gcom007

Again, I get what everyone's saying and I don't really disagree. I'm not trying to suggest that he's screwed now that Datsyuk's back or that we should be overly concerned about a 4-game goalless streak. If we could, why don't we not get too hung up on Nyquist in particular as even if he is affected by the factors I've been thinking about, it doesn't have too much to do with the bigger point. I wish I had left it out at this point as people have zeroed in on that alone. The bigger question I'm pondering is how good it is for some of these kids that can obviously play at an NHL level to stay in the AHL for so long. Instead of making the team out of camp and having a more natural progression into the NHL, they're oftentimes thrown into the fire mid-season into unusual circumstances, and quite often, they do a real good job of filling in. It's easy to imagine them being motivated to make an impact, and they're likely already overly ripe, and there's just a different kind of pressure that you deal with when you're a call up as opposed to a regular coming out of camp. But as many of our younger players have learned, learning to play a steady NHL game and building off that is something that takes more time. What worries me is that the expectations get set too high based on a limited and unique period of time and when it comes time to become a regular, it ends up being just another thing hanging over their head when they're trying to adjust to just being an NHL regular. It just seems to me based on what we've seen the last couple of years, that we have a better NHL team built from players that we've traditionally deemed not yet NHL-ready, and maybe we ought to start getting some of these guys into the lineup sooner and do so coming right out of camp. Sure, they might now see as many minutes as they'd see in the NHL, but NHL minutes might be more valuable to development ultimately, and again, maybe they're a lot more ready than we've typically thought anyways. The process allows them to grow into a role in a more natural way, adjust to playing on a team that isn't patched together due to injuries, and most likely avoids players getting frustrated playing in the minors when they know they're ready to be playing in the NHL. Side benefit: less room for the old hacks Holland can't seem to help but sign... But all that said, I don't think it's healthy for a guy to come up to fill in for an injured player, have a great run, and then when they should just be focusing on getting an NHL career off the ground, have to deal with feeling the need to keep up with the newly minted expectations, forged during an unusual period of time. I don't think it does players any favors mentally, and I think it may be a big reason why we often see young guys struggle once they get elevated to being an NHL regular. You know, it's broader than hockey really, because I don't think many would say it's good to have too much success too early in most areas of life. You're not as fit to deal with the kind of pressure it invites and you end up struggling with the details you need to be picking up along the way that help you build a stronger foundation. There's just something about early success that has a way of haunting many people, no matter how smart or gifted they may be. It almost always comes as an anomaly, and anomalies are hard to reproduce. I could very well be wrong, but again, from what I've seen the last few years, any way you shake it, I think it's high time we start letting some of our kids do more of their "ripening" in the NHL, and perhaps the Wings management needs to adjust their values for how "ripe" players are, and you know, perhaps acknowledge that the frustration some of these guys may experience staying in the AHL too long does them no favors either. After all, as you develop, you need bigger challenges to continue growing. And in the end, there's that glorious side benefit of less room for so many old hacks that have clearly become worthless parts of the team in too many cases.

Try to bear in mind that I'm not trying to overreact to Nyquist not scoring in a few games. That's less the point than wondering if these kids would be better served getting a shot at the NHL earlier than they do, coming out of camp with a healthy team, as opposed to spending perhaps too much time in GR only to get thrust into the NHL when guys get hurt for extended periods of time. The approach you're going to have and expectations are going to be different, and if you come up and shine fast, those expectations can get raised, perhaps too much so and well before you've really had time to adjust to the team and to the NHL. I have wondered about this sort of thing for many years now with other guys that have come through the system, it's just all the more in focus the last two years as we really have had to ride the Griffins to the playoffs. Nyquist isn't such a one-dimensional player like Franzen and tends to always be skating harder and faster, so I don't think we'll have to worry about that even if he doesn't become a scoring force. And I would say that if there's any truth to my concerns about the way these guys develop, he should make the Red Wings out of camp next year and start developing in the NHL in a smaller role and let him work into a bigger role if he can. Don't thrust it on him all at once because you're in a desperate situation. I think in general though, our kids have been making a major case for Holland changing up the way he does things. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Exactly.

Last time we played Pittsburgh in the playoffs, we had Lidstrom neutralizing Crosby. That's the one factor at play here that worries me about the Pens. I feel like they're a team that can be beat, but it's going to be very, very hard for this team. Nyquist, Franzen, Tatar and Legwand are going to have to really contribute to the scoring, because Datsyuk is going to likely get tasked with staying on Crosby at all times.

I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not because it's tough to keep track of who you hate, though it's usually most of the guys. But in an effort to try and take the idea seriously for the sake of a point, I would agree with you in other years, but I'm really not sure Cleary has much left in his tank at this point. I've never hated the guy like some here, and I agree that he has potential to be clutch and out-battle the odds to be a factor in some big games, but I have a hard time believing his knees will be up to the task this year. And is he really coming back? I thought they said a week ago or so that he wasn't even close...?

