Nightfall

HOLMSTROM! BOARDING! /sarcasm Oh crap, better put the Red Wings glasses back on.

You are right! I put these Red Wings glasses on and I see about 20 potential power plays for the Wings that the refs screwed up. Damn, what was I missing all this time? Make up your mind man! Put your Red Wings glasses back on, or leave em off.

I haven't seen any boarding. I guess I better put my red wings glasses on in order to see it. Hold on.....

Yup, and apparently, he can't tell the difference between the two.

Checking is allowed in this sport.....just an FYI.

Happy Hudler!

Fixed it for you.

Only if you can sign them to a deal that is reasonable and keeps them producing for you. Otherwise, its just a rental. Don't get me wrong, I do believe you are correct, but Holland won't trade away for Parise if he is going to be asking for 7.5 million per season. Shanahan was brought in because winning was more important than money to him. He took a hometown discount. Any player that gets brought in here will play for less than market value. The ones that care about money alone won't be brought in here.

I agree achildr1. The cupboard is full now and has good prospects. Is it worth taking some of those prospects and giving them away for something else we can use in the kitchen to make a huge meal today? Even though the meal may not come out right when its done? Cup championship or bust is not the direction to go. We have made the playoffs the last 20 years because of great decisions by this management team, and that includes the 4 Stanley Cups we have won. I stand behind them 100%. I would like to see us get Parise, but there is part of me that wonders if that is going to be possible. Holland has made the impossible look possible though.

You are right. I thought he was only out 1 game and it was 4. Thanks for the correction. Aside from that, I think you are going overboard on your analysis. Think back to 1996 and 1997 up until the playoffs when Colorado "owned" the Wings. The Shanahan trade really was huge, but we gave up Coffey and Primeau, who were good players. I don't see anything the Wings are willing to give up for a player like that this year. This year, things will be different than last year. San Jose is a different team. Chicago is a different team. St. Louis is a very different team. Size means very little when you factor in grit and hard work. I see these things from the Wings more this year than last year. If you can't see it by their defensive play alone, then I can't help you. What people want is for us to give up a s*** player for a exceptional one, and no team is going to make a trade for that. I would hope that Holland would NOT trade our future away. We have cap space, but what we don't have right now are prospects in the system that are exceptional players. I don't see the next Dats and Z in the system. I don't see the next Lids in the system either. I see good players, but no one who is going to light it up. When Z and Dats are gone, what are the Wings going to do if they traded away their future today? Just something to think about. We have far too many people who believe that trading our future away right now is the way to go. We need to be more careful especially in the salary cap era.

Sharp has been out one game for the Hawks. Lets see how they do the next 3-4 weeks. The Wings did without Dats for one game. I think to make a fair comparison, you should see how the Wings would have to do without Dats for an extended period of time. Not just one game and consider them to be horrible without him. Any team is going to struggle without their top line players. Sharp is their 3rd scorer on the team and it will result in them losing some games. So many people thinking that teams are going to trade Flip or Hudler for top line talent. I guess I better have what you are having. Jack Johnson isn't worth trading for. Stuart is far better. Nabokov isn't worth trading for either. The Isles will demand more than he is worth. I am glad Holland is calling the shots for this team. He will make the right calls, and I can almost guarantee you that Hudler, Flip, Stuart, and Conklin will be with the team at the end of the playoffs.

The Buffalo teams back then were much better than the Luongo and Vokoun Florida teams or even the Buffalo team this year. Hasek carried those Buffalo teams the same way he carried the Red Wings teams.....he didn't. True story. Wings dominated tonight and it was good to see at home. I hope to see a road win tomorrow.

Miller is an elite goalie. This year he is an elite goalie on a crappy team. I don't care how good you are, but an elite goalie on a crappy team doesn't make a crappy team a playoff team. Look at Vokoun and Luongo as examples in Florida.

Buffalo just made some bad decisions this year. The Leino signing was a waste of money. Tyler Meyers hasn't had a good season since his rookie year. Stafford and Vanek are struggling. This team played better last year. They are tanking this year, and it goes far beyond the goaltending. Last year, the Wings were not as good defensively and Howard was the scapegoat for allowing 2.79 GAA. This year, they pick up Ian White and have a new defensive game, and this year Howard is putting up solid numbers. I firmly believe that a goalie is only as good as the defensive in front of him.

That was unintended, but now that you mention it....

Maybe if the defense wasn't so crappy, then Ryan Miller would have won more games.

Wow, Helm! Ryan Miller is getting no help. I feel badly for him. Miller assisted on that goal.

Yea, make the questions simple. Its not that hard. Then Dats could make some funny comments instead of asking "What?".

Haha, I can't wait to see him in 24/7 on HBO in December.

This still needs to be passed through UofM. I thought it was an NCAA regulation and it isn't. This is up to UofM, and they have a policy of no alcohol on campus. Read up on the University of Minnesota who hosted the Vikings Bears game last year. Minnesota would not allow beer to be sold there because it was a campus regulation. The NFL had to abide. The NHL won't put the game at UofM without alcohol being sold there, and in order for that to happen, UofM needs to approve the sale of alcohol on campus which is strictly prohibited. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/548381-bears-vs-vikings-monday-night-football-no-beer-in-gopher-stadium UofM has to allow it, but there is a strict policy against it. So all UofM has to do is make an exception to their law and allow it for the Winter Classic. Easier said than done though since the University has to vote on it.

I always believed this wouldn't happen for a variety of reasons. UofM wouldn't lift the ban on alcohol, or the Red Wings ownership would never allow the game to be played off site where they have to split the revenue. As it turns out, it looks like I may be incorrect. What a great venue for the hockey game of the century. I was at the first Cold War against Michigan and Michigan State and it was a great experience. It will be a record breaking event that won't be topped for many many years. I know, its not a definite, but it looks more and more like its going to happen and I am excited about that.

That was a snipe. Nothing Jimmy could do except gain about 200 pounds of puck blocking weight so he covers the whole net.

Here is the video of the time out and Babcocks reaction.

Back about 7 years ago, I was playing in a playoff game against another team. They were by far the best team in the league, and they were beating us pretty badly by the tune of 6-1. In the final 30 seconds, they called a timeout. I was furious, but I didn't show it. I just let it stir up inside while they were laughing at their bench. When we went through the handshake line, I punched the guy who called the timeout in the face with my blocker as hard as I could. It was the only time I got suspended in my rec hockey career, but that was so worth it. I hope the Wings are about as pissed off as I was.

People are quick to forget that certain teams owned us in the 90s and solving those teams led to the cup. Remember Colorado in 1995-1997 when they beat us in the playoffs and the regular season? It took the final regular season game in 1997 and a tough playoff series to eliminate the Avs. No team sits on top forever. The Wings will solve the Sharks, and I dare to say that will happen this year. As for that killer instinct, you won't see much of that during the regular season from any team.