Carman

I'm with this guy. The players needed to be better, they did not play to their potential.

Go Pens

Did they kick Burke out of Toronto yet?

I knew the moment Bertuzzi fought we would lose this series.

I'm in the same boat, I was disappointed with the off season more than the deadline. I'll be very disappointed if I don't see changes this off season. Also Wing's aren't going to win a game when Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Franzen, and Kronwall are all off the score sheet. As nice as it would be to have better 3rd and 4th liners the fact remains our best players did not perform well enough.

It's not like one player would have made a difference on this abortion of an effort.

A goalie relies so much on the team in front of him, a good defensive team can really make a goalie look good by not allowing odd man rushes, and clearing the puck after a rebound. This playoffs is a great example of it. Howard's stats are pretty unfair, he has close to the fewest shots against, but if you look at the odd man chances and defensive lapses the Wing's have had they are giving up the highest amount of quality scoring chances against, that's just not a good predicament for a goalie. Howard is capable of winning a cup, it's just up to the players in front of him. I'd rather not run into the same "problem" in the playoffs with a 7 million dollar goalie like Luongo, Fleury, and Bryzgalov. If Howard starts letting in more and more bad goals when the wings are actually covering men, and not taking too many risks in the offensive end that result in odd man rushes then my mood will change. But until that happens I feel it's a much higher priority to become a good defensive team first , then deal with the goaltending problem if there would be one.

Thank the Player's Association. It's stupid.

Parise has 194 goals in 502 games, Semin has 197 in 469. Parise isn't as good of a pure goal scorer by just looking at Shooting %, but he takes way less penalties, puts up equivalent power play numbers, scores short handed goals, and is just a more effective over all player. Semin has talent, I just don't see him being what the Wings need in that #1 scoring winger position especially with the concerns about attitude and consistency.

Cleary needs to stay, he's been fine. I wouldn't mind a shake up to the roster with a Franzen trade if the value is close. We need much more consistentcy, not only in scoring goals but defensively in awareness and effort and I just have not seen that in Franzen and as the team's main scoring winger that's not good enough. But the main thing we need to fix is defensive coverage, way too many odd man rushes and wide open players in the slot. The thing I'm not sure about if it's the coaching, or quality of players declining, our defense has gotten worse each consecutive year so something needs to change. I'd like to see the Holland get a top 4 defenseman like Matt Carle, Suter, or Wideman. Forwards outside of Parise don't excite me a whole lot, we might need to try a trade there. No way in hell would I want Semin here.

This is going to be his most important off season in a very long time. He needs to hit on a top 4 defenseman, and a top 6 forward. I don't really have much in mind, all I know is this team in it's current state just won't be able to get it done.

The whole Howard issue comes down to break downs, how many turn overs, and odd man rushes have the Red Wings given up compared to Nashville? I can't even recall a clear odd man rush yet. We are sustaining pressure, but the quality of scoring chances are going Nashville's way by a large margin.

Stop giving up odd man rushes, and fix the defensive zone coverage.

Nashville is making their bounces on the forecheck and the rush. They have had way more odd man rushes then Detroit.

Defensive breakdowns are the story of the past few seasons. You aren't going far if you give up as many odd man rushes and wide open shots in the slot. Not sure what needs to change, coaching, or players but Holland needs to find a remedy soon.

Nyquist Red Wings are playing hard, but these defensive breakdowns are going to kill us if we don't improve.

I love Torts, always makes things more interesting. can't wait for the playoff match up between the two teams.

Because a cross check to the lower back doesn't hurt at all right? Crosby and his "feeling of pain", what a ****** right? Anyways, that was a fun game to watch, I really hope they meet up in the playoffs.

People still care about the coach interviews? Babcock's portrayal to the media is about as fake as you can get. If we win and play well he will say we need to improve and if we lose and play bad he'll point out the things in the game that went well. He's been doing it forever, the only people that know what's going on is the people in the locker room, and while media call outs might be interesting I don't believe that's the proper course of action with so many proven championship caliber players.

That Malkin guy is pretty good if he decides he wants to play.

All I came in to say is I'm pleasantly surprised that people actually seem to respect Crosby's game now. Figured I was the only one. The guy is just an absolutely treat to watch and I'm glad he's back healthy. I'd love to see a rematch Finals if the Wings can get it together.

What a play, i think this is the year we've been waiting for. Flip has just been awesome all season, what an effort on that goal.

I'd prefer it if he just didn't fight.

Yeah those results have really sucked the last 20 years.

Red Wings have as good of shot at the cup as anyone, I'm happy they didn't overpay for anyone. We got a top 4 defenseman that will be here for years, and the Red Wings have confidence that Brendan Smith will be able to step up and play starting soon. The cap room wasn't just banked up and saved for the deadline, but rather the offseason when we'll be able to get an even better player for free without having to give up the farm. Wings are an older team, they really need to keep young kids and picks right now, unless they go after a younger player that would be here for a while, and those players aren't usually traded at the deadline.