akustyk

just opened ESPN website and a box "2007 playoffs leaders" has McLennan at the top of the goalies list with GAA 0.00. yeah... now that is a playoff leader... EDIT: no, this post is not meant to be overly inteligent nor add substance to the discussion

let's wait for the series to start to talk about toughness. and let's not forget that playing dirty finishes in the box and with man disadvantage you no longer control the game. against one-line deep Wild or offence-impotent Canucks you could afford taking penalties but it won't work against the Wings. don't even count on this EDIT: although, if it makes you happier to think the series is already over and your team is clear winner... I just hope those Ducks have similar attitude. won't mind Wings outworking them badly to take the series in 5-6 games. talentwise we may not be the best team in the pool now, but these Wings are flashy, smart and hard working. they are better than most people outside anticipate

Hi! we sure hope this is gonna be a good series, too. though, most posters here will rather lean towards the team in red to win it welcome and enjoy the series here! EDIT: I sure like those new Ducks jersey more. that Disney Duck crap was so childish that it was pretty disgrace to be rooting for the team if you were adult. or just 12+

leave him. he already has it tough to handle Wings 2 series wins. let him continue with displaying the grudge... who cares. truth being said, why shouldn't he pick Quackies? they are a better team than Wings on paper. rested, hungry and injury-less above that. they have every right to win this series

sounds about right, although Mess and Stevie Y are kinda tie in my book, and taking into account the inflation of Messier stats because of playing with Whine I'd lean towards putting Yzerman ahead. though, nothing wrong with the ordering as it is. Shanny over Ray Bourque isn't right. and Jagr at 10 is pretty odd. other than that I don't necessarily like Sundin on the list and Nick Lidstrom not. but it seems that other than very famous names of the past D-men are not represented in this ranking. and finally... Patty Wah, Sawchuk and Marty Brodeur belong to such top 25. period

STFU and wait until (if) we beat the Sharks. it looks good but it's far from said and done yet

Sabres advance. too bad for Rangers, but I think Buffalo has much better chance to beat those cocky chokers from Ottawa. go Sabres! and kudos to Rangers for fighting for survival

Go Brendan!

I saw glimpses of "significant" Lilja during the season when we faced those physical teams - ie. Philly or Ducks. he was strong in those cases. I fully expected him to play some role in intense playoff games, but I definitely did not expect him to stop turnovers and play that focused. not even to mention his sticking for teammates. Pain Train has been a big surprise to me then

that would be reversal of what I'm speaking. that is: Sharks supposedly able to drag through our D with size/weight and crash the net. and about that I have mixed feelings. they do have size and determination to go to the net and I obviously can see them doing this (as finesse messing with Nick Lidstrom won't work) but once refs start calling penalties they may have a second though about that. plus: I don't see our D being that ineffective against them.

some guy at TSN.ca wrote a nice thing about predictions. something like "xxx in 7 means you think teams are quite level but the xxx will prevail" and the truth is this very Game 7 would be at Joe with Wings definitely going for it. I can see Sharks winning such game, but it's definitely more likely that Wings would do it. so I'd say this "Sharks in 7" call is a bonk. I'd say they finish it in 6 or we survive it with Game 7. I definitely disagree that our D is the weakest piece. Wings were actually among league strongest defensive teams and they have both skill and discipline in this department. without Kronwall and Lebda we are shorter, but with Pain Train elevating his game it doesn't look bad. I'd rather say we're weak at physicall offense. I mean the ability to bang through oposing D-men and crash the net. this is where we need Bertuzzi to be good. if Hasek is our strongest piece... I'd not call it that way. he's definitely on the pluses side, but not a strongest piece. I'd give this call to our defense I have to agree with the injuries argument. we need Homer and Lebda back, and it would be great to see Kronwall in the lineup should we get past Sharks

paintshops's cheaper, but featurewise photoshop is much better.

