1/31 GDT: Capitals 4, Red Wings 2

[Mike 0]

6 on 3, and they can't even score. How many power plays did we have, and only score once. This team has some real issues they need to settle. Conklin was awesome, but how come we can't find the back of the net. I hope Babcock has some answers before the next game, or we'll go down 6 games in a row. Was really impressed with Leino though.

The answer is that our defense looks like something out of a high school hockey team and we continue to play forwards that have absolutely no business being on the ice, cough, cough, Kopecy and Filppula, cough, cough. At this rate, we would be lucky to win one game in the first round of the playoffs. Pathetic.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Well, I guess I'll go against the grain and say I thought they played a decent game, but the biggest problem was they couldn't get a clutch goal when they needed it.

Yeah, the typical 4th line/spotty defense was also in force, but even on that third goal Rafalski got his stick on Ovechkin's and didn't let him get much of a shot away, which may have fooled Conklin, but he can't let that kinda shot slide under him regardless.

Edited January 31, 2009 by Heroes of Hockeytown

[ShanahanMan 473]

That's good news, and haha

Downs should be in against St Louis, make it a little fun, and maybe we get a win Monday, not like St Louis is very impressive.

Didn't we hear the same thing before the Dallas game?

Edited January 31, 2009 by ShanahanMan

[NEpats1028 1]

somebody get john keating a new mic

[Yak19 303]

Wow. Way to bring up something that wasn't even mentioned in the thread. You can go take Osgood and make your own team. I still wants Conks in net.

If Osgood was in net we probably lose 6-2.

yes Ozzy still sucks get off his nuts

First let me say that i know Conklin is the better goalie at the moment.

Ozzie may be playing bad but no one gets on Conklin for letting in a weak goal, doesnt matter if he played good the rest of the game a goalie needs to make the save when it matters and he blew it. So does it matter if it is 6-2 or 4-2? Hell if it was 3-2 we still couldnt convert on a 6on3.

Lets get out of this slump on Monday against the blues.

GO WINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Didn't we hear the same thing before the Dallas game?

Unfortunately yes, but as long as Downs plays, I'm cool. The Wings need to get their heads out of their asses before they start winning games. Playing s***ty teams is just another reason for a let down.

[datterberg1340 626]

That makes 33 out of 49 games now that we've allowed 3 or more goals, and are now 15-11-7 in those games, which certainly could be worse, but playing over 2/3 of our games giving up that many goals that often is a disturbing trend. At least there is still time to right the ship, and things would be better with Stuart and Z around, plus we got a good look at Leino and Abdelkader. What a goal by Leino!!!

[Mike 0]

That makes 33 out of 49 games now that we've allowed 3 or more goals, and are now 15-11-7 in those games, which certainly could be worse, but playing over 2/3 of our games giving up that many goals that often is a disturbing trend. At least there is still time to right the ship, and things would be better with Stuart and Z around, plus we got a good look at Leino and Abdelkader. What a goal by Leino!!!

Remember that Stuart was also playing poorly before he got hurt. Now we have two defensemen that look lost, Kronwall and Rafalski. Idk if I want 3 blank faced defensemen.

[puckloo39 5,686]

no one gets on Conklin for letting in a weak goal, doesnt matter if he played good the rest of the game

Lets get out of this slump on Monday against the blues.

GO WINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Conklin's the back up. There are slightly lower expectations for him, perhaps. People are usually harder on the #1, who is "supposed" to be better and live up to the hype, despite the actual circumstances during a given game.

I agree with the rest of your (quoted) post.

[Guest mindfly]

I also think that Nick Lidström has some real problems with his elbow and is probably why he hasn't been as excellent as last year Get surgery in the offseason!

[TheOwl 77]

That would make great sense to help out or defensive problems...trade for quite possibly one of the worst defensive denfencemen on the face of the earth !!

Maybe adding a new face would help the situition, because our defense, probably the highest paid defense in the league, is playing like the worst in the league. Not to mention Sammy, Kronwall, Lidstrom and Rafa were brutal today on the powerplay, missing most of their shots from the blue line.

All I'm saying is, this roster as it is now, will not win the Cup. I'll be you any amount of money. This isn't a slump, they've been playing poorly the entire season, minus a few weeks in December-January. Only this time, the offensive couldn't bail out the D/goalie. The majority of the Wings are playing pretty brutal hockey, minus Datsyuk, Homer and Franzen, or whatever the top line happens to be.

