Kp-Wings

Nice avatar and sig. You have great taste in video games. The other game going on tonight is so lopsided right now. The Av's are really kicking the Stars asses out there. Turco is playing awful. Dallas could be this years Philadelphia: decent team who freefalls into the league basement.

You're right about that, but it just didn't seem an undecided win to me. If Perry had the helmet and visor off, it would have been, since Drake is clearly the better fighter.

Part of me is mad at the fans for not selling out the game tonight. It was the home opener, so it's really disappointing it wasn't an actual sellout. I mean, if teams like the Florida Panthers can sellout their home openers, there is no reason why the Red Wings can't (although, there weren't really that many empty seats tonight, and the fans that did attend were great). On the other hand, part of me is extremely happy that tickets are becoming so cheap again. Nothing beats seeing a Red Wings game live, even if the Joe is a dinosaur amoung arenas, and the in-game entertainment is pretty outdated. It's also a good thing in another way: the lack of sellouts will finally start forcing the Red Wings organization to become more fan-friendly again, for once. The organization has really alienated the fan base over the years, and it's become extremely frustrating. As for the sellout thing themselves: I have full confidence that if the Wings were to lower their ticket prices come next playoffs, there will definitly be sellouts. And if they stay the course and keep ticket prices low, the sellouts should come even sooner then that. But they need to stop being such snobs and make this team accessable to the fans again. Illitch has made the Tigers a very fan-friendly organization. Ticket prices are reasonable, games are fun, and the team celebrates with the fans (like they did when the won the American League title last year). If Illitch can let the Tigers be so accessable to the fans, then why can't the Red Wings? It's time for some changes. I love the Red Wings, and with the new cheaper tickets, I've bought some for quite a few games this year (like tonights for example, which I just got back from). But if the team really wants the fan base back, they need to start showing more of an effort to connect with the fans.

Drake got some good shots in there, but he undoubtably would have won had Perry not have been such a *****. I give that fight a draw. Still a good one though. Hopefully we start seeing more of that.

I single out Maltby as having a great game. I think having Drake on his line will really help his play. Hopefully Downey get's to see some game action soon.

What a fun game! My family and I just got back, and we all had a blast! It's a little disappointing the game didn't sell-out, but that was probably the loudest regular season game I've been to in a long time. It was a good, entertaining game, and it's nice to see the real hockey fans showing up for once, instead of the corperate executives who don't care. The Drake-Perry fight was great! Although, I must say, I'm extremely disappointed in Perry. I knew he was a total girl to begin with, but I figured in a fight he might not be so much of one. But fighting with his helmet and visor on after Drake takes his off on his own? What a joke. I'd say that Drake would have gotten the win had it been a fair fight and Perry not deciding to hide behind his visor. Booing Bertuzzi and Pronger was pretty fun. The guys sitting next to us we're really going nuts when Bertuzzi was up for the shoot-out. It was pretty funny, to say the least. All in all, we all had a great time. We we're up in the nosebleeds (the cheap $9 seats we're a good deal) so I didn't take that many pictures, but I'll try to post the ones I did later if you want.

He did make one for the Minnesota game, I believe. Hopefully he comes back soon. Nothing beats an Aflac GDT.

Atlanta re-claims Pilar? Why? They had virtually no plans to even play him.

I've convinced a ton of people I know to buy tickets. I also plan to buy about 4 myself to treat my family to a game, since we're all huge Wings fans. It's time to start buy tickets people! If the Florida Panthers can sell out their home openers, there is no reason why the Detroit Red Wings can't. This is Hockeytown, so let's start showing our support!

Heh, agreed. And if you ask the Milwaukee broadcaster, he lost too.

Faith No More - Epic

Considering they just came off of a trip to the SCF, and managed to keep their core in-tact, it's not so ridiculous to have them at #1 on the list. Plus they just went undefeated in the preseason. Of course, Chicago went 7-1 last pre-season, and look at how their season turned out.

Who? Downey? I don't know what Kopecky has exactly proven to people that he deserves a roster spot. Guys like Drake and Downey bring physical aspects of the game, such as hitting (and in Downey's case, fighting). Kopecky, for all that size that he has, plays a very soft game. I'd like to see him step it up and start playing physical, but right now he's my whipping boy right behind Samulesson and Lilja. I've never much warmed up to the fact that Kopecky essentially made the team last year because he couldn't clear waivers anymore, either.

