Opie

Holy crap, I was thinking about this, I joined LGW at my first teaching job (note yeah I was a crappy teacher joining discussion forums and don't teach anymore) that was in 2000. When the board was real small and we all knew the Trolls (drw) like younger brothers. (Wipes tear) I have been through more career changes than this board has been format changes. Still the only website that I visit every single day!

A few points Broken: A: According to half of this board he had his bad game against ANA, Hence point B: we already know the outcome, he was great against LA!

Oh I agree, but what I like about Janik is he knows what he is, a #6 Nhl/ top 3 AHL defenseman, he plays within that game and as you pointed out usually avoids the outlet pass as that is not his game. But as a # 6 I will take him every day over what the Wings have. However I am not going to root against Lebda, just prefer Janik!

Alright, I just didn't want you to take my quote as I was saying anything. I am pretty indifferent as to who starts, until the playoffs start, for now I think Howard should start because the team seems to play more alert in front of him. I haven't lost faith in Ozzie, but man I am really enjoying watching a former U-Mainer in Det! (2 if you include Janik whom I think deserves to be on this team more then Lebda or Meech.)

Many leagues including the NFL has banned the throat slash and started fine players who make the gesture. Just saying.

I hope you weren't referring to me because I am probably the biggest J-Ho fan on here! That being said, Ozzie is the starter come Playoff time, unless when given consecutive starts, he looks worse than Jimmy. No way in hell do I want the Wings riding a rookie in the post season unless he is fighting for the Vezina, IF that is the case then by all means play Jimmy. Other wise in order to make a deep run the Wings need a vet who has been there before.

A couple of nice Jimmy quotes from the AP recap: "I can't say I'm the number one goalie, that's for sure," Howard said. "I mean, there's a guy sitting right over there that's got three Stanley Cups and almost 400 wins. I'm just going out there and playing." "It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it," Howard said. "It was fun to be a part of a game like that. I just continued to battle and the guys continued to battle in front of me. They stayed the course and bailed me out a couple of times when I left some terrible rebounds in front, so I've got to credit them for a lot of my success. "I don't know if I could have lasted another five minutes."

“I can’t say I’m the number one goalie, that’s for sure,†Howard said. “I mean, there’s a guy sitting right over there that’s got three Stanley Cups and almost 400 wins. I’m just going out there and playing.â€

Can we keep the argument to one thread, otherwise they will both get closed and I would like to check this thread from time to time as the year progresses!

esteef doesn't troll! Opie

Bab's thinks Howie is better! /thread

Careful, when I throw out a s***ty post it is usually really s***ty and aimed at the wrong poster and going off on a point that was never made. It is my Jekyl and Hyde, one thread I appear like I have a clue and the next I look like a complete asshat, but I am so that is ok! Back to the point: This is a hard spot for anybody who pays attention to the Wings: haters, fans, hockey enthusiasts. If you are a fan or a member of the team this probably the most unfamiliar feeling in 15 years, 9th place hoping for a playoff spot, the Wings are struggling to make the playoffs, are pinning their hopes to a rookie netminder (for now) and have zero offense a very unRed Wing like trait! This team is usually in the hunt for the pres trophy right now, not hoping Nas/Pho/Chi go on losing streaks! For haters/duck/pens/etc fans on the one hand it looks great the Wings are struggling to make the playoffs, are pinning their hopes to a rookie netminder (for now) and have zero offense a very unRed Wing like trait! It is great, then you look on the other hand, the Wings have 3-4 impact players working their way back and could easily start popping on offense, a motivated and hard working Wings team is not something we have seen a lot of in the first round lately! EDIT: Mindfly, I go with the guy the team is saving, just my opinion and here is why. The team in general seems to work less hard in their own zone when Ozzie is between the pipes, granted we have only had a small sample of that lately. But when J-Ho is in net, the team seems to be more prepared to work harder in their own end, to help Jimmy because if they don't the first period in the ANA game is 3/4/5 -0 maybe? The team seems to play better defense in front of J-Ho, maybe that is because he is the worse of the two goalies and the team feels with him in net they need to work harder for the win. I don't know just guessing here!

Not picking sides just pointing out somethings I think are being overlooked: 1. The Wings are out of the playoffs right now, Wins are necessary not OT wins regulation wins. Babs is doing whatever he can to get wins. 2. Howard is the apparent Future in net, get him going now, Babs will need him in the future why not get him experience when wins are necessary, why wait until the Wings are comfortably in the playoff picture to give him meaningless starts. 3. Ozzie has to be ready for the playoffs (I know it has been mentioned but I can not overlook this fact). 4. People are pointing to Ozzie's last couple of years wins to as a reason to start him yet bashing babs in the same post. Well in the last 4 years who has had more success; Babs or Ozzie? If Ozzie gets a break for taking the team to the cup and the 7th game what does babs get for coaching the team there and winning 50 games more times in a row than any other coach? 5. Ozzie needs to look stellar to get this team where they need to be, last year the benching/time off Ozzie got put his head in the game and he got going towards the end of the season and into the playoffs. With this lack of offense an "Average" Osgood is not going to get this offensively non-existent team into the post season. A stellar Ozzie could carry them to the cup, a Howard playing out of his mind could do the same but the chances of it happening are a lot less likely than Ozzie returning to post season form. All in all, the Wings are in the playoff hunt with a top 6 that is more bottom 6 than anything else. This team is starting to come back and if the O can chip in both Ozzie and Howard will be enough to help the team make a run. The biggest problem on this team is scoring not goaltending. If you are butt hurt because your fav player is on the bench too bad, root for the front of the jersey forget what it says on the back, stop looking for reasons player x should or shouldn't be playing. The losing streaks have become fewer and fewer as the season has gone, when the offense comes back and the team starts to climb up the ladder into a playoff spot look for Ozzie to get more starts. Right now I think Babs is trying to get Ozzie pissed and ready to play like it!

