dat's sick

Love how the interviewer got totally thrown off by the unexpected counter-question from Pav :lol

Pav definitely isn't 100%, hasn't been since his knee-surgery. Not sure why he even decided to play in this tournament instead of resting up. Z on the other hand was expected to be Sweden's best player and he's more than living up to that.

I don't think I've ever heard a swedish player, or any player at all for that matter, say anything good about the life of playing in the AHL. It honestly sounds like a piece of s*** existance. There's a reason most european players who play in the AHL leave as soon as they realize they won't make the NHL, and honestly I think only a small part of that is the money. Järnkrok is just too good to have to 'pay his dues' or any BS like that. If he doesn't make the Wings next year, he'll stay in the SEL. I have not heard any reliable source say differently. And if he stays in the SEL, he'll be one of the league's biggest stars. Him and Silfverberg were tearing it up this season and are doing great so far in the WC. Silfverberg is guaranteed a place on the Senators next season. Järnkrok really isn't far behind him. Unless his development comes to a complete stop, after one more year in the SEL he'll be more than ready to take a 3rd line Center role for the Wings.

Franzen didn't have a bad game at all. Then again it was only against Norway and he didn't really shine either. More interesting game tonight between Sweden and the Czech Republic, although the Czech don't have a great team in this tournament.

I don't expect him to play in Grand Rapids. Either he tears it up at camp and forces his way into the lineup next year, or he plays one more year in Brynäs and comes right into the Wings lineup the year after. This kid is too good to rot away in the AHL. He should be a star in the SEL until he can become a star in the NHL.

Norway did their best in the 1st period to keep it interesting, but then Sweden just started playing on another level in the 2nd and dominated. Zetterberg was amazing, and Järnkrok had a very good game as well. Both had 1 assist. Ironhook is great to watch, so much skill and it looks like he's always having fun out there. Can't wait to see how he fares against better opposition. The bad thing is that Jonathan Ericsson had to leave the game because of an injury :-/

I don't think there's much comparison to Leino, he was older and undrafted. Completely different situation than both Tatar and Järnkrok. And Leino's problems seem to be more about attitude than actual skill, as evidenced by his exceptional playoff run with Philly. Hard to say why he doesn't always play like that. But of course there is always reason to keep your expectations in check when it comes to a prospect that is untested at the NHL level. Atleast we get to see both Tatar and Järnkrok at the World Championships.

He wasn't himself after having knee surgery. I don't think there was any lack of effort. To see what a healthy Datsyuk looks like in the playoffs, see 2011 when he almost won 2 playoff series on his own.

Obviously it's a stupid idea to throw 3 fairly small rookies together and it won't happen like that, but you're selling those guys a bit short. I mean, Nyquist IS an NHL player. No doubt. Eaten alive? In my mind the question is who will he play with next season, Zetterberg or Datsyuk. How Järnkrok will adjust to the North-American game is anyone's guess, but many european players have said going to smaller rinks is actually easier, and adjusting back to bigger rinks again is a challenge. Järnkrok looked great in an exhibition game against the US today, against mostly NHL players on the US team. Maybe doesn't say much but the kid is skilled and I won't be surprised if come training camp most of LGW is demanding he gets a roster spot. Tatar I'm most unsure about, but we have seen him in the NHL and he didn't embarress himself. And, on paper, those 3 guys looks like a really fun combination of speed, skill and scoring. Maybe they won't be a line next year, but hey... maybe they're our 1st line 5 years from now??

I know it's frowned upon to mention "luck" when you've lost a game/series, but imo Rinne was lucky in that series. Wings could have tested him more by driving the net, shooting high, getting to rebounds etc.. but man Rinne was saved by his d-mens sticks countless times, saved by the post, saved by the clock running out, saved by Wings players fanning on open net chances and so on. He is not unbeatable and that kind of luck could not continue 2 series in a row. Also there might be a fatigue factor, he plays a lot and faced a TON of shot against Detroit. Gotta wear on him.

No one has a Datsyuk in their pipeline. He's a unique player in so many ways it's not realistic to expect Detroit of all teams to completely luck out and find another similar player with their low draft-picks. Even teams drafting 1st-5th overall years in a row (Edmonton anyone?) have a really, really hard time finding players that come close to Datsyuk. Järnkror is very promising though. I think after this World Championships we'll have a decent idea of both where is really is now and his potential. Reports from pre-WC tournaments are very positive and there is a reason he is still on the roster despite a bunch of NHL players joining. For example a guy like Linus Omark was cut from the team recently, but Järnkrok remains. I bet Holland and Co. will keep watch on how he does in this tournament. My bet is he plays another year in the SEL, like most people think. He still needs to put on some muscle. But then again Datsyuk was a skinny kid in 2001 but his talent earned him a spot on the team. Also remember that we don't need a replacement for Datsyuk and Zetterberg NOW. We could draft a kid this year, or next, that will turn into a star player in 3-4 years and we'd be pretty solid. Both Pav and Hank have good years left in them. Overall I think our prospect pool is very interesting. Definitely some potential top 6 players in there.

