JaketheShark

I really have to hand it to the Red Wings, there is no quit whatsoever in that team. The whole team is playing like gritty veterans, desperate for one last shot at a Cup. While this is true for only some Wings I believe something like the Ray Bourque effect is inspiring the Wings. It will not be easy for the Sharks to come back from two heartbreaking losses, but if either team can win one of the next two this is going to be a seven-game classic that fans of both teams will remember for a long time.

You might be right about that goal, but a lot of other goals would have gone in. If Detroit would start a "Normal" goalie in game 4 instead of Hasek, Sharks fans and Sharks players would love to see the blowout Sharks win that would be the result.

While better than most NHL goalies, Nabby does give up a few too many rebounds but is also pretty good at kicking them to the side boards, away from opposing players. When he does give up a bad rebound it us usually up the slot. Sharks defense is pretty good at collapsing to the front of the net and clearing away the bad rebounds before the other team can convert them into scoring chances.

Good One The TFI is good too. On the negative side, one sure sign of a hockey noob is someone who blames the goalie for losing a 1-0 or 2-1 game. Both goalies kept their teams in the game last night and gave them a chance to win and that's all you can really expect from a top goalie. Sure, occasionally a top-of-the-league goalie like Hasek, Brodeur or Luongo, or even a really good goalie like Nabakov will stop 40-50 shots, or more like 12-15 solid scoring chances, and win a 1-0 game, but it is way out there in fantasy land to expect that every game. Without Nabakov, the game could have been over in the first. Hasek kept the Wings in the game in the third. One good rush up the ice and score in the third by the Wings and all the Sharks third period dominance would have been for nothing. Another criticism that I don't entirely agree with, and I see it on both Wings and Sharks boards, is that their teams didn't play 60 minutes or quit trying. It's more like one team controls the style of play and makes the other look really bad. If anything, you can blame the coaches for not being able to make adjustments during a period. These teams are both really good but play very different styles that take advantage of their strengths. For a detailed explanation of this see the posts by Grypho and Heroes of Hockytown. As for the officiating, it was pretty bad. It seemed like the refs would just let things go for a while, then call some random penalty on the exact same thing that had been let go earlier. I didn't see bias though, the refs were impartially bad. For this I blame Bettman. Refs today are under pressure to call penalties and I see this in most playoff games. I liked it better when, at least in the playoffs, refs would pretty much swallow their whistles in the third or at least the last half of the third period and let the players decide. I have seen too many marginal or even non-existent penalties called late in the third period of playoff games and the refs are too easily fooled by diving. Of course, I want a call on the dangerous stuff, cheap shots, gross interference or something blatant that ruins a good scoring chance but late in a close game when players are trying really hard there will be more incidental contact. Call the game too close and you take the passion and intensity out of the game. This is shaping up to be a great series between two legitimate Cup contenders. May the best team win and go on to get the Cup.

You Go Girl - Yeah, I remember it well. So far the Sharks playoff history is best known for first-round upsets. They're not such a big underdog this year. I'd really like to see the current #13 (Bill Guerin) have a great game, he's been pretty quiet so far, as has Marleau. I hope the Sharks second line can get going this game with the home ice matchups, and Pavelski. I think that could be the key to the next two games. GO SHARKS

Yeah technically you're right, it is North of a little bit of Canada, don't usually think of Detroit as the Great White North. But what about the ice in the Joe? Most people on the net think Edmonton has the best in the league, though even in Canada it's hard to get great ice this time of year. San Jose ice isn't the best in the league, though I don't think it's the worst, but you will see a lot of pucks bounce over sticks and players having trouble settling the puck to get a good shot off. This may give the Sharks a slight advantage because they are more used to home ice, but the Sharks are a better team on better ice and I wish they would make more of an effort in SJ to make the ice better.

Ice in Detroit didn't look great on TV either, how was it? Not much good ice south of Canada this time of year, though Detroit barely fits that category. Nashville ice was really slushy, Sharks ice is at least better than that. More important than ice, IMO, is the matchups. How will Wings handle that?

Yeah, good thinking man. Giving up your heart and lungs is much better than giving up something way more important, like cigarettes.

Hate this picture...I wish Marleau would show some emotion...oh that's right, he is...D'OH

Feeder is a good board too, just doesn't have quite as much participation as this one.

