sphere10

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  1. sphere10

    WCSF Game 4 GDT: Sharks 3 at Red Wings 4

    I don't fault you for having a personal connection to your team, but this post makes you sound like a complete jerk. You are trying to claim that only the red wings could possibly inspire wonderful personal attachments and stories, but similar stories can be found across hockey and across sports in general for everyone's team. Everyone knows the Wings have won a lot. Congratulations. I'm glad that's improved the quality of your life, but that doesn't quite make you a better person than anyone else. So keep rooting for injuries, enjoy what that karma brings you in life sir.
  2. sphere10

    WCSF Game 4 GDT: Sharks 3 at Red Wings 4

    I don't like this game for the Sharks. I don't think they get quite as blown out in game 4 as last year but I think the wings get some of that puck luck tonight and get out to a healthy lead fairly early. I see the final as 4-2 Wings. Sharks are good but they aren't "sweep Detroit" good. I actually have a horrible feeling that this series goes the full 7. Optimism fail!
  3. sphere10

    Mike Modano Time

    Funny thing is, as Red Wings fans and not Stars fans, you really don't know how big a Sharks killer Modano truly is. Whether it be 2000, 2011, or 2021 - if he plays on a third line and gets power play time he is going to knock one in - he's just that confident against us. I unfortunately guarantee it.
  4. sphere10

    WCSF Game 2 GDT: Red Wings 1 at Sharks 2

    I appreciate the optimism you have for your team but I hardly believe you would "take" your team being down 0-2 in this series, no matter how close the scores. you can appreciate the level of play you've seen so far, and at times for Detroit it has been very good (especially Howard's) but I don't think this is what any Detroit fan was hoping for.
  5. Kopitarless Kings were all heart and would have been a tough team to battle with for anybody, including the Wings. That being said, if the Sharks got just average goaltending from Niemi in that series they take it in 5 games. Sharks showed a lot of heart in game 3 coming back from a four goal deficit after playing like absolute crap for the first 22 minutes of that game. Joe Thornton, Mr invisible, had two game winning goals vs. the Kings (look it up, it's true) so it is possible...possible he is starting to step up his game. Jumbo is never going to take over a series and knock home 10 goals (it's a good over/under mark to guess whether he will have more than 10 shots in this upcoming series) but if the key second/third liners like Pavelski/Clowe/Couture start finding the back of the net the Sharks are a tough team to beat with the depth they carry over three lines. When you guys are fully healthy, however, you have the deepest team in the league so the Sharks will need to play much better defensively than they did against the kings and win those one goal games like they did last year. If Niemi finds himself the Sharks can win this series in 6 or 7. The wings could very easily take advantage of a very mediocre sharks defensive core (even compared to other Sharks playoff teams since the lock-out) and win this thing in 4 or 5. Home ice did very little for the sharks against the kings, and I think the effect will be the same in this series (unless the Sharks drop the fist two, I think it will be very hard on them mentally to get a win in Joe Louis down 0-2). I'll say Sharks in 7 or Wings in 5. Quite a discrepancy there but it's hard to guess what Sharks team is going to come out of the gate, especially in the playoffs. Anyways, good luck to you guys. It's nice to have a solid playoff rivalry with a historic team - it makes my team seem a little more historic
  6. sphere10

    Good Series Wings!

    sharks fan, weighing in on the series. This series was close. Close close close. They only things that were not close were Game 4 and the series outcome . 4 out of the 5 games were decided by a single goal. Despite the outcome, I think these teams were very evenly matched. This series turned towards the Sharks for good in Game 3. A two goal lead in the third period at home has to be protected in the playoffs, but the Wings failed to protect it. Instead a good move and shot by Thornton and the flukiest soft goal of the series (ok, maybe the one off Murray's skate was flukier, but that game was already out of hand by that point) let the Sharks come back. Sharks then caught a break when that shot from the point missed the net, came right to Thornton who was late coming off the boards on a bad change and was beautifully delivered to Marleau who sent the Sharks to an insurmountable 3-0 lead. If the Wings protected that lead as the should have, they take game 3, probably still take game 4, and then it's a whole new series. Sharks had some puck luck, Sharks had some calls go there way, but they also were tough along the boards and had guys step up when they needed to. Joe Pavelski was a beast in the first couple games of the series, but then slowly that top line of Marleau Thornton Heatley found their stride and played their absolute best game of the playoffs in Game 5. "No-show" Joe was a difference maker all series. I understand you guys must have been pissed when he was out their mucking it up in game 4 when the Sharks were being flat-out destroyed, but that's what a good team leader does: he makes his presence known and sets the table for the next game. Joe showed up all series and I think impressed the hockey world who are so used to him not being a factor in the playoffs. Sharks contained Zetterberg well all series. My guess is he must be hurt somehow, because I have never seen him kept in check so well by the Sharks even in the regular season. Datysuk, however, was a FORCE all series. His puck handling skills were driving the Sharks D nuts. That guy is amazing, sign him til he's 45. Franzen's performance in Game 4 was impressive, but Datsyuk, in my opinion, was the true MVP for the Wings this series. Howard has a bright future. He wasn't perfect by any means, but he made some big saves especially early in games. I don't think you guys were out-coached or out-goaltended, you were out-fought in close games. You obviously have the skill to blow out good teams like the Sharks like you did in Game 4, but you needed more defensive consistency and desperation to win this series. Feel good about your team, feel good about your future. Wings are still an intimidating force in this league and I doubt that image is going to go away anytime soon.
  7. sphere10

