11/26 GDT: Canadiens 3 @ Red Wings 1

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Not so fast thar buster, I'd check out Ohlund's injury history first - last year especially. Great player; sadly he is more prone to lingering injuries. I consider us lucky he too has not been out with an injury....yet. :/

I wouldnt mind an opportunity for a young guy to step up due to a few injuries. Itd be nice to see a stud like Ericsson actually get some time.

[RedWingsFanatic 4]

I think Lilja has been far better as well. And that's not me joking around either. I have honestly seen more quality things coming from Lilja this season than I have Lids. Maybe that's because I expect more from Lids than I do from Lilja, I don't know, but in any case, Lids isn't playing like he deserves that first-pairing. His reputation is the only reason he's got it right now as far as I'm concerned.

I really think it's the visor too. A player's skill level/ice vision just doesn't degrade that poorly, that quickly. It just doesn't happen.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Lids. He's our captain and he IS the best defenseman in the league - just not THIS season thus far. Something's off with him and it's far enough into the season that we can be honest about it without thinking it's some sort of defensive slump.

Yeah, I agree with all of this again. Initially, it was fun to joke about Lilja playing so well. You know, he gets a couple of assists and you get to dump some praise on him. But, objectively, he's been one of our most consistent players. I don't cringe when he has the puck anymore, I don't yell "get off the ice" at the end of every one of his shifts and I don't shake my head when he's out there in important situations. He's been very impressive and I hope he can keep it up.

The visor might be a bigger issue than we all think. It's a huge change to make, and even a player like Lidstrom must struggle with it. There still isn't a player I put more trust in than him, but I'm still waiting to see if this is the season we finally come to the conclusion that he has past his prime. I'm still not willing to concede that yet.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Really, are you sure you sure? Maybe I should reply in Braille.

You're a Nucks fans. Your standards of being impressive are much lower than ours as Wings fans.

Edited November 27, 2008 by YoungGuns1340

[edicius 3,269]

In the game today i saw Z make a ton of brilliant moves down low corraling the puck on his stick, him and franzen once they were in the zone were a force, the problem was the habs were flat out embarrassed in their last game so they came out way harder and on a serious mission, since when has lang played that well defensively? never.

He played pretty well against us when he was with Chicago. Seems to be a trend for former Wings players to excel against us (of course, that could probably be said for a great many other former players of teams).

[CrossoverThrash 0]

Yeah, I agree with all of this again. Initially, it was fun to joke about Lilja playing so well. You know, he gets a couple of assists and you get to dump some praise on him. But, objectively, he's been one of our most consistent players. I don't cringe when he has the puck anymore, I don't yell "get off the ice" at the end of every one of his shifts and I don't shake my head when he's out there in important situations. He's been very impressive and I hope he can keep it up.

The visor might be a bigger issue than we all think. It's a huge change to make, and even a player like Lidstrom must struggle with it. There still isn't a player I put more trust in than him, but I'm still waiting to see if this is the season we finally come to the conclusion that he has past his prime. I'm still not willing to concede that yet.

you pessimists

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Apparently we paid 3 million a year to Fillpulla, just to have him passed over for Kopecky on the first line.

Babcock is out of his mind on this one.

Put that bum back on the 4th line where he belongs, or make him a healthy scratch. Putting him in place of Homer is like Angelina Jolie putting me in place of Brad Pitt.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Piss poor effort from the get go.They were really sloppy and it seemed like none of their passes were connecting. Can't fault Ty at all. Team left him out to dry. Oh well. Moving on to Friday..

[Yak19 303]

Dont blame hossa for that thank our good pal O'helloran

No blame it was a good, clean hit, terrible call.

Man this is really embarassing!

We can't even beat the crawling Habs in 3 games this season (including 2 off season games), the building is half empty and their fans are louder than our.

Hockeytown?

Pffffffff...

What a joke!

It's more like "hockeydown" to me...

Oh hey since we didn't show up for this game and the Habs won they must be the sure favorites for the cup, GTFO of LGW Queerbecor go work on seperating from Canada you fanny boy.

