Four games, four bad pinches, four goals against for Lilja

[40#1Fan 0]

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2007/10/fo...dvised_pin.html

Posted by George James Malik October 11, 2007 13:27PM

Despite scrapping his way to an assist on the game-winning goal in Detroit's 4-2 win over Calgary, Andreas Lilja is now officially fighting to keep his job:

October 11, RedWingsCorner: Andreas Lilja was in the doghouse after getting caught up ice on Kristian Huselius' first goal. Coach Mike Babcock preached to the media after Game 3 that defensemen shouldn't pinch in the neutral zone, they need to gap-up. If he's saying that to us, you know that the message to the players is much, much louder and clearer. So when Lilja gets caught in Game 4, he gets moved to the third defense pairing with Brett Lebda at the start of the second period. Lilja's ice time in the first period was 7:54. In the second and third periods combined, his ice time was 7:58.

Lilja's made that "boo boo" in four straight games, and it's hard to believe that Babcock won't turn to Derek Meech if

Lilja "gaps up" again vs. Chicago.

[Izzy24 44]

Lilja's made that "boo boo" in four straight games, and it's hard to believe that Babcock won't turn to Derek Meech if

Lilja "gaps up" again vs. Chicago.

It sounds to me like "gapping up" is what Babcock wants him to do.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

It's not like this is a new thing for Lilja. I wouldn't be surprised to see him lose his spot at some point in time this season. I would like to see him as part of a trade for a top six forward, but I doubt many teams would want him.

[Yc172 3]

As solidly as Lilja has played this year (compared to last) i still wont forget that it IS Lilja, so i will never be comfortable with him on the blue line

[kozac 10]

What about Kronwall? He's had a "few" defensive lapses in just about every game so far. I know that most of LGW has the blinders on when it come to our "future Lidstrom" but the guy impresses me less and less with every season.

And here's another fun fact: Rafalski is a -3 for the season so far and Lidstrom is a +3, what gives?

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

What about Kronwall? He's had a "few" defensive lapses in just about every game so far. I know that most of LGW has the blinders on when it come to our "future Lidstrom" but the guy impresses me less and less with every season.

And here's another fun fact: Rafalski is a -3 for the season so far and Lidstrom is a +3, what gives?

Every player has a lapse or two every game, either they are out of position, don't keep their stick on the ice, take a stupid penalty in the offensive zone or something of the like. Not every player has screwed up enough that their mistake has allowed the other team to score a goal in all of the games played so far.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

What about Kronwall? He's had a "few" defensive lapses in just about every game so far. I know that most of LGW has the blinders on when it come to our "future Lidstrom" but the guy impresses me less and less with every season.

And here's another fun fact: Rafalski is a -3 for the season so far and Lidstrom is a +3, what gives?

although kronwall looked pretty good, i thought, in the first two games, he's definitely regained his form from last year these last two (in a bad way). he gives the puck away consistently and hasn't been good positionally. he has shown a few flashes of his potential but not much. i'm still waiting for this guy to live up to even half his hype.

[Icer 0]

Hmmm. Let's see. Boyd Devereaux, he's playing with the Leafs now. Jason Williams and Bobby Lang are with the Blackhawks. Osgood's the backup. Who should we blame this year?????? What about Lilja?!? Yeah, Lilja!!! I think he'll make a great scapegoat this season.

Odd man rush leads to a goal? Blame Lilja even though there were 5 other players on the ice.

Shootout loss to Chicago? Blame Lilja even though he didn't shoot in the shootout.

Hasek's hurt? Blame Lilja. He shoulda blocked the shot.

Red Wings arent' selling out? Lilja doesn't have enough drawing power.

No donuts in the lockerroom? Lilja shoulda picked them up.

I do admit he's made some mistakes and he should probably ride the pine if he keeps pinching, but give the guy a break.

[lfd250 1]

I was thinking the same thing last night at the game. I don't know how many dang it lilja's I said, but my dad just kept laughing. I do believe that he and Kronwall shouldn't be pair together.

