xtrememachine1

Its funny you say that because it was the Pens that ruined Jim Carey's career. He was good against everyone except the Pens who destroyed him every time, it wrecked his confidence and he was done. Mrazek wasn't very good in the two games against the Pens earlier this year, I was surprised to see him in there this afternoon. Howard has been improving lately and he's historically been good against the Pens or at least better than Mrazek has been. Plus, we got blown out in each of those games, wouldn't it make sense to at least try something different. I feel like Mrazek is having a meltdown similar to Howard's from earlier in the year, but the difference is we keep putting Mraz out there. With neither goalie really playing well enough to be called the starter right now, it'll be interesting to see what we do in the offseason. How long do we keep riding these two before we find out if either is the answer?

Don't worry, everytime I go see these two play, the Wings lose. Everytime I don't go, the Wings win. I'm currently not at the Joe. We'll be fine

Yet another tough loss. The silver lining is they didn't give up and played hard in the last two periods, but really the burning question is "what happened in the first period???" I'm serious, what was that? We were outshot 23-3?? I'm sorry, but the only time you ever see that at the professional level is when you see international competition where its like Team Canada vs Team Japan. This is the same team, the same players, that was in sole possession of 2nd place in the division at the All Star break. People are quick to blame Holland, but its not the players talent level. People want to blame the defensemen, but no way do you get outshot THAT badly because just the defensemen are playing poorly. People want to blame the coaching, but if that was the case, we'd be well out of the playoff picture by now. There is something going on in the locker room. Morale, conflict, dissension, etc. The Flyers are NOT that good to outshoot us 23-3. The BJs, Jets, Leafs are all games this team is good enough to win and we're either losing or playing really poorly. It doesn't make sense. If they were really this bad, they wouldn't have been that good in the first 5 months of the season. Blashill needs to figure out what's going on in his players heads because THAT is what's beating them right now and if he doesn't fix it, we will definitely miss the playoffs. We're playing the dregs of the league and losing. Right now, I think the Wings would struggle and possibly lose against the Griffins.

Making the playoffs, at the very least, gives our young guys NHL playoff experience. At best, a shot at the Cup. I know that doesn't seem too realistic at the moment, but the NHL playoffs are very unpredictable. Injuries, slumps, hot streaks, and pressure all play a factor. As Wings fans, we should know this better than anyone. Each of those factors led us to an early exit or a championship at some point over the past 25 years. We nearly beat TB last year and Washington, despite all the good regular seasons they've had, have never really done anything in the history of the playoffs. Ever. Being realistic is giving young players and a young coach time to develop at the NHL level. Not everyone is a Crosby/Ovechkin level superstar that makes an immediate impact right away. As for the "overpriced" vets, that some of you want to get rid of, they're the difference between us being a playoff team or a team like the Edmonton Oilers. Vets help the young players get up to speed quicker. Guys like Richards, Quincey, Helm, and Green are necessary components of a quick and successful rebuilding process.

With the standings as tight as they are, losing out on two points at home against a really bad team is a tough pill to swallow. This is rock bottom. Having said that, its not over. If we beat Philly and Columbus this week, it'll take away a lot of this sting. They then have a golden opportunity to climb up the division against Florida and TB. A lot of you are throwing in the towel and wanting to blow it all up, but we're still in a playoff spot and have a more favorable schedule than the teams we're competing with in the standings.

They've made deals to stay competitive because the core of their championship team is intact. Trading a few picks or prospects to win now is the right thing to do for them right now. Doing that really isn't an option for us. We're planning on those prospects to step up soon and take over eventually. Trading young stars for people that can perform now isn't really going to be helpful to the overall goal. Guys like Richards and Green are good enough to keep us qualifying for the playoffs, while being good in-locker room mentors.

Lots of hate for our team right now. Let me remind you, we're playing a great team that's won 3 of the last 6 Cups, loaded with talent that's currently in their prime and we're in the process of rebuilding after winning 4 Cups in 11 years. We're not bad, THEY are good. We have a lot of young talent, they have talent and experience. I hate to say it as much as you hate to read it, but they should be beating us right now considering current state of each franchise. It won't stay like that though. We'll get better and better each year as our prospects develop. Holland didn't make a deal because making a trade wouldn't change the outcome of this game, but it could negatively impact our team in the future. Rebuilding takes a lot of time, we can't flip out and want to make a bunch of changes because we're losing to a team we hate. We'll turn this around and in a few years, their superstars will have lost a step and our young stars will be entering their prime and the tables will be turned. Remember games like these, it'll make beating them sweeter in a few years.

