Miss Wing Queen

Either way, I'm just happy it's not 4-6 months or the whole season. This team really can't afford to take any more hits, and it's going to be tough enough with Kronwall out even this much. I just hope Babs is going to pair Meech, Lebda, and Ericsson up with the other three and not pair Meech/Lebda.

Now it's more likely 4-8 weeks out for Kronwall following today's tests. http://www.freep.com/article/20091122/SPOR...east-four-weeks Glad it's not a tear, but I would have preferred the 2-3 weeks. After the hearing tomorrow, I hope there is a long suspension for this.

Just found an update (sort of) on Kronwall . . . http://www.freep.com/article/20091121/SPOR...least-two-weeks Hopefully it's just a sprain and not a tear. Get well soon, Kronner. P.S. Hockey Gods, all I want for Christmas is a healthy Red Wings team!

I can't decide really. I love the speed of Helm-Eaves and how well they are fitting with one another, as well as Draper. But I am also really enjoying what May brings. As one that loved the energy Downey use to bring to the atmosphere when he was on the ice, it's nice to have another tough guy on our team, and even more so because our coaching staff finally realized we needed one.

Two things: 1.) On the dissallowed goal and "intent to blow the whistle"--technically, a ref has the intent to blow the whistle during any part of the game, he knows he is going to do it eventually, so by NHL rules, does that mean that any of the goals scored during the game are waived off because of it? 2.) Overall, the officiating was very unbalanced, especially for May. Example: May gets a penalty for "slashing" on Auld when he was just trying to play the puck, and only tapped Auld's empty glove. Then a few minutes later, May is cross checked from behind, sending him flying into the net, and there is no penalty. And then the dissallowed goal. The refs just need to learn how to interpret rules, and Toronto should have the ability to have the final say because 1) they are the command center and 2) they have the ability to see the replays.

The team is playing really great right now, but like Mickey said, we can't expect them to score 7 or 9 goals each night. Most games are going to be like Vancouver 3-1, tight, grind out games. However, we don't necessarily need to lower our expectations or worry about the playoffs just yet. Let's just enjoy watching our team gel and learn how to work with one another. They may still go through rough patches in the coming months, but they've learned a lesson from the embarassment they suffered in October, and I think that is what gives them the drive to get back in the game like they did tonight. They don't want to experience that feeling of "Oh, no, here we go again." And they didn't have "hat tricks left and right" last year--we haven't had one since 08 until Z's tonight.

All three of those are good suggestions. Cobo Joe's is the closest of course, but smaller. Hockeytown Cafe will definitely get you ready for the game.

For me, it's really sporadic. I never usually plan which games or how many I'll go to, instead I usually decide a week or two or a the day before to go. I'm only a half hour from the Joe, which makes that easy. Normally, I try to go 3-4 games and maybe a playoff game. I went to the 2nd game of the finals last year after watching game 1, rather a split-second decision. I had a blast of course. Unfortunately, it all depends on money!

I remember it too. They started the piece off by saying something like "Detroit believes it's found its next rising start in Brett Lebda." I think they mistakenly said "star" when they meant to say "black hole."

Unfortunately, yes. I saw one a few rows down from me at the game Thursday night.

The Hockey gods are tremendously pissed at us and need to be appeased. Burn Lebda on a pyre as an offering and kill two birds with one stone to get our karma/luck back on track for this season.

I guess they're going to have to start with the Whalers. I believe they are the next rung down from the Griffins. At training camp, I was really impressed with how well Tatar played with our top guys during the Monday and Tuesday games. Usually, you can see the differentiation in skill level between the Griffins and Wings during the scrimmages, but Tatar really stood out as someone that looked like he'd been playing with the Wings in the NHL for a year or two. I'd say enough with the formalities, bring him up for at least one game and try him out. If we are taking chances on others, waiting for them to actually prove that they are NHL players *cough* LEBDA *cough*, how much worse could it be to just try Tatar? BTW, I just want to call him Tatar Salad every time I think of him because I always think of Ron White from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour at the same time. And did anyone else love how Trevor Thompson took the words out of Bab's mouth in the postgame show. "Now Mike, I know you're going to say this is a chance for someone to really step up but . . ." Babs kind of smiled and laughed because it's his pre-fab response for all this s*** that's been affecting the team.

That's cuz he was all over the ice last night working his ass off! The guys are always so nice when you have a chance to meet and talk to them. Wish I could have been there.

It's not completely Ericsson's fault that his defense partner left him out to dry. Also, Babs went back to his original D lines which weren't working before Ericsson sat out two games. Things were better when it was Stuart/Lebda because at least Stuart kept Lebda from making too many stupid mistakes.