Edited November 27, 2008 by Yak19

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Lidstrom is still playing Norris caliber defense pull your head out of your ass, lilja has been good but you're out of line

Lidstrom isnt playing Norris caliber defense. You should orient yourself with a few more defenseman in the league. Theres a changing of the guard going on out there, and there are some good younger Dmen that are just hitting their stride. Lidstrom isnt even top 5 right now. He might not even be top 10 with the way hes playing.

[dat's sick 1,002]

Maybe its just me,

Fillpula looks horrible out there!

I've been disappointed in him this season, but I think this game was a step up for him.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Apparently we paid 3 million a year to Fillpulla, just to have him passed over for Kopecky on the first line.

Babcock is out of his mind on this one.

Put that bum back on the 4th line where he belongs, or make him a healthy scratch. Putting him in place of Homer is like Angelina Jolie putting me in place of Brad Pitt.

Kopay has been playing some great hockey in the last couple weeks. He deserves to be rewarded for it. Fair is fair. Flip isn't doing a damn thing, and I love Fil but he hasn't impressed me at all thus far this season.

[CrossoverThrash 0]

I still dont knwo why people aren't going crazy over the Franzen goal, that was INSANE!!! give the guy some credit where credit is due, on a side note we only have 3 regulation losses this year.

[RedWingsFanatic 4]

I was gonna make the same post, pretty much. Franzen played well for about 1 minute out of however many minutes he played tonight. Otherwise he only stood out for being overly terrible. And last time I checked, the first 5 and last 5 games of the season count, and Hossa has been rough in those games. Nothing special. Datsyuk has looked incredibly unremarkable as well.

Zetterberg looks good, but hes still not up to his standards.

So I basically agree. We're winning on talent alone, without the effort.

Oh, come on. I think it's ludicrous to call out guys like Hossa, Zetterberg and Datsyuk. It's one thing to say that they are performing below standards, but an entirely different thing to say that they aren't trying. I'm willing to say that I expect more from them (especially Dats and Z) but you just can't expect them to have multi-point games every time out. If those are the standards, I'm not sure who you would deem "impressive" league-wide.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Can't win 'em all. Time to regroup and come back better against the Jackets.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Man this is really embarassing!

We can't even beat the crawling Habs in 3 games this season (including 2 off season games), the building is half empty and their fans are louder than our.

Hockeytown?

Pffffffff...

What a joke!

It's more like "hockeydown" to me...

Go tell that to all the Detroiters having to move, losing their homes, etc.

PS. The fact that you use pre-season games in your argument is embarassing. Any time you have to revert to pre-season games to show your teams dominance, well thats just sad.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

I still dont knwo why people aren't going crazy over the Franzen goal, that was INSANE!!! give the guy some credit where credit is due, on a side note we only have 3 regulation losses this year.

jsds I can't believe I forgot to mention that. It was AMAZING. Definitely gave me chills.

[CrossoverThrash 0]

Lidstrom isnt playing Norris caliber defense. You should orient yourself with a few more defenseman in the league. Theres a changing of the guard going on out there, and there are some good younger Dmen that are just hitting their stride. Lidstrom isnt even top 5 right now. He might not even be top 10 with the way hes playing.

Well ive seen niedermayer severly sucking it up in anaheim, did anyone catch that gaffe he made a few weeks ago falling on his ass leading to a goal? Shea Weber has impressed, Chara hasn't been better than lids, neither has Phaneuf.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Oh, come on. I think it's ludicrous to call out guys like Hossa, Zetterberg and Datsyuk. It's one thing to say that they are performing below standards, but an entirely different thing to say that they aren't trying. I'm willing to say that I expect more from them (especially Dats and Z) but you just can't expect them to have multi-point games every time out. If those are the standards, I'm not sure who you would deem "impressive" league-wide.

Huh? When did I say they arent trying? They are trying, but not as hard as they have been. Zetterberg has been giving out so much effort lately, but we're talking about over the course of 21 games. You expect the guys with the As on their chest to lead your team in terms of effort.

