VM1138

It's interesting. It's a testament to the skill on this team that they built such an early lead that they can afford to screw up quite a bit and still wind up on top. Will it happen? Like you pointed out the odds are good, but I don't think it matters if the Wings win the President's trophy either way. Some people think the President's trophy is cursed and they point to the fact that Detroit has won it many years now with nothing to show for it. I would coutner by saying the last time we won the cup we also won the President's trophy. And what it all comes down to is that historical liklihoods are meant to be broken.

No, but success in the NHL, success in the AHL, and then making it back to the NHL against all odds probbaly indicates there's a good chance McCarty will be successful in his second tenure in the NHL.

McCarty's greatest contribution will be teaching our young foreign skaters how to correctly trash talk, North American style.

Wow! Rafalski coming to the aid of a fallen comrade? Awesome! And the 3 on one on Downey was hilarious.

It was his first time in the NHL. Pretty much every great player has had horrible early games. That's why it's so hard to tell who will truly be great and who will crash. The thing with Ericcson is his hitting and his shooting, his shooting especially, in my mind. He provides a shot that we haven't had in a long time. He just needs more time and experience, because he did look a little lost out there sometimes.

Giguere looks like he has a safe under his jersey. He always reminds me of that kid who wears shirts that are WAYYY too big for him, too. And there's no doubt he wouldn't be as good as he si now if he had to have more proportionate pads. He's really not that great now, except in the playoffs, so is there any doubt with him backstopping a team during the regular seasonw ith smaller pads he might not even make it that far? As for his pads being legal, people have already mentioned Brodeur and others saying that a standard pad size is not working, they need to have some sort of proportional measurement.

Amen. Avery has been nothing but a trouble maker since he left.

I've got all the great Colorado rivalry games, man that was a great time.

I'm wondering if everyone is getting into playoff mode. Dare I say it? This team, judging my improved individual play from the likes of Maltby, Drake, etc., just may be BUILT for playoffs!

I like the previous poster's kids' idea, let's just call it the Hasek. "Oh my God! He just Hasek'd him!" That has longevity too. Long after Hasek is gone, it will truly become a verb in itself. When a goalie in 2020 does it, the announcers will go: "What an amazing hasek!"

Let's not get crazy here, folks. Lebda was playing fine up until this slump, and we all know this slump is no way to judge a player, they've all had these bad games. To rely on mistake-prone Lilja in the playoffs instead of a most-of-the-time-solid-Lebda? Ick.

Lidstrom winning the Norris with all the games he's missing will just go even farther in showing how much better he is than Gonchar or anyone else.

No, sir. This is not a miracle, this is the Wings getting back on track to who they're supposed to be. I don't want to get too eager here from just a single win, but the Wings are going to get back into their dominating ways and make anyone who counted them out eat their words....again....for yet another year.

Probably not, unless McCarty replaces someone ilke Drake. Frankly, I don't care about the team being tough. A lot of people around here will be disappointed when they find out having players who can fight doesn't win cups. But I think McCarty will spark this team, provide the storyline that all championship teams need, and maybe a little bit of scoring and grit.

You know, I was intrigued by what Mickey (or was it Daniels?) said during the game. Meech could fill in as a forward. Anyone else interested in this? The kid has the jump and offensive mindset, even moreso than an offensive defenseman. He's fast, he's good with the puck, and he has a great eye for openings in front of the net. When our defensemen get healthy, do you think he should be called up to fill in for Hudler or someone who chronically underperforms?

I think it's absolutely ridiculous to want to play a certain team. In the NHL,e specially in the playoffs, anyone can win a series. A hot goalie can carry a team. A 4th liner with a sudden burst of scoring can determine a series. No way. I'll take whoever we get and I'll root for the Wings the whole way. Frankly, losing streak and all, the Wings are the best team in the league, regardless of what the analysts say. Look at how we've been losing games. 1-0. 3-2. Things like that. A few were ugly, but most were close, even without half our team. We've been playing well of late, yet have some terrible luck. Let's just hope we get all our bad luck now, and all our good luck come playoff time. Let's have the bad calls go the OTHER way against Anaheim this year. That being said, the two teams I fear the msot int he entire league are San Jose and Anaheim. So no, I won't pick the poison. We face who we face and we'll kick ass.

The Wings have been playing well the past game and a half. I mean, Drake, Maltby, they're all stepping it up. And still....nothing. And then this call? We can't even really complain because then ew're just sore losers and typical fans who find some excuse to blame a loss on. But this is really happening. These calls have been undeniable, and they have cost us games. It's ******* ridiculous. 10 losses out of the last 11 games? This is not the Red Wings. This is not the NHL. This is simply bizarre.

They should be marketing this everywhere. That game when he comes back will be HUGE. I want to go get tickets.

This is a good chance for Kronwall to take up leadership. I like the Kronwall-Stuart matchup for regular games, but they shouldn't play together tonight. Two experienced vets should be anchoring a pair with one of our younger AHL guys, because Lebda and Lilja just can't.

It's not the best crop of UFAs ever, but there are a couple I'd be interested in: Hossa Satan Fedotenko Rolston

Saginaw is really close to here, too bad I work...as always. Will he be signing autographs there? It'd be really fun to see him skate again. I wish he could come back and play someday, but obviously not if his health is at risk.

Don't worry, Lilja will be giving up key turnovers in the playoffs soon enough. Although I think this year the team can overcome. Just don't play Lilja in the crucial closing minutes of a game.

Hey, you know....I don't want to be blindly optimistic, but Edmonton couldn't beat us as a team. They had to go one on one. That is a huge step up, folks. Pros: Meech: What the hell did he eat this morning? He was great! Datsyuk: As always, carrying the team. Ericsson: It's still way too early, but I see very little downside to him. Maltby: Again, what did he eat? He's playing pretty well, relative to the rest of the season. Drake: Played well. Ozzie: Amazing as always. Defense: Didn't make quite so many mistakes the last half of the game, seems to be gelling a little. Zetterberg: Seems to be waking up, made some good plays and fought for the puck The Team: Passing is now crisp and tape to tape again. Smarter plays. They're harder to knock off the puck, better handling the puck, and more aware of each other on the ice. They stopped blindly passing and chucking off the boards. They knew where each other were to make last second passes. They seemed to have learned when and where to shoot and when to pass. The cons: Late rally. Lilja taking stupid penalties. He played decent tonight, except for those, but someone should take a count to find out how many game winning or tying goals he's personally given up or had scored as a result of a penalty or something.

Is this....is this....physicality I see?!

You guys! The Wings are clicking again!! Passes are connecting! Shots are smart! They're fighting for the puck! They have energy! Ozzie's pitching in with the saves! It's amazing what two goals will do for you! EDIT: You know, every day I'm more amazed that there were people around here that wanted to trade Datsyuk and bitched at Holland for signing him to that contract.