How long have LA, BUF, and NYI been on the "rise", the Isle have since they drafted Dipietro, it has taken them what 7 years to "rise"? Buffalo was on the "rise" with Campbell, Hecht, Roy, etc.. not that long ago. LA has seen young talent come and go every year. If they are not in the top 5 of the year look for them to be sellers again at the deadline, in fact the only one of these teams I don't see has falling through is Buffalo, they have the deepest roster of the three you mentioned. This is as close to a rebuilding year we may ever see in the Ilitch Red Wings and if it weren't for injuries this would be a hell of a lot easier rebuilding process! Doing well for a year or two is nothing compared to what has happened in the old folks home known as Hockeytown! Instead of youngsters learning to play this team is competing for championships and turning late draft picks into absolute treasures in GR. I still don't understand how people complain about this org, sure some people will always hate certain players, Sammy and Huds for example, but what this org has done from top to bottom since 1987 or so is unreal!

Seriously, NESN has the worst broadcasters, alright maybe Brickley is knowledgeable, but holy s*** is the other guy horrible! Jack Edwards could make stretching seem like a highlight real save, that guy is as annoying as they come and is the biggest homer without a doubt!

The other good part to the team though is it doesn't seem as though Ken is trying to get the spot light either. If Mick has something to say he lets him go with it, it is not like play by play is necessary, so he lets Mick go and then goes back to the game when Mick is done. And he is quick to point out if something happens, that Mick said it would a period or two ago. They are a good compliment to each other and work real well together!

I got to say it looked like a TUCKED elbow hit him in the head. Looked clean to me, also looks like a teammate of Stajan's should have got 2 mins for not giving a s*** about your teammate, did anyone yell heads up? Or the guy who passed the puck, that was hanging your teammate out to dry at its finest! Last week one of the Wings almost got hit without looking and on the broadcast you could hear the WHOLE bench yell what sounded like Heads up! Then the player avoided the hit.

As a Red Sox and Red Wings fan I am blessed to get to hear Redmond and Jerry Remy. Rem dog and Redmond remind of each other in the fact that their understanding of the game is so deep, but they are able to also express that knowledge to the most common of fans, and still the broadcast great for die hard fans. Conversely in Boston we have Tommy Heinsohn (Celtics announcer), don't get me wrong the guy is a legend in the sport and the town of Boston, but all he does now is complain about how the game is different from when he played (the: in my time or in the old days that wouldn't have happened blah blah) or it is about the horrible officiating. Listen everyone knows how bad officiating is in the NBA Tommy, we get it let it go for a second or two, He literally has to turn his mic off and not say anything for a couple of seconds now, you can hear him sighing sometimes, but the league, the team, the network, someone had to say something to him, because it has become a noticeable pause when he wants to complain. And right now silent Tommy is better than talking Tommy! Tommy is getting old and the whole broadcast you can hear him breathing with whistling snots and that I smoked cigarettes for 50 years breathing. (Although the guy they are grooming to take over, Donny Marshall , all he does is complement UConn players, no matter what they do, they are saints because they went to UCONN) Remy and Redmond are the type of broadcasters that when they speak up you listen, because odds are what they are talking about is going to happen in any minute. Where as a lot of announcers can only tell you about what just happened, they don't have the foresight or the ability to turn their knowledge to words. If Mickey says, watch how they keep entering the zone they are setting it up to do X, you better watch to see how long it takes for X to happen. I will never forget when Remy called a Carl Crawford steal of home two pitches before it happened, he was commenting on his lead, for two pitches he kept saying, watch him, he is going, he is waiting for the right indicator. Sure enough the first off speed pitch, boom he successfully stole home. Redmond to me is that kind of announcer. He also has an undying love for the game (like Remy) and you hear the longing to play (at least I do) still in his voice. Certain athletes will always play for the love of the sport, and when they can't will long for it everyday it is gone! Good color men are very hard to find, and these two in my mind right now are two of the best. And with the advent of the internet I get to hear Mickey a lot more often, and every once in a while for s***s and giggles I listen to the opposing announcers and holy s*** are some of them bad, Nashville? UGH!

We may disagree on Howards future, but this was spot on analysis and funny as hell all at the same time!

Weird, whenever I wear my Lids WC Jersey the Wings ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS LOSE!

SHAT!

I don't know man confidence with goaltenders especially young ones is a fragile thing. Edit: And seeing him react to OT winners, he may not be the most experienced net minder in the game and could use experience as well as confidence!

I agree he needs to see some upper echelon teams, like the next time SJS is in town, he should get at least one of the CHI starts, and they doing well as of late, developing some chemistry on their lines. He will get his shot, I think, but no better way to build his confidence!

I was rotating my jerseys at the start of the year, then I started with my Hoodie, another T-shirt, anything that could stop the slide. I went back to the jerseys, started with my red Hank, and they got the first ot winner from Suzie, second game another ot winner from Suzie, so I told the Fiancee, this is the jersey don't let me forget. I have been wearing the red Hank for games ever since!

Wow, looking good J-Ho!!!! Work on those rebounds Jimmy, keep up with the positioning work, and whatever and I mean whatever Chris Osgood has to say to you, put down everything you doing and listen (unless it is the wife!) HE HAS BEEN THERE DONE THAT! Ok seriously talking to you guys because Jimmy is not reading this post! I hope (have no clue though) that Jimmy and Ozzie have a great relationship, even if Jimmy out plays Ozzie all year, the Wings need to keep Ozzie within shouting distance of Jimmy (that means no trades). What hasn't Ozzie seen? What really gets him rattled? Other than the media dogging him. Great learning environment for Jimmy!