Heroes of Hockeytown

Ozzie is looking good, got that deflectin stopped in tight. That last shot looks like one that woulda gone in the other day.

Well, that's the way you start a game. Hank in there getting the puck along the boards and making a play.

OT winner against the Sharks was a beauty, though.

Ha, you thought the Wings had spotty defense before? Wait 'til you get a load of this guy...

All of this Kopecky being dressed every night and then getting 10+ minutes of ice time and PK time and all manner of nonsense absolutely has to be the Wings trying to showcase this guy for a trade.

I'll take a left-handed shooter with excellent offensive intsticts over a right-handed shooter that happens to shoot right-handed any day. The Wings PP would survive without Sammy up there.

Retiring jersey numbers is a new practice, and I'm OK with newer franchises getting in on the action. Not every franchise has had the fortune of being in the league for a million years, but fans deserve to have their heroes and legends honored.

Sup, Dano. Thanks Matt.

Osgood had several seasons in the 90's where he was one of the best goalies in the NHL. In 1998 Ozzie was 5th in wins, 10th in GAA and SV%; he also led the league in GAA and wins in 1995 and in tandem with Vernon had a league low goals against. Mike Vernon was just 5 years removed from a Conn Smythe season when he came to the Wings, and although he was brought in to be a veteran presence and mentor to Oz he still wasn't anything to sneeze at. No matter how history (mis)remembers it, the Wings were very confident in the quality of their goaltending -- in and of itself and in comparison to the rest of the league -- during the Wings Cup runs.

Heh, the Wings mindset before the cap was "take whatever money can buy." Hasek and Joseph pulled in huge salaries along with guys like Lidstrom and Stevie making a killing. The way it has worked out post-cap seems to be the result of a lot of factors, namely that Lidstrom was still pulling in $10M (cut down to 7.6 due to the rollback) when the lockout ended, so they had to be frugal where they could, signing vets like Hasek or Osgood, or going with "up-and-comers" (if you will) like Legace. It worked out well, and so I think the Wings decided to go with that philosophy moving forward. Now that they have so much committed to skaters (that are defensive stalwarts) like Pavel, Hank, Rafalski and at least for now Lidstrom, it's out of necessity as much as anything else.

I was clarifying the intent of my original post (he played on Crosby's wing), which you clarified for me, so we're all square. I've read what everyone's got to say about trading Flip, and I realize that there are some pro's to this consideration. Flip is essentially forever buried under Hank and Pavel on depth chart, and that he brings an element we have in spades already, plus cap relief. There's merit to the trade talk. Still, I can't shake the feeling that we ought to hang onto this guy. His potential still intrigues me. Pavel definitely has better offensive talent than Flip, but at least examining their early careers their in the same boat -- if only they'd shoot more they'd be a helluva threat. I don't know, maybe, maybe not. I'm quite torn and confused and unsure on this matter.

Geez, where have we heard this before? "Guys played great and I'm the reason that we lost," Legace said. "I was the worst guy in the NHL tonight." Off he goes to hang himself...

I was mostly nitpicking, but I don't think anyone should get an inflated sense of his scoring prowess. For what it's worth, I don't know what I feel about all this.

Playing on Crosby's wing.

That hack doesn't have the foggiest idea how to play defense. Anyways, the Wings have plenty fo small play-making centers... Like Filppula.

That sums up two and a half hours of my evening this week pretty succinctly.

Really? I thought the defense was terrible. Rafalski had an awful night, and even though only the second PP goal was really the result of anything the Wings could control, they still had too many giveaways, lousy clearing attempts and bad first passes that get picked off and start a rush the other way for my liking. To compound that problem the offense was indeed uncharacteristically sluggish. The way I tell it it seems like the Wings must have gotten blown out, but as you said, poor goaltending from the Blues saved their skins tonight. If it takes an ugly win like that to get them going, that's fine by me. The streak is over so they can at least get that off their backs. Five minute major for boarding, 10 minute game misconduct.

Well, when OT ended I felt like even if they won, it wouldn't really feel like a win. And then they won. It felt like a win. The Wings were sufficiently brutal, but Hossa saved the day and the Wings got a W and if they can't take that and run with it, these guys are hopeless. GO WINGS!

Well, that's a tie the Wings didn't earn. Still a point floating out there, and lucky for the Wings getting at it doesn't require an ounce of defense!

Haha, Nick goes coast to coast!

Gotta triple shift Kopecky, it's the key to the fight. Wings have played an awful, brutal game, but they got a point so that's a victory in my book. If they can scratch out a second point it'll be a coup.

Good lord Rafalski.

Tkachuk was just chillin in the crease unmolested. That can't happen.

A billion years ago when Lebda first came up he had a goal and an assist in his first two games, then was prompty buried in the minors for the rest of the season.

What? Hossa cutting to the face off dot and nailing the far side? I think we are getting our signals crossed. As opposed to the floating wrister from the boards.