awingsincebirth

THe old addage is: Your not in trouble in the playoffs until you lose at home. I felt like crap after losing games 3 and 4 last year, and then look what happened. Our boys have been there, done that, and they want this. No panic here. Go Wings!

I was at Game 2 and it was AWESOME! The atmosphere was out of this world and it was loud as HELL! (I imagine hell to be a place where it is very loud...perhaps directly next to some very busy freeway). I have to think that it has more to do with the mics. Honestly, I have hated these games in Nashville as much as I hate watching an unsuccessful Wings game with my dad and brother (both religious Leafs fans and Wings haters). When the Wings are getting stonewalled, or are getting scored on etc., and the ridiculously proportioned crowd noise is BLARING through the surround sound, it literally pisses me off. I've never been as pissed off after a Wings loss as I have been these past 2, and I honestly think the crowd noise has played a major role. So either the mics are blowing the noise way out of proportions, which is what I suspect, or for some inexplicable reasons, Nashville fans LOOOOVE their hockey. I don't know. I'd love to hear from someone who has been to game (preferably playoff games) in numerous venues to get a realistic comparison. I don't think that people can simply compare TV crowd noise, because there may be more to it than that.

Alright, so that was vomit-inducing, I'm sure that we can all admit it. Negatives: -Dom seems to have overstayed his welcome in our net....plain and simple. I'm ready for Ozzy. -Does anyone else get that huge weight in the pit of their stomach whenever a N-Ville defender winds up for a point shot?? Ya, thats because they've pretty much scored all of their legitimate goals(excluding goals in game 2) from there. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but their D are pinching into the play a bit, and our wingers aren't picking them up in time. All their offense is being generated from shots from the back end. That may partially be attributed to Hasek's erratic style, but I think we really need to get out there and make sure those shots don't get through. -Flip is playing like a genuine liability right now. He's putting himself in situations to get scoring chances (which is a good thing) but he seems absolutely incapable of doing anything with them. It's not like he's getting off good shots and getting stoned. It's not even like he's getting off weak shots for easy stops. He's straight up fanning on almost every shot he goes to take. He's an absolute enigma right now and I think Babs should seriously consider scratching him for a game. -Cleary is clearly still being affected by his injury, and who knows how long it is gonna take to get him back to 100%. He just doesn't have the strength to play with the fire and enery that made him so dangerous last year in the playoffs and earlier this season. It's really unfortunate, and I really hope he can find another way to have more of an impact. -Rafalski still has looked sub-par, to say the least. He's making irresponsible plays in the defensive zone (not the only one, obviously) and he is not off setting it nearly enough with his offensive potency. He's got to pick it up and I think he knows it. -Too many times I saw Zetts try and gain the zone by carrying it in through 2 or 3 defensemen. He just can't do that. He's either got to try and carry it wide, or dump and pursue, anything but what he was doing because it absolutely kills a rush. -Finally, I was really dissapointed in how for the last 5 minutes or so, we really weren't able to generate any sort of sustained pressure. Especially disturbing is the fact that, for the second straight game, we have done NOTHING at all with the goalie pulled. When you've got 6 on 5, you can't keep trying to finesse it into the zone, you've got to dumo, bump, and use your numbers to generate something. That's not happening right now. Alright, sweet Positives: -We dominated the third period, and played better that period than any other in the series I think. Homer was a beast in the period, and Dats looked good in the second and third, I thought. -I've got all the faith in the world in Ozzy, and he played very well tonite. No doubt that if he can be a real stable back-stop like he was tonite, the confidence will affect the rest of the team from the net out. -I don't know how everyone else feels about this, but I love seeing Kronwall pick his spots and go in for the kill. Other than game 1, he's kept it clean. I think he is very smart in knowing when to go for it and when to hold back. I think that if either of those big hits (from games 3 or 4) came at home, it could have been a more effective momentum swinger. -Hey, we're going back to the Joe. You know what they say: you're not in trouble in the playoffs until you lose at home. I've still got faith. If we can carry the third period into game 5 (and at this point, it is an IF), we shouldn't have much of a problem. I think in general the fact that it is 2-2 is more dissapointing than it was last year because Ellis is not the reason that we are losing like Kipper was. There are stretches of time where we are being flat out outplayed, and I think that is where the "No Heart" argument tends to come from. With our talent, they should never be able to outplay us for such long stretches. The fact that players are taking shifts, periods, even nights off is puzzling and incredibly frustrating for the fans. It needs to be worked out - and fast - starting with the coaches and poriferating down to the players. Play with desperation, but not with panic. Look up at the scoreboard, realize that your involved in a best of 3 series against a dangerous opponent, and then play like your the best team in the NHL. No excuses. No fears. No superstitions. Just heart, guts, and glory. Go Wings!! (longest post I've ever written by far lol)

