BlueMonk

The list of people blamed for losses here after a game is pretty entertaining.

This game was simple: Wings have two long 5 on 3s and can't score a goal. That's it, in a nutshell.

The scoring chances aren't as lopsided as the shots on goal. The Wings had one really good one, and they scored on it.

The scores might have been close, but they always are in the playoffs. I don't think the close scores were indicative of how the Wings played in the playoffs the past few years. I really feel they were uncompetitive. They were unwilling to go to the difficult areas of the ice. They didn't take the body, they didn't crash the net and they were outworked. Not all of them, but enough of them. I can't say those things about too many players on this team. They're younger and they look hungrier. Think about this: In the span of one summer, the Wings transformed from a team that had one of the best offenses and power plays in the league to a defense first team that backchecked relentlessly. How often do you see a team completely change character like that in one season, much less not skip a beat atop the standings while doing it? It takes a total buy-in to the coach by the team. That kind of buy-in, and the demand that even the skill players have to be defensively responsible, backcheck and battle for loose pucks, is a lot easier to get from younger, impressionable players than from Hall Of Famers. it's hard. Players who are accustomed to floating around looking for one-timers don't want to do it. They'll fight it. Remember when Scotty Bowman got Yzerman to sacrifice his point production for a two way game? That was a turning point in the history of this franchise. And when you've got a HOF coach and a HOF captain who see eye to eye, you're going to have a lot of success getting the players to buy into the system. With Babcock, it was time to have his new young leaders step forward and set the tone that everyone needed to buy into his system. Guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk had to take the baton and start carrying the team for stretches. Remember that brutal west coast road trip last October, when the Wings were completely destroyed in every game? After that disaster, they held a players only meeting. They turned their season around right then and there. They became the tight checking, relentless team you see now. I think that's when the seeds of new leadership were planted. If you look at every team that has success, there comes a time when the old guard has to pass the torch to the new. I really believe that was essential to the success of this team. The Lang goal is a perfect example, actually. Who did the dirty work that made that goal possible? Valtteri Filppula. A young, up and comer whose roster spot is probably taken by a more veteran player. Maybe a player who no longer has the legs or the stamina to make that play at the end of a long, 60 minute hockey game. We love the old guys for what they did, but eventually, they have to move on. Full credit to Yzerman who understood this better than anyone.

I don't have a problem with retired athletes charging for their autographs. Life goes on, they have a right to continue to earn money after they stop playing. It's not like people are being held hostage here. Either you're willing to pay or you're not, it's your choice. As for me, I have no problem with it.

There are like 8 sane people left on this board, thanks for being one of them. I would have gladly paid $25 for a Probie autograph. I'm happy for those who made it out to get theirs.

Mike Babcock. This season isn't over yet, but already Mike Babcock has done one of the great coaching jobs a Detroit Red Wings team has ever seen, IMO.

I've never heard anyone say these arenas do just fine. Dallas, in particular, has slush for ice. Weather is a huge part of it, from what I've heard.

I think the suspension was warranted, and sends an important message from the league. As for the effect it will have on the Ducks, I think some people are overestimating the significance of Detroit's chances in game 4. The Red Wings lost Mathieu Schneider in a game, went on to win it and haven't skipped a beat since. I know Schneider is no Chris Pronger, but it depleted an already thin defense corps. The Ducks have to pull together for one game, and they can probably do it. Think of the quality players Detroit did without in this postseason, and some of those losses were for multiple games. I'd love to think Anaheim's strapped blue line will be their downfall, but I wouldn't count on it. This isn't basketball, where one player can make or break a game. I hope it does, in this case, but I'm not holding my breath.

I pay $12.95 per month. You can get discounts if you subscribe for yearly or longer subscriptions.

There are tough guys in the NHL who are among the most respected players in the league. They often are very nice guys off the ice, but they're also often great teammates and play their role with a lot of honor. I listen to XM religiously, but I wasn't in the car to hear Bossy this morning. That seems a bit over the top, to lose respect for the whole team because of this, but it's his prerogative. Overall, I love XM's hockey talk. I'd pay the subscription price for XM Home Ice alone.

Count me among the people who can't remember a player getting a disciplinary hearing without getting a suspension. Doesn't mean it hasn't happened, but I can't recall it.

Oh yeah, I was thinking about that, too. Obviously, I want the Wings to win the Cup. But can you imagine if the Alfredsson led Senators did? CBC would implode.

