jroc86

Couldnt agree more. There isn't a roster player on ANY team in the NHL that looks more out of place and utterly ineffective on a night by night basis. Homer was the worst skater in the NHL in his 20's in the clutch and grab era ... the only thing Homers does with consistency is take penalties every game because of a) his reputation in front of opposing goalies or b) hook/hack/hold somebody that's outskating him. If Lids retires this year and we cant snag a bonifide stud UFA on D we are going to be in for a long year next year. Hopefully SuperLids and Franzen is back by the end of the week. On a positive - Nyquist didnt look out of place at all tonight. He is a good fit in the top 6 if Huds or Franzen s***s the bed - I hope he stays up here.

Ps. We need a bigger tougher team going forward - hopefully Holland adresses this over the summer. You know why teams like the Blues/Preds/Rags never hit listless slumps and seem to truck along winning a pair, losing one, winning three, losing one, etc etc? Because as well as having skilled players they have bodies that are big, fast, tenacious which allows them to play a physical game when the bounces arent s there and pucks arent going in. Im not talking a total makeover - Im talking just having a fourth line with that has a blend of speed, size, hitting, maybe a scrapper, and the ability to bang in a few timely goals. Holmstrom is slower than a glacier, Emmerton is small and physical as a basket of kittens, and Mursak works his ass off and Im happy with his role. Holmers hooking, slashing, interference, and goalie interference calls are becoming ridiculous - even on a PP his reputation precedes him so badly that hes a liability on most goals just because hell never get the benefit of the doubt.

Another 20 minute effort. f*** sakes - its not an olympic year, pump these injured guys full of steroids and growth hormones and get our D-pairings back. Nice goal by Quincey and nice setup by Smith but both of these guys have made some total boner moves these last few games ... in Vancouver theres the "Mason Raymond drinking game" (take a shot everytime Raymond falls down) - I think this could be applied to Quincey as well, the guy loses his footing every goddammed shift. Cleary looked like well ... Cleary in the third period. Where is that urgency all the time? Yeah hes hurt - but I think hes by nature a lazy guy. Theres a reason he washed out in Chicago despite being a highly touted prospect - he played his heart out for a few years here establishing his spot but I want to see that sandpaper greasy game more often. Im getting tired of these come from behind just enough to "save face" wins weve been getting lately. 9 games to go ... if we win 6 of them thats a 104 point season. Certainly not where I thought we'd stand when there was 20-25 games remaining but itll do. (deep breath). Time to go hit the gym and blown off some steam. f*** sakes

f*** do we ever need Lids and Ericsson back on defense. And Holmer needs to be "Old Yellered" ... hes been past it forever but he doesnt even contribute offensivley anymore. He gets more goaltender interference calls and disallowed goals than he creates. Id rather have a 4th line of Mursak, Connors, Anderson (while Franzen is out)

2 guys with speed, hands, good passing, and the ability to score goals? Based on your logical Filp and Zetterberg should be split up. Give the kid top 6 minutes until Franzen gets back - this way they can bump Hudler when the yellow streak down his back becomes ever prominent when things start to get rough in the playoffs.

MCL is the best structure in your knee to hurt actually ... its painful and not fun, but regardless of the degree of strain or tear almost never requires surgical repair and typically recovers full ROM and strength. Better than getting a meniscus chopped out or an ACL rebuilt by a long shot. I certainly hope Helm hasnt played his last game of the season - if he comes back it wont be until the 2nd round at the earliest.

Anyone know if Drapes is in decent shape right now?? haha Heres how its gota go ... Nyquist - PAvel - Bert Filp - Z -Huds Mursak - Adbelkader - Miller Cleary - Emmerton - Holmstrom (this line only gets shifts when we have a 3 goal cushion because they are small, slow, and unphysical as Atom players) KEEP Nyquist up here and put him on the third line when the Mule returns, drop Mursak to the 4th line and scratch Cleary. Oh ... and prey to the hockey gods that Helmers knee isnt shrapnel and that Lids and Ericsson are back within the next 4 games.

Jesus this is ridiculous ... given how youthful and versatile Helm seems to be I cant help but think hes torn something up in his knee. If its just a shredded meniscus he might just have to get it scoped/shaved and could be back in a few weeks (in a perfect world). If its a torn ligament ... well, cya next summer kid. Abdelkader and Miller are going to have to step up their roles as energy players - and lets hope to gods that Lidstrom and Ericsson (yes, I said it) are back asap. Apparently E is progressing very well - with Lids bruise its a weird injury have had a few myself ... hell basically wake up one day and be good enough to play though the pain from the bruise will persist for months. Bruised my shin doing kickboxing last summer and couldn't even kick a bag with that leg for a good 4-6 weeks.

Would have liked to have seen Nyquist on Datsyuks wing with Bertuzzi as opposed to the ghost of Dan Cleary ... if Mules gone for a few games giving the kid legit top 6 minutes could be a great way to see what hes got and give him some confidence in case hes gota step in for the playoffs.

Unless we win a couple in a row and the Blues drop a couple in a row its not worth thinking about ... yet.

Great hits - disregard their suspensions an keep playing like that. Its disgraceful that those are suspensions ... when a playing is attacking your zone bent over leading with their head what is someone supposed to do? Vorachek them - thats what.

Myers is a gutless wonder - this play doesnt surprise me in the least. Just another glass chinned giraffe neck skinny kid with a mean streak ... if the kid didnt have a pituitary gland the size of a golfball and was an average sized player he wouldnt be anything more than an AHL'er.

