundant. Good, so if they can keep him I'm all for it, but if not, he should be traded in a package to get someone with a bit more upside. EDIT: Mursak is also NHL ready and Ericsson has been great after coming back from his early season injury. There's just no room for Kindl next season unless they don't sign a FA to replace Lidstrom if he retires and if they resign Salei. Salei brings something to the table that Kindl doesn't. I imagine they could trade him for whatever, bring in a solid 1 or 2 spot D-man for a few years and when Rafalski retires have Smith come up and fill his spot. The trouble is, do you lose Kindl to keep an old vet like Salei? Or would you package Kindl for a deal to bring in said 1 or 2 spot D-man?

Honestly, me too. It'd be way out of left field but he could back up the team for a few months with no problem, I bet. On the plus side, MacDonald looked good tonight, maybe he can handle a 50/50 rotation for two months, playing against the weaker teams? It's absolutely essential Howard is rested. And on the bright side, maybe Ozzie can keep up his excellent play when he returns, he's had such bad luck the past two seasons he really deserves a good break like a chance to show he's back to form. At any rate, he should be rested come playoff time if Howard falters, right?

Bert's fine. Move along.

I don't understand, either. The defense is almost the same as the '08 Cup run, which boasted some of the best defense I've ever seen. Yet...everysince '08 they've just been average. I still think it's McCrimmon's fault, because he was the only factor that changed the makeup of our defense, really. The new guys are pretty much a wash for Lebda and Lilja (though I do miss Lilja here). I just don't understand how they could go from such a vaunted defense to having such frequent "brain fart" moments on the ice. Salei was brilliant tonight, we've got to give him credit. He looked fantastic and at one point I thought he was auditioning to be our new power forward, haha.

I wonder if he knows everyone thinks he's a joke.

MacDonald for starter. (Am I joking? Sarcastic? You be the judge) Sorry, I try not to get angry with players and give up on them, but Jimmy "Four Goals" Howard just isn't cutting it. Bizarre game. The Wings seemed to play really well and forced the play when they needed to, but it seemed every time they tried to clear the puck or make a short pass it hit a stick, stopped in mid-air, or otherwise dropped to the ice after three feet to lie there and wait for a Colorado player to grab it. And it was like the Wings had never handled a puck before, getting it stuck between their skates, missing the puck completely on simple passes....yet they were otherwise passing crisply, quickly, and accurately. Strange, strange game. Can't say I'm too disappointed, since that sort of strangeness isn't common. Only real downside (aside from losing) was Howard's dismal performance...again. Only one of those goals wasn't his fault, which is about par for the course.

And judging from his creepy on-screen performances, you don't want to know where that Human Penis (or Henis) has been.

Just went on Youtube and typed in "Pierre McGuire", then clicked on "Pierre McGuire is effing creepy." My God, skip toward the end especially. "You're an announcer with a long stick." "And a big mouth." It took me a while to suppress the shudders. Another gem I never noticed:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=548958 I'm a little fuzzy about the rules pertaining to IR, why did it take so long to place him on it? And doesn't being placed on IR force him to sit out 10 games or something like that? Oh, and they called up MacDonald to fill his roster spot.

I always kind of liked Wolski, good deal for Rangers.

Way to go, Ken Daniels! My favorite sportscaster alongside Mickey Redmond. Best in the game!

I'm feeling good about this, despite the injuries the Wings have proven they can beat the tough teams when it matters. Hopefully the Wings realize this game matters, we can slip into 1st place with a win.

Wow, if he thinks "beaking" during a game deserves a broken jaw, I'd hate to see what his idea of "just punishment" would be outside of hockey...

I don't see what the team needs, really. I know there are people who just need an enforcer but honestly the Wings do fine in the playoffs without one. They haven't been truly intimidated out of a game in years.