wings_fanatic

how is homer a liability on the first line?? The first line was the ONLY good line last game for the Wings, and homer was part of the success. Honestly it is amazing how quickly fans turn on players after ONE loss. I have beeen reading how Bert needs to sit, how Franzen needs to sit, Homer needs to be taken off the top line and so on. Did everyone forget how awesome Bert was last series? Or how tough Mule was? Fact of the matter is everyone has a bad game here and there and I am sure Bert and Mule and every forward not named Pavs, Hank, Homer or Hudler will be better today for game 2. Also, if Homer is such a "liability" on the first line, then wouldn't he be even MORE of a liability on the 4th line?? I mean at least playing with Pavs and Hank he doesn't have to do much and Pavs and Hank are work horses that can make up for anyone's mistakes. Nonetheless, Homer has been fine this playoffs and when the wings win their game everyone will stop whining about Homer, Bert and so on.

idc what anyone says, Pavs and Hank stay together. They were excellent together all game long- - they were the only dominant line we had... they will make Thorton look bad all series long. You guys seem to remember guys like Filps, Franzen, Bert, Cleary and yes, Abdelkator, all took an off night last night... it had nothing to do with line combos. They were simply lazy on the puck, lazy to get the puck and that resulted with a lot of Sharks pressure when Pavs and Hank were not on the ice. It had NOTHING to do with line combos... in fact if Franzen or Fil was playing with Pavs last night it would have made no difference for them because they simply were lacking the desire to play. IMO lines stay somewhat the same, with a slight touch! Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Homer Franzen- Filpulla- Modano Bert- Abdelkator- Hudler Eaves- Helm- Cleary Enough is enough... Modano deserves a chance to play and IMO he has the speed necessary to compete against the Sharks. I would like to see what that 2nd and 3rd line could do... if it works great, if not Babs could change them up. Whatever the lines, PAvs and Hank need to stay together because they showed really good chemestry like 2008 and we need that. What we need more than anything is for the other forwards, not named Pavs and Hank and Homer, to show up WILLING to play and we will beat the Sharks every single time.

I think the refs are letting Boston get away with a LOT of holding and interference... in fact one of their goals happened right after the refs missed a huge holding call on a Boston player. Yet, Boston got a powerplay earlier for some chinsey interference call so I expect a powerplay for the Habs in the 3rd. I still think Habs will win.

Don't kid yourself... Nick is still the best Dman for our PK... he anticipates plays that no one else could, and creates little plays to get the puck out of the zone more easily. Being stuck in our zone has been a large problem of the PK, hence why Babs needs to get Nick out there a bit more. And did you see Nick's last shift of the period where he blocked a shot and batted the puck out of the air to get the puck out? He is still damn good defensively and needs to be played more, at least when it matters.

Great game thus far and even tho Phoenix is getting away with a LOT of interference on Pavs, I think the refs are doing a great job letting both teams play. Also, I like how the refs have done a great job letting Phoenix know that they won't get away with running the Wings... great job refs so far. On another note, Phoenix has 4 PP goals on their last 8 attempts... the trend is that Nick is NOT on the PK, which in my opinion is the difference maker. I realize that Babs is probably just keeping Nick fresh for the later rounds, but I bet Nick himself would like to be out there to kill some penalties because we cannot let in PP goals like that 50% of the time. Other than that great game and lets hope the boys finish it out in the 3rd.

Well its no surprise that the NHL appoints Chris Lee to ref this game... the man who has called off the most Wings goals since Dan Ohalloran stopped back in 2009. Honestly, I am starting to really wonder about the NHL. Someone above said that this would be like the 7th playoff game in a row where they got a 5 on 3 against them... at first I laughed but now that I think of it that is true. That alone illustrates the terrible officiating that is taking place in the NHL. So far, the Wings have beaten the Coyotes along with the officiating in games 1 and 2, so lets hope tonight we only have to beat the Coyotes. I bet they try everything in their power to limit Pavs tonight, but I don't think they can keep him off the score sheet... he is playing very confident and is leading the Wings shift in and shift out. As always, first 10 min are key, and there should be lots of Wings fans in attendence. Hopefully the boys can get a W so that this series can end quickly and this year we can wait for San Jose much like they did for us last year.

