VM1138

God I hope they can do this tonight!

Last game I changed up my ritual. I looked through some 2008 Championship books (specifically the parts dealing with the Nashville and Colorado series) and perused my "What it Means to be a Red Wing" book. I also broke out my Winter Classic jersey. I will be doing the same things today. Honestly, I'm trying NOT to get hopeful, but it's hard. I feel like I didn't respect the Sharks enough so I keep telling myself the Wings have a very, very hard road. So I, like the Wings, will only take this a game at a time. The season could end tonight, it could be Lidstrom's last game (I hope not), so let's hope the Wings put on a show and live in the moment and worry about the next games later.

The trouble with Luongo is the same problem many goalie-based teams have. They put too much pressure on a single guy, and usually sign a bad contract that hurts them from actually improving the team too much. Luongo might do better on a team like Detroit or Chicago where the team is more balanced and he can blend in. In Vancouver, it's basically the Luongo show, he's the captain, got an obscenely long contract (anything above 3 years for a goalie is ridiculous in my book), and he caves. But look at the Olympics, when he had a solid team in front of him and wasn't the star it worked fine. EDIT: Hey, if Vancouver could go from playing well to collapsing, maybe it could happen to San Jose for....oh, I don't know, 3 more games maybe?

I've heard a LOT of people complaining about the start time, but I don't understand it. Like others have posted it's the only way to show both games today, and the Wings are atrocious in afternoon weekend games. We need all the little signs we can get, and a late game bodes well (or at least better) for the Wings than an afternoon one. EDIT: And how does this show disdain for the Wings? Most West Coast games are late, and I'm pretty sure the players don't give a crap what time of the day they play, they may even like the late games because it gives them time to get rested. Like Jimmy did in Game 7, they can take a nap and relax and focus.

Can someone in San Jose please find Williams and lock him in a closet somewhere until the game is over?

Kopecky, is that you?

Amen. Even if Ritola didn't provide that alternative play style, he'd still be an improvement over a guy who hurts this team every single game he's in. We've got to be in it to win it, and WIlliams isn't. At this point it's too risky to go with a guy who won't give 100% every game from here on out.

That's the best way to look at it, I think. One game at a time, but a 3-1 comeback is more common than a 3-0, so that's a good (better) sign!

Yeah, seriously, what was with the Sharks going after Lidstrom? He's the guy everyone in the league knows and respects and that they DON'T go after because he doesn't even hit let alone fight. Scuzzy move. God, I hope the Wings can win tomorrow night. One game at a time. I don't care how they win, I just want them to win. Work hard, play well and carry a little luck. The Sharks are an very, very, very good team and they're going to be looking for revenge on home ice. I hope the Wings are ready. I know they probably can't maintain such a high level, so I don't expect another 7-1 win. Just keep it close or score early and don't give up the lead, please! I don't even know what to think about tomorrow. Their win gave me hope, but part of me still knows this series is a serious uphill battle, but I daresay I have enough hope to "believe" without getting too cocky. San Jose is very, very dangerous.

Well, San Jose's home rink hasn't really caused the Wings any problems over the years, has it?

That's what they're hoping for. I just don't get the whole "old" thing, considering we're not that much older than the league average. A year maybe? And that's only because of Lidstrom. It's like when Chelios was throwing off the average. One player doesn't make an entire team suddenly too old to compete.

I think your fandom is blinding you. Even non-interested national writers and analysts said the games have been called terribly in favor of the Sharks. Game 1 and 2 especially. Things have been better for 3 and 4, but still Wings fans are cynical because it seems like the refs are always out to get them. Take, for example, disallowing a perfectly good goal in Game 3 and then immediately trying to review the second goal even though it was just a normal, legal goal obviously. THe reffing has been terrible. Even last night, things evened out, but the only reason the Sharks got penalties was because they lost their cool and violently lashed out repeatedly, and the game was already out of hand. I'll eat crow if the refs call a game fairly this series when it's 3-2 or 4-3 going into the 3rd. So maybe they were chanting bulls*** for things that weren't necessarily bad calls, but it's what we're used to, getting hosed. It's cynicism and it's frustration that the refs have been so utterly terrible by everyone's standards except Shark fans.

Anyone know why Draper was kicked out of the game? I couldn't see anything on the TV, and they never showed a replay of events on FSD. EDIT: And Franzen is now tied with Crosby for playoff points lead, but has one more goal. Yeaaaaaah!

Don't get cocky. The odds are still against the Wings and the Sharks are a very, very good team. Saturday is crucial, though. The Sharks are going to try and close the deal, but the WIngs may have an advantage here: As great as San Jose has been, I'm not sure they have that "higher level" to kick into like the Wings do. So I'm hoping against hope that what we've seen so far is as good as the Sharks can be. Obviously that's still really damn good but if the Wings can keep it together and win the next two games, I think Game 7 will take care of itself. But one game at a time. The Sharks will be looking to clamp down, so the Wings need to stay sharp and play hard. Howard has to be huge. The refs have to not suck. Even in this blowout game I think they were calling too many penalties. At any rate, the Wings have kindled a little bit of hope in me. I stick with them to the very end, I just hope that end isn't until much, much later. Certainly it's possible, and hey, another "statement" blowout game would be nice, but I'm not getting greedy.