Great all around game. I was hoping winning the outdoor game would give them a boost and it appears to have done that. Its great to see Jimmy Howard get back into form and not only get the win, but play really well, in that win. Sometimes all it takes a good win and performance like that to get back on track. Don't get me wrong, he's a long way from unseating Mrazek, but Mraz can't play all the games and games he's not in, can't be automatic losses like they've been the past couple months. Andreas Athanasiou. This guy's speed is ridiculous. I feel like every game now he's making a fantastic play and scores or nearly scores a goal. Reminds me of Fedorov when he first came to the NHL. First, Larkin, now Double A. How many more hidden gems do we have lurking around in our system? Don't even get me started about the refs. I remember a game against Dallas (ironically enough) where Brad May scored and the refs called it no goal because they meant to blow the whistle before he shot it in even though the whistle came WELL after the puck was shot in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v0HSV6yIYQ The refs are a part of the game and they usually are terrible. Officiating didn't cost them the game, they're inability to stop Double A did. Once again, this western road game sounded like another home game. Geez, I kind of wish the Wings still played in the West now. SJ, Anaheim, Glendale and now Dallas, all very loud buildings in favor of the Wings. I noticed there was a lot of red in the stands in the game in Pittsburgh too. More than I'm used to seeing. Our fan base is apparently growing even without winning a Stanley Cup.

Happy Anniversary and thank you Matt for creating this site! Good times or bad times, the people on here always give me a good laugh. I don't know what I'd do without it. This is a really great source for pretty much all hockey news too. That's great testament to how dedicated Wings fans are to the sport itself. Thanks again and I look forward to another great 20 years!

So I just got back from the game. I was "lucky" enough to witness yet another disaster. Third game in a row that I've been to that the Wings have given up 5+ goals. Blah. I didn't get many pics of Wings players. I got these tickets as a birthday present for my Mom, who hasn't been to a hockey game since 93 and is a huge Pens fan. So I mostly got pics of her salivating over Letang. Pros: I thought we controlled most of the play in the first until that garbage bounced off Helm and into the net. Then it went downhill. Guys never gave up, Z scored a nice goal near the end. I don't know if you could tell on TV, but there was a lot of red in the crowd. More than I'm used to seeing at a Pens game. Even my Mom was like "Are we in Detroit or something?" That was nice to see. My Mom, of course, enjoyed her present and all 6 goals. XO looked decent and the Nyquist line looked good. Cons: Mrazek got lit up again. Seems like we're in another slump. Hopefully break out soon. If I never hear that effin goal horn again, it won't be soon enough. Some idiot tried to start something with me in the first period, yelling "Hey! ***hole! ***hole in the Zetterberg jersey! Your Wings f***ing suck! Hey, I'm talkin to you, ***hole!" So classy. I didn't even acknowledge his existence. It was just annoying to hear him talk crap after every goal and boo obnoxiously loud after each Wings goal. I wanted to respond, but yeah, sitting next to my Mom, probably not the best time to get into that kind of thing. Plus, the Wings weren't exactly giving me anything to shove back in his face. Overall, probably not the best hockey experience of my life, but my Mom was thrilled with her present and anytime I get to see the Wings in person is a good thing.

Don't worry, based on how Blashill has worked the lines earlier in the year, he'll pencil them together on the same line after they retire. But seriously, yeah, they've been really good since getting back together. Its nice to have the depth to be able to do that. Now if that depth could just pick it up a bit. Larkin has zero points with a -3 in his last four games.

Malkin is expected to miss tonight's game. http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2016/02/17/Penguins-Evgeni-Malkin-likely-to-miss-Thursday-s-game-against-Red-Wings/stories/201602170207

I'll be there! Hopefully, to see them win. The last two Wings games I went to they gave up 5 goals (5-1 last year at Consol, 5-2 at the Joe this year). It'd be nice if they could NOT give up 5 goals. lol Mrazek needs to be a wall tonight. Let's go Wings!

If not this game, then when? Against the Pens? I don't think Crosby and Malkin will help his confidence. Maybe against a division opponent? Maybe in the outdoor game against Colorado? The Wings have beat up the Isles pretty good this year, Mrazek needed a break and I think yesterday was a good indication of that. This was the time to play Howard, unfortunately, that first flukey goal has led to him playing pretty bad. Huge rebound on the second goal and no way should that third have gone in.

