haroldsnepsts

It was a bad play made by a rookie so it's not totally surprising, but yeah, it's really f-ing frustrating after all that good play by the Wings.

Jesus. And there it is. All that momentum erased by one bad play.

Man, where has this Wings team been??

wow was everyone gassed out there.

Yes, I realize you're pinning all Datsyuk's problems on Homer. And Homer has never had good skating speed, even back when the ZDH line was by far the team's best line.

You've got to run Avery over in that situation. They can't just let hiim pull up like that and sit there while the Wings watch.

Excessive suspension, though Carcillo pulled a Tootoo in that fight. So much for squaring up. I'm so sick of guys picking fights after good clean checks though, combined with the Tootoo suckerpunch, I can't say I'm too sad about this one.

Because he's a rookie who was second in minutes only to Lidstrom last night, with 28:24 TOI. His inexperience is going to show from time to time. Meech played 8 minutes. Lebda played a fair amount of minutes last night, but this is also his 5th season in the NHL. He's not getting any better. And he never plays on the PK, and I think rarely even on the PP. Ericsson is going to make some frustrating mistakes but he is already fulfilling a bigger role on this team than those two, and has greater potential.

I've noticed that too. If Homer is carrying the puck in that much it shows how limited the Wings are offensively right now, because he's actually been pretty good at it, especially when he chips and charges. But I agree, ideally he should not be the guy with the puck on his stick through the neutral zone. My main criticism of Homer is the standard ones. He needs to cut down on some of the bad penalties. getting caught retaliating, obviously bumping into the goalie. He knows the refs are looking for him, so he has to be extremely disciplined. The other main complaint is stop diving so much in front of the net, so maybe once in a while when he gets crosschecked the refs might actually call a penalty the other way.

I'll admit that Homer isn't exactly the best two-way forward, but he does more than just stand in front of the net. He's great at doing the dirty work in the corners retrieving the puck, which is definitely needed on the Wings top lines. And of his 16 points, half are power play, half are even strength, and he's +2 on a team that has not been great defensively. Don't fall for Jake Ryan's garbage. Homer isn't the most talented guy out there, but he's been more of an asset than a hinderance this season. And the Wings need everybody pitching in right now.

The Wings can't exactly afford to let more scoring walk out the door. When Homer re-signs, I'm guessing it'll be at a good rate.

Agreed. Like I said earlier in the thread, they're just that little bit off that makes the difference. some defensive breakdowns, some bad goals. But the eked out a point anyway. If they can get their act together that little bit, this team will be fine even with all the injuries.

Yeah. Jimmy probably hasn't seen a lot of the shooters like Ozzy has, but he's bigger in net and rebound control doesn't matter.

On the replay it looked like Marty got a piece of it and that's what sent it high. Nice move though.

I was wondering who they'd go with next, our offensive talent is so thin right now. Cleary? After that, who?

+1

Dats with another turnover.

so I guess for the moment people don't think this team flat out sucks? I hope all the drama queens turned the game off

Exactly. And as they just pointed out, E is logging a lot of minutes. He's already almost at 20 mins. He's making some mistakes, but he's already surpassed Lebda and Meech. Hopefully the growing pains will go away fast because the Wings defense needs him to play above his experience level. Ericsson second only to Lidstrom in minutes tonight.

I have to wonder if Dats is playing hurt. He's got no jump. I can't remember the last time he's really schooled anyone, and he keeps getting stripped of the puck, which is usually rare.

I wasn't romanticizing him, I was just pointing out where the two players were drafted and the likely expectations on each one. Fischer was really frustrating, he had all the skills but would make total bone-headed plays. But the season he had the heart thing, he really seemed to be getting it together. He had finally acheived a level of consistency. You also have to remember that Fischer was much younger than Ericsson when he started playing for the Wings. He was 20 years old his rookie season. When Jiri had to retire, he was about the same age Ericsson is now. I'd love for Ericsson to be better than Fischer. But it's also hard to say exactly how good Jiri would've been. He had a lot of potential and was starting to live up to it.

Whats so frustrating is that without these awful defensive breakdowns (Homer not picking up the late man. Guys generally missing coverage) and/or not letting in these soft goals, the Wings would be right there or beating this good NJ team. They're not that far away from being good, even with all the injuries. But they're not playing a system as a team.

Agreed. It's like watching Mite hockey. The puck goes somewhere, and everyone on the team follows it, not looking to see who they should be covering.

I don't think he looks lost out there. It's more like how I think you (or someone) summed it up earlier. He makes a huge save, the Wings are starting to get some momentum, then he lets in a total backbreaker. I don't fault him much for the last one. He made a save, Ericsson was trying to grab it for some reason and it bounced right to Niedermayer. But he was inches from letting in another five hole goal in that period. It got between his legs, but he twisted them in time so the puck slid out wide instead of into the net.