Nightfall

8-5 now. The Wings haven't had one prime scoring chance yet. Wow, 6 shots on goal.

Wings have won 2 faceoffs I think. The rest San Jose are winning which is not good. They are winning in key situations. They really need to fix this.

You are going to say that with the Sharks having far more scoring chances? You watching a different game than I am? I suppose being a scoreless game is what I should be thankful for.

Why on earth are they trying to clear it up the center? Thats bad.

The Sharks have the edge so far. They are outhustling the wings and getting chances off of turnovers. Wings need to get that hunger back.

We are also turning the puck over in our own zone. Just as Mickey said, we have had a few shots, but San Jose has had all the scoring chances.

I think Dat should just stop posting until he eats some crow.

Get well soon Matt!

After watching the last 3 games, I think their chances are good. They just need to play 60 minutes of hockey 4 straight times. Mind you they haven't played a full 60 minutes since Game 7 of the Phoenix series, but it is possible.

You can't win a Stanley Cup every year. There are 30 teams in the league. 16 of them make the playoffs. You have teams that have drafted smart and those that buy free agents. Chemistry is a huge factor in the playoffs as well. Sometimes teams strike gold with players who work well with each other. In the end, they crown one champion. I think its hard to hold Ken Holland and the Red Wings to lofty expectations, especially in the salary cap world. The Wings are going to be competitive, but they won't make it to the cup finals every year. They may not even make the playoffs in the next 5 years or so. I think a lot of Wings fans feel they are entitled to a championship every year. Which is why the refs are being blamed heavily. After all, the Wings are unstoppable! The only one that can stop them is Gary Bettmen [/sarcasm]! What Wings fans have to understand is that the Wings brass will always try to get a championship caliber team together, but it isn't going to work out every year. Some years will be better than others. Case in point, look at the last six championship teams. The Devils? Tampa Bay? Carolina? The Ducks? Red Wings? Pens? Its a vicious cycle and teams cannot stay at the top for long. The Devils continue to make playoffs but haven't been past the first round in years. Tampa Bay has missed the playoffs more in the last six years than making them. Carolina had a good playoff run last year, but didn't even make it this year. The Ducks have been hit or miss as well. The Wings have made the playoffs every season, and have had varied success. Even the Pens have had their share of playoff disappointment before winning the cup last season. The Wings will be a threat, and will challenge for the cup for a while. What I don't expect is for them to fall off the face of the earth like some of these cup winning teams. I think the Wings have made the playoffs for 16 consecutive years or something like that. That will end, like all records do eventually, but the management has made a commitment to spending to the cap and competing for a championship every year. The players they bring in buy into that as well.

Well, thankfully it isn't up to us. If Mindfly and other pessimists were in charge of the team, they probably wouldn't even show up to Game 4 and just forfeit. From a personal standpoint, if I was down 3-0, I would come out and play a hard fought game and hold my head high when the game is over. No sense of crying over spilled milk. Come out and give it your best shot and leave it all on the ice.

If the Wings play one game at a time, and not think about winning 4 straight, anything can happen. GO WINGS! Coming back down 3-0 has been done before, and the NHL is due for one as well. It just happened in the OHL playoffs when the Windsor Spitfires went down to Kitchener 3 games to 0, and then came back and won 4 straight to advance. Then they won the championship in a sweep.

An excellent post from a classy fan. I have to admire your balls though. I just cannot bring myself to go into another teams forum and discuss a hotly contested game like this. I know you haven't gotten your kudos as much as you have gotten lumps, but I do agree with you. Every Wings fan should be giving the Sharks a lot of credit. Remember when the Wings would dominate the faceoff circle? Remember when the Wings would cycle the puck and the other team would take penalties just to get the puck back? Remember when the Wings played with urgency and could close teams out when they were up at the start of the 3rd period? Remember when our goalie would come up with a HUGE stop in a key situation (such as a penalty shot last night *hint hint*)? Remember when our defense would not play desperate in OT and give up golden opportunities to the other team as a result? Remember when the Wings would be on the bad end of the penalty calls, but would have the fortitude to win games? The game dynamic would be entirely different if the Wings were still doing these things. Instead, the Sharks are and they are deserving of moving on so far. That being said, the Wings are not done yet. I believe they still have fight left in them and I am going to enjoy what games they have left this season. I am a fan, and I will never give up on the Wings. If the Wings do get ousted this round, I will continue to watch the playoffs because I am also a hockey fan. I will probably cheer for a team that hasn't won the cup in a long time. That means Pittsburgh is out, but every other team would be in. Yes, even Chicago *shudder*.

