XxGoWingsxX

yeah it worked at the beginning, went off once, came back....went off again and now ...it won't work at all....damn pistons game on fsd anyway

so, no working stream for tonights game yet? edit: nevermind the sopcast one just started working

To be honest, i wouldn't be surprised if there is some kind of strategy to their play right now....do only what you have to , to get the wings early in the season...then towards the end step it up and head into the playoffs with little to no major injuries. This way come playoff time when its time to give it everything they have...they still have very much left in the tank

And the thing is...minus Drake and Cheli right now we DO have a better team with Hossa. We just seem to not be playing to our potential. What i've noticed thus far is that our breakouts are the nail in the coffin for us in games right now. We're getting sloppy through the neutral zone and giving teams way too many odd man rushes. Not only that but with this plan of bettman's to keep scoring close and have more goals, We spend a considerable amount of the 3rd period in the box if we have the lead...this isn't just the wings though as I could say the same for almost every game I've seen from any team, when they lead halfway to late in the 3rd. So in short....our defense is sucking it up right now and without our defensive game we suffer on the offense as well and might I add ozzie has looked stale and conklin has been the better of the two so far....the only thing scaring me about him is his HORRIBLE rebound control....but he does make up for it with the ability to make those secondary saves. All in all, I think we'll be fine. right now we have a few injuries that have some key guys out right now like cleary and homer...and look kopecky has done an ok job of filling in for homer but my point is...when our core is all there again and we have the majority of the regulars back, I think things will make a turn for the better. Once we find our defensive legs again our goaltending numbers will be better and remember that Detroit is a defense first team so when our defensive and goaltending numbers rise, so will our offense. Just my thoughts though. On another note, any official word on when chelios could be back yet? or did i miss it?

Nobody but Buttman and his "Lackeys" know for sure whats been told to the refs...but I will tell you this. I used to enjoy watching any hockey games that were televised for me to watch, including non wings games. Since the start of the season, It's gotten so bad that I've been watching only wings games...and Pretty soon, those will become unwatchable for me as well. What ever happened to letting teams win based on their own merit and skill alone? That my friends is REAL competition. But now we have a game where losing teams are getting breaks from the refs and it's affecting the outcome. Thats not a real sport...thats almost like being rigged just so bettman can get ratings up on games for the newbie fans who think the scoring is too slow, while at the same time...the 20 year plus die hard fans (like me) are being turned off to the sport. What's bettman gonna do when these newb fans become tired and move onto something else, and all the die hards have called it quits? The guy is a joke and is running the best league in the world straight into the ground. . I don't wanna see more scoring per-say. I wanna see the team who plays the best win. Not the team who got the most breaks from the refs because they got behind. By that time, the team in the lead spent so much of their energy GETTING that said lead, that when the refs start handing the game to the other team...The leading team doesn't have the damn energy to keep up with all the 5 on 4's, and 5 on 3's, and can very easily lose that lead. Look at the tampa bay game. Wings down 2-0 at the beginning of the 2nd...and i think right at the end of the 2nd the wings had a 5 on 3 and another 2 minute pp waiting for one of the first guys to get out of the box. I would have rather seen the wings lose that game because they were just beaten...not handed PP goals on a silver platter. I'm a long time fan, and to me....This game is becoming a joke. Am i being too petty? Or picky? Or is anyone else with me on this?

lovin jiri, i love your ideas actually and that would keep it fair all around cuz if things were goin sour the owners would be the ones to blame for electing them. Reilly, While i do like the fact that they're calling the extra penalty during the PK, its the first penalty that shouldn't be called in the first place, or called more consistently. But i do agree...if on a PK, you shouldn't be able to get away with murder. Its just WHEN these are being called and i've seen more than one PHANTOM penalty resulting in a 5 on 3...thats all.

you know...you guys have a good point on this...he keeps getting pulled every 3rd or so game...maybe he needs a string of 4 or 5 games to get back into the swing of things

agreed....its all bettman's plan to create more offense, thus drawing in more crowds. Its no conspiracy against the wings...the officiating is being dictated by the suits in a way that helps them sell the sport...but in the long run they're going to alienate their true die hard fans...and then..what about when the bandwagon fans get over it? The sport of hockey will be ruined so bettman could gain more viewers...if only for a couple of years. And whats all this talk about banning fights? They just seem to want to transform hockey to figure skating with a stick...its starting to sicken me.