The Wings need to forget about last season, and get rid of Kronwall, Flipulla, Kopetsky, and Osgood. All 4 of those players are playing awful, and could easily be replaced by some rookie, like Kindl, or Leino and Abby. That frees up like 8 million in cap room, minus 3 or so million for the 3 rookies, and their you have 5 million, to get a damn goalie to go with Conklin. Get it done Kenny. We need new faces, and less dead weight.

[Yak19 303]

Conklin's the back up. There are slightly lower expectations for him, perhaps. People are usually harder on the #1, who is "supposed" to be better and live up to the hype, despite the actual circumstances during a given game.

I agree with the rest of your (quoted) post.

Conklin was a huge part of the pens making the playoffs last season, he was facing 30 and even sometimes over 40 shots a game and still winning, he has the tools to be a number 1 goalie and now he goes to a better defensive team (well not at the moment) but still he is facing less shots but yet he cant get it done.

[puckbags 863]

Maybe adding a new face would help the situition, because our defense, probably the highest paid defense in the league, is playing like the worst in the league. Not to mention Sammy, Kronwall, Lidstrom and Rafa were brutal today on the powerplay, missing most of their shots from the blue line.

All I'm saying is, this roster as it is now, will not win the Cup. I'll be you any amount of money. This isn't a slump, they've been playing poorly the entire season, minus a few weeks in December-January. Only this time, the offensive couldn't bail out the D/goalie. The majority of the Wings are playing pretty brutal hockey, minus Datsyuk, Homer and Franzen, or whatever the top line happens to be.

The Wings need to forget about last season, and get rid of Kronwall, Flipulla, Kopetsky, and Osgood. All 4 of those players are playing awful, and could easily be replaced by some rookie, like Kindl, or Leino and Abby. That frees up like 8 million in cap room, minus 3 or so million for the 3 rookies, and their you have 5 million, to get a damn goalie to go with Conklin. Get it done Kenny. We need new faces, and less dead weight.

Edited January 31, 2009 by puckbags

[Nev 1,085]

I dunno what to make of that game - it wasn't a terrible performance, although some of our play in our own defensive zone was. We really struggled to get the puck off their top lines and clear the zone, and Rafalski in particular was unable to cope with the size and strength of Ovechkin all game.

The worst thing about that 5on3 at the end was that Lidstrom and Rafalski were on the wrong side of the ice - the best way for a team like Detroit with 2 d-men with the laser shots to score is to have them on their off side and set up for the one timer. I was screaming "switch! switch!" at the screen, but they seemed determined to stay on their respective points. Actually, to be fair, whipping-boy-Rafalski tried a couple of times to switch, but above-criticism-Lidstrom wouldn't move from the left point.

Blaming this losing streak on injuries is just another poor excuse - that lineup is good enough to beat any team in the NHL.

Blaming it on Filpulla/Kopecky/Kronwall is just looking for scapegoats. Trading away any or all of them is not going to solve the malaise that has blighted this team since Toronto on opening night - this 5 game skid is how they've been playing all season and generally getting away with it. Now the pidgeons have come home to roost.

Bar Hossa, this is the team that steamrolled their way to Stanley Cup last season. They've not been sucking all season because of a lack of quality, they've been sucking because, as Zetterberg admits, mentally they've not been up to it. Until they regain the focus, hunger and desire they displayed ALL last season, we have no chance in the playoffs. I'm beginning to wonder if they ever will this season.

[chrisdetroit 189]

Maybe adding a new face would help the situition, because our defense, probably the highest paid defense in the league, is playing like the worst in the league. Not to mention Sammy, Kronwall, Lidstrom and Rafa were brutal today on the powerplay, missing most of their shots from the blue line.

All I'm saying is, this roster as it is now, will not win the Cup. I'll be you any amount of money. This isn't a slump, they've been playing poorly the entire season, minus a few weeks in December-January. Only this time, the offensive couldn't bail out the D/goalie. The majority of the Wings are playing pretty brutal hockey, minus Datsyuk, Homer and Franzen, or whatever the top line happens to be.

The Wings need to forget about last season, and get rid of Kronwall, Flipulla, Kopetsky, and Osgood. All 4 of those players are playing awful, and could easily be replaced by some rookie, like Kindl, or Leino and Abby. That frees up like 8 million in cap room, minus 3 or so million for the 3 rookies, and their you have 5 million, to get a damn goalie to go with Conklin. Get it done Kenny. We need new faces, and less dead weight.

This is easi;y one of the most ignorant posts that I have ever read.

