Sgt. Angry

Gosh I feel old. We have people here who don't know who Bruce Martyn is, and I remember being sad when he replaced Budd Lynch. But he turned out to be pretty good. As for HNIC, when I moved to Parts Unknown, we don't get CBC, so the last time I watched HNIC regularly, Bill Hewitt was doing play by play. I AM too young, however, to remember Foster Hewitt.

If I'm Gary Buttman, I'm secretly hoping for a Wings win tonight! Why? Because Buttman has three possibilities before him: 1. Present the Cup to the Wings tonight in Pittsburgh. 2. Present the Cup to the Wings after game 7 in Detroit. 3. Present the Cup to the Penquins after game 7 in Detroit. Each possibility becomes more stressful and intimidating (option #3 - downright dangerous), so I'd be hoping for option #1 if I were in his slimy little shoes.

Yeah, I'm sure he'll pull out some motivational tactics that he purposefully held back from the team before last nights stellar first period!!!!!

As I've said many times, I am inclined to be just as lenient with these guys screw-ups as most of our bosses would be with our screw-ups - NOT VERY!! And most of us only get paid peanuts.

The problem is that a lot of you guys were also confident that the Wings would fire out of the box on all cylinders TONIGHT - smelling blood!!! It's just so inexplicable why these "seasoned veterans" so consistently have these brain farts in big games. And to think that they make millions to be unprepared.

Great - now this "classic game" is being rewound, to be erased by game 6. Sorry, but even if the Wings win, they're gonna pull a Roger Crozier and give the Smythe trophy to Fleury.

Me too, and it's toally unlike me to be like this. Since we're picking the winning goal, I'll go all out and say that Dats gets a break-in and wins it with the legendary Datsukian Side-Step.

This period was not that bad people. The scoreboard says otherwise, but seriously. Babcock does not need to yell and scream. This is a veteran professional team. They need to loosen up and just play, not get all nervous. This is what bothers me. A veteran professional team should do a hell of a lot better job of game preparation than what they've exhibited tonight.

How many of us (probably many) have long recognized that the dreaded 5-on-3 can be a real blessing, but if you don't score, it quickly turns into a curse. Nothing like killing off a 5-on-3 to get the blood circulating. Yeah, I get frustrated by the officiating, and the announcers. But, to me, the whole experience of watching sports is going down the tubes. Remember when: 1. All stadium announcers sounded like Budd Llynch? Now they're all a bunch of screeching banshee, Michael Buffer wanna be's. 2. When TV announcers knew their stuff. I actually muted my TV last night, and watched the game while listening to "Pops Potpourri" on Interlochen Public Radio. 3. You could actually watch a lot of sports on TV. On FOX you could watch replays of the game, or classic games from yesteryear. Now you get the 100th repeat of "Best Damn -- blah, blah, blah!!" On ESPN, you could get games aplenty. Now you get a bunch of a$$holes playing poker. And good old VS. can't get away from the post-game fast enough to get back to their precious cage-fighting or bull-riding. Sadly, the NHL is just one example among many that idicate how our society is going down the tubes. As soon as the Wings lift the Cup, I'm cancelling my cable, and may have to rely n Ken Kal next season.

Dallas kills off a penalty, so now the refs can call another 3 or 4 on Detroit. Anybody wanna take any bets on an impending 5-on-3?????

Sorry, but I'm still super-pissed about that no-goal call. It has changed the whole complexion of the series. If the Wings somehow lose this, it will be at the Joe, and it would be fine with me if Bettman had to truly worry about his safety, just as Clarence Campbell had to at the Forum back in the 1950's when he suspended Richard. (although I can't imagine many Wings fans smuggling produce and eggs into the Joe.)

How can this be? I thought their plane was going to crash!!!!

Sorry, but being a "glass is half empty" kind of guy, I still keep thinking about that series a few years back in California, when the Wings were ahead 2 games to none, and had a two goal lead in the third period, when the wheels came off. They lost the game and the next three. So I'm always concerned about the Wings suddenly losing it. I was really hoping that they would stomp on their throats like they did to Colorado.

Now you're thinking like me. I've always said that the way to prevent blocked shots is to just aim for the head. The other team will eventually get the message.

Why does it seem in games like this that Sammy must have at least 45 minutes of ice time. Seems like he's always out there tonight.

I've seen enough of the ******* bulls***. The league has successfully handed the Stars their momentum. I just better not have any of my students misbehave tomorrow, or there'll be hell to pay.

Any chance we can get a "running clock" for the 3rd period, like they do in Jr. hockey?

We SHOULD win game 5, but if Ken and Mickey start going overboard with their "Nashville has never won an away playoff game" drivel, they will surely jinx the whole thing.

Hasieve? HASIEVE?? I'm glad you're staying positive. In a few weeks, I'm sure we'll hear Babcock saying, "Well, we're out of the playoffs, but all of those chances we generated really gives me confidence for next year.

Well, I see that this "veteran team that doesn't get rattled" really stepped up to the plate tonight, just like all the happy-shiny people predicted! And why all the griping about the no-calls. The damn NHL refs have been doing this since at least 1995, when the Wings got beat by Clutch and Grab.

I say let's not always wait until we lose one to start playing like that. With what these guys are getting paid, they should be on "turbo boost" for the entire 60 minutes.

Your memory is just fine. The Wings seem to make a yearly habit out of doing things in the playoffs that we never see in the regular season - and it's almost always for the worse.

OK, but I don't see too many of them committing two or three successive errors, two or three games in a row. I'm done with this subject now - the replay of the Tiger game has just started - it'll be nice to watch some winners!!!

I like to think that professionals (playing like professionals) don't let this kind of s*** happen in the first place.

We would like to think so, but you would also think that a team with this much playoff experience wouldn't let this kind of crap happen in the first place. Can you imagine some of these prima donas having to deal with a team mate like Ted Lindsay after stinking the joint up like they did tonight. I think that this might be the downside of the Yzerman / Lidstrom type of leadership style. We need an ass-kicker in the locker room