Well, for one, i think we're taking wayy to many bad penalties in the second half of games...some were just blown calls but for the most part detroit has looked undisciplined. Second...with ozzie especially, he's not used to having more than 15-20 shots come at him in a game. Conks on the other hand, seems to be a bit more used to the frantic 2,3,4 shots in a row coming right at him than ozzie is. I also personally have a SLIGHT suspicion that Chelios not being around to help Lidstrom keep the D in check is hurting us more than most would like to admit. In defense of lidstrom..he just started wearing that visor which will take some getting used to but some of his plays have been very uncharacteristic also. I don't have the wings PK stats near me but if im correct the numbers aren't that great right now are they? The bottom line is this...its the beginning of the season and yes the D looks shaky but as far as i know babcock hasn't really tried shaking up the lines a bit...maybe the defensive chemistry has changed and should be paired differently? Try putting Kronwall on the 1st pair with Lids, and Raffi on the 2nd with stuart? Just a thought but it might help. Either way, we're winning solely because our offense is saving our defense's ass, and both ozzie and conks have kept us in it to the best of their ability...they just need a little more help out front and we'll be fine. I can't remember the last time i saw the wings give up 30 shots in one game...let alone a few at a time.

the problem is, the rules are all called different by different refs...theres no real consistency. So one game a player can get away with something like bumping into another player before he touches a loose puck and riding him to the corner..yet the next game, as soon as that same player touches the guy w/o the puck he's called for interference. Its kinda like sammy's interference call in the 3rd....not even 5 seconds before he was called...someone hit him from behind but wasn't called...his was a retaliation i think. The rules are pretty much subjective to the ref who calls it how he wants....its not consistent, and i think its part of the NHL's plan for more goals because when players never know what they'll be called for...it creates more penalties and thus more goals. But as for what you were talking about, i think it might just be the wings having lazy coverage because normally the'd be on that forward behind them like white on rice

i think one of our main defensive problems is that we're being too afraid to take the body. I've yet to really see anyone get physical in our own zone to get the puck from the other team. Its as if the guys are trying TOO hard to stay in position and not hard enough to take an occasional chance at knocking someone away from the puck. Aside from datsyuk and his takeaways...the wings seems to only be using their sticks..not their bodies to get the puck away from other teams

I remember reading something about dats and z last year. z said with dats....you don't have to look for the pass to come...its a wink and a nod and they knew what eachother was going to do. Hossa hasn't had much experience playing with dats yet...i say by the 10 game mark, we start to see some AMAZING setups and goals between the 2 of them...but in the mean time...holmstrom and franzen can lead our team in points lol

Yeah, i do believe the wings ended up with more PP during that series BUT....its not just the fact that the pens got away with alot..its also the fact that WHEN the wings were called for one of these phantom penalties...or even a legit one...its WHEN it was called. The refs seemed to let things go when neither team had momentum...but when the wings gained momentum, things the ref let go 3 seconds ago...were all of a sudden getting called. Its not that the refs were so much calling bad penalties on the wings...its WHEN they called them...mostly in clutch moments. Plus, yeah whoever said the pens got away with 3 penalties in the last 1:30 is right...first the slash making lils lose his stick, then someone hit his stick toward the blueline, away from him so he couldn't get it...then pasha goes streaking down the boards , more than likely getting an open netter, or at least killing off the clock away from his own net, when he was SO BLATANTLY tripped right in front of a ref and it was ignored...then the pens get TOO CLOSE to putting in a last second goal There was no officiating conspiracy against the wings in terms of penalties called, or not called for the pens....it was that the refs one minute would let something go, and the next they'd call us for half the infraction of the one they just let go

actually the sweedish spelling for kronwall IS kronvall...there was debate on what to put on his jersey at first. Edit: I may be wrong...i actually think its the prononciation in sweedish is kronVall not the spelling

Hey, i've watched the youtube vid over and over but its really hard to make out......in the scuffle after sykora hit osgood, who the hell is datsyuk throwing punches on lol....i loved when he did that, but i'd love it even more if it were certain players....but til this day i can't see it from the vid..thanks edit: from a different angle thatn i previously saw, i think it was ryan malone?

lol yes he is...it wasn't until lilja grabbed sykora there that i realized what a hulking beast lils is...hes 1 inch shorter than i am but still seems to tower over most...which makes me think i'd be bigger than 90 percent of nhl players

Ahh ok thanks man...it was driving me nuts, i believe he also hits malone too though Edit...duh i'm a dumbass malone is 11, roberts is 10...i kept getting them mixed up but thanks again guys...i think it makes it sweeter acutally because roberts is a grinder and he also sucker punched franzen after he came back

lol i also love the way adreas lilja grabs peter sykora after her hits ozzie and swings him around like a ragdoll

not sure...heres the link to the vid

Aww c'mon dude, the guy's obviously a wings fan...and we wings fans don't tolerate discrimination on other wings fans just because they're not from detroit...a wings fan is a wings fan is a wings fan....i see you're from australia..cool its awesome you're a wings fan, and you're very welcome to be here....but so is southernwingsfan and he actually lives in america...sorry if your entire post was sarcastic though...as it is sometimes hard to determine that while reading text lol. So i say...can't we all just get along?

