union drone

Without a doubt, home ice is (almost) never a bad thing. I would love to have the #1 seed. It's not the end-all to playoff success is all that I'm saying. I just want the team playing well with no major question marks come playoff time... and preferably be focused on the opponent at hand.

Never too early to look past the first round and end up on the golf course early because of it.

If the Wings play the Sharks, it will not be before the WCF...and that is a BIG if, considering how the playoffs go a lot of times. Let's worry about that bridge when it comes time to cross it. Last year we didn't play the Ducks or Sharks, the two teams that everyone thought would give us trouble.

True. We had more to gain by experimenting than we had to lose by getting beat.

A win against the Sharks will certainly help make me forget about tonight

We must not have gotten the Giguere bed mattresses as part of the trade. We could have used them tonight.

Yeah, I guess that tonight's game has been pretty much a walk in the park for them.

With five minutes left against a solid defensive team, it probably wouldn't have mattered if it had been disallowed. Although the Wings team play has looked pretty bad tonight, all of Howard's goals against were pretty stoppable. He probably should have had a couple of them.

I don't know what I hate worse, these Wings home-away back-to-back games, or the fact that the Blackhawks get a crack at a tired Minny tomorrow.

Word just in: Holland gave the Wings' defense the night off to re-focus.

I'd love for this to happen, but the 3rd period of the second game of a back-to-back has been pretty weak for the Wings this season. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Maybe if all of us here at LGW collectively get a caffeine high, we can will our team to have more energy...

^ True

Didn't somebody make a snarky comment earlier today about how Howard couldn't possibly play any worse than Osgood? Well, we just might see it.

Very true. Although Columbus still has the reputation of being a bit of a pushover, a hot young goalie is NOT what we want to face. The Wings have a history of turning these kind of kids into playoff superstars.

Instant classic!! Is that Jean-Luc Giguere??

Actually, I am of the opinion that Osgood is getting the 10 days off so that he can join Legace on the World Poker Tour.

That's obviously not including the two playoff series that the Ducks won over the Wings. Edit: I'm a moron, it says record in Detroit

Although I can't debate that he is all those things, as a Wings fan I feel the slight taste of vomit coming in from the back of my mouth. :sick: He's one of those players that opponents love to hate. I think most people on this board would love to see Tootoo take a punch to the face.

Something to add to the mix: In Kopecky last season in GR before getting to play in Detroit full time, his stats looked like this: GP=77 G=32 A=40 Plus/Minus=+24 PM=123 It seems to me that every week there are complaints that some prospect [insert one of many names here] deserves a shot and is going to be the next best thing wearing the winged wheel. Well, sometimes it does happen, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes things don't gel the way we'd like. I wouldn't be surprised that in the right environment, Kopay turns into a bona fide top six power forward. Also, it would not surprise me if his progress is stunted and he is never anything more than a role player.

Yeah, Eric Staal's salary just about make my eyeballs come out of my head. Staal's a good player, but not 8.25M/year good.

Actually, that was a pretty sweet move by Koivu.

Welcome w1ng3dLV, You hint at a point that I'd never thought of... a team in Vegas could be effectively marketed to the away team fans! Think about it: have a package deal... flight plus hotel plus tickets to see your favorite team play in Vegas, not to mention all the other reasons people go to Vegas when it's winter everywhere else. Package deals for visiting Vegas are already pretty commonplace, bundle in tickets and suddenly you have a significant draw of people from whichever northern clime the Yotes happen to be playing against.

IMO, that would be poetic justice.

I can't argue at all with your logic. I think that Lidstrom is very likely a finalist, and with a strong finish plus his reputation as a do-it-all D-man, he has a shot at winning. My thoughts, however, tell me this: 1) Chara has been a monster for a few years now. This is may be his last best chance to get it, especially considering that there is a lot of young up & coming talent on D. He is having as good of a season as anyone. This might push him over the top 2) I agree that Green's defensive game is only average. His game depends on being an offensive juggernaut. If I were voting, my vote would always be for the MOST COMPLETE d-man. Sadly, I don't get to vote. In the 80s and early 90s, the Norris was almost starting to be considered the award for highest scoring d-man (total BS, imo). Nowadays voters seem to have the right idea: the Norris is an MVP for d-men... MVD, if you will. Is Green's offense enough to overcome his unremarkable defense and make him an MVD? 3) despite the above about Green, the sportwriters vote for the Norris. The media buzz during the home-stretch really tells a lot about which way the wind blows. There has been a lot of buzz about Chara and Green, and little more than honorable mention about anyone else... although I was happy that Milbury gave Lids props during the Wings-Pens intemission. 4) There are a lot of guys on D this year having great seasons. With so many guys within striking distance, the possibility of a darkhorse winning it is too large to be ruled out. just my two cents...