    There are 7 games in a series

    Sharks have one mulligan, and that's tomorrows game. If they lose tomorrow, which is a distinct possibility, they still have a great handle on this series. They will be heading to San Jose with the crowd in full support and everyone still extremely happy about a 3-1 series lead. But if they lose Game 5, it will be a huge mental test for this team. The news will start to shift away from just a hockey playoff story to one of national curiosity: "can the sharks, the "chokers" of the league, really blow this?" That kind of thing will start to eat at them. They will start looking around at each other at practice. Evil thoughts will start to creep into the back of their heads. All this while they go to Detroit with a screaming hockey town crowd rooting on their boys who have nothing to lose except perhaps the thrill of one of the all time great comebacks. This is my fear. This is why the next two games are so, SO important.
  8. sphere10

    There are 7 games in a series

    It could happen. I don't want it to, but I know damn sure it could. I know it doesn't feel like it now for you guys, but all it takes is one win to change the momentum and lift hopes. Right now I am sure it is tough for the Wings players to believe, but when the game starts on Thursday they can just take it one step at a time. If the Wings win Game 4 and then Game 5 in San Jose, they will all believe, and then it's a real series again. Sharks were down 3-0 to the Stars two years ago in the western conference semifinals. All hope was lost. They battled for a victory in Dallas and then won an OT game in Game 5 in San Jose and you could tell at that moment the series was real again. They then lost a 4-OT heartbreaker in game 6 where they played their lives out but couldn't get it done. This was the year when the Sharks were cemented as playoff chokers in the eyes of the hockey world (enhanced obviously by our loss to the Ducks one year later) but it was also the year when they really showed the most heart in their Thornton era. The Wings can do the same. Nabby is not the kind of playoff goalie who steals games. He is steady, consistent, and he makes some big saves, but he isn't gonna stop 45 shots for a shutout like a Hiller or a Halak or a Kiprusoff in his prime. If the Wings get the kind of pressure they were getting on him in the first period he will let in goals. I know I won't feel good until there is 00:00 on the clock and the sharks have more goals than the wings (ok, i'd probably feel ok with a 6 or 7 goal lead in the third, but that won't happen). The fourth win is always the hardest one to get. Guys like Thornton and Pavelski will have to continue to step up in order to beat you guys. I hope they can. Go Sharks!
  9. sphere10

    No Worries

    Even as a shark fan, I fully expect the Wings to look like a completely different team in Game 3. I think you will out shoot us and I think you'll actually have a slight edge in faceoff wins as well (or at least even them up considerably). The Sharks defense can be taken advantage of and even with two losses you guys have still put up 6 goals so it's not like Nabby is standing on his head. Barring a collapse by the Wings or Nabby playing his best playoff game ever, the only way I see the Sharks taking this game is to keep it tied going into the 3rd and then scoring the go ahead goal in the last ten minutes. We will need breaks to keep falling our way and as a Shark fan I wouldn't know what that looks like so it's really hard to see it happening. Hell, Game 3 could turn out to be something ridiculous like 6-1 Wings. That being said, I'm hoping to be proved wrong. Go sharks!
  10. sphere10