I agree with you, but at the same time I REALLY like our Abs- Cleary-Bert line so that needs to stay. IMO we go with: Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Homer Franzen-Filps- Hudler Bert-Abdelkator- Cleary Eaves- Helm- Draper/Miller/Modano - As you said, Hank will not be well enough to play without Pavs. Also, Pavs is playing in a league of his own right now, so he can pick up slack for Z and effectively get more outa an injured Z than anyone else will... they will still be a deadly line, and the best in the playoffs imo. - Filpulla and Hudler have looked great in both games so far, and with the addition of Franzen, whom has also been great these 2 games, this should be a really good second line for Babs and the Wings - I love that third line... it has really provided problems for Phoenix and helps set the physical tone for the boys... keep that line together - The 4th line is again very good, arguably the best 4th line in the NHL so that is good - Simply put, I think these lines should provide LOTS of success for the Wings and their hopefully long run. Thoughts?

I truly think that Babs is just resting Nick for when it matters in the playoffs... especially cuz Phoenix is trying to hit to hurt and we do NOT need further injuries... Also, we had a 4-0 lead today and it was 4-1 for quite some time which is where a lot of rest came into play for Nick. He started playing more after it got 4-3. It is an interesting move by Babs tho as he usually does not "plan ahead" like that. I like this move tho because if Phoenix is unable to beat teh Wings without Hank (and Franzen for when all 4 goals were scored)there is no way they will beat a fully loaded wings team so Nick may as well rest for the later rounds.

Well if they won the Cup without Hank playing it wouldn't mean much to him. He is extremely competetive and would want to be a part of the Cup run... so if he would rather be in the line-up than I would also rather him be in as he is a key component to this team and together him and Pavs are the best line in hockey... I can't see many teams getting in the way of Pavs this postseason... he has looked like a man on a mission all year; especially with Hank.

Went to the game and it was a GREAT game and a GREAT crowd all night long. Right after the Wings went down early, a huge Lets go Wings chant began to keep the team going... all the fans were behind the boys all game long. Great to be a part of it. On a side note, I loved the Bertuzzi chants and the Phoenix sucks chants. Also, there was a fight during the 3rd period a few sections over, but I didn't get a good look at it. I thought Kronwall had an awesome game (especially since he missed 5 games)- - I think he was our best dman tonite. The guy for me this game was Pavs tho... he was all over, all game... he is simply the best player in the world by far. Overall GREAT game by the Wings, and more importantly it was nice to see the questionable palyers answer with a jump start. Lastly, officiating was BRUTAL. That call on Nick for holding should never be called to put a team down 5 on 3, just like that call for the hooking on Homer was pretty bad... I want consistant reffing. GO WINGS.

If you ask me, if he really is thinking he is going to retire, I admire that he is being open about it. Think about it, if he lets it be known that this is his last chance at a Cup, then it is going to provide an extra dose of motivation for the boys in Red, and don't think that doesn't actually work (see Dallas Drake in 2008). Babcock should be giving Modano the chance to start the playoffs before Miller imo simply because he is Mike Modano and I truly think he will be giving it his all in the playoffs to reach lord stanley...

I am kind of on the line about this move. I partly like it because it is clearly a simple challenge from Babcock to Modano... a move to spark Modano and make him work harder when he plays in game 2. In that aspect, I like this move, however part of me thinks this was a dick move by Babcock because Modano is still better than Miller. I guess I will decide after game 2 when Modano plays whether I liked this move or not.

From my understanding, a lot of players actually like playing the afternoon games because then they don't have to sit all day thinking about the game. Pavs said after the game yesterday he prefers afternoon games. So, if players like them more, than so do I.

As the poster above said, last year the Wings had to fight for their lives just to make playoffs and also had to start on the road; they were out of gas. Also, last year the Wings were lacking the depth that they possess this year. Sure, Hank is out for at least part of the series, but we can now have some dominate lines all the way through with the additions of Hudler and Modano. I do not think that Phoenix can match the depth of Detroit, and if Detroit gets going the way they want to, they should have this series in the bag in 5 games and then hopefully get to sit and watch the rest of the nhl. Another good thing about a nice early win is that it gives Hank more time to get ready with the team without having to worry about coming into a series half way through. Here is to the Wings in 5, and more importantly, I think they will let all teams in the NHL know that the Joe is still the one place you do NOT want to play in the playoffs. GO WINGS

IMO if the Stars are having this much trouble with the Wild I would rather them lose and let the Hawks take 8th place. Imagine this... Hawks beat the Canucks, then in round 2 the Sharks would have to face the hawks... simply put the Hawks could take care of a lot of business for the Wings... that is the best case scenerio in my opinion... meeting the Hawks in the WCF would not be that bad because they cannot match our depth.

