wings4thecup06

I agree with your assessment of Weiss, but I disagree with your overall sentiment of how the wings played. Besides from the first period, I thought we did a lot better job of creating chances, sustaining zone time, getting cycles going, and at least getting shots off. 2 things contributed to the reason the Wings lost. Bishop played outstanding, and the the Wings made a couple of costly mistakes that they got burned on. Mrazek was good. As for what others are saying about Smith, I wouldn't mind seeing him in. He would definitely step up his physical play, and I think this series is going to get more intense. We need someone to sit Callahan on his ass otherwise he's going to injure someone at some point. DK has really stepped it up physically and is absolutely punishing Stamkos (I've got nothing against Stamkos, i quite like him, but seeing DK level him a couple times has brought a smile to my face). Quincey has a physical element to his game too. But the more the merrier IMO. Marchenko has been fine, but nothing special. I would still go with Mrazek 100% right now, especially as 3 of the 4 goals he allowed weren't his fault at all. If he stinks in game 3, then I'd go with Howard. But right now I'm sticking with Petr.

I've had no problem with Ferraro. That whole 4th line has been very physical, defensively responsible and good all round. I'd probably scratch Weiss at this point. Really just isn't bringing anything to the table. I reckon a buyout could be coming if we can't trade him. I'd be tempted to go with a 3rd line of Jurco-Sheahan-Pulkkinen, just to see what happens. I don;t see the point of going with Andersson and Weiss together. They just don't fit. We need a little more offensive depth and I wonder if this would allow us to have that, all with a defensively responsible C in Sheahan and a big body in Jurco.

Well if Callahan get's Kronwalled again, look out. He almost went nuts the first time. But yes. 1 game and we're already overdue for someone to be Kronwalled.

So good to wake up this morning knowing we've nullified Tampa's home ice advantage and are up 1-0. As lots of others have said, the team as a whole needs to play a lot better. But, I thought the D was strong, and Mrazek was awesome, so poised and composed, didn't get rattled, exactly what I expected him to do. Personally, I think the problem playing Nyquist with Tatar in the playoffs is that their games are too similar, and having 2 undersized guys on the same line is a problem at this time of year. I thought they played better in the 3rd when Babs swapped Jurco with Nyquist. Then you've got Sheahan's size and hands, Tatar's speed, and Jurco's speed and ability to crash and bang. There was a reason why these 3 played so well together last year, I've been surprised that they've hardly been together this year. Putting them back together would hopefully get the 2nd line going, which we need. Keep Dats and Z together for now. They were our best line and besides some shifts from the 4th line, were the only group of guys able to sustain zone time in the Tampa end. We were on our heels and playing without the puck for most of the night. Splitting them up now makes no sense. Even if Abby is good to go, I'd probably keep Helm with them. his speed brings such a good dynamic. Then you could slot Abby down with Nyquist, and maybe Weiss? And I'd keep the 4th line as it is. Ferraro plays physical and is fast. Those guys aren't counted on to score, and they played an excellent shut down role in game 1, so why change it? Marchenko was good too. No real reason to bring Smith back in at this point is there? If we can win tomorrow, then maybe we'll start to get in Tampa's heads a little. Swept last year by Montreal in the first round, what happens if they go down 2-0 and then have to hit the road?

I think the thing with Pulkkinen is that he hasn't shown an ability to handle the physical intensity really if we're being honest. He's been fine, but as someone mentioned, isn't great at winning those board battles. Thus, these become more important come playoff time as we all know. Ferraro has been decent, and Andersson has more size, so I guess that's why Teemu is scratched. Although, I've been consistently annoyed with how Babs out Teemu in the slot on the PP. He really has no business being there, and should be out at the left point so they can just feed him one timers for a minute.

This is the biggest problem I have with the NHL, and will continue to have until we have someone who truly cares about the sport as commissioner. If the NHL accepted it's status as a niche sport, and reached out to and poured it's energy into marketing the game towards that fan base that will truly never leave, things would be a lot rosier IMO.

I'll take Nashville here - like some others I haven't watched alot of either this year, but I think the Preds are due, and everyone hates Chicago and their bandwagon fan base. There's enough good reasons right there.

Sorry, but while Chiarelli has made some mistakes, this is purely a 'what have you done for me lately' - i.e. miss the playoffs by one point because several guys on our team weren't pulling their weight - decision that epitomises the problems with our generation and pro sports in general. If the bruins had made the playoffs, even if they went 7 games in the first round, I doubt you'd see the same situation.

That's really sad news about Reeds. RIP. Even before that, I would have taken Ottawa to win this series. Even more reason to now. Hottest goalie in the league. Smoking hot rookie goal scorers (Stone for example). Decent amount of veteran depth (Ryan). Arguably the best defenseman in the league (Karlsson). They've been playing playoff hockey for over a month. Oh and Montreal are without Pacioretty. Sens in 6.

