YoungGuns1340

What I dont think a lot of people realize, though, is that Holland may have intended to trade Lebda IN ADDITION TO Quincey before Cheli went down, promote Meech to the #6 (the kid only makes 483k) and go with Cheli as #7 and Ericsson in case of emergencies. Cheli kind of threw a wrench into the whole thing by going down, but it also alleviated financial pressure, and now we've had an extra 20 games to figure out if some changes need to be made on defense.

Lilja might be playing the best hockey of his career right now, outside of the 07 playoffs. Meech has never had a big enough role to make an impact, and they're completely different Dmen as it is. But Lebda....yeah.

Do people really think McCarty provided that much grit? He fought when there was no tension between squads and on a regular shift I can think of 5-6 guys who are playing a more punishing style on this team. Who cares. The important thing is that Babcock is a ****** bag and Kopecky remains on the first line, which essentially means our top line is a two-man unit. I love that Kopecky warrants a top line spot regularly, but Hudler only gets top 6 time on the PP - which should be the case with Kopecky. He sucks at carrying the puck, sucks at passing, and cant stay on his skates for the life of him. His value is to park it in front of the net, and that is it.

Whatever it is, he'll be sure to get more credit for it than he deserves. Fletch just pulled off a great trade and Toronto has been playing harder than they have ion 3-4 years it seems. I love how Burke jumps on board once the Anaheim ship has sailed and Toronto is just getting up a full head of steam. What a ******* leech.

I completely agree. He makes an impact on nearly every shift. Seems like every other game I'm looking at the stat sheet wondering how he didnt manage to get more goals/points. Hed be running up the charts right now if his line was actually clicking over the past 3-4 games.

Exactly what I was thinking. Hossa was invisible for the first 4 games at least - in fact, he was making a ton of mistakes and was looking disinterested overall. In the past few games, hes been trying out there, but he really hasnt been getting a lot done, excluding an empty netter. If you balance out the play of the top 3 over 20 games, Id actually give Hank the higher score than Hossa, but I'll stick with straight As for "the big 3".

If anything, I think we need to add a cagey vet whos been deprived of a cup. Theres a reason Dallas Drake was the first guy Lidstrom handed the cup to..

And yet...no one has said anything like that, other than sarcastically. Your sarcasm detector not on tonight? Where is this "bunch" of people who are predicting the world to end with the Wings demise? Feel free to quote "the bunch."

Franzen has said hes still not feeling up to speed after his injury - that probably has a lot to do with his play. That said, I'm with you about Z's line. Hank is doing a ton of good work out there every shift it seems, but a lot of it isnt coming to fruition because of his linemates. Yes, Franzen was invisible, but I thought Sammy played fairly well. However, the chemistry between Hank and Sammy the past few games seems to be a bit off. A change might do Hank some good while we're dogged with 2 key injuries. Hell, with the way Babs has been experimenting with the lines, he might want to try out Hank and Hossa together for a shift, and reunite the Flip-Datsyuk-Franzen line. None of our top lines have looked particularly hot lately, and you never know - if Datsyuk were to go down, itd likely be Hank moving up to center Hossa. Itd be nice if they had a few games experience playing together if that were to happen. Eh, just a thought..

A team only comes on if you let them. The Wings had several chances to clear the zone. If you're the stronger man, the tougher customer, the better competitor, then 9 times out of 10 you win those battles and clear the zone. All it takes is a little extra effort, and thats all the Wings needed to seal the deal. Regardless of how good the chance was or how lucky the goal, the Red Wings should've spent that time seeing to it that the Canucks were stifled for the remaining 3 minutes. Its too bad Cleary isnt back. With the way hes been playing the PK and in our own zone, he'd be a good shutdown line to build around and throw out on the ice right after we score a big goal.

I dont think we outplayed them. I counted several times - particularly in our own zone - where we waited for the puck to come to us instead of skating to it. We didnt have the jump tonight. We're getting a lot of points resting on our laurels here, and thats habit-forming. You cant just turn on the work ethic once the season rolls around. I think the injuries are having a bigger effect than anyone is saying. Homer is not an impressive puck handler by any means, but god is he an upgrade over Kopecky. Kopecky is not and never will be skilled enough to play on the top line. The PP is one thing - he can park his big body and handle the puck minimally - but otherwise, its a huge mistake. Id rather see Frazen promoted to the first line, and Hudler or Filppula promoted to Zetterbergs wing. Not that Franzen, Hudler, or Filppula played well tonight, but they're better suited to cycle, handle, and carry the puck that a guy who can barely stay on his skates. Ideally, Id really, really like to see the Wings look into adding a Dallas Drake type player at the deadline. This team needs somebody else to lead the way in terms of work ethic.

Thats hardly the reason we lost. The Wings didnt have the jump this game. You dont let a team skate around in your zone til they get clean shots and all kinds of traffic in front of your net. They lost this game when they let the Nucks come back and tie it right away.

Well, you can attribute that loss to character. You don't let a team run you over 45 seconds after you score a huge goal. Props to the Canucks. They were the better team in the end. At least we got the 1 point. As for Ozzie, he played very well - I just think hes cursed. How many games has he allowed fewer than 3 goals this year?

Although I think Ozzie has played well tonight, the post is the reason we didn't just lose.

You said "every team gives up goals like that from time to time." Other teams - from time to time. The Red Wings - with alarming frequency.

Key phrase: from time to time.

Thats ******* ridiculous. How do you IMMEDIATELY start playing sloppy in your own zone after a huge go ahead goal?

Why did I have a feeling that was gonna happen? Typical Red Wings play. Score a goal, give it right back.

And just like that, Datsyuks on pace for 30+ goals.

Seriously. Hossa-Datsyuk-Franzen on the PP.

Finally. They got 3 for the price of 1 on Hossa.

Guys...the off-wing shot that keeps getting deflected? Yeah. Try something else.

Kopecky is a waste anywhere but cemented in front of the net or on a bottom line. Hes not good enough at carrying or passing the puck and has screwed up more than a few chances on the big line. Our offensive has been way too discombobulated to accomplish much of anything this game.

With the way Zetterberg plays, you'd think he'd already have 15 goals on the season. hes such a competitor...

Meech is a great utility player.