VM1138

Amen. I gotta get up at 5 but I'm following this through to the end.

They'll come out strong int he third, so long as lady luck is on their side. It really sucks that it's come down to luck, because luck has always seemed to favor the Ducks. Although clearly they are outplaying the Wings, the Wings are clearly just unlucky as well, with all the crazy bounces and chains of penalties.

Wow, can't believe people are giving up on this already. Although if we don't start getting some bounces we're f***ed for a Game 7, I think. Which really sucks because I won't even be able to watch. Our season could be over and I won't even know it until hours later if we don't win tonight.

We've had some good chances but the puck decides to go in crazy directions. We don't suck any more than we did in the first 3 games of this series. It's frustrating, but we need a puck to have a normal bounce for once.

Keep your foot on the accelerator, Wings! Don't let them get back up and finish it tonight!

Guys, guys, guys! The Ducks aren't done yet, let's not get ahead of ourselves!

I have vivid memories of watching Detroit win the Cup over the Flyers in '97. The euphoria around was intoxicating, and even for me, an eleven or twelve year old, it was exciting, even though I really didn't know what was going on before that. Ever since I've been hooked. For some reason the '99 and '00 seasons are a blank to me, but the 2001 playoffs against LA are still burned in my mind. And of course I rememeber everything afterwards. I will always be a fan, even if I move away. Hockey is the only sport I follow passionately and the that's just a part of who I am now.

I really freaking hope we win tomorrow night. I'll have to miss a Game 7 because of work.

I think Zetterberg and Datsyuk are Yzerman and Federov reincarnated. Datsyuk is probably better, but not by all that much, which makes it okay to say they're essentially equal. Zetterberg is still a beast and one of the top players in the game. EDIT: Although I think Datsyuk is naturally more well loved among fans and within the team. He seems to have no ego and is just one of those lovable quirky guys with a great attitude. The guy is the best in the world essentially and he takes it in stride. No crying and depression like Crosby experiences, no excessive flamboyancy like Ovechkin.

Alright guys, I'm going to bed. Gotta get up at 5:30 tomorrow and run to another town bright and early. I expect to see us making good time towards 2250!

Wow.

Look at that, Happy Hudler is contagious!

Ericcson can't stay on the third pairing forever. And considering how good the Top 4 are, who gets demoted next season?

My question is, what's the big deal? If there weren't specific instructions for individual players, or anything else specific on there, CBC would have been discussing those "keys to victory" with or without knowing it aws on the Caps board.

Except that we had the worst call in NHL history, except for that Hull Cup Winning Goal in '99. Oh, or that goal the Sharks scored OFF THE FREAKING NETTING as the refs watched. When they get hosed as repeatedly as we do, then they can *****. Any favors the refs are doing us now are juts because they don't want more bad press.

Yeah, the vast majority were either end up being correct or being close. They pretty much all picked Ovechkin, Crosby, Lidstrom and Detroit to win mostly everything. Lats time I checked that's about how things are shaping up.

Yeah, I didn't even realize it was him at first. He sounded only slightly rusty (considering it was his first time doing it) and I imagine with a little practice he could be the future of Red Wings commentary.

Lidstrom's contracts will be off the books by the time we need to free up space again, I think. He'll take less (I doubt he'll retire), and we won't really need a top level defenseman for years. Even when Lidstrom retires, we've got a good young core. I don't see us needing to make any defenseman moves over than Stuart-level ones. Goalie, however...once Ozzie is gone, we might have to finally buy one, like Luongo (just to make my age-old prediction of Luongo being a Wing at some time in his career come true.)

Chelios is still capable of playing in this league. THe Wings just had many more options. Other teams don't. A team that needs an anchor for their D will pick him up. He's been great in the playoffs so far, and I've always felt comfortable with him on the ice in a crucial situation. Chelios, the greatest American defenseman ever, will keep on trucking. He'd be a solid 5th or 6th D-man for quite a few teams in the league, if he wanted to go to a team he knew had no chance of winning anything. That's the big question. He's too much of a competitor to go to a loser this late in his career. Chicago is a possibility, if they need him. I know I'll be sad to see him go, though. My very first jersey was the red CCM Chelios jersey. Aside from Yzerman, he was my first hockey "hero' growing up.

Lots of teams can develop great talent during the season. Very, very few of those actually develop into great playoff performers. Franzen and Helm were BORN for the playoffs. This teams future is in good hands.

Hossa and Datsyuk are the reasons we're even in the playoffs this year. Sign him.

I don't think we've ever ignored anything like Anaheim scoring, getting it disallowed, and then Anaheim getting a bunch of BS penalties and then claiming that they were being favored.

Amen. People should not pick their poision. Besides, Anaheim isn't finished yet.

It sucks that he's not scoring, but we all know he's the greatest player on this team (well, some people say Zettberg so let's agree that they're basically two halves of the same entity anyways). As long as he stops the Ducks from getting the puck or scoring, I'll be happy with his performance. Some dominating, awe-inspiring goals would just be icing on the cake. The guy carried this team all year, after all.

Sounds like it was an awesome game. Hopefully the Wings really bring it Game 6, because I'll be watching after work. No looking forward. Don't have a heartbreaking Game 6 loss, keep up the pressure and finish them off!