I think that a prevent defense CAN work, but it takes a real devotion to the system to the point that a team's strategy becomes to hopefully score the first goal and then to sit on it (think Dallas vs. Vancouver last year). If teams fully buy into the system and work hard to perfect it, it can be both effective and suicidally boring. Teams who play other systems, especially as well as the Wings play puck possession, are not likely to be very effective at playing prevent. This really leads you to question why we opted to play a style that we are not particularly good rather than playing the style that won us the Presidents Trophy this year. If we would have played our game, in all likelihood we would have had possession for the majority of the 3rd, and hopefully generated a few more scoring chances and got some insurance. Instead, we played a style in which we just sat back and waited for the Preds to tie it up, praying that the clock would bail us out before that happened. I did not like the decision, as I'm sure none of us did, but I'm sure that Babs & Co. realize they made a miscue and don't do it again. The way that we've been blowing leads in the series, I can really see Babs getting on the boys to keep their feet on the peddle until that final buzzer sounds. I think we're well overdue for a 4-0 or 5-1 game. Getter done boys. Go Wings!

that was the 2nd goal, the 3rd goal was simply a puck that Hasek should have stopped on a long, not particularly hard slapper (I hate to criticize Dats because he was one of our bright spots last nite. However, I'm gonna give Hasek the benefit of the doubt and say that Dats getting his stick in front of the shot just before it was released maybe through Dom off of it a bit. I really don't think he should have done that. When the shot is from as far away as that one was, you just let him rip it and Dom (hopefully) makes the routine stop.)

Ahhh, honesty. Gotta luv it!

Matt, I don't like to disagree with the Big Cahuna around here, but... yes, we were a few minutes away from winning, but, we did not win.... On the other hand, we DID win games 1 and 2, and that was with a different lineup than game 3. Furthermore, (and I posted this numerous times throughout the game) I really felt like Dats and Z were, for the most part, neutralized in this game. We didn't seem to have nearly as many quality scoring chances this game than in hte first two. I realize that Dats was trying to create matchup problems, but tonite, I don't really think that we caused that much of a porblem for them. The biggest problem that Nashville is ever gonna have is when Dats and Z get into a groove and dominate 90% of their shifts together (like in games 1 and 2). We've been getting secondary scoring these playoffs, and with the way that Franz, Drapes, etc. have been playing, that should not change. D-Z-H! D-Z-H!

Okay, so I never get into any of the goalie debates on this thread, and I'm not gonna change that here. Defensive breakdown? Check. No Hasek bailout? Check. Unnecesary strategy change? Check. Unnecessary line changes? Check. I just felt like, this entire game, we weren't playing our own game. I just assumed that we were gonna win another tight one again, instead of blowing them out of the water, but a horrible breakdown and we lose instead. I felt like our offensive chances were few and far between in this game, especially compared to usual WIngs game. And WHAT THE HELL is with us absolutely getting destroyed when Nashville catches the scent of blood. I mean, last game, when they scored their 2 quick # 1, they absolutely owned a long shift after that before Babs called the TO and we scored. This game, when they scored 2 quick #2, they carried the play straight through the end of the period. Finally, they scored 2 quick # 3, and they really didn't give us another chance for the rest of the game, when we should have been playing with more deperation. This team has wayyyyy to much experience to be epicly melting down the way that we have the past two games. All in all, though, I'm not too worried. I was starting to smell a sweep, but I guess that it was not to be. Game 4 i going to be huge, and I suspect that we will take it. O ya, and this goes out to OSGOD! Dude, you were at games 1 and 2, correct?? Okay, so, you were at games 1 and 2, the Wings won games 1 and 2. You weren't at game 3, the Wings lose game 3. BUY A PLANE TICKET or GAS UP THE CAR AND GO TO NASHVILLE MY FRIEND, WE NEED YOU THERE!

Is anyone else not loving the top 2 lines right now?? I'm not sure if it should go back to DZH, or something like Z-Flip-Franz, Clears-Dats-Homer, but this isn't really workin for me right now. Hell, even put Huds in there because he's hot right now. I feel like our top two lines have only gotten one good chance and Dats put it in, but that was a total individual effort, so the lines didn't really matter. I don't think that we are optimizing our offense right now.

Atta boy NFM. That oughta hold.

I hope that Babs realizes that Z and Dats have been way to quiet this game so he needs to put them back together. I find that they always need a shift or two to lock in where they don't look very good, and then they dominate. Thus, they haven't done s*** on the PP. Put them together and they'll start to carry the play. Secondary scoring isn't the problem right now, we need some damn primary scoring. Jiri Hudler cannot continue to be our leading scorer. Also, I'm pretty sure that after that 2nd goal Babs was just praying that they wouldn't score again so that he could settle the boys down over the intermission, so that he could save the timeout for the 3rd. Because he could have called a TO at any time after the 1st or 2nd goal. GOOOO WIIIINGS! Edit: Uhhhh, never mind....GO DATS!

Completely understandable. To each his own.

I think that the big difference between the two is that what was done at the Joe tonite was based solely on rather unsubstantial stereotypes usually used to garner a few easy laughs. Meanwhile, what was shown in Sacramento was a depiction of the grim reality that faces Detroit today. I am well aware that most people from Tenn don't play the banjo, piss in outhouses, live in shacks, and have only half their teethe. It's a lot like the stereotypes of Canada involving igloos, dogsleds, toques, etc. No one in Canada gets offended, because, for the most partthey are unsubstantiated. On the other hand, to make fun at the expense of MoTown's economic crisis that has had devastating effects on many lives is definitely below the belt. I think that there is a big difference.

