GDT: Game #43 -- Wed Apr 17, 2013 - Red Wings @ Flames - 9:30 p.m.

ArGarBarGar

What do we want!? Unfair!
Sep 8, 2008
44,017
11,677
I am a card-carrying Franzen Hater. I have to admit that since his switch to Center, the guy is finally making an impact damn near every time he steps on the ice. 'Bout ****ing time.

Does that mean we need to find a new scapegoat? :sarcasm:

Because until 2 weeks ago, he spent the season playing lazy, disengaged hockey.

And maybe had he bothered to show up in January and February, Detroit would be a bit safer.

Well, that can be said for the majority of Red Wing forwards. He just wants to fit in is all.
 

Cyborg Yzerberg

Registered User
Nov 8, 2007
11,150
2,369
Philadelphia
So Tatar is the current minor league Jesus who will make 17 other grown men suddenly play hard and singlehandedly erase all of the imbalances and holes in this lineup? Note - that's a lineup that is already overrun with undersized forwards that don't make a physical impact and lose board battles to stronger players.

Cool, good to know...

:facepalm:

Granted he wouldn't be a savior, but the fact remains we should be icing the best team possible. Tatar is better than several players on our team right now.(Andersson, Emmerton, Abdelkader, Cleary, Eaves, Miller, possibly Nyquist.)
 

Hobnobs

Pinko
Nov 29, 2011
8,863
2,236
When u lose to the friggin flames u know the season is over...

"its gameover man, its gameover"
 

UNCUT

Registered User
Oct 26, 2009
403
0
Every team can talk about "coulda, woulda, shoulda", but the reality is that this is roughly where a lot of us predicted the Wings to end up at - in a group of teams fighting for the last couple playoff spots. I think the current standings are fairly indicative of where the team is talent-wise.

I agree. The Wings are exactly where the majority expected them to be at the start of the season. Go search threads made at season start or when lids retired.

I still think they will make the playoffs...
 

Flowah

Registered User
Nov 30, 2009
10,249
547
So it's just a coincidence that his overall game improves with increased responsibility? I don't know man. I'm just giving props when props are earned.

It really doesn't matter whether or not it's a coincidence. If I ever hear from a player's mouth that the reason he wasn't skating as hard as he could every shift every game was that he was "being misused" I want him gone.

Every team can talk about "coulda, woulda, shoulda", but the reality is that this is roughly where a lot of us predicted the Wings to end up at - in a group of teams fighting for the last couple playoff spots. I think the current standings are fairly indicative of where the team is talent-wise.
I think realistically, if they had played the best players in ideal line combos, this team would be more solidly in the playoffs rather than currently outside looking in. Even with injuries to Helm and Bert.

And my god. Brunner on the point. I'm going to slip Brunner into a hypnotic state and make him give up a shorty every time he's on the point for the PP. Maybe that will crack Babcock's love affair with a right handed liability in that position. Doubt it though. That alone has cost us goals, either by way of getting scored on short handed or because Brunner's talents for shooting from the halfwall are completely unused.
 

HTT3*

Guest
I agree with those saying that Smith was pretty bad in this game and in general.
Besides brain farts in own zone causing turnovers he is not that effective in offensive zone. He cannot hold blue line to save his life.

Looks like this guy watched the game as well. Funny how many refuse to see the actual game....

Smith is garbage.
 

JPE123

Registered User
Jan 23, 2013
3,153
10
Just a really weak effort by a team supposedly in the hunt for a playoff spot. Terribly weak effort
 

mindfly

Happy camper!
Jan 7, 2011
9,878
8
Bloomfield Hills, MI
This is one of those games that would have been fun to see post-game on HBO 24/7 :laugh:...

Although, i'm not even sure the f-bombs would drop seeing as how this team got no heart and doesn't seem to care..
 

