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Hey all, I usually don't post as the the jabber back and forth between members is entertaining. However a lot of people are doubting the wings so I thought maybe I should post what Lilja wrote on his blog, not sure how many of you know but Lilja maintains a playoff blog to keep in touch with fans. Lilja post: "Hi! Not a fun day, yesterday ... as soon as we were taking charge of the game, we got a penalty, and then after a while when we were taking charge again, we got another one in the sinbin! It felt like the referee (I really hate to blame anything on the referees ) found a little too many penalties on us, and kept a damn funny level on the game! We were ahead and had the game in our pocket, then he finds two penalties on us, and that turns the whole game around! We played 12:54 with either one or two men in the sinbin, which doesn't make it easy to win games! However, I really think in the longrun, that we are going to take care of business and win the second round in the playoffs, now we must win our two home games and then it's gonna be a real pleasure to travel to Sharkland and steal one of their home games! It's time to recharge, you have to be first to get four wins, so there's still a lot to play for! Have faith in us, and as usual, be safe and I will write soon again." REGARDS LILLS" If the guys haven't lost any hope then we for sure don't need to, as we all know we are the Red Wings and are one of the few teams that can do anything. I'm predicting the series will be tied 2-2 after two games at the Joe. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=61686

Step 1: Find Brad Watson or Kevin Pollock Step 2: Hand them the Red Wings jersey Step 3: They will find the nearest penalty box and it will rot there

You are an idiot. Too obvious...

Lilja is awesome. Until we lose 4 games I have faith. San Jose isn't a team known for finishing off playoff series when they are ahead.

For me it's like this. I say the Wings will win in 6 or 7 games. If they lose a third game, I'll say they'll win in 7. If they lose a fourth game, I'll wait for next season and say they'll win then. I believe they can win any game and any series until I have definitive proof otherwise. I'm a fan. This is what I do.

Hockeytown rolls out the welcome wagon for the Sharks

Could have been better, but i'm tired and somewhat lack some skills in Gimp

I may be incurring the wrath of the mods by carrying on a discussion in the Photoshop thread, but if it makes you feel any better, the Red Wings have 4 Cups since the Sharks entered the league, more than any other team during that era as well.

Alright, alright. I'll spill the secret to my success. You ready? Positive? Totally ready? Can you really handle it? Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you........ The secret is.........I run a brothel. All the members here who are guys get the best hookers if they give me +1s on all my posts. They're clean, really enthusiastic and think hockey fans are SEXXXXXY. But please don't tell the cops, I don't want to get shut down before I hit 2000.

PUT LILJA IN NET. INTIMIDATE THE PUCK.

I don't think you're really a coach.

I was at the game last night and they don't show replays of anything but Sharks highlights. I remember seeing Howard get sticked in the face in the 2nd period, and they called nothing. What was the deal with that? Bad non call? You should have heard the Sharks fans yelling during the national anthem. It showed very little class and I was embarrassed for them.

We need OT for that to happen! LOL

Osgood is rusty and no amount of rustoff is going to remove the rust. Unless changing goalies makes your team better at faceoffs, makes the reffing fair and makes your team play a better game, than what is the point of changing Howard for Ozzie. We are not losing due to Howard, we are losing key battles, faceoffs, etc... and switching to Osgood is not going to fix any of that.

Howard's not the problem and Ozzie's not the solution to what the actual problem is.

A good default position is to assume everyone is ailing in some way this time of year.

