haroldsnepsts

According to Khan here's what they skated with in practice: Ansar Khan ‏@AnsarKhanMLive 48m48 minutes ago Weiss skating on line with Glendening and Miller. Other lines: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader Tatar-Sheahan-Jurco Franzen-Helm-Nyquist

Maybe he didn't mean to butt end him, but he certainly meant to hit him in the face. With the hand that was also holding his stick. It's a joke that this guy is in the NHL. To anyone who's ever wondered "why don't they just get a huge guy even if he can't play hockey, put him on skates and let him beat the crap out of people," there you go. John Scott. He makes Derek Boogaard (RIP) look like Gretzky.

On another note, I'm amazed this went by so quietly, but with his tenth game Dan Cleary just made himself a million dollar bonus.

For starters, your theory hinges on a single quote from the coach and extrapolates that to a significant change in coaching strategy. That's a big leap, especially considering Babcock rarely says anything particularly revealing about his actual strategy and already is intensely focused on defense. Then there's the fact that the very game after that quote, the Wings put up 5 goals, then 3 goals the two games after that. So did it take a full week for the team to finally implement Babcock's message from Dec 2nd and focus on offense at the cost of defense? It also requires believing that he wouldn't adjust the new defensive focus at all during a 6-game losing streak. I haven't seen all the games, but I haven't noticed anything remarkably different in how he's running things. Majorly changing some offensive players ice times. Sitting back in a 4-1 trap in the third period if they have the lead. Something. The team has looked lackluster a lot of the time, but not in anything I can pin to a new strategy. Babcock is already an extremely defensively minded coach, so how much more could he get players to clamp down without some obvious changes? It's not that I didn't entertain the idea, in doing so it just seemed a little thin for an explanation to the losses. EDIT: to simplify this long winded response, I could see focusing on defense at the cost off offense as a larger criticism for Babcock's strategy with the Wings. I just don't think it's specifically significant for this losing streak.

A coach saying he's not interested in his team giving up goals. And? He also said they're a good team when they played with pace. The Wings haven't been playing with a ton of pace lately. My point was mainly that they didn't go on some big win streak where they played more wide open, then really clamped down defensively and suddenly started losing, which seems to be the narrative you were putting forth. They've won the majority of their games when allowing two goals or less. I think they'll be trying to find that balance between offense and defense all season. They have a lot of young and relatively inexperienced players. That inexperience often shows up as a lack of consistency throughout a season. Add to that they're missing Weiss and have two key players on big cold streaks, and it's not that surprising they're not winning. The two guys in question (Mule, Z) are veteran players who've been very good defensively while still managing to produce. I don't see some recent defensive focus causing them to go cold. But that version of events doesn't make the losing skid the coach's fault for implementing a strategy change during a win streak.

Of the Wings 17 wins, they only gave up more than 2 goals in 5 of them. The Wings last streak was three games in a row and they gave up 2, 2, and 1 goal in that run.

No reason? He was what, the 7th shooter? And after Kronwall. It's not like they threw him out there first.

Just a reminder, no political discussion. This is after all a hockey forum. Let's keep the arguing to hockey related topics. (I deleted the political posts in question. This is not me making some random comment)

I'm as hard on Franzen as almost anyone, but he's apparently been fighting illness for the last couple weeks. And the team was completely dominated last night, the loss had little to do with Franzen taking shifts off. Assuming he really is fighting illness I'm giving him a pass for not showing up lately.

I hope so, because man was this team overwhelmed tonight.

Babock on Howard: He's hurt. Reporter: How long? Babcock: Coach. Doctor. The doctorate they gave me was honorary. I'm not totally sure on the numbers but it seemed like so far this season they've relied disproportionately on PP goals.

It's funny how people can't seem to see any position between the extremes. Saying the Wings suck and will lose is somehow being real. But apparently the only other alternative is to say that they're awesome and will win every game? God forbid someone actually discuss the hockey game. What the Wing's problems are, how they can correct them. Positives they can build on, etc.

Because you quoted your own post from earlier to gloat about being right about the loss. There's plenty of people who criticize the Wings here. Criticism is welcome. It's a hockey fan forum. We complain about everything. But showing up to rub people's face in a loss has nothing to do with talking hockey and criticizing the Wings.

A Wings fan getting so much joy from the team losing. Indeed, people are hilarious.

It's weird that you're so happy to be right about the Wings losing.

dude. I'm waiting for the day when Burke shows up for a press conference wearing a bathrobe smoking a cigar. It can't be that far away... That would've worked. Honestly he's probably too short to crosscheck him in the teeth, but I would've settled for a BC two-hander.

Nyquist doesn't have the puck, gets crosschecked from behind, goes headfirst into the boards. No call. True. I just don't think anyone else on the ice saw it because it had nothing to do with the play.

Nyquist, crosscheck him in the teeth. If the refs aren't gonna call it get your own justice.

Sheahan we pulled the goalie, you gotta get that puck deep, not go to the point in that situation.

It's a pretty automatic call. Y'know, like when someone has their hand clamped down on an opposing players stick and skates right by a ref that way. Automatic.

SHOOT THE PUCK DATS! Mrazek at least making things interesting by wandering out of the net.

How was that offsides?

And we're the '82 Wings.

refs swallowing their whistles like they have dinner plans.

I could go for a Kronwalling right about now.