wings_fanatic

The way Mlive makes it sound, Pavel, Nick and Bert should be ready to go Tuesday in LA for the West Coast trip. Nice to hear only 2 more games to go hopefully we can win one of two at least. Go Wings!

I am a strong believer that the Wings need to focus on their own play and nevermind the standings. St. Louis, as it is, is only 2 points ahead of us and we are missing our 2 best players, along with others. With that said, we will start to get our guys back and, by next week, we will have the majority of our team playing and I predict we will get rolling again. With that said, St. Louis is playing great hockey under Hitch, only a fool would doubt that. You cannot make an argument about lack of playoff experience because they have a very good coach, several veteran players with playoff experience and, most importantly, they have 2 great goalies. I predict they are going to go with Halak for the playoffs and he is having an outstanding season. Halak has playoff experience by almost single-handlidy carrying the Habs to the Conference finals 2 seasons ago. Playing for the Habs as a goalie in the playoffs has a ton more pressure than the Blues, so I think he will continue to be very good for the Blues in the post season. The Blues play a great, tightly contested defensive system and could be a real threat in the playoffs. It is because of that, that I believe the Red Wings need to do what they can to get 1st or 2nd seed and we have a schedule to make that possible once we get Nick and Pavel back within the next week or so. Simply put, if the Red Wings play like they should, and have for a majority of the season, then they should be able to pass St. Louis and possibly Vancouver because we have a pretty easy schedule for the remainder of the season (especially after next week's road trip is over). Since Mike Babcock has come here, he has typically been able to get the Wings to finish their seasons on a strong note, and I have no doubt in my mind that this year will be no exception. Zetterberg and Fil are playing very well, and with Pavel back we will be able to get a much stronger team balance in scoring. Also, with Nick back it will make things flow much better and help lead to success heading into the playoff season. I respect the Blues and what they have been able to do this season. I am happy for their fans who have waited a long while for their team to become a contender again. With that said, I think the Wings will finish strong and a strong finish is important to the Wings because it ensures home ice through at least most of the playoffs and we all know how good the Wings are at home.

The BLues are 2 points up on us and the only reason for that is that we are missing so many players and, out of those players, the best defenceman in the league and the most complete player in the world... not exactly an easy recipe for the Wings to keep winning. From what Babs said earlier today about Nick feeling much better, I think we will see number 5 play Friday night, and Pavel should be back next week during the West Coast trip. From that point on the Wings will get rolling into the playoffs and I have no doubt in my mind that we will pass St. Louis because, quite frankly, we are a better team then them and there will come a point before the end of the season that they lose some games. Everyone needs to relax and realize that teams are BARELY beating us when we are missing key players like this. Like I said, we will finish the season in dominant fashion heading into the playoffs.

I find that our PK is good, probably amongst the best in the league at making it difficult for the other team to gain our zone, and that is when our powerplay is mostly effective, when we quickly clear the puck. Our main problem comes from when the other team actually gets set upp in our zone... sometimes our guys seem to get confused with where they are going and the forwards therefore sometimes take too long to challenge the opposing players quick enough. I think if Babs can stress that point to challlenge the other team quicker and harder, like the Rangers, than that will make our PK better. As for our powerplay, it is just pathetic. Granted, we have not had Nick or Pavel, but our powerplay was lacking consistency with them too. Simply put, we just need to get back to basics... set up and have different options available. It is good to have Nick available to shoot from the point, but also we need hank to be able to get set up for some one-timers in the slot and stuff like that. A theme of our powerplay is they often have a forward skate towards our left D, pass them the puck and then the D skates walks the line and either takes a shot or passes back to the forward on the left side who will then take a shot. Those seem to be our only plays and its too easy to read. We need to get to basics and have the forwards move around and have different options set up. Also, with the full lineup Babs needs to go back to Pavs and Hank together imo. Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Homer White- Lidstrom (this powerplay unit has always worked for us in the past so lets use it. Also I want to see less shots from White and more from Nick) Franzen- Filpulla- Hudler Quincy- Kronwall (I would play Franzen as the net front presence because in 2008 that is how he got going and scored so many goals for us)

I was just reading about all of our injuries today and mlive reported that henrik zetterberg has been playing with an upper body injury. One has to think ,given his history, that it is his back bothering him. With that said, i am very happy with hank because, despite his injury he has still managed to pick up his game to a new level and work his butt off every shift to help carry the wings. But, when pavel comes back i think it is really important to have him rest a few games once pasha is back because we need our eurotwins rested and healthy for playoffs.