[Wings_Dynasty 267]

Hmmm. Let's see. Boyd Devereaux, he's playing with the Leafs now. Jason Williams and Bobby Lang are with the Blackhawks. Osgood's the backup. Who should we blame this year?????? What about Lilja?!? Yeah, Lilja!!! I think he'll make a great scapegoat this season.

Odd man rush leads to a goal? Blame Lilja even though there were 5 other players on the ice.

Shootout loss to Chicago? Blame Lilja even though he didn't shoot in the shootout.

Hasek's hurt? Blame Lilja. He shoulda blocked the shot.

Red Wings arent' selling out? Lilja doesn't have enough drawing power.

No donuts in the lockerroom? Lilja shoulda picked them up.

I do admit he's made some mistakes and he should probably ride the pine if he keeps pinching, but give the guy a break.

That made me smile.

Lilja is the biggest player on the team. Also, he sticks up for teammates and will drop the gloves. Where are all of the "we need grit" and "Wings don't fight" rabble-rousers now to defend Lilja?

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

That made me smile.

Lilja is the biggest player on the team. Also, he sticks up for teammates and will drop the gloves. Where are all of the "we need grit" and "Wings don't fight" rabble-rousers now to defend Lilja?

lilja dropping the gloves is a pretty rare sight. he has size, but doesn't really use it. last years playoffs were and exception. this year he's been relatively invisible in terms of physicality, i think.

[Grittzkey 1]

lilja is playing solid. i think kronner is playing the worst outta all the D.

but i wouldnt mind seeing meech take over for lilja, he looked good in pre-seasonss.

[arnoldbuck 0]

lilja dropping the gloves is a pretty rare sight. he has size, but doesn't really use it. last years playoffs were and exception. this year he's been relatively invisible in terms of physicality, i think.

It is a strange thing about some players, how one time the can be so impressive, then the next, flat. If Lilja played like he did last playoffs, (with the exception of a certain give-away) I would be proud to have him as a member of our squad. He was a force out there. I hope he can regain that.

As far as looking at the other's ... While I have seen those flashes from Kron, I will continue to say that his contract is the worst on the team. Followed by Maltby. Not that I dislike either player, I just think their contracts are worth A LOT more than what those players offer. (sorry for the thread hijack)

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

What about Kronwall? He's had a "few" defensive lapses in just about every game so far. I know that most of LGW has the blinders on when it come to our "future Lidstrom" but the guy impresses me less and less with every season.

And here's another fun fact: Rafalski is a -3 for the season so far and Lidstrom is a +3, what gives?

For the last time, who has been saying that Kronwall is a future Lidstrom? I know some people have called him little Nik, but that's because of the name and nationality, not style of play.

Even if Kronner does become a great defenseman, it's not going to be in the mold of Lidstrom. He's a more offensive defenseman who hits well. Does that sound like Lids?

I don't think anyone seriously has the expectation for him to be the next Lidstrom.

My main concern with Kronwall is him managing to stay healthy. Over the last three seasons in the NHL, he's played in 115 regular season games. It's no wonder he looks out of rhythm sometimes and is making rookie mistakes.

I'm not sure he'll ever stay healthy enough to reach his potential at this level.

as for Raflaski's plus minus, I think I'll wait at least a whole 5 games into the season before I draw any conclusions from that stat.

EDIT: changed Kronwalls total number of games. got wrong info on his stats at first.

That made me smile.

Lilja is the biggest player on the team. Also, he sticks up for teammates and will drop the gloves. Where are all of the "we need grit" and "Wings don't fight" rabble-rousers now to defend Lilja?

The Wings do need grit, and they do need players who will drop the gloves and stick up for teammates.

Lilja is not a physical player and not much of a fighter. The fact that he is considered either of those things only shows how much this team is lacking it.