    WCSF Game 2 GDT: Red Wings 3 at Sharks 4

    sharks fan, weighing in on game 2: I believe the officiating was poor tonight. Anytime a goaltender was touched they seemed to call a penalty. The phantom holding call on Bertuzzi was also poor. However, there were plenty of legitimate penalties taken by Detroit tonight: A slash that broke a stick in half, a trip with the stick between the sharks players legs, a clear trip from behind, too many men on the ice, etc. You can't say the Red Wings were not guilty of taking legitimate penalties, especially to end the third period. This is when the Red Wings had to be at their best, and instead they were seemingly so frustrated and/or exhausted that they took bad penalties. There were also two very poor calls against the Sharks: the first was the "boarding" call on Marleau to end the first period that ended up giving the Wings a power play and the 3-2 lead. It was a weak call. The second was the interference call on Heatley that nullified a Sharks PP almost entirely with 4 minutes remaining thus giving the Wings a MUCH better chance to tie the game. These were two calls that had major impact on the game and could have had even more impact had the Wings scored on that 4-4/ 10 second PP with 4 minutes left to go in the game. The bad calls against the Wings influenced the game, but so did the bad calls against the Sharks. I would also like to emphasize the difference between diving and the refs simply making a bad call. The holding call on bertuzzi, for instance, was a bad call but had nothing to do with diving. It was not a hold, it was bertuzzi pushing a Sharks forward onto the ice in a race for the puck. It was a bad call because it had nothing to do with holding, but bertuzzi is strong enough to push people to the ice, he pushed someone to the ice, and the refs deemed it a penalty. It was a weak call, but it was not a dive. Nabby did dress up an interference call. I think he did it because thought Holmstrom was interfering with him because he seemed pissed a the ref after letting in Lidstrom's goal. I think this was wrong because 1) I don't like people trying to sell calls and 2) if he doesn't get the call he ends up out of position and gives the Wings a great scoring chance. I hope he wises up or the coaches tell him to knock it off. His play has been alright so far this series but if the Sharks are going to win in Detroit he has to play even better and concentrate on blocking shots, not drawing penalties. Here's the bottom line, and I say this not as a troll (though I am sure some will deem me that) but as a fan of hockey and fan of the skill level of your team: So you got screwed with some bad calls. Get over it. There is no need to complain about a conspiracy, there is no need to pretend you will never watch an NHL game again, no reason to start talking about how women in San Jose are ugly, etc. You are hockeytown, the class of the league. Act like it. You have a fantastically skilled team with experience and grit. This series is FAR from over. These are two evenly matched teams. This series could be 1-1, it could even be 2-0 Detroit, but it's 2-0 San Jose so far because San Jose has avoided bad luck and finished games stronger. The game winner tonight was an even strength goal that was the result of a terrible break for the Wings. It had nothing to do with diving, it had nothing to do with the refs. If similar bad luck befalls the Sharks for the remainder of the series and/or if the Sharks don't continue to get success from their second line, you will win this series. I expect a huge push from the Wings in the first period of Game 3. Sharks will have to weather it.
  11. sphere10

    WCSF Game 1 GDT: Red Wings 3 at Sharks 4

    Setoguchi embellished that call for sure, but it was a penalty. I guarantee there would be some whining on our end too if it was Thornton who tripped a guy but took a stick to the face in a bang/bang incident like that one. Sharks played a gritty, terrific first ten minutes and then a shaky end 50 minutes. They have to play a more complete game on Sunday if they want to go up 2-0. Go Sharks.
  12. sphere10

    WCSF Game 1 GDT: Red Wings 3 at Sharks 4

    Sharks fan, weighing in... Weird first period. Obviously was great (for me) that the Sharks scored so quickly, but that 3-0 lead only 10 minutes in is something you aren't prepared for on either side of the ice. The Sharks definitely showed a lot of bend but thankfully did not break. Similar game to one the Sharks played in Calgary two years ago in the playoffs where they went up 3-0 in the first and ultimately ended up losing. I thought it would take 5 goals to win this one and luckily the Sharks got by scoring only 4. Officiating was decent. Wings player (forget who exactly, but I am sure you guys remember) embellished a call early on for that Boyle penalty and Setoguchi also made sure the refs saw the high stick to draw the penalty on the PP. The tripping call where Franzen was cut wasn't really diving or embellishment as Seto was legitimately tripped. Whether or not Seto should have also been penalized I am not sure because I don't know the exact ruling on a player's responsibility for his stick when he is being infracted upon. I realize you guys are, on the whole, pissed at the refs but honestly I have never seen a team's forum (including the Sharks') that hasn't cried murder in regards to officiating when they lose a game, so that's just how that goes. However, it be interesting to see in the next game if the refs are more compelled to make a call against the Sharks during a Red Wings PP since the Sharks received a 5-3 in this one that ultimately decided the game. Very impressed, as I was all season long, with the Wings ability to control the puck in the offensive zone. Sharks were showing way too much respect and letting your forwards take the blue line at will; they have to stand guys up at the blue line better and protect entrance into the zone. Wings pretty much took over for most of the game after the 10 minute mark in the first with the sharks showing only splashes of offensive play. Was also impressed with Thornton tonight. I know you guys lovingly call him things like no-show joe and "a giant ******" but he was finishing hits tonight and had a great pass to Heatley on that goal. This was a quality playoff game for him, although I believe he can still do more. Would still love to see him shoot the puck every once in a while but after watching him play about 450 games now I should just get used to the fact that that is not going to happen Was not impressed with Blake tonight. At times during the Colorado series he looked energized and in complete control of the game. Tonight he looked slow and was consistently beaten to the puck. A team with excellent skating like the Wings can really punish the sharks lack of speed on defense. Will be interesting to see if Marleau becomes a factor in game 2. He has obviously been criticized just as much as Thornton for not making enough impact in the playoffs but he is a 40+ goal scorer and if he can find his game he can really improve the Sharks chances. Red Wings have to like the way they played tonight after the ten minute mark, Sharks have to like that they got the win. Both teams are probably pretty satisfied right now and won't feel any pressure at the start of Game 2. I think this bodes well for Detroit because I think this Sharks team plays better when they feel that urgency to score. Game 2 might be a blowout unless the Sharks continue to execute efficiently on scoring chances and improve their defensive zone coverage. Oh and that deke by Datsyuk was sick. Glad nabby saved the shot.
  13. sphere10

