Matt

I'm disappointed no one asked Hasek what he was going to do with that $450,000 payout he just earned.

Aye. Probably sometime Tuesday.

I actually don't mind the long shots as long as you've got a guy down in front of the crease. If the Wings can just play steady, keep their shifts short and make good line changes (make sure that puck is DEEP!), they'll be okay.

Excuse me? Since when do you "have" to suckerpunch anyone? Was Lebda's lowbridge on him some kind of affront to his manhood? There's no excuse for suckerpunching someone. Yes, I thought Lebda low-bridged him, but that's no excuse to do what Langkow did.

I don't think running the risk of taking direct blows to the melon would be in Bertuzzi's best interest considering he just came off a concussion and neck sprain that contributed to him missing the first two games of this series. FWIW, Langkow playing in tonight's game is a joke.

LetsGoWings.com's Live Chat room is now available! http://www.letsgowings.com/chat This one is a temporary playoff edition as the permanent version of the chat room is not yet ready. Enjoy!

John Niyo in the Detroit News is saying that Lebda left the arena on crutches, likely to steady himself due to the concussion. During the 2nd intermission of the Canucks/Stars game, the Satellite Hotstove panel said the league is reviewing the end of the game but since both teams are "in the air" on the way to Calgary there may not be any kind of announcement tonight. We'll see.

Zing!

I don't recall ever implicating you of trolling. I mentioned it as a reminder to those that might be inclined to do so.

No, I didn't say you couldn't write, I'm just surprised to see someone back here a day after giving up on the club. Interesting.

WingedWheelin06 -- What are you doing back here? I thought you said the Wings were done?

Remember the Forum Guidelines, fellas. If you get trolling on another forum expect to be banned permanently here. We don't need the mess started over there coming here.

Welcome to retirement, Sean!

Oh, it goes way beyond Samuelsson for me... They're just standing around out there, waiting for plays to magically appear on the ice. Prime example was their last power play of the game, where Calgary players were diving left and right in attempts to block shots that never came. Now, you'd think the Wings would take advantage of these temporarily prone players on the ice, wouldn't you? You know, if you were already moving you could take a stride or two and take advantage of the new lane made available to you for a pass or a shot right? Noooooo.... ... Let's just stand *right* where we were, stickhandle the puck while I stay in the same position and wait for the PKer to get back to his skates again. PATHETIC! It's like the Flames know you're just going to stay parked in the spot you're standing at! Skate around in the god-damn offensive zone! Make the PKers MOVE! Get them OUT OF POSITION! I swear to god this power play has one helluva case of Langitis (you know, Mr. All-I-Do-On-A-Power-Play-Is-Stand-At-The-Half-Boards?) /rant off (I feel better)

Gee, I don't know... Home ice advantage? Calgary sucks on the road? The Wings have owned Calgary 5-on-5? Regehr is, in all likelihood, out for the rest of the series? Bertuzzi has shown he can contribute? The second line finally woke up? Basically, if the Wings can get their damn special teams in some semblence of order -- hell, I'd take AVERAGE play from them instead of the horror show of the first four games -- they'll win this series.

What's pathetic is that you didn't even catch the sarcasm in my post. You remember that 2001 series, right? Yzerman went down with the knee injury that would eventually cause it's steady deterioration made so memorable in the 2002 Cup run, and Shanahan had his foot broken while diving to block a shot in Game 2. Both were out with injuries from Game 3 on... But you remembered that, right?

s***, and we're missing YZERMAN and SHANAHAN this year, too!

The reason this series is tied is because of special teams, pure and simple. Blame the refereeing all you want, but the Red Wings are getting their opportunities with the extra man, too. It's pathetic a team with this much talent stinks up the ice in such a key part of the game.

"Heart" isn't the issue. It's that pathetic excuse for special teams. Totally unacceptable.

With the skill on this roster there is absolutely NO excuse for how utterly pathetic this club is on special teams. Has some of the calls in tonight's game been repulsive? Absolutely. But my blame sits with the Red Wings and the teams' total lack of an adequate power play or penalty kill.

Just some quick thoughts on the first period: - Hasek better just block out any memory of that first period. He's the reason it's 2-2 right now (boneheaded penalty -- play through it! -- and he should've had the Conroy shot, I don't care if it was deflected since it was 45-feet out). - Better damn line changes! Wasn't this a problem in the Edmonton series last year, too? Get the GD Puck DEEP first! On a better note... - The coaching staff is GENIUS. Moving Franzen up to the No. 2 was an excellent choice. - Fantastic to see Bertuzzi play such an integral part in that 1st period. - The Wings are responding. Each time Calgary got a goal that place sounded like it was about to explode, but Detroit answered to silence. I think as the period went on it was obvious the Wings started to control the play and had a few opportunities to take the lead. If the Wings can play disciplined, smart hockey for the last 40 minutes and keep the pressure up (all four lines were creating chances), I think we'll take a 3-1 lead back to Detroit for Saturday... But Dom has to play much, MUCH better than he did in the first and someone has to wake up this damn power play!

LetsGoWings.com's Live Chat room is now available! http://www.letsgowings.com/chat This one is a temporary playoff edition as the permanent version of the chat room is not yet ready. Enjoy!

An excellent proposition if the club held onto that lead in Game 3, but we're not in a position for such luxuries, unfortunately. Regarding Lang: As much as he deserves to sit -- it won't happen. He brings too much to the table, unfortunately. Size, excellent passing skills... Though it's hard to imagine, I think the 2nd line gets worse without him. So we'll just have deal with him and hope he "wakes up". He's a streaky player and I find it hard to believe that he won't -- at some point in this series -- have a big impact. Perhaps with the man-advantage tonight?

I'm absolutely certain that Zetterberg is not anywhere near 100%, it's just that the pain/discomfort associated with his injury is at a tolerable level right now. Unfortunately, though his timing may come back I think that his back will continue to slowly deteriorate over the duration of the playoffs. I've said it in other threads, but it bears repeating: At this point I'd be surprised -- shocked, possibly -- if he doesn't have surgery on it. (If it wasn't so late in the season and the injury occurred in, say November, I think he would've ultimately had surgery on it. But that's speculating on my part.)