VM1138

I think most of us see the writing on the wall, but that doesn't mean they can't hammer San Jose with a few decisive wins before elimination. Lets go Wings!

Well, his track record of being considered a terrible defensive coach makes the coincidence a bit suspicious. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors, but can you find another explanation as to why our defense suddenly sucks? I know the players are older and slower, but they ALL got worse over the years, even the young ones. It's the system that was breaking down just as much as the players.

I disagree. Marleau, Heatley and Thornton disappeared as usual, Setoguchi disappeared until last night. The only individual player giving the Wings nightmares is Pavelski, as usual. I would say their second-tier guys are outplaying our second-tier guys.

You've got to think Babcock puts Kindl in over Ericsson. There's just no reason not to.

This was discussed the other night in the GDT. Good idea. At this point, nothing is working. Mix it up, jinx the Sharks, whatever. Does repeating "Sweep" work the same way saying shutout does?

Honestly, I don't have the wherewithal to "believe." I believed all first games this series and it's just been a repeated slap in the face of the Red Wings. So far they've lost to the refs, to San Jose dominance, and then to unlucky bounces. If they haven't gotten a lucky bounce yet, I highly doubt they're going to get all of the lucky bounces from here on out. But hey, I guess if Chicago could go to seven games after being down 3-0, the Wings could. I'm not getting my hopes up, but I'll be there til the very, bitter end, cheering them on. I'm no fairweather fan.

It's not as prevalent as it used to be. Honestly, this playoff run just hasn't felt like the typical Red Wings playoff experience. I don't know if it was the feed or what, but the crowd wasn't into the game all that much last night, and on top, per usual, the lower bowl was only 50% full.

I think the problem is that we had a backlog of redundant players. I'm not going to trash talk any of Miller, Eaves, Helm, Abdelkader, etc., but the reality is we'd probably be better off if one of our roleplayers had more experience and a scoring touch. I don't know if Eaves just can't fill that role like some thought he could, or if he's not being allowed to play that type of game or what.

I've got to disagree here. It's not the philosophy that's screwed up, the players under Hank and Datsyuk and Helm just aren't performing like they should. Whether it's complacency or just not fulfilling potential, it's time to part ways with people like Hudler and Flip if we can get an impact player in return. But you can't win without rolling four full scoring lines, I don't think. All season our second line has been virtually non-existent, and that has to change.

That's a little overreaction, I think. As much as I root for them, Tampa is probably just another flash in the pan team. Each year there is a crazy underdog team that goes deep and then disappears. Maybe they make playoffs on a consistent basis but...meh. The Wings, on the other hand, have just gone through 2 (3 if you count the Hossa year) bizarre seasons that make it difficult to judge just where the Wings really are. The leadership is there, the will to win is there and established...I think I pick the Wings if I had to choose to play for one team. Tampa Bay is building, Detroit is already there, just has to make a few moves here and there to tweak.

Hey, if Jagr wants to come play for the Wings for 1 mil and 3rd or 4th line minutes, who am I to say no? The guy is a floater but he can freaking score! He's a 50 point guy, consistent even while switching leagues make me think he could be fairly close to consistent back in the NHL if he's interested. I'd take him for 35-40 points.

I wonder how this might have turned out different had Lilja been playing for the Wings? At the very least we would have blocked way more San Jose shots. Is he worth another look in the off-season to replace Salei or Ericsson?

There are three defensive pairings. You have Rafalski (who sucks according to lots of people here), Ericsson (who everyone thinks sucks) and Salei (again, who many think sucks). Even the greatest coach in the world can only do so much with such a lineup.

I'm loving the Bolts. Never rooted for an Eastern Conference team to win the Cup before, but I hope they make it.

Well, honestly yes, if we're talking cap. Hudler and Flip command what, 5 mil combined? The cap goes up anyway, we could spring 6-6.5 for Richards and still have room for re-signing people or making changes. Theoretically.

People are just recycling years-old complaints because they can't think for themselves. With them, the problem is Euro players and old guys. Despite the fact that it was defense that cost us this season and lack of offensive pressure that cost us this round.

If you replace Flip and Hudler with an impact player, Franzen could be sparked that way. I'm more lenient on Franzen considering his track record with the Wings, but Flip and Hudler have underperformed by far. Trade them both for a bigger impact forward who might command a slighter higher salary than one of them individually. The consensus seems to be that Flip and Hudler need to go. Impact player is what we're looking for. Think a Hossa type signing. We have enough depth and role players.

He produced that killer instinct people said the Wings lacked, led a huge comeback season in 2007, won the Cup in '08, went to Game 7 of the finals in '09 in a series that should have resulted in a win, led a battered team to the 2nd round last season in which the series was stolen by the refs, and only this year has run into any trouble getting this team to perform. I doubt Babcock is the problem. If they are complacent and not listening to him, replace the players. Babcock is one of the best coaches in the league. You bring in some fresh faces who won't be complacent. Simple as that.

I knew Setoguchi would be critical once Ken mentioned he was a non-factor at the start of the game. Maybe I'm cynical, but every damn time an announcer singles out an opposing player for not performing, said player always comes up huge against the Wings that game. See: Petr Sykora, 2008.

You're right if we're talking regular season. Defense has been overall very good, despite the Sharks having so many shots. It's our offense that is not keeping sustained pressure up consistently. While we're spread out in scoring, we don't have any "go to" guys other than Zetterberg and Datsyuk. What happened to Cleary, Bertuzzi and Franzen? Helm usually scores in games like these. But yes, McCrimmon needs to go, as well as a defensive changeup. GOd, what a waste of a season.

I doubt that very much. Look at the past few seasons. In '09 we went to the finals. Okay, so that off-season, no need for major changes. Reasonable to think that with the same team healthy and rested it could be done again. Can't blame him for thinking that. Then, 09-10 happens. The clusterf*** injury season. Well, the Wings make it to the second round with all that baggage. Holland had to have been thinking it was hard to really evaluate a team after an injury plagued season like that. Again, stay pat. This season, again disappointment with a healthy roster. Third time is the charm. Big moves.

MOdano has been a non-factor this entire season. Enough with people pretending like him in the lineup is a game changer. It's just not in the cards, the Wings have had no luck this series, especially this game. They played really well and could easily have won 5-2, but instead, because of unlucky bounces, lose the game, predictably in overtime.

I'm so tired of this storybook s***. Come from behind wins used to be rare. I'm tired of players who haven't done jack s*** for the other team suddenly erupting and scoring all these crucial goals. All the heroes are on San Jose this season. I have never, ever given up on the Wings before, but there is just nothing to the "Believe" garbage this time. The way these games have gone, the Wings will be lucky to win one, let alone four in a row. So angry and disappointed. There's been nothing positive to take from this season except for Helm and Howard (at least in the playoffs). It's feeling like 99-01 again. Time for some big changes. I just can't believe a full and healthy Wings roster (relatively) is performing worse than a battered and tired Wings roster last year against the same team.

If you're rooting for the Bolts, no issue at all. It's almost like there's this relationship forming between the Wings fanbase and the Tampa fanbase. I know a lot of Wings fans have "adopted" Tampa Bay, and I've never seen Tampa fans disrespect the Wings, so it shouldn't be a problem.

I've got a good feeling. Both Game 1 and 2 I was very nervous for, with doubts in my mind. But tonight, despite my frustration the other night, tonight I think all signs point to a win for Detroit, and in a big way.