Grypho

HEY! I'm no rube, I know what you're trying to do here! No way. The Sharks are going to be so scared that they'll pull Nemo two minutes into the first period, and they won't put him back in net until Howard has his quadruple hat trick, with 12 unassisted empty netters. Joe Thornton will pull the first ever own-goal hat trick, making it 15-0 Wings.

I'm excited! If don't eat, you stay hungry, and there's nothing to keep down!

At the morning skate, but game time decision, unfortunately.

Posted by mistake in the GDT, when I meant to post it here. Well, wild and wonderful Wings fans, fellow hockey nutjobs, it's come to this, has it? Both teams have lost three straight, and both are now in the exact same boat, facing elimination, trying to figure out a way to win a single hockey game - only tonight it's a one game, winner-take-all series of a game, one to be remembered for years to come. Epic! Historic! Because I am a Wings fan, second only to my beloved Chokes, the winner of tonight's game will be the team that I am squarely behind to go the distance and win the Stanley Cup. I will NOT like it if the Sharks lose tonight, and will definitely have my share of wounds to lick. But for me, at least there is a consolation prize. I am far too numb to be nervous now, but excitement? At the prospect of watching such an epic game tonight - oh s*** am I excited. Oh s***, oh s***, oh s***. A heartfelt thank you, once again, to Matt and to all of you Hardcore Wings Fans, whom I love dearly, for filling the atmosphere with all that you are, and all that you do.

Yeah, my stomach dropped when I read an article saying the Sharks were 'confident' going into Game 7. That was the last thing I wanted to hear, since they were 'confident' going into 4,5 and 6. I'd prefer words the Wings used, like "in a hole", and "battle back". No, they had to say 'confident'. UGH...

I wasn't going to post this here on LGW, at first, but I have since changed my mind, as I do want to talk about it with Wings fans. Prior to last night's game, I predicted (at LGS) exactly what I thought would happen in Game 1, along with a theory about exactly why I thought it would happen, pretty much the way it did. NOT the outcome. NOT the final score. In a nutshell, I said basically that the extended layover between series might have seriously damaged the Wings, just as I believe a similar layover seriously damaged the Sharks last year, as it waited to play Chicago. And I want to know what you think about it. The original thread is here (at LGS), but I've copied the OP below. Please remember I was writing this primarily to Sharks fans, and that this was written long before the game started: Now, here are some quickly skimmed quotes (a very tiny sample from the LGW Game 1 GDT). Note the descriptions, and choices of words: In short, this is exactly what I expected to see, should there be anything to what I thought. I went back and watched the Sharks' Game 1 against Chicago last year, as well as the rest of the games, and saw basically the same kind of less-than-par play from the Sharks, relative to Chicago. We just couldn't keep up with them, except in small, contained, limited spurts. BIG QUESTION Will the Wings have worked their rust out, and gotten their legs, their sustained playoff intensity, back by Sunday? I don't think so. I seriously doubt it, in fact. Not without a team-load of adrenalin shots, or a few cases of Red Bull or something. I don't think that's something you can "shake off", or ramp back up in two days. I am not saying any of this as a naysayer, a Sharks fan, or to be negative in any way. Nor does it mean that I believe that the Wings will lose on Sunday. Obviously, they can win. One different bounce, and they could have won last night. This has nothing to do with winning, losing, or how close a game was, and ONLY to do with what I believe, both real and substantial, has happened to the Wings (and the Sharks last year) as a direct consequence of their extended rest. If that is true, and was known to be the case, Babcock could design a strategy to deal with that. Instead, Babcock is now berating the players for not performing at 100%, when it is entirely possible that they were performing beyond even that (under the physiological circumstances). Again, we'll see. Thoughts? And please, this topic is only about whether or not you believe an extended layover between series can substantially and/or negatively affect player/team performance - and nothing else. This is not about refs, or the NHL, or rules, or any perceived unfairness or miscarriage of justice. All these things are already being discussed at length elsewhere. FINAL THOUGHT: Right now I see only a "plausibility of concept". Plausible, but anecdotal at best. My next step will be to gather historical data about the Stanley Cup Playoffs and time off between rounds, to see if any statistically significant trends can be isolated.

Congrats to all the Wing Fans, that was an incredible game, and a stunning upset for my beloved Chokes. I did NOT want to see this going seven games, but now that the improbable has happened - this is epic, and history will be made, regardless of the outcome.

