krsmith17

Haha Larkin deserves a ton of credit for that goal, but you can't actually believe he purposely didn't score on that grade A scoring opportunity, on what could have been a nomination for goal of the year, just so he could set DeKeyser up seconds later... I doubt Domingue failed to stop that shot because of anything Larkin did on that play prior to the great pass, it was just an unbelievable shot by DeKeyser...

Maybe this is a way for the league to get Scott out of the game and add either Ekman-Larsson or Domi...

I really didn't think I needed the " /sarcasm", but I guess it wasn't completely clear that I was being 100% sarcastic... Let me try this again... The chances of us drafting Andrei Svechnikov are slim... He may be a young, up and coming stud, but he's 15 years old... I don't believe he's that good to be heralded as our next elite forward 3 years prior to being draft eligible...

I've never really seen an excellent work ethic in terms of what he has showed on the ice, but I have no idea how hard he works off the ice (in practice / weight room). He always seemed disinterested to me, more so prior to this season, but maybe it's mainly what kip suggested with him just waiting for the play to come to him. That is the way most snipers play the game; keep quiet all game until an opportunity presents itself, and then bury it. However, he does seem to be a little more engaged in the play so far this season. It's almost as if something just clicked, and he realized this could be his last chance of getting his career back on track, and with that came massive improvement. I've always seen him as somewhat of a Hudler-lite. The skill is definitely there, whether he puts it all together, is up to him...

Yup, still out and apparently still day-to-day...

Yup, can't wait for the 2018 draft to go after Svechnikov's little brother, then 2020 to see him maybe make the Red Wings... Can't we just give the kid the 'C' now?...

F***ing brutal! Up 3-0 in the second, lost 4-3. Paterson looked great early on but looked very shaky after he let in a couple. The 3rd goal he'd definitely want back. I think it would have been another W if Coreau were in net. Oh well, can't win 'em all. Everyone had to know that Bertuzzi's first stint was unsustainable, but overall I think he's looked good. He's been a good set up man, but I'd like to see him score some more dirty goals (he only has 2 all season)...

Miele, with Bertuzzi on the other wing.

Mantha and Frk with another goal each so far in tonight's game. Frk with an absolute bomb, but how else would he score?... He's very much like Pulkkinen, unbelievable shot, weak skater. Paterson is staring his first AHL game tonight, and has looked very good early on. Seems to be great positionally and quick laterally. I've never really been sold on Frk, other than his cannon shot, but 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists) in his last 14 games (before tonight) is pretty damn good. His skating has improved drastically though and that was his biggest knock when he was drafted.

Echolalia, I agree with what you're saying except for one thing. It's not the defenders responsibility to know exactly how long each forward has been on the ice, or how much gas they have left in the tank. That's completely on each individual forward and player, it's on them to make the safe change while the puck is deep in the offensive zone. If you're too gassed to backcheck, you should be too gassed to forecheck, and if that's the case, get your ass of the ice..

When a defenseman pinches along the halfboards attempting to keep the play alive in the offensive zone (which Smith has been very good at this season), the winger is supposed to read that and cover the point. That first goal was more so on Tatar for not getting back to cover Smith and even Larkin for his (rare) awful backcheck, than it was Smith, but hey, why stray from the narrative, Smith sucks right?... Now that second play, later in the first when Smith got shoved from behind into the boards, could have easily been a penalty, however Smith did seem to go down way too easily, and I would assume that's the same thing the ref seen as well. I blame him for being weak on the puck there, and causing that 3 on 1, but the first goal was not on Smith.

I've actually never been to a Griffins game, I just watch the games online. It's very annoying that they never come to St. John's to play the IceCaps. Maybe I'll get a chance to get down to the Van next time I'm in Michigan. As for Tangradi, I don't think he'll ever have what it takes to produce in the NHL, which is why I'd like to see him concentrate on his defensive game. If he could be relied upon to kill penalties and shut down the opposition, I'd love to have him as a forth line guy, that can be defensively sound and add some toughness to the lineup. He certainly doesn't appear to have any potential as a top 6, so if he's ever going to make it back to the NHL, it would have to be as a bottom 6 guy.

e_prime, I refuse to believe that you're that big of a Miller fan. It must be a part of the whole thing you have going on with Bill regarding the importance of having Miller to this team...

