T.Low

Especially when he knew all the punches would be coming upward from below! Dillon connected on a lot of those upper cuts and rocked Tootoo, but then Toots frikin refocussed instantly and kept it a fight. At 5'8, he's all balls and biceps!

Having Gary Bettman over to your house for dinner so he can explain to you why it's a good idea that you help pay for an addition on your neighbor's house and contribute money to their new car payment and their cable/internet/phone bill.

He looks too hard nosed not to want to play D, especially when he can learn from some of the best ever. He comes from a league where it seems defense is not really required of forwards, but i think he knows that if he wants to stay here, he'll have to learn. As posted above, we've seen scoring forwards go through the learning process here before, a guy who scored 150 points as a matter of fact. So, it's kind of expected of Detroit players now.

Can't wait to see these guys when the Griffins come out and play the Abbottsford Heat in B.C. in March. (About an hour from me) We should have an LGW Prospects Watch meet at the game. Maybe even do dinner before the game so someone more in the know can brief me on the prospects.

He was awesome against you guys in the Olympics. Kept us in the game until the very end.

I don't think Brunner at the point is the answer. Yes he has a good point shot, but he is too valueable from the circles on in. And we don't need the defensive liability that goes along with him being there. Hell, he's valuable just hiding out next to the net on the goal line cherry picking. Yes, it was a different look, something to try, but I hope we move away from it. Between Kronner, Smith, Ericsson, and Quincey, any of those guys should be good enough while White is out. I'm thinking this has morphed into a ST's thread, not just a PK thread...

Suffice it to say, we all agree with that statement, and we are all totally psyched to have a shoot first, ask questions later forward, like Euro Twin said. Defense can be taught, but the nose for the net Brunner has is a natural mindset. We're just nitpicking the degree of D we want him to have at this point in time. Edit: To be fair, since I'm saying he lacks the D that Hossa has, he seems to get in better Offensive positions than Hossa did and has a much better shot selection and seems to better a much better passer for a "shoot first sniper". As much as I like Hossa, he had these tendencies to just throw the puck at the net as soon as he got it no matter where he was. He'd be at the frikin blue line with his back to the net and two guys on him and he'd chuck it at the net without even looking for an open teammate. Not like once in a while either, but way too often.

Agree with you about Helmer, of course. Disagree with you about Bertuzzi. Totally. Bert is a smart forechecker, gives a lot of effort to get that big slow(ish) body back on the backchecks, has great stick work, can see plays before they develop which allows him to get into passing lanes, can lay the body and play the body, and can shut down. Even Babs has talked about how Berts defensive game is truely great, having totally morphed since coming to Detroit. Not to mention that with his years of experince in the league, he's seen a lot of everyone in the league and knows everyone's strenghts and weaknesses and tendencies. It's a Brunner thread, so I'm going to refrain from getting into how underrated and under valued Bert is by so many o LGW.

He needs to be better, especially when you consider how many games go into OT which, at 4 on 4, puts much more importance on defensive responsibility. On Leddy's OT goal, Brunner looked only slightly better than Lion's kicker Janson Hanson trying to tackle Devon Hester as the last defender on a kick return. Yes, Brunner's head was on a swivel, and was aware of Leddy trailing the play, but then didn't seem to know what to do. He let himself be drawn towards the puck carrier (Toews) even though Kronner was already marking him. That took him out of position to make any real play on the trailer Leddy and badda bing badda boom, game over. I don't want to sound arrogant, but let's face it, that's just basic defense. I like that I see him hustling and working hard, but at the same time, there is a lot of room for impovement. I've yet to see him put his head down and sprint all out on a back check, a la Marian Hossa.

I'd have to think he meant there is no "O" in "Helm", therefore can be seen as a one way forward; D only.

That's funny as hell and at the same time sadly accurate. If his shot was as quick as your wit, our PP would be half way home.

? Brunner? I'm excited to have someone of his caliber on the Wings, no doubt. IMHO, a beast, however, is someone that strikes fear into the hearts of defending coaches and players, making them realize that all their defensive powers are useless against the beast. A beast is not someone they plan to just staple to the boards once they catch him. Sniper; yes. Demon; maybe. Beast; with all due respect, Sir, I'm not seeing it. At best, it would be awesome if he develops into a more durable Gaborik, or a sort of Teemu. I don't want to sound like a prick and disrespect you; It's a discussion board and I just couldn't let "Brunner" and "beast" go without discussing it. Edit: Clarity, typos, used the wrong "their", yada yada

