webwing91

Some interesting combinations but I think this one is definitely the most sound and realistic. Honestly I'd like to put in Leino in place of Samuelson on that third line, but of course that is not going to happen.

I agree. Chelli made a couple mistakes (a couple weak passes and the some carelessness that resulted in the high sticking), but for the most part he was comfortable and solid. He made sound decisions and I certainly think he could have been played more than 7 minutes, esepecially in a triple OT game. Our guys being more fresh and not having to play as many minutes is a key in this game I believe. Also that bit about missing the net someone mentioned earlier, that is his style. He's tried to create opportunities by bouncing of the boards for years. But hey, Babcock knows what he is doing, certainly more than I, so who am I to question. I think ZDH should be back together again too, but I guess he has his reasons.

Actually Upshall and Lombardi play really well together. They've played spectacularly together in their limited time in Phoenix.

I just want to point out that they are not exactly being held hostage by the city. They do get concessions revenue. I suppose there were some quirks with the whole set up but it wasn't completely terrible, and they did just rework their contract. In fact the city let them not pay their rent or any bills for 7 months (supposedly only unpaid because the contract was under review).

I was wondering if anyone has any ideas for how the Coyotes can become a successful franchise? They seem to finally be developing talent from within so thats a good sign for the future. As far as getting more fans, I always thought they needed to start interest in hockey in the state from the ground up. Ice hockey is expensive to jump straight into, so why promote roller hockey or street hockey. (300+ days of sun). Then you've got a generation of young kids growing up that are into hockey. Other than that, they have an awesome facility and surrounding area, so if they can get some excitement in the city going with a playoff run, and good business management to go with it, they could have a something to build off. I am a firm believer that once you expose people to hockey that most people get hooked.

The worst organization in sports is a bit too much. It is becoming frustrating, as someone who wants to see hockey in AZ succeed, to see them fizzle out every year. For the market they are in they needed to be perfect in their business practices and they were simply mediocre. They finally dedicated themselves to youth, and as far as talent goes things are coming together in that department (you can check on Hockeysfuture.com). Unfortunately when these players finallly do develop, they have to trade them because they are too expensive too keep. They need to find the right balance of coaching (looking less and less like Gretzky is the guy) and veteran players to put these youngsters over the top. They could be extremely comptetive in a couple of years if they could get better coaching and more role models. Shane Doan can only do so much (after seeing him play he definitely is not overrated). As far as double prices for Wings games, the reason wasn't to discourage Wings fans. Before the lockout AZ Wings fans like myself would pay those prices to go see the Wings play and casual fans in Phx would pay to go see a big name team like the Wings and try to keep the place from being a Wings home game. Now, even in Wings games the place is half empty. Interesting thought though: 5-6 years ago when I would talk to people that just came from Michigan they almost always were way into the Red Wings and as an extension had a mild interest in hockey out here. These days though, I the folks rarely seem to even know who plays for the Wings anymore and barely seem to have registered that the team won a cup last year. At most they say they followed the Pistons or the Tigers before moving out to AZ. Don't know if that is a reflection on a drop in hockey interest in Michigan too, or just bad luck on my part.

Am I the only one on these boards that desperately wants the coyotes to stay in Phoenix? The problem here is really that the Coyotes/NHL let the city forget there was hockey in Arizona. Sure maybe in a hockey crazy market you don't need to remind the populace that there is a team around, but in Phoenix you really do. The Coyotes used to draw a lot of fans when they first moved to Phoenix, and I remember if the Red Wings came to town and lost, I would here grief for the next week (from all over the place, not just a couple people). Even when they moved to Glendale Arena (a really nice arena honestly, would be an awesome atmosphere at full capacity in the playoffs) that first year the few games I went to were generally packed (ofcourse the wings games were completely full). However, the lockout has really killed this team. I've yet to see the place nearly as full after the lock out, even Red Wings games. There are a crap load of people from Michigan/detroit over here and even they don't go to the Wings games anymore. The only fans that I see come out in full force are for the Flames. Marketing has been awful, the few commercials I see are really second rate and everything media related looks like it came from a minor league team. That is ofcourse until you get to the arena, it and the area around it are probably one of the nicest places in the state. Another thing I think that the league and the team have failed to utilize in developing hockey in Arizona is the sun. Yep, the sun. Hockey is a really expensive sport in the desert for a parent to just let their kid take a try at it. However we have over 300 days of sunny skies, lending itself to street hockey really well. For the last ten years in this city, everywhere I go I play street hockey with whoever I can find, and instantly they are hooked. People are always asking me when we are going to play hockey again, and my frat now plays every other week (and now goes to the occasional Coytoes' game). This kind of grass roots/ ground up movement should have been started from day 1 of the Coyotes being here. Instead people in this ESPN addicted city barely remember that there is a National Hockey League, and remember when Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick played here. I really hope the team can turn it around this year. Every year they fade at the end and it is really annoying to watch. Gretzky seems to really lose motivation in his team for a few games at a time later in the year and they get phisically outhustled and mentally manhandled time and again.

