Aussie_Wing

Hudler, just gets it DONE!!!

Over the past 8 games the Griffins have outscored opponents 33-9. 9 goals allowed in 8 games! They are absolutely on a tear right now. Everyone is contributing, goaltending has improved significantly. Over the past 6 games Howard and Larsson have recorded two shutouts each.

18 points in 19 games. I think the Wings should sign him before someone else does...

I expected McCollum to do a lot better than he has, however to write him off is laughable. He'll respond from this tournament and be an even better goalie.

That line of Lemieux-McGrath-Pare really is something special. Lemieux had 1 point in his first 12 games, from his past 7 he has 8. Howard appears to be having a strong game tonight. Is this team in the zone right now or what?!

Grand Rapids Griffins (18-7-4-3) @ Peoria Rivermen (19-13-1-1) @ The Grand Rapids Griffins hit the road to take on the Peoria Rivermen who they lost to in OT on Friday. The Griffins have won 5 of their past 6 games and have taken at least a point from their past 6 outings. They are currently tied for the lead in the North Division with the Manitoba Moose with 43 points. With his SO in the previous game, Larsson became the sixth Griffins goalie to log back-to-back shutouts. His four shutouts tie for the AHL lead and his shutout streak now stands at 120:19, less than two periods shy of the team record (153:58) set by Marc Lamothe. Darren Helm sat out the past game with a slight injury but should return for tonight's game. Possible line-up: Leino - Abdelkader - Tardif Lemieux - McGrath - Pare Ritola - Emmerton - Haydar Oulahen - Helm - Downey Ericsson - Pyett Galvin - Kindl Kolosov - Jozsa Larsson Howard Team Leaders: Goals: Haydar (12), Ritola, Abdelkader, Helm (10) Assists: Leino (19), Kindl (16) Points: Leino (27), Haydar, Helm (25) Penalty Minutes: Downey (56), Abdelkader (49) Notes: • Ville Leino is on a 3 game point streak (3G, 1A). • Jakub Kindl has 10 points from the past 10 games and is 5th in defenceman scoring. TV/Radio: Internet stream: Pay-per-view AHL Live Radio: Grand Rapids Broadcast: Radio feed Box Score

Oh would you just give it a break already, you're sounding really repetitive.

Too bad Holland, Babcock and co don't see it this way. I bet he's not seen as redundant by the guys that matter. Hoenstly, what a rubbish post. I’m actually interested in knowing who these players are you are referring too? Zetterberg, Clearly, Franzen and Datsyuk are all players who could be considered greater defensive players than Flip, however are all older. Who are the younger ones you speak of? Helm? He's hardly done enough to prove whether that's right or wrong, I doubt he's even seen a minute of time on the PK when he's been with the Wings. Players in the minors are just that, players in the minors. Everyone knows we lack prospects with high end offensive potential, maybe only Dick Axelsson and Cory Emmerton are guys that could have higher offensive ceilings that Flip. However the former has had more off-ice issues this season and the latter has been a healthy scratch in the AHL. Both are years away. So really, you're just clutching at straws. Flip is on track to just about match his point totals from last season, about what was expected really considering he's playing on the 3rd line as opposed to the 2nd from 2007/08, and he no longer sees any time on the PP. We all know he lifts his game for the playoffs and he's got another 4 years after this one to prove to everyone that he deserved the contract he got. I'm confident he will.

Larsson continues to amaze. 40 saves tonight as the Griffins win 3-1. Some great form they've got going. Manitoba are down 5-2 so it looks as though the Griffins will lead the Division.

Despite the fact most prospect rankings have Ericsson as our #1 prospect IMO there is absolutely no doubt Jakub Kindl is our best prospect. Sure he had a nightmare rookie season in the AHL but he is responding in a great way this season. He’s already surpassed his point total from last season in half the amount of games and he is FOURTH in defenceman scoring. He’s only 21 and has the size, skating ability and ability to put the points on the board to be a very good NHL defenceman. However he won’t be in Detroit next season and neither should he be. He’ll get one last season in the AHL to be the main guy, the one who logs the most minutes in all situations. He’s done that lately with Ericsson and Stafford our injured but next season it’ll be like that every game. He’s a beauty of a prospect, time to get excited. He certainly is. Has been a + rating over the past month and has 11 points from the past 11 games and is a huge weapon on the PP.

