Nightfall

As a Wings fan, I am upset with a couple of the calls. Course, I was also shocked about the goalie interference calls tonight. All 3 were not legit. Bert and Abdelkader's goalie interference calls were bad, but the one on Heatley was disgusting. Stuart rammed him into the goalie and he has no choice. I was shocked and appalled at that call and it stunk of a make up call at that point in the game. That being said, did the refs cost the Wings this game? No. The Wings did it themselves. Their passing was not accurate. They couldn't setup plays effectively in the zone. Oh, and Nabby came up big for them when he needed to. Sharks deserve to be up 2-0, as much as I hate to admit it and it pains me to say. Anyone saying the series is over should just cancel their forum accounts and go sign up on the Sharks/Hawks/Pens forums. Wings went down 2-0 before AT HOME and came back and won 4 straight back in 2002. Games 3 and 4 are a must win at Detroit.

Wow! Now thats a makeup call.

Probably complaining about the weak calls too. At the same time though, he would say there is nothing you can do about it and to just go out there and perform.

Let me guess. Howards fault?

Does that mean you are going to leave the forum and return in September?

The last 2 penalties I can't complain about. Cleary has to know better than that.

It certainly would be nice if we could have a 5 on 3.

The Bert call was a little weak. The Kronner call was textbook.

Its hard for me to fault Howard. As a goalie, especially short handed, you have to be ready for anything. If you cover high, they go low. You cover low, they go high. Especially in the pros where everyone is a good player and your margin of error is small. I think any goal that Howard gives up, he is going to want to have back. There are a lot of armchair fans that complain about consistency. Think about this. Howard hasn't lost 2 games in a row since early February. Thats almost 2 months of hockey. I think that is a model of consistency right there. I do agree with you in general though. Any team that moves on has to overcome adversity.

The same way that they didn't back in 2002 when they lost the first two games against Vancouver at home and then won 4 in a row after that? I don't think its pivotal that the Wings win on Sunday. Its not make or break. Now, if they lose Sunday, then the next two games at home become must wins. It is always good to read some intelligent well thought out comments from fans on the other side. Thanks for sharing, and please keep commenting.

After having some time to sleep on it, I agree with many of the Wings fans here. Detroit played a good game. Wasn't an excellent game like they did in Game 7, but it was a good one. Even playing a good game they lost 4-3. 3 of those goals were scored during a 1:20 second brain fart by the team. Sharks got some bounces and capitalized. I thought that both teams looked pretty even overall. Are there places that Detroit could do better? Absolutely. The power play had 4 shots on 5 attempts. I thought that was pretty bad. The Sharks special teams were good, scoring on 2 power plays, but a 4 on 3 and 5 on 3 are very hard to kill. I know a lot of Wings fans are blaming the refs. I used to give the refs a hard time too, until I started reffing. If there is anything that I have learned, its that the refs call it like they see it and the game is going a million miles per hour out there. So much to pay attention to. That Franzen penalty and high stick on him was so fast, I had to slow it down to see it. I didn't know how he got hurt at first. Still, I probably would have evened the calls up, but I am not out there. The Setoguchi dive was pretty bad, but why the hell did the Wings player have his stick up in his throat area to begin with? That could have been a high stick, slash, or hook for that matter. This is why you play a 7 game series. One bad game does not cost you a series. One game where the refs miss calls for your team does not cost you the game. Remember the Lidstrom high stick in game 1 of the Phoenix series? I thought LGW was going to implode when that happened and there was no call. In the end, the Wings came out ok in that series. They would have eliminated Phoenix in 6 if they didn't play lazy in a few games. When you are your own worst enemy, you have no one to blame but yourself. If the Wings just worry about their play in the series, they will take this one in 6 games. If they complain about the reffing and why they aren't getting what they are entitled to, they will lose out. The Wings are consummate professionals and will play a better game on Sunday. Oh, and Howard hasn't lost back to back games in about two months. I like our chances on Sunday.

This is why you play a best of 7 series.

Agree Their power play? Good and capitalized on their chances. Ours? Not good. 0 for 5 doesn't win any awards in my book. A single goal on the power play would have tied this game up and we couldn't even do that.

Overall, I thought it was a good game by Detroit. Sharks really capitalized on a minute and twenty seconds of CRAP defense by the Wings. After the Wings settled down, they outscored the Sharks 3-1. Howard was excellent today, and the defense in front of him besides that time when they played crappy was good. The Power Play needs work too. Going 0 for 5 is not good. I picked the Wings in 6 and I am sticking with it. Sunday is a new game.

True story. Not denying that. We just can't fault the Wings for not stopping what could be considered an almost impossible kill and a very difficult kill. If we had a 5 on 3 and a 4 on 3 and didn't score, it would be a different situation.

A 4 on 3 and 5 on 3 are hard to kill thats for sure.

Agree

Its going both ways. Either way, I wish they would call everything. HIT THE NET WHEN YOU SHOOT FROM THE POINT PLEASE!

Leave then.

True, but we need to get SOMETHING on our PP.

Our special teams have been crap. Sharks have 2 power play goals. The Wings? None. Yet, we are still within one goal.

Sigh Obvious penalty. Kronwall was beat.

The Sharks are diving whenever they are even touched. The Stuart check into the boards is proof of that.

If the Wings wouldn't have had a brain fart defensively and had spotted the Sharks a 3-0 lead, then this game would be firmly in our control.

Thats a rarity on this forum. I commend you.