wings_fanatic

If the rumors are true about Toronto possibly getting rid of jake Gardiner I highly recommend the wings try to get him... I think he's gonna be a stud in a couple years. He's a fantastic skater, has good offensive instinct. He is a little weak defensively but so too is the whole leafs team. I think playing in a much more structured system under the best coach in the NHL mike Babcock, Gardiner would excel. More then that, he would have much better players around him like kronwall to guide him and take his game to another level. Kronwall-ericsson Gardiner-dekeyser That is a fantastic top 4. Both units have an offensive and defensive dman and having dekesyer with him, Gardiner would be able to open up his game much more so then in Toronto. Lastly, Gardiner is 23 so he fits with our youth movement and with him we will have an added piece to what is going to be very good blue line for years with the likes of kindl and quincy hopefully not being here anymore. Get it done Kenny!

I don't like franzem with datsyuk at all I'm glad babs changed that but I don't like Abby with pav either. IMO you play the best player on the team with pav to get him going. Nyquist had speed, more skill and wayyyyyyy more effort then franzen. Let's get the lines right babs! Nyquist-pav-alfie Jurco-sheahan-tatar Abby-legwand-franzen Glendening-helm-miller IMO this is the best way to spread the talent in the playoffs. I think alfie is going to be really good for us in the playoffs and I have no freakin idea why franzem is on the point on the first pop unit instead of Alfie that's gotta change! Fact is franzen is slow, and lazy so a 3rd line role will be fine for him and it let's babs play the kids more minutes along with pav and Alfie and we can see that teams can't contain the kids they just have so much energy.

No that Nyquist line is the only one doing anything energy wise. I think franzen is garbage and he is just floating out there and making it harder on pav. Babs has got to make a move to give some help to pav. I say switch pav and helm because I want to keep Nyquist and Tatar tot together at this point. Jurco- dats- Alfie Nyquist-sheahan-tatar Franzen-helm-abby

I'd play everyone tomorrow and then rest jimmy , Alfie and kronner the last game. That way jimmy doesn't get shelled, the two vets who need rest get it and pav plays cuz he needs to be at his maximum for the playoffs.

The way I see it is we would end up playing Boston eventually most likely so let's get it out of the way. They got upset in the playoffs two years ago all you gotta do is take them off their game and the wings can do that. If we were to beat Boston we would play the winner of Tampa bay and Montreal which the wings would fare well against. However to be honest, there is no easy matchup per say like a few years ago when we got Columbus or Nashville in the playoffs and beat them pretty good. The saying get into the playoffs and anything can happen is more true then ever this year.

I think this is a bit of an over reaction. He isn't playing bad and has still been getting some assists. I thought him and Tatar were fantastic tonight and look to be establishing the chemistry they had before babs broke them up.

I think we should not pick our own poison. As long as we play our best hockey we can realistically compete with both teams. We match up well against Boston and have done so for a few years. I know its only regular season I'm basing that off but still. The pens have weaker D and questionable goalie. But at the same time I think fleury is gonna play with something to prove in the playoffs I do not think he is gonna stink it up like everyone thinks. Also there is no denying the pens always benefit from the officials so we would end up short handed more against them and they have a lethal pp. Bottom line, there are pros and cons of facing both teams but the bottom line is it won't matter who we play if we don't play well. If we play like we did tn, then we can compete with both teams and make it a series. Whoever we play, go wings!!

I don't care who we play in the playoffs. If our team plays like they did tn they will win more often then not. I thought our Dmen were all outstanding tn and Smith was the best one. The Kids were fantastic again and Gus was okay in net. We win this game with Howie in I think but overall monster did make some nice saves. My only real complaint is franzen who just continues to float around if that continues babs needs to give pav someone better to work with. Lastly I find it hilarious how the pens always seem to get favored by the refs that's why part of me would rather play Boston in the first round. Kudos to fleury for looking like Dom out there tn. I know everyone wants to play the pens cuz of how fleuery is in the playoffs but I think he is gonna play for something to prove this year so let's just play who we play and worry about it then. Congrats to the wings for making it 23 years just like my age

Exactly. The best way to get pav up to speed is to play him with the kids.

I like what I see from the wings so far tonight. They are winning a lot of battles and are playing well as a unit supporting one another. My big problem is franzen who is once again just floating around out there. Pav needs someone who can actually move their feet out there...

I agree. There is no denying Helm's best hockey this season has come when he is playing with Alfie. Alfie does a great job of slowing the game down (which is funny since he is with speed Helm) and making simple little passes to guys who are open. Jurco provides good puck support as well and isn't afraid to go to the net. I like Nyquuist and tatar together more to be honest. But if Franzen continues to be lazy I want him off of Pavs line because it is getting annoying.

And ours has? I think Callahan is going to great for them in the playoffs as well and I think they can beat Montreal.

