BringHomeTheCup!

Hah, in that photo, it looks like matty jr. just corked one of daddy's head. Judging by the look on the elder matty's face, it musta hurt!

From what I understand from the reading I have done, today as the first mandatory practice since the boys got home from Calgary. If I am correct, they got back monday afternoon, and babs had a 'highly optional' practice yesterday. With Hank possibly still in pain, I see no reason why he wouldn't get the day off, no big deal. He will be ready thursday.

Well, I am kind of torn at having game 7 at the Joe. If it were a team like Calgary that is pretty much an AHL team on the road, then sure, no doubt. But San Jose isn't, and playing in front of your home crowd can cause a team to play under a little more pressure. However, having a game 7 at the Joe can also give the Wings that added edge. I don't think the Fish Bowl will be packed with all Sharks fans. There should be a few Wings fans there, so playing games there shouldn't be as tough. Obviously the fans for both teams would rather have the game 7 in their arena. I just don't think that it makes that much of a difference in this series. I like our odds in this series. Wings in 6.

It doesn't matter that the teams are different. My point is still the same, anything is possible in a game 7. There is no obvious, or clear cut favorite in a game 7.

All I am gunna say is 1994.

Lilja isn't that slow, Calgary is just as fast as a team, as San Jose is. Lilja will do just fine. Playing d isn't all about speed, look at Nick, he doesn't exactly have Pavel Bure speed, but he does ok.

The only problem that I have with this is picking either team in 7 games. When you get to a game 7, it's anyones games. Anyone in the NHL could potentially beat anyone once. I just don't like picking a winner when you say it will go 7. Game 7's have a nack for not turning out how you thought they would.

I read somewhere on LGW that it was Kopecky skating with Hank and Pav in practice. Rex should take the place of Homer in the lineup, I don't like Sammy with the eurotwins. He shoots too much, I think it would hamper their flow. Putting Calder with the twins wouldn't be a bad idea to get him going, he could provide the same protection for them that Cleary could. There is also the option of splitting them up for a game. I'm not in favor of this, but it would create hell in matchups for Ronnie Wilson.

I was just thinking, if Bert doesn't get the spot on the top line, who'd be good? Frazen could suffice, but how about Cleary? He has been playing very well, and boy is he HOT. He can crash the net, and protect the twins.

I didn't take the time to read all 10 pages, so if this is a repeat, sorry. I did read a lot of San Jose's size being of some concern. People think San Jose will beat us up, like Calgary tried to do. However, that isn't San Jose's game. They are a puck possesion team, much like Detroit. I think Detroit is better suited for this style. The Sharks have been getting scoring for all 4 lines, against Nashville. Detroit is a much better team defensvely than the Preds, and the Pred tried to beat up the Sharks. You can get away with that for a game or two, but unless you team can skate with the opposition, simply beating them up won't so much. Which is why Nashville got ousted. Detroit can play any game San Jose trys to play. More importantly, Detroit has the ability to set the tone, and style of play. I think if Nick can shut down Joey just like he shut down Iggy, Detroit wins no doubt. The only thing that really scares me about San Jose is the PP. And in this series, they aren't going to get the same 25 opportunities a game that they did in the regular season. Also, Hasek is playing much better than he was during the regular season. I had my doubts going into the playoffs, I was really worried that Hasek would be bad. But he has proven me wrong, (mmm anyone else for some humble pie?) and he is playing out of his mind. With Hasek playing like that, there is no doubt we have the advantage in net, and that's huge. Look for Hasek to steal a game, maybe even 2 for us in this series.

Hah, kids, not for me! I'll stick to telling it to my nephew as soon as he is old enough lol.

I don't mind Homer sitting a game. I'd rather see him sit one out, then play and not be effective. Hopefully Babs will move Bert up with Hank and Pav, I really like the idea of a guy with Homers tenacity, that can also move the puck with those guys, while still commanding respect from the opposition. Having Bert out there with the Eurotwins should reduce the amount of cheap shots they will get from the Sharks. But we need Homer, so get a haffie, and play game 2 regardless!

