wings_fanatic

Great period by Jimmy... he has accepted the challenge and has been proving me wrong about needing a breather for tonight. Keep it up Howie! Pavel looks great again tonight. Even Cleary and Abs look okay, but Hank looks like he is struggling. He is making uncharacteristic passes right to the other team, and is slower than usual. I think it is time Babcock ends the Brunner/ Hank relationship and gives Pavel a linemate that can score goals. I would go this route: Brunner- Datsyuk- Cleary (If I had my way Cleary would not be playing, but lets be real we all know Babcock will continue to play him on the top 6 for some reason. At least he is playing decent with Pavs I would not want to put him with Hank who looks like he is struggling a bit). This would give Pavs a legitimate guy to pass the puck to and score some goals. Filpulla- Zetterberg- Tatar (Abdelkator is just not cut out for top 6, Tatar has been impressive and could help generate chances for this line).

This is a big game and the Wings NEED a win especially considering we come right back and play Vancouver tomorrow, less than 24 hours later. IMO if Howard looks average this game and we lose, we go with Monster and see what he can do for us. I am not going to blame Howard for any losses this year, but the fact is besides that LA game, he has not really been up to the level of play we have seen him at before. In fact, either way Monster should be starting tomorrow to give Howie a rest... Also if by the end of the period these lines are not generating much, Babcock needs to stop being a hard head and reunite Datsyuk and Zetterberg on the top line. We cannot have Pavel playing with garbage while Zetterberg is given Fil and Brunner. We need Pavel to have legitimate linemates to work with.

No doubt these injuries have been a HUGE factor into playing bad. Each game someone new is getting hurt, causing Babs to have to change the lines and just look at who Pavs is playing with now. To top that off, our D is really struggling at times... losing Smith was a huge loss because of his skating ability and ability to move the puck. With that said, the powerplay MUST be fixed. No more loading up on the one unit because it is not working anyways. When everyone is back (if ever) babs needs to start REWARDING players and PUNISHING players because they need to be more motivated. WIth that said, once Smith is back, and Kronners continues to not impress, I would bump Kronners off to the 2nd PP unit until he can get his s*** together.

Hank had a horrible game tonight. He was downright awful... he just did not have the energy he needs to have as the captain. IN fact that entire line lacked energy all game long after their first 2 minutes. Kronwall was again disappointing. And Howard looked below average again. Quite frankly I felt that Monster should have gotten the start tonight instead of Howard. Monster better start Saturday because the WIngs need something fresh and Howard's head doesn't seem to be into the game fully. Pavel was once again by far our best player... he was outstanding out there and even made Cleary and Abdelkator look good out there! All 3 of them dominated shifts out there and were by far our best line. Simply put, this is 4 times in a row the Wings have had a 2 goal lead and lost it. That is unacceptable. You can blame injuries, but it is also the fault of players and coaching. Mike Babcock has to be held accountable for this and if changes do not take place soon, Mr. Renney needs to be considered for the head job because this is simply sickening to watch.

This is a really boring game, to no surprise. The injuries are crazy now like I am convinced that the Wings are cursed... literally everytime someone comes back, someone else gets injured! And boy the refs missed about 3 CLEAR penalties against the Jackets in that last 6 minutes. Hopefully the Wings can get the 2 points here and get a body back for Saturday's game. GO WINGS@

True that, forgot about him. These injuries are nuts. If the Wings get into the playoffs Babs should defs be nominated for coach of the year given all these injuries. Every single game someone new is getting hurt. Instead of practice tomorrow, I think Babs needs to bring them somewhere to get some good luck back for the team! I guess I would like to see : Brunner- Datsyuk- Zetty (Brunner and Hank have not been as dominant lately and Pavel has been, well, Pavel) This line will be very strong against the Jackets. Tatar- Filpulla- Nyquist OR if you wanted to get Fil going maybe put him back with Hank since he had so much success last year with him: Brunner- Datsyuk- Nyquist (I think Brunner needs to be put with Pavel because Pavel will feed him the puck... and this line would have awesome speed). Fil- Hank- Tatar/ Franzen (if he plays)

Personally I think that they will cool off sooner or later. I think Hossa being hurt will hurt them, but I strongly hope that Hossa is okay. He is a fantastic player to watch, and is one of the best 2 players in the nhl, it would be a shame to lose him for an extended period of time. I guess the question is, what happens when the Hawks lose their first regulation game. How do they respond? That is what makes a team good... dealing with adversity and they have dealt with none this year until this Hossa injury.

I agree. Babcock needs to take advantage of the fact that we have home ice and are facing a weaker Columubus team on Thursday. I want to see Datsyuk and Hank together on the top line with Brunner to work their magic because I think they can win the game for us alone against Columbus. Fil and Sammy can man the 2nd line and get it going. Hopefully we start to get some bodies back and get on a positive streak before we head out west. Message for the boys... Follow the lead of #13!