Other teams lie low and clog up the shooting lanes. We have always been fast enough and smart enough to be agressive around the perimeter, pressuring the puck, even getting a few SHG. Now we've lost a bit of speed but we're still playing out around the perimeter, now much more passive on the attack and it results in nothing but a huge gapper on Howie's offside with atleast one opponent down low behind him wide open, waiting for a pinballed puck or rebound. Look at other teams against us; your first thought is that it is so clogged up down low that even a drone puck couldn't fly through all the parking in the front of the net. Then look at our PK set up and your first thought is "Wow there is a lot of open ice to cover, there is no way to stop them from scoring. We're hanging Howie out to dry, leaving him dangling in the wind, all alone. It's as if we are not ready to admitt that we are not good enough to have an agressive, attacking PK anymore. Our PP needs more motion without the puck; pass then skate through for a give and go or a tic tac toe, and someone else rotates up to cover the point or wing or whrever. If some moves to mark the cutter, that opens up a passing lane to someone else and so on. There used to be a lot more movement. There still is on the Canucks PP. The Sedins always pass and then skate and it creates a lot of open ice and over pursuing that eventually leads to wide open shot on the back side behiind the goalie. It's not unlike a baskteball motion offense against a zone defense. A big problem with this ultra compressed shorty schedule is that there is no time for practices in which to adress and correct your new found s***ty play. Vince Lombardi used to say that you cannot crticize what you haven't taught, and he was big on teaching (and criticizing). I really like the idea posted above about having Drapes and Malts coach the PK.

We need to start by getting a PP that can actually test our PK during practice.

I can see Babcock complaining to the refs that the penalty they just called on the opponent was a crap call and it should not have been called.

That's not a power play; that's a sour play!

Chicago has only had 3 periods this season where they have failed to score; Seems we've only had 3 periods where we have scored.

What do you mean, cause I was wondering the same as LeftWing? Or are you just being facetious?

"And why do people think Datsyuk won't want to return? I was always under the impression there was nothing left for him in Russia and he liked it here." I've seen it written that Pavel has said he wants to play his last years in Russia, and that he wanted to retire by age 40. I have not seen the actual quotes, just writers saying he has said it. Watched Bouwmeester last night. He looked really good. http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=652681 In retrospect, too bad we couldn't have packaged Hudler into a blockbuster trade to Calgary...but who knew.

I'm afraid of the impact Larry Robinson is having on the Sharks, as new assistant coach. He's got them believing and put some serious jump into that team. Hopefully, the honeymoon will wear off before the first round. (I can see them as 2nd seed and us as 7th ).

Juri watch: I had the Calgary game on last night in the garage as I was working on my motorcycles, Juri's first game in a Flames uni. He actually played really hard, and really well. He was on the ice for a lot of the 3rd period during crunch time, making great passes, protecting the puck, getting knocked around a lot, of course, and getting a lot of praise from Kelly Hrudey, especially for exhibiting great early chemistry with linemates Matt Stajan and fellow Czech, NHL newcomer Roman Cervenka, on the Flames 2nd line. He drew a penalty and Hrudey attributed it to Hudler's speed and his smarts of keeping his feet moving. Seemed like every time I looked at the tv, he was on the ice, so I finally just sat down and watched the last 15 minutes of the 3rd period. While Juri did skate with Iginla and Cammy on the top line at Friday nite's practice, Coach Hartley decided it would be more benefitial to have him team up with Cervenka as it was his first game in the NHL, and hopefully Hudler could make the transition from the KHL a bit easier for him. Good game, Happy. Somewhere, his father is poud.

I assume everyone knows that Sutherland plays hockey and is a huge hockey fan, and actually named his character after his ice skates. Just a fun fact...

Thanks, Fresh. On the ALS forums, they refer to Stephen Hawking as Rolling Thunder.

Thanks for the little piece of your heart, Kira, I'll put it to good use. I'm sorry you had to go through those experiences. No one should have to go through experiences like that. As corny as it may sound, I actually look to Steve Yzerman's 2002 Stanley Cup Playoff experience as an example of how to live out my remaining years. His body let him down, but he did not let that stop him from making a difference. When others would have lied down and quit with an injury like that, he instead rose above it and went on to inspire some of the greatest players in the world to become even greater still. My strategy is to not dwell in the bitterness and anger that comes with getting ALS, but rather use that energy to open my mind to become a problem solver; find and implement solutions to my new challenges, and concentrate on the things I can indeed do rather than focus on the things I am not able to do anymore. To be an example to my family to not let circumstances slow you down and get you off your game; to keep your eye on the prize, focus on whats important in life, to inspire them push through their perceived barriers to get the most of out their lives. Easier said than done, I know,...but then so is everything. And what the hell else have I got to do; it's either shrivel up and die or go for it and try to leave a legacy for my little girls to draw strength, courage, and love from. Thanks Kira, Puckloo, and 55Fan. Plan for the future; live for today. Go WIngs!

I can appreciate your thought process on this, but I think you are missing one very important element: go back and look at the highlights of BZO in the Swiss Cheese league; you'll be hardpressed to see one hit on them, let alone any real contact whatsoever. Zetterberg would simply have too much puck responsiblity with both Brunner and Omark on his line. I really like Bert in the top 6. Granted he was never the quickest guy in the league, and now he's even lost a step from that, but he is still a great (and effective) combination of size, strength, instincts, vision, hands, and grit. He can play outside the circles, behind the net, or in front of the crease. You don't lose anythng defensively like you would by adding Omark. Then add to the equation Bertuzzi's years of experience in the league vs Omark's steep learning curve. Omark may have a spot on another grit heavy underskilled team (is Radulov playing with Nashville again this year?) but he would greatly unbalance the Wings. We need to find a young Zach Kassian type like Gillis traded Cory Hodgson to Buffalo for. That guy is going to be the DIet Coke of Bertuzzi in his prime.