Nightfall

Howie hasn't been dominant, but the defense hasn't been helping him.

Where is the defense today? Where in the HELL is our defense?

Seriously? I see Montreal getting good chances and finishing. I see the Wings getting chances and not capitalizing. Seems to me that one team is playing vastly better than the other with the superior team winning 3-0. Correction, 4-0.

Me too. Fortunately, this team doesn't live and die with Nick in the lineup. The team as a whole has the capability to beat any team in the league without Nick. If they mail it in like they did when Dats sat against the Islanders, I am going to be pissed.

The Oilers went all the way to the cup finals and you are going to make that argument? I might agree if they got swept in the 2nd round, but you have to give credit where credit is due. In 3 of the 6 games the shots were within 4 for each team. The Oilers kept the chances to the outside for the most part. Detroit didn't really show much grit or determination in that series for me to call them the "better team". I do agree with your analysis on the Blues and the Wings. With all luck though, we hopefully won't have to play them in the playoffs. Thats going to be a grind of a series, but it potentially could be a very exciting series.

Sorry, but I disagree. I saw a couple games of that series on ESPN Classic back in the day, and the Kings played better hockey in stretches. The "non-call" in a 7th game is no excuse for not burying your chances in previous games. They had their chances and could not convert.

Am I the only one concerned about the expiration of the CBA? The winter classic and 24/7 I am geeked about as well, but this whole CBA deal is just making me a little nervous.

Not an argument, a fact. To call a orange tiger orange isn't an argument. Its a statement of fact that is irrefutable. So far, I have not heard anyone come up with a single team in the history of the NHL that lost in a playoff series that was the better team. Just like I am sure that we won't hear about a single orange tiger that was called yellow. Name one. I will bet that anyone will be able to point out other games in the series that were won or lost by the players. One game may swing because of a bad call, but in the end, a 7 game series is decided by the players.

I am not saying there aren't upsets, such as a lower seeded team beating an upper seeded one. I am saying that the better team always wins 7 games. Are you saying that Detroit was the better team in that series because they weren't. Not by a long shot. Anaheim was the better team and they advanced all the way to the cup final that year. Just like Detroit was the better team in 2002.

Heh, ooooooook. As a regular member, that statement by you surprises me. Its not bad to admit that some members are idiots. I will say that the Blues forum has more of it, but still, we have our fair share of idiocy.

Luck may play in the outcome of a single game. Bad reffing may play the outcome in a single game. All in all, a 7 game series in the playoffs is the best way to decide a winner. The best team always moves on. I looked back at my previous post, and I may have misspoke. In a single game, anyone can win. Bad luck and a bounce or two can decide a game. However, in the end, the cream always rises to the top. The better teams always have a good record and go to the playoffs. There they fight it out for the cup, and in my 20 years of watching hockey (yes, I was a late bloomer), I can't remember a 7 game series that the better team lost. If the lower seed won, it was because of hard work, showing perseverance, and so on. I do agree with your last paragraph. Idiots with the same mentality are on this site too. I could find a few hundred examples of that kind of behavior to other teams the Wings play. Personally, I think people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones....but that's just my thought. Very true story, but fighting through adversity is what makes a team a cup champion. Losing some games in the regular season isn't bad, especially if you are a cup contender. The playoffs will tell the tale of these two teams in the end. It will be the team that works harder and competes harder that wins the Cup. The refs may dictate a game. Luck may dictate a game. In the end, the teams dictate who advance. No excuses in a 7 game series. Please give me an example of a better team losing in a 7 game playoff series to a team that played pathetic hockey. In 20 years of watching hockey, I have never seen one.

If you are the losing team and are whining about that non call, then its an excuse. If you are the winning team, then you feel good about yourself. The sooner people realize that the best team is the one that is able to overcome obstacles and fight through adversity is the one that wins the cup, the better off we all will be. Until we get to that point, we will have 16 groups of fans come playoff time believing their team is the one that should win the cup and if they don't, then the league or the refs are against them.