Well said, my thoughts exactly. Hossa is just a rental, a great one, but he's still a rental and won't be back next season.

Flip you legend! Kopay!!!

Yeh I had to look twice at that, 0:08. Larsson stopped a penalty shot according to the box score, interesting. He's certainly been rock solid once again.

Well unfortunately Larsson's shutout streak was put to end with a Peoria goal early in the second period. Scored is tied at 1 5 minutes into the second. Edit: Make that 2-1! Hayder from Kindl on the PP.

I don't get what people expect. Yes he signed a pretty big contract but that was for what he will develop into, not what he's going to produce this season. Last season he was the second line centre who saw PP time, this season he's on the 3rd line and he gets zero PP time. How the heck is he supposed to put up big numbers under those circumstances?

The only negative is that this gives us 3 games in 3 nights!

Agreed, Helm is such a terrific player and brings to the table so many great attributes. I would rather him over any of our current 4th liners; it's such a shame we can't have him up here due to being to tight against the cap. A real shame because he thoroughly deserves to be here.

How the heck does the salary cap have anything to do with that? I love it how the salary cap is blamed for almost everything, especially when there is nothing wrong with it.

Haha! Yeah same, was a tough week. Glad it didn't go ahead.

What the heck? Carn means c'mon, it's exactly the same thing. I'm disappointed, Doggy.

What is your problem, seriously? I would much prefer Hudler over Hossa in the shootouts. Considering how little Babcock thinks of Hudler, it says a lot that he would rather him over Hossa in the shootout.

What? Hossa's record in the shootouts isn't overly good whereas Hudler is normally a lock. It was the correct decision.

Great read Coyote, excellent stuff! A few thoughts… I thought you might have been a tad harsh on the pair of defensive rookies Kolosov and Pyett. In reality Kolosov hadn’t done a thing prior to signing with the Wings so they took a gamble and decided they needed to have a first hand look at him to evaluate where he’s at. While he certainly hasn’t set the world on fire I think he’s been a pleasant surprise. He doesn’t have many points but he’ll never be one to rack up the points. By all reports after a shaky start to the season he’s starting to come on strong now and has been a regular in the line-up for the past month or two now. He’s starting to get some time on the PK which is a good reward. Pyett has been pretty inconsistent and at his worst a D+ would adequately suit but for an undersized rookie defenceman in a tough league he was always going to have his off nights. However like Kolosov I feel as though he’s really starting to develop and that’s a big call to suggest he’s a career AHL’er. Emmerton could feel hard done by with just a C; I’d probably have him at a B. Started slowly this season but has been quite good this month, racking up the assists as well as finding his scoring touch. I’ve never been a huge fan of Cory and have felt he’s been overrated by a lot of Wings fans but his rookie AHL season has been quite steady after a slow start. Out of all the prospects playing for the Griffins, I’ve been the most disappointed with Mursak. Not so much because of his play, simply because he hasn’t got a chance. When he plays he hasn’t had much ice-time and it seems he plays one game and then sits for the next 2-3. He is one of my favourite prospects in the organisation, certainly in my top 5, so it’s a real shame to see the coaching staff have such little faith in him. He’s such a hard worker and a talented playmaker, I think the Griffins could really benefit by giving him a larger role. I don’t want to see him suffer the McGrath fate, a poor rookie season which really sets his development back.

Great to hear. I knew Ritola would rebound after last night, he's worked too hard to start taking nights off and not be disappointed with himself. I'm intrigued by Kolosov. I've been hearing all season long about how he needs to use his size and make people pay and it seems as though he’s starting to play a more physical game which is great. And what's the difference when the team plays for Larsson instead of Howard? To me it appears the team plays much better with Larsson in net.

Sammy picks up another joke of a point. Typical.