VM1138

Can we find whoever handles the paperwork for sending players up and down, and bribe them to "lose" the documents sending Nyquist back down so that he has no choice but to stay up for a second game?

pucktividi, the key factor there is talent, not age. Great players, whether young or old, is the answer.

Agreed. He's a great player and will be a great second line playermaker one day, but people need to temper their expectations. But it could does make us more dangerous by having him, even if he's a rookie and doesn't tear it up.

We'll most likely see: Cleary-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Franzen-Zetterberg-Abdelkader Miller-Helm-Tatar Samuelsson-Andersson-Nyquist. And Nyquist and Tatar will have the least ice time. Sadly.

He is right, though. Kids are never supposed to be the centerpiece of a successful team. You infuse the lineup with youth but never rely on them. Here's where it gets interesting. If that is Holland's philosophy, then it contradicts his "we have to roll with what we have" mantra of the past few years. If you promote from within, you are relying on your youth. The best strategy, which as always worked, is create a core of players in their prime, add some veteran presence and insert one or two kids to keep energy up and to gain experience. For all the bashing of Holland re-signing vets and Babcock's stupid lineups, we do ice DeKeyser, Smith, Lashoff, Andersson and Tatar. I don't know how that stacks up league-wide, but that is a lot of kids. It's just not a lot of GOOD kids.

Either Nyquist plays one game and goes back down, or he plays two and Holland absolutely HAS to move someone because there won't be cap room. I think we're getting close to seeing Cleary or someone else waived. It'd be a total slap in Babcock's face, but they're already at professional odds. I just don't think there's a trade out there, and Holland was waiting as long as he could before he had to start letting people go for nothing.

It's like Holland doesn't realize that they're not one day going to magically be great on an NHL powerplay. Kids aren't "the answer" so to speak, but they need a chance to develop into "the answer" eventually.

Of course Cleary would play with Datsyuk. Of course.

Let's not forget it was Babcock who wanted Cleary re-signed. Holland signed him, but I imagine under pressure.

If he gets less than 5 million he'll be a steal.

Unlikely. I've been watching some clips from the pre-2011 years, and there really is no comparison. These guys just don't stack up. There is no dynamism on this roster. But I think it's fair to blame Holland for some bad contracts, it's Babcock's line management and game time decisions that are hurting us most now.

They have fire. Some of them. Datsyuk looks super aggressive and angry out there. He's trying to save the team singlehandedly. But they really lost it in the third.

I'm glad it's okay to suck. I hate these kind of comparisons. Stupid line decisions by Babcock, players lost steam in the third, nobody shoots at the net, nobody knows what to do with the puck under pressure. I dislike how the pundits try to excuse this. It isn't a small sample. It's a quarter of the season. At least when we went on cold streaks in previous years we still scored and made a game of it.

We didn't even have more than one or two great chances. You can't score without chances.

Was that Cleary, Smith and Kindl out there when Howard was pulled? What the hell is going on, Babcock?

We could get him in a many multi-player deal maybe. Convince Columbus to take some dead weight off our hands (Sammy?) plus Quincey, convince them he's a decent, reliable defender, throw in a 2nd round pick or a good prospect. Gaborik's got a few good years left. That solves cap space, dead weight and scoring.

At least HBO missed out on the cluster-you-know-what of the last few weeks.

Because it always seems to be Cleary losing the battles along the boards. The guy can have 3 minutes a night but he will be there for every lost battle.

All these teams prepare to play the Wings. Do the Wings ever prepare to play the other team?

Hey, at least it's not an OT loss, right? Amirite?

Yeah, Bert is fine. He isn't our star, he doesn't have to score all the time. He's right on par with where he should be with 5 goals. And he creates space and helps our puck possession. I have zero complaints. He's the kind of veteran that Holland hopes he gets when he signs them.

Tatar apparently only played because Alfredsson was injured. And I bet he'll sit one of the next few games, too. Enough rotating of players. Cleary hurts the team, and Sammy has been fairly neutral. Not good, and not helpful, but he's not hurting. We've played enough to start rolling with a consistent roster.

When the trade deadline hits, Holland will realize how mediocre we are and use that as an excuse not to acquire anyone. "We're not one player away from the Cup and so I've decided we will ride it out and give our kids good experience." When the trade deadline hits, Holland will realize how mediocre we are and use that as an excuse not to acquire anyone. "We're not one player away from the Cup and so I've decided we will ride it out and give our kids good experience."

Here's what will happen in OT: The Wings will dominate for 3 minutes. Crazy good chances and pressure. Then, an intercepted pass will bounce out behind the last defender (probably Quincey) and a breakway will ensue. The goal scorer for Washington will be the guy who has never played in the Joe before, probably on his only shift of the overtime. So it is written.

Just wait. Another Washington player has never played in the Joe before. So he's due for a goal, too if history is anything to judge by.