truebladearmy

Halak basically bought St Louis an early season surge. It helps that the team is generally hard working. But Halak was a huge part of their early success. unfortunately the team is faltering now. Halak can't do it alone. That team needs to find a way to win. Halak can keep them in just about any game, but I kinda feel like the team is letting Halak down.

Yeah, we should totally steal it. Hockeytown does an awesome GDT every single day, but the hot/cold thing is pretty inventive. If this site ended up doing it though, I'd recommend giving props over on the SJ board, before we use it.

I really don't think Detroit loses this. I liked the concept they have at the SJ boards, where they list hot streaks, and cold streaks, and it's ******* hilarious that they call the cold streak a "Vlasic" streak. But looking at our cold streak list on that forum, any of those guys is due for a big game. Guess we'll find out in an hour and a half.

Lol, how true I hope it isn't a long term injury. Wrist injuries can heal fairly quickly. Even though I had a wrist injury that lasted 8 years :-p But I bet I didn't have the quality of medical care that Modano has I hate to say it like this, but "At least it's Modano". I know, that sounds evil. I love Modano, but we'd be hurting a lot more if it was Dats, Zett, etc. When a guy in the bottom 6 goes out, it allows other players to step up their play. So it's not always a bad thing. Honestly though, I firmly believe that Modano is going to be bigger for us come playoffs, than he will be in the season. I just hope he gets well soon enough to not be rusty going into the playoffs. As the league is teaching us....being 40 and a defense-man, is viable. Chelios, Lidstrom. Being 40 and being a forward, there's a lot of rust. Being optimistic, maybe Mo will enjoy some rest time, and come back better than ever. Mo v2.0.

Crazy tight in the Western Conference. Just occured to me that with a win tonight SJ could go from 4th in their division, straight to 2nd. And from 10th in the Conference, straight to tied for 4th (Vancouver would have 1 less point, but a division leader slot). I know it's only 1/4 the way through the season, but it's amazing that 1 game can literally jump a team 6 slots up. Meanwhile a loss would drop SJ to 11th in the Conference, or get this..... A loss tonight will put SJ at the BOTTOM of their division. That's crazy. Win, they're second in the division. Lose, they're dead last.

I'm calling it right now. Hudler will score this game. 5-3 Wings. Hudler, Cleary, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Bertuzzi. Marleau x2, Couture for SJ. SJ jumps to an early lead, 1-0, but Detroit ties it up. 1-1 end of the First. Detroit scores twice in the second, SJ scores once. 3-2 going into the Third. SJ ties it in the third. Detroit gets the go ahead midway through, and the EN in the final 20 seconds. (I have never, ever, been even close to right lol) Yeah, your guys defense isn't the greatest You got Boyle though. I still expect goals both ways though. SJ never seems to have a problem scoring on Detroit. I don't know how it will be this year, but traditionally, SJ beats up Detroit a little physically. SJ is the "tougher" team in the mix, but Detroit usually pulls out the win. Well...during the season, didn't go that way last years playoffs :-p I can genuinely say that losing to SJ in the playoffs last year, was the easiest to handle loss I've seen in a while. Losing to Anaheim, or Calgary a while back, those were brutal. Unlike those teams, I consider the Sharks to be a good team. Vlasic is a minus 8? How is he getting 21 minutes of ice time? And he has zero points. I guess that's why on the Sharks GDT there is a "Hot List" and a "Vlasic" list. I didn't realize he was doing so poorly. At 21 minutes of ice time (Second to Boyle), what is he doing to get that kind of ice time? I admit I haven't watched a SJ game yet this year.

