VM1138

Wel, he has been skating, I think. Just not hard probably.

I think its great how Franzen sides with the Wings. I don't know why, it's just nice to see a guy loyal to Detroit. I think this season has really made us all realize how important Franzen has become to this team. I can't wait!

Kozlov is still an effective player with a scoring touch. Especially for the cheap cost (relatively). I don't know if this is feasible, but perhaps since Atlanta is rebuilding, Leino and Meech for Kozlov? I'm not sure if Atlanta would want another defenseman. I think that clears the cap space, gives them Leino who might be more comfortable there and if Atlanta still thinks he has potential it would help them. Meech would just be sweetening the deal and to clear more space. I would want Kozlov back. But if it's not Leino-Meech, I don't see how it could happen without us losing too much in return.

I'm going to have nightmares about giant killer polar bears now. Time to up the global warming! Get them before they get us! EDIT: And "Highway to the Danger Zone" just puts it over the top. Love it!

Well, I'm sure Holland was like the rest of us: completely surprised that he could be moved for so little. His feelers probably hit the brick wall like everyone else's.

48 shots or something for the Wings? I didn't see that. Wings couldn't put up any pressure except for the very end there. Passes to sticks. Passes to Ducks. Shots to sticks. Wide angle shots. And of course, the ever present lack of lucky bounces for the Wings. So many close calls that you just knew weren't ever going in. And Filpulla, seriously, how can you miss so many good chances so consistently? Get SOMETHING in! Frustrating game. Kind of boring, too, which is surprising. Just seemed to be a futile attempt. No structure, pretty much guaranteed any momentum would get broken up. Sucks constantly falling out of the playoff spot, though. I'd really like to see the Wings string together even a small winning streak at this point. But we all should have expected this, what with it coming in a back to back and the game after a big win against San Jose. This has been the pattern this year.

Getlaf is the only impact player on their team. I guess there are "good" players, but no one I'd take over most other players in the league if I were assembling a team. Maybe Bobby Ryan someday.

Or maybe he sees no raeson to fight a guy twice his size? Although, Getzlaf is really the only good player on their team, it'd be nice to get him off the ice for 2 minutes.

Ericsson is really putting in the ffort tonight. I like seeing guys respond when called out by the coach. Weak fight but at least he tried!

Yeah, it's running now on Atdhe.net. Stupid Ducks.

Just heard the funniest thing on one of those NHL commercials. The announcer when someone scored: "Top shelf where mama hides the cookies!" Yikes. The more I hear of other broadcasts, the more thankful I am for Ken Daniels, Mickey Redmond, Ken Kal, etc.

Just waiting for the Atdhe feed to start...the wait is killing me! There's always something special about the late games. Let's go Wings!

If they get Kovy they'd be hands on favorites to win this year, if they're not already in most people's minds, so I fail to see how signing Kovy would hurt them. They're going to lose people anyways, this is their best chance. And the Penguins aren't even close to being the best team all time. They have two marquee players (Crosby and Malkin) and a decent goalie, but not an all-time great (and never will be). In '08 they were the same, only with Hossa. The Wings teams of recent memory put up much better rosters, and even those aren't considered the best all time.

It's a lot like Burke is actually GM of both Toronto and Anaheim, using Anaheim as a sort of farm for Toronto. Bizarre and probably some shady goings on. Toronto won't be winning anything anytime soon, but maybe they can actually win a few games before the season ends.

Because the Rangers don't know how to assemble a taem. They just go after names with no regard to how well they play together, their attitudes, work ethic, etc. If they're a "star" somewhere they'll play for the Rangers. As the early 00s showed, the Wings spent money and assembled cohesive teams. The Rangers spent more and fell apart every year.

I think the Wings usually do pretty good against all the "great" goalies, btu really poorly against the crappy backups for some reason.

Meech was pretty good tonight, guys. Props where props are due. And the break will do Ericsson good. Like Babcock said, sometimes in a non-stop grueling season things just pile up on a player. Especially for a young one, a break gives them a breather to stop the bad habits and think about things. But it looks like he'll be back, Babs just said he doesn't think Kronwall will be back tomorrow night.

I worry that this happened immediately after they was injured (again, nothing "serious") the game before. I wonder if they rushed him back.

Like others have said, the talent is there but the will has to be as well. The big question mark: Can Howard perform under playoff pressure? I think yes. And if not, we know Ozzie can. Honestly, even through all the frustration and disappointment, is there any team that can beat Detroit in the playoffs easily? No. San Jose is the best team in the league and they can't. The only team that really poses a threat to Detroit in the West is Chicago. The thing with the regular season is that you have to depend on other teams to lose. In the playoffs, it's just between one team against the other, that's all that matters. One on one over a 7 game series I don't see any team except Chicago that really scares me. In the East? Pittsburgh and Washington. If the Wings make playoffs they'll make a lot of noise.

Hell yes, this is the Red Wings team I'm used to! What a great game by the Wings (after the first few minutes). I feel like they're finally answering the challenge. Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Holmstrom were amazing tonight. Eaves, Draper and Helm, well, what else is new? Meech was great for once. And the defense! They were right on top of San Jose. Cut down on the turnovers, and when San Jose came on strong, the defense ahd their sticks in the right places to deflect the great chances or block a pass. The Wings played smart tonight, and that's how they win. If they can keep this up (for once, we've seen how big wins against San Jose are followed before) playoffs are a lock, baby.

Draper and Maltby have both been having good years for their age. Especially Draper playing with Helm and Eaves.

We all need to pitch in and send him a plaque for putting up with the Detroit fanbase for so many years.

You don't see too many high quality in-game photos from back then. Does anyone know of a website that archives them or anything? That's really cool.

This is sad that it needed to be written. In his outbursts to the press, Ozzie never said anything at all about Howard. They were always relating to his playing time. He never said he deserved to start, he just wanted to not go a month without playing. He's always been a class act who understands the relationship between backup and starter, regardless of which one he is. And yes, we do owe it to Ozzie to give him 4 more wins. Hopefully we can get some cushion in the playoff race to give them to him.

On the bright side, if the Wings had the same record in the East, they'd be safely in the playoffs.