Nightfall

I am not surprised to be honest. I was more surprised at the Ryan Clowe penalty that wasn't called when he reached over the boards and stopped the puck with his stick in the middle of the play. That was so blatant it isn't even funny. This incident was Smith was insignificant, but if I saw it, I would call it. Instant replay didn't show very much though. Would have been an interesting coaches challenge.

Ok, I am game. My definition and attitude towards fandom have changed through the years. Before, I always thought a fan was someone who supported the team through thick and thin. Now, I believe a fan is someone who enjoys watching said team. No more, no less. Lets face facts here, we all want to say we are going to be fans of the Wings for life. Things change. Teams change. In another 20 years, this team may be the dead things again. Then most of us will go elsewhere and be fans of other teams. Some may stick around through the thin times, but I don't blame anyone who won't support a team that has a major downturn. I know many Chicago fans that stopped supporting the Blackhawks because of what the previous owners were doing to the team. The blackouts, bad business decisions, and really just giving a big middle finger to the fans was a tough pill to swallow. Many just abandoned the Blackhawks and supported other teams. When the owner passed away and his son took over, he made major changes that brought the fans back. These days, fandom isn't forever. People change. Sports clubs change. We all won't be Wings fans for life. Some of us may stick with the team, but I don't have an issue with people moving on from one team to support another. Be a fan of whatever team you would like. Support the right team with your time and money. Thats what it all comes down to.

Or because I support the refs more often than I am against them? No to either of those. I just prefer to discuss hockey and the red Wings in a more constructive light with members who know what they are talking about. This forum, sadly, has jumped the shark.

I already did. Why do you think I haven't been back in a while?

If it was just this I would be ok with that. It is every little thing though and its just about all negative. Holland is a joke. Smith sucks. Erickson sucks. Babcock should be fired. Tank it! On and on it goes. The record gets played so much here it is getting old. Part of the reason why I went elsewhere and why I will keep my visits sporadic.

I just imagine the forum members that are all negative as people like Greedo or the guy who got the death sentence on 12 systems. At least the positive forum members here don't end up dead. They just walk out like Han Solo did after shooting Greedo. Usually headed off to greener pastures.

This is part of the reason why I went elsewhere. This place really has turned into Mos Eisley Spaceport of Wings fans.

Heck, I am starting Mrazek for the playoffs if its my choice. The kid is a winner at every level he has played at. If the Wings are going to crash and burn this year like 90% of LGW members think they are, may as well put Mrazek in so he can learn a tough lesson about the playoffs and come back stronger next season.

Other analysts agree with me. So who is right here? Answer: Who gives a crap. The result is in the books. Keep bitching about the bad goal all you want and siding with analysts that you agree with. Jimmy Howard has a lot to play for in these playoffs. In his time here in Detroit, he has only advanced to the 2nd round 1 time. All other times have been 1st round exits. Now, its a "put up or shut up" year IMHO. I would focus more on that personally than a deflected shot that Jimmy would have stopped if it didn't go off of his own defenseman's stick 15 feet in front of the goal.

There are spaces all around a goalie that it could have went through. I suppose if it went upstairs on him you would have asked why he wasn't standing up. Either that or if it deflected far side you would have asked why he didn't come out more. Or if it deflected short side and beat him you would have asked why he wasn't flush to the post. So many possibilities.

Yea, I know. The one nice thing about playing/reffing hockey for the last 20 years is that I never turned into a "armchair fan". I think a lot of fans critical of players, goaltending, or coaching would be a lot more understanding if they played the sport at least at the rec league level.

Deflections are the hardest thing to stop or predict by a goalie. Thats a fact.

Deflection off Quincey's stick. I can't fault Howard for that one.

What a dumbass. At least no one is blaming the refs.

Yea, Willie Mitchel wasn't a huge point producer, but he was a heart and soul kind of guy that really brought things together for them. I was surprised they didn't resign him, but now that you mention it, the cap hurt them. I still don't think that losing Voynov would have made that much of a difference if Richards and Gaborik would have produced like they thought they would.

