dat's sick

Almost happened for us:

I agree that Hossa does a lot more than scoring, but he's not playing defense on the same level as Zetterberg. Not even close. He's an awesome back-checker most of the time, but in the Defensive zone he's not that great. And he has a tendency to turn the puck over in bad positions at times, something Z almost never does. Filppula has been the defensive core of the 2nd line in Pav's absence. I said he shouldn't earn more than Zetterberg or Datsyuk. Why should he? They're the leaders of the team, they're home-grown and Selke-quality players. Hossa is solid defensively but he's never going to win or be nominated for the Selke. And this team, in this situation, can't afford to give him that kind of money. The deals that Franzen and Z have signed should set the standard. Hossa lands somewhere in between the two in terms of value for this team imo. Closer to Franzen than to Z in my eyes. Age has to be taken into consideration as well. How many long-term deals and how much money do we want to give to players that are coming up on or are already at the 30-year mark? He's a great player, and I'd love to have him on the team for years to come. But the price has to be right. I believe Holland will do the right thing though.

Sadly I won't be able to watch this game, but I think the boys will get it done. Datsyuk and Draper will add some energy to the team, and Hossa should have a big game. Wings 5 - Hossa, Z, Hudler, Kronwall, Cleary Pens 2

If anything, this playoff performance by Hossa is a good thing. It should make it a lot harder for him to ask for a lot more money than what Franzen is going to be making. With Mule having a 4 mil cap hit, I can't imagine Hossa getting offered more than 4.5-5.0 mil tops. Also take into consideration that he is 30. I doubt he's going to get a lot better in the years to come. He might even be starting to lose one of his greatest strenghts, his speed. I'd be willing to let go off Hudler, Sammy, Lebda, Conklin and maybe some of the veterans like Draper and Maltby (if that helps with the cap?) to keep Hossa. If they sign Hossa long-term for 6-7 mil, I'll puke. Not that he isn't good, but he shouldn't be making more than Z or Datsyuk.

Wait, if both Draper and Datsyuk play, wouldn't both Leino and Abdelkader be out? If Maltby doesn't sit for one of them that is?

There's a reason Pavel won the Selke last year and is a favorite to win it this year as well. Even if he's only 70-80% healthy, he's not going to be turning pucks over left and right and be a defensive liability. That's just not who he is. What he will do is make things more difficult for Malkin. I wouldn't say Datsyuk as good as Zetterberg when it comes to shutting down star players, but he is not an easy guy to play against.

Awesome news. I really think Pavel is going to play Game 4. If he's this close, I can't imagine him sitting out another game. It would be nice to get his and Draper's fresh legs into the lineup, and they're both very good in the face-off circle.

Let's hope Game 4 turns into another one of those classic Red Wings games where they come out and play their best hockey after getting shafted in the previous game.

Hossa's playing great imo. He's going to score one.

Zetterberg has been a beast in this game. Did anyone see that play in the neutral zone where he threw himself after the puck, won it, and made a pass to give Flip a 1-on-1? Even if they don't manage to win tonight, the Wings have more than shown that they can cope with the Pens having home-ice.

Wait until Game 4.

Atleast I won like 150 Dollars on this score after the 1st. I had a feeling and I went with it

That 3rd line looks really solid defensively, which is needed if they're going to go up against Crosby or Malkin's line. Shame about Sammy, but when it comes to defense we have better players.

Z should be traded in this off-season. We can't have someone running around on the ice trying to play defense and prevent other teams from scoring. His dirty cheating tricks are ruining hockey as we know it. I just hope he doesn't score a goal in Game 3, that would be the last straw..

I'm expecting a more open game than the first two. The Wings won't be able to shut down Crosby and Malkin as well when they have last change, but that also means more room for offense from Z/Mule and Fil/Hossa. 4-3 Wings in OT.

Obviously not a good sign, but I wouldn't count him out just yet. They might have been working on his foot and he has to rest it today.

Detroit has hit posts as well (Z's shot in Game 1 that hit the inside of the post, for example). If the Wings would have had Datsyuk healthy, these two games would probably have been shut-outs just like last year. The Wings want it more, they're more experienced and deeper. They find ways to win. You create your own luck.

He's just completely invisible out there for a lot of games, even to the point that I forget what line he is on. Atleast he's not doing many mistakes, but I wish he'd get more involved offensively and shoot the puck more.

I haven't crunched all the numbers, but I think Hossa would have to take a Franzen-like deal in order for it to work out. I don't think it's the end of the world if we can't keep him. He's helped us a ton this year and hopefully he can finish it off with a cup win.

We could really use him for the games in Pittsburgh. Bylsma is going to get Crosby away from Z, so having Pavel as the no.2 shutdown center would be very helpful. I hope we see him in Game 3, but I doubt it.

They've been playing a lot better this year. It's just that the Wings are a better team as well (something most "experts" has overlooked), and Ozzie is playing lights out. Remember that it took 6 games for the Wings to win last year, and that was after they looked completely dominant after the first two games. I don't think it's unthinkable at all that the Pens take both their home games. This could very well be a home-ice series.

Please don't compare the Wings with the Caps. If you haven't seen it in Game 1 and 2, we actually have a defense and more than 1 player that can score. The series isn't over, but if anything you should expect the Wings to improve from here on out. They're getting healthier by the minute.

I'm not disappointed with leino. It's going to take some more time for him to adjust to playoff hockey, he already looked more comfortable tonight than in previous games. After a full season in the NHL, and maybe if he gets some time on the top 3 lines, he will be great for us. Now, someone I'm disappointed in is Hudler. Completely invisible for the last couple of games.

Good goalies get lucky. They're hitting posts because Ozzie is in their heads. Magnificient play from Ozzie in these first 2 games. Hopefully the Wings can help him a little more in Game 3, and limit the Pens shots.

His goals really were GW's in both games. Who cares if Fleury should have had the one tonight, Abdel is playing great.