JmanWingsFan

Your average Jman
Aug 18, 2011
4,461
0
Somewhere
I had the most vivid dream last night. I dreamed that Howard came out of the net and started playing forward and Dman for whatever freaking' reason. He was actually decent too...
 

Vladdy84

L-O-Y-A-L-T-Y
Dec 1, 2011
10,675
12
Farmington
Whomever were questioning Pasha and Z's leadership last night. Get out of town. Z may look like garbage out there, but it's pretty obvious he's really hurt and still playing because he's the Captain.
 

Goalie guy

Registered User
Jul 8, 2011
3,063
444
Taylor MI
This is one of those games that would have been fun to see post-game on HBO 24/7 :laugh:...

Although, i'm not even sure the f-bombs would drop seeing as how this team got no heart and doesn't seem to care..

I was going to say, it was more than likely a good time in the room. hey guys good try out their tonight:laugh::handclap::laugh:big old butt rub party! they just do not care and it shows.
 

crashman

Guest
Howard needs a sit down talking-to with management after letting in those 2 goals last night. I sure hope they have the balls to do it. The 2nd is somewhat excusable and could be blamed on Ericsson, but I think that was more of a genuine fluke.

But that 3rd goal...that was due to Howard caving under the pressure, complaining about a bad line change, and giving a half-hearted effort to play the puck.

It was inexcusable and I hope it was a lesson to him. I don't like his contract to begin with, but I couldn't think of a worse way to play in your first game after signing a deal like that.

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kronwall, Gus, Abby and Franzen gave it their all in that game but they get no support. We have too much dead weight on this roster and the fact that it hasn't been dealt with by now is an absolute failure by Holland. (HM: To Filppula for putting forth effort, but I still think somethings wrong with him health-wise.)
 
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Winger98

Moderator
Feb 27, 2002
22,756
4,569
Cleveland
I thought Smith looked a bit timid last night, like he was worried about making a mistake and being benched...which he probably is. I don't think he looked bad, but he looked hesitant to play to his strengths. Kindl looked alright. I think the adrenaline rush that has probably powered Dekeyser's game is starting to wear off. He didn't look bad, but it was the weakest I've seen him in his brief stint with the wings.

Up front, I thought we did alright. we would have chunks of sustained pressure that the Flames would withstand, then we'd give up a breakaway and have to hold our breath hoping they didn't score. It's become the story of the season, where we'll get into the other team's zone, skate around for awhile, but not actually do anything with the pressure we create. The guys look disorganized and unsure of where they are supposed to go or what they're supposed to do. Part of the problem is that half the lineup is in over their heads, but the rest of the problem...I don't know. Probably a combination of wear and tear and fatigue.

Also, it would be a huge deal if we were healthy. Helm is clearly missed, while Bert and Sammy would effectively push two of Miller/Eaves/Emmerton/Tootoo/Andersson/Cleary/Gator either out of the lineup entirely, or into smaller roles. Bert and Sammy aren't great, but they're better than a lot of what we have in the lineup right now.

This team desperately, desperately needs to add a veteran defenseman who plays a calm, steady game. I don't even care if he's physical - he just needs to be a calming influence back there. Every single one of our defensemen, from top to bottom, run around like chickens with their heads cut off. And Dekeyser is the steadiest of them all.

It boggles my mind that Ken Holland didn't realize when we lost Stuart and Lidstrom, we were actually losing two defensive defenseman...Just like it boggles my mind that we traded a 1st for Kyle F. Quincey when we could've held on to our first and just signed Salo, Carkner, Aucoin, Zanon, etc. and been no worse off.

It's mostly young guys who are still breaking their games in at the NHL level, what else should we realistically expect? We needed to have gotten these kids into the lineup sooner when we still had Stuart, Rafalski, and Lidstrom to anchor them and show them the ropes.

We're now at a point where we just have to play them, and it's probably made this transition a whole lot worse than it needed to be.

