GoWings1905

Thanks for clearing it up for us that the streak is going to end sometime.

I'm pretty sure opponents have been trying for over three months to beat the Red Wings at JLA to no avail. Best of luck (not really) to your diving team tomorrow.

Weekend Picks

I reckon "One Goal" isn't the Blackhawks slogan for their goaltending.

Very proud of this team. They earned it tonight with a strong effort. People can write off the record if they want, but the fact is the Red Wings just made history playing in the toughest division in hockey at a time when there has never been more parity in the league overall. Not to mention, all the wear and tear from travel they have endured since the start of December. The longest home win streak since the lockout was 14, so it's not like teams have even come close to approaching the Red Wings feat recently.

Awesome night -- one of those games you will never forget as a fan. This is special.  

All you're doing is pointing out that all my points are valid about him. I've never seen that guy complete a healthy season.

We've had this discussion before among your endless anti-Cleary posts, but have you ever considered the type of game Cleary plays might be a factor to his health? Many people here like to give Cleary crap about not being a top-six forward (which I agree with mostly; he's not ideally), but he's a perfect role player and that requires killing penalties and going into tough areas of the ice which isn't easy physically. Sure, Cleary doesn't have great hands nor is he the best skater, but does he ever take a night off? You can't just find players that have a work ethic like Cleary's to match a very respectable and valuable skill set to a team.

Just for the record, Cleary has never played fewer than 63 games since joining the Red Wings. I guess taking a puck in the face or a shot off the ankle is a player's fault though. When he plays you just rip him anyways, so this week or so off should be a relief for you.

Not much to say really about that snoozefest of a game, but does anyone else here think Datsyuk is playing hurt? I have this bad feeling his wrist is causing him trouble again. The ice definitely was beyond awful tonight, but Pavel has just looked a little off lately controlling the puck and making his typical magic. I noticed Z took the faceoffs too when they were together on the powerplay and even Franzen was taking the draws on Pavel's line.

I hope it's nothing really, though it has caught my attention more than I want the past week.

While I agree there have been games/times when the team has left Conklin out to dry, the scenario works both ways. It's deflating for a team to not be able to count on their goalie to make even routine saves. Look at what happened when MacDonald came in last night. His ability to make stops gave the Red Wings a chance to stick around and make something of the game.

Conklin is a backup goalie. I'm basically to the point now where I can't accept the excuse it's rust for Conklin when he goes out during games and gets lit up. His role is to be prepared when called upon and quite frankly besides his first start, he hasn't been capable even for a backup's standard. Maybe with more starts he would find more of a groove, but the Red Wings aren't in a position right now to be throwing points away so Conklin might eventually look like a respectable goalie again.

3.40 GAA, .878 save percentage. Maybe the team in front of him hasn't shown up at times, but those stats alone show Conklin hasn't done a whole lot of showing up for them either. I don't expect him to be Jimmy Howard all of a sudden, but right now it appears even Joey MacDonald is a stronger option in net than Ty Conklin.

Disappointing news. I really like Eaves and what he brings to the team. Best PK shot-blocker for the Red Wings and probably second best penalty killer overall after Helm.

Seems like Eaves might be done for the year. Even if he hopefully gets healthy enough to skate, it's going to take some serious time to get his conditioning back.

The Red Wings could really use someone like Brendan Morrow or Travis Moen to strengthen the PK especially.

I wish there would have been a picture of all seven of them getting fired up.

WOOOOOOOOO! I can't believe this is fricking real. How bad does Mike Ilitch want to win?

This was such a dismal off-season and then DD signs Prince Fielder out of nowhere. I've had my fair share of complaints about Dombrowski before, but he killed it today. He plays everything so close to the vest -- I think everyone fantasized about Fielder coming to the Tigers, but no one truly expected it to happen.

How sick is the nucleus of this team now? Verlander, Cabrera, Fielder, V-Mart in a year again, and Fister. I want April here tomorrow.

I'd rather watch an Arby's commercial 275 times straight than a report from Shannon Hogan in the stands.

Umm... what? Oh, OK. So I guess they're the only team that ever plays bad games. Got it. Or maybe teams just sometimes play bad games and that's normal, and it happens to all teams. Yeah, that seems more likely.

And no, it's not an excuse. When you've gotten into professional hockey and played three games in four nights, get back to me and tell me how easy it is to play at 100% capacity in the second game, let alone in the third one.

Can you ever construct a post without talking down to someone? You make strong points, but ruin them by coming across as your opinion is the final say on any matter.

Sure, the Red Wings have bad games. No one is denying that. If you don't believe the Red Wings have a knack for playing down to opponents however, then I don't know what else to say. They have done it every season fairly frequently since 2008. I feel last night was an example of this and fatigue is an excuse.

The Red Wings had enough energy to play hard after falling behind to Chicago and that came a night after 40 minutes of intense hockey in Toronto. The schedule is tough no doubt, but they had no desire to work hard against the Islanders. Fatigue doesn't cause you to give up a ton of odd-man rushes or turn the puck over -- that's lack of focus and something that plagued the Red Wings the entire road trip, not just in New York. Their attention to detail defensively was poor the past four games especially at the start of games where fatigue really shouldn't be a factor.

I saw more emotion from Babcock applauding a timeout than any guy on the ice.

This was the Wings` third away game in four nights. That's not easy.

But logic never deters people on here from crying doom anyway.

That's an excuse. The Red Wings inability to show up for games has been a problem for years.

This entire road trip was pretty lackluster with the exception of a few periods. Tonight was just a disaster in every sense. I'm not sold on Conklin, but he got hung out to dry with odd-man rushes the entire game. The Red Wings defense was awful these past four games -- far too many quality scoring chances allowed because of turnovers and appearing to not be engaged in the game. 15 goals allowed in four games is the garbage we saw last year.

Filppula has missed so many open nets this season. This team desperately needs a legitimate goal-scorer to go deep in the playoffs. Another poor start and loss to an inferior opponent because the Red Wings didn't show up to play. Pretty frustrating to watch so often in such a tight playoff race where every point is significant.

Definitely need to keep winning at home because the road appears to be a lost cause.

That might be my favorite win of the season so far. So satisfying to beat that team with their annoying ass fans and number one cheerleader calling the game. I agree with those who have said Olczyk shouldn't be allowed to be on national broacasts with the Blackhawks involved -- that was embarrassing and pathetic for an announcer who shouldn't have a bias.

Say what you will about Cleary, but he's one of the few players on the team that can/will score a goal like the one that tied it up. He goes to the net and gets ugly goals, which is extremely necessary in tight, low-scoring games. Especially for a team like the Red Wings lacking a goal-scorer, those types of goals are huge.

Conklin was very strong besides the first goal. I have quite a bit more confidence now in Conklin and hope he is able to follow-up tonight's game with another start fairly soon. The penalty shot wasn't very well-executed, but the game is over if that puck goes in the net still.

Loved everything about this game, besides the garbage officiating yet again on this road trip. Oh well... DETROIT SUCKS in first place!