I blame the following things for being down 3-0. 1. Can't win a key faceoff. When was the last time the Wings got spanked in the faceoff circle in a playoff series. At least they improved last night, but they still lost key faceoffs. San Jose got 2 goals off lost faceoffs by the Wings. 2. No sense of urgency. I have said it before and I will say it again. The Wings needed to come out and play every game like game 7 of the Phoenix series. Where was the fire? Where was the playoff drive? Sure, you saw it for 10, 20, or 40 minutes at a time in this series, with last night being a 40 minute hard fought effort by the Wings. In the end though, the Wings have to play a full 60 minutes of that style of hockey and they didn't. Coasting in the 3rd period two games in a row? Are you serious? We gave up 2 3rd period leads this series. 3. Sub par goaltending in key games. I am a fan of Howards. That being said, his goaltending was shaky at times. He let in a couple stoppable shots in the Phoenix series. The tying goal last night was horrible. I know, its just a couple goals, but he has to stop those. Playoff goalies stop those shots. 4. The Sharks hunger. Unlike last season, the Sharks look like a team ready to erase all their playoff demons and "choker" demons in one run. Like it or not, this team DESERVES to be up 3-0. Coming back from deficits in the 3rd period two games in a row? That takes hard work and they should get high marks for their work ethic. We also chased the sharks around too much in this series. Usually, teams are chasing the Wings. Not this series. 5. The Refs. Yea, they were a factor. The bad calls in game 2 were horrible. You can't discount them entirely. The good teams fight through poor refereeing so I won't put them as the lone scapegoat.

I am with you. Its time for the Wings to put it all on the line. GO WINGS!

Well, here is my analysis of the game in a nutshell. If the Wings want to win games in the playoffs against a hungry team like the Sharks, they need to play a full 60 minute game with equal intensity. Yes, the team played hard, but there is a difference between playing hard and playing with intensity. Getting your nose dirty in the corners, outskating your opposition, and being a ultra hungry team are all intense qualities. Then you have the statistics in the game. Losing faceoffs in key situations, poor passing, sub-par goaltending by Jimmy tonight (yes I said it, sub par), and the most important thing.....playing like you have the game in the bag for the 3rd period and OT. Taking that ill-advised chance in OT resulting in an odd-man rush was just fitting. Sure, many Wings fans will blame the reffing entirely. This goes far beyond the reffing alone. Wings fans have to see that. If they don't they will think this team is a winner. I stress to everyone here, this Wings team needs some tweaking in order to go deep in the playoffs. The refs alone did not screw the Wings. The Wings screwed themselves.

Gotta take the shooter though. The defenseman has to take the pass.

Wings have no one to blame but themselves. Lazy play in the 3rd and OT doesn't win you games.

San Jose continues to win draws and outhustle the Wings in their own zone. Not good.

Nice job Howard.

Not me. The result will be the result. I am enjoying the game, but there is no sense getting all bent out of shape over it or all excited about it.

I agree as well.

I have said it before, and I will say it again. The Wings come out with an outstanding effort in period 1 and 2. Then in the 3rd they stopped playing like that. The Wings have not put forward that hard fought effort for 60 minutes since game 7 of the Phoenix series. Sure, there has been a bad goal. Sure, there have been questionable calls. If the Wings would have had a solid 60 minute game, this game would be over right now and the Wings would have probably won. If the Wings lose this game, they will have no one to blame but themselves. Win as a team, lose as a team. So far, with their effort in the 3rd, they are aiming to lose this game as a team.

Game isn't over yet! LETS GO WINGS!

Thats horrible. Utterly horrible. I thought the goals that Ozzie let in during the 98 playoffs were bad.