krsmith17

Nosek!!! 2-0! His first point of the playoffs, and it was a beauty. Monsters cut deficit to 1...

Sproul!!! 1-0 Griffins!

I agree Son of a Wing. I'm stoked to see what Sproul has been able to do this season, especially so far this post season. And it's not just the points he's putting up, he's looked very good in all three zones. Steady and poised in the defensive and neutral zones, and very dangerous in the offensive zone. As far as Mantha goes, and wanting him to score more goals... He's 6th in the league with 10 points, and has played a game less than anyone else above him. He's also tied for 10th in the league with 4 goals. 2nd to 9th are all tied with 5 goals, all playing one more game, with the exception of Josh Anderson. The number one spot goes to Bertuzzi with 7 goals in 8 games. Mantha has also been engaged in the play more than I've ever seen. He's forechecking and backchecking just as hard. I've really liked what I've seen from him so far in these playoffs, and he's getting rewarded with the points.

Zero chance a (just turned) 18 year old kid makes the roster right off the draft table, especially a defenseman... the same goes for any player we draft this year. I think every defenseman is at least two years away, maybe with the exception of one (Chychrun) being ready the following season. Larkin was a rare case for a Red Wings draft pick, and even he took a full season after being drafted to develop his game further in college. The chances of us getting another huge steal in the mid round like that again this year are very slim. Look at Mantha, he was drafted three years ago and may finally be ready this season. Svechnikov was drafted last year and definitely won't be ready until next season at the earliest, and they're forwards. Defensemen take much longer to develop and become NHL ready. Unless we're getting a top 5 pick, I don't see it happening...

Mantha - 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists), +8, 23 shots in 8 games. Bertuzzi - 8 points (7 goals, 1 assist), +9, 18 shots in 8 games. Athanasiou - 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists), +4, 8 shots in 5 games. Frk - 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists), +1, 8 shots in 4 games. Svechnikov - 1 point (assist), -1, 2 shots in 1 game. Sproul - 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists), +5, 25 shots in 8 games. Russo - 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists), +4, 4 shots in 8 games. Ouellet - 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists), +3, 12 shots in 8 games.

Bertuzzi with 3 goals, Athanasiou with a goal and 2 assists, Mantha with 2 assists, Svechnikov with an assist, Sproul with 3 assists and Russo with an assist and a fight. Future Red Wings. Gotta love it!

14 goals in 22 playoff games for little Bert haha.

Bertuzzi hatty!!!

This whole series has been all Griffins in my opinion. If Coreau played every game I think we would have won in 5 at worst...

Wow, Bertuzzi, Athanasiou and Mantha just had a beautiful looking 3-on-1 and Mantha got robbed. I was hoping Bert would get the hatty... Paetsch! Svechnikov with his first career point! Kid looks good.

Svechnikov has looked great in his debut. Looked nervous early on, but has seemed to shake that off pretty quick and has made some nice plays since. Bertuzzzzzzi!!!!! What a beauty this kid is. Always seems to be in the right place at the right time...

Absolutely. I'm hoping Sproul will be that guy as well. Neither will be impact players at the NHL level for another couple years at least though. Hopefully Holland can land that top pair guy this offseason...

What do you mean by the real deal though? I'm not really convinced he'll be anything more than a top 4 at the NHL level. Same goes for Sproul unfortunately... But I think both have the potential to be solid top 4, puck moving defensemen, capable of quarterbacking a power-play.

Athanasiouuuu!!! Breakaway goal. 3-1 Griffs!! If there's a team that can come back from being down 0-3, it's this Griffins team... especially now that Coreau has taken over the net.

Bertuzzzzzzi!!° 2-1 Griffins! Kid is a gamer.

1-0 Monsters...

Yeah, who wants an offensive minded puck moving defenseman, when you can have a big, slow defensive defenseman... I wouldn't waste a 2nd round pick on Stanley, maybe if we had a 3rd I'd consider him... The more I read up on Sean Day, the more I'm thinking I'd like to see us take a chance on him with our 2nd round pick...

The thing is, I don't think a single person said they think he's coming here... All anyone is saying is that he may get traded and IF he does, Holland should be all over it. I mean, he was in trade rumors just a few months ago, and will likely be again leading up to the draft and training camp. And no, the rumor doesn't mean he will get traded, it just means there's a chance. And again, that's all anyone is saying here. I just find it crazy that you're so adamant about him not being moved...

