haroldsnepsts

Let's hope so. But we're talking about a guy who had sports hernia surgery, so I don't think concern is completely unfounded here. I hope it's routine "sore groin while getting back into game shape" and not a sore groin from the persistent problems he's had over the last year.

Good lord. Ansar Khan ‏@AnsarKhanMLive 5m 5 minutes ago Stephen Weiss, in first game of a two-game conditioning stint in Grand Rapids, isn't playing in the third period due to a lower-body injury

Agreed. That wasn't a dive. He just tripped.

Am I the only one who checked to see if O'Halloran was one of the refs?

I just... There's just no.. How could he.. What the... I don't...

Khan is even pissed. Ansar Khan ‏@AnsarKhanMLive 3m 3 minutes ago Would-be goal by Miller negated by penalty on Glendening for goalie interference at 6:22.Just a terrible call as Glendening made no contact.

Congrats, you're now the creator of the GDT!

He better not. If he's healthy he should look like a men among boys there, because he is.

He was. I wonder if he'll get fined or anything for his post game comments but I'm with Quick. It's another instance where the league has no standard regarding goals like that. Sometimes you can shove a goalie into the net and it counts. Sometimes it's waived off. The ref on the ice immediately waived it off but Toronto overturned it.

That definitely doesn't sound good. It's hard to put a lot of stock in what St. James says but if true then this sounds more like a deliberate punishment than a conditioning stint to get back into the lineup.

Doesn't sound like that's the case. Ansar Khan retweeted Chuck Pleiness @wingsfrontman · 1h1 hour ago Johan Franzen still feeling tightness in his groin. Not optimistic about return by this weekend. Ansar Khan retweeted Brendan Savage @BrendanSavage · 2h2 hours ago Franzen left the ice when they started full drills

Honestly in 2003 he kind of did pull a miracle out of his ass. Which is probably why the Wings hired him.

No matter how often that gets repeated, that doesn't diminish the accomplishment. Who was the last coach to win the Stanley Cup without a very good team? Not to mention Babcock made it to the finals in 2003 with what was far from a stacked team. And it wasn't just because of goaltending. I can understand not agreeing with his coaching decisions, but the downplaying of his accomplishments here has gotten a little silly. In the NHL he's won 1 Stanley Cup, made the Finals two other times (with two different teams), and made the conference finals once. Not bad in 11 years as head coach.

I don't really agree with ESPN's take there (shocking I know). Vancouver gave Tortorella $2 million for 5 years when he had just been fired and had little market value. If anything I think that had a greater impact because a crap coach like Torts could pull down that kind of money, half the coaches in the league deserves an equal paycheck. This deal only sets the bar for a few coaches in the NHL in terms of comparables.

The reluctance to use Smith on the PP is a little frustrating given how bad it is right now. Not that he'll necessarily be the solution, but could it hurt? Babcock used to put Hudler out on the PP at the point. While Hudler may have been more responsible with the puck, him being the last guy back meant if the Wings turn the puck over near the blueline it's a guaranteed breakaway because Huds is so slow. Could Smith really be that much worse? Smith did average over a minute per game on the PP in his 34 games in 2013 so it's not like Babcock has never put him out there. Whatever the reservations are I'd hope that at some point he gives Smith a chance to prove him wrong.

I don't think it's a function of more workout time. Just that he couldn't hold the weights properly and workout at maximum level. Then add to that not having full mobility in that finger and I can see why he's looked less than stellar so far. Given how shattered it sounds like his finger was, I just hope he gets back to 100% eventually.

I was a little worried when before the season Ericsson mentioned his finger didn't feel 100% and it kept him from working out fully. It's definitely been reflected in his play so far.

While they're there, is a way the Wings can steal Wayne Simmonds? I've wanted him on the Wings since I watched him with LA.

I think winning in OT is cause for celebration any time. I don't think the Habs were out of line there. It just stings to be on the other side of it as a fan.

Because not telling Khan = no good reason? Or just maybe Babcock wasn't going to criticize his improving young defenseman in front of the media.

It's not just because he's big. Kindl and Lashoff are almost as big as Ericsson but don't exactly get a lot of love here. Ericsson is a good shut down defenseman. He'd probably be best suited for middle pairing minutes but given the current state of Detroit's defense it doesn't really shake out that way. Do you remember how the PK suffered last season when he was out? He is big, I still don't think he's physical enough but he's the most physical defenseman on the team. He has a great first pass, and he's become less prone to brain farts and is generally poised under pressure. He hasn't been as good so far this season but I have to wonder if the finger injury has set him back. He said himself it hindered his training, so he's probably not in as good of game shape and as strong. Not to mention getting your puck handling back. Point being, of the defensive problems on this team, Ericsson is not high on the list. They need to cut dead weight in Kindl, and keep looking for a legit offensive threat from the blue line, preferably a right hander. Then there's the question of how long it will be before Quincey goes through one of his stretches where he forgets how to play hockey.

Agreed. Then hopefully the Wings will be able to trade him. He's looked decent but he's a $2.4 million defenseman playing under 15 minutes a night. I'd much rather see XO in that spot.

He's the master at drawing goaltender interference. He's had multiple goals waived off because he initiates contact with the player. Naturally I couldn't find it on TSN's website anymore (404 not found) but Kerry Fraser wrote a piece on Price's exploiting the rule. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/puck-daddy/time-to-close-loophole-in-nhl-goalie-interference-rules-180155166.html;_ylt=AwrTHQwYGUdUKnEASmBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzdHJrZG9lBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNARjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1NNRTQyMV8x In the clip Price trips the Tampa player, then throws himself into the player again at the far post.

I thought I heard something about cramping at one point but now only hear the catch-all lower body injury that you mention. I just wonder if it's a soft tissue injury that Babcock was talking about in the off season. Something to the effect of how the team seemed prone to them so they need to look at all angles and figure out what's going on.