Post-Game Talk: I love everything about this team right now

[14ari13]

Didn't Helm get an assist on Andersson's goal?

Voted for Nike, Leggy and Gus.

True, I forgot it.

Website was having troubles when the game ended yesterday.. that's probably why theres only 2 pages I would guess.

Thanks

Alfredsson's 17-year experience and added leadership is ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS why our kids are so good right now.

Nobody should ever underestimate that thing. Determing a player value is NOT ONLY WHAT HAPPENS ON THE ICE.

Off-ice influence from former superstar captains is very very important thing overall in team sport. They are like extra coaches who know how things should be done.

Kids will learn from the best and you see the results.

One example:

Rookie-Lidström learned first NHL-routines from NHL-veteran Brad McCimmon, how to be a pro. Then he learned offensive things from one of the best offensive defenceman ever (Paul Coffey). And last phase in his growth to greatness he learned from Larry Murphy, another Hall-of-Famer. Rest was history.

7 Norris Trophies.

+1

I thought it was one of the best efforts of the season. The first period especially was impressive.

Nyquist not giving up on that play was amazing. It would have been so easy wait for the penalty call but instead he found a way to spin and bury it. That's a special player.

I wonder if Alfie is playing hurt or is he just losing a step before our eyes. He looks okay at times but he has mostly struggled lately. Which brings up another point, who the heck sits when Datsyuk comes back?

Just a bit tired I guess.

 

[PullHard]

Alfredsson's 17-year experience and added leadership is ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS why our kids are so good right now.

Nobody should ever underestimate that thing. Determing a player value is NOT ONLY WHAT HAPPENS ON THE ICE.

Off-ice influence from former superstar captains is very very important thing overall in team sport. They are like extra coaches who know how things should be done.

Kids will learn from the best and you see the results.

One example:

Rookie-Lidström learned first NHL-routines from NHL-veteran Brad McCimmon, how to be a pro. Then he learned offensive things from one of the best offensive defenceman ever (Paul Coffey). And last phase in his growth to greatness he learned from Larry Murphy, another Hall-of-Famer. Rest was history.

7 Norris Trophies.

I agree, but once you go down this road too far you get into Ken Holland logic of bringing back guys like Bertuzzi, Cleary, Samuelsson at the cost of leaving better players off the roster. I am wanting Alfredsson back for another year, though.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

anderson should sit when pavel comes back

pavel
legwand
sheahan
helm

those should be our centres 1 thru 4

 

[jaster]

Another good win, but I think we were very lucky. Specifically, Gustavsson was lucky. He looked terrible in net. If that game gets replayed 10 times, I think he gets torched in most of them. How many more back-to-backs do the Wings have? Just one? Hopefully that's the last time Gustavsson plays this season.

 

[14ari13]

Another good win, but I think we were very lucky. Specifically, Gustavsson was lucky. He looked terrible in net. If that game gets replayed 10 times, I think he gets torched in most of them. How many more back-to-backs do the Wings have? Just one? Hopefully that's the last time Gustavsson plays this season.

16-4-3. Gustavsson is 1-0-1 vs Bolts this season. He almost beat Bolts last time too. He lost in SO, 6 rounds. He matched Bishop save for save, but our players could not score on Bishop on 6 tries.
I hope Babcock plays him more.

 

[jaster]

16-4-3. Gustavsson is 1-0-1 vs Bolts this season. He almost beat Bolts last time too. He lost in SO, 6 rounds. He matched Bishop save for save, but our players could not score on Bishop on 6 tries.
I hope Babcock plays him more.

I'm aware of all the numbers. But Gustavsson did not pass the eyeball test last night. He was very sloppy and got very lucky. I'm not a Howard hater or cheerleader, but he's been pretty good lately, and is clearly the superior goalie of the two. He should not be played less in favor of Gustavsson.

 

[Kronwalled55]

Another good win, but I think we were very lucky. Specifically, Gustavsson was lucky. He looked terrible in net. If that game gets replayed 10 times, I think he gets torched in most of them. How many more back-to-backs do the Wings have? Just one? Hopefully that's the last time Gustavsson plays this season.

How can you say it's luck? The guy has won 16 games this season and someone after every one of those wins pulls the luck card.

Dominik Hasek was lucky too... And he is the greatest goaltender to play the game.

I see the point you're trying to make, but he deserves credit for what he's done this year. 5 games is a coincidence, 10 games is a small sample size, 23 games? That's a telling number for a backup.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

I feel like Monster almost never passes the eyeball test. He never looks quite comfortable out there. But at the end of the day, without his record we aren't a playoff team. He really stepped up during the beginning of the season when Howard struggled and got us some big wins.

