1/23 GDT: Kings 3 at Red Wings 2

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Move over Detroit vs Colorado, Z&D vs gcom wants to be the big rivalry on campus.

No way they'll top micah and Shoreline.

[BuckeyeWingsfan80 209]

Early on he had trouble getting his legs going but his hands still seemed to be working, now none of his body parts are doing their job.

so yeah I can't wait until he plays as many as 6 games in 10 days in the Olympics too

[gcom007 1,465]

I dont' think this team looks that much better than what they did in December, when a lot more players were injured.

I'm just not seeing any improvement. Kronwall and Homer will likely help, but who are they going to replace in the lineup? Our role players are playing better than the stars right now.

Well, like I said, I don't know what's up with Z. I think there's definitely still some physical issues holding him back. Only time will tell there.

But getting Flip and Cleary back and us not looking much better doesn't surprise me. Both are solid, but neither is even close to a game-changer.

Again, I think Kronwall's been the toughest loss so far. Franzen's really right there, and the way Holmstrom's been scoring, you can't ignore him either, though I tend to think his impact will be diminished down the stretch due to the physical strain on his body.

Those are the guys though that can be game-changers. Cleary's good for a goal now and then but he's not a consistent guy. He's solid. You need guys like him but he's not going to change the face of the team either. Flip is not going to give you many goals and is a redundant defensive force so you can't expect him to take the team over the top either.

And Ericson? He's a rookie, and with the good (shot, some good point work at times) comes the bad (stupid giveaways and play in our end). But he's a rookie so I'm not about to bust his chops too much.

But wait until we get the real impact guys back before you assess things. I agree, we don't look much better since December, but the difference is, I thought it would be like that all along especially given the way guys like Eaves and Miller have stepped up to play bigger roles. It minimizes the middle guys impacts coming back substantially.

[gcom007 1,465]

Could you imagine this team going through their annual February slump?

I agree with a lot of what you say, but I am worried that "in the hunt" will turn into 8 am tee time.

Thank goodness for the Olympics! Perhaps we can avoid it this year. I'd say we deserve that much this year...

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

so yeah I can't wait until he plays as many as 6 games in 10 days in the Olympics too

The way they are playing, I'm surprised their national teams still want them.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

Thank goodness for the Olympics! Perhaps we can avoid it this year. I'd say we deserve that much this year...

Maybe it will be a hot streak this year instead of a cold streak.

[stuck in socal 56]

Early on he had trouble getting his legs going but his hands still seemed to be working, now none of his body parts are doing their job.

"Insert witty comment here"

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

God knows we all love the Wings. But they can be so damn frustrating to watch sometimes.

[Z and D for the C 712]

But Flip scor-

I'd love to count how many times Flip chokes up the puck in the offensive zone trying to make a play that is beyond his skill set and how many times he simply falls and chokes up the puck. Oh, and how about how many passes does he make that completely miss the target in the offensive zone, especially on the power play? I think you would really enjoy that.

Even more than that, I would enjoy pointing out everytime those things to every other player on the wings. How often has Datsyuk tried a move that completely fails? You think that Flip is the only one who doesn't connect 100% of his passes?

[Vladifan 680]

OK, it worked last time when I said the Coyotes were behind after two periods. Seems the Hawks are behind 3-0 toward the end of the first. Please, hockey gods - let it be. There's gotta be some good news tonight.

[gcom007 1,465]

Interesting quote.

Who are you trying to prop up here, me or you?

I think it's still looking pretty good for me on this one.

You'd be better off bringing that up after the 82nd if you could at least say that Flip was at a 50 point pace if not for the injury. Right now, that means nothing as Flip's not at the end of the season yet.

My point was that people are expecting too much out of Leino in his rookie year, but he still has far more of an offensive upside than Flip. I still stand by that adamantly. I didn't think it then nor do I think now that Flip will finish the year at a 50 point pace.

And besides, that was blatantly more of a jab at Flip's lack of offensive upside anyways. "Connect the dots." Get it???

Be sure to hang on to that one for April, it could be rich...

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

OK, it worked last time when I said the Coyotes were behind after two periods. Seems the Hawks are behind 3-0 toward the end of the first. Please, hockey gods - let it be. There's gotta be some good news tonight.

I honestly don't care anymore.

