1/7 GDT : Red Wings at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 EST

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

6 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

Really? He was benched? It's time for coach to go.

Right before he scored Ken and Osgood were talking about how they hadnt seen him in a long time. Then Osgood said he hadnt seen the ice in 8+ minutes game time.

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

Just now, Jonas Mahonas said:

Howard, DeKeyser, Kronwall, Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Abdelkader, Miller, Ott.

30 million of cap space.

One of them is earning their cap space though.

[MabusIncarnate 5,344]

Swap Larkin and Tatar and we might have a respectable top 6 and two scoring lines.. 

[LeftWinger 4,953]

Holland and Blashill have destroyed the entire legacy of this team...f*** both of them.

[MabusIncarnate 5,344]

Belle Tire Sour Play

[MabusIncarnate 5,344]

3 minutes ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

Yes.  But Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Miller, and Ott have to be benched.  They are all awful.  Play Jurco, Helm, Abdelkader, Svechnikov, Glendening, and Bertuzzi in the bottom 6.

Keep Nyquist and Ott, drop Jurco and Svechnikov and i'll back that. At least Nyquist Is noticeable out there right now, getting chances and creating opportunities. To me, it's looking like he's trying to score, playing with some energy. Ott is underrated defensively and on the PK, and he's the only one out there keeping guys from taking runs at our players. He plays with passion, regardless of skill, he drops the gloves to change momentum and I always notice him make one strong play each night for his minimal ice time. And let's be honest, in a lot of these miserable games, he provides a spark and brings entertainment to the game which I like as a fan.

[derblaueClaus 1,668]

Wow, that one was a stinker. Doesn't matter how bad you are there were some things in tonights game that were unacceptable.

[kylee 727]

40 games played and we're a game under 0.500

[RedWingsRox 614]

3 pages for a game ... I think it reflects the dramatic drop in interest for this team.  

[BinMucker94 302]

After this game I think it's time to make some changes. I personally think Miller, Ott, and Sheehan are trash. Nosek is on a tear for the Griffins right now. I'd give him another shot. Callahan is just under a point per game. Give him a chance. Call Bert back up. At least they'll play with intensity. The worst thing that happens is we find out they can't hack it in the NHL and move on. This team won't be in a worse position than it is now.

[kylee 727]

Yeah, I want to like Steve Ott so bad but he's just not good at hockey. 

[kickazz 5,459]

We would get the 4th pick as it stands.

Kind of exciting in a way. Call me optimistic. 

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

Missed this one. From the highlights, it looks like Dekeyser had a rough game. That last Sharks goal DK had a mid-air deflection that Holmstrom would have been jealous of. Another redirected off his skate and he was standing in front of the crease for 2 others.

Good to see Mantha still scoring and AA's getting going.

As for the ice time storyline that been talked about on the forum - Ott, Miller, and Glendening got the fewest minutes as should be. I think they had a lot last game because we had a significant lead for a while - rest your skill guys in those situations (and don't risk unnecessary injuries. I disagree with a lot of Blash's choices but no problem with that choice.

[Jacksoni 418]

And cooked royally we got. At least we scored some. Last game up 3-0 nothing after the first, this game down 3-1 after the first. Then just controlled and commanded to leave town.

I hope owners and management sits down and starts planning for the trade deadline when this team returns home. If they have a statistics guy which they were looking for previously, that person could explain with good mandate that we aren't making the playoffs and that the team should pursue it's strategy accordingly.

It will be interesting to see what path this team pursues very soon as it is a crossroad that will dictate the future for years to come.

[Dabura 12,207]

5 hours ago, RedWingsRox said:

3 pages for a game ... I think it reflects the dramatic drop in interest for this team.  

There's also the fact that it was a 10:30 EST start. (I accidentally slept through the game.)

[kylee 727]

56 minutes ago, Dabura said:

There's also the fact that it was a 10:30 EST start. (I accidentally slept through the game.)

There's been several games i've slept through this year due to my work schedule -  much better than watching this dumpster fire. 

[Hockeymom1960 5,107]

Yeeeesh! 

[sixer 37]

Blashill definitely needs to go, benching AA for 7 minutes in third for no reason!  FIRE BLASHILL

Ken and Ozzie start asking same question, why did he bench AA, then he jumps on ice finally and scores goal, 2nd point of night and 5 points in 2 nights.

FIRE BLASHILL

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

Scoring goals last two games is nice to see. Defense though... come on. 

[kipwinger 8,522]

I'm actually happy that we've finally got a top six that seems to be able to score.  The Tatar-Z-Mantha and AA-Neilsen-Vanek lines are scoring.  Abby and Helm should help fill out the bottom six (if Blashill doesn't do something stupid).  If we can get Green and Smith back and ice the BEST possible defense, we might be able to go on a late run.  May not be enough to make the playoffs, but I'm optimistic we'll look better down the stretch with just a few returning players. 

[Richdg 267]

22 minutes ago, kipwinger said:

I'm actually happy that we've finally got a top six that seems to be able to score.  The Tatar-Z-Mantha and AA-Neilsen-Vanek lines are scoring.  Abby and Helm should help fill out the bottom six (if Blashill doesn't do something stupid).  If we can get Green and Smith back and ice the BEST possible defense, we might be able to go on a late run.  May not be enough to make the playoffs, but I'm optimistic we'll look better down the stretch with just a few returning players. 

That would not be in our best interest. If we are not a PO team then we wnat the highest possible draft pick. Not to mention that if we "Finish strong" then Blashill might return.

[kipwinger 8,522]

I don't believe in tanking.  Losing on purpose is for losers.  I'd rather we ice the best lineup, and go where that takes us.  I'm not opposed to selling at the deadline in preparation for a big draft, but I've never advocated tanking and I don't think it's the way to go now.  If we miss the playoffs Blash will likely be out anyway. 

[Richdg 267]

7 minutes ago, kipwinger said:

I don't believe in tanking.  Losing on purpose is for losers.  I'd rather we ice the best lineup, and go where that takes us.  I'm not opposed to selling at the deadline in preparation for a big draft, but I've never advocated tanking and I don't think it's the way to go now.  If we miss the playoffs Blash will likely be out anyway. 

If what we are doing now is the opposite of tanking, then give me "tanking". Never liked that term anyway. But it is what it is. I am all for moving out as much salary as we can and picking up more picks and prospects. If that is tanking then so be it. This team as currently constructed will never win any PO games/series.

[kipwinger 8,522]

I already agreed with selling at the deadline.  But that's not what I mentioned above.  I talked about maximizing our lineup with correct roster decisions and you said that "wouldn't be in our best interest".  Which seems to suggest that you think we SHOULDN'T ice the best lineup possible.  Which is equivalent to losing on purpose.  And I don't agree with that strategy. 

I also don't think our team, as constructed, "will never win any PO games".  I think our lineup is WAY better than our coaching.  We're bigger, faster, and more talented than we've been in a few years.  We're not a great team, but we're not as bad as we look.  Our coaching, however, is awful.  And it's becoming increasingly clear that we've got locker room issues as well. 

[BringBack19 110]

If we sell at the deadline I would look for 2018 picks. That would be a good draft to have a couple 1st/2nd round picks.