[RedWingsFanatic 4]

I still dont knwo why people aren't going crazy over the Franzen goal, that was INSANE!!! give the guy some credit where credit is due, on a side note we only have 3 regulation losses this year.

Though, yes, our record is technically 14-3-4, it's also 14-7, which looks a lot less impressive. The whole overtime loss column tends to make records look a hell of a lot better than they are.

And, yes, the Franzen goal was great. I don't think anybody will disagree with you there.

[edicius 3,269]

Yeah, I agree with all of this again. Initially, it was fun to joke about Lilja playing so well. You know, he gets a couple of assists and you get to dump some praise on him. But, objectively, he's been one of our most consistent players. I don't cringe when he has the puck anymore, I don't yell "get off the ice" at the end of every one of his shifts and I don't shake my head when he's out there in important situations. He's been very impressive and I hope he can keep it up.

I'm glad I'm not the only one to think this. I know it was a whole big goof to hop on board the Pain Train, as it were, but Lilja has seriously become one of my faves on this team because of his new found consistency. Hell, look at some old posts of mine - I never hesitated to eviscerate Lilja in a GDT. Now, he genuinely impresses me with his work ethic and his consistency. People can debate this all they want, I realize. It's my opinion (and clearly yours as well) that he's fitting in better with this team than he ever had in the past.

The visor might be a bigger issue than we all think. It's a huge change to make, and even a player like Lidstrom must struggle with it. There still isn't a player I put more trust in than him, but I'm still waiting to see if this is the season we finally come to the conclusion that he has past his prime. I'm still not willing to concede that yet.

Agreed. Because it's Nick Lidstrom, I still give him the benefit of the doubt. Just like his reputation keeps him on the first D pairing, his reputation allows him that as well. I wouldn't give him up for any other D-man in the league. But I just wish I knew what the hell is going on with him this year (if it isn't the visor). Players have slumps. Players have off years. Nick Lidstrom doesn't. And it's got me completely puzzled.

[Dr. Sapirstein 0]

No blame it was a good, clean hit, terrible call.

Oh hey since we didn't show up for this game and the Habs won they must be the sure favorites for the cup, GTFO of LGW Queerbecor go work on seperating from Canada you fanny boy.

Hummm...I feel the frustration and the agressivity here...

[Reilly 24]

Oh, come on. I think it's ludicrous to call out guys like Hossa, Zetterberg and Datsyuk. It's one thing to say that they are performing below standards, but an entirely different thing to say that they aren't trying. I'm willing to say that I expect more from them (especially Dats and Z) but you just can't expect them to have multi-point games every time out. If those are the standards, I'm not sure who you would deem "impressive" league-wide.

I never said they weren't "trying." I said they (along with everyone else) haven't been impressive.

Impressive, to me, is their play from last season. The defense, the PK, the passing, everything. Nothing is there this season. Which is why I want them back together with Holmstrom.

[Yak19 303]

Go tell that to all the Detroiters having to move, losing their homes, etc.

PS. The fact that you use pre-season games in your argument is embarassing. Any time you have to revert to pre-season games to show your teams dominance, well thats just sad.

I know it is sad, go somewhere in the playoffs instead of continuously failing. LOL @ preseason, you ever heard of the Lions? What a fanny boy dolt.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Well ive seen niedermayer severly sucking it up in anaheim, did anyone catch that gaffe he made a few weeks ago falling on his ass leading to a goal? Shea Weber has impressed, Chara hasn't been better than lids, neither has Phaneuf.

Those are the only Dmen you know of? You're right about Niedermayer - but then again, Niedermayer was going down hill last season when Schneids was outplaying him. But Weber has been awesome, so have Keith and Markov, and Boyle has fit in ridiculously well with the Sharks. You really have to have the blinders on to call Lidstrom a Norris worthy candidate right now.

[CrossoverThrash 0]

Though, yes, our record is technically 14-3-4, it's also 14-7, which looks a lot less impressive. The whole overtime loss column tends to make records look a hell of a lot better than they are.

And, yes, the Franzen goal was great. I don't think anybody will disagree with you there.

Hwo does 2nd place in the league sound? Pretty darn AWESOME if you ask me.