Wombat

There is no way this is an end of the era. This is the Red Wings Way... veterans lead the team and are eventually phased out for the next wave of leaders/stars. The Wings will lose a handful of players this year but they are ready to replace them from within. It happens and it won't hurt that much in terms of the product next year. Lidstrom retiring will be the only thing I think in which we can talk about "the end of the era". This string of good play by the Wings (18 straight playoff seasons) is The Lidstrom Era. I wonder (fearfully) how the team will play when he's retired.

It's playoff hockey and he's an NHL rookie. Don't expect him to light up the scoreboard. He's playing as a 4th liner should.

I completely agree. He's nothing like a Z/Pav/Bure. He's Draper 2.0, the new and improved model. I can only hope he serves a Draper role on this team for a long time... huge speed, tenacious forechecking, a 1st pairing PKer, and a solid defensive centerman. Every team needs guys like this to be successful.

I think I was just lurking when these debates were going on, but I was disappointed with Val's play through about the first half of the season. But I noticed that he was creating good chances, but seemed to defer a bit too much in terms of shooting. Honestly, it reminded me of early Datsyuk... Flip doesn't have quite the skill of Dats, but they are similar. I hope the Wings hold onto Flip this coming offseason.

That may be, that they kept him out as a precaution last night. But they would not have taken him out from Game 4 just to rest. And Babcock said anyways, if a player is ready to go, they play. I would be very upset at him if he purposely held back a great player that could play and contribute. This is hockey... a weird bounce or two and we're gripping because the Wings are playing Game 7. 3-1 series deficits are solid generally but stranger things have happened in hockey.

Really? We're complaining about this? Do people really think he's writing that Z LITERALLY only scores ENG? He's using a columnist's license to exaggerate in a mildly mocking/sarcastic way to emphasize a point... Z has a bunch of goals, but good deal of those are ENG. Yes, they count, and yes, they keep the other team from coming back. But I'm pretty sure every one of you complaining about this will agree that a regular goal (with the goalie in the net) during a tight game is much more important than an ENG. There are a few guys on the Wings that have very high expectations on them because of their past performances, both playoffs and regular season. Hossa, Dats, and Z all have those burdens on them.

They're making it look mean!

I'm a huge Wings fan too, but come on, there is no way that Franzen is as good as Crosby. Just because we might dislike a player, it does not mean he sucks. Crosby is clearly one of the 5 best players in the world, no matter how much you may despise his whining/diving/cheapness/media exposure/anything else you dislike about him.

Eh, it goes both ways. The Detroit media and fans were howling over Game 3 vs Anaheim with the Hossa disallowed goal. Also, Game 3 of the Chicago series, it seems like a lot of Wings fans were bitter over the refereeing of that game. I personally thought that besides Kronner getting kicked out, the refs did well. We as fans always remember when people say bad things, or when bad calls happen to our team. We don't remember as much when fortune bounces for us, or when we get complimented. It happens in real life too... people dwell on the negatives!

Same plan... I would have preferred a team that would be easier to beat. the Pens are for real and will be a big challenge. On the other hand, it would have been really cool to play Boston... tough team, but an intriguing O6 matchup.

According to Drew Sharp's article, Ericsson was at the JLA by gametime. He'll be back most probably Saturday, but at worst probably Sunday. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs. there is absolutely no way that Babcock is resting a perfectly healthy Lidstrom. Every game is important, and you don't take your best player and captain off the ice unless necessary. Less important, but I also don't think you take someone off to rest when he has never missed a playoff game in nearly 230 opportunities.

I hope every national hockey analyst picks the Pens to win the series. I could care less. I've always said to friends that there is only 1 irreplaceable player on the Wings roster, and that is Lidstrom. His presence (or lack thereof) switches the series favorite in my mind. I hope he's back and ready to go for the entire finals!

It reminded me of all the times that Fedorov ripped perfect shots between the defender's legs to the top corner of the net! My girlfriend and I said this when he scored: name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /> Do you see what you get, Huet? Do you see what you get when you mess with The Warrior??

You said it. If both the Pens and Wings close out the series early (5 or less games), the Finals schedule as it is now posted is completely ridiculous. There should never be back to back games in the most important series in the league. Combined with how long they scheduled to stretch the CF series with a few 2 day breaks... I just don't get it. How hard is it to schedule the teams to play every other day for 2 months (barring stadium schedule issues of course)?

I don't think that's a fair summary of what people are saying. I would have preferred Chelios to get some more time in the game (I said so to my g/f while watching the game). But that for me was in spite of him playing below the NHL level for most of the season. Overall, it just seems like picking nits to complain about the 20th man on the roster's ice time in a 6-1 victory.

Plus/minus is not an end-all-be-all statistic. Meech is in a different situation anyways because he played a lot of forward as well which can impact the comparison. Still, Brad Stuart was a -3 this regular season. Chelios, Lebda, Ericsson, and Lilja all had better +/- in the season. Are they all better than Stuart, and would the Wings be better with them playing over Stuart? Cleary was Even this season, and Holmstrom a +18. Which is a better player, and if you think it's Homer, is he THAT significantly better than Cleary? I guess since Helm was a -7 during his 16 games in Detroit, perhaps he's worse than Kopecky (also -7), McCarty, Abdelkader, Downey, and Leino. Stats can tell some of the truth, but more can be gleamed from watching them play. For this season, I'd mark Meech ahead of Chelios based on his level of play. He's not significantly better, but he has looked better to me. Meech is a 6/7 defenseman in the NHL, and Chelios often looks to be sub-NHL in caliber of play. I trust my lineup to Dr. Babcock... you should too.

For most of this year, Chelios has not looked like a legit NHLer to me. I thought he was pretty bad versus Anaheim when he played and I'd rather see Meech play over him.

Hey Brian Campbell... don't sweat it, man! Keep up the good work! name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" />

I thought the Wings played pretty well last night and I'm not the least bit concerned about anything that I saw on the ice tonight. I hope the injury bug calms down a bit though, but effort and physicality were there.

Exactly! No one should expect a 60 minute beatdown by the Wings. Chicago was playing a MUST WIN game and absolutely should have had more jump into the game.

The issue is that each player gets their own expectations based on their history of play. We expect energy and defense out of Helm. We expect defense and faceoffs from Draper. We expect offense from Hudler. For guys like Datsyuk and Zetterberg, they have the reputation for being both excellent defenders and potent offensive players. Their play and talent is higher, so the fan expectations are higher. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect more regular offense from them. I don't think people are expecting a goal a game or anything... but chipping in a couple more goals/assists in these series beyond ENG.

If you're waiving guys with existing contracts, I believe their remaining contracts become part of a cap hit as well. This option is completely out of whack from reality. As the poster above said... you tweak teams after a playoff loss like that, you don't completely detonate it.

Hank played really well this series but needs to step up in scoring goals with a goalie actually on the ice! His defense was great and he had some excellent passes/setups/puck control going all series long.

Remember going into last year's playoffs when everyone was worried about secondary scoring? My oh my how things change! In a 7 game series, a deeper team has a better chance of coming out on top. Detroit is so deep they scratched Maltby, a playoff vet with tons of experience that was actually playing pretty well!

Well, that sounds healthy and well adjusted...