The Mule

Wake the f*** up, Detroit.

I've got my fingers crossed that the Red Wings have a productive second period.

I could most certainly go without Lebda on this team.

Well, it's nice to see the Wings have a lead after the first. Not a bad period.

Rangers score. 2-1 Red Wings.

GOOOAAAALLLL!!! Franzen makes it 2-0 Red Wings with assists from Filppula and Samuelsson.

GOOOAAAALLLL!!! Samuelsson scores early with assists from Meech and Filppula.

Just a few minutes now until the puck drops.

Nice to see Leino pick up an assist and finish as a +1.

I'm anxiously awaiting the moment when Ville gets the call, as well. He was very impressive in preseason.

Who the f*** is this guy?

If we don't win tonight, I'll be furious. But as always, I'll predict a victory. 5-2 Red Wings on goals from Hossa, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Cleary, and Samuelsson.

I've been having this discussion with some friends of mine a lot as of late, so I thought I'd get some input from my fellow Wings' fans. In this thread, I'd like for each of you to rank each of the NHL's goaltenders using a 3-tier system. Please allow me to explain: Each tier will consist of 10 goaltenders. The first tier will represent those who you feel are the elite class of the NHL, and should be seen as the best goalies the league has to offer. The second tier will represent sturdy, reliable goaltenders who may not be considered superstars, but are dependable when called upon. The third tier will represent those who could use drastic improvement, are inconsistent, and the least efficient goaltenders in the league. You do not have to number the goaltenders within a particular tier from best to worst, but if you'd like to go the extra mile and do so, you are free to do as you please. Here's my take on the topic: Tier 1 1. Roberto Luongo 2. Martin Brodeur 3. Henrik Lundqvist 4. Evgeni Nabokov 5. Jean-Sebastien Giguere 6. Mikka Kiprusoff 7. Marty Turco 8. Ryan Miller 9. Nicklas Backstrom 10. Rick DiPietro Tier 2 11. Carey Price 12. Ilya Bryzgalov 13. Tomas Vokoun 14. Marc-Andre Fleury 15. Chris Osgood 16. Vesa Toskala 17. Pascal Leclaire 18. Cristobal Huet 19. Kari Lehtonen 20. Tim Thomas Tier 3 21. Dan Ellis 22. Martin Biron 23. Mathieu Garon 24. Cam Ward 25. Martin Gerberg 26. Olaf Kolzig 27. Manny Legace 28. Jose Theodore 29. Jason LaBarbera 30. Peter Budaj Your turn. EDIT: There was some confusion as to people believing I felt lower end goalies in a tier were equivalent to those ranked near the top of that tier, so I edited each category in a numbered order, whom I feel is the strongest to weakest. Remember, this is merely my opinion. Feel free to post your own.

What are you talking about? Last season, the Red Wings only lost 3 of their first 16 games. Please tell me you aren't referring to that as a "slow start."

New York lost to Buffalo last night, but they play Toronto tomorrow night, so Saturday will be the Rangers' second game in as many days.

The Rangers have looked good thus far this season. If we lose on Saturday, I'm going to be ******* pissed.

With forwards like Filppula, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Draper and so on being defensively responsible, what exactly does Maltby contribute to this team? Not only did he look terrible on a partial breakaway tonight, but come on, I can't remember the last time he had a positive effect on this team's play. I don't hate Maltby or anything, but he's almost useless.

Nothing against Ozzie (he was both good and bad tonight), but I hope Conklin gets a few more starts soon.

Brutal. I don't give a s*** how many games we are into the season, this team is not playing well at all.

Lebda is awful.

Brutal. We can't be taking penalties when we're on the power play.

That was a hell of a save by Ozzie.

GOOAAALLL!! Dan Cleary gives us the lead.

Ozzie has been shaky at times, but he's made some big saves.

GOOAAALL!! Rafalski scores.