xtrememachine1

So did anyone else laugh when Pierre was asked who should start Game 3, he said Fleury and then like 2 seconds later Boychuk blasted one past him? lol Unless they want this series to be over quick, they need to stick with Vokoun. In the regular season, he was solid against the B's and I think he just had a bad night last night, not to mention the defense is terrible and Fleury looked like he was in his Isles/Flyers form for those two periods. With Pittsburgh NEEDING to win two games in Boston, I have really hard time seeing them making it to the Finals now. They needed to win Game 2 and they get blown out 6-1. That speaks volumes about this series.

The only thing that would make this sweeter is if it was the Wings doing this to the Penguins. Absolute domination in the first period. While I agree with the change in net for the Pens, they're putting in a guy that made the Isles look like world beaters. Its like damned if you do, damned if you don't. If the Pens lose this game they'll NEED to win two in Boston where they'll be able to get all the match ups they want. Pens need to comeback or this series is pretty much done except for the crying and the inevitable cheap shots that are sure to come.

I never thought I'd say this about a forward whose career high in goals is 12, but we NEED him. His speed does so much for us. So many times during that Hawks series, I would see their defensemen pinch in and make a play and I kept thinking to myself, "Damn, I bet if Helm was out there, they wouldn't be pinching in like that so often". When Helm's on the ice, the d-men HAVE to stay back or he'll be behind them. His speed, defensive skills and faceoff ability have made his skill set invaluable. I really hope this back injury problem gets healed completely and this injury is behind him for good.

Wow, as of right now the Hawks have more votes than the Pens. How much do we hate that team? lol

First off, the Kings, throughout the postseason have been bad on the road and great at home. This comes as no surprise. Second, how we play and how the Kings play are completely different. Babcock has us playing a system that helps support the defensemen with back checking forwards. That strategy was negating that relentless "full court press" kind of pressure we saw from Chicago's forwards. If the Hawks don't play us or a team like us, they're going to be successful with the way they're currently setup, which is why they did so well in the regular season.

Surprise surprise. The Pens get shutdown by a team that knows how to play defense, they lose and act like a bunch of spoiled brats. This kind of behavior is really old now. I'm not sure how Pens fans can stick by their team watching their best players and leaders act like this. That whole exchange between Crosby and Rask and then Crosby and Chara its an embarrassment to Pens fans, the franchise and the NHL. THIS is your poster boy?

I feel much more optimistic about our future now than I did going into the season or even going into the postseason. You hear about the potential of our prospects, but until you actually SEE them do it, you don't know what you have. Winning the Cup wasn't a realistic goal this year, but this run was very unexpected and impressive. I'm anxious to see what we do next year. Weaker conference, young guys getting better and better with each game, lots to look forward to.

Holland did very little during summers when there were a ton of good FA available. This year, there's practically nothing out there, so I'm not expecting much. The youth movement stepped up in the postseason and we're heading in that direction now. Let go of Cleary, White, maybe Filppula. Re-sign Smith, Kindl, Nyquist, Brunner, and Andersson. Call up Tatar. Get Helm back. I would really like to get a good top 6 forward, but I don't know where they would get one. Maybe Brad Richards if he gets bought out, but there's no guarantee he'd come to Detroit. This offseason should consist of getting a top 6 forward, get another defenseman that's better than Quincey, re-sign all the young guys that are RFAs to longer deals. EDIT: Totally forgot about Dekeyser coming back next year. I guess that solves that defenseman problem. Maybe pick up one for depth so we're not screwed when one of them gets injured and we all know it'll happen.

I want to see Bruins and Kings, NBC probably wants Hawks and Pens (they have an outdoor game next year) but, we'll probably end up seeing Chicago and Boston.

Boston lost to the Pens all three times that they played each other, but regular season really means nothing. The Bruins will play a much tighter checking, more physical game and it'll be interesting to see if the Pens offense can breakthrough. I thought Ottawa's defense would stack up well and didn't, not even a little bit. This is going 6 or 7 and I'm hoping its in favor of the Bruins.

So I guess this means Brad Richards probably won't get bought out now. Would've liked to have seen him in our top 6.

Great post! I completely agree. Its been a real honor to be a Wings fan all these years. Lots of great players, moments and memories

Alright guys, let's win this thing and continue this pleasantly unexpected playoff run.

