puckloo39

I am with you. I will believe Bert is playing when I see #44 on the ice tomorrow. It's the playoffs, believe nothing you read or hear.

I have the incident DVR'd. He got hit, it wasn't phantom. Babcock made a mistake singling Dom out as the goat for that loss. One goal per game won't cut it, unless your goalies pitch a shutout every single game. That was the problem, and will continue to be, IMO. It's just hard to tell sometimes if posters in here are Wings fans based on some of the comments. "Ig from Calgary" ?Sounds like a Flames fan to me. Glad to know you do cheer for the Wings, even if you are in a rather large contingent who do not support Hasek, who does play for the Red Wings, too. The Wings are thrilled he's there for them, so that's what matters, I guess.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey/2007/...981258-sun.html Calgary's talking trash because they're scared. Mac sets them straight at the end of the article. Anyone who thinks Dom will be the reason we don't win this series is wrong. No scoring will be the reason. Hasek's been consistent all season and maintained around a 2.00 GAA or less. I don't think facing so few shots all season has been the best situation for a goalie like Dom, but when he has seen more shots, he's won then, too. I really question how anyone can be concerned that Hasek won't rise to the occasion, and play well when it counts the most. zaxx, yes, I watched all but three games this season. You haven't, apparently. Hasek got hit in the head (later proved on tape) and tried to draw a penalty because of it. He may have felt it was a last resort, since the Wings were, as usual, not able to score more than 1 goal. It was desperation on his part to try and win the game, and possibly ill-advised. However, it shouldn't have ever come to that. Babcock should have called out the rest of the Wings and asked them why they are so intent on padding the opposing goalie's stats with easy stops instead of putting the puck behind them. I hope to see a reversal in the two-goal per game trend in the playoffs. If not, we won't last long. EDIT: PS- upon a bit of reflection, my bad. zaxx is probably a Flames fan, and I took the bait. Welcome to the forums.

WC Quarterfinals Detroit Red Wings vs. Calgary (Wings in 5 games) Ducks vs. Wild (Ducks in 7 games) Stars vs Nuckies (Stars in 6 games) Sharks vs. Preds (SJ in 6 games) EC Quarterfinals Sabres vs. NY Islanders (Sabres in 5 games) Devils vs. TB (NJ in 6 games) Thrashers vs. NY Rangers (Altanta in 6 games) Sens vs. Pens (Ottawa in 7 games)

You seriously think Hasek will freak out in a playoff game? Really?? I guess we will see. I really love how some fans here have so much confidence in the player the Red Wings themselves are depending on. Have you watched any games this season, where Hasek was run over, knocked halfway across the rink by players running him in the crease? Did he freak out, or did he get back up and play and win? He didn't freak out then, and he won't in the playoffs. As for a game plan, I hope the Wings get their butts down to the other end of the ice and pester the crap out of Kipper, and don't spend their entire time slinging soft perimeter shots at him, losing because they score only 1 or 2 goals. Notice I don't say run Kipper, just go to the net and make things harder for him. I think Hasek is the least of the Wings' problems. If the only way Calgary can win is injure Dom, then they don't deserve the Cup. I hope they lose if they have to get past us in that fashion.

J.R. is a wanna-be Brett Hull -- big mouth, ending his career in Phoenix, where many once-fine hockey players seem to go to die, out of shape, out of the line up and out of the playoffs. Jealous much, J.R.? His comments about Dom rival Hull's prophecies about Datsyuk not signing with Wings. How correct was that? He's wrong about Dom, too. By the way, notice the only thing he's got to say about the Wings is that they have Hasek in goal, and that the only way to beat Dom is to beat him up? Classy, huh? That alone tells you how scared the rest of the shooters in the playoffs are, if all the "expert" is concerned with is who is in goal. Hopefully, Bert will dismantle anyone who breathes on Dominik. Calder and the Pain Train will assist.

I also would take Luongo over Turco on a given day, but in the first round of the playoffs, I believe the Stars will prevail. Dallas is a good series team -- not overloaded with talent, but very smart with lots of chemistry. I think they'll outsmart the Nucks, wear them down and figure them out pretty quickly. Gosh, I sound like a homer, but I am just telling what I've seen there. Turco's a bit over-hyped, but he can play, and Smith the backup is as good as Turco. I've always liked Vancouver (although one of the guys I liked best is now a Wing.. woo!) and used to say they were a goalie short of a Stanley Cup. OK, they have Luongo and not Cloutier, let's see what they can do, eh?

well, duh. Dom, of course. Who knew (besides me) that he would come back and dominate again like he has? For those who don't think he saw enough rubber to count, it's quality, not quantity that matters. Lowest GAA for the majority of the season consistently was not a fluke. Dats and Lidstrom tied for a very close second, IMO. And Calder with the Post-trade deadline MVP. He's been spectacular. The anti-Cory Cross Award goes to #17.

