Post-Game Talk: we like our team

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

Z-Dats-Larkin would be unreal....

I'm still hoping that this is the line that Blash goes with when Datsyuk returns.

 

[Laser Rayzor]

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

EDIT: I wouldnt be surprised if they run howard for carolina (easier game) and give mrazek montreal

I'm pretty much thinking this as well.

 

[TheOtherOne]

Jeez you guys are silly. Yea let's be careful with Howard. Protect him by giving him the easy games. Wouldn't want him to embarrass himself. It's not like he's been playing against top teams for years now, and has proven a lot more than Mrazek has at this point.

I get that Mrazek is the shiny new toy, but please remember that he has never won an NHL playoff series yet.

We have two very good goalies who are both perfectly capable of playing against the best players in the league.

 

[Flowah]

I get that Mrazek is the shiny new toy, but please remember that he has never won an NHL playoff series yet.

I mean... he did pretty well against TB last season... He's only had one opportunity to even win a series and he came pretty damn close with 2 shutouts in 7 games.

 

[hyduK]

Dana Wakiji ‏@Dwakiji 7m7 minutes ago
#RedWings Blashill said DeKeyser and Helm both could be ready by Saturday.

Helene St. James ‏@HeleneStJames 9m9 minutes ago
Jeff Blashill sent Danny DeKeyser and Darren Helm both probable for Saturday when wings at Montreal.

Ansar Khan ‏@AnsarKhanMLive 9m9 minutes ago
Blashill said it was maintenance day for Zetterberg and Green. Both playing Friday.

 

[TheMule93]

Apparently DDK might be ready to play Saturday

That's a pleasant surprise.

 

[DanZ]

Adding DeKeyser is big. He will solidify the second pairing and Quincey will solidify the bottom pairing.

 

[Pavels Dog]

That's sooner than expected for DD. Good. With him our puck movement from defense should improve a lot.

 

[14ari13]

Jeez you guys are silly. Yea let's be careful with Howard. Protect him by giving him the easy games. Wouldn't want him to embarrass himself. It's not like he's been playing against top teams for years now, and has proven a lot more than Mrazek has at this point.

I get that Mrazek is the shiny new toy, but please remember that he has never won an NHL playoff series yet.

We have two very good goalies who are both perfectly capable of playing against the best players in the league.

I do not see why Howard has to be pretected or sheltered. He has had 2 great games and his confidence is probably trading up. If he can find his game we probably have a top 5 goalie in the league. And so far so good.
Mrazek played in only one series and nearly won it against a very good team. If not for suspending Kronwall, I think we/he win the series.

I mean... he did pretty well against TB last season... He's only had one opportunity to even win a series and he came pretty damn close with 2 shutouts in 7 games.

He was the only goalie who shut them out last season. He was up and down in the seiers, but with 2 SOs he has done a ways more than enough on his part.

 

[JPE123]

Friend of mine is a big Wild fan. I've been telling him about Larkin. He watched last night and called me this morning. Says he can't believe this guy was available to Detroit, you guys have a stud on your hands

 

[Flowah]

Hope they don't rush DD back. We're off to a good start. Q/Green looks okay for now.

 

[Brandel*]

the good news keeps coming

 

[mindfly]

the good news keeps coming

Isn't cam ward better than läck?

 

[TheOtherOne]

I mean... he did pretty well against TB last season... He's only had one opportunity to even win a series and he came pretty damn close with 2 shutouts in 7 games.

That's great. I'm happy for him. But he still will not have won a playoff series until he has actually won a playoff series.

 

[r0bert8841]

Anyone know where to find in-depth highlights for this game? I couldn't watch the game and the 4 minute highlight clips just don't do it for me.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I am not sure what exactly is different, but I am very happy with our fore check so far. I feel like we are creating a lot more turnovers, especially the fourth line (which I thought was great) and especially at the opponents blue line. Guys are reacting really quickly, anticipating well and doing a good job of closing gaps.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Isn't cam ward better than läck?

Cam Ward has been bad for a long while now.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Adding DeKeyser is big. He will solidify the second pairing and Quincey will solidify the bottom pairing.

Agreed. For a defense that's struggled a bit, this should help.

