russianswede919293

Rafalski is IMO no better than Brad Stuart overall and should be paid at most 4 million. That said he was worth 6 million 5 years ago when they signed the contract. So it is what it is.

If he passed through waivers I am assuming he would refuse an assignment to Grand Rapids (which if he accepted it he would probably be called up for the playoffs and given another shot next season, if he fails then he SHOULD go back to Finland) That being said I don't see him passing through waivers.

3 games or 6 days. The Wings can appeal to the league for 2 additional games. It said so in the article. If they appeal for 2 more games he will play his last game with Grand Rapids on the 12th. The Wings will then have to re-evaluate him medically. Best case scenario we get a game or 2 before the break. Worst case scenario he is back right after the break. Also article says Leino and May are targets to be waived. So expect Leino, May and Lebda all to be waived/traded IMO. Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Bertuzzi-Zetterberg-Cleary Miller-Filppula-Williams Draper-Helm-Eaves Maltby Lids-Rafalski Kronner-Stuart Ericsson-Lilja Meech I 99.99% positive those will be the lines the day after olympic break.

Darren Dreger tweeted that there are major changes coming for the Leafs today, and that the Hiller extension may have something to do with it. I personally think J.S. Giguere is going to be a Leaf by the end of the day. With the Giguere money freed up the Ducks could make some pick ups and be a strong contender for the 8th seed IMO.

Just shows that Ozzie was never upset to be the backup just to not play for a month. Ozzie has become Mike Vernon.

Both Z and Dats are playing 100% defensively this game and with no Franzen there is nobody left to play offense...that is the long and short of it. They need to commit one of them to defense and set the other one loose on a seperate line with Bert.

Rafalski has been the worst defender on the ice for us this game. How many times do I need to watch him fail to hold a puck in the zone and cause an odd man rush...

For Detroit every game should be treated like a playoff game, otherwise they won't have any...

This team needs Franzen back badly. I believe they said he will be back one week from tuesday...good news.

The problem is a fight hasn't really presented itself. And the penguins would be ******* stupid to accept a fight when they have had the momentum the entire game even when shorthanded. Also Crosby has a much better shot and seems to back check much stronger. This is the first year I feel he really is the best overall player in the league. I always put Ovie ahead of him but Crosby really has been the best. I hate the ******, but he is friggin talented.

Wings have played very poorly tonight. Jimmy Howard is the only reason we have a chance to get a point out of this game

Agreed, with keeping Kadri its now even trade. Don't see either team being significantly better from it though.

That is way too much for Dion Phaneuf

New tweet from Dreger saying it could be a multi-deal multi-player move today and a big makeover.

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Franzen-Zetterberg-Cleary Miller-Filppula-Williams Draper-Helm-Eaves Maltby Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Ericsson-Lilja Meech Howard Osgood Cap: 56.732 I think that realistically cap-wise Lebda, May and Leino are all gone. Due to cap reasons that is the best combination. Maltby would be more useful to let go, I just don't see it happening.

Abdelkader to Grand Rapids is all but a guarentee so I would stop including him in dream lines guys...

To me its win in regulation or bust tonight. I think they need a regulation win to get going and get some playoff momentum. Anything else will be disappointing.

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

Babcock said it best. "When your team plays the way it did last nmight you cannot evaluate the goaltender. Its not fair to evaluate the goaltender." I love how when Ozzie gives up 5 goals its back to Grand Rapids to recall a goalie struggling even more than he is in Larsson. But When Howard gave up 5 goals the night before, it was oh the defense was bad... Why does this site always pick one goalie to back and ride the other one into the ground?

The first goal Ozzie made the smart play. The Second goal...was a beautiful shot... The third goal a deflection off a bullet of a shot... None of those goals are Ozzie's fault... But I am still disappointed he let in 3 on 6 shots, even if it was the defense's fault.

This shows you are not actually paying attention to the Grand Rapids Griffins at all... http://theahl.com/stats/player.php?id=2479 Those are the stats... 3.03 GAA 0.899 Sv% Now lets look at his game log. http://theahl.com/stats/gamebygame.php?id=2479 He has had 3 good games out of 13 since December 20th...and has raised his GAA by at least 0.5 in that time frame... Larsson is struggling worse than Ozzie... Just saying.

None of those goals were really Ozzie's fault, per se...but I am disappointed that he let in that many goals. The defence has looked terrible in our own zone, which is the main reason for Ozzie giving those goals up, but its still disappointing performance by him...not sure how much better Howie would actually be doing though. This year is not a fun one...

Zetterberg had a pretty bad game too, he took some piss poor lazy ass penalties...

Another terrible defensive game by the Wings at the end. Not blaming Howard, he had some great plays, but this game showcased the 2 things he needs to work on most. Rebound control and puck movement. The first goal was 100% due to inability to control a rebound and the second goal was somewhat the same. Every time Howie comes out to play the puck I hold my breath. That being said he also made some huge saves when it was 2-2 to keep the team in the game and until the defensive meltdown in the last 2 minutes was having a tremendous game. Only difference is that when the same thing happened to Ozzie against Washington the loss was all his fault, when it happened to Howard it was a bad defensive effort... (on the LGW forums) Team should have won that game and the entire team thought it was won and stopped playing with 2 minutes left in the game...disgraceful game... They need to rebound and win tomorrow...bad...

I can't wait to see the Pad back on the ice.