WingedWheel91

People will always do gymnastics for their favourite players, and then crucify the players they don't like no matter the results. In my opinion, I don't vividly remember Mantha's "Huge Frame" or "Big Body" protecting the puck and generating all of this offensive zone time as often as it's talked about. I saw a player who had great size (which he didn't really use to hit people) and good speed, to go along with an excellent shot. But I also saw a player who (at times) looked lost on offense and was the furthest thing from responsible defensively. Pulkinnen can't crack an NHL team - yet absolutely torched the AHL his last 2 seasons, and to this point has a better professional resume than Anthony Mantha does. I remember when he scored 14 Goals in 16 Playoff games the same season he scored 34 goals in 46 games - and we all drooled over that "Right Handed" / "PP Cannon" we so desperately needed. Now it's the "Big Body" / "Net Front" presence we need that gets us so excited... I think I'll get excited when he actually makes the team and starts to do these things at the NHL level. Do we all hope that Anthony Mantha turns into the next Jamie Benn? I sure as hell do. But history will show you that elite NHL forwards typically won't spend their first 3 years in the AHL. It's also hard to argue the "over ripen" philosophy here, as for the first time in 20 years we used (2) Rookie forwards in Anthanasiou and Larkin... Point being: If Mantha deserved it, he would have been up there.

See how the draft lottery plays out... If Calgary or Winipeg get the 5/6 picks - see if a package including Nyquist, Oullette, and the 16th Pick can get you into a position to draft Jakob Chychrun.

I'm not the biggest fan of analytics - but this caught me eye considering our loss to Tampa Bay was due in large part to our PK. I wonder if all of those PowerPlay cross seam passes had something to do with Mrazek's lateral movement?

It could collaterally make the Illitch family more money... If the money was paid to Pavel but didn't count against the cap, we could replace him with someone in the same price range - and almost certainly get more production. Maybe we win a round in the playoffs and potentially get (5 or 6) home games instead of (2)... That more than pays for his contract.

Interesting.

Datsyuk wouldn't get paid (by the Red Wings) next season if he retires this summer. The issue he creates is that his cap hit acts as a penalty, in the same summer that another franchise center is available in the prime of his career.

Not sure why this is still an on-going conspiracy. He is leaving. It was easy to understand a few weeks ago - it's even easier today. If you are still holding out hope, please remember that expectation is the root of all disappointment. I understand the emotion, but who are you going to miss? The Pavel Datsyuk who scored 23 points in the 2008 Playoffs? Or the Pavel Datsyuk who scored 0 points in the 2016 Playoffs? I forgot, we don't like using numerical stats on LGW - I'm sure his advanced stats look fantastic? Good enough to lose 4/5 games... What about the eye test? Sure looked like his speed through the neutral zone is no where close to what it was. No, I'm not saying it's his fault we lost - but he sure as hell wouldn't have been the reason we won, which means something when you're the teams highest paid player. I know all the "experts" on this site will have something to say, but for the past 15 years I loved the player and the person. The player has been gone for a couple of years now, and the person is walking away this spring (although contractually obliged) and making the team pay for it. And despite what I have read so many times, his cap penalty won't be as "painfully easy to get rid of" as it sounds. Can someone please start the Pavel Datsyuk replacement thread? But don't start it until 2017 - when we actually have the money to do it.

It's easy to act tough when you know the guy isn't going to fight back. They just won the game, there was absolutely 0 chance Abdelkader entertains a fight with that caveman (who is much bigger) after the clock runs out. Would have been incredibly stupid (and against every coaches orders) for Abby to risk injury in that situation - and a guy like Boyle knows that. Where was he when the game was 0-0 and Abdelkader would have (more likely) dropped the gloves?

I thought it was funny Boyle is such a meat...If your going after Abdelkader for what he did at the end of Game 2 - you have 60 minutes of play to get your revenge, there's no point if the game is over and you don't do it if you know Abby's hands are taped (which could lead to a suspension because it was after the game). He also has about 6 inches and 40 LBS on the guy...

I think they were referring to his post gsme comments... Generally said that some players have the ability to make an impact with very little ice time, and that AA was one of them. Basically there won't be an increase in his minutes.

Fair enough. All I'm saying is that we could so easily be up 2-1. If thats the case, who could really complain about usage or strategy? The most dominate game (from either team) so far this series came when he got his matchups.

Our best 200 Foot game of the series... Which is what we need to focus on if we want to win. Looks like if were going to score 2 goals every game, Mrazek is undoubtedly the right guy. He has 3 Shutouts in 8 Playoff games against TB... A remarkable % to say the least. No I didn't like Quincey being scratched - but I will also say that Smith had a great game...No idea where that has been all year but I'm hoping for another one tommorow. For all the people who love to chew out Blashill: This was the 1st game of the series the game wasn't tied in the 3rd period. If we won Game 1 - which we should have - I wonder how different the tone would be around here? Keep in mind this was his 1st home playoff game, and he dominated the matchups all night.

"Why is Andersson even in the NHL?" #YesWeCandersson

In all seriousness I hope we win before anything else. If Smith gets a hat trick and we win , I'm happier than if he plays like a donkey and we lose. People should be Atleast try to be fans BEFORE they are a critic.

