murf

Congrats, Wings fans. As much as I hated seeing the Sharks eliminated tonight, it was somewhat palatable to lose to a team who deserved to win the series, after being eliminated in the previous playoffs by a team who resorted to goonery to gain an advantage. Both teams in this series were supremely talented, and both played hard. There were momentum swings throughout the series, but in the end, the team with the better goaltender prevailed. It's a testament to the talent level of the Western Conference when teams as talented as the Sharks, Canucks, Stars, and Predators were this season couldn't advance to the WCF. The two teams left are indeed the cream of the crop. I'm obviously not a fan of the Ducks, but they have an outstanding club down in Anahiem. Beating them won't be easy, but I'll be pulling for Detroit. Good luck Wings, and thanks LGWers for your hospitality.

It's very difficult for a television viewer to see, but if you were somehow able to see the entire playing surface, you'd notice that NHL goalies often direct rebounds to their retreating defensemen after a shot is taken from the perimeter on the rush. This appears to be a big juicy rebound to the TV viewer, but is really a (somewhat) intentional pass from the goaltender to a back-checking teammate that the goalie can see peripherally, but is off of the screen of the TV viewer. When what appears to the TV viewer as a rebound ends up on the tape of a goalie's teammate, it's easy to assume that the attacking team did not position themselves well for the apparent "rebound." edit: Yes, NHL goalies are that good, see the ice that well, and can accordingly prepare for deflections on shots from the perimeter.

That's awesome. Booing opposing players is a natural occurance. Pronger is boo'd in SJ every time he touches the puck, and it's almost become a bit of a joke between him and the fans. He loves it. When he was told by a Bay Area media guy that he'd been voted the most hated opposing player in any professional sport in the Bay Area, his face lit up. Booing your own team is a bad idea. Whether you think it classless or not is of less importance than the fact that negative reinforcement is never as effective as positive reinforcement. You'll never hear fans at the Saddledome booing the Flames - they just start up the "Go Flames Go" louder and louder if their team is struggling. I wouldn't give that fact exclusive credit as to why the Flames had just an above average team but owned the best home record in hockey this season, but I think there's a correlation.

Detroit dominated the first period last night, and basically the games have seen huge momentum swings with neither team able to settle in to a dedicated routine, with the exeption of when Detroit slammed the door in SJ's face in the final minute of game 2. As a Sharks fan, I certainly haven't stopped having heartburn over this series just because SJ's up 2-1. I agree that game 4 is huge, though. Going back for 2 of 3 at JLA in a tied series terrifies me. Even being up 3-1 is no lock, considering the Wings' firepower and the Sharks uncanny ability to disappear for stretches.

I don't want to buzz-kill the love fest that is this thread by introducing hockey to the conversation, so I'll catch you elsewhere.

The biggest reason for Joe's success in SJ is that when he arrived, he was invited to play his game. In Boston, especially in his formative seasons, the Bruins tried to make him into a Holstrom, a front of the net presence. Joe's physique is conducive to that style of play, but that's not his biggest strength. Wilson surrounded Joe with goal scorers and told him to go out and dictate the pace. And he has. Not to mention, when you're playing for fans and local media that celebrate you instead of scrutinize you, I've got to imagine you're more motivated. Thanks for all the compliments, LGWers. I'll pass them along to Joe.

I seem to remember some posters here talking about Grier's goal in game 1 of the series as being a "fluke." If you only count the "good" goals tonight, the ones that weren't a result of a lucky bounce or a terrible give-away, tonight's game would still be tied, 1-1. The "I hate the opposing coach for something he said" thread usually starts by at least game two of every playoff series. I'd recommend you all relax and enjoy. This is great hockey we're seeing, by two very good teams.

Hull has nothing nice to say about anyone except himself. When the pre-game started, I said out loud "uuhhg, Brett Hull. This guy's a major a-hole." 15 seconds after he started talking, my wife, 3-years new to hockey, goes "Wow. He IS an a-hole." There's no way in hell this guy should be doing national broadcasts. As for the hit, I didn't like it. It was perfectly legal, with the exception of the no-puck-touch interference call, but not an illegal hit if Cheechoo had the puck. The reason I didn't like it is because I don't like head shots. I don't have a solution as to how the NHL should clean up head shots, but to hold to a policy that says that shoulder-to-head contact is somehow less egregious than elbow-to-head contact escapes my logic.

In terms of ratings and hype in the U.S., absolutely. In terms of generating new interest in the sport, I'd think Anaheim or SJ from the West, only because both sit in 10+ million person markets, a small percentage of which are regular season hockey fans. If the Ducks won a cup, for example, 19 million people who are within driving distance of the Pond and certainly driving distance from malls where Ducks gear is sold, will take notice. When Tampa Bay won theirs, it effected along the lines of 2 million.