Really? Cuz we won the first two games of the season despite having a ton of players injured against them. To add to that I recall having their number the past few seasons.

How about trying to sign danny Boyle if he tests free agency? He is a veteran with a lot of skill that would help this team out a lot. To add to that, we wouldn't have to sign him too long as he is already up there in age. Also this gives us a much needed right hand shot from the point.

If miller is indeed testing free agency then I have a hard time to believe he won't inquire about Detroit. He grew up here, and his brother plays here so the pieces are easy to put together. Also I just read on the fourth period that jake Gardiner could be out of Toronto as they want to change up their blue line this off season.... I think he would be a GREAT addition to the red wings! Kronner- E, Gardiner- Dekeyser

You sir are wrong. Kindl is that awful as we're all saying. Remember in the Boston game kindl was skating the puck out of our zone and he had all the time in the world but he skated right into a Boston player who then stole the puck and went in alone. That same game kindl made a bad pinch as usual and Boston came in on a 2 on 1. Instead of turning around to hustle back to help, kindl skated backwards the whole way back as if he didn't even realize it was a 2 on 1 behind him. He is flat out awful and I see no value in him for this team. He is awful defensively and smith is light years better then him offensively. Kindl needs to go this off season.

If we beat the Pens then we play winner of Philly and Rangers.... Wings can totally have a chance to win that series.... especially with Zetty back by that point.

Kindl is a joke, I completely agree with you. The best part is Babcock CONTINUES to give him PP time over Smith. Smith has sooooooooooooooooooo much more talent then Kindl. How bad does Kindl have to be before Babs finally realizes Smith is better for the PP? I posted in another thread, that we need to either call up Ouelette to replace Kindl, or play the top 2 pairings more and limit the ice time of Kindl and Lashoff because they are killing us out there. Kindl cannot even make a simple pass anymore its a joke to watch him.

I think we will get in no problem. We lost pretty much the exact way we lost to Montreal a little over a week ago. What did we do after that loss where everyone was beside themselves? We won 4 games in a row. Now, the biggest problem I see is, now that Pav is back, the lines look all out of synch, like no one really knows what eachother are doing. With 4 games left, Babs needs to establish exactly what the lines are going to be. In the 3rd tonight, he demoted Nyquist to the 3rd line and chose to play Franzen and Abby with Pav, which I think is a HUGE mistake. Nyquist is the hottest player on the team and has been scoring goals like mad, you don't give him less playing time. Franzen meanwhile has done absolutely nothing for this team lately, so I want to see him demoted. Go with these lines: Nyquist- Datsyuk- Abby (We need a guy who isn't afraid to go to dirty areas, something Franzen does not do) Jurco- Sheahan- Tatar (Play them more, no reason to limit their minutes) Franzen- Legwand- Alfredsson Glendening- Helm- Miller Also, we NEED to limit the time on ice for Kindl and Lashoff... they are killing us. Kronner can play near 26-27 min along with Danny D, Smitty so that it limits Kindl's ice time. That needs to be done.

Very frustrating loss. Kindl and lashoff is awful. We need to call someone up from grand rapids to replace kindl until Ericsson is back. Kindl gets worse each game. Also, I don't understand how Nyquist can possibly get demoted even though he is the hottest player on the team he gets demoted to the 3rd line and franzen, who has done nothing, gets to stay on the top line. Nyquist with pav and franzen on the 3rd line with helm. The team was tired tonight having played 3 games in 4 nights. The way I look at it, this game was very similar to last game against the habs. We tied it in the 3rd and their next shot went in on a play that was offside. We are a better team then Montreal and we best them if we aren't tired and if pav isn't rusty. Boys will regroup and will be fine.

If we are still down by 3 in the last ten min I would bench him if I was babs. Nothing to lose at that point. There is no excuse for his poor play. He hasn't been very effective since like 4 games after the Olympics. All the kids have done more then what was expected of them,Nyquist has played god on several occasions, Alfie has come up big in some games. What has franzen done? Not much so bench him and make him think about it.

Nyquist hasn't had the usual energy since he was put back with franzen. I swear franzen sucks the energy out of the guys he plays with. He doesn't even try out there.

No he doesn't play with helm he plays with Abby and Alfie. I think Nyquist would be much better then Abby with pav and Alfie.

The refs have been a joke so far. I counted at least 4 habs penalties that were far worse then what the wings were called for that period... That's just pathetic. The best part is all habs powerplays came literally right after they should have been called for something. Aside from the poor officiating, the wings need to be better. They were a step behind most the period. I think pav would benefit from the speed and energy of Nyquist. I can't stand franzen playing with Nyquist. Nyquist- pav- Alfie is a great line. Either way, wings need to come out more engaged.

Any official word on if Pav and Alfie are playing tonight? Hopefully they are as its a big game.