mmamolo

I definitely agree in principle with what the OP said. I think there were some 'ticky tack' calls as well. But at the same time I think there were some calls that should have been made that weren't. So maybe I'm a bit on the fence here. To me, I'd rather just see the blatant things get called and the little, insignificant things that go both ways be let go. I think most of us (fans) would prefer it that way. If you negate a scoring opportunity, hurt someone, or delibrately/blatantly break a rule then you get called for a penalty.

This was definitely a missed call in my mind too

As well as Miller has played I was blown away when Babcock chose to play Miller over Draper in Game 1 on the fourth line. Then when he stuck with it in Game 2 it was insane. When you look at how slow the Wings were in Game 1 you instantly would want to bring in a guy like Draper. Then you add the veteran pressence of Draper and to me it's a no brainer. In the third period of game 2 Zetterberg and Franzen finally looked a little bit sharper but they definitely aren't at 100%. The only way that Zetterberg and Datsyuk should be split is if Zetterberg is paired with someone like Filppula to help sustain the line. I also agree with some of the posters that I wouldnt mind seeing Mondano in the line up but I don't necessarily think it should be at the expense of Hudler. Although if it were to happen it wouldn't be a big deal. I also agree that Abdelkader has looked weak these last two games but that doesnt mean you take him out either.

great reference

They'd be tied for 2nd but that doesn't make the fifth ranked guy move into 3rd.

Well, in terms of the distance they travel it works out the same. But it definitely is tougher for the east coast team to start games at what would be 10 or 1030 pm when playing out west compared to west coast teams playing on the east coast and starting games at what would be 4 or 430 pm. I heard that the NHL and the their TV deal wanted/needed a nationally televised game for Thursday night. Both NBC and CBC wanted their prime time slots filled as well. Philly/Bos at 3pm Sat, Det/SJ at 3pm Sun and then Was/TB at 7pm Sun for NBC to hit all of their possible major markets and obviously CBC wanted Vancouver on Saturday night and that's why they have an early start (9pm) despite being on the west coast. So it was all based on the TV deals and the need for a nationally televised game tonight (Thursday) and then the rest of the weekend works out as it does because it just makes sense. Joe Thornton's numbers in the playoffs are fine. No one is arguing that. But he absolutely has disappeared in big games when it matters. From the NHL playoffs to the Olympics he has absolutely disappeared. Also, making the comparison to Yzerman is way off base. Yzerman took a struggling Wings franchise and made them relevant again in a gradual/progessive manner. Thornton, in many people's eyes, plateaud and just hasn't been able to get to the next level in those big games.

Nashville has been tough on us this year but I think there are a number of reason it would be better to face them (in the long run) 1. Travel 2. The Sharks destroy the Wings PK 3. The Wings have shown they can break down the Preds D and the Preds O is less to contend with 4. If the Wings end up facing the Preds that means it's the Sharks vs. Hawks and that means that they'll have to be flying across the country and dealing with time zone shifts. If the Wings make it to the WCF they'd be the more rested and less travelled team for once. I honestly believe it's all about the draw in the NHL playoffs. The less travel and the faster you close out series will determine who wins. I know it sounds dumb but it's true. If the Wings are rested and uninjured they will be the team to beat. Plus it'd be pretty rad to see Niemi vs. the Hawks

As you all know the Wings will either face SJ or Nash. Either way I think Babcock will want to keep the Abby line together because they're a big bodied line that wears they other team down. I think he'll go with one of the following two options (to start): Zetterberg/Franzen - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Franzen/Zetterberg - Filppula - Hudler Bertuzzi - Abdelkader - Cleary Draper - Helm - Eaves Miller, Modano Or if Franzen isn't ready to go: Modano- Datsyuk - Holmstrom Zetterberg - Filppula - Hudler Bertuzzi - Abdelkader - Cleary Draper - Helm - Eaves Miller, Franzen

