slothfacekilla

Really bizarre play where I guess Puljujarvi wasn't looking where he was skating (though I swear he sees Raymond) and neither was Raymond. Raymond definitely didn't see him and it looked like Puljujarvi braced a bit, bad collision for Raymond who limped to the bench. Hope he's ok...seems like they're working on his shoulder on the bench.

Wings are up 2-0 about half way through the game. Petry actually made a good play clearing the puck to Tarasenko to start a rush the other way. Tarasenko fed it to Berggren and he scored his first of the season! Raymond made a nice puck retrieval, then Larkin a nice pass to Kane on the PP to go up 2-0. I was just about to type that they're getting way more chances than the Pens but Rust just made it 2-1 after walking around Seider, ugh.

I thought the Wings played pretty well in the first there (12 shots!) but it is against the Pens.

Man Twitter still won't embed for me, lots of nice Lombardi and Danielson plays I want to show off! MBN only has two goals this season in the SHL but allegedly has the highest expected goals for of the team, so hopefully he starts taking off soon. Also checking in on everyone's favorite goalie argument Wallstedt vs Cossa: Wallstedt has a .869 save percentage in the AHL and Cossa is 7th in the league at .935. Cossa is younger than all the goalies above him, outside of Askarov (only 5 months older than Cossa I didn't realize he was that young) the other goalies are 2+ years older and a few guys much more so with NHL experience.

https://v.redd.it/wmvtecdhlp0e1 Looks like Nate is getting comfortable down in Grand Rapids, nifty play

Haha great point! I feel like I just remember Sergei being more of a "I'm going to do this all myself" type of player when he was locked in whereas Datsyuk always struck me as more of a facilitator when he was firing on all cylinders. Which says a lot because he sure could score and play defense too. Both were generational players in my opinion.

I've come around to firing Lalonde with how uninspiring the team's play can be for starts of games and long stretches. Plus I find his in zone defensive coverage systems a bit weird at times. Mostly it is more of a "it can't get any worse" feeling for me to try something, I don't know. I guess I don't feel super strongly either way about keeping or canning him.

Fedorov has to be last on the list because everyone is spelling his name wrong! I never saw Delvecchio, I honestly rate Fedorov and Datsyuk about the same with a slight edge to Sergei. He was probably a touch less creative than Datsyuk but had more power to his game and could play any position on the ice. Datsyuk had one more Selke win but Fedorov had a Hart trophy on his resume. Pavel did elevate his linemates a little more I think, but could just be my faulty memory. Either way I feel lucky that they were both Wings.

I think he'll get a cup of coffee next season after starting in the AHL, though Petry is off the books this offseason so they'll need another defenseman somehow. Yzerman said last offseason he expects him to spend one more season in the SHL (this current season). Skelleftea has been having some drama this season so I wouldn't be shocked if ASP and MBN are both looking for other options next season. With the Wings wanting MBN to play in Grand Rapids this season I'm hoping they view him as potentially ready next season too.

With how this season has gone, I can't even imagine the amount of whinging from the fan base if they blew this team up to start all over on the rebuild.

Imagine saying SOL about this team and calling yourself a fan, get a grip.

It also looks like he's getting a ton of chances that teammates aren't capitalizing on too. He seems like he's really stepping up this season, it is great to see.

Welp Seider has bad gap control on Marner then Edvinsson isn't able to help clear the puck in front of the net, this will count for the Leafs.

Wings gave up a goal to the Leafs but it was called off for goaltender interference which I was a bit surprised about. They honestly got lucky in my eyes because the main reason for the goal was bad positioning then puck watching from both Gustafsson and Johansson. Bad plays by them.

In my eyes, Gus has played better compared to where he started the season but he's still who I want on the ice the least right now but that's just a personal preference. I will say he did make a random play last game that shocked me because it was actually pretty clever. Maybe he's getting more comfortable too. Petry isn't doing much to hold him off for me though, Petry looks old as hell out there.

I feel like Johansson looks more comfortable every game, I notice him making smart, small plays a lot with passes and gap coverage in his zone. It is a shame he isn't taller but at least he looks better than Gustafsson. I don't mind not re-signing Gostisbehere (their power play is doing better this season without him!) but I hate the Gus signing to replace him.

Might be the worst two teams in the league playing against each other tonight. Wings get a goal at the end of the first due to some sloppy play from the Hawks, and I thought the Wings were playing sloppy too but hey they scored I guess.

I haven't been able to make Twitter posts embed in here lately so it might kinda kill my posting for a bit. Buch has been playing well I think he's almost at a PPG through 23-ish games. MBN and ASP's coach just got fired in the SHL in what sounds like a player revolt of sorts, interesting. ASP played with Sweden (his age group I believe) today and scored a goal, I haven't seen it yet. Belcher finally suited up for the Griffins, that's great to see. After a fantastic start to the season Kisskinen is injured and out for four weeks it looks like, really bummed he'll miss the WJC most likely. Lombardi has been scoring well in the AHL so far, though it seems like the Griffins have hit a tiny skid perhaps. Danielson looks more comfortable from what I have seen and he's been their 2C. He needs to bulk up... I actually am not sure if Mazur is back from his injury I don't think he is.

I think he made the caps on a player try out contract? I was surprised he made the team either way, I think he scored in the first game like he always does lol. I'm very surprised he's in the NHL, hopefully he's figured out whatever was affecting him previously.

For anyone still pining for Walman

I have a bad feeling about this game, Tage Thompson is going to score a hatty or something lol

I would say you definitely answered your own question there lol. The first two seasons under Yzerman they won 17 and 19 games. Hronek was our leading defender in ice time both seasons and then it was Nemeth and Marc Staal in second place each season. A 35 year old Filppula was our 2C and then it was Namestnikov the next season. My thought is they wanted to try to field at least semi-competitive team so that when prospects are integrated it isn't a total losing culture. Plus I think the chances of Larkin re-signing go down without these incremental improvements in the team's success. Now I'll go back into hiding!

Maataa was pretty solid overall despite having stretches where I thought he played pretty badly (Lalonde's system?). Getting a third for him is more than I expected and gives us some cap flexibility, solves the problem of having 8 defensemen in the NHL, and allows Kasper to stay up.

He's not the only young goalie looking good in GR: I was really impressed with his lateral movement from what I've seen Amo has been on a heater so far this season: Buch looking good in Russia:

This is a really fantastic meme template