That would be nice but apparently the Wings are unable to play a game with their complete lineup this season. But I agree with those lines except I would not even bother playing Cleary over Eaves and Miller. Cleary needs to off this team he is just horrible.

Why the hell is Babcock splitting up that top line that was responsible for getting us 2 goals last night. They played solid all game and had great chemistry. I think Babs should keep them together for the time being and have Tatar play with Fil and Sammy until Franzen comes back. Once Franzen is back I would like to see: Brunner- Datsyuk- Zetterberg Franzen- Fil- Sammy Eaves- Abs- Tatar Anderson- Emmerton- Tootoo/ Miller Cleary scratched, Bert and Helmer still injured.

Why the eff is Cleary still getting powerplay time? I cannot believe Babcock called Fil out to play better when he continues to play Cleary with our top players while he plays like s***. It is time Cleary is off this team for Nyquist... Cleary does nothing. On another note, the Wings need to get back to playing their game in the 3rd.

So now Babs has Fil with Hank and Brunner, leaving literally NO ONE for Pavs to play with... WTF!!! I don't like how Babs basically called Fil out today for needing to be better, meanwhile Cleary has been MUCH worse than him but continues to get way too much ice time. How about you call out Cleary before Fil Babs. and sticking Cleary and Sammy on a line with Pavs is just retarded that will get nothing done. Pavs needs someone to work with, whether it be Fil, Brunner or Hank.

I think it is his wrist acting up again because I was at the game against the Blues and noticed he wasnt taking many faceoffs in the 3rd period and i know from last year he wasnt taking faceoffs because of his wrist at times. Thankfully this came at a time where we have no back to backs... hopefully Pavs can be ready for Sunday, if not Tuesday for sure.

I would hope Nyquist plays with Pavs and Fil instead of god damn Cleary!

Nevermind sitting White, he has been pretty solid back there for us, but Quincy had another God awful game tonight as did Cleary. Babcock seriously needs to consider sitting those 2. If I was the coach they would have been sitting long ago.

Thats because he was lol

I actually dont mind Eddie O. It is not easy to commentate without bias, and while there are some ways he picks on the Wings, he also says a lot of positive things about them. For the first while we heard him talk about Zetterberg and what a great leader he is, and about how great Nick Lidstrom was and etc. Also, when he mentions the "Subtle interference" I see that as him complimenting the Wings because he is saying that they are the best at doing it in a way that they do not get caught... that is part of their game and it helps their success. He is not saying the Wings should be penalized, but rather that they do it extremely well. He is by far not one of my favorites, but he is not as bad as you make him out to be. Also, I had a good laugh with his reference to the cookie jar joke that he had.

I thought Pavs touched the puck on its route to Ericsson...

Say what you want about the Wings, but they are simply gassed out. This is why you should not have to play a game less than 24 hours after playing the day before. Anyways, the Wings are in survival mode just trying to get out with a "W". Hopefully the Wings find some life in the 3rd and get another goal or 2 to put this game away for Howie who has been fantastic.

The officiating is just a joke in the nhl... like calls on both sides that period were just not hockey penalties. Pavs is having a beast of a game and Babs needs to play him more in the 3rd because he is making things happen. HOpefully the refs put their damn whistles away. Lets go Wings!

Crosby also gets to play practically the entire 2 minutes for every powerplay whereas Pavs gets a minute and that is it. Also Pavel commits himself a lot more to defense than Crosby does.

I would have liked to see Howie get another reset and have him start Sunday against the Kings... I am guessing that means Howie will have Sunday off. Either way, I am confident with both goalies in net but I would have liked to see babs give Mrazek the nod tomorrow after playing such a solid game. Should be a good game tomorrow, Wings defense will really have to watch the speed of the Oilers young forwards. Hopefully Bert is okay and not out too long.

Great game by the Wings. For sure the most complete game all around, by all 4 lines. Kudos to Babs and the coaching staff for getting the troops on the same page. Also a wonderful, solid first game by Mrazek. If I were Babs, I would go right back to him for Saturday to give Howie more rest and have Howie play Sunday against the Kings. I loved the way he came out to play the puck, his calmness and the way he controlled seemingly all rebounds. Way to go. Also, even tho the refs missed a few calls in the 3rd, overall I thought this was the best officiated game I have seen in the nhl this year... the refs let the 2 teams play some good 5 on 5 hockey which we have not been able to see much of this year. Great job by the officials. Hopefuilly the Wings keep rolling into this weekend.

Great game by Mrazek... he has made some big saves for us at key times. Also, I LOVE the way he handles the puck. Some might not realize it, but having a goalie be able to handle the puck like that helps the Defense a lot when coming back to get it. Besides that, all around great effort by the Wings. Assuming things continue as is, this will be a huge win for the Wings given the fact that our bottom 6 have finally scored us some big goals and were a huge factor in our success tonight... we needed a game like this badly.

Time to play Brunner with Datsyuk and Bertuzzi. I have wanted that for a while now and with there being no energy tonight, I see no reason to not try it.