FunkedUp

I must add that I feel that there isn't a very good chance of Howard cracking the squad next year. Conklin has stated that he wants to remain with the group and there is a good chance of him signing for the same figure (750k). I realize this is slightly more than Howards cap hit (716k) but the difference of 40k is trivial even with us being so close to the ceiling. We also have Larsson and McCollum coming up, who are not ready for the NHL yet, but are outplaying Howard anyways. I just don't see it happening. Howard is not the goaltender of the future. The way I see it the line up will be... Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary Hossa-Fil-Mule Leino-Helm-Kopy/Abby/? Maltby-Draper-Homer Lids-Raf Kron-Stu Lilja/Lebda-Easy E Ozzie ConkBlock

It pains me to say that I believe Nicks streak will come to an end. No doubt he is the best defenseman though, but I think Green will take this one. Pav won't get the Hart this year, but should take the Selke and Byng again...at least I hope. Holland said it best...

Nonsense. Flip led the Wings in assists these playoffs and is looking good. Everyone in the orginization has confidence in him and he won't be traded. I willing to bet that he will remain a Wing for his whole career. People said the same thing about Datsyuk, and Fil reminds me of a younger Pavel. Call me crazy, but I'd even say that Fil is a bit better defensively than Pav was at 24....

Flip, Rafalski, Draper, Maltby, Stuart, and Holmstrom aren't going anywhere. It's amazing that people think this. Drapes, Maltby, and Homer all want #5 and they won't retire until their contracts are up, and Holland isn't going to trade them. As for the others... Chelios, Sammy, Hudler are all gone for sure. Kopy is likely to not be back Conk, Lebda (good playoffs and depends on Lilja) Leino (If he accepts a similar salary), and Hossa (take Mule money) are likely to stay Abby will stay in GR for another year and will be the first call up, but could crack the roster if the cap is tight Helm and Easy E are locks for the roster Howard is gone (him and conkblock have roughly the same cap hit and conklin is a lot better) My Predictions.... Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary Mule-Flip-Hossa Leino-Helm-Abby/Kopy Maltby-Draper-Holmstrom Lids-Raf Kron-Stu Lilja/Lebda-Easy E Ozzie Conk

All I have to say is that if you guys thought the over-marketing with Crosby was bad last year, just wait till this year. Bettman, The NHL, and NBC got exactly what they wanted and they will make sure everyone in the US knows about it.

For some reason I feel the Wings will be shorthanded in the first 5 minutes of the game. If we can keep killing those penalties we'll be good. Detroit owns this series 5 on 5 at the joe. Our PP hopefully will show up.... I wonder if Hossa will. He's running out of time.

When you win your team is the best and when you lose its the refs fault. Don't you know sports fan logic?

Hopefully the wings don't do anything that even remotely looks like a penalty. The pens can not beat the wings 5 on 5 at the joe.

Well its not like we ever had to deal with freak injuries to our defenseman before... AGH!!!!! Lilja would be a big boost to our PK and our blocked shot totals would be higher. Get well Lils!

This would be the worse thing that could possibly happen. Aside, from wollowing all summer we will have to put up with the media. We could avoid it at first, during the summer. But when next season starts all we will hear about is Sidney Crosby and how he overcame adversity to win the cup. You think Crosby is over-marketed right now? Agh...Thankfully the Wings will win.

Link I guess it's nice that were not playing Toronto. I have to admit I am a bit nervous, but I think were gonna pull it off. Home ice is huge, and I expect the Joe to be rocking harder than I've ever seen it in my lifetime. Some thing tells me that the third and fourth lines will decide this game. My blood pressure is going to be high for the next few days. Friday is either going to be the greatest or worst night. I don't think I could handle seeing the Pens win. All we would hear for the next year is about Crosby. Heres to shattering the kids dreams....again. GO WINGS!!!!

I think I remember Fluery saying that playing away from home is difficult because he gets distracted because of the different colors and he is used to playing in front of all white shirts in the background. I swear some interviewer said this during the playoffs. Maybe that would explain some of the fluttery goals against him.

Absolutely want to see it won in Pittsburgh. Hossa lifting the cup in the Igloo would be a glorious sight.

Haha. They don't take curb stompings too kindly. I heard Fluery tried to commit suicide after the game and jumped in front of I-75. Hes okay though because all the cars went between his legs.

Dats and Z are one the best combos in the NHL. They read eachother so well. I especially like this combo because it pairs Hossa and Fil with each other and they usually look good when playing on the same line. When you add the Mule then you are left wondering, "Damn. This is our second line?"

I just talked to a friend who was at the game and happened to be sitting close to Bettman. Apparently, Wings fans were giving him crap the entire game, and some of it was pretty brutal. I love it...

Penguin McGuire also was making comments regarding that situation. The Wings handled it really well. Bab's comments about everything were great.

So I just went through how Wings have fared in Game 5s with the series tied 2-2 under coach Mike Babcock: Here are the results... Year / Opp. / Gm. 5 / Series 2006 / Edmonton / L 3-2 / L 4-2 2007 / Calgary / W 5-1 / W 4-2 2007 / San Jose / W 4-1 / W 4-2 2007 / Anaheim / L 2-1 / (OT) L 4-2 2008 / Nashville / W 2-1 / (OT) W 4-2 2009 / Anaheim / W 4-1 / W 4-3 I think its safe to say that the winner of game 5 takes it all.

It feels safe to say that whoever wins this game hoists the cup. Wings win a tight one 3-2. Hossa, Fil, Mule (GWG) with the goals and Pav with 2 assists.

I totally agree. Babs could probably pick names from a hat and it would end up being okay. However, I wouldn't mind seeing... Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Cleary Hossa-Fil-Franzen Sammy-Helm-Huds Maltby-Draper-Homer I know this would never happen because I'm sure they'll be splitting Z and Dats up, but I think a Fil, Franzen, Hossa has a tremendous defensive and offensive upside and could compete with Malkins line. We will see tomorrow though.

Maybe if our powerplay could actually have a higher scoring/winning percentage than the 2003 Detroit Tigers than we might have a chance.

The Wings did more than one thing wrong tonight. Our powerplay this series has been as good as Sidney Crosbys beard.

Okay, I guess you have a point about the face-offs, but thats really about it. More shots, true, but scoring chances seemed reletively even. We did control the puck, but most of the time that meant cycling the puck, passing up a good shot, and then taking a shot from an even worse angle than we had before. So far, our favorite method has been to wrap around the net, pass up a shot that could lead to a rebound or garbage goal (It seemed to work the first 2 games) then pass it to a defenseman, and then have the defenseman shoot only to have the shot blocked.

I find it ironic that people can discuss postitives regarding this game. A shorthanded goal against, multiple odd man rushes, breakaways, not getting a shot on the PP, losing one on one battles, getting shots blocked while not blocking any shots. It's comical! I've never seen such a strong hockey team with such a horrendous PK. This Datsyuk thing is getting ridiculous. I'm all for keeping injuries on the down low, but for him to sit out this game just baffles me, especially when he's cracking jokes for 2 days and everyone around him seemed optimistic. He better be in for game 5. Also, I can't believe how the Wings are so passive when they have opportunities to be aggressive. I see them hitting and playing the body at times, but when you're down by 2 goals with 10 seconds left you need to get in the oppositions face. Don't give me this Euro crap because Malkin obviously was frusterated enough to do this the other day. It's funny how these things obviously infuriate the fans, but at times I wonder if the Wings even care about playing gritty.