Dont get me wrong, Skinner was a beast, but Couture will get a lot of attention as well

A huge factor for the Wings will be the PK. They look good for long stretches but then end up giving up goals. It's painful to see them kill off almost an entire 1:52 5 on 3 only to get scored on. Ultimately as/if they advance they will face better and better powerplays and they'll have to shut those teams down for chances to win games. Howard has definitely been great so far. The offence is clicking and people can blame Bryzgalov for not showing up all the want but a lot of credit needs to go to the Wings as well for making his life tough. To me so much will depend on the Wings' PK

When they check passports of people on buses they don't really ask anything since they're checking so many people. They'll talk to the person who organized the trip. If the bus trip si goign to spend extra time across the border (more than just the game) they may ask random people some questions. At most they usually ask what you do for a living, where you live, how you got on the bus trip etc. Using your brothers ID is a pretty big risk, no matter how much you look like him. Rarely do they ask for a supplemental piece of ID but it does happen if they think the picture is outdated. If you get busted trying to go into the States with fake ID you will absolutely be detained for an indetermined amount of time. To me, if you want to go to a game so badly that you're thinking of using your brother's passport you should just pay the $100 bucks for the 24 hour passport. She's not kidding. Honestly, border crossings are way more serious going into the states. I just crossed into Detroit a couple of weeks ago while I was heading to Chicago and got randomly searched. I was detained and essentially interrogated. It's not so easy to get from Canada into the States any more. However, as a Canadian coming back into Canada is absolutely still a joke.

I live just east of Hamilton and I go to a bunch of Wings games. Normally I drive across the border but I've driven to Widsor and taken the shuttle across and I once took a coach bus from the Hamilton area. No matter which way I've done it I've needed my passport. Sorry buddy, but I would think you're screwed

It's good that he is resting and obviously the better the Wings do right now the more rest he can get but seeing as it's only been a week and typically it's a 3 week injury if the Wings were to drop a couple of games that isnt exactlty encouraging. That being said, Im not expecting them to drop the next couple by any stretch of the imagination. Hopefully Z is ready for round 2 as I fully expect the Wings to be playing

I dont get why there is so much bickering going on. Yes, sometimes in a game there is one clear, distinct moment that utterly swings momentum from one teams favor to the others. But usually it's a series of events that occur in succession that creates the momentum swing. Whether that be a big hit, followed by drawing a powerplay which leads to a goal, then a fight etc.

What does that mean? Like what requirements? Honestly, I dont mind paying $50 bucks a ticket. I just want some half way decent seats but I also dont want to find out I could have paid half price by waiting until Saturday morning. The principle of the matter would be a kick in the nuts

I have a legitimate question for you savvy ticket buying guys. I live in Toronto and come to a bunch of Wings games. I want to head to this Saturdays game. I was jsut about to buy 2 tickets for $50 bucks each in row 8 upper bowl before some jerk snagged them out from under me on stubhub. Am I going to get a better price if I buy them now or wait until tomorrow or Saturday morning?

Drew Miller definitely deserves some playing time. The same can obviously be said for Draper and Eaves (over Modano at this point). But I can't help but want to see Modano in the line up. He has long since been one of my favourite non-wing players since my childhood so it was pretty cool to see him sign here despite him being at the tail end of his career. That being said, I do think Miller will bring more to the line up tonight.