[Wingsallwin 0]

I don't believe we play bad in the 1st and 2nd period both on defenses and offenses and also Conklin. However, as the game turned into the half of the 3rd period, we looked really lost out there. Conklin was good in the 1st and 2nd but like the 3rd goal, he had to save that shot even though that was Ovechkin.

The problem is that some our defenses are extremely inconsistent. I don't remember who said we have to trade Kronwall to Volchenkov from Ottawa. I am kind of agree with you because Kronwall has a really good offensive skills as a defense but he allows too many turnovers on the back of the net or beside goalies and that is scary because that's directly a scoring chance. Rafalski is on the same way. He is good offensively but like the 4th goal on the rebound, he had to cover Ovechkin, but he was doing defense locationally.

If Conklin could not cover more of shots today, we would definately be blown up. I don't say Conklin was good but he was enough.

I am very impressed with our two new faces: Leino and Abdelkader. I think we really need to send Kopecky and Draper down to the AHL and bring up Downey and keep those two guys in this team. Our 4th line can do nothing this season. Draper is used to be good in the faceoff but if we compare Draper to both Leino and Abdelkader, he does not deserve to be there.

I don't know what Babcock was thinking but still cannot understand that Kopecky was in a role of PK unit.

But I don't think we are in slump as offensively but defensively, we are back to the October of this season. Excuses of injury is not really proper because without Zetterberg and Homlstrom, we can still win and no team in the league will have all games without injuries.

[j.hoop 64]

First let me say that i know Conklin is the better goalie at the moment.

Ozzie may be playing bad but no one gets on Conklin for letting in a weak goal, doesnt matter if he played good the rest of the game a goalie needs to make the save when it matters and he blew it. So does it matter if it is 6-2 or 4-2? Hell if it was 3-2 we still couldnt convert on a 6on3.

Lets get out of this slump on Monday against the blues.

GO WINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i gotta say, only ovechkins 1st goal was soft. conklin made some huge saves early on, they easily could of had a couple more. great job to leino and abdelkadar, they really played like they wanted a spot on the team, and even though i still think kopecky should be long gone, he played today with alot of hustle, and made a few good steals. guess it just wasnt in the cards for us to win this one. above all, we should be embarrassed we couldnt score 5 on 3, even if the game was out of reach.

[VM1138 1,921]

Maybe adding a new face would help the situition, because our defense, probably the highest paid defense in the league, is playing like the worst in the league. Not to mention Sammy, Kronwall, Lidstrom and Rafa were brutal today on the powerplay, missing most of their shots from the blue line.

All I'm saying is, this roster as it is now, will not win the Cup. I'll be you any amount of money. This isn't a slump, they've been playing poorly the entire season, minus a few weeks in December-January. Only this time, the offensive couldn't bail out the D/goalie. The majority of the Wings are playing pretty brutal hockey, minus Datsyuk, Homer and Franzen, or whatever the top line happens to be.

The Wings need to forget about last season, and get rid of Kronwall, Flipulla, Kopetsky, and Osgood. All 4 of those players are playing awful, and could easily be replaced by some rookie, like Kindl, or Leino and Abby. That frees up like 8 million in cap room, minus 3 or so million for the 3 rookies, and their you have 5 million, to get a damn goalie to go with Conklin. Get it done Kenny. We need new faces, and less dead weight.

Are you serious? Get rid of Kronwall? I can't believe so many on here want him gone. He's had a rough year, but every player has a rough year. We saw what he could be, and he IS better than many in the league. Truly great defenseman are so rare in the league today that I'd like to hang on to him in the high probability he becomes a great top 2 defenseman.

Ozzie is still a solid backup. Flip is great trade bait, and Kopecky is useless™.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

this season so far has been my least favorite in recent memory. ironically i was so pumped before the season with the hossa signing after winning the cup. more pumped than i've been since the season after the lockout. but i've never seen a wings team care less. it's absolutely inexcusable. with the talent on this team there is no excuse for the terrible defense. i don't know what to say anymore. it's gotten old. i would take a less talented team that actually gave a s*** and earned their multi-million dollar paychecks as opposed to this unmotivated uninspired wealth of talent. give me a team that has to work hard to win anyday over a team that has tried just about every game this year to skate by on talent alone. it's gotten ridiculous.

everybody says don't panic. we're fifty games into the season. not a damn thing has changed since game one. not a damn thing. it's time to start taking it seriously. i know people think defense and goaltending are magically going to reappear come playoffs, but that's delusional. this wings team will get eaten alive if they bring this piss-poor we'll-beat- 'em-with-talent-doing-as-little-as-we-possibly-have-to attitude into the playoffs. i'm pissed. i just don't understand it.

what the hell happened over the summer? it makes no ******* sense. was mcclellan really that important to this team? was drake? has hossa added nothing to this lineup? i don't get it. our only top-end player that gets a pass so far is datsyuk. he's playing a top notch game night in and out. even lidstrom can't claim that this year. what the hell kind of year is it when even lidstrom can't claim to be bringing it every night? i don't know.

