Texas Wingnut

If a team is a reflection of the coach I have faith in the Wings. Other than a return by Scotty there isn't anyone that I would rather have behind the bench!!! Babs is the man - calm, cool, steady, and NOT A WHINER (insert most any other current coach). I'm glad to hear that he will most likely be signing a new contract after the SCF. :octo:

MAF may be better than Ozzie, but I disagree tht Ozzie "can't steal a game". Given how often he has to come up with a big save after getting so little work he probably saves more games than people want to give him credit for. For the Wings I'll take Ozzie and go from there. He's nothing but consistent and I don't see the Wings as a team having such an rotten first half to a game. Yes, the series may end up going 7 games (or not), but as I've said in other posts, in a seven game series the best team should win. If you believe that the Wings are the best team the Fleury helping steal one or two games will create bumps in the road.

Doesn't matter if the fans are nervous or not. Only thing that matters is how the boys in red and white play on Wednesday night.

Wings have come out strong most nights, especially after losses. While the loss is game 5 is disappointing so was the lossin game 5 against Dallas and boy did the Wings respond in game 6. I expect nothing less of them in game 6 of the SCF. I don't think the fans in Mellon are going to be any more intimidating than the fans in the AAC. Who knows maybe the Wings will relax a little without the pressure of winning at home and come out much better in the 1st.

Venting after a loss is normal, but at least you don't hear the players slamming each other. NOONE is perfect (with maybe the exception of Nick Lidstrom). Everyone makes mistakes and I doubt that one play or one player is responsible for the loss. Stop jumping on and off the bandwagon. You're either a fan of the team and support them or you're not. Get over it. All the nay sayers would be singing a different tune if the Wings would have won last night.

In a seven game series the best team should will four games. If the Wings are the best team, and I believe they are, then they should come back from this and win either in game six or game seven. As Babs said the first period was not a good one for the Wings. Kronner's goal was another lucky bounce for the Pens (ala JHall's game 3 goal off Ozzie's backside) I for one am surprised at how nervous they looked when the game started. I didn't expect that of this team. Maybe the pressure of playing a cup clinching game in front of family, friends and rabid Wings fans was too much for some of the players. Kudos to the team to come back and go ahead in the 3rd period. None of the goals that went in were Ozzies fault and the Malone's game tying goal could have just as easily been covered before he got a second shot at the puck. The guys can't cover eveyone with the goalie pulled. Good puck luck for the Pens but luck can only take you so far.

Can't wait for game time and I'm envious of everyone in Detroit. Not many Wings fans in South Texas, but those who are here try to make up for it. Even thought the Stars spoiled the game 5 clincher in the WCF the last three times the Wings have gone into a SCF game with a chance to hoist the Cup they closed out the opponent. Not counting any chickens, but I think the Fat Lady is starting to warm up her vocal chords. I wouldn't be surpriesed if the game is either a) a blow out (ala game 7 against the Avs in 2002 WCF) or a tight game (ala game 5 against the Hurricanes in 2002 SCF). I'm just hoping for a Wings victory and seeing Nick take the cup from Bettman and skate it around as the first European born and trained captain on a team with a heavy European flavor. Maybe that will shut up all the anti-Euros.

In no particular order: 1. Nick Lidstrom 2. Pav 3. Hank 4. Jarome Iginla 5. Henrik Lunquivst 6. Martin Brodeur 7. Dion Phaneuf 8. Alex Ovechkin 9. Joe Thorton 10. Roberto Luongo While there are other good players I'm not buying into Crosby and Malkin as top 10. I just don't think that they stack up with the all around game of these players. Lots of offense, but not much defense. The offensive players listed play good D and the D men listed can provide some great offensive punch. As for the three goalies, any of them can steal a game or two for a team all by themselves.

My top group over the last 10 years would include: 1. Stevie (AKA The Captain; says it all) 2. Nick Lidstrom 3. Jarome Iginla 4. Joe Sakic 5. Rod Brind'Amore 6. Ron Francis I'm hard pressed to add any more names to this group right now.

Thinking back to the last three cups I'm cautiously optomistic. I'm still a little worried given that Dallas came in and stole game 5 at the Joe. Not counting any chickens here but hoping for a reason to celebrate tonight.

Two that I think hit at the heart of this year's team: The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. - Confucius The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. -Vince Lambardi

O.K. the Wings are one win away and not we can start talking about CS winners. If the Wings win tonight I'd say Z should be the CS winner. He's been the total package since the puck dropped in game 1 of round 1. He has been consistent in all zones and while his scoring may be off in this round he's still up there in +/-. While I appreciate what Ozzy has done and I'm a huge Ozzy fan, I feel Z is more deserving. With that being said, if Ozzy throws in another shut out then I'd go with the Gret Oz.

Great post. I wish that I could have said this as well. The Wings didn't get blown out or shut out. While many were hoping for a sweep it just didn't happen. Babs handled things well in the post game press conference. I'd be surprised if to a man the players and coaches didn't expect better in game 4. The better team should win a best of 7 series and IMHO the Wings are the better team. They proved it during the regular season (wins, goals against, ...) and have been proving it in the playoffs. GO WINGS!!!!!!

Am I a fan of Lilja, NO. Did he cost the Wings the game, NO. There is plenty of "blame" to go around. It is one game in a first to four wins series. While I would love to see a better 3rd pair of D men, the salary cap is going to make it very difficult for ANY team to have 6 outstanding D men or more than 2 top O lines. I still like the Wing's chances for taking the cup. A sweep would have been great but 4 wins is the series is what it takes and that's all that I want, no matter if the losses number 0, 1, 2, or 3.

Worried, no. Concerned, yes. I don't see the Pens winning unless they score first. I don't think games 1 & 2 were as close as many of the analysts would like us to believe, but game 1 was tight early. The wild card for me is how the refs will react to being called out in the media by the Pens. Could go either way and if the Wings are in the box early and often I'm not sure how the PK will hold up.

I think it's a little early to start this discussion here. Wait until three wins have been posted. Too many guys are playing lights out right now.

Who ever he signs with will regret it within the first two months of the season. His ego is only surpassed by his desire to make $$$$$$. He doesn't seem to care about hte game in the least.

Who cares that this grease ball is saying it should have been a goal. Tell me something that hasn't already been said long before his comments. He's just finding another bandwagon to jump on!!!

Not a chance. The present and future captain. LOL at the thought.

It would be nice to keep him at the right price but if not I'm sure that a suitable top 4 D-man will be brought into the fold for 08-09. In Kenny we trust

No way does playing an extra game or two make any sense. More chances for key players to get hurt, more travel, more chances for cheap shot artists from Dallas to take a run at top line players. Now all that said, while it would be great to be 16 and 2, realistically the odds of this are pretty steep. I don't care how many playorr losses there are as long as there are 16 playoff wins!!!!

It's bad enough when the hockey "experts" prattle on and on. When someone who admits to knowing next to nothing about hockey comes up with this crap it is laughable. The ONLY hockey person that has a decent take on ESPN is Bucci. He's probably the most objective and has some really good insights. Why can't the idiots at ESPN have him talk hockey instead of Melrose. Even EJ Hradek makes more sense.

As so many others have said toughness does not always mean fighting. Watching the "skill guys" go in an battle along the boards and fight through checks shows how tough and hard they play. Being hard to knock off the puck, going into the corners and along the boards, taking slashes & crosscheck without retaliating shows more toughness than dropping the gloves.

If these "experts" are so good at picking series winners why are they wrong so many times??? How can they measure heart & chemistry. It certainly isn't in the X-factor. Ask the Rangers about putting together lots of talent.

Couldn't have said it beter if I tried.