The President's trophy team isn't going to lose 4 straight in the playoffs to a 7th seed, with the 4th loss being at home. Game 5 shouldn't have been a surprise. Game 6 was our best chance to close the series. We had the game under control through 40 minutes, then Smith makes a rookie mistake and its tied. Quincey's stick breaks, we're losing. Frolik scores on a penalty shot that was a bad call. It happens, now we have to do it the hard way. Babcock is right to keep Smith in there. Its time to look at the bigger picture here. The experience he's getting from these games will help for many years down the road. Years when we're not the 7th seed trying to beat the top two seeds just to get to the Conference Finals. You can say they "choked" all you want, but the success they've had in these playoffs will be felt for years. Watching guys like Brunner, Nyquist, Andersson, Howard, and Kindl play in these high pressure games and play well, bodes well for us down the line. Sure Smith is making a lot of mistakes, but he's making some nice plays too and gaining lots of experience. The guy is only 24 years old playing in his first full NHL season. Give him a break. Going into these playoffs I felt like the team had a ton of holes, but after 13 playoff games, I'm not so sure that's the case anymore.

Anything can happen in a Game 7 and the Wings surprise a lot of people when they look down and out. It should be a good game to watch.

Smith is far too young to be giving up on him. The guy is 24 years old and playing in his first full NHL season. Sure he's making mistakes, I would expect him to. He's gaining invaluable NHL playoff experience playing in these pressure games right now. He won't get that experience sitting in the pressbox. This will pay off big time down the line when we're ranked higher and not having to plow through the 1st and 2nd seeds in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

I really really like this kid. He's fast, strong on the puck, does a lot of things right with his positioning. I'd love to see a line of him, Brunner and Helm next year. Ohhh the insanity. Add a good two 6 forward for scoring, make this our third line, get Dekeyser back on D, I like our chances next year.

A 3-1 series lead for the lower seeded team is always tricky and likely to be tied and it has nothing to do with being staged. In game 5, the best team in hockey in the regular season was on the verge of elimination, at home and just lost their last 3 games. You'd have to be nuts to think the Wings would win that one. Game 6 was the game we needed to win. We're at home, we have some desperation with not wanting the series to go back to Chicago. But we just have this one game to do it. A bad mistake, bad break, bad bounce, bad call or whatever happens (and it did for us) and there's a Game 7. Two of our three chances to eliminate them are on the road and that's pretty tough. Game 7 in Chicago will be extremely tough, but a bad break here or there could make the difference again.

I love the fact that that garbage penalty shot was the winning goal. Unbelievable.

Intensity isn't the problem. The reason we've made it this far is because of our intensity. We are not on the same talent level as the Hawks right now. The Hawks best players are in the prime of their careers. We're in a transition phase. We were winning because we wanted it more and we worked harder. Now the inexperience of our younger players, as well as some bad breaks, is working against us as the Hawks have matched our level of intensity.

What really sucks about all this is it felt like a win till the blown assignment by Smith. Bounces going our way, good saves, winning lots of little battles, scoring from our depth. Damn it!!

Well I broke the remote after that BS penalty shot. I think I'm done for the night before I break something else. Not saying we deserved to win, the Hawks played hard in the 3rd, but that penalty shot was complete and total BS.

The Hawks are a really really good team and I can see why they're the President's trophy winners this year, but unfortunately for them, their strategy doesn't match up well with our style of play. The forwards for the Hawks are putting a ton of pressure on our defense, but we have so much puck support with the forwards coming back, that its negating that pressure. Not everyone does what the Wings do, so I can see how Chicago would just tear other teams apart. Quenville needs to make an adjustment and either he isn't because he doesn't know what adjustment to make or Babcock is out coaching him badly. Either scenario is very likely. Its great that we're winning this series, but the real gem coming out of all this, for us, is the fact that guys like Smith, Kindl, Nyquist, Andersson, and Brunner are getting lots of playoff experience that will be invaluable years down the road. The fourth one is the hardest to win, so hopefully we'll be ready to go for Game 5 because there's going to be a huge storm at the beginning of that game and if Howie and Co and weather that storm, we'll be in good shape. ,

If he gets bought out, I think every team in the league will be in on him, unfortunately. Yes, he hasn't performed well since joining the Rangers, but maybe he's just not a good fit for that team. I still think he's a very talented player and if he gets bought out, he'll have a huge chip on his shoulder and will want to prove himself. Talented and pissed off is a good combination.

The Senators remembered they're a 7 seed. I like how after the game Alfredsson said "We probably won't win this series". Nice. That's real leadership for you there.