where exactly is this overconfidence that makes people jump anti-Guerin waggon already? he just states the fact, that playing many times agains Wings and having all this video review stuff it's very easy to analyze us. which is to some extent true. on the other hand, Billy, you knowing our D means they also know you very well and it's not just that your team will have it easy and if you assume there's everything about Wings to be seen on tapes and this gives you right to make such simplified statements... let me just point to certain Huselius who only 2 weeks ago predicted Flames to win because they all knew Wings are old, slow, can't hit and can be dragged down physically. the thing is, this Huselius clown is golfing now and his stupid statements are subject of endless jokes. don't make the same mistake, Guerin!

when Mike Vernon picked Calgary to beat us in 2004 people here all jumped him saying he's an unloyal f*r (well... not using this word ) and that he's wrong. well, he wasn't after all but this is just a prediction. and Wings have good chances in this series anyway. sidenote: Luc was great in his time with Wings. if you disregard his achievements just because he picked Sharks - get real!

yes, I was. trying to make some fun of people who jumped ESPN analysts who all picked Sharks.

sure he does. in the end she's a biased Canadian, right?

Maggie is on a cold streak this year

Luc is a f* and we all hate him now... do we?

add: 4a. but one-sided if the other team is Canadian

if this makes ESPN analysts better let me tell you that Woody Paige picks Avalanche to win the cup no, I'm not serious. just a good ol' joke to relax the atmosphere

oh my... that was just an personal opinion without even negativity towards Sharks team... slow down, man...

I like their youth and toughness. they are deeper up front because they have stronger veterans and more skilled youth than us. and have size/weight advantage I most certainly like our D more, though. we've been a string defensive team all year and it's not about to change in playoffs. we were unfortunate to lose Kronwall who added depth, but Pain Train has stepped up here. truth being said, they are not that far behind. not many big names, but effective now for goal... Nabokov/Toskala is a duo you should not underrate. they've not been playoff monsters yet, but solid enough. still, I'd dare to say Hasek at his B+ game (I don't expect him to play like he was at the age of 30) is better here with a margin. suming it up... I'd give them some advantage because of more skilled forward corps. other factor that come into play would be coaching, chemistry, discipline, experience and hunger. oh yeah... and how teams match up against each other. let's go... coaching - can't say. Wilson is not Playdirty but Babcock is pretty reasonable. tough call chemistry - can't say for the Sharks. but I most certainly like Wings, except for maybe Lang line which needs Bertuzzi to have a jump. discipline - slight nod to Sharks. they managed to finish s***ty Nashville quick staying out of the box. we had PK problem with Flames. sure, it was a Canadian team so many of that were make-up or phantom calls. still... experience - Wings all the way. Sharks are younger and pressumably more prone to bad momentum. I guess Wings will also have more mental toughness later in the series which will be extremely important as this is likely to be a close series hunger - I do love what I see from Wings. can't say for Sharks here and will have to watch them live match up - unfortunately, they seemed to be doing very fine against us. how this translates into postseason... we'll see. I'd give them an advantage here. opinions?

Maggie blew it big time this year and she might be cold with her fantasy league I'm not gonna look at her predictions this year. maybe next time. as for ESPN picks - I'd pick Sharks myself here, too. although, I don't think a 7 game series is likely to favor Sharks here. we're more experienced and would play this game at Joe, which to me translates into clear advantage. so I'd say Sharks in 6 or Wings in 7 if ever. anyway... on paper they are better than us. but I like our chances anyway. Hasek is very much underrated by the rest of the league, and the fact that Wings have multiple Cup-winners and huge playoff experience is also forgotten by many analysts. now this is something that gives us a chance. plus, we are a hungry team this year. Wings look poised to win something. I'm not trying to disregard Sharks eagerness but the last poised Red Wings teams with 4 good scoring lines and good goaltending were all Cup winners

basicaly: yes! but some of them truly deserve the bashing. certain Joanette pulled a Jesus Christ in Game 5 to deserve Wings fans hatred. and Magoo is simply Magoo - an epithome(sp?) to phantom calls and stealing the show by making idiot of oneself

Magoo out - great news. Jeanette and VanCouver in - bad news. I don't get why Furlat, Hasenfratz and Leggo are out. they seem fine in my book there's one team to help in the East and one in the West. so they'll be here, too, but fortunately to us, will be raping Ducks