If Calgary actually wants to make the playoffs and are playing hard in a big game (unlike the Wings tonight), then so be it. They deserve it more than us, as does LA.

They stepped up tonight and we didn't.

Keep in mind, we have more talent than either of those teams. Injuries or not.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

You know something, the shootout is fun to watch...so long as the Wings aren't in it. Ducks win in the shootout.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Howard He Do It?!

[beepbeep 3]

Early on he had trouble getting his legs going but his hands still seemed to be working, now none of his body parts are doing their job.

Right now I have NOTHING good to say about Zetterburg, Datsyuk or Lidstrom. They are all making big bucks and STINK. I include Lidstrom in there because he is suppose to be the CAPTAIN of this team and should demand more from the guys getting the top money. Eveyone was dumping on Ericsson tonight and yes he f***ed up but if the assholes that are getting paid to score goals would get off their ass and score so the f***in games weren't so pressure filled maybe he could just relax and play his game. He is still a kid and for f***s sake is playing with an ******* linemate.

[Datsyerberger 279]

Lebda?

"f*** Lebda" ?

Yea, that sounds about right.

[gcom007 1,465]

Right now I have NOTHING good to say about Zetterburg, Datsyuk or Lidstrom. They are all making big bucks and STINK. I include Lidstrom in there because he is suppose to be the CAPTAIN of this team and should demand more from the guys getting the top money. Eveyone was dumping on Ericsson tonight and yes he f***ed up but if the assholes that are getting paid to score goals would get off their ass and score so the f***in games weren't so pressure filled maybe he could just relax and play his game. He is still a kid and for f***s sake is playing with an ******* linemate.

What if he knows they're still struggling with fairly significant injuries? I think Dats issues boil down to bad luck, but with Z, what if he knows Z's hurting? What if Lids is really hurting for that matter? What then?

[Z and D for the C 712]

So you really don't think you've been proven wrong given that Leino is on pace for 14 points over 82 games (Filppula's point toal at 26 games) and Filppula is currently on pace for 49 points over 82 games? Even if Flip doesn't end up at a 50 point pace (which I think he will, and then some) by the end of the season, it's beyond crazy to think that Lieno had a better shot at 50 than Filppula. But I'm sure you'll stand by that.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Honestly, why the hell can't we count on our top two offensive players for offense? How can the Wings win games and get caught up in the standings when Zetterberg and Datsyuk are both on pace for fewer than 25 goals? Hell, when was the last time Z scored fewer than 20 goals!?!? That's even more devistating when Franzen's only played 3 games through 51. So our second best scoring threat is out until roughly the 62nd game and our #1 scorer is on pace for his worst NHL scoring total ever.

Zetterberg is on pace for 21 goals. (20.65 if you're being picky) He had 22 as a rookie and 15 as a sophomore. This season is looking like it'll be his second worst scoring total ever and worst since before the lockout.

Zetterberg is expected to provide 40+ goals a season. If he doesn't the team is in huge trouble. Yeah Datsyuk is on pace for 18 goals, but he's a 30 goal guy and he's expected to be the playmaker. Is he deserving of some heat? Hell yes and he's getting heat-- there's been a few Newspaper articles focused purely on that.

The scary thing for me, though, has to be that Zetterberg is on pace for 21 goals in 74 games. Think about that. That's less than half of what he scored in the same number of games in 07-08. And it's not like he's hit his peak and is crashing down to earth. I know people love saying s*** like "30? that's so old" but that's retarded. Star players do not start sliding when they turn 30, and certainly not players that bloomed as late as Dats and Z did. They're both having off years but it's not like this is the beginning of the end for either of them.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Right now I have NOTHING good to say about Zetterburg, Datsyuk or Lidstrom. They are all making big bucks and STINK. I include Lidstrom in there because he is suppose to be the CAPTAIN of this team and should demand more from the guys getting the top money. Eveyone was dumping on Ericsson tonight and yes he f***ed up but if the assholes that are getting paid to score goals would get off their ass and score so the f***in games weren't so pressure filled maybe he could just relax and play his game. He is still a kid and for f***s sake is playing with an ******* linemate.

Lidstrom is still the best shut-down guy in the league. His defense is still Lidstrom quality. Has his offense dipped? Yeah, of course he's frigging 40 years old. He's on pace for about 40 points this season. That's great for a 40 year old defenseman.