If the roles were reversed, you can bet the Wings fans here would be butthurt. Only one powerplay the entire game? A couple dumb penalties, but the refs would still be blamed for the loss. Thats the way ardent fans of a team roll though, or at least the ones who believe that every year is a cup year and if they don't win a cup, its the league or the refs fault.

Fixed it for you. St. Louis only had one powerplay the entire game. In all seriousness, St. Louis committed some pretty dumb penalties, but I thought that they should have gotten a couple more opportunities in the game. Have the Wings found themselves behind the eight ball in terms of getting calls in some games? Yea, and I think its fitting that we had a game where the opposing team found themselves hit with penalties while we got the bounces.

Once again, I say the better team always wins a 7 game series. Good teams don't blame the refs or misfortune for losing games. Good teams rise above the adversity and win games.

Thats assuming the Wings wouldn't have scored on the 4 on 4 or the final wouldn't have been 2-1. I am sure you and other St. Louis fans would have bitched about the other power play goal as well and the call that led to that if you lost 2-1 instead. But I digress..... The point is this..... As sports fans, we have endured many moments of yelling at the TV or bitching about what happens in the game because of the refs and what they call and don't call. After playing hockey for 12 years, I decided to put on the stripes and referee. After three years of refereeing, I learned some very valuable lessons in that no one calls a flawless game and calls will always be missed throughout the game. Mistakes are going to happen and refs don't have the luxury of instant replay. I now spend less time bitching about the reffing when I watch a game. Its more about analysis and understanding why the ref called something. In the end, the better team wins the game. The calls in the course of the game don't dictate a win or a loss. The puck bounces funny and sometimes, a team will get a one or two goal lead. Its up to the better team to overcome those bounces and win the game. This is why playoff series are played in 7 games. The better team always wins in a 7 game playoff as well. Levying blame on the refs for the calls as the reason why your team lost really is a cop out IMHO.

There were a lot of potential interference calls that went uncalled throughout the game. Seems that both teams were happy to grab and hold or just interfere with people not carrying the puck throughout the entire game. To say that one blown call resulted in the loss is really a bad analysis. Do I think St. Louis could have had more power plays? Yup, but I also think the Wings were deprived of some extra power play time just based on the interference I saw.

There is a simple thing to remember about the reffing in a game. If your team wins, the reffing was passable or bad in some instances, but no one ******* much. If your team loses, the reffing was horrible and everyone *******. There are more gameday threads about the reffing after a loss than after a win. By complaining about the two instances you pointed out, you would fall into category number two. This is not a bad thing though as many people here ***** about the reffing after a loss. If the roles were flipped, many people would ***** about the same things you complained about. Overall though, it was a solid game with solid goaltending. It wasn't like St. Louis didn't have their chances to score goals and win that game.

Nice job Wings!

Z had his hand on the players back. Mick and Kenny were both agreeing that it was just a bad situation, but based on the wording of the rule, Z may be suspended for a game or two at the most. In that situation, if Z doesn't want a penalty, he needs his hand OFF the player in front of him. The referee ruled it boarding, and while I don't agree with the call, I think that Z put himself in a situation where the ref had to make that call. The Wings played average, and yet we still got the win. I am not ok with the Wings effort, but I will take the win. They are going to need to play 2x-3x better to beat St. Louis on Monday or the win streak is going to be over at 16 games.

A tour of Red Bird III I was looking around for some information on Red Bird III, the Red Wings plane and I found this video. I did a quick search on the forums and didn't see this posted. I hope you enjoy this.

So many chances.... Passing is great, hit the post, lots of shots. I really can't argue with the power play effort tonight, even though they haven't scored a power play goal.

Is it ever an easy two points these days?

Jerk isn't the term I would use....but I hear ya.

The only thing that concerns me is the CBA at this point. It looks like a done deal, and I am happy that UofM went the extra mile and got this passed through. I still am very worried about the CBA at the end of the season.