b-random

I doubt that, very highly. Maybe in 2014 or whenever the next Olympic games are, hopefully he's good enough to earn the starting position by then.

If we can win one of the 2 games against the Blackhawks coming up, that would be huge with this depleted lineup. Time for Datsyuk & (dare I say) Bertuzzi to take charge on offense. Bert is playing a key role on this team right now, and he's doing it well.

May did play tonight. And what kind of magic do they posses that prevents defenseman from making legal hits on our players?

I'm not always to most postive guy when it comes to certain players on this team, but I think some of you posters are way too rough on Lebda. He does a lot of good things out there, and he's been solid in the playoffs for us. Glad Howard got the shut out, he's been super solid lately.

If Zetterberg is injured for any length of time, these games against Chicago aren't gonna be fun to watch.

It's subjective, not selfish.

I think there's a exception when the player is a superstar. I don't care how clean it is, what Eaves did was fine in my book and it didn't warrant a penalty.

to hell with Sweden. if he's injured the Wings are F-ed.

That was one of the best goals by a Red Wings player so far this season, even though Smith kinda blew it on that one. Great Bobby Orr impersonation by Miller.

Brad May x10, Downey was a huge liability on the ice. All he did was look for the big hit and fight when needed. But in his defense, I assume that was all he was asked to do. From what I've seen from Brad May, he plays a very responsible game, my only complaint is that he sometimes starts fights in the oppositions zone when we have possession, he's done that a few times and it's not too smart.

Didn't the Penguins start the season is Europe last year?

I was at that game, that was the first or 2nd shootout at JLA, post-lockout. I remember saying to my friend that was with me, "WHY THE HELL ARE THEY USING HOLMSTROM!!!!". And 2 seconds later he scores that goal...then I ate a crow sandwich.

I'm just plain jealous of the Hawks for 2 reasons, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith. Doc, you better get some boxing gloves because you're gonna have to punch out about 10,000 people at the Joe. As much as I like Hossa as a player and an individual (from a fan perspective of course) I still want to see him fail as a Blackhawk. He wanted to stay in Detroit, but Ken Holland decided to keep Z and Mule (and Hudler, but that's another story) instead, so I don't think he deserves to be booed by Wings fans. Personally, I was a little bothered by the fans booing Fedorov, and he deserved it 10x more than Hossa. As for the goal, it was cool, but nothing I wouldn't expect from Hossa. He's got one of the sickest shots that I've ever seen.

are you serious? he may not deserve to be booed, but he will be.

Personally, I think our only hope to sign him is via free agency, and it seem unlikely that he'd make it there. If Atlanta or the KHL can't sign him, anyone else that makes a big deal for him (won't be us) is gonna have plans of locking him up long-term. Personally, I hope he stays in Atlanta. It's a shame to see a super talented player "rot" on a crappy team/market, but he's likely to never be a thorn in our side if he spends his whole career in ATL. And as much as I'd love to see him play for the Red Wings, I'd rather he remain a non-factor than come to a WC team. Sorry I didn't answer your question but I can't envision a realistic trade. EZBAKETHAGANGSTA's suggestions seem decent enough.

I might have to head up to Krogers and ring Leino and Ericsson's bells for 'em for playing like chumps. JK.

As much as I like Mickey, I'm gonna have to disagree with you. I think he's pretty bias, sometimes feel like he might be the biggest Red Wings fan on the planet. He does occasionally give the opponent credit for a good hit or play but mostly it's all about the Wings...how they got screwed by the refs, how great our players are, etc.. Mickey's famous last words before a PP are "Not a good call....but the Red Wings will take it!", that's him TRYING to be unbiased. He does a great job and I'm glad he's still around, but his Red Wings bias is the reason I like him so much. You ever notice how quiet he gets when the Wings are down a few goals? He's been better lately because it seems to a be a more common occurrence, but in years past during our 1st round playoff exits, he would become almost non-existent when we were down and playing an elimation game, I have no do doubt that it was because he was nervous or disappointed and at a loss for words.

That's why I find it a little annoying when fans complain about Draper and Maltby being washed up to no end. There is a lot to be said about experience and leadership. Personally, I think Draper would have made an excellent captain after Yzerman retired, but it's hard to argue about one of the best players of this generation wearing the 'C'.

I guess you can't blame the rest of the NHL fan bases for disliking Mickey, so I can see where some of them are coming from. But if you're a long time Wings fan and you understand how he is, you learn to love the guy. I think he's the greatest. If you want a more 2 dimensional view of the game you're gonna have to listen to Ken Kal and Co.. Mickey was 100% correct though, it's Ansimov's fault for skating down ice blindly. He didn't even make an effort to look up, it's hard to feel bad for him when that happens. If you can't see something THAT obvious coming, maybe he's not ready for the NHL.

You have watch them play, you can't just judge them by their numbers. Regardless of what people say about Lidstrom this year, he's still probably the best defenseman in the league, he seem to have lost some of his scoring ability. I just thought the praise came too soon for Ericsson. In my opinion, his positioning/decision making is poor and he can't deliver a decent pass most of the time. He'll never be as good Nick Kronwall, not sure why people would even make the comparison. I think his defensive ability at this point is comparable to Brett Lebda AT BEST, just with a huge size advantage. But that's not to say he couldn't be a good D-man given the proper role. He can move the puck down ice because of his reach and speed and he has a MONSTER (albeit inaccurate) shot. I think he's almost had too much asked of him too soon. He's been playing a lot of minutes on a injury riddled team, so I think his faults are really being exposed because Detroit HAS to play solid defense EVERY NIGHT just to have a chance right now.

I didn't catch the whole game, what exactly did Draper do/say in the locker room, what was reported?

Agreed. I very happy we signed him, all the "Project Cleary" comparisons are starting to seem very legit. I hope he keeps this up and Ken Holland re-signs him.

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Thanks for pointing that out...hilarious.

That looked like a goal to me? What's the deal?

I think some of you people are overreacting, but Meech was TERRIBLE last night. I was at the game, and since the whole thing was a gong show, I just focused on how terrible Meech was playing. He just got tossed around, turned the puck over, fumbled the puck at the blue line and took terrible shots. I thought Kindl played pretty well, made a great defensive play and had a great scoring chance. He was a -2 on the night, but from what I witnessed he played pretty mistake-free.