gdt ECQF Game 2 Post-GDT: at Tampa Bay 5, Red Wings 2

[Jacksoni 418]

Cheer up ladies we are still in the playoffs! You better watch these games carefully, aint gonna be playoff games for us for some years better enjoy it, win or lose.

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Glenner is the key. He drives Johnson nuts. If the rumor of Smith for Marchenko is true, that's stupid. Ericsson should clearly be sitting

The problem is Tampa has a lot of big players and Ericsson is our only big guy ...we had mantha who could of been parked in front of bishop but we didn't like having a big guy apparently

We mostly been saying mrazek should of started game 1 , he can steal a series and Howard can't , he just doesn't have the "it" factor

We been saying athanasiou needs to play a lot more minutes than 5-7 a night ... Does Blashill listen? Nope

Don't think anyone is really surprised were down 2-0 ..., either Blashill is ridiculously clueless, or cooper has some secret pictures of him

As for some saying abdelkader should be on the 4th I disagree , he's the only one it seems that has some fight and guts and crashes the net , should be in our top 6 I just clearly think datsyuk and zetterberg would benefit being split up and playing with some kids

I'd even consider sitting tatar and/or nyquist and they are really pissing me off but ain't doing nothing , I'd love to see mantha back but it looks like sadly that ship has sailed .... Take out ******* Andersson and put in jurco

Athanasiou datsyuk Larkin

Abdelkader sheahan Tatar

Nyquist zetterberg jurco

Helm glendening Richards

Enough of this helm and Richards top 6 nonsense , give jurco some linemates and a chance to produce rather than check people ... Helm glendening Richards should check the Johnson line , not sure about Richards but have him stay back around the middle ... Time to trust the youth to get the goals

Had zetterberg and sheahan swapped but maybe hank playing 3rd line and less minutes will benefit him and the team , he'd also be playing against other teams lesser pairs ... Larkin and AA together could create some 2 on 1s ... Enough of playing it safe

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

Boy, Lightning fans on social media today aren't exactly doing a good job of disproving the whole "Florida hockey fan" stereotype.

What's being said?

[Jericho613 74]

Do you guys remember when Yzerman was getting slower with the bad knee? He would play with the 3rd line grinders so that the other teammates could get some ice time and be effective.. I wish Z would just stay on the 3rd or 4th line he's gotta know hes not that same player anymore, let AA , Larkin and Mantha lead the youth charge win or lose. I know we aren't gonna contend for a cup, that's years away for the talent we will need. But I would enjoy the playoffs just to see what we have in the kids that atleast is worth watching and to see how we match up with the youth Yzerman put together for Tampa Bay. But instead its the same old lineup that barely wins a game anymore if at all. Maybe that scrum last night will light a fire.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Do you guys remember when Yzerman was getting slower with the bad knee? He would play with the 3rd line grinders so that the other teammates could get some ice time and be effective.. I wish Z would just stay on the 3rd or 4th line he's gotta know hes not that same player anymore, let AA , Larkin and Mantha lead the youth charge win or lose. I know we aren't gonna contend for a cup, that's years away for the talent we will need. But I would enjoy the playoffs just to see what we have in the kids that atleast is worth watching and to see how we match up with the youth Yzerman put together for Tampa Bay. But instead its the same old lineup that barely wins a game anymore if at all. Maybe that scrum last night will light a fire.

I mentioned that a few days ago. We had top line talent back then, though. Zetterberg is on the top line because we have no talent right now.

[marcaractac 3,962]

To put Smith in for Marchenko is insanity. Replacing a dman who has played well is not gonna change a thing if a guy like Ericsson is left in the lineup. Changes are supposed to be mad to get the BAD players out of the lineup.

Remember how Andersson was being played because of his pk and faceoff ability? He has done neither in these first two games. Why is he in the lineup? He is slow as s*** and we're playing a fast team. It makes zero sense.

[Aethernum 276]

So, any thoughts on possible supplementary discipline after that game-ending brawl? I'm hearing a lot of chatter about an Abby suspension, which would be the wrong call, but then perhaps we could see the return of Mantha?

[joesuffP 1,746]

Wings haven't won a cup since 98 where Lidstrom hasn't scored a half court shot in the first round

So, any thoughts on possible supplementary discipline after that game-ending brawl? I'm hearing a lot of chatter about an Abby suspension, which would be the wrong call, but then perhaps we could see the return of Mantha?

I thought DD would be suspended for his hit behind the net but he never even got a penalty. Wins are as frustrated as I've ever seen

[Aethernum 276]

Wings haven't won a cup since 98 where Lidstrom hasn't scored a half court shot in the first round

I thought DD would be suspended for his hit behind the net but he never even got a penalty. Wins are as frustrated as I've ever seen

That was my initial reaction, as well, but upon reply it was obvious that the Tampa player turned into that hit in a way that made it an order of magnitude worse than it otherwise would have been. In the lingo of the Department of Player Safety, he "materially changed his body position" immediately before the hit. DD won't get anything for that hit.

[Barrie 900]

I'm not a fan of fighting, but it was good to see the guys show emotion at the end. Hopefully they feed off of it and turn it into some goals!

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

What's being said?