Certainly when you break into a board that already has established relationships among long time posters it, it stands to reason that a stranger may not be engaged as readily as a veteran, but this is the first board I've seen where you can ask a question about the home team and get no response. I'm not talkin the virtues of a two-goalie system or who in the league has the sweetest toe-drag move. Questions like if Babcock likes to juggle line combinations, how Bert's fitting in, etc. People usually LOVE to talk about their team, at least everywhere else they do, and I personally gain alot out of learning as much as I can about the upcoming opponent by interacting with their fans. edit: Like I said, it was just an observation and having only spent a few days here, my sample size is not yet big enough to claim any merit. Just tellin ya what I've seen.

There's Gryph, making friends everywhere he goes. Agreed, this site is pretty cool. Definitely a step up from most places as far as the format/content goes. But most of the regulars seem to only respond to personal posts.... be they attacks or shoe drivelling. Posts about hockey, the teams, the rules, strategies, etc go largely without response or dialogue. Just an observation from my infentesimal time here, and probably unfounded, but hey. If nothing else, thanks for the civility LGWers. That in itself is a breathe of fresh air.

Scoreboard aside, I thought the Wings played fairly effectively against it, or at least, as effectively as can be. There were a couple of decent chances generated, and let's face it, bounces (and rebounds) just seem to be going San Jose's way. The Sharks got into defensive mode way too early last night for my liking. I would rather have seen them force the issue with an aggressive forecheck and trying to control the puck in Detroits zone rather than keeping three back. To give that much possession time to Detroit is Russian Roulette.

In the context of the article, I read that as a compliment.

These are better than some of the stuff currently airing. Awesome work. Although, I dare anyone to better the current Geico commercials. "Go carts... Supermarket... Those remote control boats.... When it comes to Mike Wallace, the story always ends with me puttin him into the wall."

Samadelphia revealed "You're a dick!" Sam knows I'm just playin. Give him some time and he'll settle in. He brings some good knowledge once you learn to ignore his rough edges.

Thanks for the welcome. I appreciate that you guys actually welcome hockey dialogue with opposing fans. If you've been over to TheFeeder, I hope you've felt just as welcomed there. Great to hear that there are alot of Wings fans who also like the Sharks. Sorry, but I just can't reciprocate the love. Just being honest. I've always rooted against the Wings, and I can't change that just because you all seem like reasonable people. Couple of reasons for my Wing-hate: 1) My roomate in college was a huge Wings fan, and pretty much turned our apartment into a winged-wheel shrine. To this day I still won't buy a red shirt because it reminds me too much of his rabid obsession. We no longer talk. 2) Have a bad year, please? The Wings are good every fricken season; it's a downright dynasty and I'm not cool with that. I really thought the salary cap would help, and this was "supposed to be" a rebuilding/retooling year for Detroit, or at least the rest of the league thought.... and the Wings go ahead and finish with the number 1 seeding in the West. Nice rebuilding year. At any rate, while I'll never bring myself to like the Wings, how can you not respect a team with the tradition and class that Detroit has displayed since day one of their existence. I can't profess to like your your team, but I truly envy you as Wings fans. You have one of the best organizations in all of sports. BTW, if it makes you feel any better, I usually cheer against the Yankees, the Lakers, and Tiger Woods as well, so you're in good company.

Many would say that Clowe-Goc-Bernier have been the best line for the Sharks during the last few games of the regular season and the series against the Preds. Wilson has started this line on the first shift of each game and many 2nd and 3rd periods to set tempo and physicallity. They've been scoring too. Until Pavelski what brought in, I thought the Marleau-Grier-Bell line was doing OK, but it wasn't because of the play of Bell. Little Joe has been a big improvement. As for the Wings, I would think Bertuzzi would be used more against top line becuase of his size and scrappiness. Is his speed/mobility a problem for him against more potent lines?

Jaimie Baker (host) was exaggerating more than a little. It's not the best power move in the NHL, but it's kinda unique, so when he pulled it out the first couple times people were really impressed because they'd never seen it before. He can actually get off a pretty good shot with one hand while taking the wieght of a defender on with the other -- or, he sometimes will lean into the defender, leave the puck between his legs, get his stick in front of him between himself and the defender, roll around to his left for a spin-o-rama forehand. Pretty amazing when it works, but it's a rarity.

I felt alot more comfortable about a matchup with the Wings before Bert came to town. I think he will negate a bit of what would have been the Sharks biggest advantage, their size and physical play.... just like he did against Calgary. I haven't seen any Sharks fans saying that Detroit or Hasek are the worst remaining team in the playoffs. I think that distinction goes to Vancouver. Dallas pretty much handled the Nucks in round one, and if not for Luongo, the Stars win the series. If Vancouver continues on it will be on his shoulders. Any of the other 3 teams could go to the SCF based on merit. I think Anaheim's the best team, or at least I'd rather play them in the WCF than in the Semis. That's not disrespect for Detroit, it's strategic.