 

[jaster]

How can you say it's luck? The guy has won 16 games this season and someone after every one of those wins pulls the luck card.

Dominik Hasek was lucky too... And he is the greatest goaltender to play the game.

I see the point you're trying to make, but he deserves credit for what he's done this year. 5 games is a coincidence, 10 games is a small sample size, 23 games? That's a telling number for a backup.

I don't care if he's won 40 games this year. I'm not talking about how good or bad he's been this year. I am talking exclusively about last night. He was sloppy and lucky. And with only 7 games left and the Wings fighting for a playoff spot, I'd rather start the guy who's been good lately than the guy who's been lucky. That was my only point.

 

[jaster]

I feel like Monster almost never passes the eyeball test. He never looks quite comfortable out there. But at the end of the day, without his record we aren't a playoff team. He really stepped up during the beginning of the season when Howard struggled and got us some big wins.

You're right that he rarely passes the eyeball test. He's unorthodox in his style and he can often look lost out there, even if he's not. However, my critique of Gustavsson last night was based on his own standard, not that of more orthodox goalies.

And I agree he's generally been good this year and has been a help to the Wings. I think he earned his contract this season. But I don't think he was good at all last night.

 

[joe89]

I'm aware of all the numbers. But Gustavsson did not pass the eyeball test last night. He was very sloppy and got very lucky. I'm not a Howard hater or cheerleader, but he's been pretty good lately, and is clearly the superior goalie of the two. He should not be played less in favor of Gustavsson.

Isn't that the case everytime Gustavsson is in net? His loose style is why he makes some saves that Howard doesn't, but also why he doesn't make some saves that look routine. I think he can dedicate his W-L record to his big (timely) saves rather than overall play, because they seem to give the team a lot of energy.

Howard seems to make more routine saves and less timely saves, but is looking better lately.

 

[14ari13]

I'm aware of all the numbers. But Gustavsson did not pass the eyeball test last night. He was very sloppy and got very lucky. I'm not a Howard hater or cheerleader, but he's been pretty good lately, and is clearly the superior goalie of the two. He should not be played less in favor of Gustavsson.

Howard is 1-3 in his last 4. That is good for you? The lone win is over the Leafs ,the worst team in the league right now.
I hope Babcock keeps both goalie sharp and ride the hot goalie. That is our best chance.
Gustavsson GAA 2, SV% .929, WIN, outplayed Bishop, one of the best goalies in the league.

 

[jaster]

Howard is 1-3 in his last 4. That is good for you? The lone win is over the Leafs ,the worst team in the league right now.
I hope Babcock keeps both goalie sharp and ride the hot goalie. That is our best chance.
Gustavsson GAA 2, SV% .929, WIN, outplayed Bishop, one of the best goalies in the league.

The Leafs are not the worst team in the league right now, and they had a ton of great chances in that game. That was the biggest game of the year and Howard was huge. Put Gustavsson's performance last night into that Toronto game, and the Leafs get 5 or 6 goals. Howard's last game dwarfs Gustavsson's in performance.

 

[we like our team*]

The Leafs are not the worst team in the league right now, and they had a ton of great chances in that game.

they've lost 8 games in a row

 

[BF3]

Gustavsson GAA 2, SV% .929, WIN, outplayed Bishop, one of the best goalies in the league.

Monster in no way outplayed Bishop. The two goals he let in were brutal. He did have one timely sequence of saves in the 1st or 2nd when he sprawled to deny a goal on an otherwise wide open net. Other than that there was nothing else that particularly stood out. Even for Monster it was a poor effort.

Monster should play against Buffalo both times, though. They are on the front end of both remaining back to backs and the back end opponents (Montreal, Pittsburgh) are very good.

 

[jaster]

they've lost 8 games in a row

Yep. They are still, at a bare minimum, better than Buffalo, even right now.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Alfredsson's 17-year experience and added leadership is ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS why our kids are so good right now.

Nobody should ever underestimate that thing. Determing a player value is NOT ONLY WHAT HAPPENS ON THE ICE.

Off-ice influence from former superstar captains is very very important thing overall in team sport. They are like extra coaches who know how things should be done.

Kids will learn from the best and you see the results.

One example:

Rookie-Lidström learned first NHL-routines from NHL-veteran Brad McCimmon, how to be a pro. Then he learned offensive things from one of the best offensive defenceman ever (Paul Coffey). And last phase in his growth to greatness he learned from Larry Murphy, another Hall-of-Famer. Rest was history.

7 Norris Trophies.

Alfie must have learned how to fall down all over the ice from Cleary.

 

[joe89]

Monster in no way outplayed Bishop. The two goals he let in were brutal. He did have one timely sequence of saves in the 1st or 2nd when he sprawled to deny a goal on an otherwise wide open net. Other than that there was nothing else that particularly stood out. Even for Monster it was a poor effort.

