Wombat

A handful have played NHL games, but he has a while before he catches Kim Johnsson, the last pick of the 1994 draft. He's at 676 and counting. That's only for NHL Entry drafts since 1979.

Ballard went pretty low. That's partially because Malkin is so tall, but the hit was boarderline. I'm alright with no penalty, and I would have been alright with a 2 minute call. In the video, I didn't see Malkin jump at all. It looks to me that he reaches out, then Ballard makes contact and flips him. Malkin needs to keep his head up. I have to say I'm starting to like Crosby more these past few weeks. In hockey, you want to keep your stars clean. When someone comes in with a devastating, boarderline hit (and in the heat of the moment at that speed, it could definitely look like he went too low) on your best player, you shoot first and ask questions later. I like that the Pens did not cheapshot Ballard; instead, one guy manned up and took him on face to face. THAT is great, passionate hockey. Kudos to Ballard for firing up his team. Kudos to Crosby for manning up and seeking clean retribution for the hit.

The Griffins were in town yesterday, so I jumped at the chance to see them play the Rochester Amerks. The game flow overall reminded me of last year's Red Wings in that they played even through the first 10-15 minutes, then they just kept pushing harder and harder. The Amerks had one short stretch in the 3rd where they seemed a little frisky, but the Griffs dominated and won 3-0. Howard played in net and wasn't challenged much until the 3rd period, where he stopped a couple odd man rushes, including one on a guy that got a pass and came in all alone from the tops of the faceoff circles. Overall, Howard did look really good. The top line was Leino/Abdelkader/McCarty and they were buzzing all day long. McCarty had a rebound goal, and almost had another on a great cross-ice feed from Leino, but he didn't get all of the puck on the one-timer. Abdelkader looked solid, and after getting knocked over in the 3rd he was trying to start something with an Amerk. Other pertinent Griffins for the immediate future of the Wings... Helm is really fast. VERY! He was even standing in front of the goalie on the #2 PP at times. He didn't hit much but I think he'll do so in Detroit for the playoffs. Kindl on the backline was solid. He's not afraid of the puck and is starting to use his size a little bit more. I don't think he's a star in the making but he'll be good as the injury call-up to Detroit next season. Overall I think the best word to describe the team is solid. It wasn't as flashy as the 6-0 Griffs/Amerks game I saw earlier this season (when Leino was amazing), but it was an overall good effort at both ends of the ice for the team.

I've watched the Sabres all year (I live in Rochester) and when the pressure is on, the Sabres wilt I'd say about 4 out of 5 times. Occasionally they give a good performance in a pressure situation, or when adversity strikes, but for the most part this team has poor veteran leadership. If the Sabres were a bit further out of the playoffs, I think they'd play loose and win. As it is, since they can technically win the rest of their games and hope some other teams go .500, they will not bring a full effort. This will be my first Wings game I see in person in quite a few years so I'm pumped!

I think the best way to describe my impressions of Lashoff and Torquato is that I saw them, but didn't really notice them. Torquato went on some rushes here and there but they didn't usually amount to any scoring chances. I would guess he was playing on a 3rd or 4th line. I think the best thing for Lashoff was that I did not notice many if any defensive break downs for the team, so I will say that he played a good game. The few times I've seen the Griffins, I try to pay attention to the big guys, like Kindl for example. And I thought Kindl played better yesterday than when I've seen him before. He's smooth with the puck but I didn't see a ton of offensive upside. He was using his body a bit more than before. It really was a very workmanlike performance by the Griffins and I enjoyed seeing them play that way. No one stood out as being great and no one looked bad.

So on the money! Great great post!

It should be an interesting game. Buffalo still has an outside shot at making the playoffs. Very outside. It seems that when Buffalo gets a chance to close the gap (ie: play a game that really matters), they cannot get a full 60 minute effort. the Sabres also have shown to be a mentally weak team... they fold at any sign of adversity. If the Wings play like they did yesterday, they will win many more games than they lose for the rest of this season and the playoffs.

I'll be coming in from Rochester to see the game. 300 Level, first row!

I think it's pretty stupid, but honestly I think all the playoff slogans are stupid. They don't need playoff slogans.

Pierre LeBrun's ESPN blog Interesting blog from LeBrun. I'm really glad this came out and I hope it helps light a new fire under the team.