Yeah, he still looked like he didn't know what to do sometimes, and had trouble handling the puck, but he didn't make any huge mistakes and obviously the Sharks never capitalized on any. Definitely a good time to give him big minutes.

I dare say they've given me hope. I'm trying to stay grounded, because superstitious me thinks my overconfidence led to the current predicament, haha. But boy they put on a clinic tonight. I hope they don't take their foot off the accelerator. One game at a time, one game at a time. Move on from this game, if the Wings can put together a win on Saturday it's suddenly 3-2, which looks totally different than 3-0, and then the hope starts to build... Logically, I think they have a shot at this. In the new NHL it's much more likely for a team to come back, and considering that the Wings haven't been really outplayed for more than a few periods I find it hard to believe that it's absolutely impossible for the Wings to win the next 3 games. Go Wings!

I thought, so too. His first year or two I remember everyone praising him and me thinking he was nothing special. The rest, of course, is history.

You know...I am nervous, BUT, here is a crazy list of the reasons I think the Wings COULD (but I'm done being confident, realistically the series is still a serious uphill and unlikely battle) comeback: 1) The parity of the league means no team is truly "out of it" anymore. Thus, it is more likely for a team to come back from 3-0. Many teams come back from 3-1, so what's one extra game in the new NHL? 2) This is the Wings. They'll need to win gritty and win pretty, and they're capable of both. They got a huge 7-1 win tonight but they're probably going to have a win a tight 3-2 or 2-1 game, too, which they can. 3) The reffing is still the key to the series. Despite some sloppy playing and terrible calls, they still only missed out on winning each game by one goal. They've basically taken everything the world can throw at them and are still kicking. 4) San Jose may (MAY) have peaked...they've been riding high since the beginning and appear to have given us everything they have. Whereas we know the Wings have a whole other level. The hope is that San Jose can't match that upper level. So...realistically I'm not getting optimistic or cocky. But if we take it one game at a time, just one game at a time, it's absolutely a possibility. But for now, just focus on each game and please win Saturday, Wings.

Hope everything is okay, get well soon!

The players who are really impact players who I'd love to play here (but won't), oh and not all of them are free agents: 1) Doughty 2) Wolski 3) Pavelski 4) Keith

That was my reaction, too. They just gave up. To look on the bench, there wasn't steely resolve, just disappointment and frustration. But there are a lot of variables at stake tomorrow: 1) The games have all been close, that alone shows they might be able to win a game. 2) Calling in Ritola could create a second Abdelkader Effect and inspire the team to step it up a notch. With one win under their belt, they could regain confidence. Then it's off to San Jose for a tough game, but it's just one game. San Jose, despite dominating at times, has never been able to truly put the Wings away, despite being up 3-0, this series could easily be 3-0 the other way. Start off with one win tomorrow and the confidence slowly streams back as San Jose starts worrying about choking again. Again, chances are the series is over, but if the Wings could win tomorrow, that would increase their chances of winning the next game one would think, and with a 3-2 series it IS possible they could win another 2.

I see the Wings winning the next two games if the refs begin to let the calls balance out. After those two games, I don't know, we'll have to wait and see. Once it's 3-2 I think it's anyone's series. By then hopefully the Wings will have taken over fully. But I can't shake the feeling that the series is over, let's just hope they can win a couple games before it does.

My 8 year old brother could be better than Williams. But Ritola could be the unknown factor that could help the Wings finally win a game. I like where this is going.

Yeah, Flip isn't all that effective but he's our strongest option for 2nd line center if we reunited Zetterberg and Datsyuk. I'm liking a lineup like this: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Hudler-Flip-Franzen Eaves-Helm-Miller Abdelkader-Draper-Cleary Ritola Lidstrom-Kronwall (just to see if he's ready for top pairing minutes) Stuart-Rafalski Ericsson-Free Agent Kindl Gone are: Williams, Meech, Lebda, Lilja, Bertuzzi. We definitely have a weird situation with roster spots. Without getting rid of someone who needs to be rewarded (Eaves, Miller) there's really no room for new players to fit in the lineup.

True to form, Detroit turns on its goalies when failure in the playoffs happen. Howard has been great, but obviously not elite. However, that being said we have no choice but to give him the starter job next season. The key is in having Ozzie fight with him for the starting position. If Osgood is better next year a tandem will work the best. Consider Howard at this point a good stop-gap while we wait for Pearce, McCollum, Larsson, etc. to be ready. Howard certainly isn't bad, though and shouldn't just be given up on. It's not his fault we're behind in this series. He hasn't been great but neither has the team.