gcom007

While some, if not all of us (ha...) might not mind if Lebda were to go on LTIR, it was probably a good call to not fight. I'm not an anti-fight guy, but we've just had too many injuries due to guys fighting that shouldn't be fighting in the last few years. In games like this where we're getting whipped a bit is when you see it so I just don't like seeing an excess of fights especially when it's guys that shouldn't be fighting.

Last time I checked our defense is 8th in the league. What's our team GAA? Rafalski also saved Lidstrom and Howard's ass after Lids gave it up in the first on that breakaway by getting back and stifling Koivu. Raf's never been a defensive wonder, but he's not near the liability some make him out to be and he'll keep helping our offense down the stretch. Both he and Lids still contribute offensively. Lidstrom's also 5th on our team in scoring and Rafalski's 6th. Maybe you'd like to see more scoring of goals from them, but they're certainly as involved as anyone at producing goals. But hey, keep cherry-picking your facts and make your little perfect truth pie and be happy, though ultimately wrong.

Flip would score in this game after we busted his chops...well good for him. I wish him no ill at all, but I'm still not hopping on any bandwagons. The day he's the answer to our scoring needs is an ugly one and I still expect him to be a smidge above a .5 point per game player when this season ends, mostly assists. Defensive forward. Nothing wrong with that, but he's always going to be an inconsistent scorer. P.S. Rough goal to let in as soon as we get a goal...that's the game there.

Osgood doesn't need to get going. He hasn't been playing his best, but he hasn't been playing poorly either. This argument is tired and it really makes no sense. Again, we're not losing many games because of goaltending. We didn't lose to Chicago because of Osgood (who still posted a save % in the .900's against one of the best teams in the league). He didn't play his best game and the 3rd goal was really soft, but at the end of the day, we didn't score a single goal and go watch the 3rd again if you think Osgood really played a lousy game overall. Howard's outplaying Osgood especially if you're just going by numbers, but we're not losing games because of goaltending. That's the bottom line. It's not worth it to have such an unbalanced goaltending situation right now when that's the case. When you know Osgood is your playoff starter, it's beyond stupid to have him sitting for six games straight. He's lucky if he gets one start a week lately. That's just stupid. Again, look at tonight. Howard had a s***ty first period but we're ultimately losing because we still haven't scored a goal. We'll get the scoring going as we get guys back, but opening the doors to problems with both goalies down the stretch the way it's going now.

There are a lot of people on Wall Street who think the same way; in government too... Maybe it's simply because I spent four years as an economics and history double-major (before changing to music of all things...), but that was the first example that came to mind. If there's one thing I've learned in life thus far, it's that balance is important. When things are going well, it's easy to think "hey, let's just ride this out" without thinking about the inevitable rebound in the other direction. The same can be said for when things are going bad. It's easy to get anxious to want to get out of a s*** spot and try to cheat your way out as opposed to learning from the situation and growing back stronger. We live in a society that is infinitely more focused on immediate, short run results as opposed to long run results. It'd be alright if not for the fact that the short run stuff is all incredibly volatile and meaningless in terms of giving an accurate insight into the actual value of something or someone. Only time tells that, and it takes time to develop strong people and products that are built for careers. These principles reign true in sports, business, relationships, whatever. And when you get real focused on the short run, it's easy to miss important details. For example, it's clear that while Howard's goaltending certainly helps, what makes or breaks this team is scoring. It's also clear that despite his strong numbers, he still has many notable weaknesses present in his game, most notably rebound/puck control and he's also caught out of position too often. But the numbers are good and we need wins more than we have before, so who cares about the fact that goalies aren't losing or really winning us games? And who cares that we could be setting Howard up to fail by putting too much pressure on him early? Why do so many goalies start out so strong in this league only to fizzle away almost as soon as they arrive? Because they start out too fast with too much pressure. It's incredibly easy to be a flash in the pan type of goalie when too much is put on you early on. The same can be really said of any skater out there too, though it's particularly true with goalies as their games are so much reliant on strong mental development. So you say you want Howard here in 5 years? I'd like that too. I honestly am not convinced yet that he will be for a number of reasons, and most of them have to do with the way he's been played this season. I think it's too much pressure too fast and I think for as well as he's playing, he's being given too many chances to get into a slump which is not something he needs to be dealing with as a rookie. I've discussed it again and again in this thread so I won't get into it again, but you can easily find a clear explanation of why I think it's unwise to start Howard so much so early. One reason I haven't discussed yet as it pertains to his long-term plans with the team has to do with contracts. He's a rookie and he's starting like crazy and doing well. If he keeps playing well, he'll get signed again for a bit and it'll be fine. But will he be a Chris Osgood in a few years who plays for "team" money? Especially if another guy comes in and gets hot for awhile and Babcock starts playing games with him. What's to stop him from going to a team offering more money and a bigger role? Not much if you don't build them up slow. Hell, what's to stop him from pricing himself out of a reasonable contract with us after one good year? Do you really want to pay a 26 year old goalie who's had a shaky development $3 million-plus per year after his rookie season, knowing full well how often goalies lose their edge in this league and slip away? I sure don't. I really like what Howard's been doing and I'd love for him to be the next long-term Wings goalie, but I don't think he's getting set up for personal success let alone team or contract success the way things are going. Too much, too fast is never the right way to go about attaining long term success.

