puckloo39

Babs looking displeased with the Lang penalty. PK, guys!!!

who's Filoopa? Big save, Nabby... too bad, that would have been a nice goal.

one way to keep the page count down on the thread. The server simply stops responding. Nice period, Wings! Sharks look a tad lost out there. Keep it up!

Lids! excellent first strike.

score should be 2-0 already. Nabby kisses the posts and says "thank you."

I am high-fiving myself since there is no one else here. Yay, Homer!!!

nah, Dom's always #1 with me. Polls don't reflect reality, usually. These sound especially suspect, from all of your comments.

:rotflmao: perfection!!

I honestly don't expect to see any of the brain-fart, lackadaisical behaviors tonight which characterized portions of Gm 1 and Gm 2. Both teams have sized each other up, and IMO, the Wings more than match up with San Jose. If they go to the net and play smart, Wings will be fine. But, you're right, if they come out dazed and confused at the Tank tonight, the Sharks will pluck all the Wings' feathers, no doubt about it. freep Schneids has an interesting take on things -- "Schneider, at least, suspects simply being away from home might yield better beginnings. "In general our starts at home, we seem to be a little tentative," he said. "Especially last game, guys were certainly nervous, we knew what was at stake last game, and I just felt we came out really tentative. We were trying not to make mistakes and on the other end, these guys were playing with a lot of confidence and very aggressive. "I'm thinking the guys are going to be a little bit looser, ready to start. We know there is going to be focus on the first 10 minutes. And if we can play with the lead earlier, it makes the game a lot easier for us."

the flu is making the rounds in the dressing room, I heard/read. Zetterberg and Schneider didn't practice yesterday. Let's hope no one else get sick. edit: not being Debbie Downer, just worried for them with all the travel and stress. We need everyone who is able to show up 100%.

Can I get an AMEN! to that??

bits and pieces on Game 3 - Niyo from the Detroit News... Go, Wings!!

you know, I had a response typed but I erased it. There's no point anymore. Either you believe in the man, or you don't.

I think maybe that's an over-statement.

right you are... I think that trend may have turned around a little in the last game, don't you? The Wings were so much more on task with the puck and got goals the way I am used to seeing them score. That come back from -2 was nothing short of, well, reassuring. They were great, and not in the least exhausted by playing smart and hard, as has been suggested. I was exhausted, they were elated!

he knows, already.... Happily, no other Wing ever makes a mistake aside from the 25 or so turnovers in Game 1, I mean. The ones that Dom pretty much covered for them and bailed them out on, ya know? "It was tough five minutes for me and whole team," Hasek said. "They just came hard and they score on the first shot, and then I try to help my teammates with the puck and I gave away the puck and the net was open. It was just mistake, and we were down, 2-0." Hasek doesn't make the same mistake twice, and he owns up to it when he does. No worries here.

"I think some folks hope the Wings are exhausted. Fact is, that was just a great 40 minutes of hockey yesterday in the last two stanzas, and the Wings are just getting warmed up. Both teams have checked each other out now. Even with home ice now for the Sharks, which I don't discount, experience on the Wings' bench will give them an edge. Homer back in the mix will only make them more formidible. All the Wings have to do is cut down on the mistakes - no more 25 turnovers in one game, guys! - and they will at worst split the two games in San Jose. As has been said already, by Babcock and others, the mistakes made by the Wings early in the game are costly. Look for that to stop in game 3 and going forward. Yes, the Wings did deserve to win yesterday. Just a preview of things to come?" I quote myself, from another thread but it fits better here. too lazy to retype it all. Go, Wings!!! Bernie will give the Wings wings!!

I think some folks hope the Wings are exhausted. Fact is, that was just a great 40 minutes of hockey yesterday in the last two stanzas, and the Wings are just getting warmed up. Both teams have checked each other out now. Even with home ice now for the Sharks, which I don't discount, experience on the Wings' bench will give them an edge. Homer back in the mix will only make them more formidible. All the Wings have to do is cut down on the mistakes - no more 25 turnovers in one game, guys! - and they will at worst split the two games in San Jose. As has been said already, by Babcock and others, the mistakes made by the Wings early in the game are costly. Look for that to stop in game 3 and going forward. Yes, the Wings did deserve to win yesterday. Just a preview of things to come?

