gcom007

What I find so entertaining is that this debate has been going on every year since Osgood's been back. Osgood has been done, washed up, terrible, and he's killed thousands of baby kittens too, every year since he's been back. Hell, it pretty much has gone like that one way or another somewhere in Detroit since 1994. Every year there's a new "reason" with more "compelling evidence" to suggest why he's washed-up and done. And you know, maybe he is done this year. It is bound to happen sometime. But based on how things have gone the last four years, I still find it enormously funny that so many people are always so quick, and dare I say, so eager, to count him out.

So I'm really the only one who questions Flips offensive abilities???

While I'm "flattered" at the suggest that I have some sort of sway around here, I find it somewhat unlikely that I am the reason people start bitching about him. And just as much, I am most certainly not the only one skeptical of his offensive abilities. And some of these people are hardly the types to just hate everyone. Honestly, that's just lazy thinking to suggest that. And I never said Flip isn't capable of being a solid 2nd line center necessarily. I absolutely don't think he's the right fit for the role on this team though, but that's more of a general thing anyways. He would do much better, and be a much more important player on a team lacking in two-way forwards. We are not lacking in that area by any means, especially at center with Helm, Draper, and those two other European guys that everyone kicks up such a fuss over. He's always going to be the 3rd line center in Detroit. Even if Pavs or Z wasn't here, he wouldn't last in Detroit as a second line guy. He doesn't score goals. As for the rest, same old, same old. We'll see. Like I've said, he's always been streaky. We'll see how it all holds up by seasons end. The only thing that will change my fundamental issue with Flip as a Wing is if he starts putting up goals to match his assist totals, especially considering that he's not a guy like Larionov who was simply a brilliant play-maker despite not scoring many goals. For the money he is making and the minutes he's getting, including power play minutes, I don't think 20 goals is an unreasonable expectation for the role he's in. Until he does that, I think he's overpaid and a redundant element of this team. I wish him no ill and I'd be thrilled to be wrong on any of this, but until then, in my mind he's not a benefit to this team considering his cap hit and lack of goals. He certainly doesn't hurt us by any means, but in a cap world, you need to be damn sure you've got the right pieces to the puzzle in place. "Wrong piece" does not equal "bad player," but I think they'd do well to address the issue if the right opportunity were to come up.

I agree about Williams. Despite my blatant distaste for him in the past, I've made every effort to be positive about his return. But at the end of the day, you've got to look at history and recognize that there's a real strong chance that he'll have spurts of production followed by extended scoreless-streaks. No one's seemed able to reach him before, so I don't have a ton of faith that it'll change this year. I've pondered the idea the last couple games of what that line might do with Williams centering. Considering Flip's been struggling on face-offs lately, maybe it wouldn't be such a horrible experiment to simply see what Williams might do in such a role. And another thing, overall production theories aside, it's also fair to say that Flip has been another guy who's shown a tendency towards streaky play. And while some like to note that his points have increased every year, his goal totals have been dropping. And then again, Miller. You can't knock the guy, but we still don't know much about him in general and it's quite likely that he could disappear as guys come back. I don't like it and again, I'm not trying to be negative, I just don't want to be unrealistic with my expectations either.

Serious or not, you're pretty much right. We've only had two lines this season that have really clicked for any significant period of time, those being Draper/Helm/Eaves and Bert/Datsyuk/Holmstrom. I'm not taking anything away from what they did tonight, but I still stand by what I said originally. I know LGW's can go from having the Wings winning the Stanley Cup to needing to rebuild from the ground up day to day, so I'm just saying, let's just wait and see...

I think tired may not be the best way to put it. Being tired and "worn out" can even mean different things. What concerned/concerns me about riding Howard so much is as much mental as it is physical. The physical certainly can play a role in it though, as if you are a bit more tired after a long starting stretch and you lose a tough game, it can weigh all the harder on the mind. I think that's what happened in Chicago. I think his head became unhinged a bit in that game, and he expressed more frustration than he's ever shown at himself after with that stick slam. He hasn't looked as confident in the face since, and even tonight on those goals, he looked a little shaky. Hopefully the win and the overall great effort by him will help him shake any head issues, but time will tell. The defense isn't giving him any help. And again, the reason why I think that's worth worrying about is quite frankly because he's a rookie. It's shaky territory to begin with, and the absolute biggest battle is the mental battle. Many, many goalies in this league have great rookie years only to crumble in subsequent years. When people say they got worn out or worn in the ground, I really don't think they mean physically. These guys are highly conditioned professional athletes and they're still young. It's a factor, but only for so long. But issues in the head can way far heavier for far longer. Some guys never figure out how to shake them. I just think it'd be a shame for that to happen to Jimmy after he's show so much potential this year. ***EDIT*** When I said he looked shaky, I meant in the face, in that he looked troubled and discouraged. While some were bothered by the quality of goals, I am not suggesting that, and I don't include myself in the group of those who were bothered at all.