And my god. Brunner on the point. I'm going to slip Brunner into a hypnotic state and make him give up a shorty every time he's on the point for the PP. Maybe that will crack Babcock's love affair with a right handed liability in that position. Doubt it though. That alone has cost us goals, either by way of getting scored on short handed or because Brunner's talents for shooting from the halfwall are completely unused.

Yeah, still hating Brunner there. And no reason one of our D can't handle that spot, other than being left handed. Put Smith there, where his natural skill set would actually be useful, and move Brunner to the half boards on his offwing where he can get his shot off in a better position.
 

Debrincat93

Registered User
Dec 4, 2002
22,669
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Michigan
Nhl.com
Howard needs a sit down talking-to with management after letting in those 2 goals last night. I sure hope they have the balls to do it. The 2nd is somewhat excusable and could be blamed on Ericsson, but I think that was more of a genuine fluke.

But that 3rd goal...that was due to Howard caving under the pressure, complaining about a bad line change, and giving a half-hearted effort to play the puck.

This might be the worst post i've seen this month. Without Jimmy, this team is floating around colorado near the bottom. Only consistent player on the squad. The guy has let in 6 goals in 4 games. It's people like you that make me annoyed with fan-bases. Where were you the last 3 games when we went 1-2 and only let in 3 goals? No where to probably be seen, probably the type that said it was a flukke. But as soon as he lets in some weak sauce (ill give you that but lets be honest, every damn good goalie has its funk game.. see: Price, Lundqvist, Miller this year).. I mean, come on guy.. you cant seriously believe the non-sense you just typed. Look, haters will always be haters, but the god damn guy gives us a chance to win almost every night and people still whine and *****.

How about the scoring? Before yesterday's game, we were ranked 23rd. Why not ***** about a pure glaring hole instead of just your dis-approval for a damn good goalie. You probably thought Ozzie winning those cups were pure flukke as well.

:help:

for the record, that was one of the most boring, piss poor efforts i've seen from your so-called "players' playing their ***** off last night. If they did what you mentioned in your last paragraph, they would have been on the scoresheet more..
 

Fugu

RIP Barb
Nov 26, 2004
36,952
220
϶(°o°)ϵ
I thought Smith looked a bit timid last night, like he was worried about making a mistake and being benched...which he probably is. I don't think he looked bad, but he looked hesitant to play to his strengths. Kindl looked alright. I think the adrenaline rush that has probably powered Dekeyser's game is starting to wear off. He didn't look bad, but it was the weakest I've seen him in his brief stint with the wings.


There are a handful of players who don't have to worry about making mistakes and getting benched. Unfortunately for the rest, it's not a merit-based decision. Ericsson made those same boneheaded plays on multiple occasions during games for three years running, but.... yah.
 

joe89

#5
Apr 30, 2009
20,313
174
There are a handful of players who don't have to worry about making mistakes and getting benched. Unfortunately for the rest, it's not a merit-based decision. Ericsson made those same boneheaded plays on multiple occasions during games for three years running, but.... yah.

Smith is being treated like a regular imo. Only time he sat was when he was dreadful for a couple of games and needed a breather, other than that he's been in and playing second pairing minutes all season. He's not there yet but he has no reason to play scared other than if you wanna look for excuses. If you wanna talk about Babs' doghouse we can look at White and Tootoo.
 

crashman

Guest
This might be the worst post i've seen this month. Without Jimmy, this team is floating around colorado near the bottom. Only consistent player on the squad. The guy has let in 6 goals in 4 games. It's people like you that make me annoyed with fan-bases. Where were you the last 3 games when we went 1-2 and only let in 3 goals? No where to probably be seen, probably the type that said it was a flukke. But as soon as he lets in some weak sauce (ill give you that but lets be honest, every damn good goalie has its funk game.. see: Price, Lundqvist, Miller this year).. I mean, come on guy.. you cant seriously believe the non-sense you just typed. Look, haters will always be haters, but the god damn guy gives us a chance to win almost every night and people still whine and *****.

