Bad Vlad Forever

Sorry, my parents are going to be in town to visit, and we can't get away. I swear, it's my goal to get out there once before end of playoffs, but our babysitter is in MI for the next 2 weeks

Franzen, in my book

Ask Pronger how touching an octopus worked out for him last round

Guy has been a complete beast this playoffs, as he was last playoff. Amazing speed, great hands, big hits, takeaways....the guy is in on almost every big play. I cannot say enough good things about his work ethic. Impressive as hell. Please use this thread to heap praise.

I disagree. Hiller looked great last night, but his defensemen let him down

seriously, i went to game 3 and 6, watched the rest of the series on tv, and tv doesn't do him justice. he's laying down big hits and getting to loose pucks all the time. i'm just floored. don't get me wrong, franzen has been huge and i still want a mule jersey, but #43 is making my decision very complicated

Speaking of ducks fans who were crying, my neighbor down the street was literally in tears because the ducks lost tonight....this was the same woman who sold us her game 6 tickets because she had given up on her team! lol.

i think the refs will try to be as hands off of this game as possible

everytime i see the 97 wings/avs fight, i just want to fly my jersey on a flagpole outside my house, and sing 'america the beautiful' while saluting it in front of the whole neighborhood my duck fan neighbors will never understand this

Classless orgainization. They prove it over and over and over. We'll rise above on thursday

There's nothing that can be done about it. It's a product of post-lockout NHL. Back when hockey was tough, you had to make a lot more blatant move to get a penalty for slashing, tripping, interference....but since basically hockey is played in the manner where that stuff happens every single time down the ice, it now becomes a referree preference and judgement call. Since no 2 refs are alike, the challenge obviously becomes consistency, and I just don't think you can have it in a post-lockout world. That said, I feel a few points are in order here. 1. I don't think that the calls/non-calls in this series will affect the outcome 2. I never want to hear another duck fan whine about officiating and how detroit cheats and are the leagues darlings....ever again 3. The crowd in Anaheim booed the refs ferociously last night as they skated on the ice. Appalling and embarassing

My wife saw this thread, liked it, and wanted me to post why SHE is a Red Wings fan.... "I'm a second generation Red Wing Fan. My dad loved sports, all of them, but especially Hockey and Baseball. Anytime dad was home and the TV was on he was "watching" one of these two sports. I say "watching" because his way of watching included much more movement than just sitting on the couch. He actually "played" with the team (if only he had lived to experience virtual reality!). He also played hockey himself with some younger guys he worked with (he was in his 40's, his on-ice nickname was "Maddog"). He flooded our Rochester, MI backyard in the winter and made his own ice rink to play on. I remember watching these backyard hockey games from the window. Dad was a real true fan, he died in Jan. 1989 before they started making the playoffs every year, but yet every year of his 48 years life he cheered for the Red Wings and the Tigers (win or loose). And every year, for all the years of my life, I will cheer for the Red Wings....and the Tigers...win or loose. Every time I go to a game, I go knowing that he is whever he is, cheering, blocking shots, checking players, and scoring goals right along with the guys on the ice. Just as he did all those years in front of the TV. GO WINGS!"

Same here. There was a lot of hard times too (prior to 96-97), much heartbreak. But you never give up on your team, ever. Eventually, it all works out. Unless you're a Cubs fan. I was a Ciccarelli/Probert guy back then. Dino was incredible in front of the net (much like Homer), and Probie....well, Probert was king! Original 6, Howe, Sawchuck, Octopi, Yzerman, Probie,Shanny, McCarty, Konstantinov , Game 5 vs. Avs in 1997, Datsyuk, Franzen....there's more legend and tradition in Detroit than in all of greek mythology. I'm incredibly blessed to have grown up with the Red Wings. Since then I've moved to Southern California, and have lived here for 9 years, and I truly miss just about everything about Michigan on a daiily basis. I get particularly sentimental come playoff season. Last year, I was lucky enough to be back in MI at this time, and as i wore my jersey around town, I was reminded once again why Michigan is such an amazing place. People everywhere were stopping to talk hockey with me. People would just say hi and start talking to each other. People were just good to each other. We get it right in Hockeytown.

He's definitely trying to pass to himself here. It's not anything that's out of the ordinary at the lower levels of hockey, but the defenseman for the Ducks read that the whole way and got his stick on it. Not to minimize Datsyuk at all. He's a very creative player, it's just what the other guy said about the media crapping themselves over it.

She did, yes! Thanks again for that. Put it in a nice frame and it's up on the mantle.

After hearing the tales from game 3, wifey doesn't want either of us to wear jerseys tuesday. I may just rock a subtle hat. That would change things up a bit. I dunno though, maybe it's time for the throwback jersey

We'll be there, and will catch you at the pregame skate like last time. Sad story about how I got my tickets.... My neighbor is a "hardcore" Ducks season ticket holder (since 2007), and she drove by my house tonight, and offered me her tickets for game 6 at season ticket holder price! She told me she couldn't bear watching the Ducks get knocked out on home ice!!! I shook my head at her in pity, then promptly bought those suckers! That bandwagon, she's a flashy ride! See you there!

We'd love to go, but money being what it is....we probably won't Here's to hoping our duck fan neighbors take pity on us

i like that their franchise is still younger than detroit's consecutive playoff appearance streak

I'm reading a section of rules right now which clearly states "ASS HANGING: no offensive zone center shall impose their posterior in such a way that it may offend, discomfort, or even arouse a goalie. should such an infraction occur, a 2:00 minute penalty will be assesed for "playing hockey"".

My wife and I went to the game and left without incident last night. We had some tailgaiters chant "Red Wings Suck" at us on the way in, but we kept our heads down and just moved along. On the way, a couple of girls who were Ducks fans told us "I wouldn't wear those shirts if I were you". I kindly told them that I'd be fine and that I'd been called much worse things than a Red Wing fan before. They said that we should be worried about being jumped in the parking lot. On the way out, we had a couple of "Red Wings Suck" taunts sent our way, and again, just kept to ourselves and got out of there without incident. I've been to several Wings games at the Ponda now, and every time I've been treated well while inside the stadium, and actually, every time, I end up sitting next to a Ducks fan who has a million questions for me about the rules of hockey. It's odd, but a good opportunity to impose some good will. I guess we were the lucky ones last night.

From the last regular season game. The best part is that it doesn't even need to be photoshopped!

will be there tonight. this is the night we open this series up, find our stride, and secure some secondary scoring. look for dats to have a gigantic game. helm will continue to surprise, and maybe get a point as well

Will be at the game with the Mrs. tonight, and will try to make it there in time to meet you all at the glass for the warmup.

Will be there tonight. Anaheim is about 20 min from us. LET'S GO RED WINGS!!!!