clayjoh

After watching that pathetic game last nite(on many levels) you'd think that the outcome was preordained It looked like the ice plant was turned off 2 hours before game time or else a mixture of salt and sand was laid down at the last flood Detroit played like Illitch needed another gate back in Detroit on thursday to pay Hossa for next year this calm and cool attitude is beginning to grate a bit It reeks of a lack of passion at times really Anaheim clubs away at Osgood and nobody will step up Sammy and everyone else is shooting 12 mph outside shots again with no net prescence You can't score on these michelin man goalies from far out anymore unless their equipment is changed dirty goals are the norm now so then we get roughed up by the winning team at the end what to improve the TV ratings for game 7? Isn't it the losing team that sends the message at the end it was real crap last nite on all levels comments?

I'm somewhat of this thinking also The ref may have done this team a huge favour in retrospect In all seriousness they haven't played solid hockey since game 3 of the Columbus series that game four was crap it looked like NBA out there just tradin hoops for the win Our game 1 win against Anaheim was no hell either so as I see it we haven't REALLY played well for 4 games now Time to really explode on these dirty chumps We've gotta come out flying for a change with the mindset that "We're the Detroit f'''''in Redwings " Stanley cup champs

They said at the conclusion of the CBC broadcast last nite he played something like 27 minutes IMHO that's way too high for a forward He's gonna wear down real fast at this rate Also Pronger the turd and Neidermayer(S) log huge minutes THey're gonna hit those points in games where the mind says yes but the legs say no pretty soon Did you notice Babcock would put our fourth line out against the end of a Getzlaf shift last night also Their fourth line wasn't seen after the second period was it? Their reliance on too few players will be decisive as this series progresses You heard it here first.... COmments

Has anyone heard if the speedy Draper as Bob Cole refers to him will be in the lineup as opposed to Kopecky floating out there ala Joe Thornton? Kopecky was invisible out there last series Also of interest is ice time comparison of key players available at www.nhl.com Already Anaheims big dogs(or dog turd in the case of Pronger) have already logged significantly more total time than any wings and time per game is very high for Getzlaff It's obvious this will factor in later in this series I predict Anaheim might just mail in game 1 at least Hoping for a big time stomp job on those greasers

It was obvious esp on the Nash goal he couldn't go right to left in the crease look at that goal in slo-mo and you'll see it groin pull type problem could be big time trouble rest assured the other teams will be reviewing footage also

Just thought I'd throw this one out to the assembled masses that I think Hitchcock generally controlled his bench well and with the exception of that knob Torres did not allow his minions to goon it up very much in this series I think he showed reasonable respect for our organization(apart from the faceoff cheat remark) I saw very few instances where his guys went head hunting(apart from knob#2 Commodore) He knew he was outgunned big time from the start yet Columbus by and large played a fairly standup game They're not a bad bunch of players over there as opposed to the greasers in Anaheim and Calgary On to round two wonder who it'll be ? enjoy the evening

With all the whoopla of the start of the playoffs I still remember back to the original cup team of 96 -97 and the feel we had then with Konstantinov on Defense Vladdy had the heart of a lion much more so than any other russian I've ever seen since Remeber how he used to line guys up for absolutely devastating mid ice hits ? Remember the beauty he laid on HAwerchuck in the finals It's just sad to think of what might have been ..to have had a warrior like him with us for the last 12 years or so He was one of a kind in my opinion Sure glad the organization still helps him along If they need some Chris Farley type Motivational stuff this year they should bring out a highlight reel of Vladdy for the youngsters in the dressing room to watch He was a special player Feel free to reminisce....

Does anyone have any scuttlebut from the street about the nature of Draper's injury? Does anybody recall from the late season game how he was hit ? which game? He's out practising and riding the bike even took warmups the other night before game one yet is considered not available Seems a bit odd to me Although when they say upper body injury in the playoffs that could mean a bruised ankle who knows

Wasn't it about a month ago when we had just dismantled these guys that Hitchcock said that if the Wings play up to their potential that nobody could beat us or something to that effect Not a great statement for him to have made going into a playoff against us as it turns out but these guys will come out all full of piss and vinegar and we better get in playoff mode from the first whistle....... DOes ANYBODY think there may be merit in benching Ericksson for at least a game and let Chelios start just so Ericksson doesn't get perhaps overwhelmed by it all? I've been pondering this a bit... comments.......

I agree also Are you guys familiar with sandbagging in golf "qualifying tournaments" this years team almost looks like they purposely tried to stay under the radar all year and booted a few games quite convincingly ,as they say but by the same token when they decide to turn it on as we saw a few times this year.......think back to the outdoor game and those SanJose at Detroit games earlier it looked like men against boys Nobody can match our talent and depth that's obvious but we have to get the eye of the tiger in a hurry

You can see it in the recent games the defensive zone coverage now by and large turns everything to the outside and only gives (generally) one shot on Osgood Not too much slamming around in front of the net either break outs are better too Did anyone notice the look on Atlanta and Philadelphia's benches those last two games late in the games Those guys looked totally defeated to me knowing they had NO CHANCE of a comeback Also when Hitchcock of Columbus makes his comments last week I think all the In Crowd of the NHL knows that anybody beating Detroit will be a monumental task When these guys decide to pour it on as they have only sporadically this year it's a sight to behold I can't wait for the playoffs hope we smite a few opponents like we did Colorado last year that was fuuuuuun

Anyone smell a feed out there yet ?are we expecting something on Ustreams ?

and now the feed has gone to s*** again.........

