NeverForgetMac25

You said it right in your post, "Here is hoping we don't have to "shake things up" and just ride it out with these pairings." I completely agree that these pairings are very complimentary of each other. Obviously they balance the talent level on the bottom two pairings, but in turn they weaken it as well. As long as the puck stays out of the net, you won't see change on the blue line or up front, but the second a few bad games roll around, you can expect change to come with it. No one is saying they won't eventually go back to the current pairings, but Babs doesn't like to keep things the same when the wins aren't coming as frequently and he's quicker to the draw then most coaches in that regard. That's my whole point.

Every single Dman has been paired with every other throughout the season. Babs isn't shy about shaking things up and switching things around. Not even to mention the fact that Babs loves having an RH Dman paired with Lids as often as possible to maximize Lids' effectiveness. Yes, the Lids-Stuart tandem was effective together during its time, but so were plenty of others and you can be guaranteed those pairings are going to be switched up again before too long.

also in the way that their the exact same lines babs started the season with...real creative though! This coming from the guy who only starts one type of thread and does its repeatedly. Not that it was my argument to get into though....just sayin.

Wow, big Joe is having quite the down year assist-wise. You do realize Babs is most likely pairing those two up just for a few more games given Stuart's absence? Babs likes to throw any returning long-term injured Dman with Lids right away just to get back on their feet. It's simply to make the transition back easier and less costly due to rust.

LAST UPDATED (2-21-2011, 4:01 PM ET) February 21, 2011 Dallas Acquires: (D) Alex Goligoski Pittsburgh Acquires: (F) James Neal, (D) Matt Niskanen

^ Agreed. I can't get over how many big moves have already been made, not to mention the amount of "little" ones. It might just lead to a dull Trade Deadline day.

With Pittsburgh's injury situation up front, a deal for a forward almost seems imminent. Me neither. I'll switch that to a darker color or go to the teams' secondary/non-black color.

Friday, February 18 NY Rangers at New Jersey St. Louis at Buffalo Boston at Ottawa Detroit at Florida Philadelphia at Carolina Anaheim at Minnesota Columbus at Chicago Saturday, February 19 Atlanta at Edmonton New Jersey at Carolina Los Angeles at NY Islanders Ottawa at Toronto Florida at Tampa Bay Anaheim at St. Louis Phoenix at Nashville Dallas at Vancouver Colorado at San Jose x2 Sunday, February 20 Washington at Buffalo Philadelphia at NY Rangers Detroit at Minnesota Pittsburgh at Chicago Montreal at Calgary

What would it mean if you only rolled the lines at 95%?

If ever the Wings were going to make a move at that #1 spot, now has gotta be the time.

Steckel's hit may or may not have been unintentional. Either away, I've removed it from my post, but it doesn't change everything else that happens on a daily basis in the NHL. Just ask any player in game, they'll all tell you the respect amongst players has dwindled dramatically. It's not to say there aren't plenty of examples of respectful players, but there's far more that aren't now there there ever has been.

I must have been, because thinking back to it...Steckel's hit was unintentional. I've removed it from my post, but it doesn't change the multitude of other examples I gave and everything else that happens on a daily basis in today's NHL. Just ask any player in game, they'll all tell you the respect amongst players has dwindled dramatically. It's not to say there aren't plenty of respectful players, but there's far more now that aren't then there ever has been.

Martin's center-ice blindside punch, Ove's plethora of knee-on-knee hits, Gilles' headshot and subsequent punch after the player went down, Cooke's constant BS, Tootoo, Avery....guys of the like. Not even to mention most of this garbage has been since the beginning of 2011. Of course there's a list a mile long of players that have gone down by freak accidents, but the list is just as long with players dolling out shots due to a lack of respect. Do you honestly believe respect amongst players hasn't significantly dropped since the lockout?

It's been like that the past few years. With the lack of respect amongst players nowadays, this is what we can expect going forward unless the league makes a change.

That was the Z, seperated-shoulder hit...right?

^ I don't understand how JQ could be one of any Wings fans' least favorite coaches. The guy has been beaten up by the Wings so many times in his career, its flat-out amazing. As long as he's nowhere near our bench...I love him.

He confirmed that he will for the first few weeks. After that, he said he'd ditch it.

Friday, February 11 Detroit at Boston San Jose at New Jersey Pittsburgh at NY Islanders Colorado at Columbus NY Rangers at Atlanta Minnesota at St. Louis Chicago at Dallas Anaheim at Calgary Saturday, February 12 Los Angeles at Washington Ottawa at Edmonton Toronto at Montreal Carolina at Tampa Bay Chicago at Phoenix Colorado at Nashville St. Louis at Minnesota Calgary at Vancouver Sunday, February 13 Boston at Detroit NY Islanders at Buffalo Columbus at Dallas Pittsburgh at NY Rangers Los Angeles at Philadelphia San Jose at Florida x2 Carolina at Atlanta Anaheim at Edmonton

Green Bay was nuts last night. My brother and I went downtown after the win and the scene was surreal. People all across the streets, cars with their windows down and the people inside high-fiving everyone that was walking by, and Green & Gold fireworks. Epic. No other word.....Epic!

Friday, February 4 Florida at New Jersey Buffalo at Pittsburgh Columbus at Detroit x2 Washington at Tampa Bay Edmonton at St. Louis Chicago at Vancouver Saturday, February 5 San Jose at Boston NY Rangers at Montreal Anaheim at Colorado Toronto at Buffalo Atlanta at Carolina Ottawa at NY Islanders Dallas at Philadelphia Edmonton at Columbus Minnesota at Phoenix Detroit at Nashville Los Angeles at Calgary Sunday, February 6 Pittsburgh at Washington New Jersey at Montreal St. Louis at Tampa Bay

Where did you come up with $1.7m? More like $780k.

All that's fine and dandy, but what this writer fails to mention is the fact that clearly the referee lost sight of the puck, hence he blew his whistle or was intending too when the puck crossed the line. There's a ton of instances where the puck clearly isn't frozen by the goaltender but there's so many bodies in front of the net that the ref simply loses sight of it and has no other option but to blow the whistle. That's what happened in this case and it most certainly doesn't make it wrong, just unfortunate for Senators fans. It happens all the time though. On top of all that, you can say what you want but the puck absolutely gets lost in the overhead view which is why the non-goal was likely upheld.

It's also how they keep their payroll/cap number manageable.

I don't think its about Babs not being a huge of of Eaves on the PP, its just that he's needed elsewhere. While he filled in wonderfully on the PP when guys went down, Eaves has been critical in giving Z, D and other top scorers off on the PK so they can focus their efforts on putting the puck in the net. Obviously Eaves is better than just a fourth line grinder....hell, his draft position alone shows the potential he has, but the Wings are simply too top-heavy up front with a healthy roster and Eaves can be more effective on a lower line than some of the other aging top liners would be. As awful as it sounds, with putting Eaves back on one of the lower lines it not only allows him better matchups, but more importantly for the future of the Red Wings, it manages Eaves production and makes him more attainable next year.