Here's a paste of the article: HELENE ELLIOTT All Wings, no prayer Ducks lose minds when it matters Helene Elliott May 16, 2007 It's tough to say which was more reprehensible. The so-called fans who cheered the sight of a woozy Tomas Holmstrom lying on the ice after he was slammed into the boards by Rob Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, or the Ducks' lack of perseverance and self-control when small doses of each might have turned the Western Conference finals in their favor. The Ducks got what they deserved Tuesday in a 5-0 loss to the Red Wings. Their legs looked heavy, their energy fizzled after their early pressure went unrewarded and their composure fractured too easily. Teemu Selanne was invisible — again. He and his teammates used none of the speed, size and skill that are their strongest assets. Worst of all, they didn't use their heads. "We weren't disciplined at anything," center Ryan Getzlaf said. "We weren't disciplined at playing our system or anything else." Detroit took a 2-1 series lead and regained home-ice advantage with a rout that emptied the Honda Center long before the final buzzer mercifully sounded. The Red Wings can also look forward to the possibility of Pronger being suspended by the NHL for his part in the tag-team slam of Holmstrom, even though Niedermayer paid the immediate price in the form of a five-minute boarding penalty and automatic game misconduct. Any hit can be reviewed by the NHL regardless of whether a penalty was called. The league's crackdown this season against hits to the head makes it likely that the Pronger-Niedermayer crunch — which occurred when the Ducks were trailing, 4-0, in the second period — will be re-examined and that one or both will be banished for a game or two. The Red Wings smartly declined to say anything incendiary. Players who recall what they did on the third shift of their second day of junior hockey couldn't remember what happened when the two Ducks sandwiched Holmstrom. They also wouldn't say whether a suspension was warranted. "I have to look at the video," said Holmstrom, who had an egg-shaped bump on his right temple in addition to 13 stitches. "I think I had two guys on me. I fell into the boards and got hit again. I never see the guy come from behind." Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said he "really couldn't see" the hit, which took place in the Ducks' zone. All he could be sure of, he said, was that "it looked like Niedermayer came from far out in the middle of the ice with a lot of speed when he hit him." Nice time for the Ducks to use that speed, eh? When Brian Burke became the Ducks' general manager, one of his priorities was to build a physically tough team. He succeeded. But the line between toughness and adrenaline-fueled stupidity is thinner than the red line that divides the rink in two. The Ducks can't afford to lose Niedermayer or Pronger for even one game. Losing their composure was bad enough. They took 11 penalties for 33 minutes and gave the Red Wings nine power plays. Holmstrom cashed one in to give Detroit a 2-0 lead with 43 seconds left in the first period. A goal that late in the period can demoralize a team, but it was especially deflating for the Ducks, who had controlled the play in the early minutes but were thwarted by their own lack of creativity on the power play and the Red Wings' fearless shot-blocking. "Its always nice to get some power plays going," said winger Mikael Samuelsson, whose slick pass to Johan Franzen set up Detroit's first goal, at 11:09 of the first period. Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek was unequivocal in analyzing the Ducks' undoing. "They spend too much time in the penalty box," he said. "That defense wasn't as good as in our building. Except for the first 10 minutes, we played our game. "And as I say, you cannot win games when you go to the penalty box like they did." The Ducks led the NHL in penalty minutes over the 82-game season and their average of 20 penalty minutes per game in the playoffs is the highest among the four conference finalists. A series of needless penalties in the second period took away any chance they might have had of staging a rally Tuesday. "It killed most of our legs," Getzlaf said. "Discipline's got to come from within." Last spring, the Ducks split the first two games of their first-round series against Calgary and came home for a stinker of a 5-2 loss to the Flames. They won the series in seven games, but the Red Wings are a far better team than those Flames were. Asked what the Ducks must fix before Game 4 on Thursday, Getzlaf cited the many battles they had lost and the weak special teams performances. "We need to relax here for a second and get our attitude back and get the momentum going our way," he said. A few more foolish penalties, and their momentum will carry them to a loss in a series they could have won.

There's already been a fight in this series, it didn't give the Ducks anything to hang their hat on. Holmstrom showed a willingness to mix things up when Zetterberg was being roughed up. These things haven't come back to bite the Wings. On the contrary, they're the very things that have led to success in these playoffs. The Wings have done a great job of standing up for one another. This was just one incident that I would have liked to have seen handled differently. Overall, this team has impressed me with its tenacity and willingness to initiate contact and not back down from scrums.

It's not sinking, it's just showing some respect for a teammate. Not talking about a bunch of fights, but someone needed to get up in Pronger's grill after that.

4-0 game, the Wings should have retaliated, yes.

I can't believe the Wings won a game by multiple goals in this series, let alone a 5-0 win. Very impressive. Let's get game 4 now, guys!

Well, 1-1 series now. Good, hard fought game, just bounced the other way tonight. Get a split in Anaheim, and all is well for the Wings.

By far the greatest factor in how this game is going is the Ducks. Not the refs, not the Wings not finding their legs. It's what the Ducks are doing.

This is just a continuation of game one, though. Not a happy trend for the Red Wings. The Ducks are controlling the play.

The Perry thing was just for fun, a little trash talk he knew they'd pick up on the mic. Everyone lighten up already. This stuff is fun, enjoy it. And everyone can stop playing the disrespect card, too. If a guy doesn't write a poem singing the praises about the Red Wings, he's labeled a hater. The only kind of commentary anyone would be happy with would be the kind that comes from a shameless Red Wings homer. Which is exactly what most of you complainers are!

I see it the same way as toby, basically. I guess the question is, were the lopsided penalty situations a byproduct of the play on the ice, or were they just questionable calls that the Wings got more of? To an extent, I think it was Anaheim's play that led to some Wings penalties, but some of the penalties on both sides were weak, which means they might not be called in another game. When a team is killing penalties, it makes it tough to establish rolling four lines and getting an offensive rhythm. I guess we have to wait until game two to see how things proceed.

The thing is, the coach of the other team is never going to go any further than saying the other team played well. If he sits there and gushes about how great the other goalie is, what's that going to say to his team? Babcock talked about missing the net, too. If you're a Ducks fan, you're thinking, "Hey, so did we!" It's the same thing for both sides.

I guess you watched an alternate version of the presser. The one I saw, Carlyle specifically said, "You have to give credit to the opposition, Hasek played well."