rick zombo

Connor out two weeks with a slightt fracture in the hand area. Emmerton will replace him in the line-up. There's another Wing injury (let's hope it's not Datsyuk). If said player is unable to play, Tatar will replace him. If said player can play, Tatar will return to Grand Rapids. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2011/12/red_wings_chris_conner_out_two.html

I have a very strong feeling that we'll see Ruutu here before the deadline.

I was thinking the same thing earlier. About how I liked their chances against a healthy Pens team more. That's seems to be the way these Wings work sometimes. Who knows. Maybe they'll pound them. Here's hoping.

Lidstrom is a "perennial Norris candidate". Helm is not putting up the offense needed to be considered a perennial Selke candidate. It's just a fact. He could finish top 10 in Selke voting for the next 15 years and still not fit the description. Give me a nudge when he's consistently one of three finalists like Datsyuk is now.

The comparison to Kuznetsov set the tone. Kindl is on pace for 21+ points and is posting a very respectable +/-. What more do you want from a #5/6. Why play Commodore? Although I have nothing against the guy.

Yeah right, because Kindl’s really sucking right now with his 7 points and +5 rating.

I'd have to agree.

I’m not selling Price short. I was simply pointing out that it’s silly to say Howard is “most certainly” not Price as NMT suggests. For the record, I think overall Price has the better pedigree, but that doesn’t mean he’s playing better than Jimmy this year, regardless of the team. It’s not like the Wings are winning all their games 6-5. If Price played for Detroit he’d have more wins then he does with the Habs most likely, but who’s to say where his GAA and SV/% would be. Even if his numbers in Detroit were as good as Jimmy’s they’d only be that: as good as Jimmy’s. There’s no reason to believe they’d be that much better.

But Howard’s numbers are better so far this year. So saying that Howard is “most certainly” not Price is a stretch.

Most certainly. Howard: 17-6-1, 1.85 GAA, 0.931 SV/% Price: 11-8-7, 2.19 GAA, 0.920 SV/%

I find it funny how Kaberle endured years of trade speculation in Toronto only to end up on his fourth team now, in less than a year.

I swear, the Penguins must have the words "Nothing Short Of Ultimate Douchiness" stenciled in gold glitter above the door of their dressing room. Next to a picture of Cooke and Kunitz curb-stomping an old lady.

The league is finally getting the parity they wanted. I would also like to add that the Wings trail only the Blues in fewest shots allowed per game. Also they are third in the league in goal differential at +21.

Here's another decent article on Mursak's progress. Enjoy Aussie. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=605411

16 years of dominance, to be specific. Not sure a Blues fan should be given any authority to talk about the playoffs (sorry, couldn't resist)

Right. If they both get regular starts, this means, to me, that they are spliting games - more or less. That leaves Elliot with only 41 starts. Venzinas go to clear-cut #1 goalies, work horses. Elliot, right now, is 29th in the league in starts. I'm not saying he hasn't played amazingly well or that he won't continue with these numbers. But for starters, he has to establish himself as the clear number one and get substantially more than 41 starts. Of the last five vezina winners, Thomas had the fewest starts with 54. Brodeur had the most with 78. To say Elliot is the "strongest candidate" right now is pretty bold and thoroughly unsupported by statistics - the only thing that can remove bias.

I'll bracket some guys off and list what I think the asking price would be. I'm not saying that I would make these trades, and I'm not about to speculate on what Holland is willing to do. I'll try not to go all fan-boy and inflate the worth of our players. "A" Bracket - Hockey Deals - You get a player who'll contribute beyond the 11/12 playoff run. Iginla Ryan It would take: 1 Top Prosepct - Smith/Nyquist 1 Mid-level Player - Cleary/Hudler/Ericsson 1st round pick 2012 2nd round pick 2013 OR 1 Top Prospect - Smith/Nyquist 1 Solid Player - Franzen/Filpulla 2nd round pick 2012 "B" Bracket - Rentals - slightly lower asking price Parise Suter Weber It would take: 1 Top Prosepct - Smith/Nyquist 1 Mid-level Player - Cleary/Hudler/Ericsson 2nd round pick 2012 OR 1 Solid Player - Franzen/Filpulla 1st round pick in 2012 Maybe I'm out to lunch or high or something. Anyway, no doubt a less patient/more desperate team would offer more. Also, it's hard to assume the value another team may attribute to guys like Smith, Ericsson, Filpulla, etc.

Anyone wonder if they’ll start Conklin in this one?

LOL at Ryan Miller getting run over in that NHL12 commericial.

On a slightly related note, my friends and I were watching the Wings game on tsn last night wishing we were playing the "Crosby Drinking Game" - a drink for everytime they broke to non Pittsburgh highlights and Crosby's name was mentioned. We would have gotten hammered.

Huge game. I'm hoping, with the Wings being on the road and the Bruins home with their families (being lazy ) along with the fact that Boston are due to lose, that the math works out well for this one.

Ahhhh. Smith has. Commodore hasn't. My apologies.

Ummmm, according to who? You? The general consensus, actually, is that he's NHL ready. Like I said in a previous thread, they sent Smith down because they could; beacuse it was easy - no waivers, no grief, no players lost, depth retained. I think Smith should have stayed. But I'm not for waiving Commodore. So......

What? How dare you? Stay home and serve us!!!!!!!!!!! Have fun at the game.