Feldmarschall

I just hope it's not a snoozefest like the last game was. I was struggling to stay awake from the boredom. 3-0 was actually flattering. It was a 1-0 game, and a tedious one at that. Kinda like watching Minnesota-New Jersey in their respective defensive pinnacles.

He's done a fantastic job, for sure. I'm hoping he sticks around if his play remains on this level. He's like Eaves with a poorer shot but more defensive aptitude, and he's a surprisingly adept stickhandler in close. He's a very smart, hard-working player.

May is a more skilled hockey player and a much better skater that picks his battles and his hits more intelligently than Downs did. They both were/are here to do what Babcock called "keeping the flies off" in an interview IIRC. Keeps people from twisting helmets off after whistles and such, and run over someone important once in a while. I did like Downey, though. Great scrapper, very entertaining, and what he did to Parros and Laperriere last year was absolutely awesome.

Even with Abdelkader back in Grand Rapids, somebody's going to go to waivers if the team is ever fully healthy. 23 is still the limit, as a few have pointed out. My money is on them not waiving Maltby, and Miller's played too well to go back on the wire. My bet is May, if we're holding seven defensemen.

I agree. Phoenix might as well be renamed the Bryzgalovs. If he gets out of bed funny and misses a couple weeks, they'll probably flounder. Their offensive numbers are horrid, mostly they're just riding great goaltending and boring hockey. I guess it's worked for New Jersey but they've at least got better supplemental offense and a roster full of plus players. Phoenix's player statline looks unbelievable for a sustainable playoff team.

Darcy Verot is still playing? Jeez... What a hack.

Babcock has no control over it, that's Holland's job. But still, it'd be stupid to trade for Kovalchuk. The guy thinks he's worth 11 million in today's cap world, while Crosby, Malkin, and Ovie are making less? No way. He won't be a Wing.

Everything hinges on what Lidstrom does. Should he retire, our need will be obvious. Disregarding that, the team will need better secondary goalscoring than Bertuzzi, Williams, and Leino. Another winger that can approach the 60pt region would do wonders. I wouldn't expect any movement on the goaltending front, as it's just not Holland's style and probably not necessary anyway. The real need is firepower.

You're right. I believe I've heard that he's projecting as a Kronwall type.

I was watching during the intermission and while the commentator spoke I counted less than ten people in the entire section of the upper bowl behind him. They made Phoenix look good today.

He had points in the Nashville and Montreal games before the shutout streak started, and he was the guy that "broke" the streak twice but got denied last night. Other than Danno and Z though, I do fully agree with you. There are healthy guys in this lineup that are NOT pulling their weight and really haven't all season. Cleary just isn't one of them, he's showing up and doing his job, even if the results get called off thanks to BS reffing. There are a lot of guys that just haven't been consistently good enough.

Cleary started off slow, absolutely. But he's got 8 points in the last 10 games and would've had two more last night. He's doing fine now.

Zetterberg and Cleary are not underachieving. Are they slumping? Sure, statistically. But if those goals hadn't been waived off last night we'd be extolling their virtues til the cows came home. Also, dammit, THIS IS NOT 4CHAN.

Bert's played a strange game. On the surface, sure he looks like hell. His stats are a let-down, Pavel's getting mad, and so on. But if you hunt for the finer nuances of the game, he seems to be doing a LOT of stuff right. He's backchecking harder than I've ever seen him, getting up the ice at a good clip. He looks leaner and faster than he has in years past, and he holds onto the puck well when he and Pavel decide to cycle. But he isn't playing with a physical edge and my GOD has he missed some fantastic chances early this season. He's hit more posts than the rest of the team combined, I think. Then he gets frustrated and tries to force a play that just isn't there, further eroding his confidence. It's a shame that he's doing so poorly. He really is doing a lot of the little things right, which is at least more than Leino can say. Normally players get rewarded for perfecting the finer points of the game, but not this time. Bert's "puck luck" has been horrific.

It smells like troll in here. That's about the dumbest thing I've ever read on this site.

Afinogenov is a larger, Russian version of Hudler. I echo the sentiment for Vinny Prospal. He'd have been a huge pickup.

Wow, what a story. I definitely feel better having another classy guy like that in the organization. Pretty impressive thing to do. Thanks for sharing.

Man, would I be pissed off to be a GM these days. The players (and agents, apparently) have all gotten entirely too mouthy. I'm glad a few franchises have players that are smart enough and get enough encouragement to just shut up when somebody comes around with a camera or a tape recorder. I think it says a lot about the Wings lately that when Leino said he wouldn't play in the AHL anymore, it stood out. When a twenty-something European prospect making under a million dollars mouths off and that's our worst PR news in years, this org has got it done right.

Here's hoping this "sickness" is an excuse to keep him off the ice until a trade partner can be found. If not, I hope he's waived and Janik takes a full-time spot.

Most accurate description of Lebda's play ever. I salute you.

A busted fibula... better than a ligament, bone heals better. What's it take, about two months?

When I saw it, I wondered this exact thing. He got a penalty for being cut? I suppose he must've really irritated the refs.

Yay, another exciting edition of blueadams Lines Thread. Let's hope this one manages to be just slightly less worthless than the last fifty. Oh wait, we're talking about lines four months from now with no idea what trades or injuries will occur between now and then? My hopes are dashed.

Vladdy Konstantinov. No doubt about it.

Why are there so many /b/tards on LGW? It's ruining the site for me.