A one-game series. ******* GULP...

Everything about it, including the physics, is spot-on perfection. Brilliant, right down to the bounce of the skate-covered parts that fell off. Wow, Wings with laser beams, who'da thunk it. EDIT: Hope our ill-tempered sea bass can overcome this.

Oops, not so fast. According David Pollak, McLellan said it was an upper body injury, which happened on the ice last game, but had nothing to do with Kron's hit.

There is a nasty flu going around SJ right now. I went to bed with oncoming symptoms, and woke up in the middle of the night, full on, pain in the bone, shaking, hot-cold, with a nasty cough and chest congestion. The fact that Clowe didn't even make the trip sounds like quarantine to me.

Couldn't hep m'sef.

Cool! Would rather have been there - what a game for both teams. But...a virtual presence deserves a virtual cake, so here you go, as promised.

Besides adding to the Wings momentum, if the Wings win Game 5, it will demonstrate several things, all at once, and all in the Wings favor: Firstly, that their game is continuing its upward ramp from Game 1 (the Wings have stepped up their play with every successive game since, which kept everything very close). Secondly, it will demonstrate that they can steal at least one game at the Shark tank - and if one game there, why not another back at the Joe? Thirdly, it demonstrates that they can find a way to win two in a row against the Sharks. And if one two-in-a-row steak is possible, another is hardly out of the question. I want the Sharks to win, of course, but I recognize that the games have all been decided by a single goal, two of them in overtime. To me that spells volatile. Veritable tipping points for any team that pushes harder are entirely possible, which means that our series is far from over.

Wow. Now THAT was a game! Is it safe to step off the roller coaster yet?

It wouldn't bother me at all to see this go back to San Jose. I just hope the Wings play such a game tonight that the Wings fans I know can all go away from the game feeling extremely proud of them, regardless of the outcome.

I've been laying low, not wanting to be taken as salt in the wound. Time and a place for everything. I won't post in this thread during the game for that same reason (unless the Wings are blowing out the Sharks - then I might come in), but I will say that this is not the series I had hoped for against the Wings this year. You can't pick your outcomes and it's often said that you shouldn't pick your poison, but I did want this series to be WCF. I wanted the Sharks to win, of course, but I love the Wings second only to the Sharks (and don't consider myself conflicted as a result), and as such wanted a nail-biter that went at least six and was hard fought both ways. It is what it is. The edge has always been sharp enough to make the outcome of each and every game tantamount to a coin toss. As such, I don't think the Wings needed to do anything with their lines or anything else, but only step up their existing game for more scoring chances, which is the only way to actually start to count on lady luck. In terms of work, heart and grit alone, I thought both teams deserved to win Game 3, with an edge to the Wings, who outworked the Sharks for two of those periods. I'm still shocked at the outcome. Not displeased, obviously, but shocked - truly stunned - nonetheless. But the Wings did ramp up their play with each successive game, and did get more scoring chances, and I don't expect that ramping has stopped at all. Two very solid and determined teams will be on the ice tonight, intently focused on winning this one game, and very much in the moment - and as a result we should all be treated to some amazing hockey. I do wish I was in Detroit, having a brew and enjoying a hard fought game with some of the best, most loyal, positive, optimistic and amazing fans in the NHL.

All three one-goal games were won by what was tantamount to three coin flips. You can flip a coin and get heads three times in a row, no problem. And it can go the other way just as easily. Lucky bounces in all three games could have decided each of those games in Detroit's favor. If that had happened, everyone would now be extolling the virtues of All Things Wings, and how they were "able to find a way" to win -- as the Sharks worried frantically over what serious changes needed to be made to get a different result. I don't underestimate the absolute volatility of a series of extremely low scoring, one-goal-margin games like these, and I seriously doubt that either team's coaches do either. A series like this can swing wildly in either direction. So yes, while not statistically probable (any more than all the other highly improbable, highly unlikely comebacks in the past two years), it is most definitely possible.

Oh f***, I'm old. Holey Bin Laden's skull, you could use that to break terrorists. I would sell my grandmother out, tell you where all the troops are - anything at all. If that song is a metaphor for the Wings' energy tonight, heaven help the Sharks, and I just hope they listen to the same s*** (someone has to, my 51 year-old ass couldn't, that's for sure!).

DOH!!