Shockwave180

And we'd have won the Cup each of the last 13 years. It's actually kind of nice to get outshot and still win. It's not something I've experienced often over the last 15 years or so.

You take that back, right now. Quenneville must stay. Besides, Scottie behind the bench in Chicago, with that talent, would be terrifying.

Interesting thoughts. I was thrilled when the Hawks hired Q at the beginning of the season, and this is exactly why. He's gotten a lot of love from the media this season for the job he's done with this young Hawks squad, and rightly so. He's always been a decent regular season coach. But he's never been a good playoff coach. And you can't say he hasn't had talent; he had guys like Pronger, MacInnis, and Brett Hull for a few years in St. Louis; he had Hejduk, Sakic and Forsberg (briefly) in Colorado; and he's got a darn talented team in Chicago too. But his teams never seem to have that steady, even-keeled system or mental presence in the playoffs. He'll often win a round or two, but his teams inevitably make fundamental mistakes at crucial times and get taken apart by better-coached teams with a more cohesive and consistent system. This isn't to say he'll never win a Cup; heck, with that talent he has, if they keep him around, he'll probably win one in spite of himself eventually. It's happened before (See Also: Crawford, Mark). Still, there's a reason the Wings have owned Quenneville over the years. It's no fluke. This series isn't quite over yet, but it's sure looking like deja-vu all over again.

There've been a couple threads lately discussing some of classy things Blackhawks fans chant when they play Detroit. But if we win (and that's hardly a given), I'd love to see Wings fans adopt the following chant, to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In": "You won the Cup In black and white You won the Cup in black and white You won the Cup before color You won the Cup in black and white" In English football (or soccer for us Yanks), Arsenal fans sing this when they play their arch-rivals Tottenham, who (ironically enough) also last won the English league in 1961. Whether you love or hate soccer, I think this is a great, stfu putdown. Imagine: time winding down in Game 5 (or Game 7) and the Joe starts singing this en masse. It would be just beautiful. Forget braindead "Detroit Sucks" chants and auto industry putdowns; this is clever, amusing, and cuts right to the heart of the issue: our team is better than yours. Feel free to contribute other ideas for anti-Hawks chants as well.

Absolutely. Remember that goal Brodeur gave up in Game 3 of the '03 Finals against Anaheim? The one where he tried to play a slow-rolling puck with his stick, tripped, fell on his arse, and had the puck roll through him and into the net? That goal lost Game 3 for the Devils, and shifted the momentum of the whole series. Of course, Marty came back and pitched a shutout in Game 7 to seal another Cup, and nobody remembers that goal now. It truly is all about perception.

This is a great thing. Sure, the "soft Euros" line is stale and ridiculous, but as others have said, hockey needs fans like this to re-discover their love for the game, even if they're a bit uninformed and a touch xenophobic. Columns like this can only help the sport, and snobs who want to just call Simmons an "idiot" need to grow up and be happy that hockey's finally getting some good press from the mainstream.

This. All of this.

Anybody remember Selanne's tying goal in Game 2 back in '07, when the Ducks pretty blatantly pushed Hasek's right pad (and the puck) into the net? That was quite controversial, but the Ducks were very emphatic and defensive about why that goal was correctly counted. If that was good, then this wasn't even close. Edit: I see this was already referenced. Well-done. It's the ultimate in short, selective memory if the Ducks really want to whine about this.

Great, great post. I think this is the best summation of those years that I've read.

All of this, in capital letters. Those two days after Forsberg's OT goal in Game 5 back in 2002 were probably the darkest in my sports fan life to this point. The fact that they were on the verge of beating us for a 4th time in 5 series, and ending our dream '02 season with that amazing team, was just way too much. It looked like we were never going to beat Roy. It was terrible. That, of course, made the next two games so, so sweet. I don't think that 7-0 game will ever be topped. Anyway, all that to say that I completely agree with NFM.

Actually, that's one of the defenses he and the Ducks made in '07 when he elbowed Holmstrom and got suspended for a game.

No need to imagine. Many on this board were raising exactly those questions after '06 and even '07.

Good grief. 2 straight home shootout wins for the Sharks in games they should've lost. They're still the favorites to finish 1st with their schedule. Frustrating.

You're right, Doggy, but those came in their first three seasons ('68-70) and not in the 27-year playoff streak that I was talking about. We're saying the same thing, basically.

Dude, stop it. The Blues made the playoffs 27 years in a row before the lockout. They played every April for almost three solid decades. True, they only made it past the second round twice...and they never made the finals...and they've still never won the Cup...but be a little more precise. I hate the Blues and hope they never win a Cup, but let's not sound ignorant.

I do. Going into that New Years home-and-home, they were 4 points behind with 2 games in hand. But the division's never been in doubt since those two wins.

Ha. It's always great when CPrice gets lured out of hibernation to defend the Blues. And this time, I actually agree with him. San Jose didn't play that badly against St. Louis; the Blues just beat them. They're are playing very well. I'm pulling for them to make the playoffs and set up a first-round matchup with us.

The Kings are freaking useless. Four bloody opportunities to win in the shootout and couldn't take one of them. It wasn't even Nabokov, either. Brown and Frolov both had him deked and couldn't control it. Useless. That's a big win for the Sharks, unfortunately. They're not playing well, but they have a much easier run-in, and this win keeps them in the driver's seat. A dropped point would've been huge there. I'm way more irritated than I should be. Freaking Kings.

That's completely untrue, and it would utterly eliminate the point of having divisions.

Since I broadcast baseball for a living, I'm probably a little biased...but I hate it when hockey fans, of all people, decide to dismiss and belittle another sport...and then turn right around and criticize people for not giving hockey a chance. I love hockey and baseball. They're completely different sports, obviously, which is why I like them both. Baseball has all kinds of subtleties and complexities and nuances, just like hockey. And trust me, you couldn't play it at a high level. It's incredibly hard. If you don't like it, fine. But dismissing baseball and then whining about most people's closemindedness toward hockey is just asinine.

QFT.

Uh, I admire your positivity, but that's a bit over the top. Thornton's the only guy on San Jose who scares you? Really? I've watched way too many playoff seasons to make definitive statements like that. I think we've got a good shot at repeating, but any team could surprise us if they get the breaks and we don't bury our chances.

Aw, this has turned out to be a heartwarming thread. Who'da thought? I'm not gonna touch the "Everyone hates us" topic again. That's been done to death in here. But I respect your ability to own up to and move past your old self, LeftWinger. In other news, being a Wings fan is awesome, regardless of who's covering the games.

I remember it vividly. I think there was even a group on here called "DOKAPASAPA" (Dispense of Kenny and Pavel As Soon As Possible Already) or something like that. Even NorrisNick was convinced he should be traded (and NN is usually dead-on about everything). I can definitely say that I was right about this one.

Welcome to the board! I hope you're dead-on.