Grypho

s***, Doc's in the game, gotta step up mine.

NICE! And...about time! Knew you'd show up.

OK, all in fun, hope nobody takes offense.

That may not be exactly the case. As an assistant coach, McClellan's job was to implemented Babcock's strategies. Babcock would only have prior intimate knowledge of McClellan's strategies to the extent that he gave McClellan free reign, and we don't know how much that was. Even then it wouldn't have been total, because McClellan was never really in charge. Once McClellan was given his own team, anything he might have wanted to differently with the Wings, but could not, he was free to do with the Sharks.

Sure was. Not that it matters now, but that went in on the wrap around attempt, prior to the net crash. The same thing happened to the Sharks in a Game 7 against the Flames. I was sitting front row on the glass with a perfect side view of the Calgary net. I watched a blinding ripper from 15 ft. out go into the back of the net and rebound right back out again, just as fast. I stood up screaming, knowing we had a goal. But nobody else saw it, it happened too fast. I got the raw footage the next day (wish I still had it) and did the same thing, frame by frame from two different angles. Sure enough, even at the different angles, which were definitely not as good, you could clearly see the "shadow streak" of a puck going into the net, bulging it out at the back and right back out again. Missed goal. Nothing anyone could do about it.

Negative content deleted with apologies to all.

Negative content deleted with apologies to all.

You're not the first head-scratcher to say that.

Make that nine. But...just to show you that I can poke fun at myself...

You mean, who is responsible, or is that a case of where does the buck stop? There's a big difference between those you can hold accountable overall (the coaches, and even GM's), and those who are directly responsible (those who actually lace the skates). But, as long as fans believe in scapegoats (if all else fails, fire the coach, if but to appease the masses), the NHL will continue to recycle coaches, many of whom never really die. BOP THE COACH! Now that would make a great video game. Hit a coach on the head, and watch him resurface a couple of pops later out of another team's hole.

I hate you for that. You can redeem yourself by sharing an extra ticket with me. I will even build you a cake to sweeten the pot.

A clever argument...if there was only one ref. I was going to make this a video, and not a .gif, since the audio clearly tells what I described, but I didn't, because I figured anyone could review that part in real time, from the original video, and see and hear the obvious for themselves.

It makes me sick to hear that, because I think the Wings played with nothing but heart, and expended nothing but whatever fumes they had remaining in their tank at the end. I DO NOT BUY that ANY player on a team that work so ******* hard to get where they are "plays with no heart", even when they do poorly. There were no energy reserves for the Wings players to have to pace in the last five minutes, so they sprinted with all they had left, to try to convert the finish into a forced overtime. And it was a MAGNIFICENT effort - which many fans took as a slap in the face, as if they somehow had ALL that energy to expend over 60 minutes of play. f***! How maddening that must be for them, how can nobody see that? The last two games helped to ramp the Wings stamina back up some, and will no doubt pay dividends as the next three days of rest puts badly needed fuel back into their (now capacity increased) tanks. The Wings skated better in Game 2 (so said Babcock, so disagree with him, not me), but so did the Sharks. However, the Sharks were already near their peak capacity. For that reason, I fully expect the Wings will be able to skate MUCH better in Game 3, even relative to the Sharks. And some will say "they finally showed up", "they finally played with some heart this time". :::: GAG - VOMIT - SPIT :::: Go do push-ups until I get tired, because if you can't do as many as I want you to do, a terrorist is going to shoot your mother. And when, finally, you cannot raise your body even an inch above the floor, I will kick you squarely in the face, then hard to the stomach, for not doing pushups 'with heart'.

WRONG. I took the video into Adobe Premiere, and could see clearly that the puck was absolutely in the net. Before the whistle. The only thing that can be argued is whether or not the ref intended to blow the whistle, but it all happened so fast, I think it can be argued that there was no way he had that intent until the puck was already in goal.

Couldn't resist playing with a variation on an internet classic.

It's not a series until you lose your second home game, and only to a team that won both of theirs. Everyone is focused on the Wings having to win the next four out of five, but another way of looking at it is that they need to prevent the Sharks from winning two out of the next five. Sound a little more doable? Boston seemed to grasp that.

Because I am also a Wings fan. I was a Wings fan even before San Jose had a team. My ultimate hockey dream is for the Wings to be in the Eastern Conference, so that a Stanley Cup Final between the two teams becomes a possibility. I HATE that two teams of this caliber have to meet in the stinking quarter and semi-finals. I rooted HARD for Chicago to eliminate Vancouver, for no other reason than a WCF Wings/Sharks showdown as a possibility.

Just as Dats is the one that scares me (and all Sharks) the most. He is, hands down, the most unbelievably skilled player in the entire NHL. Pavelski does have one very scary stat that I didn't know until today, though: Sharks are 11-0 in games in which Pavelski had a goal.

The Wings are ramping back up, and FAR, FAR from out of it. Anyone who counts them out at this point is a fool.

That works for me, mate, because I have a lot of friends from Perth, and love to watch the footie. (Eagles fan here, even when they stopped being the West Coast Benny Cousins). Aussie Footie is an amazing sport - like rugby on crack, right up there in non-stop intensity with the NHL. Wish we played Australian Rules football in the States. [/thread_hijack]

I did misunderstand you, apologies, and I stand corrected. Where we disagree now: To clarify further, scratch "incapable of playing with the Sharks" entirely, and put instead (despite other factors, and having NOTHING to do with the Sharks): It is my opinion that after nine days of time off between playoff games, the Wings were absolutely physically incapable of performing at nearly the same level they were at (relative only to themselves) just three days after they finished their sweep of the Coyotes. Furthermore, IF the series had started three or even four days after your Game 4 against Phoenix, I would not be at all surprised if the Wings played much faster, and had far more stamina and aggression than the Sharks, regardless of the rest had by the Sharks - even to the point of being able to sweep them. Either there is something to it or there is not. I know that you see the "rust factor" as real, and that everyone is aware of it, and that, in your mind, it "probably played a role". I am suggesting that it plays a substantial role. Not "all". Substantial. I don't think their subpar play (relative to themselves) was a result of the Sharks coming on strong. I think that if they could have matched that intensity, they more than would have. Thank you, and full attribution would obviously be appreciated when citing my breakthrough discovery in your papers.

Here's a contribution. I like dark atmospheres, and have always thought the white in the Wings logo would look great as dark chrome (any chrome, really, as long it's not a hue), and the crimson as more of a soft velvet.

I'll add this, because I really believe it at this point. Because both games were so close DESPITE the Wings slower performance, had the Wings been physically at 100% (no rust) I strongly believe they would have easily taken (not just stolen by an equal margin, but solidly earned by a wide margin) both games, and would be up 2-0 in this series. They only had basically a day and a half to rest before Game 2. They get three days rest now, with a home game coming up, and a Wings team that GUARANTEED takes absolutely nothing for granted at this point. I fully expect to see a different Wings team on the ice.

I can't. It's like eating chocolate, which I am doing right now. No will power, I can't help but shovel it by the bar into my mouth.