Around where I thought we'd be at this point in the season. More surprised with the placement of the teams around us in the Division than anything else. I was expecting us to be in a battle for the top spot with a Florida team, just kind of surprised that team is from Sunrise, not Tampa... Like others have mentioned, we have been good, but I still think there's a lot more we can see out of this group. I love the system Blashill has implemented and I do like the lines, but if he would just switch Helm and Jurco, they would be pretty close to perfect for me.

Athanasiou has been out with a lower body injury for the past half dozen games. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but he was in practice a couple weeks ago. I'm not sure when exactly he's due back but Nelson has said that he is day-to-day for about a week now, so I expect him back soon. I think Mantha should get a call up before Athanasiou does again. AA will be coming off another injury and Mantha has been one of the top players down there all season, he should be the first recall in my opinion. Tangradi has been great for the Griffins, but I don't think he'll ever be much of an NHL player. I do wish Nelson would utilize him more in a penalty killing, shut-down role, rather than a power-play offensive role though, because if he ever were to crack the Wings line-up (doubtful), he would need to be relied upon as a 4th line shut-down guy that brings a physical element to the game, not for his offense. Russo is more of an offensive defenseman but he could be considered somewhat of a two-way, since he's decent in his own end as well. Despite the points he's producing, he has never really jumped out at me in any of the games I've seen, which I guess could be considered a good thing. Ouellet is still definitely ahead of him in the pecking order, and I think both Jensen and Sproul should be ahead of him at this point as well.

I've been to half a dozen or so games at the Joe, but I haven't been there in 3 years now. The last Wings game I seen live was 2 years ago for the Winter Classic at The Big House in Ann Arbor. I'll be going to the Stadium Series this year at Coors Field in Denver, so unfortunately I won't be able to get down to Detroit again this season. I'll definitely be going down next season though, for one last game at the Joe... As far as seats go, I haven't had anything other than top of lower bowl / bottom of upper bowl at center ice. They're definitely my favorite in any stadium, and where I only get a chance to make the trip once every year or two, I go for the best seats I can find. I've never been down on the glass, as I don't usually like to be that close, although it would be a different experience down there for sure.

Hirschfeld had the seizure in last night's game against Milwaukee, not tonight's game. It was scary. Reminded me of the whole Fischer incident...

Huh? Kindl was waived so that we don't have to send Marchenko down... Unless you just meant, you can easily see Marchenko being the 7th defenseman / healthy scratch... In which case, could happen, but I still think it should be Ericsson. And this is coming from one of the very few Ericsson supporters... Marchenko is never going to be a spectacular defenseman, but he is doing exactly what he's asked, and he's been a rock back there ever since he's been recalled from GR.

Wings tried to trade Kindl for draft pick but couldn't. Teams wanted them to take back a player in return and they can't assume more salary. Beat me to it puckbags. Also Ken Holland said Quincey won't play Sunday in Anaheim, but will play Monday in LA. They don't want him playing back to back.

Good news. Hopefully a team like Edmonton will take a chance on him... Bigger question now is, who gets scratched? I'm hoping Ericsson, but I'm not sure if Blash will do it. Although, I really didn't expect this today, so who knows... I'm hoping to see something like... DeKeyser - Green Kronwall - Marchenko Smith - Quincey Ericsson

I agree xym, and even if Faulk or Trouba were to become available, we'd definitely have to give up a ton. I think it'd probably be worth it for either of those guys though. But again, very unlikely, especially with Holland manning the ship.

He's injured. Along with Jensen and Athanasious.

Byfuglien's points are going to drop pretty severely over the next couple years regardless of what team he's on. I don't want him as a rental because I don't think he's a player that puts us over the top, and I definitely don't want him long term. Shattenkirk, that's a player I'd like to see us go after. I'd kill to get Trouba or Faulk though. A combination of Nyquist, Pulkkinen, Ericsson, Marchenko, Ouellet, draft picks for any of those 3 would be unbelievable...

I love Nyquist, but if he were traded in a package for a good return I could live with it. I do not want Mantha involved in any package deal unless it brings in that big, skilled winger that we'd be losing. I think Holland does a lot of good things as a general manager, but in my opinion, making trades is not one of them. I do not trust that he would get a good enough return on Mantha...

When I say no contract is untradeable, that includes the option of eating some salary. I don't think Kindl's contract is nearly as bad as the ones you mentioned, but the option is there to eat some of it, if it came down to that. I'd be okay with Kindl taking either of the vets spots in GR, but obviously I'd prefer to trade him before it came to that. I do believe he would be an upgrade over a few number 6 guys in the league.