The 2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins

[mjlegend 155]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%93...Penguins_season

On February 15, the team had a record of 27–25–5 and was five points out of playoff position.

(Jan 27, 2010 Red Wings = 25-19-9, one point out of a playoff position).

My point: Curt Fraser, come on down. It's just about time to pick up Billy Guerin at the trade deadline.

Kidding. Babs is clearly still the man until he can't win in the playoffs/get to the playoffs. But this season isn't a lost cause yet. The Penguins last year got healthy, made a total of two trades and stole the Stanley Cup at the Joe.

Anyone throwing in the towel on the entire organization at this point is either dealing with severe emotional issues or a frontrunning bandwagon jumper.

DUCY?

[ShanahanMan 473]

meh....don't really like the argument. Pittsburgh's problem was solely due to very poor coaching, as they literally JUMPED the standings when he was replaced. I mean, you don't have a team with Malkin and Crosby on the same line and only have a .500 record unless theres something internally wrong.

Our situation is different. We have an excellent coach and only "semi" (aging) allstars. I highly doubt getting a player like Guerin and replacing our coach will do jack for us.

Edited January 28, 2010 by ShanahanMan

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

The West is tougher than the East.

We don't have Crosby and Malkin.

We don't have Bettman, God and the refs on our side.

[Rick D 350]

On February 15, the team had a record of 27–25–5 and was five points out of playoff position.

(Jan 27, 2010 Red Wings = 25-19-9, one point out of a playoff position).

My point: Curt Fraser, come on down. It's just about time to pick up Billy Guerin at the trade deadline. scared.gif

i have been thinking the same thing for a while now. if we get healthy, we can make a good run in the playoffs.

Edited January 28, 2010 by Rick D

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

i have been thinking the same thing for a while now. if we get healthy, we can make a good run in the playoffs.

Well, Stuart just got hurt, so it'll be hard to be completety healthy.

We're healthy enough to be beating teams like Phoenix, Minnesota and LA. How many big name players do they have on their roster? Not more than us, that's for sure.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

The West is tougher than the East.

We don't have Crosby and Malkin.

We don't have Bettman, God and the refs on our side.

[WingsfaninGermany 0]

Let's hope the same outcome can be written about the Wings this June.

I'm just worried they are worn out from numerous seasons of deep playoff runs. Maybe the time has come to 'sit' one out and re-group.

Although a Stanley Cup would be nice...

[mjlegend 155]

The West is tougher than the East.

We don't have Crosby and Malkin.

We don't have Bettman, God and the refs on our side.

Seriously though, forget about their team chemistry argument between October and January. Good leaders bring teams together at the right time.

They missed Gonchar like the Wings miss Franzen.

I still refuse to believe the Wings are more than one or two minor moves to be back to where they were before the playoffs last year.

[titanium2 867]

We don't have Bettman

Pretty much.

[hooon 1,089]

The West is tougher than the East.

We don't have Crosby and Malkin.

We don't have Bettman, God and the refs on our side.

Or Talbot

[mjlegend 155]

Or Talbot

TALBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!

[Yzerman191 37]

I've actually been drawing the same parallels for a while now. Last season I took tremendous delight in checking the standings from November until February, watching Pittsburgh continue to tank. After the trade deadline, they made a few changes, powered their way back into a playoff spot and through some of the most difficult teams in the league on their way to the 'Cup. Last season kind of illustrated the fact that anything really can happen.

Also, I actually think our roster is better than the Penguins when playing to its full potential, even after the departure of all those various free agents last summer. Our defense is undoubtedly stronger (on paper) when healthy, and Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, and all of those secondary scorers make up a very capable offense. We're also getting the best goaltending we've had in years.

I'm still pretty optimistic about this season. It sucks to lose games like tonight, but it feels a little more promising when they hang with the Sharks or the 'Hawks with a line-up consisting primarily of AHL'ers.

[lookalive07 251]

Finally an OP with some logic.

Look, I'm not going to go all in and say this is 100% the same situation, because it's not. However, seeing a thread that isn't about raising the white flag and cashing in on our players that we all know aren't moving (see: Filppula) is definitely a saving grace among the idiots.

Don't get me wrong, I was yelling obscenities when I caught the third period a little late after the intermission to see the Wings down 5-2, (as well as last night when we blew a 2 goal lead) but I'm not going to not watch them the rest of the year. One thing I've been noticing while I've been lurking (mostly) since my join date is that 90% of the people on this forum are a bunch of spoiled ass whiny whiners who want nothing less than a Stanley Cup this year and every year. So do 29 other teams. Just because we've been dominant in the NHL for the last decade plus doesn't mean we have the right to lynch our team every time they lose.

Babcock needs to iron out the seams and our players need to play better, case closed. Datsyuk had two goals tonight. Lidstrom had 2 goals last night and 2 assists tonight. That's the kind of play we've been looking for, we just can't pull through with a win. We'll get the bounces the other teams are getting. Just wait and have a little faith.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%93...Penguins_season

On February 15, the team had a record of 27–25–5 and was five points out of playoff position.

(Jan 27, 2010 Red Wings = 25-19-9, one point out of a playoff position).

My point: Curt Fraser, come on down. It's just about time to pick up Billy Guerin at the trade deadline.

Kidding. Babs is clearly still the man until he can't win in the playoffs/get to the playoffs. But this season isn't a lost cause yet. The Penguins last year got healthy, made a total of two trades and stole the Stanley Cup at the Joe.

Anyone throwing in the towel on the entire organization at this point is either dealing with severe emotional issues or a frontrunning bandwagon jumper.

DUCY?

It's definitely ridiculous to throw the towel on the season, there's still plenty of time left to gain ground. If you have the effort/trying what they did in the 2nd part of the game last night though, you can forget playoffs. Thankfully, games or efforts like that where you don't even look like you are trying (even though this is not the case obviously) or are just badly getting outplayed are few/far between.

[DMAC 25 18]

The West is tougher than the East.

We don't have Crosby and Malkin.

We don't have Bettman, God and the refs on our side.

but we have dats and Z, they just need to pick it up a little more.

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

We don't have Therrien to fire.

Parallel over.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

We don't have Therrien to fire.

Parallel over.

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

Well played.

[Crashnburnluder 385]

did I miss something.... I thought we were tied for 8th in points with 29 games left and we havnt had a full line up yet.... hmmm... people do realize that we still have 58 points left that we could possibly grab this season and alot of them are from teams that we are trying to stay ahead of and catch... this season is far from over boys... GOT TO HAVE FAITH !!!

GO WINGS!!!

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Well played.

Anyone think this would solve the Wings defensive woes? He is, after all, defensive coach.