Dabura

The most important thing is that we win tonight. The second most important thing is that Ottawa loses tonight, in regulation. Caps lead the Sens 2-0 after one period.

End of 1st. Tied at 2. Had some good pressure and some good chances, but we're giving the Oilers a little too much respect (time and space), especially as they skate through the neutral zone. Also need to manage the puck a bit better.

Nyquist and Abby with the assists. Abby now has 16 points on the season.

KRONWALL!

Green blew his assignment there. PP

Oilers take the lead. 2-1.

Oilers respond. 1-1. Kronwall Kronwalls Strome.

TATAR! PPG! 1-0! Z and Abby with the assists.

PP

LGRW

I'm so conflicted. I want them to fail in spectacular fashion, but I don't want them in the lottery mix. People are saying they're underachieving and they're not as bad as their current record says they are, but I dunno that I actually believe that. From where I stand, Chiarelli has screwed the pooch. Their roster isn't any better than ours, aside from McDavid. I think they overachieved last season and what we're seeing this season is closer to the truth. Meh. Whatevz. Kick the stuffing out of them tonight and let fate decide the rest. 2006. Never forget.

Don't even joke, bro. Don't even joke.

Good stuff.

HYPE!

Ericsson needs to babysit.

Nice piece by Nick Cotsonika: Red Wings want to be great, not just good

MATT DUCHENE UPDATE Matt Duchene has no points in his first five games with the Senators and the team has lost three straight. #Duchadenfreude

Didn't Letang miss their entire postseason run last season? I dunno, I distinctly remember thinking at the start of each of the Crosby-era Cup runs that if the Pens were to fail, it'd be because of a questionable defense group. I'm not saying those blue lines weren't good, I just don't feel they were quite at *that level* where people generally say a true Cup-caliber team's blue line needs to be. At least, not on paper. I feel like Mike Sullivan's systems helped to cover up for shortcomings on the back end and got the most out of what he had to work with. And '09...well, the less we say about that, the better. The larger point I'm kind of dancing around here is that our D situation might not be as hopeless as we think it is. Get a Letang type and give him a good-not-great 2-6 supporting cast and that might be enough, depending on your forward group and your goaltending. Letang types are hard to come by, but I dunno if I'd characterize him as the kind of beastly franchise cornerstone defenseman many people say the Wings absolutely need to find. On the one hand, we need a Rasmus Dahlin. On the other hand, time will probably show that we don't/didn't need a Rasmus Dahlin. Might not even need Erik Karlsson or a prime-years Duncan Keith.

Sad! Sat!

Sure, I get that it's not always the best player. But between Abby and Larkin, I'd say it's a pretty easy call for the powers that be. We're used to ties going to the veterans and all that, but Larkin is taking over as the straw that stirs the drink and everyone knows it and everyone's loving it. I have trouble envisioning a realistic scenario where Larkin doesn't inherit the C from Z. The future is now!

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this past lotto was rigged to further discourage tanking. The results perfectly fit the message the league is trying to send. "Finish bottom three? You could pick outside the top three! In fact, all three bottom teams could pick outside the top three! Finish outside the bottom ten? You could still end up picking in the top three!" Hmmm... In any case, we're probably not in a terrible spot in terms of having a shot at picking in the top three. Assuming we finish right around where we did last season, we'll have a shot at drafting a really good player, even if we don't get one of the top three picks. The more Buffalo and Edmonton and Arizona flounder, the more I warm to the "Let's just be mediocre for a few years and see where that gets us" approach. It's already gotten us Larkin and Mantha, and we've only missed the playoffs once. Very likely that our D would be a major weakness in any conceivable matchup, especially if we trade Green and our other veterans fade. But pretty much every Eastern team not named the Tampa Bay Lightning has a key weakness right now and pretty much every Eastern team not named the Tampa Bay Lightning looks like they could be vulnerable in a best-of-seven series. We'd need our goaltending to be absolutely stellar and steal us a game or two, but I like our forward depth this season and the fact that we're playing with a little more pace and purpose and tenacity than we have in recent years. We could finish in the basement this season. But, even so, I think we could grind out a series win over, say, Toronto or Columbus or Washington. All of those teams have problems. The East is really tight right now. Can't play like we did against the Avs, though. Play like that and, yes, we would definitely get destroyed in the first round.

I really don't see Abby getting the C. By the time Z has retired, Larkin likely will have established himself as this team's most important player and bus driver. I don't think they say, "Well, let Abby have it for a few years and then Abby will give it to you. I know you're our best player and you're our leader and whatnot, but you're not ready. Give it a few more years." Not happening, IMO.

Every team that doesn't make the playoffs is in the top pick lottery. Philly finished 19th overall last season and picked 2nd overall in the draft. Dallas finished with the same number of points as the Wings did and picked 3rd overall. Colorado finished dead last (by a country mile) and didn't even pick in the top three. New Jersey finished 27th overall and got the top pick. It's not a total crapshoot...but it kind of is. I'm not sure this team would get destroyed in the playoffs. Depends on the matchup and our goaltending. So far this season, Tampa appears to be the only true powerhouse in the East. Beyond them, there isn't much separation within the conference.