kipwinger

Nobody should forget that pass, it was terrible. Kronwall hasn't looked good in either of these first two games.

I'll say he played excellent, and I won't make any reservations such as "...for a rookie" or "...for his first game" or "...didn't do much, so that's good". What other defenseman gets called up to the big club the day of the game, and immediately steps in on the PK, 4-4, and changes partners part way through the game due to injury? I really liked that I saw, maybe even more than I liked Smith's defensive game...which left quite a bit to be desired tonight. Plus I love the kid's size and mobility.

I like Volchenkov, and Ellerby. Subban, I could take or leave. He's a good player and all, but I'm not worried about our defensemen scoring, I'm worried about physical/shutdown play, and the PK. Volchenkov for sure. Or maybe Robyn Regehr. That guy's a beast too.

That was a totally sweet goal by Brunner, but part of me wishes he would have shelved it and made Bob look like an ass for going down early.

Penalties. Lots and lots of penalties.

Don't they have the same amount of points this season? The only difference is that when Franzen made a play earlier, White got the goal. Datsyuk was the recipient of Zetterberg and Kronwall's good play. Good for Datsyuk, good for Franzen. Both have a point.

Wow, where is Datsyuk these first two games?

Not noticeably bad

Yeah I know, because his screen on the first goal, and assist on the second one didn't factor in at all. You don't have to like the guy, but your absurd dislike for him is become obnoxious. You can't even give him credit when he clearly deserves it. Would you have preferred he didn't screen the goal or draw the defense and make the pass on the second one?

Smith wasn't pinching on that goal. He was back, and got burned...bad.

The goal scorer was Smith's guy, not Quincey's.

Last game, not tonight. Get over it.

Give me a break guys, that contact was incidental. He didn't have his hands on him at all. We all know Quincey played bad last game, but stop with the scapegoating already.

I completely agree, and I also don't think that the defense is set in stone either. The more problematic it is the earlier Holland will address it, but either way I think he makes some changes before the deadline.

Completely dominated play in the first. Something like a 15-4 shot differential. Hit the post three times. Tootoo fought Jared Boll 3 seconds into the game. No score yet, but a much better outing than saturday.

All the more reason why he needs to be carrying the puck more.

I agree, and once you have Helm and Bert back they should really get rocking. Defense is still scary, but playing better tonight...except for the two or three odd man rushes that thankfully didn't hurt us.

Smith?

Having Datsyuk on the wing is killing me. He's not a shooter and he's a better passer than Zetterberg. He's completely wasted on the wing. Switch them or split them up Babs! All in all good period though. I liked Abby, Brunner, and Tootoo. Lashoff looked decent as well.

Why is one of the best playmaking centers in the league playing the wing?

Fair enough, as I said, time will tell.

Well I'll definitely agree with you about the Lindback move, that was a good one. Had he not filled his glaring hole at goalie my case for Yzerman as a not very good GM would be all but airtight. Time will tell with Stevie Y, but given his track record with scouting, drafting, and developing players I think Jim Nill is MUCH more qualified for the position when Ken Holland retires, and the every available fact seems to back that up.

No they don't have an internal salary floor in Tampa. Their payroll is higher than the Red Wings. http://www.capgeek.com/ And what does Jim Nill have to do to deserve a little credit? I mean what has that guy ever done aside from play a primary role in scouting, drafting, and developing every Red Wings prospect since 1994 in his role as director of amateur scouting; the list of which includes Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Filppula, Franzen, Kronwall, Smith, Nyquist, Helm, Abdelkader, etc. Yeah, Yzerman is obviously the better choice.

By not making the playoffs last season in spite of inheriting a team with 4 of its top six forwards in place AND its franchise defenseman? Or by signing Matt Carle and Sami Salo to contracts that pretty much everyone around LGW agreed were horrible? Yzerman stepped on to a team that already had St. Louis, Stamkos, Lecavalier, Ryan Malone, and Victor Hedman. His primary acquisitions thus far have been Carle, Salo, Simon Gagne, Dwayne Roloson, and Benoit Pouliot. Two of which don't play there anymore. Again, he's got a long way to go before anyone can consider him a top GM in this league, and longer to go before he's qualified to be the GM of the Red Wings.

No matter what huh? Shouldn't being a good GM matter at least a little bit? A good player doesn't equal a good manager necessarily. Ask Gretskzy. I'd prefer Yzerman show he's capable of winning in the NHL before jumping on his bandwagon, but that's just me. Also, how hard was it to pick this team: Goaltenders Martin Brodeur, 37 (New Jersey Devils) Roberto Luongo, 30 (Vancouver Canucks) Marc-Andre Fleury, 25 (Pittsburgh Penguins) Defense Scott Niedermayer, 36 (Anaheim Ducks) Chris Pronger, 35 (Philadelphia Flyers) Shea Weber, 24 (Nashville Predators) Drew Doughty, 20 (Los Angeles Kings) Duncan Keith 26 (Chicago Blackhawks) Dan Boyle, 33 (San Jose Sharks) Brent Seabrook, 24 (Chicago Blackhawks) Forwards Sidney Crosby, 21 (Pittsburgh Penguins) Rick Nash, 25 (Columbus Blue Jackets) Jarome Iginla, 32 (Calgary Flames) Mike Richards, 25 (Philadelphia Flyers) Joe Thornton, 30 (San Jose Sharks) Patrick Marleau, 30 (San Jose Sharks) Ryan Getzlaf, 24 (Anaheim Ducks) Brenden Morrow, 31 (Dallas Stars) Corey Perry, 24 (Anaheim Ducks) Dany Heatley, 29 (San Jose Sharks) Eric Staal, 25 (Carolina Hurricanes) Patrice Bergeron, 25 (Boston Bruins) Jonathan Toews, 21 (Chicago Blackhawks) Edit: If you think it was tough to put this team together here's an interesting tidbit...About.com picked the exact same team with two exceptions. Martin St. Louis instead of Patrice Bergeron, and Jay Bouwmeester instead of Drew Doughty. Hmmm.