10/10 GDT - Red Wings @ Stars - 8:30 PM EST

[Rivalred 630]

It was brutal to watch. Not much offensive pressure, some of the better chances and shots missed the net, and a soft goal. 

Lack of face off wins and turnovers again..... 

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

Wasn't so bad of a game. Mrazek does some blame because of that horrible goal, but he was really solid mostly.

Enjoying seeing Larkin and Mantha getting so much time and doing well with it. I'd definitely keep them together since them building chemistry would be great and give the team offence that isn't dependant on Z.

I'd put Abby on the top line (I know some would go crazy over that) and Nyquist on the 3rd. I think that will help both lines.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

i dont blame Tatar and Nyqvist, they are second line players and would thrive if they were used in that capacity. Could we alter the lines about to do this without weakening the roster ? At present no, so I dont want Blash playing about with line combos like he did last year, at the moment they are the guys to go with Z. The option of putting Abbey with Z is a good one but who do you put on the other Wing? Larkin Mantha and Frk have got a good chemistry so you leave that alone as the second line, put Nielsen with Tats and Gus on the third line and that leaves you with Sheahan, Glending Helm Booth and Witkowski to make up the 4th and one to go top line Winger.

But maybe the answer hasn't signed yet!?

[xtrememachine1 795]

Geez guys, lose one game and "everybody sucks".  It was on the road, against a good team with Mrazek in net.  I didn't see the whole game, but Mrazek looks like a guy that can't decide if he should go with his natural tendency or go with what he was recently taught and ends up doing neither and he screws up.  At least wait until March to get down on the team and start looking forward to a possible first overall pick.  Probably just me being overly optimistic, but if the defensemen situation gets fixed, we're a playoff team.   I look at teams like Ottawa and Nashville and they went deep into the playoffs last year and I'd take our group of forwards over theirs any day.

[LeftWinger 4,951]

The team was lost as Blahill dicked around the lines. When he went back to FML in the 3rd, you see what happened, it was just too little too late...and then he had Abby and Helm out there at the end during the extra man. Blash is the problem...hes probably the problem with AA as well.

[joesuffP 1,746]

The defense really struggled with a much faster, bigger and stronger Dallas forecheck. Daley has been great on both ends these first three games. Very impressed. Green is pretty bad in his end but still making plays offensively so I’m content with his play so far. The rest of the D is just bad I don’t care who it is. Hopefully we see Hicketts for some games

[The Datsyukian Deke 127]

A lot of mistakes..

- stupid goalie change...let's look at other teams, does anyone change the goaltender when the starter opens the season with a SV% of 0.961? Uhm, no. It's just us.

- that top line makes no sense..change mantha and tatar, both nyquist and tatar with Z lacks too much size plus they are too similar.

- wtfkowski...did i realize he played? oh, yes, once...when he went to the box...

- the neverending Errorson, it's unbelieavable..if i would get a dollar for every time that guy doesnt hit the puck, just air, when trying to pass it, i could easily outweigh all of that retirement-fund-pretending recently discussed on this board..

[marcaractac 3,962]

The positive I take from this game is how Mrazek rebounded from the bad goal he allowed. If it were last season, the wheels would have fallen off for him at that point. 

[NerveDamage 4,176]

16 hours ago, Y19 said:

Mantha!  Nice shot!

 

[chaps80 1,591]

2 hours ago, marcaractac said:

The positive I take from this game is how Mrazek rebounded from the bad goal he allowed. If it were last season, the wheels would have fallen off for him at that point. 

Mrazek wasn’t bad. People like to overreact. It was ONE game. Jimmy started against the Wild and Sens, and played excellent. He won’t play every game. Mrazek has to play too. Mrazek drew the Stars, who have much more offensive firepower, and held the fort. The whole team played differently than the first two games. Quite a few brain farts out there. One goal was Mrazek’s fault. Overall, he played well. 3 goals on what, 32 shots? From what I saw, he’s better than last season. And yes, no breakdown after the softie, which is encouraging in itself. 

You guys do realize 4 pucks got by Howard in the first game? Got the benefit of two waved off. 

Both goalies are gonna see a lot of rubber this year unless the D can tighten up. I hear Kronwall is nearing return though...

[Jacksoni 418]

Just saw the game, more than half a day later due to work and the natural time zone gap, and I can't complain too much about this result - we had a low chance to get a point and that I was not expecting.

I like what I see from the next generation overall and I loved the Frk influence on the powerplay causing Dallas to overload on his side which led to a goal orchestrated by our only star.

Our weakness need not be brought up by me further (D). It will be our undoing, or our shot at Dahlin, you decide if the glass if half full or half empty.

Our "product" on the ice could also use that 'Assanisooou' person that was supposed to play here. He could open things up for us real nice with a Green, Daley or Hicketts outlet pass, I'm thinking. Things looked real tight in the midzone out there tonight. Would be a bit more open with another greased ligthning forcing the Dallas D to back off.

[chaps80 1,591]

2 minutes ago, Jacksoni said:

Just saw the game, more than half a day later due to work and the natural time zone gap, and I can't complain too much about this result - we had a low chance to get a point and that I was not expecting.

