dat's sick

Just for tonight, I like the Blackhawks. Gonna need a long shower to wash away this feeling of shame, but good stuff. A Caps regulation loss pretty much means they're done too.

Saying "Datsyuk out" makes it sound like he hasn't been out for a long time and is ALMOST BACK. I have a good feeling about this game. Or maybe it's just the feeling of finally playing a game that doesn't feel like a complete must-win. We're in a solid position, even with a loss tonight. And a win would to me feel like almost locking up a playoff spot.

The goal against Tampa was epic. Forsberg-esque. Skill, strength, determination.

Those percentages change so fast. This team can easily lose the next two games. Tampa and Boston. I don't care about what are odds are, until we're actually IN every game will have me a nervous wreck.

LOOOOOOL. This board man.... wow. Franzen had an okay game. Not great, but probably the best player on that line. Alfredsson was awful, Legwand invisible. But even so, none of them come close to the horrific play of Bertuzzi. I assume Callahan is out if Jurco is in, but I'd rather see Bert gone. He is so obviously done as a hockey player, there's nothing left in his tank.

Why are we so, so bad in the 3rd. We give the puck away in the WORST possible positions. Everyone who isn't named Nyquist needs to look in the mirror and ask themselves what the hell they're doing.

I don't get the fascination some of you have with this guy. Is this thread just another excuse to dream about getting him to the Wings? Because that quote seems like what anyone would say about going up against Sid and Malkin.

I was very happy to get a point out of this one. It was fairly obvious the team didn't have it today, we looked slow and tired and Minnesota looked hungry. Huge games coming up. We're in a decent position, but a lot will be determined in the next 4-5 games.

Pathetic beyond words. Dallas Eakins is the biggest joke in the league.

He's made a very good case for being on the team next year. He's shown he's not just flash, he can be physical and grind and drive the net. Babcock must be a fan considering he's shown complete trust in him and that line.

Håkan Andersson talked about Nyquist getting ordered to work on his shot back when he first came up. It's obvious he's improved it. He's got a pretty quick and stealthy release along with good accuracy which I think is why he's scoring so much.

Wow, wonder how that feels. We can't even win 3 straight. They're, as usual, the team to beat in the East.

Disregarding the fact that Babcock hands out icetime based on the lottery numbers of that day, Smith doesn't have to get more icetime than Kronwall, Dekeyser and Ericsson/Quincey to be playing well. I was one of Smith's biggest critics last year, but he's improved a lot. He has a long way to go before he's someone to be trusted in key situations, but lately he does a lot of good things and not as many boneheaded mistakes.

He was playing great this game. If you didn't see that then you're not paying attention. He's starting to put something together. Kindl can sit though. Get Almqvist in there.

This game might have been the most impressive Gus has played. He was actually a dominant player out there, and we were playing one of the top teams in the league. Setting up the OT goal by knocking Malkin down and creating a turnover is just epic.

Guys... Malkin and Crosby are not the two best players in the world because they struggle against Emmerton, Quincey, Tatar and Ferraro. Sucks we had to drop that 3rd goal as well, but a win would be a miracle with this lineup and we are actually in reach. A little bit of puck luck and no dumb penalties and we have a chance.

Good game but as usual no win can be 100% enjoyable. Ericsson out is another huge blow to this team. Thought Ferraro looked okay other than the one bad puck loss. Nyquist is a boss. Howard had a good game. And again, we suck in 3rd periods.

Seeing Smith as forward could be fun.

If Mule is guilty of anything, it's trying to do too much. He's been fantastic this season but he needs to put up 50+ goals and have playoff intensity every game for this board to get off his back. Definitely looks like the team is playing without confidence. With Z and/or D in the lineup the whole team plays a different way. Something has to change because our record without those two will lead nowhere near the playoffs if it continues the same way.

Ha. Haha. Hahahaha. HahahahahahahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHahahahahahahahahaaaaaa *dies*

Agreed. But this team hasn't won 3 in a row for about 3 months. "A couple of wins" is HARD for this team, and it's looking unlikely to get easier. Columbus is a red-hot team and will probably keep climbing. So hopefully we can beat other teams and get into the playoffs somehow. Just seems like this is the year where we've had one bad break too many though. Early season mis-management ruined what could have been a solid start and since then injuries have piled up. With Nyquist since Day 1, could we have had 2 points more? 4? 6 or even 10? All those OT and SO losses, maybe some of them would have been wins? We wasted time and it's catching up now.

There's a pretty good chance Dats is gone for way more than that. They're waiting 3 weeks to see if there's any chance he doesn't need surgery. Because if he does, that's his season. We're facing healthy teams playing at 110% trying to make the playoffs. We're broken down, playing with plugs, losing new guys every game, shuffling lines, playing kids... and like you say, we are without our two leaders. The two guys that can carry this team through most things. A miracle is what can save the playoffs streak now, nothing else.

This is honestly how I feel too. Enough is enough. 20 years of success have been channeled into giving the Wings 1 year of nothing going right. It's gone way beyond "fire the trainers" or "we're old and fragile". Everyone gets injured, all the time, in every possible way. If we make the playoffs it will be the biggest miracle in the modern hockey era.

Glendening will NEVER score a goal in the NHL. Not deliberatley anyway. Complete lack of offensive instincts. Still relatively useful but the question is if we can afford to have a player like him, when there are other 4th line options that bring similar defensive play + a realistic chance of a goal here and there.

We ALWAYS lose the battles in front of our own net. Pretty much the most important area to win battles, and if there's a lose puck there it's always the opponent that gets a stick on it, creating dangerous shots or passes. This is something that I've noticed the last weeks/months and it has to change.