It is a valid point. In high school, I played soccer and occasionally, we would play a school that didn't have enough girls to make a separate girls' squad, so we would play a coed team (this happened more at the JV level, I don't remember it at the varsity level). One thing I noticed is that the women would tend to play more aggressively, and I recall stealing and clearing a ball from a girl's bad dribble, and she just followed through and shoved me. I was surprised as I was never shoved by a guy in a similar situation all through high school. the point: perhaps what you, UK, and FrozenMan all stated is true. Men would have a hard time playing women as "honestly" as they play other guys, and perhaps women would be emboldened to take additional liberties knowing that they won't get pounded by an enforcer. In general I think that if you can play in the league, the other players need to treat that player like all others. Still it would take some time for those social mores to change, even in high level sports.

An interesting topic for sure. My opinion is that the best sports league in any particular sport should simply take the best players period. In general, men are better equipped physically to compete in the most physical/athletic games. However, if there is a woman that is good enough to play, let her play! I thought it was fine when Annika Sorenstam played a tourney or two on the men's tour because she earned her way on, proving that she is good enough to compete. Michelle Wie, on the other hand, is there as a sideshow. Sports leagues should not discriminate by race, nationality, gender, size, hair color or any other attribute besides two: age (it is a workplace so some minimum age requirements should be in place to maintain safety) and skill. If they are skilled enough to play then they should. That said, I still think we're a long way from seeing a woman play in the NHL. I just have never seen any woman play and thought "she could hang in the NHL." Perhaps one or more will eventually, and I think goalie is a good position to see it. But as someone pointed out, men also tend to get the advantage in coaching/skill development at an early age so the woman's talent will need to be found when she is a girl and honed.

Despite making tons of money (and having the responsibility to earn that money in the eyes of the fans), it's really hard to play balls out for an 82 game season every single game, especially after being crowned the best last year. Yeah, we all wish that they'd play better every single game, but I don't think there is a single person here that can claim that he or she is always at the top of their game at work or school every single day. It's not an excuse, but it's human nature to do so. A coach can only do so much and nowadays, I think the best coaches know when to pick their spots. Babcock is doing that right now and I like the timing... hopefully it gets them ready without blowing their wad by starting it too early.

Fair enough. I doubt the team could match the lost firepower, however they could end up with even a better record if it meant they shored up the defensive end of the game. I believe the original poster of this sidetrack either said or meant to say that the Wings should let Hossa walk and keep Franzen. I do hope Conklin is ready if he gets tapped on the shoulder in the playoffs.

I am in general a big fan of statistics, but I know the limitation of using them. They help tell a story, and form some of the facts. Using goal statistics, it seems like Jokenin in Calgary is a huge success... you know, until you look at their W/L record since he's shown up. So what can we see about Osgood this year? Clearly, his statistics are horrible. But we have to couple that with actually watching the games. As of late, and the stats back this up, Ozzie has been playing better. I believe March is his only sub-3.00 GA and plus-.900 S% month of the year. He's improved over earlier in the season and I see him allowing far fewer bad goals. The problem is that he's been playing OK, but not great. Overall, I see the issue on a comfort level. Last year, regardless of what the statistics were, I felt really comfortable with any game Ozzie started, and I felt uncomfortable in any game Hasek started. This year, I'm uncomfortable seeing Ozzie and comfortable seeing Conklin. Do I just have unrealistic expectations of the starters? No... they just aren't/weren't passing the smell test. I do not feel confident in not only how Ozzie plays this year, but also how the rest of the TEAM plays with him in net. I sense that there are far more breakdowns when Ozzie plays. I support Osgood and I won't be terribly upset if he starts Game 1 of the first round. But I will be upset if Babcock doesn't keep the quick hook when necessary. Last year it wasn't necessarily that Hasek sucked in the playoffs... Babcock just said, "The puck needs to not go into our net." The team wasn't playing great with him too. This year, if the same occurs, make the switch and go Conklin. Off topic but I wanted to respond to this as well... It's not as simple as subtracting the missing players' goals from the total. You have to consider that other players will be getting their former playing time and will be producing more points. It is feasible to lose major offensive players and still end up with a better goal differential, even with less talent.

I do wonder how that compares to other teams. Perhaps the Wings are not alone in failing to develop more than one quality starter from the past 18 years (not that it's really hurt the Wings much during that run).

You can't. It's simply bad luck, like when Kronwall caught a rut in the ice in pregame a few seasons back and broke is leg.