I like what I see from the next generation overall and I loved the Frk influence on the powerplay causing Dallas to overload on his side which led to a goal orchestrated by our only star.

Our weakness need not be brought up by me further (D). It will be our undoing, or our shot at Dahlin, you decide if the glass if half full or half empty.

Our "product" on the ice could also use that 'Assanisooou' person that was supposed to play here. He could open things up for us real nice with a Green, Daley or Hicketts outlet pass, I'm thinking. Things looked real tight in the midzone out there tonight. Would be a bit more open with another greased ligthning forcing the Dallas D to back off.

Yeah that whole AA situation has me pissed off. He should have been taken care of before Kenny went UFA shopping. But as usual he expected a youngster to bend over and take whatever he offered. Backfired. 

Only bright side is his KHL offer expired,and he’ll make a fraction of what Holland offered if he stays in Sweden. I dunno if he cares though. Making the CDN Olympic team seems to be his goal now, and with NHL players not participating, he can’t re-sign and still play in them. I respect that I guess. It should never have gone this far though. He should have been the first guy on Holland’s agenda to lock up. But nope, veteran D man and 13th forward/agitator. 

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

14 minutes ago, chaps80 said:

Yeah that whole AA situation has me pissed off. He should have been taken care of before Kenny went UFA shopping. But as usual he expected a youngster to bend over and take whatever he offered. Backfired. 

Only bright side is his KHL offer expired,and he’ll make a fraction of what Holland offered if he stays in Sweden. I dunno if he cares though. Making the CDN Olympic team seems to be his goal now, and with NHL players not participating, he can’t re-sign and still play in them. I respect that I guess. It should never have gone this far though. He should have been the first guy on Holland’s agenda to lock up. But nope, veteran D man and 13th forward/agitator. 

Switzerland

[chaps80 1,591]

3 minutes ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Switzerland

Thanks. Wasn’t sure which of the two it was. 

It’s possible he doesn’t want to be in Detroit. He wanted more money to stay (possibly making it tough on Holland on purpose), and had a nice tax free payday in the KHL he was trying to use as leverage, but let it expire. He may not even sign in Switzerland either. Gotta be signed by December to play for Detroit. We’ll see what happens, but last season may have made his mind up. He wasn’t treated well for the skills he brings, and it’s not like the system is overflowing with kids like that. May not want anything to do with Blashill.

[Dabura 12,207]

1 minute ago, chaps80 said:

Thanks. Wasn’t sure which of the two it was. 

It’s possible he doesn’t want to be in Detroit. He wanted more money to stay (possibly making it tough on Holland on purpose), and had a nice tax free payday in the KHL he was trying to use as leverage, but let it expire. He may not even sign in Switzerland either.

It's been said that team he's skating with has no intention of offering him a contract.

I still doubt the KHL offer thing was ever an actual thing. I mean, I've no doubt a team or two expressed interest in him, maybe even offered him a contract -- but I don't think he ever had any intention of playing in the KHL. I think it was always an empty threat.

Bottom line, for me, is he's being a spoiled brat. A baby. A prima donna. And, depending on how you feel about the Hunter family and the London Knights program, you might say AA has a history of petulance. He slid to the fourth round of the entry draft because there were serious questions about his character/maturity. So, no, I don't think you can pin this entirely on Blashill and/or Holland.

I mean, I get it. It sucks being an RFA, especially one with no arbitration rights. And maybe it sucks playing under Jeff Blashill. But, like, you have to pick your battles. This battle he's fighting isn't worth it. This is not a good hill to die on.

Sign the deal, make over a million dollars for a year or two, and then, if you're half as good as you think you are, you'll get rewarded. It's not like Holland is known for cheating RFAs. If anything, he's known for giving fair deals to his younger players.

[chaps80 1,591]

2 hours ago, Dabura said:

It's been said that team he's skating with has no intention of offering him a contract.

I still doubt the KHL offer thing was ever an actual thing. I mean, I've no doubt a team or two expressed interest in him, maybe even offered him a contract -- but I don't think he ever had any intention of playing in the KHL. I think it was always an empty threat.

Bottom line, for me, is he's being a spoiled brat. A baby. A prima donna. And, depending on how you feel about the Hunter family and the London Knights program, you might say AA has a history of petulance. He slid to the fourth round of the entry draft because there were serious questions about his character/maturity. So, no, I don't think you can pin this entirely on Blashill and/or Holland.

I mean, I get it. It sucks being an RFA, especially one with no arbitration rights. And maybe it sucks playing under Jeff Blashill. But, like, you have to pick your battles. This battle he's fighting isn't worth it. This is not a good hill to die on.

Sign the deal, make over a million dollars for a year or two, and then, if you're half as good as you think you are, you'll get rewarded. It's not like Holland is known for cheating RFAs. If anything, he's known for giving fair deals to his younger players.

Good points. I just think he should have been the first player to get an offer. Take care of in house business, then go UFA hunting. But Holland does things backwards sometimes. Oh well, if he gives in and signs, good. If not, not much can be done. He obv doesn’t want to play NHL hockey that bad.

