“Lebs and him have been on the ice for some of the ugliest goals in hockey,” Babcock said.

Ding!

Now do something about it.

Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 10/31/09 at 04:44 PM ET

“Lebs and him have been on the ice for some of the ugliest goals in hockey,” Babcock said.

I love those Babcockian statements, they some how make me forget the pain...or at least dull it slightly

Posted by irregularjohn from Scotland on 10/31/09 at 05:02 PM ET

“Lebs and him have been on the ice for some of the ugliest goals in hockey,” Babcock said.

Wow. First Ville and Helm and now Jonny and Lebda. The damn bus is going lose its tires from all the guys Babs is throwing under it these days.

Looks like frustration is running as rampant in the Wings locker room as the flu is in the world right now.

Personally, I’d rather be in the ICU with H1N1 than sitting here waiting for the next disaster to strike the Wings.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 10/31/09 at 05:22 PM ET

I heard the diagnosis for Big Rig = Defensitis

Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 10/31/09 at 05:23 PM ET

First Ville and Helm and now Jonny and Lebda.

Well, this one is inarguably true, at least.

And yet...the only reason they won’t be paired together tonight is because Jonny’s probably going to miss the game.

I don’t get it.  Helm might not be playing his best, but he’s the hardest worker on the damn team, and Ville’s been playing well too even if he hasn’t been putting up the points, yet they both get sat when they’re healthy and Babs is only sitting one of Jonny/Lebs because Jonny’s sick.  What gives?

Posted by Garth on 10/31/09 at 06:12 PM ET

...Babs is only sitting one of Jonny/Lebs because Jonny’s sick.  What gives?

Someone said it the other day and I agree...who would have thought that not having Cheli on the squad this year would be a problem. But, personally, I think that’s what the problem is for Jonny. He’s playing his first full season and he’s paired with a guy who’s a sieve on defense.

Ericsson needs a veteran stay-at-home defenseman who can back him up and give him some confidence. Neither Lebda or Meech can fill that role.

Imagine where we’d be today if Tick Tock had waived Lebda or Meech instead of Quincey last year. A third pairing of Quincey and Big E could single-handedly cut the alcohol intake by 20% for every Wings game.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 10/31/09 at 07:13 PM ET

A third pairing of Quincey and Big E could single-handedly cut the alcohol intake by 20% for every Wings game. 
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 10/31/09 at 08:13 PM ET

Only if they hid the booze behind the Hasek.

Posted by calquake on 10/31/09 at 07:39 PM ET

Only if they hid the booze behind the Hasek.

Well, I wasn’t thinking about “the 19”, Cal. I was thinking about normal people.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 10/31/09 at 10:38 PM ET

Ericsson needs a veteran stay-at-home defenseman who can back him up and give him some confidence. Neither Lebda or Meech can fill that role.

Ericsson played with Lidstrom for some of the playoffs and he didn’t look out of place.  Why not pair the two of them, then have Rafi and Stuart or Rafi and Kronwall as the second and put Lebda with Kronwall or Stuart?  That way you’ve got Ericsson learning from the best defenseman in the league, a solid second pairing of two veterans and Lebda playing with someone more defensively minded.  Doesn’t seem like rocket science to me. 

Babcock’s come up with just about every line combination you can put together, yet he can’t figure out how to switch around six d-men.  I turned the game on tonight about 4 minutes into it and CBC put up the roster for the night and had Lidstrom/Kronwall and Rafi/Stuart as the pairings, but he had already changed them back to the normal pairings.

Posted by Garth on 11/01/09 at 01:35 AM ET