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RedWingsRox

Concerned - we might not make it in to the playoffs

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Holland was on Hockey Central today, some quotes:

KH asked about playoff race, sighs, says 10 was similar, says team is younger esp. on defense, younger team, more unknown, younger team.

KH asked about post-Lidstrom era, says thought if everything went well, they'd make playoffs, knew Nick would be big loss...

Feed cut out...KH says Wings believe Howard is real goalie, can steal games, steal a series, Wings believe he's a goalie that can beat teams

Wings have 8-9 d playing lot better defensively, 8th in GAA, crossing fingers about Helm still...Samuelsson will return, reinforcements..

KH confident Wings will re-sign Howard now or in June. "We're not that far apart."

KH says he's not gonna negotiate extensions during 5 games in 7 nights stretch at end of reg. season.

KH asked about trade deadline, says biggest internal conversation involved keeping 1st rounder, didn't want to move possible lottery pick.

KH says core of team is older (Pav 34, 1 more yr, dunno if he'll remain), will talk to Pavel, 1st round pick too important w/ 13, 40 older.

Wings didn't want to trade UFA's for draft picks knowing some players might leave in summer, offered what they could afford, didn't work.

KH says Wings have fingers crossed about Helm. Did skate for 1/2 hour before practice. Not ruling him out for year.

All tweets from George Malik

Article: http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/red-wings-gm-ken-holland-talks-to-wdfns-sean-baligian-about-playoff-chances

They have the audio feed there.

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Ideally, Justin Abdelkader is not on your first line, flanking Pavel Datsyuk. Nor is Todd Bertuzzi, or Daniel Cleary, or Mikael Samuelsson, or even Johan Franzen (most nights). We could try to, y'know, get a guy who really deserves to be there. A young, high-end power-forward. A guy like Wayne Simmonds. But, to be fair to Holland, every team wants one of those - even the teams that already have at least one of them! Which shows how important they are (or, at least, are perceived to be). And which is why we'll never part with Franzen, for better or for worse.

All of which makes me less than stoked re: our top six situation. I know, I know - we've got Nyquist, Tatar, Jurco, Jarnkrok, Pulkkinen on the horizon. But not one of them is even close to being a power-forward. (Maybe Andersson.) Here, just look at this:

Top-6 Guys

Brunner

Datsyuk

Filppula

Franzen

Jarnkrok

Jurco

Nyquist

Pulkkinen

Tatar

Zetterberg

It's no wonder Datsyuk wants Abdelkader on his line (if in fact he truly does). At this point, he'll take any size and muscle he can get - even if it's a blue-collar grinderbanger with very little offensive upside.

Bah-bahhh, bah-bahhh

This is the sound of settling

I guess it's apropos... but did you really just quote Deathcab? Anyway, if you're talking about RIGHT NOW your list really should just be: Brunner, Datsyuk, Franzen, Nyquist, Tatar, and Zetterberg... it's even shorter if we're looking towards the off season. Like you mentioned, the other names are still on the horizon, but they could see some time next year and Fil and Brunner could be re-signed. I'm not saying trade them all for a big bodied, top-six ready forward in the off season, but really... what are we waiting for?

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All of which makes me less than stoked re: our top six situation. I know, I know - we've got Nyquist, Tatar, Jurco, Jarnkrok, Pulkkinen on the horizon. But not one of them is even close to being a power-forward.

Jurco sure is a powerforward. And he's playing pretty well for Grand Rapids at the moment. Maybe he will be ready for 2013/2014. But actionally it's Babcock's job to push guys like Cleary and Franzen. They bring a lot of size AND offense. But especially Franzen's not skating enough at the moment, he's not moving and is not driving to the net. He's just standin arround and waiting for the puck. That's not enough. As long as Bertuzzi's out and Jurco's not NHL ready, Babcock has to pair Franzen and Pavel. And he has to make fire under lazy Mule's ass. Otherwise we'll not see the playoffs and we will waste an opportunity to give the youth a chance. See what Calgary's doin right now. Young guys ar playin big minutes, even on the PP. I'm sure they're learnin a lot and will be high achievers soon.