I miss watching him get down the ice in a blur of speed and make goalies look stupid though. 

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

This abomination was at the game last night

Big Witkowski hit

[NerveDamage 4,176]

2 minutes ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

This abomination was at the game last night

kill them before they breed! 

...tis' probably too late by now

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

2 minutes ago, NerveDamage said:

kill them before they breed! 

...tis' probably too late by now

I like that the husband took the "man" section of Yzerman. At least they put some thought into it I guess...

[kickazz 5,459]

14 hours ago, Andy Pred 48 said:

i dont blame Tatar and Nyqvist, they are second line players and would thrive if they were used in that capacity. Could we alter the lines about to do this without weakening the roster ? At present no, so I dont want Blash playing about with line combos like he did last year, at the moment they are the guys to go with Z. The option of putting Abbey with Z is a good one but who do you put on the other Wing? Larkin Mantha and Frk have got a good chemistry so you leave that alone as the second line, put Nielsen with Tats and Gus on the third line and that leaves you with Sheahan, Glending Helm Booth and Witkowski to make up the 4th and one to go top line Winger.

But maybe the answer hasn't signed yet!?

Nyquist. They were one of the best lines back in 2014 when Nyquist scored his 28 goals in 50 whatever games. 

Edited October 12, 2017 by kickazz

[NotTooAbby 71]

2 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

This abomination was at the game last night

Big Witkowski hit

I sat right by that Franken-jersey couple... Everyone I was with took notice of that abomination.  

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

6 hours ago, chaps80 said:

Yeah that whole AA situation has me pissed off. He should have been taken care of before Kenny went UFA shopping. But as usual he expected a youngster to bend over and take whatever he offered. Backfired. 

Only bright side is his KHL offer expired,and he’ll make a fraction of what Holland offered if he stays in Sweden. I dunno if he cares though. Making the CDN Olympic team seems to be his goal now, and with NHL players not participating, he can’t re-sign and still play in them. I respect that I guess. It should never have gone this far though. He should have been the first guy on Holland’s agenda to lock up. But nope, veteran D man and 13th forward/agitator. 

Except it didn't backfire. Holland couldn't take care of it without having to meet AA's asking price which is too much, IMO. That's debatable. What's not debatable is that the team needs D a lot more than a 3rd line F. Holland addressed the greater need first- defense. That's why he brought in Daley. Would he have been able to afford Daley if he overpaid AA first? I don't think so, maybe, but I can tell you that I would much rather have a character guy with Stanley Cup pedigree and veteran experience on this team than an over-hyped, unproven, 3rd line, one way forward. So if it came down to one or the other, than Holland absolutely made the right choice. He's made a lot of questionable moves in recent years, but this aint one of them.

[chaps80 1,591]

33 minutes ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Except it didn't backfire. Holland couldn't take care of it without having to meet AA's asking price which is too much, IMO. That's debatable. What's not debatable is that the team needs D a lot more than a 3rd line F. Holland addressed the greater need first- defense. That's why he brought in Daley. Would he have been able to afford Daley if he overpaid AA first? I don't think so, maybe, but I can tell you that I would much rather have a character guy with Stanley Cup pedigree and veteran experience on this team than an over-hyped, unproven, 3rd line, one way forward. So if it came down to one or the other, than Holland absolutely made the right choice. He's made a lot of questionable moves in recent years, but this aint one of them.

He could have given AA a bit more and still signed Daley. Could have skipped out on Witkowski, and I dunno what ever became of the Sheahan to Pittsburgh trade that was apparantly very close to a done deal. That could have freed up cap too.  There’s apparently lots of interest in Sheahan, but for some reason it seems Holland won’t pull the trigger on a trade.

The amount he is offering AA is pretty much in line with what other teams have signed similar aged similar producing young forwards for though. Either his agent hasn’t explained that to him, or he just doesn’t care. Who knows. Just not a player I’d like to lose is all.

Edited October 12, 2017 by chaps80

[chaps80 1,591]

Wonder, did Mrazek get this start because Blash wanted to see how he handled a team with the offence the Stars have? Knowing he’d face a good amount of shots, and to see how/if his off-season game changes had helped him? Cause with Howard’s play in the first two, and having a break in between, I was fully expecting him to start this one. Didn’t think Mrazek would start till the upcoming back to back, probably the Vegas game. Bit of a weird move. Maybe that was the reason, to feel him out fairly quickly to see what he’s dealing with. That or he simply just doesn’t want him to sit too long.

[kickazz 5,459]

1 hour ago, chaps80 said:

Wonder, did Mrazek get this start because Blash wanted to see how he handled a team with the offence the Stars have? Knowing he’d face a good amount of shots, and to see how/if his off-season game changes had helped him? Cause with Howard’s play in the first two, and having a break in between, I was fully expecting him to start this one. Didn’t think Mrazek would start till the upcoming back to back, probably the Vegas game. Bit of a weird move. Maybe that was the reason, to feel him out fairly quickly to see what he’s dealing with. That or he simply just doesn’t want him to sit too long.

Don't overthink it. He's a backup that is being given a shot to prove himself from time to time.