457 replies to this topic

[mindfly]

Why would someone scratch lilja against a team like philadelphia makes no sense AT ALL.

[Detroit # 1 Fan]

Especially since Lebda f***ed up the game winning goal, and has looked awful with Ericsson all year.

Yeah, not to mention Ericsson has sucked with everyone not named Lidstrom or Lilja. Plus, Lilja would've had some push back today because no one else did. What a frustrating game on all fronts.

[mindfly]

Wings will be so owned by the hawks if they play them the first round, and its looking more and more likely with how brutal they have been playing lately... they think they are already in it so they relax...

[Drake_Marcus]

Meh. This weekend blew chunks, but in the long run maybe it's good to have a slap in the face now and not in a few weeks. The Wings weren't going to go on a 25 game winning streak on the way to the Cup.

My biggest concern is that the Wings rebound from this and play excellent on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Babcock said before this game that Ozzy would play one of the three remaining games, so here's how I see the goalie rotation shaking out:

Howard starts: Wednesday vs. the Blue Jackets (home game)

Ozzy starts: Friday vs. the Blue Jackets (away game)

Howard starts: Sunday vs. the s***hawks (away game)

Howard needs to play really strong and bounce back from his last two unimpressive starts. If he can play extra impressive on Wednesday he might get all three remaining games... I guess it depends on whether Babcock feels like Howard is on a roll.

[b.shanafan14]

Yeah, Babcock has yet to prove himself a truely great coach in my eyes because of decisions like this. Why in the world would you ever scratch Lilja for Lebda against a team like Philly, especially given how terrible Ericsson and Lebda are together? I swear, sometimes I think he is just guessing.

[Drake_Marcus]

Yeah, not to mention Ericsson has sucked with everyone not named Lidstrom or Lilja. Plus, Lilja would've had some push back today because no one else did. What a frustrating game on all fronts.

Ericsson was fine tonight. He had a rough time on the goal he was on the ice for but he was good otherwise. I loved how willing he was to push the other team away from the net.

E played about 14 mins, had 2 hits, 1 take away and 1 give away along with his +1.

Stuart and Lebda looked horrible together on that goal, though.

[8 Legged RedWing]

Wings will be so owned by the hawks if they play them the first round, and its looking more and more likely with how brutal they have been playing lately... they think they are already in it so they relax...

Dude... I know you have a lot of sarcasm and I hope you are just pouring it on us here but playing brutal lately? Cuz a 10-1-2 in their last 13 is brutal... Howard needed this rest, they will bounce back next game.

[Louisville]

Tough loss aside...I don't know how Holmstrom can be dragged down, punched in the back of the head, and still be called for a penalty with Carcillo.

[JoeK35]

The wings' homepage says it all about the game today. "POINTLESS". I understand Babs wanting to get Ozzie a game or two before the playoffs... But seeing the game today, Ozzie's mediocre play, and the stats updated after. (see below) I think it'd be best to stay with Howie for the rest of this season.


Jimmy Howard 60 58 3552 2.30 34 15 10 2 1774 136 .923 0 2 2
Chris Osgood 23 21 1252 3.02 07 09 04 1 0561 063 .888 0 1 0

Then again Howie did need the rest.

Edited by JoeK35, 04 April 2010 - 02:29 PM.

[Krayzie_Bone]

It is going to be fun to watch philly get bounced in the first round of the playoffs. I wouldent have played Lilja even if he was healthy. No need to have him get run by carcillo or someone and get another concussion.

[Detroit # 1 Fan]

Ericsson was fine tonight. He had a rough time on the goal he was on the ice for but he was good otherwise. I loved how willing he was to push the other team away from the net.

E played about 14 mins, had 2 hits, 1 take away and 1 give away along with his +1.

Stuart and Lebda looked horrible together on that goal, though.

I wasnt trying to say he was bad, just he plays better with Lidstrom/Lilja. He was good, I really wanted him to eat Carcilloe or Lapirreire for dinner but what are you gonna do.

And to your goalie rotation point earlier Drake, I think Ozzie should start Wednesday at home, he'll have a better chance of winning IMO. On the road against the Jackets who will be playing spoiler is not something Ozzie needs. Plus Howard can handle Friday and Sunday, he doesnt need a massive break or anything.

[mindfly]

Dude... I know you have a lot of sarcasm and I hope you are just pouring it on us here but playing brutal lately? Cuz a 10-1-2 in their last 13 is brutal... Howard needed this rest, they will bounce back next game.

I don't look at the stats, fact of the matter is they haven't played like they SHOULD since the pittsburgh game, and that is weeks ago now..

[Drake_Marcus]

I wasnt trying to say he was bad, just he plays better with Lidstrom/Lilja. He was good, I really wanted him to eat Carcilloe or Lapirreire for dinner but what are you gonna do.

And to your goalie rotation point earlier Drake, I think Ozzie should start Wednesday at home, he'll have a better chance of winning IMO. On the road against the Jackets who will be playing spoiler is not something Ozzie needs. Plus Howard can handle Friday and Sunday, he doesnt need a massive break or anything.