Edited by poel

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All of my friends (mostly Leaf fans) are already claiming the streak is finally coming to an end. I really want to make the playoffs.

It might be my homer glasses, but I think if we sneak in 8th we can upset the Blackhawks.

Here's hoping!

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All of my friends (mostly Leaf fans) are already claiming the streak is finally coming to an end. I really want to make the playoffs.

It might be my homer glasses, but I think if we sneak in 8th we can upset the Blackhawks.

Here's hoping!

If you're listening to anything that a Leaf fan has to say regarding the playoffs, you're doing it wrong.

Kindly remind them that our playoff streak is old enough to drink in the United States, then drop the mic, and back away with your arms raised.

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All of my friends (mostly Leaf fans) are already claiming the streak is finally coming to an end. I really want to make the playoffs.

It might be my homer glasses, but I think if we sneak in 8th we can upset the Blackhawks.

Here's hoping!

We have as much of a chance to beat the Hawks as the Leafs have of beating the Bruins. It CAN happen. I wouldn't bet money on it, but I actually believe we can take down the Hawks.

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All of my friends (mostly Leaf fans) are already claiming the streak is finally coming to an end. I really want to make the playoffs.

It might be my homer glasses, but I think if we sneak in 8th we can upset the Blackhawks.

Here's hoping!

I hope we make it in to keep the streak alive but c'mon ... really? Beat Chicago, you guys are really homeres. If we do make it in at 8th spot, it will be a very very quick exit, maybe in 5 ... or 4.

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I hope we make it in to keep the streak alive but c'mon ... really? Beat Chicago, you guys are really homeres. If we do make it in at 8th spot, it will be a very very quick exit, maybe in 5 ... or 4.

We played them to OT and SO, people see that 7-1 game and think were f***ed. That game was a straight fluke.

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I hope we make it in to keep the streak alive but c'mon ... really? Beat Chicago, you guys are really homeres. If we do make it in at 8th spot, it will be a very very quick exit, maybe in 5 ... or 4.

I gotta agree, I think the Wings will get in, but it will be a first round exit if we play Chicago

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To all the people predicting a Chicago beating, do I need to remind you of the 2006 Oilers? or the 2003 Ducks? or even the 1994 Sharks and 2001 Kings? We've been on the receiving end of so many first round upsets that I'm surprised some of you are so pessimistic. Maybe it's finally our time to be Cinderella. Get in and anything can happen, even beating the almighty Hawks.

Edited by stevie for president

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To all the people predicting a Chicago beating, do I need to remind you of the 2006 Oilers? or the 2003 Ducks? or even the 1994 Sharks and 2001 Kings? We've been on the receiving end of so many first round upsets that I'm surprised some of you are so pessimistic. Maybe it's finally our time to be Cinderella. Get in and anything can happen, even beating the almighty Hawks.

Of course anything CAN happen but you got to be realistic. You forgot the 2011-12 LA Kings, but they had an underperforming roster all season and got it going on all cylinders just before playoffs. I think what we see of our team right now is what you're going to get ... we are pretty well performing to the level of our roster of players.

How about we talk again after Friday night.

Edited by RedWingsRox

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Wings only dropped 4.2% with this shootout loss to 56% chance of making the playoffs. Its not the end of the world, but that could come tomorrow. Sportsclubstats has a worst case scenario of the Wings dropping to 47.9%, or jumping all the way up to 71.2% likelihood of making the playoffs, all decided by the end of the day tomorrow.

I really don't want to see less than a 50% chance on that board.

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I feel like this is the first time I'm looking at the remaining schedule for the Detroit Red Wings and trying to predict points we can/should/have to have... and also looking at the teams right behind us in the standings and actively wanting certain teams to win or lose. Frustrating. I want our playoff streak to continue. I won't lose my s*** if it doesn't, but it would be a nice consolation prize for this transitionary season.