Just because he's the Captain doesn't mean he can't age. I wish his offense would step up but hey, if you look at his stats he's been roughly a ppg player over the last month and a half. I figure he'll end up around 50pts after 82 games. The fact that he's a +18 on one of the bottom 5 scoring teams in the league is evidence enough as to how strong he's been defensively.

***** at Dats and Z, but Lids is playing well within what Holland likely expected from him in October.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

I know people love saying s*** like "30? that's so old" but that's retarded. Star players do not start sliding when they turn 30, and certainly not players that bloomed as late as Dats and Z did.

Another thing, Lidstrom didn't win the Norris until he was 30. Players definately don't start to go downhill at that age.

[gcom007 1,465]

So you really don't think you've been proven wrong given that Leino is on pace for 14 points over 82 games (Filppula's point toal at 26 games) and Filppula is currently on pace for 49 points over 82 games? Even if Flip doesn't end up at a 50 point pace (which I think he will, and then some) by the end of the season, it's beyond crazy to think that Lieno had a better shot at 50 than Filppula. But I'm sure you'll stand by that.

How on earth am I proven wrong when I was saying that people were expecting too much out of Leino. Let's remember the CONTEXT of those discussions to when people were thinking Leino was good for 25-30 goals. I said hell, I'll be THRILLED if he gets 12-15. As in, as thrilled as you would be if Flip scored 100 points. Basically, I didn't think Leino would have the same kind of success he had last year and that he'd have growing pains. He has. Looks like I was right.

The "50 points" thing wasn't so much me thinking that he'd get 50 points at all so much as thinking he'd be more likely to do it than Flip, and again, it really was more of a jab at the fanboy-sillyness. Again, think CONTEXT. When I just got through basically saying that I don't expect nearly as much from Leino as some, do you think that I'm actually thinking he's going to get 50 points? No way in hell.

But I still think he has tremendously more offensive upside than Flip, and I still think Flip will finish the season at a 40-45 point pace, so it was a really convenient jab.

[gcom007 1,465]

Lidstrom is still the best shut-down guy in the league. His defense is still Lidstrom quality. Has his offense dipped? Yeah, of course he's frigging 40 years old. He's on pace for about 40 points this season. That's great for a 40 year old defenseman.

Just because he's the Captain doesn't mean he can't age. I wish his offense would step up but hey, if you look at his stats he's been roughly a ppg player over the last month and a half. I figure he'll end up around 50pts after 82 games. The fact that he's a +18 on one of the bottom 5 scoring teams in the league is evidence enough as to how strong he's been defensively.

***** at Dats and Z, but Lids is playing well within what Holland likely expected from him in October.

Right on. People giving Lidstrom s*** are not only ignorant, but entirely disrespectful.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

So you really don't think you've been proven wrong given that Leino is on pace for 14 points over 82 games (Filppula's point toal at 26 games) and Filppula is currently on pace for 49 points over 82 games? Even if Flip doesn't end up at a 50 point pace (which I think he will, and then some) by the end of the season, it's beyond crazy to think that Lieno had a better shot at 50 than Filppula. But I'm sure you'll stand by that.

That wasn't crazy when he made the statement. Leino was considered a top 3 Calder candidate coming into the season. His first 13 NHL games resulted in 5g and 4a. He was a ppg player in the preseason with only Datsyuk outscoring him over that period. Expectations for his rookie season were sky high. Of course it sounds crazy to say that now but I expected Leino to get around 40pts and certainly expected more than 15 goals. Right now he's still on pace to close on Filppula's 15pt rookie campaign.

Edit: Waita go and partially retract your comment after I back ya up Gcom.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Drake_Marcus

[Z and D for the C 712]

I know you don't think he'll get 50 points and I know your focus was on Leino. I agree with you about Leino. But the fact is no way in hell has Leino shown to be more likely this season to get 50 points than Filppula, which is what you said is the reality. That's my point.

[gcom007 1,465]

I know you don't think he'll get 50 points and I know your focus was on Leino. I agree with you about Leino. But the fact is no way in hell has Leino shown to be more likely this season to get 50 points than Filppula, which is what you said is the reality. That's my point.

You are throwing punches underwater.