Calgary are such greasers in their style of play as Mickey says it's going to bite them big time in the playoffs All the dirty stuff ala Phanuef etc keeps coming back to haunt them with penalty kill situations Also they rely so heavily on Kiprisoff(is he a bit twitchy to you ?? ADD ?) he will be a tired goalie going into the playoffs I think goaltender fatigue from regular season is a significant factor in the playoffs see also Vancouver

So are Ken daniels and Mickey Redmond out in cyberspace tonight anyone having any luck with a feed??

It would be interesting to do a video analysis of all goals against on Osgood or Conklin this year As any hockey person knows many goals against are indefensible by the goalie in that the play that occured /puck movement/defensive error out front created the goal and Osgood or whoever had NO CHANCE to stop the puck crossing the line I know the team's goals against is well up this year but I think a thoughtful video analysis would show that team defense is a far greater contributer that the perceived Osgood collapse everyone seems to ascribe to in our poorer goals against this year IMHO I still think Babcock knows the power and veteran leadership he has at his disposal and the team as a whole has played the season on cruise control they'll be there when it counts

Colleen pushed real hard for Gordie in the early days as it was said he was a bit of a pushover in contractual negotiations with the likes of Jack Adams et al She also worked hard to get the "Gordie Howe Franchise" so to speak out in the public eye even after his retirement to keep the pennies rolling in She really was the love of his life ,,, met her at the bowling alley apparently and they raised a terrific family the last several years have been very tough on the family due to her illness God bless Mr Hockey and all his family

These announcer assholes all have to keep up the blab so they throw out all manner of verbal s*** just to reduce dead air AND get people to watch the games If you talk to the people that count in the hockey Biz they know the Wings are a prohibitive favourite to repeat Just ask the Vegas bookies!! Do we really even want first overall?? Let all these talking heads keep yapping about Joe Thornton and San Jose and watch them crash and burn Calgary is gearing up big time for this years playoff with trades Hope they and Vancouver hook up first round AND mark my words Ozzie will be there when we need him in spite of this years regular season performance Most nights the whole team looked like they were on cruise control even when they won When our guys collectively say "it's go time Seinfeld" they can throttle anybody IMHO

Roberts is well beyond his "best before" date he looked sad out there even in last years playoff Only guy that still thought he had anything was Don Cherry and we know he 's certifiable Roberts ia a cheap shot artist who can't skate No Thanks AT ALL SATAN on our team?? How could we lose with SATAN maybe get Sadamm too from South Park........

this was the throw away game of the year boys left detroit late last nite after the kings game rolled into nashville in the wee hours maybe had a crappy sleep wandered around a bit ate some bads ribs or something and just were not in the mood to play collectively tonight As menacing as Babcock looked at times it was so atrocious I suspect they'll laugh it offin a day or so will it however affect the goalie rotation??/Hmmm

I would see this move to pick up Dandenault as a more likely scenario than a goalie pick up A guy who knows his way around the locker room plus has the speed and puck skills to play in the Wings system Plus I bet Ken could pick him up for nobody leaving from the active roster Honestly at this time a goalie pick up could be baaad for the dressing room I think there's still a lotta love for Ozzie in the room esp from the older guys team chemistry will not be largely tinkered with Only Kopecky is vulnerable IMO Flip is safe based on recent play and last years playoffs dandy would be excellent depth at defense...........

Hi again Nev Your last paragraph sums it up for me also These 2 guys are absolutely pivotal to our chances of a repeat and a nice long mid season rest is exactly what we want here for them specifically and the rest of t he team also I look for the boys to drop their GAA dramatically in the next months and really start to play re invigorated hockey leading into the playoffs I'll be over for a visit to Lincolnshire again when the dog dies

After watching last nites game it's obvious the two best teams in the west were on display and in all l ikelihood it will come down to them in the western final barring massive upsets or season ending injuries But who else do you guys think are Good teams in the west apart from their current records Who could make life miserable for the Wings or Sharks in early playoff rounds I'm not convinced Chicago is anywhere near elite team status in spite of their record I see the Flames Ducks and Coyotes as having the size and style to be tough teams to get by in the playoffs The rest of the west looks too small or too unskilled to be real threats to me Chime in!

Who's the local bad boy on the sharks now??designated enforcer etc??

I wonder if we might see a little rough stuff early in this one wonder if chee choo will be turned loose to try to rile our guys maybe take a cheap shot at Zetterberg which would obviously provoke a response Hopefully Brad Stuart would be on the ice ..... he'd go with him methinks Anyone else on the roster who might be inclined to drop them tonight?? Have we had a major for fighting in a month or more ??