Dabura

I was wrong, it's not quite a regular roster. But it's close. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2013/09/red_wings_daniel_alfredsson_to.html

The good news is it's our regular roster, give or take one or two spots. Any word on the Leafs' lineup? I'm in the mood for a rout, even if I won't be able to watch it because frickin' no one except "Leafs Nation" is carrying the frickin' game. But I digress. No Kessel, right? And is Clarkson already sitting, or does that not start until the regular season?

Would it surprise you?

The Panthers just got much better.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2013/09/red_wings_injury_updates_justi.html

Firstly, Tootoo is not an enforcer; no one is afraid of him. Secondly, it's not that I - for my part - like old and slow and non-physical. If we could have Dustin Brown instead of Todd Bertuzzi, I'd make that swap in a fraction of a heartbeat. But guess what: we can't have Dustin Brown, period. We can't upgrade Bertuzzi. We're dealing with a Ken Holland-built roster, which means it's going to have more than its fair share of old, slow, and generally ineffective old-timers who probably should've called it quits a long time ago but didn't because they know Holland will give them work well into their sixties. Considering that, I think we're actually lucky to have Bertuzzi, because his size and snarl and (potential) physicality and incredible hands actually make him (potentially) quite valuable, relatively speaking.

Brendan Smith is not a bad hockey player. In fact, he's a very good hockey player. Which begs the question: What the hell is going on with him? Every time he touches the puck, I can actually feel Red Wings Nation holding its collective breath. "There's no way he's gonna foul this one up. He's not actually gonna turn it over to that guy. No one could be that stupid/jumpy/drunk. Oh God, he turned it over to that guy. Oh God, they scored." I'm not calling for his head. I'm not saying we should trade him. I'm not saying he won't get better. I'm just genuinely puzzled. The way he's playing right now (and this does, I feel, go back to last season, i.e. it's not something entirely new), he makes Adam Almquist look almost like a seasoned pro. What is up with Brendan Smith?

You kidding me, Rich?! And that's not just the homer in me asking. Even the pundits and talking heads - all of them - are predicting very good things for the Wings this season. It's rare that that happens

According to Khan, these are the lines from today's practice: Zetterberg Datsyuk Abdelkader Franzen Weiss Alfredsson Cleary Andersson Bertuzzi Miller Emmerton Samuelsson Nyquist and Tatar wearing gray, so it appears they won't be playing on Friday. ("Youth movement" my ass.) I actually kinda like it because it gives us a little more size and snarl against a Leafs team that will probably do their best to rough us up. No sense subjecting two young studs to that. I really, really, really, really, really hope we don't lose to the Leafs. Ever.

I know, but still.

Helm skates on a line, but still hasn't been cleared for contact

Then we'd have no size up front.

"Hey, this Filapoola guy plays that thing, what's it called again? Oh yeah, defense. So, like, we don't have to play, uh, defense, right? Cuz we have a guy for that. Right? Man, I love Filapoola!" said the Lightning forward.

He's our enforcer, and shootout ace.

Seeing them in a store setting makes them that much more Walmarty, or airport shopy. They should be forced to wear one of them for a week, everywhere they go, everything they do.

It's probably for the best that he's resting up. I mean, it's not like he's young, and it's not like the preseason really means anything. Not that I wouldn't like his line to click as soon as possible, but the guy's as professional, hard-working, competitive, etc. as they come, so I have faith that it'll all work out. Mind you, I don't necessarily have faith that the line itself is ever going to really click, and, should it come to that, Babs will of course have to find some way to remedy that. But, bottom line, I'm not worried about "Alfie." (I'm sorry, but it feels weird calling him that.)

I want to be pissed about this, and I am, but let's be real here: this was a craptastic Wings roster against the Pens' regular-season lineup, minus only Paul Martin. And this was the Pens' final preseason game, so I can't even fault them for the roster. Similarly, I want to be worried about Weiss, and I sort of am, but let's be honest: he was brought in to be a strong second-liner. That means not matching up against the opposition's best line, which he's had to do for, oh, I don't know, like, every friggin' game he's played so far. And he's had the services of only one of the two guys he's worked with in training camp, the other one being swapped with, like, Cleary or Bertuzzi or Abdelkader or something - and, again, he's had to make this Franzen (who doesn't care about the regular season and certainly doesn't give a rat's ass about the preseason) - Weiss - Filler thing work against the opposition's best. Which he wasn't brought in to do. And, of course, there's the whole learning curve thing. He's been a Panther for, what, ten years? And he's one of those blue-collar top-sixers that we're not really used to, i.e. he's not a Datsyuk or Zetterberg who can learn in three minutes what the average really good player needs five weeks to understand. (And, bottom line: the Panthers don't play anything remotely close to our puck-possession game. Unless I'm horribly mistaken.) Oh yeah, and it's just the preseason. The big thing is, holy s***, stop getting injured. Then, holy s***, Babs can ice the real effing roster. If Abdelkader is injured, I'm seriously going to scream.

What. the. hell. is. wrong. with. Smith. ?

I still think it looks like semen. But then, I think everything looks like semen.

Hey now, a win is never a loss. I know what you're saying, though. Thing is, they're so messed up right now that a victory over a crappy Wings roster would be big for them - or, at least, that's what they'd make it out to be in their minds. If it gets them going, it hardly matters if it's right or wrong. I guess I'm being overly dramatic, or watever. It's just, again, I hate the Penguins and our injuries curse.

I realized earlier today that the Sharks have a pretty solid roster. Thonton, Couture, Pavelski down the middle. Burns (who's now a legitimate power-forward) and Thornton on the same friggin' line. Brad Stuart - a second-pairing guy for us - on the third pairing. Not bad.

You know what it is? I mean, beyond the obvious fact that the lineup sucks and we're probably going to get the lit the f*** up? The Penguins are garbage right now. Sure, they've won a couple, but anyone who's seen them play and read what they've been saying knows they're in a bad place, which is approximately right where they were at the end of the ECF. Heads in hands, tails between legs, lips quivering, faces scrunched (ok, those last two are just Crosby). So what does Bylsma do? Bylsma, being a good (if stubborn and predictable) coach, decides to trot out the "real" roster. Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Letang, et al. They'll blow some team out of the water and feel a whole lot better about themselves, which'll give them some much-needed momentum, something to really build on, etc. etc. etc. And we're (probably) gonna be the ones to give them that win. I know, I know, it's just the preseason. I just really, really hate the Penguins, and the fact that we're so. freaking. injury-prone/fragile. I'm hoping their roster will, like ours, magically not be stacked.

You've gotta be kidding me. This genuinely pisses me off, for some reason.

I think if our second line really sucks for a few games we should just make it our third line and make The Kids (Nyquist - Andersson - Tatar) our second line. Zetterberg Datsyuk Abdelkader Nyquist Andersson Tatar Franzen Weiss Alfredsson Cleary Emmerton Samuelsson GENIUS. (OR NOT.) Same, lolz. (You're welcome!)

So Martin's out, along with Vitale and Despres. Basically, this is, like I said, real lineup against real lineup. Which is sweet. Unless we lose. I'm very eager to see our second line.