Sharp does good against the wings because he is a very good player and steps up big for his team in big games. Also, lidstrom typically puts all his attention towards toews, kane or hossa which creates more space for sharp to do things.

Some of you are making some funny comments. We lost this game, but yet were the better team the majority of the night. We hit 4 posts, and missed 2 or 3 glorious chances that looked like an open net... simply put we had no puck luck tonight! But guess what... in an 82 game season that happens to every team. To top that, we were without Pavel, Nick, Ericsson (not much of a loss, but still)and then tonight lost Kindl and Jimmy! That is a HUGE loss of talent that the Wings had to deal with and, in my opinion, they played the game very well considering. - Kronners had an outstanding game, and I was very comfortable watching him log huge minutes tonight... this is huge for us knowing we can rely on him when Nick if Nick is hurt for a game - Smith continues to amaze me more and more... everything he does tells me he deserves to be on this team over Kindl and Ericsson... continue to the great play - Franzen is so freakin lazy... I was ticked off then, and still am now, that we let Hossa walk to keep lazyboy Franzen - I thought Fil and Hank tried tonight, but as the game progressed they seemed to look tired - Helm, Miller, Abs were fantastic Lastly, I just want to say kudos to the 2 referees tonight, Dan O Halloran and Don Manhaviston (however you say it) who did a wonderful job officiating this game. They let both teams get away with a lot, and called what needed to be called and, more than anything, were CONSISTENT with their calls. Hope to have more officials like this. Hopefully Nick is back tuesday, go wings!

The only time the Hawks can consistently beat the Wings is when we have key injuries... FSN is going on about how the Hawks have won more games then any opponent at the Joe the last couple years but go back and look at the injuries the Wings have been faced with at times the past couple seasons. For some reason, when we get the injury bug it spreads to lots of players on our team.

The Wings are clearly the best team this game. The Hawks got a lucky break on that giveaway at the end there. The Wings have hit 3 posts, generated way more scoring chances and have been skating much better than the Hawks. The only thing we need to do better in the 3rd is get our freakin lame powerplay working! With any luck our powerplay gets going, and the puck starts to boucne good for us instead of hitting posts! Go Wings!

Solid period by the Wings... everyone seems to be skating very well which is important against the Hawks. Every line looked good out there in the 1st, but I just want to point out Niklas Kronwall. He has really upped his game since Captain Nick went out a couple games ago and he is really showing us what he is capable of. He is doing an excellent job on defense, putting up important points and making some nice hits and plays. This is defs what we need from Kronners and he is proving what he is capable of. Great job by him.

Nick Lidstrom should have won at least 2 or 3 Norris Trophies before he finally got his first one, but that was not the case. Nick Lidstrom has, for 20 years, done his job of successfully shutting down the other teams' top players and, in the process, having a large part generating our offence. Orr, on the other hand, played a purely offensive game in a time where that was the style to play. To top that, it was significantly easier to score on goalies back then, which has increased his numbers dramatically compared to what they would be in the modern NHL. Yes, Orr's career was cut short whereas Nick has barely missed any games for 20 years, but that says something about Nick and his durability. Both players are outstanding and unquestionably the best 2 dmen in history, but it is VERY DIFFICULT to compare them as they played completely different games in 2 completely different eras. Given modern NHL, imo Nick Lidstrom is a better defenseman because today's league requires a 2 way dman that can shut down opposing players and provide offence, something that Nick Lidstrom has perfected for 20 years.

Great period for the Wings. I think we got away with a couple penalties, but it all evens out in the end. In saying that, I am really liking the play of Smith... he is making such smart plays. Even though I already thought so, I am now even more fully confident that he should remain with the Wings instead of Ericsson. Anyways, hopefully the Wings keep up the tempo because this is a very important win for us tonight because the Hawks will be a challenge on Sunday with no Nick or Pavs, so we need 2 points for sure tonight to keep pace with the Nucks and get a LITTLE room from the Blues.

Hey guys I was just looking at the updated standings and noticed the Red Wings are down to 4th place while the Blues are now in 2nd place. Their records are: 42-19-3 (Red Wings) 40-17-7 (Blues) Each team has played 64 games and are tied in points with 87. What I do not understand is how the Wings are not still in 2nd place because they have more wins then the Blues, have a better goal differential then the Blues, are leading the season series against the Blues. I am out of ideas for how the Blues are in 2nd place over the Wings currently? Maybe I am forgetting about some rule but it seems to me the Wings should still be in 2nd?