How about the scoring? Before yesterday's game, we were ranked 23rd. Why not ***** about a pure glaring hole instead of just your dis-approval for a damn good goalie. You probably thought Ozzie winning those cups were pure flukke as well.

:help:

for the record, that was one of the most boring, piss poor efforts i've seen from your so-called "players' playing their ***** off last night. If they did what you mentioned in your last paragraph, they would have been on the scoresheet more..

Nice overreaction. Seems like your taking all your Howard loving angst out all at once.

Howard totally blew that game. I think he's a good goalie and I know they'd be screwed without him, but he's now making 5.3m and to give up 2 goals like that is a must-win game is inexcusable.

Our offense is bad, but not because of the guys I mentioned. There is no supporting cast.

You think Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Franzen played piss poor? So how would you evaluate Howard's game last night?

Was Nyquist not buzzing around creating scoring chances?
 

kuick

Tatar Sauce
Aug 15, 2009
2,724
0
Grand Rapids
Howard needs a sit down talking-to with management after letting in those 2 goals last night. I sure hope they have the balls to do it. The 2nd is somewhat excusable and could be blamed on Ericsson, but I think that was more of a genuine fluke.

And say what?

"Hey man, you've been pretty good for us the bulk of this season, but you really blew it tonight. We're going to have to take back the contract you just signed, sorry."

Mistakes happen. Good goalies can have bad nights. When your starter for the next 6 years craps the bed in a game where the team in front of him should be just as embarrassed you don't need to call him out. I'm pretty sure he knows he royally screwed that game up already.
 

crashman

Guest
And say what?

"Hey man, you've been pretty good for us the bulk of this season, but you really blew it tonight. We're going to have to take back the contract you just signed, sorry."

Mistakes happen. Good goalies can have bad nights. When your starter for the next 6 years craps the bed in a game where the team in front of him should be just as embarrassed you don't need to call him out. I'm pretty sure he knows he royally screwed that game up already.

I don't know, watching that 3rd goal I see a goaltender throwing a fit (assuming because of Brunner's line change), then he goes to play the puck, whiffs, and doesn't even try to get back and make a save. Then throwns his arms up like "WTF!".

That's what I'm referring to. That's when the game was lost. Could the offense have scored more goals, absolutely, but goals like that tend to deflate things a bit.
 

Xvash2

Registered User
Jul 8, 2010
1,096
21
I don't know, watching that 3rd goal I see a goaltender throwing a fit (assuming because of Brunner's line change), then he goes to play the puck, whiffs, and doesn't even try to get back and make a save. Then throwns his arms up like "WTF!".

That's what I'm referring to. That's when the game was lost. Could the offense have scored more goals, absolutely, but goals like that tend to deflate things a bit.

The game was lost when Steve Begin started outworking out entire team. If Brunner wanted to score a goal, maybe he should start by going back and picking up the puck.
 

HIFE

Registered User
May 10, 2011
3,219
250
Detroit, MI
Wow interesting the different takes on the game.

I thought it was a fun game. Chances in both ends. The Wings had some great cycling in the 1st, parts of the 2nd and 3rd, although didn't result in many shots. Don't know why but the 1st goal took a lot of wind out our sails. We did recover to tie it up but seemed somewhat defeated by not getting the lead.

Nyquist's goal was a sick play, well deserved. Like Mickey said, he's looking better each game, I'm seeing something now that I hadn't seen last season or the 1st few this season. I hope we keep Gus for the thrill factor alone.

Kindl is activated. I love it. He's playing with poise, confidence, I dare say swagger! I saw him a lot with Z's line and for good reason. I see no D as hungry to make plays or do anything out of the ordinary.

Quincey is horrid. Judging by his stride I think he's depressed. Wearing the full cage must be having a negative impact on his game.