Edited January 31, 2009 by datsyukismyfriend

[Yak19 303]

i gotta say, only ovechkins 1st goal was soft. conklin made some huge saves early on, they easily could of had a couple more. great job to leino and abdelkadar, they really played like they wanted a spot on the team, and even though i still think kopecky should be long gone, he played today with alot of hustle, and made a few good steals. guess it just wasnt in the cards for us to win this one. above all, we should be embarrassed we couldnt score 5 on 3, even if the game was out of reach.

Thats what im getting at, it was a game changer if Conklin makes the save the 4th goal doesnt happen and we have a chance to win it and if not it goes to OT or SO. Yes he played a good game but why screw it up with a bad goal that changes the game?

Edited February 1, 2009 by Yak19

[dat's sick 1,002]

I wasn't going to drink tonight, but after seeing the game I had to down lots of alcohol to make things feel better..

Not a terrible performance but I just don't see this team getting far in the playoffs- let's hope things look better when we get Z and Homer and Stuart back.

Leino scored a nice goal, Abdelkader was ok, and I think we would be so much better off without Maltby, Draper and Kopecky.

Conks let in one soft goal (3rd) but was otherwise really solid and showed he deserves to be our no.1.

Datsyuk and most of all Hossa disappointed me a bit.. they didn't step up when they needed to..

I think Z is more important to this team than some seem to think. Especially on the PK.

And holy crap I'm good at spelling even when drunk.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

Not a terrible performance but I just don't see this team getting far in the playoffs- let's hope things look better when we get Z and Homer and Stuart back.

that's the problem. things didn't look better before they left. there was a five or six game stretch in december where this team somewhat resembled a stanely cup champion. other than that, by and large (even with everybody healthy) this team has in no way resembled a stanely cup champion. they've been skirting by on an overabundance of offensive talent. that's it. with slightly less firepower, this team would be fighting for a playoff spot.

all the one goal games, all the last minute heroics, it's all lack of effort. with our talent, most nights, we should be slaughtering teams. it's painfully evident, however, that wings rarely want to win more than the team lining up against them. they almost never work harder, play harder, etc. 50 games into the season and this hasn't changed. it's not habit anymore, it's simply how the team plays now. it's going to take a hell of a lot to get the team playing differently before the playoffs. if they go into the playoffs playing as they've played so far this season, it ain't gonna be pretty.

[Wingsallwin 0]

that's the problem. things didn't look better before they left. there was a five or six game stretch in december where this team somewhat resembled a stanely cup champion. other than that, by and large (even with everybody healthy) this team has in no way resembled a stanely cup champion. they've been skirting by on an overabundance of offensive talent. that's it. with slightly less firepower, this team would be fighting for a playoff spot.

all the one goal games, all the last minute heroics, it's all lack of effort. with our talent, most nights, we should be slaughtering teams. it's painfully evident, however, that wings rarely want to win more than the team lining up against them. they almost never work harder, play harder, etc. 50 games into the season and this hasn't changed. it's not habit anymore, it's simply how the team plays now. it's going to take a hell of a lot to get the team playing differently before the playoffs. if they go into the playoffs playing as they've played so far this season, it ain't gonna be pretty.

I agree with you. But winning one goal game, I think it is good but the problem you have to mention is that too many one goal games are repeated. Winning one goal game means we know how to win but last minute heroic is also a problem.

But I like you say all lack of effort. Like last year, we were working hard every game but this season, it looks like we showed our best only few games like beat up the Sharks 6-0, beat the hawks 4-0, beat the Flames 4-3, and some other games.

I don't think the laziness will be fixed in the short time. We probably need a big operation to fix this, like losing game by a shutout with score like 4-0.

[shadow47 1]

Maybe Hasek feels like unretiring.

[eva unit zero 271]

Thats how Ciccarelli got most of his points - not by doing anything special, but by not ruining it.

Fixed.