AIK'91

I'm cheering for the Red Wings...in '10-11. For this year though, absolutely not Pittsburgh. And please not Chicago. So I guess I'm more anti-cheering than anything. But if I had to pick, I don't mind Boston winning it all. Or Halak even...I mean Montreal.

Good to see I'm not the only one that feels this way. As for Hamhuis and Volchenkov, you know some team is going to vastly overpay for them.

I've never seen a line combination with Datysuk on it manage to look so bad. Anyways, go Wings! Give me something to look forward to on Monday.

Possibility that Williams plays Game 5...? If so, there is the very real possibility that Babcock is on drugs. Seriously.

In '06 (after the loss to Edmonton), weren't we close to sending Luongo an offer sheet while he was a RFA in Florida? The trade to Vancouver and eventual signing nixed that plan though. And I'd say things for us worked out for the better.

It should be 10 since that's what every official site says. Ken must have simply misspoke. Regardless, game time can't come soon enough though. The suspense/anticipation is killing me!

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by that. That alone greatly improves his line's ability to cycle the puck.

I think Bert wants to be back as well. So him and Kenny should be able to work out a reasonable cap number. When you think about it, Todd's one of the few players on our roster who doesn't have a Cup ring. So he's obviously real motivated--as we saw with his dominant performance today. After a game like this, perhaps it's not so crazy to suggest that he's regaining much of his old form. ( :siren: Still ecstatic from tonight's game!)

You guys pretty much said exactly everything I could have responded with. Nick is quietly our most reliable player (and I'll say it again--our best player.) Ken Holland jokes that he's going to announce his retirement right after Lidstrom does. Now, I think we'll still be a good team after Nick hangs 'em up. But, we'll almost certainly not be quite as consistently good.

Easily our best player? With Zetterberg, he's not even necessarily our best forward every game. Sure, Pavel plays a flashy game and is absolutely phenomenal at both ends of the rink. He's probably the league's most exciting player to watch, especially one-on-one. But, Nick quietly gets the job done. He's the steadying influence of our team. He shuts down the other team's best players and makes those crucial outlet passes (the key to our puck possession style and transition game for years now). Also, there isn't another D-man better at holding the line. It's just all the little things he does that make him night-in, night-out our best player. Datsyuk would say so himself. And so would Zetterberg, Yzerman, and Ken Holland, etc. I admit though, for the first time ever, he has started to have the occasional bad game. But in many respects, he's still the same Lidstrom we've seen for years. The same Lidstrom that continues to be our best player. Perhaps nobody else is admitting that Nick is our best player out of fear for having to ponder what this team will look like once he hangs 'em up.

Even though you can argue he's lost half-a-step, Nick's still our best player As good as Z and Pavel have been post-lockout, Lidstrom's always been the first guy you'd want in the lineup. Even now.

Despite being down 3-0, the Wings better be playing their hearts out on Thursday. IMO, the most important reason not to give up on the season is because our best player may not play next year. Sadly.

Agreed. I've always heard how Kindl plays much better around better players. After all, he nearly made the team out of training camp a few years ago.

I also totally agree. So I'll cancel your minus.

Now, I don't want to pin any of this on one player. Our team f***ed up. But, regarding Ericcson...I'm 5'7'' and I think I could win a battle against him. If it isn't after the whistle, that is. Williams has to come out though . I'm tired of seeing his attempts at playing ice hockey. Brad May should be in the lineup. He's known to bring intensity in the playoffs. It's not like he's a liability; he can skate a regular shift and still be responsible defensively.

I doubt the NHL will see another player like Lidstrom in our lifetimes.

I saw a little bit of your blog before. This would probably mean more after a win, but you're a good writer. Keep up the good work. You're gonna have to cover a pretty big comeback soon.

Being up 3-0, I appreciate your modesty. You're a Sharks fan from China though? Hell, they may even eat sharks over there.

Our guys just look so tired out there. It seems to be why we've been falling off late in games. Obviously, I'm also proud to be a fan of this team. Like any other fan, I still have faith in a historic comeback. But, Lidstrom's 40 years old. You can't really be satisfied with bowing out early when he's still playing well. He's our best player and the cornerstone of our success. We need to take advantage of every opportunity we have with him on the roster. This year's as good as any to take advantage of his presence. And to do that now, we've got a real big mountain to climb.

This would be perfect as all four are Original 6 teams. And obviously Pittsburgh isn't one of them.

"I had no idea teams play a lot better defense in the playoffs." Either that, or... "What!!!...I thought we could beat up on Atlanta, Tampa, Carolina or Florida again?"

That would be the NHL's head office and Bettman.

Realistically we would never get either one of them.

Interestingly, all 8 seed numbers are now represented: #1-3 (West) #4 (East) #5 (West) #6-8 (East)

Before I opened this thread, I thought it would be a fan-made video of last night's goal. Good on the NHL for making more of these official ones.