Nev

Cleary and Abdelkader haven't done a bad job, but Homer was the best net-front player since Phil Esposito, of course we're going to miss him. We miss Lidstrom too. Despite all that, he was only ever a complimentary player. Without Lidstrom and to a lesser extent Rafalski/Kronwall/Schneider/Murphy etc firing slapshots from the point, he wouldn't be half as effective.

Too many guys on the roster who rely on others to make them creative. Too many complimentary pieces. Too many depth players too high up the depth chart. Bertuzzi, Miller, Eaves. Tootoo, Cleary, Samuelsson. Even Andersson and Abdelkader. Take out 3 of the first 6. Add Helm, Nyquist and Tatar. Suddenly we're a different team. Not genuine-Stanley-Cup-threat different, but certainly better. Truth is, age, free agency, and the draft have been working against us for 10 years and its finally caught up. Now we're too good to draft star replacements, but not good enough to be genuine contenders.

Which begs the question, how did this kid go undrafted?

I still haven't finished my bowl of crow from Kindl.

Awesome GDT! George Kronwall and Kramer Gustavsson are perfect, but why is Abdelkader not Elaine?

They owe us one after Konstantinov and Fischer.

His best play last season was when he was moved to center down the stretch.

I can't think of a more beautiful tribute.

Still, with that line-up, against that team, I'll take a shut-out and a point.

Yep, the entire top 4 D was out injured, which was why Lilja-Lebda was the top pairing.

Thinking about it, this is our worst D that we've iced since February 2008 when we were absolutely riddled with injuries. From memory the pairings were Lilja-Lebda Quincey-Meech Stafford-Ericsson And that was Lilja before he became a cult hero, Lebda was Lebda, Quincey was so bad he got waived, Meech was Meech, Ericsson looked every bit the 7th round forward turned defenceman project that he was, and I can't even remember a thing about Stafford.

Good grief, I can't be the only one looking at those D-pairings through my fingers, can I? Meanwhile Tatar finally gets another game stuck on a line with 2 underperforming players against one of the best teams in the league. But good luck to Mrs Ericsson.

What doesn't help Smith is that he is unwilling or unable to play "his" game. When we drafted him, there were 3 things that he was known for 1) Big hits. Well, they stopped after he got suspended a couple of preseasons ago 2) Fighting. Well, that stopped after Babs publically chewed him out for dropping the gloves and leaving them a defenceman short. 3) Offence. Well, he gets no PP time as he's stuck behind Kronwall, Alfie, Kindl and the inexplicalble Sammy. Whilst watching him handle the puck in his own zone like its a hand grenade is unbearably painful, I refuse to believe that he lacks the skill to be an NHL defenceman - as other posters have pointed out I believe the problem is between his ears. Right now he's *thinking* when the puck is near him, but an NHL defenceman doesn't have time to think, it all has to be instinctive. Ericsson was exactly the same up until 18 months ago - you could almost see the gears whirring in his brain as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do next. Thankfully, it eventually clicked and he is rock solid these days. It also doesn't help Smith that he's stuck with Quincey who is equally fond of bobbling the puck and/or passing it his skates. Time, a spot on the 2nd PP unit, and a solid veteran D-man alongside him are what Smith needs, as hard as the growing pains may be.

You make it sound like Howard has been out 3 months, not 3 games. He's basically had a week off, which is nothing. He is our #1 goalie. He is a top 10 goalie in the league. He was our best player last season by a country mile. If we're going to do anything this season, its going to be on the backs of Pav, Z, Kronner and James T Howard.

Not sure: Roenick: Chelios;Tcachuk?

Well guys, you got your wish. An injury to open up cap space and a roster spot. I hope you're all ****ing happy now.

Found this whilst rooting in my folders for the favourite meme thread...

Go on Patty, just try it, I dares ya.