12/13 GDT: Kings, Lots (5) at Red Wings, None (0)

[No.9 4]

We get it, you enjoy cigarettes, pot, and alcohol. We all think you're extremely cool. Congratulations on your snow day off school today.

Haha awesome.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

The GDT's after losses like this are never good. It was just one of those games. It's bound to happen in the course of an 82 game season. Forget about it and concentrate on the St. Louis game.

[gcom007 1,465]

I guess Howard should have taken a couple shots on net and tried to score, since the offense failed to score. And why is it so freaking hard for the Wings to score on a power play?

Yes, Jimmy has rebound control problems. So you work with him. Everybody has a responsibility on the ice. Can't leave your man wide open. Tie up his stick. Goalies are expected to stop the first shot, but the defense needs to be there for the possible rebounds.

Proportional to their roles, who had a better effort tonight? Howard in goal or the offense?

Did the offense generate a lot of chances, put a lot of pressure on Quick, put a lot of shots on goal, etc...? The offense posted a very solid effort that on any other night easily would've translated to at the very least 2-3 goals if not more. Quick robbed them, pure and simple. He played as close to perfect as possible and we tested him HARD. I don't hold this loss against them. I don't blame them. It's a stupid thing to do on a night like this.

Meanwhile, Howard let 5 goals in, many of which were softer in nature. There's absolutely something to be said for Howard not coming up with a big save to keep it close. That 3rd goal sealed it. When you're playing a goalie who's having a great game and you give up a quick one right off the bat in the 3rd to allow for a 3-goal lead, the game's pretty much over. But again, we didn't score, so it's also pretty stupid to blame Howard for this loss. At the same time, though, he did play pretty bad.

To me, it's not that the Wings lost this game. It wasn't that simple.

The real story: Quick won this game.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

The GDT's after losses like this are never good. It was just one of those games. It's bound to happen in the course of an 82 game season. Forget about it and concentrate on the St. Louis game.

At least it isn't OMG TRADE EVERYONE like some GDT's last season.

[Guest Heaten]

The better team lost. It happens from time to time.

[Zonly1 46]

Proportional to their roles, who had a better effort tonight? Howard in goal or the offense?

Did the offense generate a lot of chances, put a lot of pressure on Quick, put a lot of shots on goal, etc...? The offense posted a very solid effort that on any other night easily would've translated to at the very least 2-3 goals if not more. Quick robbed them, pure and simple. He played as close to perfect as possible and we tested him HARD. I don't hold this loss against them. I don't blame them. It's a stupid thing to do on a night like this.

Meanwhile, Howard let 5 goals in, many of which were softer in nature. There's absolutely something to be said for Howard not coming up with a big save to keep it close. That 3rd goal sealed it. When you're playing a goalie who's having a great game and you give up a quick one right off the bat in the 3rd to allow for a 3-goal lead, the game's pretty much over. But again, we didn't score, so it's also pretty stupid to blame Howard for this loss. At the same time, though, he did play pretty bad.

To me, it's not that the Wings lost this game. It wasn't that simple.

The real story: Quick won this game.

We can just agree that Quick was the main man tonight. And the Wings didn't have a great effort ALL AROUND. Teams make adjustments when they can't score. I'm not sure if they made adjustments or if Quick is just a super computer programmed to stop anything that comes his way.

[AtomicPunk 296]

That game was hard to watch.

And Hudler has NO CONFIDENCE. Why is he still on the point on the second PP? Him and Val on the ice at the same time means NO SHOTS...lots of passes. Lots of stuff wrong in this game but Quick played great and Howard did not fare as well.

[Guest scottj]

I thought Hudler was doing pretty good at first in the game but he can NEVER

EVER

step up

he better change or I'll be more excited when we lose him than when we lost Leino

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

The better team lost. It happens from time to time.

5 to nothing??

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the better team won tonight.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

At least it isn't OMG TRADE EVERYONE like some GDT's last season.

Well now it will be.

[Zonly1 46]

What frustrates me the most about Hudler is the fact that when he actually does go to the corner, he get's knocked off the puck immediately. The rest of the time he shys away and let's the opposing player get there first to avoid being roughed up. And the fact that he has no NHL skills anymore.

[Barrie 900]

With 82 regular season games, this is bound to happen at least once. I like the 51 shots.

[gcom007 1,465]

What frustrates me the most about Hudler is the fact that when he actually does go to the corner, he get's knocked off the puck immediately. The rest of the time he shys away and let's the opposing player get there first to avoid being roughed up. And the fact that he has no NHL skills anymore.

I can't believe he's not getting more penalties in the process the way he throws his stick around in these plays. I feel like if he was actually making an impact he'd get called, but he's so weak even when flinging his stick around at guys. It's just kinda pathetic. He's been such a disappointment...

And once again, he and Flip not living up to hype is why I was so damn pissed Holland didn't pass on Huds and trade Flip to sign Hossa. We'd do well to have one less guy fighting for a spot. It's ridiculous that Eaves and Miller have to rotate at all. At least Flip is a descent player in our end though. Huds? Just, all sorts of sad this year.

[ACallToArms 270]

You and I get this... we're about it, here.