Personally I can't stand 'soccer', being from England and all, but that's another story. But I agree with you GMR, it's a shame what has become of today's game. I think the lack of scoring isn't just due to great goaltending and coaching, but it's also the gap between the best players and the worst has now closed. No longer do you see 4th lines sent out there with guys who couldn't skate. What once before was a mismatch of top line vs 4th line, it's now becoming more even than ever. Speed is in a way, killing the most talented hockey players out there. And boy do I miss a good physical game.

I thought they played really well, considering there was no Dats or Z. They came out ready to play right from the start. I was happy. Mrazek was excellent.

Quincey and DK have been our best defensive pairing this season, so I doubt Babs will change that now. I could see Ericsson-Zidlicky and Kronwall-Marchenko, just to balance out the righties.

I don't know but keep hold of that woman forever!!!! EDIT: I imagine the playoff schedule will be out either late saturday night once all the regular season games are done or on sunday sometime

Not when the cross check is right in his cervical vertebrae and a fracture there could severe his spinal cord and leave him paralysed.

Yea this is just stupid. I mean, honestly, why would you cross check someone like that when they're down and defenceless. Absolutely insane. Byfuglien has a phone hearing today, but really, why isn't this a 5+ game suspension? The league really needs to start clamping down on this s***. Give him 20 games. That'll scare the crap out of players

I agree. Mrazek just needs more experience. But IMO, there are so many positives about his game that indicate how high his ceiling could be if he figures it out. Things like, he always seems to make the big save, bounces back from a bad game with a really really strong start always, plays an aggressive style, and handles the puck extremely well. The only question becomes what happens if Mrazek plays really well down the stretch and Babs uses him in the playoffs.....

I agree with your points except for that about Andersson. he's been very solid the last little while. Making smart plays. And against Ottawa, he was the only guy winning face-offs. I'll hold my hands up and be the first one to admit that I wanted him out of the lineup, but for the last little while he's been pretty solid.

Then how do you explain the position of strength we find ourselves in now? Dominating some of the better teams in the league at times? Every team has their ups and downs, and the fact is, if we slumped like this in say December, it wouldn't look nearly half as bad as it does now. The reason everyone is freaking out is because there's 9 games left, it couldn't have come at a worse time, and Ottawa have been on fire. Look at the other teams in this league that have been near the top or are right now. Nashville hit a rough patch earlier this month. And the Rangers? No one was calling them the best team in the NHL in January, but they are now. It happens. While it's tough to watch, I'm still confident the Wings will buckle down here and we'll be fine. The playoffs are a completely different animal, so I'm not going to suggest what happens when we get in.

Essentially, we need 5 wins from the remaining 9 games to have a 100% chance of making the playoffs. Let's get it started right now. http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL/Eastern/Atlantic/Detroit.html

He better. We need him back, badly, even more so now with Sheahan out.

I agree. Basically, guys like Tatar, Nyquist, Sheahan and DeKeyser are no longer supplementary players helping out the core. They've been given a big share of the pie and for the first 3/4 of the season they were eating it. But now, they've slipped, and the team is suffering likewise.

I like it, although Andersson really needs to go. Anyone else wondering whether we should insert Cleary for a game and see what happens?

I agree with you. It's time for some overall accountability to guys like Gus and Ericsson. Howard hasn't been good and I was calling for Mrazek to actually start last night's game over Jimmy because it's obvious he's got the Yips right now. But it goes deeper than goaltending. The entire D needs to play better. I'd totally advocate benching Ericsson, sending Kindl down and calling up Ouellet or Marchenko just to light a fire under someone's ass. What would make this really interesting is if Mrazek just absolutely steals the number 1 job here by playing like Georges Vezina down the stretch. He has to know this too. If Petr really wants to make a big impression now, he knows this is his chance. And I really think it would galvanise the team too. Hopefully he steps up and the team responds.

What would you suggest instead Kip? Personally I've liked that top line of Pav/Helm/Tatar. They've got good chemistry and excellent speed, playmaking ability, scoring touch (when Tatar isn't slumping) and a bit of physicality in Helm. If it were me I think though I'd actually put Sheahan back with Tatar and Jurco. There was a shift in the Phoenix game when they were back together and they look as energised as they did last season where every shift you could see them terrorising the opposition.

You know, there might be something to that. Because since day 1 when we acquired both these guys, despite how well they've played, the team hasn't clicked. Either that or the entire team relaxed a little because they saw their GM getting them reinforcements. Either way I still think we'll be fine and turn it around in time. But it's a little distressing to see this close to the playoffs.