wings_fanatic

As Murph said, no team can win them all. The Wings didn't play a bad game, but they did not play a good game either. They know what they have to fix and I am sure they will be able to fix it by Tuesday. On a side note, if Fil is out long term, it will be interesting to see what line combos babs goes with as I want Bert-Dats-Franzen to stay together because they have really been clicking.

Great period by the Wings. Conks looks sharp too. He clearly didn't bother to move on that buzzer play. I noticed Fil was gone ever since that trip, so hopefully he is okay. The Avs are trying to hurt the Wings so hopefully one of the Wings knock out one of their players.

The wings were flat that period ever since that lame ref made the lame call on Bert. I mean how many times do players ***** at refs during a game? That is a pathetic call on Bert and it turned all the momentum imo

Always a tough game versus the Preds, this one will be no different. The Preds are on a 3 game losing streak, which will make them play a good game against the Wings. I foresee a tight game, where the Wings look tired after yesterdays battle against Boston. In the end, I think the Wings will win 4-2, with Pavel leading the way. GO WINGS!

Call me crazy, but I noticed something late last night when I was watching highlights. Hank has never really been the same since he cut his hair short after 2009. Maybe he needs his longer hair back... just sayin...

Those of you that would not do this trade are nuts! Semin would provide the wings with a lot more scoring, and would work out great with Pavs imo. He has never been able to play with a 1st line centerman for an entire season and is still a 30 goal scorer... imagine what he can do with Pavs. I would accept this trade in a heartbeat because it would give the Wings a lot more options and make them a lot more dangerous on offense.

Unbelievable that Ericsson missed those 2 chances he had! I truly cannot stand the guy. He easily gets rubbed off the puck in the D- Zone, and isn't nearly as good offensively as Smith. I would LOVE if Kenny could trade Ericsson and play Smith... if that were Smith he would have at least hit the net on those 2 chances. Other than that, the Wings got going better as the 2nd period went on I thought, but Howard looks a bit off tonight, but defs made up for it with that late save. Pavs was flying at the end of the second and that line in general has been our best line all night. I would like to see more from Z's line in the 3rd.

LMAO at the comment about if the game is gonna be on Versus or CBC haha! If only he carried a box of tissues around and had 87 on the back of his jersey...

you could tell about half way through that period that the Wings are starting to get tired from playing yesterday... that is usually what happens when you play in back to backs. Hopefully we can weather the storm and walk out of here with a Win after the 3rd... we got a powerplay to work with so hopefully we can re-take the momentum with that. Great effort by Jimmy again, Hank has been great all game, Pavel has been great again... all around it has been a great effort by the boys, its just they got tired. How many back to backs have the Wings had already? This seriously has to be at least their 5th set of back to backs... that is retarded! Anyways, finish the game strong wings!

AS I said before the 3rd, great game by the Wings... Pavs showed up with a purpose and really helped lead the team tonight... he was clearly on fire and it seemed that every one else followed suit. I am so impressed with Smith after these 2 games, he looks wayyyyyy better than Ericson out there... imo I would rather have Smith in this line-up then Ericson... he moves the puck better, reads the plays better, has better ability to shoot on net. Very impressed.

Great effort by every single player on the wings so far. There is not one passenger so far today which is really nice to see. Boy, when this team chooses to be on its game, there is not a better team in the league... but that seems to be the problem WHEN... they need to keep this consistent effort up every game. Pavs looks like a beast tonight and I am loving the addition of Bert on that line. He is using his body very well, holding on the puck, making some nice plays. My only complaint of the game... that "penalty shot" that the refs gave to kopitar- TERRIBLE call, but beauty save by Howard. Hopefulyl the Wings finish the game strong and then continue this effort tomorrow and EVERY GAME AFTER THIS.

