dat's sick

I usually don't like those weird camera angles, but that closeup of Datsyuk dekeing in the corner was amazing.

Looking better to start the 2nd. Avoid penalties or PPs and we could come back..

Please everyone appreciate the hell out of Pavel. He is one lf the most exceptional hockey players of all time. And he could be gone after next year. Look at the two times he undressed the Preds defense and Rinne robbed him. And the trademark steal to set up the worst player in the league for a goal. Not to mention all his fantastic defensive work. Damn he's good. Even when the team sucks, I can atleast get enjoyment out of watching him.

That's a penalty? Wow, I didn't know that. Monster should have though. Trainwreck period, if it's 3-0 game is definitely over.

Have we done that even once this season? Feels like whenever the other team has scored first we've lost. It's really painful seeing Datsyuk with Abby and Cleary. Pav is playing his heart out and those two are not only not helping, they're hurting. Put Brunner or Tatar with him.

There are a lot of things wrong with our PP. Can't blame Fil alone, though he needs to improve,

Pavel is insane.

Pavel is insane.

It'll depend on how he does. If the team can win with Gus in net I could see him getting 1 out of every 3 or 4 starts.

It's not so much whether Gustavsson himself can make a difference for the team, but having him back should mean Howard can get a game off a bit more often and hopefully play better because of it. Mrazek is extremely promising and I'm looking forward to seeing him as a full-time backup someday.

Tatar has surprised me with how NHL ready he looks. He seems to have taken that next step in his development compared to Nyquist who, this season, hasn't been able to make an impact in his NHL appearances. Would be disappointed if Tatar is sent down even when Franzen/Bert/Helm come back.

Good to see Dats in. Hope he's ready. Sammy needs to show something today. He was bad before the injury. LGW.

I think Fil with Z is only if Pav can't play. Anyway I wouldn't mind changing things up in the top 6 to get Fil going. Pav could play with Tatar and Sammy, or Brunner and Tatar/Sammy.

Some good news and some so-so news. He hasn't been all too impressive in his callups this season, but he hasn't looked terrible either. And he was very good when he was up last year. Tatar has certainly earned a spot more thsn Nyquist has, but maybe Nyquist just needs some time. Give him 2-3 games atleast in the top 6 before sending him down. Cleary needs to sit.

Quincey has improved since the first couple of games and isn't among our top problems right now, but +/- doesn't tell the whole story. For example he has taken numerous stupid/clumsy penalties. As for the thread what can you say. Only a few of the 'regulars' have lived up to exectations. Those would be Z, Ericsson, Smith Howard (I blame his ups and downs on Babcock overplaying him), Datsyuk... that's about it. Maybe Franzen too, I think he gets too much hate. The positive thing is a number of new guys have exceeded expectations. Brunner, Tatar, Lashoff, Tootoo.. We really need to get guys like Kronwall and Filppula going. Kronwall in particular is such a detriment to the team it's beginning to look like a joke that we were hoping he could even somewhat fill the shoes of LIdstrom.

Yeah he's huge for us but come on. Not like he's the only guy we are without. I'm sure those teams with Stevie Y and Feds also suffered if you took out 7-8 guys from the lineup.

That's still too much considering he's easily been our worst forward. But yes, not playing him in the top 6, on every PP, PK and in every pressure situation would be a start.

You have a point, but the problem isn't so much guys getting hurt as it is everyone getting hurt at the same time. We could easily handle Pav or Franzen or Helm or Smith or Bert being out but not all of them at the same time.

We've fought through injuries admirably this season, but there comes a point when it gets too much. Losing Franzen and most of all Datsyuk just kills our top 6. Let's face it, winning tonight against this Ducks team with our depleted roster would have been nothing short of miraculous. I really hope that the turning point injury-wise comes real soon before we sink too much in the standings. Way too many lingering injuries and then new ones before we get anyone back. Also I'm in agreement with Babcock making baffling decisions. How such a good coach can give so much ice-time to Cleary is hard to understand. And wtf, give Mrazek a start. Kid should have started 2-3 games by now. If he gets 'shellshocked' and can't bounce back he was never gonna make it in the NHL anyway.

Can't watch the game, sounds like our D is bad again. How's Howard been? Maybe starting Mrazek is atleast a good motivator for the defense to step up their game..

I'm a little surprised it's upper-body. He's been killing it on faceoffs and shooting well, so it shouldn't be his wrist acting up. Definitely hope this one heals quickly, we don't need another guy sitting out a couple of weeks with a day-to-day injury..

We are the unluckiest team in proffessional sports. Basically 2 lines and 1 d-pairing we're missing. Datsyuk had looked a little off for a lot of the season so I'm not surprised he's out, but that still sucks. We're a much, much worse team without him. Looking for Filppula to step up now.

Good to see Nyquist get another opportunity. Would have like Mrazek in net but I guess Babs is determined to run Howie into the wall.

Some of the worst special teams in the league and the most man-games lost. With that in mind it's quite a feat we are doing as well as we are. Hopefully the team can keep improving and start getting more healthy.

Fil-Z-Tatar Best line last year, and since Tatar > Hudler it could be even better. Franzen-Datsyuk-Brunner In my head I see this line killing it. Dats setting Brunner up for shots, with Franzen crashing the net for rebounds? I'm sick of Dats playing with guys who are slow and/or can't score on all the golden opportunities Pav gives them.