I know a lot of people think a lot of things about Osgood, but does anyone honestly think he's oblivious to the ever-present negative fans? He's racked up nearly 400 wins in the NHL, most of them with Detroit. He's been banished and hated, then returned to find glory and become a hero, only to rinse and repeat the whole process again. Believe me, Osgood doesn't give a s*** at this point.

This is why so many people don't take the Fliplove crowd seriously. I'm one of the most vocal critics of Flip's offensive abilities, but I gave him credit for making a good play on that first assist because it was a good play. Does a good offensive play every so often make Flip into the player you slappies think he is? Not so much. And how about that second assist? Listen, I'm not saying they should take it off the score sheet, but can you honestly say that Flip made a great play on that goal? Being one of the two guys to touch the puck before a guy scores a goal does not necessarily mean you made a good play that lead to the goal at all, and Flip gets a lot of assists like that second assist. Again, I'm not trying to take any points away from him on the book, but all the same, it's silly to attach much value to points like that. And let's be clear, no one said anything bad about Flip tonight, but still you start gloating as if you're somehow "right" in the grand scheme of things now because he made one good play tonight and got a bonus assist. You guys clearly have no restraint, you're not objective and intentionally or not, you're just stirring the pot. I'm fine with arguing and debating if that's all you want to do; I obviously enjoy it on some level. But don't think for a second that you don't bring the negative rebuttals on yourselves while furthering the negative critiquing of Flip. By the way, I'm still waiting for all those goals that so many of you have talked about...

This was an ugly ass game and if not for good old "Goal Post," this could've been a loss. But it's a win. Mad props to Howard and his buddy "Goal Post" on a great game. He owns this one free and clear. This team will not be so lucky Sunday if they play like this. Still unbelievable that they keep making the same stupid mistakes.

Stuart has made how many saves tonight? I guess he's making up for Tuesday's, umm, rough showing... My heart is racing, is that healthy?

Tuesday couldn't possibly happen again. Seriously. ......

You've got to be kidding me. Unbelievable.

Wow........I'll take it, but let's not pull a Coyote special here...

Jimmy wants that one back no doubt, but he needs to stay positive. He's the only reason they're in this game at all. One thing I haven't liked lately from Jimmy is that things seem to have been getting to him more than when he was playing his best hockey. Confidence is so important for these guys. But the real shame here is that this damn team is to blame for it. He's a rookie and they're not helping him at all lately. While he's given them grief with rebounds that lead to scrambles, far too often they're just hanging him out to dry. This team is team needs balance.

My dad called me a few weeks ago with a story that kinda cracks me up. I guess he ran into the blind one while shopping in a shoe store in downtown Birmingham. And of course, he's blind, so shopping for shoes isn't exactly straightforward, and he ended up asking my dad for help in picking out shoes. Apparently he didn't seem to trust the employee's at all without getting my dad's opinion first. And he ended up purchasing exactly what my dad recommended. Other than that, he just commented on how utterly odd (not in regards to the blindness, just odd in general) yet pompous he was, particularly in how he came into the store and conducted himself. But he sure seemed to like and trust my dad...

No, though we'll likely see another off-season filled with guys coming and going. But it's not going to be a rebuild situation. Fitting in new pieces to the puzzle here and there, that's about it...

We're up 3-1, but can the Wings really be happy with how this game has gone? If not for Howard and his good friend "Goal Post," we could easily be losing this game. Still a lot of ugly mistakes being made, only tonight, we've gotten the breaks thus far.

Bad break for Kronwall there. Definitely wasn't an ugly play, just one of those weird one's...glad it's only a 2 minute penalty. Heaven knows what the refs would cook up in the NHL these days...

That's kinda my concern. I think I've avoided getting too attached to him given the circumstances in which we acquired him and the reality of the impending cap-issue. I've not nothing bad to say about the guy and whether he stays or goes, he did a great job for us. He did everything we asked of him and more. It's been one of the many pleasant surprises amidst a rather turbulent season.

Regulars know that I'm not a real pessimistic guy and have been pretty positive after some of the ugliest of losses, but I've got a s***ty feeling that we're going to lose this game. Hopefully it's just the "habit" effect of losing so many lately. I may not be worried about the playoffs, but I guess it goes to show you that losing streaks suck any way you shake it...

It'll be interesting to see what happens with him. If there's a role for him, that'd be great, but I'm not sure what we'll look like in July. It's not a knock on him, there are just a ton of variables looking forward to this summer...

Nice kill.

And a penalty........big kill here.

I'll take it. Wasn't pretty, but I'll definitely take it. I'd like a 3 goal lead ASAP though.

Hey guys, remember me? I've been the one saying to lay off Nick for weeks now in these GDT's, in an effort to try and remind you that he's a 2nd half player at this point in his career. Just saying...