Why? Luongo? Nucks have Luongo, true, with zero playoff experience. Dallas has Turco, who does have experience and probably more importantly, has something to prove. Dallas also has Smith, who is just as good as Turco, IMO. I watch Dallas a lot and haven't seen all that much of Vancouver. I know Dallas is tenacious and will hang in there. Zubov is a Norris-calibre defenseman, w/ Boucher, quite formidible. Modano is clutch...' nuf said. Dallas' biggest issue is coasting for 40 minutes and then winning in the third (like some other team we know and love). They tend to win in OT and SO a lot, so the OT will help them, anyway. It will be a good matchup! I like Vancouver and Dallas.

wow. Vancouver has to get past Dallas first. I give Dallas the edge in Round 1, so those parties could be short lived. I hope the Wings, if they pay any attention at all to what the media say, are just laughing and shaking their heads. We believe in them, and more important -- the Wings believe in themselves. Whichever team the Wings face in round two will not be so sure of themselves.

Hey, DraperFan in MN, thanks for going to so much trouble to do this research. I have Time Warner digital cable, with Center Ice and Versus. I called TWC and they had absolutely no idea what Center Ice is showing and when. The response from the tech support was, I promise: "What hockey playoffs?"

Well, I was thinking Bowman, but yes, now that you bring it up, I do think Dom is key to the big shiny silver Cup. Of course, Hasek is old, brittle and over the hill but I don't doubt he's still a factor. I think the Wings want to win, I never doubt that. I just am worried that they are not up to the task of scoring when they need to, and scoring more than two goals per game. I have given up wailing about their typical 30-40 SOG from the perimeter, with maybe 3-4 scoring chances. You know the drill: "fill in name of goalie here" for Vezina . With a goalie like Kipper, that simply won't do. He will stop them all. So will Dom and Ozzie if they are lucky enough to be the recipients of such fortune on their end. Bert's out and Zata may be back at 50% in round one. It's up to Dats and Homer whether we win or lose, at this point. Calder will chip in, too, I don't doubt. Will it be enough?

Any thoughts as to why? I have my theory.

Simple. If Dom gets through the playoffs uninjured and wins for the Wings, the groin-calamity predictors will disappear. Poof! They will surface just long enough to point out that Hasek had nothing to do with the victory, and that any old fart could have been out there and we would have won anyway. Now, if Dom does get hurt, they can all run around braying that they were "right" all along. As you already know, no other Red Wing ever gets hurt and isn't 100% for the playoffs. oh, wait... yes, they do. It merely reinforces how important Hasek is to the run for the Cup, that other fans want him gone from the equation so much. There is nothing you can do about it, FF. I wouldn't get too upset about lame predictions about Dom from other boards. This one, yes - fans here ought to know better. Other boards, no. Just wait, the real "fun" is on the way, especially if Dom should be mortal and let in a goal. good point!

I fully expect Lang to step it up for the playoffs. I laughed out loud last week during a game, when some commentator actually said, "That situation was a result of lazy play by Lang..." I kept waiting for the other guy to say, "and he sucks."

I thought of that, too. Hopefully, as we advance, people will get more into it and the arena will fill up.

this is freaking me out. If I had any spare change, I would be headed for Detroit and those tickets to the opening game. Of course, individual game tickets are not the same as committing to entire rounds of playoff games. It's a big financial commitment the way the Wings have the ticket packages structured, so I can understand how people can't justify it.

right. Bobbert and a couple of others, as well. I hope you're not holding your breath, however.

I find myself wondering why some seem to want to see certain players or the team fail, hunting for reasons/excuses. Self-fulfilling prophecy is not a myth. If we think they can do it and the Wings think they can, only the refs and hockey gods stand in our way.

Me, too. I like being under the radar, low expectations are a great motivator this time of year. I cancelled my subscription to Hockey News. They are so biased toward Canadian teams and players, I couldn't take it anymore. Free info on the internet is better.

No, I don't. But, I think you're right. Of course, the Wings have been underestimated all season long, and have had enough little hiccups along the way to "prove" the media "right" that our vets are old and slow and the Wings don't have what it takes. So, how did they wind up conference champs again, even with key players missing? I wonder. I say, let them underestimate the Wings. I like it. Lowered expectations and all, I think this sort of stuff just makes the Wings more determined to prove themselves. They certainly don't believe the media spewings, and that's a good thing!

depends on who you're sitting next to at the game whether you need your jersey tied down, right, OS? I love the white board idea... someone go put a message up there from LGW, for sure!! I've been to Hockeytown Authentics on my one visit to Detroit in 2002, and left a bunch of my money there, too. It's a great place for an obsessed fan!

sounds good! We have two votes for Sunday, noon, at Legends. How about the rest of you guys? Blak, sorry you can't make it, but there's the second round to look forward to, right?

Either, or both in my case. Thursday game is at 6PM, so that might be a problem for me, as I tend to work later than that, but I will try to peel out of here early. Sunday game is at noon, but is on NBC, so maybe it's not the best choice, since most can watch on TV at home... I dunno. You guys decide and I will try to make which ever one/s you pick. That would be awesome if you can bring your family, Tex! We gotta train 'em young to respect the Winged Wheel, right?

cool! I have Center Ice, but it would be nice to meet some of ya'll, it's always more fun to watch a game with other fans, right? Let's try for Legends on Sunday. I will definitely be there, if some of you guys want to go, too...