RedRum #1

I have a serious question about whether Homer is really a top 6 forward, and his play without Zetterberg leads me to believe he needs Hank to produce anything offensively. You take Homer off the top line and you run the risk of him doing nothing while being a liability in his own end. At the same time, I question whether Bertuzzi and Lang will be a good fit. We'll just have to see if Zetterberg's return can turn things around for Homer, and if Lang can prove me wrong and not hinder Bertuzzi's game.

For the last few seasons Chelios goes through stretches where he looks washed up and beyond done. The past several games Chelios has been awful.

The Blues are winning every battle and 3 or 4 steps faster than Detroit right now. It's not about the refs at all. The Wings are playing in quicksand and show no interest in competing today.

Well, the one game we played against them Detroit completely dominated...Ryan Miller was outstanding, probably the best goalie performance against the Wings this season so far. IMO teams with a good defensive structure with mobility on their back-end will give Buffalo serious problems. Trapping teams (the Devils and their two games against the avs and Wild) really exposed them as one dimensional.

Kyle Wellwood is the Canadian version of Jiri Hudler....extremely skilled, but very small and a poor skater. On that 5th goal he just flat out couldnt keep up with his man.

Babcock would NEVER demote Lang to a 4th line center spot unless Lang became such a liability that he had no choice. Having said that, if you gave me a choice as to who I'd rather center Bertuzzi and Calder in the playoffs I'd take Flip.

When you've got guys posting in here 17-20 years old who were 8, 9, and 10 when Sergei was at times this teams best and most important player, you get the kind of ridiculousness that's been in this thread. They dont understand how important he was to this organization. They dont realize that Fedorov was just an important as Stevie or Nick for 10+ years here. Without Fedorov we dont win a Cup, simple as that. Booing Sergei in 2007 makes you look like an idiot. Period.

If you're content with what the Wings get out of Lang every game, good for you. I'm not, which leads me to this..... Because some chose to voice their displeasure over Lang's play (or in this case one of Lang's plays) doesn't make them less of a poster or less hockey-savvy than yourself or SWF....both of you need to get off your high horses, for real.

The problem is the "entire team" didnt play poorly...Datsyuk, Franzen, Cleary and Calder played well. But if that's how some choose to side step the fact Lang has been brutal for most of the season, so be it. Amazing how Bertuzzi and Cleary miss significant time and are immediately more noticeable on the ice than Lang.

I like how Bertuzzi's game picked up as things went along, but I absolutely cant understand the what Babcock is thinking. First, why put Homer and Bertuzzi together? Let Bertuzzi be the big winger and put some speed on the other side. Lastly, why is Babcock so adamant (as he said last night) about putting Bertuzzi with Lang once Zetterberg gets back? I think Bertuzzi and Lang would be a disaster defensively, and Lang just doesnt move his feet enough to create anything.

Tomas Holmstrom is playing as bad or worse than both Samuelsson and Lang. This board plays too many favorites (not necessarily you Monk), but Tomas is invisible since his return.

Surely a poster of your intelligence could explain why Lang would put his stick out on a point shot Ozzie would have gotten. Why not just let your goalie stop it?

Lang is pathetic...I dont give damn how many points he's leeched off Calder the last few games.

You know what...at least Samuelsson busts his ass and is reliable in his own end. He's got awful hockey sense on the offensive end, but I can live with that as long as he's out there getting on people and hustling. What the hell does Lang do out there?

My ideal lines.... Flip/Datsyuk/Bertuzzi Calder/Lang/Hudler Franzen/Draper/Maltby Homer/Cleary/Langfield Probable lines tonight...... Flip/Datsyuk/Homer Calder/Lang/Bertuzzi Franzen/Draper/Maltby Hudler/Cleary/Langfield

I thought much of the disparity in calls against Vancouver was deserved...the game last night was a joke, especially the interference off the puck. The refs basically set the tone in the 1st period that the game would be called tight...the problem is they swallowed the whistle afterwards.

1. Gretz 2. Wayne 3. Mario 4. Roy 5. Yzerman 6. Mess 7. Lidstrom 8. Bourque 9. Sakic 10. Fedorov/Forsberg tied ....Just as an aside, any Wings fan putting Mike Modano ahead of Fedorov on their top 10 's, give your head a shake. I'd take Fedorov in his prime 10 times over Mo, and I'm from Livonia.

Detroit played a solid game tonight...remember this team is still shorthanded. Let me just say this though....some thought losing Zetterberg could expose Datsyuk, when in reality it has exposed Homer...big time.

For me it's Kronwall....and it isnt even close. If you watched him play during the summer in the World's he was amazing. This season it's almost as if he's regressed. As far as Lang, his ship has sailed. He's a washed up center who I only hope wont do too much damage to the team in his own end come April. The only people disappointed with Lang are those who wont let go of the Nashville series 3 years ago.

Basically, all of this stuff Babcock is saying about being "committed" and "professional" all are about ONE thing...Rex working on becoming a better skater. I think Mike knows just like we do that if Hudler can just become an above average skater he could be all the more dynamic offensively.

All I know is this...Hudler better keep scoring and busting his butt, because if he cools off for an extended period down the stretch he'll be in the press box for Game 1, provided everyone is back healthy. Babcock will find any excuse to sit him.

I love the heat this team has shown, especially these last two games......but, we need some of our guys back ASAP. Our saving grace against the Preds was their injury situation was as bad as ours. Even getting Cleary and Franzen back would be huge at this point. The western Canada trip will be tough as hell with the line-up as is.

For all of Samuelsson's problems being a puck hog, you cant deny he's extremely reliable defensively and busts his ass back-checking. I dont think Datsyuk and Samuelsson should be paired together however....their styles just dont mesh at all.

Your best players need to be your best players....unfortunately the Wings three best players (Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Hasek) were awful. One other thing... 1. Get Samuelsson off Datsyuk's line. I like Sammy, but he holds on to the puck way too much to be effective with Pav.

Let's keep it real for a second....if this team was full of grit and toughness, but only played .500 or so hockey with a Conference Final appearance thrown in every 4 or 5 years the Joe STILL would have empty seats all over the place. Honestly, do you think "blue collar" cities like Philly or Boston wouldnt kill for Detroit's style of play if it brought them 3 Cups and all the winning and success we've had? Fans have become spoiled by the Wings winning. They've been the winningest team in the league for well over a decade, they're a motral lock for the playoffs every season. So in turn fans take that for granted. It's happens to every franchise that has dominated for an extended period. I mean, the Atlanta Braves had trouble selling out 1st round playoff games for goodness sake!