bdavis

I agree with this thread. Whenever an opposing player is near the net, nothing is done about it. Other teams remove the opposing player from near the net or at least keep them from getting their stick on the ice. It seems to me that the Wings aren't even practicing this. The defensive coach should recognize this. Also, I have noticed many times where the d-men gang up on a single player with the puck, leaving another wide open in front of the net. Again, the defensive coach should recognize this, and practice to fix this. There are also way too many odd man rushes (usually 2-on-1). The d should recognize when to get up in the play and when not to. I have a feeling that the team was trying to focus on more offense from the d, and kinda took a dip defensively (I felt the defense was doing pretty decent before this). If the team was doing so much better defensively two years ago, and the main change has been the defensive coach, then I say it is time to replace McCrimmon. Who can replace him though? Perhaps this is why they haven't done anything about it yet.

Wouldn't it be the same as a kicking motion with the foot? He moved his hand towards the puck (off of his stick, so it was intentional). It's not like his hand was there accidentally. It's a joke that the goal was allowed. I don't think "rigged" is the right word here, but the league certainly doesn't have any sympathy for the Wings in situations like this.

Hopefully he can hit the 15 goal mark this season. I knew he was going to get his career going again with the Wings. Every game, he has several great scoring chances. Every time he scores a goal, he is always a hair away from scoring a second goal in the same game. Like I've said from early on, he could be a 20 or more goal scorer again. Just wait until he starts capitalizing on most of his chances.

He came back into the lineup too soon.

Draper is a big part of this team. He is a leader, and has been playing quite well this season. Drapes has tons of speed, and adds energy to the DHE line. I don't understand why the hell you would want to trade him. What, do you expect him to score 20 or more goals in a season?

I agree with you. He should be consistent on a regular basis, not just flipping a "switch" when in the playoffs. If he has the ability to turn up the intensity of his game, why the hell can't he just play like that all of the time? Don't get me wrong, he is a great goalie at times. He is just inconsistent. More like a short circuit.

I don't see how you could say that Howard sucks. He is a rookie goalie, with a 9th in the league GAA, and 6th in the league save percentage. He was in the top 5 in GAA, but the recent meltdowns defensively have slightly deflated his statistics. Personally, I thought he played well against Phoenix. The Wings just ended up sitting back in that game, and kinda left him out to dry. He isn't going to make every save. Howard is a goalie that can make 30+ saves a night, regularly. Have some faith in this guy. He is going to be the one that takes over as our main goalie. Ozzie is starting to get up there in age. I can only imagine what Howard's game will be like in the future. With the experience he is gaining from this year, he will hone his game and become our go to guy.

Every team gets into a slump. The Wings are just in a slump at a bad time. They will pull through, and at the very least hit an eighth seed in the playoffs.

I'm so burnt out from the blown leads to losses, that this loss doesn't even bother me at all...

He's so slow getting across the net... Not to mention the defense left him out to dry.

The Wings are really going to have to pick up their game. With the final 30 games left, they are going to have to go 20-9-1 if they want to break 100 points. It's going to be one hell of a tight race in the west. I have a feeling that 100 points is only going to secure a 7th or 6th seed at the most. I looked at standings from 3 years in the playoffs (2009, 2008, and 2007), and found that in the 07 playoffs, 7 western conference teams had or were over 100 points. Calgary was able to take an 8th seed with 96 points. Hopefully some of the basement west teams, or some east teams can steal some wins from our fellow western teams that are in this race. I am also hoping that there is some more leeway, but I have a feeling that it's going to be 5 or more teams breaking 100 in the west. This should be quite interesting!

In order to hit 100 points, yes. If every team 7th and above has 100 or more points, a very close record to 20-9-1 (+ or - a couple games) is what the Wings are going to have to shoot for (if the teams below us stay neck and neck). I have a feeling that the 8th seed is going to be mid to upper 90's, unless our conference cools off. It looks like Nashville is starting to cool off here. All the other teams look to be winning though. It is going to turn out to be a tight race.

I noticed that non-call on the offside play too... The puck was out of the zone (clearly), with Coyote players over the blue line... It was carried in, and what do ya know, NO WHISTLE. I yelled that was offside as soon as I saw the play! s***, I wasn't even at the game, nor on the ice, and could see it. Did anyone else notice the ref telling one of the PHX players that "There's 1:10 left to play."? When points are hard to come by, refs need to make these calls.

Osgood, is that you?

If Franzen is able to run Lilja, his knee must be getting much better.

So Mickey isn't the old senile man everyone thought he was, huh?

I hate to say this, but no one on the team can finish what they start lately...

I was just reminiscing about a time where I actually had a chance to see the Stanley Cup. It was after the Red Wings won the Cup in 97. I remember reading all of the engraved names, from top to bottom (this is when the last ring was nearly filled up). It was a very cool experience. There wasn't many people around at the time. I was allowed to touch it, and have my picture taken with it. Maybe someone on these boards was at the same place at the same time. It was at Civic Arena in St. Clair Shores. Pretty damn cool if you'd ask me. I don't remember exactly who had the Cup that day, but I think it was one of the trainers. That was pretty cool to be around the most coveted trophy, sought after by the most competitive athletes in the world, and just recently hoisted by Steve Yzerman. If it wasn't for Detroit winning that year, I would've never had the chance to see the Cup. What a great memory from a great team. Anyone else have a chance to see it?

Another thing that is contributing to the losses is that the team never finishes breakaways. I can't remember the last time someone scored on a breakaway... Also, no one is scoring on great scoring chances. This team needs to finish, it's really starting to get frustrating.

I don't think it's a coincidence that teams always score on Osgood's five-hole. They probably watch videos and realize that is his weak point... On the second goal, I knew that was right where the shot was going.

The team s***s the bed in the 3rd... Are they too tired or something to play 60 minutes?

I'm sorry to say it, but Osgood isn't going to steal any games. It's just lucky if he keeps them in it.

The playoffs are starting to look further and further away here.

What a s***ty game...

Patrick Eaves of course! He is what you call a team player. You're never going to sign someone better for 500k... I don't think it will be just 500k next year though. That's okay, because he is only going to get better.