Dabura

It's definitely going to be much harder for him in The Big League. Which worries me. Half a second and half an inch is HUGE. But I feel like his shot is literally as good as it could possibly, humanly be, so we'll see how it plays out. Playing the point on the PP will give him some time and space and leeway to figure some things out, hopefully. No, I absolutely agree - Babs will die before he gives either of them serious top-six duties on a healthy roster, unless he feels like he really has to. But Jurco is definitely much better suited for it now than Pulkkinen is because of his size and the game he plays. I still think Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Jurco could be awesome.

lol Yeah, Pulkkinen is very nice, friendly, from what I've seen of him. I can totally see Smith getting wasted and calling himself the next Tom Brady or something. And that sounds like classic Chelly. As for Jurco - he's probably more of a third-liner right now, but certainly he projects as a first-line player. Which is great. As much as I like Pulkkinen, he doesn't project as a first-liner. More of a second-liner, maybe a third-liner. dat shot tho

Alfie really has no chemistry with Glendening, or Andersson. You're right - at this point, Alfie's gotta be in the top six. We only had him in the bottom six because we were so deep. I think part of Howard's problem might be that he's largely new to the East, whereas Gustavsson isn't. It might not make a big difference for skaters, but for goalies, they really like to know everyone's tendencies and such. That might explain the shootout issues, at least partially.

I think Alfie needs to step up. We're missing our two best players, our two biggest leaders - but, as luck would have it, we've got Daniel Alfredsson. Jimmy Howard has to step up, for sure. Franzen has stepped it up this season, no doubt. When he's been healthy, he's carried the team. He just needs to keep it up. Kronwall's been about as good as he's capable of being. If there's a level he's not hitting, I attribute it to Ericsson really not being all that great and DeKeyser being a rookie paired with Kyle Quincey. I guess I'd like to see Abdelkader step it up, set the tone.

I'd like to see Pulks get a chance on the PP. I feel like the biggest issue with our PP is that we only really throw one threat at them, and we're not even coy about it. "OH BOY WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO, ARE WE GONNA SET UP ALFIE, WHY YES WE ARE." Having Pulkkinen and, say, Alfredsson on the same unit might keep the PKers a little more honest. That could be big for us, because we've been pretty bad with the man advantage. It's much easier (or less difficult) to win games when your power play is really clicking. And, really, any potential improvement is worth seriously considering, given the embarrassing hole we're in.

Just friggin' put Pulkkinen in the lineup already. Babs is always complaining that the kids line doesn't shoot enough. And, hey, remember when Pulkkinen got suspended for running that Blackhawk from behind? He can score and be our enforcer. Like Shanahan. Same exact thing.

Also, we moved on from Flip. I can't believe we didn't see his replacement being injured for the whole season coming. And, also, we bought out Colaiacovo because he's so...injury-prone.

Maybe it's just plain karma. Like when Hossa ditched the Pens for us because we beat them for the Cup, and then they went on to beat us for the Cup. We wanted the switch to the East because it'd be easier. We basically stole Alfredsson from Ottawa. Alfredsson said we had a good shot at the Cup. We dicked around with Nyquist because, zomg, Cleary makes us better. We boasted of our forward depth. We sent ten guys to the Olympics (ooooo, look at us, we're so skilled). And - I'll be a man about it - I was stupid enough to predict that we'd make some real noise this season. We were asking for an enormously disappointing season.

Zetterberg and Howard willed us into the playoffs last season. We're missing our top two players (one of whom is Zetterberg), top 20 centers, one third of our most exciting line (Jurco), our backup goalie (who's been better than our #1), and Howard's mojo. Also, the shootout issues and our goal differential means we won't win a tiebreaker.

Even with a healthy roster, winning a regular season game against a team that isn't a bottom-feeder has been a monumental challenge. I've had to pray to God for two points against the Washington f****** Capitals. Every game is a Game 7. Every lead is blown. Every shootout is a choke job. Pride, heart, will, a chip on the shoulder, something to prove - nope, none of the above. We're made of glass, and we take it up the ass.

All our injured players should be fined for every loss now. This season is the most pathetic, unprofessional, unbelievable pile of horse s***. And anyone who thinks missing the playoffs would make management reconsider anything is dreaming. If the team isn't going to care, I don't know why I should.

But srsly. I'd hate having The Captain as our GM. I'd want a guy who I don't have to feel too bad about railing against. Maybe Ryan Martin is being groomed.

Holland's not going anywhere. And neither is this team! OH YES I DID

Injured: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Weiss, Helm, Andersson. Not Injured: Sheahan, Glendening...Emmerton. We should get Sheahan and Glendening into a witness protection program or something. Oh God, what if Legwand gets injured?

I don't think Smith's behind schedule, development-wise. I think we'd just set our expectations too high. Pairing him with Quincey for so long probably didn't help. Edit: Reply #27. Of course.

I lol'd.

Don't get me wrong, I have way more love for Pulkkinen than I do for Emmerton. But I don't think moving Franzen to center is a great idea, though it is an idea. If anyone should feel slighted, it's Ferraro. What a mess. I hope heads roll. I don't know whose heads, and I don't know what for exactly, but I don't much care. Punishment. Reparations. Justice.

Maybe this is a form of mutiny against Babs?

Emmerton's a center. Pulkkinen's a winger. Andersson's a center. I'm blaming Emmerton for all these injuries, or at least our situation down the middle. We joked about voodoo dolls earlier in the season, but, at this point, that's about as reasonable an explanation as any.

Again, nothing is ever on Howard. I don't understand this. Like, I get that he's a convenient scapegoat and that that's bulls***. But, at the same time, he's letting us down, hardcore. I'm not talking about this goal or that goal or this game or that game. I'm talking about a losing record and a mountain of suck in a season where we need him to be a superstar more than we've ever needed our #1 goalie to be a superstar. The fact that the team in front of him sucks makes it that much more essential that he not suck. He needs to be our best player. As Babs has said, we go as far as Jimmy Howard takes us. That's why people are going apes***. Because an underperforming Howard means we have no shot at anything, as nice as an overperforming Gustavsson is. We need Dan Boyle this summer. I can't stress this enough.

He's getting paid like a top goalie. He's getting paid to do for us what Price did for Babcock's Other Team. And he can't even put together a winning record. He sucks this season.

ugh

How is it his fault that no goal is ever his fault?

No goal is ever Jimmy Howard's fault.

Pathetic.