Nightfall

I guess to most wings fans, if the goalie isn't centered to the shot, even on a nifty passing play to an uncovered player, its failure on the goalie. Maybe Howard should call Nicholas Cage and ask him how he got that nifty power in the movie "Next". I guess being able to see the future is the key.

He came out to take the open player and cut the angle off. I think he played that pretty well considering. The D has to cover that open man in the slot.

The Wings D has to play better. Too many chances in the slot by uncovered players.

Wow, you are going to blame that on the goalie? Seriously? That has to be the dumbest post in this thread so far.

I know everyone here refers back to the 2001-2002 season when the Wings had a talent laden roster, but in case anyone forgets, the Wings won only 1 of their last 10 games. In a stretch at the beginning of December, they only won 1 out of 7 games. Every team goes through rough stretches. The Canucks won only 2 of 7 games when the season started. They are in first place today. The Wings are going to dig themselves out of this mess. They are going to get hot again and all will be good in LGW world. Right now though, they have a lot to work through.

Welcome to the world of goaltending. In every game, there are rebounds where you have no idea where they went, and your defense has to be there for you in critical situations. The one thing I noticed about this game is that the defense did a good job at making the game predictable for Jimmy. Keep the shots to the outside, cover the man on the opposite side, the Wings did a pretty good job all night. The first goal was an uncovered player on the far side. Second goal was a perfect top corner shot. Otherwise, Jimmy did his job by keeping his team in the game and his D did a good job as well. Good win by the Wings.

Just based on reading these posts, I am glad that Ken Holland is in charge.

Its probably less about Karma and more about dumb luck, but this is why I don't gloat when another player gets hurt. I am not a huge fan of Malkin, but being as that I am a superstitious guy, I would never get all giddy when someone like that gets hurt. Especially with the injury issues the Wings have faced over the course of the last two years.

Karma is a *****. That being said, when Franzen went down with a knee injury last year, fans of the Wings got upset while fans of other teams gloated. Just seems that karma bites the Pens this time around. In the end, I hope he returns. He is a skilled player and hopefully will be in the NHL for a long time to come.

Goalies on terrible teams are going to shine more than goalies on great teams because of the sheer amount of chances they have against them. I have made more highlight reel saves against awesome teams because of all the chances they get to score. It doesn't make me superhuman though. I do have to admit that you are right on one count though. Howard does have to make a big save or two in every game. Yes, blown coverages are going to happen. Its the goaltender that can make that big save or two that bolsters the confidence of the team in front of him. Howard was lights out last season in the last 25 games. He needed to be and the Wings rallied around that. In the playoffs though, he didn't deliver his best games which was concerning. As you say before, I am not blaming every goal on Howard like 75% of the LGW forum members do, but that is what I tire of to be honest. The LGW members are considered to be true fans of the Wings and the game of hockey. In the last few years, this has not been my experience. Most of them are quick to jump all over the players if they make a mistake or the goaltender for every goal that goes in. Be damned if the goal was scored by an uncovered player on the other side of the net, a tip, or a deflection he had no chance to stop. Excellent analogy though. Thanks for your well thought out response.

When 4 of the 5 goals were scored due to defensive breakdowns and blown coverages, its hard to fault Howard. Speaking from experience, when my team plays well in front of me and keeps the shots to the outside, I can pitch a shutout or keep them to 1 or 2 goals scored. When my team plays poorly, it can be 6 goals allowed easy. This is why Ken Holland invests so much into his defensive core. The goaltender is the last line of defense. The defense is there to make sure it doesn't come to that. The armchair fans in this forum and other hockey boards really have got to get out there and play the game. Aside from that, the Wings didn't play their best game. Big deal. In the course of a season, teams are going to go through highs and lows. The Wings are solid at the top of the division and with an injured group of players that are coming back now. Be patient. Give it time. Still 32 games to go until playoffs.

Yup, he should be out covering the open man his defense should have had and not cover the guy that could get an easy wraparound goal.

Why is the defense not covering that guy? WTF?

Yea, I saw that in the movie Gattaca. Maybe Howard will do the same thing.

OMG! HOWARDS FAULT! TIP IN FRONT! HE SHOULD HAVE THAT ONE. /sarcasm The Wings have got to tighten up defensively.

Apparently, there is only one other person watching the game. The rest of the LGW forum members are listening on the radio or just spouting nonsense.

Guy "The Flower" Lafleur

I think its going to come less down to this and more down to who needs goaltending help and for a CHEAP price. The salary cap hit is less than a half million for the rest of the season. This for a guy who took his team to the conference finals last year. His numbers are solid. Hell, some backups get paid more than Nabby is going to be getting paid. My bet is that he won't clear waivers. Someone will take him that needs the help in goal.

As has been pointed out above, the fans should be holding players accountable across the board. Not just on players they "hate". If you are going to hold Claude accountable and not forgive, that is fine. The same could be said about Dino and Chelios as well since they did the same things when they were players. There are these kinds of players in every sport. Look at Bill Romanowski when he played for the Broncos and spit in the faces of players or broke fingers when he was at the bottom of a pile struggling to get a ball back. You love these players if they are on your team, and you hate them if you play against them. Just look at how much respect Chelios and Dino get on this forum for instance. Yet, no one wants to mention their past transgressions. Does your attitude change when you see the video or hear about Dino trying to take Richardson's face off with his stick? Probably not, but it should if you are going take the same attitude with Claude. I hold no one accountable over what happens on the ice. What happens on the ice, stays on the ice.

Same could be said of any professional athlete. There are a rare few that play for the people. Many of them play for the money or for love of the game. To many, fans are just a means to get a paycheck.

What happens on the ice, stays on the ice. Most hockey fans would be wise to remember that. That it something that all hockey players are taught from drop in and rec leagues all the way up to the pros. Sure, I hated Colorado and Lemieux, but if I met Claude in public today I would shake his hand out of respect more than anything. Hockey players are warriors and deserve our respect, no matter if they were hated rivals.

Every announcer in any sport is captain obvious and will defend their team to the death. There are people out there that say that Ken and Mick are nuttier than a squirrel turd under an oak tree when they hear their announcing on Gamecenter Live. I could say the same thing about a number of annnouncers and color commentators. Point is that every home fan is going to relate to their home announcers. Pierre favors Pittsburg? Please. Thats about as lame as the arguments I heard that ESPN favors the Avalanche back in the days when Detroit and Colorado were duking it out just because they paid a couple compliments to them. I favor Ken and Mick too, but I am not expecting every other announcing team to favor the Red Wings.

I think the same could have been said for Stevie when he took over in Tampa. Many people have proclaimed that he would fail just because he didn't have the experience being a GM. Pierre has won two Stanley cups in Pittsburg as an assistant coach and scout. He may be a great GM. I doubt it as well, but he just might be. Gotta give the guy a shot. I wouldn't do it though.

Actually there are 2 real questions. Will his number be retired by the Wings? Will he be enshrined in the HOF? I say yes to both. Only 9 other goaltenders has made it to 400 wins. Its a huge milestone, and with 3 cups under his belt, I can easily see him getting in the HOF and his jersey being retired by the Wings.

Hehe, Ozzie is seeing more rubber than a $2 hooker and the Micheline Man combined.