I don't think it's really off topic at all. Lilja is actually a tough guy. He's not a great fighter but he can handle his own usually in a scrap. Weber just caught him with a really good one. I hope Lilja can make a full recovery and by next season can play is exact game, including a fight every 10-20 games. Despite Lilja being hurt, a lot of Red Wings could learn a lesson from him and be more willing to step up physically when needed.

I completely agree and I think the blog is on to something. I don't think Lidstrom catipulted the team towards greatness his first year or two, but he is by far the most important part of the team and has been for about 12 or so seasons. Especially this decade, he is the only player on the team that I would deem irreplaceable. As far-fetched as it might seem, if you're having a discussion about the greatest Red Wings of all time, Lidstrom has to be in the Howe/Yzerman discussion. It's difficult to compare forwards and defensemen sometimes but Lidstrom to me is probably 2nd on that list.

Am I understanding this correctly that some of the vehemently pro-enforcer posters are upset that Lilja was in the fight that got him hurt? I think in this case, an enforcer would not have helped. The fight occurred because Lilja pulled Weber down by his face and Weber came up swinging. It was one of those heat of the battle fights that I love and hope never go away. I'm happy that Lilja fought him and it's just unfortunate that he got his bell rung badly. I think it's trying to be revisionist history if someone is upset Lilja fought only because he ended up getting hurt. Hell, I loved that Hossa fought too! These are the types of fights that the NHL needs to preserve. I could do without the staged fights when two gorillas decide to drop them for no particular reason after a faceoff. I think the Wings need more guys like Lilja that are willing to fight when necessary but can also play... a heavyweight is not necessary but guys like GS&T mentioned that can take a regular shift, grind, and drop them when it's needed in the heat of the moment. I just wish that guys like Maltby, Sammy, Franzen, Stuart, Kronwall, Kopecky and Cleary would be a little more willing to fight when they start s***, just like Lilja is.

I think it can hardly be called a curse... a curse needs to have some sort of rationale, no matter how contrived (Curse of the Bambino, Curse of the Billy Goat, Curse of Bobby Lane, etc). However to the point of the article... it is probably right now a smattering of bad luck. The highest pick in that list is #52 overall, or lower 2nd round. 9 of the 11 guys are in the 100's or 200's (3rd round +), and while Detroit has grabbed some great skaters from those rounds in recent memory, there are FAR more guys that they picked that did not pan out. The Wings are probably due for a goalie to make it big. I think a few other factors also contribute. During this whole time, the Wings have been a championship contender and have been hesitant to hand over the reigns to an inexperienced goalie. Also, the Wings already had Ozzie who's been here most of that time and it makes developing a goalie a little less important. Ozzie might not be a HOF guy, but he's a winner. The goalie position is really wonky anyways, as guys flash as the next greatest thing and then disappear just as fast. There are few that are good for long (5+ season) stretches it seems.

God I hope so.

I am loathe to be pleased with any scenario, regardless of how many great players are retained, that leaves the Wings with another year of the salary cap crunch that does not allow movement between GR and Detroit. Meech is not an acceptable player at the forward position IMO and should only be used in extreme circumstances. Normal 1-2 game injuries that cannot be placed on LTIR need to be filled with GR players when necessary, and that requires cap space for that movement. I hope players choose to re-sign for uber cheap with the Wings but I'd advise that no one be set on seeing their projected roster being the one for next year. There is too little salary cap space and too many assumptions on what sort of discounts current Wings will give back.

I think you're starting out with some wrong numbers which affects your calculations. The projected "cap space" at this point is projected with McCarty and Lilja on IR, where their salaries "don't count" (I know it's more complicated than that but I'm saying it for simplicity's sake). A fully healthy 22 man roster, with Ericsson down in the AHL, is $56.47 if I added correctly, which is only about $230,000 in cap space. If the Wings had over a million in cap space to play with, then we'd see a lot more of the AHL guys prior to LTIR assignments.

Did I think it was fair that the Wings were able to spend 3 times as much as other teams? No, I did not. I was happy that the Wings would do whatever they could under the rules to keep a great team together. Overall, I would not oppose a soft cap system of some kind, but I don't mind the hard cap. It sucks sometimes, but it makes everyone more competitive IF they have the right front office to take advantage of the rules as they are. I am much more pleased when my team does well under a cap system than when they can just sign anyone they want... it adds that level of difficulty that I really appreciate. My main point was just that smart teams do well no matter what rules there are on how much you can spend on players. Stupid teams will not do well.