Rice

What? I was just about to make a post saying "So much for the huge San Jose forwards and our defense not being able to cover them." The Sharks didn't generate much at all when they were in the Wings zone. The second goal was the Wings' fault.

I know a lot of Wings fans are contemplating jumping off bridges, hanging themselves, jumping in front of traffic, etc. right now but this series isn't over. I felt the Wings controlled the pace of the game after the first 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the best team doesn't always win. The Sharks made us pay on the PP and got a flukey goal on a turnover. Nabokov was sharp and the Sharks' defense did a great job of limiting the Wings' quality chances. Conversely, the Wings did a really good job of shutting down San Jose's offense. The Sharks were sitting back though for most of the game. You could tell the Wings missed Holmstrom a lot. The Wings will play better next game. I'm not worried at all yet. The good taken away from this game is that what I was worrying about most didn't really happen. The Sharks challenged the Wings defense but the Wings could still get good outlet passes off, which is obviously the key to our offense.

Well, the offense looks good.

The reality that you're a troll? No.

Nice save.

No, Versus just dropped the ball. What a surprise.

I was just going to ask this in the GDT. I can't find it either but under the game's info it says it's in HD.

The Wings were harder on the Flames than the Flames were on the Wings.

Don't you think it would get annoying if fans could throw things on the ice without any repercussions?

Sounds good to me.

Like it or not guys, the Wings defense is their biggest weakness. Lidstrom is not invincible when it comes to big guys pressuring him. He's 37 years old. Schneider and Chelios can get worn down by a tight forecheck. Like I've been saying since the Playoffs started, if the older guys on defense can hold it together and not get shaken up when they get nailed we should be fine.

Just curious, how much are tickets there? The reason tickets aren't selling here is because the prices are very high and the economy is awful.

This isn't necessarily directed toward you, but to all of the points I see about the Sharks. Don't get me wrong, the Sharks are a very good, scary team and I would've preferred Dallas. However, here are some things to think about: The Wings Age: - Chelios, Chris 45 - Hasek, Dominik 42 - Schneider, Mathieu 37 - Lidstrom, Nicklas 37 - Lang, Robert 36 - Draper, Kris 35 - Maltby, Kirk 34 - Holmstrom, Tomas 34 - Bertuzzi, Todd 32 - Lilja, Andreas 31 - Markov, Danny 30 - Samuelsson, Mikael 30 - Datsyuk, Pavel 28 - Cleary, Dan 28 - Calder, Kyle 28 - Franzen, Johan 27 - Zetterberg, Henrik 26 - Lebda, Brett 25 - Filppula, Valtteri 23 - Hudler, Jiri 23 Average age: 31.45. Obviously, Hasek and Chelios bring up this average. Lidstrom is 37 years old but is the best defenseman, maybe player, in the NHL. Chelios is in better shape than most guys 15 years younger than him. Hasek is playing at a high level, so what does his age have to do with the rest of the team? Excluding Lidstrom and Hasek (Chelios' 45 years can stay), the Wings' average age is 30.67. I think most can agree that from about age 26-32 is a players' prime physically. The Wings have a great combination of experience and youth. Many bring up the Sharks' youth as a positive, but it could go either way. Pittsburgh was a young team too. I'm pretty sure Chelios has played more playoff games than the entire Sharks team combined. That's only Chelios. The Wings also have Hasek, Schneider, Lidstrom, Draper, Maltby, and Holmstrom who all have a lot of playoff experience. The Wings have 19 rings all together. Has anyone on the Sharks made a Finals appearance? Guerin has and I think that's it. The Sharks have an inexperienced blue line and we saw how that played out for Nashville. As for the depth point, 18 of your players may have registered a point, but 11 of our guys scored goals and 15 had points. Eight Sharks scored goals. Zetterberg and Bertuzzi are just finding their games. If the Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom line can start playing like it has in the past, the Wings shouldn't be too worried about scoring. Some people say if the Sharks get enough shots on Hasek he'll begin to fall apart. Hasek isn't Manny Legace. He thrives on action and low shot totals get goalies bored. I know this is pretty much all numbers, but I just wanted to put it out there. And to add, the Wings limited Calgary (who scored as many goals as San Jose) to ten goals in six games while scoring 18 goals on a defense that is bigger and better (on paper) than yours. They also did it against Kiprusoff, who is better than Nabokov.

My biggest concern in this series is how our older defense will respond to the Sharks big, fast forwards. If the defense stays strong and we get production from our secondary scorers, we're in good shape.

Me too. Earlier today I was hoping Dallas would win but I'm not feeling too worried. That's not to say the Sharks won't be a challenge. They will be. They're extremely good. And big. And fast.

Me too. Earlier today I was hoping Dallas would win but I'm not feeling too worried. That's not to say the Sharks won't be a challenge. They will be. They're extremely good. And big. And fast.

Hello, Sharks.

Ugh, Modano hits the crossbar!

Calgary fans were rooting for us over Nashville, too. Remember that.

I think everyone is overreacting. It's like the last series when everyone here was pissed about the Calgary media's comment about the Wings. It's to be expected. Why shouldn't the Sharks prefer the Wings? The Wings are smaller than them and the Sharks have done much better against the Wings this season than they have against the Ducks. That's factual information. I'm sure most people here prefer Dallas rather than San Jose. Same thing here. Quit being so sensitive.

I'm doing homework but I just wanted to chime in: Go Stars! It sucks that Zubov is out. Hopefully they can still pull out the 'W'.

Point three is interesting. I didn't realize the Flames are going to be rested coming into this game. Anyway, the Wings have the momentum. They owned Calgary yesterday and the special teams were excellent. Remember, Calgary only has two even strength goals in this series. If the special teams play like they did yesterday, the Wings will be in good shape. Bertuzzi and Zetterberg are finding their games. I like our chances tonight (knock on wood).

Just to keep the Langkow love going, remember this?

Thoughts? Compare that travel schedule to our own. We should be in the East.

Iginla shouldn't be suspended for what he did. It was dirty, yes, but I don't think that it's suspension worthy. Langkow should be out for what he did though.