Great read by #2 Lead to a 2 on 1 and the trailer almost potts the rebound. Keep counting boys LOL

Just Read Khans tweet quoting Blashill "Smith is in, he can provide a spark, not sure who's out - will decide before warmups". Followed up by: "Smith hasn't been out because he was bad, he was out because I have 7 good Defenceman and I can only play 6" LOL I would argue that he has 1 or 2 Good Defenceman but has to play 6... As for the spark? Smith had 2 assists in his past 17 games before being scratched for a month...? Sure! throw him into the fire in a must win Game 3 - without knowing who your going to sit - because his offense is just too dynamic to ignore? Am I missing something?

Has the future of our team ever looked worse?

So our most physical and arguably best Defenceman (through 2 games) is out for Mr. Nothing (Smith doesn't get points, hits, blocked shots, etc), and our most physical and arguably best forward (through 2 games) is now playing on the 4th line? I get the chess match but my god. Our top 3 lines literally might not register a single hit tonight? Did we watch the end of Game 2?

The problem we all seem to forget is that money matters, just a little bit. If you believe you should sacrifice todays success to develop our youth - then you don't make the playoffs and get your team into the lottery... And rebuild that way, which I don't disagree with. If you make the playoffs, you have a responsibility as a coach (especially in your rookie season) to roster what you believe to be the best lineup you possibly can in any given series - every game. In the playoffs, anything can happen and every home game you play brings in about $5,000,000 in revenue. I wouldn't call that an insignificant statistic. So if you are the average NHL owner, are you asking your coach to give your team the best chance to win these playoff games? Or are you asking him to develop young guys without concern over the results? Mantha scored 3 points in his only 10 NHL games, Smith recorded 2 assists in his past 17 - and has been a healthy scratch for a month. These guys, despite what we all wish to believe - didn't exactly light it up. We're down 0-2 headed back home, let's see what happens.

Good news: The last time we replaced a veteran goalie after 2 bad games in the first round of the playoffs (in 2008) we won the cup. Just kidding our team sucks.

Difference between this year and last: (1) Mrazek has the ability to steal a game. Howard does not. (2) Babcock is a much better coach than Blashill. (3) Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Kronwall are all noticeably worse players a year later. Can't be shocked - this team is what it is... Shouldn't have made the playoffs and now we're surprised we lost 2 in a row in Tampa. No Mantha and Smith are not the answer, our problems are far greater than Smith and Mantha -> Ericsson and Andersson.

Have you ever coached a team? There are plenty of positives you can take from a loss. Rotating in rookies or substituting in a defenceman who hasn't played in almost a month - are desperate moves we don't need to make after a very close game 1. We aren't the 2008 versions of ourselves. We came in 8th place. We aren't supposed to win. Does Brendan Smith change all of that? The guy had 2 assists in the last 17 games he played. When we win tonight with the exact same lineup - I can't wait to hear what Blashill should have done different to win by a higher margin.

I agree with you, despite my hilarious jokes about Andersson - he is surprisingly not our savior, or a Conn Smythe candidate at this point... Jurco is probably better suited for the 4th line especially because Andersson hasn't even been playing Center. That question comes down to Blashill's opinion of who is better defensively. In terms of a rotating in Smith to jump start our team... We. Didn't. Play. A. Bad. Game. We lost by a goal, to the defending Eastern Conference Champions in their building... We had 36 shots on goal, and a number quality scoring chances that could have easily gone in: I can think of Sheahan, Nyquist, Datsyuk, and Green missing the net on golden opportunities. If we play like that again tonight, we probably win - and If we did win on Wednesday, which was a hell of a lot better than the game 1 (we won) last year - this thread doesn't get to 9 pages.

Honest question: Are you guys happier after Game 1 from last night or last year? If you think this a trick question, keep in mind - even though we won, we got out shot 46-14 in game 1 of last year and got blown out in Game 2. If we can get some goaltending, we should be ok.

I heard this frequently on the Mantha thread - the theory "well we don't look that good heading into the playoffs, so we should lean on our rookies/younger guys and sacrifice this years success for more experience, because we wont win anyway". Let me be clear: This is a business before it is a hockey team. Even when you are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, you still have a responsibility to your coaches, managers, and owners to put an acceptable product on the ice. If you actually make the playoffs, which is the goal of all 30 teams every October - the only mindset that exists (from top to bottom) is: What tactics can we use that give us the best chance to beat the team we are playing this round, and how can we stick to that gameplan? You take it one game at a time, and give everything you have. There is nothing else. If you don't get that - you wouldn't have made it to the NHL. If Blashill says to Holland, or Holland says to Illitch: "Hey, we lost our first 2 games on the road, so seeing as were coming home now without a "realistic" shot at winning, we think were going to lean on our young guys and bring up another Rookie who cant play Defense, just to give them experience even though we don't think it gives us the best chance to win"... Forget that its Datsyuk's last season and everyone should be giving their left leg to get him another ring, or that every home game brings in close to $5,000,000 in additional revenue: They are simply no longer an employee of the Detroit Red Wings.