VM1138

I never said Anaheim is better than last year. But Giguere plays great hockey in the playoffs and hot goalies always give the Wings trouble. Not to mention that even with all those flaws, Anaheim still managed to embarass Detroit what, 6-2 earlier this season? You're underestimating them. They may not be very good, but with Jiggy in net and the bounces always seeming to go their way against Detroit, they could be a tough underdog to beat. If they make playoffs, that is.

Jiggy only plays good hockey in the playoffs, so ANaheim will be a threat (assuming they make playoffs). Chicago kind of scares me, just because I don't understand how they keep beating the Wings. Calgary will be a huge threat, and probably the biggest challenge. I can't see any other team coming close to giving us trouble.

If only he would do more on the ice so they could plkay that song! Just imagine 19,000 fans shouting "Dallas Drake!"

I can't believe how people are acting on here. One, it's a single game. This does not signal the end of the Wings. It was a 3-2 game, not a 4-2, 5-2 or 6-2. The WIngs could have given that extra 10%, but they played well. Legace played well, Osgood played well, everyone played well I thouht. It was a hard-fought, physical game. THe grinding kind that are going to pop up in th eplayoffs. I look forward to the next two Blues games in the next week and a half, it's going to get crazy.

I would have liked to see Calder and Markov return. Lang put up points but was an albatross around the neck of the team. I do wish Cleary could play on the top two lines, I don't think we need a 2nd line scorer (though that'd be nice), but maybe someone to fill in the bottom, just so the players that need more playing time can get it.

My God I can't stand to listen to John Keating. Did anyone see the pre-game a few minutes ago when he said "Remember when we said the Central Division was going to be airtight this season?" He did a ridiculously slow, complete head roll as he struggled (as usual) to say "Nevermind." Good God can we get someone else please? His replacement a few games back was even talking like he did. Terrible.

The only players that I would be willing to lose in return for someone else is Meech, Kopecky and Samuellson. Meech has potential, and Kopecky is just kind of....there. Samuelson shoots a lot, and he's a decent player, but if we could get someone equally fast, who likes to shoot the puck, but maybe hits it in a little bit more, I think the WIngs would be golden through the playoffs. I think the young guys will play great in the playoffs. They thrived last year (when most people took notice of them). I think the reason they haven't performed better than expected so far is because the pressure is off. As of right now, the evidence would indicate Filpulla and Hudler play best when under pressure. As far as lineups go, I've noticed that pretty much everyone here selects the same players for the same lines. The only thing stopping those lines from happening in real life are because of players like Sammy and Kopecky. Maybe it's time to get rid of one of them for someone who can make the lines click a little better.

I'm so sick and tired of hearing that the Wings need to be "tougher". They still haven't proven themselves to some of you? Physicality doesn't win games. Skill does. We have the right balance, the Wings win games, they avoid big hits, and even with serious injuries the Wings just elevate their play. As for secondary scoring, I think that we are looking at outdated statistics. At the beginning of the season this would be true, but as of late Hudler, Cleary, Filpulla, and possibly Franzen now are good for chipping in a goal each game. Not each of them, mind you, but someone out of that group is good to score. Our defense is solid, makes the plays, and gels with our offense. It soudns nice to get a top-4 forward or something big, but this isn't 2002. There is nobody that would be a surefire hit like Robitaille, Hull, or Hasek were. Taking anyone at this point would be a huge risk to the chemistry.

I looked into the NHL Network and Center Ice (we just switched services) because i wanted to get one of them, but when I looked at the details, what is the point? In the long run it seems like I'd get to see more games just on FSN Detroit and VS.

So four players will be crammed between the blue line and this new red line? THat's ridiculous. THere won't be any movement at all, let alone goal scoring. Say goodbye to slap shots.

This is good. I'm sure some Euros would stay in the NHL, and Canada and America have more than enough good players to beat the EuroLeague.

Missed the game, can someone describe to me how the WIngs ended up scoring on themselves?

Coaches don't pick the players.

I'm not too concerned about the loss, or about the loss of key players. Holmstrom was definately missed, but Roloson was great, and as usual, the other teams' goalie was the biggest obstacle. They played lazy last night. It happens in a long season. I expect them to get back in form for the next game.

Yeah, the liklihood of Chelios staying in the league for another 15 years is greater than Richards staying that long I bet! Long live Chelios!

I'm not too concerned. The Wings never seem to actually suffer from injuries. When someone is injured, the young guys step up their game. So having random players sit out a game just gives the rest a chance to step it up a notch. We always seem great performances when there are injuries. So I'm not too concerned, though obviously I want Holmstrom, Maltby, and Draper back.

There are "funny names" in every sport. This can be remedied by simply letting people hear their names, which means we need better marketing. But the idea that people just can't like Euros is ridiculous. A good player is a good player, I don't know anyone who sits there and says "I don't like them because they're European." The language barrier and accents is where the trouble is.

I'm not some old school guy who can't deal with change, but enough with equipment changes. What with steroids, composite sticks, huge goalie pads, and now heated blades, they are making it too easy. Especially if everyone starts to use these, it will totally negate the purpose, everyone will go back to being even. I agree with what an above poster said: Why can't we just go back to relying on skill? Actually, this could kill hockey as a casual sport. It's already expensive enough for people to get into (which is why it's not as popular as basketball, baseball, and football), can you imagine the cost of buying heated blades?

Rafalski has been a great addition to the team who I hope stays around for a long time. No one is more of a liability than Lilja, but I'm even warming to him. And frankly, one player "costing" a game is extremely rare as of late, in my opinion. Rafalski's good points FAR outweigh the bad.

Actually, ten wins IS important. That would give the Wings some serious cushion in the standings, and allow some screw ups down the road without hurting anything.

I really don't like saying that being tired is a reason for bad play, so I won't. But it doesn't make any sense why the Wings would lie back like that tonight. They had leads in previous games and never let up. In any sport, no matter what, it is never okay to sit back and play not to lose.

Hm. So this really doesn't mean anything, does it? I'm not sure what all "executive" implies, but I don't forsee their roles changing. As for Violetta, well, our marketing has sucked before, so it can't get any worse. What I'm concerned about is organizing it like the Tigers. Let's alter a successful franchise to model after an absolutely terrible franchise that had two surprising years, both ending in failure?

Everyone is predictin ga high scoring game, but in my experience, two high scoring teams going head to head usually leads to a low scoring game, for some reason. So, I won't predict who wins this game, but I bet it's by a score of 3-2.

Interesting side note, one of the lnks on that leads to a video of a Downey-Boulerice fight in which Downey blasts Boulerice in one hit. And another great video it has is Stefan walking in an empty net goal, but missing at the last second, the Oilers steal the puck, drive it up ice and score to tie the game. Amazing.

Hm...I hate to get involved in this, because it's pretty stupid, but I do have one question: How does a city/state with a historically mediocre hockey team (and an inability to KEEP a hockey team), with no storied past (what, the North Stars?) suddenly become Hockeytown, not to mention, take that "title" away from a town with a consistently AMAZING hockey team, a great following, and a long, long, storied past that chronicles the rise of the NHL itself? Oh, because they're not selling out every game this season? Holy crap, people knew that couldn't carry on forever.