VM1138

I'm not ready to say his career is over. Something is clearly wrong but he will figure it out.

They actually didn't play all that bad. This was definitely not one of the most frustrating games to watch. If there is such a thing as a "normal" loss, this was it. Wouldn't be concerning except that they're once again battling for a bottom playoff spot.

Pittsburgh doesn't affect our chances. Just a fun side story for Wings fans. I hate the new playoff format.

Pittsburgh might be more likely to miss playoffs than us. How glorious if that happened.

Well, hey, we won't need to score any dirty goals in the playoffs, anyway. .....Right?

Shootout loss here we come!

Problem is, then our second line is very weak and a mismatch for us.

Without hyperbole I think it's safe to say this year is a failure compared to last year. We were tops in the league for a while, playing the best hockey they played in years, and now we're right back to where we were last year. Only this year we benefitted from a strong record for 85% of the season, relative health, and successfully-developed kids. And yet, somehow, the end result is still likely to be the same (first round exit) or worse (missing the playoffs entirely). I have a really hard time understanding what's happened the last month.

Babcock is more about individual performance than team performance. He's probably focusing on developing Mrazek as a player, giving him a chance to bounce back and face adversity, etc. he's done this with several players over the years and it hasn't usually been pretty.

You can't be serious.

It's a big problem, sure, but the Wings have holes everywhere. I still not sure if the whole balanced lines thing (skill, big body, speed) is the way the game is changing or if it's just a Babcock thing, but the lineups always look like a Frankenstein-style monster. If it's a Babcock thing, he might need to leave. If the game is just changing to where each line has an anchor, he should stay because he's still getting quite a lot out of our young guys. But at the end of the day wins matter, and like someone else pointed out, aside from '07, '08 and '09 we haven't won much or had impressive seasons. I think the dump and chase style Babcock has been having them play is the biggest culprit. I remember back in '09 he said dump and chase was stupid, but now that's all we do, and as a result we get a shot on net and then rush back to defend. Every. Freaking. Time. And I think we have talented enough players to carry it into the zone. His system has all but killed our offense over the years.

I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why this team falls apart so easily and I'm starting to think Babcock is a big part. He's a great coach and all but his lineup decisions are terrible. I'm grateful he coached them into the playoffs last year but I just feel like he's not handling our veteran players well. And that's a criticism that goes back to Yzerman in 2006. He's great for kids but if rather have a balanced, talented team rather than a perennially up and coming team. That being said, the team is playing like hot garbage, too. But we've changed players and are getting the same or worse results year after year.

30-10 shots. Wow.

Can't watch the game. Just looked at the stats. Is it seriously 25 Ottawa shots to 9 Detroit, and 6 penalties for the Wings to 3 to Ottawa? JeeeZ.

This team doesn't have a next gear. The kids just don't. We haven't been able to flip the proverbial switch since 2013, I think.

After the way Babcock has treated recent acquisitions over the past couple years I've got to wonder if players will stop coming here later in their careers. Weiss is still a decent player who can out up points and instead Babcock just decides his season is basically over because he's not a defensive wall. Kind of frustrating. Babcock might be brilliant but even hard workers will start to worry that if they come here it's only a matter of time before they are benched in favor of some scrubs like Andersson.

Haha, I noticed no one seemed to be pointing out that Halak is having the worst night, I think.

5-3 and neither team has 20 shots. Jesus these goalies suck.

I never saw him play, but I know of him in relation to Larkin. Considering he'd likely be cheap I say Holland should keep stocking the cupboard.

Four goals should've beenenough to win. I'd say this one was on the goalies, Howard in particular.

Rather than debate who is better and being reactionary, let's just roll with who wins. Right now that seems to be Mrazek.

Babcock doesn't care about using players properly. He cares about jamming them into a role he needs and waiting it out to see if they suddenly transform into a different player.

I haven't gotten to watch a lot of games the second half of the season, but I just can't imagine what Weiss did so badly to justify being permanently benched. Not every player can be 100% defensively sound at all times. We're close to becoming (if we haven't already become) the Minnesota Wild of the '00s, defense-first, score only when the other goalie screws up. Babcock really irritates me in this regard. Weiss had the reputation of a hard-working, reliable guy. Whatever his problems were, Babcock has hardly used him in the top six role that he's actually capable of playing. At the very list put him on an offensive third line. There is no reason Weiss should be sitting while Andersson plays. Datsyuk coming back will be huge, and missing Kronwall and Cole is going to hurt. I'd say call up Marchenko instead of using Kindl.

I try to trust Babcock but his lines over the years have been garbage. Either this is the best out players can possibly be and the lines are a stroke of genius or these lines are holding us back.

People point to Chicago and Pittsburgh all the time but seem to forget that they each got two major talents within a year of each other. Pittsburgh wouldn't be as good without Malkin and Chicago wouldn't have won much without Kane. So whoever gets McDavid is at the start, but unless they luck out in the following draft again it will be a long road.