2/27 GDT: Kings 1 at Red Wings 2

[Vladifan 680]

Wonderful win for the Oz. And never have I enjoyed a head-butting fest as much as I did the one right after the game.

I'm very happy for him and the team.

[ComradeWasabi 109]

Btw, the LA Kings announcers must be among the worst in the league.

Just god awful.

Jim Fox is ******* atrocious.

[Electrophile 3,554]

I think the funniest part of this website is all the nerds getting bent out of shape over comments made especially when half of them havent played any sport other then playing with themselves in years.

Go Red Wings

I've played sports. I don't play anymore ever since my knee got screwed up, but it's not like I just sit on my ass all day either. You shouldn't make assumptions about people you don't know. You'll find yourself wrong about 99% of the time.

Edited February 28, 2009 by Electrophile

[wingedone 0]

That's because osgood was pretty good in net, they can't clear the puck, zetterberg and datsyuk had below average game, cleary just falls on the ice and should never be on the first line, lidström didnt have any finish with the shots, lilja looks dumb, kronwall gets stuck on the ice for too long cause he cant make the simple play out of the zone... christ, just look at the turnover stats... detroit had 12 in the 2nd period don't know the total..

I don't generally agree on many things here but the clearing the fricking zone has become a lost art to the this team. "Lets bat the puck to each other in our own zone during a PK. Aww gee them having more players on the ice, they took it away, again." Dammit, what was so wrong about making them come back 200 ft each time we get the puck?

Wings are much better through the neutral zone in disrupting play when on the PK, than when they inevitably let the player get the puck against the boards (must be taught to do that, not fight for the puck), and then hope they don't make a nice pass for another point blank shot on our goaltenders.

It would be interesting to see what the percentage of time Detroit spends in their own zone on the PK versus other teams. It might reflect on why our PK has sucked so much this year.

Saw some good punts of the puck at rare times tonight. God I miss how Murphy was such a master at that. Just not encouraged and used enough anymore.

And, I love Stewart, but that goal was all on him tonight. "Your not Lids! Take the body not play with your stick and he doesn't get half a dozen wacks at the puck!".

Anyway, excellent play Ozzie, keep it up. Luckily the Kings sucked tonight too, cause you got hung out to dry way too many times.

[eva unit zero 271]

I agree some of this. But you're selling Osgood short. Here's my summary:

1. Osgood had his best game since the cup finals. Tonight he looked like 2007-2008 Osgood. His saves on the PK were brilliant, it's just a shame his D couldn't clear the puck out after Frolov had his 10th fricking chance to shoot it.

Overall it was a good game because the Wings won and Ozzy played his best game since the playoffs.

If not for Stuart, and to a lesser degree Helm, screwing up on the LA goal, Ozzie gets a 30+ save shutout. I'd say the 10-day break had the intended effect. Ozzie played phenomenally and if he plays that way through the end of the season he's the playoff goalie with no objection.

3. Filppula made a great play to hand Kopecky that goal. Fil should've had the game's third star just for that

Disagree; It wasn't that Flip made a great play, rather that Quick screwed up by not firing the puck hard around the boards and instead just sort of pushed it a little bit because Flip was coming on that side of the net. Flip was the only player who actually went and got the puck (Quincey didn't really move despite Quick's error) and all Flip had to do to ensure he got the puck was go around the right side instead of the left, to catch the puck sooner. It was a good play, but hardly a great play.

4. Leino was the best Red Wing forward on the ice.

Honestly, I thought Kopecky was better than Leino against LA..if he played every game the way he looked tonight, he'd be a top-six power forward easily. He was creating chances, putting himself in the right position to capitalize on chances, he was a beast physically, and he was effective defensively. He was playing like everything that he was "projected" to be when he was a prospect.

[RedLightGoesOn 81]

Osgood was the best player of the game. The rest of them did not play that well. Play in the defensive end was sloppy, and resulted in that goal (Osgood did eveyrthing he could, blame it on the 5 in front of him). Whatever was up with the Wings tonight, I sure hope it stayed at the Joe after they left to go home.

[Z and D for the C 712]

Good to see Osgood have a solid game, I hope he keeps it up. I still don't like how he dives out of position all the time but whatever keeps the puck out.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

If not for Stuart, and to a lesser degree Helm, screwing up on the LA goal, Ozzie gets a 30+ save shutout. I'd say the 10-day break had the intended effect. Ozzie played phenomenally and if he plays that way through the end of the season he's the playoff goalie with no objection.

Agree.

Disagree; It wasn't that Flip made a great play, rather that Quick screwed up by not firing the puck hard around the boards and instead just sort of pushed it a little bit because Flip was coming on that side of the net. Flip was the only player who actually went and got the puck (Quincey didn't really move despite Quick's error) and all Flip had to do to ensure he got the puck was go around the right side instead of the left, to catch the puck sooner. It was a good play, but hardly a great play.