Dats is taking lessons from Hudler in the "how to depict pure joy when you score the game winner" happy face department.

positive article - Kulfan "Sometimes you want to help your team by getting the puck behind the net, and it doesn't work out," Hasek said. "But we battled hard the whole game and came back and got a big win." Hasek only had 17 saves but he made several big ones in the first period with the Sharks already leading 2-0, and pressing to score more, then made big ones in the third period with the game tied. "He was huge," forward Kris Draper said. “Dom shut the door. Every time there was a big save to be made, Dom made it.†"It was good to see us battle and keep working hard," Hasek said. "We needed this game." yep. see? Dom's always honest about what he does, good or bad, for his team and gives credit where and when it's due. I wish people were as fair with Dom as he is with everyone else. "It was tough five minutes for me and whole team," Hasek said. "They just came hard and they score on the first shot, and then I try to help my teammates with the puck and I gave away the puck and the net was open. It was just mistake, and we were down, 2-0." "I think the difference today was we went to the net harder," Dominik Hasek said after making 17 saves. "We score lucky goals, but the lucky goals we score because Jiri Hudler, he went to the net and he distract the goalie. Finally we got a little bit momentum and we were better team in second period and in the third we score shorthanded goal and ... finally Pavel score the game-winning goal."

Well, thank God none of the other Reg Wings ever make a mistake or commit turnovers in a playoff game!! Oh, wait... that pretty much defined game 1. Hasek will own his error today, WWW, never fear. If anyone asks, he will say outright he got caught and admit it - he's always honest about his own play, and pretty much everyone elses. He made a mistake - just trying to be one of the guys, I guess -- he also shut the door the rest of the game. Currently, at 2.05 GAA, Hasek leads the playoff's remaining goalies, just as he led the league basically the entire season. Who else could the Wings have gotten goal who would do a better job, for a $750,000 regular season salary? We can thank Dom for the presence of several other players the Wings could not have afforded without his bargain basement contract. Gotta love a poster who steadfastly stands by such intelligent statements as "Hasek is an ass clown", by the way. PS - redwinguofmfan, what's wrong with your keyboard? all your posts have three lines of space between each comment.

it's been said ad infinitum, but Dan Cleary is the story of these playoffs (and season, really). Did you see the post-game interview? It was very touching. He's so grateful for this chance -- it really is literal with him, when you say "he plays his heart out." It's what hockey is all about, really. Dan's the man.

The Shark Tank is an inhospitable environment for visiting teams, to say the least (although I found the fans to be very nice, and knowledgeable). I think the Wings will definitely win one, in spite of the hostile environment. Momentum is a good thing. If Game 1 made the Sharks feel confident (and I am not sure that is the case - it was a give-away by the Wings) when neither team played well, Game 2 has to make the Wings feel very good about themselves. They battled back from a 2 goal deficit and won, which was statisically unlikely. Keep the pressure on when you get to SJ, Wings!

Good thread. Maltby has a penchant for being unsung until he suddenly does something just amazing. Remember the shift in the playoffs (was it 2002? maybe v. the Avs?) when he had no stick and still blocked like three shots in a row on a power play? I was up out of my seat at home, yelling "Maltby, Maltby, Maltby!!" along with the crowd. Lilja, Markov and Maltby get my votes for stepping up today, in no particular order... maybe 1 extra prop to Markov. He's making himself indispensible out there. Hudler also showed some real chops out there today, too. Cheli, Pav and Dom just did their jobs and did them well, seriously, but both Pav and Dom get an A+ for showing up when it really counts. Clutch is everything...

perhaps if one of our highly paid skaters will step up and score a couple, things will turn out OK despite the sub-par play of their league-minimum goaltender -- who just wants to win more than anyone else out there.