We're lucky to not be down 5-0 after that period. Hopefully they count their blessings and get their s*** together in the intermission.

I think we play better shorthanded tonight.

f***, stupid fight. This is the type of fight we get in that leads to injuries...Janik should feel lucky for that ending after last year.

Ha... That's all I'll say. Wait, fine... How many points does Flip have since his return? Flip makes good defensive plays consistently. He consistently comes up short on offense. That's not an insult to Flip if you have reasonable expectations for him...

No way. Did you see the Toronto 5-1 loss? That was beyond abyssmal...this is rough but still manageable.

Good play by Rafalski there!

Yeah, Bertuzzi saved a goal by taking a penalty and Lids just made a save himself. Howard's puck control is rough tonight, but the team's made more than a few sloppy plays too...

Surprised that got called. Lucky for us I guess...

Good penalty. That's a goal if Bertuzzi didn't take it. Howard's not handling the puck well tonight at all.

First goal was poor puck control by Howard but the play absolutely shouldn't have happened in the first place. Second goal should've been stopped and frozen well before the scramble developed. I'm surprised one of the first shots didn't go in. But what the hell do people expect from this guy? He's a rookie and he's been playing real solid. This is his sixth straight start. s*** happens. I'm certainly not down on the guy, all the more so considering he's a rookie. But this continues to amplify my distaste for Babcock's goalie management issues...

No. If they're going to play this guy like a starter and if this is a learning season, this is the start of a lesson he just may need to learn. Hopefully he locks it up but he needs more time to feel this kind of pressure no matter how he responds.

Let's see how he does down the stretch. I've always loved Holmstrom and he's played well this year, but he has played relatively well in the beginning of the year the last few years only to finish slow and be non-existent in the playoffs. If he stays healthy down the stretch and continues to contribute, I'd certainly think it'd be good to bring him back. But I think this is a summer decision for Ken but even more so for Holmstrom. If they win the Cup this year, he might want to go out on top especially if his body isn't all there. I don't imagine he'll sign anything more than 1-year deals from here on out though if he signs any more at all, and I'd guess that they'd ring up at around $1.5-2 million/season. Any way it goes though, enjoy this guy while he's around and doing well. He's been one of the most fun guys to have around for awhile now and he's definitely on the tail end of his career.

I've heard mixed things, and I'd certainly keep my keys out of the ignition. From what I've gathered knowing a few cops, I get the feeling that they wouldn't be likely to raise hell if they caught you sleeping it off in a car though. It's certainly not the best idea, but I think it's a far better option than driving. Unless you run into a real dick, I'd guess that the worst thing that would happen is that they'd take you to the station and throw you in the drunk tank for the night and send you on your way in the morning. Again, there are definitely dick cops out there with agendas that will try to screw everyone, but there are a lot of good cops out there too who will appreciate the fact that you're not stupid enough to head out on the road. They don't want to deal with the mess or screw anyone over any more than we want to get screwed. So if you're trying to take as much of a high road as you can in a s*** situation, there's a good chance you're not going to get screwed. But you know, a simpler solution would be to just make sure you have a DD or keep the drinking down. Or suck it up and call a taxi or friend. Just don't get on the road...

The only thing scarier than that is that DUI's are becoming more common and thus people are taking them more lightly. While the fines are already high and the potential to do jail time there, I certainly wouldn't be opposed to both matters increasing, though jail time is really a drain on the system in many ways. Maybe they ought to raise the fines and if people don't have the cash, send them to jail on a work release and string them up on the roads fixing potholes. The roads here in Michigan could sure use some more everyday maintenance in addition to the incessantly closed highways...

That's really too bad for Chelios and his family. It's never easy making mistakes under a spotlight. Sure, the bottom line is that he brought it on himself, but people make mistakes. Fortunately for most of us, when we screw up it doesn't get printed in the paper. It's sad to read that these people do dumb things, but it's really just as sad if not more sad that celebrities mistakes are exploited for profit by the media. I'll say it again though, since it's the main issue here: drinking and driving is a stupid thing to do. I'm not saying it to vilify anyone, especially Chelios. He's learning the hard way now. Many of us enjoy going out and having a few drinks, but drinking and driving is just a stupid thing to do, no matter how unreasonable you might think the legal level to be at this point. I'm not always a fan of the government getting too involved in our lives, but on this issue it's simple to see that it's just a stupid thing to do, so I do hope they keep cracking down on people. And for the love of creation, DO NOT drink and drive down Woodward in Bloomfield Hills (or anywhere in Bloomfield Hills...) if you have any desire to stay out of jail. I've known more than a few people who made such a stupid decision and the judge in the area is as harsh as they come. You will do jail time, 30 days likely at the very least and you'll pay all the fines they can possibly impose on you. Just don't be stupid. Sleep in your damn car if you have to. It's not worth the mess you bring on yourself and it's not worth the risk you impose on others.