Abdelkader: A- (Performing far above what was expected of him.) Bertuzzi: A (Pretty solid year for Bert. Best year as a Wing, for certain.) Cleary: B+ (I debate giving him an A, considering he's a third line Center, and tied for the lead in goals.) Datsyuk: B+ (Could use a little more goal scoring, but otherwise, awesome as always.) Eaves: C+ (Not bad for a fourth liner.) Filppula: B- (Would like a little more production from him in a second line role) Franzen: B- (Needs to get to the net more, and start taking shots again.) Helm: B+ (Awesome goal last game, a genius on the PK) Holmstrom: C+ (He's still producing, I still want him out there, but I kind of feel like he is losing effectiveness a little.) Hudler: D (This guy needs to step it up. Period. ) Miller: C (4th Liner. What can I say. Most fourth liners in the league get a D.) Modano: C+ (I like him on the 5vs5, but he's lacked on the PP. Now he's hurt.) Zetterberg: B (His grade will probably never go down, and will likely go up, especially during the playoffs.) Ericsson: C+ (Nice improvement from last year) Kronwall: B+ (I almost give him an A-. He can handle his defensive responsibility, and jumps into the play a LOT more now). Lidstrom: A (Not a +, but damned close to it. Improved over last year, even at age 40.) Rafalski: A- (Injury kept him out of a few games. He's been silent lately, but sometimes that's a good thing.) Salei: B- (He was a C when he started the year, but he's on the up and up. Seems to be falling into the system well.) Stuart: B (Good solid defensemen in the works. Would like to see a little more offense) Kindl: TBD Howard: B+ (Considering it's his sophmore year, he's been more than sufficient) Osgood: C (Hopefully when he returns from his injury, his numbers pick up) MacDonald: TBD

Babcock wouldn't win it if he coached the wings to a presidents trophy and a cup, even if they finished with a record year, and swept every single team. In order to get the coach of the year award you have to have a team that otherwise, sucks. By the time the Redwings suck, chances are good Babcock will be retired. A more valid debate is....will Babcock make the HOF?

IMO, no we don't. All-Star voting is flawed anyway. You can vote over and over and over again if you want. Secondly, it's a popularity contest anyway. I don't even pay attention to the All-Star game. I like the skills competition, but other than that, I'd be happy if NO Redwings even played in the All-Star game. Take the time off. This is a cup run year anyway.

He finished 5th in SvPct last year. The last few games have hurt his stats a bit, but they're still mostly all wins. His playoff performance will be what mostly determines his salary for the next few years I'd bet. If he keeps winning it will factor in too. One thing about Howard is that he's mostly consistent every single night, and the Wings as an organization seems more than confident in him.

Beautiful name! Congratulations! Sucks that you missed part of the game though. Just kidding I've been a little disappointed with Filppula's point production. I love that guy, and he totally deserves to be our second line center, I just wish more pucks would go in the net for him. He works his ass off, and contributes in many ways every game, but I feel like he's getting cheated :-p I hope he hits a mutli-game goal streak sometime this season.

Yeah, you're saying they should move Hudler into a line that currently has Bert and Franzen. A very productive line. A point per game second line. One of whom is our leading goal scoring, a second of whom is the leading +/- player on the team. Don't be a retard. Hudler has done absolutely NOTHING, to earn that line. He HAS NOT EARNED THAT LINE. You can't just put him there to "see what happens". Oh he would do well. Oh oh he's on the wrong line. Oh uh, he'd do great if he had a better centerman. Oh if he was with Datsyuk, he'd be awesome. Reality check, a 4 year old could score winging datsyuk, eventually. Here's a ******* hint. HE IS A CENTER. His job, as a center, is to make lines work. THAT IS A CENTER's JOB. I'd rather have Bert, Fil, and Fran, any ******* day. You can argue for Hudler all you want. Point out his past stats, all you want. It does not change the fact that he has, been, thus far.......garbage. He earns a second line salary, and has less points than nearly every fourth line forward. Edmonton, sir, has 4th line centers with more points than Hudler. The lowest ranking team in the league, has 13 players who have gotten more points than Hudler. The worst team in the NHL, has 13 people, doing more than Hudler.

Tell that to most teams, but yes, I agree. Your 3rd line should be basically a grind line. If it has offensive talent, fine. If not, it's job is to get out there and play against the third lines of other teams, and most of all, to ensure they don't score. Your fourth line is your relief line. And typically your PK lines. Hudler doesn't belong on either of those lines. He's a second liner, but on a team that needs a second liner. He does not take faceoffs. He does not play on the PK. He rarely plays on the PP, and thus far has not even got a point on the PP. Not this team. He's a piece of s***, with near zero production. If I was a fan of say.....Edmonton, I would love Hudler, but I happen to enjoy a team that wins, and I happen to generally enjoy the decisions of our front office. Hudler is a bomb. He has a chance to prove otherwise, but so far he has been a poop. Defending Hudler, is like defending Nopaloean Dynamite, cause you heard once upon a time that he had skills with a bo staff. Give it up people. The dude is a wash.

