Wings_Dynasty

You know how sometimes people get bonked on the head and then they become great painters, poets, or really good with numbers? Same thing. Hockey prodigy.

ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Ok, we need a big game from Cleary, Flip, Sammy, and Rex.

Another 60 minute game and it's ours. Wings 4 (Dats, Cleary, Kronner, Lids) Stars 1 (who cares) EDIT: Stein out

I had said Pens in 7. But with Timonenennen out it will probably be less. Unless the Flyers come out VERY physical.

I know, it just pisses me off.

Empty seats....... THE PLACE WAS PACKED LAST NIGHT!!! I was there, as mentioned before, there is less than 2 minutes left in the game and we had a 3 goal lead.

I'll be there, so as long as we win I will be happy with the score... but since I can dream: Wings 6 (Stein x3, Dats, Z, Lids) Stars 0

Game 1 Thurs., May 8, 2008 7:30 p.m. Dallas at Detroit VERSUS, TSN, RDS Game 2 Sat., May 10, 2008 7:00 p.m. Dallas at Detroit VERSUS, CBC, RDS Game 3 Mon., May 12, 2008 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Dallas VERSUS, TSN, RDS Game 4 Wed., May 14, 2008 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Dallas VERSUS, TSN, RDS *Game 5 Sat., May 17, 2008 1:30 p.m. Dallas at Detroit NBC, CBC, RDS *Game 6 Mon., May 19, 2008 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Dallas VERSUS, CBC, RDS *Game 7 Wed., May 21, 2008 7:30 p.m. Dallas at Detroit VERSUS, CBC, RDS * if necessary VS and NBC have exclusivity for all games in US. CBC, RDS and TSN in Canada.

I hate Yorio, Melrose, McGuire, any Colorado reporter, and Cherry. They are not all bad though, I do like Pang and Bucci.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

On the Fox Sports NHL homepage Darren Pang has a vid analyzing the matchups. For the Wings and Avs he picks the Avs in 6. Here is a breakdown of his reasoning: - Avs top 6 are better than the Wings top 6. They are more cohesive and playing better as a team. - Theodore is a better goalie right now than the Wings goalies. His hot play outweighs their experience in winning. He was "steady" against a "tough" Minne team and found his stride. Oz was ok is stopping 40 of 41. - Forsberg will propel the Avs. He wasn't with the team for the 4 losses during the regular season so he is obviosuly the missing piece that they need. - Zetterberg and Forsberg is the key matchup. The Wings finally get to see if their statement that they would "not trade Zetterberg for Forsberg" is a good decision. My retort: - The Avs top 6 consists of one decent line. - Theodore is still Theodore. Osgood is the consistent one. No slumps, no s***ty seasons. - The only thing Floppa will be propelling is himself into the ice. The 3rd line can contain Floppa and Queeney will probably be dumb enough to try and match him up with that line in CO. - Dats & Z cannot be contained by the Avs defense. Foote and Salei are not who they were. And Dats and Z are NOT Gaborik and Demitra. Forsberg will probably not see much of Z at the Joe, in CO will be a different story. Where Z will skate circles around him.

I like not being picked to win, it's like reverse voodoo.

Plus, if it ain't broke...

I am shocked to see my score near the top, I am usually horrible at picks games. DET/DAL: 4-1 PIT/PHI: 4-3

I think it's more of a list of players that have a gritty side as well as a scoring touch. Other players not on the list besides Wings: Malkin, Crosby, Kane, Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson, etc. These guys are not physical players but they score a LOT so the list must be geared toward gritty scorers.

Well, I would rather have a chance to win than be in a loud arena.

No, I am saying that the Wings are not missing 90% of their offense and your argument is moot. And, I am saying that even with your missing players you would have lost against the Wings, because their roster is better.

No offense, but your team wasn't a matchup when you were healthy. Wolski, Hannan, Floppa, Smyth, Statsny, Clark, and the other forward whose name I cant think of is not Homer, Mule, Z, and Dats. Foote is a shadow of his old self and wouldn't have helped you during the season (neither would have Floppa), and Sakic was invisible in the series. Plus, the "best goalie in the playoffs" was pulled 3 times in 4 games. None of our key players are injured AND they are ALL on hot streaks. So, yeah, we are that good. Turco can't beat us 4 times, and SJ had better be at 100% for every game.