Our penalty kill has been way too passive in recent years, using a smaller box, trying to take away passing and shooting lanes. In Boston, Houda's penalty kill has had a very aggressive setup, using a bigger box, pressuring the puck carrier. I think this is a much better setup, which is well represented by their higher ranked penalty kill every season over the past 5+ years. Boston are always toward the top of the league in short-handed goals for, while we're always toward the bottom. Using an aggressive setup with speed and skill will create opportunities short handed. Houda's PK TOI leaders were Bergeron, Marchand, Eriksson and Krejci, aka skill and speed. I'd love to see our penalty kill with Glendening and Larkin on one unit, and Helm (Sheahan if Helm walks) and Athanasiou on the other unit. Speed kills. Boston has also had better defensive numbers over the past 5+ seasons under Houda, with the exception of this past season where both were bad. Of course personnel is a huge factor in all of this, so if Holland can bring in a top pair defenseman, I think Houda has the ability to turn the defense and penalty kill around in a big way...

I don't get why you're so adamant that there's no way a player that was rumored to be traded just a few short months ago could get traded... Like I said, I'm not saying that we will get him, or even that he will be traded beyond a shadow of a doubt, but the possibility is definitely there. If Trouba wants out because he is unhappy playing on the third pair, he could very well have requested a trade. I didn't say "just because" of any one thing, he "will" get dealt, I'm saying you factor in a lot of things, and he "could" get dealt... Yes, we're trying to trade Howard, and I'd say there is just as high a probability that Trouba gets traded because they are unable to move any of the other players with clauses, as us being able to move Howard. Goaltending is a difficult comparison because there are usually only two options on the team. There's no way we're trading Mrazek, so it's either we're able to trade Howard or we keep both of them. I'll go back to the defense, since that's what we're actually comparing. Every fan wants to trade Ericsson, and I wouldn't be shocked if the thought hasn't at least crossed Holland's mind. However it would be very difficult to trade him with the no trade clause, just as it would be to trade any of the top four in Winnipeg. Yes, players with no trade clauses are traded, but it's not exactly a common occurrence. Again, I'm not saying he WILL get traded, I'm just saying that the possibility is there, and if he is being shopped, Holland needs to be all over it...

Be careful Rich, people may take that as you "over-hyping" Mantha... F*** it! Mantha has impressed big time in these playoffs. He has been one of the most dangerous players on the ice in both series'. I've also been very impressed with Bertuzzi and his knack for scoring clutch goals. I still stand by Sproul being one of our better defesnemen down there along with Russo. Ouellet hasn't stood out at all, and unfortunately aside from the game winner last night, Athanasiou has been lackluster at best...

SVK 1 vs. GER 5 Jurco had no points, but lead all forwards with 6 shots on goal in 17:39 time on ice...

Who would you rather keep if you had to trade one, planning for the future? Ericsson or Ouellet? Kronwall or Russo? Green or Sproul? I think for most of those, most people would choose to keep the latter and trade the former... However, that likely wouldn't be the case. Ericsson, Kronwall and Green all have no trade clauses, so it is much easier to trade one of the kids. Likewise, Myers, Enstrom and Stuart all have no trade / no movement clauses, so it is much easier to move Trouba. You also have to consider the fact that Trouba holds much more value in a trade, and could return some very valuable assets. Management of any team is forced to make difficult decisions from time to time and this is definitely one for Cheveldayoff. Obviously the rumors didn't start because he wanted Trouba out, I'm betting Trouba has let it be known that he is unhappy being third string behind Byfuglien and Myers, and may have even requested a trade. I'm sure Trouba would absolutely love going home to Michigan, so Holland needs to do whatever he can to pony up some assets, and get a deal done. I'll say it again, our 16th overall pick in this year's draft would be extremely valuable to a team like Winnipeg, and it would be well worth losing it if we could land Trouba. I'm not saying we have a great or even good shot in getting him, because chances are another GM will offer more than Holland, but don't be shocked if Trouba is moved at some point, possibly before the season starts...

I couldn't agree more marcaractac. Not going to happen but a dream roster would be something like... Athanasiou - Stamkos - Mantha Abdelkader - Larkin - Okposo Nyquist - Zetterberg - Jurco Sheahan - Glendening - Helm Frk - Callahan DeKeyser - Trouba Smith - Green Kronwall - Marchenko Sproul Mrazek UFA

Athanasiou!!! 5-4 with 1:55 to go. What a comeback... Griffins WIN! If McCollum sees another second of ice time I'll be pissed... Coreau is waaaay better, not even close.