11/21 WE'RE BACK GDT - Red Wings @ Blue Jackets - 7:00 PM EST

[gcom007 1,465]

Well f*** a duck, we’re back. Stupid game.

Not all on Howard but f***, he can’t come close to keeping us in a game let alone winning one at this point it seems. He gives up a goal and then gives up two more. That Bernier hasn’t been very good yet so much better than Howard is very telling of how dire this situation has become.

Bert’s a real stud; he’s gonna be expensive but I predict he takes the most team-friendly deal with all my wishful thinking.

Why wasn’t Fabbri on the ice at the end? We put out the 2-3 point or so collective line but not Fabbri? I don’t get it.

Bums me out. This feels like one of those games we should’ve won even though we didn’t quite deserve it, but we gave up five goals again. This is a win with Bernier in net, which is a sad sentence to write.

[Dabura 12,207]

1 minute ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Unfortunately the "Howard is still decent" window seems to be rapidly closing. Big job for Stevie goaltending is gonna be. Much else won't matter if the net-minding is in the gutter.

I get the feeling Zadina will be a late bloomer in the NHL if he blooms, just like how the AHL has gone for him

Seider has been ready since draft day

It's easy to forget Zadina's still pretty young. (Turns 20 in a week.) If we remove the whole 6th overall pick thing, no one's complaining about him. In a way, getting selected that high might've been the worst thing that could've happened to him. I guess we'll see.

I'm really trying to keep my expectations for Seider in check (i.e. the opposite of what I did with Zadina), but damn if he isn't looking like exactly the kind of player we desperately need on the back end. (We have one Hronek, which is great, but we need two or three Hroneks.) No one outside of Wings world is talking about it, but dude is playing big minutes and putting up points in the AHL as a just-drafted 18-year-old defenseman. That's extremely impressive.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

5 minutes ago, Dabura said:

It's easy to forget Zadina's still pretty young. (Turns 20 in a week.) If we remove the whole 6th overall pick thing, no one's complaining about him. In a way, getting selected that high might've been the worst thing that could've happened to him. I guess we'll see.

I'm really trying to keep my expectations for Seider in check (i.e. the opposite of what I did with Zadina), but damn if he isn't looking like exactly the kind of player we desperately need on the back end. (We have one Hronek, which is great, but we need two or three Hroneks.) No one outside of Wings world is talking about it, but dude is playing big minutes and putting up points in the AHL as a just-drafted 18-year-old defenseman. That's extremely impressive.

I would never treat Zadina this way if he wasn't a 6th overall. But I can prolly say the same for Seider.

Both are in the AHL, Seider is a year younger and a year less experienced, and I would easily say Seider is already the better AHLer. He's also a Dman which are supposed to develop later. So either Zadina sucks and Seider is ok, or Zadina is ok and Seider is god. 

Edited November 22, 2019 by ChristopherReevesLegs

[Dabura 12,207]

7 minutes ago, gcom007 said:

Well f*** a duck, we’re back. Stupid game.

Not all on Howard but f***, he can’t come close to keeping us in a game let alone winning one at this point it seems. He gives up a goal and then gives up two more. That Bernier hasn’t been very good yet so much better than Howard is very telling of how dire this situation has become.

Bert’s a real stud; he’s gonna be expensive but I predict he takes the most team-friendly deal with all my wishful thinking.

Why wasn’t Fabbri on the ice at the end? We put out the 2-3 point or so collective line but not Fabbri? I don’t get it.

Bums me out. This feels like one of those games we should’ve won even though we didn’t quite deserve it, but we gave up five goals again. This is a win with Bernier in net, which is a sad sentence to write.

I think the worst part of this, at least for me, is that I'm starting to get used to these brutal losses. In the past, a loss like this one would piss me the hell off and I'd have trouble getting to sleep because of it. Now? I stoically accept it as a sacrifice that the lotto gods demand.

1 minute ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Both are in the AHL, Seider is a year younger and a year less experienced, and I would easily say Seider is already the better AHLer. He's also a Dman which are supposed to develop later. So either Zadina sucks or Seider is god. 

How about a middle ground: Veleno is lazy and he sucks.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

4 minutes ago, Dabura said:

I think the worst part of this, at least for me, is that I'm starting to get used to these brutal losses. In the past, a loss like this one would piss me the hell off and I'd have trouble getting to sleep because of it. Now? I stoically accept it as a sacrifice that the lotto gods demand.

How about a middle ground: Veleno is lazy and he sucks.

Don't talk about him like that or you'll anger "the family"

[gcom007 1,465]

1 minute ago, Dabura said:

I think the worst part of this, at least for me, is that I'm starting to get used to these brutal losses. In the past, a loss like this one would piss me the hell off and I'd have trouble getting to sleep because of it. Now? I stoically accept it as a sacrifice that the lotto gods demand.