Oh the memories for minor hockey! I had the opportunity to play on a very talented team my final year of minor hockey. We lost only 2 or 3 games all year, one of which was directly related to an awful call that disallowed a goal. I was half of the top d pairing. We won 8 or so tourneys that year. That year will always be a time I can look back on and smile. Here is one of my favorite memories from that year. We were in a tourney and just rolling through it. The first 4 games we allowed 1 goal, and scored upwards of 50. We get to the Championship game, and we are facing a team we had beaten 12-0 or so in our second game, so we figured this would be cake. They came out hard, with an obvious point to prove. At the end of the first two periods, it was a 1-1 game. We were stunned to say the least. This is a team we manhandled, and shouldn't have had problems with. At about the 8 minute mark of the third, they got a fluky goal. A shot from the point was stopped, the rebound went off to the right side of the net. Our goalie came across and made a huge save, but the puck rebounded off his leg pad, off the shooters shin pad and went top corner. Nothing the goalie could do. After that goal, they went into lock down mode. They were playing a 1-2-2, we were having trouble getting anything going. After an icing call, there was a faceoff in there zone, on the left side of the ice, my side. I got together with my d partner, and the right winger. I told them I was going to take a chance and pinch if I could. We win the faceoff, and a shot goes just wide of the net. The play goes around to the right side, then back to the left. Here they come. I pinch up, and take the boards away, knowing fully that a pass is going to go across to the center. As soon as the winger starts to make that pass across I jump all over it. There are about 4 people in front of the net. Back in those days, I had a pretty hard slap shot (a seperated shoulder and torn rotator cuff will kill that) which I had used several times against this team. I skated in about 5 feet from the top of the circle and started to wind up for a shot. The opposing d knew I had a good shot, so they did their job and moved everyone out of the way so the goalie could see. Only problem was because I had stolen the break out pass, the center and left winger were no where near me, and the right winger who had passed the puck was too far away to touch me. So I had a clear path to the net. I pull down my stick and skate in. I give a head and stick fake to my backhand ( I am a righty), then deke to the forehand. The goalie bit on the backhand move, so when I went to the forehand, all he could do was stretch across. He was a pretty good goalie, he got over faster than I had anticipated. I wanted to go high, but that was his glove side, and I didn't have much of a wrist shot to speak of. So I slide the puck in five hole. The crowd went nuts (it was a small crowd, but it's amazing how loud cow bells can be!). With two minutes left in the 3rd, we had a tie game. About 45 seconds later, my d partner scored the game winner on a shot with eyes from the point. We were supposed to win, but not in that fashion. It was such a great game. Everything about it was an exciting experience.

Detroit is the furthest team East in the Western Confrence. The Atlanta Thrashers are actually further West than the Wings are. It is general consensus that these late night games are a bad thing, and that is just what we the fans think. How do you think the players feel? Then think of the coaches, trainers, RedBird 1 crew, ect. I would love to see the Wings back in the Eastern Conference. Yes, I am too young to actually remember when they were, but I don't see why Detroit is in the West. I think you can take a team like Atlanta and shove them in the West, and put Detroit in the East. That travel shecdule would be gravy in comparision. I have heard rumors of some expansion teams coming to the NHL in the next few years. KC is rumored to be a likely destination for a team, but I haven't heard anything about the second city. What I have heard about is that both teams may go to the West, and Detroit may get moved to the East. I say hell yes. They only downside to Detroit moving to the East, in my mind, is that it would leave Chicago the lone Original 6 team in the West, creating a situation where Chicago would only face each other Original 6 team once every other year. So then I was thinking, let's take Chicago with us. What would be better than having all the Original 6 teams in the same Confrence? Having all the Original 6 teams in the same division!! Imagine the battles, epic games. Who doesn't miss the games against Toronto, Boston, New York, and Montreal? I am 24, and my first real Red Wings memory is of a game against Toronto. I'm not sure, but I belive it was a playoff game. Detroit was at home, Toronto is the old road blue jersey's (easily one of the leagues best jersey's). My memory is kind of foggy as to who the exact players were, but I believe it was Kozlov who had the puck behind the net. He had no where to go. So he flipped the puck over the net. I don't remember if the pass got through ok, or even who it was to. I just remember sitting back in awe of the play. I miss those matchups. Thoughts?

I just don't see Kronwall coming back that soon. Yes, his injury may be fully healed by then, but that would also leave him at about 2 months without any game action, and who knows how much skating he will be able to do on his own before practicing with the team. I just can't see him being ready before the Cup Finals. He maybe healthy for the Confrence Finals, but not in shape. I agree with whomever posted that Lilja was good last series. I'll take that a step further, I think he was our most consistant player in the series. Yes Cleary had a great series. But every shift Lilja was solid. I am very impressed with his play. I think he has earned more ice time, and with the uncertianty of Lebda, I think Lilja will get an opportunity to prove his worth. Let's hear it for The Pain Train!!