Again, fair enough. I was just overjoyed that Filppula had a great opperuntity to cash in on a scoring chance and made the right play. I've lost count of the number of times he's failed to shoot when he should have, passed too late, didn't one-time a puck, held onto a puck and cycled back instead of passing it to the open man, etc in this sort of situation. This time he made the perfect play in the situation and he did it without thinking too much about it. If Fil would just act more on instinct instead of holding onto the puck for the extra second he'd be the kind of finisher/top-sixer we know he can be.

Honestly, I thought Kopecky was better than Leino against LA..if he played every game the way he looked tonight, he'd be a top-six power forward easily. He was creating chances, putting himself in the right position to capitalize on chances, he was a beast physically, and he was effective defensively. He was playing like everything that he was "projected" to be when he was a prospect.

Here I have to disagree. Leino was masterful behind the net, really great along the boards, he was skating back to help in his own zone with more enthusiasm and he made himself dangerous the entire game. That's damn impressive considering he did it on the fourth line the majority of the time.

Kopecky had a great game too, I just think Leino was more dangerous offensively while Kopecky played a more well rounded game. I suppose saying that about a guy who had a goal vs one with an assist kinda supports your argument more than mine, but whatever- I'm still really pumped the Leino hasn't hit the proverbial wall yet. I really hope he got over the European to North American transition "wall" back in GR when he hit it in Dec/Jan.

Edited February 28, 2009 by Drake_Marcus

[eva unit zero 271]

Agree.

Again, fair enough. I was just overjoyed that Filppula had a great opperuntity to cash in on a scoring chance and made the right play. I've lost count of the number of times he's failed to shoot when he should have, passed too late, didn't one-time a puck, held onto a puck and cycled back instead of passing it to the open man, etc in this sort of situation. This time he made the perfect play in the situation and he did it without thinking too much about it. If Fil would just act more on instinct instead of holding onto the puck for the extra second he'd be the kind of finisher/top-sixer we know he can be.

Here I have to disagree. Leino was masterful behind the net, really great along the boards, he was skating back to help in his own zone with more enthusiasm and he made himself dangerous the entire game. That's damn impressive considering he did it on the fourth line the majority of the time.

Kopecky had a great game too, I just think Leino was more dangerous offensively while Kopecky played a more well rounded game. I suppose saying that about a guy who had a goal vs one with an assist kinda supports your argument more than mine, but whatever- I'm still really pumped the Leino hasn't hit the proverbial wall yet. I really hope he got over the European to North American transition "wall" back in GR when he hit it in Dec/Jan.

Leino and Flip also looked really good...but ultimately there were two things that made me say Kopecky. The first is that a lot of times a Wings forward would just look great and I wouldn't get a look at who it was until after assessing their play, and it would keep being Kopecky. Like I said...he looked a lot like the all-around power forward he's supposed to be developing into.

[Nev 1,085]

Good for Ozzie - now he needs to build on this. By the playoffs he needs to be at the point where he's not thinking about the game and its all coming naturally again.

[BlueMonk 102]

Ozzie looked great. Good on him for getting his game together. Now he just needs to keep it up. Last year, I had a sense of calm watching him play, just a feeling he'd be really solid for 60 minutes and give them a chance to win. This year, even when he's gotten off to a good start in a game, I've rarely felt any kind of calm or confidence. But I did tonight.

Credit where credit is due: Kopecky played a hell of a game.

[The Secret 304]

I missed most of the game but I was happy to see the outcome. Looks like the experiment worked now its up to Osgood to keep going and earn his spot back for the playoffs. 1 game of not letting in 3 + goal's doesn't earn back my trust nor should it put Conklin in the back up role again. Glad to see him have a good come back game.

[Grateful Gadsby 10]

Leino and Flip also looked really good...but ultimately there were two things that made me say Kopecky. The first is that a lot of times a Wings forward would just look great and I wouldn't get a look at who it was until after assessing their play, and it would keep being Kopecky. Like I said...he looked a lot like the all-around power forward he's supposed to be developing into.

Completely agree with this assessment. I was at the game last night, and I had the exact same reaction. Lost count of how many times I said something like "wow, check out Kopecky tonight," or "was that Kopecky?" Games like last night certainly leave me thinking that he could blossom into a solid, physical, 3rd/4th liner yet.

Also agree about Flip. He obviously has the skill set, but he can be really frustrating to watch. It's almost like he's a full second behind the play with his decisionmaking sometimes. Hopefully it's just one of those things that is cured with experience. Gotta be tough when your play is evaluated against the likes of Pav, Z and Hoss every night.

[Third Man In 2,091]

This is really juvenile, but for some reason it made me laugh anyway. Oh wait...

[Guest Four]

This is really juvenile, but for some reason it made me laugh anyway. Oh wait...

ROFL

..Anyway, hopefully the wings feel more comfortable around Ozzie now that he played solid and the team starts to own in EVERY aspect again!

[Pavrik Zettersyuk 4]

This was my first game that I went to, and I was really hoping Ozzy would come back and play his ass off. I got my wish, and the Wings won, so I couldn't really ask for a better first game, regardless of the fact that most of the team had no spark in them throughout most of their time on the ice. Good game =)...

Let's rock these dumb Pred's tonight!!! GO WINGS!