Firehawk

How was Crosby not called for that temper tantrum? His stick broke (he smashed it, one could even guess he swung at the goalie) and then whipped the broken stick in the corner. WTF IS THAT? I like how they don't even show his temper tantrum, they just go to Macquire the homo and keep on going LOL. They totally ignore Crosby's tantrum. What a baby.

I agree with you 110%. What is the benefit of being a disciplined team anymore? You get 1 less Penalty a game? Whoopdee do. The refs try to even it out, which is ridiculous. If you're playing very disciplined, you'll get called for weak ass incidents if you have had more power plays than the other team. I can't stand this. Call it objectively. If one team is committing 10 penalties, call 10 penalties. Don't call 10 on that team, then feel the need to call 8 or 9 on the well disciplined team. My god...

The only people watching this team are the fans of the teams playing. Nobody watches the NHL, and this is a big reason. Nobody knows what is going on with the penalties. You'll have Mc Creary come in and let a lot go, then 2 other younger refs come in and call any and everything. IT's dumb. I wish in this game that they wouldn't have called anything earlier in the game like they were calling, stupid slashes and ticky tack interferences...just play the damn game. I want to see flow and up and down hockey. I don't want a whistle every minute.

I'm actually impressed with the way the wings are playing. They had a defensive lapse there in the 1st which cost them the goals but San Jose hasn't had much since. I'm actually optimistic for this series, even if we lose today. If the wings keep that kind of pressure, we are bound to tie this game up. Hopefully we can come out of this 5 on 3 PK but I am having my doubts. The sharks PP looks great.

I love how a player hits the ice like he got shot, they call the penalty, then he jumps right back up and smirks. Anyone catch that with Setaguche there? Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. Up to these penalties, the only legit penalty that was called BOTH ways was the one that tripped I think Zetterberg up...otherwise all the calls both ways have been ticky tack. I don't know how Franzen got a penalty there, what a frickin joke.

SJS/DET: 4-2 CHI/VAN: 4-3 PIT/MTL: 4-1 BOS/PHI: 4-2

There's a clown on the HF coyote board stating he hopes his team goes out and injures wings on purpose to ruin their playoff run. Nice eh? Lose with dignity, goodness. It ain't even over anyways. I've seen many teams get 3 lucky goals rather fast. The wings better be very careful and keep playing hard like this. We can afford a mistake, but not much more than that. Don't get the crowd ANYTHING to get motivated about. We saw what it did on that first cheap ass goal.

Yeah, I fully expect they'll get at least 2 power play opportunities, even though we will have possession of the puck quite a bit. That grinding by Helm/Draper/Eaves was bad ass before all that penalty stuff occurred. The call on Eaves was BS too, it wasn't deliberate, he fell himself and bumped the guy in front of him. That should have been ok. Too many stupid calls both ways really.

I don't think anyone questioned what you said, but people questioned what team would show up. I really hope we hold on. The 2nd and 3rd round matchups in the west with no Phoenix in the mix will be spectacular.

PLEASE OH PLEASE DO NOT LET UP IN THE 3RD!!!!!!!!!!!

Franzen was one of the most noticeable wings. The forwards do look like they have jump, but they aren't quite connecting yet. I really wish they'd shoot more. They're still looking for perfect plays, and they are hesitating. A couple times they passed up shots from center of the ice and only got a shot from out wide. THROW IT INTO THE CROWD!

It feels like Bryz is going to have his best game and beat us. I really hope this isn't the case, but so far he's getting to the puck. I still think we are making him look good. He's not really come up with spectacular saves. But, he's been in position. I think we are shooting the puck right at him. Franzen did that twice, with sure goals if he just gets it up a foot in the air.

I have prepared myself for a loss tonight, but my god that's going to suck with no wings hockey after April. The matchups for Round 2 and 3 with the Wings making it in would be awesome, both matchups in round 2 and any combo of the 4 teams for round 3. Seriously awesome hockey it would be. Please, please win.

I like this stat better: When the wings have 48 hours or more to prepare for a playoff game (like tomorrow) they are 8-1. When they have less than 48 hours (like Friday to SUnday games), they are 1-5. Said it on the news and radio today.

It will be interesting to see if there's a bias with the refereeing in this game. It could go either way. Buttman's team gets the breaks, or the league suddenly realizes that watching a boring Phoenix team isn't good for the NHL, and that exciting play between SJ and Detroit would be far superior and bring in the ratings. But, we got the breaks early in game 6 and did nothing with it. We should have lead at least 2-0 or 3-0 after that...ugh. I hope we win. I won't be able to tolerate no hockey in May.

