Nev

Doc Emric got there before all of you, he was calling him DelKaiser in his commentary.

We've been close the last 3 games, but tonight really, really, really is the night we win 14-3. Pavel will get his traditional goal and 13 assists.

He's right though. DelKaiser, Nyquist and moving Franzen to centre all combined together to transmogrify us into a proper team.

FTFY

I can honestly say I haven't felt this way since game 7 in 2009. In a do or die situation like this, there's only one tune for it..

Haha, wow that's insane

Yeah, I think it was during the '94 run it just got out of hand. In the end Stevie Y had to make a public plea for fans to stop throwing them. After every goal it was taking so long to clear the ice that it was killing any momentum we had.

I'm not down with ragging on other teams fanbases normally, but that my lady is pure comedy gold

Just because he hasn't taken us past the 2nd round doesn't mean he hasn't played well. Those Sharks series when we were getting bitchslapped up and down the ice, it was only Jimmy (and Pav) that managed to get them to 7 games.

You lost me right there.

Was it in San Jose? when they were all out on the powerplay and the crowd were chanting USA! USA! and they were just passing the puck amongst themselves till they eventually scored. Pure win.

OK, tonight really really is the night when we win 14-3. Dats with a goal and 13 assists.

Its not just that. All season I've believed that the Wings offensive struggles are in large part down to their transition game. In this 2nd stint Nyquist is bringing the puck through the neutral zone with speed, and because he has tricksy moves as well as pace he's forcing the opposition D back and we're gaining the zone much easier.

Wow, have the Wings flipped a switch in the last week or what? What is so noticable is just how much more speed we're playing with. As soon as we win the puck in our own zone the forwards are off up the ice at full pelt. Obviously it helps having guys like Nyquist in the line-up, but everyone is busting their ass. Even the lines are all clicking. Abdelkader on the top line is a wrecking ball, he didn't get an assist on Pav's goal last night but he sure as hell deserved one as it was his chip, chase and check that turned the puck over behind their net. Franzen is in Mule mode on the 2nd line, despite having Filpulla and Cleary as line-mates. The rookie 3rd line is swarming all over the ice, and the 4th line is playing like a 4th line should. And James T Howard continues to play lights-out. It feels wierd, but we've turned into one of those teams that's playing playoff hockey just to get into the playoffs.

I miss when the NHL was on TV in the UK - and on a free to air channel too, not pay TV. 2 live games per week, plus lotsa highlights, and often a tape delay game after the live game too. Now, nada because Uncle Gary can't agree a lucrative enough deal. Just another thing to thank Bettman for!

What was noticable last game was how hard the forwards were skating, need the same kind of effort and intensity again tonight. We didn't quite manage 14-3 against Phoenix, but I'm sure with the same kind of performance tonight is the night. Dats with a goal and 13 assists natch.

He'll be alright the first game - players are usually flying on adrenaline the first game back. It'll be the next 2 games were he'll look out of shape.

5 points out of the last 6 and we're guaranteed a playoff spot by my reckoning because we hold the ROW tie-breaker over CBJ.

We haven't won 14-3 for a while, I think tonight could be the night. Pav with a goal, 13 assists and a thread complaining about his lack of goalscoring.

1) You're moaning that we don't have any 1st overall pick talent? You do realise what you have to do to get a #1 pick? 2) Then you want KH to trade all our "crap" for another teams lottery-pick-young-superstars? Now why would Edmonton trade Nugent-Hopkins for all our "crap"?

Emmerton, Kindl, Nyquist, Smith, Andersson. Plus Brunner and DelKaiser. Tatar and Lashoff too. Is 8 good, young, cheap players not enough for you?

Still blaming Holland for Suter's wife and Parise being from Minnesota?

No, no it doesn't. I'm guessing you've never read many sports autobiographies? Or at least the good ones, not the by-the-numbers ghostwritten ones. Because if you had, you would know what a complete fallacy this is. You'd learn about the swashbuckling, fearless player who was a terrified crybaby in the dressing room. You'd learn about the player who had ice in his veins when the game was on the line, but would be so nervous before every game he'd be throwing up. The dressing room bully who would hide out on the pitch ("don't pass that bloody white thing to me" syndrome). The innocent patsy whose career the coach destroys to make a point to the rest of the team. I can think of countless examples in all sports the buck the trend. Babcock, with his sports pyschology background understands this. Tough guys like Tortarella and Keenan don't.

Lidstrom. He sucks, missed a wide open net, we're better off without him

Yes, and that is why Holland has kept hold of almost all his draft picks since 2006, because he knows you need a constant pipeline of good, young, cheap players coming through.