ComradeWasabi

I really like the way the lines were set up today. Franzen has a great shot and Datysuk makes everyone look better, so that line is great; Zetterberg is fantastic when he has two good, hard-working wingers. The third line could leave a bit to be desired but if Flip picks it up and Sammy gets going then it could be dangerous as well.

Toronto, because I could actually attend. Detroit at Toronto would be excellent.

That Doc Emerick picture had me in tears when it was first posted last playoffs. Too funny. As for acceptable broadcast crews, I don't mind TSN's Gord Miller, the CBC guys are usually good, and Jim Hughson is awesome. As posted before, whenever he says "ROBERTO LUONGO!" is great. I also like Doc, he's solid. As for who I don't like: Pierre McGuire. God, that guy is a douchebag. Also Eddie Olczyk is annoying too. But mostly McGuire.

1000 replies, must be a record for a GDT. Awesome game, great fun to watch with a hangover.

I will be watching this, suffering through a hangover. A true Wings fan.

You missed Flip!

Listening to the local feeds of any team except Detroit drives me crazy. Ken and Mick are probably homers for the Wings, but any other voices make me cringe. Specifically, the San Jose and Nashville commentators are the worst offenders. That being said, I must say that I do love me some TSN. Their panel in between periods is usually great, even though John Tortorella is there now; Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger know what they're talking about and I even like James Duthie. Just keep Pierre McGuire away from my TV set and I will be fine.

When those two defenders are Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, uh, yes, it does make sense.

Hossa isn't scoring much so that when the Red Wings win, we still have something to complain about. He is putting these boards before his point totals... f*** his contract year.

Man, it's really embarrassing to get traded for a seventh round pick...

His accent is closer to a Dominik Hasek than a Homer I think

In the crease, out of the crease...

Not gonna lie, that was hilarious.

I believe the phrase I should use here is "f*** you". Try to point out where I was whining or complaining in my posts and while you're doing that, go f*** yourself.

I like that forward setup. Meech adds some energy, Zetterberg has a pair of good wingers to work with, Draper can actually use his speed... even the first line is still good with Pavel and Mule's shots.

Regardless of the score, watching how the Wings play without Nick, there is a significant difference. Particularly in the first period against Colorado the tape-to-tape neutral zone passes from the defence weren't quite as crisp as normal. I will concede though that "weakness exposed" is probably strong terminology. Our definitions of embarrassed are different. Losing by a one goal margin to a team that the Wings should beat by more than one is, in my opinion, embarrassing. Toronto, Colorado (twice), Dallas, they should have won all of those games if they had played a good game. They've also lost most of the games against the top teams in the league; San Jose, Boston, Montreal. I think most would agree that Detroit is, on paper, a better team than those three (though that is open to a wide debate, depending on whose colours you wear) and yet they only managed to win one of those games, against a tired San Jose team. The style in which they lost those three big games is important, too; all three of the other teams straight up outworked and outplayed us each time.

I feel bad for the Kazakhs. A sparkling 12.0 GAA for the teams.

At this point, I have no idea. They have won a lot of the games they've deserved to, but they've lost some, too; they've been embarrassed by teams they could normally beat; they've blown a three-goal lead in the third against Pittsburgh; they've played a few good 60-minute games; they've juggled lines and occasionally defensive pairings; they've had their captain and best player get hurt and had their weakness without him exposed; and yet they can't manage to settle and find consistency. Whatever it is that's going to unify this team and get them back to playing Red Wings Hockey, I haven't got a clue what it is. I would like to hope that maybe if they lose the Winter Classic to a young and hungry Chicago team then they might wake up, but who knows?

Kopecky for playing hockey. Goal too. Awesome.

I e-mailed George James Malik at Snapshots and he said he didn't have any kind of confirmation. Sounds like it's not true..

This isn't confirmed by any credible news source as far as I can tell. Nothing from TSN.ca and a Google News search shows nothing.

Yes, McCollum is the US team's #1 netminder. As for how the Canadians do in 2010, I suspect it will be better than the Americans.

To be fair, Ansar Khan and George James Malik (both of mlive.com) were both reporting a knee injury before Babcock's update on the situation.

In case anybody hasn't seen this yet regarding Nick's injury: http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/12/si...ury_involv.html Not serious, took a shot to the side of his foot. X-rays came up clean, should be back by tomorrow or Tuesday's game against Chicago. Dodged a bullet for sure.

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/12/si...ury_involv.html