Miss Wing Queen

OMG!!! Yeah, we won! Anyone else hold their breath for the last 2 minutes there?

The D's problems are mainly Rafi and Lebda. They need to reread the section on "No More F**king Turnovers" in the Defensemen manual. I cringe every time the step on the ice. And is it wrong that I cheered when Lebda got knocked on his ass along the boards in the 2nd?

I liked Shanahan, and then Chelios when he joined the team. And of course, the Wizard too!

Yeah, but I've not been too thrilled with the Stuart/Rafalski pairing either. I'm starting to hold my breath when they're on the ice as well. So basically, I'm without oxygen when 2/3 of our defense is on the ice.

Me too. I usually feel like I need a big bottle of Zoloft after reading these threads. Too late, it's already been done earlier in this thread. After all the equipment guys and every staff member at JLA, I guess the only person left to blame is Mike Illitch. _________________________________________________________________ Having done a 180 on my view of the season, I know they are playing well, but things are just not going our way. But with each game, I see the changes being made that will eventually lead to this team turning it around. The positives to take out of this game: 1. Howard performed much better than he has previously, and for that, I say yes he was great (comparing him to Anderson at this point is stupid in the grand scheme of things). 2. Our PK has been steadily improving since last season. 3. Players are stepping up. Beggars can't be choosers when it comes to the fact that those players are Homer, Draper, Malts, etc instead of Pav, Hank, etc. At least somebody is scoring! Not the outcome we wanted, but a good effort from the boys.

Other than some of our first few games, Ozzie has increasing been stepping up and looking more consistent. For all those that are saying his play has been terrible because he has let in 2 to 3 goals a night, first, remember back to February and March of last year when we played Nashville and Columbus. In both cases, Ozzie was on the ice for most of the night, and we lost to Nashville 0-8 and Columbus 2-8. To me, THAT is called being terrible, not how he is playing now with the exception of the game against Buffalo. And for the game against the Coyotes, a case can be made that all three goals were just bad luck. The first he blocked, and in every other circumstance, the puck would have deflected off him and up past the goal into the netting, but instead it didn't get high enough or far away enough and they scored. The second, aside from a very poor defense move in front of him, should have been waived off because the puck was out of sight before he was PUSHED into the net with the puck. The third, was bad luck at its best--blame how his stick caught and redirected the puck or the fact that it didn't deflect a few more inches to the outside of the net. Give the guy a break. He's made some terrific saves--AO against Washington and quite a few Thursday night during the first and second period, but especially in the last 3 minutes of the game to force overtime, as well as many other times in at least our last 4-5 games. It' not fair that when any other player on our team has ups and downs, people say that they are just going through a rough patch. But if it's Ozzie, it's not deemed a rough patch but instead negates all the previous years he has played like the future HOF goalie he is, and they call him the worst goalie in the world and start calling for his head.

I'll admit that I had the worst expectations for this team coming into the season, and after the games in Sweden, my fears were looking more real. But looking at the past and present, I have to say we've been spoiled. For the last so many years, our team has been made up mostly of veteran, experienced players who knew what it took to get to the playoffs and how to work the system of the regular season. A combination of luck with who our players were, the level of skill and experience we had, and what we had to put forth to get to the playoffs came much easier in previous seasons than this one. The team we've had on a pedestal for so long has been taken down a few levels. It doesn't mean they totally suck or that all hope is lost, it just means we are starting a little closer to average this year than we have in the past. But I agree with gcom007 that we have to look at all of this as a process. In some of our recent losses, I've seen hard work and a strong team shine through. Some losses have been poor play, others (like last night) bad luck, and some a combination of both. These losses now are major learning experiences. Granted, it feels as if they are moving at a snail's pace for improving, but changes are being made. I think we are all tired of hearing "We know what we have to fix, we just have to be better at [insert flaw here] . . ." during ever post-game interview. We were looking for our team to come charging out of the gate this season in order to take away the sting and pain of how last season ended. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I've settled my fears down and am just trying to enjoy watching this mixed new/old/rookie/veteran team come into its own. Granted, it's not always the easiest thing to do, but it makes me appreciate my team and the strong tradition they've had of carrying high expectations for themselves as a players more. Here's to our team taking more steps forward and less steps back and fleshing out as the team we know they can be.