Hmmm. Let's see. Boyd Devereaux, he's playing with the Leafs now. Jason Williams and Bobby Lang are with the Blackhawks. Osgood's the backup. Who should we blame this year?????? What about Lilja?!? Yeah, Lilja!!! I think he'll make a great scapegoat this season.

Odd man rush leads to a goal? Blame Lilja even though there were 5 other players on the ice.

Shootout loss to Chicago? Blame Lilja even though he didn't shoot in the shootout.

Hasek's hurt? Blame Lilja. He shoulda blocked the shot.

Red Wings arent' selling out? Lilja doesn't have enough drawing power.

No donuts in the lockerroom? Lilja shoulda picked them up.

I do admit he's made some mistakes and he should probably ride the pine if he keeps pinching, but give the guy a break.

Spot on.

Looks like Lilja and Sammy will be the new LGW whipping boys. They're the only thing keeping us from the Cup, right?

Edited October 11, 2007 by haroldsnepsts

[Icer 0]

Looks like Lilja and Sammy will be the new LGW whipping boys.

Get off Sammy's back too. Almost every coach I've ever had said "Put it on net. Good things will happen." Nobody takes this advice better than Sammy.

[Guest jaytan]

He needs a new nickname. The Plain Trainwreck?

[lfd250 1]

lilja is playing solid. i think kronner is playing the worst outta all the D.

but i wouldnt mind seeing meech take over for lilja, he looked good in pre-seasonss.

Sorry not seeing that at all. Kronwall is jumping up in the plays AND getting back (most of the time) Loves to throw the body around, did ya see the hit last night? Watch Lilja close he stands up for his team all right, about the time the linesman gets there too. I will give you the fight last year. He did step up when others didn't. But Kronwall worse, need a few more points to change my mind.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I certainly hope no one feels bad for Lilja... its his own fault.

Give Meech a chance, he cant do much worse.

[2probert4 8]

although kronwall looked pretty good, i thought, in the first two games, he's definitely regained his form from last year these last two (in a bad way). he gives the puck away consistently and hasn't been good positionally. he has shown a few flashes of his potential but not much. i'm still waiting for this guy to live up to even half his hype.

he did knock the crap out of Conroy when he had his head down, was a nice hit

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Now that I think about it, you can't really blame Lilja for any of these mistakes. Everyone knows that enforcers have never been known to be the most skilled players on a team.

[akustyk 84]

Lilly isn't flashy but when it comes to important hockey he steps up and is decent.

that he makes mistakes? oh my... if Kronwall and especially Lebda (and Lang is lazy and he sucks for the record) were free of mistakes the Wings could've had won the cup in June.

EDIT: oh yeah... the shortage of LGW posters memory. same people who screamed The Pain Train when Lilly was rocking in playoffs... now they're back to usual bashing... oh, the double standards...

Edited October 11, 2007 by akustyk

[Earthhuman 8]

EDIT: oh yeah... the shortage of LGW posters memory. same people who screamed The Pain Train when Lilly was rocking in playoffs... now they're back to usual bashing... oh, the double standards...

Giving credit where credit is due. Pretty admirable.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

he did knock the crap out of Conroy when he had his head down, was a nice hit

he also had several blatant give aways, one of which resulted in a goal against. i'm not saying he doesn't have talent. but he's done very little to show me that he can utilize his talent and put it all together. tons of players have talent or potential or whatever, but very few actually put it all together. it's still early and he's relatively young, but i think the wing's have bet on a losing horse.

[wingnut40 176]

I love Lilja, I absolutely love him. As long as he plays his defence defenceman style I'm happy. It's when he goes out of his way to lay a bone crushing hit on someone when we have a problem. I think he was superb durring the playoffs!

As long as he doesn't get derailed the Pain Train will be right on track!

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I cannot believe people are jumping on Kronwall already, he was terrible last season, but this season? 3 games in? He has been great, hitting and playing solid, a couple giveaways but c'mon, without Lang, someone has to pick up the slack.