Moore had it coming ... and if Bert never did that he'd likely still be in Vancouver. It took him years to regain some of his old form after the hate he had to endure for years after that incident. There have been countless sucker punches by goons and by players with marquee names over the past few decades - Bert/Moore was a freak accident and the 4 Av's that dogpiled on him immediatley after are likely just as responsible for his injuries. Oh, and Moore was cleared to resume playing in 2006. He was in shape and offered a contract by Anaheim in2007 and turned it down because it would hurt his 38 million dollar case against Bert.

He does have a concussion. This is a troubling time for Hawks fans as this is Toews 4th concussion of his career. On his draft combine physical he reported suffering 2 significant concussions in Jr. He was concussed by Willy Mitchell against Vancouver a few years ago - so he better take care of this one otherwise he could be in serious trouble the next time he gets smoked.

I beleive in this team. Before our our 2 best players went out of the lineup this team was leading the presidents trophy race and was playing great. So what well be 4th or 5th seed ... if the groups healthy theyve got a good chance to win regardless of who they play against. Are we really sweating Nashville that much? With 7 regulars out we dominated them last Saturday and half the building was chanting go Red Wings. That season series could easily be 5-0 ... personally Id rather play them than the Sharks or the Hawks.

Couldnt agree more. This lineup has needed a couple of dependable big bodied workhorses to complement our lineup of racehorses for 3 years now. Hal Gill and Paul Gaustad are two guys that would have been fantastic acquisitions for depth, size, and defence. If this rash of injuries came a month earlier Id like to think that 'Laurel Restington' would have made a few of the moves Im talking about.

A game in the shark tank is going to be just what the Docotor ordered. If they cant get up for that game (especially with Pavels return) I dont know what else could.

******* brutal ... Nyquist deserves to be playing up here every bit as much as Smith. Cleary is just spare parts out there - shouldnt even be playing.

Way to much reading ... before we lost Pavel, Nick, Howie, Bert, Ericsson, and Kindl all within a 2.5 game span we were leading the Presidents trophy race. Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Vancouver etc are all playing pretty average hockey right now and nursing injuries. Guess what? Theyve all been around a block a few times. St Louis is playing hard nosed playoff style hockey and chasing the dragon hard. Their a badass team no question - but guess what? Id rather have my team peak 3 weeks from now with a rested and healthy lineup instead of rushing our wounded back to soon to try and catch up to a group of excited kids working their asses off for a trophy that doesnt mean anything. What does Buffalo, Vancouver, Washington, San Jose and (probably St Louis) have in common? They've all won the Presidents trophy in the post lockout era but have yet to have a Cup in their entire franchise histories. I live in Vancouver - I had to listen to this dog and pony show from success-starved desperately excited fans a year ago. Go on with the chlorophyll..........

All aboard the Red Wing 2012 Playoff war-wagon ... St Louis is outpacing us and Nashville is nipping on our heels. Our skeleton crews only got a couple games left before our studs starts occupying the big minutes again. Lets hope this group can play tough, fast, greasy hockey and get AT LEAST 4 points out of this road trip. With the handful of teams battling to get into the playoffs and the elite status of the central I think playoff hockey has more or less already begun - every game from here on out will directly affect our seeding come April. Lets go boys! (ps. I like Nyquist allot ... he skates well, holds the puck strong for a small guy, has quick hands, and makes smart plays - he NEEDS to stay in the lineup even when we are healthy IMO.

A significant bone bruise can take 6-10 weeks for the pain to dissipate. Its a terrible injury I've had with a finger and my radius (both from blocking shots in my Jr days). If the medical staff can deem that hes not at risk for further injury (ie, stress fractures) I would like to think that training staff might start thinking about giving him localized pain masking agents. Kurt Angle won and Olympics medal with 2 broken vertebrae in his neck via taking localized Novocaine injections before matches ... numbs the pain and isnt a banned because it lacks opiate or steroidal properties. Just a thought. What pisses me off that a 6 million dollar player has a needless injury - if he had the skate shells that many shotblockers wear these days (Kronwall +Commie come to mind) he wouldnt have had an issue to begin with. I realize theres a comfort issue - but if I could go back and do things again I know that I would have certainly worn them.

Of course their playing better than the Wings ... take Bertuzzi, Howard, Datsyuk, and Lidstrom out of any lineup and show me a team that doesnt nosedive. They'll all be back within a few games - and if we are healthy for the playoffs we will be a handful for ANYONE home ice or not. Half of the Nashville crowd was Detroit fans on Saturday and we gave them all they could handle without 7 starters. 13 games left - if we win 9 or 10 of them well have a really good chance at taking the division. If not its on the boys to take care of business in the first round and go from their. I have a feeling their is going to be a first round upset or two this year so a fourth seeded team could easily become a 3rd or 2nd seeded team given the right circumstances.

A few things: 1) radulov isnt coming back. 2) Even if we end up playing Nashville guess what? Until last night we were 3-1 against them on the season and the lone defeat came at the hands of a huge FLUKE last second bouncer from Weber in December. Last night we had half the building chanting Lets go RedWings and we outplayed them while missing 7 REGULARS! Lids, Dats, Howie, Bert are cornerstone players anywhere in the league and weve been competitive without all of them! Its not 2002 - we cant stack the deck every year and sell the farm for every free agent on the market. 13 games left - if the boys finish strong and win 9 or 10 of them (especially the head to heads against the Blues and Preds) we still have a very good chance at taking the central. That being said - ill take a first round matchup against Nashville over a San Jose or Chicago any day of the week.

When Pavel is back Id like to see Nyquist get a shot playing with Hank and Filps ... the kid can make plays, skate, and hold onto the puck better than Huds.

Tough loss - boys played hard. Ian Whites net front positioning is looking pretty poor lately ... stay netside or at least pick up a stick. He sure competes hard but hes a bit if an easily mesmerized meathead with the puck. derp derp derp ... he needs Lids back with him.