Ms_Hockey

Congratulations, Osgood! Here's to many more wins.

Goaltending has been weak - that's a shoe in, really. It's just that I become increasingly less concerned with the goaltending than I am the defense as games go by. Why? Because the Red Wings are built from the defense out. I think it's far more realistic to expect more from the D than the goaltending.. but again, that's just my opinion. We don't know what's going on with the team because, well, we're not on it. We can only speculate. While Osgood isn't putting up the same numbers as he was last season, how much of that is attributed to lousy defensive play that we didn't have last season? It's hard to say. I'd be interested to see how it'd play out with our defensive unit consistently on top.

To be fair, the more games I see, the less concerned I am with the goaltending. It doesn't matter who says they're going to lead us to the playoffs - the defense needs to step up. Conklin has suffered just like Osgood has.. so Ozzie saying he's ready to lead the team in the playoffs is great, but it's not really him I'm too worried about.

Don't. Speak. Such. Garbage.

You know, just a few weeks ago people on these boards weren't even phased at the thought of letting him go.. and they certainly wouldn't have called him underrated. It just seems a bit odd to me. In either case, I've always felt that Mule was a great asset to the team. After Homer is gone ( ), who better to place in front of the net than Franzen? I've said before that on the Red Wings - a team that isn't well known for their physical play - having a physically large player is always a plus.. even if it's just to make it that much harder to knock him off the puck.

Did anybody else see the "Build a new arena in Windsor and problem is solved" comment? Really, people? Really?

Ahhh, it's good to be back after a week in Boston. Missed you guys! Being around those Bruins fans almost killed me. This is great news to come back to. I know it's not final and nothing is for certain yet.. but it certainly gives me warm tingly feelings to know he'd be willing to take less. The real question is how MUCH less? I think Kenny can pull it off - Lord knows he's performed miracles before.

Exactly. "If you can't beat 'em, hate 'em".

This is.... wow. Unbelievable. What kind of respect is that to show toward his family and friends who are grieving his loss? He's dead. Don't try and use him as a pawn in your system.

This thread reminds me of the whole "Scotty Bowman strategy". I have heard many times that people believe Scotty would purposely switch up the lines and lose games to avoid playing certain teams in the first round of the playoffs. There was never any proof of it - but their guess is as good as mine.

Everybody hates the Wings. We've half-assed our way through the season and still managed to be in the running for the #1 spot. We hold the longest consecutive playoff streak in any major sport. We JUST won the Stanley Cup and are top favorites to win it again. And we acquired one of the most potent goal-scoring forwards when our team already had talent oozing out of their ears. We win.. and we do it, sometimes, without much effort. We're a hockey dynasty that has yet to die out. I would hate us too.

...? This isn't even a contest. Markov is a great d-man, but to compare him to the likes of Lidstrom - and to say he's better on the whole - is ridiculous.

If this were true, which I highly doubt, I really wouldn't care that we'd played half-assed all season. If we got the Stanley Cup, I'd be way too overjoyed to be angry.

Thank you! I could just go to Windsor and pound back Jager shots.. but you definitely have a point there. Haha, no. I don't ignore people. No worries. Thank you! G'night.

Bottom line: We should have won. We didn't. But I still love this team and believe they can do better.. and do it soon. That's it from me. Time for me to hop to bed to get ready for my birthday festivities tomorrow. (Turning 20. Oh dear...)

First of all, your argument is completely null and void. Why? Because BABCOCK DOESN'T GO ON THE ICE AND PLAY. It's one thing if every time the Wings go to defend their lead, we give up four goals and end up losing. It's another thing entirely when it DOESN'T happen often. That's not the coach's fault - that's the PLAYER'S fault. The Red Wings are perfectly capable of defending their leads when and if they want to - and we've seen that. The fact that they chose to not put any effort into it is hardly Babcock's fault. But, ya know, I'll tell him to polish his glass ball to see if they feel like playing or not before he makes his coaching decisions next time.

Calgary is hardly a suck ass team. On the whole, we're better than them - but that team is stock filled with potential and talent. "Suck ass"? I certainly don't think so.

.................. ^ That's all that I can come up with in response to that.

Please please please... stay in pee wee.

/Start bandwagon voice. "LIKE, DUH, THE DETROIT RED WINGS LAST SEASON WHEN GORDIE HOWE SCORED EIGHTY HAT TRICKS, YZERMAN SCORED TWO, AND OVECHKIN WAS JUST A YOUNG PLAYER ON OUR TEAM!" /End bandwagon voice.

Logic is against the forum rules. I learned that my first day here.

It's nice to know that true fans actually exist. I was pretty sure we were going extinct.

Agreed. If they want to dish their money out to the Red Wings while maintaining to little to no actual knowledge on how a team, especially the RW, operates - be my guest. Just keep your mouth shut doing it. I went to a game this season and overheard the guy behind me asking his buddy why Steve Yzerman wasn't on the ice. Steve Yzerman! Really! And then he pretended as if he was some all-knowing Red Wing god afterwards. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Being a fan of winning is much easier than being a fan of the Red Wings. That's what gives.

Then you'll be glad to know that 99% of LGW thinks YOU'RE an idiot now. I'm pretty sure Babcock would care about as much as you care.