Ok, after I make this thread, I am probably not going to check back in here until game time tomorrow. With all the negativity going around, and panic, I dont really care to come back and read about it. With that said, I feel there is NO REASON to panic. Reason for concern, yes. But panicing at this point is ridiculous.
It was like night and day for Calgary. We obviously dominated at home, then they played like a completley different team when they were at home. I expected this to happen, if anyone thought that Calgary was just gonna roll over and die then you must be off your rocker. They are way to good of a team just to let that happen. This could very well go to 7 games.
Nevermind the past two games, anyone else that was watching the same game I was knows what happened. I dont need to sit here and point out every little detail. Yes the refs were terrible last night, yes they made some bad calls, yes Dom took a bad penalty, and yes our powerplay sucked. Now what has to happen is we have to put these past games behind us, and look ahead.
The way I look at it, is this is a best of 3 series now, with 2 games being played at the Joe. With that said, we have the advantage. But Calgary also has the momentum and confidence now. But I am still confident that we can beat them on home ice. This Saturdays game will spell out our destiney. If we lose, it will be VERY tough going into Calgary down 3 games to 2 in a must win situation. BUT, if we pull off a win Saturday, then we go into Calgary UP 3 games to 2. EVEN IF we lose game 6 in Calgary, they still have to come back to the Joe and try to beat us on home ice in a must win situation. That means advantage us IMO.
So, as you all know, Saturdays game is huge. Heres what NEEDS to happen on Saturday:
1. Try to stay out of the penalty box. Calgarys powerplay has been huge so far. Now I know this is easier said then done, with the way the refs have been calling these games. But we need to do everything we can to try keep it 5 on 5. In my opinion, we have been the better 5 on 5 team. Most all of Calgarys goals have come on the powerplay (except Iginlas I believe, correct me if Im wrong). Thus proving we have been the better 5 on 5 team.
2. Capitalize on our powerplays! 0 for 6 last night!? Thats terrible. We MUST get this powerplay rolling. Homer and Bert NEEDS to get in front of Kipper, so he cant see the shot. Those bombs from the blue liine, I dont care if its Lids, Scnieds, or Sammy or whoever shootin from back there, are gonna be stopped every time if there is no screen. Kipper is way to good of a goalie, and will rarley allow goals from that far out that he can see. We also need to crash the net more, get more traffic in front of him, and get some "dirty goals." If our powerplay catches fire in game 5, then that helps our chances out A LOT.
3. Play a full 60 min hockey game. That means right out of the gate, we need to have evergy and hustle. Franzen, Drapes, Cleary, Flip, Malts, all need to keep doing what they have been doing. Bring evergy, throw their weight around, and get the crowd into it.
4. Key players that NEED to step it up: Hank. Now I know he has missed a considerable amount of time from injury, but he needs to kick it up a notch. We need him and Dats goin full force. Calgary has been covering the both of them very well, but Dats and Hank need to find a way to come through in a big way for us on Saturday. Dom also cannot take anymore stupid penaltys, we cannot aford them. Bert played great last night, and he needs to keep that up on Saturday. Lids needs to shut down Iginla as well. Obviously Lang and Sammy....
I know a lot of this is obvious to some of you, but there is no reason to panic at all. Its now a best of 3 series, and we have 2 of those 3 games at home. If we stop taking penalties, get our powerplay goin, I think we will be just fine. I like the way we have played for the most part this series, and I am still standing by my prediction that the wings will win this in 6. We will come away with a big win Saturday, take it into Calgary and finish it off. Only thing Calgary has goin for them is momentum and more confidence. We have home ice advantage, and we have skill advantage. And a more experienced team.
The Wings knows what has to be done, and I am confident they will get it done tomorrow. Yes last nights loss sucked, but take a deep breath and relax. Wait and see what happens Saturday. You should be concerned, but you should not be panicing.
Just my 2 cents.
