Dabura

Not that I think we're really sucking, but I kinda feel like this team could use a good old fashioned Bruce Boudreau "f***in'" rant.

Again I say: make Smith a forward!

Please win this freaking game.

While the bashing has gotten out of hand, and I'm probably part of that, the discontent is based in reality, or at least something close to it. The guy's not producing, period, and, beyond MAYBE the PK (and that "veteran leadership" business), he's not contributing anything of real value. He literally looks like a beer leaguer, and, whether it's reprehensible or not, you know that's not going to earn him a lot of praise here. (And, in fact, it's not just this community that rides him hard. My impression is that Wings fans generally are...not enamored of Dan Cleary right now.)

Yes, I'm with you on this.

It's not the stats themselves, it's what they're indicative of. They say that Jimmy isn't where he needs to be, which is indeed the reality. He needs to be better.

Why is it that we can't - and I mean really, really, really, really can't - hold a lead? Isn't this one of those basic hockey things that all great teams can do at least reasonably well?

Agreed.

Kyle Quincey: the gift that keeps on giving.

I think maybe what he meant was helping Datsyuk is less of a concern because the idea of a player helping Datsyuk is sort of inherently silly. He's our best player, he and Zetterberg carry the team on their backs, they make the players around them better - they don't need much help. But in Cleary we've got a guy who desperately needs a boost, and if we could get him going, that would nothing but good for him and the team. (The reason we rag on him is because he's not contributing.) So, yes, helping Datsyuk, whether it's taking some of the load off his shoulders or perhaps making him even more dangerous, would be something you'd want to do, ideally. But is it something we can really do at the moment? Is it something we should really be worried about? Versus...there's a guy in the lineup who's not contributing at all, which is hurting our ability to roll four solid lines, which could - and probably has - cost us valuable points. So, in a way, that's "more important" than helping Datsyuk, at least at this point in time.

Hey. So, I was thinking. Some of you were saying, Hey, maybe this - Cleary playing on the first line - is a last chance of sorts for Cleary. Judging by the comments from Babs that we've been reading today, that doesn't seem so far off. But I think there are two dimensions to it. One is, I guess you could say, negative. Babs is giving Cleary a great chance to prove he belongs on this team and that he and especially Holland weren't total fools for welcoming him back. The other is more positive: maybe this is also Cleary's Last Hurrah, the last time he'll get to show what he can really do, his last chance to score some big goals and have some big fun moments on a line with one of the best players in the world before Weiss and Alfie (who told Babs they're ready to go but were held off the roster tonight) come back and he's pushed down to the bottom-six, maybe even to the Leino Lounge...maybe even off the team entirely (doubtful). So, it'd be a sort of show-of-respect thing. Now, I mean, maybe Cleary gets more time in the top-six beyond this little stretch, because of injuries of whatever. But maybe he doesn't. Does that make any sense?

Whoooa, sorry, SensViking! I didn't know you'd responded! Thanks for that. I recently read an article about Spezza and how he was trying to make the "Yzerman transition," or whatever the author called it. Props to him for that. I always get a kick out of the thought that Yzerman almost became a Sen - and that it would've been Bryan Murray (of all people!) shipping him to Ottawa.

He was. I guess the story is they both said they're ready, but Babs wants to play it safe. Which is understandable.

Mrazek? I...wouldn't get overly attached to him; I think there's a reasonable chance he won't be with us for very long. Wait, who's The Ginga Ninja??? Nyquist? He's not a ginger, is he? Or are you talking about Alfie? I'M SO CONFUSED. EXISTENTIAL CRISIS. EDIT: Wait, you're right - he IS a ginger! But, in my defense, he looks kinda borderline.

Alfie and Weiss are both out tonight.

I am thankful for the loser point.

Taken from Malik. St. James is the author. Say that to my face, internet tough guy. (jk)

Fedorov was a real class act.

In a way, I'm sorta glad he'll be out for this one. This way it's just a hockey game, nothing to potentially distract the guys and get their minds thinking about things they shouldn't be thinking about. And probably less motivation for the Sens. (No "OUR BACKSTABBING EX-CAPTAIN IS ON THE OTHER BENCH! KILL HIM AND HIS NEW FRIENDS!")

Something that kinda surprises me: that he doesn't fight. At all. I feel like he'd be a pretty decent scrapper. Then again, the whole falls-down-easily thing....

I think he's fully aware that he sucks. That's why he bailed on the Flyers and went running back to Mike & Ken. And I don't know how many times this season FS-D has shown a shot of him on the ice, making his way back to the bench at a snail's pace, with a stone-cold look on his face that says, "I suck. Thank God Ken and Mike are sappy suckers. WAIT, NO, DON'T SMILE, DANO. You've gotta look like the coach has been ripping you apart and your job is on the line. Gotta look serious." I know I've made these points before, but this is the Cleary thread, so there.

"The Wings are going to win the Cup this season."

What about if Weiss centers the second line but with Zetterberg on his left wing? (Now that I think about it, surely someone has already suggested this?)

Flashy, that is incredible.

A thought occurred to me earlier today, one which, for me, kinda sorta maybe eases the hurt of our lackluster first quarter a bit: "Man. We really suck at home this season. We need to fix that s*** so we can finish at the top of our division/conference, so we can have that all-important home ice...advantage. ...."