Kopecky actually has a few AHL fights to his credit (the infamous fight vs. Scott May, featuring the Milwaukee broadcaster having going crazy over a few punches May threw). For whatever reason, though, he chooses not to do it at the NHL level. Which is quite a shame, too, because he could be a decent fighter with his size.

I'm surprised Grigorenko's agent isn't Mark Gandler or Gary Greenstein. Those two have a knack for turning simple situations into big problems when it comes to Russian hockey players. Hopefully Grigorenko actually earns a roster spot, and not get's it by threatining to go back to Russia. I don't want someone like Downey or Ellis, who are working their asses off to be here, to lose their rosters spots to someone who doesn't want to try.

Maybe the Tigers should sign Barry. (that's an obvious joke, of course)

Good post. The reason Datsyuk really doesn't make a good alternate captain is because he doesn't talk much. It's like pulling teeth trying to get him to do an interview. I don't know the guy personally, so I can't say what he's like not around the media, but all indications seem to say he's the same. Most Russians really don't develop very good english until they've been in the country for a long time. Larionov is a good example, since his english is pretty good, and he's been in the US for quite a while now. Not to take anything away for Datsyuk, but a captain or alternate captain should go by leadership, not point production (or the way he tapes his stick ). Alex Ovechkin is far and away the best player on the Washington Capitals, but his leadership abilities and english speaking skills are lacking. That's the reason they gave the captaincy to Chris Clark: he's an outspoken, proven leader. It really isn't a big deal to me who get's the C's and the A's, but there are players who are more deserving. To say guys like Draper don't deserve it because they don't score as many points as someone like Datsyuk is ridiculous.

I haven't really watched them much this year, but last year their defense never really impressed me. Not as bad as their other aspects, though. That would be me. He was terrible for the majority of last year, so I would have never guessed he'd come in on a roll to start the season. Hopefully he keeps it up.

Phoenix probably will be very bad this season. Gretzky is still the coach. I have some notes on their players though. While the talent level is pretty thin on that team, you are rating some of those guys pretty bad. Mike York was bad last year because he played on a very bad team. While I really don't care for him all that much, I firmly believe he's better then what his stats show. He scored 26 goals his rookie season, and has had solid production in his career on plenty of non-playoff teams (NY Rangers, Edmonton, and NY Islanders). Mike Zigomanis is not stricly an AHL player. He's a good defensive forward, and probably the best PK player the Coyotes have. I like him personally, and he's not as bad as you say. He wasn't an all AHL'er last year, either, considering he played 75 games. Sjostrom was a high end 1st round pick a few years ago. I believe on a good team he could put up decent numbers. Playing on Phoenix won't get him anywhere, but if he was given a decent supporting cast, you would see his numbers improve greatly. Bill Thomas has decent scoring potential... not stricly an AHL player. Michalek can be a good defenseman without Morris, although he's playing with him anyways, so that doesn't matter. He has a good mix of offensive and defensive capabilities, which makes him a versitile player. His stats would probably improve if he played on a good team. I don't think you are giving some of their players enough credit. Some of these guys are decent players: their stats just don't show it because the Coyotes suck so much. With that said: my personal prediction is a dead last finish for Phoenix. If not dead last, then at least 15th in the West, and somewhere like 28th or 29th overall.

Seven Mary Three - Cumbersome

Lions will probably go 2-2 in that stretch, beating Tampa and Washington, but losing to Chicago and Denver. They might beat Denver, but beating the Bears in Chicago is definitly a longshot. For the Tampa game, I have them winning. Tampa may have had a decent start, but Garcia is garbage, and I just don't see any other truely strong points on that team. Their defense is pretty bad also, and should be exposed if Kitna keeps it up. I won't predict a score just yet though. For Washington, I have the Lions winning 24-17.

Chelios should have gotten an "A", if you ask me. But, whatever. It doesn't really matter that much, since I feel he still has quite a large say in what goes on in that lockeroom.

Wow, I'm almost tempted to drink the Kool-Aid now. Not quite yet, but if they win again next week, I might just have to. Definitly an impressive win last night, and they certainly proved me wrong.

He would probably play decent again, for the first time in a while. Not to knock on Maltby too much, but it's a proven fact: unless he has an enforcer at his side, he's not a very effective player, unless on the PK.