chrisdetroit

Well that makes no sense. If they can dominate the league as they did the first 20-30 games then explain why "they aren't that good this year". Are you saying that the first part of the season was "luck"?

We were lucky this year. 7 games that started at 10:00 or later and only 3 were on other than Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, all three were this week.

Fact is Niemi has been known to suck. But too many people here would prefer to cheer for the other team so that they can say "I told you so". The same people said that Boston was going to kill us. One of the things that I learned about the Wings is that they get up for big games and after having a bad game they almost always follow it up with a dominating performance. Tonight is one of those nights. Pessimism followed up by indecision...

You do realize that JMac's numbers are almost identical to Niemi's don't you? But don't let the facts get in the way of your pessimism.

Wait a minute. The Kings got there asses kicked. And he's whining about a couple of calls? He should worry more about why they were embarrassed in their own building instead he is crying about the calls? Really? Oh s***! Why didn't he think of that? Stupid Howard. Maybe you should give him some pointers.

But wait. How can he have a great +/- AND be a "turnover machine?" Huh? Well, I checked on NHL.com and his +/- is +37 which is #15 among D-men so that must be correct. That can only mean then that he ISN'T a turnover machine and the LGW crew are using him as a whipping boy, only remembering when he creates a turnover and ignoring all the good defensive plays he makes. Can it be? Naaaah the people on LGW would never do that.... You mean Lids. Kronwall is only 30

Oh for Pete's sake. He is not LAST in either. ALL Goaltenders have bad years and this is only his 2nd year. The first year he was outstanding. Look at what Tim Thomas did last year and this year. This is an awesome deal. It is low enough that we can live with the cap but not so low that it's an insult. It's also a short (2 year) deal so that Jimmy will be motivated to improve his game so that next time he can get a long term deal. Holland is a genius.

Hudler always gets the pick over Z in the shootout. Hudler is much better at deking than Z. Z is a great player but Huds has much better moves.

Yea, Franzen is on pace for 36 goals this year and averages 0.6 goals/game in the last 3 playoffs but he blows... Good rant. I'm with you. Lack of effort, nothing more, nothing less.

Do you not realize that the winning the division means that we are no lower than #3? We have a 10 point lead over Nashville even after losing last night. We will finish the year either #1, #2 or #3 in the west.

Why does every single thread on LGW turn into an enforcer/fighting debate? It got stale a long time ago

5 straight games and you are still worried about it being a fluke? Too much negativity...

mindfly is that you?

Are you serious? The Chicago guy couldn't pronounce any of the Wings names correctly. I remember once when I think it was Larry asked Ken Daniels how he knew how to pronounce all the names. Ken's response was "it's part of my job". I mean, come on, he's never heard of Johan Franzen? I'm ok with that. I mean Martin Havlat skated in all alone. It would have been great to make the stop but Havlat is not exactly a slouch

Joey let in 2 bad goals tonight, otherwise it would have been 4-1. Also it was the second of a back to back against a non playoff team. I'm ok with the performance. We got the W.

I'm with you. Locations that should be in front of us in line New York Minnesota Colorado Philly Of course, any of these teams would be playing the Pens and the Pens will get to make the final decision.

OK. You have identified yourself as a total Homer. Simply put, show me the evidence that the Canucks are "deeper than any other team in the league" This is a ridiculous thing to throw out there with no evidence. As I stated earlier, the points (goals and assists) are more evenly distributed on other teams (including the Wings) so please explain how the Canucks are "deeper". that's what I thought

I did not say that Vancouver was "offensively challenged". I said that they depended on 3 guys for a high percentage of their scoring. Take the 3 guys with the most points- add up the points and divide this by the total number of points for the team and you will see that 40% of the points come from these 3 guys. They are still scoring a lot of goals but the playoffs are a much different story. EVERYBODY's goal scoring goes down in the playoffs. For a team that depends too heavily on a few guys for their scoring this is a problem. In the playoffs, the defense on all teams will tighten up and if teams like Vancouver have their big guns shut down, they will struggle. As far as Lou, he's never played in more than 12 playoff games so it's hard to tell how he would do on a long run. His save % has been all over the map 2007 .941 2009 .914 2010 .895 I guess you could average them together and conclude that he has been "respectable" but an .895 save percentage in his latest playoffs is a cause for concern.

Nope unless a great opportunity pops up. I'd like to see him get a proven goalie. How 'bout Vokoun as a rental? He's a UFA in July and obviously the Panthers aren't going to the playoffs.

Even if we don't pass them, we will still be in good shape. I don't see Vancouver getting to the conference finals. They have no scoring depth and Lou has always had a hard time in the playoffs. 40% of their points come from 3 guys. Compare that to the Wings who have only 30% from the top three guys... If they finish #1 and us #2, the only time that we wouldn't have home ice would be if we played each other in the conference finals and I don't see that happening. As far as the SCF who knows what will happen in the East. My bet is Philly will win the east but you never know...

I guess I was close - "Two and Done" not "One and Done"

And people on LGR will still *****

I hope you learned a lesson. When the Wings bring it nobody can beat them. They just outscored the team with one of the best GAA in the league by a combined score of 10-3. I'm thinking that there were 28 teams watching this on national tv whose reaction was "oh @$@@" they're back.

Kronwall had knee surgery before the 2005-2006 season and missed almost the entire season. Detroit Red Wings Oct 1, 2005, 12:00 AM EDT DETROIT (AP) - Detroit Red Wings defenceman Niklas Kronwall will undergo surgery on his left knee and will be out four-to-six months, general manger Ken Holland said Friday.Kronwall, 24, was injured when Colorado's Dan Hinote hip-checked him along the boards in an exhibition game Tuesday night. Holland said Dr. William Clancy will perform the surgery in Aspen, Colo., after the swelling in Kronwall's knee goes down in two or three weeks. Clancy examined Kronwall on Friday.Kronwall was slated to be one of Detroit's top four defencemen this season.

It happens every year about this time (except last year). We are comfortably in the playoffs and really only have to play at about 0.500. Teams like Nashville are playing their asses off to make the playoffs. Combine this with the long season and it's almost inevitable. The Wings lose their motivation and are playing teams that are battling for their lives. I am not excusing it only trying to explain it. My guess is that they play strong this weekend against Boston because it's an original six team and they will be excited about it.