I don't blame the refs for this game 6 loss, but I will say that there's definitely something to the way they are calling games. THey are not calling them objectively. They always try to even it out, so what's the benefit of being a disciplined team? The disciplined team may get 3-4 power plays, but no matter how disciplined you are, the refs are going to look for ticky tack (any reason) calls to go against you and even it out. It's really pathetic if you ask me, and is a way of tampering with the game. I don't think the teams are as even as it appears in the playoffs this year, and I think the refs have also called the games in such a way as to keep every game within a goal. Of course, game 6 was the exception in my opinion. We didn't get any calls until it was out of hand.

I asgree with those who have said that it hasn't been a lack of effort. In the first period we dominated them but they got a break on a bad play by Stuart. It just appears that the bounces are going their way today. I just hope we can do something in game 7. Yes this game isn't over, but tryign to score 3 goals against this stingy desperate defense, I am not going to hold my breath.

It looks to me that over the course of the series we are seeing that Phoenix just doesn't have the finishers. They had soem really good chances last night for sure. In my opinion, Howard should be on back to back shutouts right now. That goal by Ed was questionable interference.

It's almost like the wings rely TOO MUCH on their experience. It's good to go to when you are facing adversity, but it won't win you games. YOu have to play with an edge, a fear/respect of the other opponent. I think the wings have had so much success that they do lack that with certain opponents. And sometimes, they let it go too far and end up in a hole that they make very difficult to dig out of. They could have won game 1 if they had intensity and heart for 60 minutes. They could have won game 3 as well. We can match them and we have superior talent, which means we should be winning this series. If we lose, there are absolutely no excuses. We aren't injured, we haven't played too much hockey considering most of the starters have played half a season, our goalie is doing the job when his defense is there to make the proper plays... We don't need to wait until Round 2. We can find out what they are made of. And for the record, I actually think Detroit has under-achieved over the last 20 years. They could have twice as many cups. But there is an expected letdown after success...

It doesn't matter the line combo. The effort defensively is not there. You saw what they could do when they were actually trying. Phx looked like a deer in the headlights, holding on for dear life. When the wings want to, they can dominate this Phx team. But when they slip up or take a shift off, Phx is right there to pounce, and they've done a very good job of playing tight on the wings and outworking us. I have got to think we will muster the effort and win tomorrow. I just can't imagine this team not doing that. How is Phx 28th in offense in the league? That is amazing.

Ice hockey in a desert...nice. Teams in Florida, Hicksville (Nashville), Columbus, Atlanta, wtf were they thinking? Srhink it back down, put the good talent back in the other teams and let's have a better brand of hockey.

Yeah, considering if they did win the cup at a home game, 2/3 the nation would be asleep by the time the game ended 'snickers'.

I agree. I don't get it. Nashville fans think they play exciting hickey too. Uh, no. The league will not benefit from a Phx vs Phi final, or something retarded like that. Nobody wants to watch Phx play hockey. The Wings play the game the way it was intended. Pure skill, speed, excitement (well on a good day anyway). Every goal phx gets is a gritty goal. Nobody wants to watch teams dump the puck in and try to wrap it around every time. It's so ridiculous.

I say Howard even if we go down. The only way I'd agree to pull Howard is if he gets absolutely annhilated and you can honestly look and say "he's done", much like Legace. He had that 'deer in the headlights' look and you knew he was cooked. Howard hasn't shown that to me at all. The first goal took 4 chances to score and the defense allowed that one. The second goal was a total lack of effort by the wings. The third goal makes me think Lidstrom WILL retire after this year. I can't say I've ever seen Lidstrom get totally owned on a play like that one. The fourth goal is a bad goal by Howard, no denying that. Still not enough in my mind to pull him. The wings are not playing 60 minutes. Even in game 2 there were lapses. Game 1 was ridiculous, and Game 3 was even worse. What I don't understand is, WHY? Why can't the wings find the effort for a full game? What the hell? They were pulling this in the late stages of last playoff. It's like they think because of what they accomplished that it will all work out, but they forget to put the effort in. I think we will win on Tuesday, but we won't if we don't play with desperation.

I want teams with a lot of skill to win. I don't want gritty, scrappy teams with 95% no-name players to win, and the NHL shouldn't either. I was cruising the Nashville forums last night and those fans actually think their team plays exciting hockey. Wow.