b.shanafan14

Combination slump and gross decrease in skill. Zetterberg >>>>>>>>>>>>> Cleary and Samuelsson. I have bigger fish to fry on this team than Filppula Dan Cleary-type player? Knows the system? Steady veteran?

B-b-b-but Quincey and Samuelsson are familiar with "the system"! B-b-b-but White is great puck-moving defensemen! B-b-b-but Dan Cleary proves we can grab everyone's scraps and squeeze every drop out of them!

Just epic collapses, one after another. I can't believe I still get excited when they start with a two-goal cushion and a good first period...

Second rounder, and falling.

Wish that had read "Samuelsson and Huskins are in for Cleary (waived this morning) and Quincey/White" Here's hoping the Z-Fil-Brunner line heats up, the kids keep progressing, and the weak-links stay out of the way. It'd be great to get Pavel back, especially if it meant someone who is slacking finally grabs pine (god forbid). Contain Parise and company, light up Suter and friends, don't cough up the puck like Friday. No prediction, just "Lets go Wings"!

The point wasn't that the GR kids are killing it and should all be brought up, nor was it that the injured players shouldn't have been signed. The point was that as bad as injuries have been this season, its the starters that aren't injured, veteran guys who we are paying substantial buck and giving substantial ice time that are the biggest problem. In other words, games like last night don't end in "damn, those GR kids aren't ready" or "I wish so-and-so wasn't injured", it ended in monstrous turn overs from guys like White, Kronwall, and Quincey, and uninspired play from Cleary and others. Injuries (while definitely having an impact) and scabs aren't the most glaring problem, players that aren't injured and would still be in a healthy lineup are.

This does a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts. Babcock is a great coach, one of the best in the league over the past decade and will likely go down as one of the winningest coaches in NHL history before he is done. You couldn't find anyone better than him of coaches available (or unavailable really). BUT.... doesn't punish slackers, is quick to change lines but not much else, and has never been great at handling goaltenders (Howard and whoever, Hasek and Osgood, etc.)

I just can't believe Babcock is playing Howard again next game. Jimmy is so-so to start the season (due in part to the team around him), then finally gets a breather and comes back strong only to start to fizzle again. He'll have played the last 4, which while not a stretch, it does seem like the guy can't get a rest. He plays better when he is rested and hungry. At this rate Jimmy will see 44 of 48 games and if his slumps don't bury us, he'll be completely taxed by playoffs. I get that Mrazek is young and yet unproven, but give the kid some more starts and keep Jimmy rested. I would prefer to see Jimmy playing 3/4 of the games unless the back-up is sinking us.

As soon as the Wings went up two early, I knew they would unravel. Sure enough, special teams and bone-headed coverage burns the Wings again. Soft loss, no killer instinct, fragile psyche. Better luck Friday.

He sure is playing average this season. His rebound control is an issue, as it has been since he was in GR, but without Nick, Stuart, and Rafalski clearing pucks its becoming a glaring problem. I understand some of the arguments, that he has let in shots that are screened, or deflected, or on breakaways, or otherwise difficult to stop, but to chalk every goal up to "not his fault" unless he has perfect sight-lines, is already square, and ready for it is getting lame. Late or early goals in a period are unacceptable and we've come to expect them. I'm feeling about Howard early this season how I felt about Hasek when his time was winding down, that any shot could potentially go in, and someone will find some way to justify it while forgetting one this: his job is to stop the tough ones too. Right now Howard sits 30th in both GAA and Save % among 40 goaltenders with 3 or more games in. Yes he's seen quality chances against, but who hasn't in this young season with no training camp or exhibition? Needs to step it up.

1) Yes, and no. Having Smith and Helm out for a prolonged period of time is hurting the Wings. Other than that, I'm not sure we've "missed" White during his time out or Sammy. Yes it sucks to have patchwork defense, and yes Helm drives the bottom six, but other than that, its the players who are on the ice that are the problem. Quincey is dreadful, and both Ericsson and White (albeit not nearly as bad) have both been burned for several breakaways/dumb penalties this season. The rest of the bottom 6 without Helm should at least be capable of physicality and energy. Besides a Tootoo fight every night (all staged), no one is doing anything. 2) In my opinion, Howard has not been great this season. He has had a few stretches of being good, but his job is keeping pucks out of the net, and in the cold light of day, he hasn't done that. Howard sits at 30th in GAA and Save% among the 40 goaltenders who have played 3 games or more. That's right, Howard is near the bottom in both of the major goaltending categories, so how has he played great? Goaltending comes down to providing confidence as backstop and making up for the team's mistakes until they can right the ship. Yes, he has faced some tough shots, through bodies or on breakaways, but his job is to stop the difficult shots, too. His rebound control has always been an issue, but its much more glaring without Lidstrom, Stuart, and Rafalski clearing juicy pucks from the crease. Rarely do we see him stopping quality scoring chances, and he has a habit of allowing goals in the first and last minute of periods, which are deflating to a team that's already being frustrated on the other end. Yes, he needs goal support on the other side of the ice, and in most of the games he hasn't been the glaring reason why they have lost (as you said about last night, whether they score 4 or 2 goals doesn't matter when you can only muster 1), but to say he has been great, or even very good is a stretch. 3) Cleary in his present state is nothing like he was early in his time with the Wings, and is starting to show why he was here on try-out coming out of the lockout. He has always had potential, but lacked the motivation and focus until he was about ready to be drummed out of the league. I'm starting to feel like years with the Wings have made him overly comfortable, less and less effective, and more and more vocal (to his detriment). Cleary talked a lot during the lockout and got himself and the Wings organization unnecessary attention. Also, whether he is still seen as a leader in the dressing room or not, there is nothing more annoying than what Cleary has been this season, essentially the opposite of a leader by example. He has become the guy that isn't physical, isn't going to the hard areas, isn't making smarter passes, isn't shooting more, so when they ask him in interviews between periods or after games what is going wrong and he sites those things as areas the team needs to improve in, I don't think "he's going to go show them how its done", I think "and you're the worst offender! You apparently know whats wrong, so why aren't you fixing it?". Now when I see him on the ice, his shots are lazy, his passes are complacent and the penalties... oh the penalties. Cleary needs to move on, or at the very least, start seeing his ice time diminished until he snaps out of it. Another relic we keep because of "familiarity" and describe the way he WAS not the way he IS ("versatile", "physical", etc). Also, without Cleary how can we justify bringing players past their prime or on an obvious downswing into the fold while believing the Wings can just turn them 180

No scoring, soft defense, soft goaltending, and the only highlight is a staged fight. We're the Leafs?

Brunner is still battling in that crease. Kid has some guts.

Cleary penalties end up in the net.

Cleary/Abdelkader on the ice = 45 seconds the Wings don't want to spend trying to tie this up.

Filppula looking better in the third. So, that's positive.

"Wings' offense fizzles vs. Flames young back-up" on Freep.com tomorrow?

Sounds like exactly the sort of team the Wings love to choke d*** against. Oh, and Iginla was scoreless until tonight.

I hate Franzen's floating, too, but you have to know you are being trolled, right?

Yay...

Haha touche!

Good, another penalty. I was afraid we would see more than 3 minutes of uninterrupted 5-on-5 hockey....

Ericsson sleeping. Great.

Mule with a gift!

Brunner is all around the net, keeps going right to the crease, at 5'10", 185lbs. Where's Franzen, at 6'3", 225lbs.? "They see me floatin', they hatin'..."