GMRwings1983

Wow what? Howard has been poor this season. Osgood hasn't been spectacular, but he's certainly been no worse. He plays better when he's disrespected anyway. I'd feel better having him in the playoffs than Howard. He's proven people wrong before.

None of this would be a big deal if Ozzie wasn't hurt right now. I'd feel more confident with him starting than Howard. MacDonald has played no worse than those two, but I don't know how ready he is to be a starter going into the playoffs in Hockeytown. However, we've seen teams go far recently with no name goalies. Just look at last year, especially with Philly, who kept rotating goalies all playoffs. There's other players on the Wings I'd be more worried about being injured.

I know. Balancing on skates is a different animal. That's why Parros fights so poorly despite being a pretty big and powerful guy.

About ******* time! That was nice. Still skeptical about the boxing lessons, though.

The Hurricanes were the top seed in the East that year. They were not an underdog. Underdogs have gotten to the Finals many times in recent memory, but none of them have won the Cup.

I actually agree with Shoreline. This rule exists only to protect players who make dirty plays and don't have to back it up. Guys like Cooke or Ruutu, who should just be grabbed and pummeled on the ice each time they do something cheap. I doubt some tough guy would grab Zetterberg and start pounding him for no reason if the rule was lifted.

I hope that's a sarcastic post on your part. His being first in wins has to do with this team scoring a lot. They've won in spite of Howard and not because of him. Yes, that's exactly what that post meant.

The line combos have all been a failure. Playing with Rafalski seems to be what he's most comfortable with. I blame Howard for the plus/minus trouble. It is a team thing, but he's more at fault than anyone.

You should change your user name to Howard He Don't Do It. Although the defense has been subpar, I don't think they're leaving him out to dry anymore than other teams are with their netminders. He's near last in the league in GAA and save % for starting goalies. I don't think our defense is the "worst" in hockey, to deserve those numbers. Last year there wasn't much pressure on him, so he did well. However, this season, he's shown that he can't handle the pressure of being the goalie in Hockeytown.

The Pens game was a big game. Based on that reasoning, they would have shown up in the first period. They didn't. Last year in the playoffs, they looked bored in that Phoenix series, and dragged it 7 games. They did show up in game 7, but we know what happened against San Jose. I wouldn't be surprised if that happens again this year. There's other teams right now who look a lot more hungry and willing to win the Cup. This team doesn't, probably because they've already won several. The desperation isn't there, and unlike dynasties of the past (like say the Islanders, Oilers), they can't just win on talent and being much more stacked than anyone else. In today's NHL, with rosters being better balanced around the league, work ethic is more important than ever.

Yeah, I've never seen them rely on Datsyuk so much. Zetterberg may be putting up tons of assists this year, but Datsyuk has far surpassed him as a player. He's much more dynamic game to game and can take over games at any point. This has been his best season, despite the injuries.

Some people won't admit Howard has been subpar this year either.

Whose isn't?

What happened in October and November only matters when it comes to records. The point was that the team is playing average for a very long time. That's not a great sign going into the playoffs. And before you mention 2008 or 2002 or some other dumb random fact, we don't have Hasek, Osgood or a team with 10 Hall of Famers going into these playoffs. We just look flat right now heading into the postseason.

We've been lazy all year, dog. I wasn't talking about tonight specifically. And my real life is my concern, not yours. I guess we should all be thankful for the first 20 games. Since then, this has been a rather ordinary and frustrating team.

That's because those teams work hard. The Wings are lazy and don't work hard. Very simple really. BTW, is it possible for this team to win a game at the JLA? I mean, I know the fans there don't show up and the arena sounds like the echo of an indoor swimming pool while watching it on TV, but this is getting pathetic. I'm starting to wish we didn't have home ice in the first round.

He was on an 82 point pace at one point, though.

Another very *** and uninspired performance. I hate March hockey. It's like cold turkey for Wings fans. Can't wait for the ******* playoffs to begin already. Don't care where we're seeded or where we finish. Just start the playoffs this weekend please.

Will someone tell the announcer that Rafaslki is not a left handed shot? Well, now I'm confused.

About time.

God that was awful to watch. Like a Marx Brothers skit. Bunch of idiots all running around confused.

And eva's boy s***s the bed with the pass.

A 4 on 3 is better than a 5 on 4. Why don't more teams bait the PK unit into this penalty?

Most overrated player in hockey with the penalty.

Sucks that Zetterberg isn't in the lineup tonight. We could use him with all the others out.