1. Tyson Nash was never, at any point in time relevent 2. This will be a good series regardless of what any analyst is predicting 3. The Red Wings organization is always full of soft spoken individuals (at least in the Illitch era) so it should be no surprise that the Wings are preaching a high level of respect for the Coyotes 4. Tyson Nash is just trying to draw attention to himself which is only fair as he was unable to do so during his NHL playing days

He has in our (Wings fans') eyes. But after this playoffs hopefully he finally will in all hockey fans' eyes

There's no denying how good offensively Zetterberg has been in the playoff's the last few years but to me with the offense the Wings have this year the biggest loss with him out of the line up would be his ability to shut down the opposing team's top player. He's shown on several occassions his ability to shut down the league's best players while still putting up great numbers himself. The fact that Phoenix scores by committee I think Zetterberg's absence will be less of a factor. The Wings' offence can still roll in this series but even with Hank in the line up the only way this Wings team does anything in the playoffs is with an increased commitment to team defense. There is no star on the Phoenix squad, save for Shane Doan (which he is far from an elite scorer) for Detroit/Zetterberg to worry about shadowing or shutting down. Babcock doesn't have to worry a great deal about matching forward lines. He will most likely only look to match his shut down D pair against the Doan line

Any one who didnt take notice of Modano's very low ice time in Detroit's last game of the season against Chicago might be interested to know that he received the least amoutn of ice time of any forward which obviously included the likes of Drew Miller, Jiri Hudler and co. Modano and his experience will most likely keep him in the line up, as will Draper's, to start the playoffs which means most likely it's Drew Miller who is scratched. But don't forget that Patrick Eaves missed the Chicago game with flu like symptoms so he's no guarantee for Wed. I think Detroit gets the most out of Drew Miller when he feels as though he has something to prove. Once he plays a few games in a row he seems to lose a bti of jump. When he gets in and out of the line up he has a bit more to offer. I'd go with: Franzen - Datsyuk - Cleary Bertuzzi - Filppula - Hudler Modano - Abdelkader - Holmstrom Draper - Helm - Eaves Miller, Zetterberg (inj) Also, Kindl received the least ice time, while Ericsson and Stuart lead, of all the defensemen in the last game as well. That may be an indicator of Babcock swaying towards going with Salei as that Chicago game was the closest thing to a playoff game we've seen so far. Lidstrom - Kronwall Rafalski - Stuart Ericsson - Salei To start with these D pairings

I would really be surprised if Abdelkader gets suspended from this. At most it deserved a 2-min penalty on the ice. There is a serious difference between what Heatley did and what Abdelkader did. Heatley had intent to go after Ott's head and try to injure him. The only reason that didn't happen is because Heatley missed his shot. The suspension to Heatley was light (2 games) purely because the result of the hit to the head was minor. The NHL shouldn't be basing their suspensions on the resultant injury anyways. But the Dany Heatley fully went after Ott's head with the intent to blind side him when he didn't have the puck to try and hurt him. Abdelkader was making a check and his elbow got up. Even if you want to argue that he had the intent to elbow him (which is speculative) at least Seabrook was prepared for the hit and both players were engaged in 'hockey play' and Seabrook had some what of a chance to defend himself. This hit was not from the blindside and no one can clearly, 100% say there was intent there. I'm not saying he won't be suspended, because this is the NHL we're talking about, but based on precedence I'd be surprised if Abdelkader's hit is even discussed again at the NHL offices.

I caught this game on tv last night while flipping back and forth between the Tigers/O's game (which by the way was equally disappointing) and I couldnt agree more with how much of a joke the Rags performance was. Their PP stinks and missing Callahan is huge for them. With the way Carolina is playing their playoff hopes are in serious jeopardy. This was seriously a tough game to watch, not only because it was boring but because the Rangers were so hot the passed little while only for them to throw up a stinker in basically their biggest game to date. The only saving grace for me was that I bet the Under

There's no denying the skill that these players have but it takes more than skill to build a team around a player. I can't understand how Jeff Carter is ranked that high on this list. This guy, despite his skill set, is not all he's cracked up to be.

Toews is absolutely a great leader. For any of your non-Canadians around here that may have not noticed the impact that he had on the Canadian Olympic squad you would have seen him completely take control on and off the ice while he was surrounded by some of the game's best players and leaders. That being said, skill-wise there are a bunch of players that are currently better. But that doesnt mean you can't build teams around one of the best natural leaders in the NHL.