titanium2

Is he the same Matt that runs RedWingsCentral?

Jake Ryan? Seriously whatever happened to him? It sounds like a good idea but Helm should really play center. You want his effectiveness to cover the center of the ice.

"If you think Helmer's here as a goal scorer, he's not. He's never going to be a guy, probably in his whole career, that we're counting on to score goals. We're counting on him for energy and penalty killing and he's done a great job there. Helmer's been fantastic. He's basically set the work ethic here. We need more guys working as hard as Helmer works." From The Detroit News: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/wingsblog/index.php?blogid=3302#ixzz0hgpHGcQo

Eh, Hossa is still in his prime. Bertuzzi is a couple years away from retirement.

Hudler is coming back next year? Did I miss something?

Oh, BOOO!!! Come out of retirement! Ali, Bumaye! Ali, Bumaye! Ali, Bumaye!

Haha. People around here know that this guy just ******* with you all right?

Don't really care. I just want them to make it.

Haha, your favorite prospect really does change a lot. That's good though. It means you know how to have fun with all the prospect excitement. Though if they were to really put that line out there I think I'd want Eaves on the left simply because he has the best shot among those three and I'd like to see him coming from the opposite side because that would put him in better position to shoot.

I posted the same pic in the GDT and mine got deleted or rather "posted image-d". Why is it that his worked and not mine? And yeah, I know, God hates and bla bla bla. Any serious answers to that question?

Haha. Not as much as Babs, Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

I'm proud to be a staunch Filppula supporter. One thing however that does bother me about him is his mindset on offense. You hear him say all the time, "The important thing is to play good defense and be happy with whatever offense I can get." I'm ecstatic that he values defense so much and he's a lot of fun to watch when he's out there competing hard. But I wish his mindset were more like, "Play good defense AND good offense," and not just "whatever I can get." I'm sure even the Filppula slappys on LGW would agree that he can be so much better on offense and a part of that is him believing that his offensive game can be on par with his defensive game without him having to sacrifice anything on defense. Obviously that's the next step for him in terms of growth, that 55-65 point plateau. However, if he remains a Red Wing then he'll have to find a way to do that with Datsyuk and Zetterberg as teammates. As much as we want Fil to grow in an exponentially similar way as Pav and Z, he won't have the same kind of opportunity they did in which Pav and Z had to really push themselves to step up their game with the departures of Fedorov, Yzerman, Shanahan and so forth. I'm not suggesting that anyone leave to allow for Fil to grow. I'm just saying he'll have a different path to becoming as good of a player as we Filppula slappys think he can be. Something else I was thinking about in regards to Fil: Is Game 4 against the Hawks last year his best game in his NHL career so far?

Sammy says, "Grab that s*** like a starving man on a Christmas pulla" Pun intended.

One of Huet's main hobbies that he learned growing up in France is cooking. Here he demonstrates his ability to toss salads. No? I'm trying to think of a way to use sieve and ass. *******, but that's not really all that clever.

As far as why not the first line isn't together anymore, I'm not so sure that the phenomenon we know of as the "Euro Twins" exists anymore. I'm really just speculating but for one, I think that last year changed a lot in regards to the mindsets of Pav and Z. For most of that year they led their own separate lines and with linemates that were consistently better than others they've had in the past. They were able to rack up a good amount of points on separate lines without each other's help; not to mention they had more time with the puck and better linemates. All in all they had some pretty good success in a situation in which they were both able to play their natural center position on separate lines. Guys like Pav, Z, Fil, Helm, and supposedly Abdelkader are natural centers that show a difference in effectiveness when they skate through the center of the ice as opposed to on the wing. They should play center. The get more responsibility but they also get the puck more. This year Pav and Z played together for some time and the magic wasn't there. You could attribute it to both of them just having an off year or Zetterberg looking like he's worn out or opponents are now better at defending them and that's definitely a part of the whole dynamic but I also think that maybe they've just changed in another way. I hope I'm wrong but I wouldn't be surprised if they've simply gotten used to being the center on their own line that mainly controls the puck and have developed a taste for not having to share that role as much. It was really strange for me to write all that because I've always said to keep the "Euro Twins" together and haven't bought any of the criticisms for why they should be on separate lines but now I might have a reason that I can believe. Perhaps they've evolved in such a way that the magic just isn't there anymore and maybe they each individually have to find a way to create a new kind of magic. EDIT: Some links I posted didn't work for some reason.

Also I'm not sure what to think about the new "Reputation" feature. It will point out anytime when a clear majority of people disagree with something but just because an opinion isn't popular doesn't mean it's wrong. I guess I look forward to seeing users abuse that stat in the near future. "My reputation points speak for themselves and bla bla bla..."

Glad LGW back. It was weird not having it in the daily routine for a little bit. I went to HF and RWC, which are good places overall but they just don't have as big of a party as LGW. Oh and someone on HF or RWC said something about cliques on LGW. I'm not sure if I know what he's talking about.