What? First off, Draper in his last season has 22 points. Hudler is on pace for less, than Draper. Secondly, Draper can play the penalty kill. Hudler cannot. Third, Draper has multiple cups. I'd honestly rather see Draper out there scooting along with a walker, than Hudler playing like he does. And you honestly said Abbey is "nobody"? Let me read that again. I don't get your point. You said, "Last year Kenny was dying to bring Abby up for the playoffs", then some something about nobody being that way this year. Perhaps you missed it, but Hudler is the lowest +/- on the team, and the lowest PPG of every single forward on our team. He is, by definition, our suckiest forward, period. Defend him as you will. He ******* sucks.

When I fiddled with hockey a bit, I use to practice using my stick off-handed. Eventually I got pretty good with it that way. Bert practices both hands from time to time, as do many hockey players. Really anything you practice with your right hand you should practice both hands, just for the dexterity it brings. I learned that lesson from swordfighting. Really the only difference between myself and Bertuzzi, is that he happens to be good at hockey, while I am much better at "Watching" hockey. :-p That and when I was trying to stick-handle single handed, it was usually because I was trying to stop myself from falling with the opposite hand

Are you serious? You can't dump Hud's in a single night. I wouldn't say good thing we didn't dump Hudler. I will say he's one lucky Mofo now, since this buys him a few weeks/months to get his s*** together. This is bad for Modano. It's good for Hudler, but if he doesn't step up now that he's got a spot in the lineup, his career in Detroit will come to an end this year. One man's injury is another man's opportunity in the NHL. I just hope Hudler starts producing. With Modano out he might even see some PP time, and that may be what he needs to kick it up. Guess we'll see. I'm not one of the people who advocates trading Hudler, but I have advocated considering it if he hasn't picked up pace by the Trade Deadline. Seriously, this is probably Hudlers last shot, pending we don't get all banged up *Knock on wood*. Hope MO recovers fast.

I will be listening to this game on a radio, in a tent, likely in the middle of a snow shower, curled up in a sleeping bag as vicious squirrels and man-sized spiders loom all around me. If I find a chill spot, I'll try to get a camp fire going, get stoned, and watch the Red Wings on the Radio Earlier, on the NHL.com preview, it said they will be wearing them tonight (Against the Wings). I have no idea about Sunday, or what they did/didn't do last Wednesday. I was under the impression that this would be their first game wearing the Jersey's, but I'm basing this off my memory. The same memory that gets totally confused if you ask me what I had for breakfast today....

I'm all for theories on how to make people produce, but the question isn't "Will Hudler Produce more if he is on a line with Flip". The question is, "Who will produce the best on a line with Flip?" Are you honestly telling me that our highest plus/minus player (Bert), and our leading Goal Scorer (Mule), should go down to the third line so Hudler can play on the second line instead? The second line currently has about 17 goals in 19 games (Based on the three forwards who usually play it, not including defensive contribution). Hudler has 1 goal in 16 games. To an extent, you juggle people around to see if they will mesh with another player, but you do not break-up a very productive line just to "See" what will happen. In the real hockey world, here is how it "really" works: 1) You play 3rd or 4th line time. If you excel on those lines (Hudler has not), then you vie for a spot on the 2nd line. 2) In order to qualify for a spot on the second line, you generally have to produce equal to or greater than someone already on the second line. (Hudler has not, not even close). 3) If you have a little freedom, you juggle things a bit (Babcock did). If you find chemistry great, if not, you try it for a few games and then go back to what worked. (Hudler failed when he was juggled, too). 4) If you do not crack the third line, but stay on par for 3rd or 4th line (Hudler currently, is not), you go back to those lines. 5) If you have minor league players schooling you nightly (Hudler does), you go sit on the bench. 6) Twiddle your thumbs, until an injury or a slumping player arises. Get a second chance. (Hudler is here now). Your bias toward Hudler has you thinking not in terms of what is best for the team, but in what is best for Hudler. It's very simple: If Hudler is not the best for this team, we cannot keep making changes to find what is best for Hudler. If a quarter of a season isn't enough for him to find a working line-mate, juggling him some more is just pissing in the wind. Who is Hudler currently better than? Abdelkader? Abbey is beating him in points with less games played, can lay out hits, agitate, fight, and works hard every single shift. We will see Abbey on the second line before we see Hudler there. Modano? When it comes to leadership, Hudler would get schooled by Modano. When it comes to puck possession, Hudler is craftier, but Modano can take a hit and not flop out of the play. He, also, is outscoring Hudler at the age of 40. Cleary? Our other leading goal scorer? Hudler doesn't have a spot on the 1st line obviously. He can't really fill Flips spot, and I wouldn't want him on the second line over Bertuzzi or Mule on any night. What about the fourth line? Miller-Helm-Eaves Both Miller and Eaves are bringing just as much offensive contribution as Hudler has brought. Unlike Miller, Helm, and eaves, Hudler is not a Penalty Killer. Your fourth line is largely used in penalty kills, so anyone who is on it needs to be good at Penalty killing. Hudler is not. Helm is invaluable for his PK experience, and this fourth line of ours goes toe to toe with any other 4th line in the league, no problem. You simply cannot put Hudler on this line. This line has a purpose, and the additional tasking of providing penalty killers. You can't just squeeze Hudler into a line that is designed to play completely the opposite of Hudler's play style. So where exactly does Hudler fit in? Who do you bench for Hudler? Who do you juggle? How do you justify taking someone who is producing (See all 12 forwards, except Hudler), and replacing one of them? Why take either our leading goal scorer, or leading +/- guy off a line with Flip, to "test" out Hudler. Sure, if Bert of Franzen were sucking too, I'd be all for it. But that's the point. Hudler is sucking. They are not.