I hear what you're saying, and I wouldn't be commenting on the goaltending if it was a 2-0 game. It was 5-0. Yeah, the Wings couldn't score anything, but there's no one to really blame other than the goaltender when your team gets 5 goals scored against it. I was only half watching the game because I was working on something, but I didn't think the defensive lines dropped the ball that badly, did they?

[megaelixir 35]

5 to nothing??

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the better team won tonight.

51 shots. We were the better team.

The team with the better goaltender won tonight.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

51 shots. We were the better team.

The team with the better goaltender won tonight.

Because shots = better team?

Yes, the Kings goaltending was better but that doesn't explain the whole loss. Sorry, the better team beat the Wings tonight.

I can't believe I'm even debating this when the Wings were shutout and lost by 5 goals.

EDIT: Hallelujahlogic, is that you??? Welcome back!

Edited December 14, 2010 by haroldsnepsts

[Zonly1 46]

I can't believe he's not getting more penalties in the process the way he throws his stick around in these plays. I feel like if he was actually making an impact he'd get called, but he's so weak even when flinging his stick around at guys. It's just kinda pathetic. He's been such a disappointment...

And once again, he and Flip not living up to hype is why I was so damn pissed Holland didn't pass on Huds and trade Flip to sign Hossa. We'd do well to have one less guy fighting for a spot. It's ridiculous that Eaves and Miller have to rotate at all. At least Flip is a descent player in our end though. Huds? Just, all sorts of sad this year.

I think the refs just look at Hudler and think "poor little guy, he's not much of a factor so let's leave him alone".

And yes, I also get worked up when they sit Eaves or Miller because even though they don't score much, they hustle and work hard. Hudler is incapable of doing either. And with Flip, he tries too hard to be a clone of Datsyuk. I rarely see Flip complete a deke. He always loses the puck. But at least Flip has potential to be better and we know this because we've seen it.

[megaelixir 35]

Because shots = better team?

Yes, the Kings goaltending was better but that doesn't explain the whole loss. Sorry, the better team beat the Wings tonight.

I can't believe I'm even debating this when the Wings were shutout and lost by 5 goals.

EDIT: Hallelujahlogic, is that you??? Welcome back!

Yeah! Hi! I'm glad to be back!

The bottom line is that the Kings only put 26 shots on Howard tonight, and he let 5 of them in. We put 51 on Quick, and he kept all of them out. Goaltending, much more than any other factor, is what lost the game for us, and what won it for LA.

[Joey v3.4 45]

This isn't my original account. Oh well.

51 shots on goal. 51 saves by quick.

Howard might have let in some softies (Give or take 5). The offense didn't do anything, but they did have 51 shots on goal. For being shut-out, that's the most shots we have in a single game this season I believe.

We outshot them 2-1. They outscored us 5-0.

I think it's funny, a few GDT's ago everyone was expressing concern about Osgood being in net. In this GDT a lot of people are begging for Osgood to be in net. Fickle Fickle fans

Detroit had 3 powerplays. LA only had one. Not that they needed it but they scored on it too.

Game looked winnable through the first two periods. Even though we didn't score in the third, Howie is most responsible for letting the game get out of hand. If it had ended 2-0 or 3-0 it would be different, but to let in 3 goals in like 5 minutes, in the final period is not acceptable from a goaltender. It happens, but so does getting hit by a bus. If you get hit by a bus, I'm not going to blame the bus, I'm going to blame you. Same applies for letting in 5 goals.

I'm not knocking Howard. Quick clearly outplayed every man on the ice tonight. 51 shots, averages out to about 4-6 goals. Statistically something should have gone in on accident......a strong wind gust should be able to put in a goal on 51 attempts.

Positives from this game:

a) 51 shots. Franzen had 8, Cleary had like 7. At least our goal scorers were trying.

b) Nobody got injured.

c) It was hard enough to think of a "B" let alone a C.

Negatives from this game:

a) Quick drank his Red bull, apparently.

b) Howard did not drink his Red bull.

c) Weak outside shots, too many dead to the chest shots.

d) No rebound pick-ups. Poor positioning for the second shot. Quick to fire the puck, slow to get to the crease.

e) It is not hard to think of points to go in this section.

Detroit plays a game of numbers, where if you put 30+ shots on net, your bound to get a goal or two out of that alone, not including any particularly good plays. Games like tonight they played only the numbers, and the problem with numbers is that X doesn't always equal Y, when there is a hidden variable. In this game that variable was mostly Quick.

Bottom line: Detroit got schooled tonight.

This is one loss that there is absolutely no point in defending.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Joey v3.4

[gcom007 1,465]

I think the refs just look at Hudler and think "poor little guy, he's not much of a factor so let's leave him alone".

And yes, I also get worked up when they sit Eaves or Miller because even though they don't score much, they hustle and work hard. Hudler is incapable of doing either. And with Flip, he tries too hard to be a clone of Datsyuk. I rarely see Flip complete a deke. He always loses the puck. But at least Flip has potential to be better and we know this because we've seen it.