That being said:

We need to BEAT Chicago tonight. No well fought game into OT or ANOTHER shootout. A goddamned WIN.

Nashville needs to get a least a point from Dallas tonight.

Calgary, c'mon Calgary! Have some pride, find some fight... beat Phoenix tonight!

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This is nuts. My friend has been a LA Kings fan for the last 20+ years and I've watched him go through this down to the wire playoff race for years. Talk about role reversal. Now I understand it.

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I feel like anything can happen if we make playoffs, but I'm starting to worry. Wings haven't won a big game to catch up/close a gap in the standings/widen a gap all season. They don't seem to play with any urgency.

Then again, they should be geared up to play Chicago. Win tonight, and playoffs are looking good.

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To all the people predicting a Chicago beating, do I need to remind you of the 2006 Oilers? or the 2003 Ducks? or even the 1994 Sharks and 2001 Kings? We've been on the receiving end of so many first round upsets that I'm surprised some of you are so pessimistic. Maybe it's finally our time to be Cinderella. Get in and anything can happen, even beating the almighty Hawks.

Unfortunately, this completely ignores several things with THIS Wings team and what it does good and what it does very badly.

compare those teams and how they played to this Wings team and how it plays (style-wise) and you'll see an enormous difference.

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If you're listening to anything that a Leaf fan has to say regarding the playoffs, you're doing it wrong.

Kindly remind them that our playoff streak is old enough to drink in the United States, then drop the mic, and back away with your arms raised.

They also went an ENTIRE CBA without making the playoffs.

I feel like anything can happen if we make playoffs, but I'm starting to worry. Wings haven't won a big game to catch up/close a gap in the standings/widen a gap all season. They don't seem to play with any urgency.

Then again, they should be geared up to play Chicago. Win tonight, and playoffs are looking good.

To play with urgency, one must skate with urgency. No sense of purpose whatsoever. It doesn't help that Z looks like he's hurting bad right now. Groin issues this year, back issues in the past. It's like he's got tar on his skates. And i'm not blasting him, he's my favourite player, but he's not a difference maker right now. If we actually win the next 5 games, sit him until playoffs if we lock up at least 8th.

Playoffs + Tatar with Datsyuk = Cup

esteef

+ Howard standing on his head 60 mins each game.

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To all the people predicting a Chicago beating, do I need to remind you of the 2006 Oilers? or the 2003 Ducks? or even the 1994 Sharks and 2001 Kings? We've been on the receiving end of so many first round upsets that I'm surprised some of you are so pessimistic. Maybe it's finally our time to be Cinderella. Get in and anything can happen, even beating the almighty Hawks.

Or how about the 2012 Kings, which had crap credentials heading in and were an "underdog" in all 4 rounds? That's the thing, the Playoffs aren't a "crapshoot" in the way the single-elimination NCAA tournament is, but it is "The Second Season" for a reason, and what happens in those two months doesn't necessarily correspond to what we saw in the regular season.

While people rip teams like Calgary that push for that 8th spot but "never bottom out", the reality is you really want to be in the Playoffs. There's tons of examples of teams that made unexpected runs when they didn't even seem to be that good...'96 Panthers, '03 Wild, '06 Oilers, '12 Predators. Either they came together, rode a hot goalie, or whatever. You WANT to be in the Playoffs.

As messed up as this team is, I absolutely don't assume they'd be one-and-done. And since Chicago will be in a difference conference, it'd be great to see that matchup one last time.

Edited by StormJH1

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If you're listening to anything that a Leaf fan has to say regarding the playoffs, you're doing it wrong.

Kindly remind them that our playoff streak is old enough to drink in the United States, then drop the mic, and back away with your arms raised.

Bahaha! Yes!

My favorite post of the year.

Edited by achildr1

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