Kronwall-Ericsson
DeKeyser-Green
Quincey-Kindl

Smith, yeah. I'd give him a game off. Plus, that slash seemed to really hurt him. He was brutal after that.

 

[sarcastro]

Attach Smith and Jurco with a pick in a deal for Big Buff or Hamhuis. Then we'll be rollin'.

If you could get a ham sandwich, or some big buffalo wings for Smith + Jurco + pick, I'd agree. But you can't. This is akin to the old Lang + Lilja or Hudler + Kindl threads. Of course we'd all love to buy helpful players using nothing but our unwanted dreck. But that's not how it goes.

I actually didn't think Smith had anywhere near as bad of a game as many here seem to think.

He had one awful shift with 3 straight turnovers but he was clearly hurt at the time from the pretty nasty slash on his wrist.

Before and after that I thought he was playing pretty well.

Well the one horrible shift still counts, right? Also the play that stuck with me was on the PK when he had the puck at the Tampa blue line and could have rimmed it around to try and hit a forechecker, could have ragged it back and killed off time, etc. Instead he flips it straight up into the netting.

He just repeatedly makes mistakes that players with even a little bit of hockey sense would not make. That's how I saw it anyway.

 

[Winger98]

If you could get a ham sandwich, or some big buffalo wings for Smith + Jurco + pick, I'd agree. But you can't. This is akin to the old Lang + Lilja or Hudler + Kindl threads. Of course we'd all love to buy helpful players using nothing but our unwanted dreck. But that's not how it goes.

Well the one horrible shift still counts, right? Also the play that stuck with me was on the PK when he had the puck at the Tampa blue line and could have rimmed it around to try and hit a forechecker, could have ragged it back and killed off time, etc. Instead he flips it straight up into the netting.

He just repeatedly makes mistakes that players with even a little bit of hockey sense would not make. That's how I saw it anyway.

I don't know, hindsight is making it look like Hudler should have been a pretty valuable little commodity. He's been a sizable contributor to Calgary.

With Smith, yeah, he made some damn stupid moves last night. It looked like he was pressing, perhaps because of Dekeyser's possible return, who knows. Was ugly. He and Kindl also got left to hang by their forwards from time to time, though. Outside of Kronwall and, usually, Dekeyser, our blueline is going to screw up, and they are going to need help from the guys up front.

That said, not sure what to do with Smith. I think he's shown a high ceiling when everything's clicking. Sometimes the spark doesn't seem to be getting any gas to catch, though.

 

[SpookyTsuki]

Jeez you guys are silly. Yea let's be careful with Howard. Protect him by giving him the easy games. Wouldn't want him to embarrass himself. It's not like he's been playing against top teams for years now, and has proven a lot more than Mrazek has at this point.

I get that Mrazek is the shiny new toy, but please remember that he has never won an NHL playoff series yet.

We have two very good goalies who are both perfectly capable of playing against the best players in the league.

Mrazek has probably won more playoff games in the AHL then Howard has in the NHL.

Not to mention Mrazek only had 1 playoff series and if not for the dfensive collapse he might have won it.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Larkin-Z-Abby 16 points total through 3 games.

 

[SpookyTsuki]

Larkin-Z-Abby 16 points total through 3 games.

That makes it the best line in the nhl? or does another line have more

 

[Kyleftlx]

Looking at Carolina's stats from last year, I had no idea they were outshooting opponents, and actually ranked in the top half in shots for, as well as 3rd best team at allowing the least shots. I knew they were a team that won and lost a lot of low scoring games, but it was interesting to see that they had such solid numbers in terms of shots/shot suppression. It makes me feel like the 75 to 20 shot difference from the first meeting between Detroit and Carolina makes a bit more sense now, although that's still ridiculous.

Ward isn't a good goalie, but good for him on getting himself healthy enough to play a full season last year. I think he was fine for a guy who couldn't even stay healthy the past two seasons before that. He was definitely the best goaltender Carolina had last year, although I would imagine it's another situation where Lack is playing with a formerly really solid netminder, losing starts to the guy despite potentially being a good goalie. Luongo, Miller, Ward... it's tough to win the job when your competitor is making 5+ million on their cap hit.

I think that is also an argument on why you shouldn't invest so much money in your goaltender... there's so many talented guys coming up all the time, and only so many starting spots in the league.