If you had a valid point, it went out the window. Besides, it's "computer".

I guess Howard is due for a Sophmore slump. I just hope it's one of those 2-3 game slumps, and not one of those 2-3 season slumps :-p I think he'll be fine. He could have potentially made some of those saves, but we didn't exactly give him the greatest support out there tonight. They outshot us 38-33, and usually when Detroit gets out shot we've lost control of the game. Giving up two PP and a SH goal certainly didn't help our case either. Just a bad game all around. Anyone who throws the blame on Goaltending is narrow minded. Clearly with only 1 goal our offense didn't step in tonight, and with 5 goals against and out shot, our defense took the night off too. With four players averaging over a point per game, for none of them to get a single point tonight, leads me to look elsewhere other than just the Goal-tending.

Huds has a countdown timer on his head. I get the feeling Babs will sit him a few games, then rotate him in. Hudler's best chance right now is to wait for an injury, and get in and produce. As it stands right now, he's at a .31 PPG. If he played 82 healthy games that puts him on pace for 25 points, total. That is about 1/3 of his expectation, and less than half of what is basically required of him. Hudler doesn't take face-offs as a Center. He's averaging a 3% shot percentage, and has 1 goal in 16 games. At a -5, he is the lowest player on our team. Helm, on the other hand, is getting the same point production, but plays a ton of time on the Penalty Kill, and isn't in a scoring role. Helm is faster, smarter with the puck, and more aggressive. Helm is a +3, and does take occasional face-offs. It's possible Hudler could have a breakout, but he's not showing any signs of it. Usually when guys slump like Flip, for example, he is still working hard, and getting chances. When Hudler slumps, he just goes home. Hudlers one goal came off the back of a goaltender. Technically it was more of a lucky bounce. I was glad to see Hudler come back, but then again I was expecting it to be the 20+ goals Hudler. Right now, I would bench Hudler over Miller, Eaves, Helm, or abdelkader. Between the two I'd rather have Modano out there than Hudler, because at least Modano has a track record of success, something Hudler has mostly left blank on his resume in the NHL. Bottom line....when you're sitting a guy who was suppose to be a 3rd/2nd line center, because you have minor league players that are playing better than he is, it's time to consider other options. Even if we do keep Hudler around for injury purposes, I'm firmly convinced at this point that we could eenie meenie miney mo the Grand Rapids team, and get similar or greater point production than Hudler has provided so far. I like the guy. Really I do. I think he has a lot of individual talent. But we've mixed him into multiple line combination's, and he just isn't clicking anywhere, or with anyone. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of holes in our team. There isn't much short term to look into trading him for. Hudler isn't exactly making himself prize trade bait either. Any team that considers him will have to be a team that believes they have the perfect fit for him, and even then it's a gamble. I'm not one for fear mongering, but finding a way to get something out of Hudler will serve as an example to future Detroit prospects. There isn't a lot of room for slackers on this team, and too many low end guys are too eager to make it to the NHL. It is my belief, and call me crazy, but as an NHL centerman, you should probably be playing at a level above your AHL prospects.

I agree. Howard seemed tired tonight, but those goals were complete defensive breakdowns, turnovers, and solid offensive play by Atlanta. I agree Mac should have started. It might only be 3-1 instead

Someone laced your weed.

Center Ice 15 day trial also is blacked out if you're in the local broadcast area.