SouthernWingsFan

I started watching hockey a little bit more than "casual" starting around 1995. Part of what got me into the sport a little more was hockey video games as well. Detroit Red Wings eventually grew on me. Yep, I'm a guilty bandwagoner that jumped on when they started to become good again.

Be careful who you slam and watch your words. You lose your job, there's a chance you could maybe eventually end up in a "wrong crowd" or "wrong situation". None of us will never understand the full situation of McCarty's recent financial troubles. Can we assume that he has some responsibility of losing money? Of course. But it's unfair to label him as the big bad guy without knowing more of his situation, which is something that we will probably never fully know.

I like Iginla. I really do. From the limited action I have seen of the Flames in the past, I really like his demeanor, he seems like a heck of a leader. Iginila, IMO is far from a jackass overall, but as stated before in here, he's lost his cool before if Calgary is out of a game. Maybe it's a tactic to help out his team, but sometimes you have to keep your emotions in check. I like that he is fiery/intense, but you got to control it as well.

Williams rarely ever let go of his cannon at the point. Look, I know we all get frustrated that Samuelsson probably shoots a bit too much, but it's catch-22. At least he's willing to take those chances for an unusual rebound/deflection. Would I rather have guys like Lebda have more PP time at the point? Of course. But with Kronwall being injured, that's PP time taken away, and you won't see guys like Chelios or Markov on the PP much, for better/worse, hence Samuelsson probably being there. He's not my first choice there, but the Wings could do a lot worse. And Lidstrom and Schneider so play a lot of the PP time on the points.

Who exactly would the Wings trade for Naslund, and why?

Wow, an interesting scenario there... Never forget what Bertuzzi did a few seasons ago (no need to go into major detail), you don't even have to forgive him for what he did, I have no problem with that either. However, don't hold the Red Wings accountable for the bad actions of what Bertuzzi did in the terrible incident. It's not all about emotions/bad feelings towards people, you try to get the players to make your team the best they can be. Holland obviously felt Bertuzzi was one of those guys, the timing was good, and he did what he was supposed to do as a GM, thinking that Bertuzzi could help this team out and snatching him up in a workable trade where both parties seem satisfied. No emtional attachments or bitnerness involved. You have to learn to work and live in spite of situations of what happened a few seasons ago. It's a shame this citizen of Monroe cannot do that. I feel sorry for him.

I was out of town for work these past few days, so I didn't get to watch any action last night, but I woke up early enough and tuned to SportsCenter and saw 4OT's and I was like "good grief"! I got to see the 'Nucks-Stars highlights and Luongo made some absolutely nutty saves. Hopefully I'll be able to tune into most of their game tomorrow night if I don't stay out late anywhere since it's West Coast start time.

What does Chris Osgood have to do with a thread like this? Anyways, with the enforcer thing...there's always room for physical play, especially in the playoffs. I didn't get to see all of game 1 tonight but there were some pretty solid hits and physical muckity muck action after whistles and such from both the Wings and the Flames. Whether enforcers can make a difference in the playoffs with purely physical play is subjective, but in my honest opinion, unless they play more than 3-5 minutes a game, I don't think enforcing (in that sense at least) will make a difference, because you aren't going to see players drop the gloves in the playoffs, unless a game is out of hand on the scoreboard or all but settled.

Something I am doing to try to trim around 10 pounds to get back to around 140... Other than when I eat fried food at a pub I hang out with on occassion, once every week/two weeks, I'm going to completely give up fried food. No fast food, no fried food even in microwave meals, no fried food even in salads. It's not all too critical for me, but fried food isn't good for you, worth a shot even though I have loved eating it for 26 years.

Players talk. This is nothing new in the wide world of sports. Just like when you see an infrequent troll on here that tries to act like an Internet tough guy. Shouldn't let it bug you one way or another.

Mo fricken' Cheese!!!!! Actually going to go with Hasek on this one. Lidstrom is a close second. Datsyuk third. Zetterberg is not included in this factor for me. If he would've stayed more healthy, he'd probably be my runaway pick for MVP so far for the Wings.

Yikes... Just yikes! At the very least, there will be some entertaining s**t during whatever games they broadcast!

Thursday's check list... Work Get home in time to watch the game What can I say, I'm the poster boy for originality and being stale.

These guys are sports analysts and get paid to do activities such as this. This is their job. They are supposed to make predictions. Heaven forbid somebody doesn't pick the Wings to win. Oh the humanity!

From the limited action that I've seen him in, doesn't look to be too good/too bad in any area. No major weaknesses, but nothing to really stand out yet. Guess I gotta see him play more. I missed the last game though, would've been cool to see his goal. He's 7th defenseman right now, no questions asked, regardless of how much we might dislike Lilja.

We're DOOMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /sarcasm pessimistic attitude

You are quite the negative nancy aren't you... 1. Detroit has a solid home ice advantage. 2. Calgary stinks on the road. You can tell me A,B,C....and then I can counter with X,Y,Z. There are so many intangibles you can throw to swing the favor in either Detroit or Calgary. None of the intangibles are going to matter, we're going to have to wait until game 5/6 to see which team is going to be worn out more...

I am going to be as kind as possible when I say this... Nobody sides with you on your ridiculous hate fest for the guy, you are wasting your keystrokes, so shut up and just go away.

I'll find it hard to believe if Bertuzzi doesn't play for game 1 in a few days. Conflicting reports just don't make sense, and I've really read nothing that makes me think this concussion is more serious than it is. Take precautions obviously, but unless an anvil from the Acme Company falls on Bertuzzi over the next few days, it is of my strong opinion that he will play.

I wake up around 4:30am during the week, no later than 8:00an on weekends, so it's not all that torturous... Anyways, throw whatever "advantage" this might be out of the window. We won't know how the teams will react after game 5 (assuming it makes it that far) or how gassed out they might be. Sure, going back to the Saddledome could help Calgary, but who knows how mentally and physically worn out both teams will be playing on the next night. We just won't know until the time comes.

No traditions here. I'm not the superstitious type. Just a boring schmuck. Although I'm probably going to shave my head after a work convention this week right if that counts for anything, since it's around the start of the playoffs. I almost always have short hair but I've only done the bald look completely once. I know it's the opposite of growing facial hair, but what the hell...

Bottom line is, you win through some adversity, and that adversity may be the referees missing a few calls or not calling the game 100% perfect, or not even 90% perfect. Using the referees as a scapegoat, in the grand scheme of things, is no excuse for losing.

I say nay, at least for the start of the series. No, Datsyuk doesn't need Zetterberg, and vice versa, but Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom was one of the best lines in hockey during mid-season, why tamper with that success. Just hope that Zetterberg is as close to 100% as possible so he can resemble something like he was on the scoring tear during midseason as well.

From the glass half full optimism department... Wings win games 1 and 2 at home. Wings win game 4 at Calgary. Wings finish the series off at home in game 5.