Echolalia

Actually I'm cautious of the results the last three games yielded. We slaughtered Columbus, but lets face it: the BJ's didn't show up for that one. The game vs Vancouver was really sloppy and I was expecting to walk away with 0 points going into the third, but kudos to them for grinding out a win. The game against the Ducks was nice in terms of special teams, but was otherwise evenly matched until the waning minutes of that game. When you ask "Are the Wings back?" in some regard I want to say no and they won't be for a while because I don't think this team is built to dominate other teams without putting in 100% every night. Otherwise I would say the Wings are back because they are learning how to win games with the lineup they do have.

Gotta give props to the man who backs down.

Because Franzen and Zetterberg provide more potential than Cleary and Zetterberg. Cleary is also more defensively responsible than Leino and can put up numbers without being surrounded by talent, thus he is more eligible to man a third line than Leino. And I would rather see Franzen and Zetterberg together than Franzen and Datsyuk, but that's just my opinion.

Bertuzzi Datsyuk Homer Franzen Zetterberg Leino Cleary Filppulla Williams Helm Draper Eaves I really like the looks of this.

I made the analogy to emphasize the fact that Crosby is more of a leader, more consistent, and more balanced, and Malkin is more of an offensive powerhouse, yet at times plays uninspired. Not that Crosby literally equals Yzerman in every facet imanginable, or Malkin = Fedorov.

Well there's certainly points where the analogy will break down, but Crosby is definitely the leader and more of a complete player, similar to Yzerman who was hands down the Wings leader on and off the ice, and played both ends of the game well (this is where I think the analogy breaks down the most, because Crosby still has defensive flaws in my opinion, but time will tell if he can overcome them). Malkin is a pure scorer and at times seems unmotivated. That is Fedorov to a tee.

Crosby is to Yzerman as Malkin is to Fedorov.

Whatever you do, don't cross streams.

Good thing we'll never verse them in the playoffs.

I think we need to get some stats going on team and individual records with and without the beard.

I may be mistaken, but I believe Filpulla has already worn the A before. Although personally I would prefer to see a couple other people wear it before him, but who knows what kind of person he is in the lockerroom.

I was hoping for steak in this thread. A streak is okay too, though...

Z just made his way into the top 5 in the league for points.

Ha I wish, but if they want to prove me wrong I'm all for it.

Are you suggesting that a 9 goal game is the norm?

Actually good statisticians do throw out anomalies. This is why things such as standard deviation and p values are so important in statistics.

If I'm lucky I can scrape together enough money and time to get to one game a season (I'm on a three-year streak!!!), and I greatly envy those of you who can get out to see the Wings live on a regular basis.

Sure it matters. 9 goals is a statistical anomaly and skews the data. It wouldn't matter if the Wings were good for 9 goals per game per 17 games because then the data would be consistent, but that isn't the case. Prior to the Columbus game the Wings GFA was 2.81, and I can promise you over the course of the rest of the season the current GFA will regress to that mean, and not 3.12. edit: by the way, the 2.81 was good for 15th place also. disclaimer: I'm not saying the Wings are doomed by any means. I'm trying to bring statistical relevance to an otherwise misleading number. That's all.

How many spots did we jump after the 9 goal game?

I'd rather him have the confidence to stray and challenge the shooter than be passive and hugging the posts all night long. Sure every situation calls for a special response, but he'll get more comfortable with when to do what over time. Until then the Wings can utilize their defense. Its not like our defensive core is seriously flawed.

Phoenix is losing 3 to 1 right now. Between them losing and possibly Dallas, the Wings could be in sixth place this time tomorrow.

The key thing I took away from that goal was that Howard didn't lose his aggressiveness afterward. He was still coming out of the net to challenge and played the angle game well. I was under the impression his psyche was a bit vulnerable for a goalie but how he reacted after the goal is making me question whether I gave him enough credit.

I'm reminded of a prominent Arrested Development quote, modified to fit our situation: "Fourth liners should neither be seen nor heard", and if that's not bait for ESAD I don't know what is.

Where's that NHL suspension flowchart?

He looked decent out there tonight. Solid defensively.