Well, being a Detroit player, Abby will probably be lucky to get 25 to life Seriously though, I think the hit looked worse than it was and the NHL will probably let it go considering all that the Hawks got away with today. IMO no harm done, off to the playoffs we go.

No problem... I too watched it over a couple times... it was even more amazing watching it the second and third times when I wasn't in my heart racing game mode lol. The fact that Pavs was able to deke around and through 4 guys alone is amazing, but the fact that he did it to the mighty KEITH AND SEABROOK and TOEWS and HOSSA was simply amazing. Like I said earlier, he made them look like little timbits hockey players. Best hands in the league by far, and best all around player in the world. We all pale to Pavel Datsyuk

nhl.com has full highlights that show both moves to the net while deking thru Keith, Seabrook, Toews and Hossa. It is in the middle of the full game highlights.

What a game by the Wings... great all around effort by every single one of them, despite the terrible officiating. Pavel Datsyuk made the supposid "God on Defense tandem" of Keith and Seabrook look like timbits players all night... Pavel showed why he is the best hockey player in the world. Great way for the boys to head into the playoffs. The one thing I am concerned about is that I am sure the NHL will have officials ready to try to make it hard for Dallas to win their game later today...

Anyone that thinks that Nick does not deserve the Norris this year is NUTS. He is still the best all around dman in the game, got a huge amount of points, 16 goals, and is still responsible for his amazing defensive plays. You find me a coach that would not want to have Nick Lidstrom to put on the ice in the dying seconds of a must win game. Nick Lidstrom will and should win.

Good response from the wings after last game. They still aren't playing great, but don't forget this is game 7 for the Hawks... so it is hard for the Wings to match that, but they are doing a good job. I thought Ericson had another brutal period... I counted at least 4 turnovers from him alone. Babcock needs to put Lidstrom with Rafi... I cannot stress that enough as Nick often makes plays around the boards with the puck that Stuart seems incapable of completing whereas Rafi can. I also would like to see the lines changed up... they had NO CHEMESTRY. Also, as I suspected, the officiating was TERRIBLE. They called that holding on Ericson yet they let the Hawks get away with a ton of holding and hooking. The wings will be lucky to even get a powerplay today because we all know the NHL wants those Hawks to make the playoffs... so if the Wings are to win this game, I suspect it will be because of their 5 on 5 play.

No no when Hank is back he needs to be with Pavs. First of all, he will be rusty and putting him with Bert and lazy-ass Franzen isn't the best way to get him back into game shape. Second of all, Him and Pavs work best together and Babs might as well put them together to do damage.

Henrik Lunquvist has the chance to steal this series... He has had an amazing season and is the only reason the Rangers are in the playoffs... IMO he should be getting Veizna as he played in so many games and still had one of the best save % and GAA. Their games were all really good this year... it should be a fun series

I agree with the poster above... this is a big playoffs for Jimmy Howard imo. Last year he was very inconsistent in the playoffs and let in some bad goals, however it was his first playoffs ever so that does happen. SO, this is a chance for him to settle in and show us what he can do for the Wings and I hope he can make the right saves for the boys to win. However, if he has a performance anything less than what an average goalie would do, I suspect that there could be changes brought about.

Lmao. No, I too will admit I am wrong if that is the case-- but this team can be stubborn for parts of regular seasons and gets so many people questioning them headed into the playoffs. Like Mick said last night, maybe it is a good thing for them to head into the playoffs sort of underated as they will feel no pressure to win. But time will tell I suppose. I don't think there is a team in the league that is as good as they are at turning their fans against eachother in debates lmao... because for their level of talent you would think that would never be able to happen. I guess it is good though that we can debate because in the end it shows the luv we have for our team in Red and White.