I remember reading a great article on someone who took the top 8 teams in each division and examined their records against each other and found that it was pretty much a draw when it comes to the overall record, goals scored, goals against, etc. This was to eliminate the "bad teams" from skewing the results. I agree at first glance it seems that the West is better than the East. It would only appear that way though. The Wings were 17-3-3 against the West back in March at one point.

Voynov was a blow that is for sure. What else hurt them was the fall of Mike Richards who has only netted 15 points this season and I believe they sent him down to the minors. Still, Jake Muzzin has been really good this year for them. He really picked up the slack for the loss of Voynov. Kopitar is having another great season. Carter is a little off pace but still good. Jon Quick and Martin Jones were a bit better last year than this year. I think that a lot of people thought that Williams was going to have a better season and that Gaborik was going to be a lot better than he was as well. If that and Voynov was in the lineup, maybe the Kings would be in the middle of the pack this year.

I think its funny that before the season started, everyone was propping the Kings up on the pedestal saying that they were the team to beat this year. Now, if you look at the standings, the Kings have only a 21.6 percent chance to make it in. If they make it in, are they still the favorites even if its by the skin of their ass? What constitutes a favorite in the playoffs? Past playoff performance? Health of the team? How hot they are coming into the playoffs? Puck luck? The Wings are banged up a bit with Dats obviously not playing at 100% and Abdelkader and Franzen out with injuries. That doesn't play into their favor. What does play into their favor is that for the first 3/4 of the season, the Wings were a great team. Before the trade deadline, the Wings were sitting pretty. Since then, they have struggled to put things together. The keys to winning the Stanley Cup come down to the same things every year. 1. Health - Is your team healthy? I think Tampa Bay and Montreal learned this lesson last year when their goalies went down with injury last year. Tampa Bay lost in 4 straight. 2. Hot goaltending - Regular season doesn't mean a lot here. Can your goalie make clutch saves when it counts? 3. Puck luck - Can you get the puck to bounce favorably for you more often than it bounces against you? If it bounces against you, do you have the mental fortitude to overcome it? 4. Special teams - Can your team capitalize on the PP and keep the puck out of the net on the PK? 5. The hero factor - Some players just step up at playoff time. Does your team have a hero? I don't know if the Wings are going to be a first round exit or not. What I can say is that we have had lower seeded teams like the Kings winning the Cup or the Oilers going to the finals. The cup teams last year were the 6th place Kings vrs the 5th place Rangers. In short, if you get in, anything can happen. Your team can catch fire, players find a whole new level, and with some luck you can win a series. No one knows how a team is going to do and that is why I love the NHL playoffs. The Wings may in fact be headed for a first round exit just based on the health of the overall team right now. However, their PP has been lethal all year and their PK has been good as well. I am really eager to see if players like Tatar will take another step and become a playoff beast this year.

No Phaneuf please. Lets bring the kids up and keep promoting our prospects. Phaneuf isn't worth 7 million a season. You pay 7 million a season for an elite defenseman.

I like the points the way they are today. The parity in the league is incredible and I love the play of the teams on the bubble down the stretch.

With Howard under contract, I highly doubt this will happen. If anything, McCollum will sign elsewhere with a team he can get a chance in the NHL with but he will spend a lot of time in the AHL if he gets his shot and misses.

One thing is for sure. He isn't going to get a shot at playing in the NHL down in the AHL racking up great numbers. If we don't give him that opportunity, he will get it elsewhere.

Its time to give Mrazek a chance to carry the team, and its also time to see what happens when it comes to Howard. He isn't a top 5 goalie in the league, but he is still a good netminder. His career numbers carry a .916 save percentage and a 2.42 GAA. I really believe that Mrazek can equal or exceed those numbers, but I am not willing to bet the farm on him until he gets a full season under his belt. Keep Mrazek as the #1 through the playoffs this year and next year. Keep Howard as the backup. Have them compete against each other. Evaluate as needed.

He had a great career and his efforts helped deliver a cup to Detroit. That cup win alone should give Wings fans a moment of perspective on the career of this man. Without him, we probably wouldn't have won the cup that year.

Babcock just tells Pierre a bunch of useless information. He knows like every hockey fan knows that Pierre is useless and carries no credibility. I thought everyone here at LGW knew that already though.