You’ve got to wonder if Yzerman doesn’t deal with the Howard situation. I don’t know how committed we are to the tank, but it’s starting to feel like we’re bound to lose when Howard starts, and Bernier can’t be relied upon to be the starter. We didn’t play great but we played well enough to win this game if we had a halfway decent goalie who didn’t give up back to back to back goals so consistently. Bernier will give up the first goal or a bad goal and tighten it up and not give up the next and keep us in games. Howard doesn’t seem capable of that this season. I know we’re not thinking playoffs this year, but how long can the Howard situation go on like this?

Did anyone tell KRSmith we’re back?

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

2 minutes ago, gcom007 said:

You’ve got to wonder if Yzerman doesn’t deal with the Howard situation. I don’t know how committed we are to the tank, but it’s starting to feel like we’re bound to lose when Howard starts, and Bernier can’t be relied upon to be the starter. We didn’t play great but we played well enough to win this game if we had a halfway decent goalie who didn’t give up back to back to back goals so consistently. Bernier will give up the first goal or a bad goal and tighten it up and not give up the next and keep us in games. Howard doesn’t seem capable of that this season. I know we’re not thinking playoffs this year, but how long can the Howard situation go on like this?

As Howards biggest fan I'm content to ride the season out with him and let him go

Holtby and Markstrom may both be available and we have the money.

The real shame is Bernier has 1 year left and I'd rather have Howard as our back up next year than stupid Bernier

Edited November 22, 2019 by ChristopherReevesLegs

[Dabura 12,207]

2 minutes ago, gcom007 said:

You’ve got to wonder if Yzerman doesn’t deal with the Howard situation. I don’t know how committed we are to the tank, but it’s starting to feel like we’re bound to lose when Howard starts, and Bernier can’t be relied upon to be the starter. We didn’t play great but we played well enough to win this game if we had a halfway decent goalie who didn’t give up back to back to back goals so consistently. Bernier will give up the first goal or a bad goal and tighten it up and not give up the next and keep us in games. Howard doesn’t seem capable of that this season. I know we’re not thinking playoffs this year, but how long can the Howard situation go on like this?

I'm assuming Yzerman will let it play out. He has zero trade value and we don't have a better internal option, and, in Howard's defense (pun), he's playing behind literally an AHL-caliber D group, one that could've driven us to a win tonight but decided to play some of the laziest hockey I've ever seen at the NHL level.

But I hear ya. A bad goalie can singlehandedly wreck a young team's development curve.

ANYHOO I GOTTA GO 2 BED FAM.

I'M GENUINELY STOKED THAT LGW IS BACK. WE SHALL TALK SOON.

G'night!

[gcom007 1,465]

Just now, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

As Howards biggest fan I'm content to ride the season out with him and let him go

Holtby and Markstrom may both be available and we have the money.

The real shame is Bernier has 1 year left and I'd rather have Howard as our back up next year than stupid Bernier

I would’ve agreed with you on Howard as a backup last season, but at this point I’d definitely rather have Bernier. Howard may just be slowing down. 35 ain’t exactly young by NHL/goalie standards. Surprised Bernier got a three year deal, but it could be worse, I guess...? In the meantime, this is starting to feel like a more pressing situation in a weird way. If you’re pro-tank, there’s no reason to make a move and maybe Howard reverses course at some point, but it’s tough losing games like this where you feel like the team found a way to win in spite of being outplayed but the goalie didn’t. 

[Dabura 12,207]

Can't sleep. lol

1 hour ago, gcom007 said:

I would’ve agreed with you on Howard as a backup last season, but at this point I’d definitely rather have Bernier. Howard may just be slowing down. 35 ain’t exactly young by NHL/goalie standards. Surprised Bernier got a three year deal, but it could be worse, I guess...? In the meantime, this is starting to feel like a more pressing situation in a weird way. If you’re pro-tank, there’s no reason to make a move and maybe Howard reverses course at some point, but it’s tough losing games like this where you feel like the team found a way to win in spite of being outplayed but the goalie didn’t. 

Even if you're pro-tank, it should still be a concern (imo). TBH tho, the power play is probably a bigger demoralizer. That s*** is unbelievably broken.

[Akakabuto 1,750]

12 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Holtby and Markstrom may both be available and we have the money.

Lehner too!

PS, T. Bertuzzi is elite. 

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

1 hour ago, Akakabuto said:

Lehner too!

PS, T. Bertuzzi is elite. 

It's driving me insane that Tag Bertuzzi is not signed by us yet. He had a terrible year his draft year and I think labored through injuries. But he's still 18 and is now nearly a point per game in the OHL. YZERBOY PLZ