Great board, I just joined and am already talking more hockey here than on sjsharks.com. Of course they don't have the great witty political discussions here like the great thread now going on the Sharks board Muslims suck, do not , do too, you're illogical, no you are, you're an idiot, no you are, you're a bigger idiot, you're a moron, you're a bigger moron etc. that is now going on in a three-way battle with Ali-Baba, SamADelphia and (I am not making these names up) " why would you ban the pimp". Oh well, I guess no board is perfect but from what I've seen so far LGW comes pretty close. Props to the Mods.

Thats right. Getting rid of all visors would be a better idea. Getting rid of the "instigator" penalty and cracking down on high-sticking would be much better protection for the players than the visor. Make any high stick 2-min and contact with a player a 5-min major, with a mandatory suspension if the player is seriously injured and watch how fast the sticks come down and are controlled, even in the "heat of battle". When players didn't wear helmets there were a lot fewer high-sticking incidents because players knew how serious it was and every player on the other team would be lining up to take a shot at you if you were "careless" with your stick.

I'm surprised there aren't more Sharks fans in this topic I've seen plenty of "I hate Wilson" threads on the Sharks board only they usually complain more about his coaching, sitting on a lead than what he says.

Sorry AZShark but I have to agree with the Wings fans here. Bigger, stonger and as a team faster (Red Wings have some pretty quick forwards too) doesn't mean tougher, smarter or despite Thornton, more skilled. Sharks have to prove it on the ice, paper matchups and even regular season results don't mean anything in the playoffs. I'd like to see the Sharks play their A game and take the series in 6 or even 5 but I don't see anything yet in the first two games to predict that. Wings are much tougher than Nashville and I'll be happy to win this series in 7. Maybe Sharks fans will see a great Sharks team that totally dominates the Red Wings in games 3 and 4, that would be nice, but I for one haven't seen it yet in games 1 and 2.

Yeah, it's far from over, it's just getting started. The next two at the Shark Tank should be great games. With all due respect for the Wings effort in game two, I don't think we've seen either of these teams at their best for 60 minutes + OT yet and I think/hope we will see at least one of those classic playoff games before this series is over. Sharks are one for two playing with a lead, wonder what they will do if they have to come from behind? I have seen the Sharks play much better games when the other team scores first and the Sharks are forced to open up their game and really skate. Hope the Sharks can get their power play going against the Wings. Sharks playoff power play hasn't been as bad as it looks in the stats because two or three goals against Nashville were scored just seconds after the PP expired. Detroits gutty, no quit, comeback performance in game two should inspire the Wings for game 3 but it could also fire up the Sharks to show up for 60+ minutes. Can't wait for game 3, maybe it will be that classic playoff battle that both teams fans deserve. GO SHARKS.

I was feeling bad about the Sharks blowing the lead last game and on a slow Sunday morning decided to read the Letsgowings GDT. LMAO - I feel better now, thanks Wings "fans". Funny but the SJ Sharks GDT was sad. All GDT's are well that end well. EZBAKETHAGANGSTA post Yesterday, 02:25 PM wtf is happening. We really want to go golfing fast. ShanahanMan we are getting owned zetterbergfuturemvp post Yesterday, 02:26 PM what a pathetic effort ...........i think its obvious we need bigger bodies ......were gonna regret having signed datsyuk to 7 yrs omnipotent_hudler Yeah man Datsyuk is the entire reason we are losing here rolleyes.gif ShanahanMan (Yeah good handle, that Shanahan was always a real quitter) im done with this game Aussie_Wing (Well what do they know about hockey in Australia?) Game over, series over. Detroit # 1 Fan (I'd hate to see the #2 fan) post Yesterday, 02:29 PM Wow , I thought it would maybe be into the 2nd before the game is over. Nice effort wings DetroitBoy313 (prediction of the year) post Yesterday, 02:31 PM Yeah this game is over I believe and I would be seriously surprised if the Wings even come back for game 5. Never Forget Mac #25 (Finally a REAL FAN shows up) Screw those of you giving up. I'm just as pissed as you, but this is where a team decides whether they'll sink or swim. Not that SJ is the same as Vancouver, but they did lose the first two of that series, and this game is only 6 minutes deep. Plenty of time. Happy Pancake (My absolute ROFLMAO favorite) Well I won't feel bad missing the third period at work now. crazy.gif