I watched a game from the 2008 playoffs this morning because I was bored and wanted to remember what the good Red Wings team was capable of. Quite frankly, they have never really been the same team since that year. Their defense was impeckable, their star players were their star players, and their depth players all fulfilled their jobs and added offense to that. With that said, the Wings still have the potential to get to that level... we have a good defense core still, our depth guys are playing great... its just a matter of Pavs and Hank doing their part now. Then it hit me... the biggest difference between then and now is Zetterberg... he was the team's goal scorer that entire year... he was the go-to guy because Pavs would just feed him the puck and he would not hesitate to blast that puck every chance he got. The problem? Since then, Mike babcock has consistently tried to always separate the two, leaving Hank to center his own 2nd like where he had to become more focused on being the set-up guy for his wingers and, in doing so, lost his scoring touch. If Mike Babcock wants the Wings to be successful, he has got to put Pavs and Hank together and keep them together and have the emphasis be Hank shooting the puck every time PAvs feeds it to him. If these two are given the time to develop their needed chemistry, and are the dominant line that we know them to be, then the Wings will be icing a team that is one of the best in the league. If babcock continues to not recognize this, then he is largely to blame.

Today is the game Pavs gets going. He had a good game in San Jose (minus the miscoverage on the first goal) and I think the addition to Bert on that line will be good. Also, imo if Hank looks as bad as he did the other night, Babs needs to just sit him the rest of the game... at this point a message like that would do wonders for this team. Also, if the top 2 lines don't mesh well, I would be interested in seeing: Filpulla- Datsyuk- Hudler (I think this line would be really fun to watch, and all 3 players work really well with one another... I think it could have a lot of potential) Cleary- Zetterberg- Franzen (It has worked before and usually Franzen works best with Hank)

I do not think we could make that trade unless we gave up Franzen. The only other way would be to give up Fil and I do not want to do that because he has been WAY MORE consistent this season then Franzen and can be used in all sorts of different roles.

Franzen does not have the shooting ability that Semin could provide... Semin has played 2nd line minutes with no one on is line in washington and still gets 30 goals... I think him and Pavs could be a great duo and, more than that, I think Babs could fix the lazyness factor since he is so young. TO add to that, it would make our powerplay units much more dynamic because we could have a right hander on the point on BOTH units. PP1: Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Homer Semin- Lidstrom PP2: Cleary- Filpulla- Hudler White- Kronwall I think a trade for Semin would do wonders for the wings...

A trade for Parise or Semin is the only thing that would be big enough for the Wings imo. Those of you saying to trade for a goalie, that will make NO DIFFERENCE at all for the team's success because Howard has been playing pretty much lights out all season... the problem has been our big boys. Semin has not been great this season, just like Franzen, so I think some sort of trade between those 2 would be great for both teams, but a major move is necessary for the Wings imo.

Babcock is absoultely right... and as I said before, there is only so much he can do as the coach. When you got guys like Zetterberg not doing their job, there is going to be a problem with the wins. Babs has tried a million different line combinations and we still have the same result with not enough effort by certain players. I think Babs has to go back to the basics and put Pavs and Hank together because Hank looks LOST out there. He needs to shoot the puck like he used to and the only way to get him to do that is to put him with Pavs. If I was Babs I would make this change and in doing so, I would tell Zetterberg that if he does not pick his game up, then he will find himself sitting for a game or 2. Here are the lines I want to see: Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Homer Franzen- Filpulla- Cleary Brunnstrom- Helm- Hudler (I LOVED this line last night, I think it has potential) Eaves- Abs- Miller Lidstrom- Smith (IMO Smith had a GREAT game last night and is WAY better than Ericson... so when White comes back Ericson should be the one sitting imo) Kronners- Kindl Ericson- Stuart

Unbelievable. This team needs change. Enough said. Zetterberg quiet again, Cleary is TERRRRRRRRIBLE I hate him this season he cant pass, he cant receive passes, he gives pucks away. Ericson sucks BIG TIME. IMO Smith has looked very solid tonight and should replace Ericson in the line up. Babcock needs to change these lines. But this is not just on Babs. This is on Kenny to realize that this team needs change. Babs can only try so many line combos... if the players dont wanna play there is nothing he can rly do about that.