Though it may be selfish, I for one hope the Coyotes don't fold. How else am I going to see the Wings play? It's been nice seeing them try and build a young core but having a star prospect leaving your club because you aren't very good doesn't help. I hope they can become a good team. But the few times I've gone and seen them this past year it's been painful to watch. That arena would be really awesome with a raucous crowd in a playoff atmosphere though. Still they've always worked hard with what they've had and that is always refreshing to see. Most of their up and comers always seem to leave though... that is somewhat dissappointing as well.

Just Wondering... does anyone who pays more attention to Georgia then me think that ASU has a chance against the bulldogs? I know that ASU lost against UNLV last week, but just wondering if they can match up at all. I'm getting a bad feeling that its going to be an absolute rout by Georgia, and then even worse when ASU travels to USC.

You're going to get through this, just like the Wings will get through the Pens... Keep fighting...

Personally I could see games becoming one sided. (not all for the same team). I think people underestimate the Pens, they have a ton of young skill/energy and if the top two lines can create havoc, I think the whole team catch that momentum and would just pour it on and have the possibility of ravaging the Wings for a game or two. At the same time, if the top two lines are contained and frustrated, I could see the whole team falling apart and the Wings would dismantle them, just like they did the Stars and the Avs. To me it mostly comes down to stopping the top two lines.

He wasn't impressive today, but I wouldn't say he has played too terrible. I for one am glad we still have him back there, and think he is a better option then others we could have back there. Would you rather see Lilja playing? I think for the most part he is calm and collected and makes the right decisions, which is what we need.

While I love that the Wings are winning, and by a lot, I am really dissappointed with the Avs. This game was a bit of an opportunity for the NHL. I'd say the series has been hyped a lot, I mean even the sports page at my university had a section on the series, which completely shocked me (I go to Arizona State). And I've heard plenty of people this last week talk about the fact that the Avs and Wings were going to play (once again, in Arizona). And a lot of casual fans that the NHL may have lost w/ the lockout possibly tuned in when they heard that Colorado and Detroit were playing again. After all this is a Saturday game on NBC. The only series that would have been more hyped is Ovechkin vs. Crosby. While I was hoping for a Wings win, I sort of wanted this one to be a really intense, hard hitting, exciting game. Just so more people could see how exciting hockey really is. And the Avs came out and rolled over... combine that with the two idiots at NBC Pierre Mcguire and Mike Milbury, and this game was not as big and awesome as hoped. Oh well... Go Wings!

Wow, went to study a bit for my finals, come back at the end of the day and I seem to have pissed the whole world off. Sorry about that. Though I do want to point out that I didn't say that I was upset with the Wings in anyway. And I was only "slightly" disappointed about one thing. I certiainly don't mind the Wings winning by a lot, I was just thinking it might have been good if today's game had been a bit more intense, and I don't mean the avs gooning it up or anything. I enjoyed watching us dismantling the Avs as much as the next Wings fan, but I figured the casual fan that tuned into see what they heard was one of the great NHL rivarlies may have been been a bit let down and stopped watching early, granted they did see some awesome hockey on part of the Wings. I personally feel that getting more people interested in the game is a good/healthy thing for the league, but hey that's my opinion. And I do understand that a lot of you don't care about the casual fan and I have no problem w/ that either. Just food for thought though, the hardcore fans might have been casual fans at one point. Some one might tune in for a playoff game who isn't all that interested in hockey, see how amazing it truly is and be hooked for life! **Oh and I wanted to add that in no way do I think having a more marketable game is more important than the Wings winning.

No no, I agree completely. I'm not even talking about the series. Just this game. Simply because it's saturday on NBC. On the plus side, I think we're probably picking up a lot of Wings fans, since we've won every game that's been on NBC.

aww... looks like i will be missing this series. Stupid finals for the next two weeks!

Seems like we spend more time on this board concerned about the future and "what if" scenarios then enjoying what is.

And you still would. He's in a slump... he'll come out. But to trade a way a key piece of our team for a rental that's not as good? bad idea.

I grew up with Gary Thorne, and his voice and excitement is quite perfect and awesome. So overall I go for Thorne, Pang, and Clement. Brian Engblom not too bad. Phoenix guy is not too bad once you get used to him, used to hate listening to him back when Phx was good though. The wings radio team is the best though.

It's also on Yahoo sports for free. sports.yahoo.com/nhl

That was low...

Glendale, AZ!!!! LETS GO RED WINGS!!!!

Wow, can anyone tell me why games aren't that fast, open, and exciting anymore? I thought that the new rules made the game faster by getting rid of clutching and grabbing and all that. I realize that was a playoff game and the intensity is different, but i still think that was way above anything now, except for maybe the last period of game 6 of the ducks series last year.

Yeah i'd be willing to pay for a DVD of that too...

It would be really awesome if somehow Phoenix squeaked in to the 8th spot. While Bryz could easily get hot and any team can beat anyone this year, we probably match up best against them. It would also be great be cause I could finally go to a Wings playoff game, and I think Glendale (Jobing.com) Arena would be a really exciting place with a packed house and lots of energy, it'd be a great place to watch a playoff game, esepecially with 50% wings fans.