YoungGuns1340

I really think Sammy needs either his eye checked or his stick shortened. His aim is incredible in a bad way.

Wow. Samuelsson looked like a bona fide top sixer on that play. I retract my previous "f*** Sammy on the 2nd line" comment. Franzen is FLYING out there.

Whats up with the Blues and icing the puck?

Stop giving up the slot!!!

What? where was that? Thats effing hilarious..

Thats exactly what I was thinking...maybe it has something to do with the video..

I'd love to see a win by more than one goal not including empty netters...

f*** Samuelsson on the 2nd line. Sorry, had to say it.

Zetterberg didn't lead the Wings in points last season. Datsyuk did. If you're gonna make a preview, at least make it correct.

He's a parasite. I expect he'll move on to another team after this season now that hes sunk Anaheim's ship. Preferably a team that already has up-and-comers in place, high draft picks, tradeable assets, and lesser siblings of superstars.

Curtis Glencross has 2 points in 5 games..

Voters don't always get it right either. Datsyuk gets a lot of acclaim because he plays the flashiest form of defense in the league. There is not a player out there who gets noticed for his defensive dazzling like Datsyuk does. Sure he backchecks and can take the puck away, but hes not as good away from the puck like Zetterberg is in terms of positiong. People rarely take into account how your positioning ALONE is a key marker of great defense. Getting in lanes, taking away the man, limiting views, etc. You can be 12 feet from a guy and still be playing him as tight as anyone if you're smart on positioning. The comparison between Datsyuk and Zetteberg to me equates to the same arguments about Crosby being better than Datsyuk or Zetterberg - basically because Crosby has the stats to back things up. But what Zetterberg and Datsyuk do all over the ice, and what Zetterberg does that goes unnoticed - the positioning, the intercepts, the use of the stick to deflect a pass - those are the things that go unnoticed. "Oh, thats just Zetterberg being Zetterberg" whereas with Datsyuk its "ZOMG did yoo see that takeaway??!?!?!? DEFENSIVE GENIUS." Its impossible to argue that people DON'T get caught up in Datsyuks flashiness and that clouds the argument incredibly. Its also why Zetterberg can get the short end of the stick on these boards, but why Babcock would look to him over Datsyuk in the most crucial of situations.

Valid points all around, but Heaton hit the nail on the head when he said this season is different from the rest. Yeah, Kopecky isn't much better than an all-around enforcer, but Hossa is his meal ticket. So signing Hossa ultimately means keeping Kopecky which accounts for two spots that a physical guy could've had. Next season could be different. If guys like Sammy, Hossa, and Kopecky are gone, a 3rd/4th line guy could be worked into the scheme. I wouldn't mind Neil on the a line with Cleary and Helm..

I agree his injury history should be taken into consideration, which I'm sure it will to a small degree, but contracts arent about fairness between comparable teammates. If things were fair then Zetterberg wouldn't be making 4 million less than Datsyuk. And I'm curious to know why its Zetterberg out there killing 5 on 3s as opposed to Datsyuk..

QFT. At times, I've been more comfortable with him on the ice than Kronwall, Stuart, or Rafalski. Albeit Lilja's max-out point in terms of his capabilities is really only a #5 Dman, hes still the only guy who, in my eyes, has played well in his role. Every other Dman has played slightly to considerably below what they're capable of.

..and at the same time "paying to see" and "going to see" are two different things to much of the Joe's Season ticket holders.

People aren't concerned about records so much as they are with lost leads, giveaways, turnovers, a high GAA, tons of shots against, an inability to score 5 on 5, and the fact that we have yet to win a game by more than a goal looking past empty netters. And all this with - on paper - more talent and depth at every position than last year and any other team in the league currently. If the sky was falling through the first four games, apparently its all rainbows and sunshine after just one comebcack victory against a team that was playing back-to-back and their 6th game in 9 days. Its not about the numbers, its about the product on the ice.

