Dabura

I feel like you and I may be talking about slightly different things. Concerning the importance of regular season points: I don't put much stock in them at all. As a Wings fan, I've learned not to. It's a given that the Wings are going to rack up points in the regular season. What I care about, then, is how well the team's playing, how hard it's working for the points, the strengths its displaying, the weaknesses other teams are exposing.

This. A message has been made: the first two periods are fairly meaningless. Why, then, should I bother watching them?

Good defense, lame offense. If/when the Wings get their act together, they will have great defense and great offense. I'd take that over good defense and lame offense in a playoff series any day of the week.

You're right. Keep Sammy and Hudler over Hossa.

I'm not sure which is worse: people "freaking out" over the Wings mostly sloppy and uninspired play, or people who have a problem with people who *gasp* have the cognitive capacity to criticize the Wings. I'm not really "worried" about the Wings. But anyone who can't understand why someone wouldn't have only positive things to say about this team needs a reality check. If there's one thing the last 10+ years have taught the Wings and their fans, it's that the regular season means nothing. The question should not be, "What's their numerical record?" (does no one remember '95-'96?), but rather, "How are they playing?" And the truth is, they haven't been playing very well. The defense is very shaky, the hunger is not there at all, physicality seems to be a thing of the past -- all in all, very underwhelming. They'll probably turn "it" on down the road, but right now: bad report card.

Anyone who thinks a regular season record means anything has not been a Wings fan for very long.

Guys like Hossa are harder to come by. But yeah, Hossa hasn't really done much so far, so....

I believe I called this. Good stuff.

I'm sure he's referring to one problem. I've just sat through -- and in some cases, given -- a lot of these kinds of "Let's get our s*** together" locker room talks, and I've learned it's always good to be very clear on what it is you, the speech-giver and leader, perceive as the problem. Because stuff can fester, and you know where that can lead. The Wings are professional, though, and I don't expect anything like that happen. Not at all. Again, I just found his phrasing a little odd, that's all.

My point was this: in stating that the team hasn't been playing 60-minute games, and then saying/implying that certain individuals need to step up and play 60-minute games, he's sending a mixed message (at least in this public statement). Is this a team-wide problem, or is this about getting specific individuals (and, by extension, not others) to improve? Personally, I don't really care what Nick says or means as long as the problems get ironed out. We can all probably agree on that. I just think it's a slightly odd way to sum up the situation because it leaves the door open for speculation about individuals not fitting into the whole...

*rid *coming If you're going to be an ass, you should at least know how to spell.

Datsyuk = Snooze

Yep, that's exactly what it's like right now. Good call.

qft But seriously, this team's woes are all defense-oriented -- and when I say that, I'm referring specifically to the guys along the blue line. If there's going to be a shakeup, it should be within the top 5.

Good move, but -- and maybe this is just a semantics issue -- he seems to be sending a bit of a mixed message. "The team hasn't" Vs. "individuals that haven't."

No one's saying the season's over. No one's acting like the season's over. Just calling this game what it was: a farce. I think the most frustrating part is that a lot of us, I'm sure, could see the outcome developing all the way back at 5-4. The Wings have a knack for choking and squandering big leads, and they really have to do something about it, because this kind of effort won't cut it in the postseason. So, we all move on -- but we also hope Babs draws some blood in the locker room.

If you're up 5-2 halfway through the third and you end up losing 7-6 in OT, you'd better be prepared to shoulder blame, no matter who you are, no matter how many goals you scored. Not a difficult concept.

Yes. You win as a team, you lose as a team. This loss tonight was a team effort. Pathetic.

Everyone on this team needs to be slapped upside his head.

Hudler: killer.

Refs: the other team's equalizer™

I would never say a bad thing about Lilja ever again.

Once again, esteef knows the score.

Because, like I said (noticing a trend?), it's an actual staple of Crosby's game, whereas the one time Datsyuk cursed out a zebra was right after one of the worst calls the postseason's ever seen. That's kind of the joke: the call was so bad that even Pavel "Lady Byng" Datsyuk was livid. Crosby, on the other hand, ******* about everything and at every turn. That makes him a whiner -- i.e., one who whines a ton. The Wings are already paying someone to whine; his name is Kirk Maltby. Crosby's a crybaby, and not nearly as classy as Datsyuk or Zetterberg. And that means a lot to me. I'm sorry if this offends people.