Conklin to start Thursday; Rafalski out again

[HockeytownRules19 902]

Conklin to start, Rafalski out Thursday, could play on Sunday.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...lski_out_o.html

[uk_redwing 495]

omagerz!

[Dimaline312000 51]

Let's go Conks lead is to win #50!!

[BigWinston 15]

Good and Good...

Prefer to see Conklin in net these days.

Some more defensive minutes for ericcson = Good

[Broken 16 381]

"It's Conks' turn now, we'll go with him and see what happens,'' Babcock said.

Here we go... fingers crossed... C'MON CONKS!!!

[Guest mindfly]

They will start resting players as well

Update from Joe Louis Arena today: Stars Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Brian Rafalski all were exempted from practice.

The Wings don’t play again until Thursday at home against St. Louis, so there’s an extra emphasis on resting up the big minute men on the team.

Rafalski, though, sat out because he’s dealing with a groin injury.

“We’ll just let it heal and then get back at it,†Rafalski said. “It’ll probably be a few more days before I skate – Sunday, Monday at the earlier. A strain on the groin is 7-10 days, generally.â€

Rafalski felt a pull last Friday during the first period against the Islanders, but finished the game.

In other news, Mike Babcock said Ty Conklin will start Thursday; Babcock didn’t reveal his goalie rotation beyond that game. Chris Osgood has started the last two games

"Conks won his last game, and I went back with Ozzie after his night in Calgary and then went back to him again," Babcock said. "The bottom line is, it's Conks' turn now, so we'll go with him and see what happens."

[Konnan511 1,736]

Good and Good...

Prefer to see Conklin in net these days.

Some more defensive minutes for ericcson = Good

Uh it's not good and good, it's more like Alright and damn.

Why would you want our number 2 D-Man to have a nagging groin going into the playoffs?

[Mors 201]

That's really not good news about Lilja...it's a shame after struggling in the past he finally becomes a critical part of our defense and now he's sidelined. I still feel like they should have had him seeing specialists a lot earlier, but maybe they just haven't told us everything.

[Guest mindfly]

Lilja wont play anymore in regular season so ericsson is here to stay, also if lilja comes back in the playoffs ercisson will probably still be on the team as a 6th dman

[Guest Shoreline]

Good luck to Ericsson and good luck to Conks. Not too happy about the Lilja/Raffy situation, but let's hope they come back ASAP.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

please babs, give conks a legitimate shot. let's see what he can do. ozzie had many chances to make good and he has BLOWN it every damn time. let's ride conks for a while, see what happens. bad news on lilja. he was an important piece of our defensive corp last playoffs. he's a big shot-blocking, pk-ing, quasi-hitting d-man for this club. plus his presence means no more lebda which makes me shout for joy. i'm not too worried about rafalski, although if sunday or monday stretches into thursday saturday, etc. i'll start worrying.

the wings really need these final games to get their s*** in order. other than a few small stretches of excellent complete hockey games for this club they've played well below their potential. it's not the time to be resting anybody, this team needs to get into the habit of playing as a team and playing their asses off for 60 straight every game.

[The Secret 304]

Thank God for Conks and let's hope he gets his dues and he shows his worth. Sad news on Raffy but the good thing to come is more playing time for Ericsson who is looking steady already... Wait till that boy grows into that body, he could be a force.

[eva unit zero 271]

Thank God for Conks and let's hope he gets his dues and he shows his worth. Sad news on Raffy but the good thing to come is more playing time for Ericsson who is looking steady already... Wait till that boy grows into that body, he could be a force.

Just imagine an Ericsson/Fischer pairing...that would be monstrous.

[Reds4Life 51]

I hope Wasgood will not play this year again. Conklin finally gets his chance!

Edited March 31, 2009 by Reds4Life

[ltgator333 3]

Just imagine an Ericsson/Fischer pairing...that would be monstrous.

That would've been highlight reel material...

I too am surprised Lilja's NOT seen a neurologist or gotten a MRI until now, seems suspect to me. Maybe Lils don't like doctors??

It is awfully lucky that the team has guys like Ericsson and yes even Cheli around just in case. And Conklin, hopefully he doesn't get made a fool out of.

[Z and D for the C 712]

God I don't care who plays goalie I just want a 60 minute game.

[Wingsallwin 0]

The thing has finally come. I hoped Osgood would bounce back to his form but that was wrong for everyone here. This is our last choice. Conks should be on fire for every game he plays and have to make a confidene in himself and on the team.