Oh for sure. I was pleasantly surprised with Hossa, as it just proves that no matter how good an athlete someone may be, they may still be modest, and in a position to make a decision on what they want as far as their hockey career goes. In this case, Marion Hossa decided that the chance at winning a cup far outweighed his immediate want for millions of dollars. The feeling of winning a cup, and the bragging rights is not something that can be bought. It is something that has to be earned through your play. Hossa saw something special with the wings, and he of all people should know...he was in fact on the ice with them when he lost his chance to win the cup this year. It actually sickens me that people are calling him dumb for not taking tons of money....but..in my eyes the reason he decided to play for the wings for so little money for only one year is this....we quite possibly might not have this strong of a team in the 09/10 season. He felt that our team is ripe for a repeat and he wanted to give it a shot when the chance was at it's best. All these reporters and other players etc calling him stupid for not taking the money...well it just shows where their priorities would lay. I think Hossa was smart as....if the wings aren't able to keep him next year, theres going to be one hell of another bidding war in the next offseason over him....the money will still be there next season. Hossa thought about it and decided that hey...the wings are the hottest team in the sport right now, if i join....it GREATLY increases the chance of a repeat...and if we win it or not....if they can't keep me, i'll receive more offers next year. Theres no ABSOLUTE guarantee that he'll be offered as much as he was this year, but thats a risk he wanted to take for a chance at the cup. Lets face it...Hossa is one hell of a player, who is near his prime, and the money will still be there next year....will his shot at a cup be as great next year? Possibly not....like i said the wings are the most talented team in the league right now and that could very well change next year so hossa said f*** it, i'll strike while the iron is hot.

But, OH NO...There goes 1/7 of what Hossa will make for signing with us to get the number he wants.... (cue even more pissed off pittsburgh fans) lol

So, i've been forum hopping to other teams message boards, and i just love how they all say the wings are a team who only wins because of their defense. While i will agree that we are a defensive minded team, and that defense is what keeps us in games...its NOT POSSIBLE to win without scoring lol. I think the thing is that our Defence is such a force that other fans fail to see what an offensive powerhouse we are as well. I'm not even talking about our core scorers like hank, dats, homer , draper...etc . I mean we have four full lines of forwards who never seize to amaze me. I remember one such article during the WCF this year saying we needed to find secondary scoring. The first goal of the very next game...who scores? None other than kris draper........he puts one past turco and his CHIN gets the assist lol. So, yeah we have a few guys we look to as our main scorers but our secondary scorers come from out of nowhere when its least expected and most needed. We are a defensive powerhouse yes, but without playing the D we do, you can't generate the offense we do either. My cousin lives in dallas and is a stars fan through and through and while talking to him about the WCF during game 5 i think, he says to me...detroit scares us bad. He said ANY time dats or z touch the puck their whole arena stands on edge thinking that the worst is about to happen. Then he finishes it with...hell anytime ANY of your forwards touches the puck we cringe because, while some of them aren't big number scorers ...EVERY SINGLE ONE of them has the ability to simply amaze you. When i asked him 3 forwards (not including dats or z) who he found as the biggest threat, i was actually surprised by his answer. He said that filpulla, hudler, and sammy scared alot of stars fans. So, when will other teams fans realize that we DO have offensive game, and realize that while we are a defensive minded team...our d players can play great offense, and our offensive players can play great D. We're probably the best 2 way team in the league, and we dont EVER go all out on offense. We worry about taking the offensive scoring chances we get and then rely on the defensive part of our game to keep us in. We don't get greedy and try to score 6 goals a game, we take the lead and hold it to win...enough said lol anyone else agree?

Well said dude....yea we didn't really lose anyone this offseason (barring hasek who didn't do much for us in the playoffs, and maybe drake) but also, we have a lot of younger guys who are only getting better with each game (see: filp, franzen, hudler, helm who i was in awe of during the finals...and im sure theres more im missing) My point is, if anything Pit only got significantly weaker yet still remains a contender, but the wings are an ever evolving beast of a team who, regardless of picking up hossa are only getting stronger and stronger as our young guys develop and age. Does anyone else agree that the wings are the new oilers dynasty? I mean we may not have some things the oilers did then but we're the closest thing there has been to it.

I for the most part agree with the things the writer said. Hes talking about eastern conference for one, AND he was quick to point out (though probably not without gritting his teeth) the wings as a complete team, and give them their due credit. Do i think the part about their D being second to none in the east is true...not really but thats MY opinion. The only part i have to really disagree with is the part where he says fedotenko, and satan can equal up to malone and hossa to fill in their holes in the roster. When all is said and done though, pittsburgh is really still the best candidate to make it in the playoff run in the eastern conference. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see a rematch at the end of this coming season, only this time the pens are a bit weaker to us and we're a bit stronger to them...ouch lol