I was at the game last night, and I also watched Lebda and Bert. Bert's biggest problem is that he holds onto the puck for too long. There were so many instances where he should have shot the puck when he was in front of the goal but instead held onto it and skated around the back side of the net looking to pass it to somebody, or by time he did shoot it, the angle was so bad that it was impossible to get a good shot on goal. As for Lebda, he's soft when it comes to defensemen and also often is involved in the rush wanting to score. Some times it is good because he has shot some of the rebounds that came back to the point or those that have squirted loose from the corners. However, on the goal that the Sharks scored, E was at center, I believe, and Lebda was all the way up at the net, and when the turnover occured, E was left by himself to stop the offense.

At one point, the VS announcers said something like "Lebda making a good defensive play there." Lately, that would definitely be an oxymoron for sure. Glad to see he didn't aid the other team in scoring, and actually drew a penalty on Boston that led to a goal. Hope he can start to turn things around. I also thought Janik looked good out there.

Well, let's see . . . 08 Stanley Cup Hat (Signed at Cheli's when they had the cup there. Got to drink out of it too!) Chelios Lebda Howard Downey Meech Hudler Training Camp 08--Red Wings Bandana Samuelsson Lidstrom McCollum Franzen Howard Oulahen McCarty Filpulla Datsyuk Downey Kopecky McGrath Cleary Draper Maltby Kronwall Jozsa Quincey Galvin Babcock Hudler Lilja Winter Classic Puck Conklin Training Camp 09 Osgood Jersey Ozzie Kronwall Helm Zetterberg Lebda Meech Datsyuk Holmstrom Lidstrom Franzen Red Wings Children's Book (for my nephew) McGrath Kronwall Lemieux Jim Nill Filppula Coetzee Cleary Osgood Maltby Babcock Lebda Zetterberg Williams Ritola Draper Abdelkader Lidstrom Hockeytown Hat Pearce Abdelkader Emmerton Kindl McCollum Williams Ken Holland I'm an autograph junkie . . .

It really is definitely worth it. I've been the past two years, and this year, Hank was out on Monday and signed almost everybody's stuff. It really is the best way to get autographs and photos with the players. Out of the current team, I got everyone's sigs/pics but maybe 6 guys. And Hank was good about signing multiple items and doing a picture. Plus, you can't beat Traverse City in September! And like Motown4013 said, the atmosphere is much more relaxed, and you can often talk to the guys or razz them about rushing off to their tee times (Drapes)!

The word of the day, boys and girls, is HUSTLE. This team had the most jump I've seen all season for a full 60 minutes. I think the key was to keep the shifts as short as possible and keep the pace up so we could keep taking it to their end. Wish the PP could have been more productive, but overall, very pleased with how the team played. I think if Babs keeps these lines, or at most, only switches a couple of players, these lines will continue to gel and provide the energy we need. Way to go, Wings. Can't wait until Thursday when I get to go to the game. Hopefully, I'll get to see them play like this again!

Reverse psychology. I like it.

Yeah, I liked the footage of Nick's 1000th. I think I would rather have seen Ozzie's toe save on AO than the clip that's in there.

I liked the bear design of their old jersey, but I liked it best in the white away version. I agree that the old home version is too Christmas like. The new one is okay. I like how some jerseys have the strings at the throat, but I'm not really digging the plane jane feel of just their name as the logo. I like the bear logo because it symbolized Minn. really well.

If you can beat em, make em join you. New tactic with Franzen out: In addition to winning games, eliminate other teams' players one by one to injury. First Johnson, then Luongo . . . Keep working hard to bring our skill levels up while dwindling the other teams. It's definitely freaky that so many players around the NHL have been injured this month. Maybe it has something to do with October and Halloween?

Mike Babcock post-game: "You just keep banging your head against the wall, and eventually it's going to go through." Apparently, he's heard me taking my frustration out on my wall. Ow. My forehead hurts, and now I've got to patch my damn wall! And more good news (didn't think I'd be saying this), Howie starts in Edmonton. Edit: P. Marlowe, you beat me to it!

I know that's not a whole lot of comparison between the two, but I've got this feeling that the beginning of this season for Bert is very similar to the beginning of the season for Hossa last year. Try and try and try, all the while feeling the mounting pressure for proof that their signings were decisions that would help the team. If I remember correctly, Hossa didn't score his first until late Oct/early Nov and it was a big GWG. Hopefully, Bert's luck will change and the post hits will go in, and it would be nice if it were a GWG too.