That was my point though in saying that last night was his most important game. In the other games where he gave up the second goal, the 3rd and 4th goal tended to follow shortly thereafter as opposed to last night when he battled back and started making the big saves. I'm not disregarding his play throughout the game and while he eventually let in a 3rd and 4th goals, it was due to circumstances more outside of his control than in previous games. He was strong and resilient after the 2nd goal in this game. We were in this game last night until we lost our composure in the 3rd and took a ton of stupid penalties. You can't blame Howard for that. That said, again, he needs to be stronger in the first in games 3 and 4 if we're going to have a prayer, along with the rest of the team. He hasn't had all the help in the world, but he hasn't helped steady the ship early on, and that's important in the post-season more than ever. A big save when you're up 1-0 is as important as a goal that sends it to 2-0. We need that out of Howard tomorrow. I don't agree with much of Eva's analysis and I don't think Osgood should go in, but one thing he touched on that has been true in 6 of his 9 playoff starts is that he hasn't made timely saves to help us attain and maintain a lead. I do believe that's more important than some acknowledge. And to be fair and objective, one benefit Osgood could bring to the game even if a bit rusty is his ability to slow things down. He's much better about absorbing the puck and controlling the pace than Howard at this point. All season long, we've seen a more furious pace to the onslaught in front of Howard, but much of that has to do with Howard's struggles with rebound and puck control in general. Whereas many goalies smother the puck up on the first shot, Howard often gives up multiple rebounds, forcing him to make 2-3 saves and creating scrambles in our end. (Note: the following isn't an argument to put Osgood in, so much as discussion on why I thought Osgood should've been given more of a chance to be the guy heading into the playoffs) I think Howard certainly can improve on his weak points in time, but the youthful issues play into why I didn't like the idea of him starting in the playoffs as a rookie. Many have said for awhile that his technical shortcomings as a goaltender would be more evident in the playoffs as the intensity picks up and guys zero in on a goalies weaknesses and tendencies. Despite some strong moments at times, more often than not, this has been true. Again, I don't hold it against Howard as he is a rookie; it's just why I thought Osgood should've been given more chances to get going so he could lead the way again in the post-season. I simply saw no harm in giving Howard more time to learn what it takes to play at the NHL level; it's no knock on Howard as a goalie as he's just a rookie. Ultimately, 99% of the time I believe that the benefits of a veteran netminder in the playoffs outweigh the benefits of going with the younger regular season hotshot. Veterans know what it takes to win in the playoffs and how to help control the pace of those game. They oftentimes learn by watching and experiencing day to day how other veterans do it first. A lot of people thought it was stupid to go with Vernon over Osgood in '97 as Osgood was the younger hotshot at that time, and while he had his fair share of doubters too (which I still believe are solely the result of game 7 against San Jose in his rookie year, enough said...), many questioned the move. I think Vernon's regular season stats were a bit rough (he had a sub-.900 save percentage if memory serves me correctly...), definitely not as strong as Osgood's who played more as well. But Vernon was the veteran who had already won a Cup, and he went on to win the Cup for us again and the Conn Smythe as well. I have little doubt that watching Vernon win that Cup in 1997 was the biggest difference maker in Osgood's career. He was a strong goalie technically, already an All Star and Vezina runner-up before he was 25, but regular season stats and records oftentimes have little to do with postseason stats and records, let alone the sound mental approach needed to go the distance in the playoffs. As he's said again and again, he learned all that watching Vernon. So for me, I think Osgood should have started in the playoffs, no matter how the regular season went down. However, that doesn't mean I think he should go in at this point. I mean this as no knock to Jimmy Howard as a goalie, and I'm not just backtracking because he hasn't been great in the playoffs. I've said it all along for the same reasons I'm reiterating now. And while I don't hold anything against Howard, the experience of watching him thus far in the post-season is certainly affirming of my previous thoughts on going with the veteran in the post-season. Worst case scenario you have to go to Howard if Osgood screws up. Much better to let the veteran battle with the emotions of getting pulled than a rookie who doesn't show up, and if a rookie can't get it done after Osgood, it's not going to be nearly as (potentially) scarring to him as being the starter from game 1 has potential to be. Once in a blue moon there's a Patrick Roy who can do it all as a rookie, but it's RARE as can be. From all I've seen through the years, you're far more likely to burn a guy out by putting too much pressure on him early on. I think Howard's got a lot of skill and potential, but to say I'm not concerned for how this could end up affecting his career would be a lie. Again, far too many goalies come on strong only to burn out fast. I suppose there's nothing to be done about it now, I'm just saying...he's a good kid, and I've loved seeing him prove so many wrong this year. Unfortunately, I know all too well how quickly people will turn against you as well...

ive never seen so much diving before in my whole life, and i was on the swim team in highschool.

Can do that all you want, I don't give a damn if we sound bitter. You guys are diving out of your rear ends, and the last game was one of the worst officiated games I have seen in my life in any sport. Consider your team very fortunate to be up 2-0 with the referees playing a much, much larger role than necessary to facilitate that lead.

I'm glad you're not worried but I am. I'm not saying we're going to get swept or something, just that we're in a lot of trouble. The hole we dug for ourselves (with the refs supplying the backhoe) isn't helping matters.