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Stewie

Detroit Red Wings: 2014-2015

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Super early in the season, but I am pretty excited about what I see so far, in terms of the teams ability to fight and stay in games, against solid opposition thus far. They looked pretty bad in the second game against Boston (third overall) but Howie stole a point for us, which leaves a bright spot there as he has looked very solid.

Cautious optimism that Franzen will continue to produce all SEASON, the caution being that he has always been a streaky player, and this just could be an upswing, but all reports indicate he worked hard on his conditioning in the offseason, which could make him more of a factor and perhaps a bit more consistent, especially if he remains on the top line with Gus, and Z. Gus is the sniper type that Z and Datsyuk have needed these last few years, and especially if they can remain healthy, they all could produce well. Question becomes, when Datsyuk returns, where does he fit in? I would be cautious to mess with the top line if they continue to produce, and I would also be very hesitant to mess with the sheahan, jurco, tats line, they have good chemistry together,, if a bit inconsistent. Datsyuk isn't really the kind of guy you want to play extended periods on the third line, so maybe move the kids to third line and have a second line of datsyuk, helm, and abdelkader/nestrasil? its a good problem to have I guess, and there is always injuries.

The D has been good at times, but still too many turnovers. Perhaps this is the fact that they have played really good teams through the first 4 games, but really I am not expecting a ton of consistency out of this unit, and it may be one they look to upgrade if they find themselves in serious contention at some point in the season.

I went into this season thinking we would fit somewhere in the 6-8 slot in the east this season, I could see them getting as high up as 5, but a lot of things would have to go right for them to be in the mix with the Montreals, Tampas, Pittsburghs, Bostons, etc, especially with what I think will be a resurgent year for the Islanders, adding them to the East mix.

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I'm pretty happy with what I see. The young guys (Griffin) line play with lots of speed and always seem to generate chances. The 4th line has shown they can shut down 1st line and are had grinders. I would keep Z, Franzen (when not hurt) and Gus together. When Datsyuk gets better I'd put him with Helm and Abby. He plays well with Abby and Helm will learn a lot from him about putting the puck in the net.

The D has been pretty good DeKeyser and Smith have taken it up to the next level. Quincy and Kindl have been pretty solid and Kronner and Erickson can match up with just about anyone. If we could only train one or two of them to shoot right handed!

Howie seems back in form and hopefully Gustavvson keeps playing like he did Saturday.

Nestrasil will be a healthy scratch with Weiss and Cleary. Guys will get hurt so Nesty will get time and so will Weiss and eventually Cleary.

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Apparently if Dats plays tomorrow, the lines will be as follows

Pav-Z-Abs

Tatar-Sheahan-NyQ

Jurco-Helm-Nestrasil

Miller-Glenny-anderson.

When franzen comes back, my guess is they will send nesty back down, i dont think they are going to want him healthy scratching so early in his career, they would prefer to get him some time, plus i dont think they want three forwards as a healthy scratch, lashoff will be in the box with weiss and cleary.

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That's a good point about Nesty. As long as they can two way him he should see time on the Wings. It will be interesting to see how they handle Pav's ice time with the first line. They already have preseason and 5 games under their belt so most of the guys have their game legs going.

As much as Alfie did last year I think it's time for him to retire. He's had a great career but I think it's only fair to the team if only to stop the guessing and firm up the roster.

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nesty is on a two way, so yes they have mobility there. I would be interested in signing Alfie only if the following things are met/happen

1.trade away of a cleary or Weiss, not likely or

2. long term injury happens to a veteran player and

3. it has to be a one year.

he still can contribute if healthy, but im not willing to sign him if it means sending our two way guys both down (nestrasil and jurco) when the roster is full, simply because I find this to be a key development year for the team. obviously next year id want the spot vacated for what could very likely be Manthas turn on the squad.

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team has surprised me very much so far this year, in this way. Its been the veterans, and even some of the guys fans have soured of like Franzen, who have been leading the way. Don't get me wrong, I had faith in Z and Datsyuk when they are healthy, but didn't think they would be contributing at the clip they are. I thought Franzen could have a decent year, but stories of him being in the best shape in a while are looking possibly true, hes playing with a little bit of that "hot streak franzen" finesse in every game hes played this season, not looking as clunky as last year. Nyquist paired with either Z or Datsyuk should work great the duration of the season, the kid can just straight up shoot.

I really thought the sheahan/jurco/tatar line was going to be great this year, and although they have been alright, Jurco definitely doesn't look as good as he did last season. He has been scratched a few times too, and I am backing off my initial hesitation to send him down, if Alfie were to decide to return. At this point I would be all for it, I think Jurco could use some more seasoning in GR, and Alfie if healthy could offer us a lot, not just in veteran presence and leadership, but also on the scoreboard as well, and on the point on the PP. Apparently he is to make a decision on his future by December, so we should know fairly soon here.

The rest of the team, the grinders and such, I see why Babcock has so much faith in a guy like Glendening (not that I didn't last season as well, but its just reaffirming their belief in him this season.) Straight up hustle like D-Helm, he should be an asset to the team for years to come.

