clutchngrab

46 shots and counting

Where is the rest of the team though? Wow... I'm worried.

Could it be that we actually steal a game? Am I jinxing us?

Another f***ed up NHL game...lovely

Smart defensive move by Stuart. God where would we be without his play this year?

Oz is busy counting shots. He can't be interrupted.

They were on their heals so much they were parallel to the ground.

Actually, he has improved some from from the beginning of the year - so there is hope.

Howard in a nutshell. Wow! Amazing in stopping the puck, but shaky as hell in rebound control and puck-handling. If he can put all 3 together - watch out!

Holy s***.

I like Howard, but man his rebound control sure needs work.

Have you missed a lot of games? This is pretty much par for the course.

LA is gettins some mo back. We're on our heels a bit. Nice stretch by Jimmy

I wonder what the record is for total man-games lost for the season. We have to be in contention for that record, though St. Louis and the kings have been pretty hammered in recent years.

Yeah, s***ting the bed is kind of imprecise... One man's s*** is another man's wet fart.

He never really s*** the bed here... I'm guessing that his career decisions played as much or more of a role than Holland's love for Meech or Lebda. Players have to look out for themselves, and it worked out for Quincey. And all this would be fine except that Meech is on the PP and Lebda gets lots of minutes and both of them are the same crappy player.

Lids and Rafalski usually play on the 1st unit which does not include AHL scrubs.

Agreed. But if I could ditch his contract today I would. I certainly hope he takes the Yzerman discount...maybe 3-5M for 2 years tops. I think Holland f***ed up some things too, but most of this were not in this off-season. What are you referring to? I agree that we have had surprisingly good efforts out of lots of folks like Miller, Eaves, Bert, etc. It may not be enough, though.

IF we make the playoffs, then I agree. But I am not convinced we will. I'm not sure this team can score enough goals even with everyone back. The reason I say this is that our PP has always been driven by the best defensive point tandem in the league - namely Lids and Rafalski. And we NEED the PP desperately - especially since we have lost 5 on 5 scoring from last year. Maybe things will be better when people are healthy, but I don't know. These guys look old and over the hill right now.

The other point I always come back to w/ Quincey, is that he was a stud in the Ducks series when Schneider went down. Neither Lebda nor Meech, in my opinion, has ever performed at the level Quincy did in those playoffs nor will they ever. So if a player proves he can compete at that level in that situation, then maybe, just maybe, he might be worth a little investment - assuming he isn't over the hill and old. In short, Quincy had an upside that Holland missed and shouldn't have.

Let me just set the record straight - I don't dislike Rafalski and Lids has been my favorite player since the Yzerman days. But we are in a very different time in the cap era. If teams are to win, they must really look hard at the cost/benefit for any given player within the cap. That just doesn't apply to today, but to next year and the year after that. Look at Anaheim. Scott Neidermayer was the bomb a few short years ago and now is what -13? At what cost? Do you think that might have a little to do with where the ducks are in the standings? All I am saying is that the cap has created a much more rigorous environment in which we should look at players. Frankly, if I could ditch Rfalskis 6 mil right now I would. And I am guessing if the Wings don't make the playoffs he's outta here if he waves his no-trade.

Agreed. Many decisions have been based on past performance and not on today or into the future. I suppose it is human nature to try to hang onto things as long as possible. However, sports in particular, is very dynamic. Players suck, are great and suck again. There are lots of variables - and age is certainly a major one. Having said all that, I thought this team was well positioned going into the year. I though Leno would be good, Bart would score (which he has) and Cleary, Mule, and Flip could pick up some of the scoring slack. I had my doubts about goal-tending, but Howard has over-achieved. Kronner, and Stuart have been very good as I suspected. Really only 2 things have gone wrong: Injuries and the top 2 D-men performing well under past expectations.

So you are telling me you are completely happy with the bang for the 13 mil? That's a lot of coin for not a lot of offensive production. In Lids case I give him 4 mil slack for his defensive prowess (except for tonight), though with Rafi, one must question his value if he doesn't bring the offense. C'mon, the reason these guys are paid more than Brad Stuart is because they have a 2 - 4 M offensive upside. Maybe that's the real problem - paying any defenseman more than 5 mil is a joke.

With a no trade too. Holland the genius.... This will continue to happen with all the long-terms Holland negotiated as these players age. Maybe buyouts are a legit strategy for the pizza king, but we will see. Everything he did was negotiated for the near term with the assumption that Lids and Raflaski had a couple good years left. Thank god lids 7.4 is up. One more year of Rafi's 6 mil, though.

Everyone knows Flip is not a scorer, but a better play-maker. Look at the 13 million on D that is not performing.