GoWings!

Kindl brain farts are very common.

I'd like to know how many first shot, first goals have been scored on Howard the past few years.

Damm, where's Weiss? Here's to a brand new season. Let's make it an amazing one, guys. Go Wings!

Maybe he originally aggravated it on those fishing trips...seriously this is ridiculous. Out most of last season and plays one game and now out possibly a month? Hope these Reebok jerseys come padded with bubble wrap. I'm surprised Darren Helm hasn't broken anything causing him to miss the rest of the season upon hearing the news about Dats.

Dats and Z are amazing when healthy and they do miss their games to injury but not nearly as much as last year. Franzen stays streaky hopping on and off the first two lines, gets injured for a little while and has a couple of game winners. 15-20 goals. Weiss has a pretty good year. Thinking 20 goals. Defense has some good moments. Scores a bit more but only because some kids get called up and make an impact. Not a scary bunch and the experience(yes the vets), aside from Kronwall, will continue to bring this unit down especially getting beat back on rushes and lack of physicality. This and our goaltending will continue to be the weak links. Howard will continue to be streaky and dream he could time warp back to Raf, Lids, Stuart and Kronwall in his prime days. Even then Howard couldn't get us out of the 2nd round. Monster is solid as backup but gets hurt and Mrazek plays a lot more than we all expect but makes our goalie future look brighter than we think. Big goalie controversy ensues a few weeks before the playoffs. Coaching and power play will be better. This plays a big role in us making it 24 straight years especially in a weaker conference. Quincey has a soso year and is a little better than last year but him and Kindl are scratched for a lot of the season which is a good thing. Cleary becomes a daily scratch. Kids continue to make an impact in regular season. Tatar and Nyquist put up solid numbers, third line is one of the fastest in the league. Helm stays relatively healthy and the 4th line isn't so easy to play against. Wings take the 5th seed, make it to the 2nd round and play a hard fought 7 game series coming up just a bit short. Holland makes a move at the trade deadline finally to acquire either a power forward, goalie or solid defenseman for playoff run. Another 2nd round exit forces him to address the other 2 next offseason. One year from today we are a happier,more optimistic bunch!

I'm baffled as to what this brings to the team. What exactly does this bring? Did Holland lose a bet with Cleary? Where are the defense issues that need to be addressed?

I know ESPN sucks but I have the app on my phone to update me for a few of my teams and the song went off and this is the news I see?

No doubt Zetts and Dats will probably not win another Cup before they are soon gone. Sad but true.

Disgraceful.

I came here because I couldn't dare step foot in that Kevin Porter thread. I'm panicking now...

Rolling with the exact same team that went down in the 1st round last year is not what I call a successful summer.

Anyone here mentioning Filppula being a Stastny is ridiculous. The guy was nothing more than a 3rd line guy that couldn't take a hit nor throw one. I don't care if he scores 50 for Tampa cause he would never have scored 50 for us, ever.

Obviously mind boggling because no one on these forums could possibly want this guy to ever wear a Wings jersey ever again but let's just wait til July 1st before we give up on 2014-2015.

Well they beat them in 5. I really think the West is a different, rougher beast. The 3 other teams LA faced were indeed tougher than the Rangers in many aspects including physicality.

Signing veteran defensemen to help this team get back on a winning track can't hurt the cause. We are gonna have a whole bunch of young players in the lineup in a few years and I doubt they'll bring what Dats and Z have been able to bring us the past 10 years. Why not add some pieces that could help us for that goal(as opposed to some playoff streak that may end up ending a lot sooner than later when Dats and Z are gone) while there's still some Cup winning talent left in these 2 before they eventually retire? We saw what the Grand Rapids can do in regular season but what they couldn't do in the post. So what's wrong with mixing in some youth, bringing in a few solid players with the cap space we are freeing up and making another run for a Cup while guys like Kronwall, Z and Dats still have gas in the tank? I see a pretty good Ranger team representing the Eastern Conference and I really feel we can get to that level with some good signings, trades and GR call ups mixed together. Rangers are not a dynasty in my eyes and they were able to benefit from a couple of good 3rd and 4th line pickups, speed and a great goalie(while their fa signings like Richards and Nash and trades for St. Louis are not the main reason for their success).