Red Wings are goons, Red Wings are a dirty team, suspend Abdelkader forever, etc

[Barrie 900]

Red Wings are goons, Red Wings are a dirty team, suspend Abdelkader forever, etc

I wonder if it's from the same people who say the game has gotten soft, and there's no fighting anymore? I would have thought hockey fans enjoyed it.

[kipwinger 8,521]

This isn't that hard. Split Tatar and Nyquist up.

Larkin-Pav-Tatar

Nyquist-Z-Abby

AA-Richards-Mantha

Sheahan-Glen-Helm

[wings4thecup06 504]

I wonder if it's from the same people who say the game has gotten soft, and there's no fighting anymore? I would have thought hockey fans enjoyed it.

I imagine most of them wouldn't like it if one of their players was getting pummelled, especially in the sort of weak, helpless position that Blunden happened to be in. Akin to one of our guys getting pummelled, I wouldn't like it.

A hockey fan with no general interest or emotional investment in the series might tho....

[RusDRW 155]

what is the reason for discussing all these things? We need a major overhaul of this roster right now. Now. And there are no persons in this organization who have the balls.

the last time I remember we had the balls is when Coffee and Primaue were traded. It was 20+ years ago.

[wings4thecup06 504]

This isn't that hard. Split Tatar and Nyquist up.

Larkin-Pav-Tatar

Nyquist-Z-Abby

AA-Richards-Mantha

Sheahan-Glen-Helm

I don't get why Blashill has stuck with them together all season long. They just don't work well together. They're too similar in the styles of their game, you need to separate them for them to be effective. I honestly don't know why Tatar hasn't played more with Datsyuk this year really....

[Superman54 91]

I was excited for the line changes this year after not always agreeing with babs choices, but I have disagreed with Blashills even more. Zetterberg would be more efficient on the 3rd line clearly with his production the last several months. Sheahan should center the 2nd line because he's one of the few wings putting the puck in lately. Nyquist or Tatar should not be on the same line! Tatar should be playing with Dats, but honestly I don't even know where you put Nyquist.

[marcaractac 3,962]

I was excited for the line changes this year after not always agreeing with babs choices, but I have disagreed with Blashills even more. Zetterberg would be more efficient on the 3rd line clearly with his production the last several months. Sheahan should center the 2nd line because he's one of the few wings putting the puck in lately. Nyquist or Tatar should not be on the same line! Tatar should be playing with Dats, but honestly I don't even know where you put Nyquist.

Nyquist has always been good with Hank. Put AA with them to form a new third line.

[Superman54 91]

Tats - Dats - Abs

Richards - Sheahan - Larkin

Nyquist - Z - AA

Helm - Luke - Jurco

[Hockeymom1960 5,107]

Abby better not get suspended or I'll go ballistic. Also, some of who think we won't make the playoff next year for years to come...are you nuts? Why wouldn't we?

[kickazz 5,459]

I find it hilarious that other teams fans always call the Wings "soft" yet Abdelkader's rampage was likely the most entertaining thing they've seen in these playoffs. All of a sudden we're the goons even though we registered the least amount of fights all season.

Edited April 16, 2016 by kickazz

[VM1138 1,921]

I would imagine they assume we lose Datsyuk and don't replace him. If we don't, I agree that we are dead in the water. But if we do replace him with someone like Stamkos I think we will be the same, if not a little better than this year because this year had to be a fluke, right?

[kipwinger 8,521]

I don't think we are sunk without datsyuk at all. Especially if we can sign Okposo.

Tats-Larkin-Okposo

Nyquist-AA-Abby

Z-Sheahan-Mantha

Helm-Glendeninh-Callahan

Doesn't win us the Cup, but is at least as good as we have now. For all the hand wringing about Datsyuk leaving I'm really not that worried. We've hardly had him for the last few years anyway.

[Aethernum 276]

Abby better not get suspended or I'll go ballistic. Also, some of who think we won't make the playoff next year for years to come...are you nuts? Why wouldn't we?

I would imagine they assume we lose Datsyuk and don't replace him. If we don't, I agree that we are dead in the water. But if we do replace him with someone like Stamkos I think we will be the same, if not a little better than this year because this year had to be a fluke, right?

I also think people are underestimating the learning curve for a rookie head coach in today's NHL. With a year under Blashill's belt and young players better adjusted to his system, I see no reason why next year won't be a significant improvement. It's easy to forget that we went from the best coach in the NHL (probably) to a rookie who - however well groomed he may have been - is not yet adjusted to the NHL level of play.

Obviously Datsyuk will be an enormous loss, but if his ice time goes to guys like AA, Larkin, and Mantha, I think we can bear it. This season has also made clear that Nyquist and Tatar don't do well as secondary scorers - they need to be the go-to guys and get top line minutes on a regular basis in order to develop and play their game. They have had bad seasons, for sure, but I put that as much on how they were used as I do on any sort of slump on their part. If Z were moved down to third line duty and those two were asked to carry the load along with Larkin and AA, I think they could handle it and even thrive.

But back to the topic of the game: If Abby is suspended (doubtful but possible), does Blashill put Mantha in, or Jurco?

Edited April 16, 2016 by Aethernum

[kickazz 5,459]

Mantha should play imo. There's no reason not to play him at this point. He's no savior but at the same time his size is valuable. We're getting eaten by guys like Hedman out there.