Howie is playing up to the contract this season. Stinks that Gustavsson is injured again, but it should give mrazek more opportunities at the NHL level, where he will be suiting up soon enough.

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I agree with all of that, very surprising. If we can stay healthy, I think last year's playoff scare was as close as they'll come to missing the post season for at least a few more years.

Now if only Babs would run a strictly shootout-only practice, we might be really begin doing some damage.

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I agree with all of that, very surprising. If we can stay healthy, I think last year's playoff scare was as close as they'll come to missing the post season for at least a few more years.

Now if only Babs would run a strictly shootout-only practice, we might be really begin doing some damage.

yeah, unfortunately our team definitely struggles in the shootout. we have a lot of guys who are good at the tick tack toe game, but not many pure shootout types. I really thought Jurco was going to develop to be a guy that could do some great things in the shootout, but maybe his stick tricks only work when can throw the puck up in the air and twirl around.

Obviously as long as we can make it through the regular season, this wont matter come playoff time, but youd like to see them improve. I would be hesitant to put too much into it however, since shootouts could (and hopefully will) find themselves out of the game in the future.

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I know the wings' managements' stance on shootouts, I wonder if the teams that end up on the winning side more often than not are against it?

Even if half of our 15 OTL's were W's, we'd have been riding into the playoffs as a 3rd seed. But I'm sure there's just as many teams who'd be significantly lower if it weren't for the skills competitions

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well my stance is unaffected by the fact I am a wings fan. I just think it takes away from the beauty of a game that prides itself on being multi-faceted. One of my beer leagues does shootouts, and I think its kind of silly, but i guess is ok there due to time constraints.

As a fan, id rather just watch more hockey, even if it is altered quite a bit (3v3 proposals etc) at least your team is still rewarded for two way play. Maybe i am alone in that i just don't get that pumped for a shootout.

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well my stance is unaffected by the fact I am a wings fan. I just think it takes away from the beauty of a game that prides itself on being multi-faceted. One of my beer leagues does shootouts, and I think its kind of silly, but i guess is ok there due to time constraints.

As a fan, id rather just watch more hockey, even if it is altered quite a bit (3v3 proposals etc) at least your team is still rewarded for two way play. Maybe i am alone in that i just don't get that pumped for a shootout.

I don't know if you saw it (I should upload it to YouTube), but there was a Leafs game a month or so ago where there were penalties early in OT to make it 3v3. Yea, I'm 100% sold on it after watching that. With the end to end, there's no way you'd ever see a shootout again after five mins 4v4 and then five mins of 3v3.

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I remember reading/hearing the same thing. I was skeptical (3v3 sounded like it'd be a shit-show to be honest), but after seeing that OT game I'm totally sold.

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If you want to reduce shootouts, make a regulation win worth three points. Then there is an incentive to try and win the game in the last half of the third period instead of playing safe to make sure that you get one point and hope to get the second one in OT/Shootout

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I don't see that happening. The NHL really wants to keep the standings tight, I feel like they are more likely to modify OT. It would be nice to have every game worth the same amount of points however, but at the same time overtimes make the games more exciting for the general public, even if it means 2 minutes of crap beforehand

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I guess I was wrong about nestrasil. picked up on waivers. Really a bummer, although he hasn't really produced much since the first weekish of the season. I really hope this doesn't come back to bite us like I think the Jarnkrok deal will in the future.

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Is Babcock's frustration with not not having the players that he has wanted over the last couple years going to be driving him out the door after this season?

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I don't think so. I'm very hopeful that he will stay. There's a lot of young talent on the team and he's the best person to teach the system they have had during his tenure.

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If anything makes Babcock leave it would probably be thinking he has taken the organization as far as he can and accomplished everything he has set out. About the only thing he hasn't gotten that he has wanted is right handed shooters, especially D men. I think if anything the young players would help keep him there. Babs loves to teach and that's what the young guys need most. If he leaves for another team I would think it would be a team like Edmonton that has a lot of young talent that needs to be restructured and redirected to go further.

I would love to see Babcock move to the office and learn that part of it. He would be a great GM someday.

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nice run has us up there in the top 5 in the NHL points wise. Whether or not this can be sustained is the question. I certainly thought they could be good this year, but I didn't think they would be this good! up and down the roster now there is production and depth. Weiss returning to form after a few years of injury is a good help, and Helm is rounding back around here too.

If they can sustain, it will be great. I still worry about how turnover prone their D can be at times, but Howard has done a great job helping to cover that up. Babcock might want to leave just from the headache he gets juggling lines around with so many Centers up front, but some of them have adjusted well to working the wing.

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If they can sustain, it will be great. I still worry about how turnover prone their D can be at times, but Howard has done a great job helping to cover that up. Babcock might want to leave just from the headache he gets juggling lines around with so many Centers up front, but some of them have adjusted well to working the wing.

As a Hawks fan, I can empathize. If you score enough goals, the turnovers become less of an issue.

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That's been huge here for this stretch, they've been scoring often, and I'm hopeful they will continue. Their depth of scoring in lines 1-3 has been huge, which is good because they are not dependent on a few guys.

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