GoWings1905

I feel bad for Hudler. The kid plays hard in the limited minutes he gets, while Lang and Samuelsson play double the minutes Hudler does and they provide nothing to this team. I can live with Lang staying in the line-up just because he has played well the past couple post-seasons, but Sammy needs to be benched permanately. If nothing else, get him off the point on the power play! Calgary is going to score short-handed in the next two games because of him. In Game One, Sammy took a penalty while the Wings were on the power play, and in Game Two, Primeau drilled the post short-handed with Samuelsson back there. Please Babcock, play Hudler!

I personally like this thread, it brings a smile to my face just thinking this could happen in a couple of months. My bet would be on Dom though. If they win the Stanley Cup, he will be the main reason why. If I had to pick who I would give it to first, without a doubt I would say Hank.

I would prefer the Red Wings take care of Calgary before any of this, but looking ahead the Predators appear to be a much better match-up for the Wings. San Jose and Anaheim are the two teams whose style of play could present trouble to the Red Wings. Plus, travel and the the start time of the games would be much better with Nashville than San Jose. That being said, the Sharks are going to beat the Predators (again), so this may not matter.

I have hated the shoot-out since day one, and nothing will change that. It is a stupid way to decide a winner, and the Red Wings suck at them so it makes it even worse. I would consider not watching playoff hockey if they ever put this idea of shoot-outs into effect. Knowing Bettman, he will think this is a brilliant idea and put it into place next season. This is pure insanity from Yorio.

Not to be rude, but they play Calgary on Tuesday and Thursday and if they take care of business, then we can discuss this. Until the Wings get that fourth win, there's no sense in trying to predict or even care about this. Let's just hope the Red Wings come out hard tomorrow night, and then we'll go from there. This series is far from over.

This is bad news right now, but it should work out for the better for both Toledo and the Storm in a couple of years. The Sports Arena is a dump, and if they build a new arena and it is half as nice as Fifth-Third Field where the Mud Hens play, the team will be in good shape.

The NBA used to open with a five game series in the first round until a few years ago they switched it to a seven game series. The NBA also uses the 2-2-1-1-1 format, until the Finals when they switch to the 2-3-2. The Pistons were the first team ever in 2004 to win all three of the middle home games.

The announced attendance for Game 2 was 19,751. Another non-sell out for a playoff game If you go to NHL.com and look at the box scores, they list the attendance at the bottom of the page.

I still think Anaheim is the best team in the loaded Western Conference, and it will be extremely difficult for any team to beat them four times in a series. They play physical-playoff style hockey, and they have two of the three best defensemen in the league (besides Lidstrom). Having to deal with Pronger and Niedermayer is a nightmare, and they also have two quality goalies that can win games. That being said, I'm not surprised what they are doing to Minnesota. I think for some reason the Wild got way too much credit heading into the post-season when clearly the Ducks are a far superior team. All of the games have been low-scoring and close, but let's face it, that's how the Ducks and playoff games typically are. Can the Red Wings beat the Ducks IF they meet? Of course. However, it will be really tough for any team to win four games against that Anaheim team.

Yeah please do not bring back the glowing puck. We already have to deal with the atrocious coverage provided by Versus. If you can't tell where the puck is at, you probably shouldn't be watching hockey in the first place.

WEST: (1) Detroit vs. (8) Calgary - Red Wings in six (2) Anaheim vs. (7) Minnesota - Ducks in five (3) Vancouver vs. (6) Dallas - Canucks in six (4) Nashville vs. (5) San Jose - Sharks in five EAST: (1) Buffalo vs. (8) New York Islanders - Sabres in four (2) New Jersey vs. (7) Tampa Bay - Devils in five (3) Atlanta vs. (6) New York Rangers - Rangers in six (4) Ottawa vs. (5) Pittsburgh - Senators in six

Nicklas Lidstrom, hands down.

If Lilja plays like he has lately, with a physical edge, and he plays solid on the penalty kill, then he will be fine for the Red Wings in the playoffs. If he goes back to bad giveaways and plays with minimal physical presence, then he will be useless and likely a liability. Quincey was solid in his limited action, but at this point Lilja is a better option. Sadly, Fisch never had a chance to prove how good he could be. I miss him greatly, and Lilja makes me miss him even more.

10 minutes from now someone will create a thread and claim Bertuzzi is out again. Fact is, none of us know, and won't know until Thursday evening, unless the Wings announce otherwise, which is highly unlikely. Do I want Bertuzzi to play? Of course. Am I going to lose sleep at night if he doesn't? Nope, this team can win without him. Let's just all hope that he plays, and if he doesn't, the games still go on.

I have class on Thursday from 5:30 until 8:00, but I will be leaving early to uh-hum "tend to personal matters". Besides, I can go to class anytime. Watching the Red Wings in the playoffs is way more important than Macro Economics. We need a national holiday for the duration of the playoffs to eliminate all potential conflicts.

Kris Draper

Darren McCarty for obvious reasons, but other than Mac, I would say Matthew Lombardi. Seen him once on After Hours on HNIC and seemed like a decent guy. Other than that, I hope the Wings give them a beatdown.

Jiggy - I agree that the first round is the scariest round, but I still find it surprising the level of doubt on here. I could never in my life imagine not believing the Red Wings were going to win, but that's just me. Best of luck to the Flames in this series, it should be a terrific battle.

With all of these predictions for this series, one would think they were at a Flames forum. I mean shouldn't all Red Wings fans believe that they are going to win? What's the point in watching if you assume they are going to lose? I know recent history should give us all doubts about these playoffs, but let's have some faith in this team. I respect everyone's own personal predictions, but it doesn't seem right to ever pick against the Red Wings. Stanley Cup #11 is coming to Hockeytown, Believe!

Hopefully the recap doesn't air as quickly as it did last season. As far as the preview, I have been watching the Pistons all night on FSN Detroit and have yet to see anything about one.

Derian Hatcher

I am going to shave for the final time on Thursday morning, hopefully the last use of my razor until sometime in June. This is like a classic Catch 22 situation, you want the Red Wings to win so badly, but then the more they do, the more you look like a caveman. I will gladly sacrifice some facial hair for a chance to see the Stanley Cup back in Hockeytown.

This is typical stupidity from Bettman and the NHL. Back-to-Back games in the playoffs are completely uncalled for, regardless of the teams or whatever NBC and Versus wants. Let's face it, the teams should not have to sacrifice for a television contract. People are going to watch their team no matter what day or time they play, and honestly putting more marketable teams on in "primetime" is not going to get the casual fan to stop and watch. Consecutive nights in a series like Atlanta/NY Rangers is still dumb, but more reasonable because of the travel distance involved. Detroit to Calgary is not exactly a quick plane ride. Hopefully, the Red Wings win it in five so this isn't a problem, but this further proves Gary Bettman as one of the world's biggest idiots.

I think something that Ken and Mick mentioned a few days ago has a lot to do with the playoff atmosphere at JLA. I think the past couple of seasons, fans have taken for granted the Wings advancing past the first round, and when there are only three home playoff games, it is labeled as "quiet". Moreso than ever this year, I expect fans and the team to appreciate each home game, knowing there may not be a second round or hopefully a third and fourth. I remember how loud and awesome the atmosphere was during the 2002 playoffs, and I hope it returns starting on Thursday night. I will be terribly upset if The Joe isn't rocking for every home game.

Rumor is he won't be in the playoffs due to commitments he has made for his hair styling appointments.