haroldsnepsts

I definitely meant to. I wanted to clarify he played with that injury for an entire 7 games series plus 2 games against the Ducks. Not just two games. Cleary is as tough as they come.

Actually it happened in Game 5 against Anaheim so he played with it the last two games of that series and all 7 games against Chicago.

Exactly. Kindl couldn't even keep his spot on the roster in the regular season whereas Smith was averaging 19 minutes a night in the playoffs (over a minute more than Kindl by the way). Not exactly an apples to apples comparison. As rookies Kindl and Ericsson were sheltered on the bottom pairing. Smith was thrown in the deep end.

Yes it was disappointing in the way it happened after getting up 3-1 in the series, but they defeated Anaheim and took the Hawks to OT in game 7. This was a team I wasn't sure would make the playoffs. Disappointing in the moment but all in all still a good result.

Agreed. 4 goals 2 assists and a -7 in 14 games. This was the season the Wings needed to lean on their star players more than ever and he delivered another mediocre playoff performance. The reality is Franzen competes hard when he feels like it. But the Wings are already short on snipers. If they could package Franzen to bring back a big name, great. Otherwise the Wings just aren't deep enough to lose more offense.

It's safe to assume. Everyone is banged up at this point. I am proud of what this team achieved overall but you need your best players when you're taking on the number one seed. With only a goal and an assist in 7 games I'm guessing Dats would be the first one to say he wasn't great against Chicago.

I think Kindl made big steps forward. He held his roster spot and looked very poised in the offensive end. He may not have the hardest slapper but I think he's among the best on the team at getting it through traffic. Defensively he still makes unbelievably poor decisions from time to time and can get rattled from a hit. He's gotten better overall but I'd say defensively he's still at the level of a #6 guy at best and that may be what's holding back his minutes. At the very least I'm glad he's turned into a serviceable D-man.

The latter. I didn't see ever minute of every game but from what I saw, overall I'd say the Sharks carried play more. Quick was the difference. That's not to say Niemi was bad. I gained respect for him during this series. I thought he was overrated due to the Cup win on a stacked Chicago team.

Handzus had all day in front of Howie. Can't believe how wide open he was and for how long.

Me either. It just snowballs. He makes comments about being frustrated, and now that he's been out of the lineup a while he's suddenly a whiner and locker room cancer. Some of his comments at the time regarding being scratched. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2013/02/red_wings_ian_white_frustrated.html http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2013/03/red_wings_defenseman_ian_white_3.html To me that just sounds like a veteran player being fairly honest about how he feels. It's not surprising he wants to play, but it's not like he's not trashing anybody.

If the Wings get the first goal I think they close out the series today. Hopefully playing away from the Chicago crowd will keep Captain Intangibles (crying) from getting calls his way.

I haven't heard any horrible teammates stories either. And when Babcock benched him, I hardly thought he sounded like an idiot. Just frustrated, which is understandable. But I don't remember him saying anything inflammatory or negative about Babs.

Does anyone else find "Stranglehold" by the Motor City Madman as a particularly hilarious choice for the Hawks to play at their home game?

A joke might be overstating, but it's a joke he won the Norris. He is young and can develop that aspect of his game but right now he's a great offensive defenseman who makes a lot of bad decisions defensively. The funny thing is when he turns out not to be the best defenseman of all time, Sens fans will likely blame Cooke.

I didn't see all of last nights game, but up until then it's been a close physical series but seemed like San Jose has carried the play a bit more. Quick has been the difference. Though Matt Greene is now back and making his presence known, Kopitar got on the board. It sounds like it was one of the Kings best games so far this playoffs.

Apparently the whining in Vancouver goes all the way to to the top. Gillis certainly bears a healthy share of responsibility for what's gone on there.

I just wonder what goes through the brain of a ref who blows the whistle that insanely fast sometimes when a goalie makes a save. Even on a routine save with no one around the goalie, refs aren't usually that quick on the draw.

Z does that fairly often along the boards. He steps on the puck so it's really hard for a guy to dig out with his stick, then he looks around and kicks it to a teammate.

Saw this thread over on hfboards. It is former NHL (and WMU) goaltender Glenn Healy. He's not a great commentator but he was trying to give Dats a compliment about how hard he works, it just doesn't come out quite right. I don't think he was trying to insult him or anything. He just picked a terrible player as an example for Detroit not having as much skill as Chicago.

Which was part of my problem when they signed him. He hardly played for Nashville last playoffs too. That says something about his defensive ability given he does bring energy and a level of physicality. Though he didn't dive much and I don't remember any cheapshots, $1.9 mill for 3 years is still a lot for a guy who plays 10 minutes a night and sits in the press box come playoff time.

I thought this part was interesting as well. It's certainly seemed like some of Babcock's comments regarding his roster weren't meant solely for reporters. All the injuries this season are certainly looking like a blessing in disguise given how the young guys are playing now, considering many wouldn't have been given the chance if not for the depleted lineup.

It was definitely Burns. At 6'5" 225 lbs the guy is a monster, and looks like one . I'm half convinced the guy's a werewolf. I'm rooting for the Kings but Burns was a beast last night. They moved him up to forward from defense.

Tortorella is like another MIke Keenan, minus the charm. I think his message is good for about half a season, maybe one season. Then players must get sick of him.

The lack of physical play in this series is striking compared to all the other series.

When someone uses the opinions of Blackhawks fans to support their bashing of Cleary, to me that's a pretty clear indication that it's gone beyond criticism to obsessive scapegoating. Another indication is people still fixating on Cleary in the GDT after the Wings had a convincing win over the Hawks. I guess it's easier to be negative than optimistic, even after a big win. (To be clear: I am not arguing Cleary has been playing great or that any criticism is unwarranted. Merely that it's now reached the point where people practically bash him for the way he hops over the boards to take a shift).