One thing that people haven't really talked much about so far is the change in coaching staff. Granted, the change isn't big, but there are a few things that make this interesting. 1) When the Wings signed Brad McCrimmon, there were a lot of Atlanta fans who came out of the woodwork and said McCrimmon was garbage. They justified their point by saying when the Hartley was fired, McCrimmon wasn't promoted because Thrash brass' didn't think he was capable. 2) Over in San Jose, Sharks fans are raving about the work McLellan has done. Goals from all lines, great defensive support from forwards, and a viable offense. Woodcroft the video coach, as we know, also went with him. So what do you think? Is there any credence to the theory that the play of the Red Wings might have something to do with the coaching?

Yup. All we can do is speculate, but its definitely as viable a theory as the absence of Dallas Drake. Its the only change to the team thats been made outside of Marian Hossa, which shouldnt effect the awful performance of our defense pairings so far and the overall play in our defensive zone. Considering McCrimmon IS the defensive specialist, it'd be interesting to know how hes handling the defense. And if you attribute the performance of our forwards to the lack of familiarity among linemates, then all that really leaves is team defense. Maybe thrashers fans were right about McCrimmon...

Bingo. This has been going on EVERY game. The opposition is going straight up the gut or cutting into the slot off the wing completely unimpeded. If you allow ANY goaltender to see those shots game in and game out, hes going to get hung out to dry. I haven't been wowed by the goaltending overall, but I'll be damned if both Osgood and Conklin haven't been making some HUGE saves. In fact, in terms of big saves, Osgood is making considerably more impressive saves than he was making (see: had to make) during all of last season. I can't believe people would even start to pin this on goaltending alone. If you look at the game objectively, then NONE of our defenseman are playing as well as they can. Not even Norris Nick himself should get away with the product on the ice. Rafalski, Stuart, Kronwall, Lebda, Lilja, Lidstrom - ALL of them are not playing as well as they can and I'm guessing if you broke down each play that has lead to a goal, it could've been avoided easily by one of our Dmen. I really don't understand how you can't attribute the crappy defense, the number of shots against, and the amount of turnovers to poor defensive play as opposed to goaltending.

Again thats the catch. Is he not quite there yet because he can't get the time, or is he not getting the time because he's not quite there yet. Again, the fact that Babcock was quick to demote Hudler after two games, despite his doing no differently - at certain points even standing out in a positive way - than the rest of our forwards says a lot. In fact, Sammy had just come off a terrible shift on the 3rd line, and his next shift out on the ice, hes replaced Hudler as a winger on the 2nd line. If it had been Cleary, a guy who might've earned that bump up to the 2nd line due to the energy he was bringing, it would've been a different story. But to demote Hudler after 2 games in favor of a guy that was doing no better - if not worse - than Hudler is only the continuation of the hard knocks Babcock has unfairly given to Hudler when other guys like Lebda, Lilja, and Samuelsson (over the years) could've used just as much tough love.

now it all makes sense.

I scanned over the thread, and if I felt like going to the trouble of reigstering, I'd just have one question. "What was so wrong about the call?" All I saw was some bitching, but no one could provide an answer as to why the call was "wrong" Edit: I found why they dont think its a call: So basically, they dont understand the penalty. It doesnt matter where the player is, if his substitute is involved in the play before its off the ice, its too many men. Can't fault they for being ignorant/misinformed.

Thats the catch though. Hudler needs confidence from Babcock, and when hes the ONLY guy who gets punished for not performing in only his SECOND game on the 2nd line, its completely counter-productive to Hudler's confidence.

Anyone will tell you that hockey is a game of confidence, and if anyone needs confidence from Babcock, its Hudler. I like Hudlers offensive instincts, but you can see from the product on the ice that Hudler looks discouraged a lot of the time, like - as Disney as it sounds - he doesn't believe in himself. Ideally, Hudler should be traded. I like him enough, but hes really ill-suited for the Wings. He needs a coach who is willing to give him some confidence. Hudler has NEVER had a coach who was willing to give him a 2nd line spot and tell him to run with it. How many chances did Hudler get this season? Two games on the 2nd line before being demoted? Thats only gonna hurt Hudlers confidence more than anything. Babs is willing to give time and chances to others that are inconsistent and ineffective, but not to Hudler. Ship him off to Toronto or something where he can play alongisde a guy like Antropov and bump up Helm who Babs will give all the time in the world to.