    WCSF Game 1 GDT: Red Wings 3 at Sharks 4

    Sharks fan here. Nice to be back, haven't been on here since 2007. Sharks will have to play their best playoff series in 5 years to get past you guys. All regular season long the Red Wings showed they could dominate puck possession against the Sharks pretty much whenever they felt like it. Sharks will get chances but will need to execute - lack of execution is what made our series vs Colorado go 6 games instead of the 4-5 it should have taken. The Sharks fate truly lies with the "top line" that has famously been a no-show so far in the playoffs. Each player on this line needs to work harder to score: Marleau needs to use his speed and drive the puck to the net, Thornton needs to stop trying to slow the play down and move the puck faster, and Heatley just needs to finish. Just as important as the top line scoring is the continued production of the Pavelski-Clowe-Setoguchi line. The Red Wings are going to find the back of the net and I think the Sharks are gonna have to win at least one high-scoring 5-4 or 6-5 game in order to advance. To do that, we are gonna need goals from multiple lines. Red Wings match up against the Sharks better than any other team in the conference. There will be no intimidation factor - Red Wings are the league's elite and know what playoff hockey is like in San Jose so the crowd noise shouldn't surprise them. If the Red Wings take the series it should only take 6 games, if the Sharks take it I think we will have to go the whole 7. Good luck, should be a hard fought series!
  14. sphere10

    Post-GAME 3 (4/30): Sharks 2, Red Wings 1 F

    First off, congrats to the Wings on their win saturday as I have been unable to update for a few days. You weathered a storm and then took that game over. You guys also took that game 2 momentum into the first half of game 3 and for a while looked like you were gonna run away with it, but nabby gave the sharks life and they took advantage of that and finally looked like the team sharks fans know and love in that third period. So now then. The officiating, as always, wasnt great, but just as the sharks may have gotten away with a few things, so did the wings (Cheechoo being dragged down on the reviewed no-goal play) and thus i dont think officiating had much to do with the outcome (and only preds fans blame officiating anyway). Also I still keep seeing comments in here comparing nabby to kiprusoff and the shark tank to the saddledome and it makes me wonder if some posters arent scarred by the flames. Nabby has put up pretty kiprusoff-like numbers with a 1.33 GA in this series so far and a higher save percantage then haskek (partially due to the fact the sharks couldnt find the net in games 1 and 2). He hasnt made many "highlight" saves but hes been incredibly solid and been in good posotion to make most his saves look easy. As a few of you have noted, all the Wings need to do is split in San Jose and things are looking up for you with the home ice advantage. I think that places equal pressure on both the sharks and wings to win game 4, so I dont see anyone playing desperate hockey yet. I do expect to see some tempers flare during this potential mid-point series game as the phsyical and grinding play will be sure to pick up. Holmstrom back will give the wings a huge boost so Id like to see the sharks come out and play hungry right away. Its nice to see opposing fans still optimisitc at this 2-1 juncture (the preds boards were littered with "Fire Trotz" posts after we took game 3 against them) and I think you have the right to be so. Its been back and forth so far and I expect that will continue. Best of luck Wings fans. Go Sharks.
  15. sphere10

    Holmstrom: Out until at least Game 4

    I'm sorry about holmstrom. If its any consolation, Ron Wilison is planning on letting Mark Bell return for the Sharks for Game 2 which means that about two stupid penalties, absolutely no offensive production, and a possible DUI en route to the game are all likely.