We've been pretty successful against the Isles so far this season, putting Howard in is a good idea. We need him to be at least a competent back up. Right now, he feels like an automatic loss and Mrazek can't play every game.

I thought yesterday's win was HUGE for this team. For the most part, its a pretty young group of inexperienced players which is why this team is so streaky sometimes. They blew the first three teams out of the water in this homestand and won, then dominated the Avs, yet lost. That can be tough to overcome. Then 8 seconds into this game, they get scored on. We catch a break with the Chara penalty and Mrazek plays the puck outside the trapezoid 11 seconds into that PP and gets a penalty. We score, then they score right away after that. Then they score again. Tough pill to swallow a couple nights ago, then this terrible start. For the Wings to come back in a game where it seemed like everything was going against them is a big deal. It shows the kind of character they have and gives them confidence to keep pressing now matter what. Wins like this do more for your team than winning 5-0. Overcoming adversity is a crucial part of becoming a championship team.

It doesn't matter to me. I don't watch the game unless the Wings are playing in it anyways, so the Pens could play in it every year for all I care. The Wings are rumored to play another game that day anyways.

I wonder how much Parise and Suter are enjoying playing in Minnesota now. Stamkos should take note if Toronto's on his radar.

Its funny, I used to have several other favorites, but as soon as I watch them in a game against the Wings, I don't like them anymore. Honestly, I don't even feel good about even wearing another team's jersey because someday that team could screw over the Wings.

Its funny, I was listening to this on the radio and thought to myself while it was still 2-0, "Well, if we could just somehow get two goals and at least get into OT, I'd be happy with that. 4-1-1 sounds better than 4-2." Then we scored that first goal and I was like "Screw OT, let's win it!" I can't get over the crowd, not only for this game, but for the whole road trip. We have a strong following out west. I don't know if it was new for this game, but it was nice see our $6 mil a year powerplay extraordinaire (Mike Green) actually playing on the FIRST powerplay unit. Nyquist is playing better, which is good news for us, even if its just to bump up his trade value. This is no small win. Arizona won their last 4 and to come back and win like that on the road is huge for our confidence.

I've only been to the Joe twice in my life, had seats in the upper bowl both times and loved it. There really isn't a bad seat in that arena and the atmosphere is electric. The fans are really into it. As someone who went from watching games at the Civic Arena to Consol Energy Center, I can tell you that while the new arena is all new, clean and modern it can't hold a candle to the old barn. History, tradition and experience can't be replaced. I will seriously shed a tear when they tear it down, so enjoy it while you can.

Considering how young our team is, the fact that we have a young first year head coach, I'm pretty happy with our progress. We're in a good spot in the standings and we have enough good talented young players on the team or in the minors to not have to worry about Z and D retiring soon. Our defense could be better, but I feel like every team in the league is saying that. I'd like to see consistency out of our goaltending. Mrazek has been the better goalie as of late, but he has his let down games, which I guess comes with the territory with a young goalie. Howard started off well and is now struggling worse than ever. We need somebody to step up and stay there. Mrazek looks like he MIGHT be that guy, but for me, its still too early to tell. Overall, I'm happy with how things are going so far. People were saying we wouldn't make the playoffs at the beginning of the year and now we're third in the conference.

Stamkos could take care of our scoring problems for the foreseeable future, plus, we'd still have a ton of young forwards to play with him like Larkin, Tatar, Pulk, Abdelkader, etc. I could see Larkin and Stamkos being like another Yzerman and Fedorov or Datysuk and Zetterberg. Adding Drouin to this deal would make it too good to pass up. With Franzen probably never coming back and Datsyuk possibly retiring after next year, we'd have the cap space to pull this off. I love this, but I don't think it'll happen. I do think that if Stamkos is traded though, he'll be signed already or the trade will be contingent on the team receiving him signing a deal. If the Bolts want the max return on him, they have to trade him signed. No one will give that much for a possible rental.

Elite. Not elite. All I know is that he's 19 and he's already been picked for the NHL All Star game and will only get better and better as he gets older and more experienced. Plenty of reasons for Wings fans to smile today.

Colorado vs NJ in the "Colorado vs UsedToBeColorado" rivalry. Honestly, I think Rangers vs Islanders is overdue. Play it in Yankee stadium. Nobody outside of NY will care, but it seems like nobody cares already. Minnesota vs Dallas will probably happen at some point too. I think the Wings will play the Pens at some point, if the NHL continues these games, just not next year.