Nightfall

That was a hell of a shot. Off the far post and in on a 2 on 1. OMG, the Wings can't bury it.

He played both ends of the ice well, but he was playing against the Islanders and only 2nd line minutes. The Islanders really didn't play great.

If Dats was getting the same hype and performed the same way, no one here would say a word about it. Just because Crosby is on another team, I bet we could find fans of 29 other NHL teams who think the same way as we do. Hell, it was great not hearing Crosby's name for almost a full year. Now that he is back, we will get a ton of Crosby commercials. I am not looking forward to all the media and commercial hype. I am looking forward to watching him dominate hockey games though. There are a few players that I love to watch besides Dats and Z on the Wings. Ovechkin and Crosby are two others that are worth the price of admission or my Gamecenter Live subscription.

I agree. At the same time though, Crosby really is a top tier player in the NHL. Its like the NHL missing one of its biggest stars, like Ovechkin, for almost a year. The game is good, but the game could be even better with that player back. I watched the game on Versus tonight, and Crosby really has been dominant. The first goal really was his first shot on net in almost a year and it was backhand top shelf goal. Simply incredible. At the same time though, I thought the first penalty that Crosby drew was weak. An Islander player got a cross checking penalty for knocking Crosby down from behind. I see that almost every game and refs rarely call that. Hell, how many times has homer been knocked down like that from behind and the person doing it NEVER gets called. So I thought that penalty was kind of suspect..... Still, its great to have Crosby back in the lineup for the Pens.

This is why he signed a low end deal for only a couple years. He is out to show he can be a big money goalie. There is no reason why he can't make more in a Wings uniform. He has to meet very lofty expectations to make more though. The Wings regularly don't pay a lot for their goalies since the lockout. Still, he could break the mold. I am very impressed with his play. His save percentage and GAA are spectacular. Imagine how many wins the Wings would have had during that 6 game losing streak if they would have scored 1-2 goals more per game. They could have won 4-5 of those games. Seems that every game the Wings have lost have been games where they have scored 0 or 1 goal. I love what I see! Go Howard!

I believe its how wings fans tolerate mistakes. Kronwall was in Grand Rapids way past his prime because there was already a group of defensemen in the mix. When he came to the Wings in his first full season (aside from the injury problems) he was berated for his offensive playmaking at times and making bad decisions with the puck. It wasn't until the 2008 playoffs when he really started to make his mark. I still believe Smith has a lot to learn at this level. I do agree with you that playing with Kronwall and Lids would be the best way to bring him up. If you are going to pair him with one of those two, then thats a great way to help him learn. I believe if he is only going to get 13-15 minutes per game, I think he would be much better off getting the 22-26 minutes of ice time per game he is getting at the AHL level.

I believe that Smith could use one more season in the AHL this season. Especially from an ice time perspective. If he stays up at the NHL level, he will be a 3rd pairing which will hurt him more than develop him. IMHO, if you are going to keep Smith up at the NHL level, you pair him with Lids and you have him learn from the master. Give him 2nd pairing minutes, and you also have to make sure that all wings fans realize he is going to make mistakes.

I agree. Jimmy has been given better defensive help this year which only helps his numbers. Last year, most Wings fans were all over Jimmy for having a higher than normal GAA and lower than normal save percentage. Now, he is really tearing it up. During that 6 game losing streak, if the team in front of him would have been able to score a goal or two more, then they would have probably won a few of those games. Course, its not all defense. Jimmy has really picked up his game this year. If this continues all season, he has an opportunity to really lead the Wings into the playoffs.

You and I are totally on the same page. After watching another 3-1 debacle tonight, I am firmly believing that they need a coaching change. Its obvious that our current coach can't get enough out of this team.

This team has been under performing for the last couple years. Its really depressing.

My history lessons were based on the stats those two seasons. Something you didn't even do, but I digress.... I wasn't clear about your point and now I am. Its all good.

We got killed by the kings the following year... but I understand what he is saying now.

Uh.... In the 99 season we went 4-1 against Colorado. In the 00 season we went 3-1 against Colorado. We haven't been their ******* since 95-96 and most of the 96-97 season before we traded for Shanny. Its not only that, but the fact that Colorado beat the Wings in the first 3 meetings in the 96-97 season before the brawl at the Joe.

Anyone remember back in 96-97 when we were Colorado's *******? What did we do to snap that streak? We got Shanny who was a great power forward for us. What this team needs is a shakeup. The stars are not producing, and thats the difference in 5 of the 7 losses. I am glad Howard is playing well because if it wasn't for him, this would have been much more ugly.

I think what people should be concerned about is the expiring NHL CBA. I have a feeling the landscape is going to change drastically. Don't expect Holland to sign anyone until the new CBA is signed. If its signed before the season starts that is.

I would rather Smith plays in the AHL and gets 1st line minutes than play in the NHL and gets 3rd line minutes at this stage in his young career.

I love the way White is playing as well. I think everyone knew that we needed help defensively. When you change from a offensive team to a defensive one, there are sacrifices that need to be made. White has been key in this turnaround for the Wings. He leads by example, and I love his physical style of D. In fact, he was a bargain pickup for the Wings. A lot better bargain than a few other defenseman that were signed in the off season for $5-$7 million per season.

I didn't have this injury, but there is a friend of mine who is a grinding forward who hurt himself in high school that had almost a carbon copy injury his senior year. He was centered the second or third line. After he came back, he was just as fast as he was before the injury. The problem is that until it heals fully, you are constantly feeling that you have to test it. My friend said he came back too soon, and he spent 2-3 weeks playing tenative hockey instead of getting his nose dirty like he used to before the injury. Fast forward to today, he is playing club hockey down in Chicago. In short, it isn't like a knee injury. The key is to make sure you are healed 100% before you come back.

The problem is "perceived" interference. You could put 10 refs out there to see that play and I bet that 5 or 6 of them wouldn't call interference on that. This is why every goal that is scored and waived off due to goalie interference needs to be reviewed. You can't leave it up to the ref to make that call. Course, today, it looks like the ref was right on that interference on Howard. Gotta wonder how Toronto would have ruled.

This.... Course, there were instances where Homer never interfered with the goalie and a goal was called back. I bet if you got 10 other refs to see this situation, maybe 4 of them call goalie interference. Its all based on human perception. I firmly believe if a goal is waived off due to goalie interference, then Toronto should have the final say on that. Instead, it always goes to the ref. This is a flaw in the system.

We need Baghdad Bob to start announcing our Red Wings games.

Everything is OK in Red Wing nation. The Ducks will not defeat us. Keep the faith!

This.... The Wings will play better. They have too much talent on this team not to play better. Keep the faith everyone.

I can understand getting pissed while the game is going on. Hell, I was fuming. Whats the point of staying pissed off after the game is over? Let me give you a hint, there is nothing you can do with all that pent up frustration and anger after the game is over. Being pissed off all the time while not offering any intelligent thoughts or opinions other than "f*** this team" offer nothing in terms of intelligent hockey conversation. Offer some suggestions as to how they can get better. Would you propose a trade? Would you propose bringing up Nyquist again?

I used to have season tickets to the Griffins for the last three years. The last two years it was unwatchable hockey. I got Gamecenter live this year instead.