kipwinger

No sweat. Washington is going to spank the Bruins. Those dumb ass gorillas from Beantown can't stop taking penalties... and Washington has this guy on the powerplay.

Helm won't be on the third, and Weiss won't be a center. So, wishful thinking I guess.

My kingdom for a Drew Stafford right about now! On the plus side, at least Detroit gets to keep the 3rd round pick that came over with Cole in the trade. So final tally is Janmark, Backman, and a 2nd for Zidlicky and a 3rd. Still a good trade considering what a ***** Backman is.

I don't like Tatar and Nyquist on the same line together. They're too similar, in both their strengths and weaknesses. PLUS, it's a total waste of Sheahan's size to put him with two small, fast wingers. Also, I'd call up AA if we clench before the last game of the season. Because Andersson as a third line center all but ensures that line isn't scoring at 5 on 5. Ever.

With Cole out for good., I'd roll these.. Z-Pav-Helm Tats-Sheahan-Abby Weiss-Andersson-Nyquist Miller-Glendening-Jurco Puke. We're so f***ed.

s***.

Missed the game last night, but looks like putting Dats and Z back together worked fairly well. Also glad to see Weiss get another point. Now if we can get Abby and Cole back, and get those top lines shaken out, there's a chance we might be sitting in a reasonably good position in a week or two.

Why do you have a Malkin sweater?

Understood. But taken together, the two comments seem to suggest that the coach finds some (key) things better than the teams he's coached since 2009. Which in turn seems to (partially) invalidate the claims (made by some) that there's something particularly bad about the roster Holland put together. But that shouldn't come as a surprise right? I mean, you've correctly pointed out the that offense is objectively better. We've all heard the praised heaped on our defense for it's shot suppression ability. Our point production from the back end is slightly above average, even amongst playoff bound teams. We're also younger and faster too (objectively). Goaltending is the only way in which this team is probably not better than the several rosters previous, and even that wasn't an issue for about half the year. Unfortunately, insane goaltending is a very critical part of Babs' game plan. So the fact that we're weaker in net is amplified by quite a bit lately.

These lines are pretty close to what I'd ideally like to see. Only with Abby and Cole added in eventually.

Well, to be fair, about ten days earlier he said... "We have more players than we've had probably since '09 that can score," Babcock said. "It didn't look like it early, but it does now." http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2014/11/theres_no_shortage_of_power_in.html.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2014/12/mike_babcock_this_is_best_red.html

Words to the affect of "Babcock sucks"? How about right here?

So, despite the fact that I say he's good. You keep telling me that I really think he's bad. Right. Because clearly it's impossible to be critical of someone AND think that overall they're good at their job. For the millionth time. Here are my thoughts on Babcock. 1. He's not the best coach in the NHL. He's top five. 2. He's not the best coach for our team. From now on, when I voice those opinions, and you put words in my mouth to the affect of "Babcock sucks", I'll report your posts.

Now you're misrepresenting my argument AND attacking me personally. Good job Harold. Hard to imagine why you've been gone so long. Neither I, nor anybody else, EVER called Babcock a bad coach. Get over it.

Oh great, Landon to the rescue. Can't wait for him to be small and weak all over everybody's asses.

I don't think anybody EVER said Babcock was a bad coach. It's just a straw man argument that guys like you use to defend him whenever he's criticized. Because if we don't think he's the best coach in hockey, then we must automatically think he's bad. Of course.

Why should Howard feel any differently than his coach does on the matter. Babs doesn't care about, or emphasize, getting shootout wins. So why should the team?

Dude, you're wasting your time. The only acceptable position to have on the matter is that "Babcock is the best coach eva!" because everybody else coaches superstar teams, and he coaches losers. You have to forget that he only has one Cup, and that the team that won it was full of superstars.

He's an on the edge type of player so that doesn't surprise me. I like Wilson though. I see a lot of Caps games because I live down here, and they've got a handful of players I really like.

Tatar's all over the posts lately. Bummer.

Jesus, I just watched the highlights. Tom Wilson had a rough game eh? Zidlicky wiped him out with a low(ish) hit and then he blocked Dekeyser's slapshot with the back of his neck. Yeesh! The goals against weren't terrible. The first one is flukey, and the second one is just sort of what Ovechkin and Green do. And they're REALLY good at it.

What happened here? I didn't get to see yesterday's game. Looks like Trotz continued to be Babcock's kryptonite or no?

Good for Happy. Guy was always a good player. I don't miss him for a second, but I'm always happy when former Wings find success elsewhere.

Larkin and AA are our top two center prospects. I doubt they'll move one of them to the wing.