Nightfall

Either that or they are giving Chicago more chances to go up by two. The Preds have been putrid on the power play so far in the 3rd period. Erat has the best chance for the Preds, after 6 minutes of power play.

Preds get their 3rd straight power play. I think the conspiracy theories should be gone by now.

I think the hawks have had more shots and scoring chances than the Preds on this power play.

Something else to chew on. In every game Detroit has scored 2 or fewer goals in this series, Detroit has lost. 3 or more? They have won. It is very hard to win a game when you only score two goals. If Detroit scored 3 or more, then they would have tied game 1, and maybe done better in game 3 when they lost 4-2. Howard is only part of the equation here. They need an all around strong effort. A passionate effort. If they don't play hungry, they will be done on Tuesday night. If they come out with a hard fought effort, they will advance. Its as simple as that.

This I have to agree with. Detroit, Vancouver, and Phoenix were the three teams I thought were the best in the league when the playoffs started. If the Wings get by Phoenix, then Vancouver will be the next best team, but we won't face them in the 2nd round anyway unless something crazy happens.

First off, being the fan of a pro team really is quite sobering. I used to feel like you did. If the Wings didn't win, I took it all negatively. I was hard on the team, and more over, harder on myself. After I started playing hockey, I got a whole new appreciation for the sport. When I watch the Wings now, I want them to win, but ultimately I know that its up to them to make it happen. When I play my games, I want to win, and I know that my performance and the performance of my team dictates the outcome. You feel that you have more control over the outcome because you are playing the game. The Wings were not supposed to win game 6 anymore than the Wings were supposed to win the Stanley Cup. The Wings had to come out with a hard fought intense effort to win, and they didn't. Fault Howard alone? No. Fault the team? Yes. No one brought their A game Sunday afternoon. The general thinking on these boards is what most fans do. If you are a glass half full kind of guy like me, then you think the Wings will be fine and you believe it. If you are a glass half empty kind of guy, like you are, then you think the world is coming to an end and the Wings are going to lose it. So who is right? We will see on Tuesday. No one knows what the final outcome will be. It just all depends if you are a pessimist or an optimist. You can get pissed off at the Wings or members on this forum for being positive all you want. Just like I can continue to call out people like yourself for being bandwagon fans. The simple fact of the matter is that people will behave like they want to. In the end, the Wings will play their game and none of this really matters. Well, except for the bandwagon fans like yourself that will head off to root for the Blackhawks, Sharks, Caps, or other winning team down the road after the Wings have a few tough seasons.

I remember adding to this for Game 1 and they lost. Well, here is my addition to the thread and my promise. If the Wings win on Tuesday, I will add to these threads all the time. Go Wings!

There should be no doubt in the eyes of Wings fans when it comes to who should start in net for the Wings. Howard is the clear cut starter. As anyone who is a true hockey fan knows, the team has to show up in front of him. Otherwise, it will be just like when Luongo played for Florida. Sure, Luongo was good, but unless the team helps you out, there is no way you are going to win games. The team in front of the goalie has to come out with intensity and work hard. I cannot say that Detroit has deserved to win in the games that they lost. Game 1 they played lazy. Game 2 they played reckless but came out on top because Phoenix did the same thing. Game 3 they played lazy. Game 4 they were dominant and clicking on all cylinders. Game 5 they played well, but didn't pick up the intensity until the last period of the game. Game 6 they were lazy again. Inconsistent hockey will not win you championships. Inconsistent efforts will get you eliminated quickly. The Wings are fortunate to be in this position. I have faith they will win on Tuesday. If not, well, just like I said last year when the cup final went 7 games.....if they lose they will have no one to blame but themselves.

No scapegoats here. The entire team needs to play better than tonight. The hungrier more determined team has won every game in this series. The same will be true for game 7. We shall see what happens.

Too bad Phoenix won't roll over like the Sens did.

I agree. When the Wings bring their game, they can beat anyone. The only problem is that the Wings have only brought their game 3 times this series. They need to do it in Game 7.

If you mean Phoenix when you mean "they", then I agree. So far, Phoenix is deserving it. The refs have given the Wings more chances and they are sucking right now.

Defense can't give the guy a partial breakaway. Defense also can't let Phoenix in for prime scoring chances.

Hell, that would be 75% of the forum members here. Some? That just scratches the surface.

What crap defense by the Wings. Utter crap.

The Sharks and Hawks are overrated. Their goaltending is horrible, especially in the playoffs. To be quite honest, I thought that Phoenix was a better team than SJ or Chicago at the end of the season. Phoenix is full of young players that hustle constantly. Bryzgalov is an awesome goalie. I knew that getting Phoenix in the first round was going to be a handful. I knew Phoenix wouldn't make it to the cup finals, but I thought they would surprise some people and advance past the first round. Thats before I knew they were playing the Wings and I hoped I was wrong. Looking forward to the second round, SJ would be a good matchup. Though, I never want to pick my opponent, because the poison you pick always ends up killing you.

The same reason why some Wings fans booed Shanny, Fedorov, Hossa, and so on.

A majority of pens fans that are posting this disrespectful drivel weren't fans back about 6-8 years ago when the team was on the verge of bankruptcy.

I only agree with two parts of your post. 1. Crosby should be respected. You don't have to like someone to respect him thats for sure. He is leading in the playoffs for a reason. 2. The Wings should worry about Phoenix as they haven't played their best hockey in 2 games out of the 5 they have played so far. Aside from that, don't be a disrespectful moron.

The east will be a two team race. The Caps and the Pens. Both those teams are the only ones that have the skill and intensity to keep up with the top teams in the Western Conference. I think the Pens are the better team come playoff time.

Well then its obviously a lack of respect problem. Blowing a 3 goal lead or a 30 goal lead, my ass would be up applauding my team if they lost and it was the last game of the season. No doubt about it. IMHO, you have to show respect for the team that you support. The Edmonton fans did it for their team even though they were dead last in the regular season and they got worked in the last game of the season. Its the right thing to do. To criticize others for doing it is classless. If you choose to sit your ass in the seat and not applaud, then do so. Don't criticize others for being respectful. You are right though, I was wrong to call out that you were a fairweather fan when I didn't know you. This forum is already littered with them and I didn't have cause. Accept my apology on that.

Upset over the performance of a team in one game? Absolutely. Applauding your team after the season is over? Respectful. You are the prime definition of a fairweather fan. How many bad seasons does Detroit have to have before you will go root for a different team? According to your definition, it will take just 2 losing seasons. This forum really needs an enema.

Well, there has to be a winner. In the case of two teams who play like crap, the team that is less crappy will win. The Pens and Hawks were definitely less crappy, especially when it mattered most.

Its called respect for your team. If you have no respect for your team, then you are not a true fan.

You are saying that Ottawa deserved to win by taking the lead and then sitting on it. You are saying the Preds deserved to win when they took a 4-3 lead, had a power play, and then gave the puck away in the attacking zone and blew it defensively? The better teams won today, thats for sure.