GMRwings1983

We should sign Mark Mowers to bolster this powerplay.

Because he's soft enough to play for Barcelona. He probably stumbles around when he skates at the local rink with his family.

This team's mediocrity is appalling.

Jason Krog lights up the AHL every year. It's the minor leagues for a reason. I do think Nyquist should get more of a chance, but not because he can score in the AHL.

Right, because most Wings fans who are unhappy are actually future Blackhawks fans.

That's the point I wanted to make and you said it better than I did. Intimidation. Plain and simple. Stuart will think twice about hitting Landeskog or any other Avalanche top player again. That's exactly what the Avs and their fans would want. Perry is a ***** who can't fight. How do you compare him to Shanny, who had around 100+ fights from what I remember?

Again? What exactly is the penalty called? 10 minute misconduct for a future penalty? Remember that Tom Cruise movie, "Minority Report"?

We could always get a guy named PK.

Honestly, I have no problem with fights after clean hits. I understand why someone wouldn't want their star players getting hit with big hits, whether it was legal or not. If someone nailed Datsyuk with a clean hit, I'd want someone to step in and make others think twice about doing that. As long as fighting is legal, so is fighting from clean hits. Then again, I also want the instigator removed, so I can see how you'd be even more upset if that were done. Oh, and I forgot what a terrible fighter Stuart is.

Those 3 point games are going to be huge. We have to find a way to get points, even in losses. But there's no telling what the magic number is. There were no points for losses back in 1995.

Maybe it's just me, but I notice that EPL clubs are intimidated by ManU and revere them somehow. It really affects how they play against them. I haven't noticed that from other European clubs towards ManU.

Finally, a guy on this team who's actually been taught by other coaches on how to block shots. Babcock needs to instill this more in this team. We're always around dead last in the NHL in blocked shots.

How about both?

Did Cleary's breakaway remind anyone else of game 6 of the 2009, SCF?

Well, that certainly made up for the 1st period. Can't keep taking penalties, though. That's how you let this team back in the game.

One of the most exciting periods of hockey I've ever seen.

By real team, you mean a team full of hired guns assembled on one roster? That's true, but they're still Real "freaking" Madrid. They have the potential to embarrass ManU, more so than the other way around. I just want to see how intense Ronaldo will be for this matchup. Will he be nice to his former team, or will he be out for blood? I'm guessing Valencia will be giving a lot of help to whoever plays right back. I doubt Rafael will be the one. Degea is another question mark. His rebound control is terrible and that could spell trouble against such an offensive powerhouse. Then again, Degea may not be the one Alex Ferguson goes with. There's talk they're trying to sell him. Van Persie is the best thing United has going for it, but I think Pepe and Ramos can neutralize him. Rooney might be the key here. He has to be United's best player, imo. Conversely, the biggest worry for Real will be that they've been subpar all season and have locker room distractions. But they seem to feel they can turn it on anytime they want, like they showed against Valencia in the Cup games recently. They've put all their chips into this tournament. I expect them to win this matchup.

I didn't say I was an expert on every team's prospect rankings, although I imagine these lists are opinion based, just like most lists. I just know that most of our prospects that others have listed are small, skilled players. There's not enough diversity in the system. You can't plug these guys on the 3rd or 4th line and expect to win a playoff series. And none of them, except maybe Nyquist, are guys who can already play on the top two lines. The last prospect that really impressed me when called up was Helm. That was like 5 years ago.

Yeah, but Philly would be stupid to move him.

Who was the last black guy to play in Detroit? Nathan Robinson? I always pushed for Holland to get Mike Grier or Georges Laraque, but he never did.

Abdelkader, unlike Helm, is expendable. This team really seems to struggle when Helm isn't around.

I don't get it. Am I the only one who sees Franzen as a modern day Rick Tocchet?

Our 3rd and 4th liners are all expendable players, except for Helm (who we're not trading). So we don't really have much "quality" depth. No one wants recyclable players in a trade. They can get those themselves and probably already have them.

I predicted that in a shortened season Babcock and any other coach wouldn't wait long to mix and match lines. There's simply no time to give players more time to gel together. Datsyuk and Zetterberg were doing nothing together, so it was time to split them up.

Too many small, skilled players. Not enough high prospects with different body types and styles of play. We already have too many weak players who can't win puck battles along the boards.