swedishconnection

Remember all the times we were on the other end of this and most of us said "Dont pick your poison"? I am all about keeping the streak - however it happens. Take a look at our lineup all season... to me success was just getting in.

NHL Network showing 3-love Edmonton!

In the words of Homer Simpson to Marge: "It's uterUS, not uteryou!"

I am coming around a bit as well. It has been tough the last 5-6 years, as some of the players that I hated most have joined the team (Bertuzzi, Drake, Tootoo). The biggest thing that has impressed me is when he pulls up on dangerous hits. Like tonight - he could have had a very dirty, from behind hit on the defenseman. Instead of ending the guy's career he pulled up and skated right past him to stay in the play. Love the energy- and I am even more glad the man is more than a mindless, headhunting, cheapshotting douchnozzle. If he keeps this up during the remainder of his contract years, he will be more effective than some of our previous spark plugs. As long as the Wings dont sign Jarkko Ruutuu or Matt Cooke I will be okay.

This post makes me feel a lot better about our whole situation. We will know a lot more after tonight.

I hate to ask this - but why? If the answer is because our D didn't look slow enough and couldn't make a breakout pass to save their lives then Jim Vandermeer would be the one to pick up.

I understand your need to fire back with a generality towards people with the same sentiment as me, so I definitely do not take it personal. However I have been on these boards since 2006 and have always had a positive outlook on the team. I assumed (wrongly so) that since what I was saying was coming from someone with a proven track record of "glass half full" that it would carry with it inherently larger meaning. My point is that I am not merely one of those "OMG" fans as you had put it, but that even a reasonable and even-keel Wing Nut like myself can look at the last effort and feel like there was nothing positive in it. I do actually remember the losses you described, and I remember loosing a few in blowout fashion to Columbus over the years. Still, even with those sores of hockey games - my original point remains - that I cannot seriously remember a game that was as poor as the last against St. Louis. I agree with a previous poster regarding our passing - it was simply non-existent. Had we been more on form the game may not have looked nearly as terrible, (yes that is a silly statement to make), but I recall several passes into skates or just out of reach that directly resulted in turnovers. I really hope we have a better performance tonight. Even if we dont - I will still be there and watching and cheering as best I can.

The main concern that I think most of us have is that the game vs St. Louis was probably the worst game from start to finish that we have seen. I've seen bad games; Ive seen terrible periods; but never have I seen such a game where a puck-possession team never (NEVER!) had the puck more than 7 seconds. Seriously, seven (7?) shots on net all game? This must be how Columbus fans felt in their first season in the league. I am not going to jump off a cliff here, but I dont think I have ever seen a game where there was nothing positive to work off of. I really hope we can use this as a giant wake up call. I want to see the Wings turn it around. What we saw the other night was the furthest thing from Red Wing hockey that I have seen in the last decade.

I understand the arguments from some of the folks that have been watching the wings for a long time. i always discuss this with my friend who has watched them his whole life and he feels the same way - whites at home. I, however feel the opposite: As in war you defend your colors at home. Since everyone has whites they can wear them when they come in to other's buildings. You shouldnt have the right to wear your team's colors in someone else's barn - its not your house , youre the guest and should honor that.

Split the difference. Cincinnati Catfish.

Why did you need to bring up old salted wounds that none of us here at LGW have forgotten about? And then you have to use your ninja-logic to have us remember that he was the only one that scored in that game, which is something we have all conveniently disregarded...

Welcome Back, BlueAdams. The only problem I see is that Brunner is not a center, and Nyqvist may actually get more playing time than him anyway.

Ooooooh *wincy face immediately before a car crash*. Perhaps he should have let the other shoes drop before agreeing. I would have rather had him than Tootoo, but Gaustad made his bed...

If that is the case then why did Philly front-load the contract? If the argument to that would be to make it appear less back-room, then it may very well limit NSH's ability to secure Weber. Wasnt it Matt who figured out in an earlier post that it would be 16% of the entire value of the team just to pay Weber in the first year? That simply cannot be a back door agreement. More likely Holmgren just wanted to force NSH's hand.

Why does one have to be better or worse than the other in everyone's minds? If you asked me who was the better shut down defenseman, it would clearly be Stuart. He was utterly reliable in all of our playoff appearances. His defensive play was solid, and for as many times as people say he was bad no one has provided consistent analysis or video of his failures. Biggest question here would be... Lilja or Stuart - both had similiar roles. Quincey has much more offensive upside and a little snarl in his game which has been sorely missed. He did not play out of this world when we re-obtained (is that even a word?) him, but no one on the team did. He seems like a serviceable enough #3 or 4 Defensman - and it looks like thats where Babs will have him slotted: right behind Kronwall and White.

Yeah this is the sense that I get too. I have no idea why he is trying to make such a large splash up front when we have more pressing needs in back. I thought it was Kenny (Scotty?) who said many years ago that Championship teams are built from the Defense forward. I cannot sincerely believe that we feel comfortable enough with our D corps to warrant a big name forward. Baffled...

Wait, now I am confused. Why are we looking to trade Franzen again? I know that is all I have been hearing all summer - but according to this post Franzen is the better deal...

Thats a very arbitrary remark. I look at it no different than Bab's assessment: Two teams who lost a series 4-1 and are out of the playoffs in the first round. Neither team should be considered an "elite" playoff team. Their stars didnt play any better than our stars. Their bottom 2 lines played like ours. I dont see to much difference between them.

Ouch. I cant believe they actually had that merch...

I was all excited about him coming back. Now after watching him I dont know what all of the hype was about. He looks like the same player we put on waivers. I am hoping that the streak and his return are unrelated, and that I am being a typical overanalytical wings fan.

I believe the point was that on any trade there was a roster spot given up - referring to the acquisition of Quincey, not the departure. We got rid of Commodore who was riding the pine anyway and brought in a #4-6 D. The guys below him on the updated lineup would "be pissed" because someone (Kindl) would be pushed out of the lineup on a consistent basis.

Zetterberg has been noticeably slower this season. He's my favorite wing, but there is definitely something 'off'. Whether its his knees or back it doesnt frankly matter - he just does not have the ability (or agility) that he once did to beat defenders inside, outside, over etc. He has also developed what I describe as the "Cleary" bad habit - which is consistently make the same play that fails to work. Z will always undoubtedly take a puck wide and behind the net with a defender on his back - every time. He hasnt shown that killer instinct to cut to the middle and freakin shoot this season (which I attribute to his lack of speed to beat defenders). Cleary will always break into the offensive zone, stop at the top of the half boards, and look for a pass towards the crease. EVERY TIME - even if there are NO DEFENDERS between him and the net. Its these types of bad habits that create very little offense - and when they do it is from a terrible angle. With all of this said he is still a tremendous passer, has one of the biggest hearts and deepest wells of willpower, and possesses the most ridiculous back hand shot I have ever seen.

Did anyone just see that defensive work done by Huds? I am by no means a Huds slappy but that was excellent work against a bigger man in the corner and Huds came out on top and made an exquisite pass to boot under pressure!

I dont think it has anything to do with that. It has to do with the chance to set an NHL record for attendance that may never happen again. If the Loafs come to town, they may even break the Big Chill records for most in attendance ever for ANY hockey game.

I was pissed he didnt do it on the second goal just to stick it to Hartnell. Whats the old addage? ...The greatest form of respect is mockery? Or something to that tune.