Honestly, I think we would beat either option. But I think that a "down and out and ended up winning" Sharks team with momentum would be more dangerous. We have Dallas figured out, the Sharks not so much.

Here is an article from Red Wings Corner. I never read it before so I figured I'd post it. Datsyuk's personality emerges DENVER -- "Pavel, when you have the puck, how many people do you see that you can pass to?" "18,000." Pavel Datsyuk might be the funniest person in the Detroit Red Wings' locker room. It's an intrinsic part of Datsyuk's personality. Six years ago when Datsyuk came to North America to play hockey, the Datsyuk we know now was beginning to emerge, but still developing. He wasn't the fourth leading scorer in the NHL. He wasn't one of three finalists for the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward. He wasn't on the ice in the final minute of the game. And he wasn't the player tossing out punch lines every day. Back in 2001, Datsyuk was a 23-year-old far away from home who was trying to establish himself in the world's best hockey league. "He was a very quiet kid when he first came here," said Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom. "Now he cracks jokes all the time. He's a lot more vocal than he was back then. You saw early on a little bit. every now and then it would come out. But the last few years, it's showing a lot. He's probably a lot more comfortable with the language." What aided Datsyuk's transition the most was having several Russians in the locker room during the winter of 2001-02. He was constantly around a 40-year-old Igor Larionov. There was Sergei Fedorov and Maxim Kuznetsov. Datsyuk had people around with whom he could be himself while still figuring out who the North American, English-speaking Pavel Datsyuk would be. "That helped me a lot," said Datsyuk. "I learned every day, every practice. Lots of players helped, but a big one was Iggy. When I came, I was 23 years old. Now I'm almost 30. I've had a lot more experiences, all kinds. I'm stronger." "Pavel, you wear the 'A' on your jersey as a team leader. What does that mean to you?" "A lot. So much that I put an 'A' on all my clothes. I wear an 'A' everywhere." Datsyuk is in his sixth season in the NHL. He's able to carry on conversations in English without hesitation. He has become one of the biggest stars in the NHL and one of the leaders of the league's most successful franchise of the past 15 years. Datsyuk's personality has come through as brightly as his on-ice performance. "When he first got here, he was an unknown," said Kris Draper. "The one thing you realize is that Pav has a great sense of humor. He comes up with some great one-liners. Sometimes we call them two-liners because you have to ask what he said. You don't get it right away. This is the way the Red Wings are. It seems that they find not only good hockey players, but quality people as well. Pav is exactly that. He's a great guy." "Pavel, you've played before with Ilya Kovalchuk. What tournaments were you in together?" "World Cup. Olympics. Baltika Cup. You put that in for me. Baltika (maker of a Russian beer). Free promotion for Russian business. Maybe they send me bucks." Part of Datsyuk's on-ice development was him believing that he had to shoot the puck more often. As a rookie, Datsyuk got just 79 shots on goal in 70 games. This year, he took 264 shots in 82 games. "We've been on him quite a lot to shoot more," said Lidstrom. "He has been shooting more this year. I think that's paying off for him." Shots on goal is the first statistic that Datsyuk reads on the official scoresheet after games. "Everybody told me that I needed to shoot more," said Datsyuk. "They told me I had a good shot, not fast but good. That helped me. Defensemen have to play me for either shooting or passing." Quick to fire shots on goal. Quick to fire off punch lines. It's taken a few years, but Detroit fans are finally getting to know Pavel Datsyuk.

If we play 60 minutes it's in the bag. Wings 4 (Stein, Dats, Lids, Cleary) Avs 1 (who cares)

The HaZarD Line.

So Forsberg and Hannan are probable, and Smyth is out... their best player over the first 2 games. They break even at best.

Per Mlive

Avs will come out hard to try to get the crowd behind them, but the Wings are just too strong. Wings 4 (Stein, Dats, Raffy, Rex) Avs 2 (who cares)