Rick D

If this team can play sound defensively, control the play, and play smart they will be able to win and heal.
Running around, trying to play from behind, or scrambling will cause more hurt...
This is why I am a Janik fan, the guy is a Dman and plays D... No flashy skates or fancy moves, just plays D...

Wings will be just fine tonight. I love seeing the young guys step up and play hard... knowing our veterans will be back. Nothing sounds serious in terms of the current injury bug, as in season ending, so I am grateful for that.
Poke a hole in Breezy early on, and we're good for a W!
Val, I am still waiting for that hattie!

I've only been to the Joe once and it was game 7 of the 2009 Final and I noticed that there was about 20-30% of the fans rooting for the Penguins and I was wondering is that the norm at the Joe or only when certain teams come in. I remember during the first intermission I got caught up in the concourse getting some drinks and I heard the crowd roar and I thought it was a Wings goal but then I looked at the TV and saw the Pens took a 1-0 lead and I was like WTF?
So do any other teams fans venture off into the Joe like that or is that just a 1 time thing? I know the Leaf fans come in huge numbers but thats expected b/c lots of them live in Windsor area but Penguins fans is unacceptable if you ask me and for game 7 of the biggest game of the year was really tough to swallow all those loser celebrating in our building.

We need a shooter the pp reminds me of the pre- shanny wings when no one wanted to shoot. The pk I'm not as worried about but the pp really needs tweaking and I'm really unhappy with the shorties we are giving up.
Edit cuz auto correct sucks

guys are being too cute with all the passes, fire the puck on net and crash it to try and get some greasy goals.
and keep hudler off the point.

It seems like on the PP they are dead set on setting up, or getting it back to the blue line constantly and looking for the Homer tip. It's predictable, and the way every team is blocking shots it's not very effective right now. I think it would be better for the team to start trying to set up on the side, or down low, try to get something to the slot or crash the net. Hudler off the point helps too.
As for the PK I have no idea.

Don't worry, the deadline is only a week away.
In a way.

The powerplay will be better when everyone gets healthy. Getting Hudler off the point was huge. Quincey will play there now, and Jiri will give us another option down low. As for the PK, I don't have any answers.

Less Cute plays and more shots would be a starting point.

I tend to agree about his back. Listen, I love Zetterberg, he was a beast in 08' but the Wings should have never given him that life long contract with his history of back issues. I know that the length needed to be that long in order to bring the cap hit down, but he will never play as long as his contract is...the exact same goes for Franzen...well except I hate him.
Not sure why you got negged for that, it would be nice for the yellowbelly coward to debate why they negged someone...

He still has to clear waivers before joining the Bruins.
So this means that the Isles will claim him to backup Nabokov.

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He can't get back soon enough. The PP, and Franzen and Bertuzzi need him.

They usually do, thats why the importance of picking up as many points as possible when you are healthy is huge.

Poor E. Can't even sit in the press box without getting dumped on.

cleary hopefully goes real soon. the others i don't mind. frazen is a ppg playoff player. bert is a bit of a wuss for his size that annoys me so much. and he's slow. hudler has a great snap shot. i wish he'd play like hull and just sneak around and wait for the pass for the quick one timer or snap shot to the roof of the net.

Bertuzzi works very hard out there. He justifies his price tag. I don't know what all of you are expecting out of him. The fact that he's playing without any goal-scorers on his line does not help. Franzen is in a slump, and Hudler is horribly one-dimensional. I haven't a clue what is wrong with Cleary.
That said, I don't see the call for whining. The team is not in a catastrophic position by any means. Far from it. In case you've forgotten, they were 1st overall in the league until last week, and they put together a 23-game streak at home. These are not accomplishments that a mediocre team can achieve, and the vast majority of teams in the league are doing considerably less well than the Wings are. None of the guys we're discussing in this thread are perfect, but they do their parts, as does the rest of the team.
Those of you expecting perfection and/or constant dominance on the part of the Wings should alter your expectations to a more realistic level.

I feel ya and I'm a big Cleary fan. I think he's still banged up, but it's frustrating to watch him play and not generate much of anything offensively.
Franzen is the worst of the bunch though IMO. Helm and Miller bust their tails every single shift and Franzen won't even put in the effort to win a puck battle along the boards. He skates around with no sense of urgency. I just don't understand why he gets excused for being so damn lazy during the regular season because he turns it up during the playoffs. You can play hard during the regular season and still be considered an even better player during the post-season. Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Filppula all do it.

I agree. Kind seems to be taking step backwards the second half of the season and I'm not sure why. when given the opportunity, he's had some brutal gaffe's like turning the puck over on the blueline for a clean breakaway. And Ericsson has steadily improved this season. He's stepped up his physical play and has had fewer brainfarts. In general looking fairly poised.
As I said in the GDT, you'd never guess that Kindl is actually 10 lbs heavier and an inch taller than Quincey because he plays so soft. Hopefully E and Kindl will get healthy and can learn some things from Quincey.
Smith has looked very good so far. It was unfortunate to lose him for 5 minutes when the D was already shorthanded, but he really didn't have a choice since Shaw jumped him. And he handled himself well. I can't wait until he's a regular in the lineup. He should leapfrog right over Kindl and Ericsson.
Here's the fight.

Great quote from him last night on scoring his first NHL goal in front of his grandfather

Backstrom out for this game, looks like Harding gets the nod.
Prediction: Harding slips on octopus during pre-game skate and sprains ankle, Hackett gets the start.
Hackett does the splits against a Zetterberg breakaway and pulls a groin muscle. Out of options the Wild suit up Clutterbuck who goes on the break the single game hit record for a goalie but forgets to stay in his crease.
Red Wings win 22-0

Don't worry. It's been a while since the Wings have been able to actually play an entire game.
They keep showing up for the third period.
Full 60 tonight, boys. Do that and you won't need OT or shootout.

Ah, so it's the usual fare: defensive pessimism. If the Wings lose, you've protected yourself from most of the disappointment by predicting failure all along. If they win, you get to be happy. That's cute.

Tonight's Stream-Opposition GDT
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Next Game
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I've removed all posts related to personal attacks and ones that did nothing but criticize another member instead of responding to the content of their message.
Please keep the discussion relevant to the topic at hand (standings, schedule, etc). Thanks.