Our position in the standings has to do with no Nick and Pavs. As soon as we get them back, we will be right back on track. I am comfortable with this team heading into the playoffs because they are way better defensively this year, and are still scoring goals. St. Louis will ware out of energy soon enough because Hitch has them play such a hard fought style of game every night. I think once we get Pavel back we will make a push and end up in 1st or 2nd place.

Nevermind I see now it excludes shootout wins so the Blues have 1 extra win then us after all shootout wins are excluded.

Not only can he read play tremendously in the AHL, but when he played a few games for the Wings this season he was reading plays very well for a rookie... stepping up to intercept passes and send our forwards quickly the other way, and challenging the other team from gaining our zone. The way I see it is this... Ericsson will never be better than he is (which sucks for us) and Kindl, though I like him, is not on the same level as Smith. Smith is our best D-man prospect and will turn out to be a great player for us going down the road (like the comparison to Kronners. With that said, he should be cracking the lineup now because he is better, but more importantly so he can see NICK LIDSTROM on a daily basis and learn from him while he can.

I have said it all along that I think Smith should be playing in front of Kindl AND Ericsson. When Smith played a few games up here earleir in the season he was fantastic. He is a good passer, has excellent positioning, and can provide offence for the team as well. IMO the final D pairings going into the playoffs should be: Lidstrom- White Kronwall- Stuart Quincy- Smith

I am hearing rumblings about Grabaski being available possibly... and if he is I think this would be the best possible pickup for the Wings. He provides skill, speed, good passing, loves to shoot and, most importantly, he gives it his all every shift. I think Kenny should really go after this guy.

Well nice to see them come back and give it their all in the 3rd but they need to be better then they have been. I blame this losss on 2 key things. 1) The refs were pathetic tonight... they missed a clear call that resulted in a goal, and then at the end of the game missed 3 or 4 tripping calls somehow. 2) Mike Babcock... we have been calling all game for Hank to be put back with Fil and Hudler, but Babcock waited way too long to finally pull the switch. If this had been made earlier on we may have been able to come back. That is one of Babcock's few problems (he always waits too long to switch lines up). Nonetheless, I hope we make a move for a guy like Grabaski for the deadline.

This game shows the lack of scoring this team has. Without Pavs they have NO offense. They look lost! We need to trade for a guy like Grabaski who can add a lot to this team... skill, loves to shoot, good at passing and TRIES EVERY SHIFT! Personally I would not mind if Franzen gets benched next game.

People blaming Quincy get over yourselves. The ENTIRE top 2 lines are playing like CRAP. Once again Howard and Nick are our best players while our top 2 lines are terrible. Babcock, that powerplay is GARBAGE... how about using the 3rd line on the powerplay... god knows they deserve it and they might just get something done. On a side note, towards to teh end of the period you coudl tell Hank was really picking up his game trying to get the Wings back in it (notice how he looked better when Franzen was taken off of his line...)

No because Zetterberg NEEDS a guy to set him up we need him to score goals because Franzen is a no show. Fil and Hank were going good together before Pavs got his knee done so keep them together imo. Then the 3rd line should get 2nd line minutes and then Franzen and Hudler can get 3rd line minutes with Cleary.

Pathetic period. With that said, it should only be 1-0 because I do not know how the hell there was not a penalty called on the Avs before their 2nd goal... Quincy was CLEARLY tripped! Regardless the Wings level of play was pathetic and unacceptable. For the love of God Babcock CHANGE THE FREAKIN LINES!! Franzen is useless and ever since Hank has been stuck with him he has went back to playing bad. Franzen can play on the 4th line for all I care right now. I want Fil and Hank together with Bert on the top line. Hopefully the Wings can get going in the 2nd and hopefully the refs start doing their jobs.

Should be a good game for the Wings to use to recover. The Avs played last night and the Wings have a good history against the Avs the last few years. Most importantly, Franzen typically decides to play very very well against the Avs (assuming he decides to do more than float around all game) so he should be able to get going tonight along with Hank. HOWEVER, if these lines continue to not work, Babcock cannot hesitate to change them (IE take Cleary off the 2nd line, Put Hank back with Fil and etc.) I think Nick is going to have a big game for us tonight on the PP. Go Wings!

I think Grabaski would be a GREAT pickup for the Wings. He provides speed, good passer and loves to shoot the puck. A guy like that is what this team could use and it would help spread out the offense for us in the playoffs. We could consistently rely on Pavs, Hank, Grabby, Franzen, Fil and Bert as our top 6 and dont forget the amazing bottom 6 we have. Also I think Grabby playing with Pavs would be a huge upgrade for that line over Franzen because it would give Pavs speed to work with and a player who actually tries every shift.