Howard had to have that 3rd goal... he just cannot be beaten like that. BUT the bigger problem is Zetterberg has been BRUTAL tonite along with Fil... too quiet. Pavs has been good with his line though which is something positive. But the Wings need to wake up this period.

This is an unfair assessment. Yes Bertuzzi was not playing well, but Homer has been one of the best players this year for the Wings, giving it all every shift and doing his responsibilities. We can all argue that Pavs and Hank are to blame because they get so much ice time but are not playing well and not getting points, and because of the fact they arent producing, those around them are not producing. On the other end of that, we can argue that the players around Pavs and Hank are not playing well, which is why they are not getting as many points. This leads me to believe that the entire top 6 forwards are in some way to blame- - they are all in it together. Right from Mike Babcock down to all top 6 forwards, they all have to do a better job and they all know it. I think by the time the Wings finish this road trip, Babs will have things in better order with the top 6, which will make the Wings stronger every game (no effin games off). My point is that we cannot pin- point faults to one or two players... its the entire top 6 (which Cleary should have no business being in at this point)

Thanks to the poster above for the info... I have not been able to find any info on Babs talking about lines at all today. It is nice to know. I really like the idea of Fabian up there with Pavs and Mule.... that could turn out to be a really fun line.

I am a little disappointed with these line changes. Franzen never works out good with Pavs I do not understand why Babs refuses to put Fil or Huds with Pavs for a game. ANyways, hopefully Pavs lights it up tonight... the game is against the Sharks and lately the only 3 players who show up against the Sharks are Dats, Hank and Nick... so I predict a big night by those 3. Go Wings!

Here is my problem with the Wings, and this will ultimately spell their success or failure this season. They a re 8-0 when Franzen and Filpulla get poiints in a game. That should not be the case... the case should be us saying the Wings are successful when Datsyuk and Zetterberg are getting points, leading us to wins. That is not the case, and ultimately, that is the problem. Mike Babcock is just as much to blame for this as Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Zetterberg has at least at linemates to play with this season that have potential (whether its been Pavs, or Franzen and Fil). Meanwhile, Pavs has been stuck with Cleary for way too long, and has not been able to get going. Babcock should have realized, like 5 games ago, that Cleary deserves nothing but a seat in the press box with his play this season, but yet he continues to play with our best forward. If the Red Wings are to be successful this season, it is the job of Mike Babcock to do all he can to do what it takes to get Pavs and Hank going, so changes need to be made. In my opinion, during the slump, even though the Wings were not scoring, Pavs and Hank were still playing well with each other and have since then looked un-interested at times. To get them playing at the level they should be, Babs should put them back together and, in the process, call them out and tell them that they need to be as good as expected. The lines should be: Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Homer (For reasons said above, and Homer has played hard and given it his all every game- deserves top line minutes) Franzen- Filpulla- Hudler (Hudler has played way harder than Cleary all season and has not made even close to the amount of mistakes) Abdelkator- Helm- Brunnstrom(I love Helmer with Abs, and I think Brunnstrom should be given a good chance to play and I think he could add a nice threat to this line.) Eaves- Emmerton- Cleary (Cleary probably should be scratched a few games, but I think he would do fine and this would be a good 4th line)

THat was the worst game I have ever seen the Wings play. I have seen them get scored on 10 times before, but they had NO TEMPO this game at all. It took Mike Babcock until the last 5 minutes of the game to finally change up the lines... I call that bad coaching. The problem tonight was coaching, the along with players not showing up. If Babcock has Cleary penciled in to play with Pavs next game, his ass should be fired. We cannot have Pavs have like 2 points in 6 games like this so time for some GOOD lines for next game. Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Franzen Cleary- Filpulla- Hudler

I swear to god if Babcock doesnt change up these ******* powerplay units this time i am gonna be PISSED! They have been terrible all night so why keep them the same?! Load up Pavs, Hank, Franzen, and the 2 Nicks...