Rafalski will be back soon but it is still sad to hear Lilja is out for rest of the regular season likely. Hopefully, he will be back at the time of the start of the playoff and get ready to play with Ericsson and he will do the job.

[OsGOD 3]

I don't expect much in terms of team improvements or playing with desire for the next five meaningless games.

all i can say is stay healthy and rest up (like they have been the last several games) for when it really counts.

On the flipside, i hope its not a sleeper games like i am expecting as i will be in attendance...but I expect nothing short of a sleeper game at this stage in the season.

[Konnan511 1,736]

God I don't care who plays goalie I just want a 60 minute game.

Agreed to the fullest extent. If our Defense actually plays defense for a full 60 or 65 minutes and stops those cross crease/ice passes and doesn't let the forwards go right around them, we wouldn't have a goalie controversy at all and Ozzie would still have his confidence. It has to be unnerving as a goalie to know once the third period your defense is going to crap out on you.

[lets go pavel 2]

God I don't care who plays goalie I just want a 60 minute game.

I agree wholeheartedly ... as much as the goaltender gets bashed around here, and deservedly so to a certain extent, it has been a TEAM problem. Unfortunately, I think OsGOD is probably right, we're probably not going to see a whole lot out there. I'm ready for the playoffs ...

[The Secret 304]

Just imagine an Ericsson/Fischer pairing...that would be monstrous.

EDIT: I read just imagine an Ericsson/Lilja pairing and this was my reply (Ericsson/Fischer would have been even better and they nickname could stay):

I was totally anti-Lilja until this year and although I am not a fan yet he has caught my eye with a much improved game in all area's except fighting and quality of his shot. Over-all he has really proven to be an excellent keep for the 3rd pairing and that is a very hard thing for me to say.

Lilja and Ericsson... The Twin Towers! I really like the sound of that.... you hear it here first folks!! Although I like Ericsson spending some quality time with Chelios in hope that he learns to have Cheli's bite and competitive spirit.

Edited March 31, 2009 by The Secret

[elriqo28 2]

I hope Wasgood will not play this year again. Conklin finally gets his chance!

original....******!

[ben_usmc 253]

Agreed to the fullest extent. If our Defense actually plays defense for a full 60 or 65 minutes and stops those cross crease/ice passes and doesn't let the forwards go right around them, we wouldn't have a goalie controversy at all and Ozzie would still have his confidence. It has to be unnerving as a goalie to know once the third period your defense is going to crap out on you.

bulls***, the defense would look a lot better if they had confidence in a goalie actually stopping a shot. You think we went from the best to one the worst in a year? It's much more logical to think 1 player has regressed not 6. Not to mention that no matter what there will be shots on goal and to say Ozzy isn't at fault for letting in so many soft goals is ridiculous.

[lets go pavel 2]

bulls***, the defense would look a lot better if they had confidence in a goalie actually stopping a shot. You think we went from the best to one the worst in a year? It's much more logical to think 1 player has regressed not 6. Not to mention that no matter what there will be shots on goal and to say Ozzy isn't at fault for letting in so many soft goals is ridiculous.

The defense will look equally bad giving up the kinds of chances they have whether Ozzie stops them or not, that would just make the scoreboard look better. They have ALL played poorly at times ... the difference is that there are 6 defenseman and only 1 goalie, so naturally the goalie gets blamed all of the time whereas the defenders get to take turns f*%^ing up. And honestly I'd lump most of the forwards in there too. Regardless of how you feel about Ozzie, you can't honestly say we've seen a lot of 60 minute games from teh Wings this year.

[OsGOD 3]

bulls***, the defense would look a lot better if they had confidence in a goalie actually stopping a shot. You think we went from the best to one the worst in a year? It's much more logical to think 1 player has regressed not 6. Not to mention that no matter what there will be shots on goal and to say Ozzy isn't at fault for letting in so many soft goals is ridiculous.

So let me get this straight... a defense with more confidence in their goalie would NOT pass the puck across the crease or not make lame ass lazy attempts to clear the puck out of the zone? or give the puck up inside the circles...

Have you watched the amount of Errors ALL six D-men have been making or are you too focused on watching Ozzie that you negate to see the rest of the players?

Seems to me that D-men with Lost confidence in their goalies actually play harder and work harder to make sure the puck doesn't get to close to said goalie. The wings D is guilty of far to many own-zone turnovers... those are not the fault of goaltender.

Not to mention just all around sloppy play... for instance like last game with Erikkson taking the puck up and hitting kopeckys skate for a quick and easy turn over and possibly a goal (i can't remember for sure)

Edited March 31, 2009 by OsGOD