I don't buy the potential. He's never shown himself to be even close to consistent at any point in time in his career. He's been a streaky player from day 1. Flashes of brilliance don't demonstrate potential to me. They're all pros. They're all capable of making good plays, but to be able to do so consistently is the key, and again, Flips never come close to showing he can do that. He doesn't have a great shot and he just doesn't have those legitimate goal scoring skills. They would've done better signing him for less money and trying to develop him into a Draper with skill. Signing him based on a "best-case" evaluation of his potential was a rare misstep by Holland. And to this day, pushing a heavy offensive role on him continues to be a mistake.

I mean, how many times has this damn article been written since Flips second season???

Read more: Mike Babcock wants Valtteri Filppula to shoot more as Red Wings host Kings | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20101213/SPORTS05/101213011/Mike-Babcock-wants-Valtteri-Filppula-to-shoot-more-as-Red-Wings-host-Kings#ixzz183bXRMjz

I've been scratching my head on this guy from the start. I started pulling my hair out when he signed for 5 years. Now, I'm just apathetic. I don't get how so few people can see that we keep saying the same thing about him now again and again. Like...this is his 4th breakout year now...???...shoot the puck more...again...???...it's like Groundhogs Day with this guy.

I really do think he's a descent NHL player and if he focused on his strengths, I think he's got Selke-level defensive skills. But the guy just doesn't have what it takes to put up big points let alone goals. People need to get over it, including Red Wings management.

I just wish they would've done so before they let Hossa go to Chicago...

(I'm still so, so bitter about that.)

[Guest Heaten]

5 to nothing??

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the better team won tonight.

The better goalie won. The saves Quick made were humanly impossible. He was a god tonight. Howard was sieve.

[Zonly1 46]

I don't buy the potential. He's never shown himself to be even close to consistent at any point in time in his career. He's been a streaky player from day 1. Flashes of brilliance don't demonstrate potential to me. They're all pros. They're all capable of making good plays, but to be able to do so consistently is the key, and again, Flips never come close to showing he can do that. He doesn't have a great shot and he just doesn't have those legitimate goal scoring skills. They would've done better signing him for less money and trying to develop him into a Draper with skill. Signing him based on a "best-case" evaluation of his potential was a rare misstep by Holland. And to this day, pushing a heavy offensive role on him continues to be a mistake.

I mean, how many times has this damn article been written since Flips second season???

Read more: Mike Babcock wants Valtteri Filppula to shoot more as Red Wings host Kings | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20101213/SPORTS05/101213011/Mike-Babcock-wants-Valtteri-Filppula-to-shoot-more-as-Red-Wings-host-Kings#ixzz183bXRMjz

I've been scratching my head on this guy from the start. I started pulling my hair out when he signed for 5 years. Now, I'm just apathetic. I don't get how so few people can see that we keep saying the same thing about him now again and again. Like...this is his 4th breakout year now...???...shoot the puck more...again...???...it's like Groundhogs Day with this guy.

I really do think he's a descent NHL player and if he focused on his strengths, I think he's got Selke-level defensive skills. But the guy just doesn't have what it takes to put up big points let alone goals. People need to get over it, including Red Wings management.

I just wish they would've done so before they let Hossa go to Chicago...

(I'm still so, so bitter about that.)

Yeah, I have seen a lot of articles about Babcock wanting Flip to shoot more and thinking he is going to have a breakout year. It hurt big time to let Hossa go to a division rival. Hossa has way more upside to his game then Flip does.

[DyingAlive 27]

The worst part about tonight's loss, I didn't start Quick in fantasy hockey

[egroen 384]

I hate pinning a loss to individuals - but Stuart and Howard were pretty culpable. Ah well, it's one game.

[wings_fanatic 677]

I find it funny also that so many people want Ozzie in net now after this loss. In saying that, if you actually look back at all my posts since last year (which are not too many) they all support Ozzie because I think he is one of the best goalies when he is on his game. Ever since the emergence of Howie last season, I have been one of the few who, while I recognize his accomplishments, I also recognize his bad rebounds and tendencies to let in really bad goals at really bad times. Take Game 3 versus San Jose last year in the playoffs, the Wings had the lead until Howie let in that brutal goal (some say that costed the Wings the series; I do not agree with that but you have to question it at least).

The fact that I am trying to get at here is that Ozzie is a PROVEN goaltender and is PROVEN to win more often then not when he is on his game. From what I have seen this season so far, Ozzie appears to be on his game and boy did he ever look extremely confident in NJ with his all around play. My question then is, why not do a goalie rotation for the time being... say until the end of January or so. Ozzie actually HAS a better GAA and near save% so why not? Sure, Howie is a good goalie, no one can deny that with his stats and wins, however it is obvious that he also has bad games and lets in untimely bad goals. So why not rotate the 2 goalies for a while and then later in the season start playing the better goalie more and more. By seasons end, whoever performs better should be starter in the playoffs.

I am going to be honest here if I had to choose between Ozzie and Howie in the playoffs I'd be picking Ozzie because I just think the team plays more calm in front of him and he appears to be on his A- game and looks like he wants to take the starter job from Howie just like he did Hasek a couple years ago. But this is just me what do yo all think ?