That 2nd line is pathetic. I chuckle that Fil and Franzen are stuck with Cleary. People praising Mule for his compete level are off base. I could care less he's PPG player. He's content being good, we need him to be superb! What did Pat Kane do to lift his game up since last season? Ovechkin also changed his diet, his training, to be something more. Is this Franzen's ceiling? If so please buy him out. All I see from him and Fil are turnovers. They have got to be better for this team to win.

The 2nd goal was all Ericsson. Reminds me of his playoff gaffs against the Sharks. I'm telling ya a guy drafted last in the NHL as a forward cannot magically learn D and be our #2 D (as of now). We are fooling ourselves.

The game could have easily gone our way. We hit posts, deflected shots off a stick that could have gone in. Damn. Kipper played lights out hockey. #1 star of the night. I say he stole that game for Calgary.

People continue to underestimate the Flames and I don't get it. Even going through a true rebuild, they are some strong, TOUGH, physical hockey players. I've seen them straight up man-handle teams. It shows me the Red Wings have to train harder. Harder passes, faster skating, quicker 1 timers, etc. Brunner need to go to the AHL and just work on checking. Smashing guys. He's got to get mean. If we can't win by raw Euro skill anymore than let's truly be blue collar and outwork the opposition.
 

TheOtherOne

Registered User
Jan 2, 2010
8,265
5,257
I thought it was a Pejorative Slured game. Professional hockey games shouldn't have these kinds of goals. Maybe one every once in a while. But all but 1 (Nyquist) (or maybe 2- Flames first was weakish but not horrible) were just disasters.

What a flukey ****** game that should have ended 1-0 or at worst 1-1.
 
Aug 6, 2012
10,752
5
Wow interesting the different takes on the game.

I thought it was a fun game. Chances in both ends. The Wings had some great cycling in the 1st, parts of the 2nd and 3rd, although didn't result in many shots. Don't know why but the 1st goal took a lot of wind out our sails. We did recover to tie it up but seemed somewhat defeated by not getting the lead.

Nyquist's goal was a sick play, well deserved. Like Mickey said, he's looking better each game, I'm seeing something now that I hadn't seen last season or the 1st few this season. I hope we keep Gus for the thrill factor alone.

Kindl is activated. I love it. He's playing with poise, confidence, I dare say swagger! I saw him a lot with Z's line and for good reason. I see no D as hungry to make plays or do anything out of the ordinary.

Quincey is horrid. Judging by his stride I think he's depressed. Wearing the full cage must be having a negative impact on his game.

That 2nd line is pathetic. I chuckle that Fil and Franzen are stuck with Cleary. People praising Mule for his compete level are off base. I could care less he's PPG player. He's content being good, we need him to be superb! What did Pat Kane do to lift his game up since last season? Ovechkin also changed his diet, his training, to be something more. Is this Franzen's ceiling? If so please buy him out. All I see from him and Fil are turnovers. They have got to be better for this team to win.

The 2nd goal was all Ericsson. Reminds me of his playoff gaffs against the Sharks. I'm telling ya a guy drafted last in the NHL as a forward cannot magically learn D and be our #2 D (as of now). We are fooling ourselves.

The game could have easily gone our way. We hit posts, deflected shots off a stick that could have gone in. Damn. Kipper played lights out hockey. #1 star of the night. I say he stole that game for Calgary.

People continue to underestimate the Flames and I don't get it. Even going through a true rebuild, they are some strong, TOUGH, physical hockey players. I've seen them straight up man-handle teams. It shows me the Red Wings have to train harder. Harder passes, faster skating, quicker 1 timers, etc. Brunner need to go to the AHL and just work on checking. Smashing guys. He's got to get mean. If we can't win by raw Euro skill anymore than let's truly be blue collar and outwork the opposition.

This is a good example of people's expectations for the Mule being off base. You can't compare him to guys like Kane and Ovechkin. He's paid less than $4M per year and he's got 26 points (10 goals, .72 PPG) and a +10 in 36 games. He's the last forward we should be complaining about.
 

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