I think a lot about 2008 and what they did right and why it's been so hard for them to look like that again as consistently as they were. I guess the truth is that a lot of the other teams not only got better but have found ways to really neutralize some of the things that the Wings do well, especially against the Wings best players. It's on them to adjust and find ways to be better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_u46hb8-rI

http://www.griffinshockey.com/fanzone/egriffiti/index.html?article_id=1509 Statistically speaking, no Griffins player has ever shown more improvement from one year to the next than Jan Mursak. By Mark Newman Jan Mursak always knew he could play hockey at the highest levels, but that belief was more severely tested than he ever might have imagined. The Red Wings prospect would be the first to admit that he suffered through a crisis in confidence during his first full year as a pro last season. “When I got the chance to play, I just didn’t believe in myself,” he said. “I was getting rid of the puck too fast. I wasn’t patient. I was scared to do anything because I didn’t want to mess things up. “Last year nothing went in and I became frustrated. I was doing stuff that I’m not good at. I made mistakes. But when you’re young and inexperienced, it happens.” A point-per-game player in junior hockey, Mursak couldn’t seem to score at the AHL level. When his production failed to materialize, he found his ice time dwindled. He became a healthy scratch so often that he lost count of the games that he sat in the stands. His on-ice struggles were not for lack of desire or effort. “I knew I could do it – I was always good in practice – but when the game came, nothing would go,” Mursak said. “It wasn’t like I wasn’t ready, or that something was wrong. I just didn’t have confidence.” Through it all, Mursak remained motivated. He had come to North America in 2006 from the small country of Slovenia, wanting to pursue his dream of playing in the NHL. His parents had sacrificed plenty to enable him to play hockey – equipment back home was not cheap – and he was not about to let them down. “I never wanted to disappoint my parents because they put everything they had into hockey,” Mursak said. “They did everything for me and that’s why I want to make them proud, and last year it was really hard because I wasn’t doing that. “Every time we talked, I felt bad because I knew I could do so much better.” Frequent phone conversations with his father helped him stay focused. There were more words of encouragement when he returned home this past summer. “I talked to my dad a lot and he supported me all the time,” Mursak said. “I didn’t know what to do any more because it was so hard. I wasn’t playing and even when I played, I didn’t believe in myself so I didn’t show anything good.” Mursak’s first goal last season finally came in his 29th game. He finished the year with two goals and seven assists in 51 games. It’s been an entirely different story this season. Through 51 games, Mursak already had 18 goals – a terrific turnaround for a hard-working player who refused to quit. “Pucks started going in more often and I felt more comfortable because of it,” he said. “This year I’m getting a lot of ice time and I‘m just confident in myself, trying to make better plays and working hard, while trying to keep things simple.” His resurgence started as soon as last season ended. He added his own twists to the Red Wings’ training program, improving his strength and conditioning, while also working on his shot. “I have a friend back home who plays for Nashville and he wants to get better, too, so we kept pushing each other to the limit but still made it fun,” Mursak said. He worked out twice a day, five or six days a week. He shortened his shot so that he had a quicker release. He did a lot of running. He did sprints into the hills near his home. “I worked hard this summer – I knew exactly what I wanted,” he said. “I even took boxing classes, not to fight but just to get into shape. And it all paid off.” He also went to a softer hockey stick and lessened the curve on the blade, although he doesn’t credit his recent fortunes to the change. “I’m not really picky about my hockey equipment,” he said. “I don’t think it had anything to do with my sticks. I usually have my sticks for a long time before I break them.” The difference, Mursak believes, came in his approach to the game. “This year I’m going to the most high-scoring areas,” he said. “When my teammates have the puck, I just go to the net and look for a redirect or a rebound. I’ve just been in the right place at the right time this year.” Mursak also stopped worrying about making the perfect pass or the pretty play. He knew he had to start taking advantage of his speed and do whatever he could to put the puck past the defense. He was rewarded almost from the start of this season. He scored a goal in back-to-back contests six games into the new campaign and has never looked back. "I just need to keep shooting the puck and I know it will go in, whether they’re nice goals or ugly ones. No one asks you if they were nice or not, as long as they help the team.” Griffins head coach Curt Fraser said he never doubted Mursak’s ability, even when he struggled during his rookie season. “Like a lot of young players, Jan found out that not everything is going to go your way,” Fraser said. “He ran into some bumps in the road, a little adversity, but he never stopped working. “When he was getting a lot of scoring chances and not finding the back of the net, I’m sure it was tough on him, but he found a way to keep working. He probably worked harder than almost anybody last year. “Jan has really taken a step up this year with his speed, skill and determination. He’s really impressed a lot of people and we think he has a really bright future with the Detroit Red Wings.” Mursak will still have his struggles. He will still make mistakes. He will have trouble scoring again. In fact, he went through a 16-game stretch from Jan. 9 to Feb. 15 in which he had just one goal. If anything, it means he will continue to work that much harder. “I’m a really competitive person and I would do anything to be better than another player,” he said. “I’ll work extra hard. I’ll go to the gym every day for an hour more than the other guys. I just want to get better and better.” Mursak said he was confident from the first day of training camp last fall. “I just knew I was going to have a good season,” he said. “But I want to play good for a whole season and not just a half.” He would like to still get stronger. “Last year I was a healthy scratch a lot of games and it was really hard on me, but I kept working hard in the gym and I got stronger, which has helped my stability on the ice.” “I still need to get a little bigger, but I don’t want to rush it because two years ago I added a lot of weight and it didn’t work for me. I felt like I couldn’t skate as fast.” Having made strides in his own play this year, Mursak would like to do whatever he can to improve the Griffins’ fortunes as the team heads into the closing portion of the 2009-10 regular season. “We’re not far from winning. It’s just that one mistake or one bad period that costs us,” Mursak said. “We’re getting punched for every mistake we make. I think we’re working hard, but we’re just not working smart. “We just need to keep it simple, especially against teams with good defense. We just need to chip the puck in and wait for their mistakes. “This is a really good team with four strong lines. We just need to start winning. I’m a team guy and I’ll do anything for the team.”

It's interesting to imagine the lineup without him. Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Cleary-Filppula-Franzen Draper-Helm-Eaves Miller-Abdelkader-Williams

My response is similar to your response is to my post in the Eaves thread. You could say that about nearly the whole team. Babcock definitely said it.