Broken 16

Many believe that the March 26th game against the Colorado Avalanche was instrumental in helping the Red Wings 'get over the hump' to become Stanley Cup Champions. For those that weren't fans at the time... a quick rundown of events leading up to and after that amazing night. Playoffs 95/96 We draw the Colorado Avalanche. Fresh from an relocation from Quebec. They have a stacked team. Joe Sakic, Peter Forseberg, Patrick Roy, Adam Foote to name a few. All kinds of character. Mike Ricci leading the way in that department. And, of course, Claude. The Avs bounced the Wings from the playoffs, dashing any hopes for a Cup. We had a new Western Conference rival standing in our way. This happens during the series... Scroll to about the 0:55 mark. By the way, observe Joe Sakic standing over Draper trying to keep everyone from piling up on top of him. That's why I always had a soft spot for Joe. Drapers face was destroyed and required surgery. Fast forward to the following year. The Wings aquired Brendan Shanahan in an attempt to 'get tougher'. After much build up, the final regular season meeting between the two teams took place on March 26th, 1997. Retribution was had: Still feel bad for Mickey. He was stuck in the elevator. Hehe. By the way... the Wings went on to win the Cup, on top of bouncing the Avs from the playoffs that year. So my question to you is this. Was this brawl important to the Red Wings in terms of getting them over the hump and into the Stanley Cup Finals? Or was this just a small footnote and not really that important?

I'd be inclined to agree, 100%.

Wow... that's awesome. I watched it twice.

I can say for sure that I won't be blaming Pavel. Should he be scoring? Most definately. But I also think that there are plenty of other culprits. And none of them on the lower lines. Not even Maltby. Flip is playing good... but he's only a goal here and there from playing great. I'm not singling out Flip. He's just an example. I'm thinking, especially after hearing about the "heart to heart" than maybe Pavel is having a hard time adjusting to all the attention. He's not getting nearly the attention that Crosby and Ovechkin are getting, but he's been nominated for the cream of the crop as far as trophys for forwards go. Selke, Pearson... HART. I think he's feeling a lot of pressure and just needs to relax.

Do YOU know what Tourette's is? It's not only like it is in the movies. There are many degrees. There is no insecurity to address... except maybe your own. I don't know. The main reason I made the poll was because I wanted to get an idea of how many 'New NHL' fans were on this site. Thankfully, not as many as I thought. I also did it to remind people that they should be angry about what happened the other night. There seemed to be too much "Oh well, no big deal". I was wrong, thankfully again. It seems to be isolated to only a couple of the more vocal people.

I doubt he'll see any ice time. I would imagine he is just there to be a locker room presence. And also 'just in case'. There is no negative to having McCarty on the roster. A couple McCarty boxing lessons 101 for a few of the guys might not be a bad idea though.

Game 7's are the best thing in hockey imo. In a sick, twisted sort of way... I'm almost happy we have a game 7 to savor.

I'm totally relaxed. You're the one that keeps saying "insecurity" like you have tourettes or something. As far as making a better point, Darren McCarty scored an overtime goal against Patrick Roy that was assisted by Igor Larionov and Brendan Shanahah. Do the intangiables show up on the stat sheet? No. Doesn't mean Roy wasn't affected in some way.

I see... so what was the intention of your initial post? If you wouldn't mind indulging me.

I'm responding to you because you decided to jump in and speak for Shoreline.

So, come in and mock the thread... then complain for getting mocked. Hehe.

Despite how Roy played... who scored the winning goal? Divine intervention? Fate? Karma? Not everything can be proven on a stat sheet and nobody knows exactly what was going through Roys head. Including me. Pretty coincidental though, wouldn't you say? Who got the assists? Larionov, who you might say created the perfect diversion by going after Forsberg and Brendan Shanahan... who just happens to be the one that tackled him at center ice. It's real easy to look at a stat sheet and say "Well, this happened and this happened because this happened". It's a whole different deal inside the players heads. As far as the track record of the Wings in terms of physicality. Yes, they can be gritty. Yes, they are physical and hit. But aside from Ericsson, I can't remember the last time the Wings won a fight. Franzen. The Mule, got clocked and got a concussion. Same for Kopecky. It's a little scary. I don't want to see anybody else get hurt.

Was this post necessary? No? Is it going to go on for multiple pages? Maybe? Will Doc Holiday spam it with whining about what other posters are discussing? Most definately?

I really don't see a need to provide a disagreement. History shows exactly what happened. Endless player interviews have shown exactly what impact those events had on the team. The bottom line is that the Wings need to respond to what took place last night. Period. Now, maybe that means lighting them up for 8 goals. Maybe that means sending a physical message early. Tell ya one thing, if the Wings are going to make them 'pay' by scoring a bunch of goals on them and putting the game out of reach. The Ducks are gonna start running them. Hard. You think the Wings are prepared to overcome that? Based on what I saw last night, I'm not so sure. By the way, the only opinion of yours I disregarded was the opinion that I picked a wrong topic to disagree with Shoreline on. What's it to you?

It's got nothing to do with insecurity brainiac. As a matter of fact, it goes hand in hand with the main topic of the boards today. I realize that it's easy for you to meander off the the path a little in order to appear correct, but the Ducks attacked the Wings physically last night. With no suspensions handed out, there is no reason to think it won't happen again. By the way... ever notice that people that bring up other people supposed insecurity issues usually have the deepest ones? Weird how that works.

Oh, that's right. Everyone else is wrong and you are right. What was I thinking? Btw... are you really comparing March 26th to 911? Wow... you're reaching.

Coming from you that means... well, nothing.

The poll speaks. You lose. Again.

I can't believe you're NOT equating the furious comeback with the brawl. Seriously. Wow.

Owned is overstating, wouldn't you say? Squeaked by again is infinitely more accurate.

Most people? Fine. ALL PEOPLE know that what Perry did was cowardly and weak. Except Mighty Duck fans. Brian Rafalski has averaged 16 penalty minutes a year throughout his entire career. WATCH RAFALSKI!!! How coincidental that Perry chose him to start swinging on. Lol... what a toad. That's downright embarrassing.

There's a big gap between incidental contact during play and singling out the weakest player on the ice, fresh off an injury, after the game is over in an attempt to look tough. He's a weasel and a coward. This has been demonstrated many, many times. Homer doesn't have a reputation for dirty elbows. Perry is well know for taking swipes at players while standing behind the refs. May as well embrace the fact.

If Perry were a dandelion, I'd rub his head all over your arm to see if you like butter then pop his head off.

I don't really give a s***, I guess. But it's just driving me crazy that anyone could be so short sighted.

By the way... the only reason I'm asking this is because I'm being told by more than one person that the brawl was basically insignificant in the big picture and I just want to make sure I'm not losing my mind.