I'd have to say: 1.) Mike Smith--Love the lightning effect. 2.) Jimmy Howard--I really like that the numbers are the retired jerseys, and the classic "D". 3.) Huet--The theme and colors are great for matching the team's logo and name.

I agree that the wind has been let out of their sails. Ozzie keeps saying that it feels like it's worse the more time goes by after game 7, that now they are staring up at the huge hill they have to climb again. I think it takes something out of a team. Yeah, the guys know what it takes and are hungry to a point to get back there, but think of it this way--it's like they've just run three marathons in three days with just a little bit of rest in between. The fourth time around is looking a little daunting. Plus, they have a lot of different factors to focus on--5 new kids coming up for their first full year in the NHL, 4 other new players on the team, a depletion in proven goal scoring depth, and problem areas that have still not been resolved from the previous season. IMHO, this year is not the same team that has gone to the playoffs three years in a row. We have a lot of newbies who've never run this marathon before and who are focusing more on being full time in the NHL, and I think with so much to deal with, try to fix, and improve upon, this year indirectly or directly, most of our energy and attention will be spent on restructuring the Wings and less so on trying to make the playoffs. I think most of us want to believe that "it's the Wings, they can turn it around as the season progresses," and that it's too soon to make any long-term judgment, but is that faith in the team or just blind hope?

Okay, bring on the new T-shirts: "HEAL the Mule!"

If I'm hearing correctly from that video, I'm loving the "Crosby Sucks!" chant by the Philly fans. Poor Letang. Let Mommy Bylsma kiss it and make it better.

Thankfully, management still has some common sense left.

I feel that there is a hint of a chance that Lebda could improve and play more consistently like he performed in the playoffs, especially against Chicago. But to me, it seems as if he just lacks the motivation to push himself. He says he knows what role he is asked to play as a 3rd line defenseman, but I think he uses that more as an excuse to get away with a bare minimum performance for most of the season except in games that really matter to him (i.e. the Winter Classic and the Chicago series). Why? I don't know. If it's money, everyone has to make their way up through the system and prove that they are worth more money throughout their contract by continually improving their game and proving to Babcock and Holland that the position is theirs to take and keep. If it's being on the 3rd line and less ice time, he hasn't shown enough to be considered for the 1st let alone the 2nd line. If it's just that he doesn't care except when his is in his hometown, then get off the team because our team has higher standards than that. I think it's sad because I think the potential is there, but it's buried under a bad work ethic, misguided presence on the ice (joining in on rushes during every shift that result in horrible turnovers and goals against), and a lack of motivation to be more than just average or worse. This is the Red Wings. After four years, he should be well acquainted with their high expectations of each and every player to contribute all they have every single night. Unfortunately, there are so many other players dying to have his spot who would run with it and make the most of the opportunity given to them to be part of the Red Wings. But Lebda, who knows. It's just disappointing that our defense has to suffer for it.

I agree. Ericsson needs to move up in defense. Switch him with Stuart to partner with Kronwall, and put Stewart back with Lebda. Those two are two peas in a pod.

Very Datsyukian there, Bert.

It's like the crowd practiced their chant all week. That'd be cool if we could get everyone in sync at the Joe like that.

I'm almost starting to feel bad for Farjestad BK right now. Almost . . .

I think our full team is out there. I haven't seen Eaves too much--mostly Maltby/Abdelkader/Draper as the 4th line. It looks like Babs is also rotating Meech in now and then with Kronwall. Howie is looking pretty good, especially on that one turn over halfway through the period. Good thing our guys are playing well, or I might have been tempted to listen to the Bettman interview on NHL.com. GO WINGS! :patriot:

I agree. If they're going to make Lids and Pav sit out a game for saying they're injured, a similar situation should apply in this case. Backes was back out, what, in the same power play on Lilja, right? Yeah, injured my ass. If he really got hurt, it was because he was already leaning towards the boards and Lilja was coming at him. To Backes: "Have an issue? Here's a tissue."