VM1138

There's a thread on one of the Pens boards talking about how the Pens have thsi HUGE advantage over the Wings, and then go on to cite .001 differences in stat numbers. I don't care about stats, because they never hold true. Right now both teams are playing great hockey. Best finals matchup in years. This is going to be one for the ages, I think. No predictions. Evenly matched, stacked with talent, this series can go either way, at any time. Even if one is up 3-0 in the series, Dallas just showed us that it means very little.

Been said before, but Dallas has some classy fans and I'm glad dignity is still valued around here. It was a great series, the Stars had a great run. I wanted a go at Anaheim, but thanks for taking them out for us. And San Jose. You guys earned the "giant killer" role. See you in the Conference Finals next year!

Chelios had a bad series, probably because of his leg. But he's been a freaking rock for this team all season and has always elevated his play to fit whatever role he is playing. If his minor injury is healed by the time finals, you have to start Chelios over mistake-prone Lilja. I'd feel more comfortable with Chelios anchoring the play back there than Lilly.

People, we have secondary scoring. Frazen is our only CONSISTENT secondary scorer, but the rest of them chip in goals, too. It's just spread out. So frankly, any given night anyone on this team can score, so it makes it harder to defend against.

Evenly matched teams. Of course I hope the Wings win, but being that we never play Pitts, who knows how it's giong to go down. I think we have the edge in defense, and I feel that Zetterberg and Datsyuk are better all around performers than Crosby and Malkin. Pitts' depth is going to be a problem, but their defense won't be able to hold back our offense, either. I'm betting we see a lot of 5-4 type games.

Downey lovers forget something: Energy lines only bring real energy when they can make things happen on the ice. Downey is not, and never will be a good hockey player. Therefore hsi line would not be generating any scoring chances. Therefore Downey should stay out.

It sucks that I have to work. I hope the game will be on the FM station because I don't get the AM one. If it's on AM I'll have to wait until after 11 to watch the game, and I hate missing playoff games live. You know, I've been thinking. Lilja has made some bad screw ups, but he also makes some huge plays and sets up good goals. Usually he starts off great and then starts to suck as games progress. Since he hasn't played in a while, tonight could be the beginning of the Lilja Cycle in which he plays really good. Then pull him from the lineup for next game before he can go into the second part of the Lilja Cycle.

Screw the finals right now. Everyone focus on Dallas. No more looking past this round. Come on Wings, you only need to score one more goal than Dallas! I have faith!

Lilja in the lineup for a crucial, tight game? Crap.

Why doesn't Flip ever go to practice? Sheesh. Seriously aside from Hudler and Sammy, were these lines changed at all? Hopefully that's all we need.

Hey, if you need some positive thinking, there was no way we would win the first game we lost, it was the 10th game in a 9 game winning streak. We never win those. Likewise, after two piss poor performances, historically this season the Wings bounce back pretty good in their 3rd or 4th games of a mini-losing streak.

I know exactly what is missing in this series! Someone needs to throw an octopus onto the ice and hopefully a Dallas player will touch it!

Cleary isn't scoring, but he's playing well defensively. It'd be nice if he started scoring but I really don't think anyone can say he hasn't been there this series. He's been all over defensively. He just needs to chip in a few goals. And no, Hudler should not go on the 2nd line. He never scores when he's on there. For whatever reason the less ice time he gets the better he plays, . Give him a minute of ice time and I bet he gets a hattie.

I'm sorry, how does Datsyuk need to step it up? He's been the best player on the team night in-night out. He always gives 110%.

You Pens fans need to send some positive energy to the Wings.

Congratulations! I have a good feeling about tonight. Nervous, but I think the Wings can pull it off.

I see your point and agree partially. For all the talk about defense winning championships, you can't score if you play defense the whole time. I think we have to open up more offensively. If they start out defensively they are only admitting that Dallas has the edge. They need to come out forechecking, driving to the net, and cycling the puck. MOST IMPORTANTLY and probably most cliche, they need to fight at the boards and come out with the puck. And disrupt Turco from making plays.

The thing that is so great about the Wings is their versatility. Split the twins up. If it doesn't work, go back to the original lines. We have so m any good players we can adapt. Ozzie for Hasek, splitting the twins, rotating the defensive pairings and each time it sparks the team. I say experiment in the first period to try and gain some momentum. Scoring the first goal can go a long way towards us reminding Dallas who the hell the Wings are.

I hate to sound like a b roken record for what I'm about to say, because I said it in another thread but I really like the analogy. We're probably all fairly familiar with the WW2 Japanese warning about "waking the sleeping giant" that was the US. Now, let's use this phrase to see which fits: "Team X has just woken a sleeping giant." This can either refer to the Wings waking up the giant that is the Dallas Stars, or the Stars waking up the sleeping giant that is the Wings. Now, to me, the "sleeping giant" most definitely refers to the Wings, it just fits. The Stars are a great club, but I think their sharp play may have sparked something in the Wings who probably now see this as do-or-die. Games 4 and 5 were Pearl Harbor. We're about to witness Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Well, to be fair, wouldn't compliments generally go to the winning team in any situation? I hardly fault him for that. Unless he entirely changes his tune and makes contradictory statements that is. It's true, though. Dallas is hungry and confident. They've surprised and shocked the behemoth that is the Red Wings, but let's ask this question: Out of the two teams---Detroit or Dallas---which one would "waking a sleeping giant" most likely refer to? My money's on the Wings. Next game is going to be showtime for the Wings to earn their stripes back and remind people how they got this far.

We need to juggle something. I'm not so sure splitting Dats and Z willw ork, because it hasn't in the past, but at this point we're not scoring anyways. Might as well play half a game with crazy lines to get some spark, just like Dallas did.

Yeah, no kidding. People need to realize that fighting doesn't win you games.

I wish they'd just say he's out for the season instead of teasing us. I don't think he'll be back.

You're right. He would have kicked Steve Ott's ass. And we still would've lost 2 games. Stuart has been a huge improvement. He just needs to settle down.

Frankly the likes of Filpulla and Samuellson haven't been very good. McCarty has been good, I feel, abuot what we can expect from him. Chelios has made some mistakes. I want to ride Cleary a bit about not performing, but he's been so good for us defensively that I can't really complain, though it would be nice for him to score once in a while. But he's definitely giving it his all, unlike some players like Flip and Sammy.