Pull the magic cork.

That little speech he made really set him straight...

It's winnable without Z. It'll have to be too as I don't think he could or should rush back.

Don't even care. Huge "win" for us. Can't wait to see these guys again next week.

Wow. That was a save. Alfie's kicking himself for assuming he could slide that one in no doubt. And man, I really don't like Crosby.

If Gus could find a way to stay healthy enough long enough to start working on other parts parts of his game, he might be able to find a way to be a decent starter. But who would really know because he just can't stay healthy for extended stretches it seems.

I don't know why I like him, maybe it's just that he's blunt and finds a way to be mildly entertaining instead of just coming off as a total ass like some of the other NBC guys. Maybe it's just that he irritates me the least typically on these NBC broadcasts.

Wow, Gus, wow. Gotta give the guy credit for theatrics at the very least.

I like Jeremy Roenick, I really do, call me crazy, but I really want to hear what he has to say after emphatically saying it was all over for us a month ago.

PLAYOFFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe I'm writing that. As much as I believed it, it's still shocking given all we've been through this year. Wow. Never been so excited for a tie!!! Oh yeah, there's still OT left...

I had a headache earlier and laid down to relax. Two hours later, I woke up and turned on the TV just before it became a 2-2 game. Poop. I'd be thrilled to lose to Pittsburgh in overtime though today. Thrilled.

Can some of us get carried away? Sure. Does he get more attention than other guys because he's as good as he is? Sure. But even as he's improved in these areas, does he still whine and dive far more than most players, let alone players of his class? Absolutely. He may not be as bad as he was, but he still carries himself on the ice like an entitled little punk. But as pissed as we are at Crosby about it, the league's lack of willingness to send him a message about some of these issues is just as bad if not worse. If the league weren't so desperate to have a star to parade around, he might've developed into a respectable competitor instead of simply being known as a whiny brat with skills.

Just got the NHL notification that Gillis is out. Just wanted to say... SHOCKER!!!

Interesting. As long as they don't think he'll do more damage, than good for him for fighting through it. Datsyuk at 70-75% is still far better than most NHLers and his overall play should improve as his conditioning improves. My only real concern with Datsyuk has been this injury becoming more of a long-term issue. We've gotten wins more consistently with Monster than Howard this year. The numbers don't lie on that one and Monster's got a much better record than Howard. Howard's been better lately, but given his overall season thus far, I wouldn't be betting on Howard being better for us tonight because he's more consistent. Either guy is likely going to lose this game with the way the D played. And let's not forget, rough as some of Gus's GAs were, he also made more than a few really great saves. It could've been worse given the frequency and level of defensive lapses in this game. And again, I think it was for the best that Howard got to sit this one out. He's just starting to string some solid play together; he doesn't need to be setup to fail right now.

What worried me was I noticed on at least a few occasions he was a bit slow to get up after going down. I get that he's going to need a week or so to be back in game shape, and he might be pushing a bit too hard right now relative to his conditioning level and lack of games lately, but it absolutely worries me to see him struggling to get back on his feet given that he's missed all this time because of a knee injury. It very well could be nothing, and I certainly hope it is; hopefully he's just winded. But if he's having to fight through pain just to get up, you have to worry how the grind is going to affect him moving forward and how easily one bad play could lead to a more major setback.

I absolutely do not think Datsyuk looked "fine." He wasn't bad by any stretch, but he wasn't close to "fine" relative to what Datsyuk's normal level of play is. As said above, I hope/think he's likely just adjusting, but there were a few plays that were a bit worrisome last night and tonight. He's said he's not 100%, which happens this time of year for lots of guys, but I really hope he doesn't do any more damage and push the situation towards and end that requires surgery.

I really hope he's just adjusting to playing again, but it hasn't looked too hot thus far. And however irrational it may be, sometimes I worry when we get guys like Dats back when our kids have been carrying the team. Having someone like him back in the lineup on paper absolutely should make you a better team, but I always worry about how it might affect the way some of the younger players approach playing. I wouldn't be shocked if all parties involved are having to adjust, and I hope that's the case. The only reason I started being okay with missing the playoffs is letting Dats stay off the ice and getting as healthy as possible without having to have setbacks or do more damage.

Terrible defense and not even close to good enough goaltending to make up for it. I don't think Gus played well, but it's hard to believe that Howard would've done much better the way the D played tonight, and I don't think it would've been good to subject him to this at this stage of the season given the struggles he's had. The way the D played, we were going to lose this game; they were just so incredibly sloppy. We should've been able to at least pull a point out of this one the way the team's been playing lately, but we really threw it away whenever we got the chance.

In slow-mo it looks like he moved to deflect it, at full speed, it looks like it was just part of the play. Sucks but probably the right call. What a way to waste a tremendous 3rd period effort here.

Wow. What a waste.