That's easily one of the stupidest articles I've read, even considering that it's written by a FAN on a fan website. So typical though of the countless nitwits that know far too well how to blow their horn all year long about how horrid of a goalie Osgood is before blowing their load over how great he is once the playoffs role around. And the guy is utterly and completely out of his mind in suggesting that Osgood's playoff performances have been boosted by the offensive-heavy teams in front of him. Did he watch any games last year or follow our team at all? Perhaps I should send this guy my HD recordings of the entire playoff run, as I have little doubt that he either didn't watch any games or is just as stupid as he sounds. Or maybe both. There's a very, very, very good reason why nearly every media outlet talking hockey at the time expected Osgood to win the Conn Smythe Trophy if the Wings had won the Cup. Hell, he even took s*** a few years ago when Hasek was around and Osgood was an All Star too... It doesn't really bother me on any sort of emotional level, and I know it doesn't bother Osgood. But none the less, I'm still forever flummoxed by how ridiculous people can be when assessing, or perhaps more accurately, vilifying Osgood. You won't find me suggesting that he had a great regular season last year as he blatantly was terrible until the last month or so, but that really was the exception season. I know plenty of you will argue, but it's the same old crap as it's always been. It never made sense before and it doesn't make sense now. I've got two things to say, and as always, quote me on it when it counts. 1) Osgood will dominate once again in the playoffs and you all will be kissing his ass and championing him to the heavens, at least so long as our offense scores enough goals to win. (I think we'll be fine...) Quote me on that one in June. 2) Osgood will eventually be heralded and appreciated for all that he's done in his career. It's going to take a good five years most likely though after he retires before the most fervent of you wise up and see how lucky we've had it. Quote me on it when the day comes. I don't know when it will be, but I assure you, the day will come. No one ever wants to give Osgood his due. It's nothing new, and it's always silly. He only gets let off the hook in the playoffs when winning really matters and for a few months, people get realistic about how valuable he is and has been to this team. In the regular season when it's not really "do or die," it's a lot easier to hate Osgood and beg for the other guy to start. But when it counts, you little people always come around for the ride. Same as it ever was...

We'll be fine. The fact that we're in the hunt with this many guys down is incredibly encouraging to me. We're only halfway through the season after all and we're only going to get better. But I still think Flip's presence is mostly inconsequential to our offensive output. He's a guy who helps on D, but he's not a consistent offensive threat no matter who he plays with.

It's going to take a lot longer than four years to make me forget how utterly furious he made me when he named Manny effing Legace the starter in October. That was just one of the stupidest moves I've ever seen a coach make and I was saying it all along. Everyone loved to love Legace (sans me) but the guy doesn't have what it takes to win when it counts. It's pathetic that he let OCTOBER of all months dictate his playoff starter with a career hack like Legace. Utterly mind-blowing...

No offense, but why are you bothering to argue with him? I appreciate your perspective and the time you take to back your stance up, but some people aren't worth the time...

This is really more of a general statement than one pointed at the goaltending, but I think people are overly concerned with the "making the playoffs" issue. We're still halfway in and we're still right there in the fight. Sure, it's definitely a more important matter than in years past, but there's a lot of hockey left to be played this year and we're going to get better and healthier down the stretch. That will translate to winning more games as we actually start scoring more goals. Kronwall and Franzen's returns will be huge for this team, as will Z's obviously, though I consider that a lesser injury due to length of time out. How it relates to the goaltending? Well, I personally don't think Osgood is going to jeopardize our chances of winning any more than Howard. Howard's played well, Osgood's played well. They've both had some rough games and rough goals. Osgood's not letting in enough goals this year to screw us over even if Howard is playing better. At the end of the day, if this team scores 2-3 goals, we can win games with either of our goalies. I think it'd be smarter to have a more balanced rotation. Give a guy a couple starts then give the next guy a couple starts, but get these guys playing 5 games each for every 10 games. Osgood will need more consecutive starts towards the end to really get ready for the playoffs. So I guess I'm saying I don't think the "making the playoffs" thing matters in regards to our goaltending and defense for that matter. Goals against isn't our issue no matter who's in net. We just need to start scoring more and we're going to win most of our games.