VM1138

Has the kid ever failed to impress us in his brief career in the big leagues?

Maybe it's because no one in Nashville cared and they blamed him for not getting the sellouts in an impossible situation? I'm not sure. Anyways, these are still expensive, but all sports tickets are. I'd like to to do their season ticket package (I passed this season) for the first time because now there's actually an incentive. The pay as you go thing for the playoffs is cool.

Where were you last years playoffs? Chelios proved he can be among the best. Not to mention you don't put crappy players on the penalty kill in absolutely crucial situations. He may be a bit slower, but he still hits, still plays an amazing defensive game, and still positions himself well. The guy never quits on the ice. On another team (albeit like someone asid, maybe not a physical team), he's a top D. The only reason he plays a reduced role is because of fear of his age, but as he showed last year, he can handle top minutes.

I think the idea is more realistic now. He DOES fit with what the Wings need. In fact, he brings the defensive aspect we lack as well as solid second line scoring. So while we're trying to argue over two players we can pick up, in reality he could be both in one. As long as he wouldn't screw up the chemistry, and we can get him on the cheap, I say go for it. No one else is probably looking for him.

Playing on a better team would doom Ovechkin. Let's not forget, the better the team is, the less each individual contribution is. With many good players, the wealth is shared a little bit more.

Meech should be expendable. Everyone and their brother knows Quincey is the defensemen of the future out of our current crop of minors. Everyone else is just killing time til he's ready to come up full-time. Which should be next season.

Screw the NHL, it's time for a new league to start up and absorb teams like the REd Wings, Montreal, Rangers, Toronto, and select other decent teams.

Brad Stuart Vaclav Prospal Dan Boyle Mats Sundin Martin Lapointe Miro Satan These guys are the ones we should look after, they're much more realistic than Hossa and the bunch, though I still threw in Sundin. Of course tehre are others, but with thousands of players in the NHL it's hard to remember each one and decide what each one is worth.

I know some people have tried to pin the losses on goaltending, offense, or defense, but I think the scary thing is that it's not one player screwing up. Every single one of them (with the exception of Howard) is playing sloppy. Datsyuk isn't thinking out there, and he's giving away the puck. Zetterberg just isn't making anything happen. Lidstrom and Rafalski are making sloppy, and occasionally stupid, plays. Osgood and Hasek have been letting in some questionable goals. Lilja is being...well...Lilja. Hudler and Filpulla aren't making anything happen. Franzen is doing okay, but we all think he can make a little more fo a contribution. The fourth line has been virtually nonexistent. Sammy is making stupid moves. I'd say the only ones not screwing up are Chelios and Lebda, but that's not to say they're doing amazing. They could contribute more, their performance right now is just by virtue of not screwig up as much as the rest. And because of this, I think many are overreacting. It's obviously a team thing. I don't think we need to throw any one player under the bus. They'll get their act together.

Erm...go look at the save percentages. They're among the best. So there goes yoru argument down the toilet.

I'm not too concerned about this slump. As has been said to death, slumps are nothign new to any team. Even if we lose tonight it's not the end of the world. In all probability, as someone said earlier, Babcock probably had his foot on the gas too much this season. They're way ahead in the standings, the team doesn't feel the need to stick it out for every game anymore. That could hurt or help, depending. Once teams start to catch up they'll wake up. As for the goalies: No, Toskala is not that great, and Giguere is only good in the playoffs. All goalies in this generation (with the exception of maybe Luongo) or streaky. Not to mention that lacking a defense usually hurts even the best goalies. Osgood has played well lately, and has been beaten to death, the Anaheim game was stolen from him by bad reffing. Hasek has gone from dead last in the rankings to first? How can he be bad then? The Wings just need to get back on the same page, get their cohesion back. Really, I think it's time for Babcock to experiment with lines before the playoffs. Bring up more of the minor leaguers to see who "clicks" with the current lines so we know who we can fall back on in the playoffs.

Even Jiggy said the goal probably should have counted. Homer's feet were only in the crease for a split second and he p ulled out of it long before the puck got there. Jiggy came out into Homer. We do need to move on, but we have drawn attention to a legitimate problem: Reffing in the NHL is too inconsistent, and there is no way to question any calls. This is the "Whistle Happy Ref Era" after all. Now, as to you people wanting the Wings to lose to "face adversity" do I need to remind you adversity can be had without losing? Close wins are just as good. Come from behind wins are just as good. Losses do nothing but demoralize and make it harder to win.

I'm sorry, but this whole "we need grit" thing is out of control. If people on here had their way, we'd have a team that would literally tear the bones out of the opposing team when they skate by, but the Wings would lose every game because none of these players actualy would know how to play hockey.

This whole thread is ridiculous. It's a prime example of stats running wild. THe fact that no Euro captain has won a Cup, or that all the past 3 Cup teams have had more NAs than not is irrelevant. This is hockey. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night. It's a coincidence, all these stats being cited. It doesn't matter where your player is from, it's how they play that matters. THere are finesse N.A.'s, and physical Euros. You just have to find a way to put them all together. And as the WIngs have shown, physicality matters little when you have the ability to evade hits and hit at key moments, instead of the entire game.

I would hope that with the playoffs coming up, they would experiment with the lines a little more. We're a lock for the playoffs so I think we should spend more time preparing for playoffs. Bring up Quincey and a few of the minors players a little bit more, just to give them some experience to see who we can rely on if an injury sidelines someone in the playoffs. Wouldn't it be better to know ahead of time who plays well than to experiment in the middle of a series? Well, regardless, I wish they'd give Quincey a chance to come back up. He more than anyone else has earned the chance after that amazing performance last playoff run. Not many players can jump right into the playoffs at the height of the madness and play like he's been there for years.

We can hope that the league will have a chat with the officials, and maybe it will improve, but let's not get crazy. This is the NHL we're talking about. Bettman is probably instructing the other refs to do the exact same garbage to cinrease drama around the game and thus get it more publicity. Anyways, like I said in the GDT, this gives the Wings an even bigger chip on their shoulder going into the playoffs. Man, if the Wings play Anaheim, just imagine. Think about how hard they've played Anaheim this season, and then imagine that the Wings probably have an even higher level of play to reach against them. They probably weren't giving it their all being that it's just a regular season, and as it's happened in other sports, fully expect for an entirely new level of intensity to erupt in the playoffs. Bad blood, a couple of brutally stolen games, frustration (if we're pissed, imagine how mad the players were), cheap hits, and disappointment all combine to make a deadly team. Now add to that their skill level. Just imagine if the Wings could stay awake for an entire game with that intensity. Can we say roasted duck for lunch?

You can't honestly believe that, considering the track record these very same refs have built up in calling Detroit-Anaheim games.

One of the other posters had a good point. If the Wings had played well during the whole game, that bad call wouldn't have mattered.

The only good thing to come out of this game is now the Wings will be gunning for Anaheim in the playoffs with an even bigger chip on their shoulder. We don't play them again this season, do we? I think we can say for certain now that this rivalry is hitting fever pitch.

Is there some way for the team to file a complaint about the refs with the League that could lead tos ome sort of investigation or something? I mean...especially if these are the same refs from the playoffs. And once again that announcer defends the Ducks, saying they're back to being favorites or something?

Well, even teh stupid announcers were smart enough to see that obvious bad call.

What are the fans chanting? It sounds like "Bulls***."

See what I mean? Jiggy pushes himself into Holmstrom and the Wings get busted.

NO GOAL?!?!

That guy just defended Anaheim again. God I hate it when goalies are pulled. Always leads to empty net goals.