VM1138

I would have told you you were on crack if you said Draper was in the WSJ. Bizarre.

The Wings have a history of beating Calgary. But I'm not pickign my poison. I think Calgary would be a more ENTERTAINING series, but either way, I feel confident the Wings can grind out a win.

Kopecky has been useless. Abdelkader looks like he has some potential. At the very least he will be a fine replacement for Kopecky, even if all he does is grind alittle without doing anything else.

Boston-Montreal would be great. Original six greatness! Although Montreal would stomp all over Boston.

Well, it'll give some other players some much needed time. Kopecky was starting to improve, but my opinino of him is he's still pretty useless.

I'm not concerned. The Wings show up to games and teams that matter. Who cares if we lose against non-playoff teams so long as we keep beating the good teams?

The Ducks might make it out of first round, but I don't see them going far, either. I'd like to see the Wings play them, but I don't know if Anaheim will make it far enough. Hopefully the Wings do!

I really hope they make it. I've always liked the Caps and since Ovechkin has arrived I've only gotten to like them more. They deserve a shot, and I'd like to see some fresh faces in the Eastern playoffs.

I agree. I'm superstitious, but not to the point where I don't want the Presidents trophy. I don't care what any traditions or stats say, every team has a chance tow in the cup, as long as they make playoffs. It's a whole new season in which hot teams start cold and cold teams get hot.

Ryder, Rolston and Hossa are the only bigger names that I knwo of worth getting. Sundin probably won't be around, and if he is he won't be the same. I expect us to make a few depth signings with a big name thrown in there. After all, we do have all that cap space left over.

Didn't Babcock sit Hudler for most of the crucial parts of the playoffs last year? Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. I highly doubt Hudler will see much playing time. Especially with DMac in the lineup. Kopecky I feel is pretty useless, too. But at least he brings physical play and he tries.

Detroit doesn't go out of its way to be physical all the time, but when the WIngs start getting knocked around, they step it up and return the favor. I absolutely believe Detroit is gritty and physical enough to beat any team in the league. If you've watched 90% of the games this year (like I have), you would be amazed at how physical they have been in some games.

The Sharks can ask Detroit: Streaks don't last forever. I don't want to make any predictions, I'm too superstitious to do that, but I don't know if the Sharks are as solid as everyone thinks they are. There could be any number of factors in play. I think that Detroit can beat them if they face them. Detroit has the grit, skill, and clutch play to outlast San Jose. But, likewise, San Jose is good enough to give Detroit a run for their money and upset. It would be a good series, and let's not forget: San Jose has a chip on their shoulder re: the Wings after last years defeat.

I've been wanting that book for a while, but am reluctant to dish out 30 some bucks for it, only because money is scarce, not because it wouldn't be worth it.

\ Me, too. Putting McCarty with Drake and Hartigan guarantees that their line won't do anything. Now, with Downey on the ice, expect them to provide some energy.

I really don't see why the Wings will be terrible when Lidstrom leaves. There is no replacing Lidstrom, but no other team has a defenseman as good as him. So when he's gone it's not like we'll be worse than the other teams. Maybe it'll be more even, but with the cap going up and intelligent leadership in the organization, I have no doubt a team led by Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart (maybe), Ericcson, Filpulla, Cleary, and the stars that we will sign with the added cap space that the Wings smartly saved up will be a dominant team long after Lidstrom is gone.

I wish the 4th line would get more playing time. If they want to see what McCarty can do, they need to give him something to work with. Leaving him on a line with minimal minutes and lackluster players is going to pidgeonhole McCarty.

I love Martin being a moisture vaporator!

McCarty gets a goal. His trip has been story-book so far, and combined with the realityt hat players returning from long absences (injuries or whatever) always have big games upon their return, look for McCarty to make his presence known. I hope. I'm more excited for this game since I have been in a while for any one particular game over another.

I don't expect him to fight. And I don't blame him. 1) Why fight in a game that doesn't mean anything and risk getting hurt? 2) Why play overly aggressive before become acclimated to the game? If he does, he runs the risks of making mistakes and thus making people doubt his capability and risks his roster spot. I expect him, therefore, to play a solid game. Physical but not TOO physical, he will agitate but I'm betting he will be shutting down some opposition plays, and if he's lucky he may score a goal. I don't know if he'll be able to score goals once in a while or if he'll be like Downey or Drake, but I bet he scores tonight. Simply bceause it's his first game back and that always seems to happen when a player comes back from an injury or what have you.

Expanding the playoffs is ridiculous. It's supposed to be for the best of the best. Once you expand it by letting in crappier teams, what does that do to the excitement? Keep it at 16, it's a nice enough balance. As it stands half the league still makes it in.

Probably just experimenting. We know what we get with Downey, he wants to test McCarty, probably. Hopefully, if McCarty does well, both he and Downey will play instead of replacing each other.

I think I know someone who has this, I should look into this.

I would let him rest even after the start of playoffs, but CONDITIONALLY. For instance, he doesn't need to play the first game. The Wings are doing fine for the moment. If they win Game 1, let him rest Game 2 as well. If they lose, and it's obvious they need his presence in front of the net, then let him play if he wants. There's no reason to start him Game 1 if he's not ready.

That would be cool to see. I'll definitely be checking this out. There's hardly ever anything worth watching on the NHL Network. I'd like to see more classic games, myself.