Kings in 6 maybe 7 if the refs wanna be nice imo. Good goalie matchup but the West is a better conference. 3 game 7 wins on the road against arguably the 3 best teams in the NHL this year? Meh,can't wait for 2014-2015 hockey. I want my Wings back and strong! Also extremely happy that our 97 and 98 Wings are still the last team to go back to back! Woohoo!

Congrats to the Rangers for a successful season no matter what happens in the Cup but I think it shows how weak the Eastern Conference is. I really don't think they would've beaten Boston. I still don't see them beating anyone out West but we'll see what happens cause you never know.

Lundqvist is a solid goalie and one of the best in the NHL now but he hasn't won a Cup yet and I wouldn't call him a "King" until he earns himself a title like that. They got their work cut out for them if they do make the Cup cause neither the Hawks or Kings are gonna be pushovers.

I think Helm, Franzen and Howard could definitely get us some decent returns. I'm not a huge fan of Howard and I feel that if he couldn't get us out of the 2nd round with the likes of Raf, Lids, Stuart and Kronwall in his prime, he certainly isn't gonna do it with whomever we move forward with regarding our defense. I like Helm but I'll know we have a solid team if he plays mainly on our 4th line and our pk as usual. Franzen has worn out his welcome here. I'll never hate Mule cause we wouldn't have got our Cup without him but the Wings are going a different direction then where he is headed. Hope is not lost and I'll take a consistent goalie and a solid defenseman and some gritty, scoring wingers to make us tougher if these possibilities arise.

Man Boston can bring it when it's gut check time. I hope we have some more life left in us in ot or we can focus on next year. Still proud of our guys but I don't know we can't play like we did in the 1st. Tatar and Nyquist disappeared. Franzen stinks.

If Zetts is a no go then obviously replace him with Baby Datsyuk but keep Zetterberg's beard on either line.

I wanna see these lines: Zetterberg-Dats-Abdelkader Zett's beard-Legwand-Nyquist Tatar-Sheahan-Jurco/Bertuzzi Helm-Miller-Glendening

Hope to see Swedish Jesus back in tonight. He deserves to be playing in another playoff series of this caliber since he's basically carried us the last like 7 years. No matter what, Z, you da man. Well this is a must win. Let's hope for big changes and the strongest effort of the year from our boys. Not easy but not impossible. Hope for the best here. GO WINGS!

Love Babs but I am noticing the same game plan that the Sharks and Nashville seemed to use that always dooms the Wings especially since Lids is gone. That game plan consists of throwing all your players in front of your goalie and forcing the Wings to A. Not get follow up chances on rebounds B. Take ridiculous shots from terrible angles that don't have a prayer of going in or C. Rely on our awful shooting defensemen to blast away slapshots at the other team's defenseman lying on the ice 3 feet in front of them waiting for an obvious block. Also the lines seem a bit lame at this point. I'm not sure how effective any of the 3 of either Jurco, Sheahan or Tatar are when separated. Also might wanna put Helm and Nyquist with Datsyuk and put Abby on the 4th line where he can cause a bit of havoc. You'd also need binoculars to try and find Franzen and Legwand out there cause they're playing awful small right now. I'm no coach but this seems to happen every year. Also can anything be worse than Kindle and Lashoff out there? Why is Brendan Smith the only other player besides, maybe Dats and Tatar, capable of skating into the Bruins' zone all game? 99% of the time it's an embarrassing dump in that the Bruins beat us to practically every time. Just venting but I hope Babs can make some smart changes that'll work cause the 2 goals in 9 periods is god awful. I'm also disappointed that Howard gives up way too many softies in the playoffs. I hope for a bounce back game tomorrow and hoping our team cares enough to bring all they have to this important Game 4.

I have to say this is one of the most gutless home performances I've ever seen in the playoffs.