Zetterberg and Järnkrok are both on Team Sweden. Would be cool if they get some time on the same line.. although now that Ottawa are eliminated, I guess Silfverberg and Järnkrok will play together. I was a little disappointed that Kronwall declined, and even though it was a long shot I'd have liked to see Nyquist get asked. He's definitely better than a few of the non-NHLers on the Swedish roster.

Quick, no brainer. No wait. Lundqvist, no brainer. Get real, these guys all had amazing years and it's a coin-toss. I'd put my money on King Henrik since his team had the best success in the regular season and most people agree that he's due for a Vezina, but who knows. So far these guys have all been stellar in the playoffs as well.. one of their teams may very well take the cup.

Realistically, the Wings will try to make some big additions during free-agency to turn the downward slide of the team around, and there won't be room for Tatar full-time on the roster. It all depends on who stays and who goes. I could see some guys being traded away, opening up room for Tatar as a 12th/13th forward. But my answer is, like others, no. Callup, not full-time. But part of me wishes one of the youngsters, like Järnkrok or Tatar, would take a big step forward and play themselves onto the roster during training camp.

Playoffs or regular season? They were a pretty awesome line the first half of the season. Franzen looked like he was on his way to 40+ goals, Datsyuk was having another awesome year and Bertuzzi looked fired up. Then Franzen kinda stopped caring, Datsyuk had knee surgery and Bertuzzi kept doing his thing but wasn't as effective anymore. If we land Parise next year, put him with Datsyuk and give Franzen a VERY short leash on that line, we could see greatness. Franzen is one huge enigma to me. He's got all the tools to be a big star, and he's got a background as a hard-working 4th liner, plus he's a swede and swedes aren't known to be divas. Yet he can still be completely out of it for entire games or stretches of games. I wonder if his knee problems have messed with his confidence. Whatever his problem is, I say give him next season to turn it around or get rid of him.

Insanely tough loss. Not giving up hope in this series. But really, we're done. We can't beat Rinne, Howard can't outplay him. Say what you will about those awful defensive breakdowns on the Preds goals, but Wings deserved better tonight, and they deserve better in the series. Preds did f*** ALL in this game except sit back, rely on Rinne and hope for some random goals, and it worked.

Oh come on, Zetterberg is playing his heart out. He is our best player this series, BY FAR. Datsyuk is excused because he's had terrible linemates, is clearly not 100% and has had moments of brilliance, but we need more from almost everyone else.

Stuart was absolutely lost on that Nashville goal. He has been completely awful this series. If we lose this game, or even if we don't, ******* bench Stuart and bring in Smith. Then give us some decent lines Babcock.

Good play Mule, we need more of that. Just simple, take it to the net. This was an awful period. Not necessarily awful by Detroit, just boring. Nasvhille doing nothing, Detroit getting nothing dangerous going. Not liking this situation. Detroit is carrying the play, outshooting them.. but it's 0-0, and somehow Nashville's chances feel more dangerous than the mostly perimeter play of the Wings. Here's hoping for a big push in the 3rd, score a couple of quick goals to kill the game.

Oh please. First round exit against Edmonton? 06-07 against Anaheim? And we couldn't score to save our lives in the last few games of the 08-09 SCF. Hot goalies happen. Bad puck luck happens. We will see if the Wings can overcome or if this will go down as another chapter in "Playoff series the Wings deserved to win but couldn't."

Awesome 1st period but obviously not scoring after all these chances and PPs isn't good. Nashville has all the puck luck in this series and Wings gotta work some kind of voodoo magic to change that it seems. I have faith however.

Howard was awesome in Game 2 and pretty much good enough in Game 1 and 3. Not his fault Nashville is badly outshot every game, doesn't favor his SV% when they have 4 shots in a period and one of them is a 2-on-1 that they score on. Rinne's been lucky too. In Game 3 the Wings missed a goal by 0.1 seconds, and had another clear goal saved by a d-man's stick. As for Franzen, I thought Game 3 was his best game in a while. Even though he lost his head a few times. Would of course be great if he could find that scoring touch and have one of those epic multi-goal games we know he's capable of. Really I don't give a s*** who scores just as long as we score though. Filppula, Hudler, Abdelkader, Lidstrom, Kronwall.. you could point out many guys that we need production from. This is not like the Pens-Flyers series where goals come free however.

Keep playing like this, stay out of the box a bit more.

Funny, last night was the first game I've watched together with my girl. Guess I'll have to make it the last one too

43-22 in shots is a close game? Maybe in the first period. Detroit outplayed Nashville most of the game. Should have won. Zetterberg is AMAZING. Datsyuk played a great game tonight, beauty goal. Would have liked a big save by Howie on that 3rd Nashville goal but overall I can't complain much. A normal day, a normal game, and Wings win by 2-3 goals. Preds can't get this lucky in 2 more games. Series should be 2-1 or 3-0 Wings.