I don't understand the bulk of this post. Don't get me wrong, I am one of the biggest anti-Hasek posters. However, I am a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due, and Dom is due. Yeah, he played subpar in the 2 losses in Calgary. But there is no denying that Hasek played great in the 3 games in Detroit, and was simply out of his mind in game 6 (excluding the Iginla goal, which he didn't really see). If you want to look at just the facts, then look at this. Hasek won 4 games, Kipper won 3. In the playoffs, it doesn't matter how you win, it's that you win. In every game Hasek made at least one ridiculous save. So come on, give him his due!

Who are the wings missing? The only guy who can't go is Lebda, and while he is solid, I have no worries about Quincey. Worse case senario, Nick gets more PT.

Alright, last one, I swear this time. I wasn't talking about buring the play, right when the whistle went, Dom starts yelling at the ref. This would indicate that there was some kind of exchange going on. Dom wouldn't have started yelling at the ref if he didn't know the penalty was on him. Calgary has the puck when the play is blown down, Detroit doesn't even come close to touching the puck on that clip, so there is no reason for Dom to believe the penalty is on Detroit. That is unless someone said something. That someone would most likely be the ref, as he was the only one who knew who was getting the penalty. As for your defence of the penalty called, that's lame. You admit he started a swing, but just because he let up, it isn't a swing? This isn't baseball, it doesn't matter if he 'crosses home plate with the swing', it's still a swing.

After this, I'm done debating the Hasek swing. First, yes, I realize that now, when I first read that post, I thought it said mentioned, not motioned. Watch the video again, the intent to blow the whistle, why do you think Dom turned away from Iggy, and look directly at the ref? Could it be that the ref may have yelled something to Dom? Bottom line is this, Dom swung. It doesn't matter if he followed through or not. And if he didn't swing, then why would you be for an unsportsmenlike? That doesn't make any sense.

Hah, yeah, let's take Haseks word for it. It was a swing, I don't see why it is such an issue. As I've said before the ref obviously though Iggy was in some sort of danger from Dom, as he blew the play down right away.

On the youtube video, the best view is at about 53 seconds into the clip. It's a half assed swing, but it's a swing. What it looks like to me is Hasek started the swing, but came to his senses before it was too late.

I agree with you somewhat. The only thing that was meant by my #5 was to bring into light that this guy should be treated no differently than a goon. He isn't out there getting tons of minutes, he sits the bench until someone needs to get hit. We can't say if Playfair did or did not tell McLennan to do something of this nature, but we can treat it as such, and it should have been. Please take off your homer blinders, Hasek DID swing at Iggy. No, it wasn't nearly as bad as McLennan, but is was a swing.

You are just pissed because now you aren't going to get laid until after the playoffs end.....

EXACTLY, which is why the NHL should have been tougher on McLennan. Make him think twice about doing anything like this ever again. If this were to happen in a minor hockey game, the kid would have been banned from that hockey institute, I've seen it happen for less.

If I am the NHL, I am looking at the incident like so. 1. When did it occur? Late in a game, when the game was lost by the offending players team 2. Was it provoked? No, McLennan did this out of his own record. 3. Are there any past incidents for this player? Nothing comes to mind. 4. Have there been any other incidents in recent NHL history to help gauge this one? Yes, the Simon incident is quite similar. With the only difference being that the Simon hit was in the face, not the torso. 5. How important is this guy to his team? He isn't a star, he didn't even play 10 games this year. First, I would have to conclude that since this game was a playoff game it holds much more weight than a regular season game does. Second, I would conclude that the only saving grace for McLennan in this case is that he did not seriously injure Franzen. Third, McLennan could have injured Franzen, and there is no doubt that was his intention. Fourth, I woul take into account the gravity of Simons suspension. My conclusion and subsequent penalty to McLennan: Due to the fact that this is a first offecnce, and citing the Simon incident as sort of a guideline. Understanding that over the course of the season McLennan isn't going to see much more than a tenth of his teams action. I would suspend McLennan for the remainder of the playoffs, with note of further regular season suspension pending how deep his team goes in the playoffs, but no less than 10 additional regular season games. I say at least 10 games because while the incident was not as severe as what Simon did, we are talking about a backup goaltender. The reason I feel a backup goaltender is more deserving of a longer suspension than say a starter is simply because it will potentially have more ability to reach him as it will actually cost him one or two games he could have played in.