This is setting the standards high for your backup. I have a hard time calling 26/28 saves and a win poor no matter how it happened. Howard's performance on saturday was 25/27 and win. First goal he let in was of a similar fashion to Gustavsson's second last night. The other two goals were guys totally open in the slot, I'd never blame either goalie for those type of goals.

I really don't see the difference in those performances, if that's what we're down to. Honestly I don't get the discussion at all, as we won both games and Howard is the undisputable starter anyway.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Monster in no way outplayed Bishop. The two goals he let in were brutal. He did have one timely sequence of saves in the 1st or 2nd when he sprawled to deny a goal on an otherwise wide open net. Other than that there was nothing else that particularly stood out. Even for Monster it was a poor effort.

Monster should play against Buffalo both times, though. They are on the front end of both remaining back to backs and the back end opponents (Montreal, Pittsburgh) are very good.

I don't know, IMO if Monster is not playing, we lose. He made some great saves that saved the game IMO.

 

[Flowah]

I don't know, IMO if Monster is not playing, we lose. He made some great saves that saved the game IMO.

both the goals were also pretty soft.

 

[Henkka]

I don't care if he's won 40 games this year. I'm not talking about how good or bad he's been this year. I am talking exclusively about last night. He was sloppy and lucky. And with only 7 games left and the Wings fighting for a playoff spot, I'd rather start the guy who's been good lately than the guy who's been lucky. That was my only point.

100% agree with this.

 

[jaster]

This is setting the standards high for your backup. I have a hard time calling 26/28 saves and a win poor no matter how it happened. Howard's performance on saturday was 25/27 and win. First goal he let in was of a similar fashion to Gustavsson's second last night. The other two goals were guys totally open in the slot, I'd never blame either goalie for those type of goals.

I really don't see the difference in those performances, if that's what we're down to. Honestly I don't get the discussion at all, as we won both games and Howard is the undisputable starter anyway.

Howard looked great against the Leafs and Gustavsson looked poor against Tampa, that's the difference I see, despite the numbers being similar. The numbers don't always accurately reflect actual performance.

I'm not biased for or against either goalie. I don't love or hate either one. Both are good in their roles.

 

[BinCookin]

These Goalie discussions are weird when we win.

Both our goalies playing well (well enough to win) right now.

That being said.

Jimmy is a more mechanical goalie. Always square to the shot, always in position for the first shot.
Sometimes gives up rebounds and then the rebound shot goes right in the net because he came out so far on the first shot. Jimmy looks out of position on those shots, but is rarely out of position on the first shot or caught off guard. (Similar style to Roy)

Monster is less mechanical, and more reflex. In this way some of his saves look much better (because he is out of position or not square to the shooter in the first place). Flip flopping goalies like Hasek look amazing when they make the save flipping all over. But Monster sometimes has to make these saves pointlessly because he put himself in a bad position in the first place, thus requiring a "hero save" that was not necessary. This doesn't mean they are better goalies, just different - and both could be elite. (similar style to Hasek)

The Eye ball test on goalies is a tough one considering different styles.

Statistics works much better.
SV% etc.

On that account Both our goalies have been better recently, even if Monster has had a great season as our backup, Howard has had a sub-par season as the starter.

Bottom Line: Howard is locked in here, he isn't being traded… We are not going to pull a Vancouver!
Also Monster has earned a new contract as our backup, as long as he doesn't demand too much money, he will be resigned as the backup here for 1-2 years.

In 1-2 years, Mrazek will be developed (patiently) in the AHL. (Expect more like 2 years than 1). He needs some work, but hopefully he can have the reflexes of monster with the disciplined positioning of Howard.

Further discussion on DRW Goaltending is not productive, because what I just stated is most likely what is going to be happening here in Detroit for the next 2 years. I have seen NO quotes at all to suggest anything otherwise.

 

[TatarTangle]

We're still talking about Gustavsson vs Howard?

And I saw Gustavsson being compared to Hasek?



Come on. I get people having the back-up syndrome with Red Wing goalies and Lion quarterbacks but this is getting a little ridiculous. Jimmy Howard, Gustav Nyquist and Mike Babcock are the three reasons why Detroit has a playoff spot right now.

The only reason why Gustavsson should be offered a contract next year is if they want Mrazek to play another season in Grand Rapids.

Good season and good luck trying to find a starting gig somewhere. Just don't be surprised if he's a back-up somewhere. He's just not really starter material.

 

[Amrcn Ftbll]

I can't believe someone actually just said gustavsson could be elite. Are we watching the same goalie? Jimmy isn't even elite, and jimmy is a much better goalie.