Duude, I'm happy to say that I was there and I got gooosebumps numerous times. The crowd just lost it when Mac scored, I'm soo happy I got to be there for that. There were a few points where it was pretty quiet, obviously after the "30 Seconds of Horror", but near the end, after the Homer goal when we kept carrying the play....it was amazing. I've never been to a playoff game, so I don't really have a reference point, but that game felt pretty special. I'm really hoping I can catch another game later on in the playoffs, because there is literally nothing like it. My observations: -Hasek looked damn good. I know alot of people were questioning why he came out of the net on the first goal, and say that he wanders too much. That may be true, but I think that he is doing what Dominik Hasek does and what Dominik Hasek has always done, which has made him one of the all-time greats. He made alot of big stops tonite because their were some defensive lapses no doubt. -Toughness does not look like a problem with this team. Mac, Drake, Stuart, Kronwall, Lilja (he was trying to get Tootoo to go, but he's a huge *****). Homer had a few big hits, too. Also, you don't realize just how strong and hard to push off the puck both Dats and Z are until you see it in person, love it. -Hudler is a real ***** out there and I think that its a worthwhile contribution for this team. -Nik Lidstrom is perfection -Samuelson is a good third liner but still TERRIBLE on the 2nd PP point (like we didn't know that already). -Draper is playing like he's 25 again -Cleary is playing well and I'm just waiting for him to get an ugly won and hopefully catch fire -Flip needs something to give him some confidence. Dats (?) set him up with a gapingly wide open net and he missed. He really needs something to get him going. -Rafalski was still not as good as we needed him to be, but a lot better than Game 1. -Holmstrom was skating really well tonite, like better than I can remember -Lilja had the "Lilja-esque" bobble that cost us a goal, but he is a real good guy to have out there, no question about whether it should be him or Lebda. -And, oh ya, simple but brilliant little piece of coaching by Babs tonite when he called that timeout. They scored two quickies and then were carrying the play for a full shift. Babs settled them down and then we scored shortly after. Loved it. I realize I'm probably just repeating things that have been said a million times in this GDT, but I'm on such a Wings-high rite now I just need to spout it out. All in all GREAT game, GREAT experience. GO WINGS!

I just figured that I'd throw this out there. The NHL.com Preview for the game is all about MAC, and I think that it's a short but worth-while read.

Actually, TSN won't be carrying the game because it'll be on NBC. But I think I speak for all Canadian when I thank you for your concern. Anyways, I'll be at this game. First career playoff game so I'm mostly losing my mind from excitement. I've got a good feeling about this game. Big win tonite baaabyyy. GO WINGS!

anyone else wondering why brashear was on the powerplay?? ha

As will I. Super pumped about it!

I'm all for these two moves!

I agree with pretty much everything that you said. Z and Dats settled in nicely. But, I think that Homer wasn't as good as we need him to be. I think his net-front presence wasn't all that great, but that may have been just because he didn't have all that many opportunities to set his ass up. I thought that whenever Drapes-Sammy-Huds were out there, they looked great. Sammy is a fine 3rd liner, Huds showed some upside, and Draper was all over the ice like its 10 years ago. I also liked the way that Drake played. However, I wouldn't mind seeing Downey in to replace Mac, becase as much as I love Mac, he's not as physical as we need him to be. Also, I wouldn't mind seeing Abdelkader or Helm in instead of Hartigan. I didn't hear Hartigan's name once in the commentary, good or bad. I think that Abra-Cadabra or Helm would bring a little bit more of that playoff energy that we need. All in all, I though it looked pretty good out there, but it could always be better. But, considering how we tend to play down to our opponents, I'm very happy that we took the 1st game. Go Wings!

Meh. Even the guys on TSN said that you can't call that a Trip, and that wouldn't unanimously say that in support of the Wings unless it were 100% true. Their reasoning seemed sound. Maybe (just maybe) at some point in the season that is called a penalty (a reeeeeeally chincy one), but in the playoffs there is no way you can call something that minor a penalty. The more I see it, the more I laugh at the people who complained that it should have been a penalty.

The Ducks have some real glaring problems that I think were highlighted through this game. The big one, of course, is goal scoring. Besides Getzlaf and Selanne, none of their forwards are really all that reliable on the offensive end. But, O wait! They hit a lot, so that makes them the best. Also, the Wings have much bigger secondary scoring issues than the Ducks do.

THAT WAS A f***IN RIDICULOUS SAVE!! Nabokov looks like he REALLY wants to get beat by the Wings in the Western Conference Finals this year!

I feel the exact same way, man. I was discussing it with my buddy a few days ago. I don't really wanna have to play against the Flames if they can upset everyone's Cup favourites. They're the kind of team that can turn into a rolling stone if they can grab some momentum. Honestly, I'd take Dallas or Colorado preferably defore the post-Shark Flames. Luckily, the Sharks'll porbly take this one, and then do what they do on the road and take care of business.

Wow! Pretty much everything I predicted in that post was completely wrong! ahaha Boy are my cheeks red.