BBQWings

As a person, and a human being, I hope Holmstrom recovers quickly, I really do. I don't ever wish injury on another, especially something like what is wrong with his eye. That just sucks. As a Sharks fan though, it's a good thing (that he's out, not that he's hurt), because he's caused Nabokov a lot of problems in the past. Still, speedy recovery Holstrom!

Datsyuk's shot in the 1st made me think that, when he waited 12 years to shoot the puck, like you said. Regardless of how long he took to shoot it, it was still a golden opportunity, and Nabokov answered the bell. Zetterberg had a bunch of good chances as well. Bottom line is, Nabby had a great game. Was it the toughest shutout in the world? No. But did he have to make several solid saves, and a couple of great ones? Yes. Zetterberg man...that guy scares me. If he keeps playing like he did in Game 1, he's going to give the Sharks some problems.

I would still rather face Hasek than Giguere. (And, although I'm sure you have heard this a million times, and will probably want to hang me just for saying it, Hasek and the Wings had the benefit of playing St.Louis, Chicago, and Columbus a combined 24 times over the year...and Chicago and Columbus aren't exactly offensive powerhouses..) Your D, overall, might be better, but with Pronger and Niedermayer both very capable of playing 28-30 minutes a game, and with Beauchimen able to rack up the minutes as well, they will ALWAYS have a star defender on the ice. It's a safe bet that you'll almost always see Pronger or Niedermayer on the ice...and that's a frightening thought. Lidstrom can't play all 60 minutes, and while Schneider, Chelios, Markov, and co. are no walk in the park, they are certainly not as good as Pronger or Niedermayer. Still, the Wings are a great team. Hasek is still an excellent goalie. Nicklas Lidstrom is the best defenseman in the world, and the rest of the D-corps are solid. This will be tough for the Sharks.

The Sabres and Ducks will both win tonight, although I'm rooting for the Canucks. I hate the Ducks.

Thanks for the welcome. Glad to be here. This should be fun. I don't know if I can comply with rule 3 though.... Don't forget Chompboard. www.chompboard.com It's a great place.

Hey all, I'm a Sharks fan, but don't hate me automatically! I'm just here for some good talk during the series. I'm not going to be a troll or anything. Now, as for this thread (and I didn't read most of the posts, so if I repeat some things, forgive me) I have some things to say. I think it's true that most Sharks fans wanted to face the Wings rather than the Ducks. Why? Several reasons. First, we struggled against the Ducks this season, but we were fantastic against the Red Wings, even in the loss we played pretty well. The Ducks have the two headed monster of Pronger-Niedermayer, the Wings don't. Now, Lidstrom is the best defenseman in the world, IMO, but after him there is no one of a Niedermayer/Pronger quality. That isn't to say that Schneider, Chelios, Lebda, etc. aren't good, but they aren't superstars. Also, goaltending. Again, Hasek is good, but compared to Giguere and the season he has had (or Bryzgalov and how well he played against the Wild), Hasek is much more preferable. Simply put, the Sharks match up very well against the Red Wings. It will not be easy for them to win, not at all, but we have a slight advantage in game 1 with Holmstrom out. This should be a fun series. I look forward to talking with you guys. Good luck to your Wings.