If we had clinched the playoff berth today I'd agree about starting Ozzy Wednesday, but to be honest the Wings need to put their best team on the ice Wednesday so they're not behind the eight ball on the road...

[Dynheart]

Haven't read the thread, but I'm going to take a stab and say Ozzie was bashed to hell and back. I think he played OK considering he really hasn't played AT ALL for almost 3 months. So 4 goals against with him being as cold as he was, I think he did an OK job. To me he looked like he was getting better and more confident as the game went on. It didn't help that the wings played like absolute garbage, and Babcock decides to scratch Lilja...for Lebda...(for the love of god why???).

Would we have won with Howard in net. Probably, but I believe the goal from here on out isn't about the wins, although they are helpful, but to get everybody going.

[Crymson]

I don't look at the stats, fact of the matter is they haven't played like they SHOULD since the pittsburgh game, and that is weeks ago now..

Goodness! The team is losing and they are failing Mindfly! He DESERVES for them to win all the time! He is being robbed of what is rightfully his! Waaaaaah! WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

[Zeowingsfan]

The goal of this game was to rest Howard and to give Osgood a start. Obviously the first goal was really soft, but he showed improvement as the game went on when he started getting into a groove. I would like him to get another start to give Howard a little bit more rest, and hopefully next game the whole team will play for the entire game. If they play like they did today in the playoffs then we could see an early exit.

[Drake_Marcus]

Why would someone scratch lilja against a team like philadelphia makes no sense AT ALL.

According to the Detroit News Lilja isn't skating right now. He blocked a shot yesterday and was hobbling around afterwords, so there's your reason for Lebda taking his place today.

[GMRwings1983]

Goodness! The team is losing and they are failing Mindfly! He DESERVES for them to win all the time! He is being robbed of what is rightfully his! Waaaaaah! WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

The Wings have let me and mindfly down these last few games.

Babcock owes us a personal apology.

According to the Detroit News Lilja isn't skating right now. He blocked a shot yesterday and was hobbling around afterwords, so there's your reason for Lebda taking his place today.

That sucks.

Without Lilja, you can throw our 3rd defensive pairing out the window.

[Zetts]

You're always going to get frustrating games like this. But I'm actually happy from this game because it shows that Dan Cleary might be back to his old form, which would be huge for us going into the playoffs.

Without Lilja, you can throw our 3rd defensive pairing out the window.

The sad thing is, this isn't just your normal Lilja love. It's actually true.

[titanium2]

When was the last time a GDT went over 20 pages? Pittsburgh game probably?

By George Malik of Snapshots.

The Red Wings' 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers serves as a worrisome reminder of what can happen when the Red Wings underestimate their opponents, the referees' willingness to "let 'em play," and their own inattentiveness to detail. The problem with this loss not only involved digging the usual 2-0 hole, not scoring on power plays, coughing up the puck with alarming regularity, missing defensive assignments, and bunching up and standing around instead of skating hard and "sorting out" player assignments in all three zones.

The Wings played against a team that will use the "goon it up and see if the Wings back off" game plan in the playoffs, and the Wings did indeed back off. Tomas Holmstrom did his best to give as good as he got with Daniel Carcillo, but the Wings let Carcillo, Ian Laperriere, Scott Hartnell and the rest of the Flyers' goon squad run around without so much as a Kronwall or Stuart hit at the neutral zone timed to send a message that intimidation wouldn't be simply absorbed.

Instead, the Wings played passive, perimeter hockey all game long, and refused to do the things they allowed the Flyers to master--possessing the puck, dictating the pace of play by unleashing their speedy transition game to generate speed through the neutral zone, sustaining possession and control of the puck in the offensive zone, and going to the slot and staying there to seriously challenge Osgood (who, first goal aside, did his damnedest to keep his teammates in the game).

The Wings refused to match the Flyers' level of desperation, refused to stand up to them physically--and that doesn't necessarily mean fighting, it means bearing down and winning those one-on-one puck battles when you're hooked, held, and slugged and capitalizing on power plays--nor did the Wings stand up to the Flyers mentally, and that's just not acceptable a week and a half out of the playoffs.

The Wings have indulged in their bad habits on an increasingly regular basis over the past week's worth of play and have five out of a possible eight points to show for it, but as the Wings can't match Los Angeles or Nashville's wins, should the teams find themselves tied in the Western Conference standings point-wise, the Wings essentially need to win out their last three games to ensure that they emerge from the regular season in fifth place, not sixth or seventh, and they need to ensure that their mental and physical levels of tenacity won't resemble the, "Fold and be content to get pushed around" game they played on Sunday.

It's hard enough to try to beat a dog-hungry opponent and referees intent to reward the Carcillos of the world...it's harder still when you have to beat yourselves as well.

And, for the record, the Wings' loss allows the Blackhawks to clinch the Central Division title.