Wombat

Datsyuk was good, but something he should be saying (and the team in general) is that it was not good enough. He is, for good or bad, burdened with heavy expectations. He is up for the best defensive forward in the league, and the league MVP. Unfortunately for him, that means he needs to step up and damn near dominate at both ends of the rink. He's putting in the effort and he's getting chances to both setup and score goals. That assist he had last night was sick! His defense was excellent. Anaheim has probably the deepest and best defensive blueline of any team in the NHL, and they have some good defensive forwards. Clearly it was a tough matchup, but the Wings need more out of him if they want to get further in the playoffs. Good, but not good enough.

Chicago fans have every right to feel great about this season, even if the Wings destroy them in this round (which is not by any stretch guaranteed). It's almost as if they haven't had a franchise for the past decade because of horrible management by the late owner Wirtz. It's almost as if they got an expansion team this year loaded with young skill guys. If I was a Chicago fan I'd be pleased as piss about this season regardless of what happens this round. Imagine if the Detroit Lions all of suddenly made the NFC Championship game this year... THAT is what it's like for Blackhawk fans. Actually, I have a rule of thumb for my sports fandom anyways. I say that I as a fan cannot expect anything more from my favorite teams beyond being in the Final 4 of the league. I don't expect championships every year, so just getting this far to me mean we had a successful season. And about Hawks fans looking at this team... well, if you look at any regular season stats, you can see that the Wings defensive game was below average. Clearly, it's been a hell of a lot better in the playoffs. Both teams should expect to be challenged defensively from these two potent offenses.

The Wings aren't the only team playing this series. The Ducks have coaches and players that are more than capable of doing their jobs and making adjustments. I think Game 6 had nothing to do with Rafalski playing (what, would Meech's 3 minutes be a better roster decision?) and more that Anaheim made the proper adjustments to play their best defensive game of the series. Play your best lineup. If Rafalski and Draper are healthy enough to play and contribute in their ways, suit them up.

Even though that 97 WCF started with Roy stifling them, they knew they could get him, and the team, because of that March 26th game. They would not be pushed around and they would find a way to crack Roy. To those answering that it meant nothing, show and explain yourselves!

The Wings do not win the Cup without that game. Colorado was renting the penthouse in the collective heads of the Red Wings. The Wings were "too soft" and not good enough to compete with them. This game proved to the Wings themselves that they could play with Colorado, and they proved the world that they could win afterward.

Have the Ducks really been *that* dirty in this series? I've only been watching hockey since the mid 1990's, but I don't think they are playing exceptionally dirty at all, especially in the context of playoff hockey.

Now THAT I can get completely behind you on. It would be nice to have more desperation out of the bottom 6 like Helm is showing. But like Helm, you don't need an enforcer to be the guy out there playing hard... you need a guy playing hard, whether he is big/small/NA/Euro/whatever. Playing with energy does not equal dropping the gloves.

Thank you! I love stats, but the +/- stat isn't an end-all-be-all. In watching the games, I think Maltby has been playing his role just fine. He's been a lot better than he was in the regular season. I think Leino has a great future but the future is not now for him. He is not ready to be thrust into top 6 minutes, and if he's going to play in the bottom 6, he needs to be more defensively sound (because he won't be getting any PP or SH minutes as a specialist like 3rd liner Hudler or Cleary). Even if you love the +/- stat, according to his AHL page, Leino was a 0 in +/- for the AHL playoffs despite scoring 13 points. 2 of his 3 goals and 3 of his 10 assists were on the PP, so he had 8 ES points. To end up even, he needed to be on the ice for at least 8 opponents goals (and more if he was on the ice for some other teammates goals without scoring). And that was against AHL talent. Leino should be the first guy into the lineup if a bona fide scorer on the Wings gets injured. But in tight checking, low scoring NHL playoff games, you need guys to fill roles and Maltby is doing it right. To me, he passes the eye test (as opposed to Chelios, who looked completely out of place).

This isn't a fantasy hockey roster. Each player has to have a role. And not every player can have the role of "offensive sniper". You need guys like Maltby that will grind and play defensively sound hockey.

Getzlaf has been great. When he hasn't been 100%, the Wings have dominated. When he's been on his game, the Ducks win more than the Wings. I don't think it's coincidence by any stretch. The Wings must try to do everything they can to shut him down in Game 7. If they come out with 100% effort, I think they can.

I am all for increasing the overall toughness of the team... but at the end of the game like yesterday, what is an enforcer going to do? He's going to be planted to the bench while the offensive players are out trying to tie it up. If the Ducks want to start something then, an enforcer will not stop it. Even the next game, is the enforcer then going to have to run around and get into 4 fights to retaliate? I don't want to come across as "anti-enforcer" in some argument because I value the fighting aspect of the game. However, putting one heavy on the 4th line isn't going to change much of anything. The entire roster will need to be systematically tougher to make teams not take liberties. And honestly, I think the Wings are almost there right now. The Wings are playing more physically than the "mighty" Ducks are, only they are doing it without trying to goad guys like Selanne into a fight. I think this fight at the end of the game is exactly what the doctor ordered. The Wings will come into the game determined and pissed. I like our chances in Game 7.

I thought it was ridiculous and in very poor taste that Chelios did that. Be a man and shake the hands of the other men for playing a hard fought series. It's about respect and sportsmanship... play balls out during the series (and a little after each game ) but man up and shake hands afterward. It's one of the best things in playoff hockey, the post series handshake. As for this series... this is nothing compared to a plethora of series from the past in terms of bad blood.

Panic... no. But I'm always nervous when the Wings face an elimination game. Hopefully it'll be a fun and exciting game!

Be careful about lumping the Tigers into this. It took him 14 years to get that team in the playoffs and he played it pretty cheap for a lot of those years. And that includes the debacle that was the worst AL team in history in 2003. He did do a lot of good things too, such as building CoPa and bringing Ernie Harwell back where he belongs. But there were lists that earlier this decade rated him as one of the best and one of the worst owners in NA pro sports. *edit... I didn't want this to be as much of a wet blanket as it looks. I absolutely adore Illitch for everything he's done for the Red Wings and is currently doing for the Tigers. His loyalty is tremendous and he is running the Red Wings franchise as the model for all others. He has been great for us Wings fans.

Until I see any proof that they have done this in the past, I don't think they would do it this time should the situation arise. I can't even think of any team offhand that tries to send a message when they are about to be blown out of the series (and have their season ended).

Why would they do that? Hockey players do that for message sending for the next game. If there isn't going to be a next game, they don't send the message. As for D-Mac, I would not mind seeing him play. That is, if 3 or 4 guys get hurt and he has to go in. It's been a good ride, but it's just about over.

If the NYC metro area can support 3 NHL teams (Rangers/Islanders/Devils), then the GTA/Buffalo area could easily support 3. There are just more hockey fans in that area, even if the population isn't as high.

The thing to remember with momentum from fighting is that in the same fight, one team gains momentum and the other loses it. Beauchemin was probably hoping he'd stir up his teammates, and Kopy knew that his teammates would approve of the trade-off in getting the Ducks D even more shorthanded. Excellent move by Kopy.

No one deserves to get his or her ass kicked for simply being a fan of the other team. I do believe the general slant of what happened to you (Ducks fans heckling, you say something snide, and they come over to beat you). I do hope that some people come forward, or there is security tape available so that these guys are charged with assault. However you should have known that putting them in their place with smack talk back was not going to be a good solution. If these guys were screaming into the faces of children, they will take any remark back by a Wings fan as a reason to go. Again, it's not right for them to do that, and they should be arrested, but next time just stay down. It sucks to see other people get verbally assaulted like that, but it's better for that to happen than to have someone get broken bones.

The Wings don't need a scoring threat on the 4th line. They are not there to score. They are there to keep oppenents from scoring and add some energy/physicality. It's the playoffs... 3 goals should be enough to win. I hope Leino will be on the team next year, and I'd put him in if another regular forward got injured, but right now I'd rather keep the current guys that have track records of being good defensively in the lineup.

Something I've noticed this season, and particularly in the post season, is that good things seem to happen when Brad Stuart gets PP time. I don't have any hard numbers or stats to back this up, but my perception is that Stuart plays the point really well on the PP. He seems to know when to pinch, he's got a good shot, and he has some nice chemistry with Kronwall (or Lidstrom for that matter). Maybe he's just getting lucky bounces like last night, but it I have this feeling that the PP works really nicely when he's out there. Am I off the wall or does anyone else see this too? Fully healthy, I'd love to roll Lids/Rafi and Stu/Jr. on the PP points. I know that screws up the lefty/righty thing that Sammy provides, but I've just liked Stuart on the point.

He's a world-class Logo Hunter.

Thanks for pointing that out... I forgot to say that was part of my rationale for doing so. I've been really impressed with Flip, even if it's not resulting in tons of goals/points. My one fear of doing this line rearrangement is stacking the best defensive forwards (Z and Dats) on the same line when the Ducks have the right of last change at the Ponda... they can easily avoid those guys. But it would give the Ducks a line they would have to check with care, plus still have a deadly 2nd line.

I could see Ericsson also getting some PP time, but for me, I don't want to put too much on the shoulders of the rookie, despite him playing really well. He's facing the top Ducks line a lot, double shifting some, and getting significant PK time. Maybe the Wings are right to ease him a little slower into the PP squad. Sammy does pretty well on the PP, when he pinches down low. I don't think he's good at keeping the puck at the point or at getting his shot through to the keeper from 55 feet back. I think he's good as sort of the "5th" point man, that fills in during injuries or other times in which a top 4 guy (Lids/Rafi/Kronner/Stu) are unable to play.