RedWingsFanatic

I think this is a very excellent point. I'm willing to say that the energy of younger guys like Zetterberg, Datsyuk and even Hossa will negate some of that, but it's certainly something to be careful of. Less than stellar play turning into victories can be satisfying, but it can't turn into a trend. That isn't happening yet and I don't think it will, especially with Babcock behind the bench, but it's still worth attempting to avoid. I also think upcoming games with Anaheim and San Jose will wake us out of any sleepwalk we might be in, for better or for worse.

Yeah, absolutely. He's off to a really nice start with them. It's funny as Wings fans that we aren't even aware of the talent level of a guy like Quincey. He comes up, fills in, doesn't make any terrible mistakes and then we don't hear from him again for a few months. A guy like him gets to a less accomplished team, plays 25 minutes a night and really shows what he can do. They're developing a ver nice core in L.A. and if they're patient, will turn out a pretty strong team in a few years. Just on defense, with Johnson, Daughty and Quincey, they look good. Add offensive guys like Frolov, Kopitar and Brown, and the Kings are a playoff-caliber team very shortly.

And here's another thing. I realize it's a bit of a silly question, but if you can keep winning despite not playing your best game, at what point does that effort not become enough? I mean, if the Wings have points in 8 of 9 games, how much better do they really need to be? I know they will play tougher teams in tougher scenarios, but at this point in the season, points are points. They're growing as a team and continuing to gel with new linemates. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a team that's completely happy with the way they've played thus far, and while I would include the Wings in that bunch, perhaps it's unfair to demand the best when average play has been good enough so far.

What the Wings have done here is pretty remarkable. They've yet to play a complete game, but they have won 7 of 9 with points in 8 of them. They can't keep going like this forever, but it's staggering that they can turn it on for five minutes and escape with two points. It's frustrating and troubling at times, but you've got to admit that it's pretty damn fun. There are certainly concerns, but two points on the road is two points on the road and it was very, very exciting. Two wins in two games (and two shoot-outs) to start the road trip. The Wings aren't making it easy and there are kinks to work out, but I'll take it.

Have the Wings ever had a start to the season this unpredictable and exciting? Every single game has been down to the wire. It's not good on my heart, but it sure is fun. All this instability, and the Wings STILL have points in 8 of 9 games.

Well, it's fitting we get a nice little break like that after the Kings third goal. Flip really needs to get things going. A huge goal for the Wings and for him. I'm not sure how much longer they can continue doing this, but living dangerously is kind of fun, eh?

It's sort of mystifying that, if this lasts, our two regulation losses will be to Toronto and Los Angeles, widely regarded to be maybe the two worst teams in the league. The effort just hasn't really been there tonight.

I really, really dislike Mikael Samuelsson.

He hasn't really done much? We've had, like, two scoring chances.

Robitaille.

Oh, okay. Never mind then.

Why do the Kings have a bear as their mascot?

Stupid penalties, warranted or not, are just killing us. It seems like we've been down a guy all night.

I'm pretty sure it's Pistons opening night on Thursday, thus putting the Wings on FSN Plus.

It hurts me to say it, because I'm a fan of the guy and he's been solid for so many years, but I'm confident there are about 15 players who deserve to be in the line-up ahead of Kirk Maltby.

It's redundant, but that move by Hossa was just unreal. He is aboslutely on fire and it's been incredible to watch. Here's hoping he can keep it up. In regard to Quincey, I'm not saying he's not a great young defenseman, but the Wings have at least 4 or 5 better guys in their system. He was just a good player on a very, very deep team and he got squeezed out. The Wings won't really miss him at all. I wish him all the best, though. He seems like a good guy.

LOL. No.

The fourth line is a bit of a problem. Helm/Abdelkader/Leino is so much more offensively appealing, but it just doesn't seem right to go with that instead of, say, the Grind Line. It's hard to bench three veterans with 12 Stanley Cups between them in favor of three rookies. I'm not saying it doesn't make sense, but it's just a very difficult decision to have to make. Guys like Draper and Maltby obviously bring other things to the table, but it's obvious they've lost a lot. In other news, what is Ozzie doing? Terrible rebounds, lazy play and just an overall mediocre start to the season. What was he doing on that second goal?

Good ice is notoriously hard to maintain in warm-weather climates. It's terrible in both L.A. and Anaheim.

I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but I know the Ducks were trying out some "ice view" technique or something and it failed miserably. It was supposed to put the viewer on the ice, show the speed of the game, etc. etc. But it really just turned into a brutal way to watch a hockey game. Also, the Kings color guy is the most obnoxious commentator of all-time.

Yeah, I've never seen a puck move way way it is tonight. Literally just all over the place. I think cheap goals are going to win this one.

I'm pretty sure that power play was one of the worst of all-time, actually.

There's nothing wrong with him being concerned for the fans. It could have been really dangerous. Assuming everybody is okay, that is pretty sweet.

Attendance: 19,011. Ugh. Seriously?

I mean, that's not even fair. We were pretty terrible tonight, but Vancouver had some of the most fortunate bounces you're ever going to see. No way you can really fault anybody, including Osgood, on that final goal. Lots of strange happenings at JLA tonight. Still, bounces and luck aside, we're going to need to be better. There just isn't very much positive to take away from tonight's game at all. Hossa needs to get his s*** figured out. Darren Helm needs to play 45 minutes a night. Samuelsson needs to